GETTING BACK TO THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF TWITTER MARKETING

In today’s podcast episode, I’ve decided that I need to get back to the basics of Twitter marketing for business owners and sales professionals. The night I recorded this podcast, I received about 25 new follows on Twitter from various marketers and business owners. 25 out of 25 of these new business followers were absolutely failing the test of grabbing my attention and engaging me. I saw so many basic violations of fundamental Twitter marketing, I decided I needed to devote an entire podcast to the basics of Twitter business marketing.

In this 10-minute podcast, I give several examples of some of the things you do NOT want to do if you are a business trying to make an impression on the Twitter community. When you violate some of these fundamental marketing rules, you turn people off. It can be hard, if not impossible, to reverse the effects of a negative first impression. With that in mind, it is very important for you to take heed to the advice given in this podcast if you are new to Twitter marketing. I hope you find this helpful, and as always, if you have any questions or would like to comment on the topic, you are welcomed to share your input and opinion on the blog post below!

For my local friends in Jefferson City and Columbia, Missouri, don’t forget about my free audio CD offer for February, 2010. I’m giving way copies of my social media marketing seminar CD entitled “The Seven Secrets of Revolutionizing Your Business Through Social Media Marketing” just for the asking. Contact me via Twitter or just give me a call to request your copy, and I will personally deliver it to your place of business. If you’d like, I will even shoot a video interview and feature your business on my blog!

Excited about your success in marketing,

Carlton Flowers
Marketing Strategist
(573) 893-9498

Play Now:

 Standard Podcast [10:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tweet This Post

I wanted to lern y’ins how to dig a garden. This instruckshunal video should teech ya cleerly how to do so.

Tweet This Post

Part 2 of the “Wood Chopin” special, this video teaches the proper fire litin’ techniques as presented by Carlton Flowers, expert wood cutter and fire starter.

Tweet This Post

Here’s another short family video (more coming soon) of me and my son Scott. He’s the oldest of the 4. We were out in Holts Summit at the farm I grew up on, cutting wood for the outdoor furnace that heats my parents’ house. You can see the old farm house in the background that we first lived in before we built the house I grew up in. But anyhow, this is how you take care of business… “Country Style!”

Tweet This Post

“HELP! I’m addicted to buying info products!”

You’re sitting up late at night staring at the computer screen, mesmerized by yet another information product for $97 that will purportedly change your financial life. You can’t take your attention off of the riveting ad copy. It is just too convincing! You have your credit card in-hand, and you’re ready to hit the “BUY NOW” button and check out… despite the fact that this is the 10th info product that you will have bought this month alone!

Forget the fact that you just bought a PLR package the day before for $7 that had you just as mesmerized as you are right now. You were moved to purchase by the slick marketing ad copy, and you  downloaded the information only to find out that it would be a lot of work to “re-brand” the PLR product. So you decide that you are going to “shelve” it for later.

Meanwhile, back to the current offer, you’re thinking that this would be a much quicker “hit” because the writer promises “all you have to do is point your mouse, click a few buttons, upload a couple of files, and watch your Clickbank account explode!”. So this obviously is a better buy. You decide that you need to make this purchase, generate the quick-hit profit, and then go back to that PLR product that needs more work.

But the truth of the matter is the fact that you do this all the time! You are constantly distracted by offers (great offers, for that matter) because you are on 15 different email lists of the most popular Internet marketing gurus! Now you are caught up in a vicious circle that seemingly has no escape route. Your bank account is suffering, and there is no end in sight. But to add insult to injury, you are also signed up for several “continuity” products, averaging $49 per month per program. You don’t even have time to read these great programs, let alone implement them.

I sat stuck in this exact info-vicious-cycle that I call “Info Product Overload” for several months on-end. I didn’t know what to do. It was like an addiction. A powerful addiction by the strongest “drugs”. But the “drug” happened to be the slick marketing ad copy of the gurus selling me their products. There was no wonder that I was stuck in an info addiction, because the Internet marketing gurus were getting their ad copy skills from the world’s greatest ad copy writers. You know who they are, and they are that good. They know how to hook you. They know how to make you buy… by giving you the feeling that you will be left out in the cold while everyone else is making tons of money on their product.

So where does it leave you? Broke, and frustrated. I know that’s where it left me. But the solution is coming. It’s almost here. An “IPO” is coming for $7 that will not only completely solve “Info Product Overload”, but it will make you money too. No, you will not get rich, but at worst-case, you will be cured of this evil condition inflicted upon you, and you will more than likely make your money back. At best, you will probably make enough money to go out on the town for a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant.

If you are sick and tired of being hypnotized by info products and slick-talking emails on a daily basis, get on my notification list. You will get an email as soon as the report is done. It will be short, sweet, straight to the point, and effective. Plus, you will be given Master Resale Rights (MRR) to this guide. Be the first to get it and re-distribute it. You will be the “info hero” to your friends as a result… and you just might make money during the process.

God bless, and power to the “regular” people!

Sign up below (no gurus or marketing experts, please)

Tweet This Post

THE SECRET TO INFORMATION RICHES THAT I DON’T WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT…

By now, everyone knows the popularity of eBooks and information products that sell on the internet. We are at an all-time high for downloadable eBooks, reports, and “how-to” guides. At the same time, we are at an all-time low for information product pricing. All you have to do is peruse the eBay site, and you will discover the many listings for bulk info-product packages that can include hundreds if not thousands of articles and eBooks that you can resell online. The 99-cent eBooks are in such abundance, you can find a deal on just about any subject you are looking for.

At the same time that the 99-cent eBooks clog eBay and other internet sites, people are paying $97, $197, $497, and even upwards of $1997 for other information products that target niche markets. The sales of these high-priced info products do not seem to be slowing down, even amidst this sluggish economy. This represents a dichotomy that has always piqued my interest. I’ve noticed that the higher-priced information products seem to outsell the 99-cent “deals” because they have a higher perceived value. Seems like a no-brainer, but this is a fundamental truth. If you price your information cheaply, it will be thought of as cheap. Even if it is cutting edge and relevant info, you can price yourself right out of the market.

But before I get any further into the product pricing phenomenon, let me get back to the subject of this article. I mentioned that there is a secret shortcut to the seemingly tremendous niche of information products and guides. Not only is there a shortcut to tapping into this fountain of income, there is yet another tremendous opportunity that it presents that is based on something I discovered years ago regarding business of disseminating information. We’ll discuss both in detail.

First, I’ll clue you in on the secret short cut to information riches. I’m going to write about this once, and never again. The secret shortcut lurking right under your nose is the availability and use of Private Label Rights products, or “PLR” as we will call it from here on out. Up until recently, I had absolutely no interest in PLR products whatsoever. But now that I am writing articles and creating my own information products, my attitude has changed.

What turned me off about PLR products in the past was the fact that the overwhelming majority of PLR articles are very poorly written. The grammar is atrocious, misspelled words are common, and the style of writing is more colloquial than professional. Plus, much of the information is out-of-date. So… what changed my mind, you ask?

After spending a few months writing articles and developing my information products, I ran across an offer for several hundred PLR articles for pennies on the dollar, and I could not resist. I made the purchase, and discovered that the articles were still as poorly written as ever before. However, after spending night after night trying to create new material, I discovered the value of these PLR articles. They may have had horrible grammar and structure, but they covered the points that they were supposed to get across quite well. Instead of starting from scratch, I found that I could use a PLR article as a stencil of sorts. Sure, I had to re-write the majority of the text and correct all of the spelling, punctuation, and grammar, but it was an easier start than writing from scratch.

I learned that I could crank out an information product in a fraction of the time while using cheap PLR articles as a stencil. I also realized that it was easy to add newer information to the articles, thus bringing them current. After re-working several articles and even combining them into an eBook, I started to create a system of re-writing them. I also put my graphic design skills to work and created custom graphics and logos for each information product. The end result? A well-written, up-to-date eBook with custom graphics AND interactive links in only a fraction of the time.

I don’t completely understand why people sell such great information priced under a dollar or two. I suppose they think they will sell a higher volume by pricing the PLR information so cheaply. This is your goldmine, and your shortcut to creating relevant and cutting-edge information products that can be sold at a much higher price than what you paid to produce them for.

The second secret is even better than the first. But we’ll get into that in Part 2 of “A Secret Shortcut to the Information Goldmine”. Stay tuned. It’s coming soon.

Carlton Flowers, Micro Business Expert

Coming soon…

The secret weapon for business owners & professionals. How to fast-track your way to gaining top-level clients that will be loyal to your business and bring you maximum profits. Watch for it… it’s coming soon!

Tweet This Post

Today I discovered the strangest thing. I was having a conversation with my good friend and co-worker Tim Largent (timlargent.com, twitter.com/timlargent), explaining to him what “no-follow” status meant and how Twitter is a no-follow site. For those that don’t know, I believe this means that the search engine spiders do not “crawl” through Twitter posts and connect relevant links to search terms, thus giving an instant SEO effect.

He didn’t understand right away, so I told him to open up Google and just do a search for something that we know he has Twittered about, and we will not see any results. What we saw made my jaw drop to the floor. He typed in his name, “Tim Largent”, and ONE keyword from a subject that we were Twittering about the previous night. Well guess what… it ended up in the #1 position of page 1 on Google!

I was dumbfounded. There were other posts littered throughout the results in varous positions too. So we tried a different keyword along with his name, and still got results on page 1 even though they were not in position #1. What happened next truly confused me. We typed in my name, “Carlton Flowers”, and the same keywords that I was posting at the same time, in the same conversation, and we got absolutely no results on Google.

We were able to get one result using my name, but the majority of searches we used with my name drew blanks. However, most of  the searches using “Tim Largent” and a keyword or 2 got amazing results. But strangely, certain posts with hot keywords, even with Tim’s name, did not get any results.

Would someone like to respond to this article and post a reply below and explain to us what we are experiencing, and what exactly the affect is of the “no-follow” status that Twitter administrates on its site?

Thanks SEO experts, let’s see your responses!

Tweet This Post

The social media revolution is in full-swing. The statistics on social media website participation is staggering. We are near the point that the majority of society spends significant time interacting on social media websites. But the question remains… when will local businesses wake up and realize the gold mine in marketing that is sitting before them?

I am going to predict that it will be 12 to 18 months before critical mass hits the business world regarding use of social media sites. Right now, very few businesses have realized the obvious shift in culture and have capitalized on the social media boom. The overwhelming majority of businesses are still using traditional media to get the word out about their product or service.

Many business owners even hold a belief that a static information-only website is something that provides a benefit to their bottom line. While they spend piles of cash creating flashy websites, the population is chatting, interacting, and having a grand ole time on social media sites. It is mind-blowing at this point to see the disparity between the general public’s use of social media and the lack of its use on behalf of business owners.

The question remains, what will spark the social media revolution in the business world? The answer is simple… COMPETITION!

When the first lemming (business owner) makes the move to start interacting with their client base via social media sites, and when the results of such efforts are reported by the traditional media sources, the rest of the lemmings will follow and take the final dive over the social media cliff. Rather than risk being left behind and volunteer to hand over market share to competitors who are getting real results, the business owners who don’t make the first move will make a mad dash to establish themselves in the social media community.

I will boldly stand behind my prediction of 12 to 18 months to critical mass. If I am wrong, it will probably be a shorter time period when it occurs. But when it happens, it will be fun to watch businesses make the rapid shift to connecting with their target market social media style.

Coming soon I will predict the creative ways that business owners will advertise, present coupons, and modify their overall marketing campaigns through social media websites!

Tweet This Post

WHEN WILL THE WEB 2.0 EXPLOSION IN JEFFERSON CITY MISSOURI HIT?

I live in Jefferson City, Missouri. Right smack dab in the middle of the state. In fact, we are in the middle of the entire country. When you are as land-locked as we are, and as far away from the fast-paced left and right coasts, you tend to be the last to pick up on the trends.

Case in point, web 2.0 marketing has not yet hit in Jefferson City. Sure, there are a handful of businesses using social media sites. But would you believe that there are absolutely NO businesses displaying social media information in our local Ad Sheet, or in the Newspaper?

I guess it comes as no surprise, because some of the media sources view the internet as a threat. But what I will be watching for is this: Which businesses will wake up and take the lead on social media marketing in their sectors?

I still stand strong on my prediction that the social media revolution will hit strong and fast, once business owners wake up. So what makes me so sure of this? Well I’ll tell you what makes me so sure! It’s the simple fact that about 98% of young people (25 and younger) are using social media sites. What is even more shocking is the fact that about 50% to 60% of “older” people are now using social media sites, right here in Jefferson City!

So here you have more than half of the population chattering and jabbering away each and every day, and into the night on the social media sites. And not one business has figured out that their entire market base is spending the majority of their time away from the traditional advertising media.

Somebody is going to wake up and spark off the revolution… and I’m going to chuckle when I see this happen.

Carlton Flowers, self-proclaimed Social Media Marketing Expert

Tweet This Post

Let’s face it folks… I love to write. It started in college. I went to Mizzou (home of the Tigers) from 1985 to 1990 to major in Civil Engineering. For those of you who do not know, Civil Engineers are responsible for designing and maintaining your infrastructure. Think of me the next time you are driving through a highway interchange, a structural steel bridge, that multi-level parking garage, or when you wonder where your water comes from and ends up. These things and many more come from Civil Engineering.

I thought Civil Engineering would be all about math, science, physics, and crunching out calculations. I found out that a big part of Civil Engineering is honing your ability to communicate. You can design the greatest highway on earth. But if you can’t communicate why it should cut through the back yard of several retired citizens, then your project may never be built. This was an actual experience of mine. It was either cut through the yards of several houses on one street, or continue forcing the fire department and ambulance service to have to respond through a school zone when needing to race out for emergencies.

Being swift with the calculator and geometric highway design software wasn’t good enough. Writing a convincing summary of the project to be presented at a public meeting and sent out to the local newspapers was the only way this project was going to gain approval. It’s for reasons such as this that Civil Engineering invovles several writing-intensive courses.

This is what gave me the burn to write. I graduated and went on to work 8 years for the highway and transportation department, and 10 years at the Department of Natural Resources, where I continue to work and utilize my writing skills.

I think the reason I truly love to write is that I love to talk, relate to people, and teach others. I’ve been a training seminar speaker now for 15 years, and I write the majority of my materials. When you get a chance to use your writing in a face-to-face manner, it is even more enjoyable. But either way, whether it is writing a technical letter to a regulated manufacturer telling them how to comply with certain EPA regulations or writing a speech or training session for my job, I just love to write.

Something that many people don’t know is the fact that I truly love writing humorous or flat-out silly pieces. What I have noticed is that you have a better chance of getting your point across and affecting peoples’ lives when you tickle their funny bone. This winter, I hope to launch a new newsletter called “Cube Life” which will help employees deal with living in cramped quarters 8 hours a day and 52 weeks a year by writing satirisitic and humorous stories that make an underlying point.

You can look for it soon. I’ll be blogging about it here once it is ready to roll out. It will be sent out in PDF format to state agencies in Missouri, and a few of our high-population corporate employers. I plan on having a lot of fun with this project, and I have a feeling that the readers might enjoy it even more than I do!

Let me encourage you to write. It doesn’t have to be professionally done. Just write something. You can write about your life experiences, things that you are passionate about, or even the history of your life and family. Go to a free blog site like Blogspot (www.blogspot.com) and start expressing yourself with words. Just think… somebody’s life might be changed because you were willing to share experiences of your own!

That’s all for now. I’m putting down my pen and turning off the calculator for the night.

Tweet This Post