Inside Out
Business Edition
"You can't change the direction of the wind. . .
but you can adjust your sails!"
--Jimmy Dean

Kim Olver, MS, NCC, LPC

www.Coachingforexcellence.biz
Kim@Coachingforexcellence.biz

To read our blog click here or go to www.coachingforexcellence.biz and click on "Blog" on the left hand navigation bar. Read some of Kim's musings and add some of your own!

A Message from Kim

This month's newsletter is focused on helping you build your business through social media. This is relatively new and growing so fast, it's hard to keep track. I have been attempting to keep up but I'm definitely not leading the pack but want to share with you what I do know.

I want to give you an opportunity though to get connected with me on the social media sites I am using. So, if you aren't already connected, here are my URLs to connect on the following sites:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1050305227&ref=nf

Twitter: http://twitter.com/kimolver

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/coachkimolver

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/kimolver

If you have an account at any of these sites and you connect with me, just let me know you are one of my subscribers and I'll connect back. Enjoy building your network and know I'll be honored to be a part of it.

Just a reminder if you are interested in training in Reality Therapy I have a week scheduled in Chicago on July 27-30th and three new weeks in the Philadelphia area. For details see the Upcoming Events listed below.

Make today the day you want it to be! 
                Unleash the power within you.

In This Issue

Feature Article
Creating an Effective Online Presence: Social Media

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Basic Intensive Weeks in Reality Therapy

Quote of the Month
"All achievements require time."—David Joseph Schwartz

Book Review
Lucrative List Building by Glen Hopkins

Tip of the Month

Business Q&A

Products & Services

About Kim Olver

Creating an Effective Online Presence: Social Media
by Kim Olver

About three years ago, I wrote a three-part series on Creating an Effective Online Presence but that was before I understood anything about social media. Now if you are going to have an effective online presence, social media is one aspect that can help put you on the cyber map.

I am not a social media expert by any means but I want to share with you the sites I have a presence on and how I use them to leverage my opportunities and to promote my business.

I keep coming back to one of the tenants of my Inside Out Empowerment process, “Relationship is the root of all influence.” People tend to do business with people they like and trust. When you are on the Internet, it is difficult for people to distinguish you from all the others out there operating in your same niche. This can be done through writing articles and/or blogging. But now social media has created another stage for you to allow potential customers to get to know you in a different way.

LinkedIn: On LinkedIn, you get to create a profile of your business, get recommendations from others who have used your services and network with people you know and the people they know.

Facebook: I personally like facebook best. This is where you can connect with people you know. No one can follow you and your posts unless you approve them and you can block them if you choose. Facebook is more conducive to conversation because the length of your posts is not limited. You can post links and videos. You can make new friends there.

Twitter: Twitter works best if you can say what you need to say in 140 characters of less. This is a challenge for me but I’m working on it. You can post comments on what you are doing or link to longer articles and information sources.

MySpace: This used to be the place to network but I believe it has been surpassed by facebook. I still find many entertainers use it because you can add a lot of things to your page, e.g. music, video, etc. You can leave public comments, send bulletins, and post status updates.

YouTube: This is an excellent site to promote what you do in video. You can do a 5 – 10 minute clip and viewers will get a sense of what you have to offer.

I use all of these sites to promote my business with the exception of Youtube. I don’t have video yet but I will be adding it in a few months. I am very excited about that. However, I don’t profess to be an expert at any of them.

There are experts available to help you through the process and some very good books written on the subjects. Here is what I recommend.

For LinkIn, read How to REALLY use LinkedIn by Jan Vermeiren and/or I’m on LinkedIn—Now What??? by Jason Alba.

For Facebook, I like Mari Smith at marismith.com. Also, check out Facebook: The Missing Manual by E. Vander Veer and/or Facebook Cookbook: Building Applications to Grow Your Facebook Empire by Jay Goldman.

For Twitter, check out Carrie Wilkerson at carriewilerson.com. Also, be sure to check out Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm, Anthony Robbins, and Ken Burge and/or Twitter Tips, Tricks, and Tweets by Paul McFedries and Pete Cashmore.

For MySpace look at MySpace Marketing: The Promotional Revolution 2nd Edition by Nick Jag and for YouTube try YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business by Michael Miller.

The best tip I have is to remember you are trying to build your business. Make sure what you put out there is the way you want others to perceive you. And have fun building your networks.

Copyright © May 2009 Kim Olver. All rights reserved.

Kim Olver, LPC is an executive coach, staff development specialist, public speaker and consultant. She has developed a revolutionary process called Inside Out Empowerment, designed to help leaders become more effective from the inside-out. If you are interested in learning coaching skills or starting your own coaching business check out Kim's new coaching school, Choice Coaching.

NOTICE: This article is free and can be copied and reproduced
as long as the copyright and bio is included at the bottom of the article

*Click Here to read some of Kim's other articles*

Upcoming Events

Teleconferences
(Times in EST)

All teleconferences are free, one (1) hour in length and all you need is a telephone. When you register we will send you a phone number that you will call five minutes prior to the start of your teleconference. You will have the opportunity to ask questions, but if you prefer to just listen that’s all right too. You do not need a computer or Internet, only a telephone. Don’t delay. There are a limited number of slots available.

Inside Out Empowerment Mastermind Group
Second Tuesday of Every Month
Next Teleconference: June 9, 2009

The Inside Out Empowerment Mastermind Group is not a typical teleconference. This is an actual mastermind group. Members participate equally -- both giving to others and receiving suggestions for their own challenges and opportunities. Click on the link to learn more about IOE and how it can help you to open your heart, free your mind and transform your life.

Upcoming Basic Intensive Weeks in Reality Therapy

June 6 & 7, 13 & 14th - Governors State University, University Park, IL
July 6 - 9th - Childrens Choice, Bellmawr, NJ
July 13th - 16th - Childrens Choice, Bellmawr, NJ
July 27 - 30th - Prairie State College-Matteson, IL
August 24-28th - Childrens Choice, Bellmawr, NJ

The Basic Intensive Week in Choice Theory and Reality Therapy is a 4 day or 4½-day workshop where you will be exposed to some highly innovative ideas of Dr. William Glasser. You will learn the new psychology of personal freedom called Choice Theory. There is application in this workshop for teachers, school administrators, counselors, therapists, social workers, business managers, clergy, nurses, parents, and anyone interested in improving the quality of their life. You will learn how to empower yourself by distinguishing between those things you can control and those you can’t and focus your energy on those you can. There is practical advice about how to improve the important relationships in your life and how to become the person you want to be. This workshop helps you become more effective in counseling and teaching others, particularly those who may not even know they need your help—non-voluntary clients and less than enthusiastic students. The group size is kept small enough that you will receive individual attention and have plenty of time to have your questions answered.

Quote of the Month

"All achievements require time."

—David Joseph Schwartz

Whether it's list building, growing your business through social media or increasing your profit margin, accomplishments require consistent application of a plan over time. These things don't happen overnight. And they are not without an investment of time and energy. However, if you are passionate about what you do and you believe in your product or service, you will be more content while you wait for your planted seeds to grow.

Book Review

Lucrative List Building
by Glen Hopkins

When I was attempting to grow my email list, this book was very helpful. Following the advice Hopkins wrote helped me go from 1000 subscribers to over 3000 in a relatively short period of time.

The key however, is to remember that knowledge is not power. There is a lot of knowledge in this short book. But that knowledge won't mean a thing if you don't take the steps necessary to apply that knowledge.

Growing an Internet business is not rocket science. There are enough successful people out there who have already done it and are not stingy with their information to help others duplicate their success.

You just have to be willing to follow a program and stick with it. Good luck with your list building.

Click here to purchase this book

Tip of the Month

If you are seriously going to use social media to market your business, I recommend you check out http://ping.fm. This is a service where you can type a post once and it will post it on all your social media sites. This simple tool will save you lots of time and it's free.

Another thing I recommend is that you set a predetermined amount of time you want to spend on your social media sites and you stick to that limit. It is so easy to get distracted by all the information you can find and the people you will meet. Know prior to starting the time investment you want to make and honor that limit. You will be glad you did.

Business Q&A

Question: How do I target my particular niche in using social media to grow my business?

Answer: This is a great question and I can tell you what I've done. On twitter, there is a search function at the bottom of the page. If you use that function, you can search the posts, called tweets, for keywords that you target. For example, I search weekly for choice theory, reality therapy, parenting and relationships. That helps me find people talking about the things I specialize in.

On facebook, there are groups you can join. I belong to Circle of Moms and I look at their discussions. I can often find posts where I can contribute some advice. I have noticed a definite increase in traffic coming to my site from facebook because of this.

Same thing on LinkedIn and MySpace, there are groups you can join where your target market congregates. Staying active and involved in these groups will help you lure prospective customers to your site and your unique product offerings.

You want to be seen as a valuable contributer of information, not just someone promoting your work without anyone knowing you. The ideas is to build relationships.

I'm sure there are other ways to target your niche that you could learn about by picking up those books I mentioned in the article above.

Good luck with your endeavors and let me know how you make out.

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