August 18th, 2008

I decided to become a BzzAgent. It all started a few weeks ago when a friend recommended I read “The Word of Mouth Manual” by Dave Balter, founder and CEO of BzzAgent, the Boston-based word of mouth marketing firm that boasts big-name clients like Nokia and Mastercard, as well as dozens of lesser-known companies hoping to spread a good word or two on their offerings.

Not only does Dave have a smart way to distribute his book - it’s a free download on BzzAgent’s website and several other sites (unless for some inexplicable reason you’d rather spend $45 for a hard cover copy on Amazon) - but he’s also cornered the market on word of mouth. He’s taken an age-old concept (hasn’t word of mouth been around a long time?), put his own imprint on it, and found a way to charge customers for the privilege of getting everyday consumers like you and me to check you out, give you feedback, and maybe even tell a few friends about you. To be honest, I don’t know what BzzAgent charges clients to participate in their Frog Pond, but I can’t imagine it’s cheap. Apparently, and contrary to popular belief, talk is not cheap.

BzzAgent also ensures that its agents (like yours truly) aren’t just looking to score free swag. No way. Anyone who’s in it for the discounts, samples, and other hand-outs is quickly weeded out with all the polls and reports that the firm requires you to complete on behalf of its clients. I’ll tell ya, it’s a big job being a BzzAgent. Just the other day I got another email asking me to check out four new frogs in the pond. BzzAgent does a good job of matching my interests to their clients’ products and services, too. The more I tell them about myself, the better the match. They also make it easy, of course, for me to tell my friends about the websites I’m checking out. At the end of the day, that’s what their clients want, right? And with over 323,000 referrals since its inception, the pond is a pretty lucrative place to be. Speaking of which, I’ve gotta get back there. I’ve got a few more frogs to recommend before I log off.

Oh, and you should pick up a copy of The Word of Mouth Manual, too. It’s a good read. Now how’s that for word of mouth?

Tags: BzzAgent, word of mouth marketing
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August 15th, 2008

Yesterday, the New York Times ran an article in the Technology section called “Woman to Woman, Online”. It was about the phenomenally successful website Dooce which chronicles the real day-to-day life of Heather Armstrong, her 4-year-old daughter Leta, and husband Jon. The gist of the article was that websites and blogs that target women are successful with advertisers because women are the primary decision makers and purchasers in their families. Also, relationship junkies that we are, women love to follow the relationships of others and share the experiences that are similar to their own. So, they’ll return time and again to websites that offer this.  The formula has worked well for Heather Armstrong, whose site attracts more than 850,000 readers and lucrative advertisers like Crate & Barrel, Walgreens, and Ing Direct.

What struck me about the story of Dooce isn’t so much that it’s written by and for women, but that its success lies in its sheer, uninhibited honesty. To risk using an overused word, it’s “authentic”. This is why readers love it and continue to come back to it. Oh, and yeah, they might even click on a few of the ads they see on the sidelines. The bottom line is that they trust Heather and relate to her trials, tribulations, and joys of motherhood.

Heather writes with honesty and humor, making everything about Dooce palpably real, and to me, that’s what makes it successful. It’s why so many blogs and websites like Heather’s attract such large and loyal audiences. They’re not trying to be anything; they just are. You can’t manufacture it either, which is why so many corporate blogs that try so hard to create a feeling of openness and transparency fail so miserably. They’re not real. There are too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak, spoiling the broth.

If you want to speak to someone, maybe even many people out there in the blogosphere, be sure to speak openly and honestly, without pretense. Keep it real.

Tags: Add new tag, writing for blogs
Posted in Blogging | 1 Comment »

August 14th, 2008

You have 2 minutes to sell your idea. Quick! What do you say? I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, now that I’m “on my own”, a free agent, an online marketing consultant rather than a full-time company employee. Regardless of whether you’re self-employed or not, an elevator pitch is a valuable tool in any situation where you must convince someone else of something that’s important to you. This became clear to me recently before a yoga class. I was chatting with someone else who was also new to the studio and, after exchanging names, I got the standard “And what do you do?” question. “Well,” I said, new to the land of freelancers and not sure how to position myself here, “I’m an online marketing specialist.” “Oh,” she said blankly. “What’s that?” This caught me by surprise. Doesn’t everyone know what an online marketing specialist is? Apparently not. While this woman was clearly not in my target market, it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t know someone who knows someone who is a potential customer, which is why it’s really important I’m able to make it crystal clear to her and anyone else what, exactly, it is I do.

I muddled through my explanation of what an online marketing specialist does. “Uh, well, you know, like web stuff, online advertising, email?” That helped, but not really. In hindsight, I should’ve been prepared with a clear, succinct, 30-second spiel that described what I do. Not that every conversation should be considered a networking opportunity, but you know, it kind of is. In the last few weeks, since embarking on my own, I’ve learned a few important lessons about the elevator pitch.

First, it should be articulated in simple, non-buzzword, terms that anyone (assuming they speak the same language as you) can understand. Bad: “I develop breakthrough creative in the advergaming space to drive eyeballs to sticky websites.” Good: “I develop fun, interactive ways to attract people to websites.”

Second, it should be as specific as possible: What do you do and who do you do it for? Good: “I develop fun, interactive ways to attract people to websites.” Better: “I develop fun, interactive ways to attract people between the ages of 13 and 18 to video gaming websites.”

Third, but certainly not last, make it clear what you can do for them. Everyone wants to know what’s in it for them. In other words, it’s not just what you do, but how your client will benefit from what you can do for them. Great, so you design cool websites that are beautiful to look at, but does it mean that your client will get more web visitors? Will these visitors spend more time or money on their website as a result of your award-winning designs? If there’s no benefit to them, why should they care?

So, next time your getting ready to go to yoga, or the grocery store, or the movies, or anywhere else you might run into someone who asks you “And what do you do?” remember these three characteristics of the perfect pitch: simple, specific, and benefits-oriented. Now, go out and sell your idea.

Tags: Add new tag, elevator pitch, selling ideas
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August 3rd, 2008

I’m back. Back from where, you ask? Back from a rather long hiatus from Marketing in Jeans, I say. But I’ve returned and I’m here to stay, and with a new look, too. You see, I’m teaching myself how to use WordPress. Being an extreme “J” on the Myers-Briggs scale (that’s also known as a big-time planner for those of you unfamiliar with Myers-Briggs), the first thing I did was buy the latest edition of WordPress for Dummies. I skimmed through the first several chapters, then quickly decided that I’d read enough and it was time to take some action. So I closed the book and went online.

After determining that a self-hosted version of WordPress was the way to go, I proceeded… slowly but surely… to bungle my way through the whole process of setting up a blog (or two, actually). I got a web host, an FTP client, added speed dials to all the tech support lines I would need, and away I went. And, here I am. Not bad. I’m really happy with what I’ve learned so far. I highly recommend it.

I’m the type of person who tends to get easily frustrated with technical jargon, but I’ve been really pleased with my friends at Blue Host (web host) and Go Daddy (domain registrar). And so far, WordPress has been easy to navigate. See? I’m using it now. So, all of this is just my way of saying that I’m happy to be back and I promise to continue writing about fun and unusual (and even mainstream) marketing stuff. Onward.

Tags: online marketing, WordPress
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