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Most of us know that social networking is the place to be for online marketing. As entrepreneurial moms, we have to balance how much time we spend on this with our family obligations. So, the question becomes, “Are you using it effectively as a lead generation tool?”

At my recent Metromom Online Success Telesummit, I spoke with Nancy Marmolejo, a mom entrepreneur and a Social Networking Strategist. She has some magic secrets for turning social networking followers into fans and those fans into leads and I want to share them with you.

Nancy calls it the social media impact cycle. Here’s how it works for your target audience:

First, she starts off as an observer. She sees all kinds of people online. Maybe she belongs to a group, or is just looking randomly at Twitter or Facebook and seeing the whole stream. Nothing in particular is popping out at her – she’s just an observer.

Then, something happens that piques her interest and she goes from an observer to a follower. Something makes her say, “That person is a really interesting individual. I’m always getting these incredibly helpful hints from her. I think I’ll get a little bit closer and become a friend or follower.”

Next, a follower becomes a fan because she loves the way your personality shines as you communicate with people in an authentic way. She begins to tell other people about you. She retweets your stuff, shares your posts on Facebook, and makes a recommendation for you on LinkedIn. You’ve earned her trust by showing yourself to be credible.

Finally, that fan can easily transition to becoming a lead. She might sign-up for a call that you’re doing or for your free ezine or subscribe to your blog.

And ultimately, once a fan becomes a lead, she easily turns into a client. She has developed a trust in you. She already feels as if she knows you because you have been putting yourself out there in such an authentic way. She knows she wants to work with you.

How does the whole process really work? It’s based on value, credibility and trust. These are the three primary triggers that will move somebody to become a lead and ultimately your client. Just remember that it will take time because it takes a lot for people to develop trust – this is not an overnight strategy.

There are so many more tips on what to do and what not to do. If you would like to listen to my entire interview with Nancy Marmolejo, “How to Turn Followers Into Fans (and Fans into Leads!) With Social Networking”, click here. It will help you to avoid some of the common mistakes that could cost you fans, followers, and ultimately sales.

Social networking is the place to be for online marketing. Websites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook will allow you to generate new client leads and partnerships for your business. The question becomes, “Are you using it effectively as a lead generation tool?”  I’ve learned a lot about social networking this year and would like to share what I’ve discovered.

The first key to successful networking is to remember you’re building relationships. In whatever form you choose to put it out there, whether it’s written, verbal, audio or video, it’s all about people developing a relationship with you through your words and ideas.

Patience is required when building relationships – it takes time! Many people jump right into the sales pitch before they have had the opportunity to make the connection which is an instant turn off. Think of how many times you’ve gone to the local networking event where someone just hands you their business card and starts pitching you their business in public. It’s even more uncomfortable online because you haven’t even seen that person’s face.

Be observant. Over time you’ll be able to identify the goals, personality, and interests of others. By paying attention to those around you, you can jump in at the right time and make a connection. Start off with casual, small talk. It may sound like a time waster, but it’s actually an ice breaker.

Once you’ve found something in common, you’ve officially formed your connection and the relationship begins to build. By taking this approach, once it’s time to introduce the business side, you are a real person versus a salesman. Now that they see you are a real, trustworthy person, people are more likely to want to do business with you.

But how can you build your credibility as an expert? To learn how and get many more tips on how to social network successfully, download my interview with Nancy Marmolejo. Nancy is the founder of Viva Visibility, which is a coaching and consulting company that helps entrepreneurs get known. She offers many more fantastic tips in our interview “How to Turn Followers into Fans (and Fans into Leads!) With Social Networking.”

I’d love to hear positive experiences you’ve had with those you’ve met via social networking channels.

I just finished recording my Wrap-Up call for the Metromom Online Success Telesummit where I shared my highlights. It’s been a fascinating two weeks as I interviewed 18 different internet marketing experts who shared tips on how to maximize your online presence.

I think what I found the most interesting was how the expertise of the different speakers weaved together. In the end I discovered consistent references to what it takes to be successful in today’s economy.

Let me share some of my highlights of the four online success principle I discovered:

1. You Need to be Authentic

One theme that kept coming up from was the importance of being authentic in your marketing. I heard it from Nancy Marmolejo as she talked about social networking, Michele PW as she shared copywriting tips, and Wendy Maynard as she discussed blogging. They all said basically the same thing – the key to being successful online is to be authentic and create relationships that are mutually beneficial. Laura West then really pulled this authenticity theme together when she spoke about “Attraction Marketing.”

2. Make Sure You Use Every Avenue to Connect

Jennifer Odear and Caleb Scoville really helped clarify how you can maximize your expertise by using all the different ways of communicating. Jennifer spoke about recycling your content and using it in your blog, articles, press releases, newsletters and more. Then Caleb shared how to take that very same content and use it in podcasts and YouTube videos.

What’s great is that once you have some content there are so many ways to get it out there. Alicia Forest gave great tips on using content to build your list. Amy Miyamoto showed how to tie your content into your social networking, Shannon Cherry shared publicity tips and Ty Downing shared easy-to-implement SEO ideas.

3. Moms Especially Need Foolproof Systems

Busy women juggling a business and a family need more then great ideas. They need help implementing proven systems that will get the money pouring in. Beth Schneider and Erin Blaskie gave fantastic tips on how to build a solid team and then create systems to keep things running smoothly. Jennifer Haubein shared how technology can help you set-up a website that helps you build relationships effortlessly. Debbye Cannon shared tips specific to moms on how to keep their family thriving as they build their business.

4. Get Your Mindset Prepared for Success

No amount of internet marketing strategies will help you achieve your goals if you’re stuck with a negative attitude or mindset. Victoria Colligan and Traci Long, from Ladies Who Launch, were truly inspirational as they shared how to take the next step in your business. Gina Bell shared how to identify and eliminate resistance to self-promotion and success.

The Metromom Online Success Telesummit is live (and free) for 2 days – May 1^st and 2^nd you can listen to any or all of the experts for free. Click here to learn more! Once you listen I’d love to hear your feedback so come back and post your comments. What were some of the highlights for you?

For two days (48 hours total) on Friday May 1st and Saturday May 2nd, 18 speakers will share their wisdom about taking your online business to the next level. Not only is the content incredibly “how-to” focused but it’s F^REE. You’ll have the opportunity to learn from speakers such as Nancy Marmolejo, Michele PW, Victoria Colligan, Shannon Cherry, Alicia Forest, Laura West, Gina Bell & more. Enjoy the video and learn more by visiting this page.

Learn more by visiting: http://MetromomTelesummit.com

With our current economy, you’ve probably been hearing a lot of bad news lately. Well, I want to share some good news with you. Women entrepreneurs, especially moms, are harnessing the power and flexibility of internet marketing to design businesses and lifestyles on their own terms. They’re making millions of dollars working-at-home on their own schedule.

Take a look at a recent article in Time magazine about our changing times, “At no other time in recent history has it been easier or cheaper to start a new kind of company.” The article goes on to discuss the advantages of Web-based businesses that cost almost nothing to get off the ground and can turn into great moneymakers.

Whether you want to get a new business off the ground or just want to use the Internet to expand your current business income, you need more than great ideas. Basically, there are the three things you must know in order to grow your business and maximize your time and energy.

• You need to know which internet marketing strategies will work best for your business.
• You need to be building your team because you can’t go it alone.
• You need to start implementing proven systems that will get the money pouring in.

If you’re serious about taking your business to the next level I hope you’ll join me for on May 1st & 2nd for the F^REE Metromom Online Success Telesummit. It really is F^REE to listen to 18 online marketing experts (like Nancy Marmolejo, Shannon Cherry, Beth Schneider, Michele PW, Alicia Forest) share the latest techniques and creative ways to build your business and thrive in this new economy.  During the Summit you can listen to what you want, when you want (completely around your schedule) so there isn’t a single reason why you shouldn’t check it out.  #mtmm09

In preparation for the Metromom Online Success Telesummit on May 1^st and 2^nd, I’ve been very busy interviewing 18 internet marketing experts, and quite honestly I’m amazed by the quality of content they’re providing. What really struck me yesterday was the constant underlying theme that kept coming up from all of the experts – the importance of being authentic in your marketing.

I heard it from Nancy Marmolejo as she talked about social networking, Michele PW as she shared copywriting tips, and Wendy Maynard as she discussed blogging. They all said basically the same thing – the key to being successful online is to be authentic and create relationships that are mutually beneficial.

A mom entrepreneur that I find especially inspirational – because of her authenticity – is Amy Miyamoto. As a mother of 3-year old twins, Amy is (in my mind) the ultimate Metromom! She will also be speaking at the Telesummit on How to Leverage the Power of Social Media to Create a Community of Raving Fans and Still Have Time for Your Family and Yourself.

I love the way Amy is promoting her talk. She created the YouTube segment above to explain what she’ll be sharing.  What really appeals to me about video messages is that I find it to be a great medium to let your personality shine through. (FYI – Amy will share how she created this message really quickly.)

If doing business authentically and on your own terms is important to you, you don’t want to miss hearing from these experts. Visit this page to learn more about what they’ll be sharing. #mtmm09

Since I have so many mom entrepreneurs out there “tweeting” about the upcoming Metromom Online Success Telesummit I decided to use my own hashtag – #MTMM09 – to keep track of the conversations. (If you’re a fan of Twitter you’ve seen hashtags within tweets. They are created by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag. Hashtags were developed as a means to create “groupings” on Twitter.)

Please check http://search.twitter.com/search?q=mtmm09 to see any conversations going on about the Telesummit right now… Feel free to retweet!

So, are tweets, hashtags, retweets etc. a complete waste of time or can you really leverage the power of social media and monetize your time? I’m really looking forward to two speakers who will be addressing this exact topic during the Metromom Online Success Telesummit on May 1^st and 2^nd.

Amy Miyamoto @lotusamy will talk about, “How to Leverage the Power of Social Media to Create a Community of Raving Fans and Still Have Time for Your Family and Yourself.” As a mother of 3-year old twins herself, Amy is committed to maximizing the power of social media in the least amount of time. She went from a social media novice to a devoted enthusiast and was named one of the “Top 11 Business Women to Follow” in Sarah Prout’s recent ebook “Twitter Inspiration” in a matter of a few short months.

Here’s what Amy will be sharing:

· What is the #1 thing you MUST do before getting started with Social Media

· The 3 most powerful types of friends/followers to have and why

· The 5 key types of tweets/posts that you must include in order to create a community of raving fans

· The one essential component for maximizing your Social Media success that most people are missing

· The top 3 ways to leverage your social media impact in the least amount of time

I’m also thrilled that Social Networking Strategist, Nancy Marmolejo @nancymarmolejo, will share her “magic secrets” of turning social networking followers into fans and fans into pre-sold leads during her presentation on, “How to Turn Followers into Fans (and Fans Into Leads!)”

Nancy is one of the leading experts on social networking and she’ll share:

· Expert tips on setting up a strong social networking presence so you stand out from your peers and competition

· The 4 Parts of the Social Marketing Cycle that turns followers into fans and fans into leads

· The big 2-part strategy you need to stay consistent and memorable

· Big mistakes social networkers make that cost you fans, followers, leads, and sales (you can’t afford to miss this part!)

· Cutting edge techniques to connect authentically with your market and the tools to get it done

So if you’re serious about taking your business to the next level I hope you’ll join me on May 1st & 2nd. It’s FREE to listen to these calls by Amy and Nancy and many more… Make sure you check out what my other All-Star experts will be sharing at The Metromom Online Success Telesummit. This is the first and last time I’ll ever get all of these INCREDIBLE experts sharing their time and expertise in this way-so you don’t want to miss it! #MTMM09

In my last blog post I spoke about the importance of having your own unique website. You can’t stop there. There are additional tools you need to utilize to maximize the benefits of your site.

Let me share with you a few effective internet marketing tools that you must be using if you want to generate business online:

1. A Facebook Presence is a Must

Facebook is a great place to maximize your results because there are so many people on Facebook – millions actually – who are there to do business. What are the benefits of using Facebook? A good presence builds your online visibility – people and search engines love it. It also builds your online credibility – by sharing information with others, creating articles and providing insightful comments you become recognized as an expert in what you do. Read a blog post by one of my favorite online experts, Nancy Marmolejo to see why social networking is worth your time and energy – Want Social Networking ROI? Read This.

2. Become a Blogger

Blogs are great because they’re very flexible. You can blog daily or weekly, you can post long or short blogs, you can be have informational posts or entertaining ones. A blog is a fantastic way to let your individual style and approach to business shine through. It’s also a very interactive format so visitors can leave comments and/or questions for you to respond to. According to my SEO guy, a blog can be the easiest and most inexpensive tool to drive traffic to your website – another BIG bonus of blogging.

3. Develop Your Own Freebie

A freebie is at the core of your list-building strategy. Most people won’t buy your product or sign-up for your service the first time they visit your site. So you want to persuade them into sharing their email address so you can add them to your list and continue developing a relationship. This freebie can be something as simple as a tip sheet or free report. We all have something we know that the average person doesn’t and more importantly, it’s something that our target market wants to know.

4. Sent out an Ezine Regularly

Once you have a list you need to communicate with them regularly to convert them into loyal customers. With an ezine (newsletter) you’re keeping your company in your customer’s mind on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. To maximize the value of your ezine send it regularly and make sure it contains content that’s of value to them, not just information about you and your products.

So now you have my list of the basic tools for promoting yourself online. I’ve used them all personally so I know they work. They’re also very inexpensive and easy to implement. The next post in this series will provide more in-depth strategies for creating a website that sells.

(If you would like more in-depth training on any of the tools I’ve mentioned in this article make sure to check out the learning at the Metromom Online Success Telesummit #mtmm09)

This blog is part 2 of a 4 part series of online success tips.