Name: Online Business Manager
Bio: Felicia Pratt Ellis is the owner of FPE Services. FPE Services provides Wordpress (website) management along with Social Media Management and Search Engine Optimization for Women Small Business Owners.
Posts by Online Business Manager:
4 Reasons Why You Need A Mentor, Lady?
September 2nd, 2010
I pretty sure you have heard this over and over and over again, but I’m going to say it to you as well. Be sure to have a mentor to help you along business endeavor. All to many times we decide to go into business for ourselves and at the moment when our energy runs low and things become a bit more complicated then we thought (basically not making the money we saw in our head) we either give up, or keep spinning those wheels working harder and getting nowhere. Trust me I do it too. But having a mentor can help you in so many ways. Besides if all the experts and millionaires have mentors what makes you think you can do it all on your own.
4 Reasons Why you need a business mentor:
1. Eliminate Mistakes
Having someone to guide you and mentor you along your path can help you eliminate common mistakes we as women business owners make. They have been there done that and can tell you what doesn’t work. However this only works if you decided to listen to your mentor and not take matters into your own hands.
2. Clarification
If your business mentor happens to be in the same industry you are in they can provide you with clarity on various topics and subjects of your industry. This recently happen to me. I try my best to stay on top of all the relevant information in my industry and consider myself a life long student. However, at times all this learning can get cluttered and mixed up in your mind. It’s great to have someone there that can explain to you the difference, or that missing information to get you on the right track.
3. Relief
I talk to one of my business mentors just about every day. I’m pretty sure she is tired of me (I also ask a lot of questions). However outside of the business world my mentor has become my friend. As a fellow women business owner she understands the struggles I may have balancing life (marriage, family and business) and gives me that extra shoulder to lean on when the time comes. We ladies need this. How many times have you been caught up in something and wish you had someone you can talk to that you feel truly understands?
4. Reach Your Destination Faster
Because you are now working with someone that has been there, and done that, not only do they know what doesn’t work, but they know what does. They can help you get to your destination faster than it would if you were doing it by yourself.
Finding a Business Mentor
So now you may be wondering well how do I find myself a mentor. I’ve heard so many different tips on how to find a mentor. First decide on what is your goal. Where do you see yourself at the end of this journey. Then find someone that you feel is similar to you dream or is living that life. And make them your mentor. Don’t go up to them and say hey can you be my mentor? No, find out what their needs are and fulfill it for them. Let them see themselves in you and so the relationship will build. Also remember that your mentor does not have to be a physical person. One of my mentors is Robert kiyosaki (I’m pretty sure he mentors a lot of people unknowingly). I like what he’s about and how he got there. I like his message and can relate to what he has been through (except for being wealthy and having a rich dad). So how is he my mentor you ask, well I read all his books, blogs and so forth. I really take in what he says and try my best to apply it to my life.
Twitterfeed Review- Social Media Management Tool
August 24th, 2010
Twitter is one of the most popular social media platforms out there. When thinking of social media marketing for our business we immediately think of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (probably in that order). We must come up with a strategy to use all three and integrate them in our marketing plan. However, as a solopreneur we should also think of how can we spend our time effectively and wisely. This can include automated some of your social media tools.
We all know social media is about the human interaction and creating relationships with potential customers and clients. So one may think that automation may not fit into that category. Scheduling time to interact with your social media platforms is important, but when you begin to plan out your strategy for each platform your social media efforts may begin to look like a full-time job. When using twitter (or any other social media platform) we don’t want to bombard our followers with sales, products and continued information only about our business. It gets tiring to listen to someone toot their own horn everyday and that’s not how you provide value. People want to know that you are about providing valuable information even if it’s not your own information. There are a few things that I like to put into practice for my clients as they tweet (and we will talk about that in another post) but one of them is to provide content. You can provide content by tweeting your new blog post, retweeting an article or blog post relevant to your industry and by using an rss feed. That’s right an rss feed! To do this we can use a free tool called twitterfeed.
I stumbled across Twitterfeed as I was searching for a way to provide continuous content via twitter without having to spend the time searching and filtering through rss feeds to find out what’s the most important content to post. Not only that all the feeds that I have how can sift through them all and be productive. Well Twitterfeed allows you to post content through an rss feed. You may have already subscribed to someone’s blog via rss feed and receive updates via email or through your rss reader. Well now you can tweet the various articles and blog post from that feed right to twitter. It’s actually quite simple to set up and takes all of minutes. You can tell it how often to post and how many posts at a time. You can shorten the URL using bit.ly and you can also add a post prefix and/or a post suffix. Very cool and convenient.
My Thoughts!!!!
Okay so I’ve been using Twitterfeed for all of a few days now and to be honest I like it. I created a Google Alert for the word phrase “Keyword Research” and subscribed to this alert via rss. I also subscribed to Mashable and Social Media Examiner (great content at these places). I copied and paste the rss feed into the specified location, set the time I wanted it posted and also added whatever prefix or suffix to the tweet. Then maybe about a few hours later posts started generating (maybe minutes but I really wasn’t paying attention). I know longer had to worry about searching and providing content. It is now being done automatically.
The number of followers that I have has increased since using this tool. Before I would get some emails letting me know that people are following me, now I get these emails daily and quite a few people at a time. However I can’t help but to wonder if I could now be annoying. Some of the sites that you may subscribe too may post 3 and 4 times a day and depending on how many feeds you have coming in could someone decide not to follow you because you are cluttering up there stream? If you decided to use this tool I strongly suggest that you come up with a strategic plan on how to implement it effectively.
So do you use Twitterfeed? What is your strategy? What are other social Media Management tools out there that you enjoy?
Website Marketing Strategy – Women should use wordpress for their Business
August 13th, 2010
Recently I was at a women’s entrepreneur event and I must say I had an awesome time. There were so many women there with so many different, and similar, business ideas it was amazing. The part that I really enjoyed was that we were all there to learn from each other. Not to steal each others ideas but to connect, build, and profit with each other. But one of the things I couldn’t help but notice was the lack of internet knowledge in the room. There were women of all race, shape, and size. They were various business ideas, different strategies, and tools for marketing and so much more, however the collective thought in the room was how to gain visibility on the web. Whether they were just starting their business or have already been in business for quite some time, these women were not comfortable maneuvering their way on the internet via social media, blogging and more.
Because I love the web and I’m on it pretty much all day (and it’s like the next best thing out there, or the only thing out there) I couldn’t fathom the idea of not being comfortable, or knowing someone that was comfortable with website designs or customization and/or social media, such as facebook, twitter, and linkedin. One of the the thing that was mentioned on the web that could help increase online visibility was the use a blog, more specifically a wordpress blog. The reason behind this is that wordpress is very easy and search engines love it. With all the added plugins it’s easy to make your blog search engine friendly. But what about moving beyond the blog. Have you ever thought about using wordpress for your main site. I did! I remember my first blog on wordpress.com. I loved it because it allowed my site to look more like a regular website as oppose to a simple blog. This opened a whole new world for me. I then moved to the self-hosted wordpress and was able to fully customize my blogs as I see fit. I was in love. I finally bought my first premium theme this year and I have to tell you I’m loving it. I can’t imagine why anyone would struggle with creating a website when wordpress exist.
So why use wordpress? I’ll tell you why. It’s simple, it’s easy, and search engine loves it. As a women who is not only an entrepreneur but a mom, and a wife we are always trying to find ways to save money. Well why not save money in your business as well. I’m not saying be cheap, but be reasonable. You have a business idea but you don’t have the skills to put together a website, nor the money to hire a professional web designer, but that’s okay. Instead of waiting and not making money while you wait use the wordpress platform and get your business website up and running.
For a list of our Virtual WordPress Management Services please visit our WordPress Management page.
Double Opt In for your Autoresponder.
June 2nd, 2010
When deciding on launching your Email Marketing Campaign you want to make sure you don’t come across as spammy. Meaning you don’t want to provide people with unwanted emails and/or advertising. In order to do this you can use a technique called Double Opt In or Confirmed Opt In. Some may say these steps are a bit repetitive but when it comes to your business you do not want someone reporting you, your business and your information as spam.
What is Double Opt In?
Double Opt-in is a method used basically asking subscribers to confirm they have opted in to receive your information. For example when you look in my sidebar you will see an opportunity to subscribe to my blog post via email. Once you have signed up, your first email from me will be an email asking you to confirm your opt-in. By confirming you are telling me that you did not accidentally type in your email address, but you really truely want the information that I have to offer. If this is true you click on the confirmation link and you are now all set to receive continuous information form me until you decide otherwise.
How Can I take advantage of this feature?
A variety of email newsletter services out there should have this feature. AWeber (my all time favorite) has had this feature for quite some time (if not always) and recently made it optional to use. Meaning you can turn on or off the confirmation feature. I have always used this feature and have received no complaints from subscribers. In fact I have yet to have any subscribers unsubscribe.
Do I really need to use this?
By not using this feature you will not kill your blog or your business. However it’s a way to show your subscribers that you do not like spam. Also let’s say someone did accidentally sign up for your newsletter. Since they chose not to opt-in they will not receive any emails from you. Now they cannot report you as spam. Also if you are giving your subscribers the information they want (meaning you did not promise them info on cakes, but will send them emails about travel) then your people are less likely to unsubscribe.
Having this feature is just an extra step that AWeber created to help the integrity of your business. For more information about how you can use this feature and other features in AWeber please check out AWeber Basics: Getting Acquainted With Your Autoresponder.
SEO Tips For Beginners
May 27th, 2010
As I was setting up my social media schedule for today I stumbled accros a post titled 6 Powerful SEO Tips for Beginners. Since I have become a Search Engine Optimization and Social Media junkie I thought this post was a great way to help those new to SEO figure out what they should do.
When I first started blogging I had so many questions with little answers. There were so much information out there but all the real good quality information you must pay a substantial amount of money. There is nothing wrong with that. However at the time I had no clue what this all meant and how it related to me and my blog so some really good free quality information would have been great.
Well here is a post that I found over at Blogussion giving you just that. 3 of the powerful SEO tips mentiong are Title link, Quality links, and keywords (very, very important). So check it out and let me know how this post has helped you.
May Madness is Here!!!!!!
May 10th, 2010
I’m so excited to be apart of Mom Mastermind with Kelly McCausey and other really great women. Starting today the ladies and I are hosting a May Madness sale. We call it that because once a year in May we decide to sell a product of ours for 5 dollars. That’s right!!! Five Bucks! This year I’m so excited to say that I have my first product on sale for 5 bucks as well. It is called AWeber Basics: Getting Acquainted With Your Autoresponder. This is a great guide to help you utilize your email marketing tool. It shows you how to create opt-in forms, messages, and more. Below are a list of some other products being offered.
May Madness Offers:
Become A Blog Consultant
A Hot Opportunity To Start A Highly Profitable Business In A Starving Market!
Do you realize that you probably have skills the offline business community has a desperate need for?
Yes, simple skills that you’ve developed as a budding internet marketer makes you a “Web Marketing Rock Star” in the eyes of offline business owners!
Affiliate Marketing Sweetie System
Sell products without having to take orders, ship products or provide customer service. Just make product recommendations to get paid. The Affiliate Marketing Sweetie System is your step-by-step affiliate marketing guide with audios for your online affiliate marketing success.
Marketing 101 for Small Business Owners
This subscription-based, self-paced course will be distributed through email and download links for the lessons. You will receive a lesson each week with homework to help you succeed in marketing to your target audience. At the end of the course, you will receive a certificate of completion; however, there are no grades from me–your progress will be seen in how your business grows!
This exclusive May Madness special entitles you to the first month at just $5.00! Continuation after the first month is automatically taken care of through Paypal’s subscription process and you can cancel at any time.
And so much more. Click May Madness to see all products.
Have A Pro-active Customer Service Solution
March 18th, 2010
When we think of customer service we are really providing a reactive type service. We are reacting to the problems, concerns, and issues of our customers. But is it possible to have a more pro-active customer service system? I certainly believe so.
In my article titled What is Customer Service? Beyond Customer Problems I try to get you to look at customer service as a foundation for your business, not just a portion of your business you can outsource. It needs to be foundational (can’t stress that enough). So below are two tips on how you can make your customer service more pro-active.
Use an auto-responder:
So some of you are probably saying “dah”. But are you really using your auto-responder in a customer friendly way. You can do so by creating a special series of emails set up to interact with your customers over a period of time. Send them a “Thank you for your purchase” letter that welcomes them into the program, membership, or company. In this thank you letter you should explain to them what the item or service is, how they should use it to get optimum results (not just good results), and how they can get in contact with you. If others have experienced confusion using your service or item be sure to clear it up here.
Then follow up a few days later asking if they have started to use the product or service. Find out how is it going and how are they feeling? Remind them of the optimum results usage guidelines (you never know, they could be missing something). Finally let them feel good about expressing their journey as well as concerns along the way. This allows them to feel as if you are really concern about their results and their well being. What customer wouldn’t want that?
Finally, you can send them another follow up asking them to share their journey so you can receive feedback. Once again encourage your customers to be interactive with you. This allows them to feel as if they are part of your company, and your community and not just money in your pocket.
Don’t have an auto-responder yet? I highly recommend Aweber. Their features are exceptional and the customer service is just as great.
Do you have Aweber but not sure where to begin? Leave me a message below or email me so I can get you started.
Use the Telephone:
You can go a step further and call your customer a few days upon receipt of their item to make sure they have received it. Use this time to find out if they have any questions or concerns. Depending on their tone you may have the opportunity to explain to them the guidelines for optimum results. How exciting would that be to receive a friendly phone call in a world where communication via phone or face to face interaction is slowly becoming abnormal?
The above tips are just a two ways you can be pro-active with your customer service. Why be pro-active? Why not? Your customer will feel more at ease contacting you with their concerns as well as their positive testimonials. Also when they do call with a concern they will be friendlier because they know you took the time out in the beginning to discuss any problems with them. We all want to feel apart of something, why not have your customers feel as if they are apart of you.
So tell me your thoughts:
Do you have a pro-active customer service system? If so, how is it working?
If not, try implementing one of the items mentioned above (or both). Be sure to email me to let me know and come back and tell us the results.
Need help getting started? Contact me and I’ll be glad to help.
What is Customer Service? Beyond customer problems.
March 16th, 2010
When you think of Customer Service what image comes to mind? I think of a room with 50 cubicles (maybe more), you know cubicles with that ugly gray color. Everyone has on headsets. It’s loud, and depending on the call, you can hear the customer screaming because they are so pissed off that their representative cannot help them. Okay well maybe that’s not what it looks like today. Maybe instead of working from a gray cubicle you are actually at home in another country so the customer is still screaming because of the language barrier.
Well, maybe it’s not like that either, but you get the point. Regardless, you think of a customer service representative that cannot help you and now you realized you are stuck, frustrated and needless to say pissed off that you spent money (regardless of price) on this item or service and you are not getting the quality results you deserve. Furthermore, you now have the notion that this company doesn’t care about you and your needs, they already have your money. How frustrating is that? Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt (CSR Sucks!) and I do not plan on going through this tomorrow. Oh, and by the way, this is not customer service.
When a company decides they need to interact with their customers because they obviously are having problems with their product or service that’s when they implement a customer service system. This system usually consists of representatives that really don’t have a clue about the product, service and company. Customer Service is the foundation of your business. It is an atmosphere, a feeling that every customer receives when they, read your articles, see your logo, receive an email, or talk to you on the telephone (Do we still use telephones?). It’s more than a smile, it’s more than a simple answer to your question. Customer Service is that sweet red cherry on top of your vanilla sundae (fill in your favorite desert) that you crave so much. It is what makes your business appealing to new customers and keeps current customers indulging in more.
Customer service is about going above and beyond the customer’s needs. If they have a question, be sure to answer it (make sure it is the correct answer to their specific question), but ask yourself what else can I do for them? Can I provide them with more? We always want more, and we don’t want to be tricked or forced into paying more it either.
So share with me your views on customer service? What does customer service mean to you? Have you ever thought about it being more than solving problems, a smile, or a pleasant attitude? Tell me your thoughts.
Social Media: A Customer Support Tool
February 4th, 2010
As more and more businesses hop on to the world of social media we find more and more ways of using this powerful tool. This tool is not only powerful because of a right now type of gratification, but couple that with your actual reach makes this tool even more amazing. When we think of “word of mouth marketing” how fast does the word really get around using face to face contact, telephone and email. But with the rise of social media this type of marketing has been taken to an entirely different level.
But is social media only good from a marketing standpoint? Can we use social media in other ways? You most certainly can. Social media can be used to maintain and manage your brand and reputation. In order to do this successfully you must be willing to provide a certain level of customer support to your clients and potential clients. For example, I was reading a post over at SEOmoz regarding customer service and reputation management via social media. It so happens that one of the members, Rebecca, wrote about her own personal experience with Comcast and twitter. In her post she mentioned how upset she was with her phone service and tweeted some not so friendly tweets about Comcast, imagine how quickly the retweets and supporters that rallied around her tweet. To her amazement she was contacted my @ComcastBill to discuss her issue and the matter was solved. Comcast was not back in good favors. Comcast was able to rectify a problem quickly and efficiently by keeping tabs on it’s brand and taking action. For a more detailed case study please visit Customer Service and Reputation Management The Twitter Way: A Case Study for the entire story.
Another example of using Social Media as a customer support tool is my coach and good friend Rhea Brown over @promomblogger. Rhea spent time observing her industry and learning what problems are going unsolved in her niche. To solve this problem she would quickly post tutorials to her blog so her clients and potential clients can find answers to their problems. She responds and communicates directly do her followers on twitter and facebook, as well as those that comment on her blog. She has certainly put the human role back into the online, and at time automated, community. For more information on Rhea Brown visit her Business Blog Promomblogger or check out this great interview, Business Owner Spotlight –Meet Rhea Brown, Owner of PMB Media, over at the Examiner.
These are just a few examples on how you can use your social media to enhance your customer service. This also allows you to keep an eye on your brand and rectify any bad publicity that may come up. Providing great customer service and support can really enhance your brand, business, and lead to some life changing income. I for one will follow, and stick with a company that views me as a value rather than a pay check.
Want more information about using social media as a customer support tool? Then subscribe to our website. You will be the first to receive our soon to come free special report and other discounts and goodies that will help your business grow.
How do you use social media to enhance your business?
Social Media Week
February 2nd, 2010
Yesterday kicked off the 2nd annual Social Media Week Conferences. Whew whooo!!!! What is Social Media Week? I’m so glad you asked. Social Media Week is a five day event held around the world, simultaneously, to discuss the impact and effects of social media on culture and businesses. A few places where conferences are currently being held are New York, London, Berlin and others. Scroll down below for links to all of the events.
Unfortunately, I found out about Social Media Week this weekend and didn’t have time to inquire about all the activities, and possible local unconferences that could be going on this week, but feel free to comment below and let me, and others, know of some local events.
Social Media Week Major Cities:
For more information about Social Media Week visit www.socialmediaweek.org or follow @socialmediaweek on twitter and join the conversation using #smw.
