If It’s Not Hands-On Training, It’s Not a Workshop

I was about to register for an event the other day because it was described as a workshop. Before I clicked PAY, I sent the coordinator an email for clarification. “Is this a workshop with hands-on activities or a seminar with a talking head in lecture format?” Turns out, it was a seminar.

I’m seeing this too often…event producers using words interchangeably when their meanings are completely different.  You should take care in choosing the right definition for your event because participants in the know will expect a certain experience based on your description.

If you sign up for an event that’s described as one thing and it turns out to be something else, get your money back. Hope the definitions below help.

Conference can be a mixture of seminars, panels, and workshops usually based on a theme and separated into tracks to appeal to different skill sets and interests.

Congress is very similar to a conference, but with more formality featuring delegates or representatives.

Seminar is a meeting on a specific subject or educational class in a lecture/talking head format.

Summit is a conference or meeting of high-level leaders, usually called to shape a program of action.

Symposium is typically a more formal or academic gathering with multiple experts who present on a particular topic.

Workshop will consist of some type of hands-on application to whatever is being taught, either individually or as a group.

Be careful when you choose the verbiage to describe your event. If it’s not as described, I want a refund.

PEACE.

National Shameless Promotion Month is September and We’re Celebrating With Training

Shameless Self-Promotion Event - Training in Atlanta with Experts

Stop Complaining About Email and Learn to Love It

Email gets a bum rap. People complain about it all the time. It’s not email that’s the problem, but rather bad email habits and management. Think about all the good it does and the time it saves.

I cannot imagine managing my time or my life without the wonders of email. How do you feel about it? I hear a lot of bum statements about it. The next time you complain about email, think about where you’d be without it. It has many benefits such as the following.

  • Eliminates phone tag. You can say everything you need to say in an email message and not have to worry about someone leaving out important details.
  • Reaches volumes of people quickly. Everyone will get the same message and be on the same page.
  • Establishes a “paper” trail. No need to worry about recipients having convenient amnesia. You have the proof in writing.
  • Connects it with your calendar, tasks, and contacts. Move a message from the Inbox to where it needs to be with a click of a button or the flick of the mouse.

I Love Email

Reduce the Load with Better Management
If email overload is a problem, reduce the load. Get into a meeting with your Inbox, clean it out, send people what they need, and move the messages to where they need to be.

  • Eliminate junk email so you’re only managing legitimate mail.
  • Redirect messages with rules based on content, origin, and importance.
  • Categorize messages and view them in batches with one click.
  • Remember to do the work using flags, Tasks, and the Calendar.
  • File the ones you need to keep. Clean out that mess that’s already there. Stop using your Inbox for long-term storage and keep it to one screen.

Your Inbox is not a to do list for unfinished work, tickler file that reminds you of work, calendar with meeting notices and reminders, database for addresses and phone numbers, or filing system for unfinished projects.

Improve Your Email Culture with Better Habits
Developing better email habits will help improve email management. Avoid doing the following.

  • Sending or responding to all when all do not need to know.
  • Trying to solve complex issues instead of picking up the phone.
  • Not matching the subject line to the message. I should know exactly what your message is about by looking at the subject line. Would you send a letter on your company letterhead that reads RE: ABC and then proceed to discuss DEF?
  • Sending one word email replies that say “thanks.” Thank them in advance when you send the initial request.

Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2007Don’t Just Upgrade Your Software: Learn How to Use It Too
Training is the first thing to go when the economy dips when it should be expanded. You’ll work more efficiently and make fewer mistakes. Without the proper training, you’re taking hours to do something you can finish before you blink.

Change your habits, your culture, and how you manage email and learn to love it more every day.

Want Training?
Download my
brochure.

PEACE.

Do Sporting Events Cause a Dip in Productivity in the Workplace?

Sporting News reported that heavy sports enthusiasts spend on average over 31 hours a week following sports. Amazing.

If you’re getting caught up in the activities of all the sporting events that are going on, remember that the work still has to get done. If you know you’re going to work less until it’s over, you’ll have to do whatever it takes to meet your deadlines, much like you do when you’re going on vacation.

Will there be a dip in productivity through all this? It depends.

  • Slackers will use this as an excuse to do less work. If they’re surfing the net, talking sports all day, handling personal business now, they’ll just do more of it next week.
  • Conscientious employees will continue to meet goals, beat deadlines, and service the customer.

If you, as the boss or owner, are also getting caught up in it, people will do what they see you do. If you’re going to require less of them through all this, you should require more from them in advance.

Note: See this blog entry for more information on how people waste time at work.

PEACE.

Dialing an Extension to a Phone Number on Your PDA

To add an extension to a phone number and have it work when synched to your PDA, you might have to try several methods to find out what works. Try in the following order and test it. I’m using Outlook 2007.

In Outlook inside one of your contacts that has an extension (or do this directly on your PDA):

  • Add a space after the number, type ext., add a space, then type the extension (e.g., 404-000-0000 ext. 22).
  • Add a space after the number, type x, then type the extension (e.g., 404-000-0000 x22).
  • Type two or three commas after the number, then type the extension without a space (e.g., 404-000-0000,,,22). The commas tell the system to pause before dialing the extension. Each comma represents a second. This is possibly the best method to use if you’re using the Windows Dialer and dialing directly from Outlook.

To test this, synch Outlook (if you didn’t make this change directly on your PDA). Click to call the contact from your PDA. Once the system answers, it’ll be interrupted and the extension will be dialed. Try each method until you find the one that works for you. I use the first and second methods with Outlook synched with my BlackBerry, and they work perfectly.

My New Book Is Here! Learn Outlook 2007

Hey Everybody, Conquer Email Overload with Outlook 2007 is here! Check out my video and click here for training. Don’t just upgrade – learn how to use it too!

PEACE.

BOOK TOUR – Don’t Just Upgrade to Outlook 2007: Learn How to Use It Too!

Call to Schedule Training

Now that you’ve invested in this powerful software, let it help you work smarter…learn how to use it. I’m ready to do a book tour that will include training. Whether it’s a brown bag during lunch or after hours, a Webinar, a seminar, or a hands-on workshop, you’ll enjoy learning Outlook from a time management expert’s perspective instead of just learning the different command. See this previous post to see what I mean.

To accommodate busy schedules and these tough economic times, training is available to fit any budget and can be arranged to fit any schedule. All links and details are on the Web at www.DigitalBreakthroughs.com/LearnOutlook.htm.

I read those 600-lb computer books and pull out the best tips and tricks….explained in plain English and delivers with pizzazz!

  • Buy the book. My new book is packed with Outlook tips and tricks and is written as if I’m helping you right at your desk. Check out the table of contents for Conquer Email Overload with Outlook 2007.
  • Schedule a brown bag at your office (or ours). If your organization has the space for a brown bag, it’s easy to schedule during lunch or after hours. If you don’t have space, use ours. Book purchase requested.
  • Attend Webinar. Attend a low-cost, high value Webinar most Mondays from 1:30PM-2:30PM Eastern.
  • Attend Full Day Workshop at our office. Outlook training is scheduled regularly at The Digital Breakthroughs Institute. Training includes copy of book.
  • Bring me to your location. I’m traveling internationally so don’t hesitate to ask.

Stop right now and schedule a brown bag, a Webinar, or a hands-on workshop. Visit www.DigitalBreakthroughs.com/LearnOutlook.htm for more information or call 404-492-8197.

PEACE.

Use Outlook Contacts for More Than Just Names and Addresses, etc.

Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2007You can use Outlook Contacts for more than just contact information of people you know or meet. I use them for all kinds of things because it’s so convenient to get to (I live in Outlook). I use the notes block on the contact page to store information. I give each “contact” a logical name and locate it quickly by typing in the Find a Contact box.

Here are some examples.

Blog This. As I think of things to write about (or run across ideas on the Net, magazines, etc.), I add information on various topics in the notes block of this contact. I use two monitors so when I see something on the Net to blog about, I copy and paste the URL to the text area. If it’s something I need to remind myself of, Ctrl+Shift+G to flag the contact. I assigned this contact to my Outlook “Reminder” category.

Airlines. I have the major airlines that I fly listed, along with their phone numbers, URLs, my frequent flyer numbers, and airport codes in this contact. I assigned this contact to the “Vendor” category.
Affiliates. I’ve signed up for various affiliate programs on the Web, and all the information on each one is kept in one place in this contact. Everything is in alphabetical order. I assigned this contact to the “Vendor” category.
Personal. This is a running list of all my passwords/IDs I use on various Websites. I’ve written enough of each password so I know immediately which one I used. Everything is in alphabetical order (I can also press F4 to Find). I assigned this contact to the “Personal” category.
Laptop. This contact lists all kinds of things associated with my laptop. I have the order number/date of purchase, service code/tag (because HP will ask me this if I call them); the date my warranty expires, and case number with notes anytime I have to call them. I assigned this contact to the “Vendor” category.

These are just a few examples. If you have miscellaneous information you have to keep track of, consider making it one of your contacts and it’ll always be at your fingertips (and synched to your PDA).

Note: Outlook Notes work well too. They can be organized and categorized for easy access.

PEACE.

Peggy Duncan, personal productivity expert

Video Email Made Easy – Part II

In my last post, Video Email is a Lot Easier and More Affordable Than You Might Think, I told you about a new product I’m using, Eyejot. (Also see update to this post below.)

Eyejot video email doesn’t stream live in your email client unless it supports  HTML5’s new <video> tag  (as on the iPad). An image of your video is embedded in the message, and when the recipient clicks the image, the video immediately plays on the Eyejot side. This presented a dilemma for me because I don’t want my email list anywhere but on iContact. Their technology allows people to unsubscribe or subscribe, and everything stays up to date.

iContact will not allow me to paste the code of the video into the body of a message. Consequently, I had to figure out how to use iContact to send a message to my email list, but make it look like the Eyejot email (important because the Eyejot email image makes it obvious that a video will play when clicked).

I reached into my bag of tricks and here’s what I did.

After I recorded my video on Eyejot.com, I sent the email to myself. After I opened it in Outlook, I printed the screen to capture the image (on my HP laptop, I have to hold down the fn key and prt sc). After that, I pasted that image into PowerPoint (Ctrl+V) and cropped it to get rid of all the excess Eyejot stuff. I wanted to make it a little more funky so I changed the background of my PowerPoint slide and added some graphic elements with shapes, shadows, and text. I put the cropped Eyejot image in the middle, and created a high res jpg of the whole thing (you can save a PowerPoint slide as a jpg. I have software (Image Exporter) that allows me to save it in higher resolution than native PowerPoint. See my previous post, Save PowerPoint Slide as a High Resolution Picture.

One thing I noticed in the video is a wind sound. I know it’s not caused by my USB microphone system by Samson because when I record using Camtasia, the sound is crystal clear. If I find out why, I’ll update this post.

Now I have a colorful image that represents my Eyejot video email. To send it to my email list, I popped over to iContact, created a new message, inserted my new image into the body and hyperlinked it to the actual video on the Eyejot Web site. I typed some introductory text after the image (iContact doesn’t want you to send an image with no text. I added the text after the image because I want recipients to focus on the image and click it). Everything worked beautifully.

I hope all this makes sense. I’ll leave a comment on this post after I actually use it. I’m curious to see if I’ll get more click-throughs on my next email blast.

Note: I also saved the PowerPoint slide as a template so next time, all I’ll need to do is capture the Eyejot image, crop it, and paste it into a copy of the template.

If you have comparable solutions (as affordable too), please leave a comment and let us know.

Update July 10 2010. I realized that when people get to the EyeJot site to view the video, there is really nothing else for them to do. So now I link my videos to my YouTube channel where I’ve uploaded several training and marketing videos. That’s the way to go. http://www.youtube.com/digitalbreakthroughs

PEACE.


Video Email is a Lot Easier and More Affordable Than You Might Think

Video email is hot and I’ve joined in. The video below is my first one. I’m promoting a free seminar I’m giving that’s hosted by DeKalb County’s Contract Compliance Office (Georgia, Metro Atlanta). It’s a lunch ‘n learn and details and registration are at MayBrownBag.eventbrite.com. The topic is Shameless Self Promotion: Do-It-Yourself Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

First, what is EyeJot? From their Web site: “Eyejot is the first, comprehensive, client-free online video messaging platform ideal for both personal and business communications. It offers everyone the ability to create and receive video messages in a self-contained, spam-free environment. With no client to install, you can start using Eyejot immediately with any browser, on any platform. It even features built-in support for iTunes™ (and iPods™), mobile devices and social networks…”

I used the free version of EyeJot to produce the video below. I’m digging it. and have already signed up for the Pro Plus™ version (a year for $99.00). The Eyejot Pro™ version would have been fine, but I wanted to be able to customize the skin (they know how to get your money don’t they?). I’ll play with the skin later and update this post when I finish.

Eyejot is super easy to use.  The only problem I had getting started was that no sound was coming from the recordings. I’d checked the settings for my microphone (you’ll see how inside), and everything looked fine. Only when I rebooted my computer did the sound come through crystal clear (I have an incredible USB microphone system by Samson.)

The video isn’t embedded in the email, but it’ll look like it is to the recipient. When it’s clicked, the user is taken to Eyejot’s Web site immediately…no software to install.

Eyejot can tell their story a lot better than I can so click the link and check them out.

Do you think you’ll pay more attention to an email message with video? Are you using technology that’s comparable to this? Please leave a comment and let me know.

My next blog post will share a creative way I worked with this video to send it out to my email list using iContact (the way I normally do) instead of uploading my email addresses to Eyejot. iContact keeps my email list up to date, and I was not about to have it in more than one place. And when I couldn’t embed the video code into a message on the iContact side, I had to reach deep down into my bag of tricks for a solution (it involves PowerPoint).

Update July 10 2010. I realized that when people get to the EyeJot site to view the video, there is really nothing else for them to do. So now I link my videos to my YouTube channel where I’ve uploaded several training and marketing videos. That’s the way to go. http://www.youtube.com/digitalbreakthroughs

PEACE.

Use Software You Already Have Instead of Buying More

I wanted to create a postcard-size announcement about my new book, Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2007. As usual, PowerPoint was the answer. I first resized the PowerPoint slide, changed the background, and added my art elements and text. Then with one of my favorite applications, Image Exporter, I was able to save the slide in a higher resolution jpg than native PowerPoint can produce.

Once the announcement was in jpg format , I popped over to iContact, created a new message, and inserted the jpg. Then I hyperlinked it to the Webpage I want you to click to.

Peggy Duncan's Outlook 2007 book

Note: Below are links to other articles in my blog that will help you do something like this (with videos).

The moral of this story is that you can use software you already have to get the job done with ease. All you have to do is learn how to use it.

PEACE.

Self-Publishing a Book? Here Are Some Things You Should Know

Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2007I’m writing (and am about to self-publish) my 6th book (my latest book, The Time Management Memory Jogger, wasn’t self-published). I should have written this book well over a year ago, but I didn’t. It’s for the 2007 version of Outlook, and I had little incentive to become a hermit and write because most people who contacted me about training were still using 2003.

But lately that’s changing. When my 2003 book stopped selling, I knew it was time to write.  And as soon as I finish this one, I’ll have to start on the 2010 version.

If you think you have a book in you, but haven’t started, determine your audience and write articles: that’s not as overwhelming. And when you think you have enough for a book, learn how to self-publish. Then learn how to promote it.

For details on getting your book done, do what I did. Get the book by Marilyn Ross, The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing. For help on ways to promote the book, get John Kremer’s 1001 Ways to Market Your Book.

Note: Marketing your book is WAY harder than creating it.

The Main Thing
There are tons of rip-off experts and scam artists in the world of so-called self-publishing because people don’t have a clear understanding of who the actual publisher is. Self-publish means you are the publisher and your company name is on the back of the book as the owner and you make the profit when the book sells.

You can avoid ripoffs and scams by reading and subscribing to the Writer’s Beware Blog at http://accrispin.blogspot.com/.

Some of What You’ll Need to Do

ISBN Number
First, get your ISBN (International Standard Book Number) now. This is a unique 13-digit identifier for every book that retailers and libraries will need, http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/application.asp. I don’t remember how long this took (a couple of weeks), and it’s probably quicker now. When I did this years ago, I received ten numbers for around $200 bucks.

Library of Congress Number
Once you have the ISBN and you know the finished size (the dimensions of the book when it’s closed) and page count of your book, get your Library of Congress Number: http://pcn.loc.gov/. You’ll receive it in an hour or so, and it’s free. They’ll request a complimentary copy of the finished book.

Barcode Graphic
You’ll need a barcode on the back of the book if you’re planning on selling it in stores. The price of the book is encoded here. You can get the graphic for this from www.createbarcodes.com. You’ll receive it via email immediately. You’ll need to send this file to your book cover designer.

Their instructions are very self-explanatory except that I didn’t know what Supplemental Data meant. In the box, you’ll see 50995. The 5 stands for US currency. My book costs $24.95, so my supplemental data # is 52495. At this writing, the barcode costs $10 bucks.

CIP Data
The gibberish in the front of books is cataloging info for librarians. One-book publishers can’t get this info the same way the major players do. A company does it for about $165.00, but I recently discovered that you can take your book to a library, and a librarian will help you do this for free.

Cover Design
Do not settle for anything less than a professional cover. I didn’t do this for my second book, and I ended up on national TV with my little tired cover. You can bid the design work out at www.elance.com. Look at different portfolios. Make sure you bid it out as a work for hire and that you own the deliverable. I haven’t had much success going this route and prefer my local designers.

Two local Atlanta designers are:

Sandy Barth (GoHighProfile.com)
LaVon Lewis (PencilWorx.com).

Type Setting
I teach Microsoft Word so I’m able to lay out my book using it. Word is a great desktop publishing software and few people realize its power. I like the fact that I can lay out my own book using software I know so I always have the latest version of the file. Here is a blog post I wrote on what Word can do for you, Is Your eBook Ugly.

Make It Look Professional
Look at books in your genre from big publishing houses and see how they lay them out…where is the Preface, Introduction, Table of Contents, etc.? What’s on the spine? Your book needs to be done like theirs as much as possible so it looks professional.

Editors
Bad writing will sink a book. Here are a couple of editors you can check out. If this isn’t in your budget, try bartering with someone who can do this (I enlisted the help of a dynamo review team in exchange for two copies of the book and a free Webinar). Otherwise, wait until you save some more cash. It costs just as much to print a bad book as a good one.

Dr. Marcia Riley: WritingforResults.com
Bobbie Christmas: ZebraEditor.com

With this Outlook 2007 book, I asked for volunteers to test the steps. In exchange for doing this, each reviewer will receive two copies of the book, and their names will be listed in the acknowledgments.

Pricing
Don’t just pick a price for your book. Go to the bookstores or online to check similar books. Take into account that Amazon, wholesalers, etc., will get their share, sometimes as much as 60%. And then there’s the unit production cost. And, of course, special deals and volume pricing have to be considered too. And figure in the cost of shipping the books to you from the printer.

Printing
I use print on demand and can print one, three, 100, etc., as I need them. The company to use is http://www.LightningSource.com (LSI). Their print quality is excellent. It costs about $75 bucks to get into their system (and sometimes they run specials where it’s free). You’ll upload your cover graphic and a PDF of your book and they’ll take it from there. Be sure to read instructions on sizing and PDF requirements. Use a standard finished size for your book so printing will be less expensive.

Important. My book size in Word is set at 6.14 x 9.21 (the extra allows for book trim the printer will need). When I created my PDF, it defaults to paper size 8 1/2 x 11. This won’t work for the printer. You’ll have to create a custom size in Adobe Acrobat. Here is an article on the Adobe site that explains how to do this.

In the section for using the custom size, they left out that you first open the PDF you just created (open it in Adobe Acrobat, not the Reader). Then click File, Print Setup, printer is Adobe PDF, click the Paper Size drop-down box and choose the custom size you created, OK. You’ll know you did everything right by clicking the File menu (in the new PDF), Document Properties, and the Page Size near the bottom of the dialog box displays the custom size you created.

Another important point: when you create your PDF, click to embed all fonts whether you used them in your document or not.

Ingram Books owns LSI so bookstores and Amazon can order directly from them. They’ll send you a check every month for any books they sell. For a small, monthly fee, you can add your book to their catalog.

No matter how good you think your book is, do not print more than 500 in the first run (if you go the traditional press route). I know you’ll save money per unit by printing more, but don’t. Too many people have done this and ended up with books stored in their garage. I went way overboard with my first book because this is the one thing no one told me. At that time, there was no print on demand.

This is not all you’ll need to know, but you’ll learn much more in the books I’ve referenced. Much success with all this.

P.S. If I get enough requests, I’ll put together a Word for Authors Webinar and teach you how to lay out your own book, complete with an index, table of contents, and cross-references that keep up as page numbers change!

PEACE.

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I’m Speaking – Celebrate Administrative Professionals Day with Technology Training

Technology Skills for the 21st Century

Celebrating
Administrative Professionals Day
Mini Conference

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
9:00AM – 2:00PM
Includes Lunch

If you’re handling the work of two or more people, work smarter.

For a great day of training that’s also fun,
Register Today! Space is Limited.

The Digital BreakThroughs Institute
1691 Phoenix Blvd, Suite 380
Atlanta (College Park) GA 30349

A G E N D A

8:30AM – 9:00AM Check In
9:00AM – 10:15AM Organize Anything
Learn how to eliminate clutter and create systems for finding anything quickly!
10:15AM – 10:30AM BREAK and Networking
10:30AM – 11:45PM Manage Your Time with Outlook
Like the cockpit of an airplane, Outlook gives you almost everything you need right at your fingertips. Learn how to manage your email, contacts, tasks, and appointments like a pro.
11:45 – 1:00PM Computer Magic: Tips and Tricks in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat
Software you already have can perform magic if you take time to tap into it. Learn beginning to advanced commands that will help you finish work at least six times quicker.
1:00 – 2:00PM Lunch and Door Prizes
Delicious lunch and a cake you’ll dream about. Prizes too!
2:00PM Adjourn or Help Desk
You won’t be ready to leave and you don’t have to. Optional Help Desk to review anything you’re still fuzzy about.

Your Speaker

Peggy Duncan will teach you the same techniques that keep her stress-free. She’s a combination professional organizer, project manager, and computer trainer. She’s worked with hundreds of busy people and can help you too.

She is the author of Conquer Email Overload with Outlook, The Time Management Memory Jogger™, Just Show Me Which Button to Click! in PowerPoint, and three ebooks: Shameless Self-Promotion, Create a WordPress Blog, and Get Organized at Work.

Peggy has appeared on CNN, TODAY, Black Enterprise Business Report, and the US Virgin Islands PBS affiliate. Her expertise has been cited in Fortune Small Business, O-The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Essence, Fitness, Self, Men’s Health, Black Enterprise, Entrepreneur, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and a whole lot more. She was formally trained at IBM where she was recognized by the chairman for streamlining processes that saved the company close to a million dollars a year.

Peggy is a wonderfully vibrant instructor. She
presents the information in a concise, understandable
manner. I love taking her seminars because I always
learn new tips and shortcuts that I can use immediately.
Michelle Yackel, Divine Redesigns


S P O N S O R E D   B Y


Three Ways to Find Out When You’re Mentioned on the Web

Apparently, someone has uploaded an older edition of my Shameless Self-Promotion ebook to the Internet. I sell the book on my Website, so I am quite ticked that someone has decided to give it away. Most people who purchase ebooks, I believe, abide by the copyright and keep the documentation for their use only.

But then, there are others.

I’ll get this straight with the site owner where the ebook is illegally posted, but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you three ways you can find out when someone’s talking about you, your products, etc., online. I’m using all of these, and an email from TweetBeep is how I found out.

Google News Alerts

You can receive alerts when terms you designate show up on the Web. It’s free to sign up at www.Google.com/alerts. When a Website with my name on it gets indexed, I receive an alert. I also added alerts for my book titles and expertise.

To streamline the responses you receive, enclose phrases in quotation marks (e.g., “Peggy Duncan” or “The Time Management Memory Jogger” or “email overload”).

TweetBeep
TweetBeep is like Google Alerts but for Twitter. From their Website, “You can keep track of conversations that mention you, your products, your company, anything, with hourly updates! You can even keep track of who’s tweeting your website or blog, even if they use a shortened URL (like bit.ly or tinyurl.com).”

SocialOomph (formerly TweetLater)

SocialOomph “will monitor the twitter tweet stream and will periodically email you a digest of tweets that contain your designated keywords.” It can be used  for online reputation management, catching all your @replies and @mentions, finding job/networking opportunities, tracking your competitors, and more! SocialOomph also includes options such as scheduling tweets to send later, as well as several features I don’t like such as automatically following someone who follows me.

For more technologies, Sarah Perez over at ReadWriteWeb, lists other resources for monitoring your online mentions. If you’re using something different, please leave a comment and let us know, especially if it’s free.

PEACE.

Establish an Ezine Publishing Schedule that Works

I hope you’ve included email marketing as part of your plan to promote your business (a  previous post lists resources). One of the decisions you’ll have to make is how often you should publish. Carrie Drybrough of VicadeaConcepts.com says, “You’ll have to consider your own time constraints and your audience’s tolerance for regular communication.” She suggests the following when trying to decide on a publishing schedule that works for you. We are definitely on the same page.

Daily: Too much work. Your publications will becoming annoying to your subscribers and will overload already bulging InBoxes.

Weekly: Incredibly time-consuming. Entering your subscribers’ mailbox four times a month is cause for overload.

Bi-weekly: The right mix for many. Keeps you fresh in your subscribers’ minds but less likely to cause them to click “unsubscribe.”

Monthly: May not be often enough. Mailing once a month may cause a subscriber to forget who you are and when and why they signed up. Monthly is often the preferred option for information and educational communications.

Quarterly: Least amount of work but the content needs to be A-One and you’d better be hard to forget. Best for seasonal updates and significant changes.

Remember: Newsletters should be 80% content and 20% promotion. And to boost your search engine rankings, this same information needs to be online (such as in a blog).

To subscribe to my bi-weekly enewsletter, click here.

PEACE.


Three Resources for Creating Marketing Videos for Your Website

Digital Breakthroughs TVI made a business commitment to add more videos to my Websites and also to create more marketing videos this year. For non-marketing videos, I’ll use my Flip MinoHD camcorder (or the Webcam built into my laptop). I’ll use Camtasia to edit them, add music, slides, etc. For a slick marketing piece, I’ll need to get more creative (and spend some money). I’ve explored various options and thought you might find this helpful.

animoto.com (free version). Animoto automatically produces TV quality video pieces using your photos, video clips, and music. You submit everything online, click a view buttons, and taa daa!, you have your video. If you use their free version, your video will include their logo and URL. They also have a 3-month trial for $99.00 or an annual license for $249.00 for unlimited, full-length videos with no branding.

Here is a sample video I created in minutes, just using photos (photos by Phil at mccphoto.com). All the animation was created on their end. I could have added video clips too. The music is my company’s official theme song.

Pixability.com ($595.00). They’ll loan you a Flip camcorder (I just bought the Flip MinoHD Camcorder so I’d just upload my footage). You’ll shoot your own video such as customer testimonials while they’re in the store, an employee interview, product demos, etc. Once you’re done, send the camera back in their pre-addressed envelope, and they’ll create your video with music, transitions, titles, your logo, etc.

Note: Their Website has a great article with tips for creating better videos.

Turnhere.com (free for first three months). Turnhere sends a video crew from your area to your business. A filmmaker will assemble the footage and add music, etc. You’ll be able to view the video online and make up to three edits. After approval, they’ll email you the code so you can post the video online. You can post the video online for free for three months. After that, you’ll have to pay a year’s subscription for $199.00 or you can buy the Web-quality video for $599.00. Visit Turnhere’s Website for more details.

If you’ve heard of or used something different, please leave a comment and let us know.

PEACE.

Use Copy2Contact to Turn Text on a Page to an Outlook Contact

One of the tips I demo in my Outlook class is how I turn text on a Web page, inside an email message, or a document into a contact with all the information popping into the right place. If I can select the text, I can grab it.

The first time I selected text on a page and hit my hotkey, I couldn’t believe what Copy2Contact™ (formerly anagram) did. I had been cutting and pasting or dragging information onto an Outlook contact page and always dreaded it.

If you prefer working smart and don’t hesitate to invest in affordable technologies that work and will save you time, you’ll love it. You’ll use this technology every day to turn text on an electronic page into a digital contact (or calendar item, task, or note).

It’s easy.
Download a free trial today! and stop dragging, copying, pasting, typing.
You will love this software.
PEACE.
Peggy Duncan Personal Productivity Expert

Eliminate Duplicate Contacts in Outlook

If you’re experiencing a lot of duplicate contacts in Outlook caused by syncing your PDA, it’s easy to get rid of them with the right software. I found a free download on CNET, Outlook Duplicate Item Remover (ODIR) and so far, it’s working.

Once the software is loaded, you’ll see a new menu item in Outlook, ODIR. Click it, click Remove Duplicate Items,  choose the folder you want to check and go from there (in my case, the Contacts folder). I have thousands of contacts so it takes about 10 minutes to process the folder.

The duplicate items get moved to a new personal folder in Contacts view (named ODIR Duplicate Items). I open that folder, Ctrl+A to select all the items, Delete, then reselect your main contact folder to reopen.

Simple as that and I’m done.

PEACE.

Email Marketing Solutions to Promote Your Business or Cause

When I started my first business way back in 1997, email as we know and use today was in its infancy in the small business community. I started collecting as many addresses as possible as a way to promote my business by promoting my tips and tricks. Back then, I used Outlook and cleaned up all the bouncebacks manually. When that got to be time-consuming, I purchased some software that automated the process. Soon after that, I stepped it up a few notches and made my life easier by investing in the Web-based technology, iContact.

I chose iContact because of its high delivery rate and solid autoresponder technology. When someone signs up for my email list, I have it set up to automatically send them a computer tip for a few weeks. They also receive a link to some free reports, documents that make it easier to get organized, and more.

iContact also connects my email list to my blog so that every time I write a new blog post, my list automatically (or not if you choose) receives a link to the new post.

The only thing I still don’t like about their technology is the awkwardness of some of the site’s navigation and its clunky templates.

Carrie Drybrough of VicadeaConcepts.com has provided a great summary of various email marketing resources you could use to promote what you know.

  • AWeber Communications — Featuring pre-designed templates, unlimited autoresponders, easy opt-in forms and unlimited customer support, AWeber must be a consideration if autoresponders are a part of your overall online strategy in addition to newsletters. The cost is $1 for the first month and plans start at $19/month thereafter.
  • Constant Contact — With a point-and-click interface, Constant Contact has the ability to create high-impact email newsletters and promotions in minutes. One of the best in template designs. Limited autoresponder capabilities. Free 60-day trial with plans starting at $15/month.
  • EZezine — Limited to 200 free messages a month. A good way to get your feet wet without the cash outlay.
  • Get Response — Over 300 templates, unlimited follow-up messages and email analytics. Supports audio and video recording capabilities. Plans starting from $18/month. Free version limited to 10 subscribers.
  • iContact — Intuitive features, simple interface and comprehensive reports. Impressive survey elements and autoresponder capabilities. SPAMCheck is included. iContact has over 300 templates but has limited image hosting. Plans start at $9.95/month and there is a 15-day free trial.
  • MailChimp — Targeted to the Google generation, MailChimp is a fun email marketing service. Offers flexible plans for every budget and is free for lists below 500 subscribers.
  • Vertical Response — Offers email design tools, free image hosting, customizable sign-up forms, open and click tracking, and customer support. Easy-to-use interface. Monthly and Pay-as-you-go pricing with plans starting at $10/month. Available for a 30-day free trial.
  • 1Shoppingcart — An inclusive service with shopping cart, autoresponders, affiliate manager and click-tracker. The integrated solution for eCommerce. Plans starting at $29/month. Test drive the PRO package platform for $3.95.

Regardless of the service you choose for email marketing, you have to deliver value and give people a reason to hand over their email address to you. It’s also important that you do more than email marketing because only the people you send it to will see it. I also add information to my blog, online press releases, and the iContact newsletter community.

Have you found a great service that works for you? Leave a comment to let us know.

PEACE.

Reduce Your Workload by Learning How to Say “NO”

Learn how to say no without the guiltIf you find yourself always taking on more than you can handle, you probably have a problem with saying no. It makes you feel guilty, right? But when you say yes when you wanted to say no, that makes you feel worse.

When someone is looking for help, they’re going to call the first “yes” they think they can get. They call you because you’ve established the reputation of being that easy “yes.” Here’s how to turn that around.

The next time you get asked to help, and you know you don’t have time, don’t just say no. Learn how to say it without the guilt. Take these four steps:

  1. Acknowledge the request, as if you would like to help.
  2. Say “No,” and maintain a pleasant facial expression, even if it’s on the phone.
  3. End your response with something positive and upbeat.
  4. Remove yourself from the situation.

Instead of: “No, I can’t do it.” (This will make you feel guilty.)

Try this: “What a great idea! Unfortunately, I don’t have the extra time to devote to such a worthwhile cause. I wish you the best with this and hope you’ll let me know how it turns out!”

Once you say no, remove yourself from the situation so they can’t keep trying to convince you. Say it and get out of there, get off the phone, or bow your head and get back to work. It’ll be tough to do this at first, but the more you try it, the easier it’ll get.

Say No By Saying Yes First

Another way to say no is to say yes first. For example: “Can you do this work for less?”

  • “Yes I can, but I would not be able to give your project the time needed to do a quality job and you deserve better.”
  • “Yes, but we will not have complete success, and that’s all you’ll repeat or remember. I want you to be 100 percent satisfied.”
  • “Yes, but I have to maintain a certain profit margin in order to continue servicing my clients in the way they deserve.”

It’s often hard to get your own work done because you’re so busy helping everyone else. You can be a good community citizen or outstanding team player without always putting your needs and desires last.

PEACE.

Two Tips for Deleting Email Messages Quicker

When I sit down to deal with messages in my Inbox, I make decisions right then on what to do with each one. I keep my Inbox to one screen and don’t worry about promises, commitments, or deadlines falling through the cracks. Most messages are deleted. Here are two tips for deleting messages in Outlook (I use 2007. Works the same in 2003).
  • Turn off the warning, Are you sure? If this pesky box bothers you, it’s easy to turn it off. When I hit Delete, I want it gone and don’t want to give permission. From the Inbox, click Tools, Options, Other tab, Advanced Options, and untick the box, Warn before permanently deleting items.
  • Bypass the Deleted Items folder. If you’re sure you never want to see the message again (as in spam), permanently delete it so you don’t have to delete it again. Select the message (if it’s closed), hold down the Shift key then hit Delete. If you’re on an Exchange server, the message can be recovered. Otherwise, it’s gone!
Peggy Duncan, personal productivity expert

Shameless Self-Promotion Defined

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.

Shameless Self-Promotion ebook by Peggy Duncan, personal productivity expertI 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.

6 Ways to Create More Time. Hint: Stop Wasting So Much of It!

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

How I Created a Television Commercial to Promote My Small Business

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.

Kim Waymer McClure

404.725.6176

Kim_McClure@cable.comcast.com

My Blog Helps Real People Work Smarter – Have You Visited Lately?

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.