Given that as a online marketing manager (who started out as a virtual assistant and event planner), my business depends on getting it right the first time, people are surprised to hear that I am a bit of a free spirit,  Given an choice between custom and systematic, I would choose custom every time.

Lately though, I’ve come to realize that the system is actually what makes the customization possible.  Last weekend, I attended my client’s first live event Take Action Get Profits on social media marketing.  I was planning on just attending, but due to a last minute scheduling glitch, I ended up working the event (as the audio girl) which gave me a chance to eat lunch with the event planners and get a behind the scenes glimpse into the event.

My first job after college was planning multi-day study courses on local government for  Eastern European mayors visiting the U.S.  We would charter a bus and bring the officials to a few different cities so they could see how U.S. government worked first hand.  After that, as a local government public information manager (as as a volunteer with the Junior Chamber of Commerce), I would plan fairs, festivals, recycling events, etc.  Event planning is exhausting and stressful — especially when you over-customize each event.

I was amazed and surprised at how stress-free my client’s event was.  I credit it to the excellent event planners who had a template and a system for every aspect of the event.  From the nametags to the stage presentation, you could see care and professionalism in every aspect of the event. Yes, things changed and yes, everything was tweaked for (and sometimes by) my client — but underpinning all of that was a solid framework build to make sure that the event host felt taken care of.

I imagine that the event company has simple checklists for every aspect of the event.  In his book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right,  Dr. Atul Gawande explains how instituting simple checklists for complex tasks (like surgery),  reduced medical errors by more than 20%.  Inspired by this book and a desire to make my clients feel as absolutely taken care of as possible, I have been creating and using more checklists in my work.  (I use a free mindmapping program called FreeMind)

So far the results have been:

• Less time spent on tasks (since all the information I need is in the checklist)
• Fewer errors
• The ability to add even more value to the process since I am not having to worry about having the basics covered.

Do you use checklists in your work?

How many times have you heard people say – “the money is in the list”.  The more potential clients who get your e-mails, facebook postings and tweets — the more sales you’ll make.   So, the trick is, how do you get people to sign up to receive (read, and take action) on your messages when their e-mail boxes are full to the bursting point?  The trick is a well designed opt-in box.  The opt in box is the little box usually at the top (or on the right side) of a website asking people to leave their name and address. In many ways, this is the most important part of your website.

Mistake #1 Location is Everything

The opt-in box is not your whole site — but it needs to be accessible and visible “on top of the fold” (in the area of your website that people can see without scrolling).   Conventional wisdom says that the opt-in box is most effective at the top or on the top right of your site.  You can also have more than one opt-in box.   You can also consider putting the opt-in box at the bottom of each blog post.

Mistake #2 Not Solving A Problem for Your Client

Your clients will hire you to solve problems for them. They will gladly give their e-mail address to you in exchange for a solution (or even a good diagnosis) of their problem.  I see many e-mail boxes asking people to “sign up for my news updates” — well, that isn’t very enticing to someone who doesn’t know you yet.  A little better is sign up and get a free audio or e-book — at least there is a little bit of honey to draw in the reader.  The very best opt-in boxes offer information that can instantly make a difference in your clients business.  For example, “Increase your e-mail list by 25%  – sign up here for your free audio (Value $25).   You want your “bribe” to be short, easily digestible and useful.  You also want to give them a taste of your best advice – so they’ll want more.

Mistake #3  Not Experimenting Enough

The tiniest tweak can often make the biggest difference.  Small changes in copy can change response rates by up to 250%.   In a copywriting class I took, the teacher gave an example of how the headline “Puts Music In Your Life”  outdrew “Put Music In your Life” by 250%.   How do you know which tiny changes will make a difference.  You test… one small change at a time.   Most mailing list companies offer a way to create simple split tests with your opt-in box.  If your e-mail company doesn’t offer this service, google also has a free service where it serves up different versions of your site to conduct split tests.   Not testing (or making huge changes to opt-in box) is the biggest mistake I see people making with their opt-in boxes.  It is also the one thing I see successful internet marketers doing consistently.

So, where  should you start in creating a more effective opt-in box?  I would go through these three mistakes in order.  First, make sure that your opt-in box is visible (if clients can see it – the other two suggestions won’t help you ).  Then, make sure that your offer is solving a problem for your client.  Finally, test, test and re-test, keep tightening your results to create the most effective opt-in box possible.

This is the simple story of how I finally managed to come up with a task management system that works for me based on five simple principles and a great planning tool. Using this system, I had my most productive month ever last month. Here’s how I did it.

My addiction to productivity systems goes back a LONG way. I was one of those “one armed bandits” who wandered around with my gigantic day planner (thus, effectively disabling one arm and limiting my ability to get things done. In the online world, I have tried many different flavors of getting things done and used systems ranging from remember the milk, toodledoo, basecamp, priacta, etc. I would do great for a month or but then my lists would once again get completely overwhelming.

This past August, was my busiest month so far in my practice. Lots of new clients and exciting projects — but not so much time. Fortunately, in a particularly desparate moment (funny how the universe works that way), I got an e-mail from Bob the Teacher offering up a fabulous “productivity package” with mind mapping tools (using a free mind mapping program called Freemind) at a reasonable price. I bought the package – becuase I wanted his pre-done productivity map.

My new mindmap has branches for each month, then each week, then every day. Within the day, there are three “buckets” now, later and finished. As I went through the day, I could move tasks from one branch to the next. Using the now branch, I can keep track of the task that I’m currently doing (very handy for coming back to work after an interruption. The finished section is also a morale booster — it is great to look back and see what you’ve gotten done for the day. I tweaked Bob’s model, by adding “delegated/waiting for branch”. I work very closely with a select few clients. I needed to have a place to park things that were “in progress” and/or waiting for a response from someone else before I could proceed.

Mindmaps are also good for people with mild ADD (like me). I can collapse the individual branches and only work on the task at hand. Looking at the whole map at once can seem very overwhelming. Here’s a quick video to show you how my system works:

After using the mindmap for a few weeks, I decided that the reason why my past time management systems didn’t work was because they were way too complicated. I used to slice and dice my tasks by client, by context (phone, computer, home, errand) — but all the sorting caused tasks to fall through the cracks. Giant lists of tasks that are “someday/maybe” can also be demoralizing if they are in view all the time. For my actual to do list, the mindmap is working very well for me. I still use Basecamp to track and monitor individual client projects – I move my to do’s from those projects over to my mindmap.

Want to try this at home? Bob the Teacher offers the freemind software and a basic lesson on how to use it for free at his site – Discover Freemind

In playing with productivity systems for almost 30 years (could it be that long? I guess I started young….) I’ve discovered different methods work for different people. What works for you?

Ever just decided to go for something out of the blue? I was innocently reading my e-mail yesterday morning and I saw an e-mail from Dave Navarro – The Launch Coach offering his super-well written free e-book on how to make money selling products in three days.. I read it and thought — OK, Meredith — maybe you are making everything *way too complicated*. Any product I ever contemplate releasing is huge, multi-faceted, and complex. And, therefore, I never release any products!

Later that morning, I got another e-mail from Paul Evans with Nicheology challenging us to get something up and running in 24 hours. Hmm… could I do that? Maybe…

Well, finally, I get an e-mail invite  to participate in a half marathon for Team in Training.  The event is  Day of The Tread which is local to me in Albuquerque.   To participate in the race through TNT,  I need to raise $1,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I have done TNT events before (a century ride and a triathlon)  and it is a good program – and I really want to learn how to walk fast…  But, I also don’t want to rely completely on friends and family for donations again… So, since things happen in threes, and I want to get this new phase in my business started in a “good for all of us” way – I am thrilled to present…

A way for you to reach your goals (by listening to my goal setting workshop), a way for me to reach my goal (of getting a product out), and a way for us to work together to reach an important goal of helping to support cancer research.

To get my 40 minute audio goal-setting workshop  filled with goal setting wisdom (plus worksheets!) all you need to do is click the donate button and make a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.

How much? Totally up to you… I’m doing a half marathon so $13 would be appropriate. If you give me $50 I’ll write the name of someone of your choosing on my running shirt on race day. No matter what you decide… you’ll be helping yourself AND helping others!

Thanks in advance and I hope you enjoy the audio and reach your goals!

I received an e-mail today from Lynette Chandler of complaining that the big gurus are launching a program that is *very* similar to the Become A Blog Consultant from Kelly McCausey.  She wasn’t accusing them of plagarism only that the idea the gurus are promoting isn’t exactly new or revolutionary.

Only the “guru program” ( Main street marketing by Traffic Geyser) is many, many more times expensive.   Actually, I would highly recommend either of these programs, but they are completely different. I took Kelly and Lynette’s Blog Evangelist course which morphed into   A Blog Consultant.  I am also a Traffic Geyser certified virtual assistant so I’m familiar with both programs.  Both programs are worth purchasing, the one to choose depends on your pocketbook, but also to a large extent on what you want to do for local clients.

Become A Blog Consultant focuses on creating a business developing blog-based websites for clients.  Over the year-long Blog Evangelist course – Lynette and Kelly cover creating blogs and marketing yourself as a professional website consultant.  I completed the entire course and really mastered the ins and outs of WordPress.  I haven’t  marketed myself locally as a designer, but I am confident that I could if I followed the step by step instructions they offer.  The course is also very inexpensive – just $27 a month.  Even if you aren’t starting a local business, the   is well worth it for the marketing and technical skills you pick up over the course of a year.

Unlike Become a Blog Consultant,  Traffic Geyser Main Street Marketing does not teach you skills, but rather gives you access to a swiss army knife software program that helps build traffic for an existing website by distributing videos, articles, podcasts and blog posts to hundreds of websites and social media platforms.  The software even allows you to develop iphone (and soon, Android apps).  I’ve done some experimenting with the program as part of my Traffic Geyser certification.  The program helps tremendously with google rankings,  I was able to get top 10 rankings for medium popular keywords in just 24 hours.  The software program comes some very tools to link your marketing efforts together as well as cut and paste templates, sample video scripts and dozens of training videos on everything from making movies on the mac to keyword research.  If you have a few thousand dollars to invest – this is truly a cut and paste situation.  Everything is provided.  Everything is also dependent upon remaining a member of Traffic Geyser.  If your business is going well, it won’t be a problem – but it is a risk factor.

On the other hand, Become A Blog Consultant teaches skills that you will have after the program is over.  Yes, you are dependent on WordPress, but WordPress is free.  Become A Blog Consultant is not nearly as cut and paste as Main Street Marketing and would require more work upfront to build your business.

If I had all the time and money in the world, I would buy both programs.  The businesses that need blogs also need SEO and marketing help. If I didn’t want to actually work and had the money to invest, I would purchase Traffic Geyser.hey   Materials are cut and paste and the software really is very good.  They even have a VA service to do all the grunt work for you once you have sold local businesses their packages.

However, if I didn’t have a lot of money and wanted to learn skills and not be dependent upon someone else’s technology I would certainly give Blog Consultant a try.

* Unrelated rant – why aren’t there very many female software system gurus and why do they  charge so much less for the products/technology they develop?

Here’s my report from week 1 of time management bootcamp using Totally Relaxed Organization. Watch the video to see how I’m giving up my iphone to do app addiction.

I’m not sure that day one of Time Management bootcamp was such a huge success.    The system has you schedule all of your tasks over 30 minutes (most of mine are) – so I set them up in my google calendar.  The issue with that is that every time time was up I got reminders on my iphone, and two separate computers.  It made me feel a little like Pavlov’s dog.

But still, TROs implementation of smart lists in Remember the Milk is excellent.  I feel like if I could get the scheduling part taken care of then the rest will follow.

Some people say that admitting that you have a problem is the first step to change.   So… I’m admitting that I’m a time management system addict.  If you look at my iphone, you’ll see no fewer than 8 different to do list apps… I have tried and failed to master the trendy GTD (and have used OmniFocus, Nozbe, Toodledo, Things and the rest…) I can’t seem to keep any system going.

For being so disorganized – I manage to get most of what I need to do done — but one of my resolutions this year was to be less stressed and all the unorganized floating puzzle pieces of my life isn’t helping.

So,  I’ve enrolled in Time Management Boot Camp of a sort.   I just signed up for the totally relaxed organizing (TRO) coaching program.  The program is an online class with a 21 day homework component.  Just from reading through the training – it sounds intense.  I especially like how you can get the training customized for your particular set of tools (I am using the Remember the Milk, Gmail & iphone version).  Note: I was impressed enough with Priacta to sign up as an affiliate…)

So my first steps were to set up RTM, Gmail and my calendars to play together and to get my office files labeled and organized. Of course, since I really don’t do paper and file in gmail – this was pretty easy.

I’ll check in from time to time and let you know how this project is going…

I’m home from my big holiday road trip.  This was a big deal for me because it was my first solo road trip.  Suzanne came with me but she didn’t do any of the driving.

If you know me at all, you’ll know that me driving the 600 miles to see family was a big deal because:

1. I’m not much of driver

2. I hate driving in bad weather (which is one reason I live in New Mexico)

3. I don’t drive at night.

But, I made it there and back.  And, given the upgraded security because of the attempted bombing in Detroit and the sheer amount of stuff my daughter got for Christmas I’m glad I drove.  Here are some highlights and observations:

1.  The trip out there was quite an adventure with the Interstate being closed and getting rerouted through Navajo backroads (added 2 hours at least to the trip) and driving through a huge blizzard for the second day.  I avoided the “deadliest road in America” because I was too chicken to drive it in the snow.  I drove it on the way back and realize I made the right choice even though it added 3 more hours to the trip.

2. Why is it that the only radio station you can pick up in the middle of nowhere is always a country western station?

3. Thank goodness for DVD players.  Although  I wonder if kids are missing out on the “fun” of road trips now that they can watch movies the whole way.  Suzanne watched Annie at least 5 times… The sun will come out tomorrow….

4. People from Colorado drive *fast* except for when they are actually in Colorado… Why should that be?

5.  I survived a week without Internet.   I have a new computer and my address isn’t on her vetted list.  Nobody can remember the router password to change.  The world didn’t end — which is useful to remember.

6. My nephew who is permanently imprinted on my mind as a 2 year old with ringlets who was the ring bearer at my wedding is now a 15 and a half year old man who plays a mean guitar. Time flies.

7. I wonder of my daughter and her cousin who were inseparable during the trip will stay friends. I hope so. They are cute together

8. The smog in Salt Lake is a lot worse than I remember.

9. Why is it that going home is always quicker? We made it home in 11 hours (including breaks) and in one day.  Now that I know that the drive isn’t bad – I’ll probably drive again.

Still, great to sleep in my own bed again

According to a Washington Post article I read today – nearly a quarter of children don’t have enough to eat.   I imagine the number is higher here is New Mexico — but still I was very surprised to read that.  I was even more disheartened to think about all the food that is wasted in my house.  And, how I battle with food (and the temptation to eat too much and the wrong things) when so many don’t have enough.   Today,  I am very thankful that we have enough to eat and have never worried about where our next meal will come from.