When it comes to training, I like to stay in my lane and stick to teaching what I know and love. For me, that’s personal productivity and teaching people how to work smarter: get organized, streamline processes, and use technology the right way.

But then something kept happening.

People started to ask me how I was getting so much national, major publicity. They wanted to know who my publicist was. I’d say “Google.” Huh? Yep, Google. I don’t have to pitch stories because journalists find me on the first page of organic searches when they’re looking for someone with my expertise. Prospective clients do too. Lucky for me, although I didn’t know what search engine optimization (SEO) was back then, everything I was doing was it.

I started sharing the tactics I’d used, then I gave a few seminars about it, then I wrote an ebook that I continue to update every time I learn something new.

My Shameless Self-Promotion: Do-It-Yourself SEO seminar is becoming the most popular speaking request I receive, particularly when the audience is business owners.

At a recent American Express event, getting found online was the number one thing business owners wanted to talk about. So I’m going with the flow, veering a little out of my lane, and giving people what they want.

So what do I mean by shameless self-promotion? It’s not going around patting yourself on the back telling everyone who will listen how wonderful you are. My definition is that you use every opportunity you have and every marketing tool you have access to to promote what you know. Help people. Deliver value. As you promote what you know online (blog posts, how-to videos, press releases, social media, etc), the search engines will eat it up.

So how are you promoting what you know?

PEACE.

UPDATE: I just read this article on self promotion written by Nathan Hangen at Copyblogger. He gets it.

Filed under: Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media | Comments

Every time I hear of company layoffs, I feel badly for the people losing their jobs. But I immediately start to wonder how the people left behind will make it. They were already working inefficiently; now half of their co-workers are gone.

In my work as a consultant helping people improve their personal productivity, I see so much wastage. I often wonder how anything gets done and how people have any time for a life outside of work.

Create More Time

If you’ve wondered “How on earth will I find time to do all this work?”, read on. Now is the perfect time to turn off the TV and start developing ways to work smarter.

Keep a time log. If you don’t believe you waste a lot of time, keep a log. How many times did you surf the Internet reading useless blogs (not mine), etc., that are not work-related? How many personal phone calls? How much time spent on personal errands, events, etc? How much time are you spending looking for a file on your computer? Keep track of every minute for a few days and be honest with yourself about how you’re spending work time.

Organize everything. Save hours a day by creating paper, computer, Inbox, etc., filing systems so you can find anything you need the instant you need it. Start with your clothes closet and purge the things you don’t need and put like items together by type and color. Use this same system for everything else that you organize, not necessarily by color, but by putting broad categories of items together. In a filing system, this could mean putting all of your marketing files together, accounting files together, etc. Get everyone to use the same logical systems so anyone can find anything anywhere in the office.

(Free templates are available at www.PeggyDuncan.com that will help you with all this and will save you hours of tedious work. My site views best in Internet Explorer.)

Set goals and prioritize. You have to determine what your goals are so you’ll know how you should spend your time. The easiest way to figure out what your priorities are is to stay focused on those things that make you the most money. On a job, it’s what’s laid out in your performance plan that’s connected to the size of your raise. In business, it’s whatever is bringing in the most revenue, whether it’s a particular set of clients, products, or services..

Streamline your processes. Get back weeks by not working the same way you always have. Spend time figuring out better ways to get everything done. Look at everything you’re doing, especially the most time-consuming, miserable, mundane work you have to do. Is the work necessary in the first place (not all of it is)? What steps are unnecessary? Is someone else doing it a different way and finishing faster and with fewer errors? Examine everything you’re doing, write it down, move steps around, and eliminate all wastage.

Computerize everything. Get work done in the time it will take you to blink. Technology you already have can perform magic, but few people have stopped long enough to seek training. If you learn how to use the software you touch every day, you’ll finish everything at least six times quicker. Either learn how your software works or hire a geek who already knows.

Delegate or outsource what you can. Once you’ve gotten organized and computerized, you’ll have a clearer picture of the work you do and how it should be done. Now you’ll be able to get someone else to do much of it and offer logical explanations of what you need (because now it makes more sense to you). Spend your time and mind on your core work and delegate or outsource everything else.

You might have to give up a weekend or two to get this done, but you’ll get all that time back and feel better every day going forward. And unlike dieting or exercising, the results from all these things are immediate!

Need training? Check out my Website for public productivity workshops, Webinars, computer classes, and information about hiring me as a speaker for your next event or for company training.

And my book, The Time Management Memory Jogger(TM), teaches everything I know about working smarter in a quick, easy read.

P.S. Here is an excellent article on motivating employees who are left behind after a layoff. And use the calculator in the right sidebar to determine how much free time you have after doing all the things that MUST be done.

PEACE.ggy Duncan, Personal Productivity Expert

Filed under: Business Growth, Marketing, Organizing, Personal Productivity | Comments

When I opened The Digital Breakthroughs Institute, a technology and productivity training center in Atlanta, Georgia, I decided that in addition to the Internet, TV would be one of the mediums I’d use to promote my classes throughout the metro area.

My first commercial will promote one of my workshops, Get Organized At Work. I’m advertising on Comcast Cable and will be able to spread 15- and 30-second spots over at least nine networks. With the help of my producer, here is what was involved in creating this commercial and getting it on the air.

1. Chose a problem and its solution. I didn’t want to promote The Digital Breakthroughs Institute (DBI) in general. I decided to focus on one problem that my workshop, Get Organized At Work, solves. Getting organized is crucial to helping the people left behind after layoffs who are trying to do the work of two or more people. It makes a difference because you can easily get back two or more hours every day and you see and feel the results immediately.
2. Determined the demographics of my ideal audience. Based on the attendance to my previous public workshops, I knew I’d need to appeal to working, professional women (and small business owners), aged 30-55, with higher than average incomes. (Men come to training also, but not as much as women.)
3. Developed narrative for the voice-over. To keep the voice-over to 15 seconds, I used a Web-based stop watch timer and repeated the words until I got it down to 13 seconds. I also did the same thing for a 30-second spot. Once that was set, the producer sent it to the voice talent for a quick turnaround.
4. Chose the music. I had a theme song created some time ago and use it to open some of my sessions at major conferences. This music was perfect because it’s upbeat, and I own the rights to it. I had to convert the music from the .wav format to .mp3 and that was easy with a free, basic version of Switch Plus Audio Converter.
5. Chose the photos. Powerful photos tell the story. With my producer’s help, we chose photos that blend perfectly with the spoken word. We bought photos from istockphoto.com because its copyright approves of photos being used in commercials.
6. Tweaked and tweaked. I’m very particular but my producer was terrific. She was so patient and agreed that the changes I was suggesting made for a better product (Kim Waymer McClure with Comcast, 404.725.6176, Kim_McClure  a/t Cable.Comcast.com).
7. Created a budget. You’ll have the most success with a TV ad if it runs all the time. I’ve allocated a monthly amount for airtime and will adjust it as needed.
8. Chose the networks and zones. With my budget, I can’t air the commercial on all the Comcast networks nor throughout the entire Metro Atlanta area. This decision was (and continues to be) the most painful because, while Comcast has all the information I need to make decisions on where to advertise, that information is spread over several documents. It was overwhelming for someone who doesn’t buy advertising for a living. I used Excel to streamline the data. The list of zones is listed in an Excel spreadsheet so I filtered the list so I’d only see the ones I’m interested in. Then I made a couple of extra columns and added more specific information about the demographics from a different Comcast form. With all the information more succinct and organized, I was able to make better decisions.
9. Created a special Website. This workshop is all about getting organized at work. I registered the domain and created a Wordpress blog specifically for this training (Wordpress training is offered at DBI). Check it out at www.GetOrganizedAtWork.com.
10. Converted video and posted online. The producer sent me the finished product in QuickTime format (.mov). I popped it into Movavi Video Converter and converted the file to .avi (Movavi is the one software I found that can convert video and keep the quality). Then I created a new project in Camtasia with the .avi file and edited the file to delete unwanted portions (that was for the TV station’s use only). After that, I rendered the file into the Flash format. (All this might sound like a lot of work, but it’s not when you already know how to do it. This only took me about 10 minutes.) See the commercial here on my YouTube TV channel.

The next step is to monitor the buzz. I’ll track the traffic to the blog Website using Google Analytics, and I’ll ask registrants how they heard about the training. All of this is a test, and I’ll try different things all the way to success.

Let me know if you see the spot on Atlanta TV, and let me know what you think about all this. And if you need help putting your commercial together, let me know.

Resources That Might Also Help

10 Essentials to an Effective TV Commercial

Create Your Own TV Ad – SpotMixer is a technology you can use to create your own TV ad. You’ll still have to do much of what I’ve mentioned above, and you’ll have to purchase a version of your ad that’s high enough quality for television. (We did not use this.)

How Come Your TV Commercials Aren’t Working

PEACE.

Filed under: Business Growth | Comments

My blog, Suite Minute, started out as a way to share my tips in the Microsoft Office suite. The name came from the notion that each post would take you a minute to read, a minute to try, but save you hours using. Its mission is to help you spend less time working but get more done. You can do that by working smarter and finishing faster.

Suite Minute has grown over the past three years, and last year, it was awarded Top Business Blog by FastPitchNetworking.com. My technology tips focus on improving your personal productivity (I’m a personal productivity expert and international conference speaker). I write about what I know, the way I work, problems I’ve solved, and products I actually use. A lot of my content comes from conversations with real people.

Here is a link to some posts you might have missed. Get comfortable and enjoy.

http://suiteminute.com/changes-i-made-to-my-blackberry-to-make-it-easier-to-use/

http://suiteminute.com/using-autoresponders-is-not-the-way-to-manage-email/

http://suiteminute.com/resize-a-bunch-of-photos-by-the-batch/

http://suiteminute.com/organize-your-receipts-before-tax-time/

http://suiteminute.com/are-you-wasting-time-at-work/

http://suiteminute.com/use-technology-to-protect-your-small-business-from-disaster/

http://suiteminute.com/president-obama-should-limit-his-blackberry-use-now-that-hes-survived-without-it/

PEACE.

Filed under: Business Growth | Comments

I saw a Feb 2007 article in CareerJournal (Wall Street Journal Website), and my mouth dropped open when I read the advice below. It is so wrong.

“Emails that don’t require an immediate reply can pile up as you respond to more urgent messages. To get them out of the way, send a quick reply to each with a canned message such as: “Thanks for writing. I’ll get back to you on this as soon as possible,” says Ana Weber, a controller at Binder Metal Products Inc., a Gardena, Calif., manufacturer, who is a part-time career and time-management coach. Then store them in a folder labeled “unread” as a reminder to attend to them later, she says.”

An autoresponder that pops back to every message people send you is on my list of 27 email pet peeves that I’ve collected. Coming from someone who teaches people how to manage email overload and addiction, has written a book about it, and travels nationally doing it, let me tell you…don’t do this.

An autoresponder like this does nothing but contribute to more email overload. You have not helped the writer, and you’ve piled up more work for yourself that you’ll probably forget about.

This is better.

• Keep the Inbox to one screen by not using it as a database, to do list, calendar, or tickler file.
• Get organized (paper, Inbox, and computer files) so you can find answers quickly.
• Use the best software (Outlook) and learn all its tips and tricks.
• Establish a routine that works for you (and the boss and co-workers).
• Get into a meeting with your Inbox and deal with each message as you open it.

For detailed help on managing email overload and addiction, check out my book, Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2003. For hands on training at your place or mine, visit The Digital Breakthroughs Institute.

Filed under: Business Growth | Comments

Improve messages you send
and reduce email overload.

For years, I’ve been helping people improve how they manage email. Whether they’re in my class or if they’ve sent me a message that needs improving, I’m always willing to offer my advice…whether they asked for it or not. I even wrote a book about it.

Every day, I receive at least one email message that makes me shake my head. If you improve your email habits, that will reduce your email overload.

My Top Three Email Pet Peeves

Here are my top three email pet peeves with a link to more. Pay attention to these, stop doing what you’re doing, and manage email better.

Reply to All to CYA (cover your butt). Stop sending to all if all do not have a need to know. You wanted to make sure you were covered so you’re sending everyone on a list your answer—whether they needed to know or not. Or you’re sending a message to everyone because you’re too lazy to select the appropriate recipients.

Don’t match subject lines to the message. Don’t pull up an old message, hit Reply, and send me a message that has nothing to do with the previous one. Suppose you sent an email message two months ago that said, “The monthly meeting has been cancelled.” You pulled up that old message because the email addresses were already in it. But this time, you wanted to let everyone know that coffee and donuts would be served at this month’s meeting. At the very least, change the subject line!

Send one-liners. You know those silly messages that say “Thanks.” You sent an email message to 25 people and 15 of them sent you a one-liner. Next time put “No Reply Necessary” at the top and at the bottom of your message. And when you send an email asking for something, add “Thanks in advance” so you won’t feel compelled to send a one-liner later.

Read the entire list of email pet peeves here on my Website.

PEACE.

Filed under: Communications, Outlook, Personal Productivity | Comments

Monday Breakthroughs

I recently recorded a coaching session/Webinar I had with two clients who wanted to get organized at work (that’s the number one way of creating more time). One is a small business owner (events planner) and the other in hotel sales. Clutter was taking over their lives and blocking them from reaching their full potential.

The next day, as I was listening to the recording, the idea hit me to create a video of this call and include the slides.

I considered different ways I could create this video and ended up doing it as follows.

Step One

The first thing I did was to edit the audio to a tight conversation that’s the right combination of my tips and how my clients understood them and will use them. Once that was perfected, I made a separate recording of my introduction to the video (the next time I do this, I’ll include this when I record the phone call).

Step Two

The next step was to save each slide in my PowerPoint presentation as pictures (here is a previous post I wrote on how to Save a PowerPoint Slide as a Picture). So now I have my audio and my PowerPoint slides in a format I can use. Next, I had to sync everything.

Step Three

I use Camtasia Studio. I created a new project and added both the audio files to the timeline. I also inserted all the slides into the Clip Bin as separate pictures. As I listened to the recording, I stopped every time I referenced a new slide. I’d then add the appropriate slide/picture to the timeline and adjust the recording to fit.

Step Four

Once I had the project the way I wanted it, I rendered it as a Flash video and uploaded it to Techsmith’s Website, Screencast.com.

Finished Resource

Now I have a product: Monday Breakthroughs. You’ll be able to view the full video/presentation/training at your convenience, then join me on the phone any Monday for live group coaching that’s only for Q&A. (In addition to the video and phone coaching, you’ll also receive my ebook, Get Organized At Work, and a set of free Word documents that make it easy to create a filing system and will save you hours of work.)

Here’s the trailer.

Get all the details and sign up right here.

I went from a coaching call to developing a new product using tools I already know. I spent one day developing this instead of outsourcing, waiting months, going back and forth until I could get exactly what I wanted, completely stressing out, and paying a ton of money.

My question to you: how can you take what you know and create products to sell while you sleep? Leave a comment with your ideas.

What’s Next?

I think my next project will cover how to improve your email habits and etiquette, and how to manage email overload using Outlook. I’ll keep you posted.

PEACE.

Filed under: Business Growth | Comments

I was recently interviewed by Geetesh Bajaj, a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP and administrator of the popular Website, Indezine. We reconnected at a recent PowerPoint conference and he was there during my keynote, Shameless Self Promotion. This interview is a result of that and I thought you might enjoy it.

The Interview

In this discussion, Peggy discusses her Shameless Self Promotion concept, and how it has a  PowerPoint angle.

Geetesh: Tell us more about what you mean by Shameless Self Promotion, and how it helps?

Peggy: At first glance, you might think I mean boasting to everyone who will listen about how wonderful you think you are. But I’m referring to promoting what you know, and doing it online, to boost your search engine rankings.

This whole notion started when I …read more here.

PEACE.

Filed under: Business Growth, Marketing, Social Media, Word-Excel-PowerPoint | Comments

I recently moved into an office building and opened a training center offering technology and productivity workshops for business professionals, The Digital Breakthroughs Institute (DBI). I have two perfectly-sized training rooms and a full kitchen. The decision to make this move was made easier when I figured out how I could use virtual technologies (that are either free or low cost) to communicate.

This office space is for training, not office staff. So instead of installing a wired telephone system, I opted to use Google Voice, the magicJack, and efax. Here is how all this works.

Google Voice

This is a free service from Google. With it, I have one number for all my phones, voicemail that I can either read in email or listen to, free US long distance, low rates on international calls, and many calling features.

My Google Voice number is the official phone number for DBI. When people call that number, my home office phone, BlackBerry, and magicJack numbers ring at the same time (you choose where you want the numbers to ring). I’ll pick up either one of them, depending on where I am. I don’t have to give out all numbers, nor do I have to remember to forward my home office number to my BlackBerry when I leave (I don’t give out my cell phone number). If I answer the phone in my home office and then need to change phones, I’ll press * and all phones will ring again. I’ll then answer a different one (e.g., answer via the BlackBerry so I can leave).

When I need a land line for a Webinar or radio interview, I’ll either work from the home office that day (I have unlimited long distance with Comcast) or the office next door.

Note: If you’re outside the U.S., here is an article on how you can access and use Google Voice. I don’t know if it works or not, but it sounds good.

magicJack

I couldn’t get my arms wrapped around the concept of the magicJack until I ordered it and used it. In this photo, the magicJack USB connector plugs right into the computer. A regular phone wire plugs into the other end. The other end of the phone wire plugs into a regular, analog telephone. The telephone does not plug into the wall, which is why no installation from a phone company is needed.

When I make a call, I open the magicJack software on my laptop, pick up the phone and dial any U.S. number as I normally would. Or I can dial from the magicJack software. Although the sound is better when I’m not on a wireless Internet connection, it’s more than clear enough for most phone calls. If I have a teleseminar or radio interview, I’ll conduct them in my home office on the land line.

eFax

I rarely receive or send faxes. I got rid of a separate fax line in my home office years ago and signed up for efax to get faxes via email. The free service offering is buried on their Website but I found it here, http://home.efax.com/s/r/efaxprint. This works great for me because I never exceed the free limit of receiving more than 20 pages a month.

When I need to send a fax, I do this from my home office using my Epson WorkForce 600 combo printer/fax/scan unit and regular home phone line.

Let me know what you think about all this and if you’ve come up with some ideas on how to save money in this economy but not let your business suffer.

PEACE.

Filed under: Communications, Telecommunications | Comments

Before uploading photos to sharing sites such as Flickr, take a few minutes to change the filename and use some of your keywords. This is a largely untapped way to boost your search engine rankings.

I had some great photos from a recent event (the grand opening of my new training facility, The Digital Breakthroughs Institute). Before uploading the photos to Flickr, I did a couple of things first.

Rename photos by the batch. I didn’t want to upload the photos using the weird names from the digital camera. Those filenames show up in the search engines so I wanted to use this opportunity to display my keywords. Here’s how to rename all your photos at once.

1. Find the photos you want to upload. Make this simpler by putting all the photos in one folder.
2. Click to select all the photos you want to rename.
3. Right-click on the first photo in the bunch, and click Rename.
4. Give this photo a good name, using your keywords. Press Enter when you’re finished. All the photos will have the same name, but will be numbered separately.

Resize the photos by the batch. If your files are huge and you need to resize them, don’t do it one photo at a time. Here is a blog post titled, Resize a Bunch of Photos by the Batch I wrote that gives instructions on how to do this (and read readers’ comments for more solutions).

Once the photos are uploaded, tag each one and add descriptions using more of your keywords. And make sure you add links to your Website in the Description field.

PEACE.

Filed under: Marketing, Publishing | Comments

A couple of nights ago, I had to switch to Plan B and conduct a Webinar using Slideshare.net. Fortunately, I wasn’t demonstrating computer tips and tricks, and all I needed to be able to do was show my slides. It worked great.

I uploaded my PowerPoint presentation, made them private, and sent an email to my attendees with the link.  To talk to everyone, I used a free teleconferencing service, FreeConferenceCalling.com. As I went through the presentation, I instructed the audience to advance to the next slide.

With the recession going strong, this was a great way to deliver valuable training to those who want and need it.

Note: I regularly conduct two Webinars online. Please visit my Website for dates and registration. They include “Manage Your Time with Outlook” and “Shameless Self-Promotion: Get Found Online.” Sponsored by The Digital Breakthroughs Institute. For information on various ways to get organized at work, click here.

PEACE.

Filed under: Communications, General Technology | Comments

You’ve heard all the talk and raves about social media. But you’re not the only one who hasn’t figured out how to make it work in business. This training will help you pull it all together.

The Social Media Bootcamp of Atlanta is a series of four classes you can take at your convenience. Hands-on with your laptop so you’ll leave each class with everything set up.

CLASSES INCLUDE

Blogging Bootcamp. Create a self-hosted Wordpress blog and optimize it for search engines.

Social Sessions. Learn how to use Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook to grow your fan base and business. If you’re not already using it, we’ll help you set them up and use them in class. If you’re already using it but haven’t done much with it, we’ll show you powerful, hidden features to take advantage of.

Shameless Self-Promotion. Learn how to do your own search engine optimization and public relations by promoting what you know using free Web 2.0 tools.

Create Marketing Collateral with PowerPoint. Build your brand using software you already have and use. Create Twitter and YouTube channel backgrounds and more.

Save $200 off registration by purchasing the SOCIAL MEDIA BOOTCAMP Series that includes four (4), all-day classes. You will have one year to complete the training from the date of purchase. Classes are regularly-scheduled so you can enroll at your convenience.

All classes taught at my training facility in Atlanta, The Digital Breakthroughs Institute, 1691 Phoenix Blvd, Suite 380. Located 5 minutes from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

PEACE.

Filed under: Business Growth, Social Media | Comments

I am excited to announce that I’ve been selected as a finalist for the 2009 Super Tuesday Awards scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, from 8:00AM – 4:00 PM at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue. My category is Creative Style which recognizes the female entrepreneur who has used the most creative techniques in sales, marketing, or advertising as a method to business growth.

The Atlanta Business League Super Tuesday Conference is a program designed to host business owners and professionals, especially women, from throughout the metro Atlanta community. The conference provides workshops and training for participants and recognizes African-American female business owners and professionals from all walks of life during an awards luncheon.

I’ll also share a few of my secrets in a condensed version of my Shameless Self-Promotion seminar at the event. This is an incredible opportunity to showcase my brand new training facility, The Digital Breakthroughs Institute (DBI). It’s the perfect audience that needs to find out about my productivity and computer training for small business owners and professionals.

The Atlanta Business League was established in 1933 as an affiliate of the National Business League which was founded by Dr. Booker T. Washington. Their mission is to provide economic empowerment and business development opportunities for minorities throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area with specific emphasis on the development of African-American businesses. More information is at www.AtlantaBusinessLeague.org.

Wish me luck!

PEACE.

Filed under: Marketing, Public Relations | Comments

The Digital Breakthroughs Institute
Opens in South Atlanta
to Provide Technology Training
for Small Business Owners

On September 1, 2009, I will announce the opening of my new training facility, The Digital Breakthroughs Institute (DBI). DBI’s mission is to provide hands-on, highly interactive workshops for small business owners who want to improve their technology skills and boost their productivity.

Located five minutes from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport at 1691 Phoenix Blvd, Suite 380, DBI is the only training facility of its kind on the south side.

The Digital Breakthroughs Institute boasts trainers who are experts with real-world skills, not theorists who have learned a script. Most classes last a full day. Training topics include:

• Wordpress Blogging Bootcamp.
• Social Media Bootcamp.
• Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization.
• Do-It-Yourself Public Relations (Shameless Self-Promotion).
• Time Management with Outlook.
• Create Marketing Collateral Using PowerPoint.
• Get Organized At Work.
• Time Management.
• With more being added.

For more information and to register for a class, visit www.DigitalBreakthroughs.com.

CHANCE TO WIN!
Enter for a chance to win a FREE class by taking our brief survey.

PEGGY DUNCAN’S MEETUP®
Join the Meetup.

THE DIGITAL BREAKTHROUGHS  TV CHANNEL
Join Digital Breakthroughs TV, for computer tips and tricks.

JOIN OUR FACEBOOK FAN CLUB

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Special discounts announced only on Twitter.

Tell some people!

PEACE.

Filed under: Business Growth | Comments

I was standing in line the other day and struck up a conversation with a woman behind me. I lost interest in the conversation very quickly because she couldn’t keep her eyes off of her BlackBerry (another post for another day). I asked her which model she had and when she held it up, I noticed that she had close to 2,000 old messages! OMG!

Are you leaving old messages in your BlackBerry because you don’t want to delete each one, one at a time? You don’t have to. Here’s how a couple of clicks can get you to a clean slate.

I don’t try to manage my life on a phone. I do my serious email stuff when I’m back at my laptop in Outlook. I  use the BlackBerry to monitor email in case something critical comes through while I’m out and about. Once I review all messages and answer only the ones that need an immediate response (e.g., a journalist on a deadline), I delete all messages in the Inbox at once.

1. Type t to go to the top of the message list.
2. Select topmost date, click Menu button, Delete Prior, Delete. All messages prior to the date I selected will be deleted. Because I want all messages deleted, I selected the topmost date.

I can delete everything because my email messages are not synched with Outlook and they’ll come to my Inbox when I’m back on my laptop (if you’re not on a server, email messages can’t be synched). You can also delete one message at a time by selecting it and DEL.

It’s a good idea to also get rid of the Confirm Delete. To do this, click to open Messages, click the Menu button, scroll Options, General Options.

For more of my BlackBerry tips and tricks, see a previous post “Changes I Made to My BlackBerry to Make It Easier to Use.”

PEACE.

Filed under: Communications, Telecommunications | Comments

A colleague had the misfortune of a home break-in. The thieves made off with three of his prized possessions: a new, old, and somebody else’s laptop. That hurt.

I take extra precautions to protect my laptop because I run my entire business on it. I take care in backing up all my important data online, it’s never out of my sight when I travel, it’s password-protected, and I recently bought a subscription to Computrace® LoJack® for Laptops by Absolute® Software.

This software “tracks, locates, and recovers stolen computers while providing you with the ability to protect your personal information from identify theft,” as stated on their Website. If my laptop is ever stolen, I’ll let them know, and the software goes to work tracking its location.

To password-protect a PC or laptop, click Start, Control Panel, double-click User Accounts. You should see where to create a password (make it memorable but hard to guess…no children’s names, the word “password,” etc.).

I hope I never need this protection, but I sleep better at night knowing it’s in place.

PEACE.

Filed under: Data Backup, Filing, General Technology | Comments

UPDATE: I’ll be back on CNN this Thursday, July 30th with Rick Sanchez around 3:30PM…related healthcare topic.

I don’t usually get into personal issues on my blog, but this topic on healthcare reform for people with pre-existing conditions hit home. I ended up on CNN talking about it, and since I have other articles here about how media opportunities come my way all the time, this story fits.

Yes. I am totally with President Obama on healthcare reform and wish the naysayers would stop whining and screaming so we can get this done. I want the food industry to make food healthier and stop putting salt, sugar,  steroids, and other junk in our food. I want individuals to get more serious about the food, drink, and abusive substances they put in their bodies. I want a national movement of people walking and exercising. And I want all companies in the healthcare industry and our government to examine every process, procedure, and technology solution, from the mailroom to the boardroom, so they operate more efficiently.

How This Started

I tweeted the other day because I was mad when I happened to turn on the TV and listened to people with $40 million dollar salaries talk about there being no need for a public option for healthcare for regular people like me.

Here’s the tweet that started all this. I don’t usually use curse words, but oops.

15 years since pre-existing condition and Kaiser still tells me no. I can pay for insurance and can’t get it. Damn right I want reform.

Later, I tweeted this:

My President is trying to get insurance for me. First thing out of Bill OReillys $40million mouth is that it’s rhetoric.

Well, little did I know that CNN was looking for regular, ordinary, hard-working Americans to interview who are in my situation. They called, and I didn’t hesitate. Well, I did a little bit. I don’t usually discuss my personal life outside my immediate family. People who have been knowing me for years had no idea that I’m a breast cancer survivor. The 15 years in the tweet was where I was the last time Kaiser turned me down. That was two years ago, so now I’m a 17-year survivor.

I was glad I’d decided to do the show when I received this tweet from a follower:

Serious Q because of what you do -like me-don’t you pay for your own ins? Then why do “we” need the GOV to do it for you or me?

This was my response to her. I didn’t hear back.

The gov won’t pay all for people like me who can afford it. I want to pay but I have a pre-existing condition and am denied.

Obtaining viable health insurance is not like going to the store with money and picking out what you need and getting it. Once you’ve had the audacity to get sick, you’re too much of a risk for the insurance companies, and having the money to pay the premiums won’t matter.

Join the conversation on CNN’s site.
Check out all
the active comments.

PEACE.

Filed under: Public Relations, Social Media | Comments

Boost your search engine
rankings with a blog.

With over 72 percent of people finding what they need online, you must get found. A blog offers the following benefits.

Share your expertise. A business blog gives you a platform to promote what you know and establish yourself as an expert in the marketplace.

Describe and build your brand. Your brand represents what people know about you or think of when they hear of you. Focusing your blog on your expertise will help promote your brand.

Boost search engine rankings. As you continue to offer tips, insight, and advice to people who need what you have, you’ll give the search engines what they crave – fresh, quality content.

Reach the masses with less effort and money. Search engines, links from other sites, integration with social media tools, and Google Alerts are just a few of the ways a blog can help you reach people you never would have otherwise. You could start to attract potential customers, clients, journalists, and industry giants seeking fresh ideas.

If you need more convincing why blogging is so important, you have got to read this article from Anita Campbell’s Small Business Trends blog, “42 Million U.S. Women Use Social Media: Blogs Most Influential.”

“But I’ve heard blogs are free and
easy to set up. Why do I need training?”

Yes, it’s true. You can easily create a simple blog at sites such as Blogger from Google. But if you want to become a serious blogger and take advantage of customized designs and plug-ins that will boost your search engine rankings and virability, you’ll want our advice and training. You’ll want a self-hosted WordPress blog with powerful functionality that makes it easy to share and get others to promote.

With a self-hosted blog, you will:

• Have complete control over design, functionality, and virability.
• Be able to add any number of the thousands of free plugins that make your blog easy to share and promote, thus boosting your search engine rankings.
• Host your own content and easily move it from one host to another if you ever need to.
• Easily create full backups of all files.
• Be able to monetize it by selling your own products.
• Upload as much content as your hosting package will allow.

Attract new business and the media
like a magnet!

Here is a previous post I wrote that will convince you to start with a professional, self-hosted WordPress blog so you won’t have to backtrack later and change it. A few months later, my blog won Top Business Blog from FastPitchNetworking.com.

“I have a newsletter that I email regularly.
Why do I need a blog?”

It’s a good idea to collect email addresses and send your subscribers valuable information regularly. But if that’s all you’re doing, how will Google and other search engines know? The only people seeing your newsletter are your subscribers. When you add your expertise to a blog, it’ll get picked up by the search engines and exposed to the world! So do both.

Google will be the first to tell you that you don’t have to pay them to get found online.  In the Blogging Bootcamp, we’re going to walk you through what they suggest you do, plus some more of what we’ve learned along the way.

PEACE.

Filed under: Public Relations, Social Media | Comments

In a recent post, I gave step-by-step instructions on how to create a customized Twitter background using PowerPoint and included some how to videos I made using Camtasia. If you have a YouTube channel, you can use the same methods explained in these videos to create a customized background (the skin) for it.

Resize PowerPoint Slide First, Then Design It

In the Part I video, you’ll see in Step 1 that it’s necessary to resize a PowerPoint landscape slide. For my YouTube channel, I changed the slide to Portrait and resized it to 15 inches width and 24 inches height.

To learn how to design the PowerPoint slide, watch the Twitter videos because the same techniques apply.

Add Your Graphic to Your YouTube Channel Background

Once you’re satisfied with your PowerPoint design, sign in to your YouTube Channel account (if you don’t have a channel, create an account and upload videos…it’s that easy).

1. Click Themes and Colors.
2. Click one of the color schemes provided by YouTube that matches your design.
3. Add your customized graphic to the background by clicking New Theme.
4. Under Background Image, Browse to find/add your design. (To tweak, Delete and Browse again to add until you’re satisfied.)

Customize YouTube Settings
When you visit my YouTube channel, you’ll see some additional customization such as “About Me.” If you want to customize what your visitors see even more, click Account (top, right of screen), Customize Homepage. Click through the other options and make desired changes.

Step-by-Step Videos are also on my YouTube channel, DigitalBreakThroughs (click to see all).

Don’t Have a YouTube Channel?

For video instructions on how to create a YouTube channel, click here, a lesson from Butterscotch.com.

PEACE.

Filed under: Social Media | Comments

In a previous post, I explained how I use PowerPoint for all of my graphics projects. A designer will laugh at this because they probably use software such as PhotoShop to handle complex projects. Well, I don’t know PhotoShop well enough to whip out something fast, but I know just about everything that PowerPoint can do. And for the types of projects I have, I’ve figured out how to get them done fast using this software I already have.

My latest project consisted of changing my Twitter background for my main account, and another one here @ digitalbreaks. PowerPoint gives me total control of customization.

Here’s how I did it.

Ready PowerPoint for Your Design

1. Decide on your color scheme, matching your Website, blog, etc. (or not), and sketch out a rough design. (Here are some charts that show you Web colors that match.)
2. In PowerPoint, resize a landscape slide to 20” Width and 12.5 inches Height (click the File menu, Page Setup). Depending on your monitor and resolution, you may have to reduce the Zoom level in order to see more of your slide. Both monitors are set at resolution 1280 by 720 pixels.
3. Either from Slide Master view or directly on the slide, change the color of your background. Make it more interesting by using two colors and experimenting with Shading styles (click the Format menu, Background, down arrow to Fill Effects, Two colors (then click the down arrow and choose colors). Try the different Shading styles. My @peggyduncan Twitter background is a dark blue and white with the Shading style, From title.

Here’s a Video – Part 1
(Rate and Comment please. Subscribe to my channel for updates.)

Place Your Graphics and Customize Your Design

1. Display the ruler (click the View menu, Ruler).
2. To place graphics on your slide, first set your Zoom level at 50%. The zero (0) marks the center of your slide. Using the ruler as your guide, to the left, place your graphics between 0-8.5. On the right, place them between 4.5 and 6.5.
3. Use guides and a grid to help you line everything up (View, Grids and Guides, Display drawing guides on screen, Display grid on screen.
4. Create more guides by hovering your mouse over one and dragging while holding down the  Ctrl key. When you’re finished and don’t need as many guides, click and drag some of them off the screen.
5. Add any other drawing elements and graphics you want (the higher the resolution the better). Add text using a text box so it will be easier to move around (located on the Drawing toolbar. Click the Tools menu, Toolbars, Drawing).
6. Save the slide as a PNG (click the File menu and change Save as type to PNG Portable Network Graphics Format, Current Slide Only). The final filesize can not be larger than 800k for Twitter. If you need to resize any photos (but maintain the quality), read my previous post, Resize a Bunch of Photos by the Batch.

It’s important to note that when you save your slide as a graphic, it’ll only be 96dpi. This might be good enough for your design but if it’s not as sharp as you want, check out Image Exporter from the PPTools Website. This is the software I use when I need to save my PowerPoint slides in higher resolution (about $30.00 and worth every dime), especially when I need to print them.

Here’s a Video – Part 2
Here’s a Video – Part 2.5

Add Design to Twitter as Background

Once you’re satisfied with your PowerPoint design, sign into your Twitter account.

1. Click Settings, Design tab.
2. Under the default theme, click Change background image, Browse to find your graphic, double-click it.
3. Untick the tile background box (so design won’t repeat itself when viewing using different monitor resolutions), Save changes.

Tweaking It Until It’s Right

You will probably have to tweak your PowerPoint design several times and resave until you get it just the way you want it. I use two monitors: one on my laptop and a second 22?, with both set at resolution 1280 by 720 pixels. The designs looked different on both so I tweaked it as much as I could so it would look great both ways. You have no control over other people’s monitor resolutions so just do this to your satisfaction. A huge advantage of doing this in PowerPoint is that tweaking is so easy.

Now change the default colors in Twitter such as the sidebar background color, text, and links.

1. Go back into Settings, Design tab, Change design colors.
2. You may want to change the text, links, sidebar, and sidebar border, keeping everything color-coordinated with your new design.
3. Click the sidebar block to select it. Now use your mouse to click desired color in the box and use the sliding bar next to it to hone in on the exact color you want. When you’re satisfied, click Done.
4. Repeat Step 3 for each color block until you’re satisfied and click Save Changes.

Here’s a Video – Part 3

After you’ve created your new background, leave a comment and link so I can check it out.

Filed under: Social Media, Word-Excel-PowerPoint | Comments

When I got back to my office after a few conferences, I started reviewing some of the business cards I’d collected. I kept noticing the same, common missteps business owners continue to make. Here are a few:

1. No email address.
2. Email address is illogical, hard to spell, impossible to remember, hard to type, hard to read.
3. @yahoo.com, @aol.com, @anybodybutyourownURL.com.
4. No physical address.
5. Cheap paper.
6. Type is too small to read without a magnifying glass.
7. Background is too wild and text impossible to read.
8. Design is pitiful and ignores all the rules (e.g., font too fancy for type of business).
9. Unnecessary words such as “email” before the email address, “Website” before the URL.
10. Coating on both sides that makes it impossible to take notes on.
11. Vanity phone numbers such as 400-488-PHONE (not a real number). Don’t make me have to work to call you. Please also include the actual numbers.
12. Crazy, wild designs that make it impossible to scan.

Your business card is part of your marketing team, and it needs to be dressed and looking like you mean business. Take a look at yours. Are changes needed?

PEACE.

See Also
Does Your Business Card Say You Mean Business?

Filed under: Marketing | Comments

I just switched to Comcast for high-speed Internet. I want all of my computers to have wireless access so instead of leasing a wireless router from Comcast, I stopped by Best Buy and picked up the Linksys® N Ultra Range Plus by Cisco. It’s a slick-looking unit that resembles something from outer space. I was expecting sticker shock but it was only $100 bucks.

I’m a computer trainer and not a hardware person so I was a little skeptical about installing this router myself. I popped in the installation disk and was amazed at how simple it was. It walked me right through it with great pictures too.

My next step is to share printers and files. I’ll set that up and let you know how it goes.

So if you’ve been thinking about going wireless in your home office, there’s no need to wait any longer.

Note: Some Amazon reviews mentioned this product overheating so I stood it up on one side instead of leaving flat.

PEACE.

Filed under: General Technology | Comments

I’ve discovered that just about anything I dread doing, there is some type of technology that will do it for me. Doing something with the photos on my digital camera was one of those projects I needed to simplify.

I found some inexpensive software ($10.00) that makes resizing photos quick and easy. It’s called Digital Photo Resizer (DPR) at www.icegiant.com. There are probably other products out there, but this is the one I found and like.

The software is intuitive in most cases, but I do want to point out the following.

Input Image Folder. If your photos are on a CD/DVD, create a folder on your Desktop (or anywhere) and move the files there. You’ll Browse to this folder when you start.

Autoset Output Image Folders. If you want your images to stay with the folder you created, tick this box. If you don’t, leave it unticked and Browse to find the folder you want to save the resized pictures to. It’s not obvious, but your photos will be resized into the folder you specify, but they will land inside a subfolder named “out.” (I keep all my photos together.)

Resize to. I usually choose the Resize To 438 Height option because I’ve played around with sizing and this usually works for what I’m doing. (It’s a good idea to crop the photos before you resize them. You’ll have to do this outside of DPR.)

Generate/Zip File. Explore this feature for different options for your final output. If you need to zip your photos before you email them, load them and click Generate to open the Package Photos dialog box, Create Zip File. Other options in the Package Photos dialog box include Create Screen Saver, Create Slide Show EXE, and Create Photo Website.

Finally, anytime you have a project you dread doing, look for a better, slicker way to do it. Find other free or inexpensive software downloads at www.snapfiles.com.

Note: If the photos you’re using are on a PowerPoint slide, click a picture to select it. The Picture toolbar will appear. Click the Compress Pictures toolbar button and follow the instructions to resize all or some of your pictures.

PEACE.

Peggy Duncan, Personal Productivity Expert

Filed under: Data Backup, Filing, General Technology | Comments

If you want to tweet from your BlackBerry and you can do so without being disrespectful of the people you’re with or without becoming distracted from your family or something else more important, here’s how.

The following steps require you to download software from your BlackBerry.

1. Open the Browser on your BlackBerry’s homescreen.
2. Type the shortcut, G, for the Go To screen to appear. Type the URL orangatame.com/products/twitterberry/ and click the trackball to enter.
3. Go to bottom of Web page and click to Download the software.
4. Once the software is loaded, you’ll click to give your Twitter account and your BlackBerry access to each other.
5. Add your Twitter username and password to TwitterBerry.

When you’re ready to tweet, open Twitterberry and type your message. When you’re finished typing, click the Menu button, Update. You should see a Success notice.

If you press the Menu button with Twitterberry open, you’ll see some different options such as Friends Timeline, which allows you to keep up with what your friends are doing. You can Get Replies, check Direct Messages, and more. (Once you click any option, give it a few seconds to load the results.)

PEACE.

See Also
Changes I Made to My BlackBerry to Make It Easier to Use

Filed under: Social Media, Telecommunications | Comments

Create a self-hosted WordPress blog, implement search engine optimization techniques, and start getting free publicity that attracts the media and new business to you like a magnet!

Description
This is a full-day workshop that’s hands-on with your laptop. Learn from experts how to build a professionally-designed, self-hosted WordPress blog from scratch and optimize it (and your Web site) for search engines. You’ll also learn how to use other no- to low-cost tips and strategies for getting found online, including social media.

Dates & Time

See Website for details.

Prerequisites
Easy pre-work (e.g., register a domain) is required for this training and full details are on the official Website, www.DigitalBreakThroughs.com.

Who Should Attend?
The workshop is designed for small business owners, non-profits, virtual assistants, and anyone else who needs to build an online presence and get found. You must be computer savvy.

Your Trainers
Part I. Peggy Duncan will teach you how she started her blog from scratch, maintains it with fresh content, and what she does to keep her top position in Google’s organic search results. She is a personal productivity expert and author of six books on organization, time management, and technology tips, tricks, and strategies. Peggy travels internationally helping busy people spend less time working but get more done. She is an award-winning blogger, and her technology blog was recently selected the Top Business Blog by Fast Pitch! Visit Peggy online at www.PeggyDuncan.com and also enjoy tips in her award-winning technology blog, www.SuiteMinute.com.

Part II. JB Brathwaite will teach you how to build a professional WordPress blog from scratch and enhance it with some of the most popular plug-ins that will increase its functionality. He is an Internet strategist, WordPress blogging expert, and Peggy’s teacher. He’ll work with you to build your self-hosted blog from scratch or will take what you already have to another level with more functionality. Visit JB online at www.DentistSOS.com and www.2TheNextLevel.com.

Get Details and Register Here TODAY!
www.DigitalBreakThroughs.com
Space is Limited to 10 Participants

SPONSORED BY

Filed under: Marketing, Social Media | Comments