How to Write an ebook

A person writing with his laptop

Get Your Message Out Online

Do you want to create goodwill with customers, attract new customers, and possibly go viral? Then offering an ebook on issues important to your Ideal Customer may be one of the most powerful things you can do.

Ebooks online live forever. Once you write it, it will be working for you 24/7. Be sure to use your best keywords in the title, subtitle, and chapter headings. Use keywords 3% of the time in your content. That means that out of every 100 words, use your keywords 3 times. Doing this is vitally important to getting found.

The electronic book market is exploding with the advent of the electronic book reader, such as Amazon’s Kindle, Sony Reader, and Apple iPad. People are eager to load content onto them, especially if it’s something they enjoy or need.

eBook Publishing and Marketing

Several websites make publishing an ebook easy:

At these sites, you can upload your digital content files (ebooks) for free. Then you can give them away, or sell them. Additionally, Lulu (http://www.Lulu.com) offers a host of pre-publishing, marketing and distribution services.

Ebooks are an enticing way to get email subscribers to opt-in. Usually free, they offer in-depth information, complemented by links and more resources. In order to implement an e-book strategy effectively, choose one significant problem from your customer profile list and expound upon the solution. Don’t cover a range of issues (or opportunities) in an e-book. Rather, make it 15-20 pages and repeat for additional topics. It’s not necessary or good business to give everything away in one ebook.

Get Oriented

If you’re unfamiliar with the format and content of ebooks, search Google for “free ebooks” and take a look at a few of them. Choose one or two that you like as models and just start writing! By laying out the table of contents first, you can narrow your focus and organize your thoughts for writing the content.

Do you have an ebook to share?

Happy marketing!

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

Public Relations Jobs

Faceless woman holding a newspaper going to work

Have you considered a career in Public Relations? These basics may help.

Significant Points

  • Although employment is projected to grow much faster than average, keen competition is expected for entry-level jobs.
  • Opportunities should be best for college graduates who combine a degree in public relations, journalism, or another communications-related field with a public relations internship or other related work experience.
  • Strong communication skills are essential.

Public Relations Job Duties

Public relations specialists handle organizational functions, such as media, community, consumer, industry, and governmental relations; political campaigns; interest-group representation; conflict mediation; and employee and investor relations. Public relations specialists must understand the attitudes and concerns of community, consumer, employee, and public interest groups to establish and maintain cooperative relationships between them and representatives from print and broadcast journalism.

Public relations specialists draft press releases and contact people in the media who might print or broadcast their material. Many radio or television special reports, newspaper stories, and magazine articles start at the desks of public relations specialists. Sometimes, the subject of a press release is an organization and its policies toward employees or its role in the community. For example, a press release might describe a public issue, such as health, energy, or the environment, and what an organization does to advance that issue.

Public relations specialists also arrange and conduct programs to maintain contact between organization representatives and the public. For example, public relations specialists set up speaking engagements and prepare speeches for officials. These media specialists represent employers at community projects; make film, slide, and other visual presentations for meetings and school assemblies; and plan conventions.

Employment

Public relations specialists hold about 275,200 jobs in the U.S. They are concentrated in service-providing industries, such as advertising and related services; healthcare and social assistance; educational services; and government. Others work for communications firms, financial institutions, and government agencies.

Public relations specialists are concentrated in large cities, where press services and other communications facilities are readily available and where many businesses and trade associations have their headquarters. Many public relations consulting firms, for example, are in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. There is a trend, however, toward public relations jobs to be dispersed throughout the Nation, closer to clients.

Job Outlook

Employment is projected to grow much faster than average; however, keen competition is expected for entry-level jobs.

The recent emergence of social media in the public relations is expected to increase job growth as well. Many public relations firms are expanding their use of these tools, and specialists with skills in them will be needed.

Public Relations Wages

Median annual wages for salaried public relations specialists were $51,280 (in May 2008, the latest date for which information was vailable). The middle 50 percent earned between $38,400 and $71,670; the lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,140, and the top 10 percent earned more than $97,910. Median annual wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of public relations specialists were:

Management of companies and enterprises $55,530
Business, professional, labor, political, and similar organizations 55,460
Advertising, public relations and related services 55,290
Local government 51,340
Colleges, universities, and professional schools 46,660

For the latest wage information:

The above wage data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey program, unless otherwise noted. For the latest National, State, and local earnings data, visit public relations specialists.

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

Is “Free” Really Free?

Young man looking focused thinking in a thoughtful pose

When you hear the word “Free”, do you think, “Oh really? What’s the catch?”

When sellers are indeed offering buyers a bonus, “free” is a powerful draw. But when companies use “free” as a deceptive come-on, they can find themselves in legal hot water.

Fast-talking Telemarketers – Not so Free

Law enforcement actions by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) highlight the importance of caution when using the word “free” in advertising. In a case brought with the Kentucky Attorney General, the FTC alleged that the defendants – claiming to be calling from major retailers or the consumer’s credit card company – offered what they said were “free” gift cards or resort vacations. The defendants then used a variety of shady tactics to trick people into saying the word “yes,” which the defendants then used as their purported billing authorization.

In some cases, the defendants told consumers they had to confirm their acceptance of the free products. In other instances, they asked people to listen to a “pretend” telemarketing pitch, answer “yes” when prompted, and then rate the caller’s sales skills. According to the FTC, fast-talking telemarketers raced through the pitch so rapidly that many consumers didn’t realize they’d agreed to buy products. To add legal insult to financial injury, the defendants charged consumers’ credit cards or debited their bank accounts without permission and never sent the “free” goods as promised. The upshot? Settlements with all but one defendant, tough injunctive terms, and a $5 million performance bond.

“Free Sample” Case Example

In two other FTC actions, dietary supplement marketers lured consumers to their websites by offering “free” samples of products for weight loss or to treat sexual dysfunction. According to the FTC, to get the samples, consumers had to give a credit card number to cover shipping and handling. Once the defendants had the account numbers, they enrolled unsuspecting consumers in continuity programs, charging them for additional unauthorized shipments. In addition to injunctive provisions, the settlements impose judgments totaling $10.3 million and require the companies to disgorge more than $600,000 in cash.

What tips can marketers take from these cases?

  • “Free” means free. Don’t make an unqualified “free” claim when you really mean “free for now, but we’ll bill you later” or “free, plus additional fees.”
  • Dial back on deception. The Telemarketing Sales Rule outlines specific requirements for “free” offers made by phone. Read Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule, available at business.ftc.gov, to keep your claims compliant.
  • Negative (option) feedback. Whether you call it a continuity program, a free-to-pay conversion, or advanced consent marketing, take particular care to explain the terms of negative option plans before you seal the deal. Promoting a product as “free” and then burying the details in a fine-print footnote or through an obscure hyperlink is likely to draw customer ire and law enforcement attention. Check out Negative Options, an FTC staff report, to find out how to do the deal right.

Do you have examples to share?

(Thanks to Lesley Fair – an attorney in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.)

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

Newsletters That Work – Part 2 of 2

3d mail on a desktop screen

How to Create Newsletters That Capture Attention

In the last post, we discussed items #1-6. Today, we explore #7-13 … all very easy to incorporate and make dynamic improvements in your email open rates.

As we mentioned in the last post, this list incorporates the most important components of a successful email newsletter, with a few examples of how to use them. I’ve chosen to apply them to The Last Best Women – a nonprofit organization that offers microfinance to impoverished women in third world countries – but they apply to for-profit businesses just as well:

  1. Compelling Subject Line: (See previous post)
  2. Call to Action: (See previous post)
  3. Tell Stories: (See previous post)
  4. Testimonials/Quotes: (See previous post)
  5. Pictures: (See previous post)
  6. Mission/Vision: (See previous post)
  7. Facebook Like Button: FB, Twitter, other Social Networks – make it easy for readers to add them. Links placed first page, top of fold.
  8. Headings and Subheads: Readers today are scanners. If they see a large block of text, they’ll likely skip it. In order to get and keep their attention, use short, meaningful headings and subheads in larger, bolder fonts. Break up text into 2-4 sentences between each heading.
  9. Use a Chart to Track Something: If you give Readers something interesting to track, they’ll have another reason to open the next email. It could be the number of microfinance recipients worldwide, or the growth of your own organization, or a timeline to your first funding.
  10. Use a Tagline, or Explain the Organization’s Name: At first glance, your Reader should get the meaning of the newsletter in under TWO SECONDS. So add a tagline under the name, or dedicate some space to explain what “The Last Best Women” means. In the next two seconds, your newsletter should convey why the Reader should care. Many of the tips above help achieve that – especially compelling headings and subheads, and captions under pictures.
  11. Ask Readers for Input: Social Networking (including newsletters) is all about “engaging” your readers. Ask them for links to other microfinance organizations. Ask them what these organizations do right – or where they miss the boat. Engage your readers with questions – and post them on FB.
  12. Use a Conversational Tone: Social Media is casual and authentic. Accessible feeling. You are appealing to human emotion in your newsletter – with rich resources of human need, stories, pictures, mission, and successes (even if they’re others’ successes – you can talk about organizational role models for building your organization.)
  13. Use Strategic Keywords: Choose 2-3 important keywords. Place them in headings and subheads, and in the first 200 words of the text. They should be used 3% – meaning, of every 100 words, use each keyword 3 times. When you attach this newsletter to your website, it will be crawled by search engines and found because of this planned use of keywords. Tip: If you didn’t know about LBW, but were sitting at Google’s search bar and LBW was the perfect result you’re hoping to find, what would you type in the search bar? Those are your strategic keywords.

Newsletters are definitely an art. Your style will evolve as your organization evolves.

What tips work for your newsletter? What doesn’t work?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

Newsletters That Work – Part 1 of 2

Smiling woman holding a newsletter update board

How to Create Newsletters That Capture Attention

Your email newsletter is an extension of your company’s brand and personality. It’s an opportunity to offer value and keep your customers engaged. Yet so many times, companies don’t even get to first base – their email newsletter never gets opened!

This list incorporates the most important components of a successful email newsletter, with a few examples of how to use them. I’ve chosen to apply them to The Last Best Women – a nonprofit organization that offers microfinance to impoverished women in third world countries – but they apply to for-profit businesses just as well:

  1. Compelling Subject Line: The very MOST important thing for ANY newsletter is a Compelling Subject Line – something that captures your readers’ attention and intrigues them to open it. You’re competing against dozens of other non-essential emails every day. Most people don’t have time to open every email they receive. So yours must pop out. Here is an example of a compelling subject line: “How YOU can help change a life with just one email”. Then in the inside, on the first page at the top, repeat that with the answer: “Please pass this email on to six grateful women you know who might want to learn how microfinance changes the lives of impoverished women.
  2. Call to Action: Every newsletter should have a Call to Action – above the fold, so to speak – at the top of the computer screen. If you do #1 above, that is your Call to Action. Another Call to Action might be: “Please read more about how microfinance gave Rosalinda Flores renewed hope for her family and financial earning power she never dreamed possible.” Next to this is a link to an article that tells the story about this real woman and her real microfinance success. Another great Call to Action could be a specific Tweet you ask them to send. Or a Facebook Post.
  3. Tell Stories: Reader interest at least TRIPLES when you tell a real story. Every business has great customer stories. If you haven’t collected them, just ask them! It also makes for a great Facebook or LinkedIn post. Use real names and pictures. Keep it rather short.
  4. Testimonials/Quotes: Almost nothing is as powerful as a quote or very short testimonial. Top of fold, first page, with picture, preferably.
  5. Pictures: Every newsletter should have pictures. The Executive Directors’ picture personalizes her message. Pictures of volunteers help them feel more connected to the organization. Pictures of the recipient of the organizations’ services give readers the feeling that they are in touch with what this organization does.
  6. Mission/Vision: The first page, top of fold, is the best place for the Mission/Vision. It’s enormously important to remind and reaffirm everyone of the organization’s good work.

These ‘tips’ actually work! They make your newsletter captivating, and help you stand out from a very crowded crowd.

The next post offers 7 more essentials.

What tips work for your newsletter? What doesn’t work?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

Try Mobile Billboards

Smiling young woman using mobile phone

High Tech Advertising Hits the Streets

Do you sometimes wonder if your ad campaigns make any impact at all?

If so, you’ll be interested in learning about nomADic genius. I recently had the distinct pleasure of meeting the local owner, Regis George, an energetic and dynamic entrepreneur who helps businesses cut through the daily barrage of advertising clutter. (I have no connection and do not benefit in any way …just passing along something I believe is worth knowing about!)

NomADic genius is a mobile rolling, scrolling 3D illuminating machine – built to attract your target audience’s attention. According to Regis’ advertisers, it works!

nomADic genius' - mobile billboard

Advertise To Get the Best Results

Here’s what one client said about their ad campaign and results:

“As a seasoned marketer I am always testing different advertising outlets to see what gets the best results. The advertising we have done with nomADic genius has paid for itself ten fold. I highly recommend it to everyone trying to build their business customer base!”

– Ed C., Nashville MMA

Gameness – The Gameness Fighting Championships

Why do Mobile Billboards Work?

According to Regis, Americans spend an average of 15 hours a week in their cars, either as driver or passenger, and they perceive that traffic is increasing. In fact, the Census reports that commute times increased 18% from 1995 to 2005. So advertisers have a captive audience – attracted to the movement of a very bright, intriguing new technology – and its advertising message comes alive.

Mobile advertising doubles the attention of a static billboard, and has a mind-boggling 97% consumer recall rate. Let’s face it, you don’t often see trucks like this particular truck – so it’s astoundingly memorable.

National CPM (per Media Dynamics)

Mobile truck advertising is practical, affordable, has a high impact, and offers exceptional frequency and reach.

Take a look at this comparison of cost per thousand impressions:

$26.58 TV 30 second spot

$24.95 Newspaper 1/3 page B/W

$11.76 Magazine full page

$11.75 Radio 30 second spot

$ 6.24 Billboard (rotating)

$ 4.20 nomADic genius 6×10 FULL COLOR

“I cannot say enough good things about Nomadic genius. Our employees tell us customers see our ads all over town. We receive feedback like, “This is a gold mine! nomADic genius highly interactive program delivers with structure and impact. The materials used are of the highest quality and when you see your ad light up the streets … you cannot help but look. I was personally and professionally inspired by this company the concept and response speak for itself. The service and support by nomADic genius are incomparable.”

– Bridget S., IBDM and Marketing Director

Lexus of Nashville Cool Springs and Madison

If you’re interested in learning more, you can contact Regis George by email: Regis @ nomadicgenius dot com OR by phone: 615.336.6678 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 615.336.6678 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Have you found any revolutionary new advertising mediums?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

The Father of Public Relations

Businessman reading a newspaper

The Pioneer of Social Sciences and Psychology in the PR Industry

Edward Louis Bernays (November 22, 1891 – March 9, 1995)

Bernays was the nephew of Dr. Sigmund Freud, who dramatically helped shape his psychoanalytic approach to PR. Bernays used manipulation to sway the public’s subconscious mind, and thus, public opinion. Also quite influential in his Public Relations practices were the crowd psychology ideas and beliefs of Gustave Le Bon and Wilfred Trotter.

One of the first to use manipulation in PR, Bernays felt that it was absolutely necessary in Society, which he believed was ruled by the ‘herd instinct‘ – irrational and dangerous.

Psychoanalyst to Troubled Corporations

According to Irwin Ross, a writer, “Bernays liked to think of himself as a kind of psychoanalyst to troubled corporations.” His famous corporate clients included Procter & Gamble, the American Tobacco Company, Cartier Inc., Best Foods, CBS, the United Fruit Company, General Electric, Dodge Motors, Knox Gelatin, and innumerable others.

Clearly, his campaigns worked.

Inventor of the Press Release

One of Bernays’ most famous campaigns attacked the 1920’s stronghold social taboo of women smoking in public. He shocked the public during the 1929 Easter Day Parade by staging debutantes holding cigarettes. He sent notices out to media and made it news – which legitimized his message in a way that paid advertising just couldn’t.

Today, more than HALF of what we think of as news is actually initiated by the PR industry.

Inventor of PR Testimonials

According to Bernays, “If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway.” At the time, this was a groundbreaking idea!

Faced with the challenge of promoting bacon for one of his PR clients, he surveyed physicians. Finding that they recommended people eat a heavy breakfast, he sent the survey results to 5,000 physicians – promoting, of course – bacon and eggs.

Bernays’ Public Relations Legacy

Bernays was named one of the 100 Most Influential Americans of the 20th Century by Life magazine. Although his celebration of propaganda helped define public relations, it didn’t win the PR industry many friends. In a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter described Bernays and his associate Ivy Lee as “professional poisoners of the public mind, exploiters of foolishness, fanaticism and self-interest.”

(Thanks to Wikipedia for info and references.)

In your opinion, could psychoanalytic manipulation possibly be extracted from PR today?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

How to Brand Yourself

Letters saying the word brand

Easy Steps to Get Started

Branding yourself or your online business will help set you apart from your competitors. When you establish your brand – a memorable visual appeal, as well as a meaningful and compelling message – your audience will react positively and help you by passing your information on to others in their network.

Volumes of books are written on branding, so this is simply an introduction to get you started:

1. Write down your mission statement (include keywords if you can, and how you help others) – Example: “Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

2. Create a memorable logo that’s in keeping with your business niche.

3. List ‘must-have’ benefits to your customers (such as solutions to their problems and answers to their questions).

4. Choose a page design that you can use on all pieces and sites you create. Pay special attention to layout, graphics, colors, fonts and style.

5. Have a professional photo of yourself taken.

6. Write a bio that highlights your expertise and brings out the personal you. Add information about yourself outside of your work life. For example, “She loves to grow roses and read mystery novels.”

7. Use all of the above consistently on each of your sites and social network profiles.

Brainstorm ideal domain names

As part of your branding strategy, one of the most important factors is the domain name (URL) that you choose. Domain names that include keywords are more likely to be ‘ranked’ higher by search engines. Search engines assume that the name of your site is relevant to the topic of your site, so in the search algorithms, they give more weight to the domain name, and thus your ranking – how high up you rank in the results pages. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

The domain name is only one of many factors used in search algorithms (and note that algorithms also vary among different search engines.) It’s a very important factor.

So now, let’s brainstorm domain names. Keep these things in mind – your domain name should be:

  • As short as possible – try for fewer than five syllables.
  • Memorable.
  • Keyword-oriented.

What other Branding tips will help others get started?

——————

For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

How to Make Your Website “Sticky”

A lady creating a website with a desktop

Grab and Hold Your Visitors’ Attention

“Sticky” means that once a visitor lands on your page, they want to stay and look around. Here are some tips – how to grab and hold your visitors’ attention and create a sticky site:

  • Attention-grabbing headline and subhead – within 2-3 seconds.
  • Relevant and interesting pictures & images.
  • Easy site navigation.
  • CLEAR AND COMPELLING ‘CALL TO ACTION’! (State exactly what you want them to do.)
  • White space around important text.
  • Authentic, original, meaningful information.
  • Long tail keywords in headline, subheads, images, and content – italicized & bolded.
  • Articles related to the niche topic.
  • White papers / Reports.
  • Video / Audio / Podcasts on ‘How-To” topics.
  • Blog – new content 3x/week – with visitor comment capability.
  • Discussion forum.
  • Online press kit and examples of your media coverage.
  • Bookmarks.
  • RSS feeds.
  • Opt-in email emphasizing “no share” privacy policy – with an auto-responder.
  • Security emphasized on every page.
  • Traffic Stats for monitoring.

Add Comment Capability

Disqus Comments is a comment system and moderation tool for your site. This service lets you add community management and social web integrations to any site on any platform. Hundreds of thousands of sites, from small blogs to large publications, use Disqus Comments for their discussion communities. Try a demo and sign up for a free version: http://www.disqus.com/

Add a Forum

Engage your visitors and make your site stickier by adding a forum. Lefora offers free forums to imbed in your site. There is nothing to download, and no limit on the number of forums you can create. With the free version, you get 10GB of monthly bandwidth. On public forums, every topic has a button that will allow your members to share a link to the topic on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. http://www.lefora.com/

Do you have stories to share about how these tactics have worked for you? Other tactics?

——————

For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

Create a Brand Advocacy Program

Brand on a laptop screen on a desk

Thousands of Fans Can Broadcast Your Marketing Message

“Brand Advocacy” refers to the army of UNPAID people who believe in your offerings and eagerly broadcast your marketing message to their network, both online and offline. Usually, their network is interested in the same things, so your Brand Advocates reach your specific target audience. This powerful word-of-mouth marketing is one of the best ways to build credibility and referred trust, resulting in increased sales.

How does this happen? You can build your army of Brand Advocates in one of three main ways:

1. Organic – natural customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth (slow)

2. Sharing – social media content spread by your network (faster)

3. Seeding – send content, freebies and samples to influential bloggers and Twitter Users (fastest)

Brand Advocates are considered more authentic, carry more ‘marketing message’ weight, and cost less than traditional advertising, such as radio, print, and television. People take their trusted friends’ recommendations quite seriously, so please don’t overlook this important strategy in your marketing plan. Word-of-mouth marketing has never been so viral.

Jeremiah Owyang, a nationally renown digital strategy expert and consultant to Fortune 100 companies, suggests that organizations today must develop advocacy programs in order to scale, increase credibility and demonstrate commitment. In doing so, marketers will develop a low-cost trusted unpaid army of Brand Advocates.

Owyang’s Five Phases of Mature Brand Advocacy Programs (summarized):

1.) First, get ready internally. Dedicate an internal staff member on a part-time basis to manage this program. Look for folks who have a background in influencer relationships and are savvy about social media. Develop a plan and educate internal stakeholders.

2.) Find the right advocates that will represent your brand. Look at top bloggers, the most helpful and knowledgeable community members in forums, and those that have dedicated their time to managing Facebook pages, online forums or are active in the ecosystems.

3.) Build a relationship for the long term. Invite your select group of advocates to your headquarters to meet with key executives. Be prepared to listen, and be attentive to their requests. Intel invites its ‘Insiders’ to key events like Intel Developer Forum.

4.) Give them a platform–but do not pay them. The crux of an advocacy program is giving fans a platform for communicating. You’ll want to support their efforts by giving them a publication platform such as a group blog or community, so they can tell their story. Enable them with graphical “badges” they can put on their blogs, email signatures, T-shirts, and business cards as they become extended ambassadors to your brand. Microsoft MVP program showcases their advocates, and provides them with a variety of resources to evangelize.

5.) Integrate them into your business and recognize them. Next, continue to integrate them into your existing events, launches and even planning meetings. Microsoft has “conference” funds for MVPs who are encouraged to speak at industry related conferences about their passions – further spreading the brand.

While it’s not important to do everything all at once, it IS important to embrace this marketing strategy and make initial steps to build your Brand Advocacy program. Let ‘Progress – Not Perfection’ be your guiding principle.

Do you have a Brand Advocacy Program? What learnings can you share that will help others start and manage one?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

.. _____ ..

ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book has a name change! The Net-Powered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com