Lessons in Email Management

Please tell me that I'm not the only one struggling with keeping my email in-boxes tidy. Managing emails seems to be an ongoing battle. One that I feel like I'm losing.

With a new school year fast approaching, I really want to get a handle on this. I found some articles that with some email management tips. I look forward to applying the "Two-Minute" Rule". I suppose I should create some rules too for newsletters:

A Simple Guide to Managing Your Email

Managing Email Effectively

10 Tips to Manage Email Effectively

Do you have any tips on how to manage your email that isn't mentioned in these articles? Please share.

Developing My Social Media Strategy

Last month, I was on a mission to find the best Social Media Management Tool for my business. As I was playing around with the trial versions, I started to think about having an actual social media strategy. Now you may wonder "Why do I need a social media strategy?" If you're using any of these social networking platforms for business, you need to think about branding. In short, what kind of image do you want to present to the world?

A Google search will cough up countless articles on how to setup a social media business strategy. It doesn't have to be complicated. Really, it as easy as asking yourself the W5:

• Who are you sharing your message with?

• What do you want to say?

• Where are you going to communicate?

• When are you going to post?

• Why are you sharing your message?

• How are you going to communicate?

Let's look at them in turn:

Who are you sharing your message with?

I have seven blogs which represent different aspects of my business. Initially, they represented the different areas I wrote for as a Suite101 Contributing Writer. Each has a slightly different niche, although they are unified by the Greek Muses.

Sure, I could have used a single blog and organized everything with tags and categories, but I have to think about what is easier for the end user and for search engines.

Will those seeking to strike a healthy life balance want to read about my adventures in geekdom? Probably not. Will readers following Maestro's adventures in health and wellness want to hear about music practicing tips? Not likely.

Rather than have one vague, catch-all blog title, I've tried to carve a different niche and identity for each blog, right down to the title. That is something search engines like.

This helps with the ads that run on each of the blogs as well. There's no mishmash of pet accessories mixed with music theory books. Again, search engines also like that the keywords in the ads match the keywords in my blog entries.

Whatdo you want to say?

Some businesses communicate when they have sales. Others share user tips, while others share their portfolio.

I brainstormed about what Musespeak™ Studio wanted to share. My favourite way of brainstorming is on the floor with Crayola® markers:

From my meanderings on the web, I've noticed the folks and businesses with the strongest following have a clear sense of what they want to share. Not only that, they have a keen sense on how they want to interact with their clients and fans.

Where are you going to communicate?

There are so many social networking sites out there. There's Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Linked In, etc. etc.

My strategy is three-fold. First, use what I am (somewhat) comfortable using. Second, keep in mind what my audience is using and third, determine what is the best medium for each niche that I've carved.

For instance, many of my piano students are on Facebook. The quickest way for me to get a hold of them is through FB. I wasn't keen on the idea at first but really, if I want them to get my messages, I have to use the same medium.

I see that a bunch of them, along with my fellow writers, are on Pinterest. I guess I'll have to explore that at some point.

When are you going to post?

One of my colleagues, LaDona Ahenda, introduced me to the beauty of advance scheduling posts. That way, if I feel like writing six articles in one day, I can space them out throughout the week.

Now that I'm Hootsuite Pro, I can take that to a whole new level. Not only can I schedule my blog posts, but I can schedule my tweets, article shares, meme shares and so on.

The other end of the equation is that you should time your posts to when your audience is online. It's pointless for me to post music practice tips when my students are in school. Better to schedule those posts for when they are home and (hopefully) practicing.

My piano parents tend to do their social networking later in the evening when the kids have gone to bed. Therefore, it makes sense to send messages and posts targeted to them in that timeframe.

My non-music blogs have a wider reach. It doesn't matter when I post them since there are readers worldwide. However, I try to stagger them.

Whyare you sharing that message? 

Everyone seems to get bombarded with spam. Not just that, I've also seen in discussion groups that people don't really like it when one person keeps posting "wily nily".

Each post has to have a purpose. Are you informing? Educating? Warning? Inspiring? Humouring? This shapes what kind of messages you send out as well. Too much of one thing can get to be a bit much.

Howare you going to communicate?

Each social networking platform has their strengths and weaknesses. For example, Twitter's strength lies in those quick hits - upcoming concert announcements, anything geeky and/or quirky. It's the perfect platform to share "all things geek" and all "all things dog".

Linked In is primarily for business networking. It's a great place to share accomplishments and anything that pushes your credibility in your field.

Youtube and Soundcloud are perfect for my music studio. Lesson clips, practice drills and performances can be shown off here.

The only network that I'm currently using that requires further thought and exploration is Google+. From what I can see, it's similar to Facebook but with what I think is an older demographic. More international users too.

I captured my initial ideas on this sheet:

With all that in mind, I began to made a spider web brainstorm of my social media strategy. As with any plan, it's dynamic and will evolve as the needs and interests of my audience changes (mine too).

Further reading:

Why You Need a Social Media Strategy for Marketing Success

Social Media Strategy: No, You Don't Need the Kitchen Sink

Revising My Clean Up Strategy

Summertime is a good time to take a look around to see what you can merge and purge from your home and your life. The end of the school year is normally nutty for me, so my office can become a bit of a dumping ground.

It can be overwhelming and sometimes, one just doesn't know where to start.

Normally, I pick a spot, usually by the computer, and work my way out. When I hit a pile or a bag with receipts and books, I dump it and tackle that for a spell.

Last week, I decided to try something different. See that mess in the top left-hand corner? That's my closest/filing area. On Day 1 of Operation Office Merge & Purge, I plunked myself in the closet. That's right - I put myself in a corner. No breaks until I could actually walk out of the closet.

It was an interesting way to do it. Each time I looked out, I could see my sunny (albeit messy) backyard. But at least, I could look out the window and have the sense that I was getting closer to the sunshine.

I see the benefit of being far away from the temptations of the computer and smartphone. Not sure if I'll do it again that way. The first little while, I felt trapped. I worked my way quickly to open up a path.

At the very least, it felt good to tackle the not-so-fun task of organizing my office and cleaning up my mess from a different angle. It felt fresh.

The next time you tackle de-cluttering your space, approach it from a different angle or start in a different place. You're in for a new experience.

Getting a Handle on Social Media Management Tools

It all started out with my smartphone. I overdid it with the apps, which I suspect was a contributing factor to it getting stuck in an endless restart loop this spring. After it was repaired, I knew I had to limit the number of apps running on it. The glitchy manga reader app had to go. Ditto for the metronome app that seemed to crash every now and again. Next on the hit-list was limiting the app size. Then, it was time to tackle the beast known as social media. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr, Soundclound, Linked In and Youtube: I know there are more out there, but these are the ones I use. It was important to have one dashboard and one mobile app to manage them all.

My criteria for social media management (SMM) tools was shorter than the one I had for my online scheduling system. I had 10 items to start with:

1. Facebook, Twitter, Linked In AND Google+, Youtube integration

2. Could handle multiple streams/sources: i.e., multiple accounts for a single social network

3. Is cheap ($15/month or less)

4. Has a logical user interface, i.e. attractive, easy to use, easy to navigate

5. Has a mobile app for Android

6. Has the ability to schedule posts and the ability to post the same item simultaneously to several social networks (cross-posting)

7. Can manage more than five streams/accounts/sources

8. Real-time monitoring

9. Reporting tools and analytics

10. Decent tech support

My initial Google search and review hunt came up with the following SMM tools for small business: Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer, Viralheat and BuzzBundle.

A quick comparison of specifications took Sprout Social and Buffer out of the running. Although Sprout Social has a 30-day trial, the smallest package offered is the Standard at $39 US/month.

Buffer, on the other hand, isn't really an SMM tool. Rather it is a powerful tool to share information - posts you've read, or your own. I was contemplating using it to manage the blogs I subscribe to. However, it only has Facebook, Twitter and Linked In integration. SMM tools with Google's API is hard to find.

That left the remaining three.

BuzzBundle - Powerful Listening and Monitoring Capabilities, with a Couple of Snags

I really wanted BuzzBundle to work. A BuzzBundle video review I watched demonstrated its powerful listening and monitoring capabilities. You have the ability to monitor keywords used for SEO (in my case: "music lessons", "music and technology", "practice tips"). Once you've designated a few listening "spots" (e.g. discussion forms, Yahoo Answers, Wiki Answers), you are alerted when someone asks a question. You can hop in and join the conversation, share your information and be off to the next item.

The user interface was easy enough to use and my requests were responded to between 24 - 48 hours. Unfortunately, the free version is extremely limited: five accounts and you can't save your projects (each stream/profile and keyword search is a project). That's a huge time waster if you have to input your social network profiles and SEO keywords every single time you open the program.

I almost forked out the $199 one-time package. I liked the idea that it was a one-time fee. However, a bit more digging revealed that there is a monthly maintenance fee, which you start paying after six months.

There were other drawbacks for me: no mobile app, with no plans of offering one. BuzzBundle is a software download (versus an online application) and finally, there's no integration with Flickr and Soundcloud.

I didn't realize going in that software download versus online application would be a deal breaker, but it was. If I was only working off of one computer, then it wouldn't be so bad. However, I flit back and forth between my office computer, studio computer and netbook. Therefore, running an web-based social media management tool is ideal.

Viralheat - Slick Design, Sweet Package for Very Small Businesses

I really loved Viralheat's set-up. The layout is extremely smart - aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate. The reports and analytics were what this part-time writer wanted. Like BuzzBundle, Viralheat has the capabilities to monitor topics or keywords.

Navigation was a snap and the cross-posting and publishing tools were just what I was looking for. Then, I hit a snag in my test run.

The Pro Package ($9.99 USD/month) is good up to 15 accounts.  If I only ran a music studio with a single blog, no problem. However, with multiple Twitter and Youtube accounts, two Facebook business pages, a Google+ page, Linked In, Soundcloud, Flickr and seven blogs - 15 is not enough. Unfortunately for me, the next level up (the "Premier") is $99/month. That brought the test run to a screeching halt.

And then there was one. Stay tuned for my HootSuite Pro experience, coming up next.

Exploring Online Discussion Forums for Music Teachers

Online discussion forums and groups are a great way for solopreneurs to brainstorm and troubleshoot with colleagues. Think of them as virtual coffee rooms or water cooler areas.

My first introduction to online music teacher groups was the Canadian Piano Pedagogy Group. Shortly thereafter, I joined a couple of music teacher groups on LinkedIn.

These days, I've been more active in two groups. The first is the Alberta Piano Teachers' Association's Facebook Group (APTA). The second is worldwide - The Art of Piano Pedagogy. 

What I like about these groups is that they aren't limited to where I teach. APTA's FB group has over 70 members from across Alberta, while The Art of Pedagogy has over 3,100 members worldwide. There are variances to how each city state or town, province or state, country or continent tackles the art of music teaching.

By plugging into these groups and into this "world brain" of music education knowledge, music teachers young and old can draw upon this highly dynamic library. Not only that, just like another famous online community that I am part of, these groups also provide encouragement and support when teachers are going through challenging times or life transitions.

If you are feeling a little isolated (which is common for any solopreneur), or you feel like you need to re-energize your teaching without having to travel far, online discussion groups are a great way to go. The solopreneur does not have to be alone!