Happy New Year folk. How are you getting on with your New Year’s resolutions? I had a year of mixed blessings last year and  I am determined to have a more proactive approach  to life and work.

So how am I doing so far?

source: Nikkipilkington.com

A few days ago I accepted a challenge to review   Nikki Pilkington’s e-book called 30 Day Twitter Challenge . Now I am not quite sure why as Nikki is the expert and I have been her student for sometime now. When I joined Twitter in 2008, I had no clue what it was or how to use it effectively and I turned to Nikki’s 50 day email twitter course, there is an updated course here.

I also completed her 30 day blogging challenge last year and here is what I learned over those 30 days

Back to the 30 Day Twitter Challenge e-book, I found it easy to read but have not started the challenge as yet. This review is therefore based on content rather than results I achieved having undertaken the challenge.

The e-book is not designed for new comers to Twitter so if you one opt for the EMAIL course it is instead ideal for folk that use Twitter for Business.

The book is written in simple English  and it is very easy to follow through a daily challenge.  The challenges are interlinked and each is explained simply with examples and if you still don’t get you have email support via Nikki. It  is cleverly designed to so you are not tempted to cheat! If you skip one of the challenges you will get stuck on the next one! So be ware!

Some challenges require the use of Twitter applications and you are pointed to the best applications out there so you don’t have to find them yourself.

They are tips on how to find people that want your offering, how to prospect effectively  on twitter- I loved this bit as it provides examples so you avoid being seen as SPAMMER, there also tips on how to tweet in a way that allows you to develop relationship on twitter including with folk that are your competitors.

There is so much contained the 48 pages and I really don’t want to give it all away here so pop over to the 30 Day Twitter challenge page and grab yourself  a copy. It is a real steal at £8 as there are several articles and resources at the end of the challenge that you will find useful. And if you think Twitter is whole lot of twaddle this book will concentrate your mind!

I will be taking the challenge so please come back and share your experience.

Oh and don’t forget to join the Facebook group where all those taking part in this challenge share their experience

https://www.facebook.com/groups/115886208510191/

Happy Tweeting!

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A few months back I took up a challenge known as NikkiP 30 Day Blogging Challenge over at Ethnic Supplies blog I took longer than the 30 days the challenge was supposed to last. But I did finish and this post is all about what I learned from the experience.

The challenge was interesting, fun and a great way to learn about blogging as well as being disciplined.

What I learned from the challenge

1. how to use and apply key words in a post
2. constructing a killer headline
3. where to look for inspiration- things to blog about
4. using social media to promote posts
5. how to write posts for the benefit of the readers
6. and how to use tags in a post

I found the 30 day blogging challenge an easy way to grow my blog and it meant I often didn’t have an excuse not post something.

I am now psyching myself for the next change which is the 30 day facebook challenge

You too can take part in these challenges by signing up at http://www.30daychallenges.nikkipilkington.com/

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Aren’t those the reserve of the great and good.. Super stars, Barrack Obama and such like??

I can’t remember when or how, but I stumbled across this website and I learned that even I could have a fan page. I downloaded their free book and read it cover to cover in under 20 minutes, and hour later I had set up a fan page for Ethnic Supplies Ltd!

I invited a few friends/contacts to join and some did. I then asked myself a question that some of you reading this may be  asking themselves. How do I keep my fans interested so they stay and how do I get new fans?

Enter Nikki Pilkington with a blog on 10 things to post on a fan page, I don’t kid you when I tell you what a God sent this list of things was. I followed this list religiously and the fans grew from 72 to 274 today.

I have found having a fan page useful for another reason, I have not gotten round to putting together a newsletter for those folk interested in my work. I have therefore used the fan page to bring them up to date with what is happening at Ethnic Supplies. I do like the idea as fans can join or leave as they see  fit. In addition the fan page allows  for a two way   interaction between the readers and I on anything I have posted and i use this as feedback from the fans.

One thing that I had not counted on when I set up the  fan page was that a Senior producer at BBC Radio 4 and BBC World service would turn to Ethnic supplies Fan page for research for content of a programme about Rwanda.

But that is what happened last week. An email came through and here it is word for word

I’ve noticed from your Facebook pages that you’re in negotiations to do business in Rwanda. I’m travelling to the country in a few weeks to make programmes from BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service and as part of my research would be very interested to hear how you’re getting on. If you’d be interested in having a chat please give me a call or drop me a note.

Well you can guess my reaction to that, and several conversations later and the BBC man has agreed to include the co-op we are working  with in rwanda in his week long programme and also give us a slot to present a UK perspective.

Something else happened too, we were struggling to get infront of buyers with our wares but when my colleague mentioned that our artisans are due to be part of a BBC documentary, the  doors started to open, quite literary!

So have you got a fan page or do you think it is a waste of time? If you don’t know how to set one up Nikki Pilkington and her team offer such a service and in fact they will maintain it for you, if you are too busy to do it yourself and here is how you can contact them http://www.nikkipilkington.com/contact-us

As usual I would be interested in your views on anything raised here