Helping Hands For Coaches

Is Twitter for Everyone?

Don’t think your target market is on Twitter? Think again!

I just received a great email regarding a coach that works with women in career transition - is Twitter a marketing tool for her? Where are her prospects and clients? Well, let’s take a look at a quick Twitter search and see if some might be hiding there: Looking for a Job & Career Transition. While I wrote that sentence, 5 more people tweeted they’re looking for a job. Wow - that’s a lot of potential clients for a career transition coach!

As the job market becomes full with more and more people looking for work, job seekers may see Twitter as a way to network and connect with possible employers - one that is not being fully utilized yet. Sure, LinkedIn, eCademy, and even Facebook are being utilized by people looking for a new career - but Twitter can also be used in this way. Why? Because it’s a way to have a real conversation, just like you would in a networking meeting.

Why else should you use Twitter: Search Engines. It’s completely indexed by Google - so any keywords you put into your twitter posts could have a pretty high ranking in Google and other search engines. This is great for those ‘long tail keywords’ that might be hard to fit in your website.

You don’t have to spend all your time on Twitter, you can spend just a few minutes each day checking-in with new followers, joining a conversation, making useful connections - and then log-off - so it doesn’t eat away at your time.

Time is precious - and can easily be taken away by New Media Marketing, such as Facebook and Twitter. But, if you go on with a purpose and goal, a time limit, search keywords, and a sense of wanting to connect with others authentically, it can be very rewarding.

By the way - in the 15 minutes it took to write and edit this post, 21 more people tweeted that they are looking for a job. Even if you’re not a career transition coach, go and give some encouragement to these people - they need it.

Video Slide Shows to Attract Clients

I’m not breaking news when I say Animoto is an awesome company with a amazing way to transform your photos into a tv-quality 30 second commercial, but I am breaking the news on how coaches can use it to build their business. As a life or business coach, you can use Animoto to create unique videos targeting your niche market. Here’s some examples:

1. Boomer Coach: create a video with the title ‘You know you’re a baby boomer when…’ (for example), and have images depicting how times have changed. Then, at the end of the video, have a call to action - such as ‘Download our free book on Boomer Transformations’ - and have the video link to your website (yes, Animoto can do that!)
2. Entrepreneur Coach:  create a video that explains how you can help them - with first describing the problem - such as organization, goal setting, motivation, sales, etc. Again, have the call to action at the end of the video.
3. AD/HD Coach: create a video for either the parents, the children, or the adults that suffer from this learning difficulty - and how you can help them.

You can try Animoto out for free with their 30 second shorts - a regular commercial length. If you use the 30 second short to create you video, then I recommend adding the text on the actual photos vs. using Animoto’s text feature. If, however, you do want to add the text separately, or you want to create one full-length (up to 10 minutes) video - you can for only $3 per video.

Some other features:

1. Highlight a particular photo - allowing that photo to get some more screen time.
2. Add music without paying extra, or worrying about copyrights - they take care of all of that.
3. Speed-up or slow-down the transitions, with a paid membership.
4. One-click remix. Don’t like the way Animoto configured your slide show? Click ‘Remix’, and they’ll do it again - without erasing the first one.

Some more ideas on how you can use an Animoto video:

1. Use it in eNewsletters, like a ‘video of the month’
2. Use it as a way to motivate or inspire your clients
3. Add it to blogs to make a point
4. Use it to promote an event
5. Upload it to YouTube for promotional purposes
6. Add it to your website, Facebook page, MySpace page, and more
7. Sell the DVDs as motivational or inspiration videos, or give-away the DVDs as a promotional piece

There are some limitations:

1. If you don’t like one particular transition, you can’t just tweak that transition - you have to ‘remix’ the entire video.
2. You can’t get rid of the Animoto branding completely, but you can minimize it (see below).
3. It does take time - you may find yourself remixing, changing, editing more than you had anticipated - because it’s fun!

If you would like a $5 discount on their ‘All Access’ account, then use this code when starting your account: iqeudyzs
The video at the top of the page is the 30 second short I did for the International Coach Federation’s Orange County chapter’s Holiday Dinner - the last image has me on the right.

Image below of what your ending screen can look like with the ‘All Access’ account:

Get More Twitter Followers with Twitter Buttons

Want some twitter buttons on your site to get more followers? TwitterButtons has about 35 different buttons available for you to use! Just copy the HTML code, make sure to delete the “YourLink” and add your own before you put it on your site.

Here’s my favorite:

And some more examples:

Happy Holidays - Elf Yourself

Have you ‘Elf (ed) Yourself’ yet? It is hilarious! The boys did one of themselves and sent it to Grandpa and Grandma earlier this week, and it just cracked them up! I’ve been a great fan of JibJab for year - they do awesome work.
Have fun! Peace, Love and all that Jazz!

Free Appointment System

Do you play phone-tag with your current coaching clients? Wish there was a way to just have them log-in and book an appointment online - but worried about the cost?

I’m really enjoying my Genbook system - it’s free to start (and as little as $20 per month if you want all the features), and prospects and clients find it’s easier to get a hold of me. Like you, my time is my business, so when I’m with a client or a prospect, I can’t help another one at that time. Now, clients and prospects save time by simply booking an appointment with me online - anytime, day or night.

I’m also utilizing Skype to talk with my clients - this also is a great way to ‘compact’ my time. I can have several ‘IM’ (or Instant Messaging) conversations going on at the same time, and still help everyone. Plus, when I talk to clients that are also Skype users, we can have video conference (great for those coaches that like to see their clients while they coach). Oh, and the cost - free. Gosh, I love that word

Getting Started on Twitter

Most of you have probably at least heard of Twitter by now, if not - get ready! It’s an amazing Social Media tool that can really help you get connected to other entrepreneurs, experts in your field, and of course, prospects and clients! But, I must warn you - it is addicting! You’ll find yourself tweeting live events, while walking to meet with a client, and during your own teleseminars! But, this is what makes Twitter so unique - it helps you to be and stay on people’s mind, even if you’ve never met them. Take, for instance, I’ve been following Warren Whitlock co-author of the Twitter Revolution (with @coachdeb), for a while - but I didn’t think he would recognize me - but here we were, last Friday at the Social Media Conference in San Diego, and he said, “Hey, don’t I know you? I’m following you, aren’t I?” Wow! I was floored - and what floored me more was how many times it happened after that! Now, wouldn’t you like to be known before you enter a networking group? Would you like a room full of potential prospects to feel warm towards you before you spoke? Twitter can do that for you.

So, I know I’ve been holding back from my coaches about this awesome tool - but, I don’t like to promote something until I have a grasp of it myself. So, read further for my resources, and how to get started (you won’t believe how easy it is!)

To get started on Twitter, I recommend going to Twitter, sign-up for an account, add your profile photo (go to ‘Settings’ in the upper right to customize your profile), and then type your first post - just a 140 characters. I  then recommend you to start following people that automatically follow others, as John Chow suggests. He recommends that you get beyond the 100 ‘followers’ count  to be ’socially proof’.  How do you know if they’ll automatically follow you? Just see if their ‘followers’ count matches their ‘follow’ count.

Once you hit the 100 followers mark, then you need to make your tweets interesting. Whenever I mention Twitter, the main question I get is “Why does anyone want to know what I had for breakfast?” Good point - they probably don’t! I think some ‘Not Dead Yet’ moments are fine (for instance, “Drinking some coffee with the hubby at my favorite coffee shop: http://theneighborhoodcup.com/“), but generally that’s not going to get you a huge following. So, before you post, notice if what you’re about to tweet is interesting to your potential following (yes, you should have a goal of who you want to have follow you - mainly your target market).

One issue that I came across when I first started tweeting was understanding other tweets! It’s like it’s in a different language - one that’s constricted by 140 characters! Thanks to my friend, Mari Smith, I was able to understand the @ symbol in front of people’s names, and the short hand that tweaps use.

Some musts to help you save time while using this great Social Media tool:
TweetScan - a ’search’ tool for Twitter - find your target market easily
Tweet Deck - a desktop software that allows you to know what’s going on in the Twitter world, without having to go online
TwitScoop - find out what’s the hot topic right now and join the conversation
TweetLater - want to be sure a tweet goes out at a certain time but not sure if you’ll remember to tweet it? Use this tool to schedule tweets to post in your account.
BudURL - want to see if all this Social Marketing is working? This tool will take your URL, and track the results - who’s clicking from where.
SocialToo - allows you to auto-follow followers, and can let you know when people stop following you.

Some Free Resources on Twitter that I used to get started:
GeekPreneur Twitter Handbook
Guy Kawaski : How to Use Twitter as a Twool, and Looking for Mr. Goodtweet: How to Pick Up Followers on Twitter
Warren Whitlock and Coach Deb: Free Twitter Handbook
Duct Tape Marketing: Free downloadable eBook on Using Twitter for Business
Twitter Lingo: by Mari Smith
Have another resource you found helpful? Add a comment and the link! Thanks!

As Warren said last Friday, the main thing is - Twitter has no rules - you can decide on how you want to brand yourself on Twitter. So, have fun and Happy Tweeting! Oh, and if you liked this post, please follow me at http://www.twitter.com/rachelpradhan  See you there!

Changing Text in Wordpress

Now that Indra Successful Coach Marketing and Blaze Interactive, our two companies, build websites utilizing Wordpress, you’ll see some more video tortorials on how to utilize this great software as a content management system. All of our clients have been able to easily pick-up how to use Wordpress once their website launched, but I thought it would be helpful if they have some extra support as well.

If you are a life or business coach, or an entrepreneur, on a major shoe-string budget, then I would recommend Wordpress as a way for you to quickly and easily build a website. Wordpress.com is the free version of Wordpress in which you can set-up a blog in minutes. Their free templates aren’t the greatest, but it can easily be customizable. If you want your own URL, and host your own Wordpress Website - then I recommend Wordpress.org. For hosting the Wordpress website, I always recommend BlueHost.

When we build a website utilizing Wordpress, we first focus on the design of the site - utilizing our own 6-step design process that really captures the essence of our clients. We then build the site utilizing the Wordpress technology, allowing our clients to easily make changes once the site launches. It’s also more Search Engine friendly than basic HTML websites.

This first video is how-to make basic changes in your Wordpress website.

 

The second video is how-to make basic color changes to your Wordpress website.

 

 

Just a reminder - your ‘Admin’ page to sign-in is your URL (or web address), plus /wp-admin. So, for example, for http://www.helpinghandsforcoaches.com it will be http://www.helpinghandsforcoaches.com/wp-admin.

If we didn’t help you develop your website, and you would like custom HEX colors (the series of numbers/letters that tells browsers what colors to show) - then you can visit this website: www.2CreateAWebsite.com

iContact Holiday Announcements

This past Thanksgiving, I had several clients wanting a step-by-step on how to use iContact’s template system to send a special announcement. I thought it would be helpful for everyone to know how to use it! Enjoy!

How to use iContact’s templates to send a Holiday or announcement eNewsletter or eZine. Quick and easy how-to videos on Internet Marketing.

I Heart Flickr

My husband, Nirzhar, is usually the photographer of the family, but when I recently opened a Flickr account to start promoting websites that we’ve recently launched - I came in contact with the little girl that used to hog the disposable camera during family vacations. I find myself spending hours going through the amazing images of professional and amature photographers alike - my own personal museum of life’s own beauty. Flickr is inspiring to my childhood dreams of being a photographer - and again I see the live action ’snap shots’ of life that my memories are filled with.

I know Flickr isn’t new - I believe Nirzhar started his account when it started in 2004 - but it’s new to my heart - and thus I wanted to share my new love with all of you. To your inspiration!

PS- there is a flickr community, so it’s another great way to connect and network with people :)  Also, there is a Creative Commons area under “Explore” in which you can search for images that you can use in your eNewsletters and Blog articles, often for free, but check the licence before you use.

Growth 2.0 in Long Beach

For all my peeps in SoCal: mark your calendars for December 9th! Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Growth 2.0 Conference” is a free full-day conference in Long Beach, California. There will be such workshops as low-cost marketing, sales secrets, and a keynote with the author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, Robert Kiyosaki.

If you register, be sure to look for me during the networking sessions. As an entrepreneur, it’s an event that I won’t miss!