I wrote recently about feeling a bit overwhelmed. After a few great comments and emails from people I trust, I came to a conclusion: it’s time to bring someone else into the mix here at JoshCanHelp. I’m on the lookout for a virtual (or in-person) assistant. The ad is here (quoted in pieces below) but I wanted to provide applicants with a little more information if they wanted it as well as share what I’m doing. Comments are perpetually welcome and completely invited.
I started by thinking about the hiring processes I’ve been a part of in the past and how they differed from what I’m trying to do. I also thought long and hard about what type of person I would want representing me and working closely with my process. It was clear to me that I needed someone I could trust and someone that wanted to be doing what they were doing.
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My cousin got a hold of me to talk about building something for her company to use that would help them with internal communication. We talked about a few obvious options – Facebook, Google Groups, Linkedin – but none of them fit the bill. I decided to do a little research (with some help) and came up with a list of options for people looking to build their own social media network for promotion or internal communication. We tried a few out and if you have experience with any of the others, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought.
Side note: The most important thing to think about before going down any of these routes is “what am I trying to do with this thing?” You could waste a lot of time starting accounts and learning platforms before you either found what you’re looking for or quit in frustration. A few questions to ask:
- Is this a public group or a private one? If it’s private, make sure the platform has the privacy controls you need and set these up first.
- What will you actually use it for? Think about what you already do, not what you think you might do.
- Would a Linkedin group work? A Facebook page? A Twitter hash? Going to the where the people already are drastically increases the chance this group will take off.
OK, on with the tools…
Pricing: free – $24.99/mo depending on desired features
SocialGo ended up being the one we chose for a number of different reasons, mostly because it was the easiest to use and had the best feature set for a free plan. I found the controls to be intuitive and straightforward, though the “Groups” option took a little getting used to. After an hour or so of walking through it, we seemed to be on top of all of the features. One problem was the Files section which didn’t want to load. Support was not terribly helpful (“it works fine” was the basic reply, though a word or two longer) but just put yourself in his shoes. Free support for a free product? Sounds like a blast.
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Every industry has it’s scumbags, scammers, and liars. Every industry also has a cabal of providers who stay in the dark, keep doing the same old thing, and never look to improve their craft. For a customer, the outcome is the same: money paid but no return. Much like the weight-loss industry, the web service provider world is full of people who don’t know, don’t care, and/or are just out for your money. No other sub-set is worse than SEO. Based on personal stories and experiences, here are 5 reasons to run away screaming from your current provider.
Before I jump into these, let me give you a little context and inside knowledge on what goes on behind the scenes with SEO services. There are two sets of activities I do to improve the ranking of your site:
- Changes that are experimental in nature and need to be reviewed and possibly changed after a period of time.
- Things that are industry-standard, Google approved and recommended; these are dead simple changes and procedures.
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I was honored to be asked to come down to San Diego and speak to a room full of friendly college administrators, marketers, and professionals about email marketing campaigns. Everyone was plugged in and seemed to really enjoy the whole process, which made it that much more fun for me. My Google Docs presentation is below along with a few other resources, posts on my blog, and links to other sites that can help you make the most our of email marketing. A big thanks to EMAS Pro enrollment management software for giving me this opportunity!
As a quick aside… it was great to really delve in on this topic and collect resources that people could use. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of “build list, send stuff,” completely ignoring what could be a powerful asset for any company. If you take your time, have an actual strategy, and remember who is on the other end of that email, you can create a strong, engaged list that will stick with you for a long time. If you just harvest names and emails and send them the first thing that comes to mind, you put your domain at risk and throw away something potentially very valuable.
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I wonder if there is an English word that describes a state of being where you want so much for your life to change but you take nothing that you have for granted. It sounds like something that might be easily summed up in a single Kanji character, simple and elegant telling the story of a man caught in limbo. I’m so grateful for what I have, personally and professionally, but I know there a better way to create, build, help, service, and communicate that I’m missing out on.
I should mention up-front that this is neither specifically web-related nor some subtle hint to people. This is about me getting better at managing what I do.
What I’m experiencing these days is a constant feeling of being behind, always at the edge of letting people down. This is a heavy burden for me to bear because I have an acute sense of accountability combined with a portfolio of clients that I’m committed to and enjoy helping. I find myself rushing through things instead of taking my time and enjoying the process, falling back on what I know I can do instead of taking the time to learn an advanced technique, putting off “extemporaneous” things like family, friends, and time off in an effort to catch up with something that’s running 10% faster than I am.
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I write this post not quite believing that this important project has actually come to fruition. Not because of a lack of desire and not because of a lack of ability (though that does explain some of the delay) but more because a project that takes this long can very be relegated to “standby” status for eternity. Thankfully, in this case, that was not meant to happen.
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