| 3/16/2012 Editors: Rebecca Morgan & Ken Braly See ?About SpeakerNet News? at the end for information on how to submit tips and use this newsletter. Remember, your ?dues? for this free ezine are submitting two tips a quarter. Send your best tips to editor@SpeakerNetNews.com. Teleseminar Info Tuesday, March 27 Apply the New Rules for Press Releases to Raise Your Visibility with Dan Janal  When was the last time you wrote a press release about your business? A press release? Does anybody still write press releases? Aren?t newspapers going out of business? Well, the rise of the Internet has given new life to the lowly press release. Because now it can be more than just a promotional piece?it can be used strategically to raise your visibility in Google and other online gathering places. Dan Janal, founder of PR Leads and a long-time expert on marketing your business using the Internet, will help you understand how to boost your exposure using today?s press releases. Read the details of this session below, then register or pre-order the CD or MP3. Note: Everyone who registers for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.
Save the dates:
Feedback from the recent SNN teleseminar ? The Strategic Speaker: Don?t Try Everything. Do The Right Things? with Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE and Larry Winget, CPAE: ?Joe and Larry did an awesome job! Right on target with what?s happening in our world today, they delivered solid ideas on how we can all stay relevant to our clients and audiences. They made it conversational... and fun.? ?Jean Gatz
The Sound of Money? Creating Online Revenue from Audio Recordings You have CDs, MP3s, or recordings of your intellectual capital (from presentations or studio recordings) you want to sell online?through iTunes, Audible, your own website, or other distributors. Or maybe you want to offer free podcasts as a marketing tool. Is this easy or hard? What do you need to know? Is there any money in it, or is it mostly a waste of time? And just how much time are we talking about? These three MP3s will give you a better idea of what?s involved in getting your audio recordings in front of prospects and buyers. You?ll hear info you?d never have thought to ask. Then you can decide if it?s worth the effort or not. - ?Selling Your Audio Content Through Audible.com: How to Get Your Recordings to an Online Audience? with Jonathan Korzen from Audible.com
- ?The Good and Bad of Selling Your Audio Programs Online? with Al McCree
- ?Podcasting for Beginners: Taking Your Audio Content to the Web? with Ron Ploof
Download now All SNN single-focused packages are detailed here. Miscellaneous Tips Really mining your subscribers ? Jay Arthur I?ve downloaded the email addresses of everyone who subscribes to my ezine list. I use Excel to sort them by company name (e.g., boeing.com) and look for ?pods of whales? (many subscribers from the same company) showing active interest in my site and content. Then I send everyone in each ?pod? an email offering a free webinar tailored to their interests. I get immediate response from about half which leads to in-depth conversations and more sales.
Stock photos ? Karen Bowden Photopin (photopin.com) has stock photos you can use for commercial and non-commercial purposes. They use the Flickr API but not are affiliated with Flickr. Just be sure to check the Creative Commons license for each photo. I got this link from iconlogic.blogs.com/weblog
Introduction tip ? George Torok If your name could be pronounced more than one way, add a ?Note to Introducer? on your introduction page that states how to pronounce your name. For example I added ?Torok is pronounced Tor-rock with emphasis on the second syllable.? Also meet with the introducer just before you start and ask that person to say your name just to test.
Custom cartoon art ? Michael Fraidenburg If you need customized cartoon art for presentations, workbooks, direct mails, etc., I can recommend without reservation Mike Ferrin (mferrin.com). He created a customized character and then created 36 pieces of art for one of my training workbooks. The work he delivered was high-quality, creative, and on-time.
Polling option ? Jim Holmes Ever wanted to know what your audience?s position was, what they were thinking as you presented, or whether they understand your points? Poll Everywhere (polleverywhere.com) is a real-time polling program that can be used via texting on smartphones, tablets, or laptops. It replaces expensive proprietary audience response hardware with standard web technology. It?s the easiest way to gather live responses in any venue: conferences, presentations, classrooms, radio, tv, print?anywhere. Best of all, for groups of fewer than 40, it?s free. I used it recently during a program and got two results. First, the audience was more engaged, and second, I realized a key point was not understood. I was able to go back and spend more time and insure everyone was on same page. Afterward, the CEO came up and stated, ?Great job. First time at a program like this I know my people have actually learned something and I can state it was worthwhile.?
If you?re a consultant, are you worth the money? ? Ian Percy That was basically the question behind a ?little-too-close-to-home? article by David Fields in Industry Week. He writes: ?The problems with strategy consultants, whether they are big-name consultancies with fresh-faced, Ivy-league graduates or local business coaches with grizzled, salt-of-the-earth veterans, are threefold: - ?They jump to conclusions. Strategy consultants like to show off their smarts and ?break the back? of a problem quickly.? (I?ve got to admit, even if we?re trying to solve a decades-old issue, there?s the self-imposed pressure to solve it in a day so we look smart. Heck, some of us have ?solved? the problem before we?ve even shown up!)
- ?They often don?t have relevant operating experience. The innovation expert who delivered beautiful drawings of a wearable computer to a technology client had no clue about the manufacturing requirements.? (?Nuf said.)
- ?They notch up another successful engagement even if their recommendations hold water like a sieve.? (This is the tough one?sure, we quote a few ?best talk ever? comments, but did anything actually change for the better as a result of our presentations, training, or consulting? I?ve looked back at my ?references? and am shocked by how little reference there is to actual results. Just the fact that they loved me doesn?t mean I made a difference to their operation.)
Technology Tips Teleprompter for use with smartphone ? Ken Braly Do you record videos of yourself for posting on the Web? You might be interested in the Listec PW-04 Teleprompter, which fits on your camcorder and shows scrolling text from your phone so you can get your words exactly right while looking straight into the camera, just like a TV newscaster. Jim Carrillo has created a demo video so you can see how it works. You can get it at B&H Photo for $319.
Teaching tool ? Jim Holmes Xtranormal (xtranormal.com) is a great tool to help an audience visualize your idea or points. They take your text and make an animated clip out of it. You can pick the players and background, insert logos, etc. Funny? Romantic? Dramatic? Xtranormal helps you create amazing interactive stories with a few clicks and a little imagination. Ta-da! You?re instantly an animator, poet, pundit, educator, or comic. Couldn?t be easier. It?s that simple. Create a story. Watch a story. Share a story. I use it to emphasize and reinforce ideas and concepts. Cost is only $50 or $100 per month. They do have a teaching option that is priced per student/attendee.
SnapTags to monitor your followers? engagement ? Jeff Hayzlett SnapTags are an innovative and novel way to interact with your audience and stay engaged long after you?ve stepped off the stage. I used this 2D-mobile technology to combine digital interactivity with traditional publishing when I launched my new book. SnapTags provide the reader with opportunity to access additional information and opportunities to connect with me via their mobile phone or tablet. And they provide me with the ability to measure where my audience is most captive, what chapters they are reading most, which topics are of strongest interest, and the heaviest traffic periods to my site. I continue to use SnapTags on all of my marketing collateral so I can offer my audiences special offers, leads to my website so they can learn more about the other services I provide, and videos of me sharing exclusive messages and information. There are so many opportunities for engagement. In addition to offering exclusive content, SnapTags are a really clever means of reinforcing your brand identity. Unlike QR codes, which I call ?ugly codes,? SnapTags can be branded with your logo, graphics, icons, even social media platforms. Now, whenever people see the SnapTag with the icon from the cover of my book, they know they?re going to be directed to additional content from me. A great way to harness your audience in a way that resonates with the digital age, and a smart way to measure the topics of interest. SnapTags allow you to reach your audience where they can be found most?online. Travel Tips International travel tip ? Randy Gage Starwood is offering a very nice perk to their super elite members: ?Your24.? It allows you to pick the time you check in and then keep the room for 24 hours. Quite a good deal when you?re flying overseas and arrive at 5 or 6 am. So far, no other chains have matched this.
Car rental tip ? Jessica Setnick If you are renting a car over a time period that includes the end of a month, make sure the tags will still be current before you drive away in the rental car. I was pulled over on the way to the airport on the 1st of the month because the rental car tags had expired the day before. I didn?t get a ticket, but I almost missed my flight. Topic of the Month Note: This is the last week we?ll post responses for this TOTM Our TOTM is from Bob Treadway: How are you planning on transitioning into retirement or, more realistically, semi-retirement? What are the models? Who has done it well? What tells you when it?s time to transition? What is the highest and best use of the aging speaker?
(Editors? note: Elayne Savage wrote an article, ?Planning for Two Retirements?Financial and Emotional,? which may be useful to you.)
? Rick Deutsch - Read the book Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow by Marsha Sinetar. You?ll realize that you can finally do the things you really love without the pressure of a ?real job.?
- Make your life list?even later in life there are experiences you want to enjoy. What are the things you want to see and do before you ?kick the bucket?? You are never too old to keep doing. Book trips now. Don?t just dream it...be it. ?Someday? never comes.
? Pegine Echevarria Seven years ago I made a decision to create a business that was not dependent on *me*, and that I could sell, my kids can run, or my staff can take over. The investment is worth it. I don?t plan on retiring per se, but will be shifting. I do have 5, 10, and 20-year goals. I spend time with 70- and 80-year-old businessmen and women who live the way I want to live (I learn so much from them). Many are in SCORE.
? Bob Treadway Since I posed the question... I don?t really plan on fully retiring. Despite having established a defined benefit plan prior to and through my best earning years that reflects in my balance sheet, I?d like to continue to ?semi-work.? There are several reasons: - Tax advantages of owning our own corporation, including healthcare premium payment and many flexibilities including the retirement plan.
- Income. While many believe an ongoing revenue stream from intellectual property will buoy them in the future, I believe the need for trusted advisors may be even more profound in its effect over the longer term. I plan on maintaining my positioning there.
- Intellectual activity. I like the work I do. I just don?t want to do it quite as much or experience the transportation system as frequently.
- The relief I?ll get when I never have to work with someone I don?t like again. We all do it now. At a point in the future it will become like the list of bureaus with whom we work?only nice people we love and admire.
The ?highest and best use? for people in our demographic category obviously will vary by practice. For me, I?ve tended away from the conference platform (although it?s still great fun to do that work) to the boardroom, retreat center, or executive education venue. That?s evolved over time and with even more gray in the hair (and learning we?ve gained from great clients). Heck, leverage what you?ve got and diversify the revenue streams. Requests for Info / Advice Cordless microphone recommendations? ? Patricia Tith Any new cordless mics to recommend? I?ll collect to update the SNN compilation. SpeakerNet News Teleseminar Info Tuesday, March 27 Apply the New Rules for Press Releases to Raise Your Visibility with Dan Janal Press releases aren?t just for reporters anymore. The Internet has created a whole new audience for press releases that can help you increase your visibility and credibility so you can stand out from competitors and be found more easily. A press release could get you on the first page of Google search results, could get you links from dozens of high-profile media websites, and could give you bragging rights so you are known as the go-to expert in your field. And it could even lead to reporters calling you to write an original article. Dan has created a process that has helped dozens of speakers and consultants get the ultimate double play: (1) get found on Google and (2) get published on media websites. You will learn: - how the rules for press releases have changed?and why that?s creating a landslide of opportunity for you.
- why you don?t have to have ?news? to write a press release.
- what information you must have to grab attention.
- the key ingredient a press release must have to rank high on Google.
- how to maximize the exposure you get from press releases.
Register or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free. Date: Tuesday, March 27 Time: 7:00 pm Eastern, 6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific Length: 60 minutes Cost: $25
Special Limited-Time Offer: If you want more information on ideas on how to harness publicity, we?re suggesting the MP3 recordings of several earlier programs to complement this program: - ?Discover New Internet Publicity Strategies to Sell More Products and Get More Engagements? with Dan Janal
- ?Instant Fame: How to Pitch Editors and Producers to Get Immediate Press Coverage? with Pam Lontos, CSP
With your order of this live or recorded teleseminar, at checkout you will be offered these recordings. About SpeakerNet News Copyright note: Submission of an email message or artwork affirms that you are able to and have given us non-exclusive permission to reprint the content of your message in all forms, electronic or otherwise, in all languages throughout the world. Copyright ©2012 SpeakerNet News. Permission must be granted to reprint any item (other than your own posting). | | SpeakerNet News Sponsors  CartoonResource.com is the leading source of cartoons, caricatures, custom animation reels and logos for speakers and authors. Search and buy cartoons at cartoonresource.com. Contact us at andrew@ cartoonresource.com or 616/551-2238.
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