I recently came across a tool called InboxQ. The service uses its pixie dust to deliver you high quality questions based on keywords you specify using either their Configurator or the browser extension.

If you’re looking for a way to spend more time answering questions on Twitter and providing real value, watch the video and give InboxQ a try. Let me know what you think.

I get a lot of questions from clients about how to perform tasks within WordPress and other online tools. If I reply to only the client with an answer, I’ve helped one person. If I record a screencast or short video of my answer to their question and post it on my site, YouTube, Vimeo and others, I’ve greatly expanded the number of people I can potentially help.

So as I go about setting up tools for clients and answering their questions I’ll be recording more short tutorials for everyone to use, which I call Tech Tips. You can view the ones I’ve already posted here.

Yeah, it might take me a little longer to answer just one question. But I often answer the same question multiple times for different folks. And maybe even multiple times for the same person, but who’s counting? With a tutorial I can provide a link as a resource to help multiple people more efficiently.

What types of questions do you get that could be put into tutorials or perhaps an FAQ?

There are many ways to communicate and I’ve traditionally relied on conversations. Great for auditory learners. Not necessarily ideal for visual learners, whether written or graphically inclined.

By providing my clients with a checklist and diagram of the tools we’ll use to build their brand online, the easier I can make it for non-auditory learners to understand the process and ask questions.

Likewise, by providing written and visual materials of what I need from the client to complete the project, they have a checklist of my expectations.

I’m not referring to contracts that say I’ll provide certain services and the client is responsible for providing x, y and z. Those types of documents have their place. Somewhere, I’m sure. The vast majority of my clients just want the technology to work and don’t care if I use Google Apps. They just want their new email address to work. They don’t care what version of WordPress I install and how many nifty plugins it takes to make it work. They just want a place to publish their content and grow their business and brand.

The documents and diagrams I’m talking about are the ones that visually layout how we can use technology to grow their business. And how the pieces all fit together. And what they have to DO to make it all work. And what the BENEFITS are going to be to them and their business. People don’t hire me to build a website or setup tools. They hire me to help them promote their message. And I can only do that if they know what to expect from me and what I expect from them.

So I’m going to break out my Dan Roam books, some paper and a pen and get to work.

Do you tailor your materials to different learning modalities? What modalities do you rely on the most?

When I am on a call with a client, I’m writing down my action items and taking notes. I often wait until the next day to send a follow up email recapping my list and to ask any clarifying questions. This extra day (usually) allows me to process the call, or so I’ve told myself.

In reality, I do come up with more questions because of the separation between discussion and follow up. But I also lose that fresh perspective. Often I’ll have several other project calls between talking to a client and following up. This leads to me sometimes struggling to remember exactly what I meant when reading my notes.

I think I could provide more value if I immediately reached out to my client after a call. There’s no wasted time if I didn’t correctly capture what they wanted. My perspective is still fresh and I can always send another follow up when I’ve mulled things over.

It seems obvious now that I would have done it this way all along, but it’s easy to be blind to our inefficiencies. Especially when we wear many hats.

If you take calls with clients, how long is it before you usually follow up? Ever have a client tell you you’re following up too quickly? Would love to hear your take on it.

My family and I were traveling this past week and stopped for dinner at a chain restaurant well known to interstate travelers. The customer service we received made me question my expectations of the wait staff when we dine out.

Our order was taken promptly. Our glasses were never empty. Our food was delivered after a reasonable wait and we were asked several times if we needed anything else.

So what was the problem? Personality. Or more specifically, the lack thereof.

Our waitress was polite but had very little personality. Like wet cardboard. You know the type. The kind of person who does their job adequately but you still question their motivation for being there. Barely holding things together. No engagement, just quick questions and little eye contact.

I realized I usually equate ”no personality” with “poor service”, even if all my needs are met. Probably not fair, but once you experience service that raises the bar, it’s hard to accept less. You start to expect exceptional service. Especially if you have kids, an engaging waiter can make all the difference between enjoying your meal and regretting having ventured out.

I wonder in my own business where I’m providing just adequate service while my clients are expecting more. Who have they dealt with before that raised the bar? How can I raise the bar even higher?

I realized I probably shouldn’t expect exceptional service every time I dine out. It wouldn’t be exceptional anymore. It’d be the new normal. But I should still tip adequately for adequate service.

I left the waitress around an 18% tip and challenged myself to find three ways to improve interactions with my clients. In the next several posts I’ll explain how I’m doing that.

I think Apple has done a great job of just saying “Finally”, now that they’ve delivered the white iPhone. It’s marketing genius on their part. They realize folks have been begging for a white version for a while and they weren’t able to deliver. Instead of making excuses, they use one simple word to show that they were as frustrated as anyone at their inability to deliver. What company wouldn’t be frustrated to deliver what clients are angrily clamoring for? It’s another source of revenue.

When you deliver late, and we all do sometimes, do you make excuses?

Or do you find ways to appease by being refreshingly honest?

As a media producer, Cooke uses many references to Hollywood throughout the book to back up his assertions about change and how to go about not being overwhelmed with personal growth. Sometimes the examples seem to serve as more of a reminder to the reader of his credentials than of providing real insight into how to handle change.

While the book will keep the reader engaged because it doesn’t bog you down with specifics, Cooke does seem to be muddling his insights on personal and business growth, as well as psychology and spirituality.  These areas are intertwined in our lives, but some of the transitions between these subjects in the book are not as smooth as they could be. For example, in the chapter on eliminating destructive distractions, several pages are devoted to discussing technology and the pace of life. The next three pages are spent discussing how to let go of past distractions through forgiveness. The detailed information on forgiveness seems out of place beside some of the other sparsely described methods for handling constant change.

In the book’s closing, Cooke encourages readers to reread the chapters that apply most to the challenging moments in their lives. My recommendation is to read this book for a great overview of personal growth topics and then to find more detailed resources for the specific areas where you are facing challenges.

Do you get bored with doing the same thing all the time?  I do.  In the past as a stay-at-home dad the odds of me doing any one thing for very long were minuscule.  But with both kids starting school last August I’ve got more time to work, create and reflect.  My reflection, the evolution of my thoughts and my eventual decision have been spurred by three books from Seth Godin: Linchpin, The Dip and Poke the Box.

Let’s start with the most recent book, Poke the Box. It’s about starting and doing things differently. Starting something new that is art. The gift that only you can give to the world and doing it because the world needs it. I’m not afraid to start something in order to see if I really like it.  Over the past year I’ve started many things.  I’ve started Constant Change Coaching, started projects and taken on clients which have grown revenues for Vekkin Solutions by 40% while reducing hours worked by 25%, started the Sane Dad podcast, developed several internal apps for my business, started a book on creating change, launched GetOrForget.com and written plans for another three online products and web apps.  Starting isn’t my problem.

Linchpin is about shipping. Getting your art out the door and into the world. Not just planning, saying you’re going to do it and then stalling.  Actually shipping, releasing it into the wild and seeing what happens. It’s about making a difference because you’ve done valuable work and weren’t afraid to share it with the world. I’ve put my work out there, in multiple places over time to see what interests me and what provides value to others, especially my clients. Shipping isn’t my problem.

The Dip, the first of these books I read, well over a year ago, is about quitting.  Rather, knowing when to quit and when to persist. If you were to plot your effort vs. results, between the initial excitement of starting and the finish, there’s a dip.  It’s where you start to question why you’re doing what you’re doing and if you should continue.  How do you know when to quit something and when to persist? Seth says if the payoff on the other side of the dip is worth more than the pain within the dip, then keep going, persist.  If not, you might as well quit. The investment wouldn’t be worth your time. And the payoff isn’t always monetary.  Often, it’s the emotional currency we spend to do something that extracts the greatest cost on our lives. Quitting is my problem. I admit it.

As I reflected on the projects I’ve started and shipped I realized they don’t all allow me to do my best work, the art that taps into my greatest strengths and abilities. The emotional return of continuing those items isn’t worth the investment of my soul.  The dip, for me, has become a rut. A comfortable rut, but not an exciting adventure which is what I crave. So to get out of the rut and create a better story for my life, I’m quitting some projects.  I don’t mean wither on the vine, either.  I’m hacking and pruning.  This frees up energy and resources for greater, future growth and excitement. In the past I’ve let things hang around, even if I wasn’t properly feeding them. I was afraid to completely let go and move out of my comfort zone.  My comfort zone has always been technology and development.  It’s what I’m good at even though it doesn’t provide the same excitement as earlier in my life.

What does excite me in working with my current clients, though, is solving problems.  I’ll still be solving problems and helping people see what is possible, just not by building websites, implementing work flow solutions or developing apps. The work I do going forward will be a part of Constant Change Coaching. More details will be coming out in the next couple of weeks over on that site.

And if you’re a current client reading this, please know you have my full commitment to your projects and helping you solve your problems. The vast majority of projects I’m quitting are the internal ones I’ve launched, experimented with, learned from and subsequently neglected.

Just writing this, putting an electronic stake in the ground and saying “This is where I’m headed”, is liberating. I can proudly say I’m a quitter.  My lizard brain is scared. My thinking brain is excited.

Are you a quitter?  When you poke the box and start something new, how do you let go of other, less exciting work?

For just starting out online your best option is to use neither! Not to be misleading, but there is a third option.  You can buy web hosting and install WordPress on your account using the host's tools.  This way you don't have to download WordPress, upload it to your hosting account, configure the database, etc.  The larger web hosts like GoDaddy, BlueHost, 1and1 and Dreamhost (affiliate link) make it easy to install WordPress and other open source software.

WordPress.com does offer premium features which allow you to use your own domain name, but if you're going to spend money, you should go ahead and get your own hosting account.  This provides more options for using and customizing WordPress. The added flexibility for immediate and future growth is worth the cost in my experience. Plus the cost of web hosting is minimal these days compared to other business expenses.

Bottom line, if you are looking to get started online quickly and professionally, purchase web hosting with a reputable company (like those mentioned above) and install WordPress using the host's automated tools.

If you've used WordPress.com for your blog or website, what was your experience like? What are some other hosting companies which make installing and configuring WordPress dead simple?

• Free - WordPress is open source and can be used by anyone.
• Easy to extend – It provides a great foundation for adding extra functionality using a plugin system.
• Flexible branding – It uses a theming system so you can match your WordPress website to your brand.
• Easy to Use – This is relative, but I'll explain more more in a moment.
• Support – If you need help using WordPress or need a developer or designer to work on your site a simple Google search will yield thousands of answers and people willing to help.  There are many reasonably priced web hosts which support WordPress installations, also.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – WordPress has built-in functionality and many plugins available for helping you tweak your site so your content is indexed correctly by search engines.  This can lead to higher search rankings.

WordPress is known for allowing people to quickly create blogs.  It can also be used as a system for publishing your content, known as a content management system, or CMS.   Even if you never use WordPress to blog, it can meet the majority of a solorpreneur's or small business's website needs.

So when is WordPress a bad choice?  If your business needs to create a web application, process or workflow as your website, WordPress is probably not your best option.  Ruby on Rails, PHP or .NET might be a better choice.  WordPress is the superior choice in my opinion for anyone starting out online and needing a website which allows control of creating and editing content.  I've developed software and websites using DotNetNuike, Drupal, Joomla, Blogger, Tumblr and custom coded sites.  Other choices may have more options or features, but I think WordPress strikes the best balance between power and usability.  A hundred features you can't really understand or need for your business are as bad as having a system with too little functionality.

In the spirit of 37Signals' book Rework, "it's a problem when it's a problem".  My advice is to get your name and brand out there on the web and do it quickly.  If you need additional functionality, you can adjust course later.  No sense worrying about problems or issues which may not materialize. Making a wise, informed choice is still important.  You don't want to restrict your ability to adapt with changing conditions.  With WordPress, I've yet to see anyone paint themselves into a corner.

You can be up and running quickly with WordPress, adapt and react swiftly and be in complete control of communicating with your clients using the methods they prefer.  And if you get too big for WordPress, call me.  I'd love to hear about your success! Did I miss any benefits or drawbacks of WordPress?  What other content management systems or platforms have you tried?