Would you ever consider asking a friend to fly the airplane so you could get to your destination cheaper?  What about a part-time student pilot?

Unless you are a dare devil, I imagine you said no.

This is a point I like to make when I hear that someone has decided to “save money” but having their friend, or friend’s friend, or a part-time student – do their web site.  Sure, there is some new and upcoming talent out there, and there always will be people aspiring to be a web designer.  But what about your business?  How much does it mean to you?  Is your marketing worth so little to your business that you would risk it on an inexperienced, part-time, and possibly unreliable person?

I put “save money” in quotes because, unfortunately, there are many occassions when a business owner does go this route and finds out later that they lost money

- all that time that went by when the web site still wasn’t complete and no one could visit it…
- the poor results of a badly designed or badly coded web site, which actually scared away customers…
- a not-so-professional designer who stole copyrighted images and the owner later found themselves fined by the stock photo company…

The truth is, there is great value in hiring a professional web site designer/developer to create an attractive, functional web site, that actually markets you well on the Web.  The Internet is different than other marketing media, and your professional web developer will understand and strategize that for you.

Media advisories are different from press releases, even though they often include some of the same information.  As the name implies, it is an advisory to give the media a heads up on something that is coming in the future. Typically, it is sent out prior to the press release (typically a press release announces something that has happened, or is happening that day). Media advisories tend to be less narrative than press releases and include more bullet points than paragraphs. Advisories are quick and easy to read.

Here are the basics for a standard media advisory.

1. Start with your contact information: You should include your name, title and company, phone number and email address. You want to make sure there are no loopholes and it’s easy for anyone who reads your advisory to contact you.
2. Standard tag line for most media documents. “For Immediate Release” (no quotation marks) should be at the top of your advisory, right below your contact information. Include the date right below this.
3. Create a strong headline. Your headline is your first chance to draw readers in. It is also the first chance you have to lose them. Your headline should be interesting and captivating. Remember reporters get hundreds (if not more) of advisories, press releases, pitches, etc. every day. If your headline doesn’t grab them, you are likely to get lost on their desk.
4. Introduction/Lead Paragraph. This is your second chance to be captivating and hook your audience. Your lead paragraph for a media advisory is the same as a standard lead paragraph in a press release. Typically, it is two or three sentences and contains basic information about what your topic is, where and when it is, and why it is important. You will want to be brief, but descriptive. You will have a chance to elaborate more about everything in the coming bullet points. (Don’t forget to include the city and state at the start of your introduction paragraph.)
5. Meat of the Matter. This is where you can elaborate and tell more about your topic. At this point, you’ve already hooked your readers, so while you still want to be interesting, you can also get straight to the facts. Here’s what you should include:

• Who: who’s involved (company/companies, individual(s), organization(s), etc.)
• What: what’s happening (an event, an appearance, a trade show, an open house, the launch of a new campaign, etc.)
• When:  on what date will this take place (be specific; for example: Friday, June 26, 2009 at 10 a.m. sharp)
• Where: where will this happen (again, be specific; for example: The XYZ Conference Center and Hotel, located on 12345 W 67th Street, Eight Floor, Ballroom 9)
• Why: this is probably the most important part – why is this event/topic happening. Your why section should highlight your cause and clearly illustrate to someone the reason behind it. If there is a good reason behind what you are doing, and it effects others, others will be able to see it (and hopefully the reporters you’ve targeted to send your release will see it’s newsworthy value too).

Finally, you can end with any additional remarks and extra details that weren’t previously covered. Remember your media advisory is to help generate buzz and interest prior to the big day (which would typically be when the actual press release is sent out). Keep it interesting and to the point.

Below is a quick sample of what you can expect your media advisory to look like.

Name

Person’s title, Company

Phone Number

Email Address

For Immediate Release

Today’s Date

Headline here. (p.s. a quick reminder: this is where you draw your readers in!)

City, State — Lead paragraph ….. 2-3 sentences.

(bullet points here).

Who:

What:

When:

Where:

Why:

Any final remarks? They go here.

###

There you have it … your media advisory is ready. Happy writing!

There was a pull at our office door earlier today. It was quickly followed by the peaking of a head through our window and me realizing their was a Domino’s delivery person at our front door. My mind was quickly perplexed. Typically I am the one who orders for our company luncheons, or I am at least aware of it, and I had no idea who or what this order was for.  Naturally, my first question (of course, that is after saying hello) was who is this delivery for? The woman quickly responded with, “It’s a Free Delivery.” I wasn’t quite sure why she was bringing us a free delivery, but welcomed her in from the hot Texas heat. She informed me they were bring by a complimentary pasta bowl for us to share amongst our office staff. She even gave us a variety of flavor choices to choose from. A handful of coupons were also left on my desk. This was a nice gesture and much appreciate by our office.

This event inspired my blog post for today. It was a fairly clever marketing tactic – give something away for free and draw in new customers. This is often used by many companies, and to be honest, it had a nice effect on me. Not only did the smell of pizza flood our office and make our stomachs growl, but it left me with a nice feeling about our neighborhood Domino’s. Honestly, I have to admit the next time we order pizza, I’ll probably drop their name in the hat.  I certainly can’t remember the last time I got something free from another chain pizza place, so it was refreshing to see this store step up to the plate.

How does this translate into marketing for your business? It shows if you give a dog a bone, s/he might just take it. Often giving away something inexpensive, yet tangible (and meaningful) to your clients (or potential ones) as a “free gift” can put an extra plus next to your name. Plus, personally delivering a freebie is another chance for you to put yourself (and therefore, your company) in front of your audience. It is a lot harder to refuse or not pay attention when someone is standing right in front of you.  Sure Domino’s could have mailed our office some coupons for cheap pizza, and as the office manager, I would have noted that we received them and placed them into my big folder of special offers and coupons. However, I probably wouldn’t have paid it much attention and would have eventually forgotten they were even there. Instead I’ve smelled their food, I’ve been greeted by a friendly employee and have had a real interaction with them. The personal visit is much more memorable.
The moral of today’s story is to make yourself memorable, and stand out from the crowd. It can be a personalized visit to a customer (or potential one) or a freebie to the same group of people. You can even do BOTH. Whatever marketing route you take, make sure to make the most of it and leave a lasting impression.

Never assume your customers know what you want them to do. You have to make it fool-proof for them. You have to spell it out for them – in black and white. Think about it like this: first, customer reads your copy; then the customer does “X” task.  X task is what you want them to do – perhaps it is for them to call your office or it could be signing up for your e-newsletter. Whatever it is, make it clear and simple. You don’t want your customers guessing. It can also be helpful to include some sort of time-frame onto special offers. This can help motivate your customers to act quickly.  An example of this would be, “Today Only 25% off your purchase.”

The more specific your call to action … the more likely the customer will do what you want them to do.

Sometimes you just have to put yourself out there! It’s that simple. We can’t walk around in a cocoon. We have to make ourselves available for our colleagues, customers, family, friends and even strangers. You never know when you are going to meet someone – and when that someone is particularly important for you to meet. Sometimes you meet these people unintentionally and sometimes its on purpose.

I go to networking events all the time, and it can be tough when you don’t know a single soul in a room of forty or fifty people. It makes you feel overwhelmed. While I am not an expert, I’ve been to quite a few of these events and to truly reap the rewards, you have to put yourself out there.  I’ve come up with a few tips that help me and make me feel more comfortable. Let’s face it … the more relaxed, comfortable and open you are, the more likely it is you will succeed. Here are three tips to take with you this Friday afternoon; these have helped me in the past.

1. Find someone who looks like your mom. Seriously, I know it sounds silly, but try to find a person who looks like or gives off a maternal, friendly vibe to you. It is always easier to walk up to a person that I get the “mom” vibe from. It helps me start the conversation loosened up. If you can’t find someone who looks like your mom, think about your dad, sister or other family members you are close to. Finding someone, even if only by material looks, reminds you of someone you feel comfortable with and it will help you talk to them with more ease.
2. Prepare ahead of time. Most networking events are pretty similar in nature. People get together, all have time to mingle and be social, then at some point you are going to talk about your business. Prepare your elevator speech (60 seconds max) about who you are and what you do. If you do this, when people ask, you will know exactly what to say and wouldn’t be stumbling over your words. The more prepared you are, the better you look. People want to know you can talk about your business on the spot, so you better be able to.
3. Be positive. It doesn’t take much to put a smile on my face, and it shouldn’t for you either. Go into these events with a positive attitude, and you’ll transform your own experience. Putting a smile on your face makes you more approachable for others. Plus, people only have a short time to get to know you, and you want them to leave having gotten a glimpse of your delightful personality.

Try these out and see if they make a difference for you.

Example contest web page

If you are looking for a way to encourage people to visit (and revisit) your web site, try an age-old marketing tool: a contest.

Think of a simple give-away item that relates to your business – small items could be: a book by an industry author, a how-to publication that you wrote, a white paper, t-shirts, other promotional items; larger items could be: a plane ticket, a vacation package, cash, etc.

Now create an enticing and simple online form on your web site, and make sure it is easy to find.  Post links and “ads” about the contest on your homepage and other popular pages.  Make sure the rules and dates of the contest are nicely spelled out and do not scare your participants away.  Include a newsletter subscribe option in the form.  Make the confirmation page (thank you page) of your form valuable also – direct the user to particular information that you want them to see.

Take advantage of any marketing channels you have to announce the contest and create buzz about your business – submit the story to your Chamber newsletter, post it on networking web sites, mention it in your e-mail newsletter.

Once your contest is over, remember to follow through with the promise of selecting a winner and delivering the prize.  Take the opportunity to follow up again with your customers and mailing list contacts by announcing the winner in an e-newsletter and other marketing media.

What this does for your business:

• Creates brand (and web site) awareness
• Offers opportunity to gather new contacts for your mailing list
• Invents an excuse to contact and follow up with people
• Generates news about your company
• Increases traffic to other areas of your web site

We all have a designated contact sphere that we constantly pull from to refer ourselves, friends and colleagues to when they are in need of a specific service.  I know if I need promotional products, I call Linda. If I need my car fixed, I call Dell. You get the idea. They aren’t just another card in my Rolodex, or shoved in my desk drawer, they are part of my trusted network. Did they become that way over night? Of course not. Building trust takes time and effort.

Over the past year, I have spent a great deal of time building a professional network for myself and the company I work for. I want to share a few of the tips that I’ve learned over the last year that have helped me greatly.

• Be patient: Building a strong network isn’t easy and it does not happen overnight. You have to spend the time getting to know people and building the relationships. Until that trust is established, you can’t truly add that person to your network. They are just another contact in the never-ending pile of business cards. Often times when people join networking groups they expect immediate results. They want referrals now and are sometimes bummed (to the point of being discouraged and wanting to quit) when it doesn’t click instantly. It simply doesn’t work like that. You have to be patient and give it time. Your referral partners need to trust you and you need to trust them. Once they do, and the relationship is solid, you will see the benefits come to life.
• Stand strong: Don’t stop building your network. It’s like quitting the game in the middle of the fourth quarter and your up by seven. You constantly need to be growing and marketing within your network. If you keep constantly building, you won’t lose steam. It can be so easy (particularly in networking groups) to get discouraged. For example, you belong to a networking of about 18 people and one person drops off. Everyone is disappointed, but they are handling it. Then two more people drop out. People are starting to get discouraged and are not actively working to grow their (and the groups) network. They are just coasting by. Then three more people drop because they are discouraged by your numbers. Before you know it, everyone is down and out. No one has been actively building onto the network, and the group is about to crumble. It’s almost too late to start building now because your numbers are so small. However, the situation could have been completely different if everyone has stayed strong and been building all along. The moral is never stop building your network.
• Specifics are key: When you are asking for referrals, you must be specific. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for your networking partners to answer your call for a referral. If you say you want a small business owner, what does that mean? 100 employees or less … 20 employees or less. What is a small business owner? You need to narrow it down. The more narrow the better (in most cases). For example, a very narrow referral request would be, “A great referral for me this week would be the owner of XZY off Mopac in South Austin.” A slightly more broad (but still narrow) referral would be, I’d like a dentist office who would like to add patient forms to their website. Still specific but slightly broader. Try it next time you ask for a referral and see what a difference it makes.
• Don’t forget to give: Sure it is great to get referrals that turn into more business and money for you. But that isn’t what it’s all about. You also have to be willing to give and share with others. The only way to get highly qualified referrals is to give them. If you don’t, after awhile people will stop passing them your way because it’s not all about you. To help you do this, make sure to take notes when people in your network ask for specific referrals or connections they’d like to make. This gives you a solid, written place to go back to when you hear of something that works for them OR are just looking to generate ideas on how to help your partners out. Either way, make sure to give back. How’s that old saying go … what comes around goes around!

It is important to take time and put a great deal of effort into your network. The only way to cultivate and grow it is through hard work. The more you put in, the more you are likely to gain.

People are always trying to keep up with the latest trends. Whether it’s the latest trend in handbags or shoes, people are stopping to take notice and see what is emerging on the fashion scene. For all of the fashionistas out there, this post is for you. Let’s take our fashion sense and translate it to what works for our businesses and website design. Stay with me as we touch on the top trends and translate them into design that works!

Trend #1: Canary Yellow is hot hot hot! Use splashes of color within your website design to create contrast and highlight important services or features. A pop of color is not only visually pleasing, but can also help you stand amongst the millions of other websites on the Internet. (Keep in mind, I said to use a POP of color – you don’t want your whole website to be a montage to a bright color that blinds your visitors.)

Trend #2: Braids, braids & more braids. It’s all the rage to braid your hair and I don’t mean the boring, one big braid we saw in the 1990s. Now it’s all about being creative with your braids – maybe it’s a small, side swept braid on just one side of your head or intricate braids tied into an up-do that paint a beautiful weave. Whatever the choice, there is something very hip about being creative with your braids. You are probably thinking how does this translate into my website’s design. It’s simple. While you want your design to be clean and modern, you also want a design that is creative and shows off your personality. Even when it is simple, creativity must be integrated into your website’s design.

Trend #3: Watch your step with those 4 inch heels. The world can be tricky to navigate, especially in four inch heels. However, the height advantage can really work for us shorter folks. However, don’t make your website a maze. Make it easy to navigate. Granted heels make it easier to see farther, but our feet can start to hurt if we have to walk too far. Your website navigation should be a breeze for visitors. The easier it is for them to find the information they need, the longer they will stay on the site.

Trend #4: The oversized handbag is your secret weapon. Inside your oversized handbag is all of your tricks. Use your website to hold a similar arsenal. Not only do you want to have the necessities in your purse (wallet, sunglasses, cell phone) and on your website (contact information, information about the company, products & services), but you want to have the helpful extras. For your website, this means having useful information and links readily available for your customers. It also means highlighting your own expertise for the visitor; you can do this easily through a blog or through posting helpful articles on your website.

Trend #5: Printed graphic tops show what you are made of. One of the most defining aspects of your website is the photography you use. You want to use high-quality, professional photography. Stock photography is very reasonably priced and provides you with the professional look that is necessary. The last thing you want is a website with low resolution images that provide an unpleasant viewing experience for your visitors, who are often potential customers. Fashion rewind … just as your photography translates into what people think about your website, your graphic tops should have prints that are meaningful and reflect your personality. Otherwise, who are you trying to show off to?

Trend #6: One shoulder, please! The perfect top … one shoulder exposed … stunning! Plus, it’s a sassy and fun summer look. Your website should show off your best shoulder. You want to highlight the important information about your company, the products & services you offer, and why folks should choose you.  However, you don’t want to give everything you’ve got away. Use your website to drawn them in. Make sure there is a clear call to action. Basically, you want to entice them to want more, so they will contact you directly.

It is fun to see how two completely separate items – fashion and web design – can relate to each other on so many levels and how you can translate that to success for your business’ web presence.

On a side note, remember to be fashionable in all that you do!

Last Thursday, the first finger on my left hand somehow got smashed in the bathroom door and has been in pain ever since. (Literally, I’m still feeling pain now.) I’m not sure if it is just me being clumsy, or if I’m in too much of a rush to do everything. There is an upside to this whole ordeal, I have found my inspiration for today’s blog post. The lesson I learned is that we must all take more care with our everyday activities – this includes our professional marketing activities.

We live in a society where all we do is multi-task. It’s not normal to not multi-task. We work hard and are constantly bombarded with more items to add to our ever-growing to-do lists. It can be hard to keep up. Often times, we are rushed and can become careless with our activities. Smashing my finger is my personal case-in-point for how carelessness can effect someone. My finger will stop hurting (eventually). I’ll eventually forget it happened and my life will continue just fine. The same cannot be said for your business if you make careless marketing mistakes.

A company is defined by its personal brand, reputation, people, actions, strategies, marketing tactics, principles and so much more. Each and every company needs to take care with how they represent themselves in all professional aspects.

The first example that came to my mind was the ever-growing-in-popularity social media tool known as Twitter. Twitter is a great way to communicate with your network, both personally and professionally. However, as fun, effective and mainstream as Twitter is, businesses need to take special care with how they use the micro-blogging tool. Companies should keep their professional Twitter account separate from any personal accounts, whether the personal accounts belong to the CEO or the Office Manager. Things should be kept separate. This provides a clear distinction between which voice represents the company and which voice is representative of the employee. Any gray area can lead to miscommunication and often misrepresentation.  Just keeping separate accounts is not enough. While you want your tweets to be genuine (if they aren’t, you won’t be worth following and your message will never reach it’s intended audience), you must also set high standards for them. You need to talk in your professional voice, one that is well-represented by your company. Try using punctuation and proper grammar as much as possible. I know this can be tough with only 140 characters, but do your best.

While we are on the subject of grammar and punctuation, businesses should also take care with editing the content in the marketing materials they send out. There is nothing worse than a typo or spelling mistake. This sounds like a no-brainer but people often don’t thoroughly proofread and edit their materials. Relying on spell check is not a sufficient editing method, nor is relying on a quick, five second read-through of your work. Spend time with your copy and make sure it is spotless.

Moral of today’s story … take care with your efforts and what you say.  You don’t want a smashed finger (or company for that matter), do you?

Having trouble deciding on a particular domain name to represent your business?  Keep in mind that you do not have to decide on just one – you can have more than one domain name pointing to the same web site presence.   Your primary domain is usually the one that you use to advertise on business cards and to host your email (bob@mysupergreatdomainname.com), but as you come across great ideas to sell your product (myproductname.com, myindustryname.com), we can set up those additional names to direct traffic to your site as well (and even forward email if you like).