Don’t act like a spammer on Twitter. Don’t be a tool. There I said it. Lately I’ve noticed many spammer accounts (or what I consider spam) appearing on Twitter and frankly, I’m sick of it.  So, consider this my rant. I’ll try not to throw too many curse words out, but I think that beginners to Twitter need to be given a heads up on what not to do so they can work social media to their advantage.

For those of you who don’t know, Twitter is a social media community where you engage with people in 140 characters per “tweet”. It’s a great way to make friends, promote yourself, and build a brand. Yes, I use Twitter to promote myself. There is nothing wrong with that. I’m not one to say there is. But here are some things to avoid so you can take full advantage of the power of Twitter without seeming like a tool.

1.  No avatar picture or a clip art avatar, especially one unrelated to what you do

Having a bikini babe to catch attention is cool if you’re selling bikinis or if you are a model and it’s a picture of you. It’s not that cool just to catch attention for your latest MLM scheme. I don’t care if Donald Trump told you to do it, you’re fired! And, don’t you be flashing your newly bright and white teeth at me in defiance either. Real people are sick of this crap. Real people are the ones with credit cards, ok?

Even worse is the default avatar. Take the time to upload a picture because I will assume that the time you spend on your profile is the level of attention you’ll give me as a customer. Same goes for your full profile detail, including a legit website URL. Slacker = fail.

2.  All pitch and no personality

If you follow me, I go to see if I want to follow you back–I check out your tweet stream to see what you’re about. Call me old fashioned but that’s what I do. If all you ever do is promote your MLM, CPA offers, Forex, Twitter tools to get me more followers ( PLEASE have more followers than I do if you send me that in a auto DM, ok?) or XXX rated adult sites, then I will block you. I already trade index option spreads, have an account myself with Hydra Network, have plenty of great followers, and I feel secret jealousy about your porn site because I’m too old and overweight to be a webcam girl. You’d know that if you’d bothered to check my profile out first. Haven’t you seen my tweets making fun of you?

If you mention GDI, teeth whitening, making money fast with no effort, or all you ever do is retweet what you find on Mashable, you aren’t going to be fun to listen to. I love to see lots of @ replies, conversations with your followers, courteous and relatively low % sprinkling of self-promotion, and lots of great resource links and comments – quotes are ok, but I’d rather know what you say, not so much what Gandhi says. We’ve all heard that – I want to know the unique you.  Cool adds are telling me about another person on Twitter who gives great info. You gain my respect and affection (and I’ll be more likely to recommend you to someone else too) if you share the power and glory. It shows me a character trait I like.

For the record – @ replies or retweets where you list my ID and tack on your affiliate link, making it look like I either asked you for that info or am endorsing it, is a total loser technique. It’s an abuse of my influence and abuse of my friends, so cut it out. BLOCK, BLOCK, BLOCK (and on this one, I report you as a spammer too). Yeah, I admit – I have some strong feelings here…

3.  Being impersonal (if you ghost, be good at it)

If you have a snazzy spam name like MakeMoneyNow (made up – I don’t know if this is real) at least put a real person’s name in the name field. Yes, you can have a different name in your profile than you do your Twitter ID name. I do – I am @SmartWoman and my name is Vicki Flaugher. Especially if you took a class showing you how to monetize your Twitter stream, please be creative in your automation. Mix it up so at least you’re different than other people.

If you ghost, be good at it. If you are making up a persona (something I find intriguing if you do it right – look at the dogs who tweet, or the TV characters from Mad Men as an example), then be great! Act like a real person would in conversation – make jokes, share information, talk to your friends, tell us about what you’re up to, and quit using social media like a two-bit escort. Just because something makes money doesn’t mean it’s a good thing to do. Okay, what I really mean to say is do what you want, but don’t expect me to like it. And, I’m not alone in this and I actually buy lots of things online. I am your customer – please do not treat me like a moron that can’t hear the 50th time this hour of you telling me how great your product is. Where is the seduction, intrigue, respect? No where when you act that way!

Making money online is super fun and I follow fake people if they entertain me. Constantly pitching your amazing product isn’t entertaining. Don’t you see how the logic goes? If your product is really so great, would you have to pitch it incessantly? Of course not – you’d be building a list, working your backend sales funnel, providing strong value, and creating lifetime customers instead.

I am a marketer. I market online. I love it, too and am not ashamed of the way I conduct my business. I use online tools for my own revenue. I consult with my clients about social media, blogging, article marketing, affiliate programs, CPA offers, info product development, PPC traffic generation, and email auto-responders.

If you don’t know what any of those things that I just listed are and actually want to integrate them with authenticity and integrity into your business, give me a call. When you call, I promise I won’t offer you teeth whitening from a single Mom in Hollywood (my favorite pet peeve), a one time limited offer with lots of CAPS and !!! points in the sales copy, nor any emails that use RE: in the subject line when you’ve never sent me an email that I could possibly be responding back to. Using the internet as a tool doesn’t make you a tool. The behaviors you exhibit are what do that. And, believe me, there are plenty of tools out there already – you don’t need to be one.  Don’t act like a spammer on Twitter. There I said it!

I have a confession to make – I am a clutter bunny. A pack rat. A really, really questionable housekeeper, to be more than polite. I like being organized and all, it just presents as a challenge for me. That, in and of itself, would be okay, I could live with a personality glitch, but in my heart of hearts I know that it makes my entrepreneur’s life harder. So, I’ve decided to focus on improving it.

Along with some very brave women on Twitter, my favorite social media tool, #CleanUp09, a “Just Say No to Clutter” campaign, is kicking off.

Are you a candidate for this campaign? If you have any of the following symptoms of clutter creep, you are:

• Do you have to search for your keys because you don’t have a regular, easy to find place for them?
• Do you have cars parked in the driveway because you can’t fit your cars into your garage?
• Are your office files (or email box) in shambles, preventing you from  easily and quickly retrieving whatever information you desire at a moment’s notice?
• Do you miss appointments or double book because your schedule isn’t pulled together and organized?
• Do you not invite people over because you don’t want them to see the mess?
• Do you have multiple sized sets of clothing (none of which fit you and all that are outdated) in your closet?
• Do you have any eBooks (yes, even the free ones) on your computer that you can’t retrieve because you don’t remember where the files are?
• Do you have any drawers, closets, or rooms that are not functional due to overflowing stuff?

You don’t have to confess it to me, but at least confess it to yourself.

How, you might be asking, does this have anything to do with being a female entrepreneur? In my travels and conversations with hundreds of female entrepreneurs, one thing has stood out as a problem for all of them - overwhelm. Clutter can come in many areas – physical, emotional, mental, etc. When you’re trying to do so many things in a day, spending your time doing things over, or not finding the tools you need, or having chaos rule your environment, is counterproductive to your success. You lose energy, you are scattered and unfocused, and you are working harder to get less done. And, frankly, it’s no fun, so you aren’t going to enjoy your passionate work. Not cool.

The action starts officially Jan. 1, 2009, but you can start anytime. DON’T clean up anything before you take a picture of it. I  will do my best to get us some prizes too, but at this point, it’s a matter of personal improvement and that has its own rewards. Don’t let your New Year’s Resolution power push come and go without creating a better world for yourself. And always remember, we are together in this – you have friends.

The contest requires some commitment, but the idea is to make it light and fun. So, to be part of Cleanup 09, here is what you agree to do:

• You will be patient with yourself
• You will reward yourself when you do the right thing (especially small steps!)
• You will start small and finish small (break big projects down)
• You will take action.
• You will support each of us as we improve our environments and ourselves.
• You  will remain tolerant, of yourself and others.
• You will be forgiving of your past mishaps and make a new day.
• You will talk about your experience (and post your pictures) so others can learn from your journey.
• You will release your shame and self-flagellation and just get on with it.

Want to play? If so, take a picture of your trouble spot. I recommend you choose a small one (like maybe your kitchen junk drawer). Then, organize it. Throw out the old trash, let go of the “I will need to use this someday” stuff, and set up a system that you can maintain. I have some resources listed below that might be of assistance in deciding what stuff to keep and how to go about doing this.

Next, get on Twitter and tweet out to your followers to invite them to join. Use #Cleanup09 in all of your tweets related to the cleanup so they will be grouped together and we can all find them easily. You can email me your pictures and I’ll post them here, you can post them on your own site, or you can post them on photo sharing sites like Flickr.

Here is my first hot spot – 2 “before” views of my desk area:

I am committed to posting pictures of my messes, before and after, and then celebrating the end of them when I clean them  up. The picture thing scares the devil out of me, as I am fairly certain that the embarrassment will be nearly unbearable, but I am not going to let shame stand in my way of a better life – and neither should you.

Here are the resources I promised. If you know a clutter counselor, invite them here to post their recommendations for helping. All are welcome and the more the merrier!

• ClutterDiet.com – @clutterdiet on Twitter – Lorie Marrero, awesome clutter counselor
• Peter Walsh, Oprah’s clutter expert
• FlyLady.net – @flyladykelly on Twitter – fun and easy tips to spend 15 a day and have a clean, organized envirnoment.

Post below in comments what area you are going to start with and what it would mean to you to be more organized.

Together, we are stronger!
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

follow me on Twitter: SmartWoman

I am a Twitter freak – I simply love it. I threw out a question to my network of friends there to try to convince my mother to join Twitter. And, the following are the reasons they gave.If you’ve ever wondered if social media online is for you, maybe these reasons are something you need to hear also!

Want to join in the fun? Post!!

	wordvixen @SmartWoman *lol* I was on it at her house once. She kept refreshing the page to see if anyone responded to her “being all a-twitter”.
	BeckyMcCray @SmartWoman My mom is the amazing @maesz ! She’s in and out on Twitter.
	lisisilveira @SmartWoman where can I find them???
	wordvixen @SmartWoman My mother is addicted to my Twitter account. Trying to get her her own.
	berriesweetest @SmartWoman I will tweet when I think of more.
	BeckyMcCray @SmartWoman Um… My mom does Twitter.
	berriesweetest @SmartWoman 9) “tweet ur own bizness!”. Mom joins twitter and keeps cyber-track of adult daughter.
	mommyaulait @SmartWoman life is just funnier in 140 characters or less
	berriesweetest @SmartWoman 10) it’s a conversation starter when you say, “she’s learned to tweet” and people wonder if you have a speech impediment.
	jhofheins @SmartWoman re top 10: So you can waste your day away, 140 characters at a time.
	writingroads @SmartWoman One of the Top 10 reasons why your mom should use Twitter: Because you can block anyone that talks back, is mean or untidy.
	PublicityHound @SmartWoman One more way for mom to tell you to do something and remind you “because I’m your mother.”
	DazzlinDonna @SmartWoman Cuz mom can snoop on daughter’s private life – legally!
	TheNewService @SmartWoman My Mom joined! #10 So you can keep up with your daughter’s thoughts all day long! (Every mom’s dream, right?)
	Coach_Ferfer @SmartWoman top 10 for mom 2 join twitter – a long distance hug is just as good as the real thing
	Coach_Ferfer @SmartWoman top 10 for mom 2 join twitter – she can keep closer tabs on you; can nag even from long distance; won’t c u rolling eyes at her

	jinglis @smartwoman 9. short notes from mom are better than long ones. 10. she can tweet at all hours and not wake you up. (i’m a friend of julie’s)
	15MinutesADay @SmartWoman top 10 reasons “why your Mom should join Twitter”: To keep an eye on your little girl & who she hangs out with…
	jinglis @smartwoman 7. it’ll keep her off the rest of the scary internet. 8. she has to do something other than MySpace
	jinglis @smartwoman 5. she can keep in touch with all her peeps in one place that way. 6. no better way to find out where the party’s at
	jinglis @smartwoman 3. because she’s sitting in front of the computer anyway - give her something to read! 4. it has to be better than sudoku
	jinglis @SmartWoman 1. because she needs to know what you’re doing every minute of the day. 2. because you need to know what she’s doing too

I am challenged by making small talk. When I go to social gatherings, I have to force myself to circulate, introduce myself, and keep a conversation going past “What do you do?”. I find that I want to go deeper, to get to the know the person more, to move past social niceties and really talk about something meaningful and real. So often, social networking events seem pitchy and fake, and I just don’t enjoy that.

I know there are books about networking, and I’ve read many of them, but I have not yet gotten over the discomfort of the whole thing. Earlier this year, I decided I would do it anyway, get myself out there, and simply connect. I’m here to say, it’s been so totally worth it. And, since I know I am not the only one who faces this challenge, here are some tips that I use to make it all work.

• Be willing to go alone to the event.
  It’s easy, especially if you’re nervous, to use the person you already know, that comes with you to an event, as a crutch. Make the mental note that your new friends, the ones you don’t know yet, are there waiting for you. Being alone at a party also attracts the kind people, the ones who naturally reach out to others, to come say hello to you. Those are the types you want to meet.
   
• Ask questions.
  You don’t want to come off as an FBI secret agent interrogator, but when you don’t know what to say, ask a question. Getting people to talk about themselves is flattering and will give you further information on what you can talk about next. Notice the words a person uses, the speed of their speech, their preferences, but don’t ever quit listening to what they are saying. Hear them with directed attention. Don’t just be formulating your next question. Really care about the answer and you will garner friends. And, when they come back with their own questions, be ready to talk about something interesting, memorable and personal. Be transparent, and talk about things you value. Your business card has all your business info on it – people need to meet YOU. Let them get to know you.
   
• Attend physical meetups of your online social communities.
  Be sure to have your social media contact info on your business card. Give people who know you via email, Twitter, Facebook, forums, and other social online communities a way to connect your online persona with the real live you. My name is Vicki Flaugher when I introduce myself at gatherings, but I am SmartWoman online. Connect the dots so people will realize who you are. The ability to make a deeper connection more quickly and easily is just one more reason to have a current picture on your online profiles, too. I’ve been recognized in public from that and I had an immediate rapport with the person who recognized me because of our online history together. Because of that, we didn’t have to start from square one building our relationship further.
   
• Connect with connectors.
  One of the easiest and fastest ways to build a stong network is to seek out and meet connectors, people who are the center of influence for a larger group. Mavens who naturally facilitate connections for others can be an amazing resource and are usually personable, easy to get to know, and extremely helpful. It’s in their blood, and it’s something they do naturally. If that doesn’t describe you, then make friends with a maven. They will do some of the heavy lifting for you in making great connections. One word of caution: Don’t try to be friends with people you don’t like. If you don’t click with someone, even if they have thousands of uber powerful friends, don’t force a relationship. It will come back to bite you and you will end up on a black list somewhere. Let your natural energetic attractiveness help draw the right individuals to you – it will feel right, you’ll enjoy the interaction, and it will work. If it doesn’t, there’s a good reason. Move on to someone else. Your perfect connector is out there.
   
• If there’re not any events happening, host one.
  One of the best ways to network is to host an event. People seek you out to thank you, they introduce themselves, and they appreciate your service. You don’t hardly have to reach out at all, and you can use the guise of checking on your guests to interject yourself into smaller group conversations. Do this skillfully and you will begin being seen as a connector, and others will be drawn to network with you. Working the mojo from both angles is very effective. Giving to others, being charitable with your time, being willing to host an event, will come back to you in goodwill.

I  hope these tips help you. If you have others, please post them in the comments section.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

follow me at http://twitter.com/smartwoman

I know I am not alone when it comes to time management…I know there are tips and techniques to manage your time better – heck, I’ve even written about it! HA!

What happened to Days 9 and 10? Their reporting, although not the original goal of creating new revenue streams, got engulfed in the following cool things that are coming up:

I created a new product, a Meaningful Work meditation audio that is going to be used as a bonus for Joe Vitale’s upcoming release of the latest Attactor Factor. Buy Joe’s book and get tons of bonuses, or alternately, you can get my audio for free through the month of September.

I completed another product: Web Traffic 101 – a beginner’s guide to understanding the basic lingo and concepts of search engine optimization, keywords, traffic, etc.  It’s designed specifically to help you get the mindset needed to begin making money online, presented in fun and easy to understand language.  This is a bonus for Joe Vitale’s Operation Yes charity event, where he is working to end poverty through knowledge and self-empowerment. Again, this is a September freebie special, whether you get involved with Operation Yes or not. You can sign up to receive the audio by going to my parent site, SmartWoman Publishing – sign up box is in the upper right corner.

I attended the COOLEST meetup with other Austin-TX area internet marketing entrepreneurs – some of my heroes, like Craig Perrine, Pat O’Bryan and too many others to name. I actually fit in and made many friends and picked up several Twitter friends (follow me @smartwoman). Any time you can attend a physical gathering of like minded friends, do it. I was able to meet some of my Twitter buddies face to face and it enriches and deepens the relationships even more.

This week, I saw my name and face on the same webpage as some of my favorite spiritual speakers and thinkers, like Jack Canfield, Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Mark Victor Hansen, and so many more (it was just a mock up but will be real on the 16th).  I am offering the Web Traffic audio mentioned above as a bonus for Eldon Taylor’s upcoming drive to help raise charitable funds to support women worldwide to become financially self-reliant. It’s quite a thrill and I tell you this more to promote the event than brag on myself (I am still dumbstruck that I am involved with a project that has so many people I admire  – it’s a hoot!). More details will be forthcoming very soon.

The theme? Giving. We get what we give away. I am offering products that I believe in, that I intend to charge for, and that I gave my best effort to produce. There was nothing ”tossed off” about them. My intention is to not only provide service, but to strengthen the energetic pull of people who would enjoy my story, my point of view, and the community I am working to build here. 

So, what have you done today to continue the flow of money toward you?  What have you given away?

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

Today, I am launching a new fun project for myself. We talk about leveraging our time, being gutsy, building momentum and taking one small step here at SmartWomanGuides, so today it begins.

I will be adding a new revenue stream to my life (on this website or others) every day for the next 30 days. I will keep you posted on my progress.

The rules I will follow are simple:

Must be leveraged, passive, or residual in nature.
Must be something I believe in and can recommend with integrity.
Must be in keeping with my audience’s needs.
Must be fun, easy, and now.

I am open to your suggestions on what you’d like to see available here, so feel free to add your input in the comment section. And, if you’re inspired, do the same month of products for yourself and let us know about what you’re doing.

Wish me luck!

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman

P.S. If you want to keep posted on the monthly progress, be sure to sign up for my RSS feed or follow me on twitter @SmartWoman

Social networking is the latest, greatest tool to help you build traffic to your website and to build your brand. At this point there are too many to mention, but a few you will recognized include twitter, facebook, and myspace. They are a great way to stay connected with literally millions of people. I get it, I love them, and I completely see their value.

I know I should be using this type of marketing fully. You probably should too. But, I am finding that it’s very time consuming. For a business owner, with a thousand other things to keep straight, who has time to go chat? And, once I am there and getting into it, who can break away and not get sucked in? It’s worse than Law and Order reruns!

As hard as it might seem, you and I both have to break through and persevere. Keep in mind that you want to be sure your point of view shines through, but if you are simply adding interesting links and a small blurb to come visit, you can hire (bribe, coerce, otherwise “encourage”–hint, hint, your kids, an intern) people that will help you write. The important thing is that you need to stay visible, and that takes consistency and regularity. Having a dependable presence seems to really impact your success.

I admit that I have not done this.I can also say that when I do, I get visitors to my website from it. So, I am turning over a new leaf. This next week, I am going to make sure my profiles are in good shape and I am going to be active again. I will report back how it works out. Want to play along?

You’re invited to come follow me on Twitter: Follow SmartWoman on Twitter 
Twitter is fun and it helps me meet new people. I have liked it.

My other profiles are definitely not in order, so I will notify you as I fix them. Feel free to shout back with your hook up information. I will be your friend! And, share your stories. Have you ever made a big deal because of social networking? Tell us how it happened.

Together, we are stronger.
Vicki Flaugher, the original SmartWoman