You could call this a high-click post. It gets more traffic than some blogs will ever get. It won a trip to BlogWorld. A national association just asked for republishing rights. More sites link into “Becoming a Subject Matter Expert on LinkedIn: The Top Ten Ways” than any other post on my blog. And, now it’s in a book.
In the video [I still can't believe I had the courage to make this with NO makeup - at all!], you’ll see how and where the post appears in Larry Weber’s new book “Stick & Stones: How Digital Reputations Are Won Over Time and Lost in a Click.”
Although Wired PR Works is mentioned in David Meerman Scott’s book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” this is the first time my words are in someone else’s book. Thanks to Mr. Weber’s editor who emailed me to let me know this was post was selected after the book was published. It’s an honor to be listed along with Reid Hoffman the founder of LinkedIn. I’ve read the book and if you’d like to, too, you can click on this [affiliate] link to order directly from this post.
When I wrote this post, I had no idea it would be published and linked to so much. Here’s why I think that happened . . .
Blog to Book – 12 Keys to Posting for Publishing
1. List: Top 10 anything gets noticed
2. Topic: LinkedIn is a popular social media platform
3. Keywords: Become a Subject Matter Expert is a desirable goal for many entrepreneurs
4. Search: Good search ranking; easy to find
5. Links: Referenced elsewhere with lots of inbound links
6. Author: Credibility with a deep body of work
7. Blog: Established and listed on Alltop and AdAge Power 150
8. Coverage: Referenced within the post about the amount of coverage
9. Winning: Contest winner
10. Content: Well-written
11. Book-friendly: Fits style and format
12. YOUR IDEA HERE
Summer wildflowers bloom in a hillside skirt of an historic high school.
ABC 123 It’s time to head back to school. Do you know your marketing ABCs and 123s? [It is okay if you play the video while you read the post. ]
What Comes before A-B-C and 1-2-3? The Basics of Marketing Maneuvers
First published in May 2007, this article talks about basic marketing maneuvers. Updated and reformatted, this post is open to your insights. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to comment.
When you explain the way things work in simple, basic and easy to understand language, you keep prospects engaged and on track to buy. Starting with the basics is an approach that works for all marketers, especially entrepreneurs, coaches and speakers.
Step One: Take Baby Steps in Their Shoes, Not Yours
Break down your product or service into a sequence of small steps keeps people interested and coming back, especially when you talk about it from their perspective and not yours. Ask your best customers about how they use your product or service and then use their language to talk to new audiences.
Step Two: Tone Up Relationships by Tuning In
Outlining the preliminary who, what, when, where, why and how gives you and them a quick overview of how the relationship works. If you’re promoting a product that requires using technical terminology, give your prospects a reference glossary or index of terms. Talking over their heads or in techno-terms will turn them off.
Step Three: Multiply Delivery, Length and Media
For visual learners, plot out a flow chart or track a timeline. Videos and audios deliver a multi-media experience. Use the same content and deliver it in different mediums. A free introduction guide can be expanded into a longer how-to-guide or a home-study course.
Step Four: Let Them Try on Success Stories
Explaining details in a case study allows you to subtlety promote benefits as a learning experience. Quizzes let browsers decide whether or not they need your service, which pre-qualifies your prospects for you.
Step Five: Go Back Before Pre-School
Think you’re being too basic? Ask people what they don’t know and then gauge your conversation to exactly fit their learning level. Think: pre-school/intro, elementary/basic, high school/intermediate and college/advanced.
Where are you in your social media and marketing learning levels? What can I teach you that you want to know more about?
Depending on where you stand and look at “The Bean” in Chicago, you’ll see different reflections. [image credit: the social lens] The skyline is the same, but the sky and the people are different. Content works the same way. You produce it and it’s up to the reader or viewer to take it and reflect on how it looks to them. In June 2007, I wrote an article called “Recycling PR: 30 Ways to Repurpose/Reincarnate/Reuse Product Information, Marketing and Publicity Articles”
Today, we’ll fold social media into the mix. Find out how to reduce your writing workload with 40 ways to repurpose, reincarnate and reuse existing articles or information to save you time and build your brand.
Choose just a few of these ways to recycle your writing and you’ll expand your reach with minimal effort. And the next time you start to write a signature piece, pull out this list so you can write with the future in mind.
Article Marketing: 40 Ways to Repurpose with Purpose
Whether you publish a blog or an ezine – or even host a web site, writing about what you do is a requirement. And, the more you write, the more fresh content you create, which keeps the search engine’s love affair with your work going.
But, sometimes writing can be a chore. Coming up with a brilliant masterpiece every week is challenging even for the most talented writers.
Because you want your writing to be relevant and interesting, it makes sense to think about the article’s afterlife beyond the single blog post or the ezine article.
You may have a few signature articles right now that people request or read over and over again. If not, think about the most common questions you get, answer them and turn the dialogue into an article.
1. Vary the length from a short description to a white paper
2. Set up a Google AdWords campaign and give it away in exchange for email addresses
3. Send the ezine article to your list
4. Submit to article directories
5. Post to your blog
6. Add to your site in an articles section
7. Include testimonials from customers about how the article helped them
8. Mention the article in forums with a link to the location
9. Collect a series of articles for your book
10. Share the article with friends
11. Distribute the article at networking events and trade shows
12. Turn it into a white paper and offer it for free on your site
13. Tie the article into today’s news and send out a news release
14. Add a link to the article on your professional online profiles
15. Refresh the tone and update it annually, quarterly or even monthly
16. Slightly shift the focus to appeal to a different audience
17. Build an AdWords sub-site around on the article
18. Condense and send on a postcard
19. Add on to a trilogy or a series of articles as in serial novels
20. Search for similar topics and suggest your article to site hosts or bloggers
21. Offer to contribute the article to lifestyle publications
22. Record the article as an mp3
23. Produce a simple video with you reading the article for Google Video and YouTube
24. Add a link to the article in your email signature
25. Extend the article into a book
26. Ask others to comment on your article and include their quotes
27. Apply your findings and publish a case study
28. Submit to an industry trade publication
29. Follow up with a prospect
30. Use in an advertorial
31. Excerpt in LinkedIn updates
32. Reference in LinkedIn profile
33. Quote in LinkedIn answers
34. Use as a platform for discussion in LinkedIn groups
35. Include as reference for new connections
36. Pull out key points and post each one as a twitter update
37. Share the link and the summary with friends on Facebook
38. Target newsletter and blog editors to republish
39. Create a “best of” list and include your article
40. What would you add?
And, I’m so relieved I asked about skill levels at the beginning of the presentation. That’s something I do at the beginning of every presentation. You should, too. Knowing how the room breaks out gives us a collective feel for how the presentation should flow. In this case, almost 60% of the group considered themselves beginners. A few people didn’t have a twitter profile yet. For them, starting at the very beginning, www.twitter.com was just right.
Although I considered this to be too simplistic and basic for my Social Media Club Chicago colleagues in the audience, I recruited them to be my “back up singers” and chime in with experiences and tips of their own.
All in all, the presentation was a success. That’s the word from the attendees. Here it is for you to preview and comment on what’s missing, what you like and what could be better from a visual standpoint. If you’re looking for a Chicago social media or twitter bootcamp speaker for a small business, entrepreneur or corporate audience, give me a call at 630-207-7530. Training, teaching, motivating and inspiring others is built-in to every presentation. Thanks for your thoughts and comments on this one.
Oh, yes – the picture. Relaxing over dinner on the board walk, I asked these two women what they were doing. When I found out they were on twitter, I asked them if I could take a picture of them and the bird that was eating their fries. They agreed. Enjoy!
Yes, there is a video of about 65% of all my BlogHer sway in this post. But first . . .
The same person who asked me about last year’s BlogHer events called me to get my take on the story of a demanding blogger.
I wasn’t there, didn’t read the posts that day [too busy getting the youngest off to a performance].
The caller wanted to know about a blogger who demanded free Crocs after the supply ran out. [Yes, those are mine in the picture. I hiked to the top of the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry to take that picture.] So I decided to share . . .
A blogger giveaway story
After touring Fox News, we got to the first party early. I walked to the Hyatt with a friend and talked for a while before the suite opened. As soon as the line started forming, we stepped up. When we checked in, we were told we could grab a pair of Crocs flip flops.
Disclosure: No one in my family – except for my sister-in-law – owns or wears Crocs. The guys wear running or skate shoes. The girls wear sandals or flip flops in the summer.
After searching the 5s, 7s and 9s, I found my size: 10. Really, I wasn’t sure if I wanted them, but soon I would change my mind.
After walking around Chicago in new sandals that looked good, but felt awful, I perched on a sofa for almost the entire time I was in the Suite. I got up three times to get: food, pineapple juice and hair styling.
Before I left, I slid off my sandals and tried on the Crocs. And, I cuffed my black linen pants so they wouldn’t drag. I wore my Crocs throughout the Social Media Club Chicago meeting. How comfy and springy! Now I wear them around town as well as to museums. That’s my Crocs story.
What is my take on taking the Blogging with Integrity pledge my friend wanted to know?
He also asked: Are you on the take? when I told him about the hundreds of dollars of free swag I picked up.
I told him . . .
Having sat in on a casual conversation with mommy bloggers at BloghHer last year, I know how passionate they are about integrity and blogger relations. So, here’s . . .
My Blog’s Financial History
My very first blog post here mentioned a product I got a commission on. While I didn’t come out and say, “you buy, I get paid” I did talk about the value in buying the product from me. No one bought that one, but I did make $100 on an affiliate sale once.
Even though I’m on wordpress.org and I can do whatever I want, I’m careful to note affiliate links and disclose relationships.
I’ll be honest: I want to offer services, products and information on this site.
My goal is to become a trusted resource for value in information and pricing. I have too many friends who’ve spent over $50,000 in information products and haven’t made one dollar yet.
And, I want to promote my clients on my blog. They trust me, I guide them, we all learn together. Sound good?
I. am. not. [actively] looking. for. free. stuff.
In fact, I don’t know what to do when I get it. Several times at BlogHer, I asked about thank you etiquette. Everyone seemed to have their own way of thanking sponsors publicly – or not. Some admitted they’re too lazy to write about all the stuff that comes to their door. Except when I’m at conferences or events, I don’t get any free stuff. And, that’s completely okay with me. When I brought up the idea of consolidating all the of the sponsor URLs in a blog post, some bloggers said they thought the sponsors would rather have twitter exposure. But, do I really want to clog up my twitter stream with thank you tweets? How much is a mention on twitter worth?
My family wants to know why I got all the stuff I did during blogger week. What makes companies want to give bloggers their products? What is the expectation?
Swag is nothing new.
When I left the corporate world, my last employer was known for handing out high end, high quality giveaways. We had a closet full of calculators, desk accessories, golf gear, logo wear, etc. Even at the company officer level, people liked getting freebies and they always asked for them. Why? We trained them. Could that be what’s happening in the Blogosphere now?
In the video, I talk about thank you notes so here’s a collective shout out . . .
