Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

#SmallBizChat is a weekly conversation on Twitter where emerging small business owners can get answers to their questions. If you have a Twitter account join us every Wednesday from 8-9pm Eastern Time.

If you don’t have a Twitter account, not to worry. a Q&A interview with my #Smallbizchat guest is posted on this blog every Thursday morning.   Subscribe to this blog to have it sent directly to your inbox.

If you’re new to Twitter,  here’s how to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e.

The transcript from every chat is available through the #Smallbizchat community.  Just hit the silver “transcripts” button under the video in the right hand column of this blog to sign in.  Remember, once you develop a login you have access to all the transcripts.

Who is on #SmallBizChat in March?

March 3 @ErikVonk President, BOTH How to be in business for yourself, but not by yourself

March 10 @Bizsavvymom Malika Duke on Social Media Selling Strategies

March 17 @Colleendebaise Small Business Editor, Wall Street Journal Starting a Small Business in this Economy.

March 24  @Skydiver HARO founder Peter Shankman On How to Launch a Product Online.

March 31 Special guest host Mike Michalowicz @TPEntrepreneur interviews Melinda Emerson @Smallbizlady on How to Go From Corporate to Small Business Ownership

March 31 On SmallBizRadio we have Editor, SmallBizTrends.com - Anita Campbell on The Future of Small Business in America.  Join us on Wed at 1pm ET on #BlogTalkRadio

Leave a comment and let me know what topics YOU would like to see covered on #SmallBizChat.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda Emerson, known to many as “SmallBizLady,” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Coach and Social Media Strategist who hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Her first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months is out in March 2010.

Twitter is a social networking site that is a micro-blogging platform. It is designed for people who need the bottom-line and not much else. In short, if you can’t say it in 140 characters or less, forget about it. Twitter demands that you “hit it and quit it” as James Brown would say.

Can small biz make money from Twitter?

I got on Twitter in 2008 and instantly I had access to anyone I wanted or needed to talk with.  I love Twitter because anything I need for my business. I can find on the social networking site.  I am able  I am going to give you examples of how Twitter has helped me enormously in my business.

I am a book lover and one of the great things about Twitter, is that ability to contact just about anyone who uses it.  One of the best marketing books I’ve read in recent years is The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott. I was so moved by his book I wanted to contact him.  Email wasn’t fast enough. So I went to Twitter, found his name @dmscott then sent him an open tweet and got an instant response.  I now communicate with him regularly.

Another author Twitter experience was my interaction with @thewritermama.  She wrote a great book Get Known Before the Book Deal, which I really enjoyed as I was getting my first book completed.  Her book explained how the publishing industry worked and how to build a marketing platform, which very was helpful at the time.  I reached out to the author Christina Katz on Twitter to tell her how much I liked her book in an open tweet.  She was so moved by me reaching out to her, she offered to read an early draft of my forthcoming book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, and write a blurb for the cover.

I was in need of a new assistant and was far too busy to hire one, (which of course is why I desperately needed one). Every Wednesday on Twitter I host #SmallBizChat which is a Tweetchat (or Twitter Talkshow as I like to call it) to help emerging entrepreneurs get answers to their questions as they start and grow their small businesses. After the first, one or two chats, a woman approached me on Twitter and offer to produce a weekly transcript of each chat. This was great for participants and anyone who missed it. After she did a few transcripts we built a relationship and now Sonia Schenker @yourjobmyoffice is my virtual assistant and my right hand.

Twitter has grown my @SmallBizLady coaching brand. I have gotten several coaching clients and hundred of business contacts. I have also been invited for at least five speaking engagements, numerous blog talk radio interviews, and to do guest blog posts on several major small business websites just because of the content, resources and blog posts I tweet out regularly on Twitter.

Twitter is also an excellent resource for vendors and quick questions. In fact the header for the blog you are reading with designed by @paintermommy who approached me on Twitter to offer her services. There have been many days when I needed an answer to a technical question about Wordpress or a media contact at Good Morning America and my Tweeps rush to my aid with answers in minutes.

Twitter has a culture which you should learn before you dive in, but once you find your niche it’s an amazing resource to grow any small business.

I often get asked, “Do people really make money using Twitter or are they just talking about what they had for breakfast? Absolutely, that is what I use Twitter for.

Do you have a Twitter story to share? I would love to hear it so please leave me a comment.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #SmallBizChat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: A Month-by-Month Guide to Start a Business that Works. is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in March 2010.