I read and process about 150 business emails on a daily basis and look at over 80 websites. Adding any social media activities to this already heavily multitasking type schedule is overwhelming. I feel first and foremost I need to be responding to clients and scheduling projects with our team. I tried delegating this social media aspect to my assistant and that just didn’t work. I think social media is something one personally needs to do. It’s kind of like sending my assistant to a networking meeting – it’s not the same as me being there in person.

I gotta tell ya, this twittering is like texting on steroids. I’m still weighing out the time vs. benefit. Stats show that 60% of people who start on Twitter become Twitter Quitters. The piece I find fascinating is that it can be educational and easy to find resources with Twitter search. The company is growing rapidly and new uses for it are developing all the time. So, we’ll see what transpires in the next few months.

The first thing I noticed on Twitter was how many people started following me that are supposedly Twitter experts. They asked me to sign up for their Ebooks, Ezines and Courses all about making money with Twitter. This just added to my state of being overwhelmed. Then I became afraid that I wasn’t doing it right.

I started to wonder why some strange people were “following” me. It’s weird to think that, I know! What’s the point of having thousands of followers? I don’t just automatically follow everyone who follows me. I’m only interested in following people who have something of interest to me. For example, if I look at their tweets and they mostly say “having a bagel for breakfast” or “looking for something to do” or repeated self-promotions – I do not follow them. I unfollow people who tweet every few minutes about nothing. The ones I like to follow have current marketing tips, web trends, good resources, links to articles or quotes.

I downloaded several tools and apps for Twitter like Tweetdeck and Tweetlater. Another learning curve here as there are a gazillion apps out there. Now I’m trying Twitterific. I also downloaded the Twitter widget for MAC and that’s pretty handy. When I post on Twitter it’s supposed to show up in Facebook but if I post on Facebook it will not show up in Twitter.

Below are just a few items I’ve “tweeted” about in the past in no particular order.

# Just finished reading The China Study – extensive research and startling truths about what we’re eating.8:23 AM Jun 2nd from web

# Client Relationships – funny and true! http://bit.ly/DCwfL2:39 PM Jun 1st from web

# Wine & theatre event Quilters musical in downtown Denver http://bit.ly/smGg312:04 PM May 29th from web

# New blog post: Five Web Faux Pas to Avoid http://bit.ly/MNFdH6:48 AM May 27th from Twitter Tools

# Savvy Web Marketing in 5 minutes http://thewebmuse.com/blog/12:03 PM May 22nd from web

# List of website tools and resources http://bit.ly/BF59s11:53 AM May 21st from web

# “Family isn’t only blood – it’s the friends you love, across the generations.” – Michael Caine11:45 AM May 20th from web

# Q&A Laptop Cafe in Denver today at 2:00 – always learn lots of useful info http://www.creativemarketin…11:48 AM May 19th from web

Leave a comment below about your likes, dislikes and experiences with Twitter. I’m always learning! You can follow me on twitter here: www.twitter.com/webmuse

1. Flash, Frames & Blinking Banners – Avoid building an entire site in Flash. Search engines cannot find or read a site built totally in Flash. A good alternative is to create an html site and implement Flash elements inside this type of site. Frames are difficult for users and search engines can’t read sites built in frames. Avoid frames completely! Too many blinking banners, moving text or images can be distracting to the visitor and give the wrong impression. Too much bling is not a good thing for a website.
2. Poor Content, Too Much or Not Enough – What you say on your site is extremely important. Be brief and get to the point with effective, powerful words. If a visitor has to scroll multiple times to read all the text they and move on. People are typically in a hurry and want the info fast. Have you been to a site with no text and wondered what they were all about? Text on the home page is important for the visitor and for the search engines. Don’t make them guess what’s behind door #1, tell them what you are about so they will want to explore further.
3. Confusing Navigation – It’s critical to create a path or site architecture for your site. Where do you want the visitor to go first, second, third, etc.? You can control the path visitors take through your site by the order and placement of the navigation. Remember to always have a Home button so the visitor can get back home after they’ve been to other pages in the site. Although it’s common practice to have the logo click back to home; it’s surprising how many visitors still do not know this.
4. Cheapest Price – Hiring the cheapest web company is a big mistake. View their portfolio and check references. Design is one thing; it’s the follow up afterward that is also critical. Does the company return phone calls and respond promptly to email inquiries? How quickly will requested changes be made to your site? Did they ask you about your target audience? A cheap or amateur site may not project a professional image to potential clients.
5. Titles, Meta Descriptions & Meta Tags – Have you ever attempted to drive a car with no gas in it? Having a website without titles, meta descriptions and meta tags is like trying to drive a car without gas. You won’t get far and neither will your website. These elements are essential for visitors and search engines.

What web faux pas have you made? Share your story by clicking on the icon below to “Leave a Comment”.

Whenever I do a workshop or speaking engagement I ask the audience, “What search engine do you use for finding sites and information?” I’m often surprised at the responses and almost always learn about one or two search engines that I’ve never heard of before. Google, MSN & Yahoo remain in the top three so I’ll summarize some of the data for those.

Google is preferred by males and Google users are 43 percent more likely to buy online over other Internet users.

MSN is preferred by females and those 55 and over prefer this search engine. MSN users are 48 percent more likely to purchase than other Internet users.

Yahoo! users make up the 18-34-year-old segment and are 31 percent more likely to make online purchases.

As a web marketer how will you use this useful information?

1. Look at your statistics and see which search engines are bringing you the most traffic. If you want to increase sales, then research the demographics of the search engines that match your target audience. Let’s say you have a product that appeals to 20-year-olds, then get listed with Yahoo! in Yahoo! Local, place ads in Yahoo, learn all about Yahoo! This is your market – capture it!
2. Check out sites like Forrester Research and Shop.org to learn everything you can about your target audience and their online habits. There is a wealth of information at your fingertips that will save you time in ‘guessing’ why you may not be getting the orders, leads or sales you envision.
3. According to a Harris poll awhile back – the top searches were for Travel, Health & Entertainment. If you research just a little further you’ll discover each of these categories has gender, age and geographic data that could be very useful to your online business. For example: The majority of people searching for travel live in Seattle, New York and Chicago. The most people looking for health information live in Denver. Knowing this type of data helps you in marketing to those specific geographic regions.

Aren’t these facts fascinating? Take some action today with this information and remember – keep having fun with all your web marketing activities! Click on the icon below to “Leave a Comment”.

I often hear from weary website owners that they just don’t have the time to market their websites. Thinking about doing this in large chunks of time can be overwhelming. Just the thought of it may discourage you from taking any action at all. So here’s a challenge for each of you. Do you have 5 minutes? Here’s what you can do in 5 minutes:

1. Go to any website – just pick one out of the blue. Preferably someone you don’t know. Be brave. Pretend I’m there holding your hand (grin).
2. Send the owner a friendly email and compliment him/her on a great site.
3. Indicate that you are looking for help. Remember people LOVE to help. Your single question may look like one of these:

• I need your help. I wonder if you could give me one idea for getting more clients in the area of _______?

• Would you mind giving me some advice? I’d like to know some techniques you’ve used to attract your ideal customers.

• I’d sure appreciate it if you could take just a moment to help me. My target audience is _____ . Do you have any ideas on ways that I could best reach that particular audience?

Thank them for their five minutes of time and close with your email signature. If their postal mailing address is on the website you may want to send them a handwritten thank you with your business card.

Now, go off and celebrate. Take a walk, take a nap, pat yourself on the back. You’ve done it. You spent five minutes working on your website. Well done!

It’s fast, it’s fun and easy! Click on the icon that says, “Leave a Comment” below and let others read about your five minutes of marketing.

This is an expanded version of what was written in the March 2009 Muse News. If you’d like to subscribe to the free monthly Muse News or read the archives then click here.

A plastic part in our refrigerator broke so I drove over to Sears thinking I could either buy one or they would order it for me. They said, “Oh, no we don’t do that, you have to go to our Parts Store and they are closed today.” Then I said, “Hmmm, can you order it for me online?” Then she replied again, “No, you would need to do that yourself.” So, I went back home, fired up the computer and typed the part # in Google. The first couple sites I found were awfully confusing and I couldn’t even figure out how to buy the part from these sites. Then I discovered: www.partselect.com This is an amazing website and so easy to navigate. Not only did I find the part right away with a price; the bonus was reading the Do-It-Yourself stories they post on the site. I was able to print those specific to the installation of this part and also realized I needed to order one more piece to make this thing work. With just a few clicks of the mouse, my order was placed and I received the part in less than 7 days. Now, THAT is customer service!
Since this writing, I have heard from several people who found incredible savings online by searching by part numbers. One person had an outdoor fountain and the pump went out. She returned to the store where she purchased the fountain and had a similar experience to mine above with the brick and mortar store. A quick search online and she found that of all places, Amazon carried this fountain pump!

Another couple was looking for drawer handles and knobs for their kitchen cabinets. The store didn’t have enough in stock to outfit their kitchen and they thought the prices were pretty high. They bought one of each and searched online by the part number on the back of the package. Sure enough they were able to find them “in stock” and at half the price with no tax and free shipping. What a deal!

When a part went out in his older car, Bud was able to search by part number and find exactly what he needed. His mechanic couldn’t believe he found it online!

These are just a few of the stories I’ve heard. Click on the icon that says, “Leave a Comment” below and I’d love to hear what you’ve found online by searching this way!

It’s baffling to me when people put up a website and expect people to just find it. If you read these suggestions and smack your forehead saying, “Oh, I can’t believe we ran that $3,000 magazine ad without our web address! “ You are not alone! Businesses every day are frequently overlooking offline marketing to bring visitors to their site.

How many people are going to find out about your website off-the-web before they are online? Print your web address and e-mail on every piece of paper and promotional material that leaves your office. Your web address and e-mail address should be on business cards, brochures, letterhead and envelopes. The recipients of these items may not know you have a website and will be prompted to take a look. If they know about your website, maybe they haven’t been back to visit and will place your business card by their computer as a reminder to check it out.

Color postcards of your website are good for direct mail or to hand out at trade shows.

Advertise your website on your car or delivery vehicle with a personalized bumper banner or chrome-like lettering. It’s an inexpensive way to get lots of local exposure. Assuming the average person drives to and from work daily in rush hour traffic in a large city, each plate will be seen and understood a minimum of 3,000 times per day.

Colorful Images in Longmont, CO has a wonderful selection of address labels. How about putting your web address on a sticker and use it as an envelope seal? You’re sure to find some creative labels that are suitable for your business. These also make great gifts for someone with a new website or a nice thank-you gift for someone that links to you.

Post-it Notes® are used as frequently as paper clips. Try to include as much contact information as possible on your Post-it Note without making it look cluttered. Use your web address and phone number with your company name or tag line.

Click below to share your best offline marketing tip that brings more visitors to your site.

I feel like a new baby in the big grownup world of bloggers. While certainly no newbie to the Internet and computers – I’ve hesitated about blogging.

Blog Newbie

When blogs first came on the scene it seemed like people were writing online diaries. “Who has time for this?” I thought. I’ve been journaling offline for most of my life. I wondered how on earth I’d find even more time in my day to incorporate online journaling and why would I want to? The few business blogs I was reading seemed boring, too wordy and uninteresting. I still liked reading ezines and articles so maybe blogging is just a fad. Those were my thoughts.

That was then – this is now. Blogging is here to stay and business blogging is more prevalent than ever. Search engines love blogs. Companies like The Blog Squad evolved to educate and help bloggers understand the benefits of blogging for business. I also took a webinar with HubSpot and started to get really clear about blog benefits.

The Web Muse Blog will not be about me walking my dog or drinking green tea.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Web Marketing Musings
• Web Trends & Tips
• Valuable Resources
• True Web Stories
• Creative Marketing Ideas

I’ll be sharing insights about websites for artists, entrepreneurs and small business owners. The most rewarding and exciting part of this for me is that I’ll be learning from each of you who post comments. Thank you for joining me on this never-ending journey of learning.  Click below to share your insights on YOUR first blog posting!