We all get those giveaways at trade shows. Pens. Notepads. Hats. Crap we throw away as soon as we get home.

I'd much rather get this than a cap.

Don’t get me wrong. I think promotional items can be very effective…if done right.

Last year I blogged about the amazing stuff I got from BlogHer.  I still wear some of the cool shirts I got.

Promotional items work well to spread the word about your brand…if they’re interesting or useful.

Let’s take some examples from Paragon Marketing Products. They offer a wide variety of promotional items you can get your logo on, such as silicone bracelets, USB drives (especially useful), even blackjack tip cards. Talk about something that’s a conversation starter at a convention in Vegas!

Why not forego the pen with your logo on it for a foam finger with your brand on it? Or a dart board people can use in their offices? Give them something they’ll appreciate and I guarantee it won’t end up in the trash.

I haven’t used Paragon before, but being presented with the opportunity to write a sponsored review about them, I’m liking what I see. Their website says they carry over 250,000 items (so please find something besides a pen to buy), and you can get 10% off your first order.  I’m always looking for egg promo items and check out what they have!

If you’re new to buying promotional items for your business, ask Paragon’s logo merchandising programs. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to help you find items that best fit what you’re looking for. As long as it isn’t a pen. And you can tell them I said so!

Tory Johnson of Women for Hire talked a bit about self promotion, so let’s start there. Now, in the past I’ve talked about becoming an expert, but today I want to talk more about tooting your own horn.

Courtesy of VOdesigner on Stock.xchng

It’s hard for us, especially women, to sing our own praises. Often we wait for others to do it. But let me tell you right now: they ain’t gonna do it. What I got from Tory’s keynote was that you have to be proud of your accomplishments (and tell others about them) to succeed.

Take a moment and think. The last time your company got a big contract/created a new product/promoted an employee/got an award/grew sales, did you tell anyone? Besides your mother?  This is great fodder for a press release, an email campaign, a Tweet or a blog post. If you don’t tell everyone how great you are, how will they know?

There’s a tactful way to share your good news without being boastful. And people like hearing about your successes. They make them trust in you and your company even more, and will convert that trust to sales when the time is right.

By offering something for free, you are building confidence in your brand and product.

Think about it. At the grocery store, a nice little old lady hands out cheese spread on a cracker. Mm! That’s good. You buy a jar. At conventions, companies give away tschotschkes in the hopes you’ll  stop and find out what they’re all about (I actually have mastered the art of taking schwag and running before they even see me. Call me Schwag Ninja).

So why shouldn’t you give something away?

It might be a free ebook, which could be a collection of your best blog posts, like the one I gave away at Christmas. Or a special report. Or a bonus when someone buys something from you.

David Meerman Scott, in his new book World Wide Rave, says you shouldn’t ask for anything in return. I was always of the mind that you should get an email address in return for something free, but he has a point. It will spread faster (much like the world wide rave he discusses in his book; look for my review soon) if you give it away with no strings attached.

Freebies help you:

• Establish yourself as an expert
• Educate potential clients on the benefits of your product or service
• Create confidence in you and your brand
• Make new sales

So think about what you could give away. You may have to develop something, such as an ebook (and if you’re not a writer, hire Egg to write it for you). There may be a little cost involved, but consider the free product marketing and build it into your marketing budget.

Once you decide what you’re giving away, post it in the comments here so we can help spread the love!

Earlier this year I decided to add public speaking to my methods of establishing myself as an expert (well, Eggspert. whatever).  If you have read even one post on my site, you know I’m really big on that. Why?

Establishing yourself as an expert in your field is what separates you from everyone else.

So back to the public speaking. My first opportunity arose about a month ago when Orlando’s Hispanic Business Initiative Fund asked me to speak at the Hispanic Business Expo. In Spanish.

I speak Spanish well enough, so I agreed to do it, figuring it would be a great challenge. Indeed. So I spent a good month translating a presentation and memorizing it. Come time for my presentation I was paralyzed, and there was a pit of fear in my stomach.

Now, I know that’s normal for public speaking. But I’ve done it before. It was the Spanish part that threw me off. My fear of shriveling up and dying when the question and answer time came was making me uptight and snappy to my family (sorry family).

Long story short, I did ok. It was clear I was nervous, and during the Q&A, they asked questions in English and I responded. Whew. The next session they asked me to do in English. I really don’t want to delve into the reasons. Either it was because my Spanish sucks much more than I knew or it was so obvious I was uncomfortable. We’ll go with the latter.

And I survived. It felt good, especially because if I could do this in Spanish, then I damn sure could do it in English. Backwards. With my eyes closed. Naked, in front of thousands.

But I learned a few things I wanted to share with you. If you’re considering public speaking, keep these tips in mind:

Do

• Reach out to local organizations to get started. Get your feet wet before moving on to bigger and better opportunities.
• Film yourself speaking. You can critique what you did right and wrong for next time.
• Speak slowly and clearly.
• Speak on a topic you’re very comfortable with. One you could talk without notes for hours on.
• Introduce your products or services and make them available at the back of the room for purchase after your presentation.
• Bring backup of your presentation. USB, disc, email. You never know what will go wrong.

Don’t

• Go too far outside your comfort zone (Spanish). It will show.
• Be too pushy in  your sales. You’re there to educate, not make money (if it’s a side effect, great)
• Be late.
• Forget your presentation.
• Forget to thank the people who asked you to speak. They may need you again.

Now if you will excuse me. I am going to be a hermit for a while until I feel normal again.

Sure, we’ve all noticed the strategically placed Coke can in the hand of a sitcom actor. Or the Nikes propped up on the coffee table. Or James Bond’s watch. His car. His computer (James Bond is kind of a brand whore. Don’t tell anyone).

But recently I saw a good example of product placement I wanted to bring up.

Are you a fan of “My Name is Earl?” If not, let me get you up to speed. There are a group of unlikely characters, the majority of whom have redneck tendencies. There’s a plot, and it’s good, but it’s not relevant. What is relevant is how Joy, the epitome of trailer trash (yet still you love her) sees a Kay Jewelers commercial with Jayne Seymour. Joy has to have the Open Heart Necklace Jane is hawking. She begins to hallucinate and see Jane talking to her in her bathroom mirror.

Long story short, Joy does everything she can to get that necklace, and her husband, Darnell, finally gives it to her.

Why am I writing this?

• I fast forward through commercials. I never would have paid attention to a Kay Jewelers commercial.
• It’s a neat product, and I’m more interested as a result of seeing it in one of my favorite shows.
• Jane Seymour makes fun of herself (going from actor to artist to jewelry hawker).
• Kay Jewelers is thinking creatively.

What about you? Have you seen any noteworthy product placements on tv? Tell us about them!

Business Card Makeover

Letting Your Logo Work for You

So here’s the test to see if you were paying attention. Wendy Piersall is giving away an Epson Workforce 600 and a logo (re)design to one lucky winner!

Entering is easy. You can either post a comment about why you should win on the post or write a blog post on your blog sharing the best marketing advice you received when you were new to starting a business.

What are you waiting for? Contest ends October 24. Go, go, go!

I’ve written before about the importance of investing in better promotional products and not wasting your money on crappy pens no one wants. But the shwag we got went beyond that. I hate getting t-shirts, because I don’t wear them. But at the conference I found myself elbowing people to get shirts from picnik and Café Press because they were actually cool. And you know what? I’m going to check them out online. Picnik also gave us a 1 year membership to their online photo editing website. Yea boy.

I could go on and on about what I scored, but this plane seat is hurting my back end. So, if you’re going to spend money on promotional products, do it in a way that will make people excited. Pens and notepads do not. Kits to check the level of alcohol in your breast milk do. (Well, they would have gotten me excited 3 years ago when my son was a baby) If you create a buzz, you will win new customers. That being said, how do you create a buzz without falling flat on your face?

1. Know your audience. We were a bunch of bloggers, primarily women and mothers. The shwag was heavy into chocolate and cute shirts, as well as cool stuff for our kids.

2. Choose an experience or a product. Products aren’t the only way to go. BlogHer had awesome experiences, like a Sesame Street room with Grover (in person and on cupcakes) and Microsoft experts on hand to answer tech questions. Boca Burgers sponsored a snack break with samples. Intuit offered free computer maintenance makeovers. Sometimes the experience is easier to send home with future customers.

3. Be smart about the shwag. Most of the attendees at BlogHer flew there. So the large Method bottle of body wash got left behind because a) it stunk and b) it was waaay too heavy. Shwag smaller and smarter.

And as a sidenote, there was a very cool company called Zwaggle there that took the shwag we didn’t want and recycled it or gave it to some deserving group. I’m not sure how many magic 8 balls or kid luggage tags the poor need, but it was a nice gesture, and better than throwing it away.

• Does your budget allow for sponsoring a show?
• Do you know how to promote at a show?
• Is your product easily explainable or presentable to potential clients (you get about 10 seconds to make an impression)?

If the answer to these questions is “yes,” the answer is simple. If not, read on.

Budget

Depending on the show, your budget may not give you the opportunity to be a sponsor. That being said, there are some smaller conventions you would be surprised at the affordable cost. If your budget is small, consider the following:

• Forego the expensive platinum level sponsorships and look for other opportunities, like sponsoring a break or getting your logo on the goody bags.
• Become a speaker at a trade show in your industry.
• Attend the conference and pass out business cards to as many people as possible.

Promoting

Don’t worry; not everyone knows what to do at a trade show. Typically you have a booth where you can set up information about your company as well as any product samples or demonstrations. As I’ve said in previous posts, shwag is a big part of this, so save some of your budget to do this right.

The company putting on the conference usually does a good job of presenting you with any information you need about what you can bring and what your options are. You can rent the table and booth setup or buy your own. Renting of course is expensive, but a good option if you don’t plan on doing many shows.

If you have questions, such as “do I need electricity or internet?” or “when can we set up?” don’t be afraid to ask. You’ve paid money to attend this, so you’re essentially paying for the event planner to help you. Asking a seemingly dumb question can save you a headache later.

Good Product Fit

I used to attend small trade show events for Egg Marketing, however I found it difficult to really present what we do. We write, for goodness sake. Should I put some press releases on the table? A marketing plan?

Services are harder to market at a convention, but definitely not impossible. At BlogHer, many online services were there with video screens showing off what their sites and software could do. Keep it interesting with good shwag and promotional material on the company.

If you have a product, usually you can let it speak for itself. Have plenty of samples on hand and be prepared to demonstrate them and answer questions. If you’re in an industry with large products or equipment (such as laser marking equipment), choose the product you most want to represent your company and bring it.

Look online for information about shows in your industry to learn about what to expect. Attend a few shows too.

But since I was headed to BlogHer 08, I decided to get new cards just for my blog. I came across Zazzle, which had these neat, slim cards. I knew I’d stand out with them!

But then I got there and saw that EVERYONE had the thin cards! And they were all so beautiful! Rich colored photographs, clever logos…it was eye-opening. See:

So, moral of the story is: I decided I’m going to give my Egg cards a facelift. There’s just too many options out there to have boring cards. What about you? What do your cards say about you? Do they say you’re on the cutting edge, or still stuck in the ’80s?

Now, I’m not just saying this because the unusual object above was made by Wendy Piersall, the Sparkplug CEO link and her children (her very sweet, well-paid children). I chose this as a great example of DIY marketing because it’s simple and effective.

So what is it? We dubbed it unofficially a Twitter Tag. Now I know I’ve been less than an enthusiastic fan of Twitter in past posts, but as you will see in upcoming posts, I may become a Twitterite yet. Anyway, at BlogHer, everyone was on Twitter. Even the sponsors (yet another post to come). So Wendy cleverly came up with a tag (made from a Shrinky-Dink!) for attendees to write their Twitter names on. Simple.

The marketing came with the little Sparkplugging logo on the tag, a second paper tag that directed attendees to our modest site, and information on our upcoming Sparkplug U courses. Now, all of you are, of course, loyal Sparkplugging fans from the old days of eMomsatHome, but unbelievably, there were a few bloggers who hadn’t heard of us. I met so many amazing people who work from home, and was proud to be able to offer them such a valuable resource as Sparkplugging.

[I'm waxing on, aren't I? I think my blogging is indefinitely changed by this conference.]

Coming to the point. Sometimes you don’t need the big bucks to market. Okay, you never need the corporate pocketbooks. Creativity is ingenious. People are still buzzing about the tags Wendy painstakingly made on her home computer. And you can bet they’re checking out this site. Maybe even reading this post. What did it cost her? A bit for supplies. A bit more in bribes for help in making the tags. But what did it gain her? New readers. New students of Sparkplug U. New loyal fans for life.

So if money has been your excuse for not doing better marketing, stop hiding. Come up with ways to make your company shine creatively before your competitor does.

We all love the little tschotschkes we get at conventions. But think for a minute: which did you keep and which did you throw away? Chances are you got a lot of cheap pens, which you didn’t need. But I’ll bet you got a few items that you told others about simply because they were either:

A) useful
B) innovative

I’ll share a few I’ve gotten recently.

I spun the wheel at a GEICO booth recently and won a set of speakers for my MP3 player. While that might not sound all that exciting, they were made of paper, like a Chinese take-out box. Very unique (and useful).

My husband worked at Yahoo! until very recently. They do something interesting. Usually a company reserves the expensive promotional toys for potential business, but Yahoo! gives them to employees. That makes them feel worthwhile and lets them share in the excitement of the brand. They have dozens of great examples, but this one is an old-school Slinky:

And then finally last Christmas I sent these egg-shaped clocks to my contacts and clients. They’re fun and useful.

My point? Don’t be cheap and stick to traditional pens or notepads. Think creatively. There are so many products out there, there’s virtually no limit to what you can do. Save the more costly items for potential customers but don’t give away something people will throw away.
-Susan

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Here are some ways you can incorporate holidays into your marketing and PR.

Press Releases. Use a holiday to play up an event, such as International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Maybe your staff will be dressed like pirates while you hold a “Get Yer Booty Half Price” sale. Or you could put out a release about your diet program, paralleling the amount of food Americans (over)eat at Thanksgiving. Research adds an element of believability, so look to incorporate statistics about the holiday.

Newsletters. Add fun holiday elements to your monthly newsletters, such as a “Did You Know?” section or holiday images. When people are happy (the way they are when holidays and days off from work come around), they’re more likely to shop!

Sales. I gave you some sales ideas above, but get creative and decorate your store for the holiday. Or make up a holiday that serves your purpose, such as Eat Two Cones Day, where you can incorporate your sale into the holiday.

Direct Mail. I like to send Egg customers birthday gifts for Egg’s birthday. It’s fun, festive and memorable. You could send a birthday or holiday card to your contacts, or even flowers or candies to your better clients.

No matter what you do, adding holidays to your marketing mix is fun. It shows your customers that you don’t take yourself too seriously, and you will stand out in their minds as a result!

-Susan

“Call now and we’ll throw in an extra Ginsu knife absolutely free!”
“Act now! Quantities are limited!”
“Discount good through January 30.”
“100% money back guarantee for 30 days.”

You need a call to action. Something to stimulate your reader to get off his chair and call you or visit your website NOW. Without a call to action, he will put down your postcard/close your email and think he will come back to it later. At that point you’ve likely lost him.

A call to action stimulates immediate action, because the buyer (notice he’s no longer a “reader”) perceives that this offer is time sensitive. The less time between receiving your marketing message and acting on it increases the likelihood of purchase.

Here are some ways you can turn readers into buyers with a call to action:
• Create a deadline for the offer
• Offer free gift to first X number of respondents
• Offer an upgrade for a limited time
• Increase price over time

Add a call to action to your marketing message, and you’ll see a drastic increase in your sales!

-Susan

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Here are some examples of newsworthy events:

* grand opening of business
* launch of new website
* secured new client or major contract
* won award or recognition
* upcoming presentation or speaking engagement
* donation to charity
* noteworthy promotion

To keep a string of releases going, send a release before the event, during, and after to maximize coverage. If you don’t have anything newsworthy to report, make something! Marketing is an ongoing effort, and if you’re doing enough of it,you should always have a press release topic available.

-Susan
Need more resources?
Brian Solis talks about Press Releases in an age of Social Media
6 Types of Press Releases
Using Online Press Releases to Get Prospects
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PLUS One lucky winner will receive a $200 credit for a press release on PRWeb.com! One random person who sends me the answers to the following info will be the winner (and the first highlighted reader).

If you’re interested, send me the following info:

And if you have a blog, do the same for your readers! Help spread the democratization of media by taking control of someone else’s spotlight.

-Susan
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I’ve been thinking a lot about viral marketing lately. Primarily since I spoke with Kevin Eikenberry (see last week’s Blogging & Your Business forum for his input on that topic). Today, his goal is to unseat Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the #1 Bestseller on Amazon.com, just for a day, with his book, Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time. He’s got a network of folks (including me) ready and willing to help him achieve this goal through emails, blogs and newsletters.

I find this a highly creative campaign (that has inspired me to dream up my own viral marketing idea) and I am eager to see Kevin succeed. And I do think he can succeed. Here’s why.

Viral marketing, while it may sound helter skelter, is actually incredibly organized. Or at least successful campaigns are. Kevin has his plan mapped out to a T and has to do nothing more than send a link to the instruction page for this campaign to get people signed up and ready to go.

Kevin’s campaign offers something in return. Besides giving me a great blog topic to cover today, he’s also given me the opportunity to reach the people he touches with this project. More exposure for Egg. Bonus.

Kevin has contacts. He has 74 email partners sending out millions of emails as well as a network of 21 people blogging and sharing this campaign. He also is giving buyers of his book bonuses from his contacts, including some great ebooks, newsletters and podcasts on leadership, management, marketing and more.

He understands the importance of buzz. If for only a moment in cyberspace, Kevin becomes a mini-celebrity, more power to him. It is those techniques that are noteworthy and get us talking that are the most successful.

Help Kevin achieve his dream! Buy his amazing book on Amazon today!

Leadership Expert Kevin Eikenberry has created a package like nothing you have ever seen! Buy a copy of his new book, Remarkable Leadership – Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time today, August 22nd, and receive a package of gifts, resources and tools from experts around the world – all designed to help you learn more, lead remarkably and reach your goals!

Go to http://RemarkableLeadershipBook.com/bonuses.asp to learn more, see the gifts and get started!

Need more resources?
Viral Marketing, your best new buddy
Concepts and Power of Viral Marketing
The Many Facets of Viral Marketing
Calling BS on 3 Marketing Strategies

-Susan
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Dawud Miracle: I am a solopreneur, so I own my business and I do the work of my business. I do outsource mundane tasks, but mostly I do all the work. If you phone me for a consultation, for instance, I’ll be the one who answers the phone and you calls you back. If you send me an email, I’ll be the one receiving, reading and replying. I’m very hands-on with my clients and really like it that way. I have plan to include guest bloggers in the future, but I’m the one behind my blog.

Tammy Munson: Sometimes it’s me, sometimes it’s my VA.

Kevin Eikenberry: I am both. We have talked about other members of my team blogging, and we may do that in the future, but for now, it is just me, on both Kevin’s Blog and the Remarkable Leadership Book Blog. WE do produce some other content in a blog format (like the component of or weekly newsletter for example) and I don’t post those – someone else on my team posts them in a blog/RSS feed-friendly page.

Vikram Rajan: No, I write all my posts. Some clients want to work with employees and interns to post for them… which is not necessarily bad. But I feel our personality also shines through our blogging… it is a wonderful tool to grow and showcase our personal brand expertise. I suggest people blog personally, and perhaps ALSO empower others to do so.

Liz Strauss: I have three contributing writers, but I am the force behind what appears on my blog.

Beth Agnew: I write the blog myself.

Susan Payton: I write my posts and my husband (blog expert extraordinaire) does all the technical, crosslinking, seo, and posting.

Meet a Panelist

Vikram Rajan runs PersonalBrandMarketing.com, which offers personal brand marketing tips for lawyers, accountants, financial planners, real estate, and health experts. Additionally, his consulting firm provides 1-on-1 marketing advice and materials for self-employed lawyers, accountants, financial planners, real estate, and health experts. His business columns are published in over 15 off-line periodicals, and he gives seminars for Bar associations, CPA societies, and other relevant professional groups. Vikram’s 6 audio-books are also available through the PersonalBrandMarketing.com podBlog.

-Susan
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