comments

I've often said that twitter is email for exhibitionists. There are actually startling benefits to having some conversations "in public."

Hey Shannon . . . good article, though as a bit of a twitter maniac, I would have liked to see more about the ins and outs of twitter . . how to use twitter for networking (I've gotten 3 really nice sized jobs off twitter so far this year) . . .twitter ettiquette etc.

Oh, and here's my twitter link: http://www.twitter.com/chrishaddad

Later . . .

Bluntness: If you aren't using video in your web marketing, you're leaving money on the table. Traditional sales letters and web copy still work, but mixing in web video does amazing things for stickiness and conversion rates.

Hmm. Good question, Liam. I've seen a ton of discussion on the psychology of selling to women (and have written a number of successful promotions aimed at women) but most of the time people don't think about the flip side.

Are you mostly discussing selling to men in person or selling through marketing and sales materials?

In my own projects and projects for clients I've been doing a video/print combo. I'll often do sales letters that have video peppered throughout (showing a product in action or revealing a testimonial) or will do video-based pages that have print reinforcement.

Fact of the matter is that different people like to consume media and messaging in different ways. So you gots to put all your stuff on different "plates".

2008 was a good year . . . especially 4th quarter. No idea what 2009 is going to be like, but there's lots of projects on the horizon.

Re: charging . . .

I always charge when I do Biznik events (which isn't nearly often enough, I know.)

Why?

1. My time is valuable.
2. If you don't charge, people don't show up.

Hey Ilise,

Good stuff. My main focus when things get slow is to brainstorm new ways I can help my clients. If you let them, clients will throw you in a box and won't call you until they have a very particular need. But if you go to them with ways you can grow their business/serve them etc you'll open up a whole new world of cool opportunities.

Oh, come on . . . we all know that copy doesn't matter =-)

Hey Kristen,

Good stuff. I had to learn this the hard way a few years back.

I've got a nifty 16gig iPhone . . . so yeah, I surf the web on it pretty often. I actually don't have a computer at home, so the phone is my only way of getting online away from the office. The screen isn't huge, but I dig it.

Not to beat a dead horse, but hourly rates are DUMB DUMB DUMB anyway.

And as long as most Bizniks keep suffering from business self esteem issues, they're going to keep undercharging.

Fact of life.

Man, you found me out . . .

Um. Actually, no. I do some theatre acting/writing etc, but I'm a horrible, horrible visual artist. Must be some other Chris Haddad. Yeah, I know, the idea of there being 2 of me is horrifying.

Fun idea, though.

Hey Suzi,

I stumble from the Rowan down to Office Nomads every day and really, really like it. Just getting out into the world puts a nice spring in my step and makes it a lot easier to be productive.

You should come down and check it out. The first day is always free.

Hey Sierra . . =-)

I've been a big Office Nomads fan for the past 6 months or so (Heck, I was the first person to move in as a monthly member, even.)

The place is growing steadily, there's good art on the walls, there are good people to sit down and chat with and it's a heck of a lot better than being home all day.

And the pricing model is super, super simple.

$25 bucks a day gets you full run of the place during "office hours" . . . no additional fees for printing or anything like that.

$475 gets you a monthly membership where you can leave your stuff here and come in whenever you want (like on a Sunday right before you head out on vacation . . . which is what I'm doing.)

Oh, and the first day is always free, so just pop by and check it out. You'll know pretty quick if it's your kind of place or not.

Later, c

Hey Steve,

Good article. There's actually an old direct marketing concept called "Make your advertising itself useful."

The idea is that if your "Ad" actually provides some value, people will be a lot more likely to keep it around and to eventually put money in your pocket.

Now, that's not to say that you don't have to go for the pitch at some point (or actually lay the offer out on the line and explain why it's a good one) but giving away the "good stuff" is a great way to build up a relationship with your customers, gain trust and develop credibility.

It's also fun.

I use facebook quite often, though I'm pretty lazy about these things. I find myself becoming one of those luddites who gets annoyed when new technology enters my sphere. Why can't it stay like it was in 2004?

I mostly cross post things that I come up with for my blog or for my newsletter. It takes precious little extra effort to throw them up on biznik, and it helps me reach an audience that otherwise wouldn't be exposed to me.

Plus it's fun to get the feedback (some of which is just plain Hi-LARIOUS) and to get people saying that I actually helped them figure something out.

Oh, and I also use articles as a "testing ground" for whether I should run a biznik event. If an article "hits" well, I know there's enough interest to bother putting something together. If not, I know it's a waste of time.

I've been lazy on the article front lately, though. I've got a really good video I just posted on my blog, but as yet there's no way to include that.

Gas is up . . . Food is up . . . Paper is up . . .

Everything is up.

Everything is more expensive.

And a lot of people have less money in in their pockets to buy what you've got.

It's kind of like the real estate market.

A couple years ago anybody could make a living as a real estate agent.

Now people are falling out of that market in droves.

And the only people who are making a good living are the ones who (gasp) actually know how to sell a frikking house.

If you want your solo business to survive in the coming recession, you've got to be savvy and brutally honest about what works and what doesn't work in your business.

Or you're going to go the way of the dodo.

The funny thing is that solo pros are in a much better position to thrive than folks who are stuck inside traditional companies.

(After all, they can be laid off.)

But here's what I would suggest . . .

Figure out what your market really wants . . . Make sure your product or service meets that need . . . Pack your product or service with as much overwhelming value as possible (to the point that your customers feel like they're ripping you off) And have a reasonable price (that's probably higher than you think.)

Oh, and learn how to sell . . . hee.

One year from today I will have stopped taking clients and will be using my staggering copywriting and marketing knowledge for my own benefit instead of to make other people rich.

(Ok, maybe I'll take one or two clients when I feel like it.)