Stop the bleeding

"Any fact that needs to be disclosed should be put out now or as quickly as possible, because otherwise the bleeding will not end. " - Henry A. Kissinger

It has taken BP a month to realize there is a problem. How long will it be before you stop the bleeding?

Most professional speakers are small business owners who wear many hats. You are in charge of your marketing, sales, social media maintenance, BOR, product creation, accounting, scheduling, transportation, reservations and oh yes.....actually speaking.

It is easy to get lost or bogged down in the details. The best way to prevent that is to have a plan and stick to it. It sounds simple but I know it isn't. (I had to be reminded that I need to post a blog entry.) The primary function of your plan should be to make you money. Every action you take should generate income, collect income or lay the groundwork to make more income. Again, this sounds simple but it is easy to forget.

Most professional speakers have a Facebook page. Most professional speakers don't make any money with it. It has to be profitable if it is going to take your time. Facebook is great if you generate additional connections, create leads, promote your next program. Anything that establishes expertise or positive exposure is a sound time investment. Even personal (don't go nuts) details can be beneficial if they show your personality and create a bond with your connections. I might reach out to you if I know you're a Beatles fan or you love dogs.

I say that to say this....if it doesn't make you money.....think twice before you do it. Stop the bleeding. If you know you have a stack of cards from your last presentation you need to follow up with, then do it. You won't book any speaking engagements if you don't follow up with the leads you have. Stay on plan and focus on the process. If you continue to grow your list and follow up, the booking engagements will come....and last time I checked.....those generate income.

What do you speak about?

"An expert is somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides." Edwin Meese


What do you speak about?

Most new speakers would answer, "Whatever you will pay to hear." While the attitude is great, the answer is not. You have to make a few decisions. It is too easy to locate a good speaker these days. People no longer want to hire a speaker. They want to hire THE EXPERT. Are you THE EXPERT?

You cannot afford to be a Jack of all trades and a master of none. While there are some truly talented speaking professionals, most of the successful ones focus on a single concept. Some will take it a step further and focus on a single concept for a single industry. Finding your niche is a sure way to find your target audience and establish yourself as THE EXPERT.

You also have to know what you speak on and be able to verbalize it. Sound silly? You would be amazed at how many professional speakers can't answer that question. You must be clear and concise. If it takes you more than 6 minutes to explain it or you use trendy jargon, you've already lost me. I'm off some where in my head singing show tunes. Your description should get AND keep my attention. If you do it right, I will be able to repeat the information later.

Most of the time it comes down to strategic planning. Decide which topic works best for you and how you want to present the concept to an audience. If you're a speaker, the information is in you. Now all you have to do is get it out.

Any Other Name

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. " - William Shakespeare



No offense to Shakespeare, but I disagree. It is ALL about the name.

In today's high paced, low attention span world, you only have a second to capture some one's attention. We are inundated with emails, phone calls, commercials, ads, solicitations, billboards, social media updates, texts and mail. If you want to get and keep some one's attention, you have to reach out and grab them.

Let's take a look at titles. As a professional speaker, you are called upon to create and name your own presentations. This can be a challenge. Do you think people want to hear about Leadership or How to recover from a monumental mistake? Do you think your audience prefers Communication Skills or How to eat crow and like it (trademarked title Dawn Jones). What about Project Management or Why your project is doomed. In order to train or speak effectively, first you require an audience. The best way to achieve that is with the title. I can't tell you how much time I've spent consulting on nothing more than brainstorming presentation or book titles. It is your first impression.

Let's take a look at emails. Most folks send out an ezine or other form of email blast. What is your open rate? If it's less than 20%, you might want to consider reworking the subject line.
The subject line should be concise and inviting. Using a six word question works wonders. What is your fan page missing? This might get your attention. How about Secrets of a social media princess. You might also consider Mistakes that can kill your business. (Mistakes and secrets are tremendous attention grabbers.) If you want your email to be read, it all starts in the subject line.

Take a look at your titles. Examine your email blasts or even job title. There are many ways to grab some one's attention, but more ways to lose it.

When Michael Hart Speaks

"Whoever controls the media, the images, controls the culture." Allen Ginsberg

The media can be very fickle. Whether newspapers, magazines, radio or television, what they consider newsworthy today is outdated tomorrow. Much of this is due to the rapid news cycle world we live in. However, in the case of business related news, this cycle spins much slower because business news is rarely breaking.

But the key point to learn before we start is this:

Unlike breaking news where the shelf life might be days, even hours, business news can be pertinent for day's even weeks. However a story that gets no "legs" today may very well be a hot subject tomorrow. This happens for a variety of reasons ranging from a slow news day to changes in the industry that affect the local story. Sometimes a reporter may just have a bad day or simply not need the story.

There are stories that a reporter might decline one week and show up at your office in hopes of getting the full story the next week. However, things change and you can become a hot source overnight.

Press releases are not magic. They rarely do all the heavy lifting. You will have to contact the reporters/producers you send it to. Some PR folk will tell you to fax blast your release or put it up on a dozen news wires. Of course if you send 1000 releases across the country you cannot possibly contact everyone. BIG HOWEVER - You might want to consider focusing on local or regional exposure, not creating a national media campaign.

Remember that it shouldn't be about getting tons of press releases into the market with the hopes you get some coverage. You should specialize in getting publicity that can be converted into measurable profit gains. Let the guru's teach you how to get publicity that strokes your ego.

Regardless of how many PR pros you talk to - press releases are not an exact science. There is some flexibility and despite what they say - creativity. There are however several absolutes. By studying and following the format you will greatly increase the chances your releases will get you the attention you desire.

If you want to know more about press releases or marketing, please check out:
http://michaelhartspeaks.com/Michaels_Free_Tips.html

When Michael Hart speaks you should be listening. But only if you want to grow your business

Technology For Today

"Technology gives us the facilities that lessen the barriers of time and distance." Emily G. Balch


The industry isn’t the same as it used to be. The good old days meant that as a speaker all you needed was a phone and a rolodex. Those days are gone. You can’t just keep up. You have to stay one step ahead. There are some great technological advances, that if embraced can actually save time, energy and money. Let’s examine three basic, cost effective options.

Webinars

The term webinar is short for web-based seminar and is a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the Web. The webinar is the most interactive and allows the most participation between the audience and presenter.

It allows much more flexibility to the instructor because it makes it easier to touch more audiences in a single day. A webinar presenter can give multiple presentations while a live speaker is limited to one or two. The audience is only restricted by technology versus location.

The audience can ask questions without disrupting the presentation. The speaker can take the pulse of the audience by posting a text question and actually change the outcome of the presentation by appropriately reading and responding to the participants. Plus it is hard to beat giving a program in your bunny slippers from the comfort of your own home.

There are great benefits for the meeting planner as well. Because everything is virtual, there are no travel, airfare, hotel or meal expenses to pay for the instructor. A lot of speakers offer these types of programs for reduced rates for the convenience of delivery from the comfort of their living room. The participation rates can increase because none of the attendants have to worry about travel expenses either.

The meeting planner doesn’t have to secure a venue. The savings in meals and room rental alone can have a tremendous impact. The webinar service itself is also reasonable. Most come with a cafeteria style menu where you can select, and pay for, what suits your needs. Because everything can be downloaded by the individual participants, this method of education is completely green. The meeting planner doesn’t have to spend time, money or resources printing handouts. Plus, if you miss it, that’s ok. These sessions are archived online for fast and easy retrieval.

Teleseminars

Teleseminars are telephone based presentations. They are extremely similar to webinars but lack the interaction that so many customers desire. My company had a recent request from a large industry association to host a series of teleseminars. This is new for this particular association and the participation numbers are high for a teleseminar so I asked the planner about the change. She let me know that attendance at their recent annual conference was down due to budget restrictions on travel. By offering a teleseminar series, they can bring the necessary education to all of their members regardless of location for a fraction of the price of booking speakers for a multiple day conference.

Podcasts

Podcasts are normally a series of audio files that are available on line. There is usually no interaction between the facilitator and the audience. However, all technology has its place. There is an extremely successful health and wellness speaker that has grown his empire over the last year fifteen minutes at a time. He gets up every day, seven days a week, and loads a fifteen minute podcast on ITunes. He has done this for a year and now has a following of over 16,000 people all over the world. Pretty cool, huh?



The main thing to remember with any technology is that is works for you if you know how to work with it. Select the platform that works best for you and get started.

It's all about the process

"I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process." - Vincent Van Gogh

Anyone who has known or worked with me for any length of time, has heard me say, "It's all about the process." It is. Marketing is a process. Everything you do should be part of the overall process that moves you forward. It takes many pieces to make a puzzle. Are you putting your puzzle together or jumping back and forth between puzzles? Sure, you might get it eventually. But why would you want to lose your mind in the process?

You can't do everything. You can't. Embrace this concept. Not everything will work for you and you won't be great at everything. The key is realizing what does work for you and focusing on that. Facebook might not be for you. Linked In might drive you crazy. Writing a blog might cause you to have heart palpitations. Figure out what works for you...and do that.

The first obstacle is mapping out a strategic plan. It doesn't have to be complicated, but you need a plan. You need to understand how you are going to move forward, what actions should be taken and develop strategy to accomplish your goal. If strategic planning stresses you out, get some help.

Once your plan is in place, break it down into small manageable pieces. Go further by breaking each piece into steps over a period of time. For example if your master plan includes Facebook, don't try to master it in a day. Give yourself enough time to grasp how it works without killing yourself by doing it 5 hours a day. Respect the process.

Repetition is your friend. Very few sales are made on the first call. Most people don't lose all their weight the first week. Plan, take action, repeat. Spaced repetition is underrated.

It will take a little time if you do it in steps but you won't lose your mind in the process.

Remarkablogger Michael Martine

http://remarkablogger.com/2010/02/04/open-discussion-what-are-you-measuring/

Top 10 Subject Line Words That Get Opens

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/07/06/top-10-subject-line-words-that-get-opens

Get Linked In in 30 minutes

"Do or do not. There is no try." Master Yoda

In order for your social media strategy to be successful, you have to do it. Let's start with Linked In. We'll take it in 5 easy steps.

Linked In

Step 1: Complete your profile.

No one wants to be the friend of someone they don't know. Make it easy for them. Complete your profile. There is a bar graph right on the profile page that tells you how complete you are and what steps you need to take to be 100% complete. What could be easier than that? A few things to keep in mind.

- Ask for recommendations. You have happy clients. Ask them to recommend

you. Nothing says more about you than third party endorsement.

- Add your contact information. Make it easy for people to find you, your web

site, phone number, email.

- Complete your past education and experience. I want to know that you know

what you're talking about. Been doing it 30 years? Tell me about it.

- Keep your summary short and direct. Most people won't read 13 pages of

summary. Assume you get 3 sentences and make them work for you. Be

wordy in the experience NOT the summary.

Step 2: Join Groups

You can join up to 50 groups. There is no reason not to join 10 immediately. It is the quickest way to connect with other people.

- Assert your expertise with your groups. Are you a member of NSA or ASTD?

Join the groups and show it.

- Connect with people who already love you. Your sorority or Toastmaster

buddies already know and love you. Some of them might be able to hire you.

- Join groups your potential clients are in. Did the majority of your work come

from banks last year? Join financial groups.

- Do you need more connections? Join Top linked. It is the easiest and fastest

way to get connected to more professionals.

Step 3: Get Connected

You have to connect to other people. Once you are a member of a group, you share common ground. Go through the groups one at a time and invite the other members. Sounds simple but most people don't do it. Your goal is 500 connections in the first 30 days. If you join Top linked and personally invite a few from groups everyday, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to reach this goal.

Step 4: Become the Expert

No one hires speakers. They hire experts. Establish yourself as the expert. Comment on a discussion. Answer a question. Post a news article, preferably one you wrote. After you have joined a few groups, check out the discussions. Throw your .02 in. This is how people will come to recognize you and your expertise. Remember those discussions go out to all the members of the group. You can show 19,000 people that you are the one who has the answers.

Step 5: Do it

It only works if you actually do it. It won't take long. You can accomplish this in 20 minutes a day. You don't even have to do it everyday. Try it 4 days a week. Once you get the process down, you'll breeze right through it. The object is to keep it simple and manageable. Don't inflict too much process on the steps.

You can do it. I'll help.

Eating the elephant

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." John Wooden

Social Media is not a trend. It is here to stay. Those who embrace it will profit while those who ignore it will perish.

Okay, so you know you need to be more active on the social media front. But where do you start? What do you do? I think the entire concept of social media can be overwhelming and the key to making it work for you is to deal with it in manageable chunks. One bite at a time is the best way to eat the elephant.

Social media is a process. Each action should lead to or drive the next action. If you have a Face Book page and don't use it, it's worthless. But on the other hand, what good is a great blog if no one is reading it? Let's start with the concept of the process.

The first step in the process is to figure out what works for you. There are hundreds of social media sites. You can't master them all. You can't. So figure out what works best to move your business forward and focus on that. If you need help to figure this out, call me. I believe everyone is entitled to my opinion.

Let's use an example called Mike. Mike speaks about publicity. He has years of experience, many articles and product. Now what? For Mike I would suggest a blog, Face Book page and Linked In profile. A lot of speakers can benefit from these 3 platforms. They are simple to use, highly ranked in a search engine and each one leads you to the next one. If you have a profile on Linked In, you can use it to announce your blog posts. Once your reader checks out your blog you can direct them to your Face Book page. Another route would be to link to your blog to your Face Book page and Linked In profile. This can increase your exposure immediately.

Now Mike's head hurts because even these 3 steps can be overwhelming. Implement this...write that....connect to them. Keep it simple. I suggest breaking each of the 3 platforms down into smaller bites. Focus on 1 at a time for 30 days. This will allow you to get used to each one before you move on to the next. It also gives you time to connect with other users before you introduce them to the next part of your process. By the end of the 30 days, you are familiar with the platform and maintaining it won't be the bear you originally thought it was.

You can build your social media empire in 20-30 minutes a few days a week. A few minutes each day doesn't sound overwhelming at all, does it? This will help make the process more manageable and make you more likely to complete it. You can do it. I'll help.

Now, let's take the first bite.

13 Ways To Get Your Blog Posts Retweeted (Day 19)

13 Ways To Get Your Blog Posts Retweeted (Day 19)

A Swift Kick in the Marketing

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result.” Mahatma Gandhi

Have you ever had one of those "aha" moments? A moment when you hear something that really reaches out and grabs you? Has one of those moments ever changed your business?

I recently attended the Bust Out speaker boot camp. I have seen many professional speakers in the last decade and am pre-programmed to critique. I found myself so engrossed in the presentations that I forgot to critique. There was a tremendous amount of marketing, technological improvements and product development information. I found myself agreeing with multiple points made by each of the key note speakers.

"You must be consistent." "You must be convenient and easy to find." "Content is king." "Get your name and message out to your potential audience on a regular basis." Yes, absolutely, a complete necessity........wait a minute. I'm not doing that for myself!

There it is. I constantly tell speakers to utilize social media, write a blog, pick up the phone and optimize email marketing. But I'm not. Why? Why wouldn't I take my own advice? Simple answer for a simple question is I should.

That was my "aha" moment and it comes to this. Time to practice what I preach. I got a swift kick in the marketing the moment I realized that all of my actions might not bring results but no actions will bring nothing.

Are you ready to take action?