You know that Spring has definitely sprung in the UK when two big sporting fixtures appear on the calendar, both taking place this weekend.
Yesterday was the Grand National steeplechase (my horse came second :-() and today it’s the turn of the Oxford-Cambridge boat race just a hop, skip and stroll along the river from my home.
Like all sensible locals this year, we’ll be watching it on the telly as the race doesn’t start until early evening which means there will be a lot of drunken Sloanes roaming the streets. If you’re puzzled by the term Sloane, here’s an explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloane_Ranger
None of that stops me feeling spring-like which, of course, means spring cleaning and this is a great time to apply that to your business as well, starting with an excellent guide from Hubspot on redesigning your website.
As with all Hubspot downloads, you need to give your details in exchange but it is well worth it and any emails they send out are packed with good information:
http://offers.hubspot.com/website-redesign-planning-progress-kit
Next up is a mind-freshening guide to 13 Google+ tools that will improve your marketing:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/13-google-plus-tools/
Talking of fresh approaches, LinkedIn has introduced a content marketing score. What does that mean for you? Well, it lets you see how much impact your paid and free content has made on other LinkedIn users and also gives you suggestions on how to improve it. Very useful indeed!
I admit I have yet to use Instagram as a marketing tool but here is an excellent podcast on how to do just that by Sue Zimmerman – this is especially interesting for offliners as it teaches you how to convert clients using Instagram as well as attract customers:
http://www.enchantinglawyer.com/using-instagram-marketing-tool-sue-zimmerman/
I’ve talked about the importance of the human touch before but if you haven’t incorporated it into your marketing yet, or don’t know how to do so effectively, then this is another great podcast that will point you in the right direction:
http://solopreneurhour.com/podcast/90-how-transparency-boosts-business-with-wes-chapman/
For your Kindle freebie this week, I’ve chosen ‘Energize’ by Bob Faw to spring clean your attitude, mindset and approach.
Here is what one reviewer had to say:
If you regularly face challenges, and seek to create positive momentum for yourself and those around you, this should be a compelling read for you!
I should think that covers most of us – best of all, this is based on hard science:
http://www.amazon.com/Energize-Performance-Friendly-Positive-Retraining-ebook/dp/B00HVMEROA/
Finally, your TED talk this week addresses how your body language really does shape how you think and perform – enlightening, insightful and hugely popular:
