Jacob S Paulsen's Blog, page 23

12 Authors to Guide You Through 12 Books in 2012

Its the time of year when I start thinking about my goals for the upcoming year. In 2011 I set a goal to read 50 new books and I'm on track to hit my goal. I've learned that this goal has caused me to rush through books and get much less from the content than I otherwise would. In looking forward into 2012 I wanted to set a goal to get much more value from far fewer books.

As it will be the year 2012 and there are 12 months in the year it seemed fitting to me to reach exactly 12 books, one each month. As I spent the last two weeks contemplating how I would get absolute maximum value from 12 books, two things occured to me. First that my best strategy would be to start/join a book group that would all read the same books together. This allows for great discussion and insight which increases growth dramatically. The second thing that occured to me is that the best leader of such a book group would be the authors of each of the books we read.

In order to convince significant authors to take the time (without any compensation) to guide a month long discussion about their book I realized that we would need a significant enough group of people in the book club so as to offer the author high exposure and potential for book sells. Thus the goal was refined to find 12,000 other people to read 12 books with me, being lead by the author of each of the 12 books.

I spent last week talking to key friends of mine who I know share my passion for reading business and personal development books. They helped me refine the plans and strategies and they helped me make the first contact with some great authors who have awesome books that we would like to read.

So far we have two great authors committed, including Bruce H Jackson the author of "Finding Your Flow;" and Erik Qualman the author of "Socialnomics" who is realeasing a new book next month.

If you want to change your life in 2012 you need to get involved. If you don't want to pass on the amazing opportunity to be lead in 12 book discussions by the authors themselves you need to get involved. Visit www.12booksin2012.com and sign up now. Spread the word. Remember that the level of value that each of us will recieve as part of the book group will depend both on the total amount of discussion and the leadership and genius of each author. In other words, SPREAD THE WORD! Utilize Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your email and more to tell everyone you know about this once in a lifetime opportunity!

If you have direct contact with or access to authors whom you feel would have a lot to offer to our group please don't hesitate to contact me!

Jacob S Paulsen

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Getting The Most Uut of Your Next Networking Event

When it comes to a networking event I'm as guilty as anyone else. My day is busy and when I go to a mid-day luncheon or other type of event, I just want to go to my table, sit down, and check emails on my phone until its over. I recently felt the sting of guilt when I was at an event considering the opportunities that I've missed and the wasted investment of myself or my employers when I've attended such functions. I have been searching the internet looking for the best tips and insights from experts and today I'd like to summarize what I have gleaned. Please don't hesitate to share additional insights or tips in the comments below.

Preparing for your next Networking Event:

Stock up on business cards and make sure they are accessible in a shirt pocket or hand bag.
Make sure that you have a pen handy. You may need to write down contact information of a newly made contact who is without a business card. You may also want to take notes from the presentation.
Make yourself identifiable as a member of your group or company. Perhaps there is a tie, lapel pin, embroidered shirt, etc that will help identify you as a member of your organization. Wear your name tag when provided with one.

During the Networking Event:

 Avoid gravitating toward people that you know. Often current acquaintances can be helpful in introducing you to someone new but it will help you remember why you are there if you avoid seeking out those people in the beginning.
Approach people who are alone or in smaller groups. Someone standing by themselves is much easier to approach and they will be grateful for someone to talk to. If you do approach people in groups wait to be invited before entering the conversation
Focus on making a few high quality contacts rather than trying to gather as many business cards as you can.
When conversing make eye contact and practice real listening. Try to learn more about the other person and avoid talking about yourself and your company.
The best place for networking is near the main door or the food. Avoid approaching people who are moving toward an exit.

Following the Networking Event:

Write on the back of your acquired business cards to indicate where you met that person. Also write any specific details about them that may help you recall who they are.
Seek out your newly made contacts on LinkedIn and, when appropriate, on Facebook and Twitter as well.
Within 48 hours send a short email to let them know you were grateful to meet them. Include your contact information in the email in case they have misplaced your business card.

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Getting The Most Out of Your Next Networking Event

When it comes to a networking event I'm as guilty as anyone else. My day is busy and when I go to a mid-day luncheon or other type of event, I just want to go to my table, sit down, and check emails on my phone until its over. I recently felt the sting of guilt when I was at an event considering the opportunities that I've missed and the wasted investment of myself or my employers when I've attended such functions. I have been searching the internet looking for the best tips and insights from experts and today I'd like to summarize what I have gleaned. Please don't hesitate to share additional insights or tips in the comments below.

Preparing for your next Networking Event:

Stock up on business cards and make sure they are accessible in a shirt pocket or hand bag.
Make sure that you have a pen handy. You may need to write down contact information of a newly made contact who is without a business card. You may also want to take notes from the presentation.
Make yourself identifiable as a member of your group or company. Perhaps there is a tie, lapel pin, embroidered shirt, etc that will help identify you as a member of your organization. Wear your name tag when provided with one.

During the Networking Event:

 Avoid gravitating toward people that you know. Often current acquaintances can be helpful in introducing you to someone new but it will help you remember why you are there if you avoid seeking out those people in the beginning.
Approach people who are alone or in smaller groups. Someone standing by themselves is much easier to approach and they will be grateful for someone to talk to. If you do approach people in groups wait to be invited before entering the conversation
Focus on making a few high quality contacts rather than trying to gather as many business cards as you can.
When conversing make eye contact and practice real listening. Try to learn more about the other person and avoid talking about yourself and your company.
The best place for networking is near the main door or the food. Avoid approaching people who are moving toward an exit.

Following the Networking Event:

Write on the back of your acquired business cards to indicate where you met that person. Also write any specific details about them that may help you recall who they are.
Seek out your newly made contacts on LinkedIn and, when appropriate, on Facebook and Twitter as well.
Within 48 hours send a short email to let them know you were grateful to meet them. Include your contact information in the email in case they have misplaced your business card.

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Google Plus 1 Now Integrated Into Google Adwords: Social SEO

The reason online marketing professionals are excited about Google +1 is because of the influence that this new social network can have on search results on Google. We have now taken one step closer to that reality as the +1 buttons have been added to Paid Results via Google Adwords.

You may also notice (as illustrated in red above) that Google Places has been further integrated into paid advertising as well. Advertisers can now integrate their business listing which, if you have a lot of positive reviews adds so much more credibility to your ad in comparison to your competitors.

This further shows how Google is trying to drive the integration of its many products and how you can benefit from a full approach to driving reviews.

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Ten Reasons Why I Use Veretekk's Internet Marketing Suite of Tools

Veretekk is at its most basic form a suite of powerful tools available at a monthly subscription. Veretekk has been around for longer than any other company in the internet marketing field and the mere completeness of their system is non-matched.

In addition Veretekk offers a two tier affiliate program to help compensate users who refer others to the system. Yes I am an affiliate and clicking on any of the links in this post will take you to my affiliate pages.

Top Ten Reasons I Use Veretekk

Free Webcast Room. I originally found Veretekk because I was looking for the most stable and economic web conferencing technology online and I stumbled into Vereconference. With your monthly subscription comes a free 5 person webcast room and if you have need of additional or larger rooms you can just sign up for them in your own affiliate portal which makes you money.
Affiliate Portals. As part of your subscription Veretekk gives you dozens of replicated websites with your own subdomain. This traffic portals have various uses which we will discuss in detail but my favorite among them is the cash. Several of those portals offer paid products/services (Vereconference among them) and when others visit these sites and but the products/services you earn a commission.
Lead Generation. Each of these traffic portal sites described above offer some type of free service. When users sign up for the free service or product that generates a lead of someone who most likely has an interest in internet marketing (based on the nature of the services they are asking for) and thus you have a never ending supply of free leads which always include a double opt-in email address and generally also include a name, address, and phone number.
Backlinks for SEO. This traffic portal websites also form your very own SEO network. Most companies pay big money to have links to their websites placed on other relevant websites in the world. Just by signing up you can put up to 5 custom links with custom anchor text on all of the dozens of traffic portal websites in your system.
Veremail Email Marketing System. Within your Veretekk system you have Veremail. Veremail is your very own email marketing system. It allows you to build series of autoresponders to send to your leads or to just manage new leads that you buy or import into the system. The system goes the extra mile to ensure compliance with anti-spam laws.
Free Hosting. Included in your monthly Veretekk subscription is free professional hosting with cPanel. cPanel is the same hosting software/dashboard that is used by major hosting providers such as BlueHost, Hostmonster, and Hostgator. This makes it easy to install your own WordPress site or custom landing pages for additional lead generation or web presence. Hosting is a cost of doing business online but if you can lump it into your Veretekk subscription why wouldn't you?
Google Adsense Integration. Many of your traffic portals have in page advertising opportunities. All you have to do is input your Google Adsense publisher ID into your Vertekk configuration settings and your ads will automatically be served on those traffic portals where it is appropriate.
Training & Support. Veretraining is available to walk you through every step of configuration and using the system. You can watch a set of pre-recorded videos, participate in live training sessions, or contact the live support team. Lets face it, technology can be complicated and doing anything right requires some work so its important to have the right people behind you.
Free Trials for Everything. Every service or product including the full Veretekk system itself has a free trial. This makes it easy for anyone to give it a test run to really discover how it works.
Social Media Integration and Innovation. The team at Veretekk is always trying to stay one step ahead of the curve. This means that integrating social media is top of mind. I'm always checking the announcements board to see what they are working on next.

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Driving More Traffic with Tweet Old Post WordPress Plugin

As you develop a strong list of Twitter followers it becomes necessary to consistently put information in front of those people to keep them engaged. People do not read every single tweet in their news feed so you have to push out content to your followers at different times of day on an ongoing consistent basis.

The Tweet Old Post plugin allows for that. In addition to automatically tweeting on your behalf at a regularly defined interval, it will also introduce your followers to older content you have written which is good for your traffic and your SEO efforts.

Here is a video tutorial that will overview Tweet Old Post Plugin for WordPress

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Survey: How Well Do You Use Your Phone for Productivity

If you follow this site you know that we like to execute surveys about various digital topics. When we do this we make the survey and the survey results available to all our readers. After you take the survey you will be given the opportunity to subscribe to receive results from our surveys.

jQuery(function($) {

$('form#survey-2').bind('submit', function() {
$('#submit').attr("disabled", true);
});

$(':input.Other').bind('click', function() {
$(this).prev().prev().attr("checked", "checked");
});

// set the default survey error handler
$.fn.form.setErrorHandler('default', function(errors) {
var form = $(this);

// remove the error messages
form.find('.Widget div.Error').remove();

// foreach error, insert them
$.each(errors, function(errorIndex, error) {
// fields with the same name represent radio and checkboxes
var fieldsWithSameName = form.find('[name="' + error.field.attr('name') + '"]');

// put a error message after the widget title, but do it only once for each widget
if (fieldsWithSameName.index(error.field) == fieldsWithSameName.length - 1) {
//error.field.closest('.Widget').find('label:first').after('
' + error.message + '

');
error.field.closest('.Widget').find('label:first').after('
' + error.message + '

');
}
});

// focus the first error field
errors[0].field.focus();

// and alert the first error message
alert(errors[0].message);
$('#submit').removeAttr("disabled");
});

// initialize the survey validator
$('#survey-2').form().init({
errorClass : 'Required'
});

$('#survey-2').form().getFields().each(function() {
var field = $(this);
var label = field.closest('.Widget').find('label:first');
flabel = label.text();
flabel = flabel.replace(" \*","\"");
field.form().setErrorMessage('required', 'The "' + flabel + ' field is required.');
});

// language pack the error messages
$('#survey-2').form().setErrorMessage('required', "This field is required.");

// "Other" fields must not be empty if their corresponding
// radio button is checked
$('#survey-2 :input.Other').form().setDependency(function(field) {
if ($(this).siblings(':radio:checked, :checkbox:checked').length && $.trim($(this).val()) == '') {
$('#submit').removeAttr("disabled");
return false;
}
return true;
}, "Please type an answer in the text box next to the checked field.");

// disabling button on submit
//alert( $('.required:first').form().getErrorMessage() );
});

How Well Do You Use Your Smartphone as a Tool of Productivity?

Please respond below to help us discover how well people use their smartphones as tools of production

Which Phrase Best Describes the Way You Use Your Phone for Email? *



Don't have email configured on my phone



I check new emails but rarely reply or compose emails



Reply to emails but rarely compose new emails



I use my phone like my computer, responding and composes emails on the go



Other:




Which Phrase Best Describes the Way You Send / Receive Text Messages? *



I Don't Send or Receive Text Messages



Texting is a primary way I communicate with people



I reply when people send me messages but I rarely compose messages



Other:




Which Phrase Best Describes the Way You Use Your Internet Browser? *



I use my browser to access internet just the same as when I'm in front of a computer



I use my browser when there is a necessity on the move but generally I wait until I'm at my desktop



I don't like the mobile browser. I avoid using it when possible



Other:




Which Phrase Best Describes the Way You Search for Applications? *



I generally browse for new applications on a regular basis



I look for new applications when I think of a need or desire



I generally only download applications that people tell me about



I don't download applications on a regular basis



Other:




Other Activities You Engage In On Your Smartphone? *

Please select all that apply

Remote Desktop Connection



Internet Tethering



Read News / Publications You Subscribe To



Subscribe to New Publications



Manage Your Finances or Banking



Read Books or Scriptures



View or Modify Documents



Use the Alarm Clock



Take Pictures



Watch Videos, Shows, or Movies



Update Social Networks



Manage a Task / Todo List



Shop



Use Some Type of Health Application



Check the Weather



Use Instant Messaging



Use Your Phone as Your Primary MP3 Player



Plan or Manage Travel Plans



Navigate / GPS



Other:




Submit Form



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Make the Numbers a Part of Your Life

I'll never forget an old manager of mine who once told me "What can be measured, can be improved." I have always felt strongly about the importance of keeping track of results in order to improve. In high school I charted all of my race times for Cross Country and Track and Field into a spreadsheet for 4 years. I used charts to measure my improvement over time during a season and to closely compare improvement on the same tracks or courses. I know I was a freak back then, but this methodical nature has paid me back 10 fold.

If you have ever read any book about goal setting you know that goals must be written down. They must be specific and measurable. If you can't track it you can achieve it. My sales team understand the importance of this. Every day when they come into my office they see a list of all of my personal and business 2011 goals written on my wall. Next to each goal is either a check-mark or a % of completion. On Mondays or Fridays I update each of my reports (mostly in Excel) to illustrate progress or regression.

Keeping track of the numbers is the very last thing that anyone wants to do. Its time consuming, boring, and hard to justify when a pile of urgent tasks cover your desk and email inbox. Never forget the long term necessity and importance of keeping track of the numbers. Numbers are an important part of every aspect of every business. If you are in advertising you need to keep track of your response in correlation with your advertising spend. If you are in sales you need to keep track of each activity in your sales cycle to track what is effective and what is not, in addition to defining when you are trending high or low in activity. If you are a web programmer, keep track of which activities take the most time so that you can accuratly manage your boss's or client's expectations.

Being methodical about watching the numbers will impress your superiors and your boss. If you are the boss then you know that a large part of your day needs to be engaged in analyzing the numbers. Without a range of measurement you will never be able to make wise decisions to increase productivity or return on investment.

What parts of your business are you measuring well or poorly? Are your tracking methods effective and consistent? Where does your data come from and are you taking the time to read it?

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Top Ten Legal Tips to Safeguard Your Website's Liability

We have become a digital society but we have also become a heavily regulated, law-suit happy society. It doesn't take too much effort to safeguard yourself against legal liability by following some simple steps when working with your online marketing strategies and presence.

Here are my Top 10 Legal Tips to Protect You and Your Website:

Create a Privacy Policy Page in your website. It doesn't have to be found in the main navigation but I would suggest putting a link in the footer and including it in your sitemap. If you are unsure what to include in your privacy page just copy the text from mine.
Create a Terms of Use Page in your website. In the same way make sure it can be found in the footer and you may also consider putting it at the bottom of any web forms where you ask for user information. Again, you can use my text as a guide.
Email Marketing Rules. The CAN SPAM act of 2003 does not ban unsolicited emails but it does outline some legal guidelines. You must identify yourself or your organization as the sender, the subject cannot be misleading, your mailing address must be disclosed, and an unsubscribe link or method/tool must be included. Most Email Marketing Software Solutions require and assist you in these requirements.
Mobile Marketing Rules. The same basis premise and legal requirements discussed above in regards to email marketing, also apply to mobile marketing. Be sure to check out the provider who is helping you execute your mobile campaign and confirm that they are 100% in compliance.
Deliver on what you promise. If you offered to send a free report, monthly newsletters, coupons, etc be sure that is all you send without asking for further permission or telling the consumer in advance what your intentions are. No less, no more.
If your website includes member registration or eCommerce solutions, take security of the data VERY seriously. You cannot afford to have a leak or be the means by which an attacker obtains your customer's data. Hire a professional web service provider to limit your own legal liability and ensure compliance and top security standards.
When it comes to collecting user data, less is more. Don't gather information unless you really will have a use for it. Street addresses for example are completely unnecessary unless you are going to send direct mail. Generally asking for a city OR state OR zip really gives you all the geographic information you will ever need.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires strict guidelines to companies who are marketing to children under 13 years old. If you have any information on your site that could even be interpreted as being designed for youth; you must comply with COPPA in collecting information and that can generally require parent's consent. If you ask for birth dates, be sure not to save any user data with an age under 13.
Be consistent and complete with coupons or printed offers. Be sure that all your printed coupons have an expiration date and all other terms that you intend to enforce on customers. If it isn't in print, it isn't valid. Be consistent across the board to reduce your headache.
Prevent Complaints by being Accessible. Consumer will almost always try to resolve an issue with the merchant before filing any formal complaint. Be available and quick to respond to ensure complete customer satisfaction. Remember the customer may not always be right but you better keep them happy!

If you have any additional legal tips to share with our readers please leave a comment below!
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Find Out Who your Real Twitter Friends Are: Who Is Following You Back?

I'll be the first one to admit that I don't follow very many people on Twitter who aren't willing to follow me back. Outside of Stephen Colbert and a few other celebrities I automatically unfollow people on Twitterwho aren't following me in return. I utilize a software program called Tweetadder to do that, but in case you are just too cheap or would rather manually browse a list of people who don't follow you back, you can use Tweeter Karma by dossy.org.

 This Twitter Tutorial Will Guide You Through Using Tweeter Karma by Dossy.org

Navigate to http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/

Click on the "Sign In With Twitter" Button and enter your Twitter credentials.

After you have signed in you will be returned to the Tweeter Karma page and you will see a message under the blue sign in button that reads "Successfully logged in using OAuth"

Decide if you want Avatars (pictures of users) displayed. It will take longer to load if you choose to display them.

Press the "Whack!" button and…. wait… wait… wait. The more Twitter users whom you follow and that follow you, the longer you will wait for the page to load. Be patient.

After it is done loading you will see something like this:

In the pull down menu on the right hand side you can filter out which type of Twitter Users you want displayed below.

As you browse through the various users you will be able to see if each user is following you, if you are following them, etc. You will also be able to manually follow or unfollow any user by clicking on the link below their name.

By default users are sorted according to how recently they have updated. You may also choose to sort them in alphabetical order or according to the number of followers that they have.

Hopefully this Twitter Tutorial will be help you sort through all the twitter users you are connected to. Until next time…

@jacobspaulsen

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