Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
While using single marketing tools can be revolutionary and powerful, combining multiple tools really brings out the best in each tool. Wheels are tremendous things, air conditioning is wonderful and everyone loves a comfortable seat, but simply having all three isn't the same as having an automobile.
The same holds true of an online branding campaign. If you treat it as a bunch of distinct tools, you will gain some effort from it, but not as much as if you combine all these elements into a distinct and coherent system that meets your branding needs. Each tool can accomplish a different task, of course, but they all must be used in the service of brand promotion and name recognition if the campaign is to succeed.
Part of good online branding is building an audience for your blog. This requires an operation within a campaign... its own system of efforts built into the larger structure of the campaign as a whole. In order to do this, you must take advantage of tools such as Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks if you want to build your audience steadily and profitably.
Method One: The Blog
This may seem obvious, as there isn't a lot of point to doing promotions without something to promote. However, the content you promote must be worth promoting if you want to succeed. There are many sources promising to take any content out there and promote it successfully. These people are known as hucksters. For every one in a million story of someone's blog about stream of consciousness writing, one can find hundreds of failed blogs.
Therefore, focus first on producing solid, quality content. The audience can wait - the Internet isn't going anywhere, trust us.
Make sure the blog's author is passionate about the subject and committed to a regular update schedule. Build up a posting buffer of a full week consisting of topical but timeless pieces such as opinion articles or reviews that won't necessarily be dated immediately upon release. On the other hand, be ready to quickly adapt a story and post a quick update if something in the news pops up that affects the topic of your blog. Above all, make (and keep) the content entertaining, insightful and consistent.
Method Two: Twitter
Twitter is a natural second step for a cross promotion effort. The format is perfect for providing a link and a short message about the blog, as well as for getting the information in front of your whole Twitter audience quickly.
The key here is to develop the ability to summarize in clever and topical ways. Do not make the mistake of simply putting up a link. That's a waste of time - people have interests that they're already pursuing, interests that you have to interrupt to get their attention.
Develop a talent similar to lede writing from print journalism. Find a way to quickly punch in the important who/what facts that you want to get across.
If your blog post is an interview with a local author, include his name, the fact that you interviewed him and his book title along with the link to the interview. If your post is a news story about something touching on your brand's domain, consider something such as "for fans of..."
Also, take advantage of habit-building behaviors by updating your Twitter feed at the same time every day. In the first case, this will get people used to checking it at the same time. In the second, it means unscheduled announcements will seem that much more noteworthy.
Method Three: Facebook
While people still have the broad perception that Facebook is for teenagers looking to find friends on the web, its real strength lies in the fact that it can easily combine various media into "snippet" packages for people to observe.
If your blog has a video component, you can link the video on your Facebook page. This allows people to watch the video and follow the link to your page at their discretion.
Additionally, you can post the first excerpt of your new blog entries on Facebook, giving people a teaser of the relevant information without spoiling the whole story.
Finally, Facebook has the ability to bring groups and hobbies together. If you find a group on Facebook that seems to be a natural audience for your brand - and do not force this, ever - consider joining up.
Method Four: Remember All-way Traffic
It's been said before, but it cannot ever be stressed enough: The web is not a one-way street, and it is not even a two-way street. It is an all-encompassing omni-entity that can and will spread word about the things it loves and the things it hates to every corner of the globe. You have to be willing to cooperate with this effort, or your brand will be mocked and dismissed. Participate in the communities you join, don't simply join and throw blog links at them. Join the discussions, share ideas, comment on others' videos and provide links in your blog to pages you like.
If you prove yourself a good neighbor on the web, people will notice and you will benefit. If you simply try to take advantage of communities for your brand without cooperating in the effort, then you have no business using the web for your brand.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Building Brand Identity - Five Reasons Your Blog Needs a Ghostwriter
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
A ghostwriter is any writer who creates content for a project that will be presented under another name. As you are traveling in a bookstore, you might marvel at the sheer volume of works certain names such as Tom Clancy put out. In many cases, these books weren't written by a single writer but rather many and then published under the big name. This arrangement is a good one for many writers, as it allows them to get work and valuable writing experience, while also benefiting the larger name by allowing more work under their aegis to get out.
Your blog might just benefit from hiring a ghostwriter for the same reasons. Every blog needs a writer to direct it, and blogs do best when guided by one or two voices in a consistent direction. Sometimes, however, the originator of a business or idea isn't the one who can best capture that direction, and that's when you should turn to a ghostwriter.
In no particular order, here are five reasons that many blogs choose to hire a ghostwriter for their content.
Reason #1 - They Can't Write Appropriately
This isn't referring to whether their content is polite or not, it simply refers to whether the "idea man" behind a project can generate content that fits the aim of the blog. Suppose, for example, you have someone who knows all about the world of competitive cooking as seen in Iron Chef. He knows the competitors' ranks and accomplishments and wants to use the blog to promote interest in competitive cooking - even, perhaps, in his own cooking school.
The problem is, he can't write in a way that catches the eye. His writing might be too technical, or rely on obscure factoids that don't really do much to inspire the reader's imagination. A ghostwriter, on the other hand, is all about the writing, and one of the best talents a writer can have is the ability to take someone else's ideas and rephrase them in exciting, evocative language.
Reason #2 - Lack of Time
Many of the big blogs seen on the web weren't startup ventures, but rather grew out of a company that already existed. Many companies have seen the success of blogs in other ventures, and have chosen to add one to their own site, much the same way they chose to add a website to their business when the web first got popular. This is a natural evolution and response to a changing market, and is not a bad idea. On the other hand, the owner is usually concerned with other issues and does not have time to devote to writing a blog.
In such cases, the natural step is to hire a ghostwriter. You want the articles to continue to go out in your company's name, since the idea of the blog is to promote the company, but don't have time to do it yourself because you are justifiably busy. A ghostwriter can build a solid blog post in about an hour of work, and then move on to their other projects.
Reason #3 - Intermediate Perspective
There is a great deal to be said for being familiar with your product and your brand. You get to know subtleties and rhythms of the business that no outsider could appreciate. The problem is, your perspective is entirely different from that of your customers. They can't get into the nitty gritty of your brand in a way you can.
In cases like these, the value of a ghostwriter lies in linking the outside views of your audience with the inside views of the company. You can communicate your passions directly to this writer, who can marry them to a perspective of those on the other side of the glass. Their intermediate presence crucially bridges the gap between brand and audience.
Reason #4 - Brand Protection
Writers are a notoriously prideful lot. Some of the fiercest legal battles are over intellectual property rights, and justly so. Creating a written body of work is a tremendous effort, and having it stolen or infringed upon is a terrible offense. On the other hand, a branded blog is not about the individual writer, it's about the brand and what the brand represents.
By definition, a ghostwriter doesn't take credit for their work. The work is put out in the name of the brand, or the site's owner, as a means of projecting the brand forward. The ghostwriter is willing to take their pay without putting their own creative name on the work, which will benefit your brand because there isn't an intermediate step. If you let one ghostwriter go, either because they move on to new things or you decide you need a new creative direction, there isn't necessarily an indication of this to the outside world, and the brand's voice continues.
Reason #5 - Flexibility and Freshness
Ghostwriters in the plural sense can do a blog good, too. If you maintain more than one at a time, you can ease the wear and tear that is associated with writing on the same general subject. Writers are like horses; you don't want to ride them to death on the way there if you expect to get home. And since writing can be done anywhere, by anyone, anytime, you can cast your net far and wide in search of the two or three writers you need to best communicate your message.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
A ghostwriter is any writer who creates content for a project that will be presented under another name. As you are traveling in a bookstore, you might marvel at the sheer volume of works certain names such as Tom Clancy put out. In many cases, these books weren't written by a single writer but rather many and then published under the big name. This arrangement is a good one for many writers, as it allows them to get work and valuable writing experience, while also benefiting the larger name by allowing more work under their aegis to get out.
Your blog might just benefit from hiring a ghostwriter for the same reasons. Every blog needs a writer to direct it, and blogs do best when guided by one or two voices in a consistent direction. Sometimes, however, the originator of a business or idea isn't the one who can best capture that direction, and that's when you should turn to a ghostwriter.
In no particular order, here are five reasons that many blogs choose to hire a ghostwriter for their content.
Reason #1 - They Can't Write Appropriately
This isn't referring to whether their content is polite or not, it simply refers to whether the "idea man" behind a project can generate content that fits the aim of the blog. Suppose, for example, you have someone who knows all about the world of competitive cooking as seen in Iron Chef. He knows the competitors' ranks and accomplishments and wants to use the blog to promote interest in competitive cooking - even, perhaps, in his own cooking school.
The problem is, he can't write in a way that catches the eye. His writing might be too technical, or rely on obscure factoids that don't really do much to inspire the reader's imagination. A ghostwriter, on the other hand, is all about the writing, and one of the best talents a writer can have is the ability to take someone else's ideas and rephrase them in exciting, evocative language.
Reason #2 - Lack of Time
Many of the big blogs seen on the web weren't startup ventures, but rather grew out of a company that already existed. Many companies have seen the success of blogs in other ventures, and have chosen to add one to their own site, much the same way they chose to add a website to their business when the web first got popular. This is a natural evolution and response to a changing market, and is not a bad idea. On the other hand, the owner is usually concerned with other issues and does not have time to devote to writing a blog.
In such cases, the natural step is to hire a ghostwriter. You want the articles to continue to go out in your company's name, since the idea of the blog is to promote the company, but don't have time to do it yourself because you are justifiably busy. A ghostwriter can build a solid blog post in about an hour of work, and then move on to their other projects.
Reason #3 - Intermediate Perspective
There is a great deal to be said for being familiar with your product and your brand. You get to know subtleties and rhythms of the business that no outsider could appreciate. The problem is, your perspective is entirely different from that of your customers. They can't get into the nitty gritty of your brand in a way you can.
In cases like these, the value of a ghostwriter lies in linking the outside views of your audience with the inside views of the company. You can communicate your passions directly to this writer, who can marry them to a perspective of those on the other side of the glass. Their intermediate presence crucially bridges the gap between brand and audience.
Reason #4 - Brand Protection
Writers are a notoriously prideful lot. Some of the fiercest legal battles are over intellectual property rights, and justly so. Creating a written body of work is a tremendous effort, and having it stolen or infringed upon is a terrible offense. On the other hand, a branded blog is not about the individual writer, it's about the brand and what the brand represents.
By definition, a ghostwriter doesn't take credit for their work. The work is put out in the name of the brand, or the site's owner, as a means of projecting the brand forward. The ghostwriter is willing to take their pay without putting their own creative name on the work, which will benefit your brand because there isn't an intermediate step. If you let one ghostwriter go, either because they move on to new things or you decide you need a new creative direction, there isn't necessarily an indication of this to the outside world, and the brand's voice continues.
Reason #5 - Flexibility and Freshness
Ghostwriters in the plural sense can do a blog good, too. If you maintain more than one at a time, you can ease the wear and tear that is associated with writing on the same general subject. Writers are like horses; you don't want to ride them to death on the way there if you expect to get home. And since writing can be done anywhere, by anyone, anytime, you can cast your net far and wide in search of the two or three writers you need to best communicate your message.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more Articles written by Enzo F. Cesario.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Online Brand Marketing - 4 Ways to Use Social Media in Promotions
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Social media marketing has earned its place as one of the fastest-growing, most competitive marketing fields in the history of advertising. People are gathering online in record numbers, finding and socializing in groups that cater to their interests; often, these interests neatly intersect with marketing and branding opportunities. The best social media tools combine simplicity with an extensive reach, allowing messages to target thousands of people in seconds, thus serving as an outstanding tool of brand promotion.
Briefly, here are a few of the more interesting and simple ways you can use social media to arrange a short-term promotion for your brand.
#1 - Flash Mob
A flash mob is an impromptu gathering of people arranged by SMS. Originally popular on message boards, the advent of texting and SMS powerhouses like Twitter has made flash mobs even easier to arrange. In the simplest terms, the originator of the mob sends a message to his audience, arranging a time, place and theme for a quick meeting and/or performance. Famous mobs have included zombie walks, unannounced pillow fights at major business centers and other assorted fun events.
As an example of using a flash mob for a brand, consider the following scenario: You own a café with a respectable Twitter following. You tweet out a time and place - say 2 p.m. in the park - and a short promotion code like ParkFrap. When everyone arrives, you're waiting with a selection of your newest frappe drinks, and everyone who can give you a copy of the code gets a drink and a coupon for the next time they drop by the café.
This kind of arrangement takes a bit of preparation, of course, but the idea creates instant buzz, sticks out in people's minds and can be an enjoyable time for everyone.
#2 - Couponing
People like to save money, and businesses like to make it. If your brand is tied into a business that offers product, you've probably already considered how to go about offering coupons to people. Social media offer many avenues to getting coupons out to people. Again, Twitter is an excellent tool here; in fact, there are several sites out there that are tailored to helping use Twitter for couponing. For example, http://twtqpon.com allows you to combine a short tweet and an image into a coupon for your customers.
However, Facebook is also a good tool for distributing coupons. If your brand has a Facebook group associated with it - and if it doesn't, why not? - you can leverage the service as both a coupon and a promotional tool. For example, post a message with a new coupon that's only valid if a follower brings a friend along. In this one step, you get two people into the store, sell some product and have a chance to sign up a new follower on Facebook.
#3 - Cross Promote
Sometimes you don't necessarily have a large following of your own. This is obviously the case in brands that are just developing their online identity. They've signed up for the various social media services, but haven't really gotten a big splash together.
This is where research and legwork come in. Let's continue with the coffee shop analogy, since cafés seem to be a defining feature of the modern set. You could look up a group that tends to associate with cafés, such as writers. If you find a local writing group on Facebook for your area, consider posting a friendly message on their board, inviting them to come in for a weekly "writer's day" in which members of your newly-formed writing club get a discount.
Remember, of course, the key rules of social media: be polite and respectful. These are people you're talking to, people with their own agendas and desires, and they can sense insincerity like a shark smells blood in the water. Your offers must be interesting and credible.
#4 - Picture Perfect
Images are powerful things. A well-done image can excite the imagination and catch peoples' attention in a way that text sometimes fails to grasp. Consider sending images designed to give people an association with your brand.
Returning a final time to our café example, consider taking a picture of some fresh cinnamon rolls that just came out of the oven and quickly uploading them to your preferred social media service. This requires a bit of work to make sure the picture looks appetizing and appealing, but isn't too difficult. Post that picture up along with a message about how they come with a free cup of coffee between 10 a.m. and noon, and you just might have a rush on your hands.
Even if you don't have mouth-wateringly delicious pastries to offer, any brand benefits from visual associations. When you go to make a post in your blog or SMS, include a link to a relevant picture as often as you can. This will help people associate your brand with colorful thinking, with interesting things to look at, and the like. Text can appear awfully drab, so do what you can to brighten it up a bit.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Social media marketing has earned its place as one of the fastest-growing, most competitive marketing fields in the history of advertising. People are gathering online in record numbers, finding and socializing in groups that cater to their interests; often, these interests neatly intersect with marketing and branding opportunities. The best social media tools combine simplicity with an extensive reach, allowing messages to target thousands of people in seconds, thus serving as an outstanding tool of brand promotion.
Briefly, here are a few of the more interesting and simple ways you can use social media to arrange a short-term promotion for your brand.
#1 - Flash Mob
A flash mob is an impromptu gathering of people arranged by SMS. Originally popular on message boards, the advent of texting and SMS powerhouses like Twitter has made flash mobs even easier to arrange. In the simplest terms, the originator of the mob sends a message to his audience, arranging a time, place and theme for a quick meeting and/or performance. Famous mobs have included zombie walks, unannounced pillow fights at major business centers and other assorted fun events.
As an example of using a flash mob for a brand, consider the following scenario: You own a café with a respectable Twitter following. You tweet out a time and place - say 2 p.m. in the park - and a short promotion code like ParkFrap. When everyone arrives, you're waiting with a selection of your newest frappe drinks, and everyone who can give you a copy of the code gets a drink and a coupon for the next time they drop by the café.
This kind of arrangement takes a bit of preparation, of course, but the idea creates instant buzz, sticks out in people's minds and can be an enjoyable time for everyone.
#2 - Couponing
People like to save money, and businesses like to make it. If your brand is tied into a business that offers product, you've probably already considered how to go about offering coupons to people. Social media offer many avenues to getting coupons out to people. Again, Twitter is an excellent tool here; in fact, there are several sites out there that are tailored to helping use Twitter for couponing. For example, http://twtqpon.com allows you to combine a short tweet and an image into a coupon for your customers.
However, Facebook is also a good tool for distributing coupons. If your brand has a Facebook group associated with it - and if it doesn't, why not? - you can leverage the service as both a coupon and a promotional tool. For example, post a message with a new coupon that's only valid if a follower brings a friend along. In this one step, you get two people into the store, sell some product and have a chance to sign up a new follower on Facebook.
#3 - Cross Promote
Sometimes you don't necessarily have a large following of your own. This is obviously the case in brands that are just developing their online identity. They've signed up for the various social media services, but haven't really gotten a big splash together.
This is where research and legwork come in. Let's continue with the coffee shop analogy, since cafés seem to be a defining feature of the modern set. You could look up a group that tends to associate with cafés, such as writers. If you find a local writing group on Facebook for your area, consider posting a friendly message on their board, inviting them to come in for a weekly "writer's day" in which members of your newly-formed writing club get a discount.
Remember, of course, the key rules of social media: be polite and respectful. These are people you're talking to, people with their own agendas and desires, and they can sense insincerity like a shark smells blood in the water. Your offers must be interesting and credible.
#4 - Picture Perfect
Images are powerful things. A well-done image can excite the imagination and catch peoples' attention in a way that text sometimes fails to grasp. Consider sending images designed to give people an association with your brand.
Returning a final time to our café example, consider taking a picture of some fresh cinnamon rolls that just came out of the oven and quickly uploading them to your preferred social media service. This requires a bit of work to make sure the picture looks appetizing and appealing, but isn't too difficult. Post that picture up along with a message about how they come with a free cup of coffee between 10 a.m. and noon, and you just might have a rush on your hands.
Even if you don't have mouth-wateringly delicious pastries to offer, any brand benefits from visual associations. When you go to make a post in your blog or SMS, include a link to a relevant picture as often as you can. This will help people associate your brand with colorful thinking, with interesting things to look at, and the like. Text can appear awfully drab, so do what you can to brighten it up a bit.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Creative Conjuring for Your Writing Team
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Let us suppose for a moment that you have made the decision to hire a permanent, in-house writing team as opposed to seeking out writers on a more per-contract basis. The advantages of this decision are numerous, of course — for one, you get to grow a team with a focus on your business so they grow more and more aware of it as time goes on, benefiting from long-term exposure to what you have them writing about.
However, now that you've got them, what's the best way to maximize their creativity? Having a dedicated writing staff is a fine thing, to be sure — but in order to get the most out of the investment, you need them to produce solid, creative and reliable content. It doesn't matter if they produce entire reams of articles if the material produced isn't worth reading.
This is something broadly known as a meta-concern. Meta means "alongside" or even "outside." A meta-concern is a matter that isn't immediately related to your primary purpose, but can have significant implications all the same. Time spent helping your writers be creative is time you aren't spending on direct branding efforts. However, it can pay off in solid support and respect for your brand in the long term. To that end, have a look at a handful of techniques that have been demonstrated to help spur productivity and creativity in your writers.
Let them Own the Project
Group brainstorming is creative asphyxiation. Yes, it will result in a quick sampling of several different ideas, but none of them will be particularly well developed. Creativity is an odd little thing. When it's highly personal, as in a project one or two people own to work on specifically, more effort gets invested into it out of a sense of pride and desire. When control (and therefore responsibility) of the matter is spread around, however, there's a sense of disconnect.
The latter comes as a result of two phenomena. First, there's the lack of privacy it causes. Some of the ideas creative types put forward are very personal, representing the best of their own minds. Exposing their best to others is intensely difficult at times, so a group setting can hinder them out of modesty or shame. Second is the shared laziness of a group. In short, when the work is spread around to many people, no one person pulls quite as hard on their share. The work will get done anyway, after all, so what's the point of putting forth more effort?
Instead of forcing intellectual exhibitionism through group sessions, share your particulars with small teams or, even better, with individuals if possible. Give them the parameters, ask them for their input and let them put their effort into the task. Let them own the project, and you will be more likely to get their best work.
Work Individually, Edit Collectively
Very few writers can edit or revise their own work. The best ones can, but there are few who couldn't benefit from a bit of critical advice from another source. When the article or project is done, hand it off to an editor not directly involved with it. Let them help refine what the team has put down. The creative portion being complete, this technical portion allows for more dispassionate, cooperative analysis that can really make a project shine.
Bring in New Blood
There are two ways to go about making sure your team stays fresh creatively, both along the lines of "new blood."
The first is exposure to new ideas. Your writing team is hopefully very widely read. People who study and read in more diverse circles are more likely to come up with the clever and creative ideas you most need from them. Part of this will come from reading their coworkers' projects in the editing process, but make sure they're spending part of their time reading materials and articles of many sorts, be they literary or factual.
The next is exposure to new people. Sometimes a writing team needs an outright boost from a new party. Even if you've hired your permanent, on-staff writing team, consider hiring the occasional project out to freelancers of a certain level of experience. This can have the effect of taking the workload off your standard workers, exposing them to new ideas or serving as an impromptu job interview.
Listen to Them
Writers are a notoriously picky lot. Yes, there is a benefit in making them stick to the grind and show some initiative, but there's also a great value to catering to some of their needs. Make sure to listen when a writer mentions a concern they have. Your input might make all the difference between an acceptable article and an outstanding one.
If you're going to go to the trouble of having a writing team on-staff, you have to make the effort to bring them into the staff proper. The rest of the team might not understand why some people are being paid to just tap keys, and you need to foster the relationship between them so that the crew knows these writers are giving them good press. Connect; listen, network and you'll have the team you need.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Let us suppose for a moment that you have made the decision to hire a permanent, in-house writing team as opposed to seeking out writers on a more per-contract basis. The advantages of this decision are numerous, of course — for one, you get to grow a team with a focus on your business so they grow more and more aware of it as time goes on, benefiting from long-term exposure to what you have them writing about.
However, now that you've got them, what's the best way to maximize their creativity? Having a dedicated writing staff is a fine thing, to be sure — but in order to get the most out of the investment, you need them to produce solid, creative and reliable content. It doesn't matter if they produce entire reams of articles if the material produced isn't worth reading.
This is something broadly known as a meta-concern. Meta means "alongside" or even "outside." A meta-concern is a matter that isn't immediately related to your primary purpose, but can have significant implications all the same. Time spent helping your writers be creative is time you aren't spending on direct branding efforts. However, it can pay off in solid support and respect for your brand in the long term. To that end, have a look at a handful of techniques that have been demonstrated to help spur productivity and creativity in your writers.
Let them Own the Project
Group brainstorming is creative asphyxiation. Yes, it will result in a quick sampling of several different ideas, but none of them will be particularly well developed. Creativity is an odd little thing. When it's highly personal, as in a project one or two people own to work on specifically, more effort gets invested into it out of a sense of pride and desire. When control (and therefore responsibility) of the matter is spread around, however, there's a sense of disconnect.
The latter comes as a result of two phenomena. First, there's the lack of privacy it causes. Some of the ideas creative types put forward are very personal, representing the best of their own minds. Exposing their best to others is intensely difficult at times, so a group setting can hinder them out of modesty or shame. Second is the shared laziness of a group. In short, when the work is spread around to many people, no one person pulls quite as hard on their share. The work will get done anyway, after all, so what's the point of putting forth more effort?
Instead of forcing intellectual exhibitionism through group sessions, share your particulars with small teams or, even better, with individuals if possible. Give them the parameters, ask them for their input and let them put their effort into the task. Let them own the project, and you will be more likely to get their best work.
Work Individually, Edit Collectively
Very few writers can edit or revise their own work. The best ones can, but there are few who couldn't benefit from a bit of critical advice from another source. When the article or project is done, hand it off to an editor not directly involved with it. Let them help refine what the team has put down. The creative portion being complete, this technical portion allows for more dispassionate, cooperative analysis that can really make a project shine.
Bring in New Blood
There are two ways to go about making sure your team stays fresh creatively, both along the lines of "new blood."
The first is exposure to new ideas. Your writing team is hopefully very widely read. People who study and read in more diverse circles are more likely to come up with the clever and creative ideas you most need from them. Part of this will come from reading their coworkers' projects in the editing process, but make sure they're spending part of their time reading materials and articles of many sorts, be they literary or factual.
The next is exposure to new people. Sometimes a writing team needs an outright boost from a new party. Even if you've hired your permanent, on-staff writing team, consider hiring the occasional project out to freelancers of a certain level of experience. This can have the effect of taking the workload off your standard workers, exposing them to new ideas or serving as an impromptu job interview.
Listen to Them
Writers are a notoriously picky lot. Yes, there is a benefit in making them stick to the grind and show some initiative, but there's also a great value to catering to some of their needs. Make sure to listen when a writer mentions a concern they have. Your input might make all the difference between an acceptable article and an outstanding one.
If you're going to go to the trouble of having a writing team on-staff, you have to make the effort to bring them into the staff proper. The rest of the team might not understand why some people are being paid to just tap keys, and you need to foster the relationship between them so that the crew knows these writers are giving them good press. Connect; listen, network and you'll have the team you need.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Building Brand Identity - Tag, You're It
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Taglines are difficult things to pin down. Some taglines have a certain force, a certain efficacy that makes us remember them years or even half a century later. The best ones even stick in our minds long after everyone has forgotten what they were originally for. "Reach out and touch someone" remains a well-known expression today, despite the fact that it originated as a slogan for AT&T back in 1979.
However, it's also all too easy to put out a tagline that ends up being derided as cliché. People cheerfully mock slogan-oriented culture and buzzwords with fervor, and they do have a point. This is a content-conscious society, and people are skeptical about outrageous claims or comments that they've seen a thousand times before. A good tagline must be both memorable and honest, focused on the brand and the truth about that brand. Remember the phrase "tag, you're it," with the stress on the you. Make the tagline about your brand, and nothing else.
Tag Tip #1 - Be Truthful
If you have to make up or exaggerate claims about your brand, then you have no confidence in it and people will be able to tell. Your brand must be able to stand on its own merits, period. Any other assumption is ridiculous, and while deception might profit in the short term, the damage done to reputations through falsifications lingers.
To that end, avoid making patently outrageous or unrealistic claims in your tagline. Don't claim, "It will change your life" if there's really no expectation it will. Take the example of a kitchen appliance brand range. Perhaps it will make life a little easier, or maybe more efficient for the purchaser. It is unlikely it's going to change their life as a whole.
Instead, focus on what your brand can do.
Tag Tip #2 - Be Bold
When developing a tagline, make a claim that illustrates your brand's capacity. Consider the Timex tagline back from 1956: "Timex takes a licking and keeps on ticking." Simple, direct and honest. Timex watches were built well, and thus could take a fair degree of abuse while still functioning. The statement was completely honest and compelling in its own choice of words. As an added bonus, this is another saying that's moved into the common vernacular as an expression for anything that's durable and reliable under duress.
Tag Tip #3 - Imply
Being honest and bold doesn't necessarily require being simple. There are strong, direct slogans such as the aforementioned Timex tagline, but this is by no means the only step to take. Taglines can imply. After all... "got milk?" That powerful slogan from the early 1990s still elicits a strong, positive response today. Notice that there's no direct claim in that tagline. It doesn't outright say that milk is good, or even that not having milk is bad. It just asks if you have any. It leaves the work of the matter up to you to answer yes or no. From there, you begin to think if you'd like milk... and with two little words, the tagline has gotten you to do most of the work. In terms of branding power, it's sublime.
Tag Tip #4 - Know Your Place
Don LaFontaine is legendary in the movie industry. He did the voiceovers for hundreds, if not thousands, of trailers in his lifetime. Sadly, he is no longer with us. He gave us the wonderful, iconic tagline, "in a world..."
You are not Don LaFontaine. If you're trying to brand a movie with an opening tagline, do not use his line. It's disrespectful of his memory, and disrespectful of your own brand, which deserves an original, creative effort.
This is an extreme example, but an important one. It can be tempting to refer to your product as "the next..." and fill in the noun. Or make a tagline that consciously apes another tagline. The problem is, unless you're going for satire, people will recognize the disingenuous nature of the effort and respond poorly. Draw inspiration from prior ideas, by all means, but make sure that what finally comes out is a new line, reflective of your brand in its own right.
Tag Tip #5 - Embrace Brevity
Keep the tagline short. The second part of tagline is "line," after all. It's not motto, creed, paragraph, mission statement, article of faith or essay. If you can't say the whole tagline in less than five seconds, it's not a tagline.
For example, consider these: "We make money the old fashioned way - we earn it." "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard." Both are fairly long by tagline standards, but they can still be said in three seconds without sounding rushed. They go on as long as needed to do the job, and no longer.
Tag Tip #6 - Be Flexible
Sometimes a tagline just does not work out. This is alright; it's neither a disaster nor the end of your reputation. Sometimes you'll put together some words that sound great to you, but that everyone else just finds humorous. Consider the case of Iain Duncan Smith, an English politician known for his soft voice. He tried to brand himself with the phrase, "Don't underestimate the resolve of a quiet man." This was a great line in and of itself; however, due to the quirks of British politics, it led to people teasing him with shushing noises. He accepted this, and moved on.
If your tagline doesn't work, move on to one that will. Just make sure you aren't simply jumping from one bad ship to the other. Treat every misstep as a learning opportunity, and try to refine instead of making the same mistake twice.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
Taglines are difficult things to pin down. Some taglines have a certain force, a certain efficacy that makes us remember them years or even half a century later. The best ones even stick in our minds long after everyone has forgotten what they were originally for. "Reach out and touch someone" remains a well-known expression today, despite the fact that it originated as a slogan for AT&T back in 1979.
However, it's also all too easy to put out a tagline that ends up being derided as cliché. People cheerfully mock slogan-oriented culture and buzzwords with fervor, and they do have a point. This is a content-conscious society, and people are skeptical about outrageous claims or comments that they've seen a thousand times before. A good tagline must be both memorable and honest, focused on the brand and the truth about that brand. Remember the phrase "tag, you're it," with the stress on the you. Make the tagline about your brand, and nothing else.
Tag Tip #1 - Be Truthful
If you have to make up or exaggerate claims about your brand, then you have no confidence in it and people will be able to tell. Your brand must be able to stand on its own merits, period. Any other assumption is ridiculous, and while deception might profit in the short term, the damage done to reputations through falsifications lingers.
To that end, avoid making patently outrageous or unrealistic claims in your tagline. Don't claim, "It will change your life" if there's really no expectation it will. Take the example of a kitchen appliance brand range. Perhaps it will make life a little easier, or maybe more efficient for the purchaser. It is unlikely it's going to change their life as a whole.
Instead, focus on what your brand can do.
Tag Tip #2 - Be Bold
When developing a tagline, make a claim that illustrates your brand's capacity. Consider the Timex tagline back from 1956: "Timex takes a licking and keeps on ticking." Simple, direct and honest. Timex watches were built well, and thus could take a fair degree of abuse while still functioning. The statement was completely honest and compelling in its own choice of words. As an added bonus, this is another saying that's moved into the common vernacular as an expression for anything that's durable and reliable under duress.
Tag Tip #3 - Imply
Being honest and bold doesn't necessarily require being simple. There are strong, direct slogans such as the aforementioned Timex tagline, but this is by no means the only step to take. Taglines can imply. After all... "got milk?" That powerful slogan from the early 1990s still elicits a strong, positive response today. Notice that there's no direct claim in that tagline. It doesn't outright say that milk is good, or even that not having milk is bad. It just asks if you have any. It leaves the work of the matter up to you to answer yes or no. From there, you begin to think if you'd like milk... and with two little words, the tagline has gotten you to do most of the work. In terms of branding power, it's sublime.
Tag Tip #4 - Know Your Place
Don LaFontaine is legendary in the movie industry. He did the voiceovers for hundreds, if not thousands, of trailers in his lifetime. Sadly, he is no longer with us. He gave us the wonderful, iconic tagline, "in a world..."
You are not Don LaFontaine. If you're trying to brand a movie with an opening tagline, do not use his line. It's disrespectful of his memory, and disrespectful of your own brand, which deserves an original, creative effort.
This is an extreme example, but an important one. It can be tempting to refer to your product as "the next..." and fill in the noun. Or make a tagline that consciously apes another tagline. The problem is, unless you're going for satire, people will recognize the disingenuous nature of the effort and respond poorly. Draw inspiration from prior ideas, by all means, but make sure that what finally comes out is a new line, reflective of your brand in its own right.
Tag Tip #5 - Embrace Brevity
Keep the tagline short. The second part of tagline is "line," after all. It's not motto, creed, paragraph, mission statement, article of faith or essay. If you can't say the whole tagline in less than five seconds, it's not a tagline.
For example, consider these: "We make money the old fashioned way - we earn it." "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard." Both are fairly long by tagline standards, but they can still be said in three seconds without sounding rushed. They go on as long as needed to do the job, and no longer.
Tag Tip #6 - Be Flexible
Sometimes a tagline just does not work out. This is alright; it's neither a disaster nor the end of your reputation. Sometimes you'll put together some words that sound great to you, but that everyone else just finds humorous. Consider the case of Iain Duncan Smith, an English politician known for his soft voice. He tried to brand himself with the phrase, "Don't underestimate the resolve of a quiet man." This was a great line in and of itself; however, due to the quirks of British politics, it led to people teasing him with shushing noises. He accepted this, and moved on.
If your tagline doesn't work, move on to one that will. Just make sure you aren't simply jumping from one bad ship to the other. Treat every misstep as a learning opportunity, and try to refine instead of making the same mistake twice.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
In or Out - Choosing the Content Service for Your Brand
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
It's only a bit of an exaggeration to describe the debate over in-house writers vs. an outside content service as "raging." For any organization dedicated to producing written content as part of its brand, it is an important matter that eventually will need to be addressed. Each method, of course, has its advantages and disadvantages; there are no quick answers. But here are some considerations that should make the decision a little easier:
In-house - Also Known As "One Big Family"
There is a theory of economic activity known as the vertical consolidation model. It derives from something practiced by Andrew Carnegie back in the early industrial age. In short, this steel baron made sure that his company had a hand in every part of the steel manufacture process. He owned and operated mines, processing factories, refineries, mills and stores, all in his name. He never had to go outside his own business for any part of the process, and could directly affect - and make money from - each part of the business for maximum effect.
Maintaining an in-house writing team duplicates the strengths and weaknesses of this approach.
The element of direct control and involvement is one such advantage. The writing team is drawing its paycheck from your organization, and is an integrated part of the team. The writers' success depends on the success of the entire venture, broadly speaking, so they have a certain vested interest. Similarly, their time spent on the matter allows them a deep familiarity with the different aspects of the company requiring their writing talents. This allows them to discover and use subtleties in their writing that cater directly to the needs of the company.
On the other hand, familiarity does breed a certain degree of contempt. No organization is immune to office politics or the overexposure effect. Being part of the day-in, day-out routine of the brand might limit your writers' talents, leading them to miss vital cues. The in-house approach requires very specific management to ensure all levels of the group are functioning together and in harmony.
There's also the danger of missing the forest for the trees. Writers produce a lot of content in ideal circumstances. Some are very good at what they do, and can belt off a solid article in short order. It's not uncommon, then, for teams to take their writers for granted, or for writers to feel unappreciated for their effort. Make sure that if you integrate, you do so in full measure and that they feel like an integral part of the whole.
Hiring Contractors - Also Known As Let the Barbarians Have Rome
There are a lot of people with very good ideas, and as much as you might like to, you won't ever have them all under your employ. This is where expert, externally-hired writing teams come in handy. On the other hand, some organizations just don't have the ability or the need for a full-time writing staff, and turn to outsiders for help and good ideas.
In either case, a fresh perspective is often the most immediate benefit. Someone looking at your material from outside the group can see it in a brand new way, bringing it all together. Alexander Graham Bell didn't invent the telegraph or the phonograph; rather, he looked at the two of them and saw a potential others hadn't. Thus, we have the telephone (and the cell phone... and the Internet...). Take advantage of a fresh perspective to get ahold of some new ideas.
Additionally, there is the advantage of flexibility in hiring an outside team on a writing contract. If you hire on an in-house team, you have more obligations to them. An external team can be evaluated on more of a trial basis, or for a specific project on which you need their expertise. It leaves you room to make decisions without commitments, and can be a strong benefit.
However, a team outside the organization might lack the necessary commitment to its goals, which is natural. They're around to do a job, not to specifically meet your mission statement. More effort is required to get them on board with what you need done than might be the case with someone drawing a paycheck from human resources.
Other Concerns - Entertain the Absurd
The biggest key to success in modern branding and online business is flexibility. Times change rapidly, demanding adaptability and a readiness to change with them. Be aware of additional opportunities that may or may not be readily evident when you first make your decision, and don't let one decision lock you in entirely.
Consider a team of outside writing experts that you hire for a few projects. They do a good job, and you keep bringing them in for future opportunities, expanding their role and the money you pay them over time. If the relationship is continuing to grow, and you expect it to continue... change your mind. Make an offer to keep them on as full-time writing staff, since they're so successful.
Alternatively, maximizing the effect of outside perspectives remains a good idea, so make sure each project employs at least one new writer every time they can. This will keep the content fresh and prevent the kind of stagnant writing that gets organizations into a rut.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
It's only a bit of an exaggeration to describe the debate over in-house writers vs. an outside content service as "raging." For any organization dedicated to producing written content as part of its brand, it is an important matter that eventually will need to be addressed. Each method, of course, has its advantages and disadvantages; there are no quick answers. But here are some considerations that should make the decision a little easier:
In-house - Also Known As "One Big Family"
There is a theory of economic activity known as the vertical consolidation model. It derives from something practiced by Andrew Carnegie back in the early industrial age. In short, this steel baron made sure that his company had a hand in every part of the steel manufacture process. He owned and operated mines, processing factories, refineries, mills and stores, all in his name. He never had to go outside his own business for any part of the process, and could directly affect - and make money from - each part of the business for maximum effect.
Maintaining an in-house writing team duplicates the strengths and weaknesses of this approach.
The element of direct control and involvement is one such advantage. The writing team is drawing its paycheck from your organization, and is an integrated part of the team. The writers' success depends on the success of the entire venture, broadly speaking, so they have a certain vested interest. Similarly, their time spent on the matter allows them a deep familiarity with the different aspects of the company requiring their writing talents. This allows them to discover and use subtleties in their writing that cater directly to the needs of the company.
On the other hand, familiarity does breed a certain degree of contempt. No organization is immune to office politics or the overexposure effect. Being part of the day-in, day-out routine of the brand might limit your writers' talents, leading them to miss vital cues. The in-house approach requires very specific management to ensure all levels of the group are functioning together and in harmony.
There's also the danger of missing the forest for the trees. Writers produce a lot of content in ideal circumstances. Some are very good at what they do, and can belt off a solid article in short order. It's not uncommon, then, for teams to take their writers for granted, or for writers to feel unappreciated for their effort. Make sure that if you integrate, you do so in full measure and that they feel like an integral part of the whole.
Hiring Contractors - Also Known As Let the Barbarians Have Rome
There are a lot of people with very good ideas, and as much as you might like to, you won't ever have them all under your employ. This is where expert, externally-hired writing teams come in handy. On the other hand, some organizations just don't have the ability or the need for a full-time writing staff, and turn to outsiders for help and good ideas.
In either case, a fresh perspective is often the most immediate benefit. Someone looking at your material from outside the group can see it in a brand new way, bringing it all together. Alexander Graham Bell didn't invent the telegraph or the phonograph; rather, he looked at the two of them and saw a potential others hadn't. Thus, we have the telephone (and the cell phone... and the Internet...). Take advantage of a fresh perspective to get ahold of some new ideas.
Additionally, there is the advantage of flexibility in hiring an outside team on a writing contract. If you hire on an in-house team, you have more obligations to them. An external team can be evaluated on more of a trial basis, or for a specific project on which you need their expertise. It leaves you room to make decisions without commitments, and can be a strong benefit.
However, a team outside the organization might lack the necessary commitment to its goals, which is natural. They're around to do a job, not to specifically meet your mission statement. More effort is required to get them on board with what you need done than might be the case with someone drawing a paycheck from human resources.
Other Concerns - Entertain the Absurd
The biggest key to success in modern branding and online business is flexibility. Times change rapidly, demanding adaptability and a readiness to change with them. Be aware of additional opportunities that may or may not be readily evident when you first make your decision, and don't let one decision lock you in entirely.
Consider a team of outside writing experts that you hire for a few projects. They do a good job, and you keep bringing them in for future opportunities, expanding their role and the money you pay them over time. If the relationship is continuing to grow, and you expect it to continue... change your mind. Make an offer to keep them on as full-time writing staff, since they're so successful.
Alternatively, maximizing the effect of outside perspectives remains a good idea, so make sure each project employs at least one new writer every time they can. This will keep the content fresh and prevent the kind of stagnant writing that gets organizations into a rut.
About the Author:
Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the "voice" of our client's brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/
Read more of Enzo F. Cesario's articles.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Marketing Tip: Buying Leads And Lead Generation Is Tough
Article Presented by:
Copyright © 2010 Marty Bradfield
There are a lot of industries where business people rely upon buying leads to drive new business for them... For example: colleges and other schools, insurance agents, real estate professionals, mortgage brokers, and network marketers are constantly buying leads to find new prospects...
Leads are nothing more than people who have already shown an interest in purchasing what you sell... Leads can be purchased for as little as one dollar each and as much as $100 each, depending on many factors, but more importantly on the industry for which the leads have been collected...
The factors that can influence the cost of a lead includes:
Industry;
Source of lead;
Quality of lead;
Age of lead; and
Number of times that lead has been sold.
The first person to buy the lead will always pay the highest price for the lead...
I was reviewing one company that specialized in generating leads for the auto insurance industry... The first person to buy that lead was charged $25 for the lead... The person buying the lead was only guaranteed the first contact for a period of three days...
The second person to buy that same lead received no guarantee of second contact... The second through the eighth person to buy the lead paid approximately $12 for the lead... This set of business people were only assured that the lead was less than seven days old...
During the second week, after the lead was generated, the lead generation company would discount the lead by another 50% and offer it to another seven insurance agents for another week...
The dirty little secret of buying leads is that by the time you get those leads that cost under $10 to purchase, chances are very good that your lead has already made a purchase or a purchase decision...
If you count yourself lucky to have found leads for only a couple dollars each, be advised that those leads are likely at least 30 days old and the person has already been contacted dozens of times...
Quality Of Lead
You will hear many people, who are in the business of buying leads, talk about the perceived quality of the leads they buy...
Business people are accustomed to being told no, but when it takes 20 or 30 phone calls to get a sale, the lead is perceived to be very low quality...
The age of a lead and the number of times that the lead has been sold will be a really good indicator of the quality of the lead that is being purchased... That should be pretty obvious to everyone involved...
But, there is another factor that should be measured into the quality of a lead that is far less understood...
How did the lead generation company acquire the lead?
These days, a lot of companies utilize the Internet to develop new leads that they can sell... Other companies use television advertising to generate the leads they sell...
If you watch any television at all, you will have seen the commercials for companies that develop leads to sell to other companies...
For example:
There is the girl in her pajamas and fuzzy slippers, who talks about how she can go to college from the comfort of her home and in her pajamas... That advertisement is for a company that specializes in selling leads to various schools and colleges...
Without giving free advertising to any specific company, there is another company that advertises the availability of work-at-home opportunities that promise people that they can work part-time at home and generate an income of $3-$5000 per month...
Now that you have read this article and seen these examples, the next time you see those commercials, your eyes will be opened...
Lead generation companies have a real challenge to overcome...
Not only do they need to reach the right people and to reach them in volume, they also have to target their lead generation precisely for a specific industry...
Real estate leads is perhaps one of the easiest ways to make this distinction... Say for example an individual indicates an interest to move from New York to Texas... Texas is an awful big state... If the prospect indicated an interest to move to Corsicana Texas, connecting that person to a real estate agent in Dallas Texas is probably a bad idea... Sure, it is only an hours' drive away, but if you have ever been there, the two locations are as different as night and day...
Corsicana Texas is a small town of approximately 25,000 residents, located 55 miles south of Dallas Texas on Interstate 45... It sits just outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Area, which has an estimated 6.5 million residents...
The average real estate agent in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Area will be unprepared to find homes and to show homes in the Corsicana Texas area...
The point is that the quality of the lead will often be determined by the precision used to define the lead...
Buying Leads Versus Lead Generation
If you should choose to do your own lead generation, the quality of the leads that you generate will often be light years ahead of the quality of the leads that you can buy...
However, generating your own leads can be time-consuming and expensive... The problem most business people face when trying to generate their own leads is bringing enough traffic to a website to justify the cost of doing so...
Depending on the industry and the lifetime value of a customer, your capacity to generate leads may not require a lot of volume...
If you are able to develop an effective lead generation system for your business, you may only need to generate an additional 5 to 10 leads per month in order to keep your business profitable...
If you choose to go the route of developing your own lead generation website and system, it would serve you well to learn the traffic generation techniques that professional online marketers use everyday...
There are many places online where you can go to learn about developing targeted traffic to your website, traffic that is pre-qualified for your offer, thereby increasing the quality of the leads that you are able to generate for yourself...
If you choose to develop your own lead generation funnel, the best investment you will make towards the success of your business will be the education that you give yourself about how to drive traffic to your website and market your business online...
About the Author:
We teach the Basics of online marketing and Cutting Edge Techniques used by professional online marketers, to develop lead generation systems and new businesses. Our Online Marketing Bootcamp training is geared for new online marketers, network marketers and offline business people looking to go online. http://www.BestBusinessNetwork.com/OMB/ Author: Marty Bradfield
Read more of Marty Bradfield's articles.
Copyright © 2010 Marty Bradfield
There are a lot of industries where business people rely upon buying leads to drive new business for them... For example: colleges and other schools, insurance agents, real estate professionals, mortgage brokers, and network marketers are constantly buying leads to find new prospects...
Leads are nothing more than people who have already shown an interest in purchasing what you sell... Leads can be purchased for as little as one dollar each and as much as $100 each, depending on many factors, but more importantly on the industry for which the leads have been collected...
The factors that can influence the cost of a lead includes:
The first person to buy the lead will always pay the highest price for the lead...
I was reviewing one company that specialized in generating leads for the auto insurance industry... The first person to buy that lead was charged $25 for the lead... The person buying the lead was only guaranteed the first contact for a period of three days...
The second person to buy that same lead received no guarantee of second contact... The second through the eighth person to buy the lead paid approximately $12 for the lead... This set of business people were only assured that the lead was less than seven days old...
During the second week, after the lead was generated, the lead generation company would discount the lead by another 50% and offer it to another seven insurance agents for another week...
The dirty little secret of buying leads is that by the time you get those leads that cost under $10 to purchase, chances are very good that your lead has already made a purchase or a purchase decision...
If you count yourself lucky to have found leads for only a couple dollars each, be advised that those leads are likely at least 30 days old and the person has already been contacted dozens of times...
Quality Of Lead
You will hear many people, who are in the business of buying leads, talk about the perceived quality of the leads they buy...
Business people are accustomed to being told no, but when it takes 20 or 30 phone calls to get a sale, the lead is perceived to be very low quality...
The age of a lead and the number of times that the lead has been sold will be a really good indicator of the quality of the lead that is being purchased... That should be pretty obvious to everyone involved...
But, there is another factor that should be measured into the quality of a lead that is far less understood...
How did the lead generation company acquire the lead?
These days, a lot of companies utilize the Internet to develop new leads that they can sell... Other companies use television advertising to generate the leads they sell...
If you watch any television at all, you will have seen the commercials for companies that develop leads to sell to other companies...
For example:
Now that you have read this article and seen these examples, the next time you see those commercials, your eyes will be opened...
Lead generation companies have a real challenge to overcome...
Not only do they need to reach the right people and to reach them in volume, they also have to target their lead generation precisely for a specific industry...
Real estate leads is perhaps one of the easiest ways to make this distinction... Say for example an individual indicates an interest to move from New York to Texas... Texas is an awful big state... If the prospect indicated an interest to move to Corsicana Texas, connecting that person to a real estate agent in Dallas Texas is probably a bad idea... Sure, it is only an hours' drive away, but if you have ever been there, the two locations are as different as night and day...
Corsicana Texas is a small town of approximately 25,000 residents, located 55 miles south of Dallas Texas on Interstate 45... It sits just outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Area, which has an estimated 6.5 million residents...
The average real estate agent in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Area will be unprepared to find homes and to show homes in the Corsicana Texas area...
The point is that the quality of the lead will often be determined by the precision used to define the lead...
Buying Leads Versus Lead Generation
If you should choose to do your own lead generation, the quality of the leads that you generate will often be light years ahead of the quality of the leads that you can buy...
However, generating your own leads can be time-consuming and expensive... The problem most business people face when trying to generate their own leads is bringing enough traffic to a website to justify the cost of doing so...
Depending on the industry and the lifetime value of a customer, your capacity to generate leads may not require a lot of volume...
If you are able to develop an effective lead generation system for your business, you may only need to generate an additional 5 to 10 leads per month in order to keep your business profitable...
If you choose to go the route of developing your own lead generation website and system, it would serve you well to learn the traffic generation techniques that professional online marketers use everyday...
There are many places online where you can go to learn about developing targeted traffic to your website, traffic that is pre-qualified for your offer, thereby increasing the quality of the leads that you are able to generate for yourself...
If you choose to develop your own lead generation funnel, the best investment you will make towards the success of your business will be the education that you give yourself about how to drive traffic to your website and market your business online...
About the Author:
We teach the Basics of online marketing and Cutting Edge Techniques used by professional online marketers, to develop lead generation systems and new businesses. Our Online Marketing Bootcamp training is geared for new online marketers, network marketers and offline business people looking to go online. http://www.BestBusinessNetwork.com/OMB/ Author: Marty Bradfield
Read more of Marty Bradfield's articles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)