Today is Saturday, Jan. 9. It's been 3 days since the radio program on KOOP.org with me as the guest went on the airways. You can download and listen to the podcast here.
I actually listened to the podcast for the first time last night, mostly because a) I was de-pressurizing and b) I didn't expect to be surprised by anything that happened. In my view, the interview went well considering this was my first 'live' interview and I think we (the hosts and I) were able to get some key pieces of information out to the listeners. We talked about the new media vs. the old, the power of free content in creating followers, the difference between a website and blog, the tools to identify and address your target audience. We even spent sometime on the Long Tail concept. I didn't get to talk about the 1000 true fans which answers 'am I ever going to make any money doing this?' but for the most part, we covered the marketing strategy side pretty well.
However, I probably would do some things differently next time. Unbeknownst to me, listeners were also interested in the mechanics of doing the things that I was talking about, the tactical side of marketing. These would be things like steps to start a website or a blog, choosing a business friendly social media site and the process of accepting checks online. Although I am a marketing strategy and product planning guy, if my target audience is looking for tactics and ‘how to’ answers, this they should receive. That is the essence of any good strategy!
Now that this part of the journey is over, it's time to move over to the second part. I've just started re-designing my new website. I plan to fire my old hosting company and move the website to a new host. The reason? The new company provides a content management system (CMS) that makes it easy for me to make changes to my website. My old hosting company used a pitiful software tool for designing a website with lots of limitations and would charge for any major changes that were outside of the software capability. Since I plan to make ongoing changes to the website, it was time to pay a bit more and move up the capability ladder. This fits my marketing strategy for the next phase of my business.
For those of you who listened to the show, let me know if have any questions and I'll answer it on the blog.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
'Should I start with a website or blog?'
First, let's start with an update. I initially was scheduled to speak on Writing On the Air, on December 31st. But there was some confusion on the hand off so I am now scheduled for Wednesday January the 6th. The hosts at the studio invited me to come in and listen to the live show on Dec. 31 with Edgar E. Pace, and work out the jitter bugs (by the way, Edgar put on a great show!). I got a few sentences in during the show and later my wife said I was a little shaky at first but things got better as the show went on. So, having a few extra days gives me a chance to cover some new topics prior to the show and hopefully a better show to kick off the new year.
So far, we've covered the basics. If you've read the posts and clicked on some of the links, by now you should know I am a believer in the ability to express your goals in clear language. For example, for a non-fiction writer, this could be something like "my goal is to start writing a blog about the topic of my book, have 10 academic reviews in the next 20 weeks, generate at least 3 positive testimonials that I can use on the website and sell 20-30 books a month by the end of the year". If you feel you are suddenly frozen and not at all sure if these goals make sense or what should happen next, relax. This is normal! These goals are not meant to be cast in stone. Rather, they serve as a roadmap for getting you started. The actual work itself will reveal new directions, skills and opportunities that are not initially clear. For instance, speaking opportunities might not be part of your initial set of goals but you may need to add that in if you find that you are selling more books after speaking engagements than all other efforts combined.
Moving forward with that same thought process, there is really no right or wrong answer to the question 'should I start with a website or a blog?’ A blog serves a different purpose than a website and as long as you understand this, the important thing is to follow your marketing plan, by 'doing' rather than 'contemplating'. Technically, a blog is a website but it's designed for dynamic and frequently changing content. The tools used for writing blogs and posting them are written so non-technical people can use them as if they are writing in a journal. Here is more good info on the topic. In short, a blog is about building your reputation (a good one, I hope) and keeping your audience interested in you and your message. A website is the place where you take care of business. This is where you tell them about your work of art, why your work should be considered a literary masterpiece, your well-deserved credentials and of course where they can purchase your product and enjoy adding it to their collection of books or other works of art.
When I formed my consulting business, I started with a website. My plan was to get the site up quickly and then refer potential clients to the site to see some samples of my work. In the rush to get the site up and running, I didn't think a lot about my 'buyer persona' and 'website design'. In hindsight, that wasn't a very good idea but my original marketing plan was about selling consulting services through my network and not the website. Now, I've done a 180 and re-doing my marketing goals to include an effective online marketing plan. This new plan includes having a blog and expanding the services my network of consultants and I can offer.
So what is next for me? I am in the process of working with a new hosting and web design company. Since the website content generally stays static, I initially used a low-end website editor (software tool that allows you to build your own website) offered by my original hosting company. The new site will be different in several ways, including a more professional look and feel, better definition of my target audience and more relevant content. If there is interest, I will write about this process as I go through it.
So far, we've covered the basics. If you've read the posts and clicked on some of the links, by now you should know I am a believer in the ability to express your goals in clear language. For example, for a non-fiction writer, this could be something like "my goal is to start writing a blog about the topic of my book, have 10 academic reviews in the next 20 weeks, generate at least 3 positive testimonials that I can use on the website and sell 20-30 books a month by the end of the year". If you feel you are suddenly frozen and not at all sure if these goals make sense or what should happen next, relax. This is normal! These goals are not meant to be cast in stone. Rather, they serve as a roadmap for getting you started. The actual work itself will reveal new directions, skills and opportunities that are not initially clear. For instance, speaking opportunities might not be part of your initial set of goals but you may need to add that in if you find that you are selling more books after speaking engagements than all other efforts combined.
Moving forward with that same thought process, there is really no right or wrong answer to the question 'should I start with a website or a blog?’ A blog serves a different purpose than a website and as long as you understand this, the important thing is to follow your marketing plan, by 'doing' rather than 'contemplating'. Technically, a blog is a website but it's designed for dynamic and frequently changing content. The tools used for writing blogs and posting them are written so non-technical people can use them as if they are writing in a journal. Here is more good info on the topic. In short, a blog is about building your reputation (a good one, I hope) and keeping your audience interested in you and your message. A website is the place where you take care of business. This is where you tell them about your work of art, why your work should be considered a literary masterpiece, your well-deserved credentials and of course where they can purchase your product and enjoy adding it to their collection of books or other works of art.
When I formed my consulting business, I started with a website. My plan was to get the site up quickly and then refer potential clients to the site to see some samples of my work. In the rush to get the site up and running, I didn't think a lot about my 'buyer persona' and 'website design'. In hindsight, that wasn't a very good idea but my original marketing plan was about selling consulting services through my network and not the website. Now, I've done a 180 and re-doing my marketing goals to include an effective online marketing plan. This new plan includes having a blog and expanding the services my network of consultants and I can offer.
So what is next for me? I am in the process of working with a new hosting and web design company. Since the website content generally stays static, I initially used a low-end website editor (software tool that allows you to build your own website) offered by my original hosting company. The new site will be different in several ways, including a more professional look and feel, better definition of my target audience and more relevant content. If there is interest, I will write about this process as I go through it.
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