The Attention Stream is made up of things, out of an overwhelming stream of never-ending content and options on the world wide web, that people actually pay attention to on any given day.
As a content marketer, your goal is to get - and stay - in your target market's Attention Stream.
So... how do you do that??
Getting Their Attention
To start, you have to get your market's attention in the first place. If they don't see you, you won't see a response from them. Nothing like stating the obvious, right? 🙂
Note: "Build it and they will come" will only happen if you're Kevin Costner.
- Go to them. Your first task is to find out where your target market is, and join them there. What are they searching for in the major search engines? Find out and rank well for those search terms. Which forums and social networks are they active on? Don't sit around and wait for them to come to your site. Find out where the conversation is happening in your niche and join in.
- Quality Content. Don't be a spammy marketer, blasting ads everywhere you go. Provide quality tips, information and answers. Ultimately you will either be part of the problem (spammer), or part of the solution (expert).
- Show a genuine interest in their success with ____ (your niche). This alone will go a long way in helping you stand out from the majority of online marketers.
- Eye Pull. Use images, color and bold text to draw the eye so that your message stands out on a page. There's a difference between appropriate use, and something like 'all caps and 13 explanation points'...
- Wording. Use engaging titles & sub-headlines to draw them into your content. Keep in mind that most people are scanning pages, whether it's a Facebook stream or a blog post. A little copywriting and strategic bolding can go a long way!
People generally make quick impulsive decisions about people and websites. You will either appeal to them, or turn them off. People don't have time for lukewarm. Being in the grey area will not get you into their attention stream.
Make a good first impression! 😉
Encouraging a Response
Once you get their attention, your next task is to encourage them to take a specific action. For every piece of content you put online, know the ONE action you want the reader or visitor to take when they read it.
Do you want them to buy, share, comment, subscribe, click? Make sure the objective is obvious. Use one call-to-action and let them know what the "next best click" is - and why.
- Ask questions. Don't just blast content incessantly. Stop now and then and ask questions. Open a discussion with your target market. People love to share their opinion, and they like to be heard.
- Quality Content. (yes, again) Great content gets shared. People love getting credit for passing along something cool.
- Offer your readers options & tools to share or respond to your content. Make sure they can easily add your page to a social bookmarking site, share it on Facebook, tweet it, comment on it, etc.
- Evoke emotion. Emotion responds. Tap into their frustration, concerns, their pain or their desires.
Note: If you're a blogger, "response" doesn't always have to equal "comments". Bloggers often judge the success of their blog by the number of comments. But if you're one main objective is to get readers to click on a link - do not distract them by asking for comments. You can just as easily use emotion to encourage a click or sign-up or purchase, as you can to encourage a comment...
Keeping Their Attention
Once they meet you and choose to subscribe (like, fan, follow, bookmark, etc), your job is to keep them engaged. People will just as quickly unsubscribe (or at the very least, mentally filter you out!) if the quality changes...
- Be Consistent. People like to know what to expect. Be consistent with your quality, and also with your timing. If you blog once a week on Thursday at 3pm, people will get in the habit of checking in every week to get the latest. Humans are by nature creatures of habit. You can tap into that with a disciplined publishing schedule (the noon tweet, morning update, weekend report, etc).
- Quality Content. (have I said this already??) People will keep coming back if you're putting out the good stuff. Good impressions pique interest. Trust is earned over time.
- Hot Topics. Be the person in your niche that is discussing the hot topics or the news as it comes up. Keep your finger on the pulse by using Google Alerts, subscribing to niche news sources, and take fast action on it: be the conversation starter. You'll quickly become their trusted source (the "go to guy") of all things *your-niche*.
- Share, generously. Resources, content from other sources, ideas, time, whatever.
- Respond. Reply to blog comments, tweets, messages, etc. Be a real person, and be available. Once someone has an actualy exchange with you, it takes your "relationship" to a whole new level. They become personally invested, and have an increased interest.
Rule of Thumb
We're all online marketers. But we're also constantly being bombarded by marketing messages ourselves.
Take notice of what annoys you personally, and what engages you. If you don't like something yourself, don't integrate it into your marketing strategy just because some guru told you it would work.
You don't want to annoy your readers or visitors. Certainly not your customers!
I like to keep a swipe file of pages I have responded to and/or ordered from. I study these, and make notes on what got my attention, and why. I also make note of things that annoyed me, pissed me off, or turned me off. I've used my own responses to create and shape my online marketing strategy.
Scott Stratten says: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.
I had the pleasure of hearing Scott speak while he was in Nashville as part of his 30-city "Unbook Tour". He made the point during that talk that being authentic or genuine cannot be taught, and cannot be faked (for long). He also left me pondering the difference (and that there is a difference) between marketing and advertising...
Win a Copy of UNmarketing
by Scott Stratten!
I would love for you to have a copy of UNmarketing by Scott Stratten.
This book, along with Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk are in my opinion two must-reads this year.
I'm going to give away a copy of UNmarketing to ONE lucky reader! All you have to do is leave a comment or question about this topic below.
Crap comments won't count, of course (and usually just get deleted anyway).
On Tuesday morning around 11am central time we will do a random drawing from all comments, and choose a winner. Good luck! 😀
(Note: This Giveaway Is Now Over)
Best,
Illustrations from iStockPhoto. Friends with Scott. Affiliate for Amazon.
About Lynn Terry
Anything from Scott about engaging and attracting attention is bound to be good
I've never read anything by him before, but the book looks like it is filled to the brim with goodies.
Great post Lynn. Thanks for breaking down a lot of this marketing stuff in a digestible form.
I would love to win Unmarketing. Over twenty years ago, I was a marketing major, and I'm excited to see how social media turned conventional marketing on it's head. There's a lot of buzz about Scott's book and it's on my Must Read Immediately list.
Unfortunately, the local businessman is still stuck in the old marketing idea. Trying to pull them into the modern world is like pulling teeth. - one of my biggest headaches - trying to convince a small businessman they need an email address that ends in @theirplaceofbusiness.com
It takes educating them first, for sure. Showing relevant working examples helps them catch the vision for how it can work for them.
As a UNlucky individual, I would love to change my fortUNe and win the UNmarketing book. It would be UNfortunate if I was UNable to read the UNmarketing book, as I bet it is a fUN experiment in marketing. I know this is a stretch and full of “UN” pUNs, but I can guarantee I won’t be UNderwhelmed by the content. I look forward to UNderstanding the principals of UNmarketing once I get my wUNderful copy.
Good one Brooke, you are so creative!
Great advice. Although, I have to admit, the doggie pictures threw me off in the beginning. Thanks!
LOL- They each illustrated the points beautifully, but I wondered how they would be taken. I thought it would be fun to try something a little different. 😉
I loved the dogs and got the connection easily.
I got the connection, too, Lynn. You got my attention, so it's a prime examples of what your content teaches, lol! Too CUTE! was followed by, Lynn's content is always worthwhile to give my attention to, then to CONSUME. As I'm reading, my thoughts go from, "Wow, this is dynamite info" to "I've got to get that book", as a call to action, even though I missed the give-away deadline. It's now on my list of next to read!
Thanks,
As always,
Mary
How timely, Lynn. I just opened my Twitter account yesterday and made my first Tweet. Would love to read Scott's book so I can make the most out of my time on the 'net. I'll also check out Gary's book. Thanks for the tips!
Very cool - followed you 😀
Thanks for the follow. I was very impressed that you actually took the time to follow me back, especially since you're already following like a gazillion people and you've got like 2 gazillion followers. But seriously, I appreciate that you'd support a newbie like me. Nice!
I like the tip "Take notice of what annoys you personally, and what engages you. If you don’t like something yourself, don’t integrate it into your marketing strategy just because some guru told you it would work." It is imperative that you keep who you are and what your interests are in marketing. Part of being in your niche is finding/atracting like minded people...and you can't do that through a facade.
Agreed 😉
A possibility of a free (physical, no less) book from Scott Stratten? Whoa, sign me up! I've been a fan of Scott's for some time now, although he is apparently NOT a fan of mine. He actually blocked my twitter ID -- I suspect I sent him too many messages or something. I had to register another account to follow him -- and I've been VERY careful not to send any messages to him at all, so that I won't be noticed, and incur his wrath again. So much for engaging, I guess. While I don't appear to be very good at that (at least, not yet), maybe I can learn...
Clue, TxCH - I got a request to follow from a person on LinkedIn with over 12,000 contacts. Sorry, but give me a glass of REALLY good wine, not a case of crap bottles. Who wants to hear from 12,000 people unless they all buy something?
Interesting. How can you tell if someone blocked you vs just unfollowed you? Just curious.
If you are only unfollowed, you can still follow and read the tweets of the other person. And that person will still see your tweets if you refer to his/her @+twitterID. If you are BLOCKED, you can't follow, and the tweets of the person blocking you don't even show on a direct search.
And yes to PamS, it is not possible to actually "follow" more than maybe 200 people. I'm not really very active on Twitter anymore anyway. It's a bit like being stuck in an elevator with a bunch of people with ADHD on steroids. My guess is that new changes will make that worse, not better.
LOL - It depends on how you have it set up. My plumber users Twitter to get sports highlights and other interesting notices, and it works quite well for him. 🙂
Great tips, Lynn! I especially liked this particular advice that you shared: "I like to keep a swipe file of pages I have responded to and/or ordered from. I study these, and make notes on what got my attention, and why. I also make note of things that annoyed me, pissed me off, or turned me off." I have been bookmarking tons of sites/blogs and kept thinking, "I need to leverage these"--now I know how! Thanks again.
In the world today, where everyone (including myself) have a goldfish memory, gaining and retaining attention can be very difficult. Thanks for this step-by-step procedure to captivate an audience and eventually convert them to clients. My question is does ur previous reputation have a role in impact on the attention stream? i.e. can an established brand have more impact than a non-established one with the same actions?
on a side-note I would love to win the book UN-marketing 🙂
Good question. All things being equal, as you asked, the brand awareness would definitely pull more attention. That said, so few "brands" are doing it (or doing it correctly) that standing out or standing apart is really not that difficult at the moment.
In a case where you truly are competing against a known brand or household name, the goal should be to leverage that instead of fight it...
Great tips! I'm wondering how to stand a part from competition. It seems difficult in almost any market.
What seems most difficult about it to you? Happy to help!
I'd benefit from the answer to Lisa's question, too.
I discuss that a bit in this post:
http://www.clicknewz.com/1145/are-there-any-good-niches-left/
Would love to hear your specific questions - It would be great inspiration for a new post on the topic 😉
This is going to sound gratuitous, but I honestly love that you practice what you preach. I can see why you are a fan of this book. It is the same reason I subscribe to your site. You provide what I need to know, over and over again, you are open and generous in sharing, and at the same time wonderfully clear that you are in business. You know what, I am learning from you all the time, and if you are learning from Scott Stratten, I need to hear what he has to say.
Thanks for pointing this out. I love to win. Otherwise, I will get the book myself (using your affiliate link, of course. I am in business too).
Thank you Niel 😀
How can I make contact with companies to sponsor giveaways or product? I'm a little fish in a big sea of mom bloggers! I'd love to learn how to make this a business with an income for me. Is that really possible when so many blogs already exhist?
I really do need to learn a lot, and believe both books would be a wonderful learning opportunity. Thank you so much for the opportunity.
Hi Jeannine,
Yes, it's definitely possible. What kind of giveaways are you looking to host? If you're referring to something similar to this book drawing, you should know that I am purchasing the book and paying for the postage to the winner of this drawing... But you can easily get companies and merchants (and authors) to work with you by simply asking - and showing that you have a responsive & targeted readership.
...oops! After I saw my comment posted, is when I saw my error. I've corrected my Twitter name now.
The dogs told the story to me immediately. I LOVED the picture in this context~! Of course, I teach people how to understand themselves better by observing horse's body language and reactions, so I guess I am more attuned to the animal thing. This is a great topic, and I always enjoy your take on it, Lynn.
Interesting! Slim (my dog - a great dane) *loved* this blog post 😀 He sort of resembles a horse too...
How would you go about getting in the attention stream of people in a physical product niche as an affiliate? i.e. Boots, or Shoes, or Bikes?
You target long tail keyword phrases for the specific product that has not a lot of search volume.
Just followed you on Twitter. Wall decoration is my thing, so see you around.
Simply find out what they're talking about, and join that conversation. Or start it! 😉 Go to Google and type in your keyword phrases (one at a time of course). Click "More" on the left sidebar, then click "Discussions". That's a good starting point. I just tried it for "mountain bike" and got over 800,000 results!
THANK YOU, LYNN. Karon T. just told me to get on forums and I wasn't sure just how best to do it.
Most welcome 😀
YAY! Hope I win, just started following him!
Unmarketing looks good. If you don't give me one, I'll be forced to buy it. 😉
Awesome, as always! The thing that struck me is how few bloggers truly engage with their readers. I've been on a huge blog commenting campaign lately, and I would say fewer than 10% of bloggers actually respond to comments! What kind of deal is that? I always figured if someone took the time to make a thoughtful comment, I owed it to them to respond.
I love that you do that, Lynn. And speaking of your other tips -- you always practice what you preach!
Thanks for being you.
Thank you Lain 🙂 I have to admit, it's becoming harder for me lately to respond to every single comment. I make a serious effort, but I also have to make time to create new content (including products, articles, podcasts, etc). I agree with you, and personally I am restructuring some things in my biz model so that I can continue to be IN the conversation. I think it's incredibly important, not just for building on relationships, but also for feedback & for knowing your market *personally*...
Great post Lynn. The angry boxer was my favorite dog pic of the bunch. You made many good points. I like the one about not always posting but instead asking for questions. For me it would be: What would be the one singing tip that would help you the most? Thanks Lynn
You should ask that question then! I am sure you already do. 😉 If I were to answer it, I'd say: gosh, where do I even start?? LOL
The dog using the laptop was my favorite.
We all know what we like. The key is to be that for others.
Thank You Lynn!!
Good point, Jim...
and boy, I'm a big fan of niche sites.. not just any niche, but a niche you have tremendous interest in. That way, you can add fun, interesting content on a regular basis.. and become an authority on that subject so your visitors will keep coming back to your site. 🙂
BTW, sorry, off subject.
Lynn, noticed some of your visitors have their pix next to their comment.. I use Gravator, but it's not showing up. Do you mind sharing how I might get a pix to show up on your site?
thx, dee 🙂
Hey Dee,
If you use the same email address here when you leave a comment, that you used to sign up for Gravatar, it should show up automatically. If you do, and it doesn't, log in there and see if your image is working correctly on their end.
The attention stream idea makes a lot of sense to me. There is always a lot going on in my offline life as well as online. I'm becoming more and more selective of what I pay attention to. Sometimes I try to file the info somewhere because I think I will need it later but often I just get what I need/want and keep rolling.
Ditto Jendi - my "read later" archives are collecting dust and I find I never return to them. It's "out of sight, out of mind" for me anymore...
p.s. I'm making it a point to share things AS I read them, so I don't stuff them somewhere & forget. And I am doing this mainly on my Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/clicknewz - which is fun because then I can discuss the topics with my friends & peers too.
Nice post Lynn. Why should I win it? Mmmmm. Because then it will cost you a lot more to send it to Spain. Erm no!
Interesting comment by THCHLixInstrutor about not practicing what is preached in the book though. One mustn't become a stalker!
FWIW, I don't mind where the winner lives! 🙂 The drawing will take place in about 24 hours. Look forward to seeing who gets pulled out of the hat!
Unfortunately, the only way I can continue to see Scott's tweets is to "stalk". I prefer to think of it as "lurking" and not "stalking." That was his choice, not mine. I suspect that the comments that got me blocked where when I asked how on earth he could "engage" with as many followers as he had. Never got a satisfactory answer to that.
Scott's good at what he does, and he undoubtedly knows more about this stuff than I do, but he is *not* God. While I'm sure that I would learn a lot from his book, I don't plan to take it as divine revelation. And yes, if I don't win it, I will probably buy it.
Interesting. I'm curious why the negative tone towards Scott regarding his use of Twitter or his method of engaging? Was there something he said or did prior to that, that rubbed you the wrong way?
As for God and divine revelation... I don't consider ANY information to be on that level. I study books, guides, people, blogs, and even listen intently at live events - all with the objective of putting it through my personal filters and determining how (if) it fits into my specific business model. But that's just me.
Probably just a reaction to being blocked. I contacted him to try to learn why he blocked me, and the answer was a terse "Didn't like the tweets, as if that was any of your business". Probably caught him on a bad day or something. Any rate, I followed him on another Twitter account, and have carefully avoided his notice since that time. As I mentioned, he's obviously better at this stuff than I am (regardless of any of his other failings), so I expect to learn from him.
Yeah, he has a take on Twitter which is that you make it what you want it to be. You have a right to follow, unfollow, not follow, block or whatever to make Twitter a space you enjoy being in. Your stream is what you make it. I can't really fault him that.
A lot of people have tried to make rules regarding twitter, or come up with courtesy or etiquette, but the fact is - there is none. To each his own, since we all use it so differently.
Thanks for the explanation - satisfied my curiosity 😀
Great article! I am, and always have been, a firm believer that if one takes their eyes off themselves and rather puts it on their reader, customer or client that very action will result in more action and interaction than one can ever imagine. It has worked for me for over 25 years of owning an offline business and I expect the same to be true online.
How do you put out quality content when writing is difficult for you? This area is a stumbling block for me.
judi
Well I would say that you are not alone here but like all stumbling blocks they can be overcome with the the philosopyy of Do it Now and Do it Again and Again until you have beaten it.Write a short piece every morning at the same time until it becomes a habit.Remember everyone started out at the same place and only got to the finishing line with a good deal of Training and loads of practise(and plenty of mistakes)
Wrinkly Writer
Hi Judi,
I think writing is probably difficult for most. For me personally it has been a learned skill - and one I have gotten better at with time. The best advice I can give is to write like you talk, conversationally, and also check out the Web Content Development category here at ClickNewz. I have lots of great tips & tutorials there that you'll find helpful. 😉
Judi,
I highly recommend Joe Vitale's book, "Hypnotic Writing" he gives lots of great tips on how to approach writing, how to get in the habit of writing, and of course on how to write quality content.
One of his suggestions is to practice writing without editing yourself. Just do stream of consciousness and put the words on the screen. Don't worry about how it sounds or even what the subject matter is, just write and eventually you'll get some really great stuff that you can use.
Best of Luck,
Elizabeth
Thank you Elizabeth. I am checking out one of his podcast interviews.
Whether I win or not, the very basis of learning how to market to a given audience through the basic concepts provided in this blog are very good. Also, since my wife and I are animal lovers, loved the pics of the dogs - very cute.
Thank you, Steve! 🙂
Congrats, Steve - you're our winner! Your name was pulled out of the hat in the drawing for a copy of Unmarketing by Scott Stratten. 😀
Check your email 😉
Congratulations Steve!...Enjoy your new to U book. 😉
Thanks for clearing up that comment thing. Haven't gotten a heck of a lot of those, but get adaquate amts of traffic. Always wondered which was better.
Clara.
It depends on your objective, of course 😉 But that one stumps a lot of bloggers, to be honest. You're not alone, Clara!
WOW! What a boss idea to gather comments. (and you gathered lots) Great tips on connecting with our readers. Thanks Lynn! Would I appreciate a copy of the book UNmarketing? of course it would look great next to my copy of Socialnomics from sweetie Mel! Hope you are having a great day! ... Loved the doggie pics too. lol
Socialnomics was an AWESOME read! Now that you mention it, I should have made it the 3rd must-read of the year. 😀
Wow,I'm a new subscriber to your Newsletter and it's working for me already.Just in the last couple of weeks I've incorporated some of your ideas and I've increased my facebook readership by 40%. Now on to my blog. Thanks for all of the wonderful tips! 🙂
Awesome, Dave!
One think I love about your posts Lynn is that introduce some new perspectives while driving home the fundamentals that you've shared (taught 🙂 in prior posts. That really helps me to "get it."
What I'm trying to do in my communications with my list is offer something new and current in every email or post. The new and current may be a strategy, a new tool or even just a new perspective on what we believe we already know.
MY QUESTION: I like the suggestion to go to where my audience is but have difficulty fitting that into a day. Are you systematic in your approach to going to where your audience is e.g. do you allot a certain amount time for this on a daily or weekly basis?
Re: Scott's book:
I took a peak at Scott's book while at the bookstore last Friday. My book purchasing budget for the month is at the max but I would love to win this. What struck me as I read a few pages was the refreshing take on the "same old" marketing verbage we're so use to - especially in follow up emails.
We all know it's not about us it's about the reader yet we miss so many fine opportunities to acknowledge our appreciation and true interest in the people we target with our our marketing materials.
I'm really, really hoping to win this book!
Sharon
Hey Sharon,
When I'm setting up a new site or setting up in a new niche, I do set aside 30-45 minutes/day to engage & interact at forums or on sites where the discussions are happening. If I don't put it in my schedule, it doesn't happen...
Ultimately I find the spots I enjoy most, that work best, and stick with those. And at that point it's less a discipline and more a response to replies or pop in when I can kind of thing.
I love the photos! They were too cute. They got my attention. I'm supposed to be preparing for an interview and I'm up here commenting on your blog. Nice job, Lynn!
LOL - hope the interview went well 😉
I love what you have said in this post, but, I have to admit, I REALLY loved the pictures! Yes, I love dogs.
I am not sure what "unmarketing" is all about, so I would love to win a copy and find out.
Good content is always stressed, as I appreciate the suggestion about talking about hot topics. This has been one of my downfalls - I find it hard to come up with new fresh good content all the time.
This may be a good checklist for you:
http://www.clicknewz.com/2058/web-content-writing-tips-and-inspiration/
The Web Content Development category here is chock full of resources & ideas 😉
Hi Lynn
A note on 'consistency'. Often, when internet marketing gurus speak about consistency, what they are really talking about is 'frequency'. You have to put content into the stream with some minimum frequency or you just won't pass through the basic 'who's this?' filter.
But there's another point that is related to consistency. And, in the long run, more important.
Readers need a frame of reference in which to place your writings. That means they want to know your point of view about the niche and they expect that point of view to be reflected consistently throughout your content.
Not that every post needs to say the same thing... but you need to take a stand and stick to it in a way that readers/subscribers can understand who you are and what you represent to your niche.
Any true leader does more than post random musings. They stand for a point of view or a framework of how to interpret their niche. In traditional marketing terms, we would call this 'positioning'. It's absolutely vital that your readers, customers and prospects understand your framework and that you stick to it with some consistency.
How does this apply to the attention stream? Next time they see a post or announcement, they'll know instantly how to fit the new piece of content into your 'framework' and by extension what the context of the content will be.
Andy
Awesome points, Andy... Got my mind spinning! 😉
Hi Lynn
Guess most of us start out in the "build it and they will come mode" even though we aren't Kevin Costner even though I am regularly mistaken for Kevin Costner. LOL
Slowly beginning to realise that it is hard work coupled with knowledge and know how.
Thanks for adding to both my knowledge and know how.
BTW - don't forget to throw my comment in the hat.
Got it, Kevin! 😉
Thank you Lynn. Great post, very concise and helpful tips. And perfect timing as I am in the midst of re-launching my site and blog. This post will serve perfectly as my To Do List! I especially liked the point about showing a genuine interest in their success with your topic. So simple and seemingly obvious, yet I can't say I always do it.
Thanks again for the great content. You really do practice what you preach.
Thank you Janet 🙂
I love your insight - it's always right on! Thanks so much 😀
Great post..... I think it's just easier to sleep at night knowing that you are providing great content. If you truly enjoy your niche you will want to stay engaged with people. I think that's were people fall short, no one enjoys having a conversation about something they could care less about!
Exactly! This is the reason I give the advice I do in my how to choose a niche exercise 😉
A well thought out, well written article. Glad to see the quality and value.
A much needed topic, too. It is one thing to have a tribe and a totally other thing to keep them happy and satisfied. You are doing a great job at both.
I like the paragraph about keeping in mind what annoys you personally. should be a golden rule of marketing, 'Market unto others as you would have them market to you.'
Thank you Darwin 🙂 Love your golden rule!
Hi Lynn,
Thanks for the post and you're right, I've heard Scott speak (albeit on video) and his advertising vs marketing message really hit home with me as well, so much so that I recently wrote an article about it for my local advertising mag. Advertising, is a one way msg, where the advertiser is "talking to" the intended consumer. Alternatively engaged marketing should to be a two-way channel where advertisers can/should "engage with" their consumer consistently and repetitively if need be.
Love your blog and quoting samples from it for my next workshop and love Scott - happy to see you're both connected with each other 🙂
would love this! could use the info and help
"If you don’t like something yourself, don’t integrate it into your marketing strategy just because some guru told you it would work."
This gets me all riled up. lol I was on a webinar recently where the person said they "absolutely hate such-and-such marketing method. But the numbers say it works, so they going to do it to their readers anyway." Ugh. That statement made me lose a lot of respect.
I've heard the same so I know what you m ean. But I've also been known to say something similar... Particularly about video - which I do not care for when it comes to consuming content, but I do realize some people prefer it over reading. So I create video, even though I don't care for the format myself, for those that do. And I encourage others to put their own preferences aside to serve their market in every format & medium possible...
I have even written a blog post on my own blog about why I don't care for video ("Video is the new 'net Cancer"), but I can see that it could have some uses. For instance, it could show prospective students my teaching style.
Since that time, I have also seen some other well-done instructional videos which I actually enjoyed, for instance Shane's http://sn.im/blbp-a (Backlink BattlePlan). Sometimes, getting a demonstration of some action really does work better and faster than written prose.
So the key is to organize your videos, and get right to the point. Spending 10 minutes on the formula "oh I was Sooooo poor..." is a sure way to get me to add your URL to my hosts file so that I won't accidentally ever see your garbage again. When and if I even get around to doing video, I will definitely try NOT to do the things that irritate me.
besides the topic it was interesting to see how much teh pictures chosen for this post influenced the comments: 10 findings of the word dog
LOL I agree 😉
Marketing is something I always struggle with because of the need to engage with other people. But it is something that I am working on and I find the more that I do engage my readers the more trust I gain and thus more profits.
If you weren't lucky enough to win Lynn's copy of Unmarketing, you can enter to win my signed copy before midnight tonight. http://thesmallbusinesstranscriptionist.com/unmarketing-unbook-ungiveaway
Love your UNmarketing tecnique Erica. 🙂
I love the way Zuckerberg is un-marketing his new moview - The Social Network. He goes on Oprah and discusses his MASSIVE education donation and he has an upcoming comic book in the works.
Smart un-marketing!
Hi Lynn, and thank you for your post. I was struck by the "Evoke emotion" point: could you write something more about it? 😉
By the way, after reading the comments I decided to get gravatar's and twitter's accounts: you actually evoked good emotions in me!
I LOVED the pictures! Almost as much as I love the idea of getting people to leave comments and get the links or the attention grabbing ideas on the posts.
now wonder Lyn you've piled up a long list of response, just a little proof how effective you are