I am fed up with people who bitch about technology and the social web all day long. People who complain about everything. And you know who I am talking about.

Me. [and if you thought I was talking about you, you're probably right too...]

But I am done. I am done complaining. Because I am realizing how great these things actually are, and while I appreciate that most of them are free, they are also making me a better businessman and a more intrepid marketer.

So, join me in appreciating these fine things. In fact, I am going to celebrate these every day. And thank my lucky stars that tools like this exist to help entrepreneurs like me…

1. I will no longer complain that Gmail is sometimes slow to send and receive emails. Come on, it is a “free” email service, that indexes emails and allows me to tag and easily find them when I need them. Even if the email dates from 14 months ago…

2. I will stop complaining that it takes YouTube a while to process videos. I mean, how dare they host my High Definition videos for free and provide another search engine where people can search and find information on me and my business…

3. I will stop whining that Vimeo takes 30 to 45 minutes to upload and process my “free” video uploads.

4. I will stop fussing about dropped cell calls. I can make calls, which sound pretty damn good, from my bed, from my car, from my radio studio, from the airport, etc… In fact, there is only one spot in all of Metro Atlanta where there is a vortex in the universe and I drop calls. But only one.

5. I will stop complaining that Google Docs isn’t 100% perfect. The fact that I virtually run my business using Google Docs for “free” notwithstanding…

6. And speaking of Google, I love seeing people fuss about Google Wave. Every day. ["too slow" is what I hear most] In fact, I hope they stop using it. Because I will have an unfair competitive advantage…

7. I will stop complaining that it takes FlipShare a long time to download my video clips, and an even longer time to process the “movies” that I make. I mean, really, I can produce a High Definition video clip, from a hand-held camera, in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee…

8. I will stop complaining that it takes GoDaddy a few minutes to accept changes to my Thesis WordPress websites. I mean, can you believe it takes 3 minutes for the changes to be reflected, instead of instantly?

9. I will stop complaining that Twitter sometimes has a system overload. I mean, it is quite frustrating that my ability to communicate with the entire world – for “free” – requires me to wait for sometimes almost 10 seconds…

10. And for those rare times when Twitter goes down? Don’t whine about it. Go create your own social network…

11. How dare Facebook have privacy issues. I mean, who do they think they are that I can connect – on a personal level – for “free” – with over 400 million people? The nerve….

12. I will stop fussing about my Blackberry, and how it occasionally operates very slowly and lethargically. Never mind that it has more computing power than Apollo 11, and that I can almost entirely run my business from this little thing…

13. I will stop complaining about how my GPS device, whether I am using my TomTom or my Blackberry, sometimes loses the satellite for a few minutes. I was much much happier when I had to pull over and unfold the map. That was so much more fun…

14. I will stop complaining about how Foursquare sometimes doesn’t let me “check-in” somewhere. You know…all these free social web apps are just getting more and more out of control… I just hope I don’t win the “whiner” badge…

I saw Chris Brogan give a presentation where he shared a story about his Trust Agents co-author Julien Smith, where Brogan said that whenever Julien meets a blogger, he greets them with “So what do you complain about?”

Julien is right. Us bloggers do complain about a lot of stuff. Even me. [I like to think that in my "complaining" I am trying to educate, trying to serve, trying to enlighten folks... but, you know...]

And I am not suggesting that our “reporting” isn’t important, and necessary. But I think we oftentimes go over the top. Sure, when a brand delivers poor service, for something you are paying good money for, I suppose it is fair to tell that story.

But to complain about technology that does amazing things – to complain about social  networks that do amazing things AND are free – to complain about the speed of things that weren’t even imaginable just a few years ago – is getting sillier and sillier. And I have been just as guilty as the next person…

So from here on out, I am celebrating these tools. And if you ever catch me fussin’? Call me on it…

[cartoon by @gapingvoid]

I still run across people who do not see value in investing time into social media. They say things like:

“I just don’t see any value in it.”

“It is not worth my time.”

“I started a blog yesterday. But I haven’t gotten any business yet. It clearly doesn’t work.”

“I need to focus on REAL marketing.”

“I don’t have time for fads.”

“My market doesn’t spend time in that space, so I don’t need to…”

In fact, the percentage of sales and small business folks NOT using social media is still pretty staggering. And I will continue to do my part to help educate these good folks on the possibilities. Before I continue that mission, here are a few things that have happened to me, ONLY because of my participation in blogging and the social web:

1. I’ve been approached about writing a book.

2. I’ve been asked to contribute bits to other’s books.

3. I’ve had my blog posts picked up by other blogs, exposing me and my writing to thousands of new readers.

4. I’ve met some amazing people, people I would not have met otherwise.

5. I’ve learned so much. Each day, I get exposed to new blogs, opening up a whole new world and opportunity for learning.

6. I have reconnected with old friends, people that I had thought were lost forever.

7. It enabled me to co-host a TweetUp that had 200 people in attendance, including people from five states and Canada! I’ve always been a connector – social media scaled it big time.

8. It has allowed me to connect with someone like Tom Peters.

9. I have been asked to guest blog. Often.

10. I have been able to strengthen my personal brand. Because in addition to my business writing, it has also given me an outlet to write about things I am passionate about, such at this and this.

11. And most importantly, from a business perspective, I have found and engaged new clients.

Key takeaway from this post: If I can do this, ANYONE can do this.

Seriously. Here is how it happened for me:

> I am not a particularly good writer, but I have been a pretty steady blogger since 2008. As a result, I do think my writing has improved.

> I make a real effort to share the work of others. And I plan to get better at this.

> I make an effort, by monitoring blogs I care about on my RSS reader, to comment on the published posts of others. I can do better at this too. And not a day passes where someone doesn’t express sincere gratitude for this, which, I don’t have to tell you, deepens the relationship…

> I am not worried about the raw numbers of followers. I used to worry about this, but I have forced myself to focus on the actual relationships. The impact of this change in thinking has been powerful.

> I am NO guru. Or expert. Or Jedi Master. I am still learning. Every day. And realize, every day, that I have MUCH more to learn.

> I have become a much better listener.

> I have been able to help A LOT more people.

> My sphere of influence is small compared to many others. But, the point is, I have a sphere of influence.

> This whole world of the social web is evolving. Constantly. The sooner you recognize this, the faster you will evolve with it. What works today, probably won’t work tomorrow.

> But that said, the importance of building relationships will NEVER change. Just the means of doing so. As soon as you understand this? I mean, really understand this? Social media will make sense to you.

I am just a guy, working from home, with a manageable book of clients, running a small little business. If someone like me can see real results from this investment, anyone can!

Agree? Disagree? Let me know…

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[cartoon by @gapingvoid]

cartoon by @gapingvoid

Do any of the following scenarios apply to you?

1. You spend too much time on social media apps like Twitter and Facebook, telling yourself that you are “learning” from your community. When in fact, you are just horsing around, or broadcasting one-way…

2. Under the guise of research and learning, you read too many books, most of which don’t really apply to you, or what you do.

3. Or more likely, you read a lot of books with the intention of learning, and do not implement ANYTHING that you learn.

4. You subscribe to 250 blogs in your RSS reader, telling yourself that you need to know what others in your space are doing. And you spend hours sifting through clutter and don’t spend enough time actually reading, or learning.

Yeah. Me too.

DISCLOSURE: Let me make this clear. I am NOT suggesting that you stop reading – and learning – to improve your craft. I am suggesting you make more careful choices about what you read – and then take steps to implement things you learn – things that will have measurable impact.

In fact, you are a fool NOT to read more. Learn more. And apply what you learn. I just think too many of us do not practice good habits when we seek to learn (In fact, I could make the point that practicing minimalist marketing should free up valuable time to learn more…).

So, here are a few of my ideas on ways to simplify your learning, and get more out of the time investment:

1. Limit the amount of industry blogs you follow on your RSS reader. A lot of them say the same things. Winnow your list down to the ones that really teach, engage their community, and make you think. Perfectly cool to subscribe to “new” blogs to check them out, but if they don’t add any value, remove them. I also make it a practice to schedule time each day to review feeds on my RSS. Waiting several days and having to scan through hundreds and hundreds of new feeds isn’t conducive to productive time.

2. Cut down the amount of books you read. Wow, this is hard. And I don’t like to suggest reading less. I just want you to read smarter. These days, it is easy to get online reviews of books – enabling you to find the books that really seem to make a difference.

3. When engaged on the social web, ONLY spend time focused on your two marketing goals: initiating conversation with the right people (prospects, customers, referral partners), AND sharing other people’s content.

4. When you do read a book with the intention of learning something to improve your craft, make a conscious effort to do whatever it takes to record new ideas to implement later: make notes in the margins, highlight key phrases, record audio notes, or do what I did once, which was take a photo of a page I wanted to remember…

5. And then implement them! I mean, really. What’s the point of investing all that time and energy?

6. Make careful decisions about who you network with face-to-face. I have a passion for meeting people at an event, and then suggesting a meeting over coffee to explore synergies. Sometimes these coffees lead to business, new referral partners, or can just be solid learning experiences. But over the years, I have had a lot of pleasant coffees that while the conversation was enjoyable, it didn’t result in any value (for my marketing learning). With my limited time, I have to be more selective with whom I spend time with. You should do the same.

Remember, the goal of minimalist marketing is to simplify, to cut away the clutter so that you can focus on the core work that matters, and leads to more profits. This includes the learning you do…

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Do you have any other ideas?

[the original MINIMALIST MARKETING post]
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cartoon by @gapingvoid

OK, so on the road to Birmingham tomorrow. Another day of filming for a client project there.

But whilst engaging in some pre-trip planning with my traveling colleagues, we got to discussing some additional tactics that are in the works long-term for this client/project.

One of those is setting up and helping this client execute their very own radio show…

As you know, my business partner Stone Payton and I co-host the High Velocity Radio Show. It has been an amazingly successful show that has helped connect us to a lot of talented people, and given us a lot of wonderful content and stories to share with our audience.

Now hosting a radio show isn’t for everyone. But I’d be hard pressed to find a business, large or small, that couldn’t benefit from hosting something like this.

But in doing some preparatory work in laying out the future steps for this client, my partners-in-crime and I brainstormed on how best to leverage a radio show. Here are a few things we came up with:

1. Podcasts. SEO pop. Enough said. I don’t have to tell you about the strength of the content generated by producing relevant podcasts, blogging about it, and achieving some powerful SEO oomph from it. Nothing new here – you already knew this…

2. Gravitas. Our client had NO IDEA what a radio show would look like for him and his company. But was aroused by the idea. Why? Because in his space? It was uncommon. And that made the idea rock.

3. Plus it makes you look cool. I mean look at Stone and I for goodness sakes…

4. Cross-Pollination. It is amazing how RIDICULOUSLY EASY it is to take content generated on the radio show and use it as an endless stream of specific content for your blog…

5. Content generator. Duh. Get some people on the radio talking about things that matter in the organization? And poof, you get some great sharable content!

6. Spotlight Veteran Rock Stars. Got some All-Star Veteran talent in the organization? Feature them. Let them teach. Demonstrate. Motivate the others who need to see leadership…

7. Make New Rock Stars. Got young up and coming talent? Feature them on your radio show. Make them push the envelope. Make them push their limits. Make them realize what they really can do.

8. Training | Education. If you need to teach a sector of your world something, whether they be internal members of your organization and/or your prospects and customers, setting up a radio show is BRILLIANT. They can learn from their peers, the members they respects and admire. I am thinking call-in radio show here…

9. Inspire buy-in on new ideas. Do you have a constituency within your organization that needs to buy-in to a new program? Well, they don’t want to read white papers. They don’t want to be force-fed lectures. Or be told to read boring brochures. But if you can get them engaged in a radio show dialog with their peers, engage them in a medium where they can revel – and shine – in that interaction? Well, you tell me…

10. Passion. Tell me a better way for your customers to see your passion about what you do, what you sell, and what you care about most…

11. Come on. I am waiting…

12. Simple. Now the cool thing about radio shows and podcasts? The tools are easy to set up and execute. A workable strategy to make it work for you and your organization? Well, that requires a little thinking, execution and some work. But, in this day and age, don’t let technology be your excuse.

What did we miss? Any other ideas that make sense?

We’ve all experienced it.

You went to a website, but didn’t take action. You read a sales brochure, but tossed it aside when you finished reading. Or you said “Let me get back to you!” after a sales person pitched you.

Why didn’t you take any action? Why didn’t you buy?

Well, there could be dozens of reasons. But one common reason might be the message – and message delivery – was too complicated. And you didn’t know how to proceed.

This happens all the time…

1. The potential buyer can’t find the “Buy Now” button on the website. There was too much crap on the website.
2. There isn’t an easily identifiable “call to action” on the brochure. All the “Pulitzer” prize-winning copy and photos, and design elements look great. But it is all clutter.
3. The seller didn’t make the simple ask. Oh sure, the seller said a lot of cool stuff, used a lot of big words, but never actually asked for the sale…

My co-host Stone Payton and I had Theo Jamison on our High Velocity Radio Show recently. She was speaking about some simple, yet profound and meaningful, actions a business could take that would have a dramatic and positive impact on their customer experience. I mean, seriously, these were simple and inexpensive ideas…

Stone said something like “and I bet the business said it was too simple to work, right? Only complicated solutions could possibly work.”

He’s right. Why do we make things so complicated in business? Process can be simple. Design can be simple. Systems can be simple. Sales can be simple.

We have a tendency to think that fancy design, bells + whistles, and flowing flowery language are impressive and make potential customers say “ohhhhhhh.”

But most of the time it clutters and confuses.

You have something to sell. It is something that people need. It can make their life better, their business better. So why do we insist on making it harder – and more complicated – for people to buy?

Minimalists strip away the clutter to focus on what matters, on what is most important. So, strip away all the clutter so that your customer can buy from you. Without having to crawl through a complicated maze of words, pics, buttons, ads, graphics and platitudes to do what they really want to do – become your customer.

What do you think?

[my original Minimalist Marketing post]
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[pic from borderfilms on flickr]

People love a good story. Stories teach. Stories draw people in. Good stories make you stick around to see how it ends. More importantly, good stories are remembered. And MOST importantly, good stories are retold…

And yet, so many entrepreneurs fail to market themselves effectively with storytelling. Why do they fail at this? I happen to have a theory.

[And I am not talking about those who DO NOT use storytelling in their marketing.]

My theory is they are too exhausted from trying to tell too many stories. All at once. See, they are reaching for too broad a market, casting too large a net. And in the end, they will confuse the market – and exhaust themselves – and do a poor job targeting – and reaching – their core target audience.

A minimalist strips away all the clutter and excess, enabling them self to focus only on what matters most. As marketers, we need to apply the same principle to our message.

If we are telling too many stories, the message will be lost. Those we are fortunate enough to have listening to us will be confused.

This process is simple:

1. Identify your MAIN target market.
2. Determine the ONE message that will move that market to action.
3. Deliver your message – your story – to that market, free of clutter and distraction.

Simple.

What do you think?

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[The original post on Minimalist Marketing that inspired this series]
[photo by _marmota on flickr]

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We promised more content from our latest exciting project.

The other day, I shared the book cover for a new client. Today, I want to share with you the bookmarks we had designed and printed.

Our client is currently out west at an event, and is receiving some great feedback on the bookmarks, which is exciting!

We are in the process of developing other materials. We will share those too…as well as details about the book and related communication efforts!

cartoon by @gapingvoid

OK, so reading this blog, you’ve heard me say time and again that success on the social web is all about starting the conversation. To engage. To dialog. Blah, blah, blah…

And yet many of my readers, and some of my clients, still don’t get it.

I was talking to a gentleman the other day about using twitter to initiate conversations – which could lead to new relationships – where they might end up as new prospects – or at least refer others to him – and I swear I heard crickets chirping on the other end of the phone.

So, I thought I would prepare a cheat sheet of no-brainer ideas to help you identify “tweets” that can be YOUR conversation-starting triggers.

Simple. Enjoy.

1. ORIGINAL TWEET: “Just had coffee with Julie Smith. What a smart and vibrant lady!”

YOU: Isn’t she great? She’s a wonderful person to have in your network. Do you read her blog?”

2. ORIGINAL TWEET: “Heading to Birmingham AL for business. Any good ideas for a dinner spot?”

YOU: “You are a fool NOT to check out Dreamland BBQ. I trust you like BBQ?”

3. ORIGINAL TWEET: “Heading out to buy a new video camera. Any ideas?”

YOU: “Lots of good products on the market, but I can’t live without my Flip Cam! What do you need a camera for exactly?”

4. ORIGINAL TWEET: “What is the best collaborative tool to use to work with someone in a different time zone? #smallbizchat”

YOU: “I’ve had a lot of success with Google Wave. It has been great for our team. How many people working on the project? #smallbizchat”

5. ORIGINAL TWEET: “Having a lousy day. Struggling with [insert business problem here]. Can’t wait til 5 o’clock!

YOU: “Sorry to hear that. I’ve had a lot of success with [insert potential solution here]. Have you tried that before?”

6. ORIGINAL TWEET: “RT @zen_habits: on mnmlist: empower people to create http://bit.ly/9jOetk.”

YOU: “Hey, I loved that post. Really spoke to me. Have you been reading Leo for a while?”

7. ORIGINAL TWEET: “Just sat down, and looking forward to hearing Chris Brogan speak!”

YOU: “Oh, I saw him at New Media Atlanta. You’ll learn a lot. Did you read Trust Agents?”

8. ORIGINAL TWEET: “Holy smokes, you cannot believe the line to get into this #SXSW panel…”

YOU: “Oh, let me know how that goes. What has been your favorite panel so far?”

9. ORIGINAL TWEET: “http://twitpic.com/10j5js – On a cold and rainy day, the crappiest job in marketing.”

YOU: “I hear that. But I dunno, doesn’t seeing those people make you notice the biz they’re promoting?”

10. ORIGINAL TWEET: “I’m at FuegoMundo (5590 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs) http://4sq.com.”

YOU: “Oh man, I love that place. Have you had their sangria?”

11. ORIGINAL TWEET: “You are a fool to not follow @StephanieALloyd + @Keppie_Careers if you want the best job search and job hunting advice! #followfriday”

YOU: “Wow, thanks. Got a friend looking for a job and I will put him in touch with these two! How did you get to know them?”

12. ORIGINAL TWEET: “Listening to my Metallica Pandora channel!”

YOU: “I dig those guys too. They free my mind after a long day. What’s your favorite album?”

13. ORIGINAL TWEET: “My Gosh, why do the Red Sox always give me such heartburn?”

YOU: “No kidding. These guys have haunted me for years. How long have you been a fan?”

14. ORIGINAL TWEET: “Just sitting down to watch Celebrity Apprentice!”

YOU: Oh come on, how can you stand to listen to that blowhard Trump for more than five minutes?”

KEYS TO SUCCESS:
1. You can do this with people you don’t know.
2. In fact, this is how you get to know people.
2.5. At least, I’ve read that somewhere…
3. How are you going to get to know people if you don’t ask them questions?
4. I mean seriously, do you go to face-to-face networking meetings – stand on a chair – and just broadcast details of your latest products?
5. And when these good folks respond to your questions? Answer them back. This is called a “conversation!”
6. It really works!
7. I promise!
8. It is actually easy. You just gotta decide to do it.

What do you think? Any other ideas?

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I am really jazzed about this new client, which includes designing the book cover for their new book. Here it is, and more to come on this exciting project:

Usually, something that is solid, that doesn’t move, that is unchanging, immobile, etc…is something we rely on, something that can be counted on, something that seems like a steady foundation. Almost comforting, if you will.

But not in the modern world of marketing. When it comes to your web presence, you don’t want to be described as unchanging or immobile. Your web presence needs to be…ENGAGING.

That’s what intrepid marketers do. [More text below video]

[In the video below, I discuss the value of an engaging web presence:]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek9hJljaWQ0]

Here are a few tactical ideas you can use to provide an engaging web presence:

1. Incorporate a blog into your site.
2. Allow comments on your blog.
3. Respond and engage people when they comment.
4. Provide forums to facilitate conversation.
5. Invite guest contributors.
6. Connect people to your social web tools, like Twitter.
7. Utilize surveys tools.
8. Solicit questions from your audience…
9. …and be sure to answer them!
10. Make it easy to share your content.
11. Invite people to join your e-newsletter.
12. Use an Instant Messenger plug in to invite conversation. Hold regular hours.
13. Provide content with various mediums, such as video and audio.

The items listed above are not new. They are not rocket science. In fact, I suppose when you reviewed the list, you probably said something along the lines of “no kidding.”

Yet I continue to be amazed how many entrepreneurs have chosen not to incorporate these simple tactical options into their web presence.

But that said, it is what you do with these ideas that matter. Here are a few reasons why having an engaging presence matters:

1. Strengthens your brand.
2. Allows relationships to develop. This is where the sales come from.
3. Simplifies process of testing – and getting feedback on – new ideas.
4. Does a better job educating people about you and your business.
5. Makes it easier to teach and help and serve others.
6. Allows for better story telling.
7. Not to mention provides fresh and unique content – updated regularly – that keeps people coming back for more.
8. Oh, and added Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strength.

At the end of the day, it is the safe and easy path to build a static website – one that is solid, reliable, and unchanging. But dare I say it is lazy? And boring? Static sites just don’t cut it any more in this fast-paced, conversational, and engaging world we now live in.

What do you think?

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