ThePodcastSisters

Are you making money with blogging?

Here is your opportunity to shout from the rooftops that you are making money from business blogging.

You see I am really interested in your case studies as I am taking part in a debate next week about  making money through blogging and I would love to share your story.

The debate is being facilitated by the Irish Internet Association and is taking place on the 4 December 2007. There is a team who will be arguing that you can not make money blogging and I am in the opposing team.

So if you have great case studies to share do let me know - you never know it will probably drive traffic to your blog being showcased.

If you are interested in three immediate tips to make money from your blog, you can read all about them in one of my recent articles.

So don't be shy, share your story here or by emailing me at connect@oneoceangroup.com. We'll also share your story on The podcast Sisters show - remember we get thousands of downloads a week and we want to help you promote your blog, podcast and business.

When you don't achieve a goal....

I am in London for 3 days for the Leaders in London event, I have heard various speeches and one phrase stuck in mind for small business and in particular in relation to social media from Benjamin Zander the World Renowned Conductor

...when you don't reach a goal, throw your hands in the air and say 'How fascinating!'

I love that idea...when you are trying so many new ideas, and faced with new technology there will be times when things do not come off as planned. As a small business owner it is easy to get down, to wonder if you are doing the right thing....so remember this phrase as a positive way of looking at it and giving you the energy to keep your dreams alive. After all it is not what happens in your business that matters the most, it is how you react to it...:)

Show # 029 - Our Thoughts on Social Objects

This week's free audio show  is now available (remember subscribe free of charge and new shows will come automatically to your computer, just follow instructions at the end of the post) and sees all 3 of the Sisters and talking (and even disagreeing at times!) about the new concept of Social Objects. Here are links to the references we make in today's show

5 Principles of Social Objects

Hugh Macleod on Social Objects

Snitter

Twitter

Twitterific

Twitku

Webpitch

English Cut

Thresher Vouchers

Stormhoek

Hugh Macleod

 

Join us over at the Podcast Sisters Facebook group to discuss this week's show and also do give us feedback and share ideas for future shows that will deliver value to YOU. You can also send us an email to podcast.sisters@googlemail.com.

REMEMBER SUBSCRIPTION TO THE PODCAST SISTERS IS FREE! 

1) To listen now on line without any downloads then click on the Blubrry image below

2) Or to subscribe in iTunes      

3) Or if you use a different podcatcher then here are the feed details -

http://www.podcastfm.co.uk/podcast.rss?id=245

Snitter to Twitter!

Following the podcast - show 008 we did on Twitter, (at which point I was not convinced about it) I have since given it a try and really enjoy it now. I am now a Twitter user on a daily basis under the screen name of Engagingbrand.

Microblogging (small blog posts usually under 200 characters) has become part of my life, never saw that one coming!

I have been 'tweeting' by going to the website or by texting from my mobile - but was looking for something that sat on my desktop so that it made it easier to tweet - like Twitterific for Macs. Today I have found Snitter and I like it, I can now

• Write from my desktop rather than having to go to the site
• Have a pop up for new tweets from my friends.
• Design the interface to suit my desktop
• Hit a button on the interface to take me straight to the website if I need to...

I think I am going to like it :) If you are a PC user might be worth a try.  Though may have to turn the sound off when everyone gets back from Thanksgiving as it may become irritating...at the moment it is quite soothing.

Customer Collaboration - The Wiggly Way

Surprised our podcast sister Heather Gorringe has not written about this on here maybe she is shy after all! Or maybe it is a test to see if we read her blog :)

I am a member of her Wiggly Wigglers facebook group and received an interesting message from her...

"As you may well of noticed that old Wiggly company is pretty keen on Social Media, and Blogging, and Podcasting, and Twittering, and wotnotiness.
Well, - me dears this ol farm in rural Herefordshire now wants to be the first to put together a conventional paper catalogue using Social Media!

What does that all mean? We want YOU to get involved, write articles, send in photos and drawings, design product if you are in the mood, and we will use these articles and items in our catalogue and on our website."

Interesting.....creating a catalogue and website with the customers for the customers.  What I think will be interesting is the take up level. I would be surprised if the customers don't participate...why? Because they know this is not a marketing trick, or a stunt. They know that their work will be used because of Heather's belief in the power of the community..in essence they trust in the brand. They feel part of a community via the blog, via the facebook group they feel part of Wiggly Wigglers.

This shows the power of Web 2.0 - this would have been extremely difficult to do without the social media tools. Hopefully she will share the results...Heather let us know what happens

If you want to be part of the initiative then here are more details.

Show # 028 - Business Insights into Social Media Scholarship

This week's free audio show  is now available (remember subscribe free of charge and new shows will come automatically to your computer, just follow instructions at the end of the post) and sees all 3 of the Sisters back together for the first time in a while. We discuss Heather's Nuffield scholarship trip to the USA and what she has learned about how business is using social media to grow their sales and reputations. We also discuss the hugely successful Personal Branding Summit that Krishna helped to organise this month. Here are links to the references we make in today's show

Association of Coaching Ireland

Twitter

The Engaging Brand - William Hague Podcast

Cherie Cast

Podchef

Deepdale Farms

Heather's Blog

Geek Farm Life

Kiva

Louise Manning

Join us over at the Podcast Sisters Facebook group to discuss this week's show and also do give us feedback and share ideas for future shows that will deliver value to YOU. You can also send us an email to podcast.sisters@googlemail.com.

REMEMBER SUBSCRIPTION TO THE PODCAST SISTERS IS FREE! 

1) To listen now on line without any downloads then click on the Blubrry image below

2) Or to subscribe in iTunes      

3) Or if you use a different podcatcher then here are the feed details -

http://www.podcastfm.co.uk/podcast.rss?id=245

Lessons From Losing Pounds To Help Receive Them!

Confused? Well, let me explain. At the beginning of the year Heather - my fellow podcast sister and I decided to start on a diet which we have written and produced  a podcast about over at Middle Age Shed. We have been really successful losing almost 70lbs together...though progress has halted a little recently!
I was thinking how similar the process of dieting was, to growing my business - the art of losing pounds is similar to creating pounds :)

• Goals. Both need very clear goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound. Vague goals do not work in the long run....build my business, lose weight allows you to meander, put off some of the hard work until tomorrow which of course never comes....Goals give you a focus and something to aim for....
• Connections. I am very open that I would not have lost my 56lbs without having Heather. Having someone to share the downs, celebrate the highs and also keep me accountable to my goal was so important. This is also true in business. Connections are vital for new business, motivation, support, PR. I coach many business owners and what I find is, they indeed know the answers, they just need to talk through their ideas, plans and gain that confidence to turn them into action. A mentor could be within your family, a friend, an ex colleague but I do believe having someone there to guide you helps enormously.
• Measurement. Heather and I weigh in each Saturday, "live" on the podcast. It can be awful if you have put on weight, but at least you know your progress and you can assess what you need to change the following week - what has been working, what needs to change...Business is like that too, break those goals into small steps so that you can measure your progress and make changes if necessary to your actions. Measuring is not about right or wrong, it is about how are we doing....the old adage is so true - what gets measured, gets done!
• Don't forget to celebrate. Again a great part of the podcast for me is that someone is there congratulating you on your progress and celebrating your achievement. Often in a small business you can forget to celebrate the wins because after all that is what you are in business for and you don't have time anyway! Make sure that you treat yourself in some way when you land that new contract, when you make your first target, when you receive recognition....we work hard day in day out and just like with dieting the discipline is immense, so don't forget to give your mind a reward when all that work pays off  - it helps with the motivation in the long run!

Dieting and small business needs patience, tenacity and indeed sacrifice. When the days get tough, it can be hard to keep going but keep focusing on how you will feel when you achieve your goal....success isn't easy to create but there again giving up on your dream, for me is even harder!

Top 100 Entrepreneur Podcasts

There is a great post over at Bootstrapper giving the Top 100 Podcasts Entrepreneurs should listen to .... broken down into areas such as Start Ups, Finance, Marketing, Leadership, Business Building, Inspiration, Technology and Sales.

I was thrilled to see that The Podcast Sisters was given as a resource for small business owners! Our aim was to share our ideas, our learnings and our mistakes(!) to help guide you through the social media field. It is great to see that the show has been recognised as a resource that helps small business.

Entrepreneur Success Stories and Tips

At The Podcast Sisters we try and help you to think about how you can grow your business, how you can create that career success that you are looking for...the podcast looks at Web 2.0 and how you can use some of the internet tools to build you business online and on our blog we try and share more tips on running a small business. Each month we ask for articles from the community to share best practice and also inspire us to build our business. Here is this months blog carnival

Ralph Jean-Paul presents Dreaming of Success posted at Potential 2 Success, saying, "Can your daydreams really help you succeed?  Many successful people have attributed their success to their ability to see their success before they are a success."

Philippe De Ridder presents List of Crowdsourcing Examples posted at Open Innovators, saying, "This list of crowdsourcing examples can be a source of inspiration for entrepreneurs, either to find new business ideas, either to explore useful crowdsourcing platforms for entrepreneurs (like CambrianHouse, Spigit,...)."

Anna presents A Brand Story....A Film Starring You posted at The Engaging Brand

John Crenshaw presents Are You Proactive or Reactive? posted at Dominate Your Life, saying, "You can learn a lot about how to be successful in life and business by studying what works for people in really intense situations. Am I ever going to be so bombarded with information that I’m incapable of processing it all?"

Beth Ziesenis presents Doing what you love for a living posted at Life on Avenue Z, saying, "A writer changes her mind on making a living doing something you love."

MabelandHarry presents Successful Careers are Made Not Given posted at MabelandHarry

Dr. Joe Capista presents Total Success is Determined by Your Thoughts, Beliefs and Actions posted at Success Triangle, saying, "Many people say they want success, yet they are not willing to do what it takes to achieve their desired outcome. There is success and there is Total Success.Total Success requires more then a successful business and a great income. It is about a state of mind, your beliefs and your actions."

Sagar presents 10 Ways a Ron Paul Presidency Would Help Entrepreneurs posted at Bootstrapper.

Terry Dean presents 18 Possibilities to Build Your Unique Selling Position posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Dr. Joe Capista presents A Mentor Can Change Your Life posted at Success Triangle, saying, "Building a successful business does not happen overnight. It can take years to reach the point where you achieve what you want. One of the main reasons people don’t achieve what they want is they are not specific enough. Another is that they make a half-hearted attempt at setting goals. They may think about what they want and call that goal setting. The fact is thinking about what you want is only part of the process. There is so much more."

Noric Dilanchian presents Fashion lore and law - Dilanchian Lawyers posted at Lightbulb, saying, "Frenchman, Bernard Arnault, bought a failing brand in 1985 for US$15 million, taking his focus away from his family's midsize construction firm. Today Arnault is the 7th richest man in the world. The brand he bought was Christian Dior. Its value in 2003 was US$11.95 billion. But here's the latest kicker, where is the biggest revenue earning Dior store? Guess before you read the story?"

Tina Su presents Power of Freedom: Working for Yourself | Think Simple. Be Decisive. posted at Think Simple. Be Decisive..

Christine presents My Teenager's First Job, Teens and Work, Self-Employed Teens, Teens working For Themselves posted at Me, My Kid and Life, saying, "Teens working from home by creatng their own online business."

Heather Juma presents Blogging For Dollars! posted at Girls Who Network Diary.

Kenton Newby presents The Biggest Mistakes People Make When Starting Their Online Business posted at KentonNewby.com.

Ron Ruiz presents One Roll of Stamps=$45,000 In Sales posted at The Business Ideas-Making Money Blog.

That concludes this edition.  Submit your blog article to the next edition of entrepreneur success stories using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Show # 027 - Social Media and Business Communication

This week's free audio show, was recorded at Podcamp Boston were two of The Podcast Sisters - Heather Gorringe and Anna Farmery - met up with Scott Monty and Bryan Person

We recorded a conversation over lunch when we were talking about social media and how it is affecting communication in the business world. The discussion covers a range of areas from Second Life to recruitment tactics, from connecting with consumers to personal branding. And watch out for the wonderful voices of Scott Monty at the end of the discussion

Join us over at the Podcast Sisters Facebook group to discuss this week's show and also do give us feedback and share ideas for future shows that will deliver value to YOU. You can also send us an email to podcast.sisters@googlemail.com.

REMEMBER SUBSCRIPTION TO THE PODCAST SISTERS IS FREE! 

1) To listen now on line without any downloads then click on the Blubrry image below

2) Or to subscribe in iTunes      

3) Or if you use a different podcatcher then here are the feed details -

http://www.podcastfm.co.uk/podcast.rss?id=245