This is about the law and sausages so don’t look

“Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.”

I propose updating this quotation, attributed to Otto von Bismarck (and in a slightly different form to John Godfrey Saxe), to keep pace with internet marketing: “Lists of the best lawyers are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.”

Yesterday I received an email from a lawyer asking me to vote for him as the best attorney in a neighboring town. It was a brief email and it would have been even briefer if he had not used perhaps a 22-point font.

Who’s the best attorney in town and how would I know?

It gave no reason whatsoever as to why he was nominated and why he deserved to win. (Maybe he nominated himself?)

So I looked at his website, which had nothing about this campaign. Nor did it describe any awards (or cases) he had won or any benefits of using his services (except that he had practiced for over 30 years, which is a feature, not a benefit, if we are going to get technical here). I have never availed myself of his legal services nor have I ever been to his office nor has anyone praised him to me.

I’ve attended meetings where he was also present and have traded business cards with him, so this is clearly where he got my email address. Probably brought out a big stack of cards he has collected and had a temp scan or type them in.

The email itself was highly informative. It warned me that I could vote only 10 times per email address and provided a handy link to the voting site. And it asked me to “please share with your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn friends” by clicking the social media links at the top of the email. (By the way, nothing about these votes driving any charitable donations.)

Not only do I not live in his suburb, but I don’t subscribe to the magazine running the contest. I am mildly curious to see if he wins but more as an observer of internet marketing than a connoisseur of legal services.

What bothers me is that now that I’ve seen the campaign, I have no respect for the eventual list.

And this makes me more wary about all sorts of lists and awards. In the internet age, more than ever, it’s caveat emptor when we search out professional “stars.”

Want to freelance and consult? Announcing my first ebook on exactly how to get started

Ready to start freelancing or consulting but not sure what to do first? Or you’ve been struggling at it for awhile but have few or even no clients to date?

I’m excited to announce the release of my first ebook: Start Freelancing and Consulting: How to take control of your life and make great money quickly as a solopro.

Some of the information in this book develops concepts introduced in my newsletter and blog but much of it is brand new. This includes four great special reports (for a total package of nearly 200 e-pages):

1. Special Report #1: 15 steps to get your business up and running in 8 hours or less
2. Special Report #2: 17 projects to postpone . . . perhaps forever
3. Special Report #3: What is a virtual assistant? What does a virtual assistant do? By Kathy Goughenour
4. Special Report #4: How to slash telephone costs By Wayne Schneidman

Not only is the book pretty good (if I say so myself), but I’m really proud of the sales page itself. It’s truly educational and is worth reading even if you decide not to buy:  Start Freelancing and Consulting.

Diana Schneidman’s full employment proposal:

How to position yourself as an internet  and / or social media expert

I know how anybody can get a job immediately.

Simply proclaim yourself a social networking or internet expert.

Anyone can do it. And believe me, anyone is doing it.

Lately I’ve been meeting people who have done it everywhere I go. And I’ve identified additional pros through LinkedIn groups, Twitter, etc. So I look at their work online.

I don’t consider myself to be an expert, merely a practitioner who is still in the learning phase. I launched my first website in 1998 and my first blog more than a year ago, I’ve been on Twitter and LinkedIn for awhile and my Facebook profile is modest at best.

Oh, and nothing on YouTube so far.

Someday I may be in the market for advisors on how to take these to more sophisticated levels from a marketing perspective. (I already have tech help with my websites and certain other services.) However, I’ll be darned fussy about who I’d rely on for advice.

Because when I look at the work of self-proclaimed experts, it’s simply astounding the level of chutzpah (nerve) out there.

I’ve reframed my findings as minimal recommendations. Trust me, I’ve seen all of these recommendations violated by so-called pros.

Recommendations for internet and SEO (search engine optimization) experts:

To represent yourself as an internet / SEO expert, I expect you to have minimally:

• An actual website, complete with a headline and copy.
• Signs of optimization, especially Page Code. (Click on View, then Page Source.)
• No “under construction” copy.
• More enticing headline than “Welcome to …”
• Excellent copy with correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. (I wouldn’t let anyone who is careless with this touch my internet presence.)
• A little substance as measured by multiple website pages or one page of at least moderate length. (Of course, the purpose of the website determines specifics here. But it’s like modern art; I know it when I see it.)
• Your photo and / or something resembling a logo

Recommendations for social media experts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)

To represent yourself as a social media expert, I expect you to have minimally:

• A presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Participation on additional networking sites is optional.
• On Twitter, at least 100 messages (tweets). At least 100 people being followed and 100 people you follow—big entities like NPR or the Today Show don’t count. Twitter is especially important because it is the most transparent of the tools and the easiest to assess.
• Tweets of several types: your own marketing, connecting with other people, links to content on websites other than your own, motivational or practical advice, retweets. If you teach how to make connections, I’ve got to see evidence of some connections on your part.
• Actual entries on all of your blogs and websites. “Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start,” does not count. (Honest, I’ve seen this on “expert” sites.)
• Complete, coherent listings showing how to find you on the Internet and in all social media in which you claim expertise. In other words, the lists match up on all “contact” pages and business cards.
• Grammatical writing. Correct spelling and punctuation. Yeah, I’m old school.
• Some content that proves you’re a thought leader. Or at least that you have a thought or two.

Some experts would argue that it’s about quality, not quantity, especially in regards to Twitter content. A valid point but there must be sufficient quantity to evaluate quality fairly.

Think I expect too much?

How to succeed without a website

Last week I participated on a panel discussion on how to be (or become) a freelance writer sponsored by the Independent Writers of Chicago (IWOC).

Afterwards many of us went out for dinner and I learned something very revealing about one of the other panelists: He has no website. Still!

The guy in question is a highly successful writer. He said that his plate is never empty; he is always working on one or more paid assignments.

His LinkedIn profile claims he has written over 2,000 assignments since 1990 and the total may well be higher by now. His clients include many of the leading daily newspapers in the U.S., as well as a range of trade journals in diverse industries.

Why has he never mounted a website?

Because he is busy with paying work and doesn’t see a pressing need for a website.

Not only does he not have a website, but his 2.0 presence is rather minimal. Yes, he does have the aforementioned LinkedIn entry, but he only has 55 connections. As someone who lives an interesting life involving diverse clients, travel, sports and more, I’m certain he knows more than 55 individuals in the LI database, unless his criteria for connections are so restrictive as to only include biological siblings.

He’s not on Twitter, nor could I find him on Facebook.

He’s been cold calling for years as a steady source of clients, but of course, the largest share of his work at this time is repeat business.

Now let’s put this in the context of today’s economy. Every day we read about newspapers cutting back or even going out of business. “Information wants to be free” or at least electronic, and the newspaper industry is dying. Plus all the layoffs increase competition among writers for a shrinking number of assignments.

Yet here is someone defying the odds to maintain a strong freelance writing business. And without a website!

Proves it can be done!

Oh, the things I’ll do for a “free” gift

OR

A full year of Jazzercise and all I got is this lousy T-shirt

I consider myself to be a case study in marketing. When I want to analyze a marketing practice, I start by getting in touch with my own experiences in being marketed to in that way.

I know that my own reactions do not constitute statistically valid marketing research. Still, I like to anoint myself as guinea pig number one.

I’d like to think that after years of employment in marketing research and marketing communications that I am smarter than the typical consumer. I’d like to believe that I am more rational.

But my own experiences show I’m just as susceptible to marketing as anyone else. And if the bribe is a T-shirt, I am hopelessly at the mercy of marketers.

Take Jazzercise.

Jazzercise is an internationally franchised exercise program consisting of aerobic and strength-building exercise choreographed to contemporary music. Approximately 99.5% of participants are women.

After a several-year hiatus following a relocation that took me away from my old Jazzercise studio, I’ve been attending steadily since November 2005.

They used to give you a T-shirt when you completed 100 classes during the course of a year. I handily passed this benchmark.

Then they raised the bar for the first-level T-shirt to 150 classes. I made it last year but it was close. Had I not challenged their count (I had attended classes in two locations and they didn’t automatically total both check-in cards), I would have fallen short.

This year I maintain meticulous records in my Franklin Planner. (I’m at 54 classes as of the end of April.) And I find myself aiming for more than three classes a week in case of future vacations, scheduling conflicts or illness.

All for a simple T-shirt.

Mind you, there’s nothing all that special about Jazzercise’s shirts. For $20 or less I could buy one of my choice from a huge selection at Target or Kohl’s.

But for some crazy reason I want that Jazzercise shirt!

Interestingly, they give makeup bags and other swag for various promotions. But these don’t tempt me at all. After all, I could buy similar stuff anywhere. Like Target or Kohl’s.

I joined Jazzercise before I knew of any clothing enticements. And I would continue with the program if there were no shirts at all.

But hey, there ARE T-shirt to be had and I want mine!

Every so often I notice that fund-raising walks and runs also give out T-shirts. I put my fingers in my ears and make loud noises to hide these temptations from my consumer brain.

My biggest fear is that I may find myself compelled to run marathons, all for a lousy shirt.

Bob Bly is keeping me up at night

or The 90 / 90 rule revealed

Last week I received a newsletter from famed writer and marketer Bob Bly that was fairly interesting when I read it.

Then I apparently dreamt about it and woke up at 3 am with a big aha!

The specific point that got my attention was his 90 / 90 rule, which he claims is a rule of thumb among internet marketers. (Sorry I can’t point you to a link—the article does not seem to be on his website or blog.)

According to Bly, “90% of the people who opt into your e-list who are going to buy something from you do so within 90 days.”

On first reading, I filed this in my gray matter under “nice to know.”

But wait! This suggests a marketing corollary: Only 10% of those who have been on your list for 90 days but have never purchased will EVER buy from you.

Common wisdom of the internet is that you have to “touch” a prospect multiple times to create a buying relationship. The exact number cited varies, but it’s usually around seven or eight. (I seem to remember that this observation stems from authentic research, but at this point, tracking down the original source does not tempt me.)

When I read this advice online, I don’t see accompanying advice that contacts can grow stale and must be cultivated in such a way as to yield results quickly.

But assuming Bly is right, it means you have to pursue new contacts aggressively to establish enough touches within three months before they grow cold and highly unlikely to convert.

To be perfectly honest, my advice to do prospecting with individual phone calls may run into trouble here because this guideline implies that prospects must be contacted almost weekly.

This may not be advisable or even practical if you are mounting a phone-only campaign. That’s a lot of phone calls over a short time period.

We have to remember that Bly’s prospects have requested to be on his list. However, for cold-callers, weekly may well be too intense for people who haven’t answered your calls or otherwise reached out to you.

It also depends on what you offer. If you perform freelance or consulting services and contact people who have not indicated that they have an upcoming project, it’s more about keeping in touch—perhaps even for years—until they have a need rather than writing them off as hopeless after 90 days.

This rule of thumb tends to support the establishment of an ezine or other mass technique that feels right for contacting people frequently. Give a list information of interest in a format that can be repeated inexpensively is an effort that yields the required number of touches. Even better, this marketing technique feels to the recipient like a good form of persistence rather than like strident nagging.

If you are new to freelancing and consulting—and may even be looking for assignments only temporarily until you land a full-time job—an ezine newsletter or similar recurring publicity tool may not be for you. There’s no point in launching something that depends on stick-to-it-tiveness to build a relationship if you probably won’t stick to it.

Still, Bly’s guideline is a valuable consideration in developing marketing plans and will help shape my thinking.

Marcia Yudkin on “Why Good Enough Stinks”

Today I am reprinting a new article by Marcia Yudkin, one of my most favorite experts. (See more about why I like her on my website.)

It’s from her weekly Marketing Minute newsletter, and reading it is a minute well spent!

Why Good Enough Stinks

by Marcia Yudkin

“I’m so much more productive, now that I’ve learned to stop when I’ve achieved ‘good enough.’”

Chances are, you’ve heard something like that and probably nodded your head.

Consider, though, this perspective from literary agent Jennifer Lawler in the current issue of Writer’s Digest:

“As an agent, I turn down ‘good enough’ ideas every day. The distance between ‘good enough’ and ‘great’ may not be huge, but if you go that extra 10 percent, I can tell. So can everyone else. ‘Great’ has me making lists of editors I should pitch as soon as you sign with me. ‘Good enough’… I’d rather eat ice cream.”

In a down economy, in a competitive environment, on an Internet where short attention spans rule, “good enough” gets you passed over.

Note that Lawler’s extra 10 percent isn’t exactitude of detail – so-called perfection. Rather, she means more developed, more distinctive, more encompassing, coming from deeper within oneself and producing a stronger impact.

Whether you sell plumbing or divorces, do you always give your work your best effort?

People can tell, and they choose accordingly.

Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 books, including 6 Steps to Free Publicity. This article is reprinted with permission from her free Marketing Minute newsletter, published every Wednesday. Sign up here.

Marcia also has a new service that guides you to an understanding of your unique talents and how you can attract clients whose expectations match the way you prefer to work. Learn more here.

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links and I may be paid commissions on future purchases.

Who among us is killing the most time online?

The other day I discovered Bob Bly’s Internet Marketing Hall of Fame. When I reviewed the list on March 4, I found 80 names of successful gurus whom Bly believes “actually make a lot of money on the Internet instead of just bragging about it.”

I started scrolling down the list, identifying names I’m familiar with. Then it occurred to me: I sure recognize lots of these names. And even more revealing, I know a fair amount about quite a few of these people. Their marketing shtick. Like where they live. Pets and children who are ill.

Uh, what’s does all this “knowledge” mean?

I’d like to think it means I understand the marketplace and expose myself to the best ideas out there.

But it may mean I spend too much time reading and conversely, not enough time on my own business.

I did a count to see where I stand. I reviewed the list of 80 names again and checked off those whose list I know I am on or whom I know a fair amount about. My criteria are kind of hazy, but yielded a count of 30 yeses.

This translates into a score of 37.5% (30 individuals I “know” divided by 80 people on the list) if we’re going to go all scientific here.

This list also reveals something about Bob Bly. Though his knowledge of the market is substantial, given that he can list so many people whom he believes to earn at least $100,000 in net passive income a year, his list is exceptionally male-centric.

Now, I’m not saying this to be critical of Bob. I’m not calling him a male sexist pig or any such thing.

I am simply pointing out that the list of 80 includes only five women (as best I can identify gender).

There are two possible explanations.

One is that Bob focuses his attention on a certain corner of the market (and to be fair, he never claimed to be comprehensive in his selection).

A second possibility is the criterion of “passive income.” Some of the qualified-but-omitted names (I believe) have significant active streams from coaching tiers, resort events, etc. Still, I suspect they are so big that at least $100,000 annually is derived from the passive sale of their own products and affiliate offerings.

If I were developing an Internet Marketing Hall of Fame, I would add more names from the women-serving-women niche. Ali Brown is already on the list, but I’d like to think there are many other qualified women among those claiming to earn in the millions each year. And shouldn’t at least $100,000 of a multi-million income stream come from passive income, especially when these women proudly teach multiple-income streams?

The first name I throw out here is Kendall Summerhawk. And how about Bernadette Doyle and Milana Leshinsky?

Then there’s what I call the heart-centered / authenticity gang (which, by the way, overlaps significantly with the women-serving-women crowd).

I’d like to believe that some of them meet the financial criterion, but their fuzzier bragging makes it difficult to name names. (And no, they are not bragging, they assure us. They’re just telling the facts.)

Anyone else here willing to reveal your score and /or comment?

http://www.internetmarketinghallofame.com

Pricing the e-product

Pricing an e-product is always challenging. (And I am personally grappling with this issue as I complete my own info product and attempt to price it.)

The dilemma in pricing the free bonuses or special reports that accompany a product is even more vexing if you value your integrity but also want to create an offer that competes in the marketplace.

In a sense, the claimed values for these add-ons as shown on the sales page don’t matter at all because in the end, these bonuses are free. Or as they spell it on the internet, f-r-#-e!

However, the numbers themselves can be really crazy. The sky’s the limit. And when you total the alleged value of all these free elements, it can easily exceed $2,000 or even $3,000, while the actual price of the lead product is a few hundred or even less!

It gets even more interesting when a specific bonus is already available elsewhere. I am seeing stated prices for some giveaways that are “valued” at twice the actual market value or more.

For instance, I see Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill as a free bonus, valued at $29 or even higher.

But when I look at the price of this book on the Barnes & Noble or Amazon sites, I see new paperback copies priced under $15, and some editions cost substantially less than this.

It could be argued that the value is higher than $15 because the content is so useful. But I think it’s really that the seller simply picks numbers out of thin air.

This kind of thing irritates me as a consumer.

While the print books at the mortar-and-bricks bookstore are exceedingly uniform in their pricing—most every book of the same dimensions costs about the same regardless of content—there appears to be no consistency at all on the internet.

So on the issue of pricing, I’d like to call your attention to Mark Silver, whom I include on my “love letters for my gurus” web page.

Mark has a unique exercise called “finding your right price.” In this structured process, several people develop a pricing consensus for a single product consistent with their individual gut-checks.

At first, it sounds kind of silly compared to more scientific approaches that include studying the competition and mathematical calculations.

But it works!

For more info on Mark’s methods, visit his website to sign up for his free newsletter and workbook. Or scroll down for info on Unveiling the Heart of Your Business, his 308-page ebook that offers a unique, heart-centered process to business development and details the right-price exercise.

Note: These are affiliate links and I may profit from your purchases.

Your thoughts on pricing?

A Tale of Two Restaurants

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .”

–Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

“The economy is the worst it has ever been. No wonder business stinks.”

–Some people I know

Quick! Someone please tell Red Lobster we’re having a recession. It takes entirely too long to find a parking space there.

We went to the Schaumburg (IL) Red Lobster late on a cold, snowy Saturday evening in January. I drove up and down the entire parking lot looking for a space but no luck. So I found myself facing the deep question that dogs mankind in such circumstances: Does the furniture store next door really tow cars if they catch nonpatrons parking there?

Then a stroke of luck. Someone pulled out of a handicapped space. Since I had a handicapped car placard (accompanied by a disabled passenger), I was able to claim it honestly.

Meanwhile, other family members beat us to the restaurant and got us on the waiting list. All the driving around proved to be a blessing as we walked past the waiting hordes with their beepers in hand to claim our table.

The place was pretty good. Excellent food, cheery waitress. The alcoholic beverage we all shared tasted like semi-thawed lemonade concentrate but it was so pretty we didn’t care. Food excellent but not cheap; the crowds weren’t here for the bargains.

Restaurant Number 2 is a family-owned, single-location restaurant in the next town over from us. Open nearly round the clock. A comprehensive menu of American, Italian and Greek entrees plus sandwiches. Breakfast served any time. A revolving case of sinfully rich desserts. Plus many of the meals are cheaper than Red Lobster’s.

We last visited the restaurant on a cold December evening. We arrived after the dinner rush, but as we glanced around at mostly empty tables, we readily equated the slow business with the economy. The server confirmed our impression. The elderly gentleman who owns the place sat at a large table gabbing with his equally elderly cronies, strolling over to the cash register when a departing customer was ready to pay.

The most convincing evidence that something was off was the vegetable of the day, a pallid mix of broccoli, cauliflower and carrots that automatically accompanied each entrée. The broccoli was a faded shade of green, like it had set out in the sun for a month. The other veggies weren’t quite as color challenged but they were equally soft.

Now I’m not the greatest chef in the world and I’ve never cooked in commercial quantities, but even I know that cooked vegetables, whether fresh or frozen, are tastier when cooked for the right amount of time instead of just left cooking in a pot on the stove till they are needed.

And even I know that it costs no more to do them right than to do them poorly.

I ate all my vegetables because that’s how I was raised. And we will go back to that restaurant eventually. (After all, that’s where Wayne and I met up on our first date after finding each other on match.com.)

I’d guess Restaurant Number 2 attributes the business slowdown to the recession. It’s the economy, stupid.

But I’d also guess that business is slow because the food simply ain’t that great lately.

Cause and effect can be a vicious cycle. I believe the mediocre vegetables and similar turnoffs are cause. But I’d also guess that the owner, if we had called him over to our table to complain, would have muttered some kind of apology and then confided to his cronies that the veggies are the effect. They are the way they are because business is slow.

I’m the customer and I believe that at least this time, I’m right. If he’d start by fixing the little things, those customers who haven’t sworn they’ll never go in that pit again would be more pleased the next time they eat there and would find themselves returning more frequently.

There’s not much that we as individuals can do about the economy. We can’t reverse foreign outsourcing, shrink trade deficits or revitalize the manufacturing sector.

But we can manage the details of our own businesses, one broccoli spear at a time.