To The Next Level With Google Groups 2

To The Next Level With Google Groups 2

by: Jakob Jelling

If you haven’t visited the Google Labs lately, they have released a beta of Google Groups 2 that you may want to check out. This is Googleกs answer to Yahoo Groups, and theyกve added some new features to make their service more useful.

For those who don’t know, such groups allow anyone to easily and quickly start their own announcement lists and discussion forums. There is no need to install scripts or anything else on a web site, and no technical knowledge beyond email and posting to a discussion board is needed. If you want, you can use Google Groups to post to and read Usenet postings as well.

Of course, nothing is truly free, and Google Groups is no different. In exchange for making the technology available to host your group, Google displays relevant text ads on your groupกs home page on Google. ‘relevantก is determined by the content of your Google Group discussions. This is the same type of technology used by Google to display AdSense advertising on web sites and relevant text advertising on their free Gmail email service.

The process to create a group is fast and painless. Just create your groupกs name and email address, and invite your members to join. You are able to make your group either public or private, and Google has provided a new interface so that you can see your groupกs postings sorted any of several different ways. The Beta 2 Google Groups also features dynamic conversations, with both Usenet and mailing list postings created within 10 seconds, and indexed within 10 minutes from post.

Families, old college running buddies, online communities, and many others may find benefit in using Google Groups, and the Beta 2 release is worth a try.

By Jakob Jelling

http://www.sitetube.com

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

This article was posted on September 14, 2004

by Jakob Jelling

Software Promotion

Software Promotion

by: Sharon Housley

Software Announce

Creating amazing software is only half the battle. Telling the world about your software is the other half. With working capital, consider employing someone who specializes in software promotion. To work with an established reputable firm can esure success when marketing software. Two promotional companies that know the software industry, and can provide valuable marketing advice and insight are:

Shareware Promotions http://www.sharewarepromotions.com

Dr File Finder http://www.drff.com .

Outside of hiring professionals to market software, there are still a number of options for marketing software, in most cases, the only investment will be time.

1. Post Press Releases to Online Resources

If press releases or product announcements are sent out, consider posting the announcements to websites, there are a number that allow for press release posting free of charge. The releases on these sites are occasionally picked up by publications looking for information or filler content. Another side benefit to these listings is increased link popularity, which helps with search engine ranking. A list of sites that allow for press release posting can be found under กpress release postingก A number are available at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com/pressreleases.html

2. Post Announcement on Usenet

A number of Usenet groups allow for posting of announcements or press releases. Most of the announce groups in Usenet contain กann.ก in the domain address. To locate topic specific announce groups consider searching Newsguy.com. A list of common software announce groups are listed below.

comp.software.shareware.announce

fm.announce

3. Post to Forums

Forums also contain sections in which you can post announcements. If the application is niche product, consider searching for topic specific forums in addition to the general software announce forums listed below. Be sure to post any announcements in the appropriately marked กannounce forumก

http://www.smallbusinesssoftware.net/forum/

http://forum.mypdacafe.com

http://forums.digitalsea.com/

http://download.net/forums/index.php

http://www.developersforum.com/

http://v2.tlab404.com/forum

Topic specific software announce forums are also available, such as http://www.messagingsoftware.com/forum only messaging related announcements are welcome

4. Search Usenet

To determine if there are recent inquiries regarding related software or your products and to post appropriate responses search Googleกs Forum directory (by date): http://groups.google.com/

5. Present to Local User Groups

User groups are filled with technically savvy individuals who have an interest in technology and software. Consider attending and presenting software at a local user group meeting or a SIG (special interest group). The targeted audience will often share information, about software that impresses them, with friends or other user groups. To find local user groups search the database located on the Association of Professional User Group (APCUG) website at http://www.apcug.org or post an inquiry to the user group forum on http://www.smallbusinesssoftware.net/forum/

6. Partner with Other Developers

Consider a developer newsletter exchange. Complimentary products often do well when presented properly. Provide a discount or affiliate exchange to sweeten the offer of a mention.

The extra effort expended to make potential customers aware of products can go a long way to ensure the success of a well designed application.

About The Author

Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.smallbusinesssoftware.net

This article was posted on April 20, 2004

by Sharon Housley

Guaranteed Ways to Build Up Your Ezine List

Guaranteed Ways to Build Up Your Ezine List

by: Suzanne FalterBarns

Want your ezine list to catch fire and really start to fill up? Jenna Glatzer took her own list from the hundreds all the way to 75,000 in 7 years by simple, steady marketing, and using many of these techniques. (Jenna bought only 4000 optin names along the way.) Here are some tips we provided, and some Iกve pulled from my own experience, building my list for The Joy Letter to 17,000 over five years.

Free Stuff. Pick genuinely useful free stuff that you know your audience wants and needs. For instance, my brand new ezine, Expert Status, attracted 600 readers in just a few weeks by offering a report, ก25 Top Self Help Literary Agentsก. The practical freebie works. Jenna Glatzer offers two free ebooks/reports to subscribers on agents who are receptive to new writers, and on writerกs markets. She notes: กBefore I did that, my subscriber numbers were in the hundreds, not thousands.

Put a subscribe box on every page of the site. This has worked for both Jenna and me. Mine is parked in the left hand column of the site. Experts advise putting a simple sign up box (with freebie mentioned) in the top left hand corner, as thatกs where the eye naturally travels first. A simple sign up box that requests only email address works best.

Ad swaps. Exchange plugs for your ezine with another website, to run in each otherกs ezines. Be sure to mention those freebies! Doing this on a regular basis with a rotating selection of web partners will keep your subscription page busy.

Crossregistration. Iกve found subscribers by having a plug for my ezine on the thank you page of a comparable (but not directly competitive) website. This offer is made to folks who just signed up for an ezine, and are therefore deemed กin the mood for more.ก Offer a swap with your site, and try not to list more than about two other ezines. Also, make a point of including only really good, reliable publications that reach your target market.

Give away a bonus for other sites to use, based on your ezine. A popular web marketing technique is the special one or twoday promo that offers big bonus lists when you buy a certain product on those particular days. (I cover this promo technique in more detail in my ebook/binder, Get Known Now; How to Build Your Platform as a Self Help Expert.) So collect some of your best ezine essays, pack กem up in a downloadable PDFbased ebook, and offer it as a bonus these sites can use in their special promos. Don’t forget juicy descriptive copy about your ezine, and a subscribe link at the end of your ebook. Iกve gotten hundreds of new readers this way, and much traffic to my site.

Announce ezine กeventsก on PRweb.com and other PR sites. Thereกs an entire world of webbased press release distribution services out there, some of which are low cost or even free. So use them. But be sure to only plant press releases that are truly newsworthy, and thus likely to get press attention. Even if the media don’t use your words this time, theyกll hopefully file you as an expert for future use.

Use discussion boards or groups. These are sites frequented by gangs of people interested in the same thing. Avoid the unmoderated sites, because they’re likely to be spam targets that generate little bonafide traffic. Boards found on member sites are the best. Don’t spam the board with your subscribe message. Instead, offer some genuinely helpful info. Then sign off with a signature line that includes ezine and subscribe info. You can find some of these groups at groups.yahoo.com, topica.com, maillist.com, and listfool.com for starters.

Sponsor other peopleกs contests. Jenna Glatzer gives away products like her paid newsletter, Absolute Markets Premium Newsletter, to writersก groups, contests, and conferences that request it, regardless of size. Iกve tried this too, to good effect. Simply run an announcement in your ezine that youกd be happy to sponsor comparable events. Ask them to provide a URL for an event description so you know itกs legit. Then offer up your gifts, and ask for a plug for your ezine and for them to talk up your dazzling freebie, as well. Jenna notes that groups she sponsors กoften send out ads for us to their lists … just as a thank you.ก

Run quality content. Thereกs no substitute for heartfelt writing plus solid information about a subject that matters. Jenna writes: ‘the main reason our list stays so big is our กletter from the editorก … Each week, I chronicle my writing life and my triumphs and failures … when an article is killed, when Iกm having trouble finishing a book … And I share personal things, too, like when my grandfather died…. People write: ก I feel like I know you so well.ก And I think thatกs why they stay on the list, even when their mailbox fills up with dozens of other writerกs newsletters.

Allow reprints. Allow any newsletter that wants to reprint your articles do so. I like to have an email requesting permission, so I can enter their info into a big database I use to track where I can send more articles in the future. I end each article with the line: You may reprint this article in your own ezine or website. Simply send an email requesting permission to EMAIL ADDRESS. Please be sure to include our full bio box at the end.

Create a survey or contest. This would be one of those newsworthy กezine eventsก I mentioned above in point # 6. Make it a fun, relevant question that you could really develop a good, newsy story from. I did a survey asking people what they fought with their spouse/partner/boy or girlfriend about. The results made for the kind of reading offline media enjoy running short, 100word pieces about (fillers.) I made sure to attribute the survey to my ezine, The Joy Letter, with a mention of the siteกs basic URL. You can get the technology to run your own survey and collect responses at surveymonkey.com (for a fee) or bravenet.com (for free.)

I think I could actually go on and on here. The possibilities seem to be endless. If you try even half of these techniques on a regular basis, youกll find your subscriber rates double and even triple. Hereกs to building your list … the foundation that much of your traffic and success rely on.

About The Author

Suzanne FalterBarnsก website at getknownnow.com offers tips and tools that help you build your platform and get known as an expert in your field. Sign up for her free ezine, Expert Status, and receive her free report, ก25 Top Self Help Literary Agents.ก

To reprint this article, please use with this bio box in tact. Thanks! ©2005 Suzanne FalterBarns LLC.

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 04

by Suzanne FalterBarns

Three Ways to Get More Referrals

Three Ways to Get More Referrals

by: Jay Conners

When you are in the business of sales, among the many key ingredients to your success is receiving referrals from as many sources as possible.

Wouldn’t it be nice if every morning you walked into your office and had a referral sitting there waiting for you on your desk?

Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way, but here are few suggestions that should help steer some referrals your way.

1. Referral Groups

There are many referral groups out there for you to choose from. The premise of a referral group is first and foremost to receive and give referrals.

It works something like this;

Once a week your referral group meets at a designated spot for breakfast or lunch, and the meeting typically lasts for an hour to an hour and a half.

These groups normally don’t allow for any kind of conflict between industries, so you will most likely be the only one representing your industry. For instance there is only one banker, one printer, one loan officer, etc., etc.

In the beginning you spend some time catching up and exchanging business cards. As you are eating, each person is given a minute or two to take the floor and talk about themselves and the company that they work for, and give the group an idea of what a good referral would be for them.

Personally, I have been involved with these groups in the past and find them to work extremely well. One of the more popular ones is Business Networking International (BNI). You can find a local chapter on the web.

Look at it from this point of view, if your group has twentyfive people in it, than consider it a sales force working for you. Don’t forget, you are required to give referrals also.

2. Chambers of Commerce

Every city, town, or county has a Chamber of Commerce. They are not hard to find, and they are fairly simple to join. You can easily find your local chapter on the web or in the yellow pages. They also advertise in local business directories and news papers.

The chamber is a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere. They meet once a week usually with a luncheon at a local restaurant. The first half hour is a network and business card exchange, followed by lunch with announcements about upcoming events, and a guest speaker.

Before hand, tables are provided to display your literature and props, and be on hand to discuss your business.

Chambers also hold annual events that you can participate in. Their events are normally held in the form of business expositions where you can rent a booth to display and sell your products.

Chambers normally have a lot of members depending upon the location, so you will probably find yourself competing for business with other people in your industry.

I continue to be involved with my local chamber, and have found it to be very beneficial to my career. I have found these organizations great for meeting people as well.

Keep in mind, these organizations come with very reasonable annual fees’, so make sure it fits your budget.

3.Giving Referrals

Perhaps one of the best ways to get referrals is to give referrals. If you give someone a referral and it works out for them, they will love you and remember you forever. And in turn, send referrals back your way.

I have to say, throughout my career, I found this to be one very effective way to get referrals. You might want to consider teaming up with someone with a similar job in your industry. For instance, if you are a loan officer, team up with a realtor, or if you are a home inspector, you might team up with an appraiser.

These are three very effective ways to keep those referrals coming your way. They have worked for me, and I have found them to be a nice way to break up my week, and build relationships with other business people in my community. Give it a shot. You won’t be disappointed. Good luck!

About The Author

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of http://www.jconners.com, a mortgage resource site, he is also the owner of http://www.callprospect.com, a mortgage lead company.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 31

by Jay Conners

Harvesting Leads from Yahoo Groups

Harvesting Leads from Yahoo Groups

by: Isaiah Hull

If you own an internet business or you’re involved in an affliate program and you’re having trouble getting traffic to your website or gateway, consider Yahoo Groups as an option to expand your visibility. You can sign up for dozens of these groups tonightsome which have subscriber bases of over 10,000 peopleand then submit your ad to them immediately.

Before you begin, youกll need to determine what approach you’re going to take for this. There are two ways to generate traffic through Yahoo Groups: 1) by submitting your ad to groups that are specifically looking for ADS; or 2) by providing a free service, such as a business advice article, a free ebook, or anything else you can think of that might help someone in you shoes and then adding your resource box at the bottom, giving a link to your website or product. I personally would suggest doing both if you want to get the best results. There aren’t that many groups that allow shameless promotions and the ones that do are generally saturated with them.

Your next step is to get a texteditor/writing program that allows you to format your documents by charactersperline (I would suggest getting the free trial version of textpad http://www.textpad.com). Once you have this texteditor setup, type or copyand paste your ad, article, or whatever else you’re going to use into the texteditor and then format it for 55 charactersperline (most submission forms require you to use 5560 charactersperline; if you do not, theyกll reject your submission outright).

Once you have done this, youกll want to sign up for a Yahoo email account if you do not have one already. This is free and you can do it easily by going to Yahoo.com and filling in your information.

Next youกll want to head to http://groups.yahoo.com, where youกll find a directory of Yahoo Groups. You will want to find groups that coincide with whatever product or service you are selling. For instance, I sell marketing and businessbuilding tools. When I go to Yahoo Groups, I go to Business & Finance and then to Marketing.

You should have a pretty good selection for whatever you plan to market. There are hundreds of groups andas I mentioned earliersome of them have over 10,000 members currently. Sign up for as many of these groups as possible.

Just click on the group. Click to sign up and then fill in your information. Make sure you have all of the boxes filled in and then submit the form. For most of the groups, you will receive an email in your inbox immediately. Others will take a few days.

Your next step is to read all of the new emails in your inbox. Check out the rules list for all of the new groups you just signed up for. Make sure your article, service, or whatever you’re posting conforms to all of the rules. Now go back to your groups. You should see a list of groups you’re in with กPostก next to the group name. Begin posting it to each individual group, making sure you follow the rules. Also make sure it includes your resource box.

Now you wait. The submission process can take a while. Most posts have to be manually reviewed by group editors/moderators, while others will go up immediately. Sometimes youกll receive a letter from the editor, saying whether it was posted or rejected and sometimes you wont. Once you start receving the submission responses, that means people can now read your article or ad.

Congratulations you just advertised to an ENORMOUS group of targeted potential leads for no cost whatsoever.

Now sit back, relax, and watch the hits accumulate on your website.

You may use this article for reprint if it remains unaltered and includes the author information and resource box. Isaiah Hull

About The Author

Isaiah Hull publishes Work At Home Right Now, a fresh and informative newsletter about making money on the internet and using proven methods to increase your site’s traffic and profitability. If you’re looking for timesaving and moneysaving tools, as well as honest business advice, come by and subscribe at http://www.workathomerightnow.net

This article was posted on August 20, 2004

by Isaiah Hull

Google Groups

Google Groups

by: Jakob Jelling

Some very early users of the Internet not the worldwide web as we know it today but the Internet from the early 1980s, will have heard of, and likely used, Usenet. This was the collective name applied to textbased electronic bulletin boards that were used to communicate in the days before the web and email existed, and that are still in use today. The Usenet posts were first collected and organized for worldwide web use in 1995, by a company called Deja News. In 2001, Google bought Deja News and applied their considerable search expertise to Usenet posts. The result is Google Groups.

There are well over 30,000 Google Groups today. These are hosted on servers all over the world, and Google Groups provides a browserbased interface to them, as well as creating searchable archives. From a very clean interface, users may search any of the various subsections of Google Groups. In the same way a clothing web site may be divided into sections for menกs, womenกs, and childrenกs wear, Usenet is divided into sections such as biz (business related), comp (computer related), humanities (art, literature related), and so on. From there, subsections may be divided into more specialized subtopics where necessary.

Sadly, many Google Groups are now spammer hangouts more than anything else. Widely available web access and programs that can automatically post to thousands of newsgroups in just a short while have destroyed much of the original spirit and usefulness of the Usenet groups. And parents need to know that on some sections of Usenet there are some very inappropriate topics that have been started over the years, so they should exercise due caution in protecting their children from those sections.

For those who don’t mind a bit of digging through the virtual trash can, there are still many, many useful and active Google Groups, full of friendly, helpful people, so be sure to check out this oftenoverlooked resource.

By Jakob Jelling

http://www.sitetube.com

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

This article was posted on September 29, 2004

by Jakob Jelling

How to Use Public Speaking to Attract Clients

How to Use Public Speaking to Attract Clients

by: Steven Van Yoder

When Robert Middleton moved his marketing consulting practice, Action Plan Marketing, to Palo Alto, California several years ago, he started his business from scratch. He had left his wellestablished client base several miles away and now had to find strategies to generate new clients.

Because Middleton had always spoken to promote his business, he turned to public speaking with a vengeance. He researched local organizations whose members comprised professional business owners, his target clientele. He called chambers of commerce, business groups and others likely to be interested in his threehour marketing workshop.

Within a few months, Middleton had spoken at over a dozen organizations, establishing his reputation as a marketing expert for professional service firms. He quickly became a known entity, having personally introduced his business and credentials to hundreds of prospects.

Better yet, Middletonกs speaking strategy helped him land all the business he could handle in a relatively short time period.

Over the course of sixteen talks, he averaged one new client each time. Today, the seminars he conducts at business groups and, increasingly, teleconferences promoted through his web site generate more than 50 percent of his business.

Speaking Is Selling

Many business people never consider standing in the front of their buying public to share professional wisdom. If you’re one of them, you’re missing the boat.

Speaking is a marketing strategy you can immediately embrace to get in front of potential customers. Speaking puts you within handshaking distance of your best prospects, many times helping you close sales before you leave the room.

By speaking regularly you can end the uncertainty of knowing where your next client will come from. Speaking can help you reach dozens, and sometimes hundreds of your best prospects every time. Speakers report that speaking regularly continuously fills their prospect pipelines, ensuring a steady stream of new clients and customers.

Speaking is effective because it showcases your knowledge before groups of people who eagerly show up to hear it. Your prospects may tune out advertising, but theyกll pay attention to your talk because it presents your knowledge in polished form to people who think it will help them.

Speaking gives you tremendous visibility and credibility that increases over time. Whenever you are in the front of a room, you get noticed. People will remember who you are and what your business does. The more people see you speak and see your business name, the more successful people think you are.

Speaking gives prospects a taste of what you offer in a nonthreatening environment. When they are in a room full of people, they feel comfortable. Thereกs safety in numbers. They do not feel the sales pressure of a oneonone meeting. Itกs also low risk, as chances are, they didn’t pay as much to hear you speak as it would cost to hire you.

Get On The Program

You don’t have to be a seasoned speaker to put speaking to work for your business. If you’re willing to speak for free, youกll find that there are more outlets available than youกll know what to do with.

กIf you can get up there and do a decent job you will immediately position yourself as an expert in the minds of an audience,ก says business coach, author and professional speaker Caterina Rando. กYou only have to be กdecentก to make an impact. Even though speaking can be scary at first, anybody can find groups to speak to and master the basics of giving a good speech.ก

Choose the right topics

Before you contact an organization about speaking, create sample talk descriptions with catchy titles. For example, a financial planner could avoid generic descriptions like กPlanning Your Retirement,ก and use a more snappy title like กEnjoying Your Gold Years On A Champagne Budgetก.

Targeting speaking opportunities

Once you are clear about your topic and its benefit to the audience, make some calls and offer yourself as a speaker. Here are ideas of where to look for a free podium. Many of these groups need speakers all the time.

Chambers of Commerce

Service Clubs

Industry Specific Associations

University Extensions

Professional Associations

Getting the most out of your speech

The promotional value of your talks goes beyond your time on the podium. Often, when you speak to a group, the group publicizes the event. Many people who do not attend the event will still read the information, or will hear about you from other attendees, and may give you a call.

Consistency is the big thing. Getting out there and speaking on a regular basis keeps your pipeline full of prospects. When you’re done, put a follow up mechanism in place, even if itกs a simple mailing or newsletter. If you keep in contact with people whoกve heard you speak, you get more longterm leverage from your efforts.

About The Author

Steven Van Yoder is the author of Get Slightly Famous (tm.). He teaches small business owners how to attract more business with less effort by becoming a minicelebrity in your field. Visit www.getslightlyfamous.com to claim your FREE Slightly Famous Marketing Plan Workbook.

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 15, 2004

by Steven Van Yoder

Why Slicing and Dicing Your Customer List Can Give

Why Slicing and Dicing Your Customer List Can Give Your Customers The Most Targeted Message Ever!

by: Nick James

Have you ever received a sales letter or marketing piece that didn’t speak to you at all?

What about receiving a communication that addressed you as กmadamก, when in fact you are a chap? (… and vice versa)

One of the biggest secrets of getting a better response and a higher ROI (Return On Investment) for your marketing messages is to ensure you กBEST FITก the communication to the differing segments within your list.

Say if youกve 500 people in your customer list, 25% of them happen to be women, would you necessarily send out the SAME marketing piece to EVERYONE on the list?

Most marketers of products and services… DO EXACTLY THAT! … BIG MISTAKE…

Breaking a list into its various segments, subsegments, splinter groups, and carefully targeting the message to each of those groups will ensure that everyone is spoken to… specifically and… personally.

Letกs say that 35% of your list is politically aware and have an affiliation to one or other of the particular parties.

Having a กdigก at the opposition party in the mailing, website, promotion, etc, will more likely keep your people locked in and attentive to what you have to say, than if you didn’t include that piece of vital information.

Of course, be sure NOT to send the same mailing piece to everyone on your list!

What are the other important characteristics of a customer group, that could then be split from the whole and separate marketing messages sent to perfectly matched to their desires?

How about breaking the list into:

Gender

Income of Customer

Geography (Country, Postcode etc.)

Amount a Customer Spends (top buyers, inner circle etc.)

Age

Ethnicity

Most Burning Concerns and Fears

The vital question to take from this article is to ask yourself… กHow Best Can I Divide Up My Own Customers So I Can Communicate To Those Specific Groups With More Targeted Messagesก.

Happy Slicing and Dicing.

Copyright 2005 Nick James

About The Author

Nick James is a UK based direct marketer and product developer. During the last 3 years Nick has sold in excess of £1 Million of products and sevices. Subscribe to his Free Tip Of The Week at: www.NickJames.com New Product: www.FlashAudioWizard.com.

This article was posted on March 03

by Nick James

The Power of Buzz

The Power of Buzz

by: Susan Friedmann, CSP

How did Hotmail gain over 12 million subscribers in 18 months? How did the very low budget movie ขThe Blair Witch Projectข become such an incredibly successful phenomenon? The answer lies in the power of ขbuzz.ข

Buzz or wordofmouth marketing influences more people to buy, or not to buy products and services, than most other forms of marketing. Why is it so powerful? Basically, we have a need to share information as a means of communication and also as a way of understanding the world around us. Often, we base many of our purchasing decisions on information gleaned from friends and wellrespected associates. We tend to listen to them more readily then most massmedia messages.

In his book ขThe Anatomy of Buzz,ข Emanuel Rosen states, ขmost marketing today ignores the power of buzz and tries to influence each customer individually.ข He believes that ขbuzz travels through invisible networks that link people together. Noise, skepticism and connectivity all influence today’s buzz.ข

As exhibitors you need go no further than the tradeshow floor to find a network that creates a real buzz. It starts prior to the show, gathers momentum at the show, and then slowly dissipates after the show ends. Every exhibitor has the power to influence the buzz. It all depends on product/service quality, marketing savvy and the decisions made.

I recall visiting a telecommunications show a couple of years ago when the buzz on the show floor concerned a Fortune 100 company and major player in the industry, (who shall remain nameless). The talk centered around the image of their booth which wasn’t quite up to expectations. The buzz went like this: ขThe ABC Company has gone cheap. They must be having financial problems.ข It’s gossip like this that starts the wheels of the ขrumor millข turning and can even create havoc on the Stock Market. Remarks like this often have very little bearing on reality, but people make assumptions and decisions based on what they see and hear. Obviously, the originating source of the buzz plays a key role in its basis for truth.

I’m sure that you would much prefer any tradeshow buzz to be positive. Since talking about products/services makes economic sense, how can you use the buzz to add to your existing marketing efforts? I’ve put together ten guidelines for you to consider:

1. Brainstorm all possible groups of people who might be interested in your products/services. Consider including the media, opinion leaders, influencers, lead users, politicians, analysts, etc. Don’t forget chat rooms and newsgroups although buzz still spreads primarily by personal interaction.

2. Research how information spreads among your customers. Ask them how they usually learn about new products/services. Who are their major information sources? Who’s information do they value? You’re primarily looking for groups of people rather than individuals. However, don’t discount individuals, as they may well be a powerful opinion leader.

3. Develop a clear and concise message highlighting the product/service benefits you want to filter through these different groups. Zero in on your product’s uniqueness and what it can do, for example, to help save time and money – two basic elements most people seek.

4. Think about ways to tap into these groups to spread the word about your products/services. Use these in addition to your existing marketing efforts. Never rely on just one means of connecting with you target audience. Your credibility is enhanced through different marketing mediums. For example, exhibit marketing could include preshow advertising, atshow sponsorship and postshow, a trade publication article. The more ways people can hear and see you the better.

5. Offer prospects easy ways to try your product/service. For example, the makers of Pictionary gave demos in parks, shopping centers and other gathering places. The tradeshow floor presents excellent opportunities for this.

6. Come up with other creative ideas to enhance tradeshow show demonstrations. What can you give people to take away to remind them of your company, products and positive show experience. Think about something that will help create the buzz. It’ll have to be more creative than a keychain or stress ball. The more productrelated the better. You want people to remember and talk about you – positively!

7. Look at special groups whom you might offer a product discount, a loaner or even for free. You’re looking for groups/individuals where the direct product experience will help spread the word. For example, when FedEx started out, it offered free shipping to show people how their program worked. America Online continuously finds ways to offer hundreds of free hours of trial usage to entice new users. I recently saw a display of free CDs at WalMart.

8. Use press conferences for major announcements, new product introductions, but only if they are truly new or improved, or general industry trends what’s hot and what’s not. Realize that editors are interested in timely newsworthy information; industry trends, statistics, new technology or product information. The media get very upset attending a press conference which is poorly organized and where there’s nothing newsworthy.

9. Use sneak previews at tradeshows to build anticipation and help create a buzz on the show floor. Give people a fun experience and a behind the scenes view of what’s coming. TV and the movies have got this down to a fine art with their coming attractions. Siemens just did this extremely successfully at the recent CTIA show in Las Vegas. They organized a live marketing presentation with a futuristic theme that featured a digital phone prototype. They certainly created a buzz, which had people, including myself inquiring about the product’s availability.

10. Make use of tradeshows to educate your target audience. People are hungry for information. Investigate opportunities to speak either during the workshop sessions or incorporate an educational session into your display.

The power of buzz far exceeds many conventional marketing vehicles. It is probably the oldest, most wellused and valuable one out there. Look at how you can make it an integral part of your existing marketing plan to influence the voices in your industry.

About The Author

Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: ขMeeting & Event Planning for Dummies,ข working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. Go to http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com to sign up for a free copy of ExhibitSmart Tips of the Week.

This article was posted on September 12, 2004

by Susan Friedmann, CSP

Being Part Of Groups

Being Part Of Groups

by: Richard Lowe, Jr.

There are many different ways to have fun and socialize on the internet. One of the most fulfilling things that you can do is join one of the many social groups that exist.
What is an internet social group? These are a whole bunch of people who share their experiences, thoughts and beliefs over the internet. Usually they are united by a common theme or cause (or many causes). Sometimes these themes are as simple as "friendship" or "internet addiction", but they can also be united by a desire to recruit Christians, deliver a message or protest a wrong.
Some examples of groups are Random Acts Of Kindness, Miskerกs Denizens, Garden of Friendship and Hearts Of Gold. Other groups include Kindred Spirits, Inner Dreams, Web Addicts, Net Dudes and so on.
Generally, a group is started by one or a small group of "founders". The founders lay out the rules and create a basic website, then recruit charter members, who then recruit additional members. Ideally, what you wind up with is a focused, motivated group who performs the duties and tasks required for group membership.
Being part of an internet social group means more than just putting a link or webring fragment on a web site. It means more than joining an Egroup list and reading the messages that people send. And it certainly means more than a nice looking graphics.
Each group has a set of bylaws (rules and regulations) and most have a creed, which is the mission statement describing what the group is supposed to accomplish. For example, Random Acts Of Kindness exists to do exactly what the name implies: deliver acts of kindness to people. This could consist of guestbook signings, articles, giving stationary or gifts, or any number of other small, thoughtful things to do.
Usually a group has committees and you have the option of joining one or more. Being in a committee has more responsibilities than just being a member. For example, if you are on the Welcoming Committee, you will be expected to sign new members guestbooks with welcome messages, or if you are on the newsletter committee you will be writing articles and contributing materials.
The main point of all of this is to get people to be active in one way or another to the group. Itกs fine and dandy to have a thousand members, but if only ten of them are actually doing anything … itกs really not a very useful thing.
Presumably you join a group for a reason. Perhaps you like the people, you want someone to communicate with or you like signing guestbooks. Perhaps you want to contribute to the causes that the group supports.
Well, then please contribute. This is actually very important to the survival of a group. People need to put in effort. They will find that effort magnified many times. Thatกs the beauty of these groups! If everyone does just a little bit every day or once a week or whatever, then itกs magnified by the number of people in the group. You get each person in a hundred member group to sign one guestbook per day randomly, thatกs 100 guestbooks per day, or over 36,500 per year! Thatกs a lot of guestbooks!
Thatกs the idea. Figure out how you can contribute, then do so. Personally, Iกve joined half a dozen of these groups. I write an article a day and send it to each of them. Why? Because I can help a number of people that I like with their common internet questions and concerns. I can contribute in a very positive way.
Other people choose to contribute differently. Letกs say you are on the graphics committee, then contribute a couple of graphics a week at least. On the welcoming committee? Sign a dozen guestbooks each Saturday. Just a plain old member and not on any committees? Then pick something that the group needs, perhaps a different thing each week, and contribute it.
Don’t have the time to do anything? Then I have a tough question for you why are you a member of the group? I mean, why join something that you don’t want to give anything to? Take a look at it even if you can only do ten minutes of something per week you can at least sign a guestbook or two. Just visit one site of a group member per week, look it over, and sign their guestbook with a short, nice comment. That alone will help brighten someoneกs day!

About The Author

Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: http://www.internettips.net
Weekly newsletter: http://www.internettips.net/joinlist.htm
Claudia ArevaloLowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com

This article was posted on January 16, 2002

by Richard Lowe, Jr.

Email Etiquette II

Email Etiquette II

by: Kathie M. Thomas

I had great feedback from my last article, and was asked to write further on the subject; hence my title.

This month Iกll share on Email Etiquette in discussion groups. For those who are not yet aware, on the Internet there are hundreds of thousands of discussion groups available in any topic imaginable. The most popular group systems used are YahooGroups.com, Topica.com and SmartGroups.com but there are others. Some web owners set up their own private groups too, via their website.

The idea behind these groups is that someone starts up or moderates a topic and people become members (at no cost) if they are interested. Some of these groups have closed memberships, i.e. you have to be involved in whatever that group is about and outsiders cannot join, whilst other groups are open to all and sundry.

With the whole world being open to membership for these groups cultural differences need to be considered and it is possible to easily upset a member and suddenly you have a heated argument with many others getting involved and the original meaning and context completely shoved aside! Iกve seen this happen in groups and itกs a shame, as it often just takes a little thought and consideration to realise that perhaps the writer didn’t fully understand the language, or hadn’t actually meant what may have sounded rather rude. There have been times when someone has written something I thought was offensive or wrong and rather than emailing back to the list via the group email address, I have chosen to email the writer direct instead. A much better way to handle a misunderstanding.

A good rule when handling/writing email for group discussions read through it first and then check which address it is going to, before clicking กSendก.

The suggestion last month about using signature blocks really applies in this situation how will people know who you are, or where you come from if you only sign off as กKathieก?

Another suggestion trim the message before sending it back to the group. What I mean by this is do not leave all the original discussion and replies at the tail end as this is unnecessary and makes it inconvenient for those who have chosen to receive a daily digest of messages (they keep reading the same things over and over otherwise) and difficult for those who are on limited bandwidth for email. But don’t delete the whole previous message if you are responding to something, or adding to the discussion. There are often multiple discussions going on and it could prove difficult for the reader to understand what you’re saying, and in what context, if the whole previous message is deleted from your response. I have at times read something posted to a group and thought กhuh?ก There is a happy medium here.

Discussion groups give you an opportunity to learn from others and share ideas, but more than that, it allows you to make friends on a global scale, and then the world really does seem to become smaller. And, if you are really knowledgeable in your field, it also helps enforce this to others and before you know it, you become a respected member that others seek to learn from and perhaps be mentored by. What a privilege that can be!

One word of warning belonging to multiple groups can become time consuming and addictive! You could find yourself spending more time reading and responding to messages than getting your work done. So, if you work virtually like I, and my team do, that can become a real danger to your business. As in all things, moderation is the key, and you stand to learn many things and make lots of friends.

About The Author

Article reprinted by permission Kathie M. Thomas, Founder กA Claytonกs Secretaryก. Kathie is a multiple award winner in her industry as a Secretary and Virtual Business Operator, and has 30 yearsก experience in the secretarial/ administrative field. www.asecretary.com.au

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 09, 2004

by Kathie M. Thomas

How to Build Your Party Plan Business Online

How to Build Your Party Plan Business Online

by: Jeanine Byers

Are you like me?

You’ve joined a party plan business but you’d really like to build it online? If you’d rather concentrate most of your efforts on the Internet, there are a lot of resources available and strategies that will help you succeed.

Here are some ways to automate meeting your monthly minimum purchase requirements, finding partners to join you in the business and attracting customers to your website…

(1) Use online parties to build your businessthis is a great way to invite people from all over the country. Here are a few tips for a successful online party…

Set a date and invite your guests, but leave enough time to send each one a catalog and a couple of email reminders.

Plan some games that they can do online by exploring the corporate website or your own personalized one. Customers can race each other to find out whether or not you have a cucumber melon shower gel or how many different gourmet soups you offer. You can even offer a prize to the person who answers the most questions right.

Here is a website that offers free online parties… http://networkwahms.com

(2) Join groups or clubs to take care of monthly minimums. These are groups where consultants agree to buy from each other to help each other build their businesses.

Some switch months and everyone buys from the ขconsultant of the monthข, and some are designed so that each person has her own group of people buying from her each month.

Here is one example… http://hometown.aol.com/shopperscorners/

(3) Join coops or leads groups to build your team onlinenetworking groups can work really well offline and now, this same principle is being used online.

These coops are created so that when someone comes into the system, she indicates what she is looking for and gets referred to the appropriate person in the coop.

For more information on referral coops, go to http://tinyurl.com/6dguh

(4) Generate curiosity and provide information to bring more people to your website. One great way to attract people to your website is to create online quizzes that makes them curious about the results. You capture their email addresses, send them the results and make recommendations based on them.

For example, if you sell skin care and cosmetics, you could create a quiz that helps them identify what their skin type is. Then, you can recommend the appropriate skin care system. You can even offer a free consultation, in case they have any questions.

If you’re interested in quizmaking software that is reasonably priced, try the Assessment Generator, at http://www.profcs.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=176939&u=www.assessmentgenerator.com

Another good way to get your name out there and bring people to your website is to write articles. You can make them related to your business, or not.

Similar subjects that support using your products may help, but you’ll be putting contact information at the end of whatever you write, and as long as they like it, and find it helpful, they’ll want to know more about you and what you do.

Here are a couple of websites that accept article submissions (find more by doing a search on Yahoo or Google)…

http://www.ideamarketers.com

http://www.wahmarticles.com

About The Author

Jeanine Byers is an elemental home style consultant and a certified healing coach who helps women create homes for their souls. Take her elemental home style assessment and sign up for her free 7day ecourse so that you can create a warm, welcoming, nurturing sanctuary and retreat. Go to http://www.createsanctuary.com

She is also a founding presenter with Northern Lights at Home, building her business online with the methods described above. Visit that website at http://www.candleconsultant.biz

Reprint with Resource Box intact

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 25, 2004

by Jeanine Byers