As I’m shaping Egg Marketing & PR toward my new goal of focusing on consumer products, I realize I’m going to have to say no more. No to projects that aren’t a good fit. No to potential clients I know will be difficult to work with. This will be hard.

When I started Egg, I found myself an accidental entrepreneur. I had quit/gotten fired a bad job with a horrible boss. I started writing press releases. And stock tips. And emails. And resumes. And anything that would pay the bills. In some ways, I still have that mindset.

As an entrepreneur who is struggling (is there any other kind?), we tend to do whatever it takes. But is that actually detrimental to us? Everything I’m reading (including All for One) is pointing me in a single, focused direction. It’s urging me to shed the low-pay, non-focused efforts in favor of the niche I’m trying to create for myself.

And so, I will have to say no.

I will be more picky. I won’t sign up to market services (nothing against them, but it’s much harder to measure interest in something intangible than a product that gets bought off a shelf).  I won’t take on any teeny one-time projects. They don’t allow me to really help a business develop its brand, and the clients always expect too much out of a single press release.

I will look for projects with large budgets. With a desire to work with a marketing consultant long term. That understand that marketing doesn’t happen with a single email, press release or two weeks of social media. That it’s about long term commitment to building a brand.

And by asking for it, I will receive it. (cue heavenly music)

What about you? Could you stand to start saying no (I think no matter who you are, you could.)? I’m looking forward to saying no (unless you really really need a press release. Wait–NO!!!)

I’ve written about measuring ROI in social media before, but I just found a great article on the subject on Mashable by Christina Warren.

She points to a really fantastic presentation by Olivier Blanchard, which I will also use here:

Christina talks about goals, and the importance of having them before you even try to find your ROI. And it’s true. I know so many companies who want to get into social media because everyone else is. But why? What do you hope to attain by doing so? It’s not going to get you instant sales, so you need to be ok with using social media to build your brand and connect with your customers. If you think this is a waste of money, social media is not for you.

Assign a value to everything you do. If your Twitter reach is 5,000 people, that’s worth something. (not if you don’t interact regularly, though). If a Google AdWords click is $1, that’s a value. What’s a click worth from Twitter? Even if you start with arbitrary numbers, at least you’ve got something to look to for metrics. If you spend 20 hours on Twitter to get 1 sale, that ROI isn’t as good as if you spent 15 minutes crafting a custom email. Got it?

Here’s an interesting Twitter conversation I had with @jacobm on the subject.

What are your thoughts? Do you measure social media ROI? How?

I’ve been thinking about pitches lately. Probably because I get a lot of them. And most of them suck. I trash those.

I get releases that are simply a cut/paste of a press release. That has nothing to do with my interests. Trash. I get endlessly long email pitches that take forever to get to the point. Trash.

Here are 5 ways you can be sure to end up in the trash. If that’s where you want to be.

1. Don’t read the blog or website. You’re a busy person. Why bother reading the source you’re pitching? They’ll be interested in your fantastic news no matter what.

2. Cut and paste. Again, busy. It saves time to just cut and paste your pitch (including the snazzy Dear Editor title) for each email you send.

3. Make it long. The more info, the better, right? Besides, you’re such a good writer you know they’ll be hanging on to the edge of their seats until you get to the point…waaay at the bottom.

4. Don’t bother with goals. You just want to spread the world with your news, so coming up with objectives and goals for your PR campaign ain’t worth the trouble.

On the other hand, a well-crafted pitch gets my attention, even if I may not be interested in the subject. Take Natalie Sisson, of ConnectionPoint Systems Inc. She recently sent me this pitch.

Hi Susan

I read your Facebook pages blog sometime back and thought you’d be a super handy person to contact since you’re so clued up on Facebook, blogging and social networks. We’re a Vancouver startup that recently launched our Facebook application  FundRazr – the easiest way to collect money and manage members on Facebook. We believe we can change the face of fundraising and payments in social networks.

Is there anyway we can talk to you about our application and doing a story that would be interesting to your readers?

I’ve attached our latest press release so you can read more.

Thanks in advance

Natalie

Why I like it.

• Flattery works. She said she read some of my work. Then she said I’d be the best person to share this with. (watch my peacock feathers ruffle)
• She told me in 1 sentence what her company does. Rock.
• She politely asked if I’d want to share this info.

While this is a little off from what I write about, I did decide to include FundRazr in an upcoming post…because she pitched me correctly.

What did you learn from this?

Facebook has some amazing applications that can help you be more efficient with your business. Before you invest money in developing your own app, see what’s out there to help you provide enhanced usability on your business’ Facebook page.

Networking

If you’re looking for a way to share your contact info with others, try the Professional Profile: Networking app or Business Cards.

Planning an Event

If you hold events, be it online or in person, you can use one of the many Event applications to help herd people and gauge attendance. Eventbrite is popular, because you can accept payment through this app.

Fundraising

If you are a nonprofit or organization, you know that collecting funds online can require a sophisticated web interface. Try instead using FundRazr, the Facebook app that lets you collect money and communicate with supporters.

There are tons of other Facebook applications that might serve other needs you have. Search for them and see how you can add to the experience a fan has on your Facebook page

I’ve been reading All for One: 10 Strategies for Building Trusted Client Partnerships. Great book, by the way, if you want to learn how to be more of a partner or advisor to a business rather than just a vendor. In the middle of reading, I had an epiphany:

I am hanging out with the wrong crowd.

On Twitter and Facebook, I hang out with social media and marketing types. I read the same types of books. But if I’m working on branding myself in a niche, shouldn’t I be hanging out in that niche??

Go ahead and say it. Duh.

Still, it takes a catalyst for us to have these realizations, so I’m pretty proud. I recently honed my focus into products that appeal to women and mothers. I wanted to pick an industry that I knew, liked and was comfortable working in. I’m a woman and mother, and working with my GiveDaddy giveaway blog, I realized how much I like telling others about great products.

So I have made it my goal to do the following:

• Spend less time following social media and marketing conversations
• Finish reading the stack of social media books I owe reviews on, then switch to reading about marketing to this demographic
• Attend product related trade shows next year rather than focus on blog conferences
• Pay attention to more brands on social media
• Establish myself as someone who knows her stuff in this realm

That’s not to say I’m foresaking my social media buds. I still learn a ton from them. But I need to follow a different school of learning if I really want to get good at my industry. It’s easy to stay complacent when we truly have mastered something, but how hard is it to leave the comfort of the nest and try to master something else? Pretty hard. But I have you as my witness, so I’m going to be just fine.

What about you? What’s that thing you’re fantastic at that you don’t want to leave? Could you stand to hang out with a different crowd online to learn something new?

Once upon a time, in a land not far away, reporters got the scoop. They received phone tips or faxes on hot stories. They drove to locations to interview people about these stories.

Flash forward to today. Stories come in via Twitter, Facebook and AP RSS feeds. Journalists are now hybrid reporters/bloggers. Their content is more important online than it is in print. Newspapers themselves are forced to adapt to how technology has changed its format…or shut its doors, the way so many have.

Good journalists know they have to open the doors to the masses via social media tools. They need to be accessible, even if that means a constant stream of pitches. They have to, because their jobs are about communicating. And that’s what social media does.

And yet, I’m amazed at how few newspaper websites list journalist and editor Twitter IDs.  Back in Orlando, the Orlando Sentinel has a page with all the journalists’ Twitter IDs. MuckRack is a gathering of journalists who can be found on Twitter. Why, then, don’t more journalists embrace the inevitable and use social media to get their jobs done?

Maybe because they’re resistant to change. Maybe because like so many large corporations, they fear what social media will bring.

I say, bring it on.

I recently launched my How to Write Killer Press Releases e-course, but wanted to give you a little more meat in terms of writing releases that the media and your customers will sit up and take notice of.

Regular readers know that I talk about how to write a press release and what to do with it next. Press releases are still an important part to any PR and marketing campaign, but make sure you have a strategy as to what you want them to do. Here are some tips:

• Make a list of topics you can write about so that you have releases coming out monthly or more frequently.
• Spread them through Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.
• Write your release in terms of how it benefits your consumers.
• Write a headline that makes people want to read more.

For more great tips, as well as detailed instructions on how to write a press release, take my How to Write Killer Press Releases ecourse for just $20.

My husband likes to pile up his dirty dress pants in an inconspicuous place and send me telepathic signals that they need to go to the cleaners. Today I found the pile and realized he’d need them before Monday (it’s Friday). Crap.

I rushed to our cleaners, not really hoping I’d be able to convince them to have them ready before they closed on Saturday. I politely asked the man if they could possibly be ready. I could see the consternation on his face. I was asking a lot. He went to the back and asked, then came back and told me to call that afternoon to see if they could do it. I can do that.

2 hours later I get a call from him. Saying the pants (all 5 pairs) are ready. Now. Wow. I can’t beat that.

I was so grateful I wanted to buy him a gift. But I decided the best gift I could give him was my continued business and maybe a little mention on something called a blog (they’re not well known in my parts).

For my Egg customers and contacts, I often send them postings from Help a Reporter Out that I think they should take advantage of. I don’t charge for this service; I do it out of the kindness of my heart. Really.

A former boss would send his investor relations clients newspaper clippings of interest. Same concept.

You’ll find success in customer service by going out of your way to help someone. And they’ll tell others. I guarantee.

Due to the fact last year’s Halloween Marketing is getting heavy hits right now, I thought I’d talk about Halloween and social media this year.

Are you familiar with trending on Twitter? Basically it’s what people are talking about right now on Twitter. It could be Kate Gosselin. The real Shaq. The economy. Halloween.

If you use Twitter, you may have noticed on the right hand side of your profile page a list of Trending Topics. Click on any of them and you’ll see the most recent streams mentioning this word or hashtag. If you’re interested in the topic, it’s a great way to see what people are saying about it.

Halloween is currently a trending topic. Understandable, since it’s just around the corner.

Let’s look at this from a marketing perspective. If you could find some relationship to Halloween and tweet about it, your tweet would appear in that trending stream. People would click on it. They’d follow you. They’d visit your website. Not bad for 140 characters.

Let’s give it a try. What do you do? Are you having a Halloween sale? Selling special items just for Halloween? If you can’t think of anything that directly relates, try offering tips. Write a blog post (a la this one) and tweet it out to get traffic to it. Here’s a few suggestions:

• PR people can tweet 10 Halloween-worthy press release ideas
• Real estate folks can tweet top not-so-scary housing markets with hashtag #halloween
• DJs can tweet Halloween party venues

Get creative. It’s fun. And you don’t have to stick to Halloween. Take any trending topic and relate it to what you do, then make sure to use that keyword or hashtag in your tweet. Track the traffic that comes to your site as a result.

This is a partially sponsored post. As in, I didn’t get paid cash but I got a free subscription of this product. Just wanted to say.

Until recently, I used BaseCamp to manage my projects for Egg Marketing. It was great, and I didn’t have a negative reason for switching…other than price. I came across Projecturf, and for the opportunity to save $10 to $20 a month, I thought it was worth looking at.

Projecturf is great if you’ve got multiple things going on (and who doesn’t?). You might think, “Project management? That’s not what I do.” Think again. If you’re an entrepreneur, you likely handle:

• Payroll
• Hiring
• Product design or supply
• Expenses
• Internet efforts
• Marketing
• Cleaning the toilet

So don’t tell me you don’t manage projects! I often have trouble keeping up with what needs to be done next. I have freelancers working on projects, and honestly, sometimes I forget to check back with them. Projecturf makes it easy. You can manage different projects, upload files, create to-do lists and manage milestones. You can communicate with employees in one place and manage their time cards.

Let me give you a demonstration. Before I used project management applications, I would have a task that needed doing. I would decide which employee could do it. I would email her (yes, we’re all chicks) and give her the description and ask if she could do it. Sometimes I’d write out further instructions on a Word doc. Sometimes I used Google docs. I was inconsistent and unorganized. Here’s that same process on Projecturf.

As you can see, it’s a lot faster to use Projecturf!