Out of the Blog, Into the Light

Quote of the Week

"There is always something higher, if you will only remember to keep your head held up."

How to Create and Use Word Clouds or Tag Clouds in Your Marketing

It’s Sunday and my play time with new stuff -- my research today is word clouds -- how to use them and how to create them.  Here is the result of my play:

You may even be wondering why you should?  Let me answer this as we continue.

Word clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.

Some blogs services create them for you and even change with each post. 

But did you know there’s a FREE place you can create them to use in other ways?

411 Information is Now Handled by Google

I had a fun time learning about Google’s new free 411 service this past week and just yesterday got to experience it for myself.

I was doing my weekly volunteer “roving reporter” assignment at the local farmer’s market when someone told me about this store that had exactly what I was looking for.  I dialed the number (below), gave them the business name and they immediately connected me to the store and confirmed that they had what I was looking for.  Google  also sent me a map to the store directly to my cell phone.  Thirty minutes later I was leaving the store, purchase in hand, smiling, remembering how I had spent hours over the past few months looking for this. 

The service is totally free.  That’s right FREE!

Google has a short video here to learn more.

Even though its a simple process of dialing 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411), I highly recommend watching the 3-minute video.

For those living in Canada, it works for you as well (in the FAQ section).

Technorati Tags: Google 411,cell phone information

Did You Know YouTube Has An EDU Category?

Yes, YouTube has a special "edu" section where colleges and universities from across the country post videos? You can find video posts from musical and dance performances to brief lectures from noted scholars to commencement addresses and interviews with students.

Besides being entertaining, there is useful information and resources that could help with school projects and even business projects.

For example, visit YouTube EDU and learn from a video possted by Harvard Business School.

Maybe you are looking for inspiration for a project in an art or design class.

There are also videos from students sharing their ideas and projects that could help you brainstorm your projects. 

Preparing a speech?  There are some good examples (and bad examples) of public speaking.  Listen to recent commencement speakers, like Michelle Obama at the University of California, or Brad Delson (of Linkin Park) at UCLA, at practice critiquing them.

Technorati Tags: video,learning,youtube,education,class projects,writing,lecture videos,school projects,preparing a speech

Quote of the Week

"If life knocks you flat on your back, open your eyes: above you are the stars."

Writing an Executive Summary for Your Business

You may or may not have written an executive summary for your business. 

You can use this information in your print materials, on the Internet, in presentations and proposals, and more.

The three top reasons people don’t write one are: 

(1) They don’t know how;
(2) They haven’t even heard about it before; and
(3) They have no clue why they should. 

If you’ve already written yours.  Congratulations!  You ahead of the crowd.  Now, if you haven’t look at it in a year or more, then subtract seven of those points.  It’s time for a review and probably update.

Sell the Happy Hen

 

Last Saturday was the first day for my volunteering at the Arlington County weekly Farmer’s Market.  I’m one of their roving reporters.  My assignment for my first visit was to observe.

So I did.

I talked to the vendors, gathered names and ideas for stories and sat and watched buyers.

Strawberries is a big seller this time of year.  So I sat on the lawn and watched the three vendors I could see who were selling them.  Two had about 10 pints for sale.  The third about 40 displayed.  The one with more had a line of 30 or so people waiting to purchase.  The other two no line at all.  It was extremely fascinating to watch.  I was so curious as to why the one had a line and the other’s weren’t making any sales.  I was hoping to have enough guts to approach a few people in line to find out but never could get up the courage.  I’m going to be watching for this again on my next visit. 

I want to know was it because their pints looked fuller – and they did. Was it because their strawberries looked bigger – and they did.  Was it the strawberries?  Was it because they were under a tent and the other two were not?  Was it because of the other items they were selling?  I’m returning next week just to see what changed and to continue watching.

Across from the strawberry vendor with a line I saw this Happy Hen ad.  It was on 6 x 9 white cardboard. I watched.  Then I walked around to see who else was selling eggs and how they were selling them.  No contenders.  The vendor kept revolving the two cartons. Someone would purchase a dozen and the vendor would replace it with another dozen carton.  Always having only two on display.  They were selling well too! 

When I looked at the eggs they weren’t even medium size.  In the store they sell extra large, large and medium.  Well these were even smaller than medium.  And the price wasn’t a bargain for sure.

So why were they selling?  Was it convenience?  Could be.  They could be thinking, “Well, now I don’t need to go to the market just for eggs.”  I even thought this.

Actually, she was selling the story behind the product.  She was implying that if the hens were happy you would be as well when you ate them.  Cool huh!  I asked one purchaser.  She said she liked the idea she was buying from someone who took better care of her hens.  Hmm, nothing in the sign said that.  I actually heard this three times from different purchasers.

This proves many marketing principles.  First, perception is created by the story people connect to it.  Happy Hens paints a picture for the prospect immediately in just a few words.  There was a implication that her hens were happy and the ones who lay the eggs that you purchase in the story weren’t – the differentiation.

I wonder if the other strawberry vendors could have added a sign “Happy Strawberries” or “Happy Strawberry Plants” and sold more?

Of course, there were many other marketing principles being worked here.  Think about it and learn how to use the Happy Hen sign to your advantage.

I know I am . . . where can I place a Happy Hens sign?   

Technorati Tags: Happy Hens,marketing principles,Arlington Farmers Market,Arlington,Virginia,booth selling,sales,market sales,farmer market selling

Time to Dump Your Money Wasters

Don't be afraid when something isn't working to dump the pocketbook drain.

Are you wasting time networking? So many people are always talking about how they love to network. But is it really working or are you just afraid you don’t have anything else? If you belong to an organization for the specific purpose of generating leads and you don’t close any transactions, you need to get off your assets and openly solicit leads (stop being a secret) or you need to dump this activity because it's both a time and money waster.  Empty promises don’t pay the bills.

Who needs to be deleted from your referral database? If you haven't been consistently contacting people in your referral  database at least three to five times a year either by e-mail, phone or a letter, and you haven't received a referral from these people, it's time to stop spending money on them. And time is money. Spend your money on people who refer you business and stop wasting time on any money on those who don't.

Are you wasting money on a website you don't you? Has your website produced more then one transaction in the last year? Is your website up-to-date or have you been promising yourself you’ll do it soon but haven’t? Can people find you easily on the web through the search engines.  If you answered no to any one of these questions, you need to seriously rethink the money you are spending on marketing via the web and whether or not this money would be better spent on more profitable activities.  Just because you have a business doesn’t mean you need multiple web sites.  There are thousands of people making millions without one.

Are you throwing away money because you don't check your e-mail? If you don't have a valid e-mail address that you check daily, then you are better off redirecting leads to your office or home phone where you will at least receive the message.  Just last week I sent a follow-up message to several people I met at a networking event.  The messages bounced.  I called to let them know thinking something technologically was wrong.  After I called them each said  they don’t check their email messages but maybe once a week or two.  I had two referrals for one of them.  Upon hearing this I didn’t give them the referrals. 

The bottom line is…find what works for you and concentrate on those activities and dump the rest.  Don’t try playing a game you don’t want to play.  It reduces your credibility. I have plenty of people in my database today who don’t have an email address because they love to give personalized direct service. And that works for them very well.

Technorati Tags: money wasters,time wasters,money management,money saver ideas for business

How to Express Your Core Marketing Message

When someone asks what you do, how do you respond?  Here is a time-tested format that gets the attention and interest you want. You don't start out talking about what you do, but who you work with and what their problem is. This takes the focus off you and onto your clients. This always generates a better initial conversation about your services.

This is a very simple but powerful method for gaining interest and attention for your services. Note carefully that the discussion is always focused on what you do for your clients and what they get from working with you. What people tend to do is talk about what they do, their services, and processes. What's missing when you do that is the "what's in it for me?" factor.

The Question: What do you do? Here's how to respond.

1. Target Market -Say who you work with first. Let your listener know your service is for them, not someone else.

"I work with IT executives in Fortune 1000 companies…"

2.. Problem -Articulate the problem or predicament or pain your target market is experiencing in terms that are meaningful to them,"

"...who are having difficulties getting their top talent to stay around."

-Pause - Wait for response or question.

3. Problem/Stories -Tell them more about the problem and discuss examples of those you have worked with.

"Many IT managers are losing people because they are so bad at managing people, For instance, a client we worked with was losing 30% of their best technical people every year...."

- Conversation about various problems and challenges.

4. Solution/Uniqueness - Tell them your solution and what makes you different.

"We've had very good results in turning around the attrition problem for clients. Typically we can cut their attrition in half in less than six months."

- More conversation about solutions and results.

Technorati Tags: What do you do,meet and greet response,expressing your marketing message

25 Web Sites You Can Use to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

Here are 25 directories and methods you can post your blog information and increase visitors.

How you list your blog on these sites depends on their submission requirements.

Some sites, like Blog Rush, require a reciprocal link or for you to display something they sell.

Squidoo allows you to set up a webpage on a topic. Then you can add a link to your blog from there or products you may be promoting.

Some submissions just require your blog’s URL.

I suggest submitting one at a time and then review your statistics to see how it did or didn’t make a difference. This will let you know where to spend your time in the future.

1. MySpace.com – Still the number one social networking site. Create a profile, add some friends, and gently promote your blog.

2. Facebook.com – The second most popular social networking site on the Internet.

3. Squidoo.com – Join Squidoo and set up a page related to your blogging topic with links to your blog.

4. HubPages.com – HubPages is a site that has a similar business model to Squidoo. Users, or “hubbers,” create hub pages, where you can discuss any topic you’d like.

5. Knol.com – Knol is a Google service based on the same business concept as Squidoo.

6. Twitter.com is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets).

7. Stumbleupon.com – StumbleUpon will help you discover new sites based on your interests. Visitors can rate the web site through comments. It’s a free service; however, you can pay to have your site “stumbled upon.”

8. Digg.com is a social news site with a social networking aspect. Here you can share your site’s content with other “diggers.”

9. Mixx.com – Similar to Digg.com and striving for popularity.

10. Craigslist.com – It’s free. It takes just a few minutes to register and post an ad for your blog.

11. Technorati.com – Technorati is a search engine for blogs. Register with them, “claim” your blog and then use their tools to promote your blog.

12. YouTube.com – Make a 3-5 minute video about your blog topic and link it inside your blog.

13. EntreCard.com – They advertise their “Entre Card” as your online business card. You place the EntreCard widget on your blog and other members can “drop” their card to you fast and easily. Afterwards, you drop a card by visiting their blog. Each time you drop a card you acquire a credit you can then use to advertise on other blogs.

14. Blogcatalog.com – They advertise themselves as a social network for bloggers. It’s a place for you to connect with other bloggers, participate in groups and discussions and so on. They require a widget on your blog.

15. BlogRush.com– You will be required to place a widget on your blog before you can be listed. You can earn views if people sign up for an account when they click on your widget. It’s a free service but runs like an MLM.

16. Delicio.us.com – De.licio.us is a social bookmarking site owned by Yahoo. You’ll be able to store, share and discover web bookmarks.

17. Pownce.com– You can share information like files, links, events, and messages with approved people.

18. My.Yahoo.com – Set up a My.Yahoo page and add a link to your blog.

19. Yahoo Answers – Answer questions related to your blog topic here and at the end add the link to your blog.

20. Blogsearch.Google.com– Submit your blog to Google’s blogging directory.

21. LinkedIn – LinkedIn is a social networking site geared toward business professionals.

22. Online Directories – Submit your blog information to other directories such as DMOZ, and Yahoo

23. User Groups – Join or start a User Group about your blog topic. They are a great place to connect with like-minded people. A few popular group communities are Google Groups, Yahoo Groups and MSN Groups.

24. Participate in Forums – Join some on same topics or ones with your target market. Add your blog address after your name.

25. Blog Pinging Sites – When you ping your blog, what you are doing is letting a number of sites (search engines, for example) know that your blog has been updated. They will then crawl and index your site so your new post is updated in their records. Pingomatic.com is one of my favorites. Some services like WordPress already handle this for you.

Technorati Tags: blog directors,post,increase visitors to your blog,25 blog directors