If you like this article, follow me on Twitter.

Brian Carroll’s “B2B Lead Generation Blog” is always a source of really good information to anyone who needs customers and sales (do any of you fit this category?). But his recent article, Can a social media like Twitter boost your lead generation results? is especially enlightening.

I have dabbled on and off with Twitter for about a year now, without actually going all in (to use the famous poker term). But Carroll’s thoughts have me taking a new look at the popular social media site.

For those of you who don’t know, Twitter is sort of like a blog that limits your posts (called “Tweets” in the Twitter world) to 140 characters. It is precisely because they are so short and sweet that has spurred Twitter’s popularity. People who would not read blog posts of the length typically found on sites like my own, avidly read tweets from many people on Twitter.

Brian Carroll describes some of the lead generation uses he has discovered for Twitter:

Well, I’ve started to use my Twitter account a lot more, and I’ve found some productive uses for the application:

• Sent mini survey question and got answers quickly
  
• Promoted new blog posts and upcoming webinars
  
• Shared articles, resources, and blog posts that I found interesting
  
• Learned what topics my network finds interesting faster
  
• Discovered some useful blog posts and resources by using tweetscan.com

To these uses, let me also add one of my own. I constantly encourage my clients to start blogging as a way to get the work out about their businesses. But as you can well imagine, most business people or professionals are short on time.

Now, thanks to Brian’s thoughts, I can encourage them to start posting on Twitter.

Anyone, no matter how busy, can write 140 characters.

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Note: Last week, I started a series of articles on how to integrate online and offline social networking.

While researching this topic, I ran across this excellent article by Andy Britnell. Although he primarily focuses on offline social networking, his lesson is just as applicable for those using Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

If you like this article, follow me on Twitter.

A Networking Metaphor - One of the Secrets of Effective Networking

By Andy Britnell

I have been networking for many years and attended nearly every sort of networking event imaginable. I now recognise the benefit of seeing networking as an art rather than a technique. Rather than provide you with 7 tips on how to improve your networking effectiveness, I'd like to pass on a story that gives us a different view of how to network which I think is worth sharing:

I was always impressed with a particular person in my networking group who managed not only to provide quality referrals but received a lot as well. As I am a student of success I decided to find out what his secret was.

I noticed a number of tactics and strategies that he used, such as listening intently when people were doing their 60 second infomercials,writing down relevant facts, clarifying what was being offered and what was of value in the product or service, and who specifically that person needed to get connected to. He also was very good as a host during networking meetings and had a skill of engaging new visitors and pointing them in the direction of people in the room who would be useful connections.

This still didn't answer the question of why he was successful at networking, as others used the same techniques with less success. I decided to approach him and determine what the secret was.

His answer surprised me. He said it was his purpose in life to help other people succeed and he believed that everyone had something of value to offer in business - they just needed to articulate that value. He felt it was his job to help people to grow their business and in order to do that he needed to be clear on their outcomes and passion in business. In encouraging them to talk about this he helped them to become inspired and motivated about their business.

So rather than clever techniques or strategies it was the intention, values and beliefs that this person held which made him successful. It seems to me that this story proves that the more we help other people succeed in their business and pass on our kernels of knowledge about how to be effective, the more we become successful and effective ourselves.

Andy Britnell is an executive coach who works with high achievers in both the private and public sectors who wish to fulfil more of their potential by thinking and behaving more effectively.

Sign up for Andy Britnell's FREE newsletter Grow and Learn at http://andybritnell.co.uk/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Britnell
http://EzineArticles.com/?A--Networking-Metaphor---One-of-the-Secrets-of-Effective-Networking&id=1987882

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If you like this article, follow me on Twitter.

“Personal Branding” is a term that gets bandied about business circles a lot these days, but few professionals seem to have a firm grasp of what it really means or what its potential is.

Personal branding is the strategy of marketing yourself using the same methods a major corporation might brand and market one of its products. When used effectively, you can use these techniques to “position” yourself in the minds or your prospective clients, employers or buyers.

Here’s an example: Several years ago I volunteered to teach job-search workshops through a non-profit organization that helped unemployed people find new jobs. One of the things I repeatedly drove home to the people in my classes was to think of themselves as solutions to specific problems.

It was all about positioning.

They could either join the ranks of thousands of other job seekers who mass mailed resumes out to hundreds of companies, or they could package themselves as the answers to pressing problems that targeted companies had to solve.

The point here is that no company will hire someone just because they want to sign another paycheck. People get hired because the company has a problem that must be solved. And the person who is hired is the person who impresses them most that they are the solution to that problem.

Now let’s think about a group of people who (at least in the U.S.A.) seek employment every November. Politicians.

Politicians are the ultimate role models for personal branding. And like them or not, they provide great lessons for anyone who wants to attract new clients, new business or a new employer.

The first thing politicians must establish is name recognition. Even those people who are running for the jobs at the bottom of the ballot must have some sort of name recognition.

As much as I try to be an informed voter, I always walk into the polling booth and find that I know nothing about the people who are running for dog catcher or judge of some obscure district. So what do we all do in such an instance? We look at the names to see if we recognize that person.

But as Caroline Kennedy learned when she threw her hat into the ring for the New York senate seat, name recognition is not enough. It will only take you so far, but if you can’t show that you can do the job, name recognition alone will not take you to the finish line.

The second element of personal branding is the ability to solve problems. If you want to be my lawyer, it certainly helps if I recognize your name, but I also want to feel confident that you can solve my legal problem.

Barrack Obama won the presidential election not just because he had established a lot of name recognition, but also because more people perceived him, rightly or wrongly, as the better solution to the nation’s problems than they did John McCain.

Personal branding means that you position yourself in your prospects’ minds as a solution to their problems. Sarah Palin and Caroline Kennedy ran into the Katie Courics of the world who asked tough questions. And when this happens to you, you had better be able to articulate your solutions to the problems that are keeping your prospects awake at night.

Or better yet, present your solutions up front before you get to these interviews.
The internet gives you many, many ways to get your ideas known. Write about your solutions on a blog, post YouTube videos, do a lot of public speaking, write articles, write books, conduct your own versions of town hall meetings.

And all the time, remember YOU are the solution to a problem or set of problems. People will buy you if they recognize your name and perceive you to be the solution to their problems.

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If you like this article, follow me on Twitter.

I just got an interesting Tweat from Dan Zarrella, who I follow on Twitter. Dan calls himself a "social media and viral marketing scientist" because he studies how information spreads through social networks.

This week I began a series of articles about Integrating Online and Offline Social Networking in which I wrote about how way too much of the activities of people using tools like blogs, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, are little more than one-way shout outs.

In other words, many of us (myself included) are not using these tools to their full potential. Our (or at least my) behavior is a lot like those guys you see at Chamber of Commerce events who flit around from person to person handing out business cards and delivering a canned "elevator speech."

But in the offline world, we would all be much better off with a mere 25 names in our Roledex, than a massive collection of business cards, provided those 25 names are people we regularly call, have lunch with, send birthday cards to, send newspaper clippings, get to know their familes, and truly engage with.

The same holds true with online social networking.

Twitter is one of those marvelous tools that holds so much potential, yet is too often used as a way to deliver canned elevator speeches.

Which leads me back to Dan Zarrella and his work as a social networking scientist. The Tweet he sent me was about The Science of Retweats. "Tweets" refer to messages someone sends you on Twitter, which you may or may not "ReTweet" or forward on to others.

ReTweeting is where your message takes on legs and can spread all over the internet via one person on a social networking site passing your message on to others and these others passing them on to even more people, and so on.

This is what viral marketing is all about. Your message spreads from one person to another like a cold or flu. Except, of course, that you are are not spreading a disease, but valuable content.

The untapped potential of social networking tools is nothing short of breath taking.

In his free ebook, Lose Control of Your Marketing, David Meerman Scott writes about 19 year old singer/songwriter Bec Hollcroft who has built a huge following by making her music available for free on her MySpace site:

"Hollcraft went from being a high school freshman in Portland, Oregon to an emerging artist aspiring to a deal from a major label. Her focus on providing tons of free music on MySpace and her own site, plus free editions of her personal manga (Japanese-style comics), generated a World Wide Rave.

Hollcraft and Nachtigal (Hollcroft's manager) figured that if they became big on MySpace, they could use that status as a compelling way to interest the record labels. “Bec’s MySpace page has been our most active page in promoting, getting feedback, and staying in contact with both fans and potential fans,” Nachtigal says.

“MySpace was the best vehicle for Bec because both fans and labels were spending a lot of time there. We decided that our strategy for shopping [ for a record label] or ‘going it alone’ [publishing and selling music themselves, without a label], would be virtually identical, so we began having Bec spend a lot of time and energy working her MySpace pages.

Bec was able to contribute a huge part in furthering her own career and getting an idea of who her supporters are.”

Bec's fame spread from fan to fan virally, just as your content and ideas can spread from Tweet to Retweet or from blog to blog, if you use the tools of social networking properly.

Viral marketing hinges upon your willingness to engage others, give some of your ideas and content away for free, and make real, true friends online (as opposed to the artificial form of "friends" that passes for networking online).

Check out Dan Zarrella, David Meerman Scott and Bec Hollcroft today for some inspiring ideas on how to get your ideas and reputation spreading virally through social networking.

NOT USING NON-SPAM EMAIL MARKETING FOR YOUR BUSINESS YET? Learn why email marketing is the easiest, most effective and most affordable way to get new clients. Download my free ebook and receive tips, ideas and case studies to help you get more new customers at http://www.trafficwave.net/lcp/chbrown/emailmarketing/6604.
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Note: I originally wrote this article in 2006, but decided to reprint it for lawyers and other professionals who are finding it a struggle to get new clients during our tough economy. In many ways, it might be even more relevant today than it was when I first wrote it.

If you like this article, follow me on Twitter.

The road to rainmaking success for any professional involves communicating your area of expertise to potential clients through writing and speaking. It is rare to find a successful rainmaker who has not made use of one or both of these two communication formats.

Because of this, attorneys have a distinct advantage over other professionals. The very nature of practicing law already involves both writing and speaking.

Although most of a lawyer’s writing is directed toward other lawyers, most of this written material can be easily reframed to address the questions and concerns of non-lawyers. The typical attorney has filing cabinets full of written material he or she has already produced. With minimal effort, briefs, letters, wills, trust agreements and contracts can all be reworked and revised to become information products like tip sheets, articles, booklets, white papers, speeches and even full-length books.

Moreover, an attorney must read a great many cases, statutes, law journals, court opinions, briefs and letters written by opposing attorneys, and continuing legal education materials. Each of these materials can also be used as the foundation for producing information products.

Here are a few ideas to help get the rainmaking process started:

1. Begin with written materials you have already created. How might potential clients benefit from this information? Can you develop a brief you have written to warn business clients of some pitfalls to be aware of when signing a contract? Can you turn a pre-nuptial agreement into a short article on things to consider when entering into such an agreement?
   
   
2. Look for ideas that can be turned into tips sheet articles or a frequently asked questions (FAQs) articles. These are not only popular with readers and magazine editors, they are very easy to write.
   
   
3. If you are wanting to attract business clients, seek out the trade publications that service those target industries. Trade magazines are very open to articles written by non-professional writers. When your articles appear in these trade publications, you position yourself as an expert in the legal needs of that specific industry group.
   
   
4. Start a blog on a legal niche that you want to get more work in. If you only write two or three paragraphs a day, your material will grow quite rapidly. This material can then be revised into publishable articles. And don’t think starting a blog requires any technical skills. If you can send an email, you can start a blog in less than 15 minutes. Check out blogger.com to see just how easy it is.
   
   
5. Repackage the same written material you have been turning into articles and now create speech outlines and handouts to give to your audience. Once you have written a single article on a subject, you should be able to get speaking engagements on that same topic.
   
   
6. Repackage your written material once again to create press releases. Tip sheets make great inserts in a press package if the topic is of interest to the publication’s readers.
   
   
7. As you start to accumulate more and more written material, you may suddenly realize that just a little more effort could turn it all into a full-length book. Blogging (as long as you have been diligent about writing 2-3 paragraphs a day) especially has a way of writing a book for you, almost without your being aware how much material you have been writing.
   
   

   A book is the ultimate rainmaking tool. Your topic may be too specialized to make a lot of money on book sales, but as a way to attract new clients, a book has few equals.
   

Remember, everything you write or ever have written, can be turned into information products. Non-lawyers find the law very interesting. As long as you can write to non-lawyers and remove jargon from your prose, you will find a receptive audience for your articles and other writings.

COPYRIGHT(C)2006, Charles Brown. All rights reserved.

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If you like this article, follow me on Twitter.

The more I've been hanging out on sites like Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, the more I've noticed that the typical user of these tools (myself included) are failing to use them as NETWORKING tools. I noticed this the other day when I realized that most of my tweats were little more than broadcasts.

In other words, I was doing what ordinarily makes me cringe when I see other marketers doing: Shouting out a one-way message with little thought of creating a conversation.

(Sigh) Will we/I never learn?

Social networking is about creating a conversation.

These remarkable new tools are wasted if we merely try to use them as new platforms from which to conduct old school marketing. The whole point of creating a list of "followers" or "friends" or "contacts," depending upon which social networking tool you are using, is to create a two-way dialogue with the people on your list.

All this leads me to the conclusion that we/I need to pull out some of the very best ideas on business networking from the pre-internet days, and put them into practice.

Case in point: One of my favorite business books of all time is Harvey MacKay's Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. It was written before we all had email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or any of the other social networking tools.

MacKay simply went about networking by being a friend in the traditional sense of the word, not a "friend" where we add a new person to our site with no knowledge of who this person is.

He developed a remarkable tool called the "MacKay 66" which was a checklist of 66 bits of information everyone of the salespeople who worked for him had to fill out about every buyer they called on.

The MacKay 66 had things like birthdates of not only the contact, but of his (they were mostly men in those days) wife and children. It also included things like what college the buyer attended or what his interests were.

But it was how MacKay and his people used this checklist that was so incredible. Not only did these buyers get birthday cards or calls, but so did his wife and children. If his alma mater was in the news, a newspaper clipping was mailed to him. If his team won (or lost) a big game, he got a clipping on that too.

MacKay's big lesson, of course, was not to just learn about a buyer per se, but about all your friends and business contacts. Keep up with them, send them useful information.

Modern Application: I have a client who is an avid deer hunter and outdoorsman. I realize now as I am writing this, that I ought to go into Goole Alerts and have emails sent to me about deer hunting every day. And I should especially have alerts sent to me about his industry and things that might interest him.

His wife absolutely loves horses and they own two of them. She rides in equestrian events all over. Why am I not sending her information about her interests as well?

Well obviously, I have work to do, so I need to get to it.

In the next article, we will explore this idea of integrating your online and offline social networking more.



NOT USING NON-SPAM EMAIL MARKETING FOR YOUR BUSINESS YET? Learn why email marketing is the easiest, most effective and most affordable way to get new clients. Download my free ebook and receive tips, ideas and case studies to help you get more new customers at http://www.trafficwave.net/lcp/chbrown/emailmarketing/6604.
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Note: This article originally appeared on my other blog, Dynamic Copywriting on June 11, 2008. But I thought it was even more timely today for professionals seeking new clients during a recession.

If you like this article, follow me on Twitter.

Let's face the facts. Even if the president doesn't want to use the "R" word, we are already well into a tough economy. That means it is going to be harder for professionals like doctors, lawyers, consultants, accountants and others to attract new clients or get more business from their existing clients.

However there are a few steps professionals can take to still get business coming in the door, regardless of the economy:

1. Create "bait" information pieces like ebooks, downloadable audio files or videos, white papers, tip sheets or other digital booklets that provide valuable, free information for prospective clients.
   
   These bait pieces are soft sell devices like, "8 Ways to Save on Property Taxes," "5 Ways to Avoid Getting Sued," or "How to Keep Your Children Well This Winter."
   
   But a hard sell piece like, "10 Reasons Good, Hailey and Knight Should Be Your Accounting Firm" is not a good bait piece.
   
   
2. Turn every advertisement into a direct response ad – even Yellow Page or directory ads.
   
   There are two types of advertisements, "awareness" ads and "direct response" ads. Awareness ads just tell prospects that you exist and if they have nothing better to do with their time, to give you a call.
   
   Direct response ads entice readers to take action, such as to call your office or visit your website in order to get your white paper or tip sheet. When you advertise this way, you can actually measure how effective the ad is and make changes along the way.
   
   
3. Build a list. When people respond to your direct respond ads, collect these "opt in" leads to build a list. This concept is called "Permission Marketing" (based on the book by that name written by Seth Godin). This list of people who have requested your free information may become your most valuable resource, so take good care of it.
   
   
4. Make your website a resource for people who are prospective and existing clients. Don't be afraid to give away free information, but create more white papers, tip sheets, checklists, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and case studies about some of your clients success stories.
   
   It may sound counter intuitive to give away free information, but you will find that it pays dividends. It gives visitors a reason to keep coming back to your site and it establishes your credibility as an expert in your field.
   

For those of us who sell our services and knowledge, a tough economy is a time to roll up our sleeves and work smarter. But if you do work smarter, use direct response advertising, build a list and create a website that your prospects view as a resource, you will be rewarded while your competitors tread water.

COPYRIGHT © 2008, Charles Brown
NOT USING NON-SPAM EMAIL MARKETING FOR YOUR BUSINESS YET? Learn why email marketing is the easiest, most effective and most affordable way to get new clients. Download my free ebook and receive tips, ideas and case studies to help you get more new customers at http://www.trafficwave.net/lcp/chbrown/emailmarketing/6604.
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