Working From The Basement

Sorry for the month long absence folks, but I’ve been working on a few things and trying to catch up with some other projects.  Anyway for those of you that know me I’ve had this side thing going on for awhile now where I got out and listen to local music on the weekends.  Well a few weeks ago while I’d been working on the website (which isn’t finished), I decided to promote my fan page on Facebook.  Initially I had convinced 4 of my friends to join but hadn’t posted anything, but with about 50 videos up on YouTube I finally had something for people to see.

Initially I sent invites out to about 100 people that are my friends this generated about 50 people signing up within a day or two.  Well I wasn’t exactly happy about that number, but eventually it organically grew to about 100 fans.  Considering I have slightly more than 150 friends on Facebook that’s not a bad number, but I really wanted to see if there was any interest in what I was trying to accomplish.  So I decided to take the plunge and set aside some money for a Facebook advertisement.

Well I am a newbie at this but Facebook has a really easy system for creating an ad, especially for Fan Pages.  I am not going to go into detail on how to do this part because it is really simple and Facebook has some great help documents on how to do it.  The biggest decision I had to make was in the pricing section either Pay per 1000 Impression (CPM) or Pay per Click (CPC).  Based on Facebook’s advice I went with CPC which means you only pay when somebody clicks on your Ad.  I targeted my Ad with the criteria listed in the image below, which gave me a pool of around 175,000 people.  Wow really, that’s a lot of people to reach, what’s the circulation of a typical daily paper?  No wonder the paper’s are losing advertising revenue, and remember these are targeted.

So after about a week and a half of playing with the daily maximum that I was willing to spend, along with the cost per click out of 175,000 people, 77 people clicked on the Ad and 42 people signed up for a total cost of $54.99.  The Ad actually was displayed over 175,000 times but that is irrelevant because I choose CPC, it would only have been a factor if I had chosen CPM. 

So here in a nutshell is what I learned:

• It was in my mind over 50% effective in getting people to become a fan when they clicked on the link.  This was with hardly any effort in producing the Ad, I took my logo and mission statement and did a cut and paste.
• Fan Pages have a viral quality, since the people who joined the Fan Page also had friends with similar interest for each person that became a fan other’s joined. This is because the newsfeed now posts when somebody joins a Facebook Group or Fan Page.
• I wasn’t selling anything so your results may vary if you are promoting a product or service.
• People on Facebook don’t click on the Ads very much, but this is irrelevant if you select CPC.
•  Know your target demographics bid as close to the suggested maximum and keep an eye on it; reduce it when you don’t think people will be into what you have to offer.  I increased my bidding in the afternoon, because if you’re into local bands and have been out I doubt you’re going to be up early.
• I now have the confidence to go through with the project, based on the feedback and people I have met through the Fan Page.

So the inevitable question becomes will I continue promoting the Ad and I have mixed emotions on this one.  While I want to promote the community the final website isn’t up so is it worth paying a $100/month, I’m not sure.  Once the website is up, yes I would use Facebook advertising to drive traffic to the Fan Page, then ultimately to my website.

Anyway I hope everyone is having a great year so far and check out my Local Band Review Fan Page and the Local Band Review YouTube Channel.  Also make sure to go see some of our hard working local talented bands most of them work  for little money and they put on a great show.  Technically all band members work from the basement or at least the garage.

WFTB
Michael Lawson

If I was to think of one thing that changed for me this year it was being able to do more work while mobile.  I’ve had a laptop forever and different versions of Smart Phones over the years, but this year I bought an Iphone and a Netbook.  The Iphone for me has finally given me hope for mobile applications, it’s not that others haven’t tried; Microsoft has had PDAs and Smart Phones out for a long time now.  Microsoft failed in both the execution of the user interface and the ease of installation and use.  Apple redefined the process by enforcing a strict developer’s approval process and being able to buy, install and update the applications on the phone without ever having to have to hook it up to a computer.  Apple’s mobile applications are bringing new life into the software development market by making native client applications cool again.  This strategy has been proven now by the fact that more Smart Phone providers are jumping on the mobile applications band wagon.

I use my Iphone for the simple things such as email, calendar and other kinds of messaging, but I also use it for more advanced activities.  I can now monitor my clients Servers and workstations directly from the Iphone and document network layouts and hardware locations easily.  Notice I used the word easily, because I have done it in the past just not with the consistency I have in the last 6 months.

The Netbook allows me to throw an inexpensive computer in the car that I can use to do most everything else that I can’t do on the Iphone.  These small notebooks aren’t the best to use as your everyday computer, but when you need to do something in a hurry they fit the bill perfectly.  So if you occasionally have to leave the basement and still do some work consider looking at one of the newer Smart Phones.

Well I haven’t written a Tech column in awhile, so this morning while going through some stories I noticed that AT&T wants to limit your usage of its data network.  The problem is that if you have an Iphone you already are paying a premium for data service so what gives.  It seems that 3% of the Smartphone users are using a good percentage of the bandwidth, which seems a little odd to me.  Whatever the reason is their 3g network can be slow at times just retrieving Email, Twitter and Facebook which should all use very low bandwidth.  Streaming video barely ever works reliably unless you are using it on a standard wireless (WiFi) connection. My point is that I always try and find a standard WiFi connection which means I am not using their network.  So am I getting my money’s worth? Well I think I am the Iphone is pretty much more a computer than a phone and AT&T is subsidizing it, and I don’t think most business people are abusing their network.

Another Internet speed issue I ran into lately was when one of my clients upgraded to Comcast business broadband which has speed upward of 30Mb. When I went to speedtest.net the fastest speed I could achieve was 10Mb so after calling Comcast I determined that it was an older Sonicwall Firewall causing the problem.  So if you are paying for extra speed I would recommend that you test it at speedtest.net first, and then call your Internet provider if you’re not getting the bandwidth promised.  If they say its fine you may want to see if you have any older equipment in your network that could be causing the problem.

If you are having issues make sure it is the Internet provider’s equipment or problem before calling them out otherwise you could be charged.  This being said if you think you have eliminated all the causes on your end demand that they come out and take a look.  AT&T is the worst for not sending someone out or passing the blame back to you so if you have an IT resource make sure that person is there during any appointments.  Comcast on the other hand seems to be very responsive and will come out as soon as you ask them too.

Being a small business means that you need to be in constant contact with your clients and we usually invest in technology to be able to do this more effectively.  So make sure you are getting your money’s worth and check up on your cell phone plans, and Internet providers occasionally.

AT&T considers incentives to curb heavy data usage article

WFTB – Michael Lawson

We all know the story of the cobblers kids walking around shoeless.  Well, I have been feeling that way for awhile now.  While Diana has had the B-Law LLC Fan Page up, I’ve been negligent and hadn’t done one for either WFTB or 2ndot, so last week I took the plunge.  The experience so far has been interesting in that, while I am used to getting followers on Twitter, a Fan Page can be a one-way street.  Twitter encourages conversation, while Fan Pages are more passive and the only way to talk to people you don’t know is to become their friend – unless they participate, which kind of defeats the purpose.  You can start a discussion, but there is no guarantee that anyone will participate and sending a Facebook email seems too invasive.

So what use are they, you may ask? Well, it does provide you with a fairly low-maintenance way to interact with potential clients and build a referral network without much work.  I have always found it annoying when people update their personal Facebook status from TweetDeck or some other Twitter-related tool because most of the time it is Twitter speak (lots of @ symbols and short talk).  Facebook now provides a link to go the other way, which seems more effective as long as your first 120 characters gets your point across.  (The other 24 characters get turned into a shortened link pointing back to the Facebook post). It is also easier to update than a Blog, which actually takes time to think about, write, add links, and check your spelling and grammar etc., while adding an external link, photo or status update in Facebook with a comment is a fairly quick and easy process.

So the next question is what do you put up there? Do you just rehash the same thing that you put on Twitter?  My answer is no.  Since I started with the 2ndot Fan Page, let me explain a little bit about what I did with it.  Since @2ndot is my primary work-related and personal online personality, I wanted the page to reflect that persona.  So I decided to provide links to information that an everyday computer user would find interesting or useful.  My business normally doesn’t provide home computer support, just business-related services. But I have a wealth of information that can help home users, so a Facebook Fan Page provides a perfect platform for this.  A bonus here is that I don’t need yet another website to maintain, and it’s a totally opt-in relationship.  Also being able to use the discussion feature allows people to ask home computer related questions.  Facebook is also a great product to use for event scheduling, with attendance tracking and just notifying people in general, so having a Fan Page opens up another communications avenue.

While my personal profile on Facebook is very active, I don’t like spammy Fan Pages, so I have decided to limit my posts to only one or two a day maximum.  I think this may even be too much and I will adjust it if I get complaints.  As for the WFTB Fan Page, well, for now I will probably use it to promote the site much in the same way I do in Twitter.  Since WFTB is a blogging website I think you would use it to direct traffic to the blog, but only time will tell.  I am really interested in any feedback about my techniques used here and how other micro-businesses use their Fan Pages, so feel free to comment.

Again thanks for visiting WFTB…

WFTB – Michael Lawson

Bet the title of this article got your attention didn’t it, well that’s the point. Sticking out in the crowd with all the information available to us today is hard. The real title of this post should be how to write a ransom note, but the serial killer title just sounded too good to pass up.  While you can’t really plan on what is going viral, you can stick out from the crowd by just being different. A good example of this is the wedding entrance dance video that even made it to an episode of the Office. I’m sure they didn’t plan on it being such a phenomenon, but it was unique and got passed around on the Internet.

 Just look at your mail box to figure out what does and doesn’t work. How many of those slick and square mailers with lots of colors do you use as Frisbee’s and throw toward the circular file. On the other hand look at those fake governmental mailers that trick you into opening them, with special seals and wording.  I am not recommending these practices but it is obvious that just a slick flyer with pretty colors doesn’t grab your attention anymore.

In my last business I signed up for Robin Robin’s Technology Marketing Toolkit and while I am not endorsing this product I must say at the time she had some good ideas.  One that caught my attention was sending out a plain typed paper, like it was done on a manual typewriter, believe it or not this stands out especially when it is about technology. A friend of mine makes sure that he buys the most colorful and varied stamps to put on an envelope with different denominations.  He also slaps them across the envelope so they stick out; this ensures that his envelope will at least be looked at. If you are still engaging in traditional marketing and it is no longer working for you try something different next time.

On the Internet you have to learn how to get noticed and draw attention to yourself.  After all this is what Web 2.0 is all about getting people interested in you or your services and seeking you out. Social Media sites such as Linkedin, FaceBook and Twitter let people learn about you and your brand at a more personal level. So don’t be afraid to take a few chances and be funny, or supply information that relates to your personal interests.  You have to be very careful about not spamming them, so creat a Facebook Page and Linkedin group and invite people to join. If you have a flair for writing then start a blog, especially if you produce a newsletter now.  Wordpress.com is a great place to start, or you could just contribute an article to WFTB or another collaborative blog. If you are handy with a camera consider doing videos and posting them on YouTube, try and keep them under 2 minutes though, but we’ll discuss more about that in a later article.

My main point here is that if you are broadcasting a message that is the same as everyone else you are not going to be able to use Web 2.0 techniques to your advantage. If you’re doing traditional marketing it has to stick out from the crowd or it  gets thrown away.  So start thinking viral and send out your first Ransom note to your prospective clients.

Sidenote: I created the Ransom Note on my Iphone here, just for some fun.  In case you can’t read it, it says “Buy my Product or Else!”.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

Error Message's can be so cryptic?

A lot of people just don’t get Twitter and if you’re one of those people I would like to introduce you to the concept of using Twitter as a Search Engine.  Most of us have our favorite Search Engine’s Toolbar and home page somewhere nestled in our Internet Browser, but sometimes it fails us.  Recently I was greeted to the Error message that opens this post when trying to launch Microsoft Outlook, as you can see it wasn’t very informative. So I rebooted the PC and the Error still persisted even after running a repair on Microsoft Office.

I then turned to the Internet and Microsoft’s Bing search engine figuring that since this was a Microsoft program it might have an advantage over Google, but nothing specific came up.  Well that makes some sense since the error wasn’t very specific either.  I then figured out that this happened after one of the dreaded Tuesday Microsoft updates, so on a hunch I fired up TweetDeck (The Application I use to make sense of Twitter) and searched the exact message.  Well I may have been lucky, but I got a few hits and solved the problem fairly quickly.

This is what is known in the Industry as crowdsourcing which is defined as using the general public to do research or other work.  This was a relevant search considering that if my suspicion was correct and this error was caused by a Microsoft update other people would be having the same issue.  Search Engines take time to index lesser known sites, but Twitter is instantaneous, so if it is something common you can find it right away.

You don’t need a Twitter client like TweetDeck to search Twitter, just go to the website and type in your search and it will show results similar to a standard Search Engine. So even if you aren’t interested in Tweeting about your daily life you can still use Twitter to help you find quick answers to an immediate problem.  So when you can’t find the answer with a Search Engine give Twitter a shot and let us know if you were able to find it.

We are always looking for time saving tips so let us know what gets you through your day when Working From the Basement.

WFTB- Michael Lawson

This is just a quick post to end the week with on our great new website.  If you haven’t heard about Google Wave this is a quick and funny video explaining a couple of features.

From what I can tell this is very much like the way a lot of Internal Intranet sites work and similar to Facebook.  This is just one of the more easier to understand aspects of Google Wave.  New Collaborative technology products like this should be of great interest to Micro-Business and solo entrepreneurs.  Products like this when used in new and thoughtful ways can greatly increase efficiency.  Google Wave is currently in beta and it is hard to foresee if it will change the World and become a tsunami or just be another ripple in the vast Internet ocean.

Well if your working this weekend get out of the basement for some sun and to stretch your legs, otherwise go and have fun, you deserve it.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

It gets lonely in the basement and once and awhile you need to get out in the light.  Meeting on a regular basis with other basement dwellers can help keep you motivated and focused.  One of these groups meets the first Thursday of every month at Ken’s in Glastonbury, CT.  It is important when forming one of these informal peer groups that a specific schedule is planned.  Groups that don’t do this are bound to fail, some people will always be absent, but by setting a specific day most of the members will attend.  Small groups like this can be either a great addition or replacement for the more stringent BNI groups that have strict attendance guidelines.  BNI groups can be particularly rough on solo entrepreneurs, since we are the only ones available to service our clients.

While the Geek Meet caters to the technology crowd it is actually attended by people in other businesses and has grown from 4 to about 8 regulars.  This time we didn’t get our regular table ahead of time so we had to spread out and make the rounds.  Some of the attendee’s are as follows:

Michael Lawson – (Me) Advanced Technology Consultant and head Geek
Ted Jennings – Financial Software
Harry Kiernan – Computer Consultant, Artist, Organ Donor, and Chief Schmoozer
Rick Williams – Web based Training and Compliance Software
Rachel Pianka – Website Design
Diana Bartolotta – (Diana) Awesome Attorney and certified geek
Greg Flint – Network Design and Consultant
Steven Summit – Desktop Support
Charlie Schein – New Independent Insurance Agent, formerly in Insurance Software sales
Tim Tracey – Insurance Software and founder of YouGottaCall.com referral network
Joe Courchaine – Former business owner

What most of these people have in common other than some technology interests is that we all are either independent, virtual or very small businesses.  Some of the conversations included Diana and I discussing our new collaborative website and getting the participants of Geek Meet to contribute articles.  Tim explained his website and how it can help grow your business, along with reminiscing with Charlie and myself about Insurance software.  Since I have the only Iphone I was being picked on for looking at it every 5 minutes, then showed everyone the new app I purchased called TFLN.  Harry is donating part of his liver, after donating one of his kidneys a few years ago, so I guess we will be seeing less of him (just joking). Lastly Charlie and I discussed some personal Insurance that I was interested in.  I am sure Diana will post a comment with what was discussed at her table once she reads this.

While groups like this may not always directly lead to business opportunities they can help keep you sane and provide a much needed break.  Larger informal groups such as the Tweetups also allow for even more exposure for your business and are good for network building.  Currently Suzi Craig runs the one in Connecticut called the CT Tweet Crawl and I highly recommend it.

On another note we all have a name for our spaces at home and I picked the name of this article based on Rachel’s.  She credited me with giving it that name, so whether you work from the basement, dining room, living room or  “fortress of solitude” always remember to change out of the PJ’s, brush your teeth and put on your super hero cape.

WFTB – Michael Lawson