Archive for Online Marketing – Page 21

Social Media: You’re Shouting Too Loud

Aggressive-blonde-business-woman-2 "More megaphones don’t equal a better dialogue."

This is a quote from Howard Mann, author of Your Business Brickyard, and I read it in an ebook just published by Seth Godin and Ishita Gupta. (You can get it online for free, What Matters Now.)

More participation on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn isn't going to make you a better person, or richer, or wiser. Well, you may get richer.  People are doing business through Social Media. But you gotta know how to do the dance.

My concern "over there" on Social Media sites, is there's too much chatter, and not enough meaning. It's the reason I got burned-out going to networking breakfasts and Chamber meetings. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find one or two Princes worth talking to. Oh, but when you find that Prince… 

I've figured out a few things that work on Twitter, etc. But I need to get better at this, because it's not going away, and it's getting more crucial to harness the marketing power of Social Media. I've got a card up my sleeve how I'm going to master this, so read on.

I've learned that there are definite steps to the social media dance. If you do the boogie while others are waltzing, you look like a jerk. And if you don't know the latest Hip-Hop moves, you can look like a real doofus trying to get anybody to talk with you.

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Conquer the 3 Social Media Monsters:
Clutter, Confusion, Chatter

Hungry-monster  Are these social media monsters a problem for you? The confusion, clutter and mindless chatter you find on some sites? As I told you yesterday, I lack clarity with what the heck I'm doing in social media. I mean, I have a few things down, but I don't really have a plan or a strategy.

From what I hear, the confusion, clutter and chatter is a problem for many other people too.

It feels like someone let the dogs out and the barking is so loud I can't think. I haven't written much about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the likes because it leaves me feeling strangely inadequate and stupid.

Like maybe I should join some sort of 12 Step group for the Twitter-shy and Facebook-phobic. If you're like me, or maybe even worse, my friend Joan Stewart is going to help.

I'm interviewing Joan and her new expert partner Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert this Thusday, December 17, 2009 at 4 p.m. ET. Click here to register:

http://mixiv.com/vp/68753/19900

Please join me for a free teleseminar, you won't regret it. Joan and Jeanne will talk about:

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Social Media Fairies: They’re real and they’ve got solutions

Bulldog I hate to start the week with a rant, but I'm mad at social media sites for giving me too much to do. Yeah, I know, I could ask my V.A. to do some things for me, but that would require me actually knowing which specific things to tell him to do.

Grrrr…I'm just so frustrated with all this social networking stuff going on. Don't you hate the feeling of having 4 or 5 growling pit bulls in the closet, just waiting to be fed?

It's not like I don't appreciate Twitter. After all, complete strangers re-tweet what I have to say and are a major source of traffic to this blog. I got a $600 order from someone who found me through a re-tweet. So I know it's working and it pays.

It's that gnawing feeling that I'm not doing enough. Going over to Facebook sends pangs of guilt because I haven't answered friend requests in weeks. And I love friends, honest.

My stepmother told me to be careful what I wish for, but here goes:

I just wish the magic social media fairies would appear, give me a list of things I'm doing right, things I'm doing wrong, and give me some clear cut steps for getting the most out of social media.

(…sound effects of roaring thunder, grumbling skies, lightening and the clouds opening up…)

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Entrepreneur’s Disease: It Creeps Up on You

Lion-tamer What do you do to keep from getting overwhelmed? Lately it feels like the chair and the whip aren't enough to keep the lions from lunging at my sweet psyche. I crave calmness. And yet, what am I talking about?

A few months ago I was scratching my head and drumming fingers because of not enough action. Now things are heating up. I'm buying a new car this weekend. The whole family is well fed and happy. I played some good tennis this week…

I suffer from Entreprenuer's Disease: it's an eating disorder whereby self-employed nut-cases like myself bite off more than we can chew. This month I am gorging myself. Here's what's on my plate:

  1. Regular client work back-logged by missing first week of December on vacation and shortened month due to holidays
  2. Preparing bonus report for subscribers to Patsi's Private List, so they get valuable information
  3. Preparing teleseminar with Joan Stewart for Dec. 17 to announce an amazing Social Media time-saver
  4. Preparing end-of-year sale on leadership development content subscriptions for coaches
  5. Finishing up Content Marketing for Smart Professionals, a mega-info product/ebook/membership subscription site built on MyKnowledgeGenie.com
  6. Preparing launch partners for Content Marketing for Smarties program, sales page, teleseminars
  7. Contacting potential partners to host teleseminars for MyKnowledgeGenie.com
  8. Preparing blogging teleseminar with Joan Stewart for January 13
  9. Preparing teleseminar with Seth Godin for January 8

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Kick Your Blog in the Butt!

Kicking-some-ass  Here's a quick heads-up via Michael Martine, Remarkablogger, about a new ebook just out, for building a better blog, from Grant Griffiths of Blog for Profit:

Have you been thinking your blog needs a little extra… something?
 
Probably just needs a kick in the patootie.
 
(Yes, I said "patootie.") 🙂
 
Grant Griffiths over at Blog for Profit has taken the outstanding mega-series of blog posts and expanded on them to create the ultimate "blog kick start" training package. It's called "31 Days to Kick Your Blog in the Butt" and it helped hundreds of bloggers when he ran the program live on his blog.

If you've been looking for "just the thing" for your blog, I invite you check it out here through Michael Martine's affiliate link: Click here to buy "31 Days to Kick Your Blog in the Butt" for only $12.50 US dollars.

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Why Content Beats Conversations

Why Free is Good, Done Right

Carnival-barker  I
work with a lot of coaches, writers, and consultants. Some of them are
doing well, in spite of the recession. Others are struggling. I often
wonder what the difference is between those who stay afloat in a
downturn and the others. I think it's their marketing savvy more than
their talent or education, but who really knows?

One of my
favorite clients, a successful executive coach with a Ph.D., emailed
this week to say how frustrating it is in the coaching field these
days. It seems everyone's a coach. People take an Internet coaching
course and market themselves by giving away free sample coaching
sessions.

As a trained organizational psychologist with
licenses and years of experience, he doesn't feel he should be giving
away free sessions. I don't blame him. And yet, I was thinking…

The
problem is universal. How do you attract new clients without standing
on the sidewalk like a carnival barker, begging people to come into
your tent?

I guess this is why Chris Anderson author of The Long Tail, has written a new book called Free: The Future of a Radical Price.

Free Works

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What Is Content Marketing?

I found this little clip through a link on Wikipedia…it’s really neat, don’t ya think? It’s created by VizEdu

3 Defining Content Marketing Goals Before You Write

Goal Before you write one word of copy for your online content marketing, you must first:

  1. Know your objectives
  2. Know your target audience 
  3. Know your product or service

Objectives?

I know this seems so common sense it's not worth spending time on, but the time you take to write down a few notes on each of these things will be well worth it.

For example, writing on the web can have several objectives, besides making a sale. What is it you'd like readers to do? Contact you for more information? Sign up for a digital report? Leave a comment, watch a video, fill out a survey?

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10 Snappy Content Creation Strategies

Speed-drawing  The prospect of writing on the web is daunting for some professionals, especially those with years of graduate school indoctrination with academic theses and dissertations.

It's because writing short and snappy is better on the Web than long, convoluted, and detailed. Doctors and lawyers and other highly educated people like to be correct; sometimes that takes more than one sentence.

The problem is too much information distracts a writer from getting to point quickly and clearly. I'm preparing materials for a class I'm teaching to lawyers who want to master online marketing with blog content, articles and ebooks.

I'd say it's a challenge for some lawyers to be fast and to the point about things, for fear of being wrong or misleading people. But maybe that's stereotyping and I'm making assumptions. I usually do.

Nevertheless, I've made a list of 10 content creating strategies to help write blog posts and articles for the Web, with an emphasis on being short and snappy.

Here are 10 steps that I'm sharing with them, to help anyone write faster, clearer, better.

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Making Readers Feel at Home: 10 Comfy Blogging Tips

MakeatHome How long do readers stay on your blog? A minute? Two or three? Your site meter will tell you. It doesn't take long to read a blog post. And it's not the length of time that matters, it's what they do while they're there.

Do they read more than one post, more than one page? Do they check out your bio, easily find related info? Do they see your subscription form and sign up to get email updates to your blog?

Greet visitors to your blog as if they were visiting your home, welcome them in, offer them a comfortable chair, a cup of coffee, and ask them to stay a while. Ask them questions, ask them what they need.

Or do your blog readers whip through your site like they were at a 7-11 store just buying coffee? Here's a few tips for making your readers feel at home so they wanna curl up, stay awhile and keep coming back.

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