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About Jessica Swanson

Jessica Swanson has helped thousands of entrepreneurs implement low-cost, high-impact marketing campaigns. Known for her energy, passion and “get-it-done” attitude, Jessica takes complicated marketing concepts, turns them upside-down, and makes them incredibly simple and outrageously straightforward.

What I Know for Sure About Marketing

June 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What I Know for Sure About MarketingIf you know anything about me than you know that I’m a huge Oprah fan. The hugest.

I’ve been to her show four times. I even held her hand for 30 seconds (and then didn’t wash it for 24 hours). And yes, I actually HAVE talked to her personally – for the thirty seconds while I was holding her hand. 8-)

So, yes that’s my claim to fame.

And, one of my favorite sections of Oprah’s magazine is her “What I Know for Sure” segment, where she highlights a personal revelation that she has about life.

So, in keeping with this idea, I’m going to share with you “What I Know for Sure About Marketing.” It’s just a quick compilation of what I’ve learned over the years.

•    Building a small business is a JOURNEY…you’re in it for the ADVENTURE. You actually never ARRIVE.

•    The minute your stop marketing is the minute your business stops growing.

•    A great marketing plan will help you reach your business goals up to 150% faster.

•    Magnificent marketing is immune to the economy.

•    The secret to small business success? Relationships first, sales second.

•    For your marketing to grab hold of the public, it needs to be bold, different and gutsy.

•    To be a great marketer, you have to move outside of your comfort zone.

•    Show your prospects how you will solve their problems, and you’ve consummated the sale.

•    If you’re not going to be exceptional, then you might as well not be in business at all.

•    Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Now THAT’s what I call good marketing!

•    A business grows in the exact proportion to its marketing efforts.

•    Here’s the quickest way to small business failure: Blend in with the crowd.

•    Stop INTERRUPTING and start INTERACTING.

•    It is far more impressive what OTHERS say about your business than what YOU say about your business.

•    Marketing is EVERY SINGLE INTERACTION that you have with your clients, prospects and customers.

•    In the world of marketing, it’s always better to be CLEAR than CLEVER.

•    Your prospects are exposed to over 4,000 ads a day…what are YOU doing to get noticed?

•    Get out there and GET NOTICED!

•    The secret to small business success? Take action every day, even when you’re not in the mood.

•    A terrible thing happens without marketing…NOTHING!

•    Stop talking and start doing. I’d rather see imperfect action than a perfect plan.

•    You have TWO choices: 1) Take care of your customer, OR 2) Send them to your competition.

•    The only way to the top is through solid and consistent marketing.

•    Let your small business uniqueness SHINE so bright, it blinds your competition.

•    Only the consistent and persistent marketers survive.

•    The big shots are just the little shots who keep marketing.

•    Small business success is entirely dependent on your marketing efforts.

•    It’s a complete MYTH that you have to spend money to make money in the world of marketing.

•    The customer doesn’t want your “sales pitch.” Instead they’re looking for a relationship.

•    Only market to the small percentage of people who need your product or service and ignore the rest.

•    Always remember that your prospects only spend money when they feel SAFE, HAPPY and GOOD.

So there you have it. A few nuggets of shoestring marketing wisdom that will help you on your small business journey.

Filed Under: shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing Tagged With: , ,

7 Unique Ways to get Massive Exposure From Your Articles

May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

7 Unique Ways to get Massive Exposure From Your ArticlesI’m sure that, as a small business owner, you understand the value of writing articles that educate and inspire your potential clients and customers.

So, you write an article and submit it to a few of the top article directories. Your article gets a few views and perhaps even a click or two back to your website.

And, this is where reality sets in.

You’ve just spent an hour or two writing an article with only one or two visitors to show for your efforts. It’s pretty safe to assume that you are not enjoying the process of writing articles.

But, don’t give up too quickly. If you’re going to take the time to write an article, you just need to make sure that it works overtime for you.

You want your articles generating massive exposure with the potential of bringing in hundreds of new visitors to your website.

Here are 7 unique ways for creating extra exposure from your articles:

1.    Offer to write guest blog posts.

There are thousands of blogs actively looking for guest blog posts. You can either start by researching blogs in your industry through a blog directory such as Technorati or, you can join a service such as Blogger Linkup that connects blogs and guest bloggers.

2.    Submit guest articles to ezines.

Start by searching for ezines that cater directly to your target market. Subscribe to them and find out which of them accept guest articles. Contact the ezine publishers with a sample article that they can use in upcoming issues.

3.    Research niche article directories.

You’re probably familiar with the big article directories. However, most small business owners can find niche article directories that are specific to their target market. To find appropriate article directories within your industry perform a Google search using “your target market” + “article directory.”

4.    Offer to write for associations.

There are hundreds of associations that are eager for content to offer to their members. Search for these associations through Google by typing in “your target market” + “association.”

5.    Submit to document sharing sites.

Turn your article into a .pdf document and upload it to document sharing sites such as Scribd

6.    Upload to ebook directories.

Take a few of your related articles and turn them into a 10-12 page eBook. Upload your eBook to e-book directories like Free-ebooks

7.    Rebrand your eBook.

Rebranding your eBook is a way to help it go viral. This means that you let your readers change the affiliate-links to their own, giving them incentive to distribute your eBooks to their own network.  You can use a software program such as ViralPDF

So, the next time that you write an article, make sure that it brings you massive exposure and hundreds of leads to your small business.

Filed Under: article marketing, blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, traffic Tagged With: , , ,

How to Create a Static Homepage On Your WordPress Blog

May 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Did you know that the homepage of your blog doesn’t have to be a collection of your latest blog posts?

If you’re a small business owner, the latest blog post isn’t always the best option for your  homepage.

Instead, you may want to highlight a product, service or program.  You may want to create a landing page that welcomes visitors to your page.  Or, you may want to create a capture page that “captures” the name and email of your visitor in exchange for an irrisistible free offer.

Here’s a quick video to show you how to create a static page that operates as the homepage of your blog in three simple steps.

 

Filed Under: shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing Tagged With: , ,

50 Free and Fabulous Traffic Strategies

May 25, 2011 By 6 Comments

50 Free and Fabulous Traffic StrategiesAs a small business owner, you probably already know the obvious ways to generate free traffic back to your website. (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, video marketing, etc.)

But as a Shoestring Marketer, you’re going to need to tap into an arsenal of creative, high-impact and hard-hitting tools.

Here are 50 fabulous traffic strategies that you may not be currently using.

And remember, the best part is that every one of these marketing tools is totally, completely and absolutely free:

1.    Offer to write a guest post on a blog that caters to your niche. Join Blogger Linkup to connect with bloggers who are looking for guest posts.

2.    Use Trackback links when you refer to other blog posts. The best part is that a link to your blog is now included on their site.

3.    Manually submit your site to at least 100 web directories in order to receive 100 priceless backlinks to your site.

4.    Record an article and upload it to podcast sites such as Podcast Alley

5.    Find ezines in your industry that accept guest articles and offer to write one. You can search for ezines at Ezine-Dir

6.    Create a “hub” of unique content on Hubpages

7.    Comment on high-traffic blogs and include a link back to your site.

8.    Write an informational eBook and give it away on your blog or website in exchange for your visitor’s name and email.

9.    List your free eBook in popular eBook directories  such as Free-ebooks

10.    Upload your eBook to popular document sharing sites such as Scribd

11.    Add your free eBook to Craigslist

12.    Place your eBook on Ebay

13.    Start a viral campaign by giving away your free eBook when others Tweet about it or Facebook “like it” using CloudFlood

14.    Write a press release and submit it to Free-press-release

15.    Send your press release out to journalists and editors. The company Gebbie Press will send you a disk full of addresses for free by filling out a form on their website.

16.    Submit articles to offline trade magazines.

17.    Start a LinkedIn Group Linkedin Groups

18.    Create a short Powerpoint that teaches a specific skill and post it on Slideshare

19.    Create an informational video and post it on dozens of video sharing sites using TubeMogul

20.    Create an informational product that someone else will include as a “special bonus” for the product that they are selling.

21.    Build a lens using Squidoo

22.    Create stories using social media at Storify

23.    Create a short and snappy signature and use it in all of your emails.

24.    Post in forums appropriate to your niche and include a link to your site in your signature.

25.    Send a free copy of your product to bloggers in exchange for a product review.

26.    Answer questions in LinkedIn Answers Linkedin Answers

27.    Answer questions at Yahoo Answers

28.    Run and publish surveys using Survey Monkey or Question Pro

29.    Allow your customers to share, vote and interact through  Ideascale

30.    Analyze and schedule the best time for your Tweets using Timely

31.    Create website polls using Micro Poll

32.    Submit your site to Cool Site Of The Day in hopes that they will feature your website.

33.     Join Triberr so that your “tribe” can re-tweet your blog posts.

34.    Create a course an add it to Learnable

35.    Offer fun quizzes on your site using Question Writer at Question Writer

36.    Offer fun contests on your site.

37.    Load a top bar to your site that directs your visitors to perform a certain action (sign up for your newsletter, subscribe to your blog, etc) using Hello Bar

38.    Participate in a banner exchange program Banner Exchange

39.    Make free business cards online and hand them out using Freepdfcards

40.    Create a newspaper style format of popular Tweets using Paper.li

41.    Supply a testimonial for a product or service that you have used in exchange for a link back to your site.

42.    Place your free offer on someone else’s thank you page.

43.    Set up an integrated social network on your blog using Buddy Press

44.    Set up a separate social network using Ning

45.    Create a “how-to” video and submit to tutorial sites such as Good Tutorials

46.    Get involved in a Google Group related to your niche at Google Groups

47.    Optimize each page of your website for a particular keyword or search phrase using a plugin called Scribe SEO

48.    Make a custom 404 error page for your website redirecting people back to your home page.

49.    Place your text ad on thousands of websites for free using Adsvert

50.    Start an affiliate program to get the word out about your small business.

That should do it! With a bit of creativity and tenacity, there’s absolutely no reason as to why you can’t generate thousands of visitors back to your website without spending a dime.

Filed Under: blogging, free offers, seo, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, top 50, traffic Tagged With: , , ,

5 Branding Tips for Creating a Bold Small Business Promise

May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

5 Branding Tips for Creating a Bold Small Business PromiseMany small business owners mistakenly think that branding is simply about slapping up a well-designed
logo on their website and then waiting around as the sales start pouring in.

Here’s the truth of the matter. A brand isn’t about a logo. It isn’t about the color choices on a website.
And, it isn’t about a mission statement.

A brand is simply a promise that you make to your customers.

And, for your brand to work, you need to create a big, bold promise to your prospects.

Furthermore, your prospects need to experience your small business promise again and again
(and, yes even again), before it takes hold.

But, as a shoestring marketer, you don’t have Starbuck’s marketing budget to launch your
brand promise. Does that mean that you can’t effectively brand your small business? No way.

Even the smallest one-person operation can effectively launch a brand promise in today’s marketplace.

Here are 5 branding tips to keep in mind when designing a bold promise to your potential clients and customers:

1.    Bold brand promises are unique.

Your brand promise can NOT be something that your customers automatically expect today, like “great service” or “quick delivery.” You need to think outside of the box and make a promise that your prospects are not expecting.

2.    Strong brand promises capture the core benefit you provide the consumer.

It’s essential that you identity the main benefit your customers receives when they do business with you. Once you’ve figured that out, you need to wrap your promise around that essential benefit.

3.    Bold brand promises are simple.

You only have three seconds to convey your brand promise to your prospects, so it’s better to be clear than clever. A confused prospect will never make a purchase.

4.    Bold brand promises are consistent.

You’ve got to be steady, reliable and unfailing when delivering your brand promise. If you’re brand is perky, happy and cheerful, then you’re not allowed to get crabby at your customers. Ever.

5.    Bold brand promises constantly reinforce their message.

Once your brand promise takes hold, you need to make sure that every single interaction that you have with your prospects and customers reinforces your brand promise.

If your small business promises some form of “education,” then every single email, sales letter, video, podcast and newsletter should clearly educate your prospect.

So, take the time to figure out what promise you can make to your prospect that offers then a truly unique benefit.  Then, keep that promise simple, consistent and constant. This is how your businesses brand will grow exponentially over time.

I’d love to hear YOUR small business promise below. And make sure to include a link back to your site so that we can experience your promise ourselves!

Filed Under: branding, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing Tagged With: , ,

7 Powerful Headlines for Small Business Owners

May 9, 2011 By 4 Comments

7 Powerful HeadlinesSuccessful small business owners understand that all ad-copy, whether it’s part of your website, emails, or sales letter, starts with a rock star headline. That seemingly unimportant headline is going to make-it or break-it for you,  because its job is to reach out, grab your prospect’s attention and keep them reading.

Well, there’s good news and bad news.

Here’s the bad news: you have about three seconds to grab your reader’s attention.

If your headline isn’t jaw-droppingly awesome, you’ve lost your prospect. Let’s face it, they have better things to do than read boring sales copy.

But, here’s the good news: there are “headline templates” that have proven to work time and time again.

Here are seven powerful headlines, to get your creative wheels turning:

1) The “How-to” Headline

“How To Stop Smoking In 7 Days or Less”

2) The Testimonial Headline

“I Was Able To Tap Into Pam’s Marketing System and Double My Profits Overnight!” – John Brown, Lansing, MI

3) The Headline That Offers a Benefit

Find Out The Secrets of Throwing Away Your List Of Tired Old Leads and Instead Have Prospects Chasing You!”

4) The Question Headline

“Do You Toss and Turn All Night Long?”

5) The Headline That Provides a Solution

“Your Dandruff Will Disappear After Just One Shampoo”

6) The Personalized Headline

“Mary, How Would You Like To Lose 5 Pounds This Week?”

7) The Headline That Offers a Guarantee

“I Guarantee That You Will Make An Extra $500 Or I Will Personally Write You a Check For Double Your Money Back!”

Another simple trick is to use “power words” in your headlines. These words create an emotional connection with your readers and dramatically increase the success of your headline.

* Amazing
* Announcing
* Advice To
* At Last
* Bargain
* Breakthrough
* Discover
* Do You
* Enormous
* Facts
* Finally
* Free
* Great News
* Guaranteed
* Here
* How Much
* Inside Secrets Of…
* Innovative
* Love
* Only
* Proven
* Sale
* This
* Which
* Yes

So, the next time you sit down to write ad-copy for your landing page, online newsletter or blog, feel free to use these templates as your guide. Because, let’s face it, you’ve gotta knock your prospect’s socks off in this crazy, competitive world.

Filed Under: copywriting, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing Tagged With: , ,

Do You Have the Blogging Blues?

March 16, 2011 By 2 Comments

Do You Have the Blogging Blues?I’m sitting in my office with a cup of coffee and writing this blog post. The sun is shining, the ideas are flowing and life is good.

Suddenly, my phone rings and it’s Tammy, one of my business colleagues. We’re talking about business as usual, when, out of nowhere, she drops a huge bomb:

“Jessica,” Tammy moans, “I hate to admit it, but I’m sick of blogging. I’m tapped out. I feel like if I have to come up with one more @#$! idea for my blog, I’m literally going to….”  You get the main idea.

There’s nothing fun about having the blogging blues.

It’s just another reminder to me that small business owners face a daunting reality when it comes to small business blogging: they know that they should blog, but don’t always like it.

So, what in the world is a small business owner supposed to do?

First of all, I’m not going to try and persuade you that your small business needs a blog. Believe me, it does.

This post is about helping you make the whole blogging experience more enjoyable.

Here are a few tips to help ease those small business blogging blues:

1. Perfection is over-rated.

Too many small business owners feel that they need to produce a flawless blog that would make Shakespeare green with envy. Writing a blog post is nothing like writing an essay for your high school English class. Blogging is a platform that is meant to be informal, conversational and unfussy. Obviously you don’t want your post riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, but don’t feel that it needs to be “essay-quality.”

2. Be yourself.

The good news about blogging is that there isn’t a right or wrong way to write a post. That being said, I am a big believer in filling up your blog posts with your own unique personality. In the writing world it’s called “finding your voice.”

In today’s marketplace, prospects want to connect with real business owners. They want to know the face behind your business. So, if you’re funny, be funny; if you’re serious, be serious. The point is that it’s a much easier process if you infuse your blog with your one-of-a-kind persona.

3. Only blog about what you love.

Don’t get overly worried about what you think your prospects want to hear. If you’re a passionate small business owner and love what you do, then share that love with your readers. True enthusiasm is contagious.

4. Recycling is in style.

It’s perfectly fine to tweak, reuse and recycle your ideas. Let’s face it, there are only so many topics in this world. If you were going to write a “10 Mistakes That Small Business Owners Make…” blog post, then get as much mileage out of that idea as possible.

Write separate blogs about “10 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make With… Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging or video marketing. (I could go on and on.)

You could conceivably generate dozens of posts just from that ONE idea!

5. Just do it.

This is not clichéd and overused advice when it comes to blogging. Sometimes the best cure for the blogging blues is to just sit down at your computer and start hammering away on that keyboard.

There are lots of days that I’m not in the mood or don’t have anything to blog about. But, I just get started and as we all know, getting started is always the hardest part.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that blogging is easy. It does take time and effort. But, once you get past the blogging blues, you may find that you actually enjoy it!

Filed Under: blogging, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing Tagged With: ,

What’s Your Small Business Guarantee?

March 14, 2011 By 5 Comments

Small Business GuaranteeJust the other day I ordered an informational training product online. When the product arrived, it wasn’t what I was expecting.  Let’s just say that I was one of those “unsatisfied” customers.

The company did showcase a luke-warm “guarantee” on their website that indicated that if you weren’t completely satisfied with the product, it could be returned within 5-days for a full refund. So, I emailed the company and politely asked for a refund.

Here was their response:

“If you are going to request a refund, here are the steps that must be taken:

1) Destroy the product immediately.  Once it is destroyed, you will need to download a form and sign it giving your solemn oath that it has been destroyed. If we find that you are still using the product we will press charges without delay.

2) Next, you need to download our “Request for Refund” form. Fill out the 3-page form in its entirety and fax it back to our office.

3) We will determine if the refund request is valid. Please understand that we must receive all documentation within the 5-day refund request time-period. We will email you our decision.

Wow. For just a minute I thought that perhaps I had accidentally ordered a top-secret document from the CIA that could potentially compromise international relations.

Nope. I assure you that it was just a mediocre, unexceptional information product.

So, I begrudgingly jumped through all of their “refund hoops” and two hours later delivered the signed and dated documents. Mission accomplished.

Here’s how I feel about that whole experience.  I will never buy another product from that company again. Period. It’s just too much work. And, in the meantime, they destroyed any shred of “good feeling” that I carried for them.

Like it or not, if you’re a small business owner, you are going to receive refund requests. The question that you must ask yourself is: do you cheerfully and quickly honor your refund requests or do you make the process tedious and frustrating for your customers?

Don’t forget that when you offer mediocre guarantees that you deliver on begrudgingly, you are losing a lot more than you realize including your customer’s trust, dedication and loyalty.

Let’s flip to the other side of the coin and talk about a little bike store named Zanes in Branford, CT.

Zanes philosophy is that their relationship with their customers is infinitely more important than a couple of “refund requests.” And so instead of making their customers jump through hoops, Zanes just makes it easy.  They guarantee lifetime free service, life-time parts, 90-day price protection and 30-day test drive on all of their bikes.

Their motto is: “the only difference between us and our competition is the service that we offer.”

Is Zanes concerned about a few “refund requests?” Nope.  Their only concern is losing a potential customer. And so they do whatever it takes to make their customers happy, including offering a rock-solid guarantee that delivers immense peace of mind.

Does it work? Well, this little bike store sells over 3-million a year from one single location.

What can you guarantee about your product or service that will give your customers peace of mind?

Make it easy. Make it simple. Refund your unsatisfied customers cheerfully and swiftly and then watch as loyal customers begin lining up at your door.

Filed Under: customer relationships, shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing Tagged With: , ,

5 Social Media Marketing Tips

February 22, 2011 By 2 Comments

5 Social Media TipsEven though social media sites are a tremendous way for small business owners to promote themselves  on a shoestring budget, most small business owners don’t utilize these powerful platforms effectively. They vacillate between feeling completely overwhelmed and feeling that the sites are a huge waste of time.

Social Media is one of my favorite ways of generating interest around my own small business.  But, there are some basic principles to keep in mind in order to make your marketing more effective and efficient.

Here are five important tips that will enhance your overall social media marketing experiences:

1) Create a landing page.

A landing page is a one-page website that offers your visitors a quick peek at you and your small business before they are “overwhelmed” by your business website. In addition, successful landing pages offer visitors a valuable free offer in exchange for their name and email address. Landing pages are crucial to business success because they allow prospects to connect with you on a more personal level, quickly highlight the benefits of doing business with you and give your prospects a small taste of what your small business is all about.

2) Set up complete profiles on your social networks.

If you want your marketing efforts to work, make sure that your social media profiles are complete. If prospects land on your profile page and it doesn’t have a picture and contains sparse information, they aren’t likely to feel any connection with you. You should provide as much information about yourself as possible. Remember, people want to get to know you, so give them what they’re looking for.

3) Participate; don’t push.

When marketing on social media platforms, always keep in mind the 80/20 rule. You should spend 80% of your time sharing, answering questions and interacting with others and only 20% of your time promoting your small business. If you stick to this rule, you’ll be viewed as a true participant as opposed to a pushy sales-person.

4) Be consistent.

Social media marketing is all about consistency. It’s extremely important that prospective clients see you on a regular basis. Exposure is the key to gaining your client’s trust and eventual business. So, get on those sites and interact on a daily basis.

5) Create a daily schedule.

If you don’t have a schedule, it won’t take long before you’re sucked into the “social media black hole.” Determine how much time you have to devote to your social media marketing and stick to it. If you only have 30-minutes each day, then only utilize three social networking sites and generate a strong presence on them. I like to use a timer (honestly!) to keep myself on track; when it beeps, I’m off to the next site.

Social Media marketing is extremely effective as long as you understand how to tap into its power. If you implement these five tips into your marketing efforts, you should quickly generate impressive results for your small business.

Filed Under: small business marketing, social media marketing Tagged With: , ,

7 Deadly Twitter Sins

February 7, 2011 By 6 Comments

7 Deadly Twitter SinsMany years ago, a man is following a path through a deep, dark forest. Suddenly, he loses his way and becomes lost. He is able to find many paths that lead him nowhere and eventually gives up ever finding his way back to the right path. At the pinnacle of his despair, he is rescued by a great man and brought to a terrible place that reads “”Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

All who reside in this place have lost all faith and have no possibility for a better life.

Do you remember this famous allegory? It’s one that I taught many times as a high school English Teacher. It’s the epic poem, “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri.

In the poem, Virgil guides Dante through the nine circles of Hell. The circle of Hell are concentric and each level houses greater sinners and, of course, greater punishments.

But, even if you’ve never read Dante, you may be familiar with the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride.

So, what does Dante have to do with marketing? What an excellent question.

Many well-meaning small business owners are committing one (or more) of the seven deadly sins, every single day, on one of today’s most popular marketing platforms: Twitter.

So, let’s run through the seven deadly sins one more time to ensure that you’re not in danger of falling deep into Twitter hell.

Lust: Many small business owners join Twitter in hopes that it will make them rich beyond their wildest dreams. In my opinion, one of the main reasons that Twitter has such a high drop-out rate is that small business owners are lured in by the promise of easy money, and when it doesn’t happen immediately, they give up. Twitter is a relationship tool. It’s not a “get-rich-quick” platform. Ironically, as you develop more exposure and start acquiring loyal followers and fans, you’ll begin generating more prospects, leads and sales. But, like any marketing tool, it takes patience and persistence to reap the rewards.

Gluttony: Twitter is an amazing marketing tool. But, it should be one of many marketing tools in your toolkit. If you’re spending more than thirty minutes a day Tweeting, your small business is suffering. Twitter addiction is not going to grow your small business. As Aristotle once taught, “everything in moderation” and that includes Twitter as well.

Greed: One of the main advantages of social media is the chance to share what you learn with others. If you refuse to link to content that will help your followers, you’re going to lose followers quickly. Social media only works if you spread your knowledge around.

Sloth: Social media is a NOW environment, not an “I’ll get to it later” industry. When prospects Tweet you questions, make comments and interact, you need to respond – immediately. If it takes you too long to react, the opportunity will vanish.

Wrath: Twitter has its share of offensive, boorish and bad-mannered folks. You should never allow these types of people to provoke you.  Remember, you can never take back what you post on Twitter; it’s there forever and ever.  Instead of responding in a wrath of fury to a thoughtless individual, simply block them without saying a thing. They won’t be able to Tweet with you ever again.

Envy: Don’t get obsessed with how many followers someone has or become jealous of their Twitter success. Chances are that they’ve been Tweeting with consistency for quite some time. The good news is that Twitter is a medium that be accessed and learned by any small business owner. Study, interact and network with others; but, don’t get wrapped up in their success.

Pride: Twitter is not the place to demand attention and shout out to the world how wonderful and amazing you are. Twitter is social, collaborative and interactive. You are part of the Twitter community to make connections and help others. If you stubbornly try to sell your products and services directly from the Twitter platform, you will fail.

So, if you’re committing any of these Twitter sins, there’s still time to slow down and find your way back to the true Twitter path. Dante would be proud.

Filed Under: shoestring marketing tips, small business marketing, social media marketing Tagged With: , , ,
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