going posterous!

Dearest blog reader or subscriber ... Mayra here. Just wanna let you know that I'm going posterous. What the hell am I talking about, you ask??? OK ... I'll be more specific:

THIS BLOG'S MOVING OVER TO POSTEROUS.COM

Posterous.com will allow me to share more because I can update right from my email. It's also free so as a small business owner, you just can't beat that price with a stick :)

I will be updating my blog RSS link very shortly and will update everyone I can on this blog migration. For now, please know that this blog move is presently underway and I will post an update here very shortly with my new blog URL.

Additionally, most of the secondary content (e.g. links to secondary blogs) will be repurposed onto Facebook.

Updates soon ...

Update on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 05:46PM by Mayra Ruiz-McPherson

This blog is slowly being dismantled and being moved over to posterous and my new blog URL is:

http://mayraruizblog.com

web 2.0 teleseminars w/beth bates ... coming soon

The Bates, Beth Bates that is, is always a pleasure to hang with

Spent my Sunday afternoon at the start of this week hanging out with Beth Bates of Web Strategies in downtown historic Winchester, Virginia. We are kindred spirits in many ways Beth and I. We live life simply, we both avoided going to the prom and we like living west of Washington DC. The list actually goes on and on but you get the point.

It was hard to chat with Beth over all our joint business activities over the very loud gang of drunkenly men :) Actually, they were super nice but very rowdy. However, it was "boys night out" and they said they only get together once a year like that so fine ... they are forgiven!

So back to Beth and I ...

Beth and I will be launching a teleseminar or two in the near future. Plans are to hold it in November 2009 and the topics will cover how to work with web service providers, social media and possibly more. We're working on getting it all together and I will share more info as things develop further ...

In the meantime, it was nice to hang with Beth on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!

inquisitive client has hard hitting social media, digital PR questions

I have a client meeting this morning in good ol' Reston, Virginia. Gonna be hanging out with a really super client who has only recently begun his biz entry into social media realm in the past 3 months or so. This client is doing very well and is wonderful to work with because they have a genuine interested in how all the parts can work to improve his digital marketing and brand awareness.

In preparation for each of our meetings, this client always emails me a list of latest questions and trust me, these questions are hard hitting and very indicative of what many clients are interested in knowing about social media, digital marketing & PR, blogging and the rest of it.

Here are the ones he sent for us to discuss today:

Click to read more ...

so what is a web site these days anyways??

Sorry, Jack, to take over your famous nursery rhyme and substitute my name for yours. The phrase is catchy … plus it’s exactly what came to mind when I started thinking about my own web site (no, not my blog but my web site, which you can find here) recently.

so what is a web site these days anyways?

There have been many discussions as of late about the value, importance and relevance of web sites in general with the rise of social networks and popularity of blogs. Where web sites were once the primary and focal entry point for someone’s Internet presence, now they are just one of many, many other outposts. If you Google search your name, my name or anyone else’s name, surely you’ll note web site-specific URLs will be one of many of the results — and sometimes the web site URL may not necessarily be in the top 10 or first page or results.

Click to read more ...

sitting up on my mother's bed w/social media + marketing thoughts on my mind

all comfy on mom's bed w/infite marketing thoughts on my mind...

ahhhh nothing like blogging to relax the mind after a looong day

Yes, I know most folks would opt for many other activities rather than blogging to soothe the soul but the marketing nerd in me says they don't just quite understand :) I love to write, share my thoughts and decompress the marketing brain cells from their over-activity day in and day out. Besides, mom's house is located at the *perfect* mid-way point between Washington DC where I often have to visit for work and my home in Charles Town, West Virginia. By the time I finish this blog post, traffic will have died down just enough for me to hop back behind the wheel and continue my journey west towards home.

so what's up?

Lots to share and lots on my mind ... not just today but these past few days.  I've had the absolute pleasure of meeting new folks since my panel participation at last week's How Consultants Can Benefit From Web 2.0 and Social Media in Washington, DC.

Hanging out with fellow panelist Terri Holley of Creative Blog Solutions

The audience was just amazing and highly inquisitive. The desire for folks to learn more about social media and how it can best apply to their business continues to be a highly sought point of discussion. I have specific points to share about this panel and all the goodness that came from it ... and plan to share via a separate blog post.

But for now, just wanted to comment that despite all the intrigue and chatter, there still remain skeptics of social media. I had a very nice gentleman approach me after the panel concluded their presentation to thank me profusely for the information I had shared but that he couldn't help but still be skeptical. "How can I know what will work?" "I'm just not really sure this is for me or that it will help my business in any way." These were some of his comments ...

Click to read more ...

in partnership w/social media Client X

So I've just spent the last three hours with a client who is really making solid, deep strides to become a highly social small biz force to be reckoned with.

I love it when clients are so enthused about their own social media destiny, when they have a vision or a Big Picture to reach. It's great to work with someone who knows what they want. The thing is, most of those who retain my services -- like this one client being referenced -- don't know how to get there or connect the dots.

I think that's where a social media strategist can come to the rescue. It's not about the tools, per se. Sure, they will aid you along your journey and will be instrumental in connecting those dots. But it's really more about that pesky yet sorely needed Big Picture and how the tools will augment, complement and nurture one's journey to that end.

Click to read more ...

loyalty marketing capabilities for small biz: loyaltysoft.com

I thought this tool, LoyaltySoft.com, might be of interest to any small business in the food retailer market segment (e.g. local coffee stores, restaurants, diners, etc.) seeking to launch a web-based and affordable loyalty marketing program. I came across it today in my inbox and thought it might be relevant and helpful ...

new service allows small businesses to benefit from marketing practices once reserved only for the largest players

Restaurants, coffee shops and other small businesses can now create professional customer loyalty programs, without having to purchase expensive software or hardware. A new online solution by LoyaltySoft enables businesses worldwide to create loyalty clubs quickly and affordably, using any standard Internet browser.

Once the domain of only large retailers, a loyalty club is a proven marketing tool that can help businesses increase revenues from their existing customers. In addition to providing consumers with tangible incentives to keep coming back, loyalty clubs also establish valuable opt-in marketing channels, allowing business owners to contact their customers even after they've walked out the door.

Click to read more ...

from boring technical specs to nice lookin' email (before & after)

project overview

I was given a technical manual full of dry specifications in a Microsoft Word document today. We're talking about 6-7 pages of text and an occasional super boring screenshot. Sorry but wordy technical specs just aren't all that exciting to me (and I would say to most non-technical people).

And that was the problem the client was having today. They wanted to promote an upcoming webinar geared towards really techy-type folks but didn't know how to make the message look nice, clean and simple without cluttering it full of marketing hype.

email image and content requirements

The requirements for the outgoing email were:

• clean, simple look
• easy to follow and read
• attract attention to webinar registration
• can't be full of marketing "crap" ... has to be targeted towards really technical people
• give just enough information to inform folks about some of the many upgraded features

from boring technical manual to clean, professional email

Use the "Click to read more" link below to see my email makeover :)

Click to read more ...