Okay, so it isn’t Oscar material, and we just put this together at home on Saturday, but take a look at our first marketing video, "Meet the Blog Squad" on YouTube.
If you see me starting to laugh towards the end, the big smile is because Dewey the cat walked over to try to weasle his way into the shooting.
When is the last time you researched your area of expertise on the major search engines like Google or Technorati? This week I did a little web searching using the key words and phrases that people use when searching for information on ezine publishing. I was pleased that this blog, CoachEzines, came up 1st and 2nd for some terms in Technorati, and in the top 10 for some terms in Google.
Technorati is a good way to search for other blogs in your field, but it also can search article directories and other sites.
News Flash: You can get huge traffic and sales by getting bloggers to talk about you and your products or books. But there’s a few things you need to know first.
Denise posted about this over on Build a Better Blog, and she created this neat little audio file…
Get 6 tips you need to know BEFORE you pitch bloggers … Get your audio tips here.
If you haven’t registered yet for the teleseminar How to Pitch Bloggers and Get a Publicity Explosion, do so now by visiting www.howtopictchbloggers.com.
Here’s a totally new format for your press releases that takes into account all the new social and multi-media possibilities. It has been formulated by the good folks over at PRSquared.com.
This week has been press release immersion for us…in preparing for our teleclass, How to Pitch Bloggers, next Wednesday with Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound, I’ve been learning all about the new, new ways to use press releases to get bloggers’ attention.
Denise mentioned this new press release template yesterday on BuildaBetterBlog, and I don’t want readers here to miss this important evolution. Things are changing, and so there is no reason for you to write your press releases the old-fashioned way.
After reading Denise’s post, download the PDF of the press release template. To make it easy for you to use it, I translated it into a word doc. And, by the way, the folks over at PRSquared.com have made this copyright-free and encourage you to use it. Thank you very much.
Download NewPRsmprtemplate.pdf
Download social_media_press_release_template.doc
Do you feel lucky? Denise and I just purchased a magic hat so that we can use it all next week. We are having a "2nd Year of Blogging" anniversary blow-out sale and prize drawings Sept. 4 – 8.
Grand Prize is a ticket to Tom Antion’s Great Internet Marketing Retreat in Virginia Beach, valued at $5000. Ever since we attended last spring, we have more than recuperated those expenses in new revenues resulting from his mentoring.
To win, all you have to do is be subscribed to our weekly ezine, Savvy eBiz Tips. Subscribe here: www.savvyebiztips.com.
Every day during the Anniversary sale, we will send an email announcing a winner along with huge discounts on some of our products and services. But you must be subscribed to win, and to get the email notices.
And if you are one of our affiliates and refer people to subscribe to our ezine, you can win a new Targus computer luggage and $.50 per subscriber. To become an affiliate, go here.
Just launched: The All-in-One Ezine Publishing System will give you everything you need to know to create, distribute, and grow an ezine through email. What I like about this package, is that Denise put together some great video tutorials on how to broadcast your ezine.
I find it easier to learn when I can see things on the computer screen. And of course, we included the audio files from ezine classes, and several audio interviews with experts, for people who like their learning through listening.
The All-in-One Ezine Publishing System came about when we realized that we were accumulating a body of knowledge in the form of ebooks, special reports, interviews, audio and video files that could essentially make up an encyclopedia about ezines.
I originally wrote Secrets of Successful Ezines ebook to address the special needs of service professionals who needed a platform to create relationships with readers that would ultimately result in clients calling them to hire them. Then that ebook needed to have two other components:
For details on all the elements in this comprehensive package, go to www.ezinepublishingsystem.com.
Our multi-media package on "25 Proven Ways to Grow Your Ezine List" is finally launched!
The last couple of weeks we’ve been working feverishly to complete this comprehensive package based on our recent teleseminar.
http://www.growyourezinelist.com
Here’s what you’ll learn…This information package will give you the insider secrets to growing a list that will reward you with Internet sales. Save yourself time and money by learning what we have discovered doing business on the Internet for over a dozen years:
In case you’re wondering why tip # 7 was posted here before #6…well, me too. Guess I got ahead of myself!
In any case, here’s an additional way to create income while marketing at the same time. This is our 6th tip in the series on marketing your book, ezine, or blog.
6. Podcasting – create audio files easily by scheduling teleclasses and recording them. Some people like to get their information auditorily and at their convenience by downloading mp3 files to their iPods. Or, you can podcast a chapter or excerpt from your book.
Use a free teleconferencing bridge line like http://www.freeconference.com to host a group call.
Record your call, upload the audio file, and then post to your blog or podcast using a service like www.audioblog.com.
As an added benefit, you can get these calls transcribed; then convert the word doc to a PDF file which you can either give away, or sell, in exchange for people’s email address. www.CastingWords.com is a fast, affordable transcription service.
You can charge a small fee to cover the costs of recording, editing and shipping, or you can make the podcasts available for free as an audio file or MP3 file that people can download off your blog or website.
If you have really valuable content relevant to your audience, you can also create a membership fee. Denise and I have done this for our Conversations with Experts teleseries.
This is our 7th marketing tip for blogs and books, which also applies to marketing in general.
Do you use a regular emailed newsletter to promote your services and your blog? You should. This is one of the prime ways to drive traffic to your blog, and to gain an audience of raving fans.
7. Use a newsletter to email to your list, and give readers regular updates about your book progress, your teleclasses, and your blog posts. You have to encourage them to visit your blog or they will forget you.
It’s also important to educate people about your blog, and teach them to comment on it. A newsletter is an additional way to do this and complements your blog.
We recommend Kick Start Cart for managing your database and broadcasting your newsletter: http://snipurl.com/KickStartCart .
Remember, you can’t just email information to people who haven’t requested it, so make sure you are continuing to encourage blog readers to sign up for your newsletter. The Cart will make a newsletter sign up form that you can put on every page of your website. Subscribers will have to confirm their opt-in request, so make sure you advise them to pay attention to the opt-in confirmation request.
Here’s an additional way to create income while marketing books or services at the same time. This is our 6th tip in the series on marketing.
Now, I have to admit, I was reluctant to get into podcasting. I’m not an auditory type and prefer reading to listening. But I have to consider the interests of clients, not just me (drats)!
And I have to admit, this works. Since starting the teleseries Conversations with Experts, the database of people with an interest in our services and products has grown by 5,000 in just one year.
6. Podcasting – create audio files easily by scheduling teleclasses and recording them. Some people like to get their information auditorily and at their convenience by downloading mp3 files to their iPods. Or, you can podcast a chapter or excerpt from your book.
Use a free teleconferencing bridge line like http://www.freeconference.com to host a group call.
Record your call, upload the audio file, and then post to your blog or podcast using a service like www.audioblog.com.
As an added benefit, you can get these calls transcribed; then convert the word doc to a PDF file which you can either give away, or sell, in exchange for people’s email address. www.CastingWords.com is a fast, affordable transcription service.
