I have been working really hard over the past few months to keep my email Inbox clean and as close to zero as possible. A few people have asked how I do it, so I thought I’d write about it.  Here’s proof that it works:

I use Gmail, but most of what I’ve written can apply to any advanced email client. Here are my tips:

• Unsubscribe - I can’t say enough about the value of unsubscribing.  I have signed up for so many newsletters over the years, but my interests have changed.  I also do a lot of shopping online, and many sites automatically add you to their email list (or I miss the opt-out button).  Now, as soon as I get something that I find myself automatically going for the delete button, I unsubscribe immediately.  No need to waste my time each time deleting these emails.  Plus, there’s something therapeutic about using the unsubscribe button!
• Filters - Filters allow you to perform a certain action automatically to incoming emails.  I use filters in a few ways:
  • Move emails I don’t need very often automatically to my Archived box -  For example, I receive a lot of emails that are about social events in the Boston area.  Usually I’m too busy to add anything else to my schedule, so I don’t need to clutter my Inbox with them.  Instead, I have them automatically go to Archive, and if I am looking for something to do at night, I know where to look.
  • Filter out emails I want to deal with all at once – For example, all the notices I receive from Twitter telling me I have a new follower… I prefer to go through my new followers all at once and review them.  Getting them out of my Inbox reduces the clutter.
  • Filters are great for Google Buzz, which makes any reply to you, show up in your Inbox. If you dislike this, create a filter to move these to trash automatically.
• Labels (this is a Gmail feature which is very similar to email Folders) – I use labels to categorize emails coming into my Inbox. About 1/2 of the emails I receive are set up to be labeled automatically. For example, each client I’m working with has a its own label, so any email arriving from that client gets automatically labeled.  That way, I can glance quickly at what is high priority and who it is for.  I also use labels to identify news subscriptions I receive, so they’re still in my Inbox, but easily identifiable as lower priority.
• Dedicate time to go thru emails – On a daily basis I try to keep my Inbox volume low.  But, inevitably it piles up a bit throughout the week.  I find that designating time to go through my emails each week and get it back down to zero really helps.  I typically do this on the weekends, but you can do it whenever works for you. The key is to ensure you do this, or 10 will become 20, and 20 will become 30, and so on.
• Add to task list – I used to leave follow-up items in my Inbox, and star them as important.  But, that then just cluttered my Inbox and made it tough to see what else I was receiving.  Now, I take to-do items and put them on my task list, and move the email to the Archive folder.  That allows me to prioritize my to-do’s and keep my Inbox clean.
• Conversations – One of my favorite features in Gmail is the grouped conversations, which groups all emails in the same email stream together.  So, if you send an email, and 10 people reply, it just shows up in your Inbox as ONE email, rather than 10.  All 10 responses are grouped together.  This helps a lot in keeping the visual volume down.
• Mark as read – For any of the news subscription emails I receive, I automatically mark those as read, so they mentally clutter my Inbox less.  They’re still in my Inbox, but don’t feel like they have the same urgency as Unread emails.

(Photo credit: Email)

What do you think?  Do you have any more tips to keep your Inbox in control?

Are you wondering why I’m writing a post about how to cross-post, when I JUST wrote one about how I’m not a fan of cross-posting? Well, for starters, some of these tactics are temporary, meaning you turn them on and off for each update, so it’s not just a flow of ALL of your updates.  And, second, I thought it would be helpful to have all of this in one place to keep track of it! And third, to me, even some of the “permanent” cross-post tactics (such as Blog to LinkedIn) can be useful. So, if you do decide to cross-post after reading my post here’s how:

Twitter to Facebook Profile

• Individual updates
  • Tweetdeck Desktop – Add your profile to your Tweetdeck account by clicking on the plus at the top of the screen.  Once your account has been added, you can toggle each account on and off by clicking on the account name.
  • Tweetdeck for iPhone – Go to the settings page and add your Facebook account.  When updating  your status, select your Facebook account.
  • Selective Tweets – Install the Selective Twitter application in your Facebook account.  Once you’ve done that, any Twitter update you make with #fb, will also update your Facebook status.
  • There are many other mobile and desktop applications that do this, such as Seesmic Desktop, Hootsuite, and many more.
• Permanent
  • Install this Twitter application in your Facebook account.  Once you’ve done that, EVERY Twitter update you make, will also update your Facebook status.  CAUTION, this can be annoying to your Facebook friends.

Twitter to Facebook Fan Page

• Tweetdeck Desktop – see above.  Hootsuite and Seesmic also do this.

Facebook Fan Page to Twitter

• Individual updates- There is currently no way to update Twitter from your Facebook Fan Page on an individual update basis.
• Permanent 
  • Install this Twitter application in your Facebook account.  Once you’ve done that, EVERY update you make on your Facebook Fan Page, will also post to Twitter.

Twitter to LinkedIn

• Tweetdeck Desktop – see above.  Hootsuite also does this.
• Adjust your settings in LinkedIn.  Once you’ve added your Twitter account, you can choose to have all or some of your updates flow to LinkedIn.  Again, I CAUTION  the use of permanent update cross-posting.  For individual updates to flow to LinkedIn, simply use #in or #li when you update your Twitter status.

LinkedIn to Twitter

• This functionality is built right into LinkedIn now, so each update you make on LinkedIn, you can select if you want it to also post to Twitter, by checking the check box below your update.

Twitter to Blog

• Add a widget to your blog that displays your recent tweets by installing the “Twitter for WordPress” plugin on your blog. Your tweets will stream into a widget on the side of your blog, similar to mine on the bottom right.
• You can also install the Wibya toolbar (see mine at the bottom of this page) which shows your Twitter updates.  If you want to know more about the Wibya toolbar, take a look at my post on the topic.  Another similar toolbar is the Meebo Bar.

Facebook Fan Page to Blog

• This is possible using the Wibya toolbar or the Meebo Bar.  See above.

Facebook Profile to Blog

• This is possible using the Wibya toolbar or the Meebo Bar.  See above.

Blog to Twitter

• Twitterfeed - You can easily automate the posting of your blog to Twitter by setting up a feed on Twitterfeed.
• Ping.fm – Newly added feature allows you to add your feeds to be automatically sent to a variety of social networks.

Blog to Facebook Profile

• Create a Facebook note for each of your blog posts by following these instructions: In the “Applications” menu (in the bottom bar), choose “Notes.”, under “Notes Settings,” click on “Import a blog” and enter your feed address.  For more detailed instructions and screen shots, see this post.
• Wordbooker – This is a WordPress plugin that imports your blog posts to Facebook.  The difference in this versus using Notes, is that your posts get a separate area on your profile, and any comments are imported back into your blog.  (Thanks to @tpapi for the suggestion!)
• Ping.fm – See above

Blog to Facebook Fan Page

• Wordbooker – see above
• Social RSS – Install this application on Facebook, and your blog posts will feed directly as updates to your Wall.  You can also create a box that will show your posts in a box on your Fan Page.  See WebinarListing fan page for an example.
• Ping.fm - See above

Blog to LinkedIn

• Install the WordPress application on LinkedIn or BlogLink onto your LinkedIn profile and have all your blog posts flow to your profile.
• Ping.fm - See above

Not possible at this time (if you know of a way to do these, please let me know in the comments!):

• Facebook Profile to LinkedIn
• Facebook Profile to Twitter
• Facebook Profile to Facebook Fan Page
• Facebook Fan Page to Facebook Profile
• Facebook Fan Page to LinkedIn
• LinkedIn to Facebook Profile
• LinkedIn to Facebook Fan Page
• LinkedIn to Blog

You may also be familiar with Ping.fm, which allows you to update 50 social media sites at once.  You just post it once, and it updates the sites you choose.  So, obviously this is a great way to cross-post.  A few weeks ago, Seesmic acquired Ping.fm, so the Ping.fm functionaility will be incorporated into Seesmic in a few weeks, making it a great option to cross-post.  Ping.fm is currently incorporated into Hootsuite as well.

Did I leave anything out?  I plan on keeping this updated over time, so please let me know if I have missed anything!

Last week, I found out about a really cool new toolbar for websites called Wibiya. I asked them for a beta invite and they said it would be launching to the general public soon (I guess I wasn’t special enough!), and sure enough, I was notified about it today.  So, what do I think?  Well, considering I was inspired to write a blog post about it within 15 minutes of installing it, I’d say I like it! :-)

So, what is Wibiya?  If you’re viewing this post on my website, just look down at the bottom to the pink bar.  If not, here a screen shot of it broken into 2 parts.

What it does essentially is bring your social media components (and a few other things) all to one place, and a place that is available everywhere on your site.  People can do the following right from the toolbar:

• Facebook
  • update their status (with automatic link to your site)
  • become a fan of your Facebook page
• Twitter
  • see your tweets
  • follow you on Twitter
  • tweet (with an automatically shortened link to your site)
• Blog
  • subscribe to your RSS feed
  • See your recent posts
• Search your site
• Chat with others
• Message your site visitors
• Translate your site into different languages

…all without leaving your site.  There are also a bunch of other apps, such as photo galleries and YouTube integration, that you can easily install.  What a great way to give people the functionality they want, without forcing them to leave your website and you never get them back.  Sure, most of these tools are available with other WordPress plugins, but it’s great to have everything in one place, so you can fill your site with more good content.

In addition to all of this functionality for your site visitors, you get analytics too!  So, as soon as I posted on Twitter, I could see how many people were visiting which pages, and where in the world they are.  What a great way to get instant feedback, to see if people are driven to your site.  It also shows you overall stats for the past 7 days, including assumed bounce rate reduction, and new RSS registrations.

As I said, I JUST downloaded this 1/2 hour ago, so I’m still poking around.  But, overall, this is a VERY cool app… a definite BUY recommendation from me! Oh, wait, it’s free.  :-)

What do you think? Have you discovered anything I haven’t mentioned above? Any downsides you see?

Selecting your handle is an important step when starting out on Twitter. It’s not that you can’t change it whenever you want, it’s just that as people start to recognize you as your Twitter handle, your brand and your reputation, it becomes harder and harder to move away from that.  There are a few handle options you have, so I thought I’d go over the pros and cons of each:

Your Real Name (first, last, initials, business name or some combination of the those)

Examples – @lizstrauss, @loic, @chrisbrogan, @DaivRawks, @jbruin, @pistachio

• Pro – You’re branding your own name, so people will recognize you
• Con – It’s harder for people offhand to know what you do or what interests you

A Description (who you are, what you do, what you’re interested in)

Examples – @BostonMarketer (that’s me!), @SEOSEM, @BostonTweet, @thebrandbuilder,  @skydiver

• Pro – People automatically know what you do, or what interests you.
  • I can speak from personal experience on this one… I get quite a few referrals through Twitter for Marketing and Social Media Consulting work.  I attribute that to a lot of factors, but one of them is that my name makes it clear what I do.  So, if someone is trying to think of a referral for Marketing in Boston, I come to mind.  The same thing happened to me on the other side last week, when someone asked me for a recommendation of someone who is good at SEO. The first person I thought of was @SEOSEM because of his name.  I follow close to 4,000 people, so remembering specific people is difficult.  Having an obvious name, makes remembering you easier when it comes to referrals, or just finding someone in a particular area of interest.
• Con – You’re missing out on an opportunity to brand your own personal name.  I joke sometimes that people don’t actually know my name — I’m @BostonMarketer to them.  But, I do think it’s somewhat true.
• Con – If you’re not focused in what you’re interested in, it can pigeon hole you into one area

A Random Name (probably not obvious to everyone why that’s your name)

Examples – @lmzadi1, @NoOneYouKnow

• Pro – CAN be memorable
• Con – You’re not branding your name, or what you do, so it’s a missed opportunity
• Con – Oftentimes difficult to remember

(of course, there are also combinations of the types above, i.e. @pamelawella, @JessicaKnows, @LauraLovesArt)

Overall, my personal recommendation is to choose a name that describes your interests, as long as you are focused in the reason you are on Twitter.  If not, then go with your real name!

Other miscellaneous tips:

• Names I find difficult are ones where it’s A name, but not the person’s real name.  For example, @BstnMelody — I find her name VERY difficult… because her name is NOT Melody, but rather, Robin.  So, when I see her, I keep wanting to call her Melody.  Another one is @Admore, whose last name is not Admore, but rather Damore. (Sorry Robin and David, I needed to use you as examples to make the point.)
• Regardless of what your Twitter handle is (unless you share an account with multiple people), you definitely should have your real name onyour bio as well (see image — you see Rachel Levy, although my Twitter handle is @BostonMarketer).  It puts a real name to your handle, and makes you more personable.
• The use of underscores makes typing the person’s name more difficult.  On a laptop keyboard, it’s just pushing the shift key.  But, on the iPhone it’s an additional two strokes to get the underscore.  I would recommend staying away from underscores if you possibly can.
• Having a long Twitter name makes it difficult to get retweeted — the longer your name is, the more characters your name takes up to RT you.  My name (@BostonMarketer) is 14 characters, and I think it’s a bit too long… my recommendation is to keep your name under 10 characters.
• Don’t use a lot of random numbers or strange spellings of words in your name, as it’s difficult to remember.

(Photo credit: Follow Me, Twitter Handle list)

What do you think?  What are the best naming conventions?  Any other pros/cons I’m missing?

When I mention Twitter, I usually end up sitting there listening to all the reasons people DON’T want to use Twitter. And, often times the person hasn’t really used Twitter much, or has just heard these reasons from other people! I figured I’d write them all down, so the Twitter-skeptics don’t have to think of the reasons anymore:

• Why do I want to hear when someone is going for coffee or what they’re having for lunch?
• I don’t want to share that kind of stuff about my life
• It’s too young
• I don’t have time
• I use Facebook instead
• None of my friends use it
• I tried it last year and I didn’t get it
• It’s a waste of time
• I don’t like text-messaging
• It’s just for marketing people
• It’s just for geeks (from @mdurwin)
• I just don’t get it (from @mdurwin and @KarenVazquez)
• I don’t have anything important to say (from @acraKA, @rossmevans and @PamResearchDiva)

Those are all reasonable things to think about Twitter.  And, they can definitely be true if you use Twitter in certain ways.  But, it doesn’t have to be like that!  I thought I’d share some of my tweets from yesterday, and the general category of the benefit of Twitter:

• Opinion/Advice…. Designers– is it common to charge extra to deliver the eps files to your client? OR Consultants… Do you charge for local travel time on hourly projects?
• Help…. Any ideas on where to download a HIGH RES rendition of the “hand pointer” (what appears when you’re about to click on a link on computer)?
• Provide information… Why Google’s real-time search with Facebook and Twitter is so important http://bit.ly/6WkSig
• Learn something… great idea! RT @mlourie: How to embed video into your LinkedIn profile using Google Docs http://bit.ly/5n4NuS
• Promote something for charity… Looking to help someone in need for the holidays? Sponsor a child thru Operation ELF! (AMAZING org I’m involved w/) http://bit.ly/7gyWcm OR RT @johnhaydon Bone marrow match needed for a 4 yr old mixed race girl: http://bit.ly/6UXhP0
• Connection…. Happy birthday to @justinlevy and @adampieniazek! Hope the next year is a great one for you!
• For fun… Damn, headset fell in coffee mug :-(
• Provide Industry information… Four email marketing predictions for 2010 http://bit.ly/6uBNmw

And, that was just in one day!  It’s really amazing what you can do on Twitter, if you take the time to understand how to use it.  Here are even more reasons to use Twitter:

• Spread a message
• Connect with people with similar interests/Networking
• Find customers/evangelists
• Customer Service
• News
• Branding (personal or for business)
• Build community
• Market Research (aka “listening”)
• New business/sales
• Build customer loyalty
• SEO
• Recruit employees

The way I explain Twitter is in terms of Facebook, as most people understand that: “Facebook is about connecting with friends. Twitter is about connecting with people with similar interests.”  I can’t even tell you how much it’s done for me in terms of networking, getting clients, and learning about things that interest me (social media being one of them).  I think it’s about time to give it a REAL try!

(Photo credit: I don’t get it, I hate Twitter)

What other reasons have you heard for people not wanting to use Twitter?  What other benefits have you seen?

Missed my Twitter 201 Webinar? You can purchase a copy of the video recording here for $15. This webinar will be more advanced information about Twitter, and will include the following:

• Twitter’s external applications (i.e. Twellow)
• Twittiquette (etiquette for Twitter)
• Growing your following
• Syndicating you tweets outside of Twitter
• Managing your time on Twitter
• Twitter success stories
• Twitter Lists
• and more!

If you’ve been on Twitter for a little while, but want to take it to the next level, this webinar is for you!

(after purchase you will be automatically redirected to the video recording)

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on  August 4, 2009.

I can’t continue to write for the Wall Street Journal “Laid Off and Looking” blog anymore, because I have a new job! I will be the Director of Marketing and Social Media at Second Time Around, a consignment clothing retailer with 19 stores in 8 eastern states (MA, NH, RI, ME, CT, VT, DC, NY). Second Time Around’s owner, Jeff Casler, recently got venture capital funding from Generation Equity Investors, so is slated for more growth in the coming years.

I got this new position through a combination of Twitter, an online job website, and good old fashioned networking. Back when I first lost my job a year ago, I posted my resume on a site called Jewish Jobs. Lisa Colton, the founder of Darim Online, was looking for someone with my background for some consulting work and found me on the website. She also recognized my name because she had been following me on Twitter for a couple of months and liked the things I had to say. So over the next few months, we kept in touch and talked about how we could work together. Then on June 17th, I got an email from Brian Colton (Lisa’s brother-in-law), a partner at Generation Equity, saying they were looking to fill a marketing position at their latest venture, and Lisa had given him my name. One month later, on July 16th, STA offered me the job!

A year ago, I don’t think I would have gotten this job. I wasn’t well versed in social media, but I have been focusing on that for the year I have been out of work. Social media is such an important part of marketing these days, and I was behind the eight ball before this year. I also think that being involved in social media has put me “out there” so much more, that potential employers like Lisa or Jeff could see what I’ve been up to much more easily. One look at my Twitter account, my website, or the posts I’ve been doing for this blog, bring instant credibility to me. You can see the way I write, the way I think and where my interests lie. I know this had an impact on me getting the job I did, and think it’s vital to a successful job search, even for people not interested in marketing.

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on  August 4, 2009.

I was delayed in writing this post for the WSJ blog, because I was hoping to be able to write about a job offer I was expecting to have. It didn’t come. It still may, so I haven’t lost all hope, but it sounds like the company may be unsure whether or not to hire for the position. Sound familiar? I have been hearing this more and more lately with the poor economy. Either the company advertises for a job, and then decides they aren’t hiring any more, or they restructure the job in the middle of hiring because they are trying to accomplish more with less, or they just decide to put the position on hold.
So not only do we (laid off folks) have to deal with the stress of being out of work, and an unknown financial future, we are also impacted by the uncertainty that companies are feeling themselves. This makes it tough, and honestly a bit emotionally trying at times.
The way I have combated this is to try to not get too excited about a job until it becomes a reality. I talk about potential jobs with my friends and family, but try to not go into too much detail. The more we talk, the more excited I get, and the more they ask questions. “Did you get the job?” “When will you hear back?” “Did you hear from them yet?” “What are the next steps?” “Did you follow up with them lately?” It’s supportive, but for me, more and more talk brings more and more excitement, and consequently more and more disappointment when it doesn’t work out. So, no more detailed discussions for me!
The other way I have combated this becoming too emotionally trying is to continue plugging away, even though I have a good feeling a potential job will work out. Don’t stop. You need to keep going until you accept the job, or even the day you start your job. In this economy, anything can happen, and stopping not only wastes time if it doesn’t work out, but emotionally it makes you more invested in the opportunity you are waiting on. Keep many balls in the air, and don’t be “monogamous” until you get the offer, because you know the company certainly is not.

Readers, how do you prevent yourselves from getting too emotionally invested in a potential job opportunity?

So, I’m finally back to work after being out of a job for a year. Overall, my year was tough, but I learned so much about social media, networking, and basically just reinvented myself professionally.  Now, the rubber is meeting the road, and I’m back to work.  I started my job at Second Time Around last Monday, so it’s been a full 2 weeks.  So, I am more stressed or less stressed than I was when I wasn’t working?  Yes :-)

Obviously, being out of work was stressful.  It was stressful financially — how was I making ends meet?  How long was my unemployment going to last? Would I get the client I was trying to get?  It was also just a constant stress of feeling like I needed to do something to move my search or consulting work forward all the time.  Even at night, if I wasn’t out socializing or at a networking event, I was very rarely just relaxing in front of the TV or reading.  For most of the year, I didn’t really take a break.  So, in that way, work seems relaxing!  It’s not such a weight hanging over my head, like I felt all year. I do think I’m going to be working at night a bit, having some work travel, or weekend trips (I was in Chicago this week and am going to CT tomorrow), but for some reason, I’m better able to shut my mind off and relax.  I can come home at night if I don’t have plans, and take Stella for a leisurely walk, get dinner, and watch TV. Love it!

On the other hand, my schedule couldn’t be more different now than it was for the past year.  I got accustomed to having the schedule I wanted.  I went to bed no earlier than 2am on most nights, and woke up by 9am at the earliest.  If I was tired, I took a nap.  I took Stella for a walk in the middle of the day if I wanted.  Now, not only do I need to get up at a normal hour for work, I have started working with a personal trainer and am in physical therapy (for my knee), so get up almost every day by 6 or 6:30am.  Going to bed at 2am no longer works.  Napping in the middle of the day is not recommend, at least if I plan on keeping my job!  So, from this perspective I find it more stressful.

But, so far, I seem to be managing OK, and am getting used to going to bed early again.  I am LOVING the job. Everyone is incredilby nice, welcoming, and very dedicated to growing this company.  There is so much opportunity for marketing and social media, I can’t wait to get some of my ideas moving!

How have you coped with a change in lifestyle like this?  Any ideas to help me or others?

(Photo credit: Money Tree, Clock)

Note: This is a version of a post I made on the Wall Street Journal online blog on June 17, 2009.

A few months, I was asked a question by a potential employer that I couldn’t answer “What do you think of what we are doing in social media?” I couldn’t answer it not because I didn’t know what he meant, but rather, that I hadn’t actually looked it up. Although social media is the area of marketing I am most interested in, I was still stuck in my old ways of researching a company… by looking at their website.

Doing thorough research of a company is one of the most important steps in preparing for an interview. Not that they will necessarily ask you the direct question that I got asked, but because it gives you the opportunity to bring up what you have researched, or just have a better understanding of how the company operates. Realizing this, put me into action to change the way I now research companies.

Here’s what I do now.

• I search for the company’s fan page on Facebook. I look what they have posted, and what their fans are posting about them. I do the same for YouTube.
• I find their corporate account on Twitter, and again, see what they are tweeting about. I also search on an application called Twellow, to find employees of the company, and see what they are writing about.
• I find their company profile on LinkedIn, and look up the profiles of some of the people I might be working with or key executives, and definitely the people I will be interviewing with. I find at least one item about a person that I have in common with them, so I can bring it up in the interview somehow.
• I do quick searches for the company and key people on Hoovers and Zoominfo. Other good websites include: Vault, Glassdoor, Lexis Nexis, Bloomberg and Yahoo Finance. Of course, there’s a good old search engine on the company’s name, or coupled with key words such as “good” or “bad.” Through looking at these sites, I also try to understand who the company’s major competitors are.
• Of course, I still look at the company’s website, and at a minimum, read the About Us section, the press section, and overall what the company has been doing. If they have a blog, I read the first few posts.

Spending the time doing this extensive research has really helped me better understand the mindset of the people and the company I’m interviewing with. Yesterday, I was asked in the interview what I thought of a company’s website, and I could give a very thorough analysis.

What do you think?  What are your preferred methods of researching a company prior to an interview?