9/29/2008
Listen to some great interviews on a new site for Solopreneurs
| Monday, September 29th the International Association of Solopreneurs will celebrate their launch with a four week give away. In addition to the two prize packages that are offered you can expect random prizes to be given away during the launch. Visit their website to enter and learn more. Discover an online community where you can get training, coaching, resources, discounts, support, and accountability to make your journey successful! Recently I was interviewed for the IAS site. My interview will be available on October 1st, check it out. And over the next 30+ days you can experience first-hand interviews from other successful solopreneurs and learn much more than theory but practical knowledge about how they have achieved success. Technorati Tags - IAS, International Association of Solopreneurs, interviews, online learning, online networking, solopreneur Labels: IAS, International Association of Solopreneurs, interviews, online learning, online networking, solopreneur |
9/26/2008
What's in a business relationship?
 If you receive the Get It In Writing newsletter, you likely have noticed that each issue ends with what I think is a particularly inspirational quote. In fact, many times I first find the quote and then build my topic of the week around that quote. In a recent issue, the quote, by John D. Rockefeller read like this: “A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.” I think you would agree that Mr. Rockefeller was right on the mark with this one. And if you don’t immediately agree, I would urge you to take a few moments and give your past and present business relationships some honest thought. What you may find is a series of business opportunities or projects that could have gone a whole lot better. What do I mean exactly? Most times, our friendships are formed because of shared qualities, experiences likes and/or dislikes. Often we see things from the same perspective and point of view. And although it is great to have this type of shared camaraderie and comfort with another person, it is not always the most effective platform for a business relationship. In business, on the other hand, relationships are often formed on the basis of a need or desire to make something more efficient, more profitable. These relationships sometimes require us to go outside of our comfort zone and look at things differently. They require us to get involved with an individual because of business demands, not because we both love watching football on Sunday afternoons or because our kids go to school together. The best business relationships tend to be more productive since the goals and expectations of the relationships are (in the good cases) clear from the beginning. The emotion involved is based on business aims more than anything else. And the real beauty in these relationships is that in the end, what you may find is a very effective working relationship and a great friend to tailgate with on those Sunday afternoons. Technorati Tags - relationship building,productivity in business, business building, relationships Labels: business building, business relationships, productivity in business, relaltionships |
9/24/2008
Content Marketing
| Recently, Patsi Krakoff of The Blog Squad, interviewed me on the topic of content marketing. She compiled an overview of our time together and did a great job of showcasing the highlights. Although she asked many great questions, I believe this one was especially meaningful: What advice would you give to others in your profession about using content for marketing? The “hard sell” approach is a thing of the past and a real-turnoff to most potential customers/clients. Use real information (content) and tie what you do/what you offer into that – someone won’t just “take your word” for it that you are the best – you need to SHOW THEM and content/information is the best way to do it. Become a resource and then you have a follower (and a client – if they are part of your target market) for life. You can find the full interview here. Technorati tags:web content, content marketing, web writing, blog writing, web copy Labels: blog content, business writing, content marketing, web content, web copy, writing |
9/22/2008
Five Deadly Sins of Social Media
| This was an excellent, concise article on Social Media that I think could not have come at a better time. Thank you to author Aaron Kahlow for permission to reprint it. Attend any marketing conference today and you're sure to hear lots of excited talk about social media. And for good reason--social media presents unprecedented opportunities to extend your brand's reach, build customer loyalty and generate revenue--at minimal cost. Unfortunately, when it comes to actually participating in social media, many marketers either rush in with no objective or strategy, or become stuck on the sidelines, fearful of losing control of their brands. In reality, social media is a very forgiving marketing platform--if you play by the rules and have a considered strategy and reasonable expectations: realize there will be some "learning as you go" and that you'll likely have to implement several iterations of any plan before enjoying significant results. And be sure to avoid these five "deadly sins" of social media: BLOGGING FOR ITS OWN SAKE Make sure you have enough to say to sustain a blog. Users expect a blog to provide value--insight, humor, information--and to be regularly updated. It's extremely time-consuming. Putting up uninteresting posts just for the sake of updating your blog will greatly diminish the impact of those posts which do have value. If you're not prepared from a resources or value proposition perspective--hold off. THE WRONG VOICE Consumers care about your products and how they impact their daily lives. Instead of using the CEO as the voice of your company, perhaps a more junior level employee in product development--someone with a passion for social media--will be better able to relate to, connect with and engage your customers. FACEBOOK FATIGUE I'm a huge proponent of Facebook and LinkedIn, but don't be the company or the person who does anything and everything to get in front of people at every opportunity, whether it's the group that sends out multiple messages each week or the person who updates his profile daily. Be sensible about updating your corporate and personal online environments--or people may tune you out. THE RUSH TO BUILD Instead of immediately building your own community, create a subgroup on an existing social network. Leverage the network's infrastructure and traffic while learning what it takes to engage your audience and whether the community ads value--to you and your consumers. Then think about building your own. JUMPING INTO THE POOL BEFORE LEARNING TO SWIM Before embarking into social media, you must have some personal experience with these environments. Subscribe to some RSS feeds, read a few blogs of interest (and jump into the conversation) and participate in a social network or two. Until you understand the psychology, language and etiquette, you'll never have the mindset required to successfully navigate these waters for your company and brand. Aaron Kahlow is chairman of the Online Marketing Summit. He can be reached via e-mail at aaron@businessol.com. Technorati Tags - social media, social networking, rss feeds, facebook, blog Labels: facebook, Internet Marketing, internet traffic, linked-in, social media, social network |
9/17/2008
To Be A Blogger, You Need To Think Like A Blogger.
| 1) Monitor industry and trade sites within your industry. 2) Follow the news in your industry. Know what’s happening, what’s considered a trend, what everyone is talking about. 3) Always be on the lookout for blog collaborators, alliances and potential JVs. Other bloggers out there, whether in your industry or a related area, are your best potential partners and sources of ideas and future business. 4) Hang out where your potential customers hang out. 5) Know what you are selling and what unique benefit or solution this provides. Nine times out of 10, your competitors are doing the very same thing so you need to stay on top of them and your audience. 6) Being consistent and staying on top of the writing, the competition, the business and the audience will require ongoing focus and attention. I’m not going to lie: It’s never-ending, like a beast with an un-ending appetite. If you’re going to start, do it right. Good luck! Technorati Tags - writing for blogs,business writing,marketing,blogger,blogging,blog Labels: blog, blogger, blogging, business writing, marketing, selling, writing for blogs |
9/15/2008
Are You Improving Your Marketing?
| In case you haven’t noticed, it’s a bloggy, blog world out there. Blogs are in fact everywhere. They are an intricate part of business and of the Internet presence of corporations and individuals. Why? Because they are one of the most effective and economical forms of Internet marketing available today. The very reasons your competitor has a blog are the very reasons you should as well. Blogs are the perfect place to show off knowledge and expertise, available products, affiliate relationships, market news, industry trends and much, much more IF (and this is a big IF) they are updated regularly with relevant content. All too often, blogs are neglected shortly after their creation. And let me tell you, as someone who visits countless blogs over the course of a work-week, there is nothing worse than visiting a blog that hasn’t been updated in months, or even worse, a blog that not only isn’t current, but doesn’t contain information that is relevant to the intended purpose of the blog. (Or is too pushy, or not professional or in some way “off.”) My advice: Level the playing field and establish a blog for your business. If you already have a blog, work it! If and when you do this right and update regularly with relevant content, you will see the results through increased Internet traffic, inquiries and eventually in sales. Technorati Tags - blog content,blog writing,writing for the web,seo, writing for blogs Labels: blog, blog content, blog ghostwriting, blogging, business, seo, writing for blogs, writing for the web |
9/10/2008
When You Assume
| When writing marketing copy just as you shouldn’t assume something about your audience, you also shouldn’t assume something you do know for sure is not important. You never know when an inconsequential detail about your target may become the focal point of a campaign or marketing piece. So before you start your marketing copy, consider these characteristics about your target market: • Gender: Are they men, women, both? • Experience: Is your service or product one they use after they have unsuccessfully tried others? They might be frustrated or untrusting. • Hot buttons and triggers: Are there trigger words that really wake them up? If so, what are they? • Age: Are they concentrated in one particular age group, or are they different ages? • Socioeconomic level: Are you targeting high-income people? People of all income levels? Lower-income men and women? • Habits: Reading and online habits? Are they Internet-savvy? Do they only read print hard copies? Are they no-nonsense, or do they prefer more of a touchy-feely approach? • Time crunch: Is your audience busy and time-starved? (Who isn’t?) • Relationship: What is your relationship to the audience (i.e., formal, informal, authoritative, submissive)? Are you an expert, a trusted friend, a caring shoulder, a remote authority? Your answers will give you a great head start on the copy and make sure you don’t make the mistake of leaving out an important detail that may result in sales! Technorati Tags - internet marketing,marketing copy,target audience Labels: Internet Marketing, marketing copy, target audience |
9/05/2008
The Ability To Overcome Adversity
 So the Summer Olympics have come and gone for another four years. And if you followed the Olympics at all, you likely heard about Michael Phelps and his record-breaking performances. Without question, he achieved the ultimate success in the sport of swimming. Throughout the games, we all heard the comments that he was super-human or fish-like, as well as a host of others that insinuated he somehow had an advantage over the other swimmers. In my opinion, he absolutely did have an advantage, and it wasn’t the length of his feet or arms or torso, it was his ability to overcome adversity. He didn’t just show up in Beijing a champion, he showed up with a history of both losses and wins, and clearly he learned from those losses how to be a winner. Let’s face it: Whether it is the Olympics or a business opportunity, no one wants to show up and lose. We go there (wherever “there” is), for one reason and one reason only: TO SUCCEED. When Phelps arrived at the 2000 games in Sydney, there is no doubt he wanted to win it all…but he didn’t. Four years later, a stop in Greece and although improved, he still experienced some loss. I imagine that the losses ignited a fire that allowed him to learn from his past mistakes. Whether it was his start, his turn or the number of breaths he took, we will never know, but clearly Michael made the necessary changes to achieve the ultimate success. The same can be true for all of us with our business and marketing efforts. We have all spent money on ineffective advertising or wasted time on a project that returned little or no result. And truthfully, that is OK, because it is through these mistakes that we improve ourselves and our businesses. As long as you learned from the mistake, recognized what went right, what went wrong and made the necessary corrections moving forward, then actually it was a success. Without mistakes and losses, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today. Would you? Labels: adversity, business writing, marketing, small business marketing |
9/03/2008
Preparing For Your Next Business Writing Project
 Whether it is a report, blog, letter, email, brochure or speech, the most important part of the writing process happens BEFORE you write one word. While many people prefer to skip this step and ignore its very existence, it’s essential to prepare and gather as much information as possible about the subject for which you are creating copy. (And when you don’t go through these steps, your response/results, will undoubtedly tell the tale!) So before you begin your next writing project ask yourself the following questions: 1) What is/was your driving force for the creation of your product or service? 2) What are the key benefits/solutions your product/service provides? 3) What is your “elevator speech” (i.e., what you tell a potential client about your business/product in just 30 seconds)? 4) What is the ultimate goal for this particular project? 5) Who is your target audience? Be specific – you may need to break this down into sub-audiences. 6) What problems does your product or service solve? What solutions does it offer/promise? Labels: business writing, writing |