Working From The Basement

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

They say there is no such thing as a good decision, but unlike what the accompanying picture says Indecision can kill a business.  Being able to make quick well informed decisions is one of the benefits that entrepreneurs have over their larger competition.  If you’ve ever worked for a large corporation or on a committee you know that sometimes even small decisions can take forever.  Endless meetings, missed deadlines and misinterpretations have killed or sidelined many projects.

It’s not that larger companies can’t make decisions, it’s just that sometimes their structure and policies can get in the way. That’s not to say that longer strategic plans shouldn’t be discussed at length especially when they affect their employees and the company’s long term health.  Also just because you are small you shouldn’t make snap decisions based on no information.  Take as much time as you need and gather all the information you can, do your research, ask friends and consult your peers.

So what happens if we make the wrong decision? Well then you simply make a new one to correct it the best you can and move forward.  I always go by the formula of 50, 50, 90 which means:  you have a 50, 50 chance of making the right decision, but 90% of the time you are wrong (just kidding, sort of). Making any type of decision is better than none, because if you don’t your forward momentum and enthusiasm may be lost. Sometimes making a decision is hard especially when you are unsure of which way to go, but take the responsibility and implement the changes as you see fit.

Just to make it clear Indecision is not the key to flexibility, don’t believe everything you read on a wet nap.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

We write a lot about networking events here on WFTB, for the obvious reason that they play a major role in meeting clients and finding resources.  These events are not strictly business-oriented, and people attend for various reasons. While it is a great way to socialize and make some real connections, it doesn’t always work out that way.  I’ve had this article sitting in draft mode for awhile now, and after reading Chris Brogan’s “Stop Humping My Leg” post on his blog yesterday, I finally decided to publish it.  I have met many people I like at these events and whom I would consider real friends, but as Chris mentions in his article, simply: “if you hump my leg, you risk screwing yourself.”

One of the benefits of Social Media is that it can accelerate trust, friendships and client interactions, based on the amount of information you can find about people and their companies on Social Media sites.  This usually works to each person’s advantage, but once and awhile, just like in real life, it is one-sided.  Like Chris mentions in his article, it is about building relationships, and that is not as simple as just knowing about the other person from their online presence.

Social Networking events such as the CT TweetCrawls are a good way to meet people, and I have been both promoting and reviewing them on WFTB.  My own social media guidelines allow anyone to become a LinkedIn Connection, but don’t assume I am going to let you be a Facebook friend.  Notice that LinkedIn calls people “connections,” which is not a big commitment in my view, while Facebook uses the word “friend.”  This may be the crux of the problem and may just be a word to most people, but to me it means something.  I use Facebook to communicate with the people that I know and have usually met in person.

When you do meet in person (and if you have been following somebody on Twitter and they followed you back), don’t assume that they are your best friend.  Just like in any social setting introduce yourself in a respectful manner and let the person know that you are a follower, then start a conversation.  Even if you have had a conversation online don’t assume the other person remembers it. There is nothing more annoying than somebody assuming that you know all about them, too, especially if they use an alias.

The way you post information about yourself may also be exacerbating the problem, if your posts are too personal you may want to rein them in.  Using your real name as your nickname can also be an issue, but it is up to you to create your online identity and presence.  I have multiple Twitter accounts for exactly this reason, and for me that strategy has worked well.

A lot of people are using Social Media resources in different ways to promote products, services and themselves, so your views may not agree with the other person.  If you consider someone a spammer, for instance, you should not feel guilty about unfollowing or unfriending them; but, you can also use filters to hide their posts as a compromise.  We are all learning the rules as we go (and the problem is there are really no set ones), so for now I would suggest be patient and understanding, but don’t allow people to be abusive.  Just like in real life, we have to interact with people that we don’t exactly get along with – you should use the same techniques with Social Media.  Just remember to bring your Miss MS Manner’s book and we should all get along.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

OK, by now you are probably wondering what a picture of me dressed up in a blue bunny fur coat and a cowboy hat is doing in this article.   Well the CT TweetCrawlers are meeting at Public’s in Middletown Wednesday night for Karaoke and I thought I would present a challenge.  If we can get 25 people to vote in the poll to get me on the stage in this getup (My Halloween Costume) and donate $10 to Operation Home for the Holidays, I will do two songs dressed like this.  Since I am mostly bald shaving my head would have been a bad fund raising idea at best.

So please pledge your support in a comment attached to this article and vote on the sidebar poll. I am looking to raise a mere $250, but would like to do better.  In order to get more people to attend please go to the Facebook Page for this event and invite your friends and direct them to this post to pledge their support.  You can also post a link to this article on your Facebook page or use Twitter, the more the merrier. Public is one of the best night spots in Middletown and is always a lot of fun, please come and join us.  Also remember that the “Open House to Bring Them Home” Party is now free this Saturday.  Below are the details and links for both events, we hope to see you there.

UPDATED EVENT INFO FOR KARAOKE FUNDRAISER:

Wednesday November 11^th 2009
Karoake TweetCrawl at Public’s in Middletown
337 Main Street
Middletown, CT
6:00pm – 9:00pm

UPDATED EVENT INFO FOR MAIN FUNDRAISER:

Saturday November 14^th 2009
Operation Home for the Holidays TweetCrawl
The Warehouse of Lisa Davenport’s Home Gallery
9 Austin Drive
Marlborough, CT
1:00pm – 5:00pm
This Event is now “Open House to Bring Them Home” party
Kid Friendly and lots of Raffles and Prizes, please RSVP on Facebook.

WFTB – Michael Lawson

When Diana and I started this blog it was pretty much for shits and giggles, well almost.  After attending Podcamp in Boston this year we wanted to try publishing content centered on small and micro-businesses.  Initially promoting the site just using the Social Media skills we had acquired in the past year also seemed like a good idea.  Since I already had this domain name registered it was just a matter of installing WordPress on one of my servers and setting up email.   If you ask me I don’t even remember registering this domain name, but the name fit and we where off to the races.

Our goal was to create a collaborative site; the reason for this is that both of us had gone very spotty on our independent blogs.  Writing one or two posts a week isn’t as hard as writing the three or four a week which is what I believe is the minimum you need for an independent blog site.  Still with our busy schedules it is still fairly difficult to maintain the pace, but we did it.  This will be our twentieth post in a month’s time which is right in line with what we wanted.

A funny thing happened though – I don’t think Diana and I have written very many articles from our original lists.  This is because we picked a really broad subject area to write about based on our everyday experiences and interactions from which we get fresh ideas. A lot of these ideas come from the comments left by our readers; these outnumber the articles 3 to 1, when you consider all the Social Media postings. The feedback we get when we attend networking events has also helped drive and motivate us like we never imagined.  So what started as a cathartic release on the joys and frustrations of the small business owner has became something bigger.

I included a chart at the beginning of the article to depict our traffic patterns using WordPress statistics which show some predicable results.  When we tweet and link the articles on Facebook, traffic is double or triple what it is if we don’t do anything.  Our rise in Google rankings is also helped by our frequent updates and posts linking us to other sites.  So anyone thinking of a way to drive traffic to their blog or website needs to post frequently and share the information using Social Media techniques.  Diana’s articles also usually rank higher than mine when we measure direct links back to the posts. This may be because I tend to promote Diana’s posts more than mine or she is just more popular, either way it is an interesting phenomenon.

We intend to expand the blog over the next few months to include podcasts and video to keep it fresh and interesting.  We really appreciate everyone’s feedback and comments both good and bad, and if you want to contribute please let us know.  We are particularly interested in expanding WFTB beyond Connecticut so if anyone is interested in covering events in different States please contact us.  Thanks again everyone for a great first month and for reading what Diana and I quietly refer to as the Seinfeld of blogs (it’s about nothing and everything, but it’s always entertaining).

WFTB – Michael Lawson, Diana Bartolotta

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

Your reputation has preceded you.  That’s right.  We’ve been talking about you.

And it’s not just us at WorkingFromTheBasement (WFTB). Heck – your customers, your neighbors, your fellow business owners – they’re all talking about you. As scary as this is, it can be a secret to your success.

For good or bad, word-of-mouth is unstoppable and the most powerful form of advertising. Small businesses tell us that 80% of their new clients result from referrals.   And these clients are more profitable since they take less time and effort to close. They’re also more likely to result in future referral business.

Here are some hard-learned reputation marketing tips from successful CT business owners:

1. Current customers are a good place to start. Let them know you welcome referral business.

a. Ask them for referrals early and often.

• Make it a habit.
• Bring it up in conversation and during your follow-up contacts.

b. Reach out to your past customers as well as neighbors, friends. The 20% of them that give you 80% of your new clients are like gold. (See Pareto Principle, also known as the “80/20 Rule”.) You should continually stay in close touch.

• Use phone, mail, email and face-to-face
• Consider a structured rewards/loyalty program.

2. Chambers and networking groups are great. So hit the road.

a. Meet with other owners face to face at networking groups.

b. Put yourself out there – get beyond the shallow networking chat.

c. Be a hub – invite other owners to attend. Be a friend to your fellow networkers.

• You’ll be happier.
• Work will be more fun.
• And, by the way, you’ll probably have more of it.

3. Capture the buzz. Networking is great, but limiting since you can only be in one network meeting at a time. (And sometimes not even that if you sleep through a 7AM #BreakTweet.)

Remember that while you’re chatting over coffee or adult beverages, your customers and neighbors are “out there” talking about you. And they’re doing this more and more on social media sites.

So multiply your efforts by connecting with your customers and your network on a social site

a. spend 15 minutes a day. Start slowly – it will get easier

b. Facebook is the most widely used social site

c. You might prefer Twitter – it compliments Facebook and makes it easy to find and follow more people you may want to connect with

d. Social media guidance is available

These steps cannot make your reputation. Your skills, enthusiasm and attention to your clients’ needs do that. But by employing these tactics you can allow your reputation to spread, increase word-of-mouth referrals and generate profitable new sales.

Disclaimer: As founder of YouGottaCall.com, LLC – “Good referrals. Doing good.” I am an admittedly biased observer of the B2B & B2C word-of-mouth referral scene.

Tim Tracey is a self-described “Web 2.0 Connect-gineer.“  His business, YouGottaCall.com, connects consumers with local, trusted businesses. His network is free to join and free to use for consumers.  Businesses (i.e., “trusted service providers”) compensate for the service through referral fees, so they only pay for what they get. You can sign up for YouGottaCall.com here.

WFTB – Tim Tracey