#NerdsUnite: Inside the marketing mind of @MyMelodie (Better than #BlackFriday Specials! Technology Tools that Fuel My Life)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Melodie. I met her when she invited me to come and crash on her couch for the night in the San Dizzle and she is for reals one of the nicest chicas ever. She's a fellow marketer and wanted to use this space to share her thoughts on life, love, and all things nerd. Hit it Melodie! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MyMelodie

I enjoyed a really relaxing Thanksgiving this year. I dined out at a nice restaurant in San Diego. It’s the first time I’ve ever eaten out on Thanksgiving and it was definitely a nice change of pace than cooking at home.  I also enjoyed a gorgeous sunset and amazing view!

Upon returning home from dinner, I couldn’t help but notice “Black Friday” pop up on every update on every social network I'm on. Since Thanksgiving is the start of Holiday shopping we all know it goes hand in hand with Black Friday! Although I have shopped on Black Friday, it’s not a regular routine for me. For many, Black Friday is all about getting the best deals! It’s a great opportunity to save on all the things you love. But I’ve got an even better idea on getting the best deals and saving: Free technology tools! I’m so thankful for so many technology tools that don’t cost me a penny! From entertaining me, helping me grow my business and keeping me connected with friends, I’m so grateful for these resources. Here are 5 of my favorites and how they seriously fuel my life!

Hulu - Many of you are probably Black Friday shopping for a new TV! I watch all of my TV through Hulu and definitely don’t mind watching commercials when I’m saving on my cable bill! Hulu is an online video service that offers a selection of hit shows, clips, movies and much more. I watch TV sporadically, whenever I want to relax so I don’t watch any particular show on a regular basis. My favorite shows to watch on Hulu are Iron Chef America, Cupcake Wars, Diners Drive Ins and Dives (Yes I’m addicted to food porn!) Luckily my favorite shows don’t require me to watch a previous episode to get it since they’re not series so I can watch any episode at my leisure.

Pandora - Music to my ears! I love Pandora because it helps me discover new music in the genres I love. Their new interface is amazing! It shows me song lyrics, gives me information on the artists and allows me to share my favorite songs with others. On my current playlist I’M YOURS RADIO! I’m  sucker for romantic soft rock!

Klout - At first I was skeptical of Klout but then Klout Perks won me over! Klout measures your social influence on different topics and is becoming a powerful marketing tool for businesses because they’re able to target people who they believe are taste makers to use their products. My latest Klout Perk is 100x better than any Black Friday special on phones, I’m getting a Free Windows Phone because one of the topics I'm influential about Microsoft!

Evernote - I credit Evernote for helping me remember more things and be more organized. I have Evernote on my phone, my browser, my email, it’s everywhere because it’s a digital repository for everything I need to keep track of.  A "note" can be formatted text, a full webpage or excerpt, a photo, a voice recording or a good old fashioned handwritten note. Notes can have file attachments, be sorted into folders, tagged, annotated, edited, given comments and searched. This may sound overwhelming but once you start using Evernote you’ll understand how effective the tool is. I use it to keep track of recommendations people give me for movies, books and websites to visit. I also file recipes for cooking, sort important documents and so much more!

Free Conference Call - This is an amazing tool for my business. Living up to its name, Free Conference Call provides you with a conference line number completely free of charge. You can also record conferences calls. How does Free Conference Call help me so much? Since I’m always on the go I only use my cell phone, no home or work phone. My cell is my main business line which means I use a lot of minutes! From client consultations and business conference calls I easily go over my allotted minutes each month. Luckily Verizon allows me to add 5 non Verizon numbers to my line where I get unlimited calling. I added my conference line, so every call I make on that line won't take away from my minutes!

As you can see with my favorite technology tools, I save money on my cable bill, my music playlist, my phone and my phone bill! I’m also more efficient and more organized. Better than Black Friday Specials? Well I’d definitely say so!

#NerdsUnite

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mymelodie

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarketingMelodie

Blog: http://www.marketingmelodie.com

#NerdsUnite: Inside the marketing mind of @MyMelodie (The art of learning something new every day)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Melodie. I met her when she invited me to come and crash on her couch for the night in the San Dizzle and she is for reals one of the nicest chicas ever. She's a fellow marketer and wanted to use this space to share her thoughts on life, love, and all things nerd. Hit it Melodie! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MyMelodie

Hello Nerds! Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome to the TNTML community after my intro post! I feel right at home and am ready to continue sharing with all of you!  

Being an Entrepreneur and Marketer in today’s day and age can definitely be challenging but also extremely rewarding. I create my own opportunities and LOVE what I do but I can’t dismiss that there are so many things to manage including new technologies that pop up by the minute (meaning I must learn and be well versed on them before everyone else so I can educate others about them), challenges of running a business itself: finances, marketing, business development, etc and then of course balancing everything with my personal life that I cherish! 

Something that really inspires and motivates me daily is the knowing that I literally LEARN SOMETHING NEW EACH AND EVERY DAY! This to me is priceless and it usually happens when I’m teaching others, giving advice or recommendations. I come to the realization that “HEY! I needed to learn that too!” Or “Wow I really need to take my own advice!” I truly believe the world is a mirror and what I encounter is a reflection of myself and where I’m at in life. I’ve recently learned so much while teaching and interacting with others for my job so here are a few things I’ve learned in the past couple weeks I feel are worth sharing with all you.

1. Networking Tip:  No selling at mixers and have a 2 sentence opener that sparks interest!
 I often avoid going to business mixers because I’m just not a fan of the whole “What do you do?” question being asked to me a hundred times. I realize it’s important for me to get out there and meet people face to face so I got myself to go out and I attended an event this week.  I met a guy who works in insurance. He immediately started to try and sell me policies. This also immediately made me lose interest. But it made me re-evaluate the way I connect with people at business mixers. It’s important to be authentic while being able to describe what you do in 1-2 sentences to peak people’s interest so you don’t get flustered (because it’s easy to get nervous when you’re on the spot!). If you start by bombarding someone by selling, you’ll lose the connection and thus I came up with my opener to spark interest when I get asked the Question “What do you do?”  “I’m a Marketing professional; I specialize in Digital Marketing and Social Media. I teach businesses how to utilize digital tools to grow their business.”  Then I stop. THAT’S IT! I couldn’t believe that before this week I really didn’t have an efficient way to describe to people what I do without selling! Thank you to the guy who sold to me at an event and encouraged me to rethink my approach when I introduce myself at business mixers.

2. Social Media Tip: Update your LinkedIn profile!
I have gotten more business from people finding me on Linkedin than any other social network. If you’re not already on LinkedIn, sign up! I recently hosted a Social Media seminar teaching people how to optimize their Social Media profiles, including LinkedIn. I discussed using keywords in your profile so you have a higher probability of coming up in searches. Of course you would think since I’m teaching this, my profile would be completely optimized with all the proper terms. Well I realized I have never, ever added anything to the “Skills” section! I had zero skills listed, which means zero key words. Moral of the story is that I need to be mindful of keeping my own marketing tools up to date especially if I’m teaching everyone else to do the same. After I updated this on my profile, I IMMEDIATELY had someone hire me for a project based on being impressed with my profile and she mentioned my “Skills” listed! Anyway, even if you only spend 10 minutes doing this, go update your LinkedIn profile as soon as possible!

3. Peace of Mind Tip: It’s ok to do nothing because doing nothing is actually accomplishing something!
This last tip comes from my Yogi side! I practice yoga several times a week and try to meditate daily (daily is more like once a week). I recently found myself recommending yoga classes to someone who really felt stressed out and had no time to do anything. While I was saying this the thought popped into my head. “How is it possible that I’m a yoga instructor but have the hardest time practicing yoga, meditating and staying present myself?!” Do as they say, not as they do right? Working in an industry that’s constantly changing while at the same time being an entrepreneur means my mind is always racing! It’s difficult for me to take a break and often when I do take a break, I feel like I’m not getting anything done or I’m wasting time. My tip to all of you and to myself is that when you take a break to mediate, read, wind down, whatever it is you do to relax, try your very best to know that it’s OK to be taking that break and be doing nothing. This “doing nothing” is actually doing wonders for your body in terms or helping you recharge, rejuvenate, relax, all sorts of positive things your body needs especially if you’re a busy body!

Alright Nerds, I leave you with a quote I find very inspirational that’s aligned with my belief that I really do learn something new every day!

"No day in which you learn something is a complete loss" ~David Eddings

#thatisall

Click here to follow Melodie on twitter and check out her blog over yonder!

#NerdsUnite: Inside the marketing mind of @MyMelodie

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Melodie. I met her when she invited me to come and crash on her couch for the night in the San Dizzle and she is for reals one of the nicest chicas ever. She's a fellow marketer and wanted to use this space to share her thoughts on life, love, and all things nerd. Hit it Melodie! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @MyMelodie

Hey everyone! I’m Melodie aka Marketing Melodie aka @MyMelodie on Twitter. So grateful for an opportunity to write this post on TNTML! I connected with Jen on Twitter a while back and we planned an awesome #NerdsUnite meetup in San Diego followed by a nerdy girls sleepover. I already share a lot of my story on my Marketing Blog. My blog is mostly professional where I post resources and tips so after spending a weekend with Jen and many amazing #NerdsUnite ladies, I felt both inspired and compelled to be even more involved in my community and continue telling my story on perhaps an even more personal level. 

First things, first. Who am I? I’m a passionate Technology Entrepreneur, a Marketing professional, Speaker, Educator, Social Media Socialite & Enthusiast and many of you wouldn’t know this but I’m also a Yoga Instructor! Ooommmmm….. 

Here are some of the things within the nerdy realm that excite me ... 

• I get excited when I find out one of my friends uses Evernote and immediately start comparing lists them!
• I’m thrilled to meet my favorite authors to get my books autographed! Most recently I met Keith Ferrazzi who wrote Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back 

• I am ecstatic when I unlock a shiny new Foursquare badge and admit that I’ll go to places that help me unlock more badges!
• Twitter has my answer for everything! I know there are things I can easily Google but I’d rather get person replies and recommendations from my network so I ask Twitter and Twitter delivers!
• When someone with a verified account follows me on Twitter, I do a little jump for joy.
• Getting a LinkedIn recommendation to me is what I consider WINNING!
• I love being on the Words with Friends Facebook page to learn new words every day!
• I was Carmen San Diego for Halloween! The Nerdy Super Hero with teleporting abilities, Computer/Video game character who taught 5^th graders geography. 

With all that I’ve been already willing to admit, that makes me a nerd right? Really looking forward to sharing more with everyone! Thanks again to @JenFriel for having me on her team!

#thatisall

Click here to follow Melodie on twitter and check out her blog over yonder!