Most of us have a Gmail account. Here are some shortcuts to streamline your time with it.
Most of us have a Gmail account. Here are some shortcuts to streamline your time with it.
The key to a successful business is acquiring market edge over your competitors, such as superior products, better marketing, and more efficient business models. Regardless of what gives a business an advantage, it always boils down to having the proper vision and desire. If you’re not sure where you want your idea to take you or lack the motivation to realize it, you’ll never succeed.
Who is in Charge of Most Startups?
With that in mind, it should be no shock that a growing number of successful startups are being launched by baby-boomers, or boomerpeneurs. Who else in this economy is better positioned to craft a compelling vision of a business than someone with the experience, wisdom, and understanding of what it takes to succeed? The problems boomerpeneurs are facing don’t lie in their inability to construct a viable vision or find intense motivation; they know when to quit the job they’ve already found success at to pursue their startup idea.
Financing
Financing is one of the biggest factors when considering a startup. Financing for startups usually includes a loan, selling equity or using a business credit card. Depending on how much capital is needed and the rate of return expected, you should use a mix of these lines of credit. Extreme caution should be used when one mixes their personal credit with their business credit. Entrepreneurs should avoid using their own credit card and instead opt for a business credit card with a reputable institution like American Express. You’re APR can change if you use your card for business and it can be an accounting nightmare. Using a business credit card from American Express and other companies can provide you with small business perks and incentives that are unavailable to a regular consumer. Regardless of where your funding comes from, keep in mind the advantages of different sources and how quickly you plan to turn a profit.
When to Leave Your Corporate Job
Deciding to leave your day job and pursue market dominance on your own is a big decision and should be arrived at carefully. Once you know how you’ll initially pay for business expenses and when you’ll be able to recoup your costs, it’s time to turn your vision into a business plan. To do this, you will have to do your research and formulate an outline with specific deadlines attached to it. For boomerpeneurs, they’ve already amassed a level of expertise in a particular industry, which is one of the reasons they feel comfortable starting their own business. In this case the research should be focused on the nitty-gritty of running a company. Look at the different components of a business, assess your ability to run these areas and plan to hire others for the things you either don’t know how to or don’t want to do.
The intricacies of starting and running a profitable business are vast and, at times, tedious. If you have the experience, vision, and drive, you can become a member of a growing segment of baby-boomer entrepreneurs. You can start your own business today. Quit your day job and begin your dream job.
© 2013 DemGen Inc.
We stumbled across this ultimate social media sizing cheat sheet produced by LunaMetrics and had to share!
This cheat sheet provides the key dimensions for all social networks. Enjoy…

| Timeline | ||
| Profile Picture | 160 x 160 px | Must be uploaded at least 180 x 180 px |
| Cover Photo | 851 x 315 px | |
| About Us | 255 Characters | |
| App Preview Image | 111 x 74 px | |
| Total Length of Apps bar (including gaps) | 350 px | |
| Timeline Profile Picture | 32 x 32 px | |
| Shared Image | 403 x 403 px | Photos can be viewed up to 960 x 720 px in the lightbox and expanded up to 2048 x 2048 px. |
| Shared Facebook Video | 403 x 226 | |
| Status Update | 63,206 characters | |
| Shared Link Preview | 156 x 116 px | Editable, can be set with the og:type meta property |
| Shared Link Title Tag | Up to 100 characters | Editable, can be set with og:title meta property |
| Shared Link Metadescription | Varies based on available room | |
| Highlighted Post or Milestone | 843 x 403 px | |
| Highlighted Video Post or Milestone | 843 x 475 px | |
| News feed | ||
| News feed profile picture | 50 x 50 px | |
| News Feed Status update | Up to 5 lines of text before Facebook truncates & appends ‘See More’ at the first break after the fifth | |
| Shared Image | Landscape | 398 x 296 px |
| Portrait | 296 x 398 px | |
| Square | 320 x 320 px | |
| News Feed Sponsored Story Profile Picture | 32 x 32 px | |
| News Feed Sponsored Story Image | Landscape | 358 x 268 px |
| Portrait | 268 x 358 px | |
| Square | 300 x 300 px | |
| Shared Facebook Video Preview | 403 x 226 px | |
| Shared Video Link Preview | 130 x 73 px | |
| Shared Link Thumbnail | 90 x 90 px | |
| Shared Link Title | Up to 100 Characters | Editable |
| Shared Link Description | Varies based on Thumbnail & Title Size | Editable |
| Ads | ||
| URL Ad Title | 25 Characters | |
| URL Ad Copy | 90 Characters | |
| Page Ad Profile Picture | 50 x 50 px | |
| Page Ad Title | Page Name | |
| Page Ad Copy | 90 Characters | |
| Page Post Ad Profile Picture | 32 x 32 px | |
| Page Post Ad Title | Page Name | |
| Page Post Ad Copy | First 90 characters of selected post | First 120 characters if post is text-only |
| Page Post Ad Image | 90 x 118 px | |
| Page Post Ad Video Preview | 128 x 72 px | |
| Page Post Ad Link Thumbnail | 50 x 50 px | |
| Sponsored Story Fan Picture | 50 x 50 px | |
| Sponsored Story Profile Picture | 32 x 32 px | |
| Premium Page Post Ad Profile Picture | 50 x 50 px | |
| Premium Page Post Ad Video Preview | 185 x 104 px | |
| Premium Page Post Ad Image | 168 x 128 px | |
| Profile | ||
| Background Image | 90% of visitors see first 78 px of the background | |
| 67% see 204 px | ||
| 43% see 247 px | ||
| 21% see 284 px | ||
| Recent Image Preview | 90 x 90 | |
| Profile Picture | 81 x 81 px | 4 px border |
| Tweet Length | 140 Characters | |
| In-stream | ||
| Profile Picture | 48 x 48 px | |
| Shared Media Tweet Length | 140 characters, including link | |
| Shared Link Preview | 120 x 120 px | Must be at least 60 x 60 px |
| Shared Link Title | First 70 characters of twitter:title tag | |
| Shared Link Description | First 200 characters of twitter:description tag | |
| Shared Image | 375 x 375 px | |
| Shared Video Preview | 435 x 244 px | |
| Video Details | Video Title and first 160 characters of video description | |
| Google+ | ||
| Company Profile | ||
| Cover Photo | 890 x 180 px | |
| Profile Picture | 250 x 250 px | 5 px border |
| Horizontal Profile and cover photo gap | 614 px | |
| Status Update | 100,000 Characters | Can include hash tags |
| Shared Link Thumbnail | 150 x 150 px | |
| Shared Video Preview | 497 x 279 px | |
| Shared Image | 497 x 373 px | Can be uploaded and viewed up to 2048 x 2048 px |
| YouTube | ||
| Branded Channel | ||
| Content Container | 970 px wide | |
| Mappable Header | 970 x 150 px | Can map links off of YouTube |
| Profile Picture | 55 x 55 px | |
| Featured Video | 640 x 390 px | |
| Video Thumbnail | 288 x 162 px | |
| YouTube Brand Channel Background Size | 90% of users see 8 px on either side of the content container | Up to 1 mb in size |
| 67% see 136 px | ||
| 43% see 180 px | ||
| 21% see 216 px | ||
| Video | ||
| Title | Up to 100 characters | |
| User Banner | Up to 170 x 25 px | |
| Video Preview | 640 x 390 px | |
| Description | Up to 5000 characters | |
| Tags | Up to 500 characters | Hidden, can be found in page source under “meta:keywords” |
| Recommended Playlist Details | Playlist Title | |
| Recommended Playlist Large Thumbnail | 120 x 67 px | |
| Recommeded Playlist Small Thumbnail | 40 x 25 px | |
| Recommended Video Details | Video Title, Author, and Views | |
| Recommended Video Thumbnail | 120 x 67 px | |
| Overview | ||
| Horizontal Logo | 100 x 60 px | |
| Cover Photo | 646 x 220 px | |
| Company Square Logo | 50 x 50 px | |
| Company Comment Logo | 30 x 30 px | |
| Shared Link Thumbnail | 180 x 110 px | |
| Shared Link Details | Shared Link Title and up to 230 characters of description. The description is editable. | |
| Careers | ||
| Careers Cover Photo | 974 x 238 px | |
| Products and Services | ||
| Products and Services Banner Image | 646 x 220 px | |
| Product Image | 100 x 80 px | |
| Product Details | 100 character title and 2000 character description | |
| Profile | ||
| Profile Picture | 160 x 165 px | |
| About Section | Up to 200 characters | |
| Boards | ||
| Board | 222 x 207 px | |
| Big Thumbnail | 222 x 150 px | |
| Small Thumbnails | 55 x 55 px | |
| Pins | ||
| Profile Picture | 32 x 32 px | |
| Pin Image Preview | 192 x scaled height | |
| Pin on board | 222 x scaled height | |
| Pin | ||
| Profile Picture | 49 x 49 px | |
| Pin | 600 x infinity |
When we heard the news of Infusionsoft’s latest acquisition earlier this week, we were excited (to say the least).
The news came on the heels of $54 million in funding from Goldman Sachs, so it’s sure been a busy week for Infusionsoft!
As we discussed in another post, we made the switch to Infusionsoft last year and haven’t looked back! Naturally, the news of an application for social media had us intrigued…
After signing up for the free trial, it’s evident that there are both benefits and drawbacks to the system.
Pros
Integration with Infusionsoft is an obvious benefit, allowing opt-ins for email marketing through social media.
It’s a great system for beginners that are running a small business that need an easy way to setup Facebook and Twitter pages, especially if you’re doing it all yourself.
Key features include the ability to easily create Facebook cover images and Twitter backgrounds using Infusionsoft’s drag and drop format (without the need of a graphic designer), analytics reporting and simple set-up for Facebook contests and promotions.
If you’re new to the social media world and want an easy solution, this might be the right tool for you.
Con
The main drawback for GroSocial is that it only works with Facebook and Twitter. If you have a strong presence on other platforms such as LinkedIn, Google+ or Pinterest, you will still need to use them as you have been.
Here at DemGen our virtual team has worked hard to create systems both internally and for our clients. As much as we love Infusionsoft, we’re not quite sold on GroSocial enough to change our current systems. (“If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.”)
Another issue we’ve come across is that the GroSocial servers weren’t ready for all of the new activity. We’re sure this will be fixed soon, but not a great first impression.
The Bottom Line
GroSocial is definitely worth checking out to evaluate whether it’s the right solution for your business. With a 30 day free trial (no credit card required), why not?
If you already have an established system in place and/or a team assisting you with social networking, you may be a bit underwhelmed.
If you are just starting out and don’t know where to start, GroSocial may be the perfect system for you.
Here are some key questions to ask yourself when evaluating:
Let us know what you think in the comments section and don’t forget to check us out on social media!
© DemGen Inc
On the weekend I had a couple of little projects to complete in the garage. One was installing a bracket to hang my ladder on. (This has been a way overdue project.) I finally bought the bracket and set out to install it…
Half way through the second screw, my drill gave out. The battery was out of juice. No problem! I switched to the back up, but it was out of juice as well.
Eager to complete the task and not wanting to go into the basement to find an old school screwdriver, I grabbed the other tool I had at hand – my hammer. While it did the job, it was not pretty or efficient as it would have been, had I waited the hour for a fully charged battery pack.
Okay, so yes, I’ll admit I’m not Mr. Fixit. But it did get me thinking about using the right tool for the job. I remember not having the right tool at other times and specifically recalled a time when I was trying to take some old wood apart that had nails and screws holding it in place. Again, I just used the hammer, and again not the best outcome.
I realized this happens in business a lot. I constantly come across entrepreneurs that, as I have done on many occasions, did not use the right skill set to accomplish a certain task. The years in businesses past where I thought everything could work out with just a hammer (i.e. just me and my skills or lack of). Having a team is so much better! For instance, this post originated with me, was edited by someone else and posted by yet another.
Using the right tools for the job, whatever they may be, ensures a greater outcome in the long run.
Gary Evans
Here at DemGen, we’re big fans of Brendon Burchard. We’ve studied his materials and attended Expert’s Academy event back in May.
Personally, my greatest take-away was his perspective on email inboxes.
“Your inbox is just a convenient organization system for others’ agendas.”
That statement has resonated with me since and is changing my life!
I’ll be the first to admit, I was an email addict. Always figured I’d be missing something important if I wasn’t checking every few minutes.
In reality, nothing important works that way. As entrepreneurs and business leaders, we’re already keenly aware of the top-level strategies and initiatives we should be focusing on. Everything else is just a distraction.
Right now, I find myself looking at the clock. Though I’ve been grinding away for hours, little has been crossed off of my To Do Scroll.
As I revisit Brendon’s lesson and remind myself of what I really should and could be doing, I challenge you to do likewise.
Let’s take control of our inboxes today!
Tamara Smith
The shift in the way we work is no more obvious than in the infographic below from citrixonline. From mobile devices to online meetings, technology has affected all of us and contributed to a new age of collaboration.
We recently made “the switch” to Infusionsoft and our internal team is feeling collective excitement while we learn even more benefits.
As we celebrated the time and money savings, and breathed a collective sigh of relief about how much easier it will make our lives, we realized just how similar our companies are…
DemGen is all about automation! Our goal is to grow companies to the point their leaders have a choice about how much time they want to invest and only work on what they choose to.
Our greatest value is our expert team. Our talent vault of experts has been growing for the past 6 years. We have a comprehensive hiring process that includes Kolbe testing to ensure we have the perfect fit for our clients. You give the specifics of the tasks required to one project manager and they handle the rest.
Infusionsoft has done the same for us! We used to require numerous systems, programs and people to do what we needed to do. Now we can do it all in one place! They’ve done the same with technology as we’ve done for virtual teams…
Where we used to have multiple people/systems/databases, to handle marketing and sales of products and services, we now have one system to handle email marketing, CRM, landing/sales pages, referral partners/affiliates and e-commerce!
We’ll continue to share what we learn as we grow with Infusionsoft, just as our clients do with us.
Click here for more information on Infusionsoft!
With the summer heat at it’s peak, many businesses are having some fun with Christmas in July campaigns. They’re a fun way to engage your market and provide a welcome distraction from the sizzling temperatures – not to mention a sizzling surge in your sales!
The Christmas spirit has struck us here at DemGen too…
Stay tuned for our Boxing Day Blowout on July 26th !
In the interim, we though we’d revisit the 12 Days of DemGen from last December as an early Xmas gift, in case there was anything you missed.
11 Ways to Make This Your Best Year Yet
5 Ways to Take Your Small Business to the Next Level
4 Business Books that Will Improve Your Business and Life
1 Great Offer: Stay tuned on July 26th for more info!
© 2012 DemGen All Rights Reserved.
If you’re looking for the newest and fastest growing social media site, Pinterest is a unique way to grow your business and reach the goals you’ve set for yourself.
Pinterest has approximately five million users, many of them women and is growing rapidly day by day. It is an easy and key way to build relationships with others by using high quality “pins” and commenting on other’s pins.
Though Pinterest focuses on businesses which are image oriented, taking your non-visual business to the next level and finding images that relate to it can be a challenge worth looking into. Think packages and images that relate to them, giving the price of each. Ask for your customer’s ideas on your present services and what they would like to see your company offering in the future.
Know what your customers are looking for as Pinterest is also lifestyle oriented. Create boards that will be appealing to those who use your products instead of just pinning images of them or with a non-visual brand, your services. Post news and tips which will be of interest to your customers.
Organizing your pins and pages into categories will attract more views. Your Pinterest page should tell the story of your business, how it came to be and how it’s growing. Make the personality of your business stand out, in other words, make it “pinteresting”!
Pinterest can also be connectd to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. As with Facebook or Twitter, you can like and or follow as well as repin. Become a part of the community and don’t forget to check out your competition’s page to see what they are doing.
Optimize your website for Pinterest by adding images to all of your posts and then share them on Pinterest. Your Pinterest page has its own RSS feed so don’t forget to use it on Facebook and LinkedIn. Pinterest has a live feed and is also well suited to contests and lists. Make a pinboard showing the growth of your company and where you want it to be in the future.
Involve your customers and keep your eye on the newest trends. Take a look around and see which boards your customers are interested in. It can give you ideas for new services and products. If your business is predominately service oriented, add tutorials to help others understand your brand and learn about you. Share your knowledge.
Create brand interest by using boards that show you are an expert at what you do. Adding photos of your customers is another way to show how your services are used. Tell your client’s stories with images. Pinterest can be very effective as an online marketing tool for your business. The ability to use visual images with text makes it more interesting to your customers. Have fun with it!
Start a board on Pinterest and share with us at DemGen. What will you do when you reach your business growth goal? Think big!
Chris Draper
© 2012 DemGen All Rights Reserved.
image courtesy of pinterest blog
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