I will be teaching two classes for Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation this Fall:
1. Expand Your Reach with Social Media (co-teaching with Karen Kefauver)
Tuesday, September 28, 6:30-9:30 PM at NextSpace.
We will explore how to use social media for promotion. The focus will be on the most popular tools, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogging. You’ll learn how to better promote your website and how to increase your online presence even if you don’t have a website. The class is for beginners and will focus on Social Media basics for businesses, nonprofits, freelancers and entrepreneurs.
2. Build a Blog or Website with WordPress
Tuesday, October 12, 6:30-9:30 PM at NextSpace.
We will explore blogging for beginners, including:
* Why blog, anyway?
* Using blogging to bring visibility to your business or nonprofit.
* What if I’m not really a writer?
* Create an easy-to-use, simple, free blog or website.
Class includes a live demonstration showing how to set up your own blog or website at WordPress.com.
Register here. (You’ll need to wait until Parks & Rec opens Fall 2010 registration.)
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Tagged as:
Classes,
Parks & Recreation,
Santa Cruz,
Social Media
I’m back. I took a four month break from blogging. I didn’t plan it that way but it happened anyway. All said, it wasn’t bad to have one less thing on my list to worry about for a while. During that period, I used my Facebook Page as a quick substitute, and that worked well.
What’s new?
My website has been rebuilt and relaunched. It may look similar to my old website (which — if you want to compare — still lives for now at technicalprojectservices.wordpress.com).
However, underneath the hood, saraisenberg.com is all new and is now based on the Thesis Theme for WordPress.
Why did I do it? I wanted…
- my website to live at my new domain, saraisenberg.com, rather than my old domain, http://technicalprojectservices.com (which now redirects to saraisenberg.com).
- more control over my SEO, which I’m still working on.
- to have a more robust theme. I had heard great things about Thesis.
- to move beyond hosting at wordpress.com, which I had outgrown. wordpress.com was great when I was getting started, great for learning wordpress, and FREE! Indeed, I still strongly recommend hosting at wordpress.com for many bloggers, especially newbies who want life/hosting to be as simple & free as possible.
Special Thanks to Melissa Smith, my special consultant and personal guru during this relaunch onto Thesis! Melissa, by the way, works at Equity Marketing Solutions.
Tagged as:
Equity Marketing Solutions,
Santa Cruz,
Sara Isenberg,
Thesis Theme for WordPress,
WordPress
I admit to not having blogged very much lately, and when I ponder why — aside from the holiday break — I think it’s because it’s often easier to simply post quick information to my Facebook (business/fan) page. So if you’re looking for tidbits, tips, and news, check out:
http://www.facebook.com/SaraIsenbergConsulting
Ironically, clients often ask me how to decide whether to post to a blog or enewsletter ,or Facebook, or twitter, and my usual response is “all of them” however I’m going to have to walk the talk, or come up with a new answer, or simply say that we do what we can do. 
Happy New Year!
Sara
Tagged as:
Blogging,
Facebook,
Santa Cruz,
Sara Isenberg,
Social Media,
Web Consulting & Project Management
The location has been set and this event is a go!
The Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce has a very popular new speaking series for Women in Business called Caffeineighted.
On Nov 5, 7:30-9 AM, I’ll be giving a presentation called Create a Free WordPress Blog in 1 Hour at the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, Women in Business, Caffeineighted Series.
[Click here to Register]
Full Details:
Women in Business will host its small-meeting networking series, Caffeineighted, Thursday, November 5, 7:30-9 AM
Location: New Leaf Community Markets
1101 Fair Ave
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
“Create a Free WordPress Blog in 1 Hour”
We continue with Web 2.0 Marketing tools with Sara Isenberg who will show us how to create a blog.
Sara Isenberg, principal consultant at Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management, has extensive experience in the corporate software industry, much of that as a technical account manager where she managed technical relationships between software engineering teams and strategic partners and clients.
Sara began working as an independent project manager in 2005, serving web producers and small businesses.In addition to working as a web consultant and project manager, Sara is a Technology Advisor with the Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center’s Technology Advisory Program.
Sara has a B.A. in Computer Science from University of California Santa Cruz and a B.S. in Sociology from the University of Oregon. She is listed by We Magazine for Women in “101 Women Bloggers to Watch for 2009″.
For more about Sara:
twitter: @saraisenberg
website: http://www.saraisenberg.com
blog: http://www.saraisenberg.com/blog
linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/saraisenberg
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/saraisenbergconsulting
Limited to 30 participants, the session will also include introductions and conversation. A light breakfast will be served. The cost is $15 for SC Chamber members and $25 for non-members.
Caffeineighted is held the first Thursday of each month. Caffeineighted is an outgrowth of the Chamber’s Women in Business programs, designed to create a more intimate atmosphere and an opportunity for teaching and learning.
Tagged as:
Chamber of Commerce,
Santa Cruz,
Sara Isenberg,
Web Consulting & Project Management,
WordPress
Do you know someone in Santa Cruz that you’d call a trailblazer, an innovator, or whose work or passion inspires you? Santa Cruz NEXT is accepting nominations for the 1st Annual NEXTie Awards.
Submit Your NEXTie Award Nominations!
The NEXTies honor young people in Santa Cruz who are doing amazing things locally or globally. These inspiring individuals could live anywhere, but they choose Santa Cruz to apply their talent and passion. These individuals might include entrepreneurs, artists or volunteers who are leaders in their chosen field and are making an impact on the community or the world. Nominees live or work in Santa Cruz County, are between the ages of 22 and 45, and have an inspiring story to tell.
(*) Jeremy Neuner
Why Jeremy Neuner?
1. Jeremy is one of the co-founders of Nextspace (see http://nextspace.us) a fantabulous co-working space in downtown Santa Cruz that is one year old as of mid-October 2009.
2. Jeremy is a light hearted but incredibly effective leader of the Nextspace organization. The community respects him.
3. Nextspace is not only vital to the Santa Cruz community, it’s a great place — interesting and fun, feels like the entrepreneurial epicenter of Santa Cruz — for an entrepreneur, or solopreneur, or techie — or anybody else — to work.
4. Jeremy frequently credits the members of Nextspace for its success, rather than claiming that success for himself. However, much of the environment of Nextspace is due to Jeremy’s style of leadership. He’s been the right guy at the right time.
5. Many local success stories have come out of NextSpace:
http://nextspace.us/2009/05/nextspace-members-in-the-news/
6. Nextspace puts Santa Cruz on the map (in a good way):
http://nextspace.us/2009/08/more-than-just-surf-city/
7. Nextspace has good connections with UCSC:
http://nextspace.us/2009/06/nextspace-and-ucsc/
8. Want more? Watch this video:
NextSpace: 1 Year of Success in an Economic Downturn
http://vimeo.com/7102787
Tagged as:
Jeremy Neuner,
NextSpace,
Santa Cruz,
Sara Isenberg,
Web Consulting & Project Management
by Sara Isenberg on October 20, 2009
in Articles,Blogging,Design,Facebook,Project Management,Sara Isenberg,Social Media,Twitter,Web Consulting,Web Development
The following is by my colleague and friend, Kirsti Scott, of Scott Design: http://blog.hotdesign.com. I value everything that Kirsti writes in her blog about social media. Here’s another great post from Kirsti:
Here’s a quick rundown of the who, what, where, when, why, and how of using social networks to help kick-start your social media plan.
Who
You should use social media if you have a business and want to do any of the following:
- Reach new customers
- Build relationships with existing customers
- Create awareness of your products or services through PR and marketing
- Decrease customer support costs
- Drive traffic to your website
- Find new employees
- Improve teamwork at your company
What
Social networks are now used by millions of people every day:
- Social networks are web-based, online communities of people with shared interests who communicate with one another and share information.
- Social networks allow you to connect with friends, family, colleagues, and customers online.
- Social media marketing is the use of social networks to promote your company’s products or services.
Where
You should create a presence on the following websites:
When
- Today: Set up profiles on the major sites. It takes about a day.
- Every day: Keep up with what’s happening in your industry or marketplace.
- Every week: Spend a few hours participating in conversations with people in your networks.
- As needed: Post news about your company.
Why
There are five main reasons companies should do social media marketing:
- It is now considered a best practice.
- It drives traffic to your website.
- It improves your search engine rankings.
- It lets you join the conversation.
- It amplifies your marketing messages.
For details, see “5 reasons companies should do social media marketing.”
How
It’s easy to get started with social media:
More information
Tagged as:
Santa Cruz,
Sara Isenberg,
Scott Design,
Social Media,
Web Consulting & Project Management
Sara Isenberg
Sara Isenberg
Sara Isenberg
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