Sue Varty's blog

As a guest blogger, it's wonderful to see your work online. However, I was thrilled to have an article published in the Globe and Mail this week. Enjoy!

Ten Simple Ways to Generate Leads on Twitter

When I started as an entrepreneur in my teenage years, someone gave me a piece of advice I have not forgotten: no matter how "pumped" you are about a business, always think about your exit strategy.

1. Be proactive in connecting with others.

Put the power into your hands by initiating conversations focused on their interests. This ultimately leads to referrals in business, even at seemingly unrelated events. Capture their contact information – in person using a business card, in a notebook, online – students become decision-makers. Tip: Always carry a pen and small notebook; smartphones are great until they run out power when you need them the most.

it is with great sadness that i announce the death of the capitalized letter i when used in a sentence.

it seems that it died of a broken heart since no one cares to use it anymore in their day-to-day email correspondance.

After meeting with Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Bobby Umar, I wrote an article about Personal Branding for Impact.org. I would like to thank all those who contributed - including Marc Roginsky!

Not everyone lives and breathes Twitter like I seem to day-to-day. All the statistics indicate that there are far many more "truly" active users on Facebook.
 
Depending on your marketing goals, you should gravitate to where your audience is (online and off). I've done things a little differently because I simply enjoy micro-blogging. I only started this blog in 2009 although I had a private blog on LiveJournal since the late 90s. It was put to rest to focus on writing here and my entrepreneurial pursuits.
 

Many people are so used to communicating online that the thought of a phone call makes them break out in a sweat. Here are some tips to break out of your comfort zone a little. Using the ultimate social media tool – the telephone – can make a big difference in your business.

TORONTO, May 4, 2011— Susan Varty of Wordtree Consulting Joins HeadStart Solutions Inc.
 
Susan Varty, Principal of Wordtree Consulting, has joined HeadStart Solutions Inc. as Director of Digital Strategy. Wordtree is now operating under HeadStart to contribute content marketing, social media initiatives and services for HeadStart’s clients. 

1. I change my Facebook profile photo when I feel like it.

I know I should be consistent, but I like variety. People notice when something changes ever so slightly but stays the same. Sometimes, in general, a small change or “refresh”  is just enough to get them to remind them to pick up the phone and request a quote/go to a website.

Humans are hungry for information. Content consumption via storytelling, libraries, educational institutions, industry publications, radio, telephone, television, movies, the internet, and mobile technology is evolving so fast, it’s hard to keep up.

The ‘global village’ is now at our doorstep whether we like it or not. People who are ‘tech savvy’ have been using these tools for the last half of the 20th century. Graphical interfaces and programming languages have made technology even more accessible to the general public. As a result, we have ‘digital natives’ who have never seen a DOS prompt (disk operating system) or remember IRC (internet relay chat).