Jennifer Kelly

Feb 08 2016

15 Valentine’s Day Quotes

15 Really Lovely Quotes About Valentine’s Day

The folks over at History.com went further though, with this beautiful 3 minute video on the history of Valentine’s Day cards.

The woman in the video is Nancy Rosen, who is the president of the National Valentine Collector Association. Did you know such an association existed?

She explains various styles of Valentine’s cards, their history, and when they first appeared.

Further down the page you’ll find 15 quotes about Valentine’s day from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Dorothy Parker to name a few.

These are all very positive quotes about the day of love. Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14, is recognized in many countries around the world, but is not an official holiday. Read more about the history of Valentine’s day.

These quotes may be just the beautiful sentence to include in your card to your valentine. And that is the lovely thing about quotes – they sum up what you could say, if only you could find the words. One of the reasons why quotes can forge such a strong emotional connection between us.

Quotes About Love on Twitter

If you’re a Nimble Quotes subscriber, we have 800+ quotes about love (love towards a person you are romantically involved with, work, family, friends, life). Why not include that category in your quote selection for the next few days?

To choose Love quotes to add to your Twitter stream , follow these steps:

Sign into NimbleQuotes with Twitter
Go to Settings and choose Categories

All quote categories are in alphabetical order, scroll to “Love”, check the box beside it and your changes will take effect immediately. Enjoy Tweeting quotes about love!

Want to try Nimble Quotes? Sign up now for 30-days free. Your trial is of the Advanced subscription – be sure to check out and make use of all the features including images (which are in beta testing), hashtags and specific day or time scheduling. Set once and let it run automatically.

Feb 01 2016

Personalizing Inspirational Quotes on Twitter

Personalize quotes?

A woman who is just starting her 30-day trial of Nimble Quotes wrote to me yesterday. She didn’t feel that one of the quotes she saw in her Twitter feed (from Nimble Quotes) was right for her. Just to be clear, it wasn’t offensive, it just wasn’t “her”. She wondered what she could do about it so it wouldn’t show up again. She also wondered how she could choose which quotes could show up in her Twitter feed. How could she personalize inspirational quotes so they felt right for her?

Author Choice – personalizing inspirational quotes

There is a setting in Nimble Quotes called Author Choice. The reason it exists is for users to be able to choose those authors they do or do not want to have quotes from. To customize this setting, which is available for Basic and Advanced subscribers, follow these steps:

First, sign into nimblequotes.com with your Twitter account
Next, click settings to see the drop down menu, choose “Authors”

The Authors page will open up. Search by first or last name. Once you find the author you DO NOT want quotes from, uncheck the box by the name. In this example, I’ve unchecked Abraham Lincoln as an author I do not want quotes from. The system will update immediately. This is all you need to do.

Some users only want quotes from their 10 favourite people – with Author Choice, this is possible. Others find out which authors’ quotes they like and which they don’t after a couple of months on Nimble Quotes, then make the change.

Settings changes are flexible. Come on back and adjust however it works for you.

Why Author Choice matters

I want to be sure you understand how much effort has gone into the gathering and vetting of appropriate quotes for your enjoyment. You put a large amount of trust into Nimble Quotes when you sign up – you need to trust that the quotes we have in our database are going to make you and your brand, your company, look good to your audience. I take this trust you place in this service very, very seriously.

We have carefully vetted all quotes in the system to be sure they are not political, not racist, not sexist, not negative…we wanted this service to be one that was a very positive experience for the users AND for your audience – since they’ll be seeing “your” quotes each day and will have assumed you’ve chosen to tweet that particular inspirational or motivational quote.

Still, not every quote or every quote author is for everyone. And that is why we created the Author Choice setting, so that you have as much control over the quotes as possible. I hope this feature makes you feel confident about Nimble Quotes and pleased that you can personalize inspirational quotes on Twitter.

Dec 29 2015

Why is Twitter so Difficult to Use?

Twitter’s Difficulty Curve: You Know More than You Think

Have you ever logged into Twitter and felt a bit overwhelmed at the rapid stream of tweets? Or at a loss on where to begin? Why is Twitter so difficult to understand?

Don’t worry about it, you’re not alone.

Twitter’s executive chairman Omid Kordestani (Jack Dorsey’s boss) was recently quoted as saying, “I did find [Twitter] challenging to use at times and intimidating to use.” This is a former Google executive talking, who is knee-deep in the tech industry. So it’s no surprise that entrepreneurs unaccustomed to Twitter would feel overwhelmed upon first logging in.

But if you can overcome your initial hesitation and dive into Twitter with both feet, you’ll be able to quickly adjust and harness its potential to boost your business. Today I’m going to help you get over that obstructive mindset.

Similar Concepts

The best modern technology products follow similar design and usability concepts, so that it’s easier for users of one product to jump to another. Twitter is no different. Any entrepreneur with a Facebook or email account can quickly adapt their knowledge into using Twitter. Allow me to demonstrate:

Twitter’s tweet stream is basically the same as your Facebook stream or even your email inbox, where new messages come in at a constant pace (although Twitter’s feed is a lot faster than Facebook’s, an probably an order of magnitude faster than your email inbox!). You don’t have to read every single tweet—just the ones that really interest you.

Each tweet has several interaction buttons on it that have the exact same functions as other apps. Retweeting? Exactly the same as “sharing” on Facebook or forwarding an email. The only difference is retweeting automatically sends it to everyone the moment you click the button. Similarly, the Twitter “heart” works just like the Facebook “Like.”

You know how you can tag or label emails based on certain subjects? Twitter’s hashtags work in a similar way, except in this case these tags are publicly available to everyone on Twitter. Everyone can label, search or filter using these hashtags, and even create hashtags of their own.

Leveraging Twitter

One of the keys to effectively leveraging Twitter is to treat it like a networking tool, not a promotional tool. In networking, you introduce yourself to potential contacts and be as pleasant and useful as possible so that you build a good reputation.

Twitter works the same way. Entrepreneurs should invest time developing relationships on Twitter and engaging others, whether they’re customers, potential customers, or colleagues. These relationships are what will establish your online reputation so that when you talk, people listen. This is an effective way of becoming an industry thought leader or building brand loyalty.

As you can see, Twitter is not the mysterious technology that it first seems. With the right mindset and a little effort, you’ll be able to turn it into an effective part of your business marketing strategy. If you’d like to know a few strategies for making that happen, contact me at @jenkellyjen and I’ll be happy to share!

One way new Twitter users can get up to speed is by having some help. NimbleQuotes.com will send out inspirational and motivational quotes into your Twitter stream as if you’ve tweeted the quotes yourself. Then you’ll be able to see how hashtags, retweets, follows and mentions work. It will all make sense to you. Within 30-days you’ll ‘get Twitter’. Sign up today for your 30-day trial at NimbleQuotes.com

Dec 21 2015

Twitter do’s and don’ts

Twitter do’s and Twitter don’ts

To the average business owner, Twitter might seem like a one-way exchange, where companies or entrepreneurs throw out content but don’t get any feedback in return. But interacting on twitter isn’t just for social media gurus and celebrities. You can have meaningful interactions with people in a way that will build your business’ online audience and professional network.

Here are some suggested Twitter do’s and don’ts to follow.

Do make the first move

In a normal business setting, you wouldn’t just sit and wait for customers to approach you, right? You would get out and meet people, introducing yourself and making sure people know who you are. Interacting on Twitter is the same. In order to build your audience from scratch, you have to take the first step and make your own introduction.

One way you can do this is by following someone. A “follow” on Twitter is kind of a mix of a handshake and giving your business card. Following someone calls attention to yourself and puts your name in front of them.

Another way of making the first move is by releasing content that sparks conversation. This could be a quote or a blog that you wrote.

Do look for common ground

Starting a conversation works the same on Twitter as it does in real life. Look for common ground that will break the ice. Since you’re an entrepreneur, try talking about something you’re an expert in. Maybe they asked a question about your industry, or need advice on a specific issue. A cursory check of their past tweets can clue you in on what to talk about.

Do promote others

Did the other person just publish content of their own? Retweet it. They’ll take notice of that. Even if they don’t thank you that particular time, there’s a good chance they’ll remember you next time you interact with them.

Don’t rush things

This is where it can get strange. Some of us move faster than others and feel more comfortable quicker than others with people we’ve recently met online. Just be aware that while Twitter moves fast, people’s ability to know, like and trust you moves at different rates than yours. Sometimes a sales pitch will work immediately and it is appropriate to do so, other times not. Just be aware that everyone you are interacting with may move at a different pace than you.

Don’t interact with bots

Bots are empty Twitter accounts run by a computer, which are usually used to artificially inflate a Follower list. These don’t do anything for your business, and can actually hurt you if people discover many of your followers are bots.

It’s easy to recognize a bot: first, they follow way more people than those who are following them: I’ve seen bot accounts that have 1000 follows but only 10 follows. Another sure sign is that they always tweet the exact same thing to many people. Once you discover a bot, don’t waste your time or energy trying to interact with them. Just walk away.

Do be you

The best way to engage with people on Twitter is to just be a person people want to talk with. Behave with them the same way you would behave with someone who was already your customer. Be pleasant. Be professional. Be helpful. Be memorable. Be interesting.

If inspirational and motivational quotes appeal to you, add them to your Twitter feed. NimbleQuotes.com is a service for Twitter users where you choose quotes to cycle out into your Twitter feed as if you’ve tweeted them yourself. No searching for quotes, just enjoyment, retweets and great interactions with your followers as a result. Try today for 30-days free. Sign up at NimbleQuotes.com

Dec 17 2015

Retweet and Build Relationships

Savvy entrepreneurs know that it’s important to have an active presence on Twitter, and understand the value of growing an audience through regular tweeting. But just posting your own thoughts and content isn’t enough to develop Twitter relationships. Retweeting is an effective way to engage with people and build bridges on Twitter.

How to retweet

Retweeting is an easy way for an entrepreneur to share a great tweet that someone else posted. When you find an item of interest, just look for the double-arrow icon at the bottom of the tweet. It’ll often have a number next to it that shows the number of times it’s been retweeted.

When you click that button, you’ll open up a text box with the original tweet’s text pre-filled with the label “RT” in front. You also have the chance to add your own comments before you send it out. Check out what I did below:

The people who write the original tweet will be notified about how you retweet their message.

Why retweeting works

Just knowing how to retweet isn’t enough to grow an audience. The best businesses make it about the customer, and building a Twitter audience works the same way. Being a good retweeter can impact your business by:

An authority

You don’t have to keep posting original content to have your customers see you as an authority in your industry. Scan the Twitter feeds of industry experts and retweet what they share. Being a content curator, which means that you pick and choose valuable information for your customers, can be just as effective in building up your business’ reputation as coming up with it yourself.

Engaging your followers

Whatever you retweet, be it a quote or a piece of content, you’re acknowledging the other person and building them up. It puts your name in front of them. This is a great introduction to them and has a more positive context than just sending them a follow notice. You can even use it to start a conversation, which is ideal if you want to eventually have them as a customer.

Try it out for yourself by going through lists of people you’d like to connect with. Look through their Twitter streams, find something interesting, and retweet it. Watch the magic happen.

Inspirational quotes get a lot of retweets on Twitter. Why not add them to your Twitter feed? You can, automatically. Sign up for a 30-day free trial at NimbleQutoes.com. Choose quotes and watch them cycle out automatically on a schedule of your choice. A great addition to the content you already share, and these have been found for you. Give it a try today.