I remember the first time I called a professional service supplier and her voice mail announcement promised she would call me back "at my earliest convenience." My reaction was: Excuse me -- her earliest convenience? I was the customer and she just told me she'd return my call when she was ready without any concern [...]
Most bloggers want comments on their posts, and for good reason. Comments are excellent gauges of reader engagement and great sources of future content ideas. They also have a positive impact on site ranking. So why make it hard for people to comment on your blog? Several years ago, I wrote a book, Words to [...]
In a recent presentation to the National Association of Entrepreneurs, I explained how to create great blog content – that is, content that search engines will love and your audience will want to read. Great content is written for the reader – the human reader. Before you start writing, answer these questions about [...]
Some blogs with good information worth sharing: Got any other bad ideas? This is a funny post from PR Daily with some valuable advice on how to shop for and deal with a PR agency -- and how PR agencies can identify prospective clients they should avoid. The thoughts can be applied to any professional [...]
I put a post on my personal Facebook page comparing Tweets by two opposing political candidates on September 11. Here’s the story (minus the names): Candidate A posted a compassionate, caring message about the significance of the day. Candidate B posted a volunteer recruitment message. In full disclosure, I happen to support Candidate A. A [...]
I hate it when I make mistakes. I really beat myself up about it. Oh, I do all the right post-mistake things – figure out how it happened, plan to make sure it won’t happen again, apologize if necessary, and so on. But I have a hard time dealing with it when my performance [...]
Email marketing experts suggest that the "from" line of your emails be something that your recipients will recognize: If readers know you personally, it should be your name; if they don't, make it your organization's name. That's not ground-breaking advice. But take it one step further and check out how your email might look in [...]
You have contingency plans in place for when things go wrong, but what will you do when things go right – or better than right? What will you do when your performance exceeds your expectations? Companies that experience rapid and unexpected growth often stumble. Here’s how to be sure that doesn’t happen to you: [...]
Business is about relationships, and relationships begin with introductions. The good news is that the old social rules about gender and age don't apply to effective introductions in today's online and offline business world. These days, it's all based on precedence. In other words, rank rates. When you perform an introduction, the "less important" [...]
Email is quick, casual and convenient–and a potential minefield. An email gaffe can be amusing, embarrassing or even career-ending. Use these guidelines for proper email etiquette to make sure your electronic messages don’t come back to haunt you: Remember that readers cannot hear your tone of voice or see your facial expressions and gestures. [...]
