Blog Design Bootcamp LIVE!

I attended Erin Blaskie’s Blog Design Bootcamp last year and I am still utilizing the skills I learned in her class with my clients and I built this site shortly after attending her class.  Erin’s teaching techniques make learning blog design easy because she shares her desktop screen and is on the phone with the students.  She takes the time to answer questions in a way that make it easy to understand. Purchasing a seat in her class was the best investment I made in my business.  She is once again offering this fantastic class live from February 1-8, 2010 — 7-9PM EST. The Blog Design Bootcamp is an intense 10-hour course of webinar / virtual training.

Here are some of the topics she will be covering, see the full list on Erin’s event site.

Understanding the Basics
* Installing the blog platform with the one-click install feature
* Using an FTP client to upload files – themes, plug-ins, etc.

Customizing a Theme — Part I
* Working with the CSS to make changes to colors, etc.
* Setting up Google Analytics on the blog from day one

Customizing a Theme — Part II
* Working with sidebar widgets
* Looking at more advanced plug-ins. (Sociable, WP-Video, Technorati Tags, etc.)
* Working with external services ie: Feedburner

Other House-Keeping Functions
* Creating and managing pages
* Creating and managing posts
* Setting up permissions / privacy / allowances for the blog

How to Deliver Blog Design to Your Clients
* How to charge for your blog design
* Setting boundaries – how to draw the line at the number of on-going changes to the blog design

If you are in need of creating a website or blog for your business or your clients then this is the class that you need to invest your money in.  I highly recommend Erin’s classes, she is very knowledgeable and a great teacher.  To sign up for the course you can visit Erin’s event site or email me at dawn@SunriseVirtualServices.com if you have any questions about her class.

Twitter Lists

Twitter Lists

Are you wondering why there are so many people on Twitter?  How in the WORLD are you going to listen to all they have to say?  Well, you don’t have to, you only need to listen to the people who matter to you and weed out the other yahoos out there.  Twitter has a service called Twitter Lists.  This is a way you can  organize the people you follow and put them into little categories.

You can build many different lists of people and even just organize the people you follow by topic, region, profession, groups of friends or family members.  The lists are then shown on your Twitter page and can be viewed by anyone who visits your page, heck they can even start to follow your list.  Another cool feature is that you can see the lists that other people have put you on and follow that list as well.

The lists that I have created include my fellow online business owners, a celebrity list, a Mommy Bloggers list, a local Sacramento list and a list that I appear on called Ask Erin Live which was created by Erin Blaskie.

Creating a Twitter List

• Go to your Twitter Page and select “New List“.  Then you can name your list, create a description and select if you want your list to be public or private.

• After you have your list created you will need to add people to it.  Go to the pages of the people that you want to add to your list and simply click the list button and add that person to your list.

• Once your lists are created you can edit them at anytime by clicking the “View all” link under the Lists section of your profile page.  Once on the list page just select the “Edit” link to rename your list or adjust the privacy settings.  To remove people from the list simply click on their thumbnail photo or the “View all” link under the Following section and you can adjust which list (if any) they appear on.

Things You Can Do With Your Twitter Lists

You can add your Twitter Lists to your blog or website by using either Twitters List widget or the one that I used on my website by Tweet Grid. If you are a HootSuite user you can integrate your Twitter Lists as columns.

More Resources

Here are some more resources you can check out about Twitter Lists and see what these experts have to say

Twitter’s Blog – Posting “There’s a List for That”

Mashable – “10 Ways You Can Use Twitter Lists“  and Twitter Lists Guide

So, how will you use your Twitter Lists?

JumpStart Your Business in 2010

Katrina Sawa

Every year at this time Katrina Sawa does at least one if not more Free Teleclasses on how to jumpstart your business and marketing for the new year and this year is NO exception!

She is hosting her free teleclass this week, January 7th at 5:00 pm (pst) / 8:00 pm (est).
The topic of this call is:  JumpStart Your Business in 2010! … Plain and simple.

Click here to skip ahead and register for the free call, you will also be sent a recording after the call so you can review her tips!

On this call you’ll learn:

* Her 7 simple steps to reaching your big money goals this year
* What kind of marketing to continue and what to STOP right away
* Which business models are best for YOUR desired lifestyle and income
* The secrets to putting together a step-by-step ACTION PLAN for clear and focused results
* Her 3 secrets to staying motivated when working for yourself
* How you can secure a spot in her Gold Masters Club Group Training Program for 2010.

Teaching you the HOW is what she specializes in.  She is all about showing you how to get more done in the time you have, implementing what is necessary and what will be effective for you to build, grow or market your business FASTER.  She is a great coach and she will ‘kick you in the butt’ to get it all done!  Trust me on this one, she is fabulous!

Resources mentioned in this blog posting

1. Katrina Sawa
2. Register for Katrina’s Free Teleclass JumpStart Your Business in 2010!…Plain and simple.
   

Affiliate Marketing, Why Aren’t You Doing It?

The idea of affiliate marketing isn’t a new concept but if you are unfamiliar with it the idea is simple.  I have a product and if you tell your friend about it and the buy it then I will give you 20% of the sales price.  Sounds great right?  But how is this accomplished in the virtual world?  This is done via affiliate URL’s that are tracked using your internet cookies. When you click on a promotional affiliate link it stays in your cookies and if you make a purchase on that website it then tracks who the affiliate member is.  You can click the link today, but then go back months later to the site to make the purchase and the affiliate can still be tracked and make their commission.

In my affiliate marketing I focus on Internet Businesses (Business Coaches and other Virtual Assistants) as well as promoting products that I use in my own business such as Mozy, StudioPress and GoDaddy.  There are plenty of Entrepreneurs out there who have affiliate marketing programs that work really well because they have proven products that work and the Entrepreneur is well liked and trusted.  When looking for an affiliate program to join ( and joining is free ) you will want to join one that gives you the tools to easily promote that Entrepreneurs product.  These types of tools are things like product graphics, pre-written email messages and Tweets.  If they don’t provide those types of items then you are going to need to create them on your own and that can take some time to do on your end.  How do you know if someone has an affiliate program?  If they have a program this will be listed right on their website and you can check it out before joining.  Here is a link to Ali Brown’s affiliate program, and I highly recommend joining her first because she has a great program.

An example of some really great programs ( that I am a member of ) are Ali Brown, David Neagle and Katrina Sawa and Erin Blaskie. These are higher end Entrepreneurs who have teams of people who create their affiliate promotion products for them, have proven products that work and often have new items to promote.  They also have specific websites called Affiliate Resource Centers where you can see how many clicks and sales you have generated.

Most affiliate programs will pay you one to two months after the sale is made once your sales amount reaches $50.  The money can be transferred right into your PayPal account or you can opt to be paid via check.

I have made money with these affiliate programs and you can to, here’s how.

• Utilize the pre-written email messages, why?  Because a professional Affiliate Manager or the Entrepreneur has written them and they are the ones who know ‘how’ to sell their products.  These message can be sent out to your email marketing list or made into a blog post on your blog.
• Utilize the pre-written Tweets provided and create automated Tweets to be sent at specific times to promote a specific product, service or upcoming event.  I currently use HootSuite to automate my Tweets and Status updates.  You can also use Social Oomph (previously known as Tweetlater) to automate your tweets as well.
• Add a graphic to your web site or blog site promoting the Entreprenur, one of their products or an upcoming event.

Affiliate marketing can be fun, espeically when making money!!  What are your favorite affiliate marketing programs?

Resources mentioned in this blog posting were:

1. Ali Brown’s Affiliate Program – Join this affiliate program 1st!
2. Katrina Sawa - Affiliate Program
3. David Neagle - Affiliate Program
4. Erin Blaskie - Affiliate Program
5. HootSuite – Automate your status updates & promotional Tweets
6. Social Oomph – Automate your promotional Tweets

Got low-cost marketing strategies?

Ali Brown

Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero

Your 11 Best No-Cost to Low-Cost Marketing & Business Strategies for 2010!

I wanted to give you a quick heads-up about a brand new complimentary call that Ali Brown is hosting along with her special guest, award winning marketer Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero.

It’s called, “Your 11 Best No-Cost to Low-Cost Marketing & Business Strategies for 2010!” and it happens Wednesday, January 6 at 8pm Eastern.

(In a hurry? Sign up for this complimentary call now )

Both Ali and Lorrie have been watching what’s changed in marketing and online businesses during the past few years, and after much discussion, they want to share their recommendations with YOU.

On this call you’ll discover:

1. How to best leverage social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter for business results (without wasting all day online)
2. The online system you’re likely already using that you are NOT maximizing to your advantage — and how to do so at no additional cost
3. How to plug your marketing money leaks and make full use of all the opportunities you’re missing online and offline to get more leads and sales
4. Teleseminars vs. webinars vs. podcasts: which pull BEST right now and why
5. Today’s NEW protocols for scoring the best joint ventures and affiliate relationships you’ve ever had
6. Best lead-generation (list-building) practices for 2010 specifically for highest-quality leads

Again, learn more and register for this complimentary preview call on January 6.

Don’t miss out on this powerful one-time call that is sure to help you get clear and simplify your marketing initiatives — for best results in 2010!

See you on the call!

Resources mentioned in this Blog Posting

1. Ali Brown
2. Lorrie Morgan-Ferrero
3. Register for Ali & Lorrie’s Teleclass

What Can HootSuite Do For You?

HootSuite is a tool that you can use to manage your Tweeting habit, for free!  There are several functions you can do with this amazing tool.

• You can manage all of your Twitter profiles in one place.
• Track your Tweeting statistics
• Multi-column layout with customizable tabs
• Create customizable groups of friends, coworkers, celebrities
• Embed a column on another site so you can see the Tweet stream of a specific topic on a blog or website
• Feed your blog (I am currently using Twitterfeed..but will be updating to HootSuite soon)
• Integrate your Ping.fm account so that you can update all of your Social Networks at once with a single Tweet
• Schedule Tweets – This is my personal favorite!
• View user information about other people without going to their profile

You can view demo videos here about how these features work.

The Golden Touch

Yes, David Neagle does have the Golden Touch and he is going to share with you how you can master your mind-money connection.  I found David through a my business coach Katrina Sawa and his programs have not only changed the way I do business but have also helped me to make critical mind shifts in my person life.

He is now offering a new program called “The Golden Touch: 8 Principles to Mastering Your Mind-Money Connection”

David explains that we’ve entered into a new season of business … a new season that absolutely REQUIRES a profound understanding of the very real, fundamental, unwavering principles behind the creation of all wealth, at all times.

And for the entrepreneurs among us, let me tell you something:

Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not “cut out” to be an entrepreneur because you’re thinking these thoughts, or because you’re unsure of what to do next.

You haven’t run a business in an economy like this before ~ nor has anyone else you know ~ and your market’s buying behaviors have changed drastically!

But there are entrepreneurs that have learned to adapt quickly, and that continue to make record sales even during these tough times.

Me included.

Would you like to know how?!?

Click here to learn more about this exciting new program.

If you want to just test the waters with David you can sign up for his newsletter and get a free 4-part audio series called “The Art Of Success“.  This audio program is what got me more interested in David and his coaching programs. The ART of SUCCESS seminar consists of four 1 hour segments you will learn:

1. The one thing that you MUST change if you want success without struggle.
2. The only 2 things that prevent success and how to change them.
3. Why money is important and how to attract all you want.
4. Increase sales, prospects & recruiting.
5. The 3 keys to extraordinary confidence

Resources mentioned in this blog post

1. David Neagle
2. David’s “The Golden Touch: 8 Principles to Mastering Your Mind-Money Connection”
3. The Art of Success Free Audio

Facebook Photo Privacy

You can adjust the settings for your the photo albums you post on Facebook, and even for the photos that your friends tag you in.  To adjust the settings you will need to do the following.

1. Create separate lists of your contacts.  These lists can be as simple as “friends”, “family” or “co-workers” etc.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy Settings > Profile Information > Photo Albums
3. Next locate Photo Albums from the list and click on the Edit Settings Button

All of your photo albums will now appear and from the drop down lists you can select who can see your photos, but you can take that a step further by actually selecting specific lists from not seeing your photo albums.

As you can see in my Mobile Uploads I have blocked my Networking & Co-workers list from seeing these photos.  When they go to my photos, that particular album will not appear in my Photo tab.

To block a list of people from seeing a photo album select “customize” from the drop down list type in the name of the list.

To block specific lists of people from seeing photos and videos that you have been tagged in you will pretty much do the same thing.

Go to Settings > Privacy Settings > Profile Information > Photos and Videos of Me

Select the edit button and adjust your settings as necessary. If you want to block a specific list of people you can just type in the name of the list in the “Hide this from” section.

Twitter Tips I’ve Picked Up

I  have a few Twitter Tips up my sleeve and I’d like to share these with you.

Use a colorful background or wear a bright color in your profile photo.

This tip I picked up from Erin Blaskie. She explains that by having a bright profile image your Tweets will ‘pop’ out more within someone’s Tweet Stream, makes sense to me.  Check out her Twitter profile image when you follow her you will see how much her Tweets actually seem to jump out at you.

Join Twitter Directories

There are several Twitter directories you can join and once you do so people can find and follow you based upon common interests.  Some directories to join are:

• We Follow – http://wefollow.com/ – This one is my favorite because it ranks people in differnt categories (they place themselves in the categories) but it is still fun to see who the top Celebrity Tweeters are or the top Social Media people are.
• Twellow - http://www.twellow.com/ – Known as the Twitter Yellow Pages
• Just Tweet It - http://justtweetit.com/ – Find other people who Tweet what you Tweet

Completely fill out your Bio, Upload a picture, Create a Background Image

People are more likely to follow you if you have a completed Bio. Also, be sure to use your real name in your profile so that if someone searches for you, they can find you!  Isn’t that the point of being on the Internet anyway so that people can find you?  Also, you can create your own background instead of the stock Twitter backgrounds.  There are a lot of web designers who will do this for you for a small fee.  My favorite designer is BKB Designs , her name is Katherine Boroksi and she Designed my company logo and she can whip up something for you in a flash.

Tweet  and Retweet

To stay relevant, you need to Tweet what you think!  You will find that you create the most converstation with people if you actually interact with them on Twitter and ReTweet their thoughts as well.  Don’t just ReTweet a celebrity Tweet, actually Tweet things that are of interest to you as that is how you will create a community of like minded followers.

You can also follow me on Twitter at – http://www.twitter.com/dawncullo

International Social Media Association

Are you looking to sharpen your Social Media skills?  Then you might want to check out what Mari Smith is up to.  She has started a new venture called International Social Media Association. I am a huge fan of Mari Smith as she is on the cutting edge of Social Media.

Mari is offering three levels of membership, and one of them is even free.  With the free membership you still get some great weekly tips and have access to some of the weekly teleseminars. I am scheduled to attend Creating Strategic Online Visibility by Using Social Media Marketing Tools & Strategies. I am sure that she will be plugging her paid memberships during her free calls, but that is OK because I always learn something new from Mari and I can put up with a few minutes of a sales pitch.

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