Promote your community via crowdsourcing

July 3, 2011

As many of you know, Gavin Heaton and I co-edited the Age of Conversation series of books — each one crowdsourced with help from marketing and social media practitioners from all over the globe.  Each book is as unique as the contributors but they all three had some things in common:

• The authors formed a community among themselves and I know for a fact that new business and personal relationships formed as a result.
• The book benefits from the many authors all promoting it to their own networks and spheres of influence.
• There is a healthy sense of competition among the authors — everyone wants their contribution to be deemed worthy when compared to the others.

We did it mostly as an experiment and a vehicle to raise money for some charities.  But I think we were all astonished at the lasting value the books created far beyond the monies raised.

My agency, McLellan Marketing Group, took the same model and brought it to our community of Central Iowa (through our client BIZ-CI).  Our goal in this case was to:

• Crowdsource a book that would spotlight all of the professional expertise that existed in our area
• Help fledgling businesses/entrepreneurs who couldn’t afford to buy the expertise have access to it
• Promote some of our community’s business leaders by name/firm
• Introduce our business community to companies that were considering a move to Central Iowa
• Create connections among the business leader/authors

So we invited local business leaders to each write a chapter related to their area of expertise for the book How Business Gets Done: Words of Wisdom by Central Iowa Experts.

38 experts in some aspect of starting/running a small business all offering best practice counsel as well as pointing to some of their favorite resources.

You can get a Kindle copy by clicking here*.

Peter Korchnak, out in Portland, Oregon put together a very similar book called Portland’s Bottom Line.  But they added a very interesting twist.

Korchnak and his co-editor  Megan Strand organized the book into 12 sections along the triple bottom line of People, Planet, and Prosperity.  The book explores how small businesses can effectively and efficiently shift toward sustainability and thrive. 51 small-business people from the City of Roses shared their experiences with sustainability in their companies. “The Portland Bottom Line” demonstrates how small businesses can innovate to put people before profit, help restore the ecosystem, and prosper.

The book is also a community benefit project. Contributors collectively chose, by vote, the local community organization Mercy Corps Northwest, which supports the launch and growth of sustainable ventures, to receive 100% of profit from the book’s sales.

To check it out, click here*.

In all three examples, the authors are held up as professionals who have something relevant to share.  It adds to their credibility and who doesn’t like to say they’re an author of a published book?

What I’d love for you to do is take a look at these examples and then apply the thinking you the communities you serve/participate in.  It wouldn’t have to be a city type of community.  It could be a community that shares a passion/vocation like the Age of Conversation books did.  The book could center around a common theme, skill, cause, interest or even something  aspirational.

How could you use this crowdsourcing model in your business?

*Yup, an affiliate link.  Peter sent me an advanced copy of their book to review.  So did a bunch of other authors.  But this book is worth sharing with you.

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Five elements to writing an effective sales letter

June 28, 2011

…make me feel like you know I’m unique

Writing an effective sales letter for a cold list?  Are you kidding me?

Cold calling doesn’t work.  Blind sales letters go right into the circular file cabinet.  E-mail solicitation to strangers get flagged as SPAM.

All of that is true.  Most of the time.

And while I will never be the guy advocating for blindly reaching out to people who have no idea who you are, have no burning need for what you’re selling and in fact, will probably see you as a nuisance, not a trusted partner — every once in awhile I see someone who does it masterfully enough that I admit, never say never.

We got an e-mail sales letter today that not only got me to read it but — got me to respond.  And that hardly ever happens.  I thought I’d share the letter with you (I did trim/paraphrase for space) and then we can identify why it worked.

“You can stop wasting time chasing after the wrong ones and simply attract the ones who are your perfect fit.  Customers who love you aren’t about the transaction.  They’re about the relationship.”

Now, some would call the above quote plagiarism, but let’s assume none of those people are here.  This quote was lifted from the MMG website because it’s simply one of the smarter lines I’ve read on an agency’s website in quite some time.  It’s honest and effectual, and it speaks volumes of the work your company does.  It makes advertising geeks like me want to get to know MMG and what the company is up to (and possibly get one of those sweet nicknames. Not going to lie – I’m a little jealous ‘Girl Wonder’ is already taken).

I just wanted to reach out and introduce myself as your new – or possibly first – rep for Company XYZ.

And now that I’ve explained why I want to work with you, I’d like to come in and tell you why you would want to work with me…

If you’re not familiar with Company XYZ, here are the Cliffsnotes: [Two short sentences about what they do]  On top of that, we swear by our customer service and I can promise you’ll be embarrassingly doted on as a client.

I’d love to swing through Des Moines office and get the scoop on what’s in the works at McLellan. Do you have any time available for lunch (liquid or otherwise – pick your poison) or a meeting the week of 8/1?

Looking forward to working together!

Sarah

Bravo Sarah!  Let’s dissect her efforts to see what elements made this work:

Show me that you know me. I’m sure she used the same technique of quoting a prospect’s website in all her letters, but in this one — she quoted us.  And she referenced our job titles.  It felt like she “got us.”  No one wants to be prospect #2,843.

Cop our attitude: Our website is written with a bit of attitude and Sarah captured it perfectly in her e-mail.  It feels like we speak the same language.

Talk more about me than you: In the entire pitch e-mail, two sentences are about the company she works for.  The rest is about us.  And who doesn’t like to talk and read about themselves.

Keep it short: Whether it’s e-mail or snail mail — you don’t need to tell me everything in one fell swoop. Hit the highlights and whet my appetite.

When you talk about yourself, talk about me: Even in the two sentences she wrote about her company’s offerings — she talked about them in relation to how they could help us serve clients better.

Notice how many times I used the word “me” in the call outs above.  That’s why most sales letters don’t work.  Because they’re not about the prospect at all.  Most sales people don’t take the time to do their research or tailor the letter.

Which is why most sales letters go right in the trash.  But if you build in the elements that Sarah so deftly demonstrated — you might be surprised at the results!

 

 

 

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Are you in the emotional transportation biz?

June 25, 2011

…We’ve always found a way to tell our stories

It’s no secret that I am an unabashed fan of storytelling.  It is how we learn when we’re school kids, it’s how we get our friends to do crazy things (“think of what a great story this will be to tell your kids, Steve!) and it’s how we persuade each other — be it to vote for a candidate, buy a particular brand of cologne or share our religious beliefs.

Look at how reality TV has captured that truth.  We come to cheer for perfect strangers who become important to us — because we know their story.

We are, by our very nature, storytellers AND story absorbers.

And yet…in our business communications, all too often, we blather on about facts, figures and bullet points rather than letting the stories connect us to people who are drawn to them.  Which is why I really want you to read Peter Guber‘s Tell to Win. (click here to buy*)

Peter Guber is the founder and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment and owns NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Before creating Mandalay, he was Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Co-Owner of the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company, Chairman and CEO of Polygram, Co-Founder of Casablanca Record & Filmworks and President of Columbia Pictures.

So the man knows the power of stories in both business and entertainment.

“Emotional transportation” is what Guber calls the power of story telling and he says “more and more, success is won by creating compelling stories that have the power to move partners, shareholders, customers, and employees to action. Simply put, if you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it.”

I can’t argue with that.

As you might imagine, considering his career, Guber tells stories via the voices of  Magic Johnson, Michael Jackson, Wolfgang Puck, the founder of YouTube Chad Hurley, Bill Clinton, Michael Milken, director Tim Burton, Nelson Mandela, Mark Burnett, author Nora Roberts, Tina Sinatra, Anderson Cooper, Larry King, Steven Spielberg, Arianna Huffington, and many more.  So the read is entertaining while it educates.

The book outlines techniques you can use to create purposeful stories like changing passive listeners into active participants and using “state of the heart” technology on and offline to keep your audience connected to your story.

At the end of each chapter, Guber calls out the aHHa! elements of that section.  Like many business books, he gives you a formula for creating better, more compelling stories and then gives you plenty of examples to draw from.

Even if you’re already telling stories left and right — there are some nuances to be learned from this book.  be sure you come back and tell us a story of how you used what you learned!

 

*Yup, an affiliate link.  The author sent me an advanced copy of this book to review.  So did a bunch of other authors.  But this book is worth sharing with you.

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Beverage start up counts on QR codes

June 23, 2011

Will we start to see QR codes on pkg goods?

Starts ups are tough…especially consumer goods start ups.  In the crowded energy drink space, you have to be pretty innovative to push beyond getting someone’s attention and converting that to a purchase.

So HYDRIVE Energy, the maker of upstart HYDRIVE Enhanced Water Energy Drinks, decided to try something different.  On two of their products  – decaf and extra strength, they’ve added a QR code.

When scanned, the QR codes take consumers to a mobile site offering a constantly changing array of wacky fitness trivia, contests, free prizes and product information.

They worked with a group of digital marketing students at Harvard Business School to create a QR code strategy for the brand. One of the things that makes this campaign unique is that when you scan the code, you’re delivered to the site which delivers fresh and varied content each time.

By offering different content with each scan, they’ve replicated the “under-the-cap” promotional experience often used in traditional soft drink marketing but in a digital way.   According to HYDRIVE’s director of marketing, their goal is to create a more interactive and intimate relationship with our product.

The HYDRIVE QR site features four sections; a changing daily trivia fact or a free prize; a monthly sweepstakes; a link to product information; and a link to Facebook. The social media component is an important strategic initiative for HYDRIVE as they continue to build it out.

You can check it out by finding the nearest location to buy a HYDRIVE Energy here or just click here to go right to the site.

What do you think — good use of QR codes?

Related articles

• Creating smart QR Codes (mclellanmarketing.com)
• QR becomes currency in the Netherlands (arhg.net)
• Dynamic Uses for Quick Response Codes (davidkorpel.wordpress.com)
• Tips on Using QR Codes for Your Small Business (postnetlakemill.wordpress.com)

Note:  The folks at HYDRIVE sent me a couple bottles so I could try the QR codes.

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Smart logos

June 21, 2011

I can’t draw a stick person by hand or on the computer.  So I have always marveled at people who can really take design to a different level and go beyond pretty/cool to smart.  That’s what brilliant logo designers do.

I thought you’d enjoy checking out some of these very smart logo designs.

If you look at the center of this logo, you can see two people enjoying a Tostito chip with a bowl of salsa. Great logos often have layers to them.

Like the FedEx logo.  Do you see the “hidden” arrow within the logo?  Look at the space between the E and the x.

This is the new Baskin Robbins logo.  The old one had the number 31 with an arc above it. See how they’ve incorporated the 31 in the new design?

See the number 1 in the negative space between the F and the red stripes? Notice how the red section communicates a feeling of speed.

By now, you should be getting good at spotting the layers.  Do you see the M and the B?

Two elements to notice in this simple logo.  The yellow arrow connects the A to the Z (we have everything from A-Z) and forms a smile, to connote a commitment to customer service.

Toblerone is a chocolate company from Bern, Switzerland which is sometimes called The City Of Bears.  Do you see the silhouette of a bear?

Okay…here are three for you to discover on your own.

My point?  There are plenty of companies and websites that can whip up a logo.  And some of them go beyond the trite and expected.  But don’t settle for okay.  Your company deserves better than okay.

If you loved these and want some more…check out these logos.

Hat tip to my dad and Mike Colwell for sharing some of these logos with me.

 

 

 

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Your brand’s foundation

June 18, 2011

 

How are you building your foundation?

A brand, much like someone’s personality, isn’t something you concoct or fabricate.  You can’t put it on and take it off at will.  It’s not window dressing, but instead it comes from within your company, the culture, the people, the vision and of course…the marketplace in which it exists.

 

You can, of course, amplify your brand by doing the right things with intention and frequency.  But…the foundation is already set.

In fact…you build your foundation with every choice you make as an organization and as the individuals who work for that organization.  David Ogilvy once said “every advertisement is part of the long-term investment in the personality of the brand.”  In today’s digital world where everything is archived by Google — it goes far beyond that.

Long before you are consciously on the radar screen of your target audience…you are creating your brand’s foundation with every:

• Tweet
• Facebook update
• Snarly employee wearing one of your logo’d shirts in a bar
• Branded truck driving carelessly
• Sponsorship of an event
• Comment left on someone else’s blog, FB, etc.
• Advertising/Marketing offers

Think of each action as a log or brick.  Without meaning to — you are stacking each of those choices/actions together to create my first impression of you.  The foundation upon which I will decide if I want to keep interacting.

And by the way — your absence is as noticeable as your presence.  Those choices should be made as carefully as deciding where you do want to be seen.

Here’s my question.  How intentional are you being about your brand’s foundation?  Are you building it with a vision and purpose or is it just happening haphazardly?

 

Hat tip to Derrick Daye for reminding me of this Ogilvy quote.

 

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Are you willing to double your profits?

June 16, 2011

…do you want to double your profits?

Seems like a silly question, doesn’t it?  Who wouldn’t want to double profits?

Wanting to and being willing to do what it takes are two very different things.  But I’ve found a playbook that might give you an edge.

Double your revenue and profit in 3 years or less.  That’s a bold promise and one most authors wouldn’t dare make.  But Cameron Herold doesn’t appear to be just any author.  Cameron earned his chops running high-growth businesses such as 1-800-GOT-JUNK? where in his six years as COO, the company roughly doubled in size every year, growing from $2MM to over $106MM in sales.

What I appreciate about Herold book’s Double Double (click here to buy*) is that it’s practical “how to” stuff as opposed to a lot of theoretical discussion.  Lots of good examples and very tangible tools.  But all of that said….this isn’t revolutionary information.  I doubt you are going to read anything that makes you slap yourself on the head and say, “I’d never have thought of that.”

So why read the book, you might ask.  Well, if you’ve already doubled the size your revenue in the past 3 years and are on track to do it again — then you probably shouldn’t waste your time.  But if you’re like 99% of business owners/leaders — you may be familiar with many of the concepts but you aren’t making it happen.

So read the book.  Take notes.  And notice the focus.

I think most business leaders know what they need to do to make their business successful.  But then one of three things happens:

• They get distracted
• It gets too difficult (they don’t want to do something they need to do)
• They get worn out and don’t have the energy

The other danger is that most business leaders try to do this in a vacuum.  They don’t involve their team.  They don’t create a vision that’s so clear anyone in the company could draw it and they don’t protect/chase that vision like a middle linebacker at the Super Bowl.  While Herold’s book can’t toughen you up to do the hard work — he has written a playbook you can follow.

Part One: This is what I would call the prep section.  This is about creating your map.  You can get somewhere without one, but why go to all that extra work?  Measure twice, cut one!  This isn’t just about vision, it’s about how to go from vision to action plan and how to create a culture where everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Part Two: This section is the nitty gritty of how to execute on the plan.  It covers just what you’d expect it to — right people on the bus, marketing, tracking/measuring progress, etc.

Part Three: This section talks about having the heart of a leader.   Herold talks about juggling all you have to do, finding some balance and the heart murmurs that come with running  business.  His chapter about the roller coaster was worth the price of the book alone.  Having owned my own business since 1995 — I have felt everything he described and then some.

This book is a call to action so read it with a notepad by your side.  I’d also recommend that you read it with your management team and then discuss your ideas together.  It would be a great pre retreat homework assignment and then you could really dig into the planning.

Bottom line — if you want your business to be stronger, more profitable and more fun — this is an excellent playbook.  But…reading the book won’t be enough so don’t bother buying it if you aren’t also willing to do the hard work.

 

*Yup, an affiliate link.  The author sent me an advanced copy of this book to review.  So did a bunch of other authors.  But this book is worth sharing with you.

 

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Creating smart QR Codes

June 14, 2011

…An example of QR codes & my column

QR codes seem to be the media’s most recent marketing darling.  You’ll find lots of articles talking about how to use them, including a couple I’ve written (read here and here).  And in March, I shared Central Park’s incredible QR campaign to inspire you to give this technology a try.

Along with the various online places where you can find my marketing thoughts, I am a weekly columnist for Iowa’s business journal, the Business Record.  A few months ago, we started adding a QR code feature to my columns — to share extra resources and to demonstrate how QR codes can work.  (the screen capture is of one of my columns that has migrated from their print product to their website)

When we decided to add this feature, I decided I wanted a QR code creator that was a bit more robust than some of the free sites I’d been using.  We weren’t ready for custom shapes (check out these designs) — but I did want to know how many scans each code had and if there was a pattern to when the scans were occurring.

After reviewing many options, I am down to two choices.  The “must haves” for me were:

• Could create a high resolution QR code (need it for the print publication and for some of our client’s work)
• Reporting/tracking capabilities
• Good customer support if we had questions

The first contender is QReate & Track by InterlinkONE.  They do offer a free membership/option but I opted for the $19/month version so I could get the reporting.  That reporting includes:

• Number of scans
• Scans by day, time and month, year etc.

Really, for most local businesses, that’s plenty unless you’re going to do some serious number crunching.  In terms of easy access for support, they have a forum, a blog and you can e-mail them your question.  They’re also here in the states so for me, that’s a time zone advantage.

The second contender is PushQR.com from the UK.  They too offer a free option but I went for the 6.99 GBP($11 something/month) because I needed to create more than 3 campaigns a month.  The big difference between the two is in the reporting.  With pushqr.com, I can track:

• Realtime # of scans
• Bounce rate
• Pageviews
• Unique scans
• Time on page
• What barcode reader was used
• What type of mobile device was used
• The geography of the scanner (down to the city)

Clearly a more robust reporting menu.  One of the other cool features to this site is the ability to set a goal.  For example,  my QR code could lead you to a landing page where I offered something for sale.  The goal URL could be the thank you page that you’d go to after making a purchase.  Now the reporting shows me not only how many hit the landing site and where else they went — but how many did what I wanted them to do — buy something.

As for support — they have a very simple online manual to answer the most basic of questions and I can open a ticket and submit a question/request to their team.

I haven’t quite landed on the best option for us at McLellan Marketing Group yet — but both of these providers have served our purposes for now but it’s hard to argue with PushQR’s in depth reporting and lower price.

How about you?  Are you creating QR codes?  How are you using them?  Do you have a favorite tool?

 

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Brand truth: I don’t care

June 13, 2011

…Are they really the tree huggers you’d hoped?

…about what you wish I cared about.

Way too many brands chase the fad of the day, thinking they can jump on a swell of consumer sentiment and rise those profits into the sunset.  No so fast, my friends.

For your brand to be effective, sticky and enduring — it has to be about what matters to your consumers.  They have to genuinely identify with it/care about it.  You can’t make them love you.  (Nod to Bonnie Raitt)  No matter how hot the trend is or how passionate you might personally be.

Case in point — a recent study done by OgilvyEarth (I’m pretty sure David Ogilvy rolls his eyes from the grave on that one) shows that most consumers aren’t buying the whole “green movement.” In particular, men are not motivated or swayed by green marketing messages.  It turns out that their perception when they hear green is “more expensive.”

So playing to the trend is actually hurting those brands who hoped that men would be moved to pull out their wallets based on the green movement marketing position.

Time to do your own brand check.  Are you trying to force an idea, value or belief at your core audience?  Or…do you know yourself and your core audience so well that you know what brings you together?

And before you are quick to answer…be ready to tell me this.  HOW do you know that your brand is what truly resonates in the hearts of your core audience?

 

Hat tip to Kami Watson Huyse for tweeting the Ogilvy link.

 

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Essential Twitter Tools

June 10, 2011

Twitter is an important part of my daily communications and community.  I use it to:

• Share great resources
• Chat with friends and peers
• Share my own writing/posts
• Access resources, articles, and keep current
• Test ideas, vent, laugh and connect
• Give myself a mental floss — you never know what you’ll see, read or jump into

But…I have a day job so I can’t spend all day, glued to the Twitter screen, waiting for someone to say something relevant.  So, I rely on a handful of Twitter tools that make it much easier for me to accomplish my goals and cover my day job as well.

Let me preface my tool talk with this statement:  Twitter is not about automated conversations between your bot and mine.  It’s about real interactions between real people.  But that does not mean all automation is bad.  It’s about finding the balance.

Twitter Tool #1: HootSuite.

Re-arrange tweets into conversations

Much has been written about this software.  It allows you to manage your Twitter activity (follow the main stream, when someone directs an update to you or sends you a direct message) but what I appreciate the most about Hootsuite is that it allows me to schedule updates (on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) so I can be sharing resources, blog posts etc. throughout the day, even if I’m in a meeting or asleep.

It also lets me “re-arrange” tweets into conversations, as you can see in the screen shot to the right.

Twitter Tool #2: Boxcar

Keep me in live conversations 24/7

Boxcar is an app on my iPhone and iPad.  It streams any message sent directly to me (I have it set just for Facebook or Twitter but you could set up Google Voice, e-mail and much more) right to my device and pops up with a portion of the message so I can decide if I want to read it, respond to it etc.   It’s very elegant and simple and very easy to set up and use.

This allows to to respond in real time — no matter where I am or what I’m doing.

Pre-set a handful of blogs to autopost

 

 

 

 

Twitter tool #3: Twitterfeed

This is a tool I use very sparingly.  You create an account and then add URLs that post new content (typically blogs).  Then, anytime one of those sites has new content, it automatically tweets it out on your account.  (You can set it up to do Twitter, FB and others).

I would only add blogs that stick to their core content faithfully and consistently deliver A+ content.  In my Twitterfeed account, there are only about 10 blogs loaded up.  I can regulate how often it updates my status with someone’s new content and it tells me what my Twitter friends are clicking on.  I don’t want to bombard my Twitter followers, but I also don’t want to make them wait until I get to my feed reader to share the best stuff.

Manage your followers with a click!

 

 

 

 

Twitter Tool #4: ManageFlitter

Oh how I love this tool!  With a couple clicks, I can see what tweeps I follow that have gone dormant, who are the super talkers (might be bots) and who has stopped following me, etc.  Then, I can unfollow or add people very quickly.

This used to be one of my most laborious tasks… cleaning up my Twitter followers.  But now I can do it in minutes and it keeps me connected to the people I want to follow and disconnected from those who got bored and haven’t tweeted in 6 months.

What the set up screen looks like

Twitter tool #5: Tweet Old Post

This WordPress plugin allows me to tweet out some of my older posts from my blog.  I’ve been blogging for over 5 years, so in theory, there’s some good stuff in there.  This plugin randomly grabs an old post (I can identify categories I do/don’t want included) and tweets it out.  I can add a prefix like A golden oldie… or a hashtag like #GreatestHits so my followers will know what’s up.

This is a great way to breath new life into old but still relevant content.

So there you have it….these five tools (along with some RSS feeds for listening by topics and Twitter lists for listening to my favorite people) are how I manage my life on Twitter.  They let me connect in real time, share my favorite writers, schedule some of my tweets and manage my followers.

I hope that at least one of these tools is a new find for you and that a mix of them can make your Twitter experience even better!

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