"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.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
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 Whether newspapers, magazines, radio or television, what they consider newsworthy today is outdated tomorrow.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
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
Thursday, March 11, 2010
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.
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.
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