Here are four marketing strategies you don't want you to forget. Commerce is your goal — but "social" will get your business front and center with prospective customers. Include videos and engaging content on your website, and interact on other sites and blogs.
Keep your website fresh: With all the pressure about posting in social media, keep in mind that ultimately you need to direct visitors to a core website where they can learn all about your business — and make purchases. Create a web presence that reflects your business and your company culture. Make it accessible and engaging.
Include instructionalvideos: Build a library of Facebook videos or YouTube uploads that pertain to your business and demonstrate your products. Link to these videos from your website and post them on your Facebook business page.
Friend and tag other businesses onFacebook: It's just as easy to tag friends on your Facebook personal page and fans on your business page, but you can also tag other business pages as well. See the screenshot above. Go to friendly businesses and "Like As Your Page." Be social — and help spread the word — by including other businesses in your posts.
Make social media fun: Keep the social conversation going. Post more often on a couple of sites instead of posting rarely on many. Aside from posting relevant content regularly (and not self-promoting all the time), reply to those who post to your accounts. Answer and ask. The most desirable social media personas are those who interact regularly.
Let's talk on Twitter! You'll find more tips in my book pictured below, "Social Media Commerce for Dummies"
To many people, it's not news when I come out with a new book, I write books for a living; I don't write books to get speaking engagements. What most people don't realize is that writing and researching is my passion. Readers can go on the web and get "common knowledge" anywhere. My secret sauce is the pressure I put on myself to delve deeper. There will be no mention of a hot new tool unless I personally have tried it - and have checked out the company who provides the service. Nor will I tout expensive solutions, I know small business needs to run a tight ship. Money is time - and time is money.
The reader is my customer. In over a decade of writing on e-commerce and customer service, I feel a strong responsibility about what I write. I don't want to steer anyone in the wrong direction. When you read one of my books for small business (whether the book is directed at beginners or advanced readers), know you are getting honest and well-thought out advice. My books reflect hundreds of hours into investigation into the tools, strategies and ideas in each book. I try to update my books to a new edition every 18 months, so the information is always fresh.
I especially enjoy, over the years, getting emails from my readers. I put my email address in all of my books - even back in the 90s when people thought I was nuts for doing so. Readers keep me apprised of their successes and failures.
Below is the first review of the book that appeared on Amazon (I'd like to thank "Dad of Divas" whoever he is). I hope you'll give my latest book a look. I think it might clear up some social media misconceptions for you. You will find it here.
Thank you to everyone who has read my books. If you've never read one, I think this book might be a great place to start. (Here is the press release from my publisher - I've never thought of myself as a "blockbuster)!
Wiley Announces Latest Book by Bestselling Author Marsha Collier - Social Media Commerce For Dummies®
Blockbuster author Marsha Collier empowers brand owners to capture customers, sales and revenue using social media
Social Media Commerce For Dummies
Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) December 13, 2012
Today, the world’s bestselling reference series, For Dummies® announces Social Media Commerce For Dummies (Wiley, 978-1-118-29793-3, November 2012) to help brands and small businesses understand why social media is important to their bottom line and how to adapt their online presence to include social commerce.
The undisputed expert on eBay and a recognized authority on social media marketing, author Marsha Collier delivers another one-of-a-kind For Dummies guide that introduces readers to social media commerce and explains how to use social media to provide better customer service, generate sales online and build a customer base. Social Media Commerce For Dummies helps readers determine where the best market reach opportunities exist, which sites to integrate with, and more.
"Social media enables small business -- even professionals -- the opportunity to compete on a level playing field with big brands. After much research, I've found the strategies in this book will change the marketing game as we know it,” said Collier.
Social Media Commerce For Dummies is now available for purchase online and at retailers nationwide in both print and all e-book formats. For a full list of retailers, visit http://www.dummies.com/buy/9781118297933. Additionally, the Cheat Sheet on Dummies.com includes helpful hints for social media commerce including useful Facebook keyboard shortcuts, Marsha’s Social Media Commerce Toolkit and more. For additional information about this book and related For Dummies products, visit http://www.dummies.com.
About the Author Marsha Collier (Los Angeles, CA) is the world's bestselling author on eBay topics. Her books combine for over a million copies in print. Leading titles include eBay For Dummies, Starting an eBay Business For Dummies, and eBay Business All-in-One For Dummies. She has recently branched into social media topics, authoring Facebook & Twitter For Seniors For Dummies and The Ultimate Online Customer Service Guide. Marsha is also an in-demand speaker and trainer who appears at over 50 events per year.
About For Dummies® After 20 years, more than 250 million copies printed, and millions of e-books downloaded, For Dummies is the world’s bestselling reference series, well known for enriching people’s lives by making knowledge accessible in a fun and easy way. Loyal customers around the globe agree that For Dummies is “more than a publishing phenomenon … [it is] a sign of the times,” [The New York Times]. With more than 1,800 active topics covering everything from health to history, music to math, sports to self-help, technology to travel, For Dummies is dedicated to Making Everything Easier. The For Dummies brand presence continues to expand wherever there is a need to know, including e-books, mobile apps, e-learning courses, a corporate custom publishing program, a robust consumer website and a licensed product line that includes consumer electronics, culinary, crafts, video, software, musical instrument packs, home improvement, automotive, game and more. For more information, visit Dummies.com. For Dummies is a branded imprint of Wiley.
As one who makes a career as a book author, people come to me with a book idea. They ask a bevy of questions: Should I write it? How do I write it? Do I need an agent? How do I get a publisher? Although folks think I am a fount of knowledge on the subject, these questions cannot simply be answered in a one hour phone call.
Guy Kawasaki’s new book, APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book, answers every query and more. Guy’s words mirror my own experiences and add actionable tasks and tools to guide you through the process of writing and publishing. I will no longer dodge requests from budding authors; I will just recommend they read his book. If you want to be an author in today’s digital world, this book is a must have.
As Guy points out, writing is a very personal endeavor. It is not an easy art; not for everyone. Writing a book takes discipline and organization -- on top of creativity. The prolific story-teller, Paul Gallico, best known for “The Poseidon Adventure” (although my favorite of his is "The Silent Miaow”) said “It is only when you open your veins and bleed onto the page a little that you establish contact with your reader.” Even with my non-fiction I feel responsibility to the reader; I bleed to be sure my words are clear and engage the reader along the way.
By reading APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How to Publish a Book, you may not avoid the bleeding, but Guy keeps you from making rookie mistakes. His top notch tips on producing a book and self-publishing are worth the read. So much so, that reading this book has convinced me to update and self-publish my great aunt’s French Normandy cookbook (a solid old time seller in Europe).
If you’ve ever thought of writing a book, you must read Guy’s latest work.
If you intend to promote your brand and interact with customers through social networks and social media channels – and I highly recommend that you do – you must realize your employees will be there as well, with their own personal accounts. There’s no reason not to encourage your employees to explore and engage in social media communities online, but remember, they are also the face of your company to all their friends and associates – as well as to the customers they know. What they say online or the type of photos they post on their personal accounts may reflect, albeit in a roundabout way, on your business. When they directly talk about you or your business, it will have a cause and effect relationship.
It is your job to guide your business’s online culture and protect your brand’s online persona. Provide guidelines for your employees in the form of a Social Media Policy. This written document, similar to other codes of conduct you have for employees, will let them know what type of behavior you expect from them online and any limits as to what business-related information they can share in the public stream.
Here’s how one of our nation’s biggest companies handled it. Back in 2009, before most people thought about setting guidelines, Adam Brown broke ground by developing a 4R social strategy (review, respond, record, redirect) and spearheaded the development of social media guidelines for the Coca-Cola Company. Aside from designating a code of conduct for their official online spokespeople, Coca-Cola also laid out specific principles for their associates. By taking a look at what Coca Cola deemed appropriate, perhaps it will help you forge a set of standards for your own employees. From Coca-Cola’s Online Social Media Principles, the guidelines below with my explanations outline expectations for any online activities – personal or professional – where employees reference the company or have made their association with the company known.
“Adhere to the Code of Business Conduct and other applicable policies” – Coca Cola has several policies regarding specific business activities, including general conduct, information protection and insider trading. All employees (from the CEO to interns) are expected to follow these when mentioning online that they are employees of Coca Cola.
“You are responsible for your actions” – This point is a reminder to exercise sound judgment and common sense when posting online because employees will be held responsible if their actions negatively impact the business or its image.
“Be a ‘scout’ for compliments and criticism” – This guideline acknowledges that employees are “vital assets for monitoring the social media landscape.” Coca-Cola even supplies an in-house email for forwarding both positive and negative comments employees observe online, so they can feel confident negative situations will be addressed without feeling like they must be the one to take action.
“Let the subject matter experts respond to negative posts” – This point stresses, again, that should employees encounter a potentially damaging post about the business, the post should be referred to those trained and approved as official online spokespeople to handle responding.
“Be conscious when mixing your business and personal lives” – This principle recognizes that personal and business personas often intersect online and reminds employees that everything that is posted online – even when channels or profiles are “private” or “protected” – can still ultimately be seen by anyone at any time through sharing, forwarding and general unintentional carelessness.
December 4th, 11 AM PST / 2 PM EST - Live Chat with Marsha Collier
Are you struggling to gain new customers or earn repeat business from existing customers? It could be because you’ve made the process of doing business with your company too difficult – everything from product discovery to customer service to ordering, payments, delivery and merchandise returns. Join us to discuss how social media commerce can make doing business with your business easier for customers.
Submit your pre-chat questions, and add the event to your calendar so you don’t miss the conversation. The conversation will take place at the Endicia Thinking Forward Website on December 4th, at 11 AM PST / 2 PM EST.
This Live Webcast precedes the publication of my latest book, Social Media Commerce For Dummies. It's one that will help your business build revenue and customer base through social media. Please join me - and be sure to post some pre-chat questions on the Endicia website.
If a consumer searches Google for one of your products, what would they find? Would your online store be at the top of the results? If your site doesn’t appear within the first few pages of search results, you’ll lose the opportunity to earn additional traffic and potential customers. While you may advertise your store through social media or paid advertisements, if your ecommerce site isn’t properly search engine optimized, then you’re missing a big piece of the pie.
By implementing SEO techniques, you help search engines like Google and Bing better crawl and index the content on your site. This means your website and product pages are more likely to show up when users search keywords relevant to your online store. While search engine optimization can be a full-time job, there are eight steps you can take right now to improve your site’s standing and increase its visibility:
Create unique, user-friendly content on each page. Search engines are placing more value on quality content that results in lower bounce rates, longer time spent on the site, better user experience, and diversity of site traffic. Be sure that you’re using relevant keywords on each page, but write content that’s meant to be read by humans, not just search engines.
If you have different URLs that lead to the same product page, avoid getting dinged for duplicate content by indicating a canonical (preferred) URL. See more on canonicalization here.
For each product page, include the product name in the URL, title tags, text, and the titles and alt text for images. Since search engines can only index what they can crawl, try not to leave any element “unreadable” by search engines.
If you sell a coffee mug in black, red, or green, state the color options on the product page in addition to having color swatches (with alt text), since users might be searching for “coffee mug” or “green coffee mug.” A warning about creating different pages for each variation of a product: this can result in “thin” content that could be penalized by search engines.
Be smart in the long-tail terms you include in your copy, since these keywords can drive better quality traffic (i.e., consumers closer to making a purchase). Plus, your site is more likely to rank high for detailed keyword phrases like “tan Italian leather loafers” rather than a very popular and general term, like “loafers.”
Allow your customers to leave feedback, reviews, comments, photos, etc., so you get additional content on each page that could help drive more long-tail traffic. Including reviews on your site also improves the user experience and builds better customer relationships.
Use rich snippets to display additional information underneath your URL and meta description in search results. Rich snippets provide additional information such as a product’s price, availability, and ratings, which could help users decide to click your link. See more on rich snippets here.
If you are serious about your SEO efforts and don’t mind spending a little money, you could take advantage of Google products, such as AdWords and Google Shopping, to help boost your web traffic.
Thanks to Dymo Endicia, you can download a free Holiday Selling Tip-sheet: Maximize your holiday shipping success with ten tips from Marsha Collier, eCommerce authority and one of Forbes' Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers in 2012. According to Accenture, up to 59% of 2012 holiday shoppers will buy more than half of their gifts online–up more than 18% over 2011.* And to make sure you're prepared, DYMO Endicia asked Collier to put together a list of ten ways to help you. Visit http://dymoendiciaforward.com/tips/ to download.
Want to succeed as an online seller? Too many folks try to tell you how easy it is. Bottom line? It isn’t easy – especially the part where you actually try to make a profit. You have to keep up with changes in the market— like shifts in consumer buying behaviors— study from tried and true experts, and practice!
The best place to get a feel for online selling is on eBay. I’ve written many bestselling books on the subject, and I’m a Top Seller on the site. Remember that you can’t make a dime if you don’t actually list anything, and you probably won’t be successful without making a few mistakes. But, you can also learn from the successes and mistakes of others. So in this post, I want to offer some advice on how to create listings that sell – and how to earn the most profits from those sales!
1. Listing title. Nothing is more important than your title. You’ve no doubt heard about SEO (search engine optimization). Well, you can apply these same practices on eBay to increase sales. It’s all about “keywords” – the terms people will use to search for your item. Note that rarely would anyone search for a “beautiful” sweater. More than likely, someone would search for a sweater in a certain size, color, fabric, brand name, sleeve length – get it? Do not waste your 80 characters (total allowed on eBay for your item title) on fluffy adjectives or adverbs. The item title does not have to be a proper sentence; instead, be sure to make the verbiage descriptive with practical details. Since eBay buyers see less than the full title listing when browsing (mobile only shows 25 characters), keep the less important words at the end. Search will find the matching words anywhere in your title when someone searches for them.
Bonus Tip: Use tools like Google’s Keyword Tool (used by advertisers who place ads with Google) or Title Builder, an accurate eBay-centric search tool to identify top keywords people search for.
2. Pictures. You may post up to 12 pictures at no charge, but most new items can be illustrated completely in just two clear, well-lit photos. Be sure the photos you upload are at least 500 pixels wide or you run the risk of eBay rejecting them. Use multiple photos if you are selling a collectible or rare piece so that you cover every possible angle. Be sure to photograph any flaws so the customer can effectively evaluate an item’s condition before bidding on or buying vintage items. If you would prefer to show images within your description, go to the HTML description builder and use the code <img src=”URL of the photo on the web” height=”height in pixels” width=”width in pixels“>. When shooting images of jewelry, coins or anything detailed, use your camera’s macro setting. Do not use any fancy backgrounds that may distract from your item.
Bonus Tip: To accurately portray colors of metals, use a Cloud Dome (or Cloud Dome Nimbus for smartphone cameras). It holds your camera steady and uses a mathematical formula to reflect light at exact angles for the best images possible.
3. Price it right! Check eBay’s completed listings search to see if your item actually sells well on the site and how much similar ones have sold for in recent auctions. Prices and trends may change by the minute and there is no point in listing when an item isn’t selling well. Check current listings too: How many sellers are selling your item? And at what price? As with any market, eBay items sell based on supply and demand. Choose your items carefully, price strategically and put slow selling items in your store. If you have a bit of wiggle room in your pricing, consider using eBay’s “Make Offer” option when listing. This way you can determine the sale price based on a customer’s offer. You can make up to 3 counter-offers to a buyer. Free shipping is also a good strategy for attracting customers and can make your listing seem more appealing than another seller with the same or a similar item – buyers feel like their money is going further, and there’s no guessing as to what cost the final invoice may reflect.
Bonus Tip: Double check your profit margin before you list. Although eBay has fee calculators, one of the best I have found is at http://salecalc.com/ – this tool takes all fees and expenses into account and gives you an accurate picture of how much you will make on your item if you sell it at a certain price point.
4. Don’t ignore the value of Customer Service. Good customer service will set you apart (and give you a leg-up on the competition from big brands) by letting the customer know you care. Communicate with your customer, even within your description. Let the customer know you are invested in their happiness with the purchase. Sell to international customers; American goods are very popular overseas. Putting the customer first through stellar customer service promotes repeat business and helps you reach the goal of Top Seller Status (where you receive a 20% discount on final value fees and are advantaged by eBay’s Best Match search algorithm). Find out more about Top Seller Status here.
Bonus Tip: Print out “thank you” notes and include them in your orders. Include information about you, your website or other merchandise you carry. Consider also offering customers a discount on their next order.
5. Ship the item out FAST! Know when your auction listings are scheduled to end, and be prepared to immediately pack and ship any items that have sold. For “Buy It Now” listings, set aside a few minutes each day to take care of shipping needs. Once the customer has sent you money, the item belongs to him or her – it no longer has a place in your inventory area. Keep a stock of shipping supplies (padded envelopes and free Priority Mail® packaging here) that match the items you sell. Use First Class mail whenever possible for items less than 13 ounces and send them in a bubble wrap envelope to save on weight. When it comes to shipping costs, box weight can make a big difference, so you might consider Priority Mail® Flat Rate Boxes, depending on the size and shape of the item. Priority Mail® Regional Rate Boxes can also be an economical option, depending on your shipping destination. Use the postal zone charts at this link to calculate shipping rates from your ZIP Code. Remember, Top Seller Status, which can increase your profit margin, is impacted by how buyers rate your shipping time and shipping costs.
Bonus Tip: As your business grows, no doubt you will sell on other sites like Etsy, Amazon, Facebook or your own website. Keep all your shipping records in one place: on your computer. Use this link for a 60 day trial to DYMO Endicia and see how easy postage and shipping can be. http://bit.ly/free60days
Can social media be used to help you make money? Yes it can. I've learned a lot while writing my upcoming book, Social Media Commerce For Dummies and I want to share with you. Submit pre-chat questions or ask them live. Let's share strategies and tactics to help your business make the most of social commerce.
Even though we’d all like to think that our businesses and products only get glowing reviews on the web, in reality, that isn’t always the case. It’s possible your business or product may be mentioned negatively in a blog or on a review site, and it’s highly likely that negative post or comment will be authored by an unhappy customer.
For starters, I always recommend that you monitor the web and online marketplaces for mentions of your business (and for mentions of your competitors, too, but we’ll save that for another post). Free services, like Google Alerts, make this easy by pushing notifications to your inbox instantly, daily or weekly, depending on the frequency you select. Should you receive a notification that something negative has been posted publicly, your first step should be to go to the site and read through the comments.
When negative comments are posted about your business or product, your immediate reaction may be to respond defensively. I don’t recommend this. In fact, I recommend you do nothing at first, except keep an open mind, read what the customer has to say and absorb it. As business owners, our best lessons can be learned through negative customer feedback. So, get beyond the initial sting and your feelings of anger, frustration and denial, and take a few minutes to think about whether this customer may actually be pointing a legitimate issue or concern that needs addressing.
Once you’ve given thought to the criticism and perhaps spoken to any employees that were involved, then it’s time to respond. I’m not going to say the customer is always right; however, without customers, you have no revenue. Know how your bread is buttered and keep this in mind when responding.
Address customers in public forums with an attitude of humility. Apologize? Perhaps, if warranted. Explain? Sure. Most importantly, let the customer know that his or her patronage is appreciated and valued. By responding to issues or criticisms publicly (unless the customer requests private email communications), others will see your forthright attitude, genuine concern and desire to please your customers. Responding respectfully in a timely manner to acknowledge the criticism, take control of the situation and offer a solution will do more to bolster your business’s online image than almost any marketing campaign.
Here are a few tips to remember when it comes to online feedback:
Actively search for and monitor online comments about your business or product
Claim your business page on online review sites. This lets customers and prospects know you’re engaged and interested in their experience
Address online comments (negative or positive) in a timely manner, preferably as soon as you hear about them
Keep in mind that the entire community is watching and your response (or lack of) may affect your customer base for years to come
A humble, customer-centric attitude will go a long way to build your reputation online
Bill Gates once said, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” And I suppose he would know. Bill Gates has certainly faced his share of negative feedback…and inarguably has experienced a great deal of success.
A survey of 600 small business owners across the United States indicates that 90% are actively engaged in social networking sites and 74% perceive social networking as valuable — if not more valuable — than networking in-person.
When 42% of owners say that 25% of new customers discovered them through sites such as Facebook and Foursquare, it is crucial that your business is online and social.
But the news is not all merry, as 58% of surveyed owners said they struggle with promoting their Facebook pages — if they have a page at all.
The takeaway is clear. You need to be where your customers are. Forget what your competitors are doing, as their customers are different from your customers. You also need to integrate internet communications into your normal routine of business networking.
On Facebook, demographics are everything. Knowing your fan base, and the fan base of your competitors can mean the difference between creating engaging page content or failing to connect with potential fans.
Here is a quick way to get the inside scoop on your Facebook competition to make sure that you’re targeting the right audience with your Facebook page content.
Step 1 – Identify your Facebook competition
Though this is rather self-explanatory, it makes sense to keep an eye on your Facebook competitors. What brands are operating in the same space as you? Identify them and “Like” their pages. Take note of what they post, how they engage, and what kind of content they share with their fans. (To do this you must visit them from your personal Facebook profile, not your business page)
Step 2 – Visit their Facebook Page and Click on the “Likes” tab
On each Facebook page that is timeline enabled, personal users can click on the “Likes” tab at the top of the page to get a quick snapshot of the company’s fans. This is where you gather the data.
Click the Likes tab to view a snapshot of your competition’s fans.
Step 3 – Study Like Data to Determine the Fan Base
After clicking the Like tab, you’ll be presented with a nice summary of your competitor’s fan page data. Take note of it, and compare it to your own page’s analytics. What do you see in common? Are you reaching the same audience? Do you have similar peaks in traffic? Maybe you have nothing in common with your competitor’s page. This could be good or bad, depending on which page has the most engaged users, or those “talking about the page.”
Obviously, Facebook doesn’t reveal all the statistics of other fan pages, but with this limited information, you should at least be able to identify strengths and weaknesses between your page and your competitors’ pages. Use the data to inform your content decisions, and finally, don’t forget to keep checking in on your competitors. Facebook is always changing, and so are page management strategies. By checking your competitors’ Like tabs, you can at least be sure that you’re operating within similar demographics.
Do you know your Facebook competition? What are you doing to stay competitive?
What does it take to deliver outstanding and above and beyond customer service? The simple answer: An incredible understanding of how your customers think. Spending lots of time with your users and customers every day is one of the most important things I believe.The infographic below has some points to remember:
One of the things I’m trying to do as much as possible is to learn about other ways to understand more about users and customers. What are some of the things you have learnt over the past that made a difference interacting with a company?What was the absolute best experience you had in your life speaking to a company? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
In honor of eBay's 17th birthday, I thought it'd be fun to recap some memorable moments from the past 17 years since Pierre Omidyar launched the company during Labor Day weekend 1995. While I'm not (and never have been an employee of eBay), I'm thrilled to have been part of the eBay Community since those very early days! (I’ve also included a few tips below to help improve your selling strategies and operations)
During eBay’s Q2 earnings conference call, CEO John Donahoe stated: “This is the strongest performance we’ve seen out of marketplaces since 2006.” eBay is clearly reclaiming its reputation with buyers as the world’s best person-to-person marketplace. If you’ve been on the bench about selling, it’s time to get into gear and start listing!
The most popular auction selling format is the 7-day auction, although auctions generally are losing traction with today’s “on-demand” shoppers. (The best use for auctions is still rare and one-of-a-kind items). Fixed price listings represent the highest revenue-generating format on eBay, accounting for 65% of sales by total dollar volume.
eBay has 105 million registered users in 39 markets around the world, and international sales volumes in Q2 2012 totaled close to $10 billion, driven by strong growth in Europe and Asia-Pacific. If you are selling as a business versus a hobby, it’s worthwhile to consider shipping to international buyers. DYMO Endicia’s solution helps make this virtually painless.
600,000 new customers made their first purchase via eBay Mobile in Q2 2012, and eBay estimates that for all of 2012 there will be $10 billion in transaction volume through eBay and PayPal mobile, more than double 2011. As a seller, when you create your listings, this means you should make them concise, but still clear and accurate.
While mobile is great for buyers, post your listings from your computer using the full-featured listing form so you won’t leave out pertinent details. When complete, view your listing on the eBay Mobile app to be sure it translates well, then go back to your computer to make any necessary modifications. Mobile apps definitely have a purpose, but take time with your listings so you can get the highest price possible for your items.
Customer service, not just listing volume, is a key condition for attaining Top Seller status. Accurate and friendly communication, quickly getting packages out the door and free shipping options are all factors buyers consider when making purchases. Top Sellers now represent 50% of eBay’s gross sales volume, and this number grew 22% over last year.
For nearly a century, Goodwill Industries has created solutions to poverty through the businesses it operates and the jobs it provides. Most recognizable are the hundreds of Goodwill stores throughout the United States, which sell donated clothing, jewelry and household items, and are staffed by individuals seeking to overcome barriers to employment to get a fresh start in life. But these days, Goodwill is embracing 21st century technologies to advance its mission. This trend is evident at Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties, where they have established an eCommerce point of sale.
Background. According to Johnny Cochran, eCommerce Manager for Goodwill Industries of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties, online sales have become popular options for shoppers seeking to easily and quickly search for and purchase Goodwill items. Especially popular are books, movies, music, games, clothing, collectibles and other products, which are most often sold through eBay, Amazon, ABE Books, Alibris.com and other online marketplaces.
“With the additional revenue from online sales, we are able to further expand our services,” explained Cochran. “So it is important for us to run our eCommerce channel as cost effectively as possible.”
But efficiency was a challenge when the San Francisco-area Goodwill operation began its online channel in 2006. Initially, the online store – with both auction and fixed price options – only accounted for a handful of orders, five or so, each day. But as order volumes grew, the eCommerce team wouldn't have been able to keep up without implementing software automation. Cochran explained that originally Goodwill processed each order taken through their eCommerce marketplaces manually, and it required about five minutes of time to weigh, enter in shipping information, print out a packing slip and finalize each order. Then, an employee would take the shipments to the Post Office™, where postage would be affixed and the items – finally – shipped.
“We realized that when our order volume increased, we needed to be ready to handle it much more efficiently – or we would never be able to keep up with demand,” recalled Cochran.
“eCommerce is a key initiative for our sales and program growth, and we view DYMO Endicia as a true partner,” Cochran said. “Its Label Server technology is an important resource, and the added productivity and efficiencies help us in our ongoing efforts to find and implement solutions to poverty.”
Social networking demands the attention of today’s small businesses... right along with online reviews and customer feedback. But, with time at a premium, where should you go to reach your customers and maximize your social media efforts? Articles all over the web tout one site over another, claiming this one is best or that one will draw your customers’ attention. What’s more, there always seems to be another emerging social media platform around the corner. Is it any wonder that small businesses get confused about where to focus their time?
Even before you make your initial foray into social media, defining objectives should be your first step (hint: stating that you want to increase sales is too general). Return on investment (ROI) will be different for each business depending on your goals. Drawing shoppers to eBay, a Facebook store or your website may each take on a slightly different tack.
Before you start utilizing a social media channel, you also need to understand and know your customers. You find them where they spend time on the Web and reach them with content appropriate for the various platforms. Keep in mind that social media channels are designed for “social networking,” not broadcasting – you must interact with fans and followers. Pepper your promotions not more than one in six of your posts on a particular platform.
Here’s a quick overview of the top social media communities you might want to be part of with your business:
Facebook. Facebook is personal. Here you need to reach customers on a personal level. Sharing information or facts that relate to your business and to customers’ everyday lives will bring you more likes and shares. Graphics and photographs are very appealing to this audience.
YouTube. YouTube for ecommerce is all about demonstrating your products. If you have a product that would benefit from demonstration, by all means make a short video. Embed or link to that video on your other social media channels.
Twitter. The short message service that has taken the world by storm is a great way to build your online community. But to be relevant and build trust on Twitter, you need to spend time online meaningfully contributing to the conversation, not just posting links to your website or to items for sale. Respond to questions and re-tweet comments or facts of interest. Your goal is to sell to a community, not to become a spammer.
Google+. If you deal in technology and deal internationally, Google+ may be ripe to help you find new customers. The site slants highly to men and the bulk of the participants on the site are in technical fields. The number one occupation on the site is Student, and only 32% of users are in the United States. All that said, it is a perfect platform to interact with those who appreciate technology. Engage with long-form posts and video content. Take advantage of Hangouts to build your reputation as an expert in your category.
Pinterest. The jury is out as to whether Pinterest is truly monetizing for the small business. Post selected items (by no means every item you sell) and be sure the links are updated to direct to the actual item for sale in your online store.
The topic of the book I've just finished writing is social media commerce. This infographic guides you through the process I've covered ...
The proliferation of social media has led to a new form of e-commerce: social commerce. Psychologists have analyzed the thoughts and behaviors of “social shoppers” to determine what drives them to a purchase.
Facebook has now provided a way for you to curate content right on your Facebook page via their new Facebook Interest Lists functionality. When you log in to your present Facebook News Feed you have access to aggregate content from your Friends and individual pages you’ve “liked” that Facebook’s Edge Rank (an algorithm) deems relevant to your account.
Facebook has created Facebook Interest Lists to give you another way to access targeted content via their platform by creating your own personal (or brand) newsfeed comprising individuals or pages that you want to receive information from.
To Create Facebook Interests Lists:
You will easily find “Interests” at the bottom left of your page at the bottom of the column. Just click on it and Facebook will open a page like this image below with preselected Suggestions broken out in Categories, which also shows you the Number of Subscribers and any Friends that you may have.
“Suggestions” which are optimized for your account are at top of page and then these Categories:
Art
Books
Business
Causes
Entertainment
Food
Games
News
Politics
Sports
Technology
Note in this screenshot above you have the ability to do a Search as well and then create a list of your which will show your Friends and Pages you are connected to via your account:
Once you’ve selected your Friends, Pages, Subscriptions or Individuals from the Specific Categories name your list and then save it. Note: you will also be asked if you want this Facebook List to be Public, Friends or only Yourself. Select these options and then hit save. As soon as you complete the process you will be taken to the Newsfeed of this List, enabling you to check how you set it up.
How Brands Can Generate Marketing ROI using Facebook Lists:
Your aggregating the best or optimum content for your audience. If you make your list public others can see and then subscribe to your list, which generates exposure.
Make sure you add yourself to your list of course – this helps to also create broader exposure for your brand and Page.
Like anything social media marketing process – try to niche in as much as possible. Expect millions of lists to be built moving forward. So, in your self-interest to make sure your list is curated for a specific niche, geographic location or market segment.
Remember, the more Friends who sign up for your lists the exposure your lists will generate and they will also garner more authority your lists have when others are searching.
Bit off topic but related – make sure you have your Facebook Settings set up so others can Subscribe to your public updates. This is a simple check box. Will help to drive more engagement moving forward.
Think of Facebook Interest Lists as valuable content curation that is effective for your Facebook page but that can also be used as a content source for your other social media profiles and accounts.
Time management is a recurring issue around here. It comes up constantly as one of the great struggles. We’ve got lots to do and insufficient time to do it.
Here are my best time management tips (they work for me).
1.Keep a list. You’ve got to have a comprehensive list of your outstanding obligations. It can be on paper or contained in a fancy task management system. Personally, I use Wunderlist: it falls somewhere between paper and fancy. You’ll find all kinds of systems for organizing the list. It’s essential that you get the list out of your head and into your system. Until you get it all down somewhere, you’ll spend tremendous energy worrying about what you’re forgetting.
2. Delegate. Go through your list weekly and decide what you can give away. Don’t wait until you’re on overload to delegate: do it now. The more time you give your team to do the work, the more likely it is to get done right. The more time you allow, the more likely you are to hand it off since you’ll hesitate to let it go when the deadline looms. Keep a list of the tasks you’ve delegated and set a deadline that gives you time to address the problem if things don’t go as planned. Err on the side of delegating more than you think you should: give it all away if you can. That saves you for the highest value activities for which only you are suited.
3. Take 15 minutes tonight to plan for tomorrow. Go through your list and identify the two or three high priorities for tomorrow. When you get going in the morning, you’ll know exactly where to put your focus. Never start the day by culling the list and identifying priorities: that should all be done before the day starts so you can attack the important issues first thing. Always finish today with a plan for tomorrow.
4. Stop checking. Stop the constant checking of everything that can be checked. I remember the good old days when mail came once a day. Once it arrived, it was pointless to keep opening the box and looking inside, so I didn’t waste time walking back and forth to the mailbox. Now we can check everything all day long: email, voicemail, Facebook, Twitter, and an amazing array of news sources. Do it once, maybe twice per day, and don’t look except at designated times. It’s easy to fill your day doing nothing but checking the inputs. You’ve got to regulate yourself or you’ll find yourself checking one thing after another and then clicking on link after link as you go further down the rabbit hole.
5. Stop all input. Shut down all input while you’re focusing on your task. Be very deliberate and close the door, turn off the ringer, shut down the email program, turn off Skype and instant messenger, and kill Facebook and Twitter. Don’t let anything interfere with your single-minded focus. Don’t allow instant messenger to send you popups, and make the texts stop on your phone. Figure out how to put everything on hold while you do what needs doing. You’ll have time later to check all those inputs when you’re finished.
6. One thing at a time. Forget about multitasking: it doesn’t work. We’d like to believe we’re really good at juggling multiple activities, but we’re not. Our brains are willing to start and stop and shift tasks, but the net effect is that we take more time to do less because we’re constantly starting and stopping. Don’t do more than one thing at a time. Attack your priority and stick with it until you’re done. Don’t take calls when you’re drafting a brief. Don’t talk to your paralegal when you’re on the phone with a client. Focus, focus, focus and finish the task at hand.
Time management is tricky. When we think we need help, it’s usually because we’ve stopped finishing things and we’re seeing our lists get longer and longer while we lose control. The solution is to finish things. You’ll feel better when you’re able to close out tasks and clear up your list. That’s only going to happen when you focus on finishing.
Time management is a recurring issue around here. It comes up constantly as one of the great struggles. We’ve got lots to do and insufficient time to do it.
Here are my best time management tips (they work for me).
1. Keep a list. You’ve got to have a comprehensive list of your outstanding obligations. It can be on paper or contained in a fancy task management system. Personally, I use Wunderlist: it falls somewhere between paper and fancy. You’ll find all kinds of systems for organizing the list. It’s essential that you get the list out of your head and into your system. Until you get it all down somewhere, you’ll spend tremendous energy worrying about what you’re forgetting.
2. Delegate. Go through your list weekly and decide what you can give away. Don’t wait until you’re on overload to delegate: do it now. The more time you give your team to do the work, the more likely it is to get done right. The more time you allow, the more likely you are to hand it off since you’ll hesitate to let it go when the deadline looms. Keep a list of the tasks you’ve delegated and set a deadline that gives you time to address the problem if things don’t go as planned. Err on the side of delegating more than you think you should: give it all away if you can. That saves you for the highest value activities for which only you are suited.
3. Take 15 minutes tonight to plan for tomorrow. Go through your list and identify the two or three high priorities for tomorrow. When you get going in the morning, you’ll know exactly where to put your focus. Never start the day by culling the list and identifying priorities: that should all be done before the day starts so you can attack the important issues first thing. Always finish today with a plan for tomorrow.
4. Stop checking. Stop the constant checking of everything that can be checked. I remember the good old days when mail came once a day. Once it arrived, it was pointless to keep opening the box and looking inside, so I didn’t waste time walking back and forth to the mailbox. Now we can check everything all day long: email, voicemail, Facebook, Twitter, and an amazing array of news sources. Do it once, maybe twice per day, and don’t look except at designated times. It’s easy to fill your day doing nothing but checking the inputs. You’ve got to regulate yourself or you’ll find yourself checking one thing after another and then clicking on link after link as you go further down the rabbit hole.
5. Stop all input. Shut down all input while you’re focusing on your task. Be very deliberate and close the door, turn off the ringer, shut down the email program, turn off Skype and instant messenger, and kill Facebook and Twitter. Don’t let anything interfere with your single-minded focus. Don’t allow instant messenger to send you popups, and make the texts stop on your phone. Figure out how to put everything on hold while you do what needs doing. You’ll have time later to check all those inputs when you’re finished.
6. One thing at a time. Forget about multitasking: it doesn’t work. We’d like to believe we’re really good at juggling multiple activities, but we’re not. Our brains are willing to start and stop and shift tasks, but the net effect is that we take more time to do less because we’re constantly starting and stopping. Don’t do more than one thing at a time. Attack your priority and stick with it until you’re done. Don’t take calls when you’re drafting a brief. Don’t talk to your paralegal when you’re on the phone with a client. Focus, focus, focus and finish the task at hand.
Time management is tricky. When we think we need help, it’s usually because we’ve stopped finishing things and we’re seeing our lists get longer and longer while we lose control. The solution is to finish things. You’ll feel better when you’re able to close out tasks and clear up your list. That’s only going to happen when you focus on finishing.
Customer service is a major factor in a customer’s overall satisfaction with a company. Consumers want to be assured that the company will back its product or service and be there to assist them when they have a problem or question. Since so much business is being conducted online nowadays, there’s an even greater need to know that the companies we do business with won’t be giving us the cold shoulder when we call with a problem. Here are ten reasons why websites need to focus more on customer service:
Competition – In e-commerce, and in all business, there is often little that sets one company apart from the competition. Pricing and product quality being essentially equal, consumer choice will come down to customer service.
Consumer Confidence – When a consumer makes an online purchase, he surrenders the convenience of having a local merchant to deal with. He needs to know that there will be someone there for him when he has a problem since he won’t typically have anyone nearby to handle it.
Social Networking – Word gets around fast these days, and that includes bad reviews about a company’s service. Nothing can shut down an otherwise successful venture like a bad reputation; and on the internet, a reputation can be established, and taken away, literally overnight.
Volume – The amount of commerce conducted online is at an all-time high and continues to grow. The more transactions that a website handles, the more likely there will be mishaps – incorrect billing, wrong items delivered, product defects, lost orders, etc. The need for a strong customer support team increases with the volume of business a company does.
High Expectations – Because of the wide open market that the internet provides, competition is stiff in virtually every service or business. Consequently, consumer expectations are high. There is zero tolerance in today’s business market for poor customer service.
Low Perceptions – Conversely, with so many businesses outsourcing their customer service resources overseas, public perception of the average customer service rep is at an all-time low. Being a company known for great customer service can be the defining factor for why consumers choose you over everyone else.
Availability – Customers now have so many avenues by which to contact a business – email, phone, online chat, Skype, and even social media – there’s no excuse for inaction or delay on the part of customer service personnel.
Cost-Savings – Forward-thinking businesses learned early on that by providing online tech support via FAQ’s, downloads, operator manuals and help forums, not only did their customer satisfaction index improve, so did their bottom line.
Customer Loyalty – Repeat business is essential to the success of a company. There are only so many people that you can sell to one time. What brings people back, what sets a company apart more than anything else, is customer service.
Representation – As click-and-mortar entities replace the brick-and-mortar legacy businesses, the face of the company becomes those individuals with whom the customer interacts. In most cases, that’s the customer service rep. The customer service representative is just that – a representative of who you are as a company. That’s no place to skimp if you want to succeed.re
I couldn't have said this better! Word spreads fast in social media and customer service promotes your business best. Join us for the Cusomer Servic chat on Twitter #custserv Tuesday at 9p ET/6p PT
There are lots of smart folks on the web, and I try to visit their blogs to get the latest updates. For my own blogs, I am a Blooger user. Even with a background in HTML, I've never felt comfortable in Wordpress as I find the need for many widgets time consuming. So I defaulted to Blogger because it is just so easy to use. Also, I figured, if Google owns blogger, why would they give SEO prefernece to Wordpress blogs in their search? I never made sense to me. I visited My Blogger Tricks and found that I am not alone in my preference of Blogger in their post:
"Wordpress frameworks both free and premium are coded using PHP as the platform language. Wordpress for this very reason is Programmers' first choice. If you have resources and the potential to spend bucks to hire a developer who could configure and maintain your site, then wordpress is your best option without any doubts. But if you are not a professional in online business and have limited funds, then switching to this platform will cause you both money and pain. This is where individual bloggers fail to understand the maintenance requirements and trap themselves with the headache of tons of MYSQL errors and broken codes."
Here's some more information from their site that I'll bet you didn't know
Five Myths about Blogger
Following are some baseless statements that are often used by many online and this encourages small business owners to migrate to wordpress hoping that things would get better.
Your Blogger blog is not actually owned by you: It is true that all your blog posts and pages are stored at Google servers but you have the option to backup all your files and images from the settings menu. You are free to migrate and leave blogger anytime you wish. You are not a captive here and deserve full Copyrights of your content. Your content stays highly secured at Google servers unlike a private-web host who can give you an unexpected dead call anytime possible. It is a good habit to backup your Blog at least twice a week no matter what platform you use.
Your blog can be deleted anytime: Yes sure why not. If you are running porn, sharing racist content, distributing disturbing or explicit content and violating copyright laws then anyone would deserve a penalty. AdSense deletes the highest number of accounts then any other ad network, this doesn't mean, publishers should stop using it. As long as you are following any company's Terms of services then you are safe and protected. Further as I mentioned above you must keep a backup of all your data no matter you use Wordpress, Facebook or blogger. You are never the true owner of your data if its not backed up.
Blogger blogs are not liked by Sponsors: We are using Blogger on this blog and we are running out of space to ad further ad spots. Our sponsors wait in queue. We receive both paid product reviews, campaign promotion offers and dozens of services per month alhamdulillAllah. If sponsors actually didn't like blogger then may be whatever you see on this blog is a lie. Advertisers don't really care whether you are using a free service or paid as long as you provide quality traffic in return to their product, own a loyal readership and good social rankings. All that a sponsor requires is your strong online existence. That simple.
Blogger blogs have poor SEO features This is the most biased kind of statement one could pass against BlogSpot blogs. How can a platform be poorly optimized when it is owned by Google itself? Since blogger blogs are not equipped with programmed plugins that does all the headache on your behalf, you will have to do some minor tweaks to optimize your template. The web is full of blogger tutorials so the community is always generous at helping others. Just recently Blogger team introduced Custom permalinks, 302 redirects, 404 error pages, custom robots.txt and header tags and much more.Development is always going on and so far Blogger has introduced enough features to turn any blog into a traffic driving engine. Our blogger blog is ranking better on SERPs compared to our wordpress one. We even receive free traffic from the giant blogger directory itself. Google robots index and crawl the blog pages well and easily. Since the RSS feed is auto created and is hosted at Feedburner therefore it is well crawled by Search spiders. Traffic depends on your SEO skills and never on platform.
Blogger blogs look unprofessional: Same can be said about Wordpress themes. The choice and customization of the template depends on the blog owner. Anyone would look ugly with a dull and grey dress or suit. There are thousands of well designed and optimized templates that you can download and install for free. Most users being non-techy often find it difficult to customize their templates but now the web is full of high quality designs that will surely turn your free blog into a pro one.
Who Should use Blogger?
Blogger blogs are free hosted journals that is operated by Google. It's the pioneer of blogging industry and has the highest undisclosed number of blogs to date. Millions of people use it for both personal and commercial purpose. The blog that you are reading at this moment is hosted at Blogger with no hosting payments at all. However we pay Hostgator only for the domain costs and extra storage space.
Since blogger blogs are coded in XML and highly secured therefore programmers have limited access to many functions and variables. This is one reason why big firms and professionals who want a easily configured platform don't find BlogSpot interesting. But wait, does that mean you should not favor it too?
Following are some limitations on content storage and bandwidth per user account in Blogger:
Blog description = 500 characters. HTML mark up not supported.
Number of blogs = 100 blogs per account.
Number of labels = 2,000 unique labels per blog, 20 unique labels per post
Number of pictures = Up to 1 GB of free storage. Stored at Picasa.
Number of posts = Unlimited.
Static Pages = Limited to 20 stand-alone pages.
Team members (those who can write to a blog) = 100 per blog.
Size of pages = Individual pages (the main page of a blog or archive pages) are limited to 1 MB
Size of pictures = Pictures are scaled to 1600px
After seeing the above limitations I think even some small business owners would rethink their decision and would switch back to Blogger. Blogger is best for individuals and people who may love to blog for Money or just fun. It will improve your web designing skills because there is a lot to learn here and can apply all HTML4, JavaScript and CSS3 creative hacks to your blog but with wordpress you are limited to plugins alone, no scope for learning in WP. Blogger is flexible, easy to use and highly secured and indeed any Blogger's first choice.
I'm going to dish some inside social commerce strategies with DYMO Endicia* Brand Manager, Vivian Li on July 17. We're also going too give you advice on how to achieve success for your e-commerce business in today's erratic marketplace. We will go over the fine points of the importance of social commerce and how to apply best practices for managing your online business. So if you have missed my presentations at eBay conferences lately, be sure to attend.
During this webinar, we will guide SMB owners how to boost e-commerce profitability by:
Expanding your web presence through social commerce
Delivering great customer service and winning repeat customers
Increasing your profit margins and customer satisfaction through efficient shipping
Simplifying shipping and mailing while taking advantage of cost savings with USPS
Optimizing your online listings
Going global and learning about International shipping methods
Reserve your place by clicking here NOW! By registering you will be entered for a chance to win one of 20 copies of my Ultimate Online Customer Service Guide: How to Connect with Your Customers to SELL MORE!
*DYMO Endicia is a leader in the electronic postage market and a trusted partner of the USPS for over 25 years.
Is social media marketing effective? That’s the question being asked as more and more businesses are investing in increasing amounts of social media marketing. With no standard means of measurement, there’s a wide variety of goals and metrics used to define the ROI of social strategies. Fortunately, this enlightening infographic, developed by MDG Advertising, helps clear up the confusion by outlining the objectives, benefits and factors that affect the success of social media marketing.
This post from @jasonkeath rings close to home for many of us. I thought it's time to revisit his post and chuckle together for a Monday!
I really hate when I have to deliver bad news to our readers, but the fact is, I know many of you are in danger of this illness. I personally have been battling against it fairly publicly, and yet I have noticed many of you might even have it worse.
Those of you at standing desks right now might want to sit down. Some of you ARE in fact social media professionals.
I know, it sounds horrible. And there really is no known cure to date. So you might be asking yourself “This is horrible, how can I tell if I have it?” Well, luckily, there are some clear signals that you might be afflicted.
These are a few of the warning signs…You might work in social media if…
Your parents keep up with your life through your Twitter feed.
You are actually using Google+.
You have sent a DM to someone sitting within 5 feet of you.
It’s been years since someone mentioned news to you that you hadn’t heard already. - Derek Shanahan
You verbally hashtag real world conversations.
You are the mayor of something other than your home. - John Hondroulis
You judge anyone with a hotmail email address as not so hip.
You own a t-shirt or jewelry with your Twitter handle on it.
You look down on anyone that does not own an iPhone.
You look down on anyone that does not own an android.
You secretly judge blackberry owners.
You run into people you have not seen for years and they know everything about your life through Facebook, Twitter and your blog. – Inspired by DJ Waldow
You secretly judge QR codes that are on subway ads or in airplane magazines. – Inspired by Scott Stratten
You sign up to social networks before there is any discernible value, just to be an early adopter.
You have reached the friend limit on Facebook.
You know that there is a friend limit on Facebook.
Your mom just tells her friends that you work “on the internet” – Inspired by David Spinks
You checkin to a restaurant before actually speaking to anyone there.
You not so secretly judge anyone following more people than are following them on Twitter.
Your phone is usually face up on the bar or restaurant table when you are out.
Your couch has Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare or Angry Bird pillows.
Your world feels like it’s coming to an end when you get a low battery alert on your smartphone - Elysa Rice
You take photos thinking about how they will look on Facebook.
You read whatever news you find on Facebook and Twitter.
You are haunted by the Tweetdeck chirping sound. - Nicole D’Alonzo
You secretly judge magazine and TV ads that promote their social profiles poorly.
You secretly hate friends who have more Twitter followers than you.
You have a backup plan for when Twitter goes down.
When you have bad customer service, your first step is to find the company’s Twitter handle.
You complain about how bad Klout is while still signing in to check your score everyday.
Your smartphone is your best friend.
You hate when people use the word “viral.”
You think of @GaryVee every time you see an orange Crush soda.
You read Mashable more than you read the USA Today.
You know what a bookmarklet is.
You have Google alerts setup for your own name.
You are working on a ‘strategy’ for people to like you. – Ryan Boyles
You love Twitter.
You secretly hate Twitter.
You respect Justin Beiber for his Twitter following and recently learned he plays music too.
You assume someone is talking about social media instead of pending nuptials when they mention the word “engagement”. – Dave Cutler
You get bored reading news that is longer than 140 characters.
All of the parties and events you go to are from Facebook invites.
Spike Jones has ever made fun of you. – Inspired by Jason Falls
No one in your family is capable of explaining to their friends what exactly it is that you do. - Mandi Laine
Your significant other asks, “Are you still working, or just tweeting?” – Ryan Boyles
You never ask to redeem Foursquare specials because you hate explaining them to your server.
You think that your friends that are not on Facebook don’t have birthdays.
Your use Pinterest to write your letter to Santa. – Inspired by Nicole D’Alonzo
You ask your coworkers and friends for a “big favor” — to help Retweet your latest client’s Twitter campaign.
You are fully aware that Auto DMs are what is really wrong with America.
When you completely lose your voice, you use Twitter to ask those sitting with you to “pass the butter, please” #truestory – Lea Marino
As much as you say you hate the term you secretly hope that someone calls you a “guru” – Simon Salt
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