5 Things Your Business Needs To Do on Facebook | LegalZoom

If becoming a social media marketer makes you wonder where to begin, here are 5 things you should do on Facebook for your company:

5 Things Your Business Needs To Do on Facebook | LegalZoom

Good luck to all the other work at home mamas who are busy logging tax info before the close of 2011.

I can do this.

This envelope full of receipts will get logged!

I dedicate this saying to all the Work At Home Moms Out There!

Holiday Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses | LegalZoom

With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, Santa's workshop isn't the only thing buzzing with activity. Search engine activity spikes every year as the holidays approach. It's likely that your current and potential customers are creating at least some of that online activity.

Managing your online presence is important all year round, but how well you accomplish that task can directly impact your bottom line during the holidays.

Here are some tips:

Holiday Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses | LegalZoom

Dive Into Facebook Analytics: Performance Tracking for Facebook

In this first blog in a series, Linkup Marketing's Valorie Reavis walks you through Facebook Insights, explaining what your numbers mean.

Sitting behind your Facebook page, and visible only to you if Facebook Insights, a range of analytical tools that reveals instantly whether a page is thriving or underperforming. There are a lot of numbers to understand, and the authors are going to cover these over the new few blogs in my series—looking in-depth at each section to not only understand what the numbers are, but what they mean for your page.

To start, the author is going to familiarize you with what Insights has to offer.

Performance Tracking for Facebook

Let Go, Let God

As a freelancer, I have to force myself to Let Go, And Let God. Sometimes it's a daily prayer.

I don't have the convenience and reliability of a scheduled monthly salary with an outside job.

I pray for my clients and my business regularly.

I have to Let Go and Let God when:

• Clients are late on their payments.
• I need to find project work to bring in income.
• When my clients' funds are tight.
  
• When I have tech difficulties.
  
• When I'm having difficulty securing media placements.
  
• When I'm having writer's block.
  
• When I submit new business proposals.
  

On the opposite end, I regularly praise God for my business success:

• When I do nail a media hit.
• When something I do helps bring in business for my client.
• When I secure a new project and/or a new client.

I'm very thankful to be able to work from home. I've been doing it for five years now and God has always taken care of me.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow WAHMs!

Very kind words from a client lately.


"Lori, I am so grateful for you this Thanksgiving. I appreciate all that you do throughout the year to keep us front and center with our patients and Facebook followers by providing them with great information."

I'm grateful for all my clients!

Happy Thanksgiving to all the other Work at Home Mamas!

LegalZoom Blog Legal news and small business tips. Advice for Entrepreneurs: One Sentence. 10 Words or Less

Really cool article from the Legal Zoom...

Last year we asked our 8,000 Facebook fans what ONE piece of advice they would give first-time entrepreneurs. The rules were simple: one sentence of 10 words or less. (Not everyone followed the rules, but hey–entrepreneurship is about breaking the rules, right?) Now, one year and 95,000 entrepreneurial Fans later, we asked them again. Check out this year’s new bits of wisdom and add your own in the comments.

• The customer always comes FIRST.
• When it gets tough, persevere, it will be worth it.
• Get it in writing.
• Meet a lot of other entrepreneurs and listen.
• Know what you know…. know what you don’t know.
• Don’t expect to make a profit the first day you are in business! (Yes I know that is more than ten words!)
• Take calculated risks – if you never try, you’ll never know.
• Never give up!
• Don’t learn the tricks of the trade – learn the trade.
• The difference between try and triumph is a little “umph”.
• Give it time, market wisely and be diligent…

Keep reading.

Newspaper Nails

If a PR person is in the midst of pitching a client to reporters and newspapers, perhaps these nails will be good inspiration.

Here a tutorial on how to do it.

Since I work from home, I'm often my own IT manager.

This weekend, my husband took over that role and synced up my printer with the new internet service.

I guess it took him a while to figure it out, but everything is up and running/printing now.

Thank you hubby!

I have officially closed my original email address that I used when I first started freelancing.

The email address that helped secure my first set of clients. That billed my first invoices.

The internet company would lose service at least once a month. Twice was not surprising either.

Since I am only able to do the majority of my work before 5 a.m., I HAVE to have internet service in the early morning.

So, I have switched to AT&T. It came highly recommended and it's about half cheaper.

Happy National Boss's Day to Me!

I am truly blessed to be able to work from home and make my own hours.

Spotted Everywhere: Small Square Pixelated Codes | LegalZoom

They are everywhere, but maybe you haven’t noticed them. Or if you did, maybe you didn’t know what they were. If you look more closely, you’ll see in the corners of most advertisements these days, futuristic squares that look like a cross between a barcode and a pixilated image.

So what are they? They’re called QR codes and though they started in Japan in the mid-90s, they’ve only recently become popular in the US. QR codes are currently one of the most buzz-worthy tools for marketers and they seem to be popping up on just about everything, from magazines to postcards to food packaging.

Keep reading...

Spotted Everywhere: Small Square Pixelated Codes | LegalZoom

You know you're a WAHM...

You know you are a work from home mom when your 4 year old can complete a 100-piece jig saw puzzle. She works on them during quiet time. I love hearing her sing while doing them. This has prompted me to look up the benefits of working jig saw puzzles.

Here you go...

• Puzzles can help develop a child's reasoning and problem solving skills. Even the simplest jigsaw will require them to think about what they do as they try to put the puzzle together.
• Puzzles can also help a child to develop their fine motor skills when they are young. Having to pick up individual pieces and slot them into place without breaking up the bits they have already completed can be a complex task to learn. But, it can reinforce some skills that are essential to their development.
• Putting a puzzle together will also work on the child's hand-eye co-ordination and their understanding of shapes and colours.
• The subjects on puzzles can also be used as educational aids. An alphabet or number puzzle, for example, will be fun for the child to complete but is also a good opportunity for a parent to chat to them about letters and numbers and to reinforce learning.
• Solving a puzzle can do wonders for a child's self-esteem. As puzzles get more challenging for them they also learn useful life skills such as seeing things through to completion and trying different approaches to problem solving.

One of the biggest benefits for children here is the fact that puzzles are fun. Many children will resist learning at home if they know it is happening. Enjoying making up a puzzle, however, could mask the fact that they are also having an educational experience.

Read more at Suite101: The Benefits of Jigsaw Puzzles: Jigsaws Can Educate, Stretch the Mind & Make a Great Gift | Suite101.com http://carolfinch.suite101.com/the-benefits-of-jigsaw-puzzles-a147474#ixzz1ZYeEwKvP

Business Idea

Someone should invent a mail-order pillow business.

It seems like every time I turn around, one of my pillows is starting to lose it's "squish" and starts to get that middle depression.

It's a pain to shop for pillows. They take up all the room in the cart!

I would consider buying from a company that automatically sent me a new pillow every 6 months.

Think of the publicity potential. Women's magazines, home and garden sections in newspapers.

Here's a fun little media project I worked on recently

Frisco Enterprise

Ready to rumble: Frisco resident Charlie Haas helping up Ring of Honor's profile

Read the story here.

5 important tips for pitching journalists by phone

I found this helpful article at the blog for the Publicity Hound.

I ALWAYS practice tip number 2. Reporter's seem to appreciate it and will tell me to email instead or call back in an hour or so.

2. Be considerate of the reporter’s time. As soon as Karen answers the phone, ask, “Hi Karen, this is Joan Stewart and I have a story idea for you. Is this a good time to talk?” If not, she will say so. Ask her when you should return the call.

You know you're a WAHM...

We got a new roof last week. The final hail damage repair from the storm back in April.

It's crazy. In the last 30 days, we've had lots of professionals out.

The roofers moved our satellite dish, not allowing us to watch live TV. DirecTV had to come out to realign the dish. $49.
Roofer says he'll pay for it.
We had to get someone out before Monday when Dancing With The Stars starts!

A carpet cleaner to sanitize our room where Zoe peed under our bed while we are on vacation. The cat is no longer allowed in our room. We keep the baby gate up. When she steps into our room, it costs us $183.

The lights/electricity in the girls' rooms kept tripping. They spent one night with their fans connected to extension cords plugged into the hallway. Electrician came out on a Sunday (double the price) $200.

We noticed a perfectly round leak stain in our front room. Plumber came out and said it was the master bath. He resealed the drain.
$100

Please, please dishwasher and washer and dryer. Be good boys.

I'm very blessed and grateful I can work from home and help pay for these unexpected joys of home ownership.

Normally, I really don't like working on weekends.

However, I had to work a couple of hours yesterday to tie up some loose emails/ends that I just didn't get to over the week.

I've been blessed with the invitation to work on a media project this week for a new client and I feel so much better about starting my week with a clean slate.

I wish all work-from-home moms a productive and successful week!

Ignoring Facebook as a potential practice tool could leave derms socially stranded

Found this article on Modern Medicine.com.

"EDITOR'S NOTE: Dermatologists who have integrated Facebook into their practices say the widely used social networking platform allows them to communicate news and promotional information quickly, easily, and at virtually no cost. In this issue, we look at experts' recommendations on how to start building your own digital presence — even if you're a novice. "

And the final sentence says it all...

"Let me tell you, if you don't have a dynamic website, have Facebook behind you and, now, YouTube, I think you're missing the ... marketing that social media can give you. It's dynamic," Dr. Torok says. "We only have a population of 20,000 (in Medina), but it doesn't matter. Everybody is on Facebook."

INFOGRAPHIC: 8 Ways To Conquer Facebook Statuses

Here's one of them. Write a fill-in-the-blank sentence, like this: "___________ always makes me smile."

INFOGRAPHIC: 8 Ways To Conquer Facebook Statuses

That's Me

The Dallas Morning New printed a statistic in today's paper from Elance.

60% of freelance workers are women and

80% have a professional degree.

64 Awesome Facebook Marketing Techniques

I found an interesting Facebook Marketing article.

64 Awesome Facebook Marketing Techniques

Wonderful Summer Vacation Meeting My Colorado Clients

Yikes! I haven't posted since June!

In July I got to meet my two wonderful Colorado clients. I've been their publicist for more than two years and it was wonderful to put a name to a face.

In Pueblo, I met Dr. Rina Shinn, Cosmetic Surgeon. I toured her facility and met her staff. About a week later when we went back through Pueblo, she had us over for dinner. She made the most wonderful German macaroni and cheese; the noodles were home-made!

In Colorado Springs, I joined the staff lunch in the office of Dr. Ken Gasper. There was lots of laughter amongst his employees and the staff genuinely seems to really enjoy working together.

I felt so energized and uplifted after meeting these wonderful clients. I'm so blessed to be able to work for such highly respected medical professionals.

Have a story idea you think is news worthy?

As a public relations freelancer, I often work on a project basis.

I have helped numerous companies secure stories on TV and/or in print media for less than $500.

A recent project was to help Fairhill School in Dallas. Their Spanish teacher has helped students with learning differences become confident and proficient in Spanish by performing a Shakespeare production in Spanish.

For this project, I secured two TV placements including NBC evening news as well as a full feature in the Dallas Morning News.

Do you have a story idea? I'd love to hear it! I can then think about which reporters and producer to contact, write the pitch materials, distribute them and follow up. I will also conduct some media training for you to run through the interview and help you practice.

Publicity is a very effective way to get your message across to your target market. And it's far more affordable than traditional advertising!

Email me at lori at lbpublicrelations dot com.

You know you're a WAHM...

You know you're a work at home mom, when you have time to cut the watermelon into heart shapes.


Happy summer to all my fellow WAHMs!

You know you're a WAHM...

You know you're a work at home mom when you can get a quick snuggle with the 4 year old when they wake up to go potty at 3:40 in the morning.

You know you're a WAHM...

You know you're a work from home mom when in between writing some web copy for a client, you can try and help your hubby pick a paint color for the dining room.

You know you're a WAHM...

You know you're a Work At Home Mom when you can secure a fabulous profile feature for your client and then watch your kids pick wildflowers in a field.

Not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for this opportunity.

25 business blogging tips from a 10-year-old

I found this over at the blog for Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound. Check out here blog here.

No more excuses about why you aren’t blogging for your business.

If 10-year-old Tyler Duswalt can start and maintain a blog, so can you.

Tyler is author of The Short Book on How to Become a Blogging Expert—A 10-Year-Old’s Top 25 Easy Tips to Help You Start an Effective Blog (Craig Duswalt International, $9.95).

He published it last year, after his blog, CPCheats, became a go-to source for kids who wanted to cheat at Club Penguin. The online role-playing game, published by Disney Online Studios, involves a virtual world containing a range of online games and activities. Players use cartoon penguin-avatars and play in a winter-set virtual world.

One of the criticisms of the game is that it allows players to cheat. Hence, Tyler’s blog which has had more than 85,000 views.

I learned about Tyler recently when I spoke at Author U in Denver and met his dad, Craig Duswalt, who also was on the program and taught authors about how to market like a rock star.

Craig says Tyler wrote the book himself. No professional editors. No book coaches. No picky proofreaders. Just sage advice from a 10-year old blogging expert who use phrases like “And that’s all I have to say about that” at the end of a chapter.

Here are some of the questions that people typically ask about blogging, and Tyler’s responses, excerpted from the book:

Q. How many times should you post to your blog?

A. ”As much as you can every week. Try to post at least once a day. I post about three times a day…But here is one thing not to do: do NOT Blog if you know you won’t have enough time to make posts. It’s useless.”

Q. How can you get traffic to a blog?

A. ”One way to get more hits is to Comment on other blogs and typing in your blog’s domain name at the end of your comment.”

Q. What’s the very best way to get traffic?

A. ”Contests! You can make a POST for a contest that will go on for a certain amount of time. I had one before. I used to play an online game called Club Penguin (Disney MMO game) and I bought a gift card for a membership. Then I had a contest where if you commented on my blog you would get entered in a drawing. Very fun. I got 1,000 hits in one day because of that contest.”

Q. What does a blogger need to do so that the search engines can find a blog post?

A. ”When finished with a post, and before publishing it, go to the area that says tags, and type in a few things that will get people to find you on the search eninges.”

Q. How do you sell products on a blog?

A. “All you need to do is to set up a lnk to the website where you want to sell the thing that you are selling. For example, your post might look like this:

TITLE: Buy my product!

POST: Hello! I just bought a T-shirt and was wondering if you guys want to buy it. If you want it, click the link: http://ebay.com/pinktshirt

Tyler also covers polls, how to post photos and audio, how to add pages, copyright, video/picture galleries, widgets, blogrolls and more.

He doesn’t blog anymore because he doesn’t play Club Penguin. But his tips are perfect for anyone who wants a quick overview of what’s possible with a blog.

Yes, it’s a lot of work. But as Tyler explains in the Bonus Tip on the last page of his book:

“Have Fun With Your Blog! Well, this is the end of the book. I hope you enjoyed these easy tips, and I wish you luck on your blog.”

Convinced? Ready to start your own blog? See “Time-saving Tips for Smart Business Blogging,” a grown-up’s guide to blogging. It comes with 23 pages of handouts that include 101 ways to find content for your blog, and tips for writing better and faster.

Entrepreneurship gives Dallas-area teens a head start | Dallas-Fort Worth Small Business News - Business News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News

I was really impressed with this Dallas Morning News article about area teens who have become Entrepreneurs.

I am a business owner now, but I didn't have my own business as a teen. However, I was always a responsible, hard worker.

I often wonder if my girls will have an entrepreneurial spirit or if they will work from home.

This hard copy of this article provided some excellent resources for business scholarships for teens.

Entrepreneurship gives Dallas-area teens a head start | Dallas-Fort Worth Small Business News - Business News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News

Future WAHM?

I love that she has a "screen" to go with her keyboard.

I also love it when she sets up her "office" in her room, she has a pencil cup and urgently says, "I need a phone Mom!"

Always a relief to have a happy client!

The newsletter is good to go! The doTERRA photo looks great! Thanks for hanging in there with me Lori.

As always, I so appreciate you.

Have a great evening!

National Walk to Work Day

Happy National Walk to Work Day!

As a WAHM, I'm very blessed to only have to walk from my bed room, down our hall and into my office. It's about 20 steps.

Granted it's 3 a.m. and I'm in my pajamas.

My morning ritual also includes walking downstairs to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and eat a banana with peanut butter.

Let God Be Your Business Manager

I read a great article by Donna Partow in the March/April issue of Thriving Family.

From the article, "All in a Day's Work: How moms can balance business and family," she encourages moms to:

"Let God by your business manager. Take time to pray ans ask Him to guide your day, ordaining key appointments so you don't waste time. Pray over every appointment, every deadline, every opportunity and every lost opportunity."

I think this is wise, sound advice and I try to practice this on a daily basis.

Thanks for the reminder and encouragement Donna!

Market your business on Facebook in 4 easy steps - USATODAY.com

USA Today provides four easy steps to market your business on Facebook including tips for updating your Facebook Page.

Market your business on Facebook in 4 easy steps - USATODAY.com

Lori Ann PR Wizard

Look at these fun and adorable M&Ms my father-in-law sent me!

You can order your personalized M&Ms here.

These would make a cute gift business gift idea.

Work Beautifully

I received an ad for Dell and the title said, "Work Beautifully."

I work on a Dell, so according to their ad, I work beautifully.

The slogan also reminded me of being a work-at-home-mom.

I don't usually blog about the occasional chaos that working from home can bring. Like when I need to respond to an urgent email and I have a crying child on my lap demanding my attention.

Or the dark eye circles I have due to only getting an average of 6 hours a sleep because I have to get up at 3 a.m.

In the overall picture of life, I am and will always be grateful to have been able to contribute to the family finances as well as be with my girls.

I work beautifully, dark eye circles and all.

For the first time in 4 years of working from home, I didn't complete my tax logging during the week between Christmas and New Year's.

It's the end of February and I do a few receipts a day.

AND, I just found $30 in cash amongst the receipts! Cool.

Good luck to all the other WAHMs as they prepare their taxes!

Future WAHM?

Kate (4) enjoys typing on my computer. Notice the cell phone. I adore hearing her "make calls" while working.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to work from home - something not available to previous generations.

You know you're a WAHM...

You know you are a thankful Work at Home Mom when you don't have to commute on icy roads to get to work.

Crazy cold and icy weather here in North Texas. Just making our way through the Walmart parking lot was a slippery adventure.

I'm able to sit here at my desk in my fleece and a blanket (yesterday I even wore the heated neck wrap) and work away.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.