A Weekend of Wisdom: 30 Webinars in 3 Days!

If you follow The Savvy Seller you know that we're focused on education. The quality kind that you can use right away to make your business more successful.

This coming weekend (Fri Feb 26 - Sun Feb 28), tune in to an education bonanza by attending the 'New Life Event' - 30 FREE webinars over the course of 3 days. Each 30-minute webinar will be full of great information followed by a 10-minute Q&A session. The speakers are experts in their field and you're sure to come away with some valuable information, insights and tools.

Topics include:

• Analytics for eCommerce
• Keyword Research
• Longtail SEO
• Viral Marketing
• The Secret of Writing Unique Content
• How To Succeed on Google Shopping
• The Best Ways to Use DropShipping
  
• and so much more!

Shawna Fennell, the New Life Event host, has invited me to present so I invite you to join me Sunday morning at 10am ET for "The Importance of Knowing Your Buyer in the Web 2.0 World."

All you have to do to attend any of the 30 FREE webinars is register!

Be sure to follow the New Life Event on Twitter or on Facebook for updates and tell your friends!

See you there!

The Impact of Social Media

If you need to explain the importance or impact of social media, this 4 minute YouTube video will do it for you with style.

Developing a Social Media Strategy That Rings the Register

Image via Wikipedia

Join our 'Tips From the Top' podcast this Wed, Dec 16 (3pm ET/noon PT) when our guest will be Bernie Borges, Founder and CEO of Find and Convert and author of "Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap Between Seller and Buyer through Social Media Marketing."

During the podcast Bernie will discuss the steps to take to develop a successful social media strategy for your business. He'll talk about the 4 stages of interaction, content marketing, how to measure results and much more!

In addition, Bernie has generously offered to give away a copy of his book to one of our listeners. The recipient will be chosen based on their level of engagement with him on social media channels. Bernie invites you to connect with him on Twitter (http://twitter.com/berniebay), by joining his Facebook Fan Page, leaving a comment on this blog post and/or adding "Marketing 2.0" to your Amazon Reading List on LinkedIn. The person who has demonstrated the most engagement will win a signed copy of the book.

Our Podcast Chat Room will be open during the call (Wed Dec 16 / 3pm ET/ noon PT) and we welcome your questions and comments!

Be sure to connect with Bernie NOW for the opportunity to win a signed copy of his book, Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap between Seller and Buyer through Social Media Marketing.

How Your Facebook Fan Page Is Affected By Yesterday's Changes

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Yesterday Facebook rolled out some changes to the News Feed / Status Updates.

In the new version of the News Feed you'll now see the top stories that Facebook feels has the most relevant information for you.

By clicking on the 'Live Feed' tab you'll still be able to see stories as they appear in real time.

From Facebook:

Two important points to note about the Top News stream:

1. Stories will be chosen for Top News based on a variety of undisclosed factors, including but not limited to “how many people comment and like” on stories, “who you’re close with,” and “who you interact with frequently.”

2. Facebook is adding user activity stories back to the News Feed – like friend acceptances, relationship updates, event RSVPs, group memberships, and becoming a fan of a Page. In the real time stream, only explicitly “shared” content appeared in the stream.

So what does this have to do with Fan Pages? Plenty!!

Many people have jumped on the Facebook Fan Page bandwagon without any real thought on how to make them work for their business.

With the new changes, Fan Page stories will now be subject to the same algorithm as the News Feed. This means that Fan Page updates won't necessarily show up in your fans' News Feeds in real time as they have been doing.

It's going to take more creativity and work for a Fan Page to be effective.

What and How?

In this redesign, Fan Page posts will show up based on how much response they get, how many people comment on them and how much fans interact with the page.

Business owners using Fan Pages now need to think about what they can do to their updates so they'll show up in the News Feed.

How you can make your stories interesting enough to be 'liked' and commented upon by others? Determine what it will take for your clients or customers to stay engaged and keep returning.

Some ideas:

• create a poll
• ask thought-provoking questions
  
• start discussions that will get people talking
• offer incentives or discounts
• send people on a 'treasure hunt'
  

Be creative, work it and your Fan Pages will work for you!

If you like this post, please sign up for The Savvy Seller Fan Page where we already have some discussion going and features available only to fans!

The 3 C's of Social Media Marketing

I'm often asked to explain social media and how it can work for a business.

I haven't yet figured out how to do it as concisely as a 30-second elevator speech, but here are 3 key elements (condensed) that convey the concepts. I call them the 3C's of Social Media Marketing.

The 3 C's are: Connect, Communicate and Convert.

Connect: The 1st step involves connecting with others and expanding your network of contacts. Whether they are other professionals in your field, your competitors, your customers or clients, it's important to expand your network. Depending on your business and your goals, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin offer excellent platforms on which to connect. Keep in mind they are not 'one size fits all.' First try to determine which site(s) your customers or clients are using. Each site has a different 'feel' and set of accepted practices so it's important to determine will one(s) serve you best.

Communicate: This is the 2nd step. Having a network of contacts doesn't accomplish anything if you don't communicate with the goal of developing relationships. Developing relationships is key since your contacts aren't going to be interested in hearing from you if your only interactions are about your product or service. Engage your contacts by consistently providing them with something they perceive to be of value. Consistency works to keep the relationship on-going and if you can involve your connections in a community, that will engage them even more.

Convert: This is the 3rd step. Connecting and Communicating pave the way for you to 'close the deal.' Each business has its own goals for social media marketing so they'll have their own way to measure conversion success.

If steps 1 & 2 don't lead to conversion, then it's time to re-examine the goals and the process - keeping in mind that building a network and relationships takes time and consistency.

Do you agree? disagree? Please share your thoughts.

Frozen Rats, Bonanzle, An eBay Experiment & A Southern Belle

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You will not want to miss today's Tips From the Top Podcast!

Please join us at 11:00am ET (8am PT) as we have the honor of interviewing Phaedra Stockstill. Phaedra is a serial entrepreneur, the owner/formulator at @ The Boutique, a podcaster and eCommerce Educator.

In today's podcast Phaedra will share the secrets to her success - past and present. You'll also be the first to hear the interesting results of Phaedra's recently conducted eBay experiment. We'll talk 'frozen rats' too!

Today's podcast will be accompanied by a slide presentation. The link to the slides will be sent to those who have joined The Savvy Seller's Facebook Fan Page - so if you haven't already become a fan, please do so now!

Our Tips From the Top Podcast Chat Room will be open during the call so please join us there and feel free to ask your questions!

Get Savvy! IMU is Back

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Last month I had the opportunity to take 10 hours of classes through Inbound Marketing University (IMU). These online classes (details below) were taught by leaders in the field and covered a wide range of timely topics. By passing an exam on the material, I became eligible to be called an 'Inbound Marketing Certified Professional.' You can see the official badge on the upper left of this blog.

What is an 'Inbound Marketing Certified Professional?'

The certification is administered by Hubspot and "acknowledges the recipients proficiency in Inbound Marketing principals and best practices. These principles include: blogging, social media, lead conversion, lead nurturing, and closed-loop analysis. In order to receive the Inbound Marketing Certification, the recipient must pass a comprehensive certification exam with a score of 75% or higher. "

The great news is that IMU is back! The original ten classes are being offered again next month and there are two new classes available. The courses are free but you must register by August 12. The link to register is at the end of this article.

The original 10 classes are:

Class 1: How to Blog Effectively for Business Professors: Ann Handley & Mack Collier, MarketingProfs

Class 2: SEO Crash Course to Get Found Professor: Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing

Class 3: Social Media and Building Community Professor: Chris Brogan, New Marketing Labs

Class 4: Successful Business Uses for Facebook and LinkedIn Professor: Elyse Tager, Silicon Valley American Marketing Association

Class 5: Viral Marketing and World Wide Raves Professor: David Meerman Scott, author of New Rules of Marketing & PR andWorld Wide Rave

Class 6: Advanced SEO Tactics: On Beyond Keyword Research Professor: Rand Fishkin, SEOmoz

Class 7: Calls to Action and Landing Page Best Practices Professor: Jeanne Hopkins, MECLABS, Marketing Experiments

Class 8: Inbound Lead Nurturing Professor: Brian Carroll, MECLABS, InTouch

Class 9: Successful Email Marketing Professor: Eric Groves, Constant Contact

Class 10: Analyzing Inbound Marketing Professor: Marshall Sponder, Monster.com, Web Analytics Association for Social Media

The 2 new classes are:

1)PR for Inbound Marketing

Professor: Todd Defren, SHIFT Communications

2)Twitter for Business

Professor: Laura Fitton, Pistachio Consulting, Twitter For Dummies

To register for the live webinar classes and the Certification Exam, go to the IMU home page.

Fun and Free X3!

Image via CrunchBase

Here are 3 fun and free things you can do this week and best of all .... they're good for you!

#1 - Win a FREE copy of 'The eBay Marketing Bible!'

This Thursday (July 9) between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm - Pacific time, Cindy Shebley of Web Sellers Circle will be giving away five free copies of her new book, 'The eBay Marketing Bible.'

It's simple to win - just watch Cindy's Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/clovercity) for the mystery questions, be the first to answer and you'll win a copy of the book!

To make it even easier, here is one of the questions AND THE ANSWER:
Question: What famous TV car was auctioned on eBay in 1999?
Answer: The 1960's Batmobile

You're on your own for the other four mystery questions!

If you want to know more about the book, you can listen to Cindy talk about it (and share some of the tips) in our 'Tips From the Top' podcast. Don't let the book's title mislead you: All the tips can be used by anyone who's involved in eCommerce - not just eBayers.



#2 - How To Stay Motivated When Working From Home Or As A Solopreneur

Join us on Wed July 8 at 4:00pm EDT for a free Tips From the Top podcast with the amazing Charlene Anderson - Purveyor of All Things Creative as she joins us to share her words of wisdom.

Charlene's previous podcasts, which include 'Things I Learned the Hard Way' and 'Things I Did Right the First Time' have been some of the most downloaded in our series. On Wed, July 8, she's going to tackle the topic of staying motivated when you work from home or work alone.

#3 - Become a Fan of The Savvy Seller's Facebook Page

The Savvy Seller has a brand new Facebook page! Please feel free to stop by, become a fan, introduce yourself on the Discussion Board or start a topic.

Starting in the fall we'll have info links & tips available only to our fans. Also, when we offer our 'Tips From the Top' podcasts, only our fans will be provided with a link to the powerpoint slide presentation or video that accompanies it. Join us!

Tips on Using Facebook, MySpace & LinkedIn for Your Business

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelsey Foster of My Savvy Space on a 'Tips From the Top' podcast.

The topic was 'How To Use Social Networking Sites To Promote Your Business.'

Kelsey started by addressing a problem that many of us have - feeling pressured to be on all the sites and not having enough time. She explained how to determine which sites we should be on as well as why & how to best utilize social networks.

Along with many helpful tips and Best Practices, Kelsey provided step-by-step instructions on how to set up a business page on Facebook. A business page is a great way to keep your personal & business profiles separate on Facebook.

You can listen to the full podcast interview by clicking the green button below:

How To Use Twitter & Facebook in Your Business

Last week, our 'Tips From the Top' podcast guest was Rich Brooks, President of flyte new media. The topic of our call was 'How To Use Twitter & Facebook in Your Business' and Rich gave us some amazing insights and tips.

Here is a bit of the information we covered:

• why use social media sites
• the importance of having a strategy if you use social media for your business
• how to determine which social networking platforms are best for you
• how to use Twitter research to establish yourself as an expert
• the 1st thing to do when you sign up for Twitter
• how to use a Facebook Fan page for your business
• suggestions for eCommerce sellers on how to use Facebook
• the 80/20 rule for tweets
• attracting business vs chasing business
• how to get people to follow you on Twitter
• the best book on Social Media

You can listen to entire podcast by clicking this button:

To see the notes from the Chat Room, go to Chat Grabber and type in 19245.

How to Use Twitter & Facebook in Your Business & The Law of Attraction

It's time to mark your calendars for this week's awesome & FREE trainings!

2/24/09, Tuesday at Noon pst/3pm est

Law of Attraction with Sylvia McClintick

Are you repelling new opportunities with negative self talk? Learn how to attract new opportunities with a new vocabulary.

You can get registered at: http://www.ask-the-entrepreneurs.com/. Sponsored by OSI Rock Stars.

2/25/09, Wednesday at 11am PST/2pm EST

How To Use Twitter and Facebook for Your Business with Rich Brooks

Join Rich Brooks, Internet Marketing Expert & President of flyte new media as he explains how to use Facebook & Twitter for your business.

A Tips From the Top podcast from The Savvy Seller. Click here on Wednesday to listen to the podcast and join our Chat Room.