The Twitter Code Cracked – 5 Tweets that Get Clicked

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Tom Gray

Amanda MacArthur (@amaaanda) posted a great recap of tweet formulas she’s successfully tested for Mequoda Group as well as her own clients. Read the whole article at 5 Winning Tweet Formulas That Get Clicked.

Create clickable tweets with simple, tested formulas

Tweet Formulas that Click!

I’m just going to re-list her 5 successful tweet formats here but for the details around the formulas visit the article. I also provide the examples she used and, as a learning exercise for myself, I’ve take a stab at using her tweet formulas:

Formula 1: [Goal] will be achieved when you follow these [mysterious steps]

“A shrinking waist can happen in two months if you adhere to these three gut-busting rules.” @amaaanda

“You’ll double the visitors to your website in 90 days if you follow this one daily discipline.” @tomjgray

Formula 2: How [@Username] and [@Username] are [Doing Something Interesting]

“How @Celebrity and @Expert Made a $1m Business that Started w/ Crowdfunding on @Kickstarter” @amaaanda

“How @MarkSanborn and @Eric_Chester are increasing corporate profits by reviving work ethic in America @tomjgray

Formula 3: Really enjoyed this article from [@username] on [topic]

“Great insight from @AnEditor on how to plan a last-minute getaway.” @amaaanda

“Simple yet profound insights from @amaaanda on the most effective formulas to create tweets that get clicked.” @tomjgray

Formula 4: Did you know that 75% of [target audience] [does something interesting/controversial]?

“Did you know that 31% of tv watchers will write angry letters about their favorite show being cancelled?“@amaaanda

“Did you know that 55% of women bloggers would rather tell you their weight then the number of visitors to their website.” @tomjgray

Formula 5: [Excerpt from article]

“The color of a Hydrangea doesn’t come from your seeds; it’s determined by the pH of your soil.“@amaaanda

“People who are using LinkedIn, but don’t get results, are the ones who don’t take the fundamental principles into account.”

Twitter Formula? I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Twitter Formula

Amanda ends with the advice to not fall in love with formulas. Some of her best results were the result of just good writing. Keep track of what works and what doesn’t whether it’s formula based or not.

What’s Your Favorite Twitter Formula?

If you have a tweet format or formula that works for you, remember, “Givers Get”, and share it in the comments.

The “Oh Duh” Way to Acquire New Customers

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Tom Gray

So here’s the headline and the lead of the article…

Positive Customer Experience Drives Loyalty, Revenues

There is a high degree of correlation between customers’ experiences and their likelihood to recommend a company and consider purchasing more products and services from that company in the future…Source: MarketingCharts.com

And when I read it my reaction was “Oh Duh“! Everyone knows that (or should), right? But then it got interesting…

How My Dad Taught Me to Increase Revenue

Grandpa Jesse Gray was a heckuva salesman

Grandpa Gray Taught Dad to Sell

My dad was an up-by-his-bootstraps entrepreneur who went from migrant laborer as a kid to self-made millionaire by the time he was 40. His formal education ended in the 6th Grade which is where his business education began.

He taught me there were only two ways to increase revenues:

Increase sales or
Decrease expenses.

He pursued both methods fanatically.

Sell more, spend less. Makes sense but there are ways to sell smarter that make it easier to sell more.

The Secret to Increasing Revenues. NOW!

So what’s the secret to increased sales revealed in the “Oh Duh” report? Simple. Treat the customer in front of you now better. That’s right, oh duh!

So what happens when you treat customers better?

They buy more
They don’t go to the competition
They tell their friends
They don’t slam you on social media; they might even praise you

How Much Extra Revenue Can You Generate?

Increase Revenues by Increasing Sales, Lowering Costs and Improving Customer Experience.

How Can You Increase Your Revenues?

I’m extrapolating the numbers to some degree as the report cites the benefits for billion dollar companies which most companies aren’t but if you use their numbers and you’re doing a million dollars in annual revenues, you’ll realize an extra $300-400,000 dollars in revenue over a 3 year period.

What could your business do with an extra $100-200,000 per year?

Oh, and You’ll Probably Decrease Expenses Too

At least those expenses dedicated to marketing because, as you probably know, a sale to an existing customer costs 6-7 times less than a sale to a new customer.

How I’ll Teach My Son to Increase Revenues

My formula won’t be a whole lot different than my Dad’s. I’ll teach my son that the way to increase revenues and improve profits is to

Increase Sales
Lower Expenses
Improve Your Customer’s Experience

In fact, I’d advise him to work on providing the best experience possible for everybody who interacts with his business: customers, employees, suppliers and prospects.

Call to Action Tip: The Importance of Phone Numbers

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Tom Gray

I love the fact that I can email you, link up with you on Linkedin, like you on Facebook and @reply you on Twitter. I’m thrilled that I can subscribe to your blog and download your free report on 5 ways to fabulous riches online.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I mean it, thank YOU!

Unfortunately, I want to call you.

Archaic, I know, but I want to pick up the phone and ring you up and talk to you about what your business can do for my business and I don’t want to be limited to 140 characters or what my brain can remember to squeeze into an email before my knubby fingers accidentally brush the send key on my lilliputian smart phone’s keypad.

Unfortunate because I spent 10 wasted minutes cruising your website for a phone number to no avail. No phone number, no where. Now I’m cranky, the moment’s lost, I’ll call someone else, maybe someone who feels it’s valuable and appropriate to allow those who so desire to cut to the chase (and cut out all the social chaff) and actually pick up the phone and call them.

Webdesign 101 – Include a Phone Number

Include a phone number on every page, prominently if possible. Don’t assume that people don’t want to call you, often times they do. Often times that’s the only reason they go to your website, to get a phone number. So certainly, include all of the other means to communicate, socially and otherwise, but don’t forget the freak’n phone number!

After all, our whole site is geared to (supposedly) converting visitors to prospects to customers and what better way to convert than to actually engage in an ear-to-ear dialogue.

(By the way, you can call me to discuss how your website converts at (720) 319-8256!)

Call me

And now, back to our regularly scheduled entertainment…

Preview Google Search Results Before Clicking with Instant Preview

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Tom Gray

Google, in their never ending quest to make the internet search experience more relevant, not to mention faster, is rolling out Google Instant Previews.

Back Button Joins the Unemployment Ranks

Google Instant Previews provides a magnifying glass to the right of the top line of the search results…

Clicking on the magnifying glass turns the Instant Preview feature on and displays a snapshot of the page along with the search terms outlined on the snapshot page as well as displayed in a call out box. Clicking any ‘preview’ icon turns the feature on for all the listings on the page.

Google Search Instant Preview makes the User search experience faster

Search Term Used: Best Toaster Ovens

How Does Instant Preview Affect Small Business Search Results?

What do small business (or any size organization) need to understand about the impact of Google Instant Preview?

Consider how your website appears in the scaled down window that Google Instant Preview provides. Searchers only give you 8 seconds to convince them they’re at the right place when clicking through to your site; how many seconds will they give you when scanning through Instant Previews?One impact I noticed immediately is that Google previews don’t appear to like Flash as shown here:

Be prepared, I believe, to see your bounce rate drop and a corresponding decline in site traffic – your bounce rate is determined by the number of people who click away immediately after landing on your page. They’ve determined from their initial scan that your site won’t fit their search needs. An example would be a search for a “motivational speaker” that lands you on a “car stereo” site.This is not necessarily a bad thing but if the wrong terms are bringing the wrong traffic to your site, it can be a bit of a downer if you measure site success by overall traffic (never a good idea).
Better clarity about how your site displays keyword terms and phrases versus your site and, with a little analysis, an opportunity for improvement.

What’s Wrong with this (Internet Explorer) Picture

Interestingly enough, the Google Instant Previews icon was available in my Chrome and Firefox browser but not Internet Explorer. I’m sure it will but an interesting omission for the time being…

When Marketing Happens

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Tom Gray

I’ve been out of touch recently with good friend and business coach, Elli St. George Godfrey. Elli dispenses business advice to established and would be entrepreneurs at www.abilitysuccessgrowth.com and moderates an interesting and informative Friday Twitter chat for small business owners that can be followed using #kaizenblog.

What’s the (Marketing) Plan

In the course of exchanging emails to arrange some catch-up time, I noticed Elli had added a tag line promoting her forthcoming book titled, “When Life Happens: How Women Business Owners Handle Personal Crisis“. Great premise and I’m sure it’s going to be a great book.

The problem, I noticed, was that while Elli piqued my interest with her tag line there was nothing I could do about it. In other words, there was no link leading me to more information.

Seeing a missed marketing opportunity always fires up my fingers so I sent her the following email:

Noticed your tag line about upcoming book. Do you have a publisher or will you self publish (not sure if you’d told me this before). What’s written so far? Do you have any excerpts that you can drive people to that will build excitement and interest faster than just a “it’s coming” tag line? I looked at your site and found no reference to the book. Are you planning a new website to promote? Have you registered a domain name for the book? Are you reaching out online to mommy bloggers, mompreneur sites and other woman-run sites to build relationships that you can tap when the book is out? I’m very interested in your launch plan.

More (Book) Marketing Advice

If I were advising Elli, I’d suggest that she have at least a page up on her site describing the book and providing links to excerpts if not whole chapters with a mechanism (email, RSS) to subscribe to future updates and social media links to enable visitors to spread the word.

Don’t Wait to Setup Your Social Media Presence

And don’t wait to start developing your social media channels themselves. I’d suggest that she create a Facebook page to support the book and use the Discussions tab to start a dialogue with her potential audience. If she can manage it I’d also have her start a companion group on Linkedin and promote it to working women business owners and other interested parties.

Both these social initiatives could be set up with the mission to provide a resource and create a community for women who are facing or who have surmounted personal crisis while growing or managing a business. Wow! How needed is that?

The fact is that close to 9,000 Business titles were published in 2009 so getting attention, and readers, for yours is a process that has to begin well before the ink is dried on your initial production run.

A Little Kaitlyn Christmas 2010

Posted on December 24, 2009 by Tom Gray

Listen as Kait shares a little Christmas Spirit with us!

Emmanuelle

Baby It’s Cold Outside with Tom Carassco…

Merry Xmas from Kaitlyn

Build Traffic to Your Blog with Blog Directory Submissions

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Tom Gray

Building relevant traffic for our blog is often the biggest challenge we face. One great way to generate links and traffic is to register your blog with popular blog directories.

WebsiteMagazine.com recently published a list of 30 popular blog directories. I’ve taken this list and turned it into a blog submission tracking spreadsheet that you can download and use to track your efforts in submitting your blog to the relevant blog directories on the list.

30 Popular Blog Directories

Use this list to generate additional traffic for your blog by

Visiting each of these directories and
Registering and claiming your blog.

Then use this document to track your efforts and any login information and other notes related to your submission. Keep in mind that not all directories are appropriate for all blogs. Some serve special niches which may not be appropriate for the focus of your blog. Also, check within your own industry to see if there are industry specific directories where you’ll want to pursue a listing for your blog.

Many blog platforms provide the capability to “ping” or notify popular blog catalogues when you create new posts but a more hands-on effort on your part will ensure that you create a more targeted, focused listing that will pay off in more targeted, focused traffic to your blog.

Jan Vermeiren Tells Us “How to Really Use LinkedIn” (Podcast)

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Tom Gray

I had the pleasure recently to interview Jan Vermeiren, Europe’s foremost expert on business networking and the author of How to REALLY use LinkedIn, one of the best books on any continent for getting the most from your LinkedIn account.

In speaking with Jan you soon realize that he gives such great advice for using LinkedIn not because he’s a LinkedIn expert but because he’s a networking expert. Jan’s the founder of Networking Coach and came to the attention of the global community with the publication of his best selling book on harnessing the power of networks, Let’s Connect!: A Practical Guide for Highly Effective Professional Networking.

How to Turn 20 Minutes into 45

When I approached Jan for this interview I told him that it would be about 15-20 minutes in length. I was fully prepared to honor this time committment but Jan, as incredibly generous as he is, wouldn’t stop giving great tips, techniques and strategies on turbocharging your LinkedIn presence. So grab a pen and plenty of paper to write down all the great LinkedIn and networking ideas Jan reveals:

Where the real power of your LinkedIn network lies
How to quickly grow an effective network
What are the 3 most important principles for getting the most out of online networking
The biggest problems with online networking
… and much, much more

Free Light Version of How to Really Use LinkedIn

Jan has graciously made a light version of his LinkedIn book available at How-to-REALLY-Use-LinkedIn.com. His primary site, Networking-Coach.com, provides links to Jan’s products and services as well as a number of great free resources on building your prowess in business and professional networking.

Free Teleseminar: Social Media Essentials for Business

Jan Vermeiren provides great information and if you want to learn even more about using Social Media and Social Networking to accelerate your business marketing, reserve your seat for a free, 55 minute tele-session that will reveal the power of not only LinkedIn but blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other power social media platforms to give your business the edge it needs in these tough economic times! This value-packed, free social media marketing workshop will be broadcast via telephone Wednesday, May 20, 2009. Reserve your seat now!

And now, on to the interview, enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Regain Time While Becoming More Productive – Podcast

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Tom Gray

How to Detox Your Inbox, An Interview with Marsha Egan

I had a very productive interview when I spoke with Executive Coach and leading Email Productivity expert Marsha Egan. Following Marsha’s highly actionable approach has allowed me to reduce my inbox overload by three quarters and I’m well on my way to achieving email equilibrium. In my interview (listen to it at the end of this post) with Marsha she shares several tips and ideas for taking back control and establishing the habit of email excellence.

Marsha did not start out to become an email productivity expert. She was (and still is) an executive life coach who found that one of the single largest frustrations shared by her executive clientele was an inability to manage their email inbox. These accomplished, normally productive individuals had become slaves to their inbox. They were addicted and admitted to Marsha that they were powerless over their inboxes.

Like any great coach Marsha devised a 12 Step Program aimed at helping her clients regain control of their email habits and, in the process, regain precious time while increasing their productivity.

Marsha shares her straightforward, effective program in her book, Inbox Detox and the Habit of Email Excellence, available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and her website at EganEmailSolutions.com. For even more information, visit Marsha’s informative blog at InboxDetox.com.

Enjoy the show and be sure to leave any questions, comments or your favorite email detoxification tips in the comments section of this post: