Monthly Archives: August 2015

Never hire a blogger to help you blog; Hire industry relevant people

August 31, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Semi-Popular, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

These days more and more of us own or write for blogs. There are also hundreds of social media “experts” and bloggers advertising their services on freelance sites hoping to bag their next gig. The question is, which one of them do you hire, and why? I tried negotiating with many bloggers, and the results were horrible. Not only did most of them lack any formal writing background, but they wanted commitments for large amounts of money when I had no indication that they would do good work.

The “What ifs” of hiring a blogger
What if their work wasn’t popular? What if the blogger couldn’t come up with ideas that were any good (none of them could by the way.) What if they weren’t reliable in their work? What if it took too much time to prep them before they could produce their first piece? Can I get a sample? None of the bloggers wanted to invest even five minutes in my cause to give me a few samples unless I would pay them for it. Such a stingy unfriendly attitude! The result was that I didn’t hire even one of these bloggers. I hired a comedy writer instead. He had a strong professional writing background, was really funny, friendly, and appealed to some (but not all) of my audiences! But, what “writers” captivated my audience the best? You’ll never guess.

The disgruntled call center agent
You will never guess where one of my most popular outsourcing blogs came from. It came from a frustrated call center rep. His writing was filled with grammatical mistakes, but it didn’t matter. First of all, my audience is not so particular about nitpicky things. Secondly, I was able to do a cleanup of his work in two minutes. The bigger issue was, the minute I laid eyes on his work I loved it. He captured seven different points of frustration that a call center worker could have and explained them perfectly in a way that everyone could relate to. You could feel his frustration and anguish in every paragraph. I knew the crowd would love it, and they did.

The frustrated call center manager
Two years ago I interviewed this very frustrated Indian guy. He was down on India and down on the entire Indian call center industry. He only would work for Filipino, US, or Central American outfits. After dealing with a hundred or so of India’s “finest” call centers myself, I began to see why he felt the way he did. But, he gave me fifteen ideas for articles to write about. He was an expert at call center metrics, call center marketing, and more. So, by talking to him for 45 minutes, he filled my head with exactly what people wanted to read about. No blogger could do that!

The upset Notary Public
We also run a Notary blog. I create most of the articles myself. We write about Notary marketing, technical & legal issues, Notary comedy and drama articles, and more. We keep it diverse so our audience won’t get bored. My articles are generally popular. But, the other guy who writes popular articles for me is not a blogger — he’s just another Notary. He happens to be smarter, and a lot better organized (not to mention experienced) than the other Notaries. But, he is not a professional writer. He is just a Notary who happens to be a good writer. He also comes up with winning ideas that our readers enjoy reading about.

So, where do I look for a writer?
In the real world, the guy most suited to writing your articles might not have the background necessary to get industry specific content to fill the article. You really need a team. You need someone who can pick great topics, someone who can get relevant information, and someone who can polish your writing work. Sometimes you can do it all yourself, while other times you need help. Sometimes a good social media agency or social media company is the best resource, but not if they hire incompetent or uncooperative employees.

Find people who work in the industry you are writing about to help you. You might have to look hard to find cooperative people, but they are out there. Even if you don’t “need” them, use them anyway to create a diversity of points of view in your blog. Nothing is more interesting than a blog with multiple writers — all of whom have unique and wonderful writing styles and perspectives!

You might also like:

Why you should hire a Comedian instead of a CEO to help you co-blog
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/06/13/why-you-should-hire-a-comedian-instead-of-a-ceo-to-co-blog/

10 quick factors that differentiate a good blog from a bad one
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/03/10-quick-factors-that-differentiate-a-good-blog-entry-from-a-bad-one/

Want to be popular at blogging? Write how-to blogs!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/06/30/want-to-be-popular-at-blogging-write-how-to-blogs/

You might be stuck in traffic, but you are on the road to success!

August 27, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Success | Leave a comment

I first saw this quote on Twitter. It is perfect for Twitter because it is short, fun, and true! But, this quote has a deeper meaning which I learned about yesterday. One of my blog writers is truly brilliant. He writes the most interesting content around. But, he obsesses with small issues and we had an exchange of ten emails over a Paypal fee. He is concerned with small issues rather than looking at the bigger picture! He should acknowledge that he is a popular blog writer with my audience and doing a great job. He is successful where others don’t even try.

As humans, we tend to get stuck thinking about the headaches of the day. What we need to be able to do is to transcend this and look at the bigger picture. Maybe we have to do some task that ties up all of our time. But, maybe this is the task that makes us successful. We need to see the deeper meaning in the small tasks we do. All of the little things we do every day add up to a bigger picture. And perhaps we do a few things daily that add up to ultimate failure as well. I should really stop eating ice cream so often! So, let’s change our perspective, and focus on the bigger picture, and on our success.

It is funny, but a long time ago I figured out what doing business boils down to. Sure there are complicated deals and sophisticated analysis that occur in business. But, the majority of what we do is writing addresses down on pieces of paper, Fedex envelopes, and databases. It is funny that business is really that simple in many ways. Most of the tasks we do are actually pathetically simple. But, if you do them in a disciplined and timely way, those simple tasks can add up to tremendous wealth! So, keep at it!

People who take the first job offer they get might be unhappy in the long run

August 26, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Hiring & Firing, Semi-Popular | Tagged | Leave a comment

When you are out of work and short of cash, you might be tempted to get a job fast. But, this is not always a good idea. When we are in a hurry, we often lose track of the long term goal which is to have a meaningful and rewarding career.

A smart employer doesn’t just interview two or three people. He/she/it knows that finding the perfect person takes a lot of digging around. And just because you make someone an offer doesn’t mean they will take it. Most employers make contact with 100 people to find a single employee. Not all 100 will result in interviews, but might involve a short email conversation about the job at hand. So, why should a job seeker be any different?

In order to compare multiple offers, you need to have multiple offers. It might make sense to interview at one hundred companies. That way you might get a handful of offers and pick the one that caters to your long term goals. Or, you could sell out and find something that pays well in the short run.

It might take two or three extra weeks to interview “enough” companies to get a good choice. That will seem like a long time, and the lost income will see like a lot too. But, if you are stuck fro two or three extra years at a job or company you are not happy with, that will seem like an eternity.

And one last point. A lot of job satisfaction happens when you work with people who you feel good about. Do what Warren Buffet’s buddy Charlie Munger does and do a “walk around.” Walk around the company, shake some hands, get to talking with a few people. Size them up. See if they are the types that you want to be working with in the long run or if you are just being desperate. You might be much happier in the long run doing a dull job with wonderful people rather then a dream job with nightmare coworkers! Think ahead!

In China, hot girls were hired to motivate programmers

August 24, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Management, Motivation, Popular Posts, Software Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How do you motivate a stubborn programmer?
My experience with programmers is that very few of them care even slightly about the experience of the people who will one day use their programs. The commenting in the code for other programmers to read is not even that clear in many instances. Most programmers just want to be left alone to do their work the way they want, how they want and when they want. Deadlines are almost never honored, and instructions are almost always taken lightly. Very few programmers were even motivated by money. I offered large amounts of money to many programming companies who politely declined stating that I was, “Not a good fit.” I told them that I am giving you money to do programming work and you are a programming company — how am I not a good fit? The managers at programming companies are as impossible to motivate as the programmers. So, what is the secret?

The Chinese are masters of innovation.
The Chinese have always been an innovative people from thousands of years ago. When they had a problem with the Mongols, they built the longest wall in human history. They even innovated a way to deal with all of the dead bodies of the workers by burying them in the wall! The Chinese created gun powder, many forms of martial arts, gardening, and even new aspects of semantic internet searches. A few years ago I predicted that if anyone could master the art of dominating the computer programming industry, it would be the Chinese. I was right, but not in a way that I expected.

Hiring beautiful cheerleaders to motivate programmers works!
Specialists who understand the importance of building a healthy corporate culture understand that you need positive upbeat people to build a motivated and fun work environment. Cliffbar, Google and Starbucks actively embrace this principle. A few years ago, I had the thought that call centers in Manila and Central America should hire good looking girls to interact with their workers to add a good feeling to their day. Call centers are apparently very stubborn about improving the grueling conditions of their work. But, the Chinese are not. It is commonplace in Chinese companies (and restaurants) for the workers to all get together and share a meal. Eating is an integral part of the Chinese culture, and communal eating is just as much. Eating together makes people feel good and feel more connected. But, I am happy that the Chinese implemented “my” idea of having lovely ladies improve the grueling conditions of the work day. Why not look forward to coming to work? Your wife might not like it, but at least you’ll show up for work and give it your all.

Productivity is up
The programmers in China, India and other countries are mostly male and very anti-social. Programming is a bit like mechanics intellectually. Guys like fixing things while women just want to be listened to which is why guys dominate programming. But, having these ladies around seems to get the guys to produce better. Men tend to be more motivated in general if there is a woman who is appreciative of what they do according to “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. It seems that the Chinese managers must have read that book or have an understanding of the concept. The easiest way to get a guy to stop trying is to have a woman who doesn’t give him any appreciation.

What do these ladies actually do?
The programming cheerleaders buy breakfast for the programmers so they have the energy to do a long day of work. They also chat with the programmers which is very valuable since most of the programmers lack the ability to interact with the opposite gender, or even with their own gender, and probably also with dogs and cats as well (insufficient data for the last claim.) The ladies must be talented and smooth (and probably patient) at interacting with the socially handicapped. In a sense, they are like therapists or psychiatrists in a very pedantic way.

What do the wives of the programmers think about this?
I can imagine that someone’s wife might not want their husband regularly hanging around with beautiful women at work. It is bad enough that your husband works with women, but beautiful women who give them a ton of attention? But, maybe this is what men need. I go through my day getting absolutely no attention from women other than my housemates. Imagine how much better I would feel if I was paid some positive attention by someone in their twenties or thirties who was female and voluptuous. This problem is my fault for living in Los Angeles. Women here are relentlessly unfriendly. But, the minute I cross the border into New Mexico, I get tons of positive attention from everyone! Maybe I should be living there!

You might also like:

Top viral images and how they spread
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/04/05/top-viral-images-and-how-they-spread/

I didn’t get retweeted, but that’s okay
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/09/i-didnt-get-retweeted-but-thats-okay/

Is it safe for women to take cabs in India?

August 22, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: India, Popular Posts | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

I keep reading more on this topic. Apparently, I am not the only one concerned with women’s safety. They are not concerned with my safety though — but, that’s another issue.

A fleet of pink cabs!
A new cab service in India has opened with pink cabs that are designated for women. I thought of a similar idea years ago that was for pink rickshaws. The vehicles would be driven by women, and the stops would have security, and the vehicles would be pink in my idea too. I thought of this first by the way!

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/01/19/indias-new-pink-taxi-fleet-for-women-offers-pepper-spray-panic-buttons/

Pepper spray & panic buttons
This cab company with the pink fleet offers pepper spray and panic buttons. One woman in India was raped by an Uber driver recently, and this is a huge reason why women need to take precautions. But, over the last few decades in India, women have not been safe, and taking more precautions seems like the best step to take.

Taking a photo of the cab
I read another article where a woman says that you should not get into a vehicle unless you take a photo of it with your mobile phone and perhaps send it to someone for safe keeping. Once in a while, drivers will take you to an undisclosed location and rob you. It doesn’t happen that often, but women, and foreigners need to be vigilant.

Registered cabs from airports are safer
As a foreigner, I don’t know which cabs to take in India. I normally take rickshaws and deal with their tricks and bad manners. I have a few tricks too which they don’t like which include getting out of the rickshaw when they try to bill me for a 20 minute stop at a gas station. But, airports normally offer the possibility of getting in a registered cab, and you can inform your friends or family what the cab number is just in case.

Martial arts are a good idea!
Indian women are not known for their acumen at violent sports. Neither are the guys for that matter. But, ladies who I know in India are routinely harrassed in parks, and by rickshaw drivers. It is a serious problem. In addition to pepper spray, women need to know how to defend themselves from a headlock, grabbing, or an oncoming bully. If enough women know how to defend themselves, the bullies will be afraid of everyone! Having a good command of Karate or Tai Quan Do is an excellent idea. Long ago I heard a story of a short Chinese lady who was attacked by three huge thugs in New York City. After about 2 seconds, the thugs lay lifeless on the ground. This tiny lady took them all out in the blink of an eye because she was a deadly martial arts master. In addition to Veena & Tabla lessons, some Kung Fu might not be a bad idea.

Plain clothes protectors
Conditions are so bad for ladies in India that they need separate cars on trains, and separate cabs, just to avoid being molested. Additionally, the government doesn’t provide clean places for ladies to go to the bathroom in public which is a huge problem. But, what if there were unmarked guards who roam around parks, railway stations, and roads to protect women from harrassment and other dangers. So many men go around India bothering women, that after a few months, these guards could arrest tens of thousands of these troublemaking rowdy gundas!

Summary
It is not safe for women to take cabs in India, or even go for a walk in the park, or down the street. However, women need to go to work, go shopping and get around. So, taking the right precautions makes sense. And I wish you luck. Just remember — use your newly found Karate skills on the bad guys, not on me!

How to get more clients for your BPO or Call Center (Compilation)

August 20, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Call Center, Compilations, Popular on Twitter, Semi-Popular | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

We wrote many blog articles about outsource marketing that were so popular, we were not able to top them. However, many of these articles are from long time back and they never resurface to the top of the feed of our blog. So, we are going to bring them back in the form of a compilation to give you a choice of many articles!

How to attract more clients to your call center part 1
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/05/05/getting-more-clients-for-your-call-center/
Relationships are the key to success. How well do you get to know people and nurture the relationship? It might all start with a cold call, so get your fingers ready to dial.

How to attract more clients to your call center part 2
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/05/19/how-to-attract-more-clients-to-your-call-center-part-2/
Hiring the right staff and training them meticulously is part of the secret. You need to mentor them, coach them, and keep metrics on them. Experienced workers will keep your clients happy, so don’t deliver any novices or you’ll all be sorry.

How to find clients for call centers — good salespeople
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/04/08/how-to-find-clients-for-call-centers-good-salespeople/
You could have the best call center in the world, but without the right salespeople, getting new clients might not be so easy. Having well trained salespeople is key, and having a few extras around might not be such a bad idea either.

How to get clients for call centers — contracts!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/04/05/how-to-get-clients-for-call-centers-contracts/
Getting clients is just half the battle. Once they agree to do business with you, what type of contract should you use? Should it be rigid and long term, or a more relaxed month to month contract that is more “friendly?”

How to acquire clients for call centers — presentation!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/03/29/how-to-acquire-clients-for-call-centers-presentation/
If you provide a good service, that is half the battle. But, how you present yourself online and over the phone can mean the difference between gaining that new clients and losing them.

How to gain clients for your call center: Pay-Per-Click!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/08/01/how-to-gain-clients-for-your-call-center-pay-per-click/
There are many ways to get clients for your call center, but attracting people using PPC can be one of the fastest. You’ll need to know all of your keyword variations inside out and how the Google Adwords and other systems work. After that it is all systems go!

How to acquire call center clients — looking like a big company
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/06/20/how-to-acquire-call-center-clients-looking-like-a-big-company/
Some people are comfortable hiring a small company. But, larger clients prefer to play ball with larger companies. So, how to you appear to be large when you are not?

Is an English accent important? Just do your job!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/01/call-centers-in-india-is-an-english-accent-important-just-do-your-job/
Some call centers in India like to have agents with seemingly perfect English accents. But, the key to getting ahead lies more in quality work than in flashy accents.

Gaining new clients and nurturing them correctly
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/04/17/gaining-new-clients-and-nurturing-them-correctly/
We all have our hands out for new clients. However, how often are we there to solve their problems or just ask them how things are going? Do we woo them the right way? And how is our credibility?

OTHER INTERSTING ARTICLES

Half a million Filipino call center workers are on American time
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/29/half-a-million-filipino-call-center-workers-are-on-american-time/
It is hard to think of people staying up all night just to please us in America, but in the Philippines, this is a reality!

Why Indian Call Centers Fail
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/03/16/why-indian-call-centers-fail/
Many call centers are new startups that lack the skills or discipline to keep their work up to high standards. They also hire staff who often lack experience or training. The results are catastrophic!

Handling Stress in a Call Center Office
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/05/22/handling-stress-in-a-call-center-office/
People who work at call center offices burn out fast. The problem is that they do too many hours of calling each day and have no mechanism of de-stressing. We propose a long list of proven techniques to eliminate your stress today!

Attracting clientele via 123outsource.net — the 1st step
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/01/26/attracting-clientele-via-123outsource-net-the-1st-step/
123outsource.net is a powerful directory for attracting outsourcing business. Learn how to use our tool the right way!

Are you tired of outsourcing to India?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/03/05/are-you-tired-of-outsourcing-to-india/
The cultural behaviors in India are not usually to our liking in the US unless you get lucky and find someone really considerate. See how cultural differences ruin outsourcing relationships.

Is it better to have a woman do your phone calls?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/04/is-it-better-to-have-a-woman-do-your-phone-calls/
Men are better at being authoritative, but women are less threatening. Who should you hire for your next process?

Are your callers annoying?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2012/05/14/are-your-callers-annoying/
Finding call center reps with pleasing voices and personalities should be your main priority. Learn the art of interaction in this quick article!

How to start an outsourcing company
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/04/24/how-to-start-an-outsourcing-company/
Be an expert in your field and have a decisive offering. But, what about free trials? Am I crazy? Learn step by step what you need to do and get prepared!

How to write a resume for an outsourcing job!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/03/09/how-to-write-a-resume-for-an-outsourcing-job/
How do you document your education, professional membership and job objectives? Should you use chronological order or inverse? What else should you put on the resume?

Create stories in your blog about the experience of your clients
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/07/18/create-stories-in-your-blog-about-the-experience-of-your-clients/
Do you want to be good at marketing in 2015? Marketing is all about storytelling these days, so learn the art. If you are good at blogging too, so much the better!

From 100 Indian call centers down to 1
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/01/21/from-100-indian-call-centers-down-to-1/
When we weeded out the unprofessional call centers on our directory, we got rid of almost all of the Indian call centers. They didn’t answer their phone professionally and didn’t behave as if they were “real” businesses either.

Cottage industries in India ruin India’s outsourcing reputation
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2013/09/29/cottage-industries-in-india-ruin-indias-outsourcing-reputation/
Many outsourcing companies in India are not real companies. When you call them and ask their company name, they often have multiple names and multiple ventures all run out of someone’s bedroom that are often not real businesses at all.

Solutions to India’s transportation problem
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/04/10/solutions-to-indias-transportation-problem/
India is a country filled with traffic jams and new overpasses being built daily. But, what if they used more innovative solutions like moving walkways and standing only buses? Hmm…

Hitting the 10,000 mark on Twitter; Halfway up Mt. Twitterest!

August 19, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Popular on Twitter, Social Media | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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I did it !!
A few months ago I hit 10,000 mark on my Twitter account, which is one third of the followers Bernie Sanders typically has at a campaign rally. Hitting 10,000 was very exciting, but didn’t change my life.

A flood of 140 emotions
I’m happy I got 10,000 followers, but to get major traffic or respect on Twitter, you need at least 100,000. Still, hitting a milestone felt good! On the other hand, I seem to have Twittered away more than an hour a day for the last year achieving this goal. I often ask myself, “was it worth it?” It’s hard to know if social media is worth your time, because the real reward only comes once you have developed a huge following and superior skills.

The reward comes at the end
Having been a student of the spiritual world over twenty-five years, certain phrases still resonate in my mind: “The reward comes at the end.” We spend years, decades and our entire life meditating to reach a lofty spiritual goal. But, we don’t get the rewards incrementally. We get the reward only when we reach the destination. Twitter, much like life seems to operate according to the same logic.

Twitter lends itself to exponential growth
You need a foundation to grow on Twitter, and you won’t get much return on your investment (even if you are Donald Trump) while you are building that foundation. However, once you have a solid following, you will find that using the same hour a day you spend (or three in Kim Kardashian’s case) you will gain more followers. I noticed that I went from getting about 20 followers a day to over 100 without spending additional time. If you have more followers, you will have more people who regularly retweet you which will get your messages across. You will also be better at writing tweets and picking the best articles to write or share.

Halfway up the mountain 10,000 feet (or followers) high
I have tweeted far and wide, and well past base camp which I passed several months back. It’s too late to turn back now. But, I am excited to see what is in front of me. I will breathe easier as I reach new plateaus (good thing this isn’t an actual mountain; otherwise I’d need an oxygen tank at this point.) My journey would have been much easier if I had had a Sherpa, but I guess hiking Mt. Twitterest doesn’t work that way. But, when I get stuck for ideas, I just ask my imaginary Sherpa for one.

Having it all figured out
After having struggled on Twitter for years, I feel like I have somewhat figured it out. I remember the types of hurdles I went through four years ago wondering why nobody liked my lame tweets. I learned to warm up my tweets to make them fun to read. I also learned how to experience and analyze which types of topics, articles and tweets do best. At this point, it is just about repeating the process. But, repeating the process means exploring many interesting articles and new themes for articles that I will soon write. Although I feel I know it all now, the growth rate, and the type of situations I will run into will continue to change — and there will never be a dull moment, but if there is, I’ll make sure it doesn’t show up on my feed!

Using Twitter as a tool rather than an addiction
I feel that I am too obsessive about Twitter. I shouldn’t spend as much time as I do. Google+ doesn’t get me much results, but it does get me SEO value whenever I publish anything. If I spent five minutes less on Twitter and spent those five minutes publishing daily on Google+, I would be using Twitter as a tool rather than an obsession. Every several months, I come up with a new plan to optimize my daily schedule. I think I just figured out my next small adjustment. Putting time management aside, use Twitter to learn new skills, read new articles, and figure out what works. You don’t need two hours a day for this. You can get huge on Twitter in as little as half an hour per day and still be able to follow, unfollow, tweet, select great articles, and interact with others.

The dream I had when I hit 10,000
I actually had this dream a month ago. I was hiking. Then, I got to a part in the trail that was too steep to hike up. I had to grab on to the long grass and pull my self up the slope for a stretch. Then, I got to a part which was very rocky and I had to climb up very treacherous sections. Finally I arrived at a ledge above me which I wouldn’t be able to get past unless I became a spider who could crawl upside down and backwards to get to the edge of it and then on top. But, I glanced to the right and there was a trail covered by a wooden structure. I quickly made my way into the wooden walkway and it led to a French restaurant and pastry shop. There were twelve choices for fruit pies; eleven after my imaginary Sherpa appeared out of nowhere and got his hands on one. My interpretation of this dream was that I had struggled up hill for years, but now I would enjoy the fruits of my labor!

Mastering other networks
I did spend two years trying to master Facebook, Google plus and a few other social media networks. I made excellent progress and our Notary Facebook account generates over 5000 clicks per month to my blog which is amazing. However, I never felt pulled towards those networks in the long run.

Social Media Saying:
Why do I keep climbing Mt. Twitterest? Because its there!

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You might also like:

10 quick factors that differentiate a good blog entry from a bad one
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/08/03/10-quick-factors-that-differentiate-a-good-blog-entry-from-a-bad-one/

What is the difference between a Twitter account with 1000 followers an a million?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/07/11/what-is-the-difference-between-a-twitter-account-with-1000-followers-and-1000000/

Why you should hire a comedian instead of a CEO to help you co-blog
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/06/13/why-you-should-hire-a-comedian-instead-of-a-ceo-to-co-blog/

18 ways to boost your social media marketing in 10 minutes or less per day!
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2015/05/05/18-ways-to-boost-your-social-media-marketing-in-10-minutes-day/

Wouldn’t it be nice to have your office in the Himalayas?
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2011/04/27/wouldnt-it-be-nice-to-have-your-office-in-the-himalayas/

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Are you a thinker or a doer?

August 18, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Motivation, Semi-Popular | Leave a comment

Many of us talk more than we do, and others do more than we talk. Others think a lot and do very little. Others do, but do without much though which leads to ineffective results. Some people have a job that requires talking, so for them talking is doing. But, the secret to success is the successful combination of thinking and doing.

If you have a great idea, but great idea is seldom of any value unless it is refined and implemented. 99% of the battle is the perspiration that comes after the inspiration. But, what about tweaking and adjusting the idea to be optimal? Many of us just think that someone thinks of an idea, and gets rich just like that. It is the adjustment of the idea to real conditions that matters more than the idea itself.

In real life, I find my business career consisting of a lot of smaller decisions for the most part. I find new ways to make my regular business processes a little more refined. Perhaps I find a better person to do the job, or a faster or better way of doing the job. I decide which processes can be skipped, and how often to do each process. There are many decisions which are more like adjustments than anything else. Many business people don’t think of fine-tuning the tasks they do every day. But, sometimes success comes from exactly that.

So, if you are neither a thinker or a doer, you are doomed. But, if you do both, find the right combination and find new success!

When is the best time to do deep business thinking vs. busy work

August 12, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Of Interest | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How do you schedule your time?
Scheduling your day is not an easy task. Some of us are victims of habit, while others prioritize and plan. I decided to have interlocking schedules based on priorities. Daily routines and monthly routines, but not daily routines. I try to cram in as much work as possible during each day, but the issue (not necessarily a problem) is when to do the deep thinking work.

Does busy work get the best of you?
Many people feel that managers should not do busy work (repetitive tasks). But, when you have a small business, and can’t find reliable people to do some of your critical data entry, calls, and other “busy work” sometimes managers can get overloaded. Even checking the quality of your workers’ busy work is in itself busy work. Even if you take frequent breaks, your mind can easily get frazzled if you are doing too much.

Finding that right time to think
Many of us would do much better in business if we would find time to really think and evaluate all of the tasks that we do in our business. We all have limited resources, and business is the art of using our resources most efficiently to get maximum profits and/or output. The confusing part is that the maximum profits are often delayed, and creating a solid foundation for your business is more important than short term profits in my mind. If you are frazzled with busy work all day long, you might brush over critical decisions and make some very expensive mistakes. It seems logical that the more important a decision, the more time you would invest in it — and the most time when your mind is in a good state to deal with such issues. So, how do you create those windows of time?

You might also like:
Bathe and meditate before making business decisions
http://bpo.123outsource.net/2014/07/23/bathe-and-meditate-before-making-business-decisions/

Weekly self-meetings
If you have a weekly meeting with yourself, this is a great way to make decisions. You can take notes throughout the week as to what you will be thinking about. It does not hurt to discuss these decisions with others as they might have some valuable input or at least a very different point of view. My thought is that late at night is the best time to think deep thoughts. The universe is quiet then, and distractions from outside are minimal. There are no phones, there are less radio waves in the atmosphere. There is no screaming, and there is no commotion. Most people are asleep or doing quiet things at home like watching television or using their computer. I also suggest meditating and bathing before doing important decision making activities. And if you are really busy on a particular week, you can have a shorter meeting and postpone important decisions to another week when you are less frazzled.

Is the beginning or the day or the end of the day the best time?
For me, late at night is my favorite time of any 24 hour period. For others, you might think better in the morning. My friend is the opposite of me. I like staying up late at night, he likes getting up early in the morning. But, the result we have is the same. I normally retire around 2am while he gets up at 2:30 am. We are often awake at the same time if I go to bed really late which sometimes happens when I have to finish up piles of work. He finds miraculous clarity early in the morning. He gets a lot of all types of work done at that time including tasks which require deep thought, and just routine answering of emails. For those who prefer 7am in the morning, if you are fresh at that time, then do some deep thinking. But, remember, the quality of your thoughts depends on the stillness of the outside atmosphere as well as the clarity of your mind. So, if your mind is clear at a particular time, then take advantage of that clarity for critical tasks.

What about busy work?
I like doing busy-work late at night when I am half asleep too. After I have lost my clarity and it is even later at night, it is a good time for repetitive tasks which don’t require too many brain cells. Doing my Twitter outreach is a perfect example of a brainless task. I just follow members from relevant accounts. I’ll add 1000 at a time, and I do this several times per week for my main account. There are different types of busy work. Some require some thinking while others require almost no thinking. I advise saving the brainless tasks for when you are most fatigued. But, try to make yourself extra fresh for those tough decisions that could take hours to work out!

I didn’t get retweeted, but that’s okay…

August 9, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Social Media | Tagged , | Leave a comment

It sounds like a song, doesn’t it. Using Twitter is an art that even the best people on social media don’t entirely understand. Mastery of Twitter involves understanding the subtle differences between a tweet worded one way and a tweet with one or two different words. One slight change in wording could be the difference between a viral tweet and a dud.

So, in your endless experiments, doing a dozen tweet variations for each blog post you write, just understand that not all of your tweets will be popular. Yes, you need a few winners, but the losers don’t hurt you. So, if a post doesn’t get retweeted, just sing my little song:

“I didn’t get retweeted, but that’s okay; I’ll have better luck — another day!
I didn’t get retweeted, but that’s okay; My growth hacking analytics sorrows that I’ve had for many many years — will go away”

Magic Words in Business

August 6, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Marketing | Leave a comment

Do you use magic words in business? Special words can really improve your customer relations. However, without proper follow-up, you will lose your reputation!

Can I help?

I’ll let you know!

I’ll deliver on time every time.

I appreciate your business.

Can I send you a link to some information regarding the question you asked?

I’ll send you a rate schedule.

I’ll create a customized plan to meet your individual needs.

Being helpful is great. But, going the extra mile is even better. Delivering on promises is more important than making them. There are all types of characters in business that promise all types of things. If you don’t deliver services on time, you will lose your reputation quickly. Being patient and helpful with customers is important too. Some customers like to ramble, and it is important to tolerate their inefficient behavior so you don’t offend them. But, to go the extra mile you need to offer customized help to clients. Not all clients will benefit from seeing your rate schedule. They only need one quote and that quote is to get what they need done they way they want it done. If you can tune into individual needs and comfort zones your business will do much better.

Many business do what is convenient for themselves with very little regard for what is convenient for the client. You are there to help others, not yourself. So, try to tune into what people really want, and say some magic words too in order to make people feel good.

Have a nice day!

10 quick factors that differentiate a good blog entry from a bad one

August 3, 2015 by 123outsource
Categories: Semi-Popular, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Many people write blogs, but most writers are not that interesting. Even some of the more famous blogs out there have very predictable and dull contents. So, how do you write winning blogs every time? It is not an exact science, but here are some tips.

(1) Having the right photo vs. having “a” photo.
Any blog about blogging will emphasize how you need a photo and how you will get more shares on Facebook, pins on Pinterest, and popularity in general by having a photo. But, having a mediocre photo might not get you much traction. You need to compare photos and see which ones get you the best following. Compare your analytics and use your senses. A good photo makes you say, “awe.” If you don’t have a reaction to the photo you are using, it is probably not the best you can do. Be selective if you want traffic. Thriving on the internet is based purely on how good you are at selecting and/or crafting top content and not on having mediocre photos.

(2) Length matters
I have the habit of jotting my ideas down on my iphone’s notes section. Then I’ll write lots of quick blog entries. This is a great way to experiment. However, most of the quick blogs I wrote that were three or four paragraphs with no sub-headers didn’t get read more than a few times. The blogs that were the most successful were about 500-700 words, and had many points within a greater theme, each with bolded sub-headers above each paragraph.

(3) Uniqueness is a huge factor
Many people write blog entries on topics that have been done to death. This might be okay if you offer a unique new twist on an old theme kind of like how Mozart wrote dozens of variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as a child. However, picking unique themes that will be populur to a very general audience is the not so easy to master key to popular blogging. If you are in a niche industry, you might not be able to stay relevant while pleasing the masses, but at least please the masses who have some relationship to your niche market!

(4) Promotion on Social Media is critical
If you do not have a good social media presence, you might find it hard to promote your blog. If you blog regularly and the Google Gods pick you up, then you can get traffic from them. But, that can take hundreds of blog entries to accumulate a significant start with the Gods. It takes time to develop a massive Twitter, Instagram or Facebook presence, so try to master social media as that is one of your keys to getting your blog articles in the door with readers.

(5) Networking with co-bloggers
If you have a proofreader, partner, or comedian who can add some humor to your blogs, this can really help. It makes sense to invest in blog articles that are already popular by sprucing those ones up. There is no point in improving upon blog articles with ideas that didn’t work though or new articles which you are not sure about.

(6) Being too factual seems to alienate readers
There are many bloggers who are great at researching facts and figures. They pride themselves on providing “useful” information. But, the reality is that people want articles that are fun, interesting, or that can change their lives with little or no effort. Yes, a good blog article needs some facts to back up your claims and hypotheses, but being overly factual doesn’t normally lead to articles that get read much. The overly factual articles sit on the shelf.

(7) Articles with many points on a single topic often win big.
Do you see titles such as 8 ways to succeed on social media or 11 ways to get your cat to meao more? These are titles that work. On social media, most bloggers make the mistake of not including unique content in the tweet itself. The result is generic looking titles that I would not invest any reading time in. Blog articles that have a theme and two or three examples do not do well. Longer articles with seven, ten, or twenty-eight ways to for example succeed in social media seem to do better. But, be unique about how you write and promote these articles otherwise they too will end up lost in cyberspace.

(8) Excite and entertain
Nobody wants to go back to a blog that puts them to sleep. You need to find a way for your blog to be easy to read, fun, and exciting. With half of the world’s population now claiming to be bloggers, you have to differentiate your boring content from everyone else’s, so try to be interesting!

(9) Too much advice can be a bad thing
My very best blog articles did the worst. But, why? Because I gave really fine-tuned technical advice for how to do better in business, social media, or in hiring. Too much nitpicky and analytical advice doesn’t usually do well unless your audience demands it. Additionally, I am writing to an average business oriented crowd and not to a high-brow crowd. Sometimes if I write above the level of my readers, they become alienated.

(10) Sentence structure of the title really matters
If you analyze blog titles and which ones do well, you will quickly understand that simple grammar actually sells. Subject – Object -Verb is a great structure to start with. My best blog article of all time had a title – Steve Jobs watched his programmers carefully, so should you! It was simple, had a powerful message, and a call to action. Not all posts that use the formula for success will be successful, but it is a good place to start.

(11) A call to action
A good blog entry should get people out of their chair. There should be a call to action. They should want to get up and make a change to their life or business right after reading it. A call to action could be part of the title, like in my Steve Jobs example, and should definitely be at the end of a blog entry.

(12) Know your audience and personalize
It is hard to know the intricacies of your audience — their likes and dislikes. You have to experiment and learn little by little what they like as a group. And they will surprize you many times as well. I mentioned before that if I write articles that are too technical, analytical or high-brow my audience tends to not read them. On the other hand, if I write interesting articles with a meaningful and understandable point, they will get a generous supply of traffic.

(13) So, what can you do?
Start by experimenting and look at your analytics. Try to figure out which articles worked best and why. Look at what other people are publishing and what did better on their Facebook or Twitter. There is no way to absolutely master the art of knowing what is popular on social media, but the closer you look, the better you get. So start today, and as always, choose some pictures that knock your socks off! I am not using photos yet except on Facebook promoted posts, but I’ll begin using them soon as my blog grows!