Karen Leland

Are You Sick and Tired Of Counting Characters?

Karen Leland — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:14:06 +0000

Lately I’ve been realizing that small and insignificant, but necessary, items eat up a significant portion of my worktime. For example – counting the amount of characters or words I’m using when composing something. Character Read more

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Spring Cleaning for Your Brand

Karen Leland — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:30:56 +0000

Every spring, I get an itch to go through my closets and rid myself of clothes that no longer seem to suit me. What begins as a sartorial purging usually expands into a clearing out Read more

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How to Market a Little-Known Product

Karen Leland — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:30:30 +0000

One of the great things about the Internet is that it has leveled the playing field. Today a startup, small business or one-man band can become a player in its field through the use of Read more

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How to Deal with Negative Online Reviews

Karen Leland — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:30:41 +0000

True confessions: When I first started blogging about a decade ago, I wrote a post for a top 10 website where I made what I thought was an innocent off-the-wall comment, meant to be (at Read more

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What the Oscars can teach us about Branding

Karen Leland — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:30:40 +0000

With the 85th Academy Awards around the corner, entrepreneurs can pick up a host of personal and business branding lessons by paying attention to who has been nominated — and who hasn’t. Consider the following Read more

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Dos and Don’ts for your Profile Photo

Karen Leland — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:30:44 +0000

If you’re one of those people who thinks that the new year is a good time to post an updated profile picture to your Pinterest page and other social media sites, I would agree. Visuals Read more

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Pinterest Boards to Boost Your Brand

Karen Leland — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:30:31 +0000

As a growing number of consumers jump on the Pinterest bandwagon, the opportunities to use the social-media site for business have grown exponentially. What is Pinterest? The bulletin-board-style social image sharing website is a relatively Read more

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Marketing Lessons from the Super Bowl

Karen Leland — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:30:08 +0000

It’s no secret that many people watch the Super Bowl for the commercials as much as the competition. By viewing the upcoming spots with your marketing glasses on, you can walk away with a whole Read more

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What I Learned From A Yam

Karen Leland — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:04:11 +0000

There are certain holiday foods that grab a hold of us (traditionally speaking) and won’t let go. They form a habit out of our favorite recipes and if they’re missing from the feast, well something Read more

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Reporter Services Can Be Key To Media Coverage

Karen Leland — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:59:47 +0000

In a survey, the Society of New Communications Research, explored how media and journalism are evolving. In the study, journalists reported using more social media in their reporting including: 78% of the journalists surveyed said Read more

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Are You a Multiplier or a Diminisher?

Karen Leland — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:53:06 +0000

Drawing on interviews with more than 150 executives and on her own experience as the former vice president of Oracle University, Liz Wiseman, author of the book Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter Read more

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Study Shows We Are Overworked and Overwhelmed

Karen Leland — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 04:57:20 +0000

Any small businessperson who currently swims in the swirling mass of a high-pressure workplace doesn’t need another study to tell him or her that they have reached their limit. However, just in case your overflowing Read more

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How Vacations Help the Business Brain

Karen Leland — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:00:42 +0000

The thought of this impending time off from the daily in and out of work exhilarates me — and worries me. On the pro side is the anticipation of rest, renewal and relaxation. Weighing in Read more

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Mobile Devices Are Creating Meeting Madness

Karen Leland — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:20:58 +0000

A few weeks ago, I was off site at a client’s office facilitating a strategy session. At the start, everyone in the room was constantly checking their cell phones for email messages, texting and attempting Read more

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How Small Businesses Land Superstar Clients

Karen Leland — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:30:29 +0000

I did a post for this column on identifying bad clients and knowing when to fire them. In the emails and comments that followed, many of you mentioned the flip side of the coin — Read more

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Zen Habits and Simple Productivity

Karen Leland — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 08:00:59 +0000

Every night before I go to bed, I read a book. Depending on my mood, I may paw my way through a foodie memoir, a prize-winning novel, or a popular piece of fiction. Back in Read more

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Two Work-From-Home Danger Zones And How To Beat Them Back

Karen Leland — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 08:00:25 +0000

True confessions. A few days a week, I go to work in my pajamas. Being a member of the estimated 30 million U.S. workers who ply their trade from home at least once a week, Read more

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Build Brand Awareness With A Survey

Karen Leland — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 06:00:21 +0000

In today’s crowded media landscape, businesses are continually on the lookout for ways to stand apart from their competitors. Enter surveys, a cost-effective method to promote brand awareness. A survey worthy of media attention is Read more

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Does Your Small Business Need a Virtual Assistant?

Karen Leland — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:00:24 +0000

Virtual Assistant. The mere utterance of these words can make a small business owner ecstatic or apoplectic — all depending on their experience with this increasingly popular administrative help. I won’t bore you with the Read more

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eBooks: The New Darlings of Small-Business Branding

Karen Leland — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 06:00:44 +0000

In the world of small business marketing, it sometimes seems like there is a never-ending tension between the “what’s hot now” social media to do and the actual way to execute for maximum business benefit. Read more

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Inspiration Breathes Life Into Branding

Karen Leland — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:58:49 +0000

One of the first things I do when I start working with new clients on their personal or business brand is to ask them to consider what mood or energy they consciously strive to bring Read more

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The Challenge of Hiring Linksters

Karen Leland — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:20:10 +0000

Picture this: An 85-year-old company founder startled by the scantily clad intern sitting on his desk texting her mom or an angry parent calling to ask why her son’s schedule was changed, impacting the family’s Read more

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Using QR Codes For Small Business Marketing

Karen Leland — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:00:16 +0000

While on vacation seven years ago, entrepreneur Rico Elmore couldn’t find a pair of sunglasses that would fit on his not-so-small noggin. Elmore’s hefty-head experience spawned an ah-ha moment, and today he is the proud Read more

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Ten Tips To A Terrific Staycation

Karen Leland — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:53:17 +0000

This week the weather turned a corner and the looming summer season hit me straight in the face – and left me wishing for a summer vacation spent lazily lying on sandy beaches sipping drinks Read more

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‘Ruby Sparks’ Reminded Me That Persuasion Marketing Sucks

Karen Leland — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 06:00:48 +0000

“Ruby Sparks” Reminded Me That Persuasion Marketing Sucks “Yup, instead of changing himself, he’s going to try and change her.” Read more That’s what my friend Randy turned to me and said during a pivotal plot point

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