Warning: Twitter Followers Could be Unnatural

You may be shocked to know that some companies and entrepreneurs buy their Twitter followers. Can you believe it? Talk about being fake and unnatural! Why would anyone by followers? Well, it gives the ‘illusion’ of having a strong Twitter following.

Did you know that followers could be spam accounts? What happens when clients or customers start to follow some of the accounts that follow your company only to find out they’re spam? They probably won’t be too impressed with your company for too long.

You can increase your Twitter followers the natural and organic way by following the steps below. You don’t need artificial Twitter followers!

How to Gain Twitter Followers the Natural, Organic Way Instead of Buying Them

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Upload your company’s logo.

Please don’t use the ‘egg’ which is the default image Twitter uses. You don’t want your company to be labeled as a ‘spam’ account. If this happens, you risk not having any followers.

Uploading your company’s logo is easy to do. Adjust the size to Twitter’s max size of 700k.

An eye-catching bio attracts followers.

Tell everyone on Twitter about your company in 160 characters or less. If you’re not sure what to write, here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • What makes your company unique?
  • What sets your company apart from other companies within your industry?
  • How do your employees contribute to the success of your company and its customers?
  • What do you offer that other companies don’t?

Write or hire a freelance writer to write a compelling bio that ‘shows’ everyone on Twitter ‘why’ they should follow your company. Don’t forget to include links to your company blog, other web pages, or other social media accounts.

Tip: Hold a contest and ‘tweet’ about it. People love to enter contests. More importantly, they love to win free stuff!

Use Twitter on a daily basis.

How much time do you spend on Twitter? Many social media experts and gurus will advise you to hire a community manager or social media manager who’ll spend 30+ hours per week on social media. Before you do this, answer the following questions:

  • How large is your company in terms of sales and revenues?
  • How many employees do you have?
  • How large is your client, consumer, or customer base?
  • What is the vision for growth for the next three to five years?
  • Where do you see the company in five years?

If your company is as large as Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, etc., you may want to hire a social media manager (or outsource) who’ll work 30+ hours per week handling your social media networks.

Small business owners, consider hiring a part-time employee to handle your social media efforts. Spending 15 minutes per day on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, etc. can increase your web presence and traffic. You can adjust the amount of (+ or -) time needed to be spent as your social media networks grow over a period of time.

Engaging with clients and customers shows that you’re doing everything possible to interact with them; you’re taking an interest in them. They’re not just a sale to you.

Share valuable content that will be retweeted.

Having a blog could work for your company. If you’re not interested in having a blog, consider posting free articles or giving away eBooks, white papers, tutorial videos, power point presentations, etc. Just give something away that readers will find valuable.

Tip: Retweet your followers’ posts share their content as well.

Don’t be afraid to add “Please Retweet” at the end of a tweet because studies have shown that ‘tweets’ without it receive less retweets. There’s no harm in asking your followers to share what you’ve posted.

Upload pictures.

Don’t be afraid to ‘tweet’s pictures from your company picnic or charitable event. This is a great way to show how your company ‘thanks’ employees for their hard work. It’s also a good way to show how your company and employees support a charitable organization within the community.

If your company started its own not-for-profit as a way to give back to the community, Twitter is smart way to ‘spread’ the word about it. Ask for the community’s support in terms of volunteering and or donating money. This is a good way to show how your company cares about the community and everyone in it.

Remember, sometimes a picture is worth more than 1,000 words!

Have patience.

You could grow your Twitter followers overnight if you buy them. However, it’s always best to grow followers the natural, organic way. Think about the following question:

What’s more important, quality or quantity?

You could buy Twitter followers and suddenly have 25,000, 50,000, 100,000, 250,000, etc. followers. However, what good does it do if you’re not converting them or receiving leads and referrals? If you want authentic followers, be patient and grow your Twitter followers over time.

These are some tips on how your company can gain Twitter followers the natural and organic way. No preservatives added!

How has your company increased its Twitter followers? Share.

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Is Your Administrative or Personal Assistant Costing You Money?

How can your administrative or personal assistant cost you money? By writing and sending poorly written emails to existing and potential new clients. If you don’t review emails, you won’t know if your assistant is properly conveying the tone, voice and style you want. Like it or not, your administrative or personal assistant is a reflection of you. Let me give you an example. I emailed someone, who’s in the public eye (radio, TV appearances, etc.), about the use of their services. However, I didn’t receive a ‘fuzzy feeling’ when I read the email from their personal assistant. Here’s a ‘paraphrase of the email: “So and So can assist you. It’s $X.XX dollar amount via email and $X.XX dollar amount via phone. So and So has This and That Book. If you want to figure this out on your own, I suggest you purchase the books to learn all about it. If you want to make an appointment, please respond to this email.” I declined the services and found someone else. The personal assistant cost her boss a sale, future sales and revenue from me. I also opted out of the monthly newsletter.

Here’s how I would have responded:

Thank you for contacting So and So who’ll be happy to assist you. Services cost $X.XX to $X.XX for (fill in the blank). Please note: So and So wrote This and That Book which can also be used to assist you with your inquiry. Please visit www.BuyTheBooks.com to learn more and purchase the books. To schedule an appointment with So and So, please respond to this email with your contact information and best times to contact you; we’ll schedule your appointment straightaway. Again, thank you for contacting So and So and inquiring about her services. We look forward to working with you. Have a great day!

Which sounds better? “I suggest you …. or Please note: So and So wrote This and That Book which can also be used to assist you with your inquiry. Please visit www.BuyTheBooks.com to learn more and purchase the books. Furthermore, I contacted this person so they could assist me and figure it out for me. Why would I pay their fee if I can figure it out for myself? Translation … I’ll solve my own problem! I don’t need their services.

Let’s face it; people buy on emotion. I’m not saying this is right or wrong, but nine times out of 10, clients and customers buy with their ‘feelings’ versus their ‘brain.’ If your administrative or personal assistant answers emails for you, make sure they know how to professionally write them. Better, yet hire me, and I’ll write them for you!

As a writer, I’m fully aware of tone, voice and style. Sometimes, administrative and personal assistants don’t understand how tone, voice and style can and will affect a sale. They don’t put themselves into the shoes of the recipients and think, “How will clients/customers react to this? How professional does this sound? What’s the tone and voice of the email saying? How will this email close the sale?” Quite frankly, some do not possess business acumen. While your administrative/personal assistant can’t be responsible how clients and or potential clients will react to their words, it’s better to err on the side of caution and read and re-read emails before they’re sent out.

If you’ve noticed a drop in sales or complaints from existing and new clients, read the emails sent by your administrative or personal assistant. If you want to grow your business, consider reevaluating your administrative/personal assistant’s business and soft skills (communication). This may be difficult if they’ve been with you for a long time. However, if you want to increase sales and revenue, it must be done. I couldn’t imagine Donald Trump keeping someone around just because they’re a nice guy or gal. He’d probably try to find them another position within the company; however, he wouldn’t allow an employee to cost him money. It’s something to think about.

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What Doesn’t Attract Clients and Customers

This is a reprint from Barb Wade, M.A. who specializes in teaching Coaches to create thriving, 6-figure practices in under 20 hours a week!  For a FREE “How To Get Clients” BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH KIT just for Coaches, visit BarbWade.com today and tomorrow gain new clients and customers.

Please note: Even though this post is targeted to coaches, every business owner needs to market their business. Remember, “You’re in business to solve a problem and market your business.” If your web content, blog posts, articles, newsletters, marketing materials, etc. aren’t working, perhaps it’s time to evaluate your target market and analyze if you’re targeting the right market. You may need to ‘tweak’ your market, even if it means losing Twitter followers, Facebook fans, etc. Think about the long-run versus the short run.

Some coaches just don’t like marketing. They don’t like to promote themselves and they may even find it distasteful! In fact, until I learned that marketing was nothing more than letting others know how I could help them with their biggest problems, I thought marketing was a “necessary evil” at best.

On the other hand, there are some coaches and entrepreneurs who have no problem with marketing – or so it seems. BUT they use it as an excuse for not moving forward or to “hide out.”

Do you know what I mean? It’s the endlessly tinkering with your website.

Or taking forever to craft your “elevator pitch,” and then never actually using it!

Or spending tons of time, energy, and money getting just the right logo… or business card… or… well, you get the idea.

Of course, doing this comes from good honest intentions. Those things do help support spreading the word about your services. But it’s all too easy to get stuck in an endless loop of tweaking and fiddling with the minutia.

The truth is, doing so can actually keep you from getting clients!

Here’s the big news: your clients aren’t attracted to your coaching practice because of your business card, logo, website, or any other collateral. Even if they are really beautiful and elegant and “cutting edge.”

Yes, those things can help get your potential client’s attention, but that’s not what holds them or compels them to come back.

Ultimately, your clients will respond to the connection you create with them. Those people that you are meant to help will resonate with your authentic and unique brilliance. It is you being willing to share your experience and expertise – in the way that only you can – that makes an impression on people.

Your clients want to be seen, acknowledged, heard, understood and helped by you. And the more they get to know the real you, the more they will want to continue to work with you.

This is the concept behind the “Know, Like, Trust” factor you may have heard of. It works like this. First, your potential clients hear about you somehow – on the Internet, at a live event, on a tele-seminar, etc. And the more they get to know you, they more they begin to “like” you (note: this is not a popularity contest. Instead think of “like” as “appreciate” or “value”) And the more they like you, they more they begin to trust you as a teacher, advisor and friend.

And what I have found is that when you cultivate that kind of connection with your market, it actually accelerates your ability to attract clients and it makes your work so much more joyful!

So, if you find yourself spending too much time “crossing all the T’s and dotting all the I’s,” try adopting this mantra that was taught to me by one of my mentors: “Completion Not Perfection.”

Get into action and get it done – perfection is highly over-rated!

Barb Wade, M.A. who specializes in teaching Coaches to create thriving, 6-figure practices in under 20 hours a week!  For a FREE “How To Get Clients” BUSINESS BREAKTHROUGH KIT just for Coaches, visit BarbWade.com today and tomorrow gain new clients and customers.

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7 Tips for Handling Freelance Writing Clients

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Make no mistake about it — freelance writing is a small business. It’s fantastic to work from home, create your own hours, and essentially be “the boss,” but it’s a business that depends upon you for growth. If you’re not a big fan of sales and marketing, your freelance writing business may struggle to succeed. Let’s face it; you won’t be in business long without clients. Follow the seven steps below for handling freelance writing clients.

7 Tips for Handling Freelance Writing Clients

1. Get everything in writing — a contract is your friend. It’s imperative to get everything in writing. It’s no different from getting a contract from a roofing company to put a brand new roof on your home. You wouldn’t proceed without a contract, would you? If you did, you could stand lose a ton of money and will have to contact Mike Holmes from Holmes on Homes to fix your roof.

2. Create a ‘loose’ fee schedule. Consider creating a stand ‘standard’ rate schedule for bios, blogs, and articles. You can charge per word or a flat fee. Other projects will require separate quotes. A client may want you to write and send out their monthly newsletter, post a blog twice a week, and create backlinks for them. This type of project would require a different rate (bulk). Remember, no two clients are the same. They have different needs and wants.

3. Set and stick to deadlines. How many times have you called the cable company and they give you a ‘window’ of 8 am to 5 pm? This is frustrating because you have no idea when they’ll show up. Give clients reasonable deadlines and stick to them. Also, adjust rates for emergency or rush services.

4. Be flexible. You get to work from home so you have more flexibility than others. Remember, someone in the UK is in a different time zone than the U.S.

5. Say “No” with politeness. It’s alright to say “No” to a potential client or new project. Don’t take on a new client if you don’t have a good feeling about it. Listen to your intuition. There are billions of people in the world some of whom own their own company or run a corporation. You’ll find another client.

6. Take time off. You don’t need permission to schedule a vacation or holiday. You could burn-out if you don’t have downtime. You don’t have to write 24/7, unless you want to. Give clients’ ample warning when you’re taking time off. This way there won’t be any surprises.

7. Say “Thank You” once in a while. Believe it or not, saying “Thank You” once in a while is not a bad idea. Thank clients for using your freelance writing services. Tell them how much you appreciate their business. Remember, service with a smile goes a long way.

Rebecca

Bonus!

Ask for referrals. Don’t be shy about asking clients to refer your freelance writing services. There’s nothing wrong with it. Clients will be more than happy to refer your freelance writing business. Good service is appreciated and people will pay for quality work.

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Increase Web Traffic by Exchanging Links

Two Hopf Links

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If you’d like to gain more web traffic, consider building and exchanging links. Connecting with the right people and websites can draw more visitors to your website and vice versa. Make sure the business owners, artists, authors, writers, etc. are a good fit for you. Avoid exchanging links just for the sake of exchanging links. Think about the relevancy of links before you agree to link exchanges.

Some freelance artists and writers, authors, and business owners may be wary of exchanging links because they don’t personally know the people who want to exchange links. Get to know the people! Read testimonials, comments, and scour social media sites. Put your journalism hat on and ask “Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why.” This way you can put your mind at ease and know you’re exchanging links with people who are honest and have integrity.

What can you gain by exchanging links?

  • Increase your business connections.
  • Gain more followers on your website and social media sites.
  • You can gain more influence.
  • Gain more exposure for your art, books, or small business.
  • Increase your monthly income.

Exchanging links doesn’t have to be painful. It’s a wonderful way to connect with other like-minded people and to provide useful information to visitors. Do your homework before you agree to link exchanges. Check out websites and their owners. Make sure you’re comfortable with having your name and website listed on other websites. It’s all right to decline link exchanges — it’s not the end of the world!

Rebecca

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