This is a fabulous resource if you have a simple or temporary need for a website!
Excerpts from How TED Changed Business Communication Forever
by Nancy Duarte 1. Audiences have someone to compare you to: It used to be that most people sucked at presenting. So if you sucked too, you were rarely called on it because so many people were just like you. But now, with TED talks, people have something to compare you to. If even the geekiest scientist can mesmerize you with her ideas on the TED stage, people start to realize that it’s no longer OK to be boring. Today, if you suck, it will hurt your brand. 2. Audiences won’t sit still and take it anymore: Audiences have more distinguished tastes. If you do suck at a conference, people will get up and leave right during your talk. Audiences who used to suffer quietly, now use social media backchannels to see what their neighbors think of you. In the worst cases, people can use social media to revolt and cause walk outs. You can compensate for a bad talk by keeping it short. An audience can endure a bad, short talk better than a bad, long talk, but they still won’t like it. 3. Audiences are used to shorter media: We’ve quickly become a culture that prefers information in short bursts. The popularity of social media, blog posts, and the thirty-minute sitcom are proof of that. If you have an hour to present, do not use the entire hour for a one-way diatribe. Mix it up with different speakers, vary the media types, introduce interaction, and save time for Q&As. The 18-minute TED talk length has proven that getting a great idea out succinctly--even if it’s somewhat complicated—creates greater traction than diluting your talk with a bunch of detail. 4. Audiences can tell if you invested time in them: The quality of your talk is directly proportionate to the amount of time you spent on it. People are crazy busy. If you ask the audience to give you an hour of their time then ramble, meander and bore them, they feel like you didn’t care enough about them (or your idea) to prepare. When the presentation is high-stakes, you can’t afford NOT to invest the time. You need to treat their time as precious. There’s a real trick to fitting within a tight time slot. It takes a lot of work, but the payoff is worth it. 5. Audiences will spread great ideas: When you make the sacrifice to do a presentation well, the reward is that your ideas will spread, get adopted and create great change. The sheer volume of views on TED.com is proof of this reward. Even in organizations, the people who present well are the ones who get their ideas adopted, funded or purchased. Read full article online . . . Excerpts from IF YOU CAN SOLVE THIS EQUATION, YOU'RE READY TO BUILD YOUR BRAND
by Hunter Thurman Imagine it’s 8th-grade homeroom: the bell rings, and you take your seat. Written on the board is the following: X + Y + Z = $ ENTER THE INNOVATION EQUATION There are three factors--X, Y, and Z--to account for in order to drive brand innovation. They aren’t easy to obtain, but they certainly are simple. And it all starts with assigning a constant. X--Is the AUDIENCE your constant? Do you know your audience? Can you describe them like you would a friend? Can you explain their tastes, fears, likes, dislikes, and characteristics? Or, do you at least know about them? Can you explain how old they are, where they shop, in which type of community they reside? For example, if you know them, you may be working from a fresh segmentation study that really puts a face on a given consumer group. If you know about them, you may be interested in growing your brand’s market share with Millennials. Either is a suitable constant from which to work. Y--Is the FELT NEED your constant? This territory becomes a bit more nuanced, but the simple summary of it falls within the following two questions:
For example, it’s easy to observe that people need energy. It’s also easy to observe that energy drinks are not scarce. So, you may observe that people need energy in a way that won’t leave them feeling jittery. Alright, now you probably have a constant from which to work. You can now set about identifying who most needs this, and how you’ll uniquely deliver it. Z--Is Design DNA your constant? A great example of this is when the R&D team shows up with a new, patent-pending technology. Now you have the Design DNA--the capability--as your constant, and your job becomes determining who needs it, and which felt needs it solves. Any of these three are viable constants and a surefire way to lead your teams beyond the churn that often comes with big brand innovation. Simply identifying your constant will not only ensure you create substantive innovation platforms, but that you lead your team towards growth with the best, most competitive foot forward. Read full article online . . .
What is your marketing message? In a nutshell, it's your sales pitch. I work with some basic 'rules of thumb' in helping folks develop their marketing message. TIP! It's all about THEM vs YOU. Your marketing message should answer 4 simple questions:
Your Sales Pitch Sucks! and what you can do about it. The folks at Blue Lobster say it so well in their SlideShare presentation. Great graphics, simple, easy to read. It's worth a moment to 'click and read'. In order for your campaign to really cut through the noise,
you need to know what your customer wants--not what you want. Often, businesses market themselves without the prospect in mind. But successful marketers align all their marketing efforts with a prospect narrative. Creating a prospect narrative is an easy and powerful way to put yourself into your prospect's shoes--and ultimately increase the effectiveness of your marketing. Here are five questions to consider when developing a prospect narrative for your company's next marketing campaign: 1. What is your customer doing during his day? Most organizations create their marketing materials without considering what the potential customer will be doing when he receives a marketing message. People are busier than they have ever been. In fact, they are spending over a quarter of their day just responding to emails. In order for your campaign to break through the clutter, you must consider how the person you are trying to reach is spending his time. 2. What is keeping her up at night? Usually, a company centers the majority of its marketing efforts around the company itself or the features and benefits of a specific product. However, no one cares about your company. All they care about are the issues they are dealing with right then and there. What are the challenges that your potential user takes home with her each night? If you want your marketing to elicit a particular behavior, then spend some time matching your message to the challenges your audience cares most about. 3. What will catch his attention? Most organizations are so focused on broadcasting how great they are that they don’t think about what will most effectively catch people's attention. Most commercials, for example, are generic and not memorable, so in order for yours to stand out, you need to develop a message that is so appealing or jarring to your audience that he has no choice but to react to it. 4. What action will she most likely take? So many marketing campaigns are solely focused on increasing awareness of an organization, rather than encouraging someone to take some action. This is like burning cash. Think about what action someone would most realistically take after absorbing your message. Would she most likely go to a website, send a text, pick up the phone, or find you on Twitter? Once you know which medium the person is most likely to use, then you can develop a call-to-action that aligns with it. 5. How will you keep him engaged? Rarely do companies develop marketing campaigns that create long-term engagement. However, those that do receive dividends over and over again, all from that initial investment. Therefore, the question great marketers want to answer is: What are realistic ways to engage him in the long run? This will be the difference between developing a one-time customer and a long-term fan. By formulating answers to these five questions, you begin to create a story of what your potential customer is doing and thinking about. BY MARC WAYSHAK The above is an excerpt from WORK SMART a blog post by Marc Wayshak. Marc Wayshak is the author of two books on sales and leadership, Game Plan Selling and Breaking All Barriers, as well as a regular contributor for Entrepreneur Magazine and the Huffington Post business section.
Our work together is a perfect blend of their own uniqueness, technology, and design. In the end, I always feel like we've played a good game of ball together. They're real people just like you, connecting with their clients on the web. Check 'em out and say "Hello." It's worth the effort! *This article was recently featured in my newsletter. Join my list if you'd like to receive newsletters in the future.
7 Reasons Why MailChimp is Better than Constant Contact for Author Newsletters
by Thomas Umstattd I'm a big proponent of using MailChimp as an easy and efficient tool for communicating with your target audience. I ran across a great blog that helps shed some light on why this is true. Read the article online! Checkout MailChimp! Everyone needs a few good tips on how to improve their MailChimp Newsletter. MailChimp has many 'How-to' videos on their site. These are just a few: Tips!
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AuthorDebi Bodett is an independent graphic designer for print + web.
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