Posts in Content

Business-to-business ebooks: Spreading your ideas for free

18 Jul 2008 19:37 No comments
Readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of ebooks as a way to show the world that you're smart and worthy of doing business with. Ebooks have potential to spread your ideas far and wide. For free. My own most recent ebook, The New Rules of Viral Marketing: How word-of-mouse spreads your ideas for free, released in early 2008, has been downloaded a remarkable 250,000 times.

E-books have become a very significant medium, partly because people can instantly see the value of a product that looks like for-purchase content but can actually be downloaded for free. In my opinion, e-books should be material people want to read, compared to the dense and usually boring white paper, which our buyers feel they should read but often don't. More...

An Underused, Full Proof Way to Sell More in Less Time that’s FREE

16 Jul 2008 19:12 No comments
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[photo courtesy of monamigreetings]

Even if you compose the most concise copywriting to ever grace a page, the most persuasive words aren’t always written by you. There’s an ingredient you can add to your copy that can help you sell more in less time. It’s an underused tactic. But one that can rapidly satisfy a prospect’s logical and emotional demands at the same time.

People are skeptical of being sold to, but they do listen to each other. So to persuade them to buy your product you need to provide them with  evidence of someone it has benefited. You need to provide the social proof that your product is as wonderful as you claim. More...

Dan Roam’s “Back of a Napkin” approach to visual thinking (and how I bought the book).

16 Jul 2008 16:55 No comments

Dan Roam’s “The Back of the Napkin” book about visual thinking is a novel approach to problem solving (and deserves a blog post all of its own)

Informative blog too.

However, I thought it worth examining how I went from not knowing a thing about Dan Roam at midday on Saturday, to understanding a lot more about him and buying his book nearly 11 hours later - as well as finding out a few other interesting things along the way.

Here’s the text based version of events (the diagram above is my own pen and paper effort based on Roam’s tips).

1. My wife buys a copy of The Guardian on Saturday. More...

“Online journalism is about more than just writing”: Chris Green, Editor, IT Pro

11 Jul 2008 16:29 No comments

IT Pro Editor Chris Green has written a very good post regarding the changing nature of online journalism.

(In tune with the zeitgeist, he says he was prompted to write the piece after he made a Twitter comment about his traffic/contributor analysis - and I and others asked him for more detail).

Specifically, he highlights things that he believes freelance writers will need to consider and change their working practices to incorporate. If you substitute the term “PR” for freelance writer, much the same principles apply.

For example, on SEO, Chris says: This is key to the future of online publishing. More...

What Brands Can Learn From Working Dog

11 Jul 2008 09:06 No comments
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* Rob Sitch in The Hollowmen

Companies, brands and marketers could learn a thing or two from Melbourne-based entertainment production house, Working Dog.

Working Dog is back making satirical comedy on the ABC, this week enjoying big ratings for the first episode of The Hollowmen (and a funny show it is too).

In an industry where most producers churn out more misses than hits, Rob Sitch, Tommy Gleisner & Co have an enviable and consistent track record in producing TV shows and movies (and the occasional book) that strike a chord with consumers.

Think Frontline/The Castle/The Panel/Thank God You're Here etc - plenty of winners...and with The Hollowmen, Working Dog again generated another wave of buzz in anticipation for one of their shows.
More...

Thinking Big Pays Off For Ten's Big Brother

11 Jul 2008 08:16 1 comment
As an uninspiring Big Brother trudged through its umpteenth Australian season, Channel Ten knew it needed a BIG IDEA that would demand attention, create buzz and draw in an audience that, until now, had stayed away in droves (compared to earlier BB seasons).

Enter former Baywatch babe and ex-Playboy pin-up, Pamela Anderson. Literally.

Anderson, who at 41 is heading towards exalted 'yummy grandma' status, entered the Big Brother house to shake things up a bit, and ratings for the show jumped as a result (1.4 million viewers tuned in to see Pammy, making it the first time this year that BB had beaten all competitors and won every major demographic, according to news.com.au).
More...

Internet marketing advice can come from unexpected places

10 Jul 2008 08:08 No comments
You never know where you are going to pick up tips about Internet marketing. Sometimes the soundest advice for running your web site comes not from an Internet marketing guru, but from something that has nothing to do with the Internet.

Bryan McCrae is a psychologist who spoke at the National Coaching Psychology Conference. And you would never have thought a conference for psychologists involved in coaching would lead to Internet marketing advice - but it did.

Bryan's session was based on his Cognitive Sales "healthcheck" which he runs through with companies trying to improve their sales and marketing. More...

Wife in the North

9 Jul 2008 10:48 No comments

Judith O’Reilly’s Wife in the North blog has become a self help manual for my family in our plan to co-locate in London and rural Northumberland.



Like O’Reilly’s husband I’m going to split my time between the two locations making regular use of the East Coast Mainline while my wife and three kids enjoy the benefit of a rural life in the north. Or not depending how literally you take Wife in the North.

Within days of launching Wife in the North O’Reilly caught the attention of Tom Watson, Iain Dale and Andrew Sullivan. Viking Penguin offered a book deal. The book was published last week. More...

Why Customer Service is the New Marketing

8 Jul 2008 12:55 No comments
abacus

[image courtesy of ansik]

Whether it’s in customer reviews, blogs or forums, people are talking about products and influencing buying decisions. Blaring out sales messages merely antagonises skeptical prospects, who place their trust in the objective advice of their peers.

Research is showing that the ROI of traditional marketing methods is falling, whilst customer interaction is increasing. This would suggest that an adjustment to the bean counter is needed to how marketing dollars are spent.

Perhaps it’s time to stop thinking about just ‘joining the conversation’ in marketing to an online world, but also to be useful in how you communicate. More...

Lifesaver

3 Jul 2008 18:35 No comments

This is one of those simple and useful ideas that put a smile on my face. Over in Australia, the Red Cross have launched an animated download with an audio voiceover that takes you through all the steps for CPR. The technology is available through any Australian mobile phone service for a $3 charge.

I’ve been on a first aid course and I just about remember how to get someone into the recovery position, but who’s to say I’d remember when under pressure? Perhaps, simply by knowing it was on your phone and so easily to hand, you might panic less if you were ever faced with a life and death situation. More...

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