Tag: content

How to Form a Deeper Connection with your Audience

Posted on by Maria Ross

How to Form a Deeper Connection with your Audience

We all want those customers who adore us, right? Like superstar singers or best-selling authors, we want groupies who can’t wait for our next album to drop or our next book to hit the shelves.

We see people like Beyonce or Elizabeth Gilbert and we think, “Wow! They have millions of people who can’t wait to learn from them and buy from them! I want that!”

But we forget about the audience we already have in our midst. The quiet, studious ones in the front row who’ve been with us since the beginning, supporting our work and telling people about it.

It’s not always about “getting more.” It’s about loving the ones you’ve got. (TWEET THIS!) 

Wherever you are, whatever your follower numbers or subscribe rates: START WHERE YOU ARE. Focus on making those loyal people happy. Delight them, Connect with them.

How? Show empathy.

Imagine if all your best friend talked about was finding new friends to hang out with. You’d be pretty annoyed and little hurt, wouldn’t you? Yet when businesses are constantly about their “list size” or low Instagram follower number , they’re not focused on providing quality to their existing fan base. Those people should feel like VIPs.

Instead of a constant focus on attracting new people, listen to the ones you’ve already got. Here are 4 ways you can show them the empathy and love they deserve:

  1. Listen to them. REALLY listen: Ask them what they want and need. Stop guessing!  And don’t put words in their mouths to suit your own needs. Mirror their exact words and emotions back to them. If you sense that what they really want is actually hidden underneath that “ask,” probe further. If you spend time and money shaping your offerings to truly solve your current tribe’s pain this will be much better than constantly chasing new fans.
  2. Be clear and offer the right solution to the right people: As I always say, marketing is not about lying to people. It’s about amplifying the truth so the right people who need what you’ve got can find you. Don’t push circles on people who really need squares!  If you sell a high-priced mastermind program that’s roughly the cost of a tiny house, don’t try to convince the dreamer who’s eating ramen every night and already in massive debt to bury themselves deeper. That’s not cool. Don’t be afraid to clarify your message so it reaches the right people …or simply change your target market altogether.
  3. Woo them: No one wants to be “sold to.” People want to be seen, heard and respected. And they want time to get to know you. Put yourself in their shoes: Do YOU like in-your-face sales pitches and hype-filled promises? Prove your value with insightful content. Be generous with resources and connections. Be consistent and keep your word. Surprise them on occasion with playlists, free trainings or a special thank you! Go for the lasting marriage not the lustful affair.
  4. See the person, not the number: Especially when things go wrong. Treat your existing customers and fans like you would a friend.  Robotic responses and canned apologies are not the way you’d comfort a pal, right?

Focus on delighting, engaging and celebrating the tribe you already have. By putting your focus there, the growth will follow because they won’t be able to stop talking about you!

10 Killer Resources to Boost Your Business + Inspire Your Work

Posted on by Maria Ross

8.11.15 - RoundUp (blog)

It’s hard enough to find time in our busy schedules to read all the great posts you can find online, much less consume all that great information. So, this week I thought I’d give you a quick round up of 10 articles from around the web that will wonderfully boost your daily business activities.  Check these out for inspiration, business guidance and a little motivation…and please share to your heart’s content!

20 Smart Ways to Generate More Leads for Your Business
You may already know about some of these existing resources and tools for business development: Now jumpstart your lead generation efforts with a few new tips on how to use them.

More Than Personas: How to Know What Your Audience Really Wants
While I still think creating ideal customer personas is a HUGE help to focusing your marketing efforts and creating a connective brand, this article features other expert examples on how to identify your audience needs.  My faves? “Pull up a digital seat”and “Ask and track.”

The Difference Between Strategy And Tactics And Why You Need To Know
Ah, my favorite, favorite topic! An often mistaken distinction that can make or break your business success  -and your sanity.  I adore Bernadette Jiwa and you will, too. Main message: Stop working backwards.

The 200-Word Guide to Personal Branding
Personal branding requires you to be in the spotlight and you need to be ready. This is a short guide to getting your brand up to par.

Improve Your Email Content With a 7-Minute Workout Routine
A handy infographic that provides a quick “maintenance boost” to your email content and campaigns.

How to Address Marketing’s Big, Nasty and Age-Old Believability Problem
Faced with a world of disbelief, marketers can often get discouraged that they are not making headway. This article features some provocative FAQ’s on the subject and how you can address them.

Buffer Stopped Posting for 30 Days and Here’s What Happened
This is a great read to solidify thoughts on content re-purposing and taking some time to create.

How To Be Creative When Your Brain Doesn’t Want To Play
Addressing writers block with a little creativity instead.

And these 5 bonus ones from yours truly. Enjoy!

Get inspired! 20 of the best branding + business quotes

No matter your focus, I gathered some of my favorite business quotes to inspire you through the challenges.

The Not-So-Secret to Brand Success

It’s probably on your mind after all the inspirational posts you’ve just combed through, but this not-so-secret that I shared last year is still very relevant.

How to Define Your Audience and Boost Your Brand as a Writer – MASH Stories, a blog for young writers worldwide interviewed me on this hot topic.

Here’s a piece I wrote for Online Super ninja called 4 Tips to Making Your Message Sexy (ooh la la!)

And a lovely shout out from One Woman Shop, where Red Slice was named one of the 100 best sites for solopreneurs. Honored to be in such company!

Which article is resonating the most or causing an “A Ha!” moment for you? Would love to know in the comments below!

7 Simple and Stunning Blog Post Ideas to Keep Your Ideas Flowing

Posted on by Maria Ross

5.5.15 7EasyBlogPostIdeas (blog)
You’re staring at the cursor and it’s blinking at you, taunting you. You sigh.

When you were out driving earlier today, you had a ton of clever blog post ideas that just came to you with no effort. But you couldn’t write them down. And now – poof – they are gone with the wind.

This happens to me all the time. I seriously wish I could record the thoughts I have right before falling asleep. I’ve written 5 novels in my head this way. But I can’t remember a damn thing once I wake up. So I was inspired by a hilarious video from my buddy Amy Schmittauer of Savvy Sexy Social to share my own take on 7 simple and stunning blog post ideas – these will help so much when you can’t think of anything to write about.

And BONUS TIME: Any of these can easily be turned into a free email opt-in download, a lead magnet for your next course, an eBook, a podcast, a video…..you get the idea. Recycle, people.

Oh, and the numbers below are arbitrary. It’s up to you to pick how many you can create – but play around with being short and sweet (3 quick tips…) versus providing a more exhaustive resource (64 ways to….). See what resonates with your audience the most.

7 Simple and Stunning Blog Post Ideas – When You Can’t Think of What to Write About (Tweet This!)

  1. 3 Crucial Tips for… (YOUR SUBJECT AREA HERE). …Building a Website, …Finding Inner Peace, …Choosing a Killer Date Outfit, …Buying the Right Engagement Ring. Whatever your business does, surely there are 3 basic tips that you always seem to share with prospects or customers. This worked well for me when sharing 4 Clever Ways to Make it Easy For Others to Promote You and 3 Tips for Smarter Small Business Marketing. Don’t fall into the trap (as I once did before a wise woman slapped me upside the head – with love) of assuming “everyone know this.” They don’t. It’s why you have a job.
  2. 6 Questions to Ask When… (YOUR SUBJECT AREA): People love to read articles that guide them when making a decision. And, heck, no one says you can’t choose questions that would immediately point them to your products or services if it’s a good fit – just make sure you’re being unbiased, as people may feel like you’re being slimy instead of helpful. So how about: …Choosing the Right Accounting Software, …Picking the Perfect Executive Coach, …Creating Your Social Media Strategy.
  3. 5 Powerful (YOUR FIELD) Lessons from (POPULAR NEWS TOPIC/CULTURAL REFERENCE): This one is super fun, because it allows you to be timely (and show up in what people are searching on right now) and showcase your cleverness in relating your expertise to something that culturally binds us. One of my most popular blog posts was 4 Powerful Business Lessons from James Bond and Skyfall. The other form this can take is “What (POPULAR TOPIC) Can Teach You About (YOUR FIELD).” Relate key lessons or tips you always talk about to something timely and hot and give it a fun spin (if the topic allows for it) or simply analyze a current news story through the lens of your expertise, as I did in popular posts about Lance Armstrong’s and Susan G. Komen’s epic brand fails.
  4. 7 Lessons Learned When (YOUR FIELD OR INTEREST): You have wisdom to share based on your experience (See #1 above) and your audience is thirsting for it. What can you share about mistakes you’ve made, unique things you’ve done, or clients you’ve worked with? What can they learn from your story? Remember, share your lessons but ensure you make it about how it applies to the reader. I loved sharing 7 Lessons I learned While Writing A Book…And What They Can Teach You as well as, yes, the 7 lessons that a brain injury can teach you about your brand.
  5. Pose a question related to your subject area: Think about the most popular questions you get asked about your business, brand or profession and turn that into a single-threaded blog post. How Do I Write Good Sales Copy? How Do I Work with a Stylist? How Long Does A Website Take to Build? What is a Brand Strategy? This helps you showcase your expertise, offer great advice and even make it easy for new people to join your tribe and not feel like they don’t know some inside joke. Remember, your audience may be at different phases of the buying cycle and are only just now getting to know you and your brand.
  6. Interview another rockstar expert: Are there folks related to your field from whom your audience would loooooove to get the inside scoop? You don’t have to be the expert in everything. But you can be the go-to resource for curating that info and brining those guests to your community. Are you a health and wellness coach? Interview a stylist to help your clients showcase their brand new health bods. Are you an Etsy store selling handmade jewelry? Interview a party planner on how to throw the perfect jewelry party for your friends. Do you sell customer management software to small businesses? Interview a branding expert to give them tips on how to build their brand online and create compelling content. These can be super easy to create. In my Slice of Brilliance column, I interview experts in related fields that are of interest to you and send them a 3-question form to fill out. You get a great blog post, your audience gets great content, and you get the added bonus of that rockstar also promoting your post! #Winning
  7. Make one observation on your industry and present your point of view: These are the thought leader posts, the ones that inspire, delight, provoke thought – and get shared. There must be something you love or hate about your industry that you have a view point on: your disgust with smarmy sales pitches (if you’re a sales consultant), your crush on brands that give back to the community (if you run an advertising agency), your confusion over why contracts can’t be written in plain English (if you’re a lawyer), your deep hatred of hyperbolic software sales claims (if you run a software company). How can you make this personal commentary interesting and relevant to your audience? Ensure there’s a strong takeaway that they can ponder or act upon – otherwise it’s just a rant. I tried to do this with my observations about how perfection holds many people back from birthing their great ideas into the world or why you are called to create something that matters, rather than spew more noise into the world.

P.S. Need help coming up with more compelling content? Want to learn the secrets to writing copy that seduces your audience? Want more content creation tips? Get it here.

Image credit: qnuckx via Flickr

3 ways to teach your old ebook some new tricks

Posted on by Red Slice

Today’s guest post is from Dina Eisenberg, AKA the Info Product Doctor.  Dina is all about turning your expertise into a passive income stream that will help you scale and promote your brand far and wide – how much do we love that?! Follow her @DinaEisenberg.

There’s a problem that no solo business owner or coach ever mentions: Excess ebooks.  These are the ebooks that you began but didn’t finish.  The ebooks that represent your last digital product or your work before your business pivot.  Right now, they are sitting on your hard drive waiting to be used.

Kinda like that amazingly beautiful dress you bought because, well,  it was gorgeous and you’ll need it someday (natch). I still have an adorable fuschia silk waiting in the back of my closet for my next cruise.  Never mind that I’ll look like a pink round tennis ball. It’s there to inspire me to get in better shape and dream of new travel adventures.

This post will, hopefully, be your inspiration to repurpose your under-utilized ebook content.  After all, you already spent the time creating it.  Why not put that energy to good use and make some cash from the content?

Recycle your ebook into a new online offering & gain a new income stream (Tweet this!)

What can you do with an aging ebook?  Here are three ideas How about you share your ideas in the Comments, ok?

3 Ways to Repurpose Your Old Ebook

1.Turn your ebook into social media content

Finding more valuable content to share on social media can seem like a job, can’t it?  Even using all the great curation tools like Scoop.it or Google Alerts which bring news to you, it still takes a lot of time to sort, compose, create an image and share.  Gosh, I’m tired just writing that.

Upcycle your ebook by using excerpts as social media posts.  Boost engagement on Google Plus.  Dab a little on your Facebook status.  Pick out a provocative question to ask in your G+ community. Quote an excerpt on Twitter with a link back to your blog.  Share a graph or chart as an infographic.

Hello. I can almost hear your eyes rolling back in your head.  No, this isn’t more work.  Quite the opposite.  Recycling saves you time, provides content and gives you a second shot at brushing up your writing.  By the way, you can find help to get all of this done for you.

2. Give your ebook a makeover

I love to get a few new clothes for spring to refresh my wardrobe and get ready for summer (yeah summer!!!)  Your ebook might do well with a makeover, too.  How about changing your ebook cover?  Their styles go in and out of fashion, too.

Upcycle your ebooks’ looks, inside and out. Most ebooks are created simply without a lot of book design, which is fine. But sometimes the wrong title or cover can impact sales.  An older book with less than stellar sales could be a blockbuster with a new look. One place I see well-intentioned authors go wrong is with  book interiors that are poorly formatted and look amateurish.

Interiors are tough, for sure, if you’re not an inDesign expert.  I’m not. I found two solutions for this.  Joel Friendlander is the book designer who created Book Design Templates  and he’s a genius!  He took what I consider the hardest part of being an independent publisher- book design- and made it dead simple.

You simply select a template.  I’m partial to Focus for non-fiction business books. Nice and clean. Purchase it.  Templates are very reasonably priced for one print-on-demand or one ebook template.  Check the Tool Time here. Try a single license and if you like it you can get a multi-license to use more templates.  You’re not limited to business.  I have my eye on a children’s book template to capture the stories my kids and I made up at bedtime when they were kids.

As for the cover, no worries.  I’ve gotten very good ebook covers on Fiverr.com, the online work marketplace. It’s all about understanding how Fiverr works, setting your expectations correctly and being precise.  I talk more about that in my course Outsource Easier (new release soon)

3. Transform your ebook into an online course

Online learning is very hot right now and it will be for a while.  Smashwords reports that indie publishers will represent 50% of the ebook market by 2020.  As an authority, you can be part of that.  You can teach your online course on a variety of online platforms like Udemy, Lynda.com and Ruzuku.  Don’t have a course?  No worries.

Upcycle your ebook into a new online course offering and gain a new income stream. Your ebook was written to solve a problem or help your tribe achieve a goal. Well, that book can be turned into a self-paced  learning experience. Each chapter could become a module that you further develop to include exercises and tools.  By the way, you don’t have to be a geek.  I made my first course last year with simple tools like Powerpoint, Screenflow and Vimeo.  And whatever technical piece I couldn’t do myself, I outsourced affordably.

To be sure your course is effective and students actually learn I recommend using the ebook, Bottle your Wisdom by Dr. Kelly Edmonds.  Her book solves the problem of crafting your course.  She helps you determine what to include, how to avoid content-crammin, and ways to really engage your students for learning.

What are some other ways you’ve reused ebook ideas? Would your ebook make a good course or webinar? Please share in the Comments!

7 deadly marketing material sins you don’t want to make

Posted on by Red Slice

Your marketing materials should reflect your brand but sometimes, we don’t realize we are killing business softly by overlooking some important details. In our rush to just “get the information out there” we can sometimes do more harm than good to the sales process.

Today’s guest post is from my brilliant colleague Nancy Owyang. As the owner of Eye 2 Eye Graphics, LLC, Nancy is an award-winning designer with strong branding experience. She has aided a variety of clients in rebranding their businesses and I personally adore her design sensibilities and her ability to first understand an owner’s mission and brand, and then translate that complex identity into a graphic representation.  Today she offers up Seven Deadly Sins you’ll want to avoid in your marketing materials.

When it comes to marketing your business it is important to make a good first, second, and lasting impression. (Tweet!)Your marketing materials represent you, your business, what you do, and how well you do it. The list of “DON’Ts” for how to create and use your marketing materials is extensive, but to narrow the focus I have gathered 7 deadly sins of marketing materials that you need to avoid like the plague.

  1. Out-dated materials… or no materials. If you don’t have any other marketing collateral you absolutely need to have a business card, and a website—both create an easy entry into your business for new clients. Your business card and website need to have your correct contact information—phone number, e-mail, and mailing address. Make it easy for people to get ahold of you!
  2. Looking cheap. Tattered edges, stains, crossed out information, bad visuals, no visuals, fuzzy pictures, the same business card and brochure template as someone else in the room—and I could go on—are big “No-No’s.” There is a huge difference between creating something that is cost effective and something that looks cheap. Committing this deadly sin will automatically drop the level of professionalism in your marketing piece by a few notches.
  3. Poorly written copy. Having correct spelling and grammar in your materials should be a given, but unfortunately this often gets overlooked. I encourage everyone to find a good proofreader to review all of your materials. The voice, or tone, of your marketing materials is also very important and needs to reflect the mission, vision, and personality of your business. Working with a professional writer to help you find “your voice” is a valuable component to your brand.
  4. Failure to differentiate you and your business from the competition. I want you to imagine your business as a Hollywood star nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. You step out of the limo, onto the Red Carpet and the unthinkable has happened… you are wearing the same dress as your competition! Just like on the Red Carpet, in business you need to avoid this ultimate faux pas! An important part of marketing your business is to know who your competition is, know how you are different, and express that in your marketing materials.
  5. Not focusing on the benefits. Always keep in mind your target. Look through their eyes and ask the question “well, what’s in it for me?” Go through your entire document concentrating on the benefits of your message, not the features. Another alarming, but all-too-common, trend that I’m seeing is too much “real estate” being given to outlining your education and business history.  Although this is an important part of your business, how well does it answer the burning question in your client’s mind, “what can this company do for me?”
  6. Failing to grab the attention and pain of your ideal clients. Give your audience just enough so that they want more. People don’t want to be overloaded with information. Especially if the marketing piece is a brochure or welcome kit, only provide enough information so that your audience gets the basics of what you offer and how you can solve their pain or problem. If you create some intrigue, your prospect will have other questions, giving you an opportunity to continue the conversation and answer their specific questions.
  7. Inconsistency. Your business should have a clearly defined identity with a style that appears on your business cards, stationery, brochures, website—indeed, all your marketing materials. Consistency sends the message that your business is stable and dependable. Your marketing materials need to visibly represent a business that is professional, successful, and at the top of its field.

Having well -designed and strategically planned marketing materials will help you present a professional image and make a great memorable impression. Failing to present the professional image that your ideal client expects can kill the deal and could stop your business dead in its tracks.

PS, to view a sampling of Nancy’s work please visit her online portfolio.

Do you have advice or lessons learned about your marketing materials? What one action will you take on your materials based on what you learned in this post? Would LOVE to hear it in the Comments below.

5 un-ignorable reasons why your business needs a blog

Posted on by Red Slice

A blog is an essential marketing tool for many, many reasons beyond brand building and SEO. (PS: if you are at a loss as to what to blog about or just hate writing, you can find other ways to deliver your valuable content: hire a writer, record a podcast, post photos, craft a Haiku…) Today, my writing partner in crime, Sarah Von Bargen, writer + business consultant and creator of YesandYes.org (a super successful daily lifestyle blog with hundreds of thousands of daily readers) shares her rockstar content marketing advice on why you definitely need to jump start your blog plans.  Enjoy!

Everyone and their sister has told you that you need a blog/twitter/facebook/instagram/everything ever for your business. And while it is, in fact, possible to be a successful business or entrepreneur without those, it sure is nice to have thousands of potential customers and clients interacting with you online, enjoying your cat photos and clever status updates, no?

Need a bit more convincing?  Here are five nearly un-ignorable reasons why you should blog for your business. A blog can be fun and lo, the benefits are huge: (Tweet & share!)

1)  You can establish yourself as an expert
True story time: I once spent a summer writing for a leading women’s magazine.  When we needed experts to weigh in on a topic?  We’d literally Google “relationship expert [city name]” or “interior designers [city name].”  And then we’d paw through their online lives and if they were active online and could string a few grammatically correct sentences together, we’d email them and request a pull quote on our topic. National press coverage = achieved.  Wouldn’t you like to get some national press coverage?

2) Up Your SEO
Search Engine Optimization (how your site and business ranks in search engines) need not be be the stuff of headaches.  When you write about your area of expertise (and when people link to your posts) you move up the search rankings.  If you just have a static website for your graphic design business in New York, you’ll be buried deep on page 23.  But if you’ve got 25 blog posts about the ins and outs of the graphic design world, you’re much more likely to be closer to the top of the pile. It makes sense, right? The more searchable content there is about you and your business, the more people are going to find you. And then buy your awesome jewelry/services/hand-knitted cat sweaters.

3)  Make new connections
Is it painfully hippie dippie to say that blogging for your business shouldn’t just be about making money and finding new customers?  You can also connect with professional peers, mentors and mentees, companies that can provide you with make-your-life-easier products, vendors and  heaps of new friends.  When you interview people for your blog, interact with people on twitter, link to other bloggers, and host guest posts you’re strengthening your professional network and, really, you’re just being nice.  Which is sort of more important.

4) Create buzz for new products and services
Launching a new line of jewelry?  Spend the month before you launch writing about the process, your inspiration, the resources you used, and posting teaser photos or videos.  Send out promotional samples to bloggers you think would enjoy them.  Easy peasy!

5) Connect with new clients and customers (Dur.)
Well, obviously.  OBVIOUSLY.  When people like your product or brand (or you) they want to know more about it.  And someone who’s reading your blog is about a million times more likely to buy your new products, purchase something on sale, spread the word about your work, and become a repeat buyer.  When you create great, google-able content (“How to wear layers under a dress” for a fashion label or “What to pack for Hawaii” for a travel agency) people who don’t know about you and your products will find you.  And if you’re lucky, they’ll stay around for awhile browsing all your great content.  And then buy something.

Does your business have a blog?  What good things have happened to you because of your blog? Tweet me @redslice and let me know!

 Graphic credit: YesandYes.org. Social media buttons by twenty three oh one

It’s here! 7 reasons to love Branding Basics for Small Business, 2nd Edition

Posted on by Red Slice

It’s a….book!

In what will prove to be the second most exciting Spring birth for me (our son is due in May), I’m pleased as punch to share the launch today of Branding Basics for Small Business: How to Create an Irresistible Brand on Any Budget, 2nd Edition (2014, Norlights Press) with all of you.

Even if you benefitted from the first edition, I invite you to check this one out in paperback or eBook format and let me know what you think.

Here are 7 juicy reasons why your brand and your business will get a boost from what’s inside:

  1. Content marketing as the new sales model: Since the first edition in 2010, content marketing has exploded on the scene and everyone is trying to figure it out. The book includes brand new sections on what content marketing is, how it benefits your business and increases your sales, and tips on what to create, how to share it, and time-savers for getting it done.
  2. Insights from your favorite excerpts: You’ll hear from Alexandra Franzen on how to weave magic with words; Sarah Von Bargen on making blogging easier and more fun; Sandy Jones-Kaminski on tips for effective networking to grow your business (even if you think you hate it); Jay Baer on effective social media; Amy Schmittauer on how to build a doable social media plan; Ann Handley, editor of Marketing Profs on content marketing tips; DJ Waldow on how to tackle email marketing to create a loyal tribe; and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur himself, Mike Michalowicz about not just pursuing passion before profit but how to get to know your customers intimately. They share wonderful stories and generously gave their time to help you reach your business and brand goals.
  3. Fresh new case studies to inspire you: TCHO Chocolate, Blue Bottle Coffee, Happy Herbivore, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, Taylor Stich and more. All examples of small businesses started with passion and purpose that create loyal fans and killer brands without multi-million dollar marketing budgets.
  4. Social media made simple: I expanded the social media “how-to’s” section in Part 3 to include how to build a plan, how to manage your time and how to create delightful content that doesn’t keep you chained to your computer 24/7.
  5. To blog or not to blog: New content talks specifically about blogging, how and why to consider it part of your mix and ideas for posts when your creative well is running dry.
  6. Launch Week bonuses: Purchase a paperback or eBook format, send the receipt to info (at) red-slice (dot) com by April 7 and get your free digital bonus swag bag of business-building resources from experts you love, including worksheets, tips and an entire book from CRAVE’s Melody Biringer! More details here.
  7. A FREE teleseminar on April 2: If you read this in time, you can still sign up for my free launch week teleseminar, 5 Clever Ways to Boost Your Brand Online. Sign up here NOW as those on the call will have a chance to win 1 of 3 free signed copies or 1 of 3 free Red Slice Brand Bootcamp digital courses ($197 value)

Feel free to Tweet the love today or find other promo posts on this handy page. I’d be honored.

Thank you for your support as this 2nd edition went from idea to reality. I really hope you enjoy it and would love to hear what you think, so let me know once you’ve finished it or feel free to post an online review. Thanks!

Boost your brand: 3 tips to make blogging easier

Posted on by Red Slice

Blah, blah, BLOGGING.

If you just sighed in disgust, overwhelm or sheer panic at simply reading the B-word, I’d like to talk to you today. Blogging is, in my opinion, one of the single best ways to grow your business, boost your brand and hustle up some thought leadership street cred. Think of it like you are the editor of your own little magazine: press releases and pitching be darned! You have the ultimate in with the editor of You.com -YOU.

How can blogging help your brand and business?

  • It gives you a forum to promote your expertise and point of view
  • It’s SEO-licious, meaning you can write about your core product or service areas and search engines will develop huge crushes on you
  • It provides your target audience with information, advice, entertainment – all great things to build community and nurture future sales and customer loyalty
  • It offers you content to share in social media (for those days when you’re like, “What the heck should I tweet about?”
  • It gives visitors a reason to keep coming back to your site
  • It provides the press with examples of your expertise in case they are writing a story for which you’d be PERFECT

I could go on and on…. “But I hate writing,Mariiiiiiaaaaaa!” (enter whining) “I don’t have time.” “What should I blog about?” I will admit that I have it a bit easier, as I love writing – it’s my favorite form of expression. But even I have days where I face a blank Word document, with a blinking cursor mocking my lack of creativity. We all do. The muse does not always show up when it’s convenient for us.  (TWEET THIS!) Sometimes she’s out grabbing a caramel macchiato and surfing One Kings Lane for fun household furnishings.

So here are 3 tips for making blogging easier and – hell – more fun:

  1. Jot down every question someone has ever asked you about your line of work: Seriously, the juicy ones, the silly ones, the obvious ones, the annoying ones.  Are you a knitting store? How about “How can I learn to knit?” “Where can I find fashionable patterns?” “Isn’t this something just old women do?” Or are you a personal trainer: “What are the best super foods I should be eating?” “How can I start on Day One if I’m overweight?” “Don’t I need to be wealthy to have a personal trainer?” Perhaps you’re a social media consultant: “How do I start on Twitter?” “Which platforms should I be on?” “When are the best times to post on Facebook?” – or even “What questions should I ask to find a good social media consultant?” Got your list? BOOM. You just came up with 3 months worth of blog post topics.
  2. Rif on trendy topics: The Grammy’s are coming up. Can you relate something about your business back to music, a Grammy winning star or even something controversial that happened at the show? New movies come out all the time. Can you relate some tips about your products or services back to a popular film? These kind of posts are as fun to write as they are to read – and you can take advantage of trending topics when promoting the content on social media. For example, if #Grammys are hot, hot, hot the day after the event, you can use that hashtag to promote your post.
  3. Interview interesting people: Who would your target audience (or you) love to hear from? Are there related experts who complement what you provide that would be valuable for your readers? You don’t have to come up with all the blog post ideas yourself – sometimes the best thing to do is feature another interesting person with juicy nuggets of wisdom to share. Not only will your audience love it, but you create a built-in promotional partner – and you get to be generous and support someone else’s great brand so perhaps later they may support you.

Photo credit: Foxtongue on Flickr

How to Define Your Target Market? Channel your inner Aaron Sorkin

Posted on by Red Slice

What can the screenwriter of such TV and movie hits as West Wing, The Social Network and my new obsession The Newsroom teach you about defining your customer niche or target market? A heck of a lot.

Doesn’t matter whether you have a business, blog or book. It’s vital to define who will realistically consume what you have to offer. Specifically, who is your ideal customer, client or reader?

Here’s a simple and fun exercise to flesh out just the right buyers and ensure all your marketing efforts will attract the right people at the right time. You just need to channel your inner screenwriter (or Inner Sorkin)

When you intimately know and understand your audience, you can better connect with, talk to, and engage with them (Tweet!)

One of the biggest mistakes I see small business owners, aspiring authors – or even blog writers – make is that they boil the ocean. They claim their target market is “Women” or worse, “Everyone.” That creates too large of a target to which to connect and speak. If your target is that broad and wide, how will you know a good marketing investment or tactic when you see it? They will all look good but few may actually work.

As much as you want to believe that anyone and everyone would (or should) engage with you, I have news. They won’t.

It’s a better idea to focus on your IDEAL customers or clients. And that means creating Customer Profiles. Time to put on your creative hat and channel that inner screenwriter. Create a detailed character sketch of your ideal customer as if you were writing a script or casting a show. I recommend that small businesses or bloggers stick to no more than three profiles/segments. You just don’t have the time, money or resources to spread your marketing efforts too thin.

Build a character sketch of your ideal customer. Yes, think ideal, not average because you want to make this person real to you. What is her name, age, occupation, household income? Where does she live, what is her family life like? What does she like do to do for fun? Which websites does she visit, in what stores does she shop, where does she go out to eat (or does she cook at home?). Where does she get her news and info? What books does she read or movies does she see (does she read books and go to movies)? What is her favorite movie or TV show? What are her fears? What does she value? What keeps her up at night? What does she struggle with?

Like screenwriter, build a fully-formed character. Maybe 2 to 3 paragraphs long. Find a stock photo online to represent this person and hang it up by your desk. Every time you write content, or build a new offering, think about Jane or Steve or Charlotte and craft it for them.

Once you have this profile, you can pull out the buying drivers and that will help you craft your offerings and marketing to speak to what matters most to him or her.

You won’t be leaving people out, trust me. It doesn’t mean others outside this profile will not ever buy from you – if others land in the net, great. This is simply about where you will target your limited time and resources on outbound content and activities.

It’s not about who you’ll let into your Open House; it’s about who you are targeting with invitations! (Tweet!)

Just spend an hour on your ideal customer profiles, if that’s all you have. I guarantee it will save you time and money and make your marketing more compelling and effective!

How to use video and social media to boost your brand: A chat with Amy Schmittauer

Posted on by Red Slice

Today’s digital economy has introduced us to countless people I like to call “artsy-techies.” They geek out on things like hosting options, social media network features and today’s audio/video/web technologies but they are a far cry from the A/V Club nerd of yesteryear. With their savvy style, easy wit and delightful charm, they crank out more creative innovation before lunch than I do all year. It’s truly their time to shine: and what’s great is they love to teach us mere mortals how to easily put our art, story, value, services and products out into the world, too.

I’m not quite sure how or when Amy Schmittauer, the President of Vlog Boss Studios entered my orbit – most likely via Twitter! Vlog Boss Studios is a creative digital marketing agency that specializes in video content marketing. And as the Founder and Face of Savvy Sexy Social, she walks her talk and produces videos of her own. Hilarious videos (like this recent one about how you’re probably using Twitter the wrong way). Little snippets of video love that make you laugh out loud even as she’s teaching you how to use the latest social networks the right way so you can connect, promote, and attract rabid fans.

How does she describe herself? “I’m a social media frenzy!”

Today, Amy drops some mad advice on us about using video to build your brand, how to produce and host those videos in a snap and the fact that many of us are using social networks in the wrong way (one size fits all….not). Enjoy!

RS: Welcome Amy! Tell us, why should we be using video for brand building and social networking?AS: Plain and simple: People don’t build relationships with brands. They build relationships with people. (Tweet!) Video is the unbeaten opportunity to truly let your personality shine through and give your audience the opportunity to really understand and get to know you. Let them see how something is done. Let them see your expressions. Your opinions. That direct connection is huge for making relationships that count and make social media worth your time.

RS: But isn’t this stuff hard? What are my main options for creating/hosting videos?
AS: YouTube is the second most popular search engine only to Google. So it’s kind of a no-brainer to have a presence there if you’re creating video content. The visual learners go there to learn so that’s a great opportunity to tap into. But creating videos is easier every single day. You can record all the footage you need with a smartphone and edit with apps. Even YouTube has a built in editor. Don’t assume the tools are out of reach because that’s an impossible thing to say anymore. (Tweet!) My advice for new creators is to look into strong digital cameras like the Canon Powershot. It takes flawless HD video and the price point is perfect for budgetary restrictions.

RS: OK, truth time. Most of us don’t have enough hours in the day and are simply posting the same things on all our social media sites. But should we be leveraging each social media profile differently?

AS: Abso-friggin-lutely. Platforms are different for a reason and you need to respect the audiences that use each so you can customize your content to their liking. Do not auto-post between social networks. Facebook updates are not being read on Twitter. And your tweets are getting pushed down by the news feed algorithm. Saving time just means you’re making any time spent worthless. (Tweet!) Take the extra steps and watch engagement increase. One thing is for sure and that’s that people don’t like to read. Keep it close to 140 characters no matter which platforms you’re using for best chance of increased engagement.

Want more Amy in your life? Get the social action plan you’re looking for and pick her brain.

Are you using video in your social media efforts? Want to but not sure where to start? Fire away your Q’s for Amy in the Comments below!