How to Maneuver B2B Social Media Like Maersk Line

How to Maneuver B2B Social Media Like Maersk Line How can you use social media to your advantage when youre a seemingly dull B2B company? Youll struggle to get people following a recruitment or staffing agency because of its aspirational brand. Lets face it, when marketing a recruitment company we have a bigger challenge than a consumer brand. But there are some companies doing great things in the B2B space, we have previously written a case study on how Maersk Line use social media, in this follow-up I’m catching up with  Davina Rapaport, who is the Pulse and Social Media Manager at the Danish shipping giant. You can  listen to the audio podcast on  iTunes  and  Soundcloud  (embed below) or keep reading for a summary of  our conversation. A longer version of this article is available at Link Humans. Questions by me, answers by Davina. Whats been the key to Maersk Lines social media success? I think the first stage of Maersk Line success has centred around the fact that a “boring”  B2B shipping company like Maersk Line had taken that step in what is traditionally a very unseen industry. The fact that we’ve got such highly engaged audience and network has traditionally been the source of our success, but who are they? We recently conducted a social media audit to determine who our followers are and prove, in finite terms, the potential of social media. Having the numbers has been helpful internally as hard data is a language that the organisation understands. We’ve been able to prove that social media isn’t just the light and fluffy stuff. It is something that even Maersk Line  has to take exceptionally seriously. So building on the back of that the world is our oyster  but success now looks different from what it used to. What are your favourite social channels? It’s kind of like asking me if I have a favourite child. But of course I do. I think for a company like Maersk Line, LinkedIn is a platform that we should be focusing our attention on, but that being said, we have many channels and what we’ve discovered is that our audience is different on each. So we need to start using those channels very differently while ensuring that they work together as an ecosystem. For me personally, I love our Instagram account, but for the sales and the finance guys, are they going to really see Instagram as the most important of our social media channels? Maybe not. Maybe they’ll be prioritising Facebook or LinkedIn over our Instagram account, but I love them all equally. I think each of them have their own successes and their own flavour. But they are very different and they have different objectives. How has your visual content  strategy worked out? We definitely live in a hyper visual world. And I think you have to be visual particularly on social media. Our seafarers continue to be a strong source of content. While I think they have the most glamorous and exciting job in the world, apparently they have a lot of down time on-board and love to take photos. This is beneficial for a few reasons. Firstly, a key group within Maersk Line is engaged and feel connected with our land-based organisation. Secondly, it makes my life easier as the content comes to us rather than us chasing it. Thirdly, it makes our social media platforms more dynamic, interesting and engaging. Fourthly, we get a number of shots submitted by our fans and ‘ship spotters’ around the world. We love hearing from our fans and often repost their shots. It’s great for Maersk Line in terms of engagement, and our fans love getting featured on our social media channel. So I think it’s actually a win, win, win, win situation for everyone involved. Do you have employee advocates on social media? Absolutely, that’s a big challenge for us. We are an organisation of 32,000 employees in every corner of the world. And finding out who those experts are around the world is a job in itself, and that’s a big challenge for us, but yes, we do. Maersk Line operates in an increasingly commoditised market. What really sets Maersk Line apart, is the breadth of our expertise within the organisation. That’s really where we can help our customers achieve their ambitions and achieve their goals. So finding those experts is really tough but it’s always something that’s always popular on our social channels when we do and when we do post content in that way. Follow  Davina on Twitter  @DavinaRapaport.

How To Create A Great Resume With A Sample Format

How To Create A Great Resume With A Sample FormatA sample resume format can help you build up your confidence in your ability to write a great one. It can also be useful if you are looking for help with a resume from someone else, or if you want to make your own. Here are some tips and pointers on how to structure a sample resume.Be Specific - You want to avoid having to list every career option that you have ever had for professional writers. You may want to start with the most relevant one. This is important as a template will not be used by professional writers and you do not want to be listed under categories you do not want to be in. Asking for a sample of a professional resume format for further reference is a good idea.Take Your Time - When creating a resume make sure you take your time. You do not want to have to rush through this. In fact, it is far better to take your time with this part of the process. You need to make sure you have your own sense of style so that it flows well and helps you stand out.Make the Structure Work For You - Once you decide on a format that you are going to use to make sure you make this work for you. You can ask for a sample and review it before you use it. You may find that it is better than what you originally thought and this can help you make a more informed decision when creating your own resume.Try Using A Paper Size That You Can Work With - You should always ensure that the paper size you use on your resume is something that you can handle. There is nothing worse than having to rewrite the cover letter or e-mail because the paper size was too small or too large. It is much better to have a paper size that you can work with. The common ones are A4 and letter sized paper.Try to Find A Sample That You Can Use Online - As mentioned earlier you should always make sure you are using a format that works for you. If you cannot get a feel for the layout, you should try looking online. Often these sample resumes are posted on line by people who use them, but it is worth checking if you are a little unsure.Always keep the Sample Resume Format Under Scope - Although it is not an ideal situation, it is important to make sure that you do not overuse the sample resume format. Many times you can find samples where there is only one page of information that repeats itself. By doing this you are going to add stress to the design and can lead to you having to do more rewriting and reading just to get the information down correctly.Follow The Template - Always make sure you adhere to the template or you may run into problems with the formatting. There are many great sites online where you can find templates that you can use. Using these sites is a great way to find templates that will work for you, but never let it be said that you should copy the template word for word or else your work will suffer.

How to answer What has been your biggest disappointment

How to answer What has been your biggest disappointment Oh Yikes!! they are asking me to tell them how  how bad I am . This  can be the reaction that we feel when we hear these questions or similar ones such as “what are your weaknesses?”  . This can hit your confidence in answering the question. Do not worry, they are not trying to catch you out, they are actually using this question to look for positive attributes!   If you are like every other Warwick student then you will never have failed at anything or have anything to be disappointed about (except maybe that A instead of A* at A-levels).  We all make mistakes and things do not go as we expect, it is inevitable. To think otherwise will come across as arrogant to a recruiter and this is unlikely to endear you to them. Don’t get me wrong, this is not the time to bring up a genuine disaster either as this can bring up emotions that may go beyond disappointment and be more difficult to handle in what can already feel like a pressured situation. You want to choose an example where you have managed to take something useful from a difficult or disheartening situation. If you have since been able to avoid what went wrong, or subsequently succeeded in a similar situation as a result of what you have learned, then this may be a good example for the question. So what are they looking for? It is not the failure itself that they are interested in, but how you managed and responded to the situation, Recruiters do not expect you to be perfect, no-one is. They want to know: Do you have integrity and take responsibility when things go wrong â€" or do you blame others? Are you self aware enough to understand when your actions (or inaction) have caused problems â€" or do you think everything beyond your control? Do you learn from your mistakes â€" or was it a one off and would never happen again so you do not need to worry? Are you resilient?  Do you deal with setbacks and still move forward positively â€" or do you let it bring you down? Another thing that they maybe looking at is your  approach to risk. An  example where you took a risk may resonate for a creative/ innovation role. But if they want someone who is highly organised and methodical may not want someone who is perceived to take unnecessary risks. This highlights the need to understand the job role you are applying to and the culture of the organisation/ department as well. Ultimately it is about learning to fail well, which means accepting that failure happens and your part in that failure, learning the lessons that come from this and letting this improve your decision making for the future.

7 Steps to Get Started on LinkedIn

7 Steps to Get Started on LinkedIn I always recommend that students and graduates should join the professional network  LinkedIn  as soon as possible. It is not just about uploading a CV or filling in some details. There are recruitment companies constantly searching for people to interview and bring to their organisations. Unfortunately, graduates think  LinkedIn is only for employed people, which is not true! So, have a read, get onto the LinkedIn network, and to get started, here is a link to my profile  /www.linkedin.com/in/faizanpatankar. Add me and in the message write Referred from Career Geek Blog and I will add you back. Linkedin 1. Dont wait to get a job- sign up and look for one! Do not  postpone getting onto LinkedIn. I joined as early as my second year at University, whilst looking for an internship. With the number of recruiting agents and organisations on LinkedIn higher than ever, there might be some who are looking for graduates with the specific set of skills you have to offer! Top tip: sign up and fill in your profile information as soon as you finish reading this post. 2. Privacy is not an issue here upload a picture! As opposed to some other social networks, remember, LinkedIn is a professional network. It is good practice to upload your photo on your profile and not leave it blank. In the world of business, every t has to be crossed and every i needs to be dotted.  And, please, do not upload a photo in a football t-shirt, or party clothes: that is unprofessional and having spoken to recruiters, they do not like it. 3. Sell your experience! I have reviewed a few profiles for people requesting a review and one thing that comes up immediately is the lack of details in the Experience section. You should list your experiences at different organisations and include a summary of what your job and responsibilities were. It is not to your advantage to show you have worked at a top company but not explaining what you have done there. Fill it in! 4. Tip and trick format your public profile URL! I love this trick and believe it is one of the top ones! Your public profile will be something like this:  www.linkedin.com/pub/XXXXXXXXXX/40/9a0/854  . You can change it to something more viewer-friendly, like this  www.linkedin.com/in/faizanpatankar. You can do it free of charge. Go to your profile page and select Edit Profile from the Profile section on the main menu bar on top of the page - go to the link next to Public Profile in the box in the front dashboard - click Edit to edit URL - go to the box Your Public Profile URL in the right hand panel of the page - click on Customize Your Public Profile URL to change it to something more professional usually firstnamelastname. Simple but a must for jobseekers! 5. Join groups and discussions! Once you have updated your profile, it is time to join groups and take part in discussions. Start building networks and comment on subjects you have experience in, or knowledge of. This is one way of showcasing your knowledge to those who might get interested in finding out more about you. 6. Use the right keywords on LinkedIn! linkedin 2 Use the right keywords. As a graduate job seeker, it is important to know what your experience is and how to present it using keywords employers understand. Have a look at this post which shows the keywords employers look for and how you can relate to them. 7. Ask for recommendation be recommended! If you do  have your part-time employer or academic professor on LinkedIn and in your network, ask them for a recommendation. It is about a paragraph, similar to a reference letter, but it has a plus point. It shows that someone supports and recommends you publicly. I was offered a recommendation, but declined because I had some job discussions going on. It is not just good will you only get a recommendation if someone thinks you are an asset to any organisation and that is what employers appreciate. I believe that, if you follow these seven points or avoid making these mistakes, you will have covered the basics, with respect to LinkedIn. Review my LinkedIn profile? Only to the users of Career Geek Blog, I am offering a review service, free of charge. All you have to do is  Like our Facebook page, add me on LinkedIn (I need that to review your profile!) and post a comment on our facebook page. I will review your profile and get back to you with suggestions for advanced changes that might help you gain prominence in the LinkedIn search engine. Can graduates get a job through LinkedIn? In short, Yes! There have been cases, where graduates have been called for interview through searches done on LinkedIn. It is a one time-investment you will not regret, not least for the sheer amount of professional content shared in groups and discussion forums. How can I vouch for it I got my job through LinkedIn ?? Subscribe to Career Geeks Bi-monthly Newsletter  to stay up-to-date with careers information and tips tricks. 114

Career Moves - How To Find a Resume Writing Service

Career Moves - How To Find a Resume Writing ServiceIt is possible to find a resume writing service, but if you hire a resume writer without an offer to assist you in the career move you will only be wasting your time. There are many factors that go into making a resume and one of them should be to make it accurate, convincing and professional, which cannot be done by the person that writes the resume. If you hire a professional, you will be working with the same professional for a long time to come and this is an added advantage.Resume writing services can create a great resume and be hired to work on the job you are leaving. You will not be out of work when you leave, you will simply be learning a new skill or going back to a new field of your choice.The economy is not what it once was and there is a real possibility of your career move being cancelled or delayed. For this reason, you should never settle for anything less than the best. A resume writing service will not only help yo u write your resume, they will help you polish it so that it is perfect for a future employer.One of the first things you should do before you get started in your job search is to keep yourself well informed. If you are at a loss as to what type of resume you should create, you should always ask the help of someone who has already accomplished the career move you are about to embark on. You can speak to someone who has made such a move and they will be able to point you in the right direction and show you where you can begin to repair the damage done to your CV.The resume you write should be professional and easy to read, it should outline clearly what you can offer an employer, and your skills will be clear from the start. This means that you should only use paper and fonts that are acceptable for the field you are seeking a position in.Resume writing services have the ability to go over your resume and edit it for proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. They will also be able to add the words that you need to include and remove the bad ones. Using a resume writing service as opposed to creating your own resume will save you both time and money.To make the most of your resume writing service, you should follow the steps exactly as directed. Do not skip over sections, even though the services are contracted to perform them on your behalf. By following the directions exactly, you can be sure that your resume reflects the skills you need to showcase.A resume writing service is a great way to get the career move you want. When you are hiring a professional, it will take a little longer for them to write the resume, but their time is worth the cost of the service. The more professional your resume is, the more success you will have found a career move that will put you in the position you desire.

7 ways you can save money on food and drink at university

7 ways you can save money on food and drink at university This post was written by an external contributor.  Lucy Skoulding details the best ways to pocket some spare cash when purchasing your food and drink.   University is often the first time that you are living completely independently from your families. It’s an exciting and important learning curve. It’s also the first time that many people must manage all their money, schedules, and meals themselves. This can make for some very interesting concoctions in the kitchen. Being unfamiliar with this can lead some people to take the easy route with food, always buying it out, getting ready meals, or just living on toast. But never fear! You can still eat delicious food, and not overspend on it. Make your lunches Making your own lunch is nearly always cheaper than buying it out, and usually healthier too (unless you make yourself ten nutella sandwiches). I discovered this the hard way when starting off in my first year of uni buying café paninis, before realising I could make my own food for a fraction of the price. Slot making lunch into another kitchen activity, whether that’s making dinner the night before, or getting your caffeine hit in the morning because it will feel like less of a chore. The food doesn’t have to be boring, you could make salads, pastas, rice boxes, soup, sandwiches, and hot food. Websites like BBC Good Food have great lunch box ideas. Find offers for eating out If you fancy a meal out, you will always be able to find restaurant offers, from money off your meal to 2-for-1 deals from a specific menu. Eating out with friends is a lovely thing to do, and it doesn’t have to cripple your bank account. Tastecards are great investments (sometimes they even come free with bank accounts) because they give you either 2-for-1 or 50% of all food at many different restaurants. Vouchercodes.com also has thousands of restaurant offers and allows you to search by location to find the ones nearest to you. Shop late at night One of my favourite university discoveries was the reduced section of supermarkets, especially when you go in just before the store is closing. Some supermarkets have food with reduced stickers throughout the store, whilst others bung it all in one section. If you can get to the supermarket late at night, check out the reduced produce, as you can freeze most food so it doesn’t matter if it is going out of date. My best purchase was a whole birthday cake for 10p! Don’t be wasteful You should be conscious of wasting food anyway, but especially if you are trying to make your money go far. Its very easy to waste food but try hard to get everything out of the food you buy. Be experts in your food shop know exactly when products go out of date and ensure you either eat or freeze them before they go off. Do batch cooks and then freeze the lot. This will save you time and money in the long run, as well as preventing you wasting. Invest in a takeaway cup A lot of people spend money on buying coffees out, myself included until recently. Investing in a good reusable takeaway cup (which aren’t actually that expensive) means you can make coffees at home, or get money off of coffees from many chain cafes. Plus, you’ll be living greener. I recommend the Bodum travel mugs as they keep drinks hot for hours, but you can use anything you like. Depending on your preferences you could make coffees at home, or visit chains like Pret, who will give you 50p off of any drink if you use your own cup. Go to markets One of the benefits of living in London is that I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by markets. And you can save a lot of money on food but shopping in them, plus you’re supporting local business by visiting. Fresh fruit and vegetables from markets are often a lot bigger and better than their counterparts in supermarkets, yet you can get them cheaply. For instance, a punnet of grapes is £1 at my local market. Find out where your nearest market is, and visit it regularly if you can. Host drinks evenings Often the most popular yet most expensive items students spend their money on is alcohol. Even just buying a few drinks at a bar over the course of a night can set you back a significant amount, especially if you are studying in London. So why not stay in with drinks? Suggest to your friends that you ditch the same old club night for a night in with drinks and snacks sometimes. You can make it fun cocktail making, drinking games, a film night, or a murder mystery but you can also sell it on its price. Picking up a bottle of alcohol each from the supermarket will be cheaper than drinking in bars. The theme running through all of these points is to be prepared. If you know what you will need during the day in terms of food and drink, you can ensure you get it in the cheapest possible way. Be savvy, don’t waste anything, and always be on the look-out for good deals. Download Debut  and  connect with us on  Facebook,  Twitter  and  LinkedIn  for more careers insights.

Powerful goal setting begins here

Powerful goal setting begins here As a business, goal setting is hard. As a business, goal setting is hard. But the challenge isn’t just about how to create goals. The challenge is how to better understand our own self in a way that allows your goals to truly affect and empower your business’s bottom line. The first step in creating better goals is to have a plan for creating. One technique that we encourage you to utilize is the SMART goals approach. If you’re unfamiliar with SMART goals, this is how they work. Create better goals using these simple reminders: S: Specific Be very specific with what you’re wanting to accomplish / obtain. M: Measurable Determine ways in which you can measure if / how you’re succeeding. A: Achievable Find goals that you believe are attainable. R: Relevant Be sure your goals are relevant to your career’s mission and values. T: Time-bound Have a deadline. Without a due date, you don’t have accountability. Once you have a framework for planning you must realize these 4 specific concepts around creating effective and bottom line improving goals: Goal Setting: Be concrete, yet realistic. Creating goals isn’t effective without grit; no actual desire to accomplish the goal. It’s about creating a plan based on your intentions now, on the foundation of your current desires. Be sure to understand the reality however, that your goals may change as you chase them.       Goal Setting: Keep yourself accountable. As you execute your goals, be sure to keep yourself accountable. Although life may require some fluid maneuvers (things that will cause your goals to change maybe out of necessity), it’s important that you protect yourself from your own actions; things like, “this goal is too hard, I’ll start another one.” One way to keep yourself accountable is to tell someone about your goal, and encourage them to ask about it (weekly, monthly, quarterly). When you tell someone, you become accountable to them; this will encourage and challenge you to push towards your goal. Goal Setting: Encourage yourself along the way. It’s no surprise, but the journey to accomplishing a goal is tough; especially goals that affect your bottom line. So, encourage yourself along the way; set up little wins. Think about it this way: If you want to save $1,000 dollars, you don’t just do it over night. You save $50, then $100, then $500 and so on. Be sure to celebrate and encourage yourself as you accomplish these small feats. In doing this, you break what may seem like an overwhelming process into smaller, more tangible and achievable, outcomes.   Goal Setting: Don’t chase “should” goals.  Be sure that you’re not “shoulding” on yourself. This means, not creating goals based on what you think you should be doing, versus creating goals in areas that you’ve been gifted in. Your business, approach, and offering is unique, make sure your goals are as well. Although this blog post isn’t 4 steps to increasing your bottom line, it might be even more valuable than that. Individuals, and organizations that create powerful goals, ultimately accomplish them. Will you create goals that will affect your bottom line? -WCC Team By Wolfgang Career Coaching|2018-08-19T22:39:26+00:00November 6th, 2017|Career Change, Career Coaching, Career Counseling, Career Management, Performance|1 Comment

But Wait! The Mind-Blowing Follow-Up

But Wait! The Mind-Blowing Follow-Up I am Learning by Warrior Girl, Youre a Warrior Mama Now When I had my first monthly Business Building Day on Dec 1 posted the (mind-blowing!) results here, I got some amazeballs comments that gave me lots of food for thought. It also gave me a lot of but wait! moments, as in But wait! I still need to say X, Y and or Z! or But wait! Theres a bit of BS here, too! So, I just had to follow-up that post with this one. So, make sure you go there first and read it before continuing. Dont worry. Ill be here when you get back. Im patient (although only when Im in the computer. In person, not so much). First, I hafta call bullshit on myself. It was nice that nobody called bullshit on me, but that doesnt make it OK to not call it at all. And the piece I felt was BSing you? The fact that I claimed I wasnt online to market myself. Yes, its true that Im here to build relationships and find my tribe and connect and provide resources-   all of that, yes, yes, yes and yes. But what do I say to people that ask me why Im on twitter, and what the use is of them to be on twitter? My response, If youre not a small business looking to market yourself, well, theres really no big reason to be on twitter. I mean, yes, you can get the news that way join in on conversations about your favorite show meet like-minded people, but seriously, would I be on twitter if I wasnt a solopreneur looking for cheap/easy marketing? Probably not. Would I be here, blogging, if I wasnt looking to build my platform (a phrase my literary agent used Ive become a bit obsessed with), establish myself as an expert, and grow my business? Probably not. But while I got here because I needed a (cheap!) way to market myself (from my cubicle, originally!), I stay because its fun, and I love the people Ive met, and I think its amazeballs to feel like Im helping people with my posts and my tweets and whatever else Im putting out into the world. Which brings me to You have to actually market yourself on these platforms. If youre looking to build your business, its not enough to build relationships and find your tribe and connect and provide resources you have to let people know what you have to offer. I cant tell you how many times Ive had a conversation with someone that said, Well, Ive been on twitter for 2 years and tweet regularly 5 days a week, but Ive never made a sale/gotten a client/had anyone ask about my services/products! And how do you have 4,500 followers when I have 87? I usually ask how often they   tweet about their business, and thats when I get the blank look. I dont wanna be a slimy spammer! or I dont wanna bother my followers! or I dont wanna piss people off by only posting about my business! is what I get in return. And I agree with all those things: I dont wanna be a slimy spammer, bother my followers, or piss people off by only tweeting about my business, either. But my god (wo)man, you have to let people know what your e doing! Thats the whole freakin point of Twitter! And if you tweet a dozen times a day, then how is tweeting once or twice about your business being a slimy spammer? Yes, theres absolutely a balance nothings worse than checking out a profile and only seeing blogged: Your Mom Smells and blogged: Your Mom Still Smells and New product: Perfume for Your Mom. Same goes for your blog, if every single post talks about a new product you listed or a new service youre offering. But really do you think youre gonna turn into that?! I mean, really?! Really?! Probably not really. Every single person whos voiced that concern to me is sweet lovely couldnt be a slimy spammer if they tried! If they tried! If you cant trust that Im talking about you, then just work the math 4 non-promotional tweets for every promotional tweet. Done and done. For what its worth, when I have a new blog post, I schedule it to be tweeted twice a day: once around lunch and once after dinner. If I wanna promote someth ing else, Ill make sure I only have 3 promotional tweets/day so I dont feel like a slimy spammer. But seriously, if you dont open your mouth and tell your tweeples why youre there, how do you expect them to know? And, um, if they dont wanna hear it, theyll go away. And then you know that theyre not your people. Its a great gatekeeping tactic. And trust me   you wanna be a gatekeeper. You gotta show up and act as a participant. Thats also the line between slimy spammer cool contributor. When you show up, youre adding to the conversation, not sucking the life out of it or putting it back on you and what you wanna yell at everyone. The first time I took Blogging Your Way, I was absolutely there as a participant, and because I did the work and was there every day, I created really strong bonds. Like, these-participants-are-still-keeping-in-touch-with-me-two-years-later-and-signing-up-to-work-with-me strong. The second time I took it? Well, I was there to market myself, primarily, with secondary emphasis on the content of the course. Um, that totally worked less well. I came on strong the first week, commenting and writing in the forums and, um, yelling about my stuff, but after that first week I dropped off. I didnt have the time or the motivation, really, to go on the site participate. I ended up catching up on 2+ weeks of content in the last week, and by then it was past the point. The lesson? Unless Im really, truly a participant in the e-courses I take, its not gonna be such a great marketing tool after all. Nobody likes a yeller. Ya gotta look at selling/marketing positively. I know, I know, that slimy spammer or slippery salesperson keeps coming up! I hear this from my clients all the time, too: I wanna sell myself my business but I dont wanna be icky about it! Well, I hate to say it, but The Ickiness starts with you! If you see sales and marketing as icky, then it will be icky. No buts about it. So why not come up with a new word for selling and/or marketing that is, I dont know, maybe a little fun? Something you can look forward to? I use the word pimping because it always makes me laugh I gotta pimp my e-course today! It takes all the slimy slipperiness away because its just, well, ridiculous. I know someone who used the word invite,while a client of mine came up with ballyhoo. Find your word thatll make ya look forward to spreading your awesomeness across the land in a way that makes ya happy. I swear, its possible. Dont be an idiot with your money. Seriously. Take out the blog ads you can afford (some are super duper pricey!). Dont throw $50/day at Facebook ads. Whenever possible, spend just a bit to get your feet wet and then track how that advertising stream is working for you. For example, I recently bought a 3-month ad on a great blog so that I could offer a giveaway there. While this ad has given me a lot of traffic to my site, the peeps that get to my homepage leave 10 seconds later. 10 seconds! Google Analytics tells me that, on average, new peeps spend about 2 and a half minutes on my site. Obviously, while I enjoy this blog still feel like this was a good investment (its easy to feel good about spending your money when you know youre supporting something you believe in!), this ad didnt really work for me because, well, I guess theyre just not my peeps! But Im glad that I gave it some time to see how it would work before deciding if I wanted to renew. Marketing advertising takes time to see results, so dont discount anything too early. Lastly, and I mentioned this in Tough (Question) Tuesday this week, being genuine is so, so key. Ive been getting that word a lot lately enough to notice. Your marketing works because youre so genuine. You wrote something similar to that other blogger, but your version sat better with me it was so genuine. And yes, I agree! I am genuine! Im just this long-winded and enthusiastic and honest and loud in real life, for better or for worse ?? But my god (wo)man, dont try to imitate my genuineosity. Take the time to understand what makes you genuine and unique (this and this are good starts), and then just trust me that its enough. It absolutely is. If you think that my genuine is better than your genuine, I will so give you a knuckle sandwich. And that is not a good sandwich to swallow. I hope my But Wait!s make you come up with some of your own. But dont wait to put them into practice! Keep in mind its all a big experiment, so have fun mixing that potion together and seeing what turns into a prince and what just bursts into flames. I have a feeling Ill still be experimenting with my marketing well into my career, and if I stop, Im absolutely doing something wrong. So take a deep breath and dive in! Youll probably find some hidden treasures. OK, all analogies are over. What are you still doing here? Get goin!