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Compass MAPs™
Debra Gano

Heartlight Girls: Stay True To Yourself

The Compass Guide To Success In Any Situation
February 1st, 2010
Debra Gano


Joan Stewart

Promote Local Events on Twitter

January 25th, 2010
Joan Stewart

You can find some of the best tips by reading comments at blogs.

For example, if you’re curious about how to use Twitter to publicize local events, you’ll find a slew of tips in the comments at http://budurl.com/uymm

They include:

–Use Twitter Grader at http://twitter.grader.com/  After entering your Twitter username and getting your grade, click on your city, state or country.  A list of local tweeters will appear.  If you find them of like mind, you could choose to follow them.  Then tweet about your event so they’ll see it.

–Download and install Tweetdeck, a browser that will let you organize your tweets and see everything all at once.  Then set up search columns based on your local area.  You’ll then “see” people talking about that area.  Chances are that if they are talking about it, they either live there, or visit regularly, so follow them.  Chances are also good they’ll follow you, too.

–Follow the premiere local tweeters in your area, including bars, hotels, clubs and local businesses whose target customers are the people you want to attract.  Retweet events and posts they tweet.  This will tell them you’re interested in promoting what they’re doing and, in turn, they may follow you and promote your event.

–Two good tools for finding Twitterers in your area are http://TwitterHawk.com and http://Twellowhood.com

 


Joan Stewart

Use Keywords in Press Releases

January 18th, 2010
Joan Stewart

Most press release writers fail to use the right keywords, or any keywords, in their online releases, which renders the releases impotent.

People who know a little about keywords go overboard and stuff too many into their releases, making it all too obvious that they’re trying to trick the search engines.

Keywords are like magnets.  Let’s say somebody wants to buy boots online.  The buyer types “patent leather boots” into the Google search box.

Google goes looking for that phrase.  It sifts through billions of pieces of content.  Within a second or two, it delivers a long list of articles, videos, blog posts and press releases that have the same keywords.  If you sell patent leather boots and have written a press release about them, but you haven’t used the correct keywords within your release, it won’t be on Google’s list.

But if you HAVE used keywords correctly, your release could end up on the first page of Google, bringing a rush of traffic to the release, and eventually to your sales page.

Too many people spend too much time sweating the right headline, a clever news hook, or a killer quote.  But all those are useless without keywords.  What good is a press release if nobody can find it?


Joan Stewart

How to Find Guest Bloggers

January 11th, 2010
Joan Stewart

If you’re weary of cranking out quality content for your blog, consider recruiting an occasional guest blogger.

Guest bloggers expose your readers to new opinions, topics and perspectives.

They give you a break.  And they give other writers and experts exposure to your audience.

Here’s the best part.  They don’t even have to have their own blog.  If they can write well, they can guest blog.

Here are five ways to find guest bloggers:

–Invite bloggers whose opinions you admire.  Ask them to write original content, because the search engines don’t look favorably on duplicate content.  Stress that they’ll have the chance to be in front of a new audience and that you’ll give them a link back to their website or blog.

–Invite some of the most frequent commenters at your own blog– writers whose opinions and writing you admire.

–Consider inviting publishers or editors of some of your favorite ezines, as long as their topic is related to the topics you write about.

–If you’re on LinkedIn, pay attention to the question-and-answer feature.  I found a great answer to a question, and asked the writer if I could print her answer as a guest blog post.  She said yes.

–Ask your readers to contribute their best posts–again, original content.  It’s best that readers pitch an idea for your approval, just like they’d pitch a story to journalists.


Joan Stewart

How to Get the “Old” Facebook Back

January 4th, 2010
Joan Stewart

Facebook users are still howling about recent changes to the homepage.  If you’re one of them, there’s a quick fix to change it back to the way it used to be.

A few months ago, with no warning, Facebook eliminated with the Twitter-like feed of every real-time status update.  Now, instead of displaying everything from all your friends, Facebook uses a secret algorithm to display only the posts and status updates that are generating a lot of comments and responses.  So you never know what you’re missing.

If you hate the change, here’s a three-step process to revert back to the old feed:

–Log into Facebook.  On your homepage, on the top of the left column, you’ll see “News Feed.” Go to the bottom of that column and click on “More.”

–Find the “Status Updates.” Click and drag it to the very top of that column.

–Click “Status Updates” to load that view.  Now, Facebook will deliver your feeds just like it did before.

The News Feed option is still on the left.  If you click on it, you’ll see the new view.  And if you decide later that reading your Facebook feed is like drinking from a fire hose, you can always revert back to the smaller feed.

Compass MAPs™
Megan Raphael

Courage Code: Find Your Courage

The Compass Guide To Your True Heart
January 1st, 2010
Megan Raphael

What does courage really mean to you?

About the Expert: Megan Raphael is the founder and President of the Courage Project, a national initiative championing the feminine face of courage. She is an expert on women’s courage and leadership, and is a highly regarded public speaker and workshop leader. She is also the author of the award-winning book, “The Courage Code.” You can learn more about her work at www.courageproject.com.

Compass MAPs™
Melanie Keveles

Fully Engaged At Any Age: Discover Your Dream

The Compass Guide To The Work You Love
January 1st, 2010
Melanie Keveles

Compass MAPs™
Debra Gano

Heartlight Girls: Discover The Secret To True Beauty

The Compass Guide To Your Unique Self
January 1st, 2010
Debra Gano


Joan Stewart

The friend that listens is better than the friend that talks

December 28th, 2009
Joan Stewart

So says Gary Vaynerchuk, aka Gary V, one of the hottest stars in
the social media world.  The thirtysomething son of Russian
immigrants hosts weekday podcasts about wine at
TV.WineLibrary.com.

His brash style and unpretentious approach to wine appreciation
have attracted an average 40,000 viewers to each podcast, more
than 85,000 followers on Twitter, and more than $60 million a
year in sales at the Wine Library, the New Jersey wine store he
co-owns with his father.

Here are 5 of Gary V’s 5 commandments for social media, as listed
in the Wall Street Journal:

–Treat it like a cocktail party.  Don’t pitch as soon as you meet
someone.

–Don’t draw lines in the sand and call sites like Twitter
“stupid” just because you don’t know how to use them.

–Humanize yourself and your brand with personal information, but
only 2 percent of the time.

–Understand the authenticity and the incredible power of social
media sites and the voices of consumers to make or break
companies.

–Interacting with potential clients and becoming part of the
community is a real job.  Listen before you talk.

Read the entire interview with him at http://budurl.com/lmru

 

Compass MAPs™
Becky Mason

Live From The Heart

The Compass Guide To An Abundant And Passionate Life
December 1st, 2009
Becky Mason


What would be possible if you lived from a place of abundance, passion and purpose in your life?


About the Expert:

Becky Mason is responsible for Compass’ marketing strategy, brand management, public relations, promotion, solution marketing, and distribution services. She is also very active in her spiritual community, and strives to live abundantly and passionately from her heart every day.

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