Trade Secrets - Shawenon Communications Newsletter

SHAWENON COMMUNICATIONS

Effective Messaging

No. 52
July, 2010

Greetings!

Happy summer!

I've been having a ball--it's high season in the Berkshires. We bought a resident's lawn pass to Tanglewood for the first time this year and have heard three concerts already. Theater, dance, biking, garden club--don't you feel lucky to be getting Web Words with all that going on?

Unexpectedly, I delivered "Marketing a Company of One: Building an Authentic Personal Brand" again this month. More about that in our discussion of business opportunity in the second article in this issue.

The first article addresses a concern many of my clients voice--how to find good content for newsletters and blogs. Lots of trade secrets there.

There was a good response to the offer in last month's issue for a free half-hour phone consult. Some people are still doing their homework from that. If you are one of them, remember to set up your appointment.

I'm on Twitter. Follow me.

In This Issue

Finding Content

Opportunity

Web Tips

Free Coffee

Finding Content

People tell me they don't have enough article ideas for their newsletters and blogs. Balderdash. Good ideas for articles are everywhere--in interactions with customers, in your daily business life and in your time away from work.

The richest source of content is conversations with customers and prospects. The issues that come up as you deal with your customers and their problems are pay dirt for articles for obvious reasons.

This article is an example. At a recent meeting about online marketing, the client expressed concern about whether the firm had enough content for a blog--one of my recommendations. In seconds, they were talking about a client whose problem was likely generalizable to other retail stores. More ideas quickly followed.

Getting ideas is easy. Remembering them when you need them is more difficult. I recommend writing article concepts down in the moment. Keep a list on your computer, in your notebook or on your phone, whichever you have with you all the time. Be sure to describe the article in enough detail so that you remember the background when it comes time to write.

Business Activities

Last month's article "Wearing Personal Brand" is an example of how work-related activities can provide subject matter for articles. I wanted to write about my experience at a speed networking event--it made good copy. But I also wanted to tie in my own offerings. How did I do that? Well, you'll have to read the article.

Meetings and conferences you attend for business can provide inspiration, as can articles and books on your topic. Remember, your readers probably don't follow your field as closely as you do. So your newsletter or blog provides value by filtering out and presenting important information. If you become the trusted provider of useful material, people will read your articles. It's that simple.

Living Life

Well written personal stories are likely to be interesting and readable. The trick is tying them to meaningful business information. Check out the next article in this issue for an example. Or "Lessons from Nature" from January.

My own mentor Michael Katz is a master at this. From repairing a broken lawn mower to accompanying his son on college scouting trips, Michael's personal life shows up in his newsletters. But there's always a good message woven into the story.

Write down three content ideas that occurred to you while reading this article. Put them in the special place you've selected. There, wasn't that easy? Now contact me to get started on the rest of your online promotion.

Opportunity

"The lord giveth and the lord taketh away." That's what I said out loud when I saw that the "baby rue" had disappeared.

This isn't a religious newsletter, as you well know. And it's not a gardening commentary either, though that's where much of my attention is this time of year.

This is really a story about business opportunity, but first, I need to explain about the "baby rue." It was a gift--a "volunteer" as we gardeners call wanted plants that just show up. Unwanted plants that just show up are called weeds. It's all in the definition.

I planted a Meadow Rue some years back, and this year I was delighted to discover a miniature plant nearby. I figured it was too small to need the Irish-Spring-soap deer protector I used on its parent. Wrong. One morning, it was gone. There were just a few stalks left--not even a leaf for possible regeneration.

Teachings

I learned several business lessons from the "baby rue" episode.
First, appreciate the results that show up from your marketing efforts rather than lamenting the investment required to get opportunities. Case in point.

After I presented "Marketing a Company of One: Building an Authentic Personal Brand" to the NY Capital Region Chapter of the American Marketing Association in Albany, I decided I wanted to offer the talk again. The Consulting Alliance, an organization I've belonged to for a long time, was my first thought. I fired off a few emails to the program chairs. Though I would have preferred to speak at a luncheon (open to the public) rather than the members-only breakfast, I was set for a morning meeting in January.

Then opportunity struck, and a luncheon speaker canceled. I was asked to fill in last Friday. I'm sure I'll spend many hours finding other venues for this talk, but the Consulting Alliance offer was as much effort as planting the "baby rue."

Take Care

The second lesson I learned is to protect what you care about--in business and in life. Customers, clients, suppliers and other business relationships are treasures. Some just show up--others you have to work hard for, but they are all worth the extra effort.

In this heavily impersonal electronic age, remember the charm of a handwritten note or, heaven forbid, a phone call. Eb Schmidt called me the other day. We chatted for a while, and I waited to find out the purpose of his call. There was none; just a collegial checking in. Good idea. I should do the same.

And if you'd like to give me a "baby rue," please suggest organizations where I could deliver my talk on personal branding. I might even volunteer for some travel under the right conditions.

Web Tips

Aggregation without aggravation--that's the tag line for Alltop.com, where you can find out what's going on in everything from adoption to zoology.

You can join and customize your page to see latest posts in fields of your choice. Or you can take a peek at what's hot in the moment. Hover over an article headline and you get the lead. The full article appears with a click of the mouse.

Described as the "online magazine rack" of the Web, Alltop arranges answers to your queries in a Web page format so you get an overview of the sources and can select your favorites. It's a great resource for content or background information for your own blog or newsletter.

And Finally . . .

Shawenon Communications collaborates with small businesses, solopreneurs, professionals and not-for-profits to get their messages across in the written word.

We specialize in electronic communications, including e-zines and other forms of email marketing, Web sites and social media. We also ghostwrite articles and other business communications. As a solution provider, we resell Constant Contact's email marketing service.

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