This weekend also seems to sum up 2009 for me. I’ve severed business relationships that were taking more than they were giving. I’ve spun off several blogs from Sparkplugging that just didn’t fit the small business niche. I’ve dumped toxic people out of my life. I’ve stopped pursuing PR opportunities. I’m turning down speaking gigs. And I’ve stopped doing anything for my business that doesn’t have a tangible ROI (Return on Investment).

Like I said last week, I’ve never been happier, or more profitable.

A Silver Lining in Almost Losing it All

If there was a silver lining in my health scare this spring, it was that it forced me to cut the dead weight in my business & life and focus only on things that matter: my family, my happiness and my financial security. And I will be the first to admit that it probably took facing a potentially deadly diagnosis for me to be willing to let go of so much.

It’s not a path I recommend, truthfully.

But I do recommend getting rid of crap in your business and your life that isn’t directly making you happier, healthier, or richer. I might have more dead weight to cut – but I’m flying higher than ever now that I’m not carrying around so much baggage that was holding me back. And that includes a dumpster full of junk that is now out of my house!

So This Week is all About the UN-To-Do List!

Do you have anything you do that you’ve realized isn’t really worth the time and effort you’re putting into it? Do you have clients you should have fired months ago? Do you go to events that produce no good leads? Do you spend time socializing networking online instead of getting work done?

At this point, I’m kind of hard pressed to come up with another thing I need to get rid of – but I can think of one conversation I’ve been putting off that I MUST have this week. And it will determine the future of one of the bigger projects on my plate.

So this week, I promise I will have that conversation, or Kiva gets $100.

So what are you NOT going to do this week?

Remember to check out the stories, conversations and $5,000 sweeps at You.Propelled on DivineCaroline, as they have sponsored this series of posts that has been getting my butt into gear this fall!

Lately I’ve been giving a ton of thought to the whole internet fame thing – and the last 6 months have completely changed my attitude about PR for PR’s sake. I used to think that any publicity is good publicity. But after experiencing it, I can honestly say it ain’t all that. Sure, it’s a huge ego boost, and sure, it opens doors, and sure, I could be leveraging all of my big PR moments into book deals, big name clients, more speaking gigs, and more television appearances.

But that is not the business I want to be in.

When I started Sparkplugging, I wanted to create an advertising and affiliate based website that would generate passive income even when I was helping my kids with their homework or out boating with the family. The business of internet fame is the exact opposite of that – not only did I have to work to become ‘famous’, I had to work even harder to maintain it. The impact on my work schedule was gruesome – and the impact on my bottom line was similarly pitiful.

This summer I completely backed away from all of my PR and social media promotion, and focused solely on creating content and search engine optimization. And by the end of August, I earned more in 30 days than I had all last year.

The reason I say this is because I had no idea how much time I was wasting on something I thought was important to my business – only to find that simple hard work is what really pays the bills.

It’s not glorious work.

I won’t be getting on TV any time soon for it.

Nobody has asked to interview me about it.

I’m not getting any speaking gigs because of it.

And I’ve never been happier with my business.

So, my Monday Motivation question for our readers today is this:

If you are struggling with your business, are you doing anything that isn’t giving you a return on your investment of time or money?

And if you just buckled down and did the unsexy, boring, and tedious work that needs to be done, how much better off do you think you would be?

In the spirit of decidedly unsexy, my Monday Motivation to do list is:

• Finish my YTD balance sheet by noon on Wednesday
• Clear out 200 emails from my inbox by end of day Wednesday, and
• Pay two bills before I go to sleep tonight

If I don’t have all of this done by the end of the day tomorrow, I’ll throw down another $250 loan to Kiva entrepreneurs.

I’m grateful to RGN and the You.Propelled community, as it’s because of their sponsorship that I am getting so much done lately. You can thank them for my reappearance on this blog, because otherwise I would still be search engine optimizing and creating content for my kids network. I’d encourage you to get something done and enter a proclamation on their site, because it’s even more satisfying than crossing something off your to-do list (because I’m so unsexy like that).

So what are you going to get done today?

This post is sponsored by Propel® for the You.Propelled Program.

The lessons I’ve learned in the last 4 months probably surpass the lessons I’ve learned in my first 3 1/2 years of blogging. Many of them were lessons I really didn’t want to learn, to be totally truthful with you. But I’ve come off one of the best summers of my life, so I’m grateful for all that I’ve gone through.

I’m finding, now that it’s almost September, that the whole ‘back to school’ season isn’t just a big expensive wardrobe makeover for my kids, but it’s something I’ve never outgrown. Every fall I get the urge to buckle down, start new things, and focus on getting work done. Kind of like a New Years Resolution – only kicked off by Labor Day instead!

So today I am reviving an old “eMoms at Home” tradition that probably only a handful of you remember: Monday Motivation. Every Monday I would make my to-do list for the day public, and hold myself accountable with consequences if I didn’t do what I said I was going to do. Our ad network also just launched a new motivational community on Divine Caroline and it all seemed like a great excuse for me to whip my butt into gear and get some stuff done this week! (Plus, if you share something you did to streamline or enhance you life today at You.Propelled, you can be entered to win $5000.)

Today I will:

• Grab a conference call with the wonderful Kelly McCausey
• Clean out 500 emails from my inbox
• Run 2 errands
• Walk my kids home from school

If I don’t have these things done by the time I go to bed tonight, I will donate $250 to Kiva.

So what are you going to get done today?

This post is sponsored by Propel® for the You.Propelled Program.

AT&T has hired me to help spread the word about their new Small business Tech Makeover contest – a contest so kick butt I’d write about it for free! The contest is to help them relaunch their new AT&T Small Business InSite. This site is a combo small business owner and AT&T customer support site – even if you aren’t one of their customers, they have resources on how to use mobile apps in your business, web marketing advice, and small business case studies. They also feature services I didn’t even know they had, like dedicated server hosting, PC tech support, and web design and development services.

But honestly, as much as I’m hoping I will win the technology makeover contest, it’s just too awesome of a prize package to keep to myself – check out the goods that any technology geek will drool over:

2- Samsung Epix smartphones

1-year subscription to AT&T Tech Support 360SM Advanced Service Package

1-year subscription to AT&T UNIX or Windows Enhanced Web Hosting services

AT&T Web Design service

1-year subscription to AT&T Unified Messaging

Digital Express Direct Mail Extreme Membership along with the first 500 postcards

AT&T Connect five (5) Integrated Edition Named Hosts Web conferencing

To enter, all you need to do is create a 2 minute video telling them why you need a technolgy makeover for your business. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be cutting two hours worth of reasons you need their help into 120 secondes – good luck with that! Go to AT&T Small Business InSite for more contest info and to enter.

]]> http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/win-a-small-biz-technology-makeover-from-att/feed/ 0 http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/blog-network-20-the-good-the-really-good-and-the-ugly/ http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/blog-network-20-the-good-the-really-good-and-the-ugly/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:50:00 +0000 Wendy Piersall http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/?p=1988 So. There’s good news and bad news. Mostly good news.

What’s good? Actually, plenty. I’m pleased to announce this week that Kelly McCausey from WAHM 2.0 is now the Sparkplugging General Editor. This means that Kelly is going to be moving her wise words from that blog to this blog, she will be working with the Sparkplugging writers, and she will be helping me to grow this site and offer more resources than I ever could have on my own. WAHM 2.0 is now in the perfectly capable hands of Leslie Truex and Laurie Ayers.

I’ve known Kelly for almost as long as I have been blogging, which is now a full three years as of this week! I’ve admired her a-plenty, and she has grown to be not just a great Sparkplugging contributor, but also a key person that I have turned to for advice on more than several occasions.

Probably the most exciting part is that Kelly is going to be heading up a new Sparkplugging Internship program (I’ll post about this separately so that it doesn’t get lost in this announcement). This is going to be a FREE internship program where both she and I  (mostly she) will be taking on a group of people and mentoring them on how to run an internet business. In this economy, we really wanted to find a way to give more to the community, and I couldn’t be more pleased to finally get this idea off the ground!

So, you may be asking why is Kelly taking on such a big role with Sparkplugging? What am I going to do?

Well, funny you should ask!

Last fall, I started up another blog network – this time, for kids, parents and educators. Woo! Jr. Websites for Kids started out as a bit of a whim (don’t all the good ones start out that way?!). Less than 6 months later, the network sites at Animal Jr., Craft Jr., Fantasy Jr. and Space Jr. are already outperforming Sparkplugging on several metrics. So I really needed a bit more time away from Sparkplugging to grow this new blog network that is kicking butt and taking names.

So the bad news?

Well, I’m not really good at saying this kind of stuff in such a public way, because it’s just not my style to talk about bad news until there is some kind of resolution to it. And it’s really, really hard for me to admit that I’m not super-woman and that my life isn’t perfect. But there’s no way around it, because I’ll be at SOBCon this weekend and Mind of Moms next week, and then it will be out.

I’m having some health issues. It’s not just a cold, but it’s not cancer either. We don’t really have a diagnosis yet, so I wish I could say more. Indications point to a thyroid condition that would be fairly easy to treat if that’s what’s going on, and I get to go swallow radioactive pills this morning to find out more. And I hope and pray it’s this simple. Because the last month or so has been hell.

So after three years of working my ass off to support you, I’m asking you to support me. (Don’t worry, I’ll make this easy for you!)

Please give Kelly a warm welcome and make her feel at home here on Sparkplug CEO.

Please help to spread the word about Sparkplugging and all the free advice we offer here for people who want to start a business.

Please visit my new sites and tell people about the Woo! Jr.  network for teacher resources, kids crafts, coloring pages, and games for kids.

And lastly, please don’t worry too much about me. My body is telling me to cut back, and I’m listening. This is why I haven’t been blogging or Twittering very much. I really think I will be ok. But for the next month or so, I’m going to be taking it easy. And when I’m back up and running, I’ll hope you haven’t forgotten about me.

*Hugs*

- Wendy

Business.gov helps small businesses understand their legal requirements, and locate government services supporting the nation’s small business community. It is an official site of the U.S. Government. For resources specific to microbusinesses and home business owners, check out the Business.gov blog on Sparkplugging.

Whether your small business is feeling the economic pinch or not, it’s hard to avoid the bleakness and fear mongering that proliferates the news, the Web, and the streets of our country.

The goal for any business is to ride out the storm and plan for eventual economic recovery. In fact, riding out the storm – or, just plain old planning ahead – is an essential part of any entrepreneur’s tool kit. Still, preparing for the better times while in the midst of a recession can seem daunting, particularly from a financial perspective.

Whether you are upping the marketing ante to keep your brand visible, growing your business through acquisition, or building your skill base, you will need capital. For the “disciplined optimists” among you there is financial help available, not least of all from the U.S Government.

Helping Main Street

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has put together a one-stop-shop Web portal – Helping Main Street – that has a whole host of host of funding, training, and mentoring resources to help small businesses navigate the credit crunch and prepare for recovery.

Here are three areas in which the SBA can help you plan for an economic rebound:

1) Funding – Freeing Up Capital for Small Businesses

The SBA recently announced that it has enhanced its loan programs to help the agency’s lending partners (i.e. banks) increase access to capital for small businesses. With a new alternative base interest rate and improved flexibility in loan pool structures, the SBA hopes to re-energize the lenders and ease small business access to capital.

If you want to take advantage of these enhancements, refer to the SBA’s online training guide for a quick finance primer to determine which SBA loan program is right for you. You can also learn more about available small business loans and grants here.

2) Small Business In-Person Assistance

Navigating available loan options can be made easier just by talking to someone who knows their stuff. This is where free in-person training, counseling and advice from one of many nationwide SBA District Offices can come in handy. Alternatively you can seek out the services of SBA local resource partners who specialize in business counseling for small and women-owned businesses.

3) Online Training

If you need help preparing a loan package or putting a new marketing plan in place there are lots of government online training resources that can help you implement these growth strategies. From videos, to podcasts, to at-your-own-pace courses, you can also view lessons learned from other small business entrepreneurs with these online video case studies.

Other excellent resources are Entrepreneurship.gov and SCORE, which offer online tools, events and free mentoring for small business owners.

Finding new opportunity in a time of economic crisis is no easy feat. As blogger Thomas Nelson writes in his “10 Benefits of a Recession” post, recession can be brutal, but if you channel your mental focus you can find the benefits.

His musings on recession have an analogy in the process of natural selection, i.e. the tough times thin out the competition and make entrepreneurs more creative and resourceful, among other things.

So now is the time to put on your armor and channel that tough inner-entrepreneurial spirit. Keep knocking on doors, trimming the fat, and looking for smart, targeted ways to invest your capital that will keep you in the game for the long haul.

Be the lion not the dodo.

But in the fall of 2007, Google came down hard on the practice, lumping sponsored conversations with the practice of paid text links and labeling them as ‘unethical’. Flagship A-list blogs as well as trusted news sources such as Forbes and the Washington Post all saw a Google Page Rank drop. It was a strong warning from Google: stop the link selling, or we will drop you from our search engine.

Whether you agreed or disagreed with Google, in order to get their traffic, we now had to play by their rules. They even encouraged people to ’snitch’ on sites by telling people how to report paid links. Matt Cutts, the most public voice of Google, reiterated Google’s position again recently, in response to the release of Forrester’s report that Sponsored Conversations are here to stay.

The problem with Matt’s post isn’t that there is something unethical about selling links or posts. The problem is that the world of social media marketing has evolved faster than Google’s policies have evolved. Sponsored conversations come in three main ‘flavors’, yet it is Google’s position to lump all of them into the first kind, “Paid Posts”.

The First Kind of Sponsored Conversation: #1 – Paid Posts

Google has a problem with people paying bloggers to put up a post with organic links to other websites. Specifically, if a post is paid for, then Google considers any link in that post to be influencing the search engine unfairly. It doesn’t matter if you truly endorse the product or service or not, any link in a paid post is subject to disciplinary action (i.e., getting your site dropped out of search engine results).

Matt cites a great example as to why Google would have a problem with this in this image and post:

Example of Paid Posts Done Wrong

On this blog (more like a ’splog’), random posts are thrown onto a blog with no disclosure that they are paid, and they cover unrelated topics from ‘colon cleansing’ to ‘auto loans’.

I have to say that I don’t think any self-respecting blogger would ever stoop to this level of Paid Posts.

Why they are wrong:

• The links pass page rank
• There is no disclosure that the posts are paid for
• Their intention is to truly manipulate search engine rankings
• None of this is in line with the ethical standards set out by WOMMA, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association

Now, a blogger might write a paid post without the intention of gaming the search engine, they might actually only write paid posts that fit in with their topic, and only about products or services they believe in. To Google, they are all the same. Paid Posts = Bad.

The Second Kind of Sponsored Conversation: #2 – Trade

“Trade Posts” are somewhat different yet similar to Paid Posts, and are somewhat self-explanatory. Instead of giving a blogger money, they give them something in trade to put up a post on their blog, which almost always includes links. Examples include:

• Guest posts (trading free content for links)
• Contest posts (trading a contest prize for links)
• Link swaps (trading a link for a link on another site)

All of these seem fairly harmless, and I’ve not ever seen an instance in which Google has penalized a site for engaging in these practices. But Trade Posts can become a slippery slope in a number of ways. Giving 10 bloggers a free book to give away to their readers is pretty dang cheap compared to trying to buy links from these blogs. In other words, Trade Posts can be exploited. But since it is incredibly difficult to track, Trade Posts are flying under the radar for now.

In the past, Google has even encouraged these practices. Link exchanges date back to the beginning of the web. Yet ultimately, people are still trading something of value for a link. This is why I personally don’t understand why Trade = Good and Paid = Bad. And I’d love for Google to weigh in on this answer, but they have a vested interest in keeping people guessing.

The Three Kinds of Sponsored Conversations: #3 – Straight

A “Straight Post” is a term I made up, but I think it’s the right meaning for what true social marketing is all about – being straight with your advertisers, with your readers, and with the search engines. This means disclosure to your readers as to how you are being compensated, only picking advertisers that can add value to your readers, and putting a “nofollow” tag on your links so that the search engines aren’t fooled into thinking this is an uncompensated endorsement.

In Straight Posts, bloggers are extraordinarily picky about what kind of Sponsored Conversations they are willing to engage in, because they know full well that their name is on the line. They are walking a fine line between ensuring readers’ interests come first, maintaining their integrity, and being compensated for the value they bring to their advertisers.

What value are they bringing to their advertisers? Quite simply, Straight Posts are in a sense a ‘Co-Branding’ campaign. Companies align themselves with bloggers who have their own brand with which they want to be associated. Bloggers, in return, are selling access to their readership. And finally, Straight Posts create separation between sponsored and editorial content.

Great examples of Straight Posts are usually not limited to a single blog post, either. Rather, they are more frequently an ongoing relationship between bloggers and advertisers, or part of a larger campaign. Some recent ‘Straight Campaigns’:

• WalMart’s 11Moms
• Sparkplugging’s Epson Campaign
• ReadWriteWeb’s Advertorial Posts (written by advertisers, not bloggers)
  

Now, Marshall Kirkpatrick from ReadWriteWeb would disagree with me on characterizing his advertorials as anything close to a Sponsored Conversation, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Marshall has clearly stated his love for his Advertisers in unpaid posts, and everyone who knows Marshall and his reputation know full well that he wouldn’t sell Advertorial spots to just anyone. So, Marshall has met the criteria I outlined above, in which he has associated the ReadWriteWeb brand with a product he loves, and he has sold access to his readership to this advertiser. It isn’t a Paid Post, but it is a Straight Post.

Why Google Wants to Lump us all into the Paid Post Category

Now, I could go on for pages and pages as to why I don’t think it’s Google’s place to be regulating bloggers. But I do understand their obligation to keep spam out of their index.

The problem is this – there is a fourth factor in these three categories, which I’ll call the Fade Factor. This means that not all Sponsored Conversations fall neatly into these three categories.

What if a blogger doesn’t even know what NoFollow means?

What if a guest post on a blog links to a site that is later turned into a porn site?

What if a blogger wants to talk about a sponsor in a random post as a natural part of the conversation?

Now you might understand why Google wants to treat all of us the same way. I think most of us can agree where it’s OK for Google to say “hell no’, but we might not all agree on how that Fade Factor makes one link right and one link wrong.

Sponsored Conversations Aren’t Going Away

The fact of the matter is that after measuring social media influence over the last few years, advertisers now know that engaging in Sponsored Conversations will produce real, trackable results.

Google simply can’t continue to say “NO PAID POSTS” and have that be their blanket answer for all social media marketing campaigns that include a link.

Additionally, consumers now expect to have a say in how brands market to them. Never again will people be willing to put up with untargeted, intrusive advertising now that brands have become a part of the conversation.

We can’t ask consumers to stop talking about brands.

And we can’t expect brands to not participate in online conversations.

Nor can we expect consumers to help brands market their products for free.

There is no going back to the way marketing used to be.

The reason that WOMMA was established was to provide an Ethics Code in line with the Federal Trade Commission’s fair advertising goals. The blogosphere doesn’t need people telling them that they shouldn’t be compensated for the value they bring to advertisers. The blogosphere DOES need more education and awareness on how to ensure that word of mouth marketing is done in a way that adds to our community, rather than detracts from it.

Of course, the Twitter community responded – who wouldn’t want to talk to the people behind the nation’s largest and longest running morning news show? I suggested they do a Today Show segment on Twitter, and kind of flipped when they actually responded back and asked what I thought would be interesting to their audience. I mentioned the breaking news stories, Obama’s savvy election strategy, & how Comcast and Dell were offering faster customer service than someone could get if they picked up a phone. Oh, and by the way, I said, I certainly would be an appropriate guest to talk about it on your show!

I never heard from them again on that idea, but we did tweet back and forth a bit every now and then. I pretty much forgot about that conversation until the morning of February 24th, when I got a Twitter Direct Message from @TodayShow:

“Hey, when you have a chance, call me at xxx. Thank you.”

After I picked myself up off the floor from falling off my chair, I called up Ryan, the show producer. He reminded me of our Twitter conversation, and then told me they were doing a segment on Digital Moms.

And I almost couldn’t believe it.

I had just landed a spot on the Today Show because of a Twitter conversation.

It was a perfect story of social media done right. A company on Twitter with a real person behind the profile. A mom with a good story to tell. And both of us on Twitter for all the right reasons – to not only market ourselves, but to build real relationships, add value and be part of the conversation.

I suspect that the Today Show is going to get a lot of new followers and story pitches thanks to this post. And I bet a few other news shows might, also. But here’s my advice: Don’t expect to land on national TV if you spam these shows with your ideas. Remember, again, that there are real people who run TV shows, and real people don’t like spam.

I think he was jealous of my daughter. She’s actually been blogging for a couple of years, but because I get all freaked out about internet creepies, I wasn’t comfortable shouting out about it until she got older. Her passion is animals (especially ocean animals) and her blog is at AnimalCrazed.com. But two weeks ago, she was hired through IZEA to write on SeaWorld’s new Dolphin Bubbles blog – and I really don’t think my hubs could stand the thought of two women in his house earning a living through blogging without getting in on the action.

Here’s me breaking the news to her that after two years she’s now officially a professional blogger:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cCj69AL6aU[/youtube]

OMG could I be more proud???

Anyway, Dave is following his own passion – music. He’s a seriously talented singer-songwriter and has 30 years of excuses as to why he never did anything with his talent. So I have to say that even though I spent all weekend working on his stuff, I’m uber:proud of him, too for finally getting up off his butt and doing something with his songs. And he’s even got some friends who are writing on it with him.

I’ve spent many, many years teaching people to follow their dreams. Even before I started this blog, I was coaching both friends and colleagues to do what they were put on this earth to do. And I think I’ve done a pretty good job of leading by example on that one…

But to see both my daughter and my husband pursuing their own dreams – and it’s because I’ve pursued mine that I can help them pursue theirs… holy cow, it’s almost too much to put into words. It all started with this little hobby blog that I never thought would go anywhere – and today the power of blogging and social media is touching every thread of my life in such a powerful way.

Wow. Just wow.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that some software on a web server and a few words on a blog could have so much power to do good.

I’d love to hear your stories of how blogging and social networks are changing your lives for the better, too – please share them in the comments! I’ll highlight the best stories in a future post.

I am so happy to have you here at my little humble abode. I’ve poured love into this site for nearly 3 years, and there’s a lot of information buried all over the place. Lucky for you I’m here to point you in the direction of our most popular content of all:

Very Popular with People New to Internet Business:

Top 10 Internet Home Business Ideas You Can Start and Run in Your Underwear

10 More Work at Home Internet Business Ideas You Can Do in Your Fuzzy Bunny Slippers

The How Do You Make Money from a Blog series

Great Learning Resources on the Sparkplugging Network:

Business.gov writes a blog on this site specifically for people who work out of a home office. They are a branch of the Small Business Administration that helps business owners understand what government resources are available to help them succeed.

Freelance Parent has been voted two years in a row as one of the top ten blogs for freelance writers.

WAHM 2.0 is written by Kelly McCausey who has been making a living online way longer than I have!

Susan at The Marketing Eggspert helps normal people understand and use Web 2.0 technology.

Stay productive and organized with Brandie from the Home Office Organizer.

CraftBoom is for the artsy and crafty types that love creating yet hate selling their work!

SOHO Tools, News & Technology is written by Lynette, and she’s great at translating ‘geek’ into English.

Seasonal Kids Activities helps you stay sane while you need to get work done.

And Momsational has great giveaways and freebies every week!

We’re on Twitter Too!

Follow @Sparkplugging on Twitter, or say hi to me there @eMom. And if you aren’t already, you’d probably like to follow the @TodayShow there, too!

More About Wendy Piersall

Wendy Piersall, Sparkplugging founder and CEO

If you’d like to know more about me, the work I’ve done with brands like Epson and Kmart, or the history of Sparkplugging, check out my business site at WendyPiersall.com.

I’d also love to know what you thought of the Digital Moms series on the Today Show, so please leave a comment and let me know!

Business.gov helps small businesses understand their legal requirements, and locate government services supporting the nation’s small business community. It is an official site of the U.S. Government. For resources specific to microbusinesses and home business owners, check out the Business.gov blog on Sparkplugging.

One certainty about running a small business is that each day presents new challenges.

Market shifts, employee issues, competitive threats, and regulatory requirements all combine to keep the small business owner on his or her toes.

Getting access to the right tools and resources to help you proactively keep pace with change can be time consuming and costly. The good news is that the U.S. government has developed a handy little Web gadget – the Business.gov Toolkit – that connects your business directly with government services and information that can keep your operation running and growing.

If you enjoy customizing your Internet home page with useful tools and gadgets then this one is perfect for you.

The Business.gov Toolkit

The Business.gov Toolkit is a Web gadget (powered by Google and developed by government’s Business Gateway partnership) that can be easily added to your iGoogle homepage or other Web site, much like an RSS feed.

Essentially, the gadget gives interactive fingertip access to government resources from the convenience of your home page.  The toolkit includes:

• A search field for information, forms, and government contacts (administrative and support)
• Access to topics of current interest to the small business community
• Access to a listing of all the licenses and permits that apply to you
• Videos featuring expert advice from successful entrepreneurs and small business owners

Download the gadget here.

More Gadgets to Come

The success of this toolkit should lead to more gadgets from Business.gov. If you have an idea for a gadget that you’d like to see, Business.gov is soliciting ideas here.

Other Small Business Online Productivity Tools

Other online applications from the government that can help you increase your business productivity include:

• Grants and Loan Tool – This online tool matches your business to available government financing options.
• Permit Me Tool – Find out which permits and licenses your business needs with this handy tool.
• Business Search Engine – Connect to the right government information easily, from regulatory forms to financial and technical assistance programs, without visiting multiple agency Web sites.

Quick details:

Show airing on NBC, Tuesday March 10th 2009.

I really don’t know what time I will be on, but it will be between 7am and 9am EST.

I will be speaking with someone from AvenueA/Razorfish of the (really fascinating) study put out them and CafeMom on Digital Moms. We’ll chat about creating online businesses based on social media and blogging, and how advertisers are in hot pursuit of us so-called “Digital Moms”.

Also, since I’ll be in NYC Monday and Tuesday, I’m hoping to do a impromptu Tweetup while I am there, so let me know if you are there!

It’s all a little ironic and funny – while simultaneously restoring my faith in the fact that God/the Universe/Whatever-you-want-to-call-it always has everything under control.

For those of you who didn’t see this post, then you wouldn’t know that just about one month ago, I almost gave up on Sparkplugging. I had a Very Big Business Deal completely fall to pieces due to the economy. I admit I was devastated, crying myself to sleep for several nights in a row. I quite honestly wanted to simply walk away from all of this, but I really didn’t feel I could be that hypocritical. I’ve spent nearly 3 years blogging about being an entrepreneur and one of my most stuffed categories is “Overcoming Obstacles” – how could I face all of you if I couldn’t follow my own advice on bouncing back from disappointments?

So the funny thing is that in the last 30 days, besides landing the best publicity of my career with the Today Show, I’ve also started working on a HUGE project with Rockfish Interactive. They are the brains behind the hugely successful 11Moms Walmart campaign. And the whole reason that this happened was because when I was at SeaWorld with GeekMommy, I told her about the deal debacle and she put me in touch with them.

To say the least, the last month has been a little overwhelming – I’ve lost a Deal, landed a Deal, and also landed an appearance on the biggest morning show on the planet. Gulp.

I kind of want to shake my fist at the sky and say something like, “You could have let me know you had this all covered when I was crying myself to sleep last month!” But I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because I feel totally blessed right now.

So you know that saying that goes “No door closes without another one opening?“.

Um… YEAH.

By the way, now that the cat is out of the bag, there are several other moms being featured on the Monday installment of the Digital Moms series, Alli from AlwaysAlli, Shannon from CouponPrincess, and Melissa the ConsumerQueen will be there, and Lisa from Crazy Adventures in Parenting is getting her vlog featured as well. Congrats to these fine mommies too!

I’ve written up a word of mouth marketing case study on the project from start to finish over at my finally-revamped WendyPiersall.com.

Another project that is a hot topic lately is the Kmart / IZEA campaign that was done last December. Ted Murphy released a fantastic case study on it a few weeks ago, but I decided to take it one step further and dissect the differences between the bloggers that participated in the campaign, Chris Brogan, Loren Feldman, Julia Roy, Jeremy Schoemaker, Michelle Madhok, and myself. Thus, my post is a true case study of how different influencers bring different assets to every campaign they work on. And most importantly, it does pay to find the right influencers with the right following to match your campaign goals.

Both of these campaigns had strong viral components that created significant buzz – buzz around the brands, buzz around the agencies, and even buzz around the bloggers. I’m very proud of the work I’ve been able to do with these campaigns thus far, knowing they were great brands that I would put my own name on the line for without hesitation.

Being Paid for One’s Influence

With the furor around paid posts and sponsorships of late, I’d also like to make a very important point to those who think that mixing money and content are somehow immoral or bad. Besides the fact that these kinds of sponsorships date back to Olympians in ancient Greece, and besides the fact that these campaigns were all run with the highest ethical standards recommended by WOMMA, and besides the fact that we’ve been asking brands to do ‘Conversation Marketing‘ for years… there is one more thing I would like to add.

If I were to add up the amount of money I have turned away over the three years I have run this site due to my unwillingness to endorse the companies for whatever reason, I’d guess it would easily add up to $50K, if not more than that. And although many people think I am getting rich off of Sparkplugging, for the first two years I didn’t make a penny, so I certainly could have used that $50K at some point along the way.

The fact of the matter is, the bloggers that took part in the Kmart campaign aren’t people who really needed $500 in Kmart merchandise. We did it because we believed it would add value to our readers first, and to the brands, second. But most of all, it is completely unjustifiable to judge a blogger’s ethics based on what they are paid for, unless you also know how they are unwilling to be bought at any price.

I’m going to shut up now on this subject, because I will go on a never ending rant about people who think their self-defined “morals” should be everyone else’s morals too… and neither one of us wants to go there.

Deadline has been extended through April 24th!

Intuit Small Business United Contest Entry

Financial software maker Intuit recently reached out to us to let us know about a completely cool new program they have launched to help small biz owners get through the economic mess we are in. Personally, I’m hoping they thought I would be a shoe-in for the grand prize. But honestly, this is such a great program I really wanted to share it with everyone, as I think all of our businesses could use a little ’stimulation’ right about now!

Intuit recently unveiled its own version of a ’stimulus package’: one that gives America’s small businesses the chance to redeem about $1,000 in products and services from the company. In addition, Intuit is giving away more than $300,000 in small business grants, as well as $50,0000 in donations to nonprofit organizations committed to the health of small businesses including The Latino Coalition, National Black Chamber of Commerce, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and Women Impacting Public Policy.

Instead of waiting for the government to give entrepreneurs a bailout, the company put their own plan in place, calling it “Small Business United.” Some of the products Intuit is offering include QuickBooks Simple Start, Intuit Online Payroll, and a really cool Web site building service called Intuit Websites. You can check out all the specifics at www.smallbusinessunited.com.

On top of the free products the company is offering small business stimulus grants of up to $25,000. To apply for a grant, small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs may submit and share their success stories and advice to an online forum. They provided us stats that said that nine out of 10 small business owners surveyed said they rely on peers for support and advice. Fifty-one percent of small business owners said they feel a special bond or connection with other small business owners, while 53 percent believe they can learn from their peers mistakes and successes. (To which I say, DUH, because that’s how Sparkplugging started and why we continue to grow!!)

To enter, just go to Small Business United to share your experiences and survival tips. Judges will select 50 finalists to receive $5,000 and a Pure Digital Flip Video^TM camcorder. These finalists are eligible to supplement their story with a video that will be posted on the site for public viewing and voting. This group will be narrowed down to four first prize winners, who will each receive $10,000 plus $2,500 worth of Intuit products. The grand prize winner will receive $25,000 and $2,500 worth of Intuit products and services. Entries are due by March 23 and finalists will be selected by April 1 April 24. Winners will be announced in May.

So, there’s been this Deal. The Deal I’ve been working on for 3 months.

It was going to be a ‘Really Big Deal’ kind of Deal. A ‘Putting My Name on the Big Time Map’ kind of Deal. The kind of Deal that I can’t talk about because you don’t talk about this kind of Deal unless the Deal is Done.

And thanks to a few factors, mostly the economy, there is now No Deal. Suffice it to say, I cried myself to sleep about three times over the last week.

And now, I’m picking myself back up from the hardest fall I’ve ever taken as an entrepreneur.

I almost couldn’t do it. But then I thought of you. And I couldn’t face you if I gave up.

So, thanks. You readers have saved my ass. And now I’m back.

And I’m even able to think about finding a New Deal.

*HUGS*

For free?

Well, on January 20th, 2009, TotallyHer is teaming up with me and some of the smartest business women on the internet to bring you a community service project in honor of President-Elect Obama’s Inauguration Day.

Liz Strauss, Anita Campbell, Kelly Phillips Erb, Jessica Smith, Kelby Carr, Susan Payton, Miranda Marquit, Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, Kelly McCausey, Lucretia Pruitt, Char Polanosky, Barbara Jones & Wendy Piersall.

No matter what your burning question is, these 13 experts are here to help and give you answers. And yes, I’ll say it again:

For free.

Tuesday January 20th from 10:00am to 5:30pm Eastern, we will feature one expert and one topic every 30 minutes, with a one-hour break for everyone to watch the Inauguration Ceremony. It will be in a simple chat section of TotallyHer, in a laid-back casual environment where there are no big presentations, no boring material to read, just access to business experts where you get to ask questions directly with the experts who can help you.

Want all the details? Check it out on TotallyHer. You can also RSVP on Facebook (suggested but not required).

Lots going on behind the scenes here everyone! I heard that people were asking if I am OK – I can gladly say I am, and doing quite well, thank you very much! I’ve been immersed in doing some work for my friends Lee Dodd and David Adams from Escalate Media, a large network of community sites for women. I’m particularly fond of getting to work on helping them grow the TotallyHer women’s magazine site, the A Full Cup coupon community, and the well established DiaperSwappers moms forum, though they have 12 sites in their family network.

But in case you have been missing my Sparkplug CEO “prose”, you can find my latest writings sprinked around the web:

Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy

2008 has given us all a shakeup. We have a fragile economy unlike anything we have seen in 80 years. And the online advertising and technology industry is in for a rough ride in 2009. But 2008 was also the Year of the Woman online. Over the last 18 months, the number of ad networks targeted towards moms and women exploded.

2009 is a make-it-or-break-it year for nearly every business in existence today. And as for women’s websites and communities, I think this industry is also in for a bit of a shakeup…

Read Article

Really, Tell me How to Be a GeekMommy

Weigh in on my guest post at Lucretia’s GeekMommy blog on how you balance being a geek and a mom.

Read Article

Marketing on the Cheap for the Mompreneur

Most moms who start businesses do so with a budget of next to nothing. While there’s nothing wrong with this (it’s actually how I started Sparkplugging), I’ve learned that it isn’t always the best foundation for a big, booming business. If you have visions of being acquired by some big company someday, I’d make the recommendation that you find a way to give yourself a healthy budget so that you can give your company what it needs to grow. But honestly, most moms aren’t even interested in that route – they just want a business that fits in with their busy child-centered lifestyle. If that’s you, then everything you do is all about spending as little as possible and making as much as possible as a work at home mom.

Read Article

The Ten Lamest Gifts You Can Buy for a Woman

It may be after the holidays, but it is never too late to make sure you aren’t buying lame gifts for the woman in your life!

Read Article

And I’ve written a few articles for a new writing gig with Monster.com’s WomenCo, a women’s career networking community:

5 Reasons Why Professional Conferences Are a Must

5 Ways to Have Many Eggs in Many Baskets

It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor

I am not being compensated for this review in any way, shape or form. Dell sent me a loaner XPS One that I will be (sadly) returning to them now that this review is published.

So, @RichardAtDell reached out to me a few weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their new machine, the XPS One. Never one to turn away a chance to play with new gadgets, I said yes immediately. Had I known what I was getting into, I’m not so sure I would have said yes anymore – because I’ve completely fallen in love with this thing and I do. not. want. to. send. it. back.

Dell XPS One 24"

First of all, this has got to be the sexiest looking machine I have ever laid eyes upon. I guess I really didn’t realize just how big a 24″ monitor is – it’s BIG. Big and SEXY. (I am going to use that word a lot in this post. Just warning you now). But it’s not just a big flat screen monitor – it IS the computer. That’s it – all of it – right there.

What’s funny is that Richard had asked me to review this machine from the perspective of a mom with kids, and talk about how we use it as a family.

I have a confession to make.

My kids haven’t gotten a whole heck of a lot of time to use it. We seriously fight over who gets to use it next.

I do think it’s mostly because it’s so big, the monitor is so bright and the colors are so saturated, it’s kind of hard to look at any other computer in our house and be happy about having to be stuck with it.

But this thing has capabilities we haven’t even been able to use yet because of wiring issues in my office. The XPS One is also capable of being a HD TV. If I could let this go, it would be a brilliant addition to my kitchen so that I could keep my kids entertained during snack time and I could use it to find recipes right there instead of printing them out (my *dream kitchen!*). For now, we’ve been at least using it as a DVD player and MP3 player – thanks to Dell I’m a new Amazon MP3 store addict.

So besides being sexy, looking great, being sexy, and us fighting over who gets to use it, what’s so great about it? In the end, isn’t it just another computer? Well, kindofbutnotreally – it’s one freaking fast computer that can handle pretty much anything I can throw at it – I always have 5-10 Firefox windows open, am playing music on iTunes, using Skype or AIM to chat or make VOIP phone calls, and always have Word, Excel, and either Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop open all at once. Plus it’s WIFI ready and Bluetooth enabled.

Ginsu Knives

On my old laptop, it can handle all of this with my 2 GHz processor and 2GB RAM – but it slows things down a bit. On the XPS One, with a 2.33 GHz Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q8200 processor and 4 GB RAM, having all these programs open at once is like slicing through butter with a Ginsu. I think I could be doing serious multimedia development and this machine wouldn’t bat an eye.

So, normally in a review I try to find something that the company should improve upon – as far as the machine is concerned, I honestly couldn’t ask for anything else. I probably wouldn’t normally buy something so big, as it seems like more machine than I would need. But now I’m hooked. I guess at a price tag of $1599, if I were actually going out to purchase a desktop computer, I’d probably try talk myself down to a lower priced machine because I’m cheap and it’s the holidays. If you wanted to add a Blue Ray DVD player, tricked out video card and triple the size of your hard drive to 750 GB, it would set you back $1899. But considering this thing is cable-tv ready, it’s like you’re getting a TV, sound system and computer all in “One” (OMG – I didn’t even plan that pun).

If you’re interested in the machine, be sure to check out the 3D view and the photo gallery. It comes in a few colors (wishing they sent me the Product RED version, personally). And I am seriously considering just sending Richard a check and keeping the darn thing…

So this is how they pump up holiday sales – tell us to just “try” it knowing they will never see the thing returned again.

Update :: Since several of you asked, here’s a picture of the Dell in my office:

Dell XPS One

This is a guest post by the insightful and talented Samir Balwani from LeftTheBox. Find him on Twitter at @LeftTheBox or sign up for his social media newsletter, because he’s a really nice guy.

Be a Better CEO:

Stay organized
Don’t lose focus of your goals and make sure you know what you’re doing and when. Keeping yourself organized is the first step to success.

Use All the Tools You Can There’s, literally, hundreds of tools on the web to increase your efficiency. Using your time wisely makes life less stressful, and lets you get more done in a day. Lifehacker is a great blog to read if you’re looking for tools and tricks to save time and make life easier.

Don’t Hesitate to Outsource You can’t do everything. It’s understood that there’s only 24 hours in the day and you need to sleep at some point. Relaxing that need to be in control of everything is a good step towards growth. By outsourcing some work you spend your time doing things that are more important, and hopefully, what you’re good at.

Be Easy to Get in Contact With
How can a reporter get in touch with you if I can’t find your contact information anywhere? Where do I email you? Can I call you? What if I was a customer that wanted to buy your product, or a potential new client? Being easy to contact means less missed out opportunities.

Connect With People Online Just like being easy to get in touch with is important, so is connecting with people. My two favorite sites to use are LinkedIn and Twitter. Don’t forget to connect with me there.

Create Actionable Schedules Every week I create a list of things I want to finish. Each item is something that can be finished, and measured. (Not something like be a better person, although that’s usually a good idea) Be careful not to overload your to-do list. The idea is to create a set of tasks you know you can finish.

Reward Yourself
Whenever you reach a new milestone or finish your actionable tasks, reward yourself. Whether it be 30 minutes of Twitter time or that cake you’ve been eying, you deserve it for finishing your work.

Make Smart Decisions
Take the time to learn everything you can before making a decision. Knowledge is power, and having all the information leads to less mistakes.

Don’t Be Overly Risky
Taking risks is stupid, taking calculated risks is smart. You can’t grow your company without taking risks, it’s an integral part of business. You can, however, minimize the number of bad risks you take by making sure you fully understand what you’re doing.

Be a Better Company

Be the Best
Go above and beyond what’s required of you. By being amazing and offering more than you promised, you empower your customers and clients to be your marketers and evangelists. Do something amazing for a client and you can bet they’ll tell their friends.

Be Memorable
Being memorably on its own isn’t enough, you have to be remembered for good things. Be remembered for how you handled a setback or how you did a job. Don’t let bad press muddy your company’s reputation.

Get Rid of Bad Clients
Keep good clients and fire bad ones. Use the time you’ve been wasting on thankless clients to better service the ones more likely to recommend you to their friends.

Be Transparent
New consumers expect a certain level of transparency. Honesty and good will have become fundamentals in new customer service. Don’t underestimate people’s ability to recognize BS.

Offer Better Customer Service

Ask Your Customers
You can question your customers and clients on what you do well, and what you can improve. Who better to tell you what problems you have or what to fix?

Keep in Touch
Don’t lose contact with your customers. They’ve already bought one of your products, they’re predisposed to buy from you. Leverage this relationship to keep them.

Listen to Everyone
If even 1 person complains, you can bet there are at least a hundred others that feel the same way. Most people don’t take the time to complain, instead they’ll just stop buying your products or using your service. A complaint is a god send, because now you know that somethings bother people. The next step is fixing it.

Fix Problems Quickly
Offer outstanding customer service. Giving someone with an issue something free is usually worth it. You never know whose a blogger and might just ruin your reputation online.

Reward the Best
Reward your loyal customers and evangelists with free schwag, insider news, or discounts on products. You know they’ll proudly show off what you gave them or talk about it.

Use the Web

Start a Blog
Build a blog and update it regularly. Use it to keep customers up to date, build your reputation, and network with others. Want to see how major corporations are using their blogs? Check out this list at alltop.

Apologize Publicly
If you make a mistake, don’t hesitate to apologize. Do it quickly and publicly. I’d say the best place to do so would be on your blog. Motrin did this recently, because of their controversial YouTube ad.

Publicize Your Brand Online
Brand everything. Your blog, your photographs, and your social media profiles, they should all have your logo somewhere. It’s the easiest and cheapest way to increase how many times your brand is seen. People should recognize your logo and your brand, and know what you do.

Leverage Social Media
Use Social Media to create a relationship with customers. Sites like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn are great places to create a fan base.

Ask for Help
Not sure how to use the web to help your business? Ask an expert or hire a consultant. Before you do that though, make sure you know what you want to do. Also, do your research and hire a consultant known to deliver results.

Barack Obama may have won the presidential debates during five key moments, each of which was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on video-sharing sites on the Internet in the ensuing days, according to an analysis of viewership figures of every video uploaded to the major video sites — including YouTube, DailyMotion, Veoh, MySpace and MetaCafe.

Although users of video sharing websites likely skew younger and more liberal than voters as a whole, … much can be learned about viewer preferences in general by analyzing which moments video watchers zero in on. It’s a technique that doesn’t just work for politics — … the same method accurately predicted the winner of the last American Idol.

YouTube Consumer Insights

Auditude is the company that was able to pull together the data point and chart the spikes (full report can be viewed here.) While I think this is interesting, valuable, and great for politics, this isn’t just about who wins elections or contests on American Idol. YouTube has a simpler but still powerful built-in Hot Spots tool so that you can see your own highs and lows on any video you upload:

Youtube Viewing Trends

If you are selling anything via video, doing video blogging, tutorials, or just about anything, this tool is priceless. It will tell you when you’re losing viewers. And it will tell you when people are responding to your message. While you might not get as much data to play with as Obama and McCain did, just having this data is reason enough to do more with video. And you can use it to predict what content will be most popular, what trends people are most interested in, and where your content might be confusing viewers.