Did you know that your email signature is the easiest, cheapest marketing tool in your toolbox?

Think of your email signature as your digital business card. You “hand it out” every time you contact someone. No printing costs. No awkwardness. (“Can I, uh… um, give you my card?”) Send an email and BAM. Digital business card, right in their inbox.

What you should include

What you should include varies based on your business and your goals. You don’t have a blog or a Twitter account? No worries. These are just some suggestions: Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever noticed how when you share a story with someone, it becomes their story too?

There is something validating when we can say, “Oh yeah, that happened to…” me, my friend, my brother, my dog, whomever… It’s a concrete way of showing that we can relate to what the other person is saying. And it can be really exciting to be the first person to share a story within your circle.

This idea was highlighted for me tonight. My wallet was stolen this afternoon. That’s a pretty simple statement, but the narrative of the events unfolding and the aftermath of it all is quite complicated. The story isn’t even complete yet. I have shared it with my immediate family, and then (somewhat without thinking) I posted it on Facebook.

As I lay awake in bed, unable to sleep, I realized that I am already tired of the story and regretted the Facebook post. I don’t know that I want to keep hashing it out with every person I know, because it’s tiring to keep reliving the experience. But, I know that the story will spread throughout my network, even though I don’t know that I necessarily want it to.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Ugh, I just don’t care about what you had for breakfast!!”

Have you ever heard anyone say something like that about Facebook or Twitter? I know a sizable group of people who cannot understand the “me, me, me” aspect of social media. They don’t want to jump on Twitter or Facebook, because they don’t feel they have anything to say that would matter to their audience of friends and acquaintances.

They recognize that it can be really rude and self-absorbed to do nothing but talk about yourself, when your audience isn’t interested in hearing about your latest snack or TV obsession or how much you drank last night. But, many people make the same sort of mistakes on the homepage of their business website.

“We’ve worked with these great companies! We are awesome! Buy from us!” We, we, we!

You at least know the people on Facebook that you’re bragging to, but on a homepage, you’re bragging to total strangers. Think about what’s important to you when you visit a new site. You are trying to decide (quickly) if this company offers what you’re looking to buy. Do they look trustworthy? Can you quickly find what you’re looking for? If they past the initial sniff test, do you know where you should go next?

What you think is the most important thing to tell your customers on your homepage may not be the same information that they think is most important. Try to imagine your ideal customer, and think about what they want to know. If you can design your web presence around the needs of your ideal customer, you will be far more successful than designing it around your own needs and personal preferences.

Remember, it’s not about you.

Recommended reading:
Rethink Your Web Presence by Chris Brogan

7 ways your homepage is like a first date by Lisa Barone on Outspoken Media