Mad Hatter Design + Media has officially moved to a full WordPress-based website! Please check out our new blog at http://madhatterdesigncompany.com/mh-blog/

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Why did it take me so long? I’m just now jumping on the Twitter wagon, despite having had an account for several months. This summer (as always) has been slow for me, so I’ve taken advantage of my downtime by learning new things, reading the blogs of top designers, and making full use of my iMac for productivity and growth. It’s been a wonderful experience so far (I just wish I was getting paid for it!).

But the one revelation that has made the biggest impact on me is Twitter. I never knew how useful it could be for my business. I had no idea of the power behind it. Maybe I’m being overdramatic, but where else can I connect with so many incredible designers, clients, and all around creative people? No where that I’ve found. I’ve discovered more amazing and inspirational blogs and websites this summer than ever before. I think I’ve grown more as a designer, and I’ve certainly become inspired for the next big project that comes my way.

That being said, there’s a lot I don’t know about Twittering, Tweeting, whatever it’s called. I know there are some guidelines to follow for business tweeting, but I’d love to get info straight from dedicated Twittererers.

So, what are your Twitter tips for a newbie? What’s the one thing you’d love to tell tweeters?

I’d love to hear how Twitter has changed your or impacted your business, and I’d love to hear any tips and advice on Tweeting for a completely behind-the-times newbie.

Happy networking!

Image credit: Comicbase

Wanna know a secret? Sure, you do! There is a surefire way to help your business grow. It’s not shameless promotion (well, some of it is), and it’s not whoring yourself out to people for too low of a rate. The secret? Blog. About everything. It’s not hard. I’ll give you a perfect example of how and why blogging for your business works.

Let’s use my dear friend Mirella, who creates beautiful wedding flowers, as an example…I know she won’t mind.

Mirella started her floral business in 2008. It was getting steady, but not really taking off the way she wanted. Mirella starting blogging. Religiously. So much so that I’m embarrassed by my puny amount of posts!

So, she blogged. Then she blogged some more. And you know what? She’s still blogging. Mirella writes about things other than flowers. She writes about wedding planners and graphic designers and anything she thinks might interest her clientele. The woman is a blogging machine. She also promotes her newest creations, seasonal flowers, and wedding shows that she’s attended.

To help further boost her traffic and get some qualified leads, Mirella developed a contest for new brides on her blog. The contest has helped her gather incredibly hot leads for new brides who need wedding flowers. And she blogged all about it.

One of the most interesting things I’ve found is how Mirella’s blogging has boosted traffic to my own site. She interviewed the Mad Hatter on her blog and that one post sends tons of traffic to my site. Mirella’s efforts to boost her own traffic are spilling over into the worlds of those she blogs about. What a fabulous way to build business relationships and trust with other business owners! Just fab.

Ok, so it’s not really a secret that blogging works for business, but so many people don’t do it (or slack off, like me) and there’s just no excuse. It’s one of the cheapest, easiest, most effective ways to drive traffic to your website. Let’s not neglect blogging any longer!

So, if you’re not sure how to get started with your blog, it’s best to talk to a *cough* blog designer to find out. Wordpress blogs are pretty simple and straightforward, but you’ll want to host it on your own domain – none of this Wordpress.com stuff. Again, if you’re not sure what this means, I know an awesome Wordpress blog designer who can explain all the technical stuff!

Happy blogging, people!