The issue is that I take profuse notes in a Word doc when I’m meeting with clients. Since I can type about 9.6x faster and 187% more legibly than I can write by hand.  I typically write out task items and notes like this:

Task #1

• This is important to do
• This should also be done

Task #2

• This is uber-important
• Don’t forget to do this, or client will kill you

When I’m done taking all my notes, I add those to Basecamp for the rest of the team, and so we have a nice backup that can also be searched later by our staff or the client.

The Problem is that Word formatting doesn’t allow a simple copy/paste into Basecamp.  And while I’m pretty savvy at writing in Textile, I’m not as fast and therefore don’t do it when I’m working in Word.

The Solution that I found several months ago was a Macro for Word that would convert a .docx into a format that is ready for MediaWiki.  That’s not exactly what I needed, because it’s close – but it’s not Textile. I was still having to manually edit my notes and that was a pain.

The New Solution is that I’ve hacked the original file from InfoPro.com to meet my needs exactly, and the result is a perform conversion from Word to Textile that I can copy and paste without any editing! Thanks to those guys for giving me the start to work with, because I would never have taken the time to do this if I had to start from scratch!

Installation

1. Download our Word2Textile macro (<-right-click and Save As)
2. Start Word
3. Bring up the Visual Basic Editor (Tools->Macro->Visual Basic Editor)
4. From the VBE, import the macro library (File->Import File…) and select the file you downloaded

Usage

1. Open a word document to convert
2. Run the Word2Textile macro by bringing up the Macros dialog (Tools->Macro->Macros), selecting Word2Textile and clicking Run.
3. The macro converts the document to Textile markup and places a copy of the content on the system clipboard.
4. Open up the Basecamp message or writeboard you will use, and be sure you are in Textile/HTML mode. It should look like this:
5. Paste your content (which is automatically copied to your clipboard by the Macro) and Voila!

If this little technique saves you as much time as it saves me, then you’re welcome.

The Problem
I meet with clients and take copious meeting notes. Since we use Basecamp for everything in our agency, we archive all meeting notes into Basecamp so that they are backed up and can be referenced by all teams.  The issue is that I take my meeting notes in Word, since it’s easiest for me to quickly and easily produce an outline.  Getting that data turned into the same info for Basecamp was always a pain because it required a lot of manual reformatting, which equals an enormous waste of time.

The Solution
I figured that there had to be an easy way to convert Word formatting into Textile formatting. Instead of using bullet points in Word, you use asterisks (*) to create bullet points with Textile.  Easy enough, but when I get on a roll and really need to quickly get thoughts down- I find that I’m much better at hitting the Tab key to create sub-points and quickly get down an outline.

After a little poking around, I found exactly what I needed to convert a Word document with standard bullet point formatting into a Textile formatted doc that I can just copy/paste into Basecamp. And Poof! It was just this simple: you install a Visual Basic macro into Word that does it all for you with a few clicks.

Update 6/10/11:  After playing using this a few times, I realized that I need to hack this file so that it is more geared for Textile, and less for WikiMedia.  I’ve updated the link below so that the download is of my file, which will work much better for Basecamp users.

Installation

1. Download Valeo’s Word2Textile macro (<-right-click and Save As)
2. Start Word
3. Bring up the Visual Basic Editor (Tools->Macro->Visual Basic Editor or Alt+F11).
4. From the VBE, import the macro library (File->Import File…) and select the file you downloaded.

Usage

1. Open a word document to convert
2. Run the Word2MediaWiki macro by bringing up the Macros dialog (Tools->Macro->Macros… or Alt+F8), selecting Word2MediaWiki and clicking Run.
3. The macro converts the document to MediaWiki markup and places a copy of the content on the system clipboard.
4. Switch to a MediaWiki editor and paste the result.

That just saved me about 2.37 minutes of reformatting my meeting notes.  I project that will save me… (computer beepy noises) …  more time than that down the road.  Yeah – you’re welcome.

A big thanks to http://www.infpro.com for providing the great VB script and instructions for it’s use!

Hiring a [social media] strategist, guru, consultant, or any other title is a bad idea for 99% of the companies I come in contact with.

Now, before someone with that title gets all upset and leaves me a heated comment, let me explain why I feel this way.

Social media is a very small piece of what it takes for the majority of businesses to succeed online, pure and simple. Hiring someone who is a recently name social media _________ is a bad idea, because it’s very likely that person knows little about many of the other tools in the online marketing arsenal.  It takes years of study, trial and error, discipline, and a little luck; to become an effective online marketer.  Do you really want to hire someone who has mastered Twitter and Facebook to manage your online strategy?

If you think you need a social media strategist, then I’m going to make a very educated guess and say that is probably only a part (maybe a small part) of what you need.  Most businesses I start working with are not doing many of the other fundamental things right – so why would you jump into social media?!

If you’re not effectively marketing to search engines and generating qualified traffic that converts, then you have work to do before diving into social media.

If you are not segmenting your customers with email lists, cross-promoting to them and building loyalty and referrals, then you have work to do before diving into social media.

These are some sweeping generalizations, but it boils down to this: you need an online strategist, not a social media __________. You need someone who can look at your business and craft a solution from all the many tools in the online marketing toolbox, not just push you into social media because it’s what everyone wants to talk about right now.

Related articles:

• Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Your Social Media Marketing (verticalmeasures.com)
• 3 Social Media Myths You Should Be Careful Of (onesocialmedia.com)
• The Big Myth – Anyone Can Do Social Media (charlesheflin.com)

As we were walking towards the gates, he was pushing his new daughter Lila’s stroller and said, “you know, the whole world looks different the moment you start pushing one of these around.” I tried to put myself into Brad’s shoes as a new father, and think about how I would feel if I was pushing around a stroller with my baby in it.

I realized that I do exactly the same thing anyway, because my business is my baby. My baby is impacted by every turn I take and even the slightest nudging as I push it along the path that we’re on.

Planning for long-term growth of a business is crucial, but you have to keep an eye on the things that are right in front of you as well. I know that I tend to focus too much on what’s right in front of me, and not take the time to scan the horizon and see what else is coming. Mastering this balance is something that I hope I’m lucky enough to figure out someday.

Oh yeah, and here’s your online marketing tip: don’t spam.  There you go – you’re welcome.

If you’re in the market for a new website, you need to make sure that you’re asking the right questions. Or at least, that the firms you’re talking to are asking you the right questions. I cannot say this enough: web design has become highly commoditized. There is a very low barrier of entry to being able to call yourself a “web designer.”  My father has built a website before, but you don’t want him building your business a website!

Everyone has a cousin Max, or knows someone who can “build a website,” but if you’re interested in really driving growth for your business through the Internet, just walk away…

Cover via Amazon

Here are some thoughts to consider if you think that you need a (new) website:
Building the site itself is only the first step.  This isn’t Field of Dreams, and you are not Kevin Costner. If you build it, they will not come. Get that idea out of your head altogether.

If you are going to launch a site, a good rule of thumb for most SMBs is that you should devote 25% of your budget to the site itself, and 75% to driving traffic and promoting it. So, if your web designer or firm doesn’t mention anything about what they are going to do after your site is launched, thank them for their time, and walk away.

Online success requires your interaction, so if anyone talks to you about building a site that cannot be easily updated (by you) in the future, then you need to keep interviewing vendors. There is absolutely no reason to build static websites anymore; not unless you are a true designer and can’t code your way out of a paper bag.

There are some amazing, free products that do all this for you! WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, just to name a few. If your web designer can’t build you a site on some type of content management  system, then you need to look elsewhere. There are many opinions over why you should use open-source or proprietary, but that’s another topic entirely.

Lastly, if the people you’re talking to are only asking questions about your taste in colors, and the kind of content you will have, and what imagery will be used; then walk away. Don’t get me wrong, those are all very valid questions, but that isn’t ultimately what will make your site successful. If you keep with the 75/25 rule, then on 1/4 of your discussion about the site should revolve around the site itself. The other 3/4 of the discussion should be focused on your business and what will be effective at marketing it online.  How is your audience, what appeals to them, what are their pain points, what are your differentiators from the competition? These are questions that can lead to a successfully developed website that will have some legs under it.

If you’re in the market for a new site – make sure you talk to at 3 firms, too.  It is very difficult to compare apples to apples when it comes to web design/development, and also with online marketing. TALK to your prospective vendors and make sure you feel comfortable with them, and have a high level of confidence that they know what they are doing.  Look for case studies, check references, do your homework and see if they can back up what they are telling you. Find out what/who they use for project management, and how they can ensure that your project will be completed on time, within scope, and within budget.

Good luck, and if you get stuck – we can always help you vet them out! 

Precise stats on cart abandonment are tough because they range widely depending on the source, but if you take the mean then something like 50% of people who add something to their shopping cart never check out. That seems pretty high to me, but let’s be honest we’re all guilty of doing it – right?

Here’s another situation that was interesting to me along those same lines.  I went to go check out Angie’s List the other day. If you’re not familiar with the service, it’s a fantastic idea (especially when you’re trying to find someone to paint your new condo on the cheap!).  During the signup process, I never  realize it was a paid service – until I had already given my email address and created a password for my account.

That’s a good idea for their service, because now they have me!

I was short on time and didn’t want to go find my wallet and complete the signup process, so I closed the laptop and off I went.  True to my A.D.D. nature, I didn’t remember to go back and finish the checkout process, so guess what happened next? Angie’s List sends me an email a week that says “we noticed you didn’t finish signing up, so here’s a coupon” that would allow me to use the first month without paying for the service.

Image via Wikipedia

Smart strategy, and one that is easily achievable for your organization if you put a little thought into how you structure the calls to action on your site. Think through the service and information that you can offer on your site, and find ways to capture information about your site visitors. With cart abandonment (and signup) rates being whatever they are, why wouldn’t you want to reach back out to someone who expressed some interest in your products or services, but may have just gotten sidetracked?

Targeting and segmentation are the name of the game – so use the tools at your disposal: analytics, lists, etc. and improve on what may or may not be working on your site.  My favorite quote that relates to what we do was by Lord Kelvin over 100 years ago: “If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.”

Image by Mike Rohde via Flickr

We consult with clients all the time on optimizing their web sites, creating new and fresh content and tips on making their web sites “sticky” and encouraging visitors to return to them time and time again. One of the best ways to accomplish all of these goals is to write a blog.

I know, you just asked yourself what in the world you have to write about. And, how will you ever find time to write a blog? Well, it’s truly as easy as this blog post by Jim Osterman makes it out to be. Just write it.

Sure, you’re first few posts may be short. They may not offer a lot of depthor comment-inspiring content, but they are a start. And, once you begin to blog, it will become easier and easier. You’ll then start reading other blogs; you’ll find out what others in your industry are saying; and then you can write about or disagree with their ideas. Other blogs are a great way to find inspiration, and there’s no easier way to find content and writing ideas. Before you know it, people will be visiting your site to see what you’re writing and reading about. They will see you as a leader in your industry.

So take our advice, and that of Jim Osterman. Just write!

Now that you’re ready to blog, read more blog tips:

Related articles:

• The 3 Main Pillars Of Blogging (shoutmeloud.com)
• The Benefits Of Business Blogging (slideshare.net)

When it comes to successfully marketing a business, the key is to be where your customers are, but your competitors aren’t.  Considering the hesitation some businesses have about jumping in to social media, there is a great opportunity to be one of the first out of the gate.  The reasons why your business should explore social media are endless, and so many articles explaining everything from 101-type starters to strategy models; just get out there and do it already!

The top 2 reasons were:

1. 3 out of 4 Americans are using Social technology
2. Social media marketing is like word of mouth…. on steroids

Here’s a copy of the slides that we presented to our 11/30 class:

I use Bit.ly links for every single thing that we post on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and also in email newsletters.  The majority of this activity is posting on Twitter, so let’s start there.  That is, after all, why these shorteners became so popular in such a short amount of time.

Twitter has that glorious 140 character limit, so we need a way to post succinct links to blogs that have long, SEO friendly URLs (like the one you no doubt see in the address bar of your browser if you’re on this blog).  But wants to go back to the actual Bit.ly site?  That takes too long!  You need a Twitter client that has Bit.ly integration so that it will short the links for you, using your previously created Bit.ly account.

I personally use Twhirl as my desktop client since it has such great multi-account support, but there are other clients out there as well.  Bit.ly has a list of tools you can check out to find something that suites you.

The thing on that list that I want to point out is the Bit.ly Bookmarklet.  This might be really useful for you, since some say that the Web is still the most popular Twitter client.

Bookmarklets

According to the Wikipedia, a bookmarklet is an applet, a small computer application, stored as the URL of a bookmark in a web browser or as a hyperlink on a web page.

That means you can add this to the toolbar in your browser, and create shortened, trackable URLs with no effort at all!

So now- I hope that sufficiently explains it.  I have been getting a TON of people asking about this!  We’ll get back to the more esoteric stuff in the next post =)