Product Track - Using your Toolbox to Power Success

Marie LeBaron
Deb Averett

Activity:  Take a piece of paper and draw a box - in 140 characters or less write down one of your successes on the web.  


What tools do you use to keep organized on the web and how to structure your work flow on the web?

Marie:  Started out with good vision of what she wanted to do.  She knew from day one and set goals for how to achieve the vision.  She schedules and plans ahead by two months.  Mondays - is one topic Tues- another Wed- etc....  Editorial calendar where you can plug things in.

Deb: Fresh Nest Design - help readers design homes.  Succeeded fast.  Schedule on excel spreadsheet and has everything blocked out.  Color codes her different things and has priority list.  Drill down on priority list.  Control time she is online - learned how to skim emails and if they don't catch eye she deletes.

Any specific tools you use to keep you on task/work flow?
iphone is curse because connected all the time.  Google docs great for collaborating.  Base Camp, Huddle, Freckle, Cozi, Remember the Milk, teuxdeux.  Try them for a month see what works with you. Time management system Freckle seems to be a popular.


How do you quantify success - how do you know when you are successful?
Marie:  80% are not on your website - happening in the social space.  Get lots of link backs so being part of a conversation - people want to see more or share that is a success for .

Top Three Tools to Market yourselves?
Talk about your topic/niche 
Important to keep in mind when marketing self that different people use SM in different ways.  So a combination of different platforms.  Try different modes because everyone is comfortable in different areas.
Submit posts a LOT of places.  Stumble, Kirtsy,
Get outside to events where you meet people in person.  Different events networking sessions etc. Bring cards with you go back and then send them specific information that they would find valuable.  IRL is huge - found a local group.  Touch base with local groups.
Facebook has lots of moms.
Hootsuite
Seesmic

How do you have self control with all of the online disctraction?
Gwen says she checks email once a day - not sure that this would work for me but I can see that checking only once an hour or a few hours might be helpful... sorta.  No, not really because sometimes I'm waiting for correspondence. 
Finding your own balance of what works but remember goals.
Do your To Do List before you check your email because it becomes very easy for your email to become your To Do List.
Blog .... minimalist.com zenhabit.com (not sure about those spellings)