Tag Archives: business development

Feb1

Up at the Crack of Dawn Today

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Up at the Crack of Dawn Today

I rose early this morning – 4:30-ish – to trek across the city of Dallas and meet with a fellow writer who wanted some advice on kick-starting her writing business. We’re also involved in a mystery-writing critique group, so the foggy mist that obscured the White Rock Lake area along Northwest Highway seemed the perfect setting for our get-together. It was literally so foggy that I held the wheel with both hands and peered over it into a pea-soup cloud. The good news – all the traffic was headed west, and I was going east, so I didn’t have to worry about cars right around me as I strained my eyes to see the lane markings.  Meeting at 6:30 a.m. is a rare event for me.  But J. is a rare friend, and I didn’t mind giving up a little sleep to meet with her.

Today my friend wanted to talk more about business-oriented writing services rather than our usual creative novel-writing pursuits. Like many experienced writers she is learning to transition from traditional marketing to the new age of social media, with all its complexities.  We had a great brain-storming session and she left with some good ideas about how to promote her work.  She wants a website, so my suggestion was to use WordPress as her starting point, because it is intuitive, easy to use, and free or low-cost, depending upon the options chosen.  I encouraged her to set up a LinkedIn profile, but I’m not sure she is ready to do so.  I also showed her a blog post by Carol Tice, whose blog and website I’ve found both practical and thought-provoking.  Carol is a successful free-lance writer and award-winning blogger who recently wrote about where her writing business came from in 2011.

There are other options, of course.  Using the telephone to contact her targeted customers is one possibility, with a follow-up letter and/or email.  She might consider doing a newsletters using an online tool like ConstantContact, iContact, or AWeber, but a traditional printed newsletter might be an option for her, also.  She can do it on her computer and have it printed at an office supply store like Office Depot.  We also discussed magazines that use free-lance writers and would be interested in her travel-writing skills.   Please note that the advice I gave her was geared to someone who is not yet comfortable with social media.  It’s about dangling one’s legs in the water and adjusting at a slower pace rather than diving in headfirst.

I’m eager to see where my friend goes from here.  J. has many years of experience in writing, ghost-writing, travel writing, resume writing and editing books and marketing materials for all kinds of businesses, so I know she’ll do well with her writing endeavors.  I’m also hoping to see her pursue her dream of self-publishing the mystery novels she has written, since she’s one of the best writers I’ve ever read – honestly – and her work should be out there for readers to find.  She’s a published writer already, but she doesn’t currently have an agent or publisher.  That shouldn’t hold her back.  Lots of writers are finding success by self-publishing.  It’s a brave new world, and everyone – writers, publishers, agents, and even readers – is learning to swim in unfamiliar waters without any floaties.

I’ll keep you posted once she gets her online presence in place.  And I guarantee you, her books will not begin with “It was a dark and stormy night….” and they will keep you perched on the edge of your easy chair, reading long past your bedtime.

Feb24

Sometimes you need a swift kick in the pants

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Sometimes you need a swift kick in the pants

A few weeks ago I wrote about “Failing better”, and apparently the “Powers-that-Be” assumed I needed to exercise that advice again, and so at this writing I am regrouping and taking stock after the company I worked for – a start-up – shut down.

The average lifetime of a new company is about 2 years, and so this one lived an average lifetime.  And while I am looking for the next great adventure I have a few moments to review what I have learned in this experience, and to share that learning with you:

  1. Enjoy the team you work with – sometimes I think I am drawn to a gig purely because I am supposed to meet and learn from someone else who is going to be there.  In this particular case, I made some long lasting friendships, and we created some wonderful memories of working together that I would not trade.
  2. Appreciate the challenges.   I believe that I learn more quickly under the pressure of fixing something or solving a problem with limitations.  I think we all learn to become more innovative, more flexible and more able to move in and out of “the box” when we are challenged to do so.  I learned an enormous amount about social media, researching start-ups, and best uses of tools for collaborating with an off-shore team in the last few months due mostly to the extraordinary need to do so on a shoestring and as quickly as possible.
  3. Communicate communicate communicate.  When you are very busy, you can forget just how important it is to communicate with others who are very busy.  It isn’t just important, it is imperative if you are to survive in business.  This is something I will continue to strive to do BETTER.
  4. Take time off. This is something I wish I had done more of…since I was pretty much available and doing work seven days a week often more than 10 hours a day for the last two years… I missed a funeral because we had a release going into production – and I truly wish that I had taken care of that and other personal types of business rather than making the company my number one priority. That time will never be recaptured, and it is my only regret in the whole experience.

What’s next?  I am open to possibilities and also think I will be heading towards doing things I have passion around, and hoping that the $$’s will follow.  I will continue learning and sharing information about business development and business networking – and lessons learned as a consultant and as an employee.  I love to share what I learn and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so.

I view this as a “swift kick in the pants” and will get it in gear.  Hope to hear from you, and thanks for continuing to follow the blog.

Cheers,

Natalia

Feb4

Social Media Management – Setting Your Sights on the Right Sites

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Social Media Management – Setting Your Sights on the Right Sites
Social Media Management – Setting Your Sights on the Right Sites
Copyright (c) 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
BrandSplat
http://www.Brandsplat.com/

One of the most amazing features about the Web is that it allows many people to take advantage of features they did not originate. Livejournal, Twitter, Digg, Reddit and each of the many other Social Media sites were proposed and implemented with a relatively small cadre of people, yet thousands of businesses are finding ways to use these sites for promotion and improvement every day. These sites allow for communication with the nearly captive audience that is any business’ dream.

Of course as is the case with any innovative process many businesses jump in to Social Media Marketing without understanding the problems at hand, and find themselves ignored or scorned for seeming to be incompetent. In some cases this is a failure of research, while in others it is a case of forgetting that these audiences are indeed people with complex opinions and attitudes. Combine these traits with the mass communication capability of the Internet, and you have equal potential for word of mouth fame or disaster.

Before jumping into SMM, every business needs to consider the core options available to them and see just which ones truly suit the organization and its needs. The leadership must consider the objective of their business and the audience that will facilitate this objective. Then they should consider not just which Social Media sites this audience frequents, but how to reach them in a way that makes them care. To that end, what follows is a short review of some Social Media sites and a comparison of their roles to highlight these issues.

Twitter

Twitter is Social Media at its barest; short messages are sent out to anyone following the account, usually consisting of no more than a brief comment or a short URL. US President Barack Obama relied heavily on Twitter during his successful White House bid, using it to promote rallies and campaign meetings. The very brevity of Twitter gives it some of its most unexpected strength. After all, what could be more mysterious than a message reading ‘Tyler Park, 9:30 pm, bring chips and sunglasses’? Sunglasses at night? Chips? It immediately gets the mind racing with questions and interest.

Yet in a classic example illustrating that audiences are not simply feedback devices, but actual people, consider the gone-wrong story of the Republican Party in Connecticut. In an effort to satire some of their opponents, the party set up 33 fake Twitter accounts impersonating state Democrats! Twitter shut down the accounts citing terms of service clauses against impersonating other individuals. The move raised a number of ethical questions and is a classic example that users should always ask if ‘can’ necessarily means ‘should.’

Facebook and Myspace

The title of this section indicates a common perception in the media that these competing services are offering essentially the same product. In a sense this is true, as both offer users a chance to join groups, manage and customize a profile, and use a variety of applications for entertainment or business. They represent the more involved tier of Social Media, combining aspects of blogging and websites for easy access.

However the facts show that perceptions can be misleading. Facebook only allows for plain text customization, whereas Myspace allows users to customize with HTML and CSS. While this may not sound like the greatest of distinctions it does make Facebook more accessible to the ‘casual’ user of Social media, while Myspace by default becomes the realm of those more interested in website design. If your business’ aim is to recruit potential designers, this distinction alone tells you where to focus your efforts.

Digg and Reddit

These sites and others like them are in essence an Internet popularity contest. Users submit content, and other users vote on whether they find it interesting. The theory of use here is that these sites can be used as a benchmark for public opinion, based on a reading of what is popular at any given time. Except it isn’t always that simple. Digg has faced criticism that the site’s owners have a great deal of direct influence on which stories make it to the front page, which does call into question whether it actually represents public opinion.

Not the Final Word, Just a Thought

Above we mentioned the curious case of Republicans attempting a bit of satire and finding themselves called on ethical questions. Another fact to consider is the irony vote. It is not unknown or even uncommon for Internet hobbyists to vote en masse for an irrelevant news story just to see if they can make it popular as a jest. For example, the infamous and popular social site 4chan seemingly organized massive, worldwide boycotts of the Church of Scientology because it could.

Working with a professional social media marketing agency can help ensure that your online efforts are focused on the right sites, with the right message, to the right audience for maximum ROI.

Above all, the lesson that must be learned is that the Internet is not a static collection of people waiting to obey the input of  various broadcasters. Each audience is composed of many distinct and individual users, many of whom are intelligent, critical thinkers with opinions and ideas of their own. If your campaign treats them as a switch to be thrown, it will fail, period. If you want your campaign to succeed, treat these audiences with respect and develop a campaign that communicates with rather than at them.

———————————————————————
Enzo F. Cesario is an online brand management specialist
and co-founder of Brandsplat, a social media company that
uses blogs, articles, videos and social media to drive
traffic to your site. For the free Brandcasting Report
go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at
http://www.iBrandCasting.com/

Posted via email from Natalia’s Other Blog

Nov7

Zig When They Zag – And Stand Out by Scott Bywater

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Zig When They Zag – And Stand Out by Scott Bywater

Zig When They Zag – And Stand Out
Copyright (c) 2009 Scott Bywater
Copywriting That SELLS
http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/

The internet has become all the rage these days.

Don’t send a letter, pop it on an email.

Don’t mail the customer anything, pop it in an email.

In fact, let’s forget about letters altogether and do everything
electronically.

I’m as guilty of this as the next person.

But recently I received a thank you card and it made me think a
little differently.

You see, I receive (and appreciate) a bundle of emails every week
thanking me for the emails I send out.

And nothing makes me feel better than knowing that as I write
these emails from my lonely office, someone is reading them and
hopefully applying them.

However a couple of weeks ago I received something in the mail
which really stood out.

It was a thank you card from a guy called Greg Kumanovski from
Global Pictures. All it said was…

“Thank you for your regular emails with all the helpful ideas.
Have a great day”

But I’ve had that card sitting on my filing cabinet ever since
he sent it to me.

And I think there’s a lesson here for all of us.

Whether it’s thank you cards or anything else, consider sending
the hard copy version over the soft copy version.

In other words: when everyone else is zigging, why not zag and
stand out from the crowd.

After all, mail order should be far more effective these days
because nobody else is doing it.

For instance, yesterday I was chatting with a guy who sent out
his proposals via email.

He was getting a lot of proposals requests coming in every week
and would pretty much churn back a standard response with a
quotation.

I suggested he set up a system where he could send them out via
mail instead.

We worked out that all he would need to pay for the cost of the
mail is a 1% increase in response.

My bet is that he would get it.

Especially when all of his competitors are probably doing
everything via email as well.

So take a moment now to think of how you can do things
differently… and use alternative strategies to stand out from
your competition.

———————————————————-
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive
experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of
Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain
access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining
and eye opening “Copywriting Selling Secrets” newsletter
available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/

Sep27

After DemoFall2009

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After DemoFall2009

What a wild ride!  Demo.com and San Diego – what a fabulous combination.  I must say that the Demo.com folks are an amazing group!  Totally organized, very friendly, helpful, and super high energy!  We were thrilled to be launching there amidst so much tech talent and brainpower.

I was particularly impressed with Emo Labs www.emolabs.com from my old stomping grounds in Waltham, Mass. and Web on Weels at www.weelscorp.com a great keyboard-free browser developed by talented undergrads.  All of the wonderful companies can be seen at Demo.com the DemoFall2009 alumni.

Plus it is a relief to be out of “Stealth-Mode” and be able to talk about our private, enterprise focused business networking and development tool! As our Founder and CEO says: “We do one thing well – Relationships, Relationships, Relationships, Relationships…..”

SOME OF THE BUSINESS PROBLEMS WE HELP YOU SOLVE:

• Think of all your contacts in your Outlook? Which ones are outdated? We help you keep them up to date – automatically.
• Can you name ALL the people in your company that have a relationship at another company you are interested in? Now you can find out, without having to upload them into your company’s contact database – so you control your relationships.
• How would you like access to your trusted colleagues contacts in a mutually agreeable manner, remaining private and anonymous if desired?

If you’d like to try us out – use coupon “NCORRES” when registering – choose Gold Membership.  You’ll get three months free Gold Membership. Visit us at www.whodoyouknowat.com.