No matter where in the world you go you will be able to find people tweeting, posting, liking, poking, and tagging – all virtually, of course.  Social media is an ever growing part of society and is being utilized by millions.  The internet is more than a place to research information, or have a website.  It is a place to create and foster relationships.

According to an article in PR Newswire, a recent study shows that one out of every six marriages is between people who met through an online dating site.  That means 1/6^th of marriages are because of social media.  And it is not just romantic relationships that are being sought after through online networks.   A wide variety of other networking sites allow people to create relationships in many forms.  For instance, Facebook allows people to stay in contact with old friends and family.  Lack of time is a big reason people loose contact with loved ones. Sending a “hello” through Facebook is a lot easier and less time consuming than picking up the phone, yet still allows communication to be made and relationships to continue.  Social networks are also being used professionally.  LinkedIn, is a site that provides a way to network with people that you have done business with in the past, as well as current and potential contacts.  With the click of a mouse, LinkedIn profiles show potential business propositions any references and recommendations that you have.  Facebook and LinkenIn are just a couple examples of the hundreds of sites aimed at growing webs of networks for every faucet of life.  So what does this mean for running a business?

People communicate through social media in a variety of arenas (romantically, socially, and professionally).  So why not reach clients the way they want to be reached?  But using social media as a business tool is more that just creating a profile.  Here are some tips for starting your social media strategy.

Limit your networks:

There are a lot of different social media networks out there and if you use too many, you will become overwhelmed.  Start with one, and expand to two or three if you like the results.  It is best to start with the networks that your clients or potential clients are already using.  Do some research and see how many clients are on Facebook or Twitter, as they are the top two networking sites in popularity.

Keep your private life private:

Keep in mind that whatever you post is going to be public forever.  Use discretion, and know that photos from your personal life may not reflect well professionally.

Once you are start, you can’t stop:

There is nothing worse than following an inactive tweeter, or someone with no recent activity on their Facebook.  Make sure to update regularly.  A few times a week should suffice.  But also keep in mind that there is such thing as updating too much.  Don’t tweet or post a Facebook update more than once a day.

Market your profiles:

Now that you are up and running on social media, make sure to include your Facebook and Twitter addresses on marketing materials.  It shows your clients that you are up with the times and is just another way that they can reach you.

Free is a good price tag; especially when the free item can help you grow business.  What am I referring to, your bargain loving mind may ask?  Google Optimization of course.  In our last blog we talked about the importance of having a great website and touched a little bit on Search Engine Optimization.  But in the spirit of being thrifty and utilizing free tools, I wanted to divulge a bit more about a free way to gain business, in the search engine arena.

Google is the top search site online.  In fact, according to www.googleoptimizing.com, Google accounted for 44.5% of all online sales in 2009.  This number in comparison to Yahoo’s search site accounting for only 17% shows just how powerful Google is.  This is why you should start with Google’s free optimization guidelines and tools first, when optimizing your web site.

Google has high standards.  One reason they are the top search engine site is because of these standards.  Google strives to showcase the best sites possible that are most relevant to peoples’ searches.  So how do you make sure that your site comes up as one of the best?  There are guidelines for building the best optimized site for Google in their Webmaster Tools manual.  You can find this information online.  Google changes their policies a lot to make sure they are maintaining the highest standards, so make sure you frequently check for updates.   Some main things to remember when optimizing for Google are that it likes keywords.  Google indexes sites based on popular searches.  So make sure you use these keywords in headlines, code, and descriptions.  Google also like when other domain names link to your site.  So if you can get other relevant sites to link to you, it will boost your rankings.  However, Google also has things that it does not like, too.  Do not use hidden text or irrelevant keywords that may be popular, but have nothing to do with your website.  If Google sees that you are doing this, it will ban you from their search engine for an extended period of time, which can be devastating to your business.

Search Engine Optimization can seem like an overwhelming task.  But, it is an important one to tackle.  And you have a great starting place with Google Optimization that is completely free.



We live in a society where everyone is connected.  Wifi, smart phones, and lap tops make it easy for us to access what ever we want, when ever we want.  While technology can sometimes be overwhelming with all its upgrades and changes, it also offers valuable tools that have reshaped the way we live.  For instance, high school reunions are not just once every ten years, thanks to Facebook.  Finding your way to a destination, while driving is a lot more calculated, thanks to Google Maps.  And looking for a job, house, or anything else you can think of is only a click away, thanks to Craig’s List.  The internet has opened an array of access and it is the first place people go when they need to find something.  So what does this mean for a small business owner?

It means that in order to seem relevant and worthy to potential business, you need to go digital.  In fact, your website is probably going to be viewed by everyone who uses your services, as well as everyone who will use your services in the future.  It is one of your most important marketing tools, and must be thought out strategically.  Not only is your website the visual face of your company, but it will be side by side with your direct competitors when searched for, and you will want to stand out.  While building a great website may sound intimidating, you should not be overwhelmed.  There are simple things you can do to assure that your .com is an asset to your business.

-Content: Content refers to anything on your website. It is all the copy, pictures, and media that visitors will see.  The amount on content you have on your website is directly related to your goals and type of business. But just remember, a website that is too copy heavy can seem overwhelming, while one with only a few photos and not much copy can seem like it is lacking information.   You need to chose your content with purpose and only include what is deemed as important information.  Anyone can design a pretty website, but if it’s content is lacking, than it is worthless.  That brings us to aesthetics.

-Aesthetics: People are drawn into a site by design.  You don’t want to overwhelm people with too many loud graphics that can seem overpowering.  In the website world, less can often be more.   Choose three to five colors that you want to use for a color palette.  Make sure these colors are associated with your brand and logo.  Stick to one or two fonts for all of the website copy.   The text treatment should always be uniform (that is to say, if you use 20 point bold font for one headline, make sure all headlines are 20 point bold font).  Keep your background simple to allow the content to be easily viewed.  And make sure you design to a multitude of browsers and monitor ratios.  Not everyone has the latest flat screen 20 inch monitor.

-Navigation: Your content is great, and your design is tight, but you still need to make sure that website visitors are able to find the information they are looking for, with ease.  Provide a header and/or footer that are the same on every page.  This header/footer should include a link back to the homepage as well as menus/tabs to navigate to any other pages on the site.  Limit the number of menus/tabs and make sure that all your pages are labeled correctly.  Also, if your site contains links to other places, make sure that all the links work. And continually check for broken links.

-Search Engine Optimization (SEO): You now have a great website with rich content, clear design that is easy to navigate.  But, how can you assure that people are finding it on search engines?  This is where SEO comes in.  SEO is the art of creating a website that is “friendly” for Google, Bing, Yahoo and any other search engine to pick it up and shoot it out to thousands of people searching for your services.  There are simple things you can do when creating your website that will help you rise to the top of search engine rankings.  Check out this link for 55 quick SEO tips.

Your website is a powerful tool, and when you execute it correctly, it is one of your biggest assets.

A few weeks ago I received a flyer in the mail advertising a new fitness center located three blocks from my apartment.  The flyer caught my attention because the images oozed sophistication and the copy read class.  They claimed that the center was just remodeled into a chic and elegant gym, perfect for the working professional with a busy schedule.  I was astonished when I saw that the seemingly exclusive fitness center was also offering a special for five sessions with a personal trainer for only $100.  I was sold.  So, a few days later, I threw on my gym clothes and headed to the fitness center to purchase my personal training sessions.

As soon as I walked into the gym, I knew that I had been deceived by the flyer.  The small fitness center was not only dirty, but extremely hot and stuffy (apparently they didn’t have any air conditioning).  The woman working at the front desk didn’t even know about the flyer that the center had mailed out, nor did she know about the personal training special.  Even though I had the flyer with me, her manager was gone, so she said I would have to come back to redeem it.  I quickly left, and recycled the flyer on my way home.  There was no way I was ever going back to that establishment, not even for an amazing deal.

This is a good example of a brand gap.  That is, a business that claims one thing, yet does not fulfill that promise in all arenas.  In this case, the fitness center promised me a sophisticated, refined gym to work out in.  They also promised me a great deal, once I joined.  However, when I actually arrived at the gym, they did not follow through on that promise.   The flyer and the actual place of business were two completely different brands.

It is important for all small businesses (whether you are a life coach dealing with clients via the telephone, or a yoga studio) to decide what position your brand is going to take, and then follow through on that position in all facets of your business.  Your website, advertising, and customer service must work together in harmony, which in turn will help you build your business.

For more information on how to build a better brand for your business, check out www.smallbusinessbranding.com.

Living up to our promise of bringing to you our pick of industry-specific business blogs, here’s the best of business blogs for yoga studios, massage therapists, and freelance writers. While selecting them, we didn’t look for general blogs in the respective domains, but only on those whose niche audience is the owners of the small businesses.

Yoga studio business blogs

Yoga Baron: Guides yoga studio owners on insurance, liability law, how to use technology to enhance yoga business, and tips on how to write articles for online marketing. It also brings home the point that a yoga studio may be something you’re passionate about, but it still needs to be run like a business.

Yoga Studio Business Newsletter & Blog: You can send in your questions on anything related to running yoga studios ranging from how to collect payments through credit cards to basic tips on how to start a studio. The blog is more like a video newsletter and has some common-sense business tips for yoga teachers.

Yoga Studio Success: Minimalistic design, useful tips, even some marketing yoga lessons from The Devil Wears Prada!

Massage therapist business blogs

Massage Support: It’s not simply a mechanical skill that makes a great masseuse, but the ability to be conscious of your client’s moods and, sometimes, to be not affected by them. That’s one of the insightful articles on this blog.

The Bodyworker: ‘The wealthy massage therapist’ talks to you about managing massage franchisees, cash flow, and offers links to massage jobs.

Business blogs for freelance writers:

Freelance Writing: It does have all the usual stuff that you’d expect to find on a blog for writers, like how to write keyword-friendly articles, but it also has some out-of-the-box articles like avoiding writer burnout, how should a freelancer dress, and more.

Freelance Writing Business Blog: This blog is by a published author and has some serious tips for freelance writers who want to make it big. It’s slightly more inclined towards business writing and is generously loaded with articles on how to write case studies and white papers, time management, and the like.

The Writer’s Blog: Not strictly a business blog, yet visit it for some no-nonsense viewpoints on why writers should keep weekends work-free, how to set an hourly  rate for their service, etc.

We hope you liked these, and, again, if there are more business blogs out there that you like in these domains that we have not covered, please drop us a line.

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in my studies of yoga it’s that you’ll never learn all that there is to know. There’s always more knowledge to be gained. I’ve also come to realize that about every four months I get a bit burned out and am in need of a workshop to rekindle my love for yoga. I start to feel like I’m saying the same things over and over again in my classes. Getting on my mat becomes a chore and the monkey mind takes over.

No matter what form of holistic wellness you practice, whether it be yoga, massage, ayurveda, acupuncture, or others, it is important that you remain inspired. It’s crucial that practitioners never think that their journey toward knowledge is over, but rather, it has only just begun. And try to never look at your profession as a confining job. Remember that you came to it because you loved it and believed in it.

Stay Fresh in Your Yoga Practice and Teaching

1. Read all the time.
I read books on yoga nearly every day. I set aside at least 30 minutes to an hour to study the texts in some way. This shouldn’t be painful, it should be a subject that you’re interested in and deepening your knowledge is an added bonus. I alternate reading magazines and simple articles from Yoga Journal and the like, with the more thought provoking texts like the Sutras, Heart of Yoga, Bhagavad Gita, and Light on Yoga. I’ll throw in a novel or two for inspiration like Eat, Pray, Love or a newer book like Happy Yoga or Jivamukti Yoga. The choices are limitless but there is just so much to learn. And every new item that you learn from your readings leaves you saying. “Huh, who knew? I never thought of it that way.” And this is all knowledge that you can pass on to your students.
2. Yoga Workshops
As I said before about every four months I begin to feel drained of knowledge and my practice needs a spring cleaning. After I finished my 200 hour yoga training, I immediately signed up for my 500 hour training so that I could continue to absorb all the wonderful knowledge of yoga teachers that have been teaching much longer than me. I wanted to surround myself with teachers that have experience with every type of injury and every type of student and teachers who have alignment down to a science. While Western yoga doesn’t adhere to the guru in the way that yoga in India does, for some of us, it is still realistic to follow a guru around the world and learn only from them. For me, I am inspired by so many gurus, I don’t yet feel that I have been called to follow one in particular.
3. Add Music to Your Repertoire
If you’re having trouble getting on your mat in the morning (or whenever you practice) consider adding some music to the mix. I used to practice without any music because I thought it was a distraction, but some yogic music can be really moving like Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, and Robert Gass. Sometimes I’ll include chanting with Steve Ross and others. You don’t have to use music every day, but it can be fun for a change.

More on Yoga:
Draw Potential Yoga Students With a Monthly Studio Newsletter: 5 Ideas for Gaining Reade
The Mayo Clinic Launches a Meditation iPhone Applicationrship

Have you thought about taking a deposit from your clients when they book an appointment? Are you seeing ‘no-shows’ and looking for ways to reduce it? Or do just want to feel more secure that the clients will show up at the scheduled time?  Requiring payments before confirming appointment may just be the right thing for you.

We have added this feature just a couple of days ago.  With this, now you can require your clients to put a deposit before they can confirm their appointment.  The appointment booking process remains as simple as it was earlier: select a service, a staff, a date, a time-slot, and confirm.  However, when you turn-on the pre-payment option, your client will be asked to make a deposit (via Paypal or credit cards, if you have enabled them).  If they fail to make the deposit, the appointment will be saved in a pending state, so that you can contact them directly and follow-up.

You can also decide the pre-payment amount; it could either be a fixed amount or a percentage of service fee.  A successful payment will automatically be recorded in client’s account.  To enable this feature, go to ‘Settings’ and then ‘Appointment Preferences’.

As always, we believe you’ll find this useful.  Feel free to drop us a note if you have any suggestion.

Simplifythis has two online products:

1. Easy-Bill. Simple, easy-to-use and professional online invoicing for your smbiz
2. Easy-Book. User-friendly scheduling and booking app for your customers

These two tools are perfect for smbiz such as spas, body shops and independent contractors (don’t worry, this blog post isn’t just a shameless plug…I’ll make my point soon). As chief marketer, it’s obvious I need to reach out to ST’s potential customers. Social media is supposed to help businesses connect with their customers but there are thousands of these smbiz! If I want to reach a large audience, looks like I’ll have to send an e-mail to as many smbiz as I can. So here’s my to-do list:

• Build a massive, random list of potential smbiz
• Draft a concise e-mail that describes ST’s products
• Hire an e-mail marketing firm to make it look snazzy
• Click “send” and hope for the best

What do you think? After discussing, ST’s founder thought this strategy had a low ROI potential and a huge potential for wasting time.

Many firms and people get gung-ho about the to-do list without thinking about aligning actions with strategy. Each bullet point in the list above is easy to complete. Why, any brain-dead moron could do it (i.e. yours truly)! But taking a step back and thinking critically – that’s the hard part. Trial and error is useful but spending more time thinking can save time, money and a few trials. In our case, implementing – and tracking results of – an e-mail marketing campaign can be expensive and time-consuming.

So ST has a different to-do list. Rather than targeting a bunch of end users impersonally via mass e-mail, we compiled a small list of web designers whom we will approach for partnerships. As an ST partner, web designers include our products in their portfolio of services at no cost. In short, ST partners have more services to offer to their clients (and receive commission when they sell our products) and we get a multiplier effect since their clients can also become our clients.

Lesson? Get excited about strategy before getting excited about the easy stuff. And now for the plug

Do you know of any Web site designers who would be interested in becoming an ST partner? If so, let them know (http://tinyurl.com/STpartner)!

SimplifyThis did not have a way to send out automated annual invoices.  I had been skirting away from this in the past, hiding under the illusion that people can use a frequency of 365 days to approximate annual cycles.  Apparently, this was not good enough for many of you.  Frankly, I was surprised to see the number of annual auto-billing cycles.  I never thought that this would be the case.

Upon insistance from users, we have added an explicit annual frequency option in auto-bill.  This feature is deployed as of now.  So all the hosting service providers who bill their clients annualy for domain name, or annual set-up fee can now use this option.  As always, please do let me know if you have any feedback.

I have also received request for explicit quarterly auto-bill frequency.  I was tempted to add it while we were enabling annual cycle, but then realized that adding one more option would warrant an interface change.  Having too many options with radio-buttons to choose from would not be a good idea.  So, we’ll keep this for the next round.

We have been working hard to simplify addition of client facing pages (account management/appointment booking) to your website. However, we do realize that it is a bit confusing if you need to add these pages within an iframe on your site.  We were just reviewing some of the client pages, and noticed that a few of you have added links to these pages using the URL that is meant for embedding them in an iframe.  As a result, your logo and business information do not appear on these pages, and they look a bit weird.

We are working on simplifying the settings for client pages. Once this work is complete, you’ll have the option to explicitly choose between (i)  SimplifyThis displaying your logo and business name on these pages, or (ii) you would do it yourself , embedding these pages in an iframe. In the interim, please make a note of the following:

(i) If you are displaying the pages standalone and would like your logo + business information to appear on the page, select the option ‘ Show pages with my logo and address’. You’ll be asked to choose a unique sub-domain name.

(ii) If, however, you need to embed  the pages within an iframe, select the option ‘Do not show logo and address’.  This option will also allow you to customize the CSS for these pages so that you can match them with the outer page.

Please feel free to drop us a note or give us a call if you have any questions.