Review – Putting the Public Back in Public Relations
Image from Amazon.ca
Putting the Public Back In Public Relations by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge
First, don’t be put off by the “PR” aspect of the book.
Believe me, this is not another Public Relations theory book. Though Solis and Breakenridge do discuss the history and traditional practices of the industry, it’s more of a planning and practical guidebook for using new PR 2.0 strategies to build trust and credibility.
This book doesn’t just put the “public” back in public relations, it puts the human back into community relations and business promotion. Forget about automation and accumulating media hits, and think about creating a plan encourages others to continue to be interested in, and involved with, your company.
“Fusing marketing, PR, community relations, product marketing, and customer service in an entirely new, socially aware role.” -PPBPR
Solis and Breakenridge address the real problems with PR, and how the industry’s reputation has declined over the years. The internet has put a spotlight on PR’s worst-practices and blunders, and the authors identify how conscientious PR practitioners can begin to change the way others see the industry as a whole.
How to Raise the Bar in Your Own Company
Every once in a while, we stumble on something that truly resonates with our own ideas about how to run a successful small business.
I can’t remember where I found the link for this video. Most likely, it originated in a tweet and I clicked through to find Jason Fried’s post “The Bar for Success in Our Industry is Too Low” featuring David Heinemeier Hannsson’s talk at Startup School 2008.
All I know is that I’ve watched the video several times over the last few days. Though there are many differences between our industries, the problems we face are quite similar. When it comes to working online, there are so many expectations that act as obstacles to our success. We live in a new media world of “free,” “instant success,” and the work week that’s over before lunch hour every Monday. It’s creating high expectations with little commitment from our clients and ourselves.
The most important points: Read more
How I Rock the Web on John Haydon’s Blog
John Haydon, owner of JohnHaydon.com, invited me to write a guest post on his blog. Please feel free to visit, comment and share: “How I Use Social Media for Business.”
It’s warm and fuzzy. I promise.
Thanks, John!
5 Ways to Conduct Market Research on a Shoestring Budget
Whether you are a big business or small business, market research is always important. Without it, all of your carefully made plans and hours spent creating your service or product will be wasted.
There’s no point in trying to sell a product that no one wants.
And honestly, you don’t need a huge budget to conduct market research. If you wanted to, you could purchase reports from market research agencies; they spend a lot of time and money creating reports that will tell you if it’s worth trying to sell your products in a certain market to a certain kind of person. If you can afford it, that’s great.
But for those of us who don’t have the start-up capital to pay out thousands of dollars to these firms, we have to conduct out own market research.
So here are 5 ways a small business can conduct market research on a budget:
Losing Sales? Learn How to Test & Refine Your SEO Sales Copy
We all do it.
We get so hyped up about our products that we spend days or weeks creating the perfect sales page. Every word is carefully crafted. and the images complement each point with precision. It can’t miss. We publish it, let it sit and then leave it for too long before we realize we’re not getting the results we want.
So we get discouraged and pull it down before the bounce rate starts to weigh on our self-esteem.
But sometimes, its not the entire sales letter that’s missing the mark. It can be improved with just a little more attention.
One of the most often overlooked aspects of long-term Search Engine Optimized (SEO) sales copywriting success is testing. Successful copywriters and marketers are always be testing their copy by creating simple text, positioning and elemental variations.
By using analytics, you can track how long people stay on the page, which images catch their attention and the point at which they lose interest and wander off.
The only way to know what will work for you is to use analytics to make simple changes and continue to test the results.
Start with your title and sub-title and work your way through the text.
Be sure to test only one or two elements at a time so you can track changes and responses.
- Will shorter or longer sentences work better in a sales letter?
- Do short paragraphs work better than long paragraphs?
- Should I use sub-headings before each call to action?
- How many bullet points or lists should I use?
- Where should I place the call-to-action?
If you don’t have a method to test new copywriting variations and measure the results, you won’t be able to maximize your copy’s potential. The sole reason for your SEO sales copy to support your prospect’s buying decisions and generate sales.
Don’t come to any conclusions about your SEO sales copy unless it is supported by your testing results. It doesn’t matter which type of testing you use or how often you test, just test! Once you notice a difference in sales conversions, make note of the changes that were made to prompt new sales.
Don’t underestimate the effect of outside variables either. Out side variables can drastically affect your sales success. Do some quick research to find out if the search engines change something to make you more visible, or the news featured a story related to your product that might have prompted more keyword searches.
Once you’ve reached your optimum conversion rate, use the tested SEO copy as your control sample and use it to refine the rest of your pre-sales pieces.
By testing your copy, you’ll uncover your prospects visual and copy preferences. Use an analytic application such as Google Analytics, Woopra, or even Crazy Egg, to listen to your buyers and eliminate flaws in your copy. An increase or decrease in sales conversions is the only true way to determine if your SEO sales copy is performing the way it should.
If you want to be a successful marketer by using SEO copy to out-perform the competition, stop guessing and continuously test your copy.
