Nichole L. Smith

Posted By Nichole on July 22, 2010

I want to start by saying that I’m not a Twitter expert and I don’t in any way claim to be (kind of like saying you’re not a doctor but you play one on TV).

Now I understand that part of being on Twitter is connecting, is having people share your information with others or finding out information from other people. That’s perfect. I think that’s exactly what Twitter should be about.

Me? I’m about the conversation. If I can get a great conversation going with even one or two people in my twitter stream it’s a good day. Often times these conversations will spark blog posts and article ideas (like now).

Someone who is not in my Twitter stream but who does follow me asked about following back. Is there an etiquette or a science to it?

That answer is going to be different I believe for everyone. I can’t speak for the entire Twitterverse, (hence why I am NOT a Twitter expert) but I can say this, I follow those people who I feel like I can have a good conversation with. I look at my followers every day. I click to their streams and see what’s in it. I look at their bios and even their website link if they have one. I will follow people who have thousands of followers and I will follow people who have a dozen followers, but when it all comes down to it; I love the conversation.

I chose not to follow this person back because I don’t think we’d have a great connection, at this time. I don’t follow a lot of people back for the same reason. Usually it has something to do with what’s in their stream. A few turn offs for me would be:

1. Constant Retweets
2. Constant Replys
3. Nothing but links
4. A stream full of famous or inspirational quotations

This is just a few but in talking with other tweeple, some of these are also their reasons for not reciprocating the follow.

The one thing that especially turns me off is repeated asking for the follow. It’s akin to begging in my book. I don’t like begging (I’m a mom and I hear a lot of begging in a day). I don’t like it when it’s done rudely or in a way that feels like a threat or that you’re doing me a favor by following me so I should follow you.

Along those same lines, I follow a lot of people who don’t follow me back; who will likely never follow me back.

I get that I may not be someone they are interested in, but I’m interested in them nonetheless. I will still reply back to them when I think I have something of value (or comment) to add to the conversation. I usually leave it at that. Unless I need to tweet with them privately, I don’t ask for the follow back. If I do need to, then I offer up a request to DM them and then ask for the follow. Otherwise, I leave it up to them to decide if they’d like to follow me.

It’s rare that I unfollow someone simply because they aren’t following me back. You never know when the potential for a connection will come so why kill it by unfollowing? It may take them months to follow you (especially if they have thousands and thousands of followers).

Twitter is a funny space. It’s takes time to get a message conveyed in 140 characters. Building trust and making a solid connection takes more than repeated asking for the follow (or threatening to unfollow if they don’t).It make take months for that trust and connection to form. Don’t rule it out because it doesn’t happen for you immediately.

My rules to getting followed back?

Keep engaging.

Be present.

Toot someone else’s horn from time to time (but not ALL the time).

Trust in the potential and let it happen.

Have your own thoughts.

Category: Social Media Tips | No Comments »
Tags: Conversations, Opinions, social media, Social Networking, twitter

Posted By Nichole on May 4, 2010

I was driving the other day just bopping along to the radio when a commercial came on that made me stand up and take notice.

It was the first time I’d ever heard a radio spot promoting Constant Contact.

Constant Contact is a newsletter platform that allows you to deliver your newsletter through email. It’s just one of many e-newsletter platforms available. It’s used by bloggers, small businesses, individuals, and even large business owners.

I listened intently as the commercial played out a gentleman coming into a golf shop to buy (what else?) golf balls. He had gotten the e-newsletter from the shop and knew that a certain brand was on sale. After some more discussion and the narrator coming through to tell you how Constant Contact can help your business grow, it moved back to the gentleman buying the golf balls who remembered that the newsletter also discussed the some latest trend that made the gentleman also want to buy some new drivers.

On the surface, this commercial sounds like a great success. It fills two basic purposes:

1. To get your message about your business out there.

2. To notify your customers about specials and promotions.

Both of these are exactly what an e-newsletter should do and Constant Contact is right; a good newsletter platform is essential to reaching more customers.

Except it leaves out a major contributing factor to the success of your newsletter campaign – A good writer.

You’re running a business; do you really have the extra time it takes to put a newsletter together? By hiring a professional writer, you free yourself up to run the business you’re trying to promote, and you get a quality product that will help your business grow.

Whether you want to inform your customers and clients about industry news and happenings, share special deals and promotions with them, or give them advice and information that they can use, a professional writer can put all of that together for you.

A well thought out newsletter may have any combination of the following:

• Product stories
• News
• Tips
• How-to articles
• Previews, reports on special events
• Case histories
• Interviews
• Financial News
• Explanatory Articles
• Community information
• Research
• Columns
• Letters to the Editor
• Excerpts (from press releases, speeches, trade journal articles, reprints)
• Polls
• Surveys

As you can see, the possibilities for creating a newsletter can be overwhelming and exhausting. It takes considerable time to write the content, edit it, and put it together in an easy to follow and flowing fashion. It’s a time commitment that many business owners simply don’t have.

Should you choose to outsource your newsletter creation to a professional writer, you have the ability to maintain control over the project by choosing how much or how little you want in it. Most newsletters will have short excerpts, tips for customers or clients, the latest promotions and sales (if applicable), and one or two major pieces of content to round it out.

All of that takes time, research, and writing. You want your business to grow and it will so long as you don’t skimp on the content creation portion of your newsletter. Hiring a professional writer to create and tie your newsletter campaign up neatly will help you reach your audience in a way that you likely couldn’t have done on your own.

As more businesses go virtual and offer email updates to their customers, it’s even more important to put a professional polish on your email campaigns, be it a newsletter or direct contact. Don’t count out that commercial I heard on the radio. Constant Contact did what it set out to do – it promoted its product to a large audience, I certainly took notice.

Am I telling you not to use Constant Contact? No, but I am saying that many people fall into the trap of using a newsletter service like Constant Contact to promote their business without considering the time it takes to put a newsletter together. If you want to give your newsletters a professional and polished look and save yourself the time it would take away from your business, consider hiring a professional writer to the job for you, that’s what we’re here for!

Category: Doing Business, Freelance Writing | No Comments »
Tags: Constant Contact, email, newsletters, small business

Posted By Nichole on February 18, 2010

Whenever I approach a potential project, be it blogging, product reviewing, a web page or a news story, I have the mindset that whomever I am reporting to should and needs to proof my work.

I think this way because I’m a writer, it’s who I am. No project goes published without a second set of eyes on it. (Except of course when I’m blogging on my own sites). Without a second set of eyes, I may be getting the message wrong, I may have made an error in grammar, spelling, or tone.

As a writer, I don’t want that. As a business person, I can’t afford that.

In 2008 I was called upon to consult with a company that would eventually become a client. I sat in a room and listened while other consultants shared their viewpoints on blogging, reviews, and writing. The overwhelming sentiment of the consultants was that they don’t clear a questionable review or article with the client before pushing it live.

Stunned. Stunned I say.

I voiced that I sometimes DO in fact go back to the client if I find that what I’m writing may not be the tone or the result that they want out there.

Fresh eyes.

See a client/blogger (writer, consultant) relationship is important. It’s GOLD. There’s no reason not to go back to said client and say, “this has been my experience so far with your product/service,” and do it before you publish it.

It’s about getting your facts right.

This is especially important with product reviewing. I’m not going to tell every blogger how to do their job but if you  are finding more negatives than positives and you still want to publish your review, it can’t hurt your reputation with the client if you approach them and say, “this is what I’ve discovered so far,” and let them look over the issues you’re having.  You might be surprised to find out that:

• The issues are part of a bug fix the company is working on.
• You’re not using the product correctly.
• You’ve just discovered something that the company wasn’t aware of.

But how do you know if you don’t take your concerns to the client?

This would be like me publishing a news article without doing the leg work to find out the facts on what I’m reporting.

Damaging. Both to myself and my client.

Don’t misunderstand, if you’re loving the product or service and have no major issues with it, then simply hit publish. In cases such as those, you go back to the client, thank them and offer them the link where they can see the post live. Let them know that you’re happy to work with them again. You never know what might develop.

On the same hand, if you have major issues, then there’s no harm in take your concerns to the client; outline what your issues are and ask if they still want the review published. The client may say no, don’t publish that and just thank you for your feedback.

Do you always have to do that for a product you aren’t overjoyed about? No. Of course not. But if you want to work with that company or brand in the future, you have options. You can ask for feedback or you can simply say “this wasn’t a good fit but please keep me in mind for the future.”

Don’t be surprised though if the company comes back anyway and wants to know why you didn’t like said product or service.

When it’s a Paid project; it’s content writing.

If you’re working with a company in any paid writing capacity (as they control the outcome of the project); it’s even more important to give the client an opportunity to review your work and provide you with feedback; especially if you want to work with said client again.

It’s not about publishing a positive review or post about a product or service. It really isn’t.

It’s about building a POSITIVE client relationship. A client will respect you far more if you’re honest with them and value helping them build the best product or service they can offer.

So why am I telling you this?

Well, for one; I think you need to know. If you’ve just started blogging and reviewing products and you want to be the blogger that companies will call on; set the standards now.

And two, I attended the Blissdom Conference a couple of weeks ago. It was both refreshing and validating as a blogger and as a business woman. I know that I’m on the right track. I no longer obsess about how I write my reviews or how I want to work with clients. It’s also prompting me to make some changes this year in regards blogging practices with brands.

Feedback is a good thing. It’s a valuable part of the brand/blogger relationship. It’s also vital to the success of the relationship (in my opinion, that is).

You might disagree with me. You might tell me that you don’t have time to go to every brand whose product or service you have issues or concerns about; you might say that you’d rather not publish a review that you couldn’t be 100 percent positive about (in some cases, I might argue with you on that)… Regardless, that’s your right as a blogger. It is YOUR BLOG after all.

However, if you see the potential for a beautiful relationship to bloom between you and a company; then why not take a more professional stance and give the client a chance to address your concerns.

You never know, letting them address product concerns could result in a very honest and brand positive (ie “I spoke with so-and-so at X brand and they assured me they’re working to fix this problem”) experience for the both of you.

I realize that time is money and we’re already pressed to get our to-do lists done in under 24 hours, but the extra time you take may take you far beyond where you ever thought you could go.

Category: Doing Business | No Comments »
Tags: blogging, brands, business, companies, editing, feedback, product reviews

Posted By Nichole on August 3, 2009

Similar to having on clean undies whenever you leave the house, a contract is innately important when you’re in business for yourself.

Ask someone who knows the dangers, and frustrations of not having a contract. (that would be me.)

I’ve worked without them before and in a few situations, things have worked out well. However, you’re not always going to get that lucky. No one ever gets lucky enough to never run into client problems or issues. The contract can cover your proverbial derriere in the event that things don’t work out or that the client doesn’t hold up their end of the deal.

On one occasion I had the contract to back me up and protect me when the deal went bad. In another, I took for granted a promise of a contract and that wound up screwing me over. (Yes, I started and even continued to work with no contract ever being produced).

I would hope that I’ve gotten a little smarter since then and now if the client doesn’t produce a contract, I offer up my own contract. It’s a general one that outlines the scope of work, the time frame and payment. It’s suitable for independant contractors like myself and mostly it’s used for writing and content production.

Without a contract you leave yourself open to a wide variety of what I like to call “client overmanagement” which means that unless you spell out in some way what you will do, when or for how long and how much you expect to be compensated, the client may be inclined to think that new tasks can be added on at any time and without any kind of compensation or negotiations.

I’m not client bashing. Plesase don’t get me wrong… but if you’re working with someone who’s never really outsourced or hired someone in your field, they may not know what the rules of engagement are. Your contract will help spell out what you can do, will do and have agreed to do for them. It’s a guideline for everyone involved that’s created with everyone’s best interest in mind. Don’t be shocked if your client wants to amend or negotiate part of the contract, they are simply trying to make sure they are covered as well.

Category: Doing Business | No Comments »
Tags: business, contracts, negotiating, rules, writing

Posted By Nichole on June 16, 2009

Credit: B S K @ stock.xchng

I’m no stranger to online communities. I’ve belonged to them since yahoo groups were about the coolest thing since sliced bread (no offense to Yahoo or the groups, it’s an example) but let’s face it; online communities and social networking have come a long way. It seems like eons since I made my first post on a message board or forum.

All those years of participating paid off for me when I became part of Clubmom (now Cafemom). I got the chance to learn social networking inside and out. I discovered how to write a good post (before blogs were mainstream), get people talking, and work as a team to make the community a success. The other moderators became family to me and I’ve never forgotten the lessons we learned and taught each other about growing a community, friendship, and social networking.

In the last couple of years, I’ve started putting that knowledge to good use. I’ve spoken with other community leaders and websites about how to build a strong community. I’ve worked as the Chief Mom Officer with Babyspot.com, helping them to get their community off the ground and I’ll soon be working with another as well (more about that later!) Through all of that time though, there seems to be one major rule that everyone seems to be missing about social networking and communities and that’s if you aren’t spending time to build the community, no one else will either. Your members will disappear faster than fresh baked chocolate chip cookies in a room full of Kindergartners.

Companies today think that they can cash in on the online community trend and social networks by putting together a site with some amazing features and custom tools.

Well, you can. And you can’t.

I know a lot of companies and start ups that spend most of their investment money on development and IT. That’s great because you need a platform that works but you have to set aside some money for promotion and community building because let’s face it, if you don’t have the members to back up your community, all you’re left with are some really cool tools and features that have no one to use them.

I’ve stuck with communities that had kinks to work out in their development because they had a community of members to see it through. Even if we were posting and commiserating about the bugs and kinks, we were actively sharing. You can’t simply put a platform together and expect people to arrive. You have to go out there and get them. That’s where promotion comes in.

The problem or advantage of promotion, is that it’s an ongoing thing. It doesn’t just happen one time and then stop. A whole team should be forging new ideas to attract users. I recommend putting together a marketing team made up of members as well as PR people. Your members are the people who are going to respond to the campaign that the PR people put together. They are also going to be the ones who will keep the promoting going by telling their friends about your community and participating in the discussions that develop.

One without the other leaves the door open for not reaching the right people or not reaching them effectively.

See online communities aren’t just about the features and the tools. It’s about the connecting. Look at Twitter (stay with me here people); forget all of the cool apps for your phone, computer, blog and such and just focus on the platform itself. It has no fancy bells and whistles (the apps other people have developed are the bells and whistles), you can tweak your page just enough so people know who you are and what you’re about but in the end, it’s about what YOU are saying and who you’re saying it too.

For example, despite all of the new online communities popping up and the ones that are still in development, iVillage has a strong community based on the conversations people are having. Yes, they have branched out and changed tremendously in the past five years but all of that came later, AFTER they had their hold on the people who were chatting and sharing information inside their message boards.

I know there are a lot of very successful online communities out there, they have some great featurs, tools and widgets to make your head spin. However, I see a successful community as one that has members first and then builds their site around them; not around the features they can offer.

What do you think? What are the important components to making an online community successful?

Category: Social Networks | No Comments »
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Posted By Nichole on March 25, 2009

Now that the world is all a twitter, myself included, there are a number of rules of engagement for being on twitter and for “tweeting”. I’m probably a bit of a rule breaker in that I like to talk to people so at times I can drone on about silly or insignificant stuff. However, I’ve noticed that some of the insignificant stuff gets the most @ replies. Other than that I try not to be an annoying tweeter.

On the other hand, in the past few weeks, I’ve become more annoyed with twitter than I thought possible, so I’ve put together four rules of my own. Hopefully you won’t take offense and stop following; you’ll simply tweet a little wiser.

1. I’m not a fan of the automated DMs with links to your sites. I check new followers as I get them and I’m already looking at your profile and your site. No need to DM me and restate what I already know.
2. Twitter is not a singles lounge. If you’re following me, and I decide to follow you back- please don’t ask me to tell you about myself and if I’m married. That’s the fastest way to get unfollowed and blocked. Unless of course you’re in Public Relations and are looking for married women to participate in a study or promotion; in that case, say so.
3. Don’t publicly @ me and ask if I’ve reviewed your site, tried your products or your services without developing a relationship with me first. I get pitched from individuals and companies constantly. If we’re following each other, this a conversation better left for DMs or email. If we’re not following each other and you want to open a conversation about you and what you do/offer, let me know. I’ll follow back and we can go from there.
4. For the love of toast, start your own conversations! I know we spend a lot of time @ing back and forth to each other but I’d really like to see you have an original thought somewhere in your twitter stream; and no links to your work, projects, and make money schemes don’t count.  I have plenty of days myself where I feel like I am doing nothing but replying back to people and that happens but pages of updates that are nothing but @ replies tell me nothing about you and what you think, who you are, or what YOU really care about. I love original thoughts; have some.

I love the power of Twitter. It helped me get hired with Babyspot.com as their community manager, site ambassador, and social media consultant, plus it’s garnered new professional contacts, some amazingly talented and funny people, and it’s my answer to the virtual water cooler.

The thing with twitter is that it’s just like any other water cooler; don’t abuse the privilage. By that I mean, all those people that are following you? If you get annoying or take to tweeting spam, they’ll go away, thus no more conversations and then who will Retweet for you or click your links. Be a good tweeter; engage with those around you but don’t spam them. It’s not all about you (even if the premise is “what are you doing?”) It’s about the people, the conversations, the connecting.

Category: Social Media Tips | No Comments »
Tags: etiquette, rules, social media, twitter