Glance Links – February 2014

linkedin (1)

Just some stuff that caught my eye recently, and might help you in your marketing efforts! If you have any that you would like to pass on to me… hit me up!

pro_laptopemail_275x185Six Social Media Tips That Will Improve Your Marketing – You’ll slap yourself on the head when you read some of these completely random, unique social media tips.

5 Steps to Writing an Amazing LinkedIn Recommendation – I’ll be honest… LinkedIn endorsements annoy me. For the last two years, many click-happy people have been gleefully endorsing me for skills that I do not possess. I don’t like to shop, so my endorsements for Retail and Merchandising were quite a surprise. I put much more stock into a LinkedIn “recommendation”. Because of the quid pro quo aspect of social media, I know I better write some to get some. Check out this link for some great info.

Real World Education for Modern Marketers – Like some of my favorite sites (AWeber, Marketo), MarketingProfs provides tons of outstanding free content on a wide variety of marketing subjects. Peruse the site, you’ll be glad you did.

Navigating the Social Media Jungle – If you look past the cartoonish appearance, Social Media Examiner helps businesses discover how to best use social media, blogs and podcasts to connect with customers. Simple… Best thing to do is subscribe to the newsletter to get it all in your inbox, but dig into the site for some nuggets.

ffb11958Too Much Fun With Fonts – Lastly, have some fun today. Here are some very familiar, free fonts from famous brands like Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, The Godfather movies, Calvin and Hobbes, etc. So jazz up that condo community newsletter you’ve been working on!

My life has been ice and snow lately, and lots of it! GIMME MORE!!! Stay warm, my friends… JL

NEPA01

Glance Links – December 2013

Christmas-Lights-Border-1

Just some stuff that caught my eye recently, and might help you in your marketing efforts!  If you have any that you would like to pass on to me… hit me up!

Santas-Workshop-colour

14 Google Tools You Didn’t Know Existed – Mashable has rounded up some lesser-known Google tools and applications that could help you cope with the loss of Reader, and rekindle your love for Google. From fun tools like Google NGram Viewer to useful resources like Full Value of Mobile Calculator, you’ll find an array of tools for developers to small business owners to the average consumer. I liked Google Fonts… a great open source for all kinds of type faces. Check them out and see what tickles your fancy!

10 Things You Didn’t Know Dropbox Could Do – There are loads for Dropbox lovers out there… me included! As with most software or services, we never fully take advantage of what’s offered. There are other storage and upload options, and ease of use hints. Love me some Dropbox!

google-plus-banner-300x168Google+ For Professional Bloggers and Content Creators – If you want to be the best, learn from the best! Lynette Young is THE authority on Google+, and she is satisfying the public outcry for real boot camp training on this social platform. This one is in the Philadelphia area, check back for an event near you.

Marketo Definitive Guides – Last month I shared Marketo’s Definitive Guide To Engaging Email Marketing, an outstanding, comprehensive free download. They have many more titles and they are all in here in one spot! Like I said last time… Download them before they change their minds!!

TAKE A BREAK FROM MARKETING AND RELAX! – Might be the best tip I give you… flip the switch to “off” for a few hours and enjoy some holiday fun. Here is the schedule for Holiday TV Shows this month!

Have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Glance Links – October 2013

marketing1

Just some stuff that caught my eye recently, and might help you in your marketing efforts!  If you have any that you would like to pass on to me… hit me up!

Email-MarketingDefinitive Guide to Engaging Email Marketing – If you are new to email marketing and need to get started, or you are a guru looking to kick it up a few gears, this PDF download from Marketo is for you. Kind of odd to see something this comprehensive – over 150 pages – with lots of tips and info… for free! Download it before they change their minds!

CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business – Do you use email in your business? The CAN-SPAM Act, a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. This link from the Federal Trade Commission explains it all for you, or you can download the handy-dandy PDF!

Goodbye, Keyword Data: Google Moves Entirely to Secure Search – I’m not an SEO expert, but I do know just enough to get me into trouble. I’m not sure what Google is trying to do, but it’s clear that marketers will lack some basic data going forward. An interesting read…

Turning-off-LinkedIn-Activity-Broadcast-Updates-390x250LinkedIn Makeover – Donna Serdula wants to turn your LinkedIn profile upside down… but in a good way. Yes, she is a gunslinger for hire, and her site is full of great tips and blog posts that will help get your professional profile noticed. But Donna is also a Philly area girl who is “not affiliated with or endorsed by LinkedIn in anyway”, and she loves helping people tell their story. Her information has helped me more than once, and since I’ve never paid her I thought I would send some of my peeps her way. Enjoy!

Just a few tricks and treats for you… Aren’t these spook-tacular? Happy Halloween, my friends!

B-MUSINGS… Cool August Night Edition

“B-Musings”… random blurbiage and ping pong balls rattling around my dome.  Why?  Because I can, and I have a blog!

photo

Beachin’ It – In a previous post, I mentioned my new found longing to be at the beach. It hasn’t waned. Fortunately I was able to get to the shore a couple of weeks ago and quench that thirst. My friends know that I am not one to stay at the beach for more than an hour… two tops. So the 10 hours over two days I spent sitting on the sand was a revelation. Granted, I was blessed with the right mix of great weather and great company… the perfect storm. It also came at the right time, in what has been a very hectic few months.

I’m going back next week, to plop my ass on that chair again. Can’t wait… I seem to be a poster boy for change lately, and I have to say I’m enjoying it.  Look out, fudgy wudgy man…

Culling the Facebook Herd – I like to go into my social media contacts periodically, and “unfriend” some people and places with whom I no longer interact. Recently I cleaned out a bunch of brands, bands, movies and other assorted “Likes”. Alas, I also jettisoned about 10 people who have thus far failed to enrich my social media experience. But as I was going through the exercise I came to four Facebook friends who are deceased. Obviously I was aware of them in my list, and each had very different levels of friendship for me. It’s nice that friends and family still drop comments on their pages for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc.

So… those four will remain. Until I see them again.

The Soccer Supporter Mentality – I spend a decent amount of time explaining this concept to my non-soccer friends, so I thought I would throw it out for some comments. I fully expect Philadelphia Union striker and rising star Jack McInerney to be playing somewhere else next year, and I’m okay with it. If he moves to Europe, he will develop faster and better than in MLS. And that is good for U.S. Soccer, the priority.

Unlike any other sport, the true fan places country over club.  I think it is the best way to go, we support our national team first, then we have favorite domestic and/or overseas club teams… and we are rabid about all of them!!!  For me… USMNT, then Union, then Manchester United. The goal is always to fortify the national squad. Nuff said…

photo1Wedding of the Century – I often call Joe O’Hagan my faux cousin, when in fact he is my oldest and dearest friend. Our Moms were best friends growing up in Belfast, and travelled to America together on the Mayflower (well… that’s what they led us to believe).  So Joe, myself, his and my sisters grew up as cousins. He’s been a swinging bachelor for all these years until the fair Jennifer finally lassoed him to the ground. When I got news of their pending nuptials I expected an epic event, and was not disappointed.

It was a grand day, epic in its tradition and simplicity. I was honored to be asked to do a reading at the traditional Catholic ceremony, and I delivered it with my usual panache. The reception was held at the same classic venue that hosted my Senior Prom 35 years ago, and the place hasn’t changed one bit! The flashback feeling was aided by a great DJ who played Sinatra and other standards during dinner, and pulled out all the classic wedding reception dance hits… “Celebrate good times, come on!!” Joe’s nephew gave what might have been the greatest best man toast ever, and the newly married couple danced to an absolutely perfect song choice – the beautiful “At Last” by Etta James.

It truly was an epic event. All that was missing was a whiskey sour fountain and the garter / bouquet tossing, omitted I assume because of the groom – throwing anything is dangerous at his advanced age. But there were four other things missing… Joe and Marie, and Bunty and James. No doubt they would have been delighted that after a half century we are all still together.  Real family… no faux, mofo.

Good times, good people, good craic.

bemused-instructor

Meet Herb… Official “Face” of the B-Musing Blog Post.  Are you B-Mused now? A-Mused? Both?

Let me know by commenting below… Herb needs to know!!!

Glance Links – August 2013

social-media-stats

Just some stuff that caught my eye recently, and might help you in your marketing efforts!  If you have any that you would like to pass on to me… hit me up!

CTA-Guide-CoverCall To Action Guide For EMail Marketing – Great stuff from the beautiful people at AWeber. Make your “call to action” eye-grabbing and attention-snatching, and position it perfectly… then sit back and watch the responses roll in!  PDF Download…

Social Media Image Sizing Cheat Sheet – Recent changes to Facebook pages, Twitter headers, YouTube channels and other social sites has made it difficult to get the size of your images just right. Bookmark this page, and the next time you’re about to post a picture or change your profile image, refer to this handy cheat sheet.

26 Social Stats From 2013 You Should Know –  I find myself explaining why social marketing is important to a business. I do this a lot. Here are some great, current tidbits to make your argument… or your next presentation!

3 Copywriting Mistakes Hurting Your Business (and How to Fix Them) – Make your website work harder by correcting these three common copywriting mistakes. If you are like me, writing doesn’t come without a certain amount of agita… so anything helps! This article will certainly correct some mistakes.

One more thing… does anyone else find it interesting that the word “copywriting” gets flagged in some SpellCheck programs?  Anyway… I hope these items are helpful!  Love to discuss…  JL