The idea of being successful far beyond my own expectation has always intrigued me. I tried something a little different with this headline, and I thank you for letting it grab your attention!

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) is about learning to use the language of the mind to consistently achieve specific and desired outcomes by studying, analyzing and implementing new behaviors to produce excellence.  Personality training and exploration is about understanding the basic inherent characteristics that make us who we are and why we act the way we do.

My friend, Rhonda Robbins  is a Success Strategies Coach, NLP Practitioner, Personality Trainer, Marketing, Web and Social Media Professional. I shifted my home-base from Manhattan, NY to the Phoenix Valley last year.  After being a New Yorker for more than 27 years, I was having a difficult time adjusting to my new lifestyle, new relationships and work responsibilities.  Working with Rhonda’s personality coaching and NLP training helped to implement some drastic shifts in my relationships.

Rhonda is presenting high performance techniques to jumpstart any size business on Saturday, May 5, 2012.  If you are in the Phoenix area, I strongly encourage you to attend.

Participation in May 5’s High Performance Personality & NLP Workshop is FREE.

You can sign up here:

Robbins’ high competency level within her blended skillset portfolio translates to high-performance results for individuals and executives.  Using accelerated learning techniques and state-of-the-art coaching strategies she brings business owners and their staff to heightened levels of awareness and being — resulting in increased interpersonal synergy, dynamics and productivity.

Most executives and individuals rely on a familiar set of skills and behaviors as they navigate the workplace. For organizations to come alive and “thrive” often requires a “pattern interrupt.” Robbins’ assists everyone in the organization to understand their personality differences and teaches them how to relate “into” the other personality and not “out of” their own; bringing communication and results to a higher, more effective level.

NLP gives CEO’s and their staff the opportunity to understand their inherent and adaptive behavioral patterns, to assess the impact of their behaviors and leadership styles, and finally, to consider new strategies for creating powerful, resourceful states of being and prosperity.

Business leaders who want to take their business to the next level, revamp their corporate culture, increase communication, productivity and profits will want to participate .

Other articles you may be interested in:

How to Avoid the Top 10 Mistakes Attorneys Make

Social Media and Meet-Ups Keep Legal Marketers Connected

Legal Marketers and Small Business on Twitter

Kara works with legal marketers and small to mid-size businesses to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win & retain the clients they really want.

I talk with dozens of small to mid-sized law firm members and small business owners every week.  Many of them are almost paralyzed by the daunting task of making the next move for marketing their business.  Whether the challenge is choosing the best tool that’s cost effective or just getting started, I can certainly relate to the anxiety.

Providing educational information sources to your existing clients, prospects and referral sources is one of the best ways to initiate and cultivate relationships.  However, calling 500 contacts on the phone every month just isn’t going to happen.

My suggestion is to start small, develop a plan of action, and build as their business develops, assuring that their return on investment is going to stay strong.  Newsletters are a terrific initial move toward a strong R.O.I. in the web 3.0 world of marketing.

The newsletters I’ve written for Karasma Media helped keep my audience interested through a relocation from New York to Phoenix, so needless to say, I’m a big proponent.  (Thank you for sticking with me if you’re an old friend, and Welcome if you’re a new one!)

Like Us on Facebook and receive 10% off  Newsletter Customization

Whether you outsource the writing and distribution of your newsletter, or take it on yourself, the value of a newsletter’s outreach is immense. Particularly if your primary focus is business-to-business.

1.  Illustrate Value. Your readers won’t want to stay connected to you if you don’t provide them with something new and intriguing that entices them to stay “tuned in”.  Ideally, you want them to feel that as if they’re going to miss out on something important if they don’t read what you have to offer.

2.  K.I.S. — Keep it simple!  A newsletter that garners attention isn’t a dissertation.  You want to keep it focused on one focused area of interest that’s easy for your readers to understand

3.  Make it Compelling. The last thing you want to do is bore your reader and have them delete your news.  The good news is, there is an abundance of boring, dry newsletters out in the world, all trying to sound intellectually important.  Simple concepts like real, down-to-earth information and interesting graphics go a long way.  Business relationships not withstanding, your personality, sense of humor and “keep-it-real” perspectives, will entice people to interact with you.

4.  Authenticity is King. You newsletter is an outreach of your company’s spirit and vitality.  I’ve worked with attorneys from a variety of practice areas and businesses from a wide variety of industries.  Each has it’s own cadence, mannerisms and sense of humor.  Your newsletter is a great way to encapsulate who you are and what you can do for your clients.

Karasma Media can produce a newsletter for you!
Take a look-see at our services and call  888-840-2033 for a FREE consultation

Kara works with legal marketers and small to mid-size businesses to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win & retain the clients they really want.

The New York Times’ John Biggs has poseed an important question…

How much is a Tweet worth and how much does a Twtitter follower cost?

Noah Kravitz, a writer, worked for PhoneDog, a cell phone marketing company.  While there, he wrote for the company’s blog and acquired more than 17,000 Twitter followers. He left his job after 4-years and was intially told that he could keep his Twitter account and was requested to “tweet on their behalf from time to time and I said sure, as we were parting on good terms.”

twitter.com/phonedog_noah and the site Noah's last post directs you to have been "disconnected" for now...

I am among a fast growing number of marketing professionals who are building our reputations as online journalists via their blog and social media platforms.  In doing so, we are building our influence among our audience, and any employer interested in doing so for their company, will bring on professionals who are demonstrating their skills.

The “proof’s in the pudding” so to speak, and transparent actions speak much louder than words.  So, of course any savvy hiring manager will want to be on the lookout for the skill-set.

This being said, John’s statement below truly hit home…

… in a world where social media’s influence can mean the difference between a lucrative sale and another fruitless cold call, social media accounts at companies have taken on added significance.

The outcome of this case is going to set a precidence. Particularly, because more and more marketing and sales professionals are being hired because of their savvyness using Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms, and the number of followers they have acquired.

As employers, you’ll want to stay concious of what you’re paying your employees to do.  After all, if they’re being paid to sit in a seat and make calls, then their interactions on social media (and the followers they generate) — are personal.  They are not connected to the business you pay them to perform.

Transparency in business practices has never been more important.  So, specicifity in job descriptions and fair compensation from the outset will alleviate a multitude of problems later — not to mention the negative public relations impact a lawsuit against an ex-employee in good standing has on your company.

Similarly, if you are an employee of a firm and requested to blog and use social media as an addendum to the duties you were originally signed on to do, make sure the stipulations for doing so are in writing!! Expressing your professional opinion, ie: publicising your expertise on the company’s behalf, your writing skill, and the audience you attain, and the time it takes to create are all valuable skills that you should be compensated for.

Other articles you may be interested in:

Legal Marketing and Small Business on Facebook

Social Media and MeetUps Keep Legal Marketers Connected

FourSquare – A Fun and Innovative Tool For Legal Marketers

Kara works with legal marketers and small to mid-size business to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

Facebook topped Google to become the most visited U.S. Web site, indicating a shift in how Americans are searching for content I talk to literally dozens of attorneys a week and they’re in one of two places when it comes to social media.  If you’re a lawyer or small business owner reading this, you’ll most likely find yourself in one of 3-places regarding your online platform:

1. You have a website and may even blog… when you have the time.  You already have Facebook and Linked In profile that you look at sporadically.
2. You have a website that either looks great or needs revamping, either way it is not enhancing your client intake or bottom line, and you’re “skeptically curious” about using social, so you haven’t set up any profiles.
3. You haven’t started developing an online presence yet.   But since the efforts and money that used to work when marketing your firm that used to work aren’t producing the return you’re looking for you’re curious and want to get started and aren’t sure how…

Here’s some “breaking news”, the entire world is using social media — so it’s very probable that Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are viable resources for reaching viable consumers of your goods and services!

Infographic design by Nick Sigler

“Facebook is squarely at the center of this new universe, and much of what people do online these days starts there. But Facebook’s masterstroke has been to spread itself across the web and allow others to tap your network of friends. As a result, thousands of websites and apps have essentially become satellites that orbit around Facebook.”

Ready to jump in the pool, here are the steps to getting started:

Create Your Profile:
The first step to build your law firm or business presence on Facebook, is to create a personal profile.  Sign up for Facebook, upload a picture and add contact info in your profile. Once that’s done,  upload your existing contact database to see which of your contacts are already on Facebook and ask whichever ones you want to become your Friend.  This will get you up and running quickly rather than completely starting from scratch!

Create Your Company Page:
Once your  personal profile is set up, you can create a Company page for your law firm or business .   the best topics to fill your page with are, news, upcoming events, photos, etc., (Bear in mind that the most effective way to manage your social media platforms is with your blog as the master mind control panel!)
There are also applications that increase the functionality of the page.

If you already have a business website, having a business profile page on Facebook is still estremly important.  Your website is your storefront, your blog and social media are the doors and windows that enable people to find you, contact you and become clients and customers.   After all, you want to have a presence where your existing and prospective clients are spending their time online.

If you already know there’s tremendous potential of Return on your investment by using social to promote your business or legal practice and are looking for content management, relief and strategical maximization, call me at 917-856-5410.

Other articles you may be interested in:

A Great Legal Marketing Firm Tool to Optimize Twitter

Legal Marketers: Responding to social media inquiries is more important than you think

A Very Simple Twitter Formula for Generating Legal Marketing Business

Kara works with legal marketers and small to mid-size business to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

For all you social media enthusiasts in the legal marketing world, Twitter has made some exciting changes…

Twitter is revamping the service with personal Twitter profile pages, a new timeline that includes rich media and other related information embedded into tweets, and easier search for information based on @ symbols (usernames) and hash tags.

The highlighted changes:

• Personal profile pages.

• New home timeline.
  

• #Discover.

• @ names are now the shortcut to people.

Other articles you may be interested in:

The Virtual Law office Debate on Twitter

Foursquare: A Fun and Informative Tool for Legal Marketers

My Typical Morning Routine – Using Social Media Tools For New Business

Kara works with legal marketers and small to mid-size business to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

If you’re an attorney struggling to build your practice, then you probably believe that the best way to use your time is by practicing law. The reality is, you are not in the business of practicing law. Your business is building relationships (also known as marketing) so that you can practice law.

This is the link to a powerful E-book written by Rainmaker Institute CEO, Stephen Fairley entitled, Top 10 Marketing Mistakes Attorneys Make & How to Avoid Them.

In this book you will learn specific principles and tools you can use to grow your practice, too. The one thing you will NOT find within its pages is an ‘easy button’. Unfortunately, in the world of legal marketing there’s  simply no such thing! I can certainly attest to how much hard work, effort and money it takes to build a successful business and it will not happen overnight.

The great thing is, if you are willing to work we can help you make it happen!

As an advisor at The Rainmaker Institute, I work with solo and small firm legal practitioners to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy. In partnership with my clients, I support them to develop a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and empower them to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

Stephen Fairley, has helped thousands of attorneys achieve their goals of creating a financially successful and personally satisfying legal practice.

Echoing Stephen’s invitation, I invite you to download and print this e-book and read it with a pen and highlighter in hand. The specific strategies you’ll find within its pages, once applied, can make the kind of dramatic difference in your practice that lasts a lifetime.

If you are serious about implementing support services specifically designed for solo and small firm attorneys, please feel free to give me a call at 888-588-5891 Ext. 402 or send me an email at kara@therainmakerinstitute.com.

Other articles you may be interested in:

Kara Smith of Karasma Media Joins the Rainmaker Institute as a Rainmaker Advisor

Legal Marketers and Mid-Size Businesses – Let Your Commitments Do the Talking

The Amsterdam News Covers AALBC.com and Karasma Media Media Marketing Workshops

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had some fascinating conversations with J.R. Hunn and have grown very fond of him, which is why you’re hearing about him now…

We’re talking a great deal about finance, our fast shifting world economic status and managing debt.  No doubt you know that these conversations can be overwhelming for many of us to comprehend, let alone actually work with effectively on a personal level.

J.R. has the uncanny ability to give fresh perspective to all of these concepts and situations and provide solutions that are exceedingly easy to comprehend.

More importantly, he shares his knowledge empathetically and has a great sense of humor, which just makes life in general more manageable, and a heck of a lot more fun for those around him.

Growth & decay are constantly happening.  Expansion / Contraction — change is always happening. Some people benefit more than others from any given change.  Learning to benefit from change makes a difference.

The distinction is the magnitude of the changes that are happening now,  The growth is going to be bigger than the rise of the U.S. or Soviet Union.  Collapse is going to be bigger — A really big magnitude shift.

The economic distinction is the size of the shift.   Commitment to benefit from changes is one possible commitment.  Commitment to growth is another.

J.R. Hunn

We shot a very funny video together on the historical impact of oil and the strength of political systems.  Off-camera, this was my first time playing full out with J.R. and we had a ball!

It’s a marathon of jokes, and I literally fell off my chair from laughing so hard.  We’ll be fine tuning as we create more, so stay tuned.

A Brief History of Oil

J.R. consults people on creating financial shelters and prudently manages the assets within the shelters and settles & negotiates debt and prefers to work with people who shelter their finances before they settle their debts.

For some background on the term The DominOil Effect, see J.R’s 2004 article, “…The REAL US Deficit: Oil,” For his more recent research and analysis, see his blog, http://jrfibonacci.wordpress.com/.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Kara works with  small to mid-size business and  legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy.  This new design provides a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

I’ve attended several networking events since moving to Phoenix at the end of January.  Recently, I connected to the meet-up group Java & Justice
through my membership with the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

Alex & Gaxiola, Serious Injury and Wrongful Death Attorneys based in Phoenix, have a terrific marketing & internet services manager, Rhonda Robbins , who I’ve become great friends with.  Rhonda is an SEO queen, and is also creating some stimulating, “out-in-the-world events for her firm.

In speaking with Rhonda, she said that one of Andrew Alex’ primary concerns is his client’s quality of life.  He is also strongly committed to educating them in a way that that will protect them if or when the time comes.

The video linked below to the firm’s YouTube Channel is a terrific example of how an accident with a truck can change your entire life…

One of the primary business growth challenges for a accident attorneys is that their clients don’t need their services until something catastrophic happens.  Since chasing ambulances is unscrupulous at best, having relationships with potential clients, long before they require services is all the more important..

They’re doing a MeetUp Series called JAVA & JUSTICE.

These semi-weekly gatherings allow the firm’s attorneys to interact with their community hands on, providing them with a venue designed for face-to-face communication.

Do connect to  Alex & Gaxiola on Facebook and Twitter …

If you’re in the Phoenix Arizona area, stop by a MeetUp.  Either way, I encourage you to connect with the group so you can stay in the loop!

Join the Java & Justice Meet-Up in Phoenix

Kara works with  small to mid-size business and  legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy.  This new design provides a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

After our presentations on Social Media Marketing at the Harlem Book Fair this year, AALBC.com’s Troy Johnson and I received quite a few requests for hard copies of the slides, so we uploaded them to Slide share.

I highly recommend using Slide Share to legal marketers, because the platform interacts with online data in a similar manner to YouTube, and can enable the information you provide to go viral very quickly.

The 4 slide presentations we shared with our participants were fairly high-level in nature, simply because we only had an hour to cover the content of each section.  If you’re a legal marketer or business owner just getting started in social media, they’re designed to provide you with an initial “look-see”.

I look forward to your thoughts!

Other articles you may be interested in:

The Amsterdam News Covers AALBC.com & Karasma Media Social Media Marketing Workshops

Update to Legal Marketers – Tweets are Embeddable as of May 4th 2010

A Great Legal Marketing Firm Tool to Optimize Twitter

Legal Marketers: Responding to social media inquiries is more important than you think

Legal Marketing Ethics in A Web 3.0 World

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410

On Saturday, July 17th,  Troy Johnson of AALBC.com (The African American Literature Book Club) has invited me  to co-host Publishing YOU-niversity, includes four, 1-hour, standalone workshops on social media marketing for authors and small to mid-size organizations.

Attendees will be provided with a foundation for using a website, Blog, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to promote themselves and their businesses.

Every web interaction has the power to influence a potential client’s decision to purchase your book, product or service.   So, if your website does not provide an informative and satisfying experience and you don’t engage your visitors through social media, then they will find an author who is interested enough to have a dialog with their audience and a business who’s interested in what they have to say.

We’ll be discussing how social media can help convert your online visitors to viable business prospects and customers after interacting with your website.

Register today for:

1. Using a Website to Generate Business
2. How to Use Facebook to Build Your Personal and Professional Brand
3. What is Twitter All About?
4. Social Media Beyond Facebook and Twitter

Location:

Thurgood Marshall Academy (Classroom 211)
214 West 135th Street
New York, NY 10030

Participants who enroll in ALL FOUR workshops will receive a complementary “Jumpstart Your Social Media” Booklet

Troy is a technology expert and industry leader in marketing books on the World Wide Web. Mr. Johnson is the founder and webmaster of AALBC.com LLC.   AALBC.com was launched in 1998, and is now the largest and most frequently visited web site dedicated to books by and about black people.

He has been recognized in articles that have appeared in Publishers Weekly, Essence Magazine, The New York Times, The Amsterdam News, Black Issues Book Review and Black Enterprise.  Troy has also appeared on numerous radio and television programs including C-Span2’s Book TV and The Black Family Channel’s Literary Living; and in 2005 was named one of the 50 Most Powerful African Americans in Publishing by Black Issues Book Review magazine.

At this point, any public relations person stating that they possess a level of expertise using tools of social media, should have the level of this skillset illustrated in their online presence.  Personally, I’ve garnered numerous speaking engagements and broadcast coverage for both myself and my clients, using a combination of social media outreach and traditional PR.

You can see some of the coverage here:

Fox 5 News, Newsweek’s Online Magazine, 10/10 Wins, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, NY 1, Harlem Torch Magazine, and Black Enterprise Online.

More About The Harlem Book Fair

The Book Fair was founded in 1999 by QBR/The Black Book Review as a community event and forum for African American readers to discover and celebrate their history and culture through books.

It is now a week long event and the country’s largest community gathering of African American readers and book lovers. It has evolved into a national brand that is expanding into new markets each year. The Harlem Book Fair now draws over 50,000 attendees, and 15 million viewers via C-SPAN’s Book TV. Last year, the Book Fair was broadcast live in Europe and Asia for the first time.

The 2010 Harlem Book Fair spans two avenue-long blocks on West 135th Street with tents, pavilions of books, food, and cultural concessions. Fair space has more than doubled since its inception.

View the Press Release

Other articles you may be interested in:

Should European in-house lawyers be allowed to be members of the bar – Legal pros using social connect internationally

Update to Legal Marketers – Tweets are Embeddable as of May 4th 2010

Alain L. Locke Elementary School – P.S. 208 Featured in Brazilian Newspaper

A Real-Time Social Web Clock Watcher for Curious Legal Marketers

Legal Marketers: Responding to social media inquiries is more important than you think

Kara works with legal marketers to create a more clearly defined focus and distinctive business strategy that will provide them with a competitive advantage for new business, higher reputation recognition, and enhance their ability to attract, win, and retain the clients they really want.

You can reach her at 917-856-5410