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Fast, cheap, and out of control: how to promote your business, project, or nonprofit

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic (by 26 people)   Your rating: 1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic

Ranked #1211 in How-To, #11824 overall

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Rated G. (Control what you see)

It used to be really hard to communicate with prospective customers.

 

You had to buy something expensive, like advertising, or do something complicated, like PR. Or you sent out lots of direct mail, which is expensive and complicated and horrendously wasteful. (Only 97% of our junk mail was thrown away! Fabulous success!)

We don't live in that world any more.

In the words of Internet sage Doc Searls (in an amazingly prescient column about internet marcom written in 1995):

To the energetic individual or company, the opportunities look infinite. Maybe everybody can thrive. Maybe everybody can participate. And maybe [governments and giant corporations] will find [they] can't throw [their] weight around-because this is something like outer space and everybody's kind of weightless here. All that matters is what you . . . contribute and how well you contribute it.

Today you can connect with millions of potential customers . . . 

. . . practically free.

21st century technology has given us the tools to connect with millions of people all over the world, without spending a lot of money and without having to be a communications or technology expert.

You can blog, you can create Web sites, you can contribute to forums and social media communities.

You can subscribe to a ten-week e-tutorial on 21st-century marketing.

What do you need to do all this? An Internet connection, a halfway decent computer, a few resources for things like cheap professional photography.

Oh, and there's one more thing that comes in handy:

You need powerful writing. 

Way back in the 1980s, a lot of folks put the idea out that writing was dead. (Of course, they did this with . . . writing.) As the theory went, we were devolving into a kind of medieval society that only knew how to look at images, except instead of stained-glass windows in cathedrals, we got our pictures from flashy television ads.

But some of us could see something different. There was something new called the Internet. It was just words back then, no World Wide Web. But we could see how powerful those words could be. They moved people to action. And a single writer, if she was good enough, could move hundreds, then thousands of readers.

It was obvious that some day we'd be able to easily reach millions of human beings all over the world.

Becoming a strong writer isn't all that easy. Learning to write well is like learning to play music well. It takes time and dedication, and the knack comes easier to some than others. But any of our lives (and businesses) can be enriched by learning something about the craft and art of writing.

Resources to improve your marketing writing 

The nuts and bolts of writing don't change much. Here are a few useful resources. (If you have a favorite you don't see here, let me know about it in the guestbook below!)

The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr.

The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk Jr.

E.B. White is still one of the great stylists of A more...1 point

Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank by Bryan Eisenberg

Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank by Bryan Eisenberg

A useful guide to getting to your reader's emotion more...0 points

The Copywriter's Handbook, Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W. Bly

The Copywriter's Handbook, Third Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Copy That Sells by Robert W. Bly

<b>The classic guide to copywriting, now in more...0 points

The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters by Joseph Sugarman

The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters by Joseph Sugarman

Great copy is the heart and soul of the advertisin more...0 points

You need new marketing communication techniques. 

Then back in 1999, just when we thought we had a handle on this Internet thing, we had another smart bomb dropped on us by the inimitable Seth Godin. He neatly pointed out all the stuff that was happening almost too quickly to see.

We were being overwhelmed by sales messages, so we started to tune them out. Tivo let us skip over TV commercials. And we had a "mental Tivo" that filtered out the rest.

Godin reminded us we could actually entice people into wanting to hear from us. But we had to provide something of value, we had to provide it up front, and we might want to give some of it away for free. We had to create relationships with customers, and that conversation went both ways.

We didn't talk at our customers any more. We engaged with them.

Godin talked about turning strangers (in other words, the entire world) into friends, then friends into customers, then customers into crazy loyal fans who tattoo your logo on their foreheads. Or at least their biceps.

Benefit from the mighty Seth wisdom 

OK, so promoting Seth's books on Squidoo looks embarrassingly like sucking up. I'll get over it. These are important and useful books. Read them and get smarter.

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 07/19/2008)

Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas

Amazon Price: $17.13 (as of 07/19/2008)

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

Amazon Price: $10.15 (as of 07/19/2008)

Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers

Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 07/19/2008)

The Big Red Fez: How To Make Any Web Site Better

Amazon Price: $9.56 (as of 07/19/2008)

Psssst, wanna hire an amazing director of relationship marketing? 

I'm looking for new challenges

I'm an excellent writer, project manager, and team leader.

I've delivered exceptional results for the company I work with now. I led a tiny team to create a customer communication program that helped generate intense customer loyalty. It took us a little less than a year to climb to 47% referral and 94-96% customer satisfaction rates, and we've held steady there for about three years.

Now I'm looking for a fabulous new company to help grow. My special areas of focus are relationship marketing and new social media. Drop me an email!

Click here to download a PDF resume (26.5K)

So how exactly do you do all that? 

The theories are exciting and cool, but what does all this translate to?

Here are a few of the easier possibilities.

(Don't get too stressed if someone is already doing one of these in your business space. You're always going to have competition. Find a niche, find an angle, or just find a unique voice. Find a way to do it cooler and better.)

Print or email newsletters. They have to be interesting and they have to be good. They can't be self-serving (or at least be subtle about it). But well-written information that benefits your customers will create warm-chocolate-cookie feelings that help customers like you, trust you, and enjoy buying from you.

Blogs. Once again, they have to be interesting and they have to be good. What could you riff on every day that would help your prospects and customers? If you're a real estate agent, could you start a blog on relocating to your city?

Articles and tip sheets. There might not be something new to say every day about your business—that's ok. Think about publishing useful articles. If you're a tire store, how about a free PDF (downloadable from your web site) on everything there is to know about snow tires?

Static Web sites. There's still a place for these! You don't need to be a developer or an expert to build a strong Web presence. Click the Contact Me link below my picture (upper left side of the page) if you want to throw around some some ideas!

Squidoo lenses! Squidoo can be a powerful tool to make your other marketing materials work harder. They're easy to build—but solid content and a few special tricks will make them much more effective. Contact me if you'd like some help beefing up your lenses!

Plant a Web garden. You can use a variety of Web 2.0 sites to circulate your content around the Internet. This is a great strategy to support a static site (always link back to your own site, if you have one) and generate lots of Google goodness. Click here to see a blog post I made recently on tending a Web garden.

Meatball Sundae 

Or, how to not be totally clueless at New Marketing

As a card-carrying Seth junkie, I pre-ordered this, and I'm glad I did. Meatball Sundae walks you through the 12 major trends of "New Marketing" and talks about the pitfalls (and possibilities) of each one. Solid and highly useful.

If nothing else, you can chuck it at your boss's head if he won't listen to you.

Meatball Sundae: Is Your Marketing out of Sync?

Amazon Price: $16.29 (as of 07/19/2008)

Good blogs and sites about how to create more powerful connections with customers 

These are some of my favorites. Let me know about yours in the guestbook below!

Copyblogger
www.copyblogger.com
I was a fan of this A-list blog for about a year before I became fortunate enough to start writing for them. Solid content and good writing advice, with a focus on writing commercially viable content for the Web. An important resource for anyone interested in 21st-century marketing.

Seth's Blog
http://sethgodin.typepad.com
I get more ideas from Seth's blog than I can possibly use, which is kind of great.

Common Errors in English
~brians/errors/">www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
Not a blog, but an immensely useful reference site when you're trying to figure out if it's backward or backwards, and whether it's ok to use the word impactful.

Merriam-Webster online
www.m-w.com
A very handy resource. This site is free, or you can subscribe to the excellent Collegiate dictionary online for $15 a year, which I think is a terrific bargain.">

Book Yourself Solid (Internet marketing and more) 

by Michael Port

This is the most useful book I've read in the past few months for the small business owner who wants more customers. Michael Port has laid out a well-developed set of steps that virtually anyone can use to start creating more powerful connections.

His book is especially useful because he covers multiple strategies—face to face networking for people who are great at that, Web strategies for those who are a little shy, etc.

The remarkable communication blog 

Learn more about how to promote your business without scams, spam, or sleaze, and about Gene Simmons' shortcomings as a marketer.

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Would you like a partner to help with any of that? 

I have a strict policy of only doing what I'm great at, which is creating powerful marketing writing that helps you get the word out about how wonderful you are.

(Caveat—because I don't believe in lying, you actually have to be wonderful for me to help you. But you just might be wonderful without realizing it—email me and let's figure it out.)

If you'd like help with writing or copyediting your newsletter, blog, or Web site (or help with fancy marketing stuff like positioning and developing your unique value proposition), please get in touch! You can find contact info and a little more about me at remarcom.com. Or you can click the Contact Me link right under my photo at the top left hand of the lens.

I've also started the remarkable communication blog to discuss ways you can form better connections with your customers.

Finally, I invite you to subscribe to a free newsletter on improving your communication. It starts with a ten-part marketing tool kit to create marketing communication that is more personal, relevant, remarkable and powerful.

I absolutely never sell or rent my email list, and I won't spam you to death, either. Cross my heart.

How to give your favorite lenses extra love 

www.lensroll.com

Want more ways to reward the great lenses you find on Squidoo? Check out lensroll.com, a "Digg"-like site just for Squidoo lenses. You can "roll" your favorite lenses and find great new stuff that other readers have voted for.

If you think this lens is rollworthy, Click here to go right to it on lensroll.com.

Whether or not you roll this lens, check out lensroll.com to find great lenses and recommend great lenses.

Talk to me! 

Want more details? What would you like to see added?

I'm interested in building additional lenses, so if there's a topic you'd like to see expanded, let me know here! Naturally I also always welcome stars, diggs, lensrolls, and other random acts of kindness!

scss

This is such a great lens - really well done and tons of great info. I'm into marketing and sales, and just recently gotten into website building, social marketing and now Squidoos... the world just keeps changing on us... who'da thunk it? a few years ago...

I just had to give it a 5star rating!

Hope you can drop by some of my lenses sometime and say hello!

- Helene Malmsio

Posted May 31, 2008

miltski

Wow, what a Lens. An inspiring model of what all good lenses should be.

Posted May 04, 2008

Cindy G

Wow! I'm so happy to have come across your lens. I'm still working on my first one... Of all the lenses and sites I've seen, this one is jam-packed with good content, and excellent links! I really appreciate the quality (and lack of hype,

Posted February 24, 2008

sonia_simone

Aw, you are just so nice!

Posted January 15, 2008

rms

Thank you for all the valuable information you share with us people who are still trying to learn their way around this topic! You are a treasure!

Posted January 15, 2008

alexkazam

Really useful and inspiring info-thankyou.
http://www.squidoo.com/magicmoney

Posted December 13, 2007

TARAdactyl

I think this is my all time favorite lens, great combo of interesting writing (go figure...:), content links and shopping opportunities!

Posted October 16, 2007

 
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sonia_simone

About sonia_simone

Writer, marketer, tinkerer, parent, human being, meditator, gardener, obsessive, bookworm, smartypants, idiot, knitter, bleeding heart, analyst, and wannabe geek.

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