Your Marketing Sucks. Here's Why Nobody Trusts You.

Your Marketing Sucks. Here's Why Nobody Trusts You.

Why Your Marketing Feels Like a Used Car Salesman

Most marketing reeks of desperation. It's loud, pushy, and screams I'm here to take your money. People aren't stupid. They smell inauthenticity from a mile away. You blast generic emails, spam social media with recycled jargon, and expect trust to magically appear. Trust isn't a transaction. It's earned through consistency, not sleazy tactics. Stop treating your audience like ATMs and start delivering value that doesn't feel like a sales pitch. Nobody trusts a brand that sounds like it's begging for attention. Fix it by showing up real, not rehearsed.

Stop Hiding Behind Corporate Garbage

Your polished mission statements and stock photo websites are fooling nobody. People crave raw, unfiltered truth. They want to know the humans behind the logo, not some faceless entity spewing buzzwords. Share your failures, not just your wins. Admit when you screw up. That's what builds connection. Trust comes when you ditch the corporate mask and talk like a person, not a press release. If your marketing feels like it was written by a robot, you're already losing. Get real or get ignored.

Value First, Not Manipulation

Slapping a free eBook on your website doesn't make you generous. It's a bribe, and everyone knows it. Real value means giving without strings attached. Write a blog post that solves a problem. Share a tip that actually helps. Don't gate every piece of content behind a sign up form. People trust brands that prioritize their needs over a quick buck. If your marketing is just a funnel to squeeze out leads, you're building resentment, not loyalty. Give freely, and trust will follow.

Consistency Beats Flashy Campaigns

One viral ad won't save your reputation. Trust is built through relentless consistency. Show up every day with something worth hearing. Answer questions nobody else bothers with. Be the brand that doesn't disappear after the sale. Stop chasing shiny new trends and focus on delivering steady value. People trust what they can rely on, not what dazzles for a week. If your marketing is a series of stunts, you're a circus, not a brand. Build trust by being the one they can count on.

Nail Your Niche and Crush It

Why Niching Down Is Your Power Move

Finding your niche isn’t about boxing yourself in. It’s about owning a corner of the world where you’re the undisputed champ. Generalists get lost in the noise. Specialists cut through it like a hot knife through butter. Pick a specific problem you solve better than anyone else. Maybe you’re the IT wizard who makes cloud migrations painless. Or the consultant who turns chaotic teams into lean machines. Zero in on that one thing. Make it your obsession. The tighter your focus, the louder your impact.

Stop Chasing Trends and Build Authority

Jumping on every shiny new trend is a rookie move. You look desperate. Instead, plant your flag in your niche and build a fortress of expertise. Write about it. Speak about it. Solve real problems for real people. Over time, your name becomes synonymous with that space. Clients won’t just come to you. They’ll beg for your help. That’s the power of being the go-to person in a world full of wannabes. Commit to your niche and watch your reputation skyrocket.

How to Find Your Niche Without Losing Your Mind

Start with what you’re already good at. List your skills. Then cross off anything that bores you to death. What’s left is your starting point. Talk to your network. Ask what problems they’re wrestling with. Look for patterns. Your niche lives at the intersection of your expertise and their pain points. Don’t overthink it. Pick something specific and run with it. You can always tweak it later. The goal is to start carving out your space now.

Scale Your Niche to Dominate

Once you’ve nailed your niche, don’t sit on your hands. Double down. Create content that screams your expertise. Launch a newsletter. Host a webinar. Build a service around it. The world rewards those who move fast and deliver value. Your niche isn’t a cage. It’s a launchpad. Use it to catapult yourself into opportunities you never imagined. Stay focused. Keep delivering. You’ll be unstoppable.

Who is Your Buyer

I know this sounds a bit crazy, but do you spend a lot of time thinking of your buyer, of your ideal customer? Do you spend your time thinking about how to satisfy her business needs? Do you think about solving her problems in new and helpful ways? Are you so totally into your clients and your new prospects that you spend sleepless nights thinking about them?

Every time I walk through an airport, I think of GoToMeeting, one of our clients at New Marketing Labs. I think of new ways to help them with Workshifting and the like. I think of SAS and their social media analytics tool, and wonder what else we can do to promote it. I think about how to help promote Edison Research and their Twitter Usage in America report.

Those people (and several more) are my clients at New Marketing Labs.

I also think about you, the professional in smaller and midsized businesses. I think about the people that John Jantsch and Becky McCray serve.

I think about my buyers and clients all the time. I think about my would-be customers all the time.

Do I Think About My Competitors?

Not very often, no. Know why? Because what will that get me? Yes, I can see if any of their offerings are better than my offerings, but then, I create my offerings for my buyers, so why would I try to copy their offerings, which are for their buyers?

I think of ways to get people to say yes. I think of ways to get the people who’ve said yes to be happier. I sometimes actually even ask the people who say yes to me what they think (crazy, I know).

Which Do You Think Gets You More Business?

That’s the question.

via chrisbrogan.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

How To Use LinkedIn To Market A Book | I'm On LinkedIn - Now What???

I’m working on my third book, titled Eight Lunches.  It’s a cool idea and I’m actually looking at people to review the latest draft (more info and an excerpt here).

While I’m asking for people to review the draft and provide feedback that can help the book be more solid, I’m using LinkedIn for business development.  I mean, er, marketing.  I mean, perhaps PR.

What I really mean is I’m using LinkedIn as a tool to help me network into certain places to help me market my book.

I’ve identified a number of media outlets I want to approach with information about my book.  Last week I did a few simple searches on LinkedIn to find editors and writers of one magazine and came up with about a dozen contacts I’ll reach out to.  Here’s what I did:

• I searched on “editor [magazine name]” and came up with a bunch of names.  Most of the names are interesting to me.
• I went to each LinkedIn Profile to learn more and see if they really were a contact who I want to network with.
• On the right of each Profile I looked in the “Viewers of this profile also viewed…” box to see who I was missing, or who didn’t come up in the search, or who key people were at other magazines.  This is a KEY area when you are searching for contacts you might want to reach out to.
• I recorded the name, location (so I know what time zone they are in – not all are in the same time zone), title, URLs (always the LinkedIn URL, sometimes the Twitter URL (if they are on Twitter), and the name of the magazine (because I’ll put these contacts into a spreadsheet and then import them into JibberJobber – I figured it’s best to put the “company” name in before the import, rather than one at a time).

This week I’ll work on my message (aka, pitch) and then send them messages.  But I won’t send them messages through LinkedIn… I don’t have any introductions left (I can’t find the outstanding 5 that should be recalled – it’s a horrible weakness in LinkedIn to not be able to find those), and I can’t InMail them because I’m on the free level now.

That’s okay, a simple google search shows me that the company email structure is simply the first initial of the first name plus the last name @magazinename.com…. I’ll check out the magazine to make sure that’s what they say in there, but emailing each of them individually should be easy.

As a side note, I noticed that ALL of them have weak/skeleton LinkedIn Profiles.

via imonlinkedinnowwhat.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

How to Drive Traffic from Twitter using @Anywhere

How to Drive Traffic from Twitter using @Anywhere

How to Drive Traffic from Twitter using @Anywhere
@Anywhere is a new set of widgets (or plugins) from Twitter that allows you to add Twitter Features to your Blog or Website. @Anywhere is great because it lets your users do the most common activities relating to Twitter (tweeting, following) without leaving your site. Not only that, there are a couple of ways you can use @Anywhere to drive traffic to your site.

Hovercards
This plugin automatically converts every Twitter username (in @problogger format) on your web pages to Twitter links, complete with hover cards (think tooltips on crack) that have the all important “follow” button in them.

Tweet Box
The Tweet box option simply puts a tweet box on your site that users can post tweets with without leaving your site. The benefit of the Tweetbox is anything your user posts to their account includes your website name (even if they didn’t type it).

Adding @Anywhere To Your Site

1. Sign Up
You’ve got to let Twitter know that you’re hosting @anywhere and this is the part where you can set the text that will appear in tweets user make from your site (See above screenshot). Go to this URL on Twitter and fill out the form: Sign Up for @Anywhere

On the form, make sure you set the following correctly:

• Application Name: This text is what will appear on your user’s tweets
• Callback URL: Just set this to your home page address
• Default Access Type: Has to be Read & Write – make sure you set it!

Don’t close the next screen when you’ve submitted the form!

2. Copy API Key
Once you’ve submitted the form, Twitter will provide you with an API key – this is the bit of information Twitter will look for to tell that users are Tweeting from your site. Copy this, and save it some place you can refer to it.

3a. Add @anywhere to your site manually
I’ve created a really small HTML sample page showing both hovercards and the tweetbox in action. You’ll need to edit this and put your API in it to get it working. Once you can see it in action, you should be able to integrate the same features into your site. Download Here (zip, 1kb, right click & save)

One thing I’ve done in this sample is to get the Tweet box pre-populated with the title of page your user is reading. If you *really* know what you’re doing, you’ll want to add a shortened URL to the text box via server side code (not for the faint of heart).

3b. Add @anywhere to your site as a WordPress Plugin
If you can’t edit the code for your blog / site, there is a WordPress plugin you can try, you’ll need the API keys for this as well: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/add-twitter-anywhere/

Summing Up – @Anywhere is a great start to Twitter breaking out of it’s own walls, in a similar way to Facebook’s Connect platform. As you’ve seen there are useful options for integrating it with your website,
You can find out more (including documentation) about @Anywhere at Twitter’s dedicated site:

• dev.twitter.com/anywhere

via twitip.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Sell Your Used Car for More by Getting It Detailed - Selling - Lifehacker

Dealers take real time to polish up a used car so it looks as showroom-fresh as possible. Take a cue from them and increase your chances of getting the asking price on your used car.

Photo by area57.

MSN Money put together a list of six ways you can get more money for your used car. Key among them is thinking like a dealer—as shower-inducing as that sounds—and getting your car as clean and shiny as possible:

Dealers have a few tricks up their sleeves. They know that even a clunker can look like a cream puff when it's cleaned up.

A detailing that includes vacuuming the interior, cleaning the seats, and washing and waxing the exterior will run about $50. Shining up older tires is cheap — $5 to $10 — and helps increase curb appeal. Dealers also steam clean the engine, polish chrome surfaces and even use Armor All on the plastic tubing, says Phil Reed of Edmunds.com. That can give buyers a sense of confidence in the care of your car when they look under the hood.

Besides the spit and polish, make sure your vehicle is clear of all your stuff. Look in the compact-disc player, seat-back pockets, under seats and in the trunk. Verify that the spare tire is there (if it comes with one) and that all jacks and tools are accounted for.

It seems like having a spotless maintenance record would be more important than a spotless driver seat, but purchasers like to feel like their getting a "new" car, even when they're shopping for a used one. Check out the full article for more tips. What put your own used car over the top for a buyer? Share your trade secret in the comments.

6 Ways to Get Top Dollar for Your Car [MSN Money via Free Money Finance]

Send an email to Jason Fitzpatrick, the author of this post, at jason@lifehacker.com.

via lifehacker.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

TheWiseJobSearch: Keys To A Great Email In Your Job Search!

Most opportunities you have to present yourself to a hiring decision maker will involve sending an email.

The form and substance of that email will have a great deal to do with whether you get a response or not.

As a recruiter, I receive a lot of emails from job seekers looking for leads, looking for help in their search, or pursuing specific job opportunities I’m working on. On average, I receive between 1000 and 1500 emails per month. In those emails, I’ve seen the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

What gets my attention? What gets a response? And what really gets my interest? Three different questions, with three different answers. Here are some observations, opinions, and ideas about how you can improve your chances of getting a response to your emails.

What gets attention? – Often an extraordinarily bad email gets as much attention as a great one. It often amazes me how poorly or cryptic people write. Generally, it’s not a good idea to send a cover letter as an attachment since it rarely will get opened at all. The greatest cover letter in the world has no impact if it doesn’t get read. The body of your email is effectively your cover letter. Considering how important it can be, I’m stunned how casually people treat it. I’ve received emails that have only said: “I am sending u my resume” and have their resume attached. I’ve had worse ones that are full of texting abbreviations. In my opinion, it would be better to not write anything at all, and only attach a resume than to write overly casual, overly cryptic, or non-sensical notes. First impressions DO matter.

What gets a response? – If someone sends a professionally written, clearly customized introduction for help or in response to a position I’m recruiting for, I will invariably respond to them even if they are not a fit for the role or the profiles I generally seek. If they made the effort to present themselves in the best way they can to me, I believe they deserve a respectable response. If they send what is clearly a standard form letter that does not necessarily apply to me directly, or if they carelessly sent something with no effort at professionalism, I will often not bother responding to them.

What gains real interest? – Brevity is a virtue, and connecting dots is key. When I’m processing the many emails I receive each day, I only have a very brief time to decide what to do with each one. If I open an email that has several long paragraphs, I will rarely read past the first line. If there’s a resume attached, I will open it and quickly decide if this is someone I want to examine further, but because the email message was too long, the note has no impact on my decision to go further or not.

If someone writes a couple very brief paragraphs and has written something that very quickly and easily helps me see why I may be interested in pursuing this person further based on specifics related to the position I’m trying to fill, or generally as the types of people I target, it has a tremendous impact on my decision.

Whether you send an email to a recruiter, an HR representative, or to a hiring manager, connecting the dots for them as quickly as possible has everything to do with gaining their interest. Help them see the connections by directly linking their requirements with your specific experience. Some people make it even visually easier on me by creating a short table with my requirements on one side, and their related experience on the other.

Secondly, give one brief reason you stand out from everyone else. Give an accomplishment, brief success story, or a unique qualification that emphasizes why you should be considered.

Clearly showing your related experience and what makes you stand out from the crowd will cause me to follow up with you every time.

Relevance and Impact!

A good email can make a tremendous difference in your response rate. Take the time and put in the effort to make it work for you!

Posted by Harry Urschel

via thewisejobsearch.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Online Personal Brand « Career Brander

In December 2009 Microsoft commissioned market research firm Cross-tab to conduct a survey on the growing impact and related social trends of Online Identity Management.  Cross-tabs surveyed several hundred recruiters and Human Resource (HR) professionals as well as several hundred consumers in Europe as well as the United States.

The results of this survey further support the increasing role of online identity in hiring decisions.

Here are some sample takeaways from the study:

• Companies are making online screening a formal requirement in the hiring process.
• 85% of recruiters and HR professionals say positive online reputation influences their hiring decision.
• Approximately 70% of recruiters and HR professionals say they rejected candidates based on what they found online.
• Recruiters and HR professionals in the United States are almost twice as likely to perform an online screening then their European counterparts.

To further emphasize the strength of online screening in the United States, 98% of the recruiters and HR professionals surveyed said they used at least one of the following sites to gain further applicant information during the hiring process.

According to the survey, here are the percent of recruiters and HR professionals who use these types of sites when researching applicants.
Search engines	78%
Social networking sites	63%
Photo and video sharing sites	59%
Professional and business networking sites	57%
Personal Web sites	48%
Blogs	46%
News sharing sites (e.g. Twitter)	41%
Online forums and communities	34%
Virtual world sites	32%
Web sites that aggregate personal information	32%
Online gaming sites	27%
Professional background checking services	27%
Classifieds and auction sites	25%
None of these	2%

The study goes on to say the most common methods consumers are using to better manage personal and professional identities online are:

• Update and create multiple profiles on-line with an emphasis on separating personal from professional profiles.
• Keep profiles anonymous by correctly employing privacy settings.
• Use restrictive access tools similar to Career Brander’s Site in 60 website content padlocks.

Despite the growing trend and role of online identity management, an amazing 1/3 of all consumers have taken no measures whatsoever to enhance, protect or manage their online persona.

Career Brander feels, this “head in the sand” mentality is a flawed approach for anyone in career transition. We strongly recommend any individual in career transition look to the chart above and consider using it as a roadmap for their online identity campaign management.   Minimally, individuals should look at the top 5 research sites from the chart above and take the time to enable, control and optimize the personal data on these destinations. To repeat in order they are:

1) Search Engines (Consider establishing profiles with them as well as creating a Vizibility button for Google)

2) Social Networking Sites (Facebook  and MySpace are probably the two critical sites)

3) Photo & Video Sharing (This is probably more about controlling content than proactively adding content.)

4) Professional/Business Networking Sites (LinkedIn is key here and given its networking power probably the most important site to job seekers.)

5) Personal Websites (Site in 60 allows for incredibly easy creation of a personal website and advanced crawls by all the search engines.)

In 2010, reputation management is central to personal branding.  An online identity audit and a proactive strategy are critical elements of effective career marketing.  Embrace the Internet as a job search tool and you will have a hiring advantage.  Ignore it, and you are positioning yourself for potential failure.    The job search process is getting more complex and individuals need to be extremely thorough and thoughtful in every aspect if they hope to find work faster.

via careerbrander.wordpress.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

How to Scale Your Personal Brand, Earn More and Get a Life

You’ve worked so hard to establish a reputation, but now it’s backfired…and, you’re in personal branding hell.

Building a strong personal brand—being known as the go-to person in a specific niche—has it’s ups. Everyone turns to you for information, for ideas, for thought leadership, for advice, for strategy, for connections, for presentations, for favors, for opportunities, for jobs, for partnerships, for salvation.

But, if the way to choose to leverage your personal brand is to trade time for money…

You may well have just built a personal brand that feels more like a cage than a stage.

Because, there are only so many hours you can bill for, so many planes you can get on, so many individual conversations you can have before you…and your life…implode. Especially if you’ve also got a family you actually want to see, friends you love to be around, other activities, passions and hobbies you love to engage in and a commitment to taking care of your body and your mind.

If your personal brand requires you to trade time for money, at some point, you’ll need to make a life-critical decision.

Either increase your rates to a level that let’s you earn enough to live well in the world, while working a balance of hours that affords you a life outside your living. Or, keep your rates accessible to most, forcing you to work a ton of hours…and risk the neglect-driven atrophy of all the other parts of your life you claim to hold dear.

There is, of course, a third option…scale your brand independent of trading time for money.

Keep a certain amount of face-to-face time, especially if that experience makes you come alive (it does, for me). But, then build a plan to scale your business and your income around solutions and experiences that do not require you to trade time for money.

Examples include:

1. Commodotize knowledge & Filter Access – Brain dump what you know into a format—books, videos, info-products, virtual courses—that allows you to share what you know on a mass scale and likely a far more accessible price, without you having to deliver that knowledge repeatedly or provide unlimited or individualized access directly to you.

Lewis Howes’ course on LinkedIn Marketing, Dave Navarro’s Launch Coach products, Naomi Dunford’s small biz marketing programs, Chris Guillebeau’s Unconventional Guides and John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing products are great examples.

2. Train For Bucks – Train people to leverage your knowledge to become independent consultants, then charge a substantial fee for that training. Yes, you may well end up training your competition, but that just means you need to keep growing, learning and improving to stay one step ahead. Plus, if you change your mindset from scarcity to abundance, you’ll realize…you’re actually training your future collaborators and teachers, too.

Legendary copywriter, John Carlton, is a great example, making the leap from writing copy for clients to training people to become copywriters with his Simple Writing System. Or, Pam Slim and Michelle Woodward, two well-known coaches who now virtually train others to make a better living coaching.

3. Build a Team – Bring together a team of people, share what you know, delegate levels of responsibility, then empower and trust them to go out into the world, then go beyond your expectations to help you create even better solutions and bring them to market. This is the foundation of every company that grows out of the unique abilities of an individual.

What Jason Fried did with 37Signals is a great example. Or, how James grew professional writing company, Men With Pens.  I did this, too, in my last brick and mortar biz, Sonic Yoga, building a team of amazing teachers and community leaders around me, so that I ended up working only about 5-10 hours a week by the time I sold the company.

4. Be a Catalyst & Aggregator – Leverage your brand to bring together, organize and help market others in complimentary disciplines, forming a collective effort that draws more potential clients with shared needs to your blended efforts. Then, create integrated in-person and commoditized solutions that reach across a broader swath of your clients’ needs.

Brian Clark of copyblogger has executed on this and the above approach masterfully with his company, Unglued Media, bringing in people like Tony Clark (no, he’s not Brian’s second cousin) and Sonia Simone as partners, then teaming with Chris Pearson (DIY Themes), Darren Rowse and Chris Brogan (Third Tribe Marketing) and others to build an online training and product powerhouse.

These are just a few ideas. Point being…

Be very conscious about the way you scale and leverage your personal brand. It’s the difference between living well or living hell.

As always, would love to you know what YOU think…

via jonathanfields.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

How To Build A High Value Network

This is a guest post from Mohammed Al-Taee, a blogger who lives in Amman, Jordan.  His Altaee Blog focuses on social media and career development topics.  Mohammed and I met on Twitter and have started a value exchange.  His post below is a must read for anyone looking to build a powerful long-term network (a new, feel good form of social capital).  You can follow Mohammed on Twitter to begin your own conversation with him!

Recently, I ended my presentation at Amman International Toastmasters Club with a quote by Author Tim Sanders who said:  “Someday this will be true for all of us: Our network will equal our net worth.”

The quote is true for me and it’s the reason I write this post. In the near past, we used to have a circle of friends who we met offline and it was the only way to be connected.  But today, for many of us, our circle of friends is mostly our online network, i.e. the connections that we add everyday are our net worth. Think of your net worth potential as a job offer from one of your Facebook friends, a Follow Friday #FF from your Twitter followers that could get you another 10 followers, or an invitation to write a guest blog post as I’m honored today. Think of net worth as a new opportunity that could bring a new business, career or the most valuable thing, a new connection to your network.

Here are some proven ways to build a high value network:

1 – Engage your followers and friends through interesting updates, don’t just be a broadcaster of normal information. Read an article and share your favorite statement as a tweet or make a question from an article and share it with your friends. Engagement is must-have skill in today’s social media revolution.

2 – Update your status frequently but remember that each social network has its audience so try to share business, training and presentation events on Linkedin; personal, questions and kind of interesting things on Facebook; and everything else can be shared on Twitter. Twitter will become your online biography in the near future so keep your tweets professional.

3 – Promote what’s important to your network.  Whether it’s a tweet, a link in a blog post or even writing Linkedin recommendation. I have today three recommendations from my Twitter friends, we never met but I know them now like any of my colleagues. We collaborate online most of the time and that was enough to know my brand.

4 – Grow your network by connecting with more non-spam people.  It’s right that the more connections you have, the less social interactions you make with your friends but it’s worth to have a big network. Think big when it come to social networking.

5 - Tag your followers when you RT or share a status via Facebook. This tag could connect more like-minded people in your network and by that your and your friend’s network becomes a network of values.

6 – Help your network by selectivity inviting the right people into the right group or fan page. I always mention some of my Twitter followers in resource or a tweet but after making sure its suits their needs. Always give before receive. Offer value and don’t expect something in return, this is a great way to build your personal brand.

7 – Connect people. Play the role of connector on your social networks, I’m enjoying doing that everyday. It doesn’t require any physical efforts; you can do it while you are on Linkedin or Twitter. I realized that the more people I connect, the more people will connect to me.

8 – Gratitude for your network. Write at least one Linkedin recommendation to one of your colleague even if he/she is overseas, Tweet 10 Follow Friday to the best tweeple, and comment everyday on your favorite blogs. Do it and make it part of your brand attributes. Remember, adding value to your network starts with you so be generous.

9 – Ask your network. I wouldn’t able to make my Brand Conversations with experts on my Blog without inviting them. I wouldn’t write my guest post here without Tim’s invitation. Ask your network for help or advice because it’s about mutual interests.  I add value to your network and you do the same.

10 – Brand yourself, in order for people to remember you, you need to position yourself on your social networks. Be remarkable so you become the first in other people’s minds when they want to share resource, invitation for an event, business opportunity or even a coffee meeting. Your personal brand is key to build your network as mentioned in a recent book called Career Distinction: “when the members of your network respect you and understand your brand, they give you their support as you advance your careers.”

via timsstrategy.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Job Seeker: How To Make A Name For Yourself

A lot of job seekers slog through their process with great anonymity.  But there’s no joy in anonymity.  It’s pretty much the worst way to network.

If nobody knows you, then no one is recommending you.  Even worse, what if no one knows “of you” either?  You are quietly pursuing a job.  And you will find one.  Eventually.

But what if you could find a few ways to stand out.  To add value to your network.  And become someone that people know?  It would be like pulling yourself out of a burning building.

Well, I have a new idea for you.

Another way to build a high value network.

It came from a post by David Swinney.  He writes a blog called Speaking of Social Media which covers topics such as social media, job search and personal branding.  He wrote a post called 20 Ways To Network More Effectively which highlighted content from my two-part series called The 20 Habits Of Highly Effective Networkers.

David found value in what I wrote and decided to share it with a local group.  He took my ideas and built his own presentation to share it with others.  And he (thanks David) when out of his way to share my original links in the presentation and in his blog post.  I saw his post, re-tweeted it and thanked him for sharing.

So David found a creative way to use my content to create a stronger name for himself.  Although reading David’s blog tells me that he really didn’t need my content.  He’s building a good content package on his own.

But here’s my idea for you based on David’s example.

Do the same thing.

Read my blog and find a post that really speaks to you.  Content that you think others in your network would appreciate.  And build a presentation on it.  Once you are ready, approach the leaders of your local networking groups with a proposal to present at an upcoming event.  Some of the list posts are really good for a quick and concise 30 minute presentation.

If you’d like, contact me and I will help you build one.  Or you can go to my speaking page, pick one and ask me to create a custom version of it for you.

So what do you get for doing this?

You make a name for yourself.

You stand out.  You become someone, that day and beyond, that people want to meet.

And that’s worth something.

You’ll be well on your way to becoming a person of influence in your local community.

If for some reason you are not comfortable presenting to your group.  You can tell the leader of your networking group about this blog and about the presentation topics available.  And maybe you gain a name by being the person who convinced me to come.  And present it personally.

In the end, the result is the same.  You build awareness for your personal brand.  And I get to share my ideas with more people (I’ve been looking to get out of town anyway!).

via timsstrategy.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Seth's Blog: Do you have a media channel strategy? (You should.)

Twenty years ago, only big companies and TV stars worried about media channels.

Oprah was on TV, then she added radio. Two channels. Then a magazine.

Pepsi set out to dominate TV with their message, and billboards and vending machines. Newspapers, not so much. The media you chose to spread your message mattered. In fact, it could change what you made and how you made it. [Stop for a second and consider that... the media channel often drove the product and pricing and distribution].

Today, of course, everyone has access to a media channel. You can create a series of YouTube videos, or have a blog. You can be a big-time tweeter, or lead a significant tribe on Facebook.

Harder to grapple with is the idea that the media channel you choose changes who you are and what you do. Tom Peters gives a hundred or more speeches a year, around the world, for good money (and well earned). But this channel, this place where he can spread his message, determines what he does all day, impacts the pace of the work he does, informs all of his decisions.

Oprah lives a life that revolves around a daily TV show. Of course it would be difficult for her to write a book... that's a life dictated by a different channel. And she's a lapsed twitter user because it demands a different staffing and mindset than she has now.

This applies to non-celebs, to people with jobs, to entrepreneurs, to job seekers. We all spread our ideas, at least a little, and the medium you choose will change your ideas. If you only pay attention to the world when you need a new job (your channel is stamps and your message is your resume) you'll spend your day differently than if you are leading a tribe, participating in organizations or giving local speeches all the time.

We've come a long way from a worker having just two channels (a resume and a few references) to having the choice of a dozen or more significant ways to spread her ideas. Choose or lose.

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Major Findings from the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report | Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

The awesome crew over at SocialMediaExaminer.com just released their 2o1o Social Media Marketing Industry Report. The 33 page report is geared to marketers and has some great info for anyone looking to create and grow their personal brand.

Here are some of the major findings from the survey:

• Marketers are mostly new to social media: A significant 65% of marketers surveyed have only been involved with social media marketing for a few months or less.

• The top benefits of social media marketing: The number-one advantage of social media marketing (by a long shot) is generating exposure for the business, indicated by 85% of all marketers, followed by increasing traffic (63%) and building new business partnerships (56%).

• In 2009, only 23% of marketers were using social media for years. Now that number has grown to 31%.

• A significant 56% of marketers are using social media for 6 hours or more each week and 30% for 11 or more hours weekly. It’s interesting to note that 12.5% of marketers spend more than 20 hours each week on social media.

• People age 20 to 29 spend the most time using social media marketing (59.1% spending 6+ hours weekly), followed by 40- to 49-year-olds (58.3% spending 6+ hours weekly) and then 30- to 39-year-olds (58% spending 6+ hours weekly).

• The number-one benefit of social media marketing is gaining the all-important eyeball. A significant 85% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated exposure for their businesses. Improving traffic was the second major benefit, followed by building new partnerships.

• 

  More than half of marketers indicated a rise in search engine rankings was a benefit of social media marketing. As search engine rankings improve, so will business exposure, lead generation efforts and a reduction in overall marketing expenses. More than half of marketers found social media generated qualified leads.

• Those who invest the most time in social media marketing gain the most business partnerships. However, 53.1% of people who’ve only invested a few months with social media marketing report newpartnerships were gained.

• We asked marketers which social media tools they most want to learn more about.Social bookmarking sites slightly edged out Twitter for the number-one slot. Facebook came in third, followed closely by Digg/Reddit/Mixx/StumbleUpon and then LinkedIn.

Get ahead of the curve

By getting started with blogging, social media and inbound marketing you will be ahead of the curve. While many of us have heard of these new disciplines, there are far fewer that are implementing with a sound strategy.

Take your cue from savvy marketers and begin to use blogs, social media and search engines as a way to create more visibility and quality opportunities for yourself.

The barriers to entry have been lowered. Will you rise up?

What do you think of the major findings from the report? Where do you think all of this is heading? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Author:

Chad Levitt is the author of the New Sales Economy blog, which focuses on how Sales 2.0 & Social Media can help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business. Chad is also the featured Sales 2.0 blogger at SalesGravy.com, the number one web portal for sales pros, the professional athletes of the business world. Make sure to connect with him on Twitter @chadalevitt.

via personalbrandingblog.com

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life@work: How Strategic Attraction Can Help You Get the Job You Want

If affirmations aren't your thing, you've come to the right post.

Because even though I've used the word "attraction" in this post's title, and I'm convinced that we can do a lot to attract the kinds of people and situations we want in our lives, there are more effective ways of attracting what we want than simply repeating, "I welcome the abundance of perfect job offers" to yourself in the mirror every morning.

You need to know what value you provide to an employer, envision your ideal job and take steps to make yourself attractive to your ideal organization.

Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez's book, Attracting Perfect Customers: The Power of Strategic Synchronicity, is one I turn to weekly as I develop and grow my own business. I have a business, and the business depends on customers. Every business owner has to figure out where those customers are going to come from. 

The tactic of running around, chasing after customers wasn't working too well for me. Imagine that. When I read this book, which was introduced to me by coach extraordinaire, Molly Gordon, I began to think about attracting perfect customers. I created something called a strategic attraction plan. And this changed my business entirely.

OK, so what does this have to do with you and your perfect job?

Everything. You can create a strategic attraction plan to attract perfect customers, a perfect job, mate, perfect vendors, business partners, or whoever. It's not magic, but is a fresh way to look at marketing or job seeking.

The book has all the details, but here are a few highlights:

• You are most attractive when you are like a lighthouse, standing still with a very focused beam of light, than when you are running up and down the beach, shining your light everywhere, trying to attract the attention of all the boats in the harbor.

This metaphor is about knowing who you are - in the case of being a job seeker, knowing your value proposition - and not trying to be what you think everyone else wants you to be. Focus is attractive, diffuseness is not.

Paring the process down quite a bit, your strategic attraction plan is the result of:

• Envisioning your perfect employer (it helps to have already worked for one that was awfully good), writing down their qualities and attributes
• Writing down what you choose your perfect employer to expect you to do
• Writing down what you need to improve to attract your perfect employer
• Working to improve what you decided you need to improve
• Reviewing the plan each day, to keep it alive

Creating a strategic attraction plan for a job search requires that you know yourself well, that you can imagine an ideal environment for you, and that you understand what you can do to make yourself more attractive to your perfect employer.

Just getting to the point of writing the plan takes a lot of thought and exploration! But it helps you become the lighthouse, someone your ideal employer will recognize as a great fit for their needs. Having a plan also positions you to recognize opportunities as they come along. Long-hoped-for synchronicity often ensues.

If you've done reading on personal branding, you recognize how closely tied the strategic attraction plan is to developing your personal brand. (Check out the 1997 Tom Peters article that started it all for more information). Dan Schawbel, among many others, is at the forefront of personal branding evangelism today.

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Sell, Don’t Brag During Your Job Interview | EmploymentDigest.net

If you have managed to secure a job interview then you need to start doing some serious preparation. With unemployment levels sky high the chances are there are a good number of competing applicants and you need to do all you can to set yourself apart from them. You need to start focusing on your career history to date and importantly all the key achievements and milestones you have reached.

Think about the things you have done well in your previous roles. Perhaps you secured a major new client, or brought about a cost saving initiative. You may have been praised by a line manager for good customer service or have perhaps been recognised for outstanding attendance levels. It’s things like this that you need to bring to the attention of the interviewer, but be careful how you do it. There is a fine line between bragging and selling. You need to sell yourself, that’s for sure. But avoid bragging or you will come across as insincere or even arrogant. Your achievements should also be truthful and importantly, believable. Do not exaggerate figures that can be easily checked. It is amazing how many job applicants make extraordinary claims about things they have done in previous jobs. The reality is that if they had stuck to the facts, rather than embellishing them, they would have had a far greater chance of success.

Try and make a note of your key achievements, and set a limit of around three. Three will be plenty to discuss and again is much more believable than a long list. When considering these achievements prepare the following:

- A list of 3 key achievements

- A list of 3 key sills

- 3 things you think you are good (or even great) at

- 3 things that you are proud of.

By working through this list and speaking about it out loud before the interview, perhaps with a friend or family member, you will start to feel confident and comfortable talking about these things. Remember, the interviewer more than likely does not know you and they will never know about what you have achieved (and therefore what you can bring to their company) without you telling them. Just remember to Sell, not Brag!

Author Lindsey Watson is a Webmaster of a wide variety of online specialty shops including a very popular site with advice on finding great Jobs Vacancies. Visit http://www.jobsvacancies.org today.

via employmentdigest.net

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reCareered: Why Employers Look For Purple Squirrels

A purple squirrel is a C#, SQL, and ASP.net developer, who has financial markets experience, and speaks German. His brother (also a purple squirrel) is a Financial Analyst with SAP FICO, Hyperion, Excel Macro, and VBA skills, Pharma experience, and has done some market research.

As you can see, purple squirrels are hard to find, which is one reason they are so valuable to companies and recruiters.

5 ways to successfully transform yourself into a Purple Squirrel:

1. Describe close accomplishments and experiences - Don't lie. Instead use the hiring manger's language to describe describe even minor projects and responsibilities that may solve employer problems.(see: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2010/03/job-seekers-tell-your-readers-wift.html).
2. Describe even your minor accomplishments confidently - Don't use words like proficient (signifies minimal experience), light, minimal when describing your experience. Why make yourself look "light" when you don't have to?
3. Describe Accomplishments over experiences - Whenever possible, describe what you accomplished, rather than what your job responsibilities were. This allows you to demonstrate what you did outside of the day-to-day of your job.
4. Understand underlying problems: The more information you have at understanding why the hiring manager wants a purple squirrel, the better you can be at describing your own background to fit the employer's needs. First you have to understand the needs.
5. Don't stretch: If you only have 2 out of the 3 major requirements, don't waste your time. With the number of people looking today, the company will find someone with all 3. Instead, spend your time chasing opportunities where you are a fit.

via recareered.blogspot.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Send Articles - Guerrilla Job Hunting

Sending an article to a hiring manager with a simple note like: “I thought you might be interested in this…” is a great door opener.  The trick is to find something that is truly helpful to them in their job.  You can uncover potential needs by doing a search through Google for position papers they may have presented or to see what their competitors are announcing by way of new products—and let them know.  I know several people who have landed great jobs by doing this.

Articles are easy to find by using search engines like Google or Yahoo.

Magazines usually have electronic editions.

Photocopies I find work best because very few people bother to do this anymore. Also the photocopy will stay longer on their desk and it may even be passed on to other staff members who could be hiring too. 

Keep your contacts through this medium to a maximum of once every three weeks.

Don’t bombard people unless they ask for more.

Make sure you send a personal note even if you send an e-mail clipping.

via guerrillajobhunting.typepad.com

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Searching For a Job? Network and Stand Out From the Crowd! - Secrets of the Job Hunt Career Podcast

Networking is the best way to find a job in our current economy and it helps you to stand out from the crowd. Although it may take time to establish a network of colleagues, networking has great rewards if done correctly. The Merriam Webster's Dictionary defines Networking as: "the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically: the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business."

There are many websites where can go to network, but I feel that LinkedIn is the best tool for professional networking. LinkedIn gives you access to CEOs, recruiters, hiring managers, and other individuals whom you usually would not have access to. You can target and research specific companies, then follow up by searching LinkedIn to find and connect with someone in the target company.

Most people feel that networking for a job simply entails contacting friends or former coworkers. However, it involves much more than that. Do not depend solely on your current network of friends; keep reaching out to new people and expand your network. I have met wonderful, and might I add, helpful individuals on LinkedIn. Make a network plan and first think about what you can share with others in order to help them. Always bring something valuable to the table and others will be willing and ready to assist you. It could be something as simple as giving advice, sharing a great career article, passing on job or business leads.

In addition to networking, you can stand out in other ways. When you respond to a position on a job board, always look to see if a phone number is included in the job ad. Assuming the ad doesn't preclude contact with the company, call and follow up in a few days. Companies receive so many resumes and cannot respond to each applicant; your resume might not even reach its destination because of being automatically filtered by resume scanning software. I recently called a recruiter to follow up on a position I had applied for. When the recruiter could not find my resume, he asked me to resend it while I was on the phone with him. My follow-up phone call resulted in an instant interview.

Most people are applying for jobs online; so why not try faxing your resume if a fax number is provided in the job posting? If the company provides an address and doesn't have any restrictions, send your resume with a cover letter via snail mail (U.S. Postal Service).

When searching for a job, remember to be flexible. You may need to take a position that pays less or something out of your chosen field, but at least you will get your foot in the door and generate income.

Networking can be intimidating when you first start out, but put aside all your fears and go for it! In tough times, there will be fierce competition for any available job; networking might give you the edge that you need to get your foot in the door or at least help you to gain access to a decision maker. Be sure to include all forms of networking in your career search, including professional/social online networking, and in-person networking; do not rely on any one method. Online networking on LinkedIn is great, but don't exclude face-to-face networking.

So are you ready to stand out from the crowd? Get out there, network, and land that job!

Author Bio:

Marleen is a multi-faceted Information Technology professional, with numerous transferrable skills. For the past few years, she has been in a role of a UNIX Systems Administrator; but she also has a vast background in technical, and application support as well. Marleen’s strong technical, customer service, and interpersonal skills have afforded her the opportunity to assume different roles over the years.

In her spare time, Marleen likes to write articles or various topics such as careers, job search, social/professional networking and one day she hopes to write a book. In 2008 Marleen learned that it is very important to have a “Plan B” (backup plan) career plan, and she found a way to turn her writing hobby into an additional income stream. Now she writes for business owners and content sites, which pay to write articles. As a result, Marleen’s articles have been published in magazines, and numerous company & association newsletters.

If you would like to keep up with Marleen’s writing, please feel free to visit her article-bookmarking site at http://www.xomba.com/user/redy2assist (scroll all the way to the bottom to view articles).

You may also wish to subscribe to her articles on Google FeedBurner at feeds.feedburner.com/xomba/xdpC

via secretsofthejobhunt.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

What Would Dad Say » The New Visual Elevator Pitch

You know what the elevator pitch is…it is the little talk you give about your career or new product or new company, all condensed into the time it takes you to ride up in the elevator.  So not much time.

Done well, every word matters and there’s no wasted you-know’s and um’s.

High level friends, venture capitalists and others who have A-D-D love elevator speeches.  Concentration being what it is today, the shorter the better.  Hey, what about those Minnesota Twins!!

I have a new idea.  I am calling it the Visual Elevator Speech, copyrighted by GLH.

Every business leader I know has a constant issue with his team not being able to communicate what it is they do.  Staff management types recite the company mission, (maybe), but leave out important parts.  Sales people do a feature dump on prospects…”No, YOU LISTEN, here is what I am selling!!”

Every once in a while a top leader will get his team together to “get back to basics.”  These meetings typically take four hours or, if moderated by an outside consultant type person, four days.  At the end we all sing Kum-Bay-Yah.

Instead try this.

Design ten 4 by 6 postcards, only the art side.  You must have a picture and at least three sentences+your company’s logo, your kicker text.  Use Google images and find the picture you want…then come up with the copy.

These postcards are going to your prospects or other audience.  Imagine sending them a postcard each week for ten weeks straight.  Do they get what you do?

Can you condense your message down to the postcard?  Can you find their hot button, or pain, or need, or whatever it is you call it now in your own sales training program?

Three sentences and a picture.  Show me what you got.

Here are two examples for you.  At Linkup, the coolest of the job search engines, we index company websites and present those jobs to job seekers.  By showing job seekers only these jobs and taking them directly to the company’s own website, they are better prepared, more likely to understand the company and so forth.  Here are two postcards that condense those thoughts.  My tenth one is a LOT better and so will yours.

via blogs.jobdig.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal

Searching For a Job? Network and Stand Out From the Crowd! - Secrets of the Job Hunt Career Podcast

Networking is the best way to find a job in our current economy and it helps you to stand out from the crowd. Although it may take time to establish a network of colleagues, networking has great rewards if done correctly. The Merriam Webster's Dictionary defines Networking as: "the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions; specifically: the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business."

There are many websites where can go to network, but I feel that LinkedIn is the best tool for professional networking. LinkedIn gives you access to CEOs, recruiters, hiring managers, and other individuals whom you usually would not have access to. You can target and research specific companies, then follow up by searching LinkedIn to find and connect with someone in the target company.

Most people feel that networking for a job simply entails contacting friends or former coworkers. However, it involves much more than that. Do not depend solely on your current network of friends; keep reaching out to new people and expand your network. I have met wonderful, and might I add, helpful individuals on LinkedIn. Make a network plan and first think about what you can share with others in order to help them. Always bring something valuable to the table and others will be willing and ready to assist you. It could be something as simple as giving advice, sharing a great career article, passing on job or business leads.

In addition to networking, you can stand out in other ways. When you respond to a position on a job board, always look to see if a phone number is included in the job ad. Assuming the ad doesn't preclude contact with the company, call and follow up in a few days. Companies receive so many resumes and cannot respond to each applicant; your resume might not even reach its destination because of being automatically filtered by resume scanning software. I recently called a recruiter to follow up on a position I had applied for. When the recruiter could not find my resume, he asked me to resend it while I was on the phone with him. My follow-up phone call resulted in an instant interview.

Most people are applying for jobs online; so why not try faxing your resume if a fax number is provided in the job posting? If the company provides an address and doesn't have any restrictions, send your resume with a cover letter via snail mail (U.S. Postal Service).

When searching for a job, remember to be flexible. You may need to take a position that pays less or something out of your chosen field, but at least you will get your foot in the door and generate income.

Networking can be intimidating when you first start out, but put aside all your fears and go for it! In tough times, there will be fierce competition for any available job; networking might give you the edge that you need to get your foot in the door or at least help you to gain access to a decision maker. Be sure to include all forms of networking in your career search, including professional/social online networking, and in-person networking; do not rely on any one method. Online networking on LinkedIn is great, but don't exclude face-to-face networking.

So are you ready to stand out from the crowd? Get out there, network, and land that job!

Author Bio:

Marleen is a multi-faceted Information Technology professional, with numerous transferrable skills. For the past few years, she has been in a role of a UNIX Systems Administrator; but she also has a vast background in technical, and application support as well. Marleen’s strong technical, customer service, and interpersonal skills have afforded her the opportunity to assume different roles over the years.

In her spare time, Marleen likes to write articles or various topics such as careers, job search, social/professional networking and one day she hopes to write a book. In 2008 Marleen learned that it is very important to have a “Plan B” (backup plan) career plan, and she found a way to turn her writing hobby into an additional income stream. Now she writes for business owners and content sites, which pay to write articles. As a result, Marleen’s articles have been published in magazines, and numerous company & association newsletters.

If you would like to keep up with Marleen’s writing, please feel free to visit her article-bookmarking site at http://www.xomba.com/user/redy2assist (scroll all the way to the bottom to view articles).

You may also wish to subscribe to her articles on Google FeedBurner at feeds.feedburner.com/xomba/xdpC

via secretsofthejobhunt.com

Posted via web from AndyWergedal