Big announcement, I’m packing up and moving. I’m heading over to Andrea’s website.  She’s got a place all set up for me.  But let me tell you, I’m not leaving – you can’t get rid of me that easily.  All my blog posts are over there, and my Facebook Tutorials and Twitter Tutorials. So it’s kinda homey. Watch the video for all the details!

You are a smart cookie. You have something to teach. Why not host a workshop? But how do you get started? First you need to be able to have a place where people can learn more about your workshop and register for it. I reviewed three sites that can help you set up the registration and gave you the pros and cons of each.

1. Meetup.  This is a great site for connecting with people and finding local meetings and networking groups.  You can also host your own Meetup for $45/three months.  You can have as many as three groups with each account.  But you can also charge for your events.  All you need is a PayPal account and you will be all set to host your own workshops.  A word of warning, many meetup groups are free so there is an expectation that most events are free here.  So if you use Meetup for your workshop, I recommend you have a combination of free and paid events.  Many people are browsing through Meetup so there is a good chance people will “stumble” upon your workshop.

2.  EZRegister.  This site will help you register your attendees and it is reasonable.  Only a $1/ticket.  You can create a very customized registration page that looks fabulous. Again, this site uses PayPal.

3.  Eventbrite.  Eventbrite has a couple of nice features including the option to embed the registration form in your website and the ability to have affiliates who can promote your website and earn a commission.  The benefit to having affiliates is that other people are promoting your event to a wider audience and increasing your exposure.  Who does not want to be more exposed?   The fees can add up for a higher priced event since they charge 2.5% per ticket (up to $9.95) plus a 3% credit card processing fee (PayPal charges 2.9% so that’s almost even steven).  But it can be worth it for the ability to add affiliates.

Watch my video for more pros and cons and to see the sites in action. Also, watch for my next post where I will talk about how to promote your workshop – the most important part. This is not a “build it and they will come” kinda thing!

While I was at SXSW I had the pleasure of interviewing Scott Stratten of UnMarketing.  If you don’t know him, he’s kind of a big deal on Twitter.   He also has the radical marketing concept that instead of pushing yourself down people’s throats, you position yourself as a trusted expert in front of your target market, so when they have the need, they choose you. Crazy. His book is fantastic and you can pick up a copy from his website.

More SXSW reporting! In this video I talk with the fabulous Amy Harrison about why she has come all the way from England to attend SXSW. Make sure you head over to her site and grab her free 30 Templates for Creating Attention-Grabbing Headlines – I have it and it rocks. She also helps people with Copy and Sales pages in her How to Get Your Sales Page Done.

I also talked to some crazy guys in capes from I’m a Need and some other great attendees. Take a look at my on-the-spot reporting:

I was able to snag an interview with Guy Kawasaki at South by Southwest (also known as SXSW).  Guy is the founder of Alltop and just wrote Enchantment; The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions.

In this interview, he shares with us what Enchantment means and describes Push and Pull marketing.  His book is filled with personal stories and practical advice for any size business to create a wonderful and unique experience that will make your customers fall in love with you. Watch the interview for all the golden nuggets of wisdom that Guy shares.  We had a great time!

Make sure you go and Like his Facebook Page and he has a Facebook Quiz you can take to find out how Enchanting you are.

I’m out at South by Southwest in Austin, TX or SXSW as it is called or even South by for the extra cool people (or lazy people, however you prefer to look at it). I’m here to network with people, meet people I’ve followed for years online and make new connections.

The conference has a Music, Film and Interactive section. The Interactive portion covers emerging technologies and all things internet.  It’s fantastic and crazy and stay tuned for lots of interviews and coverage.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing John Bliss, CEO of BlipSnips.  BlipSnips (besides being incredibly fun to say as you will see in the video) is a video sharing application designed to make video more social.

BlipSnips can be used on your iPhone, Facebook and on the web.   It’s very easy to use, thanks to a great demo from the Chief Product Officer, Gregory Keller (who also was the videographer – thanks Greg!)   Make sure you check them out and give it a try!  Let me know what you think.

Are you using LinkedIn effectively? Connecting to more people isn’t the only name of the game but it’s a place to start. Here are four basic ways to increase your connections on LinkedIn.

1.  People You May Know. Click on Contacts, Add Connections and the fourth tab will be People You May Know.  And it’s a little creepy to find out that they know who you know. How do they do that?

2.  Advanced Search. Use the Advanced People Search to find people by keyword or by job title.  Get introduced by a mutual connection, shared group or just reach out.

3.  Join Groups. Go be social!  Join a group and say hello.  Connect with the people in that group.

4.  Fill out your Profile. Use the Summary and the Specialties to get found.  The summary can be an excellent way to introduce someone to your business and what you do.  Beef it up!

Watch the tutorial to give you some more LinkedIn tips!  And link with me at http://www.linkedin.com/in/grandmamary

With all the Facebook changes lately it’s easy to get confused. My head is spinning. Now, you can Like another Page as your Facebook Page and comment on their Page as your Page. And Like a comment on a Page as your Page. So much Liking to do and so little time!  But why is it good to Like another Page as your Page?  Haven’t I already Liked them once?  Now I have to re-Like and I don’t like that!

There are some benefits to Liking a Page as your Page:

1. You can’t comment on another Page as your Page unless you Like it as your Page first.
2. You get more visibility as your Page when you comment on another Page (but don’t be spammy!)
3. You get a special News Feed of just the Pages that your Page has liked when you click Home when you are logged in as your Page.  The News feed will really help you keep track of all the Pages that you want to see and separate them out from your personal News Feed.

Watch the video tutorial to show you how to navigate everything, how to Like and comment and how to keep it all straight!  And make sure you like me at www.Facebook.com/GrandmaMaryShow – leave me a comment on my Page as your Page!

This question came in from a loyal reader and I thought I’d make it into a tutorial.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with affiliate marketing, in a nutcake, it’s basically promoting someone else’s product with your own special link that will track if you get a sale.  If you do, you will get a commission on the sale.  This can be a great way to make a little (or a lot) of pocket change.

But be CAREFUL!  There are a couple of considerations when you decide to promote affiliate products.  Number one, don’t promote crap!  Make sure it’s a good product that fits your audience.  Your Facebook Page is not an ATM.  If you oversell your audience, they will leave.  You have worked hard to build up your Facebook audience and you want to be providing value first and foremost.  So when you find something good that you believe in and will help them, then you can share it with your community.

The other consideration is the FTC guidelines that came out in 2009.  They do require that you disclose when you are receiving a commission on a product you are promoting.  You can read all the gory details here:  FTC Affiliate Guidelines.  These guidelines mostly came from the spammy promotions and false claims that people were making to sell stuff.  But they affect how you should post.  Basically you need to disclose that you will get a commission if people purchase the product.  Watch the video for to see the language I use and how to ensure the trust of your community.

Where do you find good Affiliate programs?  Here is a partial list.  The example in my video shows how to post links on your Page with an E-junkie product.

• Amazon.  You can get a commission on anything sold on Amazon.
• E-junkie.  Mostly e-book products but also much more.
• Share A Sale.  A wide variety of products and they have banners and logos you can insert into your website sidebars.
• Commission Junction.  Similar to Share A Sale.
• Affiliate Wealth Partners.  Run by my friend, Mary Kay Morgan, this is a great place to partner with conscious businesses (she screens everyone!).

Watch the video for all the ins and outs of promoting affiliate products on Facebook. If you have a question about affiliate marketing, let me know in the comments!