For the full article visit  http://www.websearchsocial.com/put-some-fun-into-your-day-your-business-depends-on-it

This is Episode 36 of The Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast, a podcast for small businesses, whether you’re a solopreneur working from your kitchen table or managing a team of 50. 

It’s Thanksgiving time here in the U.S. and that means we’re gearing up for a nice four-day-long food coma. We were planning on taking the week off but then there were too many things to talk about so here we are. Whether you enjoy this at work or over a slice of pie, we wish you a happy holiday!

In This Episode We Talk About

• Why you may be experiencing “page not found” errors when sharing your blog posts to Facebook and how to fix it
• The importance of putting your Twitter handle into the tweet share button on your site
• What “free” really means
• Why it’s time to change your thinking about SEO and how you may be focusing on the wrong metrics
• Plus a bunch of thank yous to just a few of the amazing people in our lives

Links & Resources

• Facebook debugger
• Mallie Hart and Brooke Ballard at ReadySetPodcast.com
• Melanie Kissell, Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast
• Ian Anderson Gray, Chief Executive Research Dude
• With special thanks to our guests:
  • Mike Brooks, Nuclear Chowder Marketing
  • Jonathan Bailey, Plagiarism Today
  • Chris Curran, Fractal Recording
  • Glen Koedding, Green Sun Energy Services
  • Alisa Meredith, Scalable Social Media
  • Ryan Hanley, Content Warfare
  • Matthew Holden, MavSocial Publishing And Digital Asset Management
  • Cynthia Sanchez, Oh So Pinteresting
  • Téa Silvestre, Story Bistro
  • Sarah Peters, Sarah Peters Web Design
  • Upcoming Guest Bryan Kramer, PureMatter
  • Upcoming Guest Aaron Wood, Just One Scarf

Subscribe to be notified whenever we publish new content and to stay in the loop on some new podcasts and other fun stuff that’s coming up.

This is Episode 35 of The Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast, a podcast for small businesses, whether you’re a solopreneur working from your kitchen table or managing a team of 50. 

They say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago… and the best moment for change is now. But when it comes to marketing your business, the best time to start is… before you start!

If that sounds weird, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered in this episode of the Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast because we talk with web marketing professional Sarah Peters about how to plan, prep and get ready-and-set so you can GO when it’s time to start.

In This Episode We Talk About

• Why YOU aren’t necessarily the best source of information when it comes to talking about what you do
• What to focus on if you really want to generate leads and sales
• Why you should ditch your testimonials page – and probably most of your testimonials – and what to do instead
• And more great stuff about using photos, writing content and getting business through your website

Links & Resources

• Visit Sarah at sarahpeterswebdesign.com
• Follow Sarah on Twitter
• Find Sarah on Google Plus

Subscribe to be notified whenever we publish new content and to stay in the loop on some new podcasts and other fun stuff that’s coming up.

For the full article visit http://www.websearchsocial.com/is-your-website-generating-leads-fix-these-things-now-to-improve-your-chances/

This is Episode 33 of The Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast, a podcast for small businesses, whether you’re a solopreneur working from your kitchen table or managing a team of 50. 

Since our last couple of Monday episodes have been a little rant-ish, we put on our thinking caps today and came up with a list of things that you, Fred, can do to improve your marketing in 2015. There are some practical “do-now” ideas and a few conceptual big-picture ones. If you want to get off center and see results from your marketing, this is for you.

In This Episode We Talk About

• Practical ways to improve your marketing, from email to ads and beyond
• A few ways to adjust your thinking and strategy so you’re focused on the right things
• A couple of dos and don’ts for everything from email to SEO to content and a whole lot more

Links & Resources

• The $5 Logo by by Sacha Greif
• What Kind of Logo Do You Get for $5? follow up by by Sacha Greif
• How To Use Email As A Better Communication Tool by Ralph M. Rivera
• Jessica Rosengard on Twitter (with thanks for sharing Sacha's articles!)

Our List of 10(ish) Ideas

Listen to the episode for the full scoop.

1. Start segmenting your email list
2. Use email more efficiently
3. Reach out to existing customers
4. Decide your website is a function of sales and not IT
5. Keep your pieces connected
6. Understand your marketing from a minimally technical level
7. Spend money in the right places
8. Stop lamenting the days of SEO past
9. Stop trying to tie dollars to tactics
10. Make your marketing about people

Bonus #1: lead with your customers, not with tactics or strategies

Bonus #2: think more narrowly about advertising

Extra Bonus #1: make marketing part of your process

Extra Bonus #2: recognize that marketing doesn’t produce immediate results

Subscribe to be notified whenever we publish new content and to stay in the loop on some new podcasts and other fun stuff that’s coming up.

This is Episode 32 of The Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast, a podcast for small businesses, whether you’re a solopreneur working from your kitchen table or managing a team of 50. 

Snuggle up in your comfy chair and settle in for a good yarn. Today we talk to story spinner, tale teller and podcast protagonist Téa Silvestre about how, when and why to tell your business story. I don’t know about you but I’ve got a nice cup of tea with honey and a couple of chocolate chip cookies. What’s your favorite way to enjoy a story?

In This Episode We Talk About

• Why storytelling is “a thing” and how it can mean the difference between a sale and no sale for your business
• What it really means to tell your story
• How to tell a story even if you think you don’t have one – or even if you really don’t have one
• Some of the things you need to think about if you want to succeed with storytelling and more about the hows, whys and whats of a good business tale

Links & Resources

• Visit Téa at storybistro.com
• Get storytelling coaching and find a community of storytellers at digitaldiningroom.com
• Join Téa’s troupe at wordcarnivals.com 
• Take Téa's story assessment to discover your business storytelling type

Subscribe to be notified whenever we publish new content and to stay in the loop on some new podcasts and other fun stuff that’s coming up.

For the full article visit http://www.websearchsocial.com/seo-or-searrrgh-search-optimization-pitfalls-and-conundrums-that-you-need-to-be-aware-of/

This is Episode 30 of The Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast, a podcast for small businesses, whether you’re a solopreneur working from your kitchen table or managing a team of 50. 

Today we thank you, Fred, for keeping us going by pointing out the madness in marketing. Today’s madness comes courtesy of a Fred who pointed out one marketer’s opinion that “it’s ok to hate marketing.” Well, we have a field day with that and thus follows a conversation and a bit of a rant about high pressure, disingenuous marketing.

In This Episode We Talk About

• Why you don’t have to hate marketing to be successful
• How you can market and have integrity, too
• The misconception that marketing “should be” done by some specific (and usually random) rule
• Plus we designate a new position for Chief Executive Research Dude, a most honorable title indeed.

Links & Resources

Ian Anderson Gray

John Lee Dumas, Entrepreneur on Fire podcast

Lessons from (and about) Public Speaking by Brett Cohrs 

Subscribe to be notified whenever we publish new content and to stay in the loop on some new podcasts and other fun stuff that’s coming up.

This is Episode 29 of The Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast, a podcast for small businesses, whether you’re a solopreneur working from your kitchen table or managing a team of 50. 

Today we welcome Cynthia Sanchez, mother of the Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast and Pinterest marketer extraordinaire. You can’t go two pins across the internet without seeing Cynthia pop up and for good reason – when it comes to marketing your business on Pinterest, she has all the insight, advice and know-how you need.

In This Episode We Talk About

• Why Pinterest is for more than girls and wedding dresses
• How you can effectively use it to market your business
• Why you shouldn’t let people convince you that “Pinterest is for fun, not business”
• What you need to think about (and do) before you start pinning
• Promoted pins, rich pins and more!

Links & Resources

• Visit Cynthia at ohsopinteresting.com
• Follow Cynthia on Pinterest 

Subscribe to be notified whenever we publish new content and to stay in the loop on some new podcasts and other fun stuff that’s coming up.

Visit http://www.websearchsocial.com/attack-your-biggest-social-marketing-challenges-with-mavsocial/

This is Episode 27 of The Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast, a podcast for small businesses, whether you’re a solopreneur working from your kitchen table or managing a team of 50. 

Today is all email, all the time… but before we get down to business we make a very important announcement: The designation of the official Poet Laureate Consultant In Poetry To The Web.Search.Social Marketing Podcast.

Rain down confetti because this is a big one. Our first official poem sent in by a very special fan who inspired us to create this most noble of positions.

Then it’s all email all the time.

In This Episode We Talk About

•   The results of a recent email test we performed.

•   Why segmenting your email list is important.

•   What segmentation means and how you can go about doing it, even if you have a mess of a list.

•   Plus we read our first official poem and talk about December’s upcoming giveaways so be sure to listen for all the good stuff!

Links & Resources

Our first official Web.Search.Social poem, brought to you by Melanie Kissell:

This is a tale of content curation

The new opium of the web nation

The 80/20 rule beats like a drum

Here to say it's dumb, dumb, dumb

Content curation is an empty calorie drink

Gulp it down and watch your business sink

The practice itself is deceptive and lazy

It's not good marketing, it's downright crazy

Where To Listen

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