Does Your Marketing Match Your Image?
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE
I spend a fortune on four-color, glossy brochures. When people receive my materials, I want them to know I am a seasoned professional and charge accordingly. If you also deliver a quality product or service, your marketing materials should reflect this.
Your image, reflected by your advertising, should do two things:
* Convince people you’re worth doing business with.
* Position you in the market.
Whether you’re at the top, middle, or bottom of the price scale, your image needs to communicate that. If your image isn’t consistent and compatible with your pricing and your level of service, you’re going to confuse and alienate your customers. Read more
How to Write a Bio That Attracts the Media … and More!
by Suzanne Falter-Barnes
One of the hallmarks of a platform-rich site is your Media Page … and the star of that page is always a compelling bio. Here are a few key tips to help you build credibility:
1. Stack the facts up front. Begin with your most impressive facts. “Mary Louise Green is a nationally known painter whose work has appeared in numerous major gallery exhibits.” (Mary Louise has, in fact, only shown in four galleries, but they were in different parts of the US, so that counts as ‘numerous’ and ‘national’.)
2. Don’t ramble on about passions and purpose. This bio needs to sell you, not your philosophy. You can mention it in passing (“which helped her discover a deep love for teaching art.”) Generally, your bio is a tool for media bookers, agents, editors, etc., to get a handle on who you are and how they can sell you to their bosses or clients. So they just need to know your most impressive facts.
Red Flags
by Marion Franklin
Despite the warnings, “I’ll keep on dancing. This ship was built to last and will never sink.” These are made up words from someone on the Titanic who refused to believe that the ship would go down.
Unfortunately, far too often, we have warning signs or signals and we choose to ignore them, or at best acknowledge them and still proceed as planned.
After receiving a recommendation, I hired someone to rewrite the code for my website. We spoke at great length and agreed on a price. He said he would throw in several bonus items, and since it was a small job, it would not take long.
Simultaneously, I contacted my web hosting company about the same work. Their estimate was lower but they didn’t seem as professional, so I hired the recommended person. When it wasn’t completed within two weeks , I sent e-mails and called. He assured me that it was a small job and would be completed long before my deadline. Read more
Speaker Summit 2007 update and upcoming teleclass … (and I’m speaking!)
Hi Everyone,
Did you know public speaking is the number one fear above all fears? Everybody gets it, even the most polished of speakers.
And sometimes, even the big ones … as big a ham as they often are, when they get in front of an audience, still have some butterflies.
But overcoming that is just a part of what learning to speak can do for you. Speaking helps you formulate, with crystal clarity, what it is you do and how you do it. Speaking generates your creative juices and let’s you tell stories to get the message to your audience, even if it’s just 1 person.
When I went to the Speakers’
They all got the “Speakers Template,” which can be used anywhere, anytime, and instantly gives them an easily remembered blueprint of what to follow wherever they are, for whoever is listening.
Here’s the good news. If you missed that powerful event, you can still catch it again…this time as a teleconference, AND get all 10 audio recordings even if you can’t make a class.
Susan Levin, owner of Speaker Services, and Jack Barnard, Master Speaking Coach, are hosting a 5 day Speakers Summit Teleconference starting on Monday, June 18 through Friday, June 22. Let me stress that again—if you can’t make it you still get the powerful recordings. (I will be speaking on Tuesday at 3:00pm on how to Run Your Business With the Help of a Virtual Assistant!
I would love to see you on the calls. For more information go to http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/78
Virtually yours,
Terry
More Than Your 15 Minutes of Fame – Get Tons of FREE Publicity by Winning Awards
by Debbie Allen, All Rights Reserved
People skills are the key to making it big with the media. You may have the best products and/or services in the world, but if you can’t communicate effectively, then your voice will not be heard.
Think about it: Hollywood is 100 percent personality driven. Marketing yourself effectively to the media is like becoming a star in Hollywood. The most famous people in the world do not sit back and wait for the media to notice them. No, they run out in front of them and yell, “Look at me! I’ve got a talent to share with the world.” After the media starts to notice them, they attract even more media attention sometimes to the point of frustration. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind holding back the media from noticing my business. Bring it on!
One of the best ways to gain media attention is by being nominated for, and winning, business awards. Once you have won an award, you can use it to your advantage to promote to the media over and over again.
Its easier than most people think, to win an award, but you have to understand it’s a game and know the rules. Read more
