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Blog post by Marc Ensign on how to build business via your website. February 2013. "Step 1 Let's start by creating a list of our ideal clients. There could be several factors that might make someone an ideal client such as: They are very profitable They are easy to work with They need the type of work you like doing most They give a lot of referrals They are big players in their industry They share their experiences on social media They offer a lot of repeat business Here are some ways to help you start to find some of these ideal clients:"

nice quick assessment by Ross Beard but hardly unbiased, he recommends Client Heartbeat (whom he writes for) and Google Forms (free, no competitor to Client Heartbeat because of challenge of using and limits)--5 points each--of Survey Monkey, Survey Gizmo, Client Heartbeat, and Google Forms. Still useful though.

Excellent post on helping clients define what they want: do it on purpose with new clients; demand benchmarks, describe assignment, restate the problem again...

Here are five ways to successfully tap into the women's market: 1. Provide good quality information. Producing a newsletter and Web site are excellent ways to demonstrate your expertise and to keep your image in front of clients and prospects. Include plenty of strategies and tips that will help guide women to be more successful in running or growing their businesses. Conducting free seminars or workshops is another good strategy for imparting your knowledge and has the added benefit of serving as a networking forum. 2. Build relationship marketing strategies. Develop and sustain relationships with women and cultivate a sense of community. 3. Host networking events. Historically, women have not had the same opportunities to network as their male counterparts. You can create your own networking events for women clients and prospects. Featuring a guest speaker in your industry can be an excellent addition. Just be sure to build in enough time for networking as well. 4. Sponsor women's business associations or events. If you are looking to target this market and build awareness, consider sponsoring one of the many women's business associations and events. These range from something as specific as mentoring programs (such as the Step Ahead One-on-One Mentoring Program - www.stepaheadonline.com ) to associations for women exporters (such as the Organization of Women in International Trade - www.owit-toronto.ca ). Most hold regular meetings and special functions. Some provide opportunities for sponsors to speak and showcase their expertise. Contributing material to their newsletters, publications and Web sites is another good way to build your identity among members, as these associations often welcome good quality, educational submissions of interest to members. 5. Share core information on a regular basis. Email or mail information that is considered to be "in our mutual interest." News clippings, industry data, notes from indus

Blog post by Sylvia Browder at the Story Exchange--where women mean business. "Challenge 2: Undefined Niche To Niche or Not to Niche…that is the question. What is a niche? A niche business is one that targets a very specific group of people with specific shared interest. A business with an undefined niche is like a ship sailing in shallow water. By creating a niche business allows you to market to your ideal clients. For example, if you were a behavioral psychologist targeting teens, you would market your services in places where parents are likely to find out about you; such as advertising in parent magazines, providing resources to local middle and high schools or joining organizations geared towards parents. Solution: By understanding who and where your ideal customers are; it is easy to craft a marketing plan to target them. Here are three easy ways to target your potential clients: * Improve your website's SEO with specific key words * Generate exposure locally and virtually with professional speaking, seminars or publishing a book or articles. * Craft a clear message that speak at the heart of your customer " Challenge 4: No Social Media Plan Random tweets and meandering Facebook posts will result in a lot of time devoted to zero results. Before making another useless post, sit down with pen and paper and make a list of what you want to achieve from social media. To which social media do you belong? What are some social media marketing strategies that you have noticed from other companies? What do you have that will offer value? You may find that your company is spread a little too thin across the social media spectrum. Quality truly is superior to quantity in this respect. Solution: Create a social media marketing plan and stay the long haul. Establishing a strong presence can be a very time consuming process. It is unwise to expect your list of fans, followers or subscribers to grow overnight.

Interesting blog post bu Elizabeth MacBride, April 5, 2013, on virtual partnerships, 5 secrets 1. must have the same agenda 2. you actually like the person 3. complementary skill sets or traits 4. open lines of communications 5. good legal underpinnings Excerpt "Our number-one rule - and the glue that holds our partnership together - is keeping the workload manageable. We don't take on too many clients, and we don't hold ourselves to unrealistic standards for production. "Our business is focused on helping people navigate a big, ongoing trend-the shift from traditional jobs to an economy built around freelance, contract and temporary work. Pulling all-nighters at the business and cutting ourselves off from the rest of the world, as we might at a venture-capital backed startup, doesn't seem like the right way for us," Pofeldt says. "Why not enjoy one of the best parts of freelancing: the freedom to have an active life outside of work without apologizing for it?" Barry "CB" Martin and Larry Gaian are food writers and marketers-for-hire who met via their common networks. "This year I started several new ventures," Martin wrote via email. "I asked him to be a sounding board. On one of the ideas, he was thinking along the same lines so we decided to combine forces." They're working together under the moniker Guys In Aprons, asking food companies to hire them to write recipe posts and interview expert chefs."

real measures of how online social activities yield offline results in who volunteers for you, how many volunteer who is donating and repeat donating, downloading your reports, attending events, more clients being served, comments on your work by people who matter to you, perceptions of greater support for org, etc.

Questions for bloggers to ask about client goals. From BlogHer13. Twittered out of conference

Blog post by Dorie Clark, Entrepreneur, April 11, 2014 on projecting expert credentials. 1. Solidify your digital credentials with a trail of digital breadcrumbs that mark you as an expert. 2. Speak up--get in front of potential clients throughfree workshops 3. Read the experts so that you know who the players are 4. Don't ask for permission, project confidence even if you don't feel it

"Last week a client asked if I could stay for a bit after our weekly meeting so he could thank me, not for a PR project, but to show me how he'd used a tactic I'd shown him on LinkedIn to put himself well on the track of securing a much more aggressive marketing budget next year. Wow!"

Blog by Kevin O'Keefe, "Real Lawyers Have Blogs," on the topic of the law, firm marketing, social media, and baseball, February 23, 2014. O'Keefe reviews a study by Gerry Moran on using social media to teach, not to sell. Other key points that O'Keefe makes: Build a large social network of people modeled after your customers and their influencers. 75% of B2B decision makers use social media to learn. (wonder where this stat comes from?) Pass on valuable information. Don't use your social media and networking channels to promote yourself. You want to be known for handing out knowledge and not brochures. Use social so that people will want to visit with you in person. 73% of customers are willing to engage with you on social media, so the opportunity is there. Use social media to teach, not sell. Selling is best done face-to-face. However, Social Media Today reports B2B buyers look at an average of over 10 digital resources before ever making a purchase. Since customers need to learn before they buy, use this opportunity on social media to connect. Teach and connect with today's technology. Connect and get on the radar of your customers and potential networks by retweeting, sharing, commenting and favoriting others' content. Develop Insights. Before you teach and connect with your customers, you need to listen to the customer and their customers. Social is an excellent listening tool. Be a publisher. In addition to curating and passing on the great content to your network, create your own assets on a blog. Organizations who blog get clients. Later Excerpt: Over the years LexBlog as been all about helping lawyers understand how to use the Internet in a real and effective fashion so as to grow their practices. By sharing information from third parties along our own insight via blogs and other social media we established a reputation as trusted advisors. Even when I reach out to meet with lawyers and law firms I have never met f

In his book Entrepreneur Magazine's Ultimate Guide to YouTube for Business, marketing and public relations consultant Jason Rich show you how to master the secrets of successful "YouTubers" and put your brand, product or service in front of millions of potential viewers. In this edited excerpt, the author outlines some common elements of successful, small-business focused videos. Valuable tips for making a YouTube video that will make a difference to potential clients.

a wonderful blog post by Jim McGee, April 1, 2002, on the importance of keeping a knowledge-log--k-log--for being able to retrace one's steps when the final conclusion/work product falls short and one has to start over and for engaging with others about how the thought line developed. Justifies paper printouts and variously named file versions to show stages of idea exploration and development. Our electronic work flow replaces how we used to work with handwritten drafts with all the erasures and column notes, then send them to a graphics person for placing into a graphics format, then circulating for reaction from involved stakeholders, some of them junior staff, then incorporating feedback, final edits, and voila! a product for the client.

Interesting take on Google's Inbox email client for ios, Chrome, and Android, 1.15.15 by ProfHacker on the Chronicle of HE

blog post by Vu Le, February 2, 2015--reflections on SeaHawks' loss to Patriots and tie-in to nonprofits' lessons And I found that the greatest thing about this sport where a bunch of dudes throw an egg-shaped ball and shove each other around, is the community it builds. The last two weeks especially have been great. People were nicer to each other. Everyone seemed happier. And the ice at any meeting could be broken with a simple "Go Hawks." Applied to nonprofits: One of the most important things that nonprofits do is that we build community. This is hard to measure and is not often funded. But we cannot take this for granted. When we do a good job, our organizations and programs instill in people-our clients, staff, board, volunteers, donors-a sense of belonging to a community that cares about them, where they are seen, where they matter. (See "An immigrant kid's reflections on community.")

Very good article by Glenn Llopis in Forbes, 6/13/2011, on importance of authenticity in diversity management. Not a numbers or compliance game but a real effort to get the most from everyone in an organization in order to serve/sell/reach out effectively to markets, communities, customers, and clients.

A client of mine is closing in on his 61st birthday - He's a baby boomer. He's also embarking on an amazing journey, leaving a sort-of safe corporate job to jump back into the start-up pool. Risky? You bet. But informing his decision is the knowledge that he is a [...]

this is the one I sent via email. I think this is a better place for it. MindLeaders HR release new Functional Skills software. clients around the UK.

eportfolios vendor

Copyblogger post by Henneke Duistermaat, July 2014. "Follow these steps: Over the next five days, block 30 minutes for reviewing your blog. On day one, create a profile of your favorite fan. On day two, write down your blog purpose and discover why your fans come to your blog. On day three, think about your favorite fan and write down at least 30 blog topics that he'd love to read. On day four, review your blog promotion strategy. How can you reach more people in the time available to you? Which activities can you cut? How can you experiment? On day five, consider your email strategy. How can you build a closer relationship with the fans on your list?"

Workforce Productivity special advertising section for the The Wall Street Journal from Dow Jones Advertising department, Joe Mullich, May 8, 2013.