Two Women Business was the creation of Matilda Butler and me back in 2008. It’s been our platform for talking about publishing, marketing and social media…as it applies to women entrepreneurs and authorpreneurs. We were originally trying to maintain this site while simultaneously building and expanding Women’s Memoirs. Truth told, Women’s Memoirs received most of our attention in 2009 while Two Women Business lay fallow. My last post was in February 2009.

But abandoning this site does not suggest that Matilda and I have turned our back on the topic. Quite the opposite. We find social media/social networking, publishing and marketing (specifically book publishing and marketing) so critical to the memoir writer that we have created a category called “Book Business” on Women’s Memoirs. We’ve been blogging about Book Business for months now.

I felt it was about time that I redirected everyone who finds their way to Two Women Business to Women’s Memoirs. Here you’ll find plenty on business, marketing and social networking…and so, so much more.

Thank you for your interest. And welcome to Women’s Memoirs 2.0 (the more inclusive version that will continue to expand and unfold in 2010.

Post #10–Two Women Business–Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler

Mini Cooper buried under a foot and a half of snow

It’s December 22nd. And optimist that I am, I’m looking forward to every day getting longer for the next six months. Believe me, that’s a good thing, given that it’s cold, windy, snowy and dark more than it’s light here in Downeast Maine. And as you can see, I have the pictures to prove it. The snow fell and the wind howled overnight. My white Christmas is guaranteed.

As the end of the year approaches, I’ve been making lists:

• Things I want to get done before January 1
• Things I have accomplished in 2008
• Things I want to accomplish in 2009

I thought I’d share a portion of my lists with you because I realize that so many people with traditional backgrounds in writing, publishing, business and marketing are looking at the social media and Internet marketing with a combination of interest, loathing, curiosity and confusion. What’s more, many of you are feeling overwhelmed and wondering where to begin.

I’d like to start by sharing a couple facts and a personal confession that may make the whole thing appear more surmountable. First My Confession: I’ve only just celebrated my first anniversary in Internet marketing. I’ve been writing, publishing and marketing for almost 30 years, but I too am a relative newbie to Internet marketing. My primary objective is to meld the best of traditional offline marketing/publishing strategies with the smartest online communication tactics.

And Now for the Facts: For all the people that appear to be engaged in Internet marketing, the truth is the vast majority are still on the outside looking in. Many more will make 2009 the year that they embrace some or all aspects of social networking and Internet marketing. Stay true to your personal passions and interests…use the components of social networking and Internet marketing that help you build on whatever it is you love doing. And finally, there is no right or wrong way path to success…they’re more like guidelines!

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Post #7–Two Women Business–Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler

In my post yesterday I talked about the power of Web 2.0 to create a groundswell for products, whether that be a political candidate, ballot measure…or your book, service or latest widget. The case made by our recent elections serves as such a clear example that I want to follow up with a few numbers I’ve come across. The disparity in the social media presence between Senator John McCain and President-elect Barack Obama illustrates how Obama could raise record sums from so many small contributors.

• 150 million blog posts about John McCain v. 500 million posts mentioning Barack Obama (according to post on ReadWriteWeb).
• Just 224,254 MySpace friends for McCain v. 867,074 friends for Obama (figures as of 11/6/08)
• 4917 followers on Twitter for McCain v. 119,762 followers for Obama (figures as of 11/6/08).

So what do the numbers tell us? You should start building your ground game today. As entrepreneurs and authorpreneurs you can use social networking to create more than just buzz. You can connect with your customers and prospects (to provide a higher level of service) and build word of mouth support, both powerful marketing tools. And you can make sales. Social media translates into real dollars.

Your first step is to move away from your static Website and start running your site on a blog platform like WordPress. And when you start posting your blogs, aggressively use tags, keywords and search engine optimization. You’ll build valuable Web presence. While this is important regardless the market you are trying to reach, it’s absolutely essential if you target the Gen X and Gen Y markets (consumers 14 to 44). Fully 90 percent of the 130.5 million young consumers in the United States rely on the Internet for most of their information. Their collective annual income? Almost $6 trillion.

If you’re not sure how to start, let an Internet marketer help you develop a professional blog and create a blogging and social networking strategy. Getting started is not expensive, and once you’re up and running you’ll easily be able to manage most of the site yourself. This is a cost-effective strategy with huge potential for payoff.

Post #6–Two Women Business–Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler

It’s the day after our elections and there is one more winner that needs to be announced: technology. We call it by its many names–MySpace, Facebook, blogging, Twitter, YouTube videos, email campaigns, banner advertising, optin pages and list management–but make no mistake. Technology, Web 2.0, social networking (whatever you want to call it) was a real winner.

As authorpreneurs and entrepreneurs, I hope the significance of the Internet hasn’t been lost on you. Web 2.0 marketing has proved its potential–no, its power–by helping build and motivate the voter base from the ground up. Make no mistake.

The blog Mashable ran a post listing more than 65 sites designed to help voters prepare to exercise their franchise. Sites range from candidates’ home pages, background on the many Propositions, polling sites, and voting services (e.g., where to vote and how to get there). In addition to all the background and supporting sites, and major candidates’ social networking accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Digg, Twitter, and YouTube, tens of thousands of voters shared their thoughts and intentions openly…even aggressively.

This election season, Two Women Business had a personal experience with the power of the Internet to make a difference…in this case at the local level. The town of Gilroy, California, was preparing to put forward Measure F to support the construction of a larger, seismically safe library. Supporters of the measure had limited funds to get the word out. To augment the phone banks, publicity and community canvassing, we created a blog site to help get the community involved and keep them informed. You can see the site by clicking here. And the result? We did what many thought impossible. Measure F passed: We needed 66.67 percent voting YES for a super majority. We received 68.10 percent.

The 2008 election may indeed be a referendum on Politics 2.0. Don’t let the lesson be lost on you and your marketing strategy.