(Click the link to learn more about My Speaking Services)

This was a group of mostly non-bloggers (I think only 2 out of 35 were currently blogging).  So my presentation was mostly geared around trying to show the group how a blog could be a valuable alternative to paying the high fees associated with Real Estate lead generation websites.

In talking to the organization’s president I found out that currently 50% of the home buyers in the market are Millenials.

So the question of the day was:

How does the real estate industry, which is dominated by professionals from the Baby Boomer and Generation X eras, communicate with buyers from the Millennial Generation?

After doing some market research on Real Estate Agencies in Upstate NY while preparing for the presentation, I couldn’t get past this one thought… Opportunity.

There is so much opportunity… BECAUSE NO ONE WAS BLOGGING!

Well I guess two people were, but their blogging was a little brochure based and 2 out of 35 is essentially no one.

The opportunity comes from the absence of this:

If you are looking to purchase a home in the eastern half of Upstate NY there isn’t one Online resource which explains the simplest (And to this real estate consumer the most obvious) real estate question:

How do I choose the right home?

But here is where things get good.

I really wanted to hammer home this point.  How could no one be answering this question Online?  But more importantly, if you are the person that does answer this question through your blog, you immediately become an expert in the eyes of anyone that reads that article and subsequently a valuable resource and sought-after professional in the market.

So I had this story.

Actually, it’s my personal story from a year ago when my wife and I bought a new home.

In the story I talk about how the Real Estate Agent I used was more thrust upon us by my Father-in-Law then we found her (She was absolutely excellent by-the-way, not knocking her it’s just the way it went down for us).

The crux of the story (without getting into too much detail) was that despite the fact she came highly recommended and seemed very knowledgeable, we went Online and checked everything she said.  We looked at 20 different websites for every house she recommended.  We fact-checked all the advice she gave.

Despite a great relationship with her and trusting her, we still needed to be reassured on what she was telling us.

This is called Social Validation.

And my point in telling the story was a blog allows you to create an information resource available 24 hours a day that validates everything you say in the real world.  A quality blog presence provides credibility and shows expertise to a Generation, my generation, the Millennials, that wants Online reassurance of what their being told in the real world.

Then the question came that I was waiting for:

“If they don’t believe in person, why would they believe me Online?”

(BTW when speaking to a live audience, questions are often what take a good message and make it Powerful!)

See this is what I wanted the audience to away from my presentation… Just because they didn’t trust the Internet, just because they were uncomfortable blogging, just because they didn’t see the value in Online content…

That Doesn’t Mean Their Clients and Prospects Don’t See the Value in Online Content.

It’s not about us.

It’s about our clients and prospects.

When I do business with someone I want to be able to go Online and learn more about them.  I want to get a feel for their expertise.  I want to see reviews of their work.  I want Social Validation that I am making the correct decision in doing business with this person.

The Rub

I created an Amazon Kindle version of my fantastic eBook to give readers a chance to publicly review my work and lend social validation to potential readers.

Just think, once you start blogging you will have an entire archive of articles that provide Social Validation to the work you do. Through consistency and patience you’ll start to develop a resource that attracts people to your business Online before they ever contact you.

These customers will have Social Validation for your before they do business with you, making your job as value creator easy and authority even stronger.  These customers won’t need to go back and check everything you say… Because they’ll have already bought into your expertise.

Good luck!

Related posts:

1. How To Make Money Selling Value through Blogging and Social Media
2. How To Get Found in the Social Media Madness
3. Be the Professional You Are in the Social World

Articles, tweets, updates, posts, Diggs, Pins, pictures, Stumbles, videos, slideshows, etc…

We are creating absurd amounts of content.

It’s madness the rate at which we’re creating content.  We all want to have the article that “Goes Viral” and attracts thousands of page views in a day, making our blog instantly famous and our business a over-night success.

But how does our little article get found through all the clutter?

When Google produces it’s list of results, how do we get that web-searcher to click our article and not the article above or below ours?

Well it’s actually pretty simple… Your title has to Kick-Ass!

Your post title needs to be enticing… It needs to be sexy… It needs to be engaging… Your post title needs to promise a valuable solution to the question asked.

Many social Gurus or Rockstars call this “Clickable” (Damn I hate social media buzz terms).

What they mean is the title of your blog post has to irresistible to click.

Because the title is what draws people to blog.

Think about it.  The majority of search results and social sharing is done in the format of Title – Link.  The title of your post is the only piece of information a potential reader has to determine whether they should follow that link or not.

People will ignore boring and/or general post titles for as long as they can.  They will try every interesting or focused post title first.

I’m definitely beating up this topic a bit now but I want you get this thought process clear in your head:

If you can’t come up with a post title that gets me excited to read your content, then why wouldn’t I assume your blog post is anything other than boring crap?

Huge generalization… I know.  But it’s true and this is why:

Noise

There is so much crappy content out on the Inter-Web.  There is so much content in general but a lot of that content just flat out sucks.

To get found you have make your Awesome content stand out from the crappy tired content.

The Internet is about solutions, no doubt, but not just any solutions.  The Internet is about focused, interesting, funny, personal, educational, sexy solutions…

I’m not going to go through the common “Here is how you write a Title” list.  That has been done a thousand times by bloggers better than myself.

If you’re looking to for that check out this: 9 Proven Headline Formulas by Copyblogger.  This is the best resource I know of and one I continue to go back to just to refresh the post title writing portion of my brain.

“Ryan, this post isn’t really a How-To?”

Yes, it is.  It’s a Wake-Your-Ass-Up-and-Realize-Post-Titles-are-Important How-To!

Without going into the technical aspects of SEO, you get found on the Internet by being Interesting and Adding Value.

It’s that simple.

I mean, c’mon now… I hope you’re starting to realize there isn’t a magic silver Internet bullet that makes your blog a success.

Getting found Online takes Consistency and Patience. It takes focus and dedication.  It takes determination and personality.

It’s not easy.

I don’t have the magic silver get-found bullet for social media success and if I did do you think I’d give it away for free?

(Maybe I would… I do give away this ridiculously valuable eBook for Free)

However, if there was a magic silver get-found bullet for social media success a very important part would writing an excellent post title.

The Rub

So how do you get found in the social media madness?

Understand that simply producing content is not good enough.  Your post title has to be interesting, it has to be valuable and it has to be… uggggg… Clickable.

From now on do this little exercise before you hit the Publish button on a new post:

• Hit Save Draft
• Close the Word Document or Webpage
• Go get a glass of water or cup of coffee or whatever
• Come back and re-open the document
• Look at your Title only

Would you click that title?

If the title of your article came up in a Google search would it catch your eye?

Yes… Hit Publish.

No… Don’t Hit Publish and get more creative.

Good luck!

Related posts:

1. How To Make Money Selling Value through Blogging and Social Media
2. Why Social Validation is the Most Important Aspect of Blogging
3. Social Media Tools Insurance Professionals Don’t Understand: Google+

Here is a story why:

Last week my insurance agency received a phone call from a man interested in getting a review of his auto and renter insurance.  Pretty standard stuff, we get these inbound unsolicited phone calls from time to time.

People drive by our agency for years and finally decide to give us a try or maybe they saw us in the phone book or an ad we placed in a local Chamber of Commerce business book or maybe they did a Google search and found our webpage… All the standard, traditional places that someone finds a small business.

In most cases, people who call in unsolicited, are price shoppers.  These are the people that place little to no value on the service we provide as insurance agents.  In most cases, these are people who call everyone they can, fill out every online form they can find, every six months, to find a cheaper rate on their insurance.

Not usually your best client.

But this call was different.

My wife (Who works at the agency with me) asked this gentleman where he had heard of The Murray Group.

It was his reply that got me completed jacked out of my mind…

“I went onto Yelp.com and I searched for Albany Insurance.  Your agency and couple others came up. The reason I’m calling your insurance agency and not the others is because you had two recommendations and none of the other agencies had any…”

This man was moving into the Albany area, went to Yelp.com to find an insurance provider and the reviews that our agency has on Yelp convinced him that we were the best Insurance Agency in Albany to do business with.

BOO-YAH!!!

Reviews Are Referrals

You can check out our Yelp Page Here.

Customer reviews of their experience with your product, service or business in general are extremely powerful.  This is someone willing to post publicly about YOUR QUALITY.   People are attaching their name to your business.  That is a big deal.

You have to see that.  You have to see the power in reviews.

Reviews are Online referrals…

Reviews provide assurance that you are everything you say you are.  Reviews are Online content that you cannot produce yourself.  That is part of what makes reviews so powerful.

It’s not you bragging about yourself.  It’s a 3rd party, a person with no obligation to you telling the world that you are worth the time…

Reviews Aren’t Easy

But here is the tricky part… You have to ASK for reviews.

Wait, wait… let’s rewind a bit.  First you have to actually be good at what you do.  You have to ADD VALUE to the lives of your clients and customers.  You have to put your clients and customers first and deliver on the promises you make them.

Once your clients and customers are satisfied, then you ASK for reviews.

“Ryan, I feel greedy or silly asking for reviews”

That’s a YOU thing. You have to get over that crap.  But if you need a simple place to start say this:

“I’ve really enjoyed working with you.  I have one simple request, as a way to get better at what I do and hopefully help more people like yourself, I’d love for you to review your experience working with me on Yelp.com.  It’s super simple and easy.  I’ll email you the link and very much appreciate you taking a few minutes to share your thoughts.”

<or something similar>

The majority of people will love this.  Your customers will love that you value their feedback.

Yes, some people will never do it.  But if one in three does, you’ll have a heck of a lot of reviews in a very short amount of time.

The Rub

Reviews give people social validation for doing business with you, just like a referral (And I know you love referrals).

The best Online content is content YOU didn’t create.

(My newsletter addresses more Success Driven Content Strategies).

Yelp.com and review sites of similar ilk will be a big focus for my insurance agency marketing moving forward. They were on my radar before, but this one phone call has changed things in my mind.  Reviews, just like referrals, help to break down the psychological barriers to purchasing online.

Blogging and social media can help do this, but Reviews take everything to the next level!

Thank you,

Ryan H.

Speak Your Mind and Deliver Value in Comments Below!

Have you been encouraging reviews on Yelp.com?  Have you gotten any business directly from Yelp or sites like it?

Related posts:

1. Small Business SEO Experiment – Week 2
2. Small Business SEO Experiment Results – Week 1
3. 10 Tools I Use to Harness My Online Presence

Other the last three years I’ve developed some battle-derived actionable ideas on the role blogging and social media will play in the small business organizations that desire victory.

See, I’m an independent insurance agent for family-owned agency in Upstate, NY.  I live and breathe the commoditization of small business every day.

Every day of my work life I must compete against the misconception that personal insurance policies are all same… This is the belief incessantly drilled into insurance consumers’ brains by direct marketing companies… That PRICE is all that matters.

price. Price. PRICE.

What if I told you that no matter how hard you worked on your product (retail item, professional service, ebook, e-course, whatever) the only determining factor in purchasing that product was it price versus perceived competition… You’d be pissed right?

All your hard work.  All the time and effort and expertise and passion and energy you poured into making your product the best possible solution for a consumer… And all that consumer cared about was price.  I’m pretty sure that would piss you off.

But that is what small business deals with every day.

I know there is so much more to the insurance industry than just price.

But what I know doesn’t matter.

See, the only thing that matters when it comes to the success of my small business is the consumers understanding of my product (This is the case no matter what industry you work in).

Commoditization

The reason small business is currently losing the battle versus Big Box competitors is not because of hard economic times or bloated marketing budgets… The problem is us.  We, small business professionals, are falling into the commodity trap.

The easy sale…

The price sale…

The “right now” sale…

The “my price is lower” sale… (If our price is lower, and most times it’s not, with good reason).

We fall into this trap because we need to keep the lights on.

So what is a small business to do?

Define Your Niche, Own It, and Deliver Value First

Primarily, I make money selling insurance in four ways: Referrals, In-person networking, Cold Calling and Online.

Making money through referrals, in-person networking, and cold calls is all about grinding.  It’s a simple equation:

X amount of Time = X amount of Dollars.  You get what you put in. Simple.

But we have technology and it seems silly that so many small businesses refuse to embrace a tool that allows us to do all the things we used to do to make money, but now leverage our time to make even more.

So for the rest of this article we’re going to focus on some core concepts that deliver results to the BLOGGER… Social Salesperson.

Define Your Niche

The Internet is really big and subsequently there is a ton of information that is already out there to be found.  Some of that information is crap… but much more of it is at least halfway decent.

This means that just about anything you write on your blog, post on your Facebook page or tweet out to your followers has been said before (or at least something similar).  So if there is tons of information that is exactly the same as the information that you want to post, how are you supposed to get noticed and be successful?

The answer is frustratingly simple, consistently spread your message to a defined niche at nausea.

You cannot be a general agent in blogging and social media.  The Internet has dawned a new age, the age of the Expert.  Consumers research a topic on the Internet and Social Media to meet an expert.  The quickest way to NOT get noticed on Social Media is to try and be everything to everyone.

For my insurance business I market Professional Liability, Restaurant Insurance, and Local Personal Lines.  I blog enough, tweet enough, and comment enough in my geographic social media universe that I have very good results in those three areas.

Would I love to have an enormous manufacturing risk call me and produce a $100,000 in revenue?  Yes.  But that is not my market and I don’t know squat about insuring manufacturing operations.  I want to be Eastern New York State’s go-to expert for the three niches I listed above.

Take-away: Define your niche so you can stand out from the crowd.

Own Your Niche

The difference between defining your niche and owning it is that you actually have to know what you’re talking about.  I may not know every single caveat of a Professional Liability policy but I OWN why you should have one.

I talk about every facet of the policy, not just generic boring rhetoric that you would hear from some talking head on the Today Show, but gritty details that startle and surprise would-be policy owners.

I constantly inject little ditties that make prospects realize two things before I communicate with them in person:

1. There is a legitimate possibility they are inadequately insured
2. I am the agent that has the solutions

What if every client you called on had made these two mental recognitions before you spoke to them.  Do you think your sales would go up?

Heck yes they would!

Take-Away: Be the expert that consumers are searching for.

Deliver Value First

Blogging and social media are not about the number of fans and followers you have.

Blogging and social media are about engagement, subscriptions and conversions.

Your success in blogging and social media will be determined by the frequency in which you deliver value that compels your social community to take action.   

(I discuss Success in more detail in My Awesome Newsletter).

Let’s break that last statement down so it’s a little easier to digest:

First, let’s talk about value and what it means to your social media community.

Value is information or action that means something to the consumer.  Very few people care what insurance awards I won this year (doesn’t mean awards aren’t important just means your community doesn’t need to hear about it twenty times).

Consumers do care about:

• You philanthropic endeavors,
• New discounts available in their market,
• Simple tips to make their life easier,
• Behind the curtain understanding of products,
• Basic How-To’s,
• Additional resources and experts,
• Answers to everyday questions.

Consumers care about the things that affect their own lives, so talk about those things.

If you don’t know what those things are, ask your clients what types of information they could receive from you that would add value to their life.

Second, let’s address the frequency of posting on a blog or to social media because I know this is big question.

Again, the answer is very simple, post as frequently as you can, provided the post adds value to some section of your community.

I give you permission to post 100 times a day if each post is value-filled.

If you can only come up with one valuable post a day, only post once.  But you can’t post your office hours once a month on Twitter and wonder why no one follows you.

Third, and most importantly, your consistently valuable social media posts must compel your social community to take action.

This is the “Give to Get” principle, only in social media if you don’t ask there is going to be NO get. 

It’s ok to think about yourself too…  This is how we make money, “The Ask.”  Not every time you post, but often enough that potential customers know what you want them to do.

• “Connect with me on my favorite social network.”
• “Subscribe to my newsletter.”
• “Stop by my office for a free car wash coupon.”
• “Let me review your Home and Auto Insurance with our trusted carriers.”

Did you notice anything about the progression of those asks?  Each “ask” was a slightly larger commitment by your social community, then we took the relationship offline, and finally we asked for the business.

(I talk more about the increasing psychological barriers consumers must hurtle to purchase Online in this short video How Blogging Turns Traffic to Leads and Leads to Revenue).

Take-away: Deliver value on a regular basis and ask for the business.

The Rub

I always finish my blog posts with a section called The Rub.  If you read no other portion of each blog post The Rub would be the section you want to read because it’s where I summarize all the BS I laid out in the previous 200… 500… 1,000 words.

In this manifesto I want you to leave with these two thoughts that I hope will haunt you:

“We as small business professionals, (no matter if you’re a main street business or Internet Marketer), hold the key to our own success by utilizing social media and blogging to sell Value.”

“Own your niche and deliver value relentlessly.  Cash will rain from the sky… Figuratively.”

Want to hear more?

You can learn more about my Speaking Services or Download my Free eBook on Social Tools.

Related posts:

1. How To Get Found in the Social Media Madness
2. The Professional’s Dilemma: To Engage in Social Media?
3. Social Media Tools Insurance Professionals Don’t Understand: YouTube

Because I want to be clear here,  it’s the Blogger that Makes an Awesome Blog and Not the other way around.

People Make a Blog Awesome… Not Tools.

Lately I’ve been talking a lot about tools.  I built a Blogging Resources page, I wrote an article on using Aweber for my e-newsletter and also created the Content Creation Curation on Pinterest.

Each is a piece of writing I’m proud of and I believe was important to share.  But these are tools.  Each plays a role in the way my Blog is run. None of them speak to why people actually visit my blog and engage in the content.

WRITE

Tools are important, for sure.  Your blog can’t look like the Frat House floor on Sunday morning.

But no one visits your blog because of the way it looks.  They come for you… Yes, YOU!

Blogger… Person who bangs keys to create words to form sentences that combine thoughts that frame theory which delivers value… Blogger

You and your words are the reason that people visit your blog, so spend time on the words and thoughts, not the plugins and font styles.  (Please realize I’m not trying to be preachy with this.  I am just as guilty as anyone for wasting time on my blog design… No doubt, vanity is a bitch).

Take Seth Godin’s blog, which looks like complete crap, but I read it every day.  His content is thought provoking and antagonistic.  It makes you question yourself and the way you do business.  More importantly it makes you question your relationships and human interactions…

You Are Not Seth Godin

…And neither am I.  Seth Godin is a New York Times Best Selling author and a Trust Agent.  We’re not there yet, so the look of our blog does matter.  I just don’t want you wasting time on it.  I want you to write.  I want you creating content.  Remember that Creating Content is Stage 1 of a Successful Blog.

Here are all 5 Stages of a Successful Blog:

• Create Content
• Build Relationships
• Drive Engagement
• Encourage Subscription
• Convert to Leads

The Rub

Always remember that people come to you blog, personal as well as business, for YOU!  They want the knowledge that you have… They want to enjoy your personality and connect with you on a deeper level.

Use the Blogging Resource page I created to find some tools that will help your blog run smoother or look a little more professional (I’m always updating this page).  Just don’t dwell on it.

Create Content…

Add Value…

Create Content…

Add Value…

Good luck!

Related posts:

1. Social Media Tools Insurance Professionals Don’t Understand: YouTube
2. The Secret to a Successful Business Blog (And it’s not great content)
3. 10 Free eBooks that Will Help the Blogger in Your Life Kick-Ass

We human beings are selfish.

We are! Self-preservation is hard-wired into us.

“You don’t really care, in all honesty, and I mean this with the utmost respect, why I’m here. You don’t how I feel. You don’t care about my agenda. You don’t care if I’m terminal, you don’t care if I’ve got a tooth-ache, all you care about is I sure as hell better give you one heck of a benefit and a pay-off in the 3 hours or you’re
gonna be pissed. And that’s human nature… you can’t fault human beings for being human but you have to appreciate, respect, and empathize how they look at life, and you’ll be able to harness…all the opportunities that abound.” – Jay Abraham

Jay Abraham is a very wise man, he understands this, and uses it to communicate with people better.

But it’s not just your market that’s selfish at it’s core – It’s you, too.

And by selfish, I mean that everyone of us, at all times, on a deep, celluar level is sensitive to what feels like pleasure to us, personally, and what feels like pain.

So, since we’re all selfish at our core, why are so many websites in the blog-arena going on and on about “know your target market” and “catering to their needs?”

• AffectSelling’s
  Buyer Persona Post
• CopyBlogger’s
  Imaginary Friend Post
• OneSpoonAtATime’s
  Target Profile
• FirepoleMarketing’s
  Finding Your One Person

And I’ve seen a bunch more.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love these blogs and authors, and all these articles are helpful. (I read copyblogger often, I’m new to Peter’s and Paul’s sites, and I follow Firepole like
it’s practically a religious experience.)

Danny Iny (FirepoleMarketing) even acknowledges how over-done this talk of targeting, niche-ing, and ‘knowing your target market’ is.

“I am absolutely certain you have heard, perhaps too many times, about the need to niche and to focus [on a target market].” – Danny Iny

So people know this advice is everywhere, and I keep bumping into them. (Maybe it’s a sign… lol)

I swear, I feel a little bit of nausea wash over me when I’m scanning an article and my eyes see “know your market.”

(well not really, but it paints a picture)

I stand for Sexy Success, and hearing so many blogs talk about ’knowing your fans’ and ‘getting inside their heads’ is not sexy to me.

It’s boring.

Saturated topics become un-sexy, fast. Everyone wants something new, and that’s okay.

Maybe you’re not like me, maybe you LOVE all the talk on this subject. Maybe you don’t even run into these posts – I don’t know, I don’t pretend to be “inside your head” <grin>.

And you know, I contribute to the saturation, it’s not like I’m some high-and-mighty guy who’s never written about the subject.

In fact, recently I wrote my own article on “audience segmentation” — of course I feel like it’s one of the most out-standing pieces on the subject, , but regardless, it was me talking about ‘knowing your target market’.

I wonder, are all these bloggers who claim to want me to know and talk to my audience, really talking to me? Do they really know me?

Because I’m not super jazzed to read about this stuff, for the most part.

I’ll tell you what resonates with me, and it’s not “knowing my target market” – that doesn’t move me. The advice, which is basically telling me to “be personal and get inside their
heads,” and yet… the advice itself feels abstract and impersonal, and like the people who are writing it don’t get me well at all.

If they did, they’d talk about what resonates with me.

Success. Vision. Fantastic, thrilling, imagined futures which can and will come to pass!

Here’s what resonates with me more:

• Introductions which talk of feeling like a leader in the market.
• Teaser paragraphs that describe being an influencer of the masses.
• Body texy that describes what it truly feels like to be a liberator of my tribe, leading them effortlessly to solutions that are good for them.
• I like feeling like I can be myself, talk how I prefer, deliver products + services I enjoy and be rewarded for it.

Those are some things I like, and I think you like them too, but to be honest with you, I’m just saying what’s in my heart. This is my first guest post on Ryan’s site, and it might be that I don’t know his tribe super-well, but I get the feeling they’re similar to him. (Ryan, jump in here anytime buddy )

If the bloggers were talking about this leadership + influence stuff, I’d be more impacted, eager to pay attention, and to act.

To me, talking about being an influential leader is sexy, and I’m riveted by it.

It’s selfish. It’s what I want. It’s what I enjoy. It’s how I see myself and the result I’m after.

I’m not focused on ‘knowing my target market.’

I’m not against it, I’m just not psyched about it. Is anyone? Does anyone wake up and say “Man, my life dream, what I really want more than anything… is to know my target market! Yeah!”

And that’s okay, be selfish, focus on being the leader you know you want to be.

…Because I’m going to give you the same message all these other blogs are giving you, but I’m going to give it to you in a fresh, new way.

So, here we go.

“If you want to feel like a powerful, influential leader… if you want your content and business to be a life-enhancing thriving experience for your tribe instead of a commodified seller of stuff… if you want to feel like a shining, trusted, communicator who is deeply listened to… If you want to be rewarded and
acknowledged in your business and your offers –

all you have to do… allll you have to do — is do what you love, and be yourself, no worries at all of ‘knowing your target market’…

…With one super-tiny detail.

In that vision of the leader you could be, with everyone hanging on your every word… surely you’ll have to be communicating with some other human beings.

Right?

Your clients, your team, the media… somebody!

So you’ll have to communicate with them, like a good leader does.

So, at times — and only at times — you’ll need to know them, to be a good leader.

Want to know how to have this super-necessary leadership skill, so you’re not left out in the cold? Check out my article: “How To Find The ‘Lots Of Money’ That Is ‘Out There’ “

If the articles I was reading went something a little more like that, you can bet I’d be focused, listening, and ready to act.

Let me offer you another example – cooking for guests.

Have you ever made a dish for some guests, where you just made whatever you had around, whatever you liked, and your guests knew you, trusted you, and liked you, and so… not surprisingly… they enjoyed the dish?

That’s what I’m talking about. That’s my kind of interaction.  That’s what I want for my business — I make awesome stuff that I like and am confident in, and the people I connect with like sharing
it.

And for the most part, people have no problem doing this. The thing about it is, you already have some experience

eating. You *know* what will go over well with the guests, for the most part, but you may not have the same experience in your business.

It’s not complicated, people do it all the time. You be yourself, you cook what you like, and your guests enjoy it.

A host is a leader. They lead the party. They want to please their tribes and lead them well.

Of course they want to know their tribes, but they don’t know they do or why. When they’re standing in front of a table of food being untouched, they don’t want to hear “know your guests!!!!! 111! 111!”

Before telling someone to ‘know their tribe,’ I like to focus on helping them feel like a leader first. In business, in social media, and in life.

So, let’s say now they’re thinking about leading their tribe; now they’re thinking about influencing others…

…now you bring up the super-tiny detail. (know your target market)

Sometimes, when most of the guests aren’t eating, and you don’t feel like a leader or a good host, and being ’yourself’ feels a bit awkward, because the real you - the leader you – would investigate.

“Is something wrong with the food? Is it too cold? Are the guests allergic?” Etc. – Here check out this article called ”Know Your Guests: How To Get People To Eat Your Food – Fast!”

Being results and benefits-oriented for ourselves is human nature. Being selfish is human nature. You need to know who you’re talking to.

So, my message to all these bloggers giving me advice on knowing my target? Practice what you preach a bit more, front-load those articles with pain + pleasure buttons that appeal to ME, the entrepreneur, the business owner, the tribe-leader who may-not-feel-like-one.

Then get to the ‘know your target market’ stuff.

You want to find your best buyer, and know your one person… why? Because it’s a vital, essential, necessary tool that all great leaders, entrepreneurs, and success-stories have, and it’s f***ing
easy. You have it at your fingertips, be a powerful influencer, learn it.”

I’ll end with this quote, re-quoted from article called “It’s Okay To Be Selfish” from Psychology Today, by Jennifer Garam.

“I want you to be really, really selfish. The more selfish and nurturing you can be for yourself, the by-product for those that you love or work that you do is greatly enhanced” – Greg Gumucio, Yoga For The People

Doesn’t that sound fantastic? Doesn’t that APPEAL to you? Doesn’t that make a much more compelling case for knowing your target market? Know them when and if you feel compelled to be that leader and that influencer you know you are. Know them after you’ve focused on What You Want First.

When you focus on What You Want (being influential and getting people to take action), you naturally end up learning to “know your target market”. If you focus on “knowing your target
market” there’s a high-chance of it “not sticking”.

So how about it? Am I talking to the right target market, in the right way?

Do I know my tribe, or don’t I? Or do I not even really care about that, Jay Abraham-style, and am I focused clearly on what I want?

Let me know in the comments <grin>

Jason Fonceca stands for “Sexy Success.” He helps people get from where they are, to where they want to be, with clarity & style. He offers fresh perspectives, a free Success E-Course, and rock-solid guidance athttp://RyzeOnline.com. He’s been featured on FirepoleMarketing.com, Building Digital Empires, and Technorati. Follow him at @ryzeonline

Related posts:

1. Why Long Business Blog Posts Get Results But Only If Your Audience Likes Them
2. Don’t Worry, Your Insurance Premiums are Going Up!
3. WHY Your Customers (and marketing efforts) Will Always Need Search Engines

Guest Post by Jeremy Abel

It doesn’t take years of experience in SEO (or marketing in general) to see the importance of an SEO strategy in your online marketing efforts. Whether you’re a big business or a start-up, companies with a strong (and ongoing) SEO strategy tend to rank higher on major search engines, attract more visitors, and learn more about their customers’ behavior.

But have you ever asked yourself WHY search engines are actually so integral to your marketing strategy, or your target market?

Search engines play a vital role in society by providing people with information. At the consumer level they offer immense assistance in the buying process. In fact, search engines affect 20% (but likely more) of the buying process. How?

The consumer decision-making process (DMP) involves 5 general stages:

1. Need recognition
2. Information retrieval
3. Evaluation of alternatives
4. Purchase
5. Post-purchase evaluation

Of the five stages outlined above, we see that the information retrieval phase accounts for 20% of the DMP. Twenty percent! Imagine how powerful your impact could be if your company was present on the most common tool consumers use at this stage!

Oh, and that tool I’m referring to? You guessed it- Search Engines.

Don’t see the value yet? Consider the following: In December 2011, consumers submitted over 18 billion queries using a major search engine: 12 billion on Google, 2.7 billion on Microsoft sites, and  2.6 billion on Yahoo! sites according to a recent comScore study: ComScore December 2011 Search Engine Rankings

So what’s a firm to do?

S-E-O.

Indeed, consumers rely on other factors to supplement their craving for new information. One such factor is input from peers, friends, and family. But wait- has Google taken this into consideration when building their new search algorithm? You bet they did.

Search engines realized the importance of their role in the DMP from the start. Of course, key players like Google, Bing, and Yahoo have incorporated themselves into the habitual tendencies of consumers- instant gratification anyone?

That said, it’s likely that consumers will always rely on a search engine during the information retrieval stage. We’ve accustomed ourselves to the simplicity of a search engine, and the immediate, often accurate, results they provide. And what happens when we’re rewarded for performing a given behavior? That’s right- we repeat that behavior! Thank you, Pavlov.

Infiltrating consumers’ consideration set requires being “in their paths” without crossing their path. Because consumers have developed a strong filter against unwanted advertisements, you need to place your site in a context where they actually would be looking for your product. And what context might be most prevalent amongst today’s market? Search engines.

Now, perform a search for your company’s name on Google, Bing and Yahoo. Is your company ranking on page 1?

If you answered yes- great! Now, think about the keywords your target market is using to find your site (and your competitors’ sites). Type a few of those terms in and see what the SERPs have to say.

Whether the results are good or bad, there’s a lot to glean from your online marketing efforts.  Looking for more information? Sign yourself up for a free Google Analytics account and begin tracking the traffic on your site. This is where the fun begins, as your firm now has quality data that facilitates strategy development.

From one marketer to another, never underestimate the value of SEO in your marketing efforts. One way to stay ahead of your competitors: check out blogs like Ryan’s and start incorporating a few SEO tactics into your online strategy each month. As your site gets indexed- and your analytics shed new insights- you’ll be able to see the results of your efforts and have the knowledge to make refinements from there.

Enjoy Today!

Jeremy Abel is an online marketer based in upstate New York. He covers the psychology of online marketing, consumer behavior, and the many facets of branding. You can view more of his content on the brandabel blog or connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Related posts:

1. Small Business SEO Experiment Results – Week 1
2. Small Business SEO Experiment – Week 3
3. Small Business SEO Experiment – Week 2

If this is the first time you’ve heard about my SEO experiment, below is the kickoff post and the first three weekly wrap-ups:

• How My Experiment in SEO Will Change the Game on Small Business Blogging
• Small Business SEO Experiment – Week 1
• Small Business SEO Experiment – Week 2
• Small Business SEO Experiment – Week 3

But then I did it.

This week I created a Sitemap for The Murray Group and submitted it to Google Webmaster Tools.  Your Blog’s sitemap is the Index for Google Search.  This file gives Google a path to follow when the little Google Robots are searching your site and adding your content to Google’s directory.  You’re giving Google the Road Map to your website.

I know that’s not the most technical (Techies please elaborate below in the comments) description of the process… But even if you don’t completely understand… Sounds important right?

I mean it kinda sounds super important?  Well it is!

I did this with a WordPress plugin called: Google XML Sitemap

But let’s Emirel Lagesse this thing and kick it up a notch…

This week I didn’t just submit my blog Sitemap, I also submitted my Video Sitemap.  So much of the 100 Insurance Questions Answered in 100 Days video series is about video… obviously.  So it only makes sense that you would give Google the Road Map to the videos on your website as well.

Because this is not an original thought of mine, I must give props to the peeps I learned this trick from… SEOMoz.

I did this with a WordPress plugin called: Google XML Sitemap for Videos (duh)

So now that you have these sitemaps where the heck do you put them?  Google Webmaster Tools.

Here is a quick snapshot of Google Webmaster Tools:

The screenshot above shows my Google Webmaster Tools dashboard.  This is the Google Tool that you will use to submit your blog and video sitemap.

Once Google has indexed your site you will begin to see the stats above.  This screen lists the search queries and keyword relevance for which your site is coming up in Google Search.  This is only after a couple days of having The Murray Group site indexed so I’m not going to get worried about having keyword relevance for the word “iframes” just yet.

The Google Webmaster Tools dashboard is important because it gives you a look into how Google sees your website.  You might think that you have all the keywords relevant to your business covered.  But as you can see, Google might not share that opinion (we’re going to get into this more in future articles).

From what I know about search and SEO I’m feeling pretty good about the improvements I’ve made to the campaign this week.

Week 4 Traffic Stats

Keeping with the Consistency and Patience theme of last week, let’s take a look at Week #4′s numbers:

Look at that… More traffic than last week.  Growth is good.

I mean look in that red box and tell me content doesn’t drive traffic to your website.  I know the numbers are still small now but it’s only been a month and we’re writing about Insurance.  This isn’t sexy stuff.

Basically what I’m getting at is though I’m not content, I am pleased with the progress thus far.

Here’s the CREAM though:

This is the CREAM (Or the cool part for you non-Wu-Tang fans)!

What have I said since the very beginning?

This SEO experiment is all about search traffic.

Leveraging content and time to make dollars…

I want people to find my insurance agency’s website while I’m sleeping, build a relationship with me through my videos and then call me in the morning dying to do business with me and all I did was finish my first cup of coffee…  That is CREAM.

Last week I was a little bummed when I wrote this wrap-up post.  Today I feel like a Stone-Cold-SEO-Gangster just growing search traffic and livin’ large.  Hahaha… I can’t type that with a straight face.  Let’ s just say it’s nice to see positive results.

Other counting stats:

Facebook Likes

• Baseline – 107
• Week #1 – 124
• Week #2 – 127
• Week #3 – 127
• Week #4 – 133
• Percentage increase = 4% ↑

No new reviews… I need to focus on this more.

The Stats That Actually Matter

We received two new leads this week from our website.  One was a Home and Auto and the other a Life Insurance.

The Home and Auto will close next week (We’ll count the revenue once the ink dries) and we’re still efforting on the Life account.

So that’s pretty cool.  For the SEO Experiment we’ve received 4 personal lines, 1 commercial and 1 life insurance lead into our agency directly from our website.

Not setting the world on fire but still not bad for 4 weeks of work.

Thank you.

written by: Ryan Hanley

Download my Free eBook Today => 10 Social Tools to Business Blogging Success

Subscribe to my Free Newsletter and learn every I know about creating a successful business blog!

Related posts:

1. Small Business SEO Experiment – Week 3
2. Small Business SEO Experiment – Week 2
3. Small Business SEO Experiment Results – Week 1

I’m not going to get into all the nuts and bolts because, well, I honestly don’t think you come to this site for nuts and bolts.  We’re users trying to make a difference.

If you really need the nuts and bolts of Pinterest read this Guide to Pinterest.  That will give you an overview of the newest and hottest social network on the Inter-web.

However, by now I’m sure most of you know that I’m not a fad chaser when it comes to social media.  I could attract a lot traffic to this site if all I published were articles with the hottest new social media buzz words smattered all over them regurgitated with the same tired content you could find on a hundred other blogs.

For better or worse that’s not my shtick and I get the impression it’s not your’s either.  So let’s get to it.

Pinterest is a visual social network.  What the hell does that mean? When I say visual, I mean everything is based on pictures and short explanations of those pictures.  It’s a place to store your favorite images on the Internet and share them with your friends.

But the cool thing about Pinterest or at least what has attracted me is that the pictures can be easily grouped and shared and all of them link back to the website that they were “Pinned” from.

Social Media Repository

See for a while now I’ve been looking for a place that I could store my favorite articles on blogging, content marketing, social media, writing, SEO, social tracking and the other robust topics that will allow me to be a better online marketer of my businesses (Insurance and Professional Speaking).

I’ve tried Digg and StumbleUpon and Delicious but none of those satisfied me.  They didn’t make it easy for me to group the content nor was it easily package-able to share with you…

The whole deal here is these articles are a resource me and what I do there is no reason that they shouldn’t be a resource for you as well.

The Content Creation Curation

After reviewing Pinterest and playing around a bit I think the service will be a good fit.

Because…

What I’ve been waiting to create is a completely free service called the Content Creation Curation - A visual representation of the week that was in social media blog articles.

Basically I read a lot of articles that pertain to Online Marketing.  A lot…

And there is no reason that I shouldn’t be able to pull out the articles that I think you’ll find useful and share them with you.  I do this to a certain extent with Twitter and Facebook but I’m sure it gets annoying to have myself and others stuffing your feed with articles.  The mass of articles becomes cumbersome to sift through.

I want there to be a place where you can go at your leisure to review the most interesting and most useful blog articles from the week past… I want that place to be  The Content Creation Curation (or C^3 as I’ve coined it).

Here is the link to Week 2 of C^3

I think this type of social network, a network with such a visual component, can have powerful business purposes.

Your Thoughts: What do you think of Pinterest?  Are you using it now and if so what for? Personal? Business?  How do you see Pinterest integrating with your business?

Thank you.

written by: Ryan Hanley

Download my Free eBook Today => 10 Social Tools to Business Blogging Success

You can also Subscribe to my Free Newsletter => Strategies in Content Creation

Related posts:

1. How To Get Found in the Social Media Madness
2. Increasing Authority and Raising Visibility with a Content Writer
3. The Secret to a Successful Business Blog (And it’s not great content)

But Alex wasn’t the only one who wanted to know why I chose to move my newsletter business from Mailchimp, a provider I had used for almost three years, to Aweber, so I decided to write about it.

In full disclosure, I’ve been using the free version of Mailchimp all this time.  Aweber is not free.  And in double full disclosure the aweber links are affiliate links in case you want to subscribe to the service.

From Free to Not Free

So for all you business minded types out there you have to say to yourself, “Why would someone give up a Free solution for a paid solution that performs the same function?”

I’m willing to give up a free service and pay for another because saying Mailchimp performs the same function as Aweber is like saying your Ford Escort performs the save function as my Maserati… 

Yes both cars get you from home to work, but the ride there is a little different.

Yes both email services will send an email newsletter to your subscriber list, but the experience for both you the information distributor and your subscribers as the information consumers is drastically different.

But again this comes back to a common theme I try pull through this blog.  

Are we just trying to get by or Kick-Ass at this blogging thing?

Say it together with me people (if you’re in an office you can loud whisper) “KICK-ASS!”

Together, you and me, we’re trying to find the best process… the best procedure… the theory… the best workflow… and the best tools and resources to help our businesses thrive online.

Aweber is one of those resources…

And Here is Why

For a long time I’ve had a huge beef with MailChimp’s Sign-Up form.  It’s hard to customize and it looks like a 5th grader designed it in 1995 HTML code.  That doesn’t make it classic it makes it crappy.

I actually have gone so far as to use Wufoo Forms for my Newsletter Subscriber Sign-up on the website to make it look a little more professional.  Which means I’m managing two different platforms to perform one function.

But this was bearable… I mean I’m just signing people up for my Newsletter… WAIT!!!

Just signing people up for my Newsletter?  Haven’t we discussed on this blog that subscribers (of any form really RSS Feed, Social Media, etc) to your Newsletter are more valuable than Gold Coins?

People, listen to me, the way our blog looks means a lot.  Your societal beliefs aside, whether you like it or not everyone judges you based on your outward appearance and no more so than the first impression.

If your email newsletter sign-up form looks like crap no one is going to stick their email address in there and click submit.  So why then would I use a free service with crappy looking forms?

Free isn’t free if it’s not getting the job done…

In addition, with Aweber I can create multiple sign-up forms each with a unique design built to fit a specific need on my blog and have each point to the same List if I want.  Aweber will track how many subscriptions I get from each form so that I know what’s working and what isn’t.

Check it out:

Homepage Aweber Form

Blog Post Aweber Form

Landing Page Aweber Form

I’m honestly not trying to crush on Mailchimp as I did use Mailchimp for three years and for a Free service it is a good product.

If you choose to use MailChimp that is fine.  I’m not hating, I’m just saying the product has limitations and if you’re aware of those limitations and can navigate around them then it’s all good.

The Rub

The forms, the tracking, and the auto-responder (I’ll get into Auto-responders in a future post) are the three main reasons I’ve made the switch to Aweber.  Your newsletter subscribers are so valuable.  These people have let you into their world by giving you permission to fill their inbox.  I respect that relationship and I want to utilize the best tools on the market to deliver the value I have promised.

That is why I chose Aweber and if you think Aweber is the product for Your Newsletter Click Here.

If you have questions or thoughts or experiences with other products let everyone know in the comments below.

Thank you.

written by: Ryan Hanley

Download my Free eBook Today => 10 Social Tools to Business Blogging Success

 You can also Subscribe to my Free Newsletter => Strategies in Content Creation

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2. 5 Reasons I’d Rather Have Newsletter Subscriptions than Gold Coins
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