If you wanting to brand yourself in any way then its important to always be aware of what is being said or written about you. Google Alerts is a free tool that is super easy to use and will help you keep up with what’s being said about you. Here is a list of things you should set up alerts for:
- your name
- your twitter id
- your company name
- your blogs name
- your product names
- your employees or clients names
- your clients companies
- your competitors
- your competitors’ company name
- your competitors’ products
- industry news
- industry blogs
- industry keywords
When tracking industry keywords think about using this content for future blog posts, articles or newsletters. It helps to use advanced search operators to help you narrow your searches.
For example if you were a commercial Realtor in Miami then you might want to create an alert for [Commercial Real Estate+Miami] so that you got information only about Commercial Real Estate in Miami. You’ll have to play with this feature a bit but after a few tweaks it can prove to be VERY powerful information.
Google Alerts is also great for learning that you’re NOT being talked about. While this can be painful to realize it is an important indicator of your online marketing efforts. One of the quickest and easiest ways to get people talking is through the use of social media like Twitter, Facebook or Blogs. On Thursday, March 25 I’ll be sharing the Secrets of Social Media Marketing that speakers, authors and coaches must utilize in 2010 to stay ahead of the competition. Will you be joining us?
To Your Online Success,
Mande White
Founder, FreeSocialMediaHelp.com
Social Media Advisor for FreeSpeakerBureau.com
One of the keys to taking your email and social media marketing from stalled to soaring is to readily keep stock of the content you have that you can distribute among all the various social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. I love working with speakers because this task is never hard for them. Every event you speak at can be leveraged into months worth of content for social media distribution.
Here are 4 Quick ways to Develop Your Content Library:
1)Â Â Â Â Â Ask yourself what are the 10 most Frequently Asked Questions and the 10 most Should Ask Questions a prospect would have about my product or service? Answer these questions in the various media formats: article, special report, blog posts, tweets, video, podcast, power point presentation.
2)     Do you want to write a book? Go ahead and outline what you’d want to say and break down small parts that you can put into various media formats. If you already have a book or physical product or information product then you can divide that up into pieces.
3)Â Â Â Â Â Swipe and Deploy. Use Google Reader to collect others blogs and find a way to combine and recycle their content.
4)Â Â Â Â Â Do keyword research and build content from there. Explore hiring writers to develop content off keywords then replicate into other mediums.
I recommend keeping a running list of all the types of content that you have so that you can easily pull out of this ‘library’ whatever you need when you need it.
If you like these tips and want to learn more about how to tie your email & social media marketing together using a proven-system then join me and Mandy on Thursday, March 25 at 4 p.m. EST for a FREE Teleseminar.
In part 1 we discussed 5 ways to get FREE Publicity for your speaking engagements. How many of those have you started to implement? Are you ready for 5 more?
- Turn yourself into a local. Being a local does NOT mean talking like them or anything that might be viewed as making FUN of them. Being a local can include wearing local team colors, local business and service group acknowledgement…etc. You can also ask your local contact where the best local restaurants are and specifically ask about a local favorite dish. For example, in the Deep South, it might be Chess Pie; in the Midwest, it could be fresh sweet corn, etc. If there is a local custom that happens at the time you are there, participate in it. Examples of that might be the lighting of the Christmas tree in the park or festivals like Tom Sawyer Days in Hannibal, Missouri, home of Mark Twain. If being a local means whitewashing a fence, do it. You will get laughed at many times, but it is all in fun and endears you to the locals.
- Go on a tour of the city. Get the chamber to take you on a tour! Not only will you learn something, you will also show that you are interested in THAT TOWN! The Chamber is seeking out added publicity, just as you are. So, work together! They have contacts in the local media they have been nurturing for years, so feed off of that!
- Giveaways. Sometimes you can “trade” your books, Cds or Dvds or tickets to your speaking engagement for free advertisements on local radio and TV Stations. Tell them you have an event happening now and encourage them to do the giveaways immediately because they are timely. Make yourself seem popular and important, giving them reasons WHY they need to do the giveaways right away and why it would be in their best interest to trade advertisements for your event or book. What they will see as being in their best interest is an increase in listener ship and viewer ship. Having pre-written or pre-recorded advertisements on hand is also a plus! If there is no production involved on their end and they get free giveaways, a lot of times you will be able to get free advertisements easily. However, you may not be able to guarantee the times they will be played. First, take the time to learn about radio and TV and their advertising. Usually, this is found on their website or they will be more than willing to send you the information in advance. Many of you have heard of “Prime Time” on TV. On radio, there is “Drive Time.” These times are usually their highest rated times for viewers and listeners. It is their most expensive advertising time available because of that. It is also the time they like to do contests, so your free giveaways play a key role in that time slot. Knowing what the advertisements are actually worth also comes in handy when tax time rolls around. Basically, your $20 book was used to PURCHASE advertising, so keep track of all giveaways and trade-outs.
- Book signings. If you have a book, you can always arrange a book signing at a local bookstore or library. Usually, the store or library will do the publicity of that event FOR YOU, but you will also want to do a little of your own. If you are doing free giveaways with radio or TV, then having those stations mention your book signing would be relatively easy to do especially if it is a free event.
- Blow your own horn. The great jazz artist, Charlie Bird, once said “If you want to blow it out your horn, ya gotta live it!” So, if you want publicity, then you have to do the work. You also have to be authentic. And, you have to toot your own horn without bragging. INFORM the media that you are there, who you are, what your accomplishments are, etc. But don’t brag! Being humble is attractive. So is being confident. But being arrogant is a turn off to the media, potential fans and others. If you are proud of what you have DONE… then tell everyone. But don’t get ahead of yourself and BRAG about what you could do, what you believe you should be or how they SHOULD see you. You have to be authentic, because they KNOW the difference!
These ten ideas should get you started on creating a free publicity base for your speaking events. The amounts of ways you can find free publicity are endless. You just have to do your homework and be creative about finding it. It is hard work, but the end result is worth it!
Integrated marketing. Multi-channel marketing. Interactive marketing. You’ve heard the terms but what do these really mean for the average entrepreneur or independent business person?
Today’s reality goes beyond merely connecting tactics and conducting multi-media campaigns (say, doing email and postcards). What’s occurring is a convergence of both online and offline marketing methods as well as a fusion of digital channels and tools. What’s driving it is the evolution of the Web, dominated by user generated content, social networking, citizen journalism and growing access to and transparency of content – personal and otherwise.
Here’s a critical lesson for succeeding in this context of conversation marketing:  In the intrusive, immediate realm of the Internet, service – not sales – is the name of the game. Be prepared to educate, inform, entertain, and assist. Give freely in order to receive in abundance. Plan to build and earn trust, and don’t intrude uninvited. If you play by these rules, you’ll have succeeded in doing what authentic marketing is all about – not just selling, but building loyal, long-term customer relationships.
And remember, today the desktop computer email inbox has morphed and people expect proven and new ways of communicating with your business – anywhere, anytime, from either stationary or mobile devices. Email, social and mobile messaging, or tri-messaging, is now a force in the multichannel marketing landscape. Such multi-pronged messaging needs to be intentionally well-orchestrated. Digital messaging is no longer a slow moving, one-way street. We’ve got to think dialog rather than broadcast, and be prepared to cross messaging device barriers and permission thresholds that are constantly proliferating.
Learn how to master your email and social media marketing on a FREE call, Thursday, March 25 at 4 p.m. EST with my Social Media Advisor, Mande White
Here are ten suggestions of what you can do to get FREE publicity:
- Seek it out! While this may seem obvious, it takes a lot of work. Make time in your busy schedule to ALWAYS research the town you are going to. Know their newspapers, radio and television stations, service groups, businesses, schools, churches, arts organizations and other places where people gather. The Chamber of Commerce is a good place to start to get a list. Then, keep a database on each town with contact information for each organization and keep it up to date. Check out calendars of events from the chamber of commerce, tourism, schools, media, city government, churches and service organizations. Much of it will be on the Internet, but you may have to get a hold of a local paper before arriving.
- Know who to contact. This was mentioned in number one, but it is essential to create a complete database of each of those organizations with contact names, physical addresses, email addresses and websites. This will make your job so much easier when you return to that town. And make sure it is updated! That news director you talked to last year may have moved on. Putting that person’s name on a press release could show the news department that you are out of touch.
- Get involved with a non-profit event. Once you have checked the local calendars, have a list of the non-profit events and then participate in as many as you can. Events could include the local Relay for Life, a 5K, a school car wash, Boy Scout popcorn sales or a church dinner. The U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team performed at an air show and found out a Triathlon was being held the next day. One of them made the point of participating in it. Also, while you can do the participation quietly, that doesn’t always get publicity. Your participation can bring added dollars to that non-profit, so promote away! TELL the media you are going to be there! But, you might want to subtly slip it in when talking to them, like asking directions to the location or asking the station if they have ever been there. The more you promote the event, the better for your publicity. If the community is in the process of cleaning up a park, building a Habitat for Humanity home, rebuilding after a disaster or any other number of things, do your part. Grab a shovel, a hammer, a garbage bag… and get yourself dirty. Just showing the community that you care will leave a lasting impression on them.
- Talk somewhere for free. If you have a specialty that college kids or troubled youth can benefit from, then talk to them for free. Call the local colleges, treatment centers or churches and ask if they would like for you to do that. If you can teach the kids something pertaining to the class subject, most professors are open to it. Churches also LOVE to have special speakers. And don’t forget about special assemblies at schools. If you have something to offer the kids of that town, do it… and do it FOR FREE! The paybacks in publicity will well be worth it!
- Have a press release, press kit and press package. A press release is not the same as a press kit, which is not the same as a complete press package. A press release is a simple one or two page news story about you that you want to see printed or read. A press kit provides a lot more information including a photo, press release, fact sheet, “tear” sheets of other interviews and articles about you, a Cd of and/or Mp3 of actualities for radio. A press PACKAGE includes the press kit, but also gives a bit of a bonus such as a poster, your book, a video, a hat, pens, umbrellas… PREMIUMS. Think of premiums like the prize you get in a cereal box. The press loves them! (Although they do not always guarantee an interview, they will help you to be remembered!)
What do you think about these tips? Feel free to leave your comments or suggestions below. Stay tuned next week for tips 6-10.
2009 was a “watershed” year, packed with transformation and shifting, all happening to clear out the old in order to make way for the new. In watershed years, a lot of activity and change which has been slowly building over previous periods finally moves through all at once.
And so it goes as the pace of change continues to accelerate in the world at large – more and more gets packed into the same seemingly-finite amount of time and space. Mentalities change faster, evolution happens at a heightened rate. You know where I’m going with this – it all impacts your marketing too. Not just how you market, but what you say and do. And it’s coming to a head in 2010, likely a waterfall year.  Expect to see the flow of change speed up even more!
Inspired by the emerging shift in human consciousness already occurring and fueled by everything from environmental awareness to the rise of social media, doing business will become as much about serving as selling (and pardon my bias, but I say it’s about damn time!).
In fact, successful marketers during the economic downturn discovered ages ago that when you sell by way of serving, you develop a loyal following that sticks with you through thick and thin, which is why they’ve remained successful even during recent tough times.
A major ramification of “service” is that you should be prepared to provide it. I’m not talking about lip service, but instead about genuine customer engagement. Go from just talking to also listening. Incorporate the ability for your customers to respond to your messages – both from within and without the message channel.
This means they should be able to reply to your email marketing messages, for example, rather than run smack into a “do not reply to this email” wall.  The same goes for social media, where in-channel dialog is not only desired but the norm. Make sure someone’s listening and gathering feedback.
The logical extension of conscious business practices into marketing also involves this same emphasis on contribution and respect. If you’re asking for someone’s attention, give them something worth paying attention to, like free information, free assistance, information or savings. Give before expecting to receive, give unexpectedly, and give even when you’re not asking to receive anything. Listen and talk. Be human, be conversational. CONNECT. Then, when you do present opportunities to buy, your people will have a foundation of trust and loyalty to stand on, and will engage with confidence.
What better time than the start of a new year to crystallize your intentions for 2010 and prepare for the shift toward conscious marketing?
Reserve your seat now on our next 5 Secrets to Emotionally Connecting with Your Target Audience to Increase Visibility, Deepen Customer Relationships and Boost Revenue in 2010.
Your most important tools for publicity are the press release and the press kit.
If you are not a writer, your best bet is to either hire a writer to do your press release or, more simply, keep to the facts. An overwritten press release means more work for the reporter. In this day and age of cut backs, reporters are generally overworked and under paid. If you can make their job easier, you will get published.
Reporters are taught from the get go about the inverted pyramid. This is basically a visual for what a news story should look like. Your press release is a news story, so it should be written like one. The most important FACTS are at the top and the least important information is at the bottom.
What you might consider the most important things you WANT the reporter to know are not always the same as THE FACTS. Reporters want the local angle and “who, what, where, when and why” first. Those five “w’s” should appear in the VERY FIRST LINE of your press release. The first line should also be compelling enough to draw the reader into the rest of the story.
Reporters are also used to seeing press releases in a certain format. Press releases usually get a glance and if they do not capture the reporter’s attention in that glance, they will simply get recycled. So, keeping to the format will prevent that from happening before a single word is read.
Here are the elements you should ALWAYS contain and in the order they appear on the page:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: These words should appear at the top left of the page, in upper case. If you don’t want the story to be made public yet, write “HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL …” and insert the date to be released.
Contact Information: Include contact person, company name, physical/postal address. phone/fax, email, and website.
Headline: Just like a headline in a newspaper. Make sure this describes the content of the story. Center it over the body of the story and in upper case.
City, State/Country – Month Day, Year: These details precede the story and orient the reader. Place this information in italics.
Body: This is where the actual story goes. There should be more than one paragraph, each paragraph no more than a few sentences. If there is more than one page, write “-more-” at the bottom of the page.
- END - or ### This indicates the end of the press release. It should appear centered below the body text.
(xxx words) If you like, you can also include the total number of words contained in the press release.
It should look like this:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Name
Contact Address
Contact Phone Number
Contact Email address and Website
HEADLINE
City, State Month, Date, Year – The Body including Who, what, where, when and why and ya da ya da ya da. At least two paragraphs.
-END-
(500 words)
Here are some tips when writing: Keep it short. Keep it simple. A two-page press release can be overwhelming for a reporter who is on deadline if it is not written correctly. Longer press releases should be reserved for magazine articles only. It is better to include a fact sheet along with the press release if there is more information you would like for them to consider.
Always double check to make sure the contact information is included and correct, that dates and times and places are right and that there are no typos or misspellings. Send the press release AT LEAST two weeks in advance and do your homework to know WHO to send it to.
Press kits contain all of the information you want the news department to know. Sending a photo is nice, but radio and television stations only use them if they have a website. Your press kit should include your contact information, a photo if it is for newspaper or magazine; your contact information; your press release; your contact information; a fact sheet about you, your contact information, short, :30 second (at the longest) quotes from you in an Mp3 format (also known as ACTUALITIES) if you are sending it to radio and, finally, YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION! Your goal is to get an interview. If they don’t know how to contact you, there will be no interview.
Press kits do not necessarily have to be four-color, expensive print pieces either. You can EMAIL a press kit with all of the important documents attached. I would suggest using the press release as the body of the email with the photo, fact sheet and actualities attached to the email. Email format can actually save the reporter typing time and it can also save a tree.
Last, but not least, do NOT resend the information over and over if you have not heard from them. Instead, follow up a week before the event with a phone call to confirm they received it. That is your time to use your local angle to SELL yourself to that news department. You know you are newsworthy, now convince them!
The absolute job of any press release or press kit is to make the PRESS’ job easier. Yes, it promotes YOU… but, in news, YOU are not important. What you mean to the news audience is.
-END-
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Michael J. Maher of Overland Park, Kansas, is our top ranked speaker
Steve Harsh of Columbus, OH and Amy Johnson of Washington are on his heels!
We have made the switch in our sorting criteria.
With 11 five star recommendations by groups he has presented to in the past,
Michael is our number one speaker. You can view his profile here.
Improve your rankings by inviting meeting planners to review your past performance. Simply log into your account (This is important so that the system can create a link to your profile page) and then use the “Invite” link on the blue navigation bar. Then choose “Rate My Speaking.” An editable email will pop up with a link directly to your profile page. You can edit the email or send it as is.
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