I love Twitter! Every week I receive blog readers, interview requests, newsletter subscribers, and clients and customers from Twitter. Why does this happen? It happens because many people on Twitter know that I am an expert at helping business owners get more newsletter subscribers and clients online, so they turn to me when they need help with getting clients or they would like to interview someone who is an expert at helping business owners get clients.

This will work for you too. If you become known on Twitter for your expertise many more people will want to interview you, read your blog, subscribe to your newsletter and buy your products and services.

So how do you let people on Twitter know about your expertise? How do you promote your expert status and become seen as an expert? Here are three tips for you to accomplish just that:

– Promote Your Expert Status In Your Twitter Profile. Start from the very beginning. If someone on Twitter wants to learn more about you, where do they start? They go to your profile.

Use your profile to communicate your expert status in your field. You don’t have to call yourself a guru or an expert, but you must provide enough information to communicate your expertise. Use your bio to provide information about who you are and what you do.

– Help Others. Many experts share their expertise and use it to help others. There is a lot you can do on Twitter to help others. You can offer tips, re-tweet their requests, and answer their questions.

Many people re-tweet (share with their followers) tips that they see. This means that if you share tips that resonate with your followers, your followers will share them with their followers. This dramatically increases the number of people who see your tips and your expertise.

– Share Your Blog Posts On Twitter. Your blog posts help you share tips, demonstrate your expertise and attract clients. Another great way to demonstrate your expertise on Twitter is to share your blog posts with your followers.

There are two ways to do that. One is manual. Every time you write a new blog entry, post its name and a link to it to Twitter. That way your followers will see the link, follow it to your blog and read your post.

You can also automate posting your blog posts to Twitter. Use an application called Twitterfeed to automatically post your blog posts to Twitter. With Twitterfeed all you have to do is create a blog post. Once you do, it will be automatically posted to your Twitter account and your followers will be able to read your blog post, without your having to do anything for it. This is a great way to automate the promotion of your expertise on Twitter.

Remember, people like to do business with experts. Follow these three tips to demonstrate your expertise on Twitter and you will start seeing better results from Twitter very soon! To learn more about using Twitter to get clients and customers, get the How To Promote Your Business With Twitter Home Study Guide, at https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/ztr

Biana Babinsky

Here is a question I got recently:

Biana, I have been following your advice and I am seeing great results. I am now using my article marketing and blogging to bring in web site visitors, turn them into newsletter subscribers and then into clients. Last month I got 74 new subscribers!!!

I was on your social networking call a few months ago where you talked about social networking and Twitter in particular. I am wondering how I should incorporate Twitter into my existing online marketing strategy. Should I use it to bring people to my web site? Should I use it to get more newsletter subscribers? What’s the best way to do that?

Biana’s answer: I think it is great that you are thinking about adding Twitter to your marketing lineup. Social networking has been a part of my online marketing strategy for a long time and social networking has been bringing great results year after year.

I also find it’s great that you are creating strategy for using Twitter and how it is going to fit into your online marketing plan before starting to use it. I see many business owners starting to use Twitter and other social networking web sites, use them for a while and only then try to understand how to fit them into their online marketing plan to generate leads and clients. By thinking about this before you jump in you are way ahead of many business owners.

I recommend using Twitter for listening to your target market, creating awareness for your brand and expertise, and building your list. You can also use Twitter for promoting your products, teleseminars and services. But if you use it first to accomplish the first three tasks, you will see much better results when you do start promoting your products, teleseminars and services. Here is how it works:

– Listen To Your Target Market. One of the biggest benefits that Twitter provides business owners with is the ability to connect with their target market and hear what the target market is talking about.

One of the biggest challenges that business owners face is not knowing what they target market needs. At Twitter you are able to listen to your target market, see what kind of issues your target market is experiencing and what kind of help your target market needs.

Now use this information to offer a product or a service that your target market needs and you will see great results!

– Create Awareness For Your Brand And Expertise. Twittering, sharing and connecting with others will help you create more awareness for your business. Many people learn about their new Twitter friends by following their profile link. So make sure you include your link and watch your web site traffic increase!

And, twits are listed in search engines, thus helping you increase awareness of your business even more!

– Build Your List. The bigger your list, the more successful your business is. Use Twitter to build your list by sharing information about your free gift and your newsletter with your followers. Don’t promote it all the time, but it’s perfectly fine to mention your offers from time to time.

Make Twitter part of your Online Marketing Strategy – you will see that with some thinking and planning, you can start seeing results from social networking! For more information on using Twitter to promote your business, join me for How To Use Twitter To Promote Your Business Teleseminar at https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/ztr

More tips for using Twitter to market your business:

– What Is Twitter? Answers To Popular Questions About Twitter

– 7 Things To Do To Promote Your Business On Twitter

Biana Babinsky

Hi,

As you probably know, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced on December 1st that we have been in recession for about a year. I am sure that you, as a business owner, have seen the signs of recession before the National Bureau of Economic Research made the announcement.

I have been seeing the signs of recession as well, because I have been getting emails from dozens of business owners every single week asking me about marketing in recession. To help these business owners, I decided to write an article on how to get clients during a recession.

However, as I started to write this article, I saw that I wanted to say much more than I could fit into a one-page article.

So instead I wrote a report: “5 Keys For Getting Clients During A Recession” and it is available for you, FREE, at
https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

Get the report and discover:

– – How to find a target market filled with people hungry for your products

– The best marketing techniques to use in recession

– Five keys to building your list easier and faster

– Two questions to ask yourself to make your social networking extremely profitable

and much, much more.

Download the report, FREE, at

https://www.EffectiveOnlineMarketing.com

Biana Babinsky

After I announced the How To Use Twitter To Promote Your Business Teleseminar to members of my online business coaching program, I started getting questions from many business owners asking me how can one promote their business in 140 characters or less.

Here is a list of 7 things you can do to promote your business on Twitter:

1. Use Your Profile To Display The Link To Your Web Site. It will help you get more traffic to your web site and it will let others on Twitter learn more about you.

2. Share Information About Your Events. I had 473 people register for my Online Marketing Plan teleseminar last week. Some of the people found out about the teleseminar on Twitter.

3. Share What You Do. But don’t keep saying “Hire me!” – doing this will not get you any clients. But naturally sharing what you do and who your perfect clients are will get you great results.

4. Post Your Blog Posts To Your Twitter Account. You can automate this part, or you can post your blog posts to your account manually. When your friends on Twitter are able to read your blog posts, they will be able to get to know you and your business better.

5. Help Others. Re-tweet messages of others that resonate with you, let your followers know about your friends’ events, etc. When you help others they remember it and, in turn, will help you.

6. Use Your Name. People like to talk to a person, not a business name. Use your name either as a handle, or at least have your name listed in your profile.

7. Promote Your Brand. Put up your logo, change your page colors to your web site colors, etc. Do as much as you can to promote your brand with your Twitter page.

So here are 7 things that you can do on Twitter to promote your business. There are many more things you can do – please use the comments to add to the list!

And for more information on promoting your business on Twitter, register for the How To Promote Your Business On Twitter Teleseminar.

Biana Babinsky

I have been getting questions from many coaches lately about how they can use Twitter as a part of the online marketing strategy for their coaching business.

I really enjoy networking on Twitter! It has been useful in many different ways – I have done research, connected with potential clients, found joint venture partners and am working on a few new projects, all thanks to Twitter!

Here are five tips to show you how to use Twitter to promote your coaching business:

– Do Market Research. Connect with members of your target market and see what they are talking about. Are they experiencing issues that you can help them with? This is an opportunity to find topics for new hot products that you can create!

– Get Help And Information On Many Different Topics. I follow different people in different industries, who share lots of useful information. My connections share information on social networking, marketing, new interesting web sites, trends, and lots of other things.

– Create Personal Connections. Twitter gives you an opportunity to connect 1-on-1 with many different people, from potential clients to people you can do joint ventures with to people who you have always admired but have never talked to.

I love being able to chat with people whose newsletters I have been reading for a long time!

– Let Your Followers Know About Your Blog Posts & Articles. Don’t keep your blog posts and articles to yourself – share them with your followers! Twitter is great for sharing your blog posts and articles with other members.

And you can use twiterfeed to have your posts post to Tweeter automatically, saving yourself time. For example, this blog post will be appearing on my Twitter page.

– Promote Your Teleseminars And Other Events. You should spend a lot more time on networking, helping and connecting with others than on promoting yourself, but it’s perfectly fine to let your followers know about your teleseminars and other events you are holding from time to time.

Just don’t make ALL of your twits about your events – your followers will lose interest and un-follow you.

There is a ton of other things you can do on Twitter – create joint ventures with other business owners, get newsletter subscribers, find people to teach teleseminars with, find business and marketing resources, find vendors, ask for recommendations, etc. It is a great social networking web site that can help you promote your coaching business. Check it out and join it!

And for more information on how to use Twitter to promote your coaching business, get the How To Use Twitter To Promote Your Business Home Study Guide at https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/ztr

Biana Babinsky

If you are using social networking, chances are, you have an account at Facebook. Facebook has thousands of applications you can use and you might be wondering which ones to use to promote your business. A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post on Why You Should Not Use Too Many Applications On Your Facebook Profile.

Since then a few business owners have asked me what I actually use and recommend to others to use on Facebook. Here are my recommendations:

– My Box Application. This is a great application that lets you display HTML code on your Facebook Profile. Use it to display your newsletter sign-up and promote your free gift and your newsletter on your Facebook page.

But you are not limited to just promoting your free gift and newsletter – you can use to promote anything you’d like. And, since the box will display HTML, you will be able to use colors, bigger fonts, etc on your page. Just don’t overdo it – a bit of color will bring attention to the information. Too much color and too many things will only confuse people.

– Notes. These are fabulous for sharing ideas and articles and promote your expertise. The best part about the notes is that they are viral. When you post a note information about it gets into your feed that your friends can see.

Your friends can comment on your note, and once they do the information about the comment will be in their feeds, and their feeds will now virally promote your note.

Another great use of notes is to use them to import your blog posts. That way each one of your blog posts will be posted as a note and will be listed in your feed, giving your posts lots of exposure. Your friends will also be able to comment on your posts right there on Facebook if you use Notes to import them.

– Events. Do you offer events, such as teleseminars, webinars and others? Then use Events to let your friends know about them. Just go to Events, create a new event and follow directions to post it and invite others to it.

You can also send updates to people who invited to your events to remind them where they need to register, how they can attend, etc. Don’t send too many reminders, but do remind them once or twice to make sure that everyone who wants to come remembers to register.

I love using this option on Facebook to promote my upcoming teleseminars. I have used it to promote both free and for-fee teleseminars and have always gotten good results.

Just like with everything in marketing, remember to work with your target market and make everything you do relevant to your target market.

Want more social networking tips? Join me for the Social Networking Teleseminar Series

Biana Babinsky

Linda Dessau has just written a book, The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write: Look Smarter, Write Faster and Get Better Results from Your Writing. Since I always talk about how coaches need to be able to write well to be able to market themselves, get clients and create products, I decided to interview Linda about the book and about why writing is so important for coaches. Here is my interview with Linda:

1. Linda, why did you decide to write this book?

There were a few reasons, Biana. I’ve heard from a lot of coaches over the years that they’re hesitant to write, or hesitant to publish their writing, because they’re worried it’s not good enough. I want to help them get over that, because I LOVE helping coaches polish up their writing. But if they can’t get over this hump we can’t get to this stage.

Another big reason was so that I would have a desktop resource for all of the things I was constantly looking up as I was editing. As I heard once in a seminar, a great editor doesn’t know everything, but she knows where to look to find the answers.

2. Could you please explain what a style guide is?

Sure! A style guide is basically a collection of writing rules and guidelines that you can refer back to when you’re writing anything for your business (including articles, emails, special reports, books and more).

3. Why do coaches need a style guide?

It will save you time and energy while you’re writing, because you’ll have a clear cut answer to the writing questions that come up. And if you’re like me, and the same question pops up over and over again, it’s guaranteed that you’ll handle it the same way you did the last time it came up. If you always refer back to the same style guide, your writing will have a consistent, professional appearance and that helps to reinforce your credibility and your brand. And Biana, you and I both know how important those things are for a successful coaching business.

4. What’s the one mistake you wish coaches would stop making in their writing?

Trying to say too much. The coaches I’ve worked with are so prolific and creative, and sometimes they don’t know where one article ends and the next one begins. When it comes to articles, book chapters or each section of a special report, try to make just one main point, and then support it with sub-points.

5. What did you learn about writing a book that you can pass along to your clients? What is your one recommendation to a coach that wants to write a book?

Here are a few key lessons I learned:

– Books can change a lot from beginning to end, so draft your outline and then make room for the book to become what it’s going to be.

– Talk about your writing process as often as you can, with people who will offer enthusiastic support.

– People are incredibly generous! My volunteer reviewers gave me such a valuable perspective as the eyes of my potential readers.

– Invest in the support people you need to get the best finished product– I worked with a coach, (Kathy Mallary), an editor (M. Lisa Forner) and a designer (Victoria Vinton).

6. Tell us more about the book: is it a book or e-book? Are there any bonuses included with the book?

This is a print book only; I really wanted coaches to use it as a desktop resource. There are online bonuses as well, available on an exclusive readers-only website. There’s a list of troublesome words and phrases to watch out for, writing tools such as a sales page generator, a template to create a customized style sheet, links to all of the resources in the book and updates and additions as they become available.

7. Who is this book aimed at?

The Style Guide was written exclusively for coaches, and the entire second half of the book is dedicated to mapping out the specific writing projects that coaches use the most. That being said, I noticed that the virtual assistants who reviewed it for me found it just as helpful. I’m sure most service professionals and other small business owners could relate these guidelines to their own writing needs.

Looking for more information about Linda’s book? You can learn more about it and get your own copy at The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write: Look Smarter, Write Faster and Get Better Results from Your Writing.

Yesterday, August 6th the blog tour kicked off in great fashion with Chris Dunmire at Creative Slush. Great start Chris!

Tomorrow, August 8th, the blog tour continues with Teresa Morrow with her own interview with Linda.

Every once in a while I receive a question from a coach who has heard that newsletters are old news and web 2.0 is the way to go. Here is a question I received recently:

Question: Biana, I have been a life coach for about 4 years now. I have been publishing my newsletter for about 2.5 years. About 6 months ago I started reading articles and hearing from everyone that newsletters are outdated and that I should start using web 2.0 exclusively.

Did I make a mistake? Should I have been publishing my newsletter instead of starting the blog and doing social networking?

My answer: First of all, I LOVE web 2.0. Blogging and social networking has been bringing leads and clients to me for a very long time. However, your newsletter is a foundation of your marketing strategy. Before you blog, before you use social networking sites, you MUST have a newsletter.

Let me explain. Your newsletter helps you build long term relationships with people in your target market. It is your most important piece in your marketing strategy. When you meet people in your target market – in person, through speaking or networking, or online, though social networking, article marketing, etc – you need to invite them to get on your newsletter list.

Once they get on your list, they will be able to receive your newsletter, get to know you and become aware of products and services that you offer.

The best way to use web 2.0 is to use it to get more people to subscribe to your newsletter. When people are reading your blog, make sure that you invite them to subscribe to your newsletter. You can do that by using an invite in the blog header, including a newsletter subscription box in your menu, etc.

And when you are using social networking, make sure that your personal pages on different social networking sites promote your newsletter. That way you can use your newsletter to continue building relationships with people you meet at social networking sites.

So I recommend that you continue using your blog and social networking sites, but you should also find a way to continue building relationships with people you meet through those means.

I talk a lot about using your newsletter to get clients in the Grow Your List Home Study Course that you can see at https://www.avocadoconsulting.com/rlinks/znews

Biana Babinsky

One of the most popular questions I have been receiving this year from clients, colleagues and online friends (some of whom I met on social networks) has been Is Social Media A Fad?

I even had a discussion on this same subject at a non-business event a few months ago. One of the participants found out what I did for a living and we had a great discussion of social media, how it affects the way we do business and if it is here to stay.

As someone who has participated in social media and social networking online for the past fifteen years and recently taught a social networking teleseminar, I know that social media is not a fad. However, I can see why this question keeps coming up over and over again. Social media and social web sites have become the “it” things on line in the past 6-8 months, just like blogging did a few years ago. And because of their “it” status there have been many articles in mainstream publications about social media and how business owners use it for business development.

As a result of those articles, many people who have never used social media before decide to give social media a try. But since they are new to the social media scene, they are not sure how long social networking is going to stay around for. They do not want to spend their time on something that may just be a fad, so they are looking to make sure that social media and networking are here to stay.

And from what I have seen in my many years online, I can tell you that social media is here to stay. Social networking started as soon as people started using the Internet. I remember communicating on Bulletin Boards, then through mailing lists, then message boards. I started using social networking as soon as I got online. The very first social networking medium that I ran was a message board.

Since then I have joined and left countless mailing lists, message boards and social networking sites. While the media that I use changes with time (new networking sites, new mailing lists, etc), social networking stays. While we might not use the same social networking websites five or ten years from now, we will still be using social networking. Just like I used it fifteen years ago. And this is why social networking is not a fad and is here to stay.

More social networking articles:

– Getting Results From Social Media Sites

– What To Do With Your Social Networking Traffic

Biana Babinsky

P.S. What do you think? How do you use social networking?

I am sure that by now you have heard about social media and social media sites. Lots of people are networking on them, talking about them and using them to promote their businesses.

Because there is so much information about social media and social networking everywhere, I have been getting lots of questions about social networking from my clients, members of my mentoring program and web site visitors.

Everyone wants to know how to get results from social media web sites. And by saying results the majority of business owners mean “more clients”.

So how can you, a coach, consultant or other business professional, use social networking to get more clients for your business?

What you want to use to use social networking for is to meet and connect with your target market. Just like with any other marketing technique, you want to get your target market to know you, so that they can do business with you.

My recommendations for using social networking effectively are:

– As always, look for where your target market is and go ahead and meet it! There are tons of groups on many different networking sites, and you can start by participating in a few different groups that your target market frequents. Don’t join every single group that you see – there are thousands, if not millions of those, and you will never be able to use all of them.

Instead, find groups where your target market hangs out and networks. Increase your visibility by participating in the groups.

Everyone knows the leader, right? The best visibility comes when you are the leader of the group, so start your own group where your target can hang out and you can demonstrate your expertise!

– What’s the next step for your target market? What step should people in your target market take in order to get into your sphere of influence? They subscribe to your newsletter!

Make sure that you offer people plenty of opportunities to get on your list.

– Explore social networking sites and use the available resources. Different social networking web sites have different resources for you to use, and some are not so obvious. Some offer resources to post your upcoming events, post your articles and blog posts, etc. Use the available resources to get more visibility and exposure for your business.

I discussed many more ideas for using social networking to promote your business during the How To Create Social Networking Plan That Gets You Clients Teleseminar last month. You can get the audio recording of the How To Create Social Networking Plan That Gets You Clients Teleseminar at https://www.marketingsalad.com/social-networking.html

Biana Babinsky