There’s a reason they say…“Watch out Pinterest is addicting!” This is my 3rd post in a row where I am talking about the hottest new social network on the planet. (I need to get a life, haha.)

I totally agree that it can become very addicting. Just look at all the gorgeous pictures everyone is pinning there. Most people are visual people and like me respond to brilliant colors or funny and/or cute pictures. So when something gets “addicting” it means you spend a lot of time there. Or should I better say waste a lot of time?

I needed another social network to worry about like I needed a hole in the head. But, since I kept hearing how awesome Pinterest is for marketing I had to check it out. I really love what I see there, but I do not have much time to devote to it. So any tool that comes along to make my life easier and save me time is highly welcomed. Don’t you agree?

Here are some cutting edge Pinterest tools
to help you keep your sanity.

Pinerly

Pinerly ….was the first Pinterest tool I found and I can’t even remember where I heard about it. It is by invitation only and you need to have 5 friends before you receive an invite. Pinerly is a Pinterest friendly dashboard that lets you take control. You can follow people, find great pinners with the same interests and easily spot unfollowers.

PinReach

Pinreach …is a Pinterest tool for those of us who love analytics. It lets you find out how your boards are doing as far as followers, pins, likes, comments, etc. It also shows you which your most popular pins are and how many repins they have. And it also gives you an overall score. The higher your score the better of course. Kind of like in good ol’ Facebook fashion, Pinterest too is driven by engagement so repins carry more weight than pinning something new. However when others repin your stuff it carries much more relevance to your social influence than when you do it yourself. So the bottom line here is… pin awesome stuff that compels others to repin it!!

PinReach will show you how many pins a particular board has, how many followers,
how many people liked it and how many comments.

PinReach also shows you how many repins your favorite pins have.
And a whole lot more…

Pinstamatic

Another awesome Pinterest tool I came across is Pinstamatic. It lets you create sticky notes or quotes you can pin on your boards. It also lets you add locations, music, calendar dates, twitter profiles and more. It’s really easy to do and it took me less than five minutes to figure it out.

Cendrine Marrouat wrote a cool blog post loaded with more fantastic Pinterest tools and Google add-ons for Pinterest.  “10 tools to use Pinterest like a pro.” My favorite mentioned there is Pinvolve which I immediately installed on my Facebook Fan Pages. You can see it in action here and here.

So go visit Cendrine’s post and here is another one I would like to mention. This one is by my good friend Stacy Claflin ….”Pin Your Posts Automatically.”

This should keep you busy for a while. If you know of more terrific Pinterest tools it would be great if you could share them with us in the comments below. Thanks!

Don’t forget to “Follow Me on Pinterest”  ….and Happy Pinning!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

Related posts:

1. Powerful Reasons Why You Should Use Pinterest for Your Marketing – Part TWO
2. Powerful Reasons Why You Should Use Pinterest for Your Marketing – Part ONE
3. How Pinterest Can Help You Get More Blog Traffic

If you missed it, here is part one of “Powerful Reasons Why You Should Use Pinterest for Marketing.”

Success on Pinterest is about Strategy

So strategize! Strategize! Strategize! Just like Facebook with its EdgeRank it’s all about interaction on Pinterest as well.

Strategize and plan out your boards. Cute and funny always trumps. Infographics are eye-catching. (I love infographics.) Always think, what audiences do I want to reach and …how is this going to be viral so people want to share it? Use hashtags #.

Also, do a lot of looking around and checking out what other people are doing. Watch and learn and see what’s working. (I find myself doing that a lot.) You can learn quite a bit by following other people in your target niche, check out their strategies and then implementing them.)

Use different pin boards for different audiences.  One really cool thing about Pinterest is that you can have multiple pin boards. So if you have different audiences or target markets you can set up pin boards for each one. Pinterest users have the option of following individual boards or following a member as a whole. So if they don’t want to follow all of your boards they can just pick out the ones that are of interest to them. I think that’s a very cool feature, don’t you?

What to name your pin board? Now I admit I hadn’t given much thought to this in the past. Obviously you should pick a name that gets people’s attention, but at the same time you should keep keywords in mind as well.

Engaging on Pinterest. Engage with people by re-pinning their content, liking it or commenting on it. When you re-pin somebody’s content you are automatically following him or her. That’s kinda neat, don’t you think?

By the way, you can use hashtags (#) in the description of your images. They are also allowed in the comments. So you can use them just like you would use your keywords for search engine optimization.

Also, when you follow somebody they will receive an email letting them know and more often than not they will follow you back. That’s how you grow on Pinterest, by interacting with other people.

Linking your images. You probably already know this, but you can link your images back to your blog, website or sales funnel. (Believe it or not, I didn’t realize this and did it the hard way. There are always two ways of doing things…the hard way and the smart way.) While this is a very strategic way to get more targeted traffic, it can also be used to spam the boards. My advise….DON’T! You don’t want to mess up a good thing, so use self-promotion sparingly. There’s nothing wrong however with linking back to your valuable content on your blog.

So here is how you link your pin…..

Click the “Edit” button on your pin and then add the link to your website or blog. Don’t forget to save your changes.

Let’s recap right quick…Why should you use Pinterest for your marketing?….

• 80% of Pinterest users have it connected to Facebook. (You can also connect it to your Twitter account.)
• The average Pinterest user spends 89 minutes per month on the site, compared to 21 minutes for the average Twitter user.
• Pinterest can help you increase traffic back to your website, improve your social growth, increase sales as well as help with your search engine ranking.
• It’s visual and highly viral.

Be aware that Pinterest is in the beginning stages. It’s still the Wild Wild West out there and things will be constantly changing. But it is so much fun to be at the start of something BIG.

Oh, and since Pinterest is still in Beta you will have to request an invite to join the fun. You can ask your friends on Facebook who have a Pinterest account to send you an invitation. (If we are friends then let me know you would like an invite.)

So have fun on Pinterest and make sure you follow me!

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. All the credit goes to maximizesocialmedia.com for putting on an incredible webinar. I only shared what I learned.

Related posts:

1. Powerful Reasons Why You Should Use Pinterest for Your Marketing – Part ONE
2. How Pinterest Can Help You Get More Blog Traffic

So let’s say you are sending out an email to your list in which you would like to introduce your subscribers to the new product line your company just released. And let’s say you want to send them to one of your company’s videos.

The easiest way to do this would be to add a hyperlink in the body of your email and hope that people will click on it and go through to the video. Right?

Well yes, that might work. But often subscribers don’t click on our links because they don’t like to be taken to another website. They think something like, “Oh, I don’t have time for this right now. I’ll just come back to it later.” And we all know how that goes. They’ll click away never to return again.

So how about a little teaser?

You know how the saying goes about how curiosity killed the cat?  Not only cats, but people as well are curious by nature. Some more than others, but if we are tempted enough most of the time our curiosity gets the better of us. Wouldn’t you agree?

So, here’s a sneaky little email trick
to make your subscribers want to
take a look at your video and click through.

How about taking a screenshot of the video and add a little play button to the image to make it look like your video is actually embedded in your email. Then insert the image into your email and hyperlink it to your video, so when people click on the image they are directly taken to your video? (I use Aweber as my autoresponder, but you can use this little trick in any email client.)

In the example above I used SnagIt to take the screenshot and then using the arrow tool added a “Play Button” to the image.

You think someone would click on that?

I would, and I bet you a soda pop so would most people. There’s just something about that little “Play” button that makes us want to click on it. We just can’t help it. Especially if the image of the video itself is enticing.

Now, some people have their email client set so it doesn’t show images. So to make sure that these people still get a chance to click through to your video, include the hyperlink underneath your picture or somewhere in your text as well.

Go ahead try out this “sneaky little email trick” in your next campaign and check your stats to see if your click through rate doesn’t go up. I betcha it does.

To Your Massive Success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Network

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There are 36 million kids ages 5-13 in the United States, and more than 93 percent of them report going trick-or-treating, according to the Washington Post.

Do you realize that all of those little ghosts and goblins who will be coming knocking at your door for some tricks or treats can help you spread the word about your business?

Absolutely! Halloween presents a great opportunity to get really creative and think outside the box as far as your marketing is concerned.

Here are 5 creative marketing ideas that will
make this Halloween both fun and profitable for you….

1. If you are planning on giving out Halloween themed suckers, (or any other kind), they work really well with your business card tied on to them.
2. The pumpkins on your front door make for ideal advertising spaces.  Just carve your company logo into them. Or if you are really talented with the carving tools then carve in a QR code leading to your website.
3. Hand out little bags of candy with your company logo printed on it or use Halloween themed baggies and include your business card.
4. Send Halloween cards to your customers and clients to keep on top of their mind. Maybe attach a coupon for special Halloween savings on your favorite products.
5. For those of you who love marketing with videos, why not make a special Halloween marketing video. You could dress up as your favorite scary character and present your marketing message in a frightful way they’ll be sure to remember.

One of my favorite Halloween marketing ideas I shared earlier on this blog, but I’ll repeat it here again.

Trick or Treat…

Why not make your own Halloween Mix? Here’s my favorite recipe…

2 cups of candy corn
1 cup of nuts
some M&Ms
some salted peanuts
& some Apple Jacks cereal

Each of these stand for something. Mix them all up and put them into a fun plastic back or other fun container. Tie your business card to it and a note that reads:

“Are you mixed up thinking about how you pay for Christmas gifts this year? Consider a mix that’s the answer. If you like to have fun and you are a little nutty consider joining XYZ company. You decide how many zeros you want on your paycheck. If you’re curious about mixing it up and making a little more money, let’s get together so I can tell you about our treats.”

I hope these ideas gave you some inspiration. For more creative marketing ideas for the holidays and beyond check out my post … “Thinking Outside the Box in Your Marketing? | Creative Marketing Ideas for the Holidays and Beyond.

Do you have any other  ideas  for creative marketing you would like to share? If so, feel free to leave your feedback in the comments below. (PLEASE READ the Commenting Rules here!)

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

No related posts.

Tribe marketing is when a group of people collectively share each other’s content on social media and bookmarking sites. There are many free tribes that you can join on Facebook for example. I have been and still am a member of such tribes and they work very well. However, I have recently joined TribePro to speed up the process of creating backlinks and increasing traffic to my blog.

What is the purpose of TribePro?

With the recent changes at Google now more than ever before it is important to collect as many backlinks to your website as possible. Each backlink is basically a vote of approval for your content saying the article, blog post or youtube video for example is cool and very well worth bookmarking and sharing.

You may have been submitting your own content to Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites yourself before or have been a member of a tribe sharing each other’s content.  Wouldn’t you agree that the more people are sharing your content the more backlinks you will receive? The more backlinks pointing back to your website or blog the higher your rank in the search engines which in turn translates to more traffic for you.  More traffic, more profit!

Pretty simple, isn’t it?

TribePro speeds up this process and automates it with some of its cool features.

What are some of the features of TribePro?

There are a few cool features and I’m sure in time there will be a lot more added but right now I would like to point out two in particular that I like.

1) The “Auto-Submit” feature lets you auto-submit your RSS feed directly in to any tribes you are a member of. So for example, if you publish a new blog post it will automatically be submitted to any tribe of your choosing. No reason to log in and do this manually.

2) “Auto-Syndicate” is not only a powerful time-saver but gives your content a boost right out of the gate. Imagine 10, 20 or more people automatically sharing your content the minute you submit it. Do you think that would help you with exposure?

Basically you can choose which member’s contents you would like to automatically share and to which social media or bookmarking sites. This feature needs an Onlywire account which you can get free at OnlyWire.com.

Who can benefit from Tribe Marketing with TribePro?

Everyone who wants to get more backlinks, increase traffic to their website, get more exposure, improve their search engine rankings, get more leads and ultimately make more profits. So if that is you, what are you waiting for?

Can I join TribePro for free?

Absolutely! You can start with a free membership, join a few tribes, share other people’s content and earn points which in turn let you submit your own content to be shared. Upgrade when you are ready. I bet it won’t take you long because the more you share other people’s content the more yours will be shared as well.

Right now you can upgrade for only $10 for your first month. So what’s holding you back?

Take advantage of Tribe Marketing and join TribePro today!

To Your Success…

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. I always love your feedback so don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments below. Are you a member at TribePro yet? What is your experience?

P.P.S. As always, if you liked this post and found value in it, please make sure you share it with your friends and followers. Thank You! Your support is very much appreciated.

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They say… “A picture is worth a thousand words,” so blow your audience away by creating eye-catching PowerPoints, kick-butt Webinars and/or dazzle them with videos that are out of this world.

You can do all that with this value-packed Webmaster Graphics Package.

When I saw this I was blown away by the value. I am always looking for great graphics or pictures for my blog posts. Sometimes when I can’t find what I am looking for I create it myself, which is fun, but time consuming.  With this great value-packed package I don’t have to create anything for a very long time.

Here’s what’s included in the Web Graphics Package…

(with more being added all the time)…

• 70 Stunning PowerPoint Templates
• 200+ Power Point Graphics and Backgrounds
• 100s of Additional Bonus Graphics
• 44 Video Broadcast Frames
• Fun Warning and Spoof Slides
• 1600 Roalty Free Web Graphics
• 25 Roalty Free Music Clips

and much, much more.

Click image below for the video and additional information! (Or just click HERE if you can’t see the picture.) Wait till you see this. Your jaw will drop!

If you need graphics to put your webcasts or PowerPoint presentations on High Octane this fully-loaded Webmaster Graphics package may be for you.  It comes with tons of Bonus Graphics too. Maybe you are looking for some cool Twitter backgrounds? Or social media buttons for your blog? No problem, they are included.

It’s a Honey of a Deal!

There are no monthly fees just a one-time membership fee that locks you in for life and every time new graphics are added you can just download them from your back office …at no extra charge. Isn’t that cool?

Avoid disappointment by acting fast! This low introductory price will not last for long. The price has already gone up once but this “web graphics” package is still a tremendous bargain for the exceptional value you get in return.

Enjoy!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. Yes, if you pay this package from me I will be earning a commission. So thank you very much in advance! I appreciate your business!
P.P.S. If you found value in this post please share it with your friends on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!

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Marketing Outside the Box

Being creative and thinking outside the box in your marketing might make your offer more appealing.

Just think, a nicely wrapped gift makes much more of a statement than if you hand the gift over unwrapped.

Maybe you have a tough time getting some of your prospects to make a commitment and join you in your business.

I learned about these innovative marketing ideas below which may just create that little push they need to get them off the fence.

Since Halloween is just around the corner lets start off with that…

Trick or Treat…

If you’re really into candy … make a Halloween Mix

2 cups of candy corn
1 cup of nuts
some M&Ms
some salted peanuts
& some Apple Jacks cereal

Each of these stand for something. Mix them all up and put them in a fun cellophane bag (or some other fun container.) Tie your business card to it and a note that reads:

“Are you mixed up thinking about how you pay for Christmas gifts this year? Consider a mix that’s the answer. If you like to have fun and you are a little nutty consider joining XYZ. You decide how many zeros you want on your paycheck. If you’re curious about mixing it up and making a little more money, let’s get together so I can tell you about our treats.”

Christmas Idea…

Purchase some candy canes and put this note on them…

“Are you a bit wobbly about your financial future? Lean on me to support you in your new business.” (And attach your business card)

Valentine’s Day…

Buy some conversation hearts. Put some in a little plastic bag (you can buy some really tiny ones not much larger than a business card.) Stable to a saying and just hand it out.

“I’d like to have a heart to heart conversation with you about what XYZ business can do.” (Don’t forget to attach your business card too).

During Spring and Summertime…

Pick up different seeds…(at your local nursery)

“Seeds are the beginning of a bountiful business. Plant the seeds and watch your XYZ business grow. Do you feel SQUAHSED in your current job? Does your boss SNAP like a dragon? Then let us talk for a minute because I BEAN where you are and I know you MUSTARD things around. I know it’s a bit KORNY but PEAS listen up and don’t TURNIP your nose to what I can share with you. After all you might find yourself lucky and GREEN.”My husband (or wife) is a real gem but I didn’t MARYGOLD. With my own business I’m able to CARROT about those who matter most. I flower my family with time and attention. Not only am I growing a happy family but a profitable business.”

Send them a shoe or a sandal and say…

“I’ve been in your shoes. I know you have reservations but I’m here to teach you and walk beside you to build your business.”

Send them a swim ring and say…

“Feeling deflated about your finances? I have a life-saving idea that will inflate your monthly income.”

S’mores…..

“Do you need s’more of ….. (fill in the blank)?

Here’s a cute one for moms…

Diaper Idea….

Take a diaper put some Milk Duds in it and attach this saying….

“Is your financial outlook crappy? Then take a load off and learn how XYZ business can wipe away your financial worries.”

I think this will get your creative juices flowing and start thinking outside the box. If you can think of any other creative marketing ideas feel free to share them with us in the comment box below.

To Your Success…

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

No related posts.

Online Marketing Forum

Is it worth spending time in online marketing forums? Does forum marketing really work?

I would definitely say “YES!” Considering you are following the forum marketing tips below.

You can make some great connections there. Find answers to your questions by posting threads. Well, even find prospects for your business opportunity.

However there are some rules you need to follow.

Some are common sense but still I see people violate them all the time.

Just like blogs, or social networks, online marketing forums are very public. People can follow and observe you without you even knowing it. So it is of utmost importance that you are at your best behavior at all times.

I think it goes without saying that you should be treating people with courtesy and respect.

Here are some forum marketing tips that will make your experience in online marketing forums more fun:

1. Read the rules. That should be a no brainer, as not following the rules can get you banned from online marketing forums altogether.
2. Be transparent. Don’t hide behind an avatar, company logo, picture of your dog or any other such nonsense. People want to know who you are. They are much more likely to connect with you when they can see your face.
3. Be kind and polite to fellow members. Think twice before cutting someone down, leaving a rude comment, or being darn right nasty. Remember, these are real people you are interacting with. Just like you, they do have feelings. Offensive language doesn’t get you anywhere. It can actually get you banned from the forum as well.
4. Never sell or promote anything. People don’t like to be spammed. An online marketing forum is not an ad board, but a place to communicate, share experiences and help and support other members.
5. Always give value. If you have helpful information that you can add to forums, or the solution to someone’s problem ,  by all means share it. Share freely without expecting anything in return. The more you contribute the better people will get to know you.
6. Be appreciative. If someone helped you out, please let them know that you appreciate their help and support. A little “thank you” can go a long way.
7. Create an attractive signature file. This is the place where you can link to your opportunity, your website or your blog. The only place where you can toot your own horn. So make it interesting for people to want to find out more about you or your business.

There you have it. It’s not rocket science. Most of it is common sense.

Remember, whatever you say in online marketing forums is public and out there for everyone to see.

I hope these forum marketing tips have been helpful.

Oh, by the way, you can find some great online marketing forums by doing a search on Google.

However, the best online marketing forum I have found is BetterNetworker.

If you are already at Better Networker, make sure to connect with me. I’d love to meet you.

To your success!

Ilka Flood
The Enlightened Networker

P.S. If you found value in this article please share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you!

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Twitter List Builder

Every once in awhile I come across a great tool that I just have to share with everyone. TwitterListBuilder is such a tool. It’s pretty cool too!

If you watch the video it will show you how you can easily and automatically build a list of thousands of followers with just a click of a button and 100% FREE. You activate the software by posting one simple tweet and you will automatically follow the seven people below you. And when you send people to your unique referral link they will follow you automatically too. After that, it’s just duplication, duplication, duplication.

But in my opinion that’s not even the best part about Twitter List Builder. To me the best part are the videos. I have seen Twitter tutorial videos before but these are by far the best I have ever seen. You’ll learn step-by-step how to generate traffic, leads and sales from Twitter.

You’ll also learn…

• How to Set Up My Twitter Account
• How to Create a Twitter Background Image
• How to  Add a Custom Twitter Background
• How to Get Tweeps (Followers)
• Learn about Twitter Tools like Twellow, TwitrPwr, Twitter Fox, Tweet Later, Twitter Toolbar, etc.
• How to Combine Emailing & Twitter
• How to Combine Blogging & Twitter (with Twitter Tools for Blogs…cool stuff!!)
• Twitter Traffic Tips
• …and lots more.

I highly recommend Twitter List Builder to anyone who is using Twitter, whether they are just starting out or even if they have been tweeting for a while. The information on these videos is priceless. Twitter List Builder gets a “two thumbs up!” from me.

Have fun!

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