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It's a little bit ironic that a lot of people who use "social" media extensively find themselves sorely lacking in social skills. Believe it or not, there is a certain decorum to the way things are done on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and the further you stray from it, the more your manners are going to affect your ability to market yourself and your company.

Think of social media sites as a big dinner party; it's okay to talk business and network a bit, but being rude and overbearing is only going to scare people away. Here are three quick tips to help you stay polite and profitable:

It's ok to put your business out there. People, even those you don't know personally, will sometimes be interested in your company, what you do for a living. Feel free to answer questions enthusiastically, but don't make every profile or post into a virtual advertisement; you'll only push interested prospects away.

Don't dominate every conversation. Just as in real life, if no one else can get a word in edgewise, or express an opinion that's contrary to yours, you aren't exactly going to attract new friends. Be engaged but not bullying – you want to leave people with the impression that you’re a helpful professional, not someone in full-time marketing mode.

Participate in conversations started by others. Whether it's online discussions, forums, or even just short posts on their wall, try to get involved beyond your own content once in a while. Not only does that make everything a lot more fun, but it shows that you’re online for reasons other than making a quick buck.

There are a lot of great potential customers for you to meet through social media. Just be sure to follow the rules and stay in their good graces the same way you would if they were actually sitting across from you.

Believe itThere's a lot that goes into successful email marketing – so much, in fact, that entire books and seminars have been devoted to the subject. And yet, a lot of business owners and marketers don't understand the one unbreakable rule for sending email newsletters… or not, that rule isn't that you have to continually promote your products and services to the contacts on your list. Instead, it's a reminder that you simply cannot afford to lose subscribers unnecessarily.

Why is this so important? Once upon a time, it wasn't that difficult to find new subscribers. In fact, the numbers suggested that you could come out ahead by offering one product or discount after another. If you pushed a little too hard and someone removed themselves from your list, you could almost always find a few others to replace them if you were willing to work at it. 

Now, though, people are being much more selective about what they'll allow in their inbox, and a lot of marketers are seeing their email newsletter subscription list losing clients as a result. And, when you lose a subscriber, you might be permanently losing an ongoing sales opportunity to work with someone who was once interested in your products and services. If you can't replace them, you're taking a valuable part of your Internet marketing effort and throwing it away forever.

For that reason, it's important that you follow a few simple guidelines:

• Don't contact your subscribers too often; for most businesses, between two and four times a month is plenty.

• Respect your subscribers' time; don't send them offers that aren't relevant to what they need.

• Mix in some interesting articles along with your sales message; don't make your newsletter completely promotional.

• And finally, offer unique discounts or ideas in your newsletter; you want to prevent subscribers from leaving by giving them something they can’t get anywhere else.