Believe it or not, I keep hearing that social media doesn’t work.

Here’s a list of the top referring websites to Coach Radio.

1. Direct
2. Twitter
3. 48days.net (social website)
4. Google
5. Free Agent Academy (social website)
6. Stumbleupon
7. LinkedIn
8. Facebook

To be fair, I spend a lot of time on these websites.  Did you really think it was going to be easy though?

Second, this is an interactive map of people who are reading my book, Become a Coach.

Add your zip code to this list

The point is, this map wouldn’t be possible without social media.

If you’d like to see more of a strategy, I’ve put together a bunch of social media tutorials.  They’re all free to watch.

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037 Coach Radio – Your Story: Howard Sheppard

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Howard Sheppard and I spent three months working together to help him get his business off the ground.  He hosts a podcast at lifebeyondtheassemblyline.com.

We recently spent a weekend together in Colorado to brainstorm on ideas with 35 Free Agents.

Howard is refocusing his business to work with sales people.

“If I can help one person in business, then it’s not a waste.”

We discussed how Howard has a tendency to do so many things that he continually runs into walls.  But that leads him to find where the walls aren’t.  If you’re waiting for a sign to know you’re on the right path, it may never come.  Get out there and make something happen.

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Hootsuite is the free program I use to manage my social media profiles, monitor what people are saying to me and about me, and then to interact with them throughout twitter, facebook, and linkedin.

More social media tutorials

I hosted a class with Andy Traub the other night that I thought you’d be interested in.

It’s extremely important to have a presence online and to use social media. This goes far beyond having your own website to send people to.

We spent nearly 60 minutes helping you figure out why you need to be online, where you need to be, and what you need to be doing.

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Here are a few links we shared during the class:

• Free Agent Academy
• Social Media Class
• Hootsuite.com

I posted recently on how to podcast in Typepad.   I prefaced that post by telling you to do it in WordPress instead.  It’s much easier and almost built to work right out of the box.  I had to figure it out in Typepad for a show I host at the Free Agent Academy.  Then I received questions about how I do it in WordPress.  So here you go.  This is an overview of how to make it work for you.  If you need further help, give my friend Cliff a call.

How to Launch a Podcast in WordPress

1. Get your web hosting squared away.  Upload and install WordPress.
2. Create a podcast category in your WordPress account. Here’s a great web host that includes a 1-click install for WordPress. (affiliate link)
3. Your RSS feed is http://www.yoursite.com/category/podcast/feed.  You’ll need this feed for the feedburner step in a minute.
4. Install the audio player plugin and activate it.
5. When you create a post you need to activate the audio player and include a reference to your audio file.  I use libsyn to host my files.
6. Also put a link to the actual file and say something like right-click to download.  This is the file that gets included in your RSS feed and is sent to iTunes.  Here’s the code to activate the audio player. You need to replace the reference to your audio file. Replace the red rename with the word audio.
   

   [rename:http://filehostingsite.com/file.MP3]

7. Sign in to feedburner using your google account.
8. Paste your RSS feed and check the box indicating you are a podcaster.
9. Complete the rest of the info on the page describing your show.  Upload a 600×600 cover for your show that will display in iTunes.  You’ll need to host that somewhere and provide the link to feedburner.
10. Click ‘Edit Feed Details’ at the top left of your page.
11. Your feed will be in this format: http://feeds.feedburner.com/xxxx where the x’s need to be replaced.  You can get creative there if you like.
12. Take that address and open iTunes and click on the iTunes store on the left of the page.  Assuming they don’t change their software, scroll all the way to the bottom and click on podcast on the left.  Then click on submit a podcast on the right.
13. Paste the code into the box on the next page and sign in with your iTunes account.  You’ll receive an email notifying you within a few hours or days that it’s been reviewed and added.
14. To add to Zune, go to zune.net.
15. Click on podcasts on the lower left.
16. Click on ‘Submit a podcast’ on the left of the next page.
17. You won’t receive an email from them.  Check back and search to see that it was added.

I don’t recommend it, but here are directions to podcast in Typepad.

Questions?

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The great thing about a step-by-step plan is that it probably worked for someone at one point so they wrote it down to share with you. As a coach, people come to me for a step-by-step plan to get their business running better. Many people are looking for a road map to follow in order to become successful.

But you don’t need a map…you need a compass.

Derek spoke recently on the importance of thinking for yourself, but received a lot of backlash on it.

Your Map is No Good

The great thing about a map is that you can follow it; but I guarantee your plans won’t work like you plan for them to work. Something will happen along the way and derail you. Then what? Your map is no good.

What you need is a clearly defined destination and a compass. Where do you want to be in five years? Yes, it’s very likely that will change, but without a destination you don’t know which direction to go. You’ll end up wandering and your business will fail.

Think for Yourself

Road maps are OK, but you need to start thinking for yourself.  No one else is just like you so do what feels natural. Read biographies of people you admire.  Listen to stories of people making it happen.  Read books other than how-to’s.

What do you think is more helpful, a road map or a compass?

Update: David Garland got me thinking about this and was the inspiration for this post.  You can read his thoughts at The Rise to the Top.

Update 2: David Garland interviewed me and we talked about this issue at the end of the show.

(photo by psd)

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036 Coach Radio – How to Create Business

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I just arrived back from a Free Agent Academy event where about 30 entrepreneurs from around the country convened with us in Colorado to build their businesses.

How to Create Business

• Add value and serve others
• Establish a presence online – your home base should likely be a blog
• Use social media
• Read a book – Rework, BYS, The Referral Engine, Crush It!, Linchpin, Six Pixels of Separation
• Wash your car (or your neighbor’s car)
• Take a walk
• Exercise
• Talk to old clients
• Networking – old fashioned
• Take someone to lunch
• Meetup
• Start a new hobby – get out of your comfort zone

I mentioned when I interviewed David Garland.

John G. Miller interviewed Derek and I and it’s worth a listen.

Chapter covered from Become a Coach – How Much Money can I Make as a Coach?

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035 Coach Radio – Your Story:  Deb Ingino

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Send me your feedback or questions or leave me a voice mail: (919) 355-8275.

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Deb Ingino is working a corporate job while building her business – My Wired Style.

Deb uses the DISC personality profile to help others find how they’re wired.  She helps improve relationship, helps adults figure out what they should be doing for a living, and helps parent better understand their child’s gifts.

She was unhappy with her career and hired a coach (Dan Miller) to help her figure out what to do next.  Dan had her make a list of things she’d like to do.  A few of the things that Deb pulled out were parenting coach, tele-seminar host, etc.  She blended all of that together into her current business.

Her first workshop was unpaid.  Now she’s paid to do in-person and online workshops.

Deb talks about how she manages her career and her business.  She mentioned that she has a virtual assistant (VA).  She’s done a lot of bartering for services like graphic and website design.

Deb is also a professor at the Free Agent Academy.  She leads a group called You and Your Wiring to help you find and use it to best of your ability in a business.  She’s not only a professor but, as Deb says, “It’s been the best brain trust I’ve ever been involved in over my 25 years in business.”

Deb’s Wiring group will take you through a 6-week program – from having no ideas to finding your best idea – in an intimate, safe setting.

Deb’s getting the word out about her business by using social media (facebook.com/mywiredstyle, twitter.com/mywiredstyle) and just as important, talking to people directly and in person.  She says she’d rather interact with people online but she knows she also has to connect with people offline.

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