Call me a sap, but I appreciate the way they humanized the power of Google’s search product. And I can relate to Google’s desire to connect with real human experiences and emotions — because it’s something I try to do in my copywriting work. Whether I’m writing about IT services, a drug treatment center, commercial construction, you name it… I want my words to reach through the screen and connect with people in a convincing, real way. Business is about people connecting with each other, no matter how corporate or stuffy your marketing materials may sound.

The memory of that ad (probably my favorite this year) led me to Martin Peers’ Wall Street Journal article, “Google, Market Thyself.” Peers calls Google’s effort on national TV a “signal” that the rapidly diversifying company is “learning to market itself” after previously relying on word of mouth.

I don’t know about you, but I take heart from the possibility that a mighty giant like Google might actually be “learning” to do something, engaging in a bit of trial-and-error, just like the rest of us. After all, isn’t marketing ourselves one of our biggest challenges? As the game changes — or as your company evolves — you shift and rewrite your plans accordingly.

I suppose it’s just nice to know that our struggles can run so parallel, no matter the size of your business.

What marketing challenges have you encountered recently in your own business? How have you dealt with those challenges? And what, by the way, did YOU think about Google’s Super Bowl ad?

Photo courtesy Aussiegall on Flikr.

I was paired with my travel writer friend, Beth Blair, and we somehow ended up with a handful of other volunteers who weren’t from the bloggers’ group. I’m not sure if it was the hairnet or the uplifting feeling of helping someone else — but before long I found myself joking, dancing and singing along to the music they piped in while we scooped, bagged and sealed more than 13,000 meals for the people in Haiti. We had a blast, even if we did look ridiculous.

Silliness aside, I was so impressed with Feed My Starving Children. The staff was great, and I appreciated the real-world way they communicated with us about the sobering issue of world hunger. We started our shift with enthusiasm, and a true sense of the importance of what we were about to do. I’m excited to have found an organization for my family to support — and I look forward to showing my daughters how to share our good fortune with others.

Can’t wait for the next event with my fellow Minnesota bloggers — all of whom are fascinating, talented and wonderful people. Thanks to Melissa Berggren for organizing, and Lenore Moritz for inviting me!

Photo courtesy Feed My Starving Children

Tonight’s event, which was organized by Melissa Berggren (@MarketingMamaMN), kicks off with a networking gathering at Houlihan’s restaurant in Eagan, later moving on to the Feed My Starving Children facility.

Berggren, a hospital marketing professional and Minnesota blogger herself, says that although the event was organized before the Haiti earthquake, “Our time and work are now needed more than ever.” 

“There are so many powerful voices in the Minnesota blogging community,” says Berggren. “We’ve formed amazing connections online, but many of us have not met in person before. I wanted to pull together a blogger event that’s fun and allows for networking, but is meaningful and inspirational as well.”
 
According to Berggren, event participants come from diverse backgrounds. “We’ve got mommy bloggers, fashion bloggers, foodie bloggers, writer bloggers, a recruiter, agency bloggers, journalist bloggers, weight loss bloggers, corporate bloggers — what a great list!”

To volunteer or donate to Feed My Starving Children, please visit their website.

Henderson, NV – When it comes to shopping for corporate holiday gifts this year, successful business managers can finally kick those trite pen-and-paperweight catalogs to the curb.

Instead, employers now have a more meaningful way to show appreciation for their direct reports. Copies of author/speaker Debra Snider’s career-themed novel, A Merger of Equals, are being offered at special holiday prices, including free shipping.

Set in the business world, the book – hailed as a “can’t-put-it-down story” that’s “densely packed with practical, valuable business advice” – follows the careers and lives of two characters, Jane and Charlie, who are determined to succeed. Surrounded by friends and colleagues, some of whom ease the climb and some of whom decidedly do not, Jane and Charlie defy the constrictions of the status quo to create a new model of professional and personal success. A Merger of Equals tackles universal professional concerns, such as work-life balance and gender issues in the workplace, as it tells its fun, fast-paced and ultimately inspiring story.

Snider’s holiday discounts, below, make A Merger of Equals a gift that’s not only relevant to the career-minded, but cheap.

•    Buy 1 copy for $14.50 (9% off the retail price of $15.95)
•    Buy 5 copies for $65.00 (18% discount)
•    Buy 10 copies for $110.00 (31% discount)

Orders placed on or before December 18, 2009, qualify for the special pricing and free shipping offer. Orders must be placed through the author’s website: www.debrasnider.com.

About A Merger of Equals

A Merger of Equals is a captivating, incisive story set against the backdrop of the business world. It’s told in the first person by its two main characters: Jane is ambitious, brilliant and sure she’s going to meet resistance at every turn; Charlie is successful, hardwired with the rules of the game and determined to make a difference. They meet in a mentoring program at a big-time investment bank. Over the next 10 years, first as colleagues, then as friends, then as partners, Jane and Charlie propel each other up the corporate ladder, learning along the way that quite a few so-called truths about work, life and love are not even close to true and that half a life is no life at all.

The novel has been called “one of the most enlightening and true works of fiction about corporate life and love” and “a stunning, can’t-talk-to-you-now-honey-I’m-reading, book.” People who work in the business world will appreciate its astute insider feel; everyone will appreciate its understanding of human relationships, both personal and professional, its perceptive take on gender issues in the workplace, and its inspiring outlook. From its provocative opening sentence to its touching final pages, A Merger of Equals is an intelligent, insightful story for readers who want a fun, thought-provoking and ultimately stirring read.

About Debra Snider

Debra Snider is a Nevada-based author and speaker. A married mother of two grown children, Snider enjoyed a successful 20-year legal and business career in her native Chicago. She is also the author of Working Easier: A Toolkit for Staff and Board Members of Nonprofit Arts Organizations (Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation, 2005) and The Productive Culture Blueprint For Corporate Law Departments and Their Outside Counsel (American Bar Association Career Resource Center, 2003), as well as numerous articles and essays.

Snider has been a featured speaker in the United States and Europe on topics including strategic productivity, client development, change facilitation, leadership, law department management, time management, and success strategies for professional and business women. She has also consulted on these topics for corporate, legal services and nonprofit clients.

Snider is the featured expert on law, productivity and work-life balance for the “Ask Debra” Q&A on The Corporate Legal Standard, Inc. website, and a double contributor to Heart of a Woman in Business (Sparkle Press, 2008). For more information on her books and her background, please visit her website.

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She’s written two books on the subject (one of them commissioned by the American Bar Association), in addition to an excellent series of “Suit Yourself” essays that are available - for free - in the Forum section of her website. “I believe - and I was able to build a very successful legal and business career based on my belief - that we must do a better job of suiting ourselves,” says Debra. “We must develop self-awareness, articulate our priorities, stop mistaking outcomes for goals, and focus our time and energy on what matters most.”

In perusing her writings today with my own small business in mind, I was struck by the following passage from the essay titled, “It’s About Priorities, Not Time”:

Personal control is … a luxury that steals your time away from the high value-added tasks. The goal is to do and control personally only what cannot be done without the value you add, and to design and implement process and system to do and control the rest.  The fact that you can do something or even that you like to do it doesn’t mean you should do it. You’re looking to create time, and the way to do that is to stick to your highest and best use.

This makes me think about some of the small business owners I know — and how they can get caught up in the details of a routine task that doesn’t really require their particular skill set. Perhaps you know someone like this. Because they are owners (and they understandably take their work very seriously), they feel they must be intimately involved in everything that goes on in the business. I’ve seen the trickle-down effect of this behavior, too — how it robs others of the joy of doing their own jobs well, without someone peering over their shoulders all the time, questioning their every move.

More to the point: it drives employees CRAZY.

Not the best way to create a fulfilling, energizing work environment. Or inspire legions of raving employee-fans. Uh, how’s your employee turnover rate?

So… what do you think is your “highest and best use” as a small business owner? How much of your day is taken up by those tasks that simply can’t get done without your specific expertise? You’d hope that’s a fairly high number, of course — but in fact, the Small Business Administration reports that the average small business owner spends up to 40% of their time on routine administrative tasks.

Good food for thought.

Here’s where I, the ever-ready freelance copywriter and undisputed owner of this blog, get to swoop in (wearing my virtual hero cape) and say:

Hey, if writing for your business isn’t YOUR highest and best use — or if it just takes you too darn much time — give me a call.

I’d be happy to dive in and be part of your team.

Photo Credit: Stebbi/NateSteiner via Creative Commons

As a Twin Cities-based copywriter and recent “transplant” to the area, I was lucky enough to find a new home with a stunning perennial garden. At least for now, I’m surrounded by flowers when I sit by my window to write. (Believe me, I’m drinking it in before the snow flies here in Minnesota — isn’t that supposed to happen in, like, a week or two? I haven’t lived here in ten years, so I forget.)

Now, while that may sound tranquil and lovely to some, those who garden know that it’s a WHOLE lot of work. In fact, looking out at my yard can sometimes even stress me out. I haven’t had a garden to care for in years, I think, I’m overwhelmed. Where do I start? How do I keep the weeds at bay? Which ones are weeds, anyway?

After an initial bout of “botanic panic,” I did, of course, calm down and set myself some realistic goals. Broke the whole project into bite-size chunks, small enough to accomplish in spurts. Sure enough, over time all that weeding, pruning, watering, fertilizing and tilling have actually yielded noticeable results. Lovely results.

Call me weird, but I can’t help but think of business networking when I tend my plants. (Well, not every time I tend them. Sometimes I’m just yanking weeds and cursing the mosquitoes.) You know what I mean — just like fertilizer and pruning yield bigger, better blooms, personal attention yields stronger relationships. Leave your plants and professional contacts alone, and they wither.

It’s time for me to roll up my sleeves and grow my garden of contacts. The chaos of our cross-country move is over, the kids are settling in at school, and I now have a chance to think. So, as I plan my next steps, a list is forming in my head — what can you add to the list? What are your best networking tips? I’d love to hear them.

My Networking To-Do List:

• Consider joining a networking group in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
• Get more active on LinkedIn. Join some groups, get to know new people in those groups.
• Make a list of my social media/blogging heroes, and follow their blogs and tweets regularly. Leave comments that truly add to the discussion when appropriate.
• Blog regularly here about copywriting, social media marketing, small business and Twin Cities happenings.
• Reconnect with friends and former colleagues, let them know what I’m doing. Buy a few of them a coffee, and ask for their advice.
• Brush up the résumé, so it’s ready at a moment’s notice. Practice my elevator speech.
• Watch the freelance job boards.
• Volunteer at my kids’ new schools. Hey — when you’re new in town, it pays to stay open to all the possibilities. You never know where you’ll make a valuable business contact. Or a new friend.

Godin makes the distinction between selling to strangers and selling to friends, saying that whom you’re targeting makes a huge difference in how you design and deliver your message. Agreed. You do have a much lower “hurdle” in targeting your friends, because they already know you and trust you. Plus, we all like doing business with people we know. But as Godin points out, you probably only have one free pass (in which your friend gives you the benefit of the doubt) to do it right.

I don’t think many people get it right. And I think it’s even harder to sell to your women friends.

I see people messing this up on Twitter and Facebook all the time — the incessant stream of stranger-oriented business propositions and opportunities passing by my eyes each day is mind-boggling. And while I wouldn’t exactly put Twitter followers in the same category as friends (except for a handful, at least in my case), I think that there is an art to it that can work across many platforms.

To Godin’s tips I’d add the following:

• Remember that the relationship comes first. You may be excited, ambitious and ready for rocketing growth, but keep in mind that your female friendships are multi-faceted. You can’t talk business all the time. That’d be boring, and your social invitations will dwindle as a result. Keep on being a great friend, listening and asking questions about what’s happening in her life.
• Instead of an all-out sales pitch when you meet for coffee, plant subtle seeds. If — and only if — an opportunity arises in your conversation to mention something (anything) related to your business, then by all means do so. But limit yourself. If your friend doesn’t turn it around and ask a question related to your business, then leave it for another day. The seeds you’ve sown are likely to sprout when you least expect it.
• If you’re in a business that’s built on selling directly to friends (i.e. Pampered Chef, Arbonne, Avon, etc.), tread carefully. There are boatloads of people who are leery of this business model — myself included. But I also respect that millions of people make a living this way. In my opinion, the trick is to be transparent, first and foremost. If you’re putting together a “makeover party” designed to interest your friends in buying some makeup, please do us all a favor and say so. Don’t tell me you’re “just getting some girls together” and want me to join you. When I find out later that it’s a business thing, I’ll be even less receptive to buying from you than I already was. (Gee, can you tell I’ve had this very experience? But I’m not bitter. I am NOT!)
• Craft your copy with your girlfriends in mind. Say you’re putting together an email for friends and family, letting them in on an unbelievable special offer. I’d recommend a super-honest, even self-deprecatory approach in how you write it. So instead of “Act now on this limited time offer for family & friends!!!!!!”, I’d tone it WAY down and say something like, “Hi, you guys. You’d have to be living under a rock to not know that I sell XYZ Product for a living. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love and support on this from the beginning. It’s wonderful to know that my friends care about me enough to consider buying from me! Here’s a little promotion I put together just for you guys — but I don’t want you to feel ANY pressure to buy anything. It’s just there for you to use if you were already planning to purchase, okay? Thanks for your time… I love you all and look forward to catching up soon!”

How do you feel about your friends selling to you? How do you handle this delicate balance? What tips could you add to my list? I’d love to hear from you!

My near-immediate (and irritatingly chirpy) response: “Personal experience/testimonials. I’m anti-propaganda, which is weird since I’ve spent my career in marketing. Yay for social media!”

This seemed to interest my Twitter friend, and he asked if I’d written about that… I hadn’t, but here’s what that exchange has spawned:

As a professional marketer and copywriter in a Web 2.0 world, I’ve noted with growing wonder my impatience with the interruptions of advertising messages. I mean, shouldn’t I adore being the lucky recipient of thousands of advertising messages a day? (Ugh. I really don’t.)

I have a feeling I’m not alone in this sea of irony. See if you can relate:

• I was absolutely over the moon when we finagled a DVR from our satellite TV provider — and now I gleefully fast-forward through the commercials when I want to watch my favorite shows (I’m admittedly a rabid fan of The Office, 30 Rock and Medium).
• When the Do Not Call list first came into existence, I was an evangelist, spreading the word among my colleagues, friends and family, even signing up my grandparents without internet access.
• I even joined GreenDimes, an organization dedicated to stopping junk mail and saving our natural resources, and gave the gift of their services to several of my loved ones.

What’s up with that? Oh, it’s only the biggest shift in marketing we’ve ever seen.

As one of the participants in Allison Nazarian’s fantastically informative, five-week marketing teleseminar series (featuring 20 experts in a variety of social media-related fields), I listened to Dave Evans, author of Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, as he described his own journey into social media-based marketing. He, too, found it ironic that in his personal time he utilized all available tools to deflect advertising messages. He started to wonder, “If we couldn’t interrupt people, how would we reach them?” That, among other events, led to his publication of a white paper on the rise of Web 2.0 technology, and ultimately to his career as a social media consultant.

Evans points out that traditional marketing views consumers’ attention as an unlimited resource. Traditional marketers compete for attention in an ongoing struggle to “break through the clutter” and to control or drive business. Problem is, just how much attention can we pay when we’re inundated with thousands upon thousands of messages (aka interruptions) daily?

With social media-based marketing, on the other hand, we view consumers’ attention as limited even as we realize their choices for information are unlimited. We know that prospects won’t sit through unwelcome interruptions that don’t interest them. Instead, they fast-forward, blog, Digg, write and share product reviews, upload video, bookmark and follow. Or un-foll0w.

So what’s a marketer to do when all the rules are changing?

As Evans says, instead of “driving” prospects into that golden purchase funnel, our tactics must necessarily shift — toward participation in social media, as a peer. Toward listening, and then engaging with potential customers in meaningful, two-way communication. (All in a way that’s completely transparent — Evans emphasizes that you must disclose your true identity as a brand ambassador.) And according to Evans, these new behaviors can actually serve to “amplify” your traditional marketing efforts.

All of which reminds me of what I’ve read in Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies (by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research). They define the “groundswell,” or the new behavior surrounding Web 2.0, as:

A social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.

Great food for thought as you execute your promotion plans in 2009. I think this is an extremely exciting time to be in marketing, don’t you? How do you plan to turn your prospects into customers? Better yet, how will you turn your customers into over-the-top evangelists for your brand?

Photo courtesy blogs.courant.com

First, I came across a wildly popular post from superblogger Jessica Knows, “A Call to Ambitious Women Entrepreneurs… Stop Apologizing.” In it, she points out a nasty habit so many of us have — apologizing for our successes, or for daring to promote ourselves. She urges women to join her in pledging to, well… just QUIT it — and instead celebrate our successes. Love this!

Then came social media maven Julie Roads’ take on the subject, “You have the right NOT to remain silent about how cool you are,” and her new, private Google group designed to be an interactive bragging “journal” of sorts for the women who belong to it. (I am a lucky new member who’s learning to proudly toot her own horn. Thanks, Julie!)

So, as a woman entrepreneur conditioned since birth not to EVER engage in the practice of bragging (except maybe in life-threatening emergencies or with your grandparents), I have to admit the idea made me darn uncomfortable at first. My initial “brag” to the Google group was tentative and a little self-conscious. But, judging by all the supportive, atta-girl networking that’s beginning to happen, I can already feel my brag-shackles beginning to loosen. (Uh-oh… look out!)

This process has also made me think about the art of bragging in business. (Turns out there IS a way to do it without alienating everyone you come in contact with!) Whether you’re networking to promote yourself, your products or services — in my opinion, it’s all in how (and when and where) you do it. Nuances.

1. Consider your audience. In our brag group, we’ve all promised to make it a safe, judgment-free place. Come to brag, and appreciate the brags of others without worry. It’s freeing, and it’s great! In real life, though — however much we may want to change this — it’s different. Whether it’s a colleague, client, Twitter friend or prospect, do you have a relationship with the person you’re speaking to? If not, take a little time to get to know him/her. Ask some questions, listen and respond to their answers. Let the conversation open the door for a little horn-tooting, rather than jimmying it open yourself and trumpeting right from the get-go.
2. Consider the situation. If you’re in the middle of a new business pitch or writing your new website, then by all means, brag away. Knock yourself out — it’s expected, and even necessary, as we all struggle to compete in a dog-eat-dog world. But if you run into a prospect while he’s enjoying a weekend excursion with his family (or Twittering with pals about the Super Bowl), think twice before launching into your most-bragalicious elevator speech.
3. Make it reciprocal. Appreciate that everyone has successes and talents to share. Find out what others do well, show them you’re genuinely interested and congratulate them on it. This is one of those “basics” that I think holds true across all forms of human interaction — from face-to-face yakety-yakking to the myriad online social networking vehicles now available to us.

Okay, maybe this list seems a little basic to you — and it is. But believe me, I have seen hoardes of people ignoring (or just ignorant of) these guidelines. My reaction to them? Unfollow, or end the conversation quickly and move on.

What do you think about bragging for business gain? How do you promote yourself with finesse, without turning people off?

One thing I’ve learned in my own on-ramp journey is that it doesn’t matter if your “most recent position” was right there in your own home. There is a thread running through all human relationships — whether you’re negotiating with your toddler or negotiating a hostile takeover — a thread that connects our life’s experiences, through all phases of life.

In other words, in your time as a stay-at-home-mom you may think you’ll LOSE your mind on any given day. But believe me, you are still USING it.

Here’s a post I wrote for my personal blog along these lines. Enjoy.

“What Can You Learn About Life (And Business) From Two Tiny Yoginis?”

You know those rare periods — in your household, your work, your life — where things somehow hum along smoothly, defying all your expectations? We occasionally experience this kind of harmony at our house… very occasionally. Take a look:

"Double Down Dog"

Last week, my mother-in-law sent my girls a really cute set of kid yoga cards (Barefoot Books’ Yoga Pretzels), where the poses (many of them for partners) are illustrated and give some basic information. While I tippety-tapped on the computer, the little buggers ripped right into them and got down to business.

They were like little circus performers — the big one would read the card, and issue instructions to the small one. The small one would speedily and happily comply, doing exactly as she was told. Then they’d break the pose and scurry back to find another one to try, over and over. I’ve never seen them so focused on something together — and I was shocked at their capacity to study, understand and replicate each pose. (I think plenty of adults would have trouble with this!)

No, I don’t think they’re on their way to yoga fame, or to full-time ashram living. But as I look back on that afternoon, I recognize that I could learn a few things from my tiny yoginis:

• When good leaders know how to motivate those they lead, they can accomplish great things. The big one knew that to get her little sister’s cooperation, it had to be fun. She used her best big-sister voice, coaxing and coaching her along, and gave her her full attention. And when they triumphed, they celebrated together — dancing, hugging, giggling.
• Embracing your place in the world — rather than railing against it — creates harmony. The little one knew full well she couldn’t be the leader in this game. In fact, she’s pretty used to accepting the big one’s authority on nearly everything. Their sister hierarchy will surely change as they get older and develop their own interests, but for a few moments there, everything was clicking.
• Learning can happen in the unlikeliest of places. Whether it’s kids learning about the world by stretching on a yoga mat, or mommies learning, stretching and growing in cyberspace — it pays to stay open and ready.

You never know where your newly acquired knowledge might take you.