F.O.R.M. (Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Message)

The Truth: We Love To Tell OUR Stories

Have you ever been in a situation where you just met someone new and there is an awkward silence in the room because neither one of you knows exactly what to say? Here is an interesting fact, people love to talk about themselves. Crazy, right?

If you look at a group picture, where you are also included, who is the first person you look for? Yourself, of course. Well, conversations with people are no different. Each one of us has a story to tell, but it's our job (as the listener) to get them to tell that story.

In the sales industry, or just when someone is working to be better at networking, I found that people use a technique called F.O.R.M. to break the ice on new relationships.

What Does F.O.R.M. Mean?

Ok, you're probably asking, "What is it and what does it mean?" F.O.R.M., which is an acronym that stands for Family (or from), Occupation, Recreation, and Message (money or motivation), is an easy way to build rapport with new people and carry a conversation from an awkward silence to a comfortable engagement.

The way F.O.R.M. works is by striking up a conversation with someone and using one of the four letters as a guide for what topics to discuss. Here is an example of how you might use F.O.R.M. in your next conversation. Imagine that you just met someone in the grocery store. As you both are waiting in line for the cashier to check you out, this might be a random (but quite standard) conversation.

Example Conversation

You: Wow! Those are some pretty neat shoes you got there. Where did you get them from?

Note: Notice that I started with a compliment? Paying someone a compliment is always a great way to break the ice. However, it is important to be sincere. Don't compliment someone if you don't truly feel that way.

Them: Oh, yeah! Thanks. I grabbed these on sale over at the Nike Factory.
You: Really. How much did you get them for?
Them: They were originally going for $200, but I bought these for $25.
You: Wow! That really is a good deal. I'm going to need to learn from you how to shop. (Laugh)
Them: (Laughing)
You: So, where are you from?

Note: I just moved from a compliment over to the first letter (F).

Them: I'm from Seattle. You?
You: I'm from Tacoma. Who do you know from Tacoma?
Them: I know tons of people...(this could go on for a while)

Note: For the sake of this example, let me move on to the next letter (O).

You: So, what do you do for a living?
Them: I'm an aviation engineer with Boeing.
You: Nice! How did you get into that line of work?
Them: (They respond with a story)

Note: Continuing with the conversation, I'll move on to the letter (R).

You: So, what do you do for fun?
Them: I like to shop, eat, and read books on hamster breeding.
You: Wow! I've never met a real life hamster breeder. (Ask another question here)

Note: At this point, you should see how it works. Since I've gone through each letter, let me finish with (M). For those interested in the conversation, topic, or person, this is probably when you'd say something about staying in contact. Remember, we are in a grocery line, so this conversation can only be so long. However, if you find that you do want to keep it going, moving to "M" is a great way to stay connected.

You: Listen, it's almost my turn to check out. I am really interested in hearing more about this hamster breeding idea. Would it be okay to exchange numbers so I can hear more about it?
Them: Absolutely!

What do you think? Easy enough, right?

For some, this may take some practice. The good news is that you can do this with people you don't know and people you know well. It's just a strategy for connecting with someone quickly and painlessly.

To help understand how easy this strategy is in building relationships with people, review the list of example questions that one can ask during a casual conversation. 

Family

• Where are you from?
• Where did you go to high school or college?
• How many kids do you have? What are their names and ages?
• Are you married? What is your spouse’s name?

Occupation

• What kind of work do you do?
• What do you like about your job?
• What do you like least about your job?
• How long have you been working there?
• How did you get started in that field?

Recreation

• What kind of things do you do for fun?
• Where would you like to vacation if money was not required?
• What are some of your favorite places in the world?
• What do you do to relieve stress?
• What's the most exciting thing you've ever done?

Message

Once you have built rapport with someone, the message portion of F.O.R.M. is really your transition toward booking a meeting from a meeting (BAMFAM). Assuming that you like the person that you're talking with, and you actually want to stay in contact with them, use one of the following statements to reconnect.

A good way to transition may be like this, “I couldn’t help but overhear that you [dont’ like your job, need more money, or want to vacation more], let me ask you a question...[use one of the questions below]”

• Do you mind if we exchange numbers and talk more about it?
• Do you keep your income options open?
• Are you open to the idea of earning some extra money part time?
• Are you open to earning a couple thousand dollars a month part time?
• Are you open to the idea of traveling more for less?
• If I found a way to [fill in the blank], would you want to know about it?

While for those in the sales industry may find the message portion quite valuable, the message can be simply used to reconnect on a personal (not business) level. For personal, simply exchange numbers or figure out how the two of you can connect again.

Secret Sauce: Listening

While F.O.R.M. may have gained popularity in the sales industry, the strategy is just as relevant in life. The key to success in talking with anyone is to be an active listener. 

What is an active listener? It's when you ask questions and actually take part in listening to the answer. Instead of using a question to impose your will and story upon them, take a moment to understand what the other person is sharing. The next question you ask should be built on what the other person just said.

It is important to understand that shooting off questions without giving a piece of your story can feel like an interrogation. So, get good at finding that balance between talking all the time, listening all the time, and a real conversation (ebb and flow of ideas). 

For those who are in sales, how can you ever begin to help people solve their problems if you don't know what their problems are? You have to take an active listening approach to first understand before you seek to be understood. 

Anywho, I hope this article on F.O.R.M. is helpful. I would love to hear your thoughts or experiences in the comment section below.

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• My Strategy for Building a Solid, Meaningful, and Relevant Network
• BAMFAM (Book A Meeting, From A Meeting)

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WorldVenture's Greensboro Regional Training Event (August 2013)

WorldVentures, the worlds best travel club, regularly hosts the Regional Training Event (RTE) around the globe. Yesterday, I attended the RTE in Greensboro, NC, which allowed me to learn from the company's top trainers, Dave Watson and Mike Marich.

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WorldVentures 4-Minute Napkin Presentation

Speaker: Dave Watson
Event: Greensboro Regional Training Event (RTE)

The whole goal of the presentation is to help someone make a wise decision.

There three key pieces:

Column One

• DT Membership
• 700-800 trips a year
• $69 cruise
• $94 Las Vegas
• $199 Cancun

If it were true that you could take a $69 cruise, did I capture your attention? What are we trying to do? We trying to close the gate and lead them to where we want them to go. We're just trying to get a positive affirmation. Who wouldn't want that lifestyle?

Column Two

• Rovia
• Travel website
• Price Pledge
• Rate Shrinker
• Cost: $200 + $54/mo
• Refer 4 pay no more
• DreamTrips Rewards

The second column is about Rovia (technology). This is like saying that you own a travel website similar to Travelocity. How cool would it be to have that? Do you think that some people would want to hear about this?

How many times have people said, "Yes!" A whole bunch.

Ask a bunch of questions that lead to a "Yes!" That's pretty good isn't it?

Column Three

• Business Model
• Direct commission
• Team commission
• ___ many said, "Yes" turned into a 102,000 people
• Residual income
• BMW
• Cost: 100 + 11/mo
• Total cost: $356 + $66/mo

Pretty simple, right? I've seen a lot of things over the years. However, I've never seen anything in travel and definitely never a company that provides a product that costs less than any place else.

Dave asked, "Did you ever think that I could grow this thing into a 102,000 people from a town of only 72?"

For some people, this is unbelievable. Dave Watson uses this presentation all of the time on a Starbucks napkin, even one with coffee stains on them.

TIP: If you want to get stinking rich, you have to keep showing the presentation until it becomes natural. If you haven't reached your goal, keep going.

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WorldVentures Is Like The Matrix

Event: Greensboro Regional Training Event (August 2013)
Speaker: Michael Marich

In the beginning, Michael Marich didn't go to training. It took him 8 months before he actually went. The people on his team were ranking up before he was. He figured that the only difference between him and his team was that he wasn't going to training.

Mike's first Regional Training Event (RTE) was with Bethany Webster. From this training, he left with 6 people and then his team dramatically changed from there.

The four main events WorldVentures provides are: Momentum, United, Millionaire Boot Camp, and then A View from the Edge.

The one that moved him the most was A View from the Edge. It was life changing.

Michael explains that our job in WorldVentures is to "Help people that used to be blind to see."

Did you know that the Matrix is all about network marketing?

In the movie, Morpheus was looking for the "ONE." He believed that Neo was the ONE and that he would change everything.

Neo was invited at least four different times in the movie.

1. Wake up NEO, follow the white rabbit.
2. The second time was at the bar. 
3. The third time was by a cell phone at work. 
4. The fourth time, he is in a car and Trinity says that you've been down this road before. 

How many have given up after three calls? Hands go up all around the room.

Mike talks about David Pietsch who was invited 21 times before he joined.

How many people have a list? When do you take people off the list? Answer: Until they say, "Yes."

Dream Stealers
A great example of a time stealer is Agent Smith.

Presenting/Enrolling
Morpheus presented to Neo and asked him to take the red or blue pill. Or, put another way, he was asked the question, "Are you in or are you out?"

Training
Like Neo, we have to go through training. We have to get the information and belief into people's heads. These trainings include Super Saturdays, Regional Training Events, and Big Events. For Mike, it only took one event to change his life.

Cycle of MasteryThere are four things we can do:

• Potential
• Action
• Results
• Reinforces Belief

POTENTIAL leads to ACTION which leads to RESULTS which leads to REINFORCES BELIEF which leads back to POTENTIAL

Dave Watson, a very successful International Marketing Director (IMD), only sponsored 25 personals, but his team now has over 102,000 people.

Last night, we learned that WorldVentures isn't even out of the formulation stage, yet. Some say the company is in concentration, but we're not.

Pleasure vs. Pain
People do things for less pain. As a result, learn to use "pain and pleasure" instead of "pain and pleasure" using you.

The pain is watching someone that you know walk across the stage after they have joined a different team. The way you hand pleasure and pain will affect you life.

Handling Objections

• No experience
• Pyramid scheme
• Not a sales person
• Etc. 

Quitters
People are going to quit. Will you remember the names of the people who quit? Mike doesn't. He only concentrates on the people who stay.

Who are your 5?
You're income is the average of the top five people you hang around. If you're the top of your group they will pull you down. You have to be at the bottom of the group. Find people to hang out with. Listen to people like Les Brown, Dave Ulloa, Johnny Wimbrey, Ed Blunt, and Dave Watson. Make them your friends by listening to their audio.

Where else can you find those types of people? Find people at events like the RTE and big events.

"Without a strong why you will quit." Find out what your "Why" is.

"You can have excuses, you can have results, but you cannot have both."

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Dear Network Marketers: What In The World Are You Doing?

Last night, after attending the Man of Steel premiere at the Regal Cinemas Brier Creek in Raleigh, North Carolina. I had an unexpected and thought-provoking conversation with a friend who works at the theater.

The discussion began with a review of the movie, but then quickly led to a tour of the upstairs projector room. As a lover of technology, I found the tour to be quite impressive. However, it wasn't the technology that made our conversation memorable. No, it was the heartfelt story that he shared with me that left a long-lasting impression.

In short, my friend opened up about his life and the challenges that he has faced over the years. Much of who he has become today, good or bad, was the result of his past. Isn't that true of us all? I recall learning years ago that "the boy is the father to the man."

As my friend brought his tale to an end, he made it a point to express gratitude for the business that we're in and the people we've surrounded ourselves with. What keeps him going when times get tough are all the positive friendships and words of encouragement that he receives on a daily basis.

At that very moment, I began to think of the work we do and how we are ultimately helping people to change their lives for the better. Thanks to our company's culture, we help people experience more fun, freedom, and fulfillment.

• Fun can be the byproduct of surrounding yourself with great people that enjoy doing what you like doing.
• Freedom has many meanings, but I see it as a way to live a life without slavery to debt or a career that you hate. Financial freedom, time freedom, and the freedom of choice is a great way to live.
• Fulfillment is the feeling of accomplishment. The state of being fulfilled can come through service to others or through achieving your goals.

How Are We Helping Others?

Spending that hour with my friend helped me see the value of network marketing and the "doing life together" approach that it promotes. However, I couldn't finish this post without first highlighting a few takeaway thoughts and action items.

Be A Storyteller

The answer to the question, "How are we helping others?" became clear while my friend shared his story with me. See, in the industry of network marketing, personal development is what leads to both financial and personal success. The act of working on the inner (wo)man leads to empowerment, confidence, and a bunch of other rewards. For my friend, and for us too, sharing his story openly with the world may serve as the bridge between where he is today and where he wants to go tomorrow.

As business owners and independent representatives of a network marketing company, our role is to share "the message" with others. To do so, we need to talk with people. We need to tell our stories and the stories of those who are succeeding.

Be Vulnerable

Up until this conversation with my friend, my story was very much guarded and safe. Today, I have come to understand the importance of being open and vulnerable. Regardless of how it might look or what others might say about me, one of the biggest reasons people venture into network marketing is to change their lives for the better. Therefore, we need to express the magnitude of our transformations by being willing to share our fears, hopes, challenges, and successes.

Additionally, by giving a piece of ourselves, we not only create a connection between our audience, as they may have a similar experience, but we also help ourselves relax, relate, and release. Think of it like a support group. Each time we tell our story, we slowly let go of the past and learn to move on. Beyond that, one never knows what people are struggling with in their lives and how our journey may be the one thing that changes everything for them.

You're Helping, Not Hurting

One final thought about sharing "the message" with people is that some believe we're just trying to sell a product or service. What I have come to realize is that we're really offering people a chance to find hope and a better life. What network marketing has become for me is a company offering a product with personal development at its core.

Let me ask you this question, "If you had the cure for ending cancer or AIDS, would you share it or hoard it?" I believe the answer most would give is to SHARE it. So it is with "the message." Think of your effort as providing a life-changing solution to someone's wants, needs, and desires. Let's not hoard the goodness by keeping it solely for ourselves, but let's be passionate about sharing it with others. Cool?

"You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want." ~ Zig Ziglar

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Live Blogging Triangle AMA Digital Marketing Training Camp: Converting Existing Visitors To Customers

Gregory Ng

Speaker: Gregory Ng

Agenda

1. Unicorns
2. 3 First Steps to Start Testing
3. 10 Things you can do this year

Bonus: Book Givaways

E-commerce websites report an average conversion rate of 2.2%. Anything you want your customer to do on your website is considered a conversion.

The issue is that nobody ever things about the other 97.8%.

Companies on average spend more money on traffice acquisition than optimization (88:1). This is the wrong ratio.

If we had a budget of 100,000 the majority of that would be used on advertising and the remaining percentage was used on thinking about the business. This is so wrong.

A Case for Optimization
As companies, we spend more money on getting more people into the funnel instead of taking care of those already in the funnel.

C = M+rV+rO/F+A=>1

Conversion, Motivation, Relevance of value Prop, Revl of Offer, Friction, and Anxiety

Relevance = The right message to the right customer at the right time.

3 First Steps

1. Believe in Data (this includes everyone in the company...hunches never trumps real data)
2. You must Learn (Have/build the culture and always learning about your customer)
3. Stay on Target (Know the keys for success and stay on that path. Know the metrics.)

10 Ideas To Use in 2012

1. Don't treat everyone like it's their first visit (what you look for the second visit isn't the same as if it were you're first time)
2. Create ways for visitors to self-select (track usage and optimize)
3. Use geo-targeting to deliver relevant messages
4. Speak their language (use the data to determine what's going on)
5. Use online behavior to trigger marketing messages (should be built into CRM strategy)
6. Use the weather (use weather widgets to offer specific items)
7. Use dayparting in your Paid Search (if not, you should be. Hire data analysts!)
8. Don't assume what works for others works for you (start with assumptions, but use data to prove it)
9. Consider the device...and your data 
10. Use "relevant messaging" to meet goals

5 T's Of Testing

1. Team (that's committed to testing)
2. Trust (in the data and in the tests)
3. Technology (have the right technology)
4. Traffic (you have to have the volume to test)
5. Time (give time to test)

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Live Blogging Triangle AMA Digital Marketing Training Camp 2012: Search Engine and Landing Page Optimization

Speaker: Jenny Halasz

Jenny Halasz

The question is how do we get in front of the search engines? Jenny says that's not as important and we'll talk about that today.

What is SEO?
Mrs. Halasz starts with a story. She talks about going into the doctor's office. Knowing that she would be at bed rest after the procedure, she stopped by Blockbuster. They were closed.

Her sister told her about Redbox, which she never used before. While waiting at the doctors office, she jumped online via the mobile device. Step-by-step, she goes from visiting the web site to downloading the mobile app. Once she finished that step, she walked through renting a movie from the app to picking it up at the kiosk.

Must Haves of SEO

• Must be seen
• Must be relevant
• Must motivate a click

By using the Triangle AMA web site as a reference, Jenny points out things that could be done better. The first thing is starting with meta description. This will allow you to control what shows up in the Google search result.

Keyword Research
While logged into Google, you can personalize search results. If you're doing business under the old model, then you're doing it wrong.

Fundamentals of Usability
Jacob Neilson is the "father of usability testing." What we've learned is that we read web pages from top to bottom, left to right.

Looking at Walmart's web site. They have a top bar and left navigation bar. This is done right.

Keep It Short And Sweet
We don't consume web sites in the same way we consume books. The average user only reads 8 words before they decide to read. Tip: Get to the point quickly!

Make Your Page Load Quickly
When you look at how fast your page loads, this can determine how your page ranks in search engines.

Conflicting Information (Friction)
Similar to road signs that say merge left, but instruct user to turn right. Our web pages should provide instructions on where you want people to go. Tip: Tell the customer where you need them to go.

Persona
Use to identify what your customer needs. This allows you to understand your customers.

Motivation and Value Proposition
Using FreeCreditReport.com as an example, they provide a reason for you to order the report and they then  provide the value. "Look, you can protect yourself for only $2.99"

Motivation - What problem are you trying to solve? What are we at risk of losing if we don't buy this product.

Value Proposition - What will it take to solve that problem? How much?

Call to Action
It's important to have a call to action.

Remember - "User-Centered Design is ROI"

R = Reduce friction and unsupervised thought

O = Obvious motivation

I = Interact with clear call to action

Closing Thought

Take a look at your current web site. What is it that you want your customer to do? The truth is 90% instinct.

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Live Blogging Trianagle AMA Digital Marketing Training Camp 2012: Deliver Amazing Customer Service With Social Media

Speaker: Peter Shankman

Peter starts by talking about his story. He studied fashion and photography in Santa Barbra, California. What he learned early on was that humor is important. Therefore, feel free to share on Twitter or Facebook anything he says. He's ok with that. His Twitter handle is @petershankman.

One of his first jobs was working for AOL.com. He was an editor back in 2005 for News Today, but he had no clue as to what he was doing. After a couple of years at AOL, he went back to New York.

In the summer of 1998, he lived in New York City with no money. He talks about how he started his business. Using his rent money, bought  and sold 500 t-shirts to people that hated the movie The Titanic. The t-shirt read, "It Sunk. Get Over It!" He ended up making a profitable return on that investment.

In response to the popularity of the t-shirt, he sold over 10,000 items at $15. He ended up making over $100,000, which he used to build his marketing firm. The sheer number of sales put a strain on his web servers. In addition, he was later called to talk with a national radio host.

Lesson: You have to own what you do and make sure you brand the heck out of it. If you don't someone else will take the idea.

Everyone tells you to have a backup plan when you fail. Instead, Peter says that you should have a backup plan for when you succeed. He shares a story about how he created a video (shown below) that got really popular online. Unfortunately, he never branded the video. As a result, he could have furthered his companies brand.

If you cannot see the video, click here.

Another lesson is that nobody cares how awesome you are if YOU are the one telling them. However, if you let someone else say that your awesome, then it carries much more weight.

"I'm So Adjective, I Verb Nouns!!!"

In 2005, Peter created a website that allows people to choose their airline partners. The service is called Airtroductions. Not long after he built it, he talks about a producer of a reality television show that wanted to use his services to hook up people on the show. He agreed.

After the show aired, he earned 50,000 new members. So, what started as a business networking site quickly changed into a dating site. As a result, he changed the logos and branding to better align with customers.

"You are not in control of your company. Not your board of directors. The ones that control your company is the customer." Peter Shankman. Amazon learned this lesson and so should you.

Helpreporter.com is another website that held a mailing list for PR people. Similar to previous stories, the web site took off and it made considerable amount of money. It was later acquired in 2010. It's still a free web site.

Transparency

Peter changes topics and talks about Senator Obama during his race for the White House. The point is being transparent. During a number of talk show interviews, he owned the conversation because of his transparency. It's not a question of if you'll screw up, but when. However, if you own it and get in front of it, you will be loved.

An example of this is Weiner. Instead of waiting three weeks denying, he should have admitted to it and moved on.

Sometimes, when you're trying to be transparent, you have to go outside of your comfort zone. Peter talks about a guy that took a nude picture of himself to sell a product. He created a large ad that amassed huge amounts of attention.

Relevance 
How many of you get your news from newspapers, tv, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, or podcasts? We are in a world that is media fractured. The average age Nightly News today is "Dead." In the 50's, the average age was in the 30's.

The problem is this, how do we reach our audience when they're fractured? Ask them. The more you know about them, the better you can serve them. Know how to market to your audience.

In the mid-west, Peter worked for a nonprofit. One of the organizers sent him a coffee table book? He says that he doesn't even own a coffee table. So he calls the organization and says why did you send me a book instead of an online version? According to research...blah, blah, blah.

They took a year to ask every customer about what they wanted. They found that by offering an online solution, they increased their donations even in a down economy.

Brevity
MTV brought entertainment in the 1980's via music videos down to 3 minute increments. Peter would give his right arm to talk with an audience with a 3 minute attention span. Today, our attention span is only 2.6 seconds. The length of attention in a written form is 140 characters, this is the length of a text message.

If Twitter is not careful, they can become the next Pets.com. They have to make money.

"Embrace the concept, not the brand"

Text messaging became popular because September 1911 and American Idol. Even Peter's parents have adopted the text message, but they haven't grasped the concept of Twitter. Just because we think it is a good idea, doesn't mean it is. We live in a bubble.

How do you reach an audience when they're attention span is so short? The answer is "Learn to Write." Bad writing is destroying our country. It's not our attention span, but our writing skills.

"Good writing is brevity. Brevity is social media." 

Be Top Of Mind
He talks about an executive that goes through his Roladex and says, "Hi!" In 3 months, he had gone through his entire list of friends. Four times a year, he talks with everyone in his list.

How many of you say "Happy Birthday?" We are doing a horrible job of managing our social network. Reach out to people on your network that you haven't spoken too in 6 months. If you cannot reach out to them at least every 4 months, then you need to disconnect with them because it will destroy your network. Reach out to your people when you don't want anything.

Peter believes that Facebook will win out over Google+. Last year, he earned a great deal of new customers because of his friend's friend.

When he first meets someone, he gets their phone number and puts it in their phone. Touch point 2 and 3 is when Peter text's the new contact and asks them to go out to get a drink. Touch point 4 and 5 is when Facebook realizes you have met in person. Touch point 6 and 7 is when you say thank you for hanging out. Touch point 8 and 9 is when they begin to hang out more. Touch point 10 and 11 is when Peter and this new contact start dating.

He says all this to say that Facebook recognizes the number of touch points people have with one another.  While we may still be friends online, the Network notices the changes in relationships. It all comes back to customer service. Your relationship with someone affects your relationship with their connections. It's all connected.

The concept of customer service is doing the things that nobody notices. It's called social media but Peter wants us to call it social udia. That means it is not about YOU but them. Take out the letter "I" from your updates.

If you are not shaking things up (having haters) than you are not doing enough to change the status quo.

Final Thoughts
Have fun and live in the moment. Use basic common sense. Most of us expected to be mistreated. If you treat your customers one level better than crap and people will remember you. Treat your customers well and they will do your PR for you. That is the new PR. It is getting others to tell everyone how great YOU are. That is social media.

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Liveblogging IndieConf: Low and No Cost Marketing and Public Relations Tools - Tactics & Techniques

Presenter: Neil Tortorella

What Marketing Is & Isn't

• What marketing is
• Marketing is everything you do to warm up the playing field for sales
• Every touch point forms your image... your brand... in the minds of your audience
• It's how your marketing materials look and what they say (what differentiate you from the others)
• It's how you answer the phone
• It's your business' interior design and even how you dress
• Every point of contact with your audience builds on the next
• It's done in a planned way
• Marketing is building awareness
• Sales is closing the deal

Problems with Marketing

• Not doing anything
• Not understanding your audience and focusing on their needs (they don't care about YOU)
• Placing all your hopes and dreams in one activity
• Not having a plan
• Not focusing on a niche or specialty
• Not actively marketing when you're at your busiest
• Being a nervous rabbit
• Not understanding that marketing takes time
• Not having a referral system in place
• Not marketing to current clients / customers
• Forgetting that whatever your business is about and what you do it is really all about marketing

Advertising

• Based on multiple impressions (people have to see it multiple times)
• Requires a strong offer (it must entice the prospect to call you)
• Trackable with codes, coupons, etc. 
• Choose media cafefully - Is there a lot of waste?
• It's expsensive
• Brand advertising is not effective for small businesses

Direct Response

• Also requires a strong offer
• Have a secondary offer
• Focus on benefits, not features - prospects want to know what's in it for them
• Build your own list (it can be time consuming, but it's better than buying a list from someone else)
• Response rates typically run between .5% - 2%
• Always follow up by phone (don't sell all your products at once)

Website

• Make sure the content reflects the value you bring to people (it's not about YOU)
• Content is king
• Have a website and optimize it for the search engines
• Backlinks (incoming links to your site)
• Optimize page titles with keywords
• Use Google's Keyword Tool to find what your prospects are using for search terms
• Metadata in place

E-Newsletters, Blogs, & Social Media

• E-newsletters
• Email marketing yields over $43 for every dollar spent
• What can you do with it?
• Build relationships
• Provide tips, how-tos, and articles
• Distribute business news releases
• Promote special offers to subscribers
• Blogs
• Builds community
• Easy web publishing solution
• Aids in search engine rank and results
• Low cost
• Passive revenue (adsense, Amazon, or affiliates)
• Generate publicity
• Aids in expert position
• Easily syndicated
• Easy to use (Blogger or WordPress)
• Develop engaging, relevant content that's useful to your audience
• Develop content in advance & schedule future posts
• Submit blog to Technorati and other blog search engines
• Cross-promote blog and e-newsletter with social media, discussion groups, etc.
• Post often to stay visible
• Discussion Groups/Forums
• Find where your audience hangs out
• Be active - post questions, answer questions, links, resources, etc.
• Use a signature to promote site, blog, e-newsletter, etc.
• Public Relations
• Build a media list
• Standard Rate & Data
• Check newspapers, magazines at booksellers for editor and writer contacts
• Develop a press kit
• Backgrounder
• Key personnel bios with headshots
• Products/Services info
• Brochures, catalogs, etc.
• High resolution images (300 dpi)
• Logos (vector format - Illustrator, eps, FreeHand)
• Spot color, RGB, and CMYK
• Most recent news releases
• Authentic news
• Think like a report (5W's)
• Most important infor at the top (editors cut from the bottom)
• Use online release syndicates to gain backlinks to your site
• Become consistent news source for editors and reporters
• Writing articles
• Start with tip sheet - "Top 10 reasons..."
• Good for handouts, downloads on site, secondary mailing offer
• Gather tip sheets into articles
• Gather blog posts into articles
• Focus on common audience problems/needs
• Be conversational (write like you talk)
• Interviews
• Excellent way to position yourself as an expert
• Subscribe to services as PRLeads.com, HelpAReporterOut.com & Reporters Source
• Connects experts with writers looking for quotes & interviewees
• When possible get questions prior to interview
• Do your homework - prepare, then prepare some more
• Speaking engagements
• "Stressful things to do list"
• Great way to position yourself as an expert
• Puts you in front of a captive audience
• Rehearse
• Join Toastmasters to hone your speaking skills
• Speak at Rotary and other business gatherings - they are always looking for speakers
• Networking
• Look for places where your audience hangs out.
• Look for educational events
• Volunteer
• Folks see how you work
• Good for generating news for releases

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Liveblogging IndieConf: Content Strategy - A Framework for Marketing Success

Presenter: Laura Creekmore (@LauraCreekmore)

Marketing today involves analytics. However, there is an issue with having too much data to make sense of it all.

Avoid HiPPO prevails (Highest Paid Person's Opinion Prevails).

Why Content Strategy?
How most businesses view content...it's what comes after everything else.

Instead, we should look at content as a business asset. Business goals MUST come first.

But I'm Not in the Content Business: Rebuttal
Everybody is in the content business. If you're selling a product, then the product information is THE CONTENT.

Even if you're selling something else. The quality really affects the customer experience.

Content Strategy, Step by Step

• The Diagnosis
• The Cure

Diagnosis: Inventory

• You're going to need a spreadsheet
• List everything you've got
• No, everything
• Yes, that too.
• For a comprehensive inventory, list content from all channels
• Capture process too
• Site crawlers can be helpful
• Check your CMS for useful functionality
• Even on a small project, you'll start to see issues at this point

Diagnosis: Analyze

What your're looking for:

• ROT: Redundant, out-dated, trivial content
• Unclear/inaccurate messaging
• Signs of inefficient process: Creating similar content repeatedly
• Gaps: What's missing?
• Note characteristics  (Headline, copy with links, images, etc) 
• Look for places where you can find additional resources for content
• Group like items (customer groups, for example)
• Review the website and the backend UXs
• See through your user's eyes
• See through your editor's eyes
• Is your site navigation the same as your org chart? If so, then you're doing it wrong. Customers don't call things the same as employees.
• Does your back-end system work for you?
• Metadata: Information about your content (title, creation date, creator id, character limit, body, keywords, section, categories, and image URL)
• Taxonomy: Hierarchy of content (navigation for one)

Cure: Optimize Tools

• Get the technology right
• Simple = Often better
• Metadata and taxonomy are your friends

Cure: Define Process
Don't over-process (read it, tweak it, get sign-off from legal, etc.). The answer is to hire the right people and let them do the work.

The Final Step
Plan for day 2. This is a plan for that which happens AFTER the site launches.

Content Strategy: Changing Life for the Better
It's not the holy grail!

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Liveblogging IndieConf: Publishing as Marketing

Presenter: Denise Kiernan (www.denisekiernan.com and @deniseKiernan)

The title of the presentation, "Spreading the Word: Publishing as a Marketing Tool."

Denise and her husband, Joseph D'Agnese, authored, The Money Book for Freelancers, Part-Timers, & the Self_Employed.

This presentation will address how to write a book that can drum up new business.

Make sure to take into account all of your personal experiences.

Why write a book?

• Promote your business.
• Establish credentials as an expert.
• Make money.

Don't rely on the media...

• Newspaper ad revenue has fallen 92% in 10 years.
• 47% Americans get their local news on mobile device.
• Readers don't pay for news on tablets and newspaper devices
• 75%  of U.S. adults unwilling to pay for news. 

Become the media.

Traditional publishing

• Write a book or proposal
• Land an agent
• Agent sells to publisher
• Get advance: $$$
• Publisher assumes all costs
• Profit: Publisher gets 85-90%: you get 10-15%

Self-Publishing Print

• Author writes book - for free
• Author assumes all costs ($0 to several thousand)
• Author uploads to: Lulu.com, CreateSpace.com, Lightningsource.com
• Print on demand (POD) - a copy of the book doesn't get created until someone buys one.
• Profit: Amazon takes 40%, author "60%"

Dead trees cost

• Printing cost* = $0.85 = .012 per page
• From retail cost, subtract Amazon's cut minus print cost!
• 13.95 minus 5.58 (40%) minus $4.45 = $4.92 (28% profit)
• Just pricing your product higher doesn't mean more people are going to buy it. Who are you?

Digital Publishing

When asked how many people had digital e-readers. The majority raised their hands. Do more people read with e-readers? From Denise's experience, they do.

• (Traditional: Publisher pays, takes most $$)
• Self-Pub: You pay  - less - and take most $$
• Both: No print, no paper, no shipping, no inventory, no dead trees!
• You are selling a digital file!

Digital Self-Publishing profit model

• $2.99 and up: Vendor takes 30%, you get 70%*
• under $2.99: Vendor takes 65%, you get 35%*

*If you have a traditional deal, you split the 70% or 35% profit with your publisher.

The App Effect
Price e-Book $0 to $2.99

• Is this book any good? (Good reviews, everyone's talking about it, I've heard of the author.)
• Do I like the price? (Yes!)

There are a lot of people who make money at the .99 price point. It's about volume.

What's best for my business?

• Content
• Audience
• Expectations

You need to know who your customers are. Know what content they read. Depending upon those variables, the answer to what's best depends on the answer to that question. There is not one shoe that fits everyone.

Think of a book as a way to market your business. Sure, money from a book is good, but think of the book as a big brochure.

Anything can be a book

• Customer service
• Designer diet

Career in mind (Customer Service)

• Goal-driven approach
• Be your own product
• Worked the clout

Donna Cutting decided to do some speaking locally, but she knew that she wanted to write a book. Her goal was to be a professional speaker. By writing a book, this product helped her do what she wanted. It gave her an opportunity to talk about customer service. 

In doing research, she realized that very few were writing about customer service. The author wrote a book that gathered all the best practices from experts in the field.  She added to her expertise by learning from others. Donna went the traditional route. Writing a print book gave her clout to address the audience she wanted.

Having a print book on-hand allowed her to sell books at the speaking engagements. The book sold well, but it gave her more speaking jobs. It was perfect!

Expanding on experience (the 9-Inch Diet)

• Use what you have, push your boundaries
• Find your audience in a creative way
• Get personal and specific

Denise talks about another author who addresses the 9-Inch Diet. In the old days, our plates were 9-inches. Today, we have 12+ inch plates. In his new house, his current plate (12+ inches) did not fit in the cupboards because they were too big. By eating on 9-inch plates, his family lost weight.

Adding value to your service

• A new twist on customer care
• Captive audience
• Leverage your reach

Talks about a doctor who has a private practice in Palm Springs. His expectations were to 1) He had a lot to say about customer care in the industry and he wanted to be called on as an expert for talk shows (like a Dr. Oz.

He decided to do print because he wanted to give away to customers as an added bonus. Charging $10,000 for his practice, adding a book was just a perk. He too, also did print through self-publish.

Break it down. Spin it off. (The Wealthy Freelancer)

• Create free "buzz" while building your brand 
• Ancillary products may be sold for far more than the price of your book
• Repurpose your efforts

It's a blog turned into a PDF. It sits on your web site for an easy download. By giving you really valueable information, all I ask is for your e-mail address.  By doing all of this, you grow a really large e-mail list. Any new buzz piece that you do, you send it out to the list. This then, in turn, gets more people back to your site.

When I get you to the web site, I offer a book, free buzz pieces, or a paid DVD course. The free item gets them in the door (buzz pieces) where you can show them your paid offerings.

When you have done 5-10 buzz pieces, you can simply put them together in a book (get a neat book design and sell it for $1.99).

Bundle It. Sell It. Bump It.

• Added exposure potential - bump.
• "Tip" format popular
• Easily adapted for online media outlets

Mashable took information from small publishers and web sites to create "20 Free ebooks and White Papers for Better Web Design." This demonstrates that even small time content creators can eventually get picked up in book stores. This means additional publicity. Remember: Blogs don't get into book stores. However, do an e-book and it may get picked up. All of this generates business.

You can sell e-books or give it away for free. 

Going the traditional route

• Write a proposal (Write the perfect Book Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why) 
• Find an agent (www.writersmarket.com)

Superstar e-Book authors/gurus

• Amanda Hocking (amandahocking.blogspot.com)
• J.a. Konrath (jakonrath.blogspot.com)
• Robin Sullivan (write2publish.blogspot.com)

Cover artists

• Carl Graves (extendedimagery.blogspot.com)
• Joroen Ten Berge (jeroentenberge.com)
• Jeremy Robinson (Jermemyrobinsonsonline.com)
• $350 to $850 for a book cover

e-Book Formatters

• Rob Siders (52novels.com)
• eBook Architects

Monetize your content!

• Kindle direct 
• Pub It!
• iTunes Connect
• Lean Pub

Copy editors

• $25-$35 per hour (About 5 pages/hour)
• $1,000 to $1,750 for 200-250 page book
• Check with Editorial Freelancers Associations (www.the-efa.org)

Why would you do all of this? Recipies!

Do a proposal for a book! A young lady wrote a book and says how do I get it published? She said, "Write a proposal!" 

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Earn Email Subscribers With The Right Cheese

For over a year, I have been toying with the idea of an email newsletter. Back in January 2010, I wrote an article entitled, "Why I Started an E-Mail Newsletter." In the post, I explain my reasons for getting one, which include: To connect with readers and help build a loyal reader base.

Starting out, I decided to use VerticalResponse. However, the more I read up on email marketing, the more I realized that I lacked a very important feature: autoresponders.

Since then, I have moved to iContact, which is a local company based out of Morrisville, NC. With iContact, I can automatically offer subscribers a gift for subscribing. The question is, what is the right gift?

What Is The Right Gift?
Many of the articles on email marketing recommend an ebook, white paper, podcast, webinar, or report in exchange for a reader's email address. My first offering was an ebook entitled, "Embracing Twitter...So It'll Embrace You Back," which I wrote with a number of other phenomenal authors. Unfortunately, the book didn't return very many subscriptions.

In hindsight, maybe it had something to do with my particular audience. I can only assume that half of my readers already use Twitter while the other half don't care. For whatever reason, the gift wasn't the right one.

So, how does one find the right gift? Well, I started by looking at Google Analytics.

Based upon the numbers, I noticed that "Tim Ferris Slow Carb Diet" and "slow carbs" were trending terms since December 2010. As a result, blog posts matching those topics did really well.

Then, it hit me. What if I provide new subscribers with a gift related to slow carbs? I know, how about this free cookbook?

Within the hour, I replaced all mentions of the Twitter ebook with a cookbook on slow carbs.

"How did it do?" you ask. "Wonderful!" would be my reply.

In response to the new gift, I earned six subscribers within the first day. I don't think I got six in the first month  using my Twitter ebook. Days following the change, I have continued to produce new subscribers regularly.

What's The Takeaway?
Looking back over this recent change in campaigns, the lesson I walked away with is this, "Give people what they want." The question you need to answer is, "What do your readers want?"

There many ways to secure an answer, I'll share a few ideas with you now:

• Popular blog articles: Take a look at your most popular articles. In my case, readers are hungry for information surrounding the slow carb diet. For you and your readers it may be something else.
• Popular keyword searches: Look at your site's analytics and identify the most searched keywords. Often, this will give you insight toward what people are looking for. 
• Survey: Probably the easiest thing you can do is to ask your readers what they want. Consider using the new Facebook Questions or ask readers to leave responses in the comment section.

Once you know what people are looking for, give it to them. Find something that matches their interest and share generously. Remember, it doesn't have to be gigantic or long, just provide some information that will answer questions or solve problems.

Let me know how it works out for you. Good luck! 

Feedback

So, what do you think? If you're currently providing a newsletter or managing an email list, what works for you? What kinds of gifts work best? What other ways do you identify need? Let's discuss in the comment section below.

Related Posts

• Why I Started an E-Mail Newsletter
• I Have a Newsletter, Now What?

Photo credit: navotamari

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The Benefits of Meeting Face-to-Face

It has been nearly a month since I made the change. Instead of communicating through e-mails and telephone calls, I have done my best to get in front of clients and talk with them face to face. The results are amazing.

I'm not sure when I stopped doing it, but at some point the in-person meetings downgraded to something less personable. Looking back, communication on campus became more challenging because I neglected their meeting preference. I ushered it off as "an old way of thinking."

Working in technology, I find myself searching for more efficient means of doing business. If I can schedule a video conference from the comfort of my own desk, this means I can hold more meetings. More meetings in a single day means that I am doing more work, right? Unfortunately, what I didn't count on were the benefits of meeting in-person.

The Benefits
Learning the Environment
Almost immediately, I realized that I didn't know my own campus. Leaving the office to visit clients meant that I had to locate where my clients worked. As a result, I can now identify names of buildings and list individuals who work within them.

Good Customer Service
Learning the environment and walking across campus for meetings allowed me to randomly check up on people while in the area. On many occasions, my unscheduled visit provided an opportunity for clients to ask questions and seek advice on a variety of subjects. The side effect of "dropping in" left clients feeling like they were getting great customer service.

Better Health
While the weather has a lot to do with the condition by which I arrive in the office, a brisk walk is great for one's health. Over the course of a normal day, I probably walk around 30-45 minutes. Additionally, getting outside provides for a change of scenery and fresh air.

Improved Communication
Once in the client's office, I learn a lot about how they work and the environment in which they live. Watching how clients interact, both through body language and with my product, it enables me to better serve their needs. Often, the real solution to problems is not in what the client says, but rather in what they don't say. Looking at facial expressions, tapping toes, or folded arms reveals a message I never get over the phone.

Increased Trust
Watching clients is just one part of the equation because they watch me as well. When we talk, I convey a consistent message that says I care about them and the job they do. I want them to succeed.

In my business, talking about technology and the intricacies of web development often leaves clients confused. If I can demonstrate what I am trying say then I have a better chance of successfully communicating my point. The result, as I see it, is an increase in trust; Trust in me, my knowledge, my experience, and in my ability to deliver a solution to their problems.

Getting Extra Stuff
Finally, and probably most surprising, meeting with people face to face increases the chances for the "Extra Stuff." This extra stuff can be many things. It can be information about upcoming projects, inside information about new hires, or tangible gifts like food. The possibilities are endless.

Closing Thoughts
As I review my decision to get out of the office and meet with clients where they work, I remember what it was like before the change. I remember how frustrated I was when people would complain about the job we were doing. It frustrated me because we were doing a lot, but nobody seemed to know about it.

Today, thanks to the "good will tour," I think the message is finally getting out and making a difference. I understand that there is still a lot of work to do and many more people to reach, but it is working. Of that I am sure.

Hopefully, you got something out of my recent experience. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Image by Island-Life]

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Are You Visible To Your Niche?

This morning, while reading through my daily feeds, I saw an interesting blog article entitled, "Donald Trump’s Top Three Tips for Dominating Your Niche." The author, Julien Smith, introduced three tips: Be everywhere, Don't pay cash, and exceed expectations. However, it was the first tip that moved me to write this post.

Be Everywhere
Under the Be everywhere heading, Julien writes the following:

Are you posting only on your own website? Are you only writing, but not doing videos? Are your ads appearing only where everyone else’s (including your competitors) are? Then you’re missing out on a lot of what you can do to build audience, visibility, and profile.

People need to see your face. They need to feel your energy. They need to see your hair everywhere they go.

If you’re only giving your audience a part of who you are, and only in a certain location, that’s like being a guru on top of a mountain in Bhutan. If no one can find you, you’re not likely to get a lot of disciples.

How about, instead, you participate everywhere you’re allowed to? You use every medium to which you’re allowed access?

Based upon my own experiences, this is very good advice. I am pretty active on a number of web sites. I share videos on YouTube, audio files on Cinch, location updates on Foursquare, daily updates on Twitter and Facebook, photos on DailyBooth, movies on Miso, and news/opinions on my blog. To some, it may feel like I am constantly posting stuff to the web and I guess they would be right.

As a result of my content creation process, I understand that my name and photo flashes across a large number of eyes. I'm seen, even if it's only virtually.

The debate over how much visibility is enough, can be discussed in another post, but I thought it was important to share my appreciation for Julien's point, "People need to see your face. They need to feel your energy." I couldn't agree more.

Ever since I started posting content in a number of places, I find that people recognize me more. When I go out to local events, people comment on a video, photo, or blog I shared. I also receive requests for help with web projects, social media strategies, and collaborative work. It's amazing how many opportunities reveal themselves and it's only getting better.

Bringing It All Together
Being everywhere is a wonderful idea; however, you still need a home base. Chris Brogan wrote about this in a post entitled, "How Outposts Improve Your Ecosystem." Essentially, sites like Twitter, Facebook, DailyBooth, CinchCast, and LinkedIn are outposts. With outposts you can create and share content in a number of places, but remember to bring it all back to your home base. For me, www.damondnollan.com is that place.

No matter what I do in these outposts, I do my best to bring them all back home. This means creating a blog post that shows a YouTube video or Cinch audio clip. This way, visitors can keep up with everything that I'm doing from one place.

Content Preferences
With that written, I understand that people have preferences for receiving information. Some prefer audible, visual, or personal interaction with the material.

A good example of content preference is found on the Tron Legacy review I posted this morning. A friend, and regular reader, immediately expressed his disappointment because he expected to get a critique through a written review, not an audio clip.

As a result, I started thinking about how I could have done it differently. Should I have written the review? Is it ok to do audio? Should I do both?

I believe the answer lies in producing content for all outposts and through all available mediums. This means creating audio, video, and written words for those who wish to receive it. Remember, we have physical books, audio books, and movies. Each medium brings additional opportunities to be heard.

Feedback
What do you think? Are you doing enough to be visible to your customers, readers, visitors, and niche? If not,  would could you do better? Are you willing to give that extra effort to make content consumption easier? Let's talk about it in the comment section below.

If you like what you've read, take this opportunity to subscribe to my RSS Feed and Newsletter.  However, don't forget to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, Dailybooth, CinchCast, YouTube, or Friendfeed.

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Could You Do It Again?

If you had to do it all over again, could you? In this Cinch, I evaluate my value to others and ask that you find yours as well.



If you cannot see the Cinch player, click here.

If you like what you've read, take this opportunity to subscribe to my RSS Feed and Newsletter.  However, don't forget to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, or Friendfeed.

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You Are A Brand

When asked what I could contribute that would be valuable to others, I had to stop and think. My experiences in life, technology, web development, fatherhood, and business are all valuable. Furthermore, my version and perspective in each of these areas helps make up my own personal brand. In the following cinch, I explain how you are a brand and today is your day to be great!



If you cannot see the Cinch player, click here.

If you like what you've read, take this opportunity to subscribe to my RSS Feed and Newsletter.  However, don't forget to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, or Friendfeed.

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What Mark Zuckerberg Taught Me About Target Marketing

If you cannot see the Cinch player, please click here.

If you like what you've read, take this opportunity to subscribe to my RSS Feed and Newsletter.  However, don't forget to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz, or Friendfeed.

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I Have a Newsletter, Now What?

The other night, while at Bronto, I attended a workshop on e-mail marketing. I arrived near the end of the presentation, but heard enough to spark a few questions. The first question was to understand the purpose of an e-mail newsletter when used in conjunction with a blog. To me, they both seem to convey messages to readers, but should they say the same thing or something different?

The second question I never asked because I didn't get much direction from the first. To the best of my recollection, the presenter basically said to ask you, the readers, what you want from the newsletter. Do you prefer an e-mailed version of the blog? A personalized letter? A summary of all the blogs for the week? Or is there something else?

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Why I Started an E-Mail Newsletter

A few weeks ago, after reading David Risley's e-book entitled, Six Figure Blogger Blueprint, I decided to migrate my inactive newsletter from Google Friend Connect to VerticalResponse. In this entry, I discuss my reasons for starting a newsletter and explain why I chose to pay VerticalResponse to host it. So, if you are an individual thinking about staring a newsletter or just interested in growing your blog traffic, this article is for you.

Why An E-mail Newsletter?

Until recently, I wasn't sure why I wanted or needed a newsletter. I figured having one was the right thing to do, but thinking it was the right thing to do never motivated me enough to write anything. What's the point in having a newsletter, right?

Things changed after colleagues repeatedly asked about what was new in the world of social media and web technology. Quietly, I thought about the number of blog posts I've written and articles I have shared via Twitter, Facebook, and Google Reader. Were they not reading?

At that moment, I realized how valuable an e-mail newsletter would be in sharing information with busy people. Unlike me, one who spends hours on the Internet for work and pleasure, there are many people who lack the time or interest to find, filter, and read the latest news. To help satisfy their need for information, I could put together an e-mail update that would save readers both time and energy.

Therefore, I concluded that starting a newsletter would achieve the following things:

Connect With Readers 

Based on my previous experience and feedback, I found that there are people who: 

• Do not use social media: While many of us use Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed, LinkedIn, and the like, there are still others that have not yet jumped on board. Another group of users have accounts, but never use them, while yet another group only use one or two sites.
  
  
• Miss messages posted via social media: It is highly unlikely that everyone is going to read everything posted online. Many of us have to work, eat, sleep, and run errands, which means something is going to be missed. With sites like Twitter and Facebook, once the update has left the visible screen, it is essentially gone forever.
  
  
• Prefer to receive news in email: There are readers who simply prefer to have information delivered to their e-mail. E-mail is the one constant tool that people use. According to the Pew Research Center, 89% of Internet users send or read e-mail.  

Help Build A Loyal Reader Base
By connecting with readers and subsequently earning e-mail list subscriptions, bloggers and marketers generate powerful leads for future products and services.

As an example, Leo Babauta, author of Zen Habits,  explained how his loyal readers helped make one of his books a best seller.

David Risley states in his book that, "Your email list will be one of the most important assets you have in growing your blog's traffic and in monetizing it and making a bunch of money."

Even if I sell nothing, I recognize the value in building a loyal reader base.

What Should I Write About?

This is the question I sat on for weeks. However, after the frequent questions by my colleagues, I realized that  I can offer value to readers by including the following:

• Blog posts: Share the title, summary, and link to articles hosted on my web site.
  
• Upcoming events: Announce and remind readers about important or interesting events.
  
• Interesting finds from the web: List the most popular stories I find and share via the web.
  
• Archived blog posts: One way to revive older, but still relevant information, is to introduce archived articles.
  
• Giveaways: As an added bonus for loyalty, I can provide free gifts and prizes.
  
• News/Announcements: Sometimes, blog posts are too formal, but you still want to convey an important message to your readers. Consider sending an update on site changes, product launch, or new service offerings.  

Why VerticalResponse?

Once I decided that I would take the newsletter seriously, I began looking for a solution that would make this process as easy as possible. While I was originally using Google Friend Connect, I found that it did not have many of the features I wanted manage the list and refine the content. After a careful review of the major players, I rested with VerticalResponse. 

Below is a list of features that I found helpful:

• WYSIWYG Editor: While I have the know-how to develop pages using HTML, I like having a simple tool to aid in the process. With only a few clicks of the mouse, I can spruce up my message to include colors, dividers, headers, and even images.
   
• Templates: For a quick launch, VerticalResponse also provides a decent number of free templates. Unfortunately, I didn't like most of them and ended up going with a plain design. Don't let that stop you from looking around, because there are some nice layouts for certain businesses and holidays.
  
  
• Opt-in form: The opt-in form is easy to create and simple to post on a web page. With this tool, visitors and readers a like can subscribe to your e-mail list with a click of a button.
  
  
• Reports: One of the most valuable tools available. With VerticalResponse, I can review reports on sent e-mails and find out who opened and read the message. I can determine bounced addresses and see individuals who subscribe and unsubscribe from the list. If that wasn't enough, I can even pull Google Analytics.
  
  
• Forward to Friend: Growing a loyal reader base takes time, but with Forward to Friend, users can easily pass on good information to others. As a result, your blog may find new readers and potentially new subscribers.
   
• Spam check: One of the largest problems with newsletters is the likeliness of getting blocked because of excessive spam by the hosting company or by the use of common terms used by spammers. With spam check, you will learn if your message is at risk, whereby allowing you to make changes on the fly.
  
  
• Flexible pricing: I am so new that my subscriptions are well under 100. Why would I want to pay a monthly fee for something I'm not maximizing? With VerticalResponse, I pay for what I use. As my list grows and I send more often, I am willing to pay more. 

These are just a few of the reasons I chose VerticalResponse to host my newsletter. Of course, there are other perks like an online survey, social share, and more. If you're interested in learning more, take a quick visit to the VerticalResponse site. 

Finally, if you haven't joined my e-mail list, take this opportunity to do so now. 

Discussion

Have you been thinking about starting an e-mail newsletter? If so, what questions do you have? For those with experience, what other tips do you have to those interested in making the leap? Let's discuss in the comment section below.

Until next time...

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Follow This Link: Creative Marketing Via Social Media

In the last entry, I talked about the value of engaging with readers and friends to become smarter. During its release, I watched how people shared the link on Twitter. My observation revealed the first generation of readers simply retweeted the title of the entry as it was written.

Surprisingly, at some point, the tweet message changed and found a life of its own. Instead of stressing a blogger's perspective, the tweet focused on embracing the power of Twitter. It was ingenious.

To date, the entry rests at 48 retweets (thank you Tweetmeme). For some, that would be a slow day, but for me that is the largest number of retweets I have earned thus far. As you can imagine, I am very appreciative that my readers felt compelled to pass it on (Thank you!).

Lessons Learned
So, what is the lesson we can take from this experience? For starters, and this is probably the most obvious answer, some people have a lot of followers. In the case of one reader, their tweet was retweeted a couple dozen times. This could mean that one has established trust with their followers and provides an ongoing value.

Another idea is that people react to certain words and phrases. Personally, my day is full and I often skim titles from within Google Reader, Facebook, and Twitter. As a result, I often miss good information because the title failed to grab my attention. In another instance, the title fails to communicate what I can find inside.

Through Google Reader, I find that my friends, or fellow bloggers, will restate popular news items into something more interesting. So, if this is happening in my circle, I would have to assume this happens to you, too.

How to Market Your Blog
Now that we know this, what is the solution? The solution is to market your blog entry like an author markets a book. This means getting out there in the world and selling your ideas. Below are a few ideas on how to do this from within Twitter or any other social media tool.

Pose Questions
Take a look at your entry and develop thought-provoking questions that people may have. Having already written the solution within your latest entry, attach a shortened URL to the end of your question. Using this technique will attract those people in search of answers.

Freshen the Title
There are many ways to create titles for blogs. In fact, I will probably run through a myriad of ideas for this article, only to end up with one. With this step, you can actually put some of those other titles to good use by sharing them as a tweet or status update.

Promote Readers
As your blog grows in popularity and readers start to respond, try sharing the most innovative ideas from your comment section. As I learned through an earlier blog, I have some extremely intelligent readers. Why don't you promote their ideas, arguments, and perspectives as a way to invite other readers into the conversation? As with all things, give credit where credit is due.

Use Popular Buzz Words
If you are a regular on Twitter, you know about trending topics. In short, trending topics are key words that people are using within their tweets. Take advantage of buzz words, trending topics, and popular terms to catch the eye of readers. In this way, you might get a few more milliseconds to sell the story.

Closing Thoughts
In this day and age, spammers are everywhere. The line between a successful sale of your article and a spammer can get blurred quite quickly, if you are not aware. Things to remember before you race out and start marketing yourself:

Promote in Moderation
Promoting a product, event, or idea, is alright. Be firm but not annoying. When sharing news via Twitter, Facebook, or some other social media tool, remember that your posts will end up on someones page, so refrain from hijacking the stream with your marketing blitz.

Ask for Permission If you are going to use someone's comment to market your article, be certain to ask permission first. It may not a big thing to some, but it helps build trust and shows that you respect your visitors.

Have Fun!
Lastly, after churning out a thoughtful blog post, it is time to have fun. Engage with your readers often, listen to them, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Feedback
I would love to hear from you. If you are a blogger, what techniques do you use to market your articles? Do you rely solely on word of mouth? What do you find most challenging?

Not a blogger? That's ok, what is the most annoying marketing strategy bloggers use? How would you like to be approached?

Let's get together in the comment section and explore this issue even more.

Until next time...

Image via Chrisdlugosz

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