How to Determine Your Webinar Marketing Strategy

by Nicole Munoz

When you decide to have a webinar it’s important to know why you’re having it and what your goals are in having it. You must know who your target audience is. Knowing what they want and need is an important factor in marketing your webinar. If you don’t know who your target market is, you need to figure that out before going further. Ask yourself, “Who has bought from me in the past?” or “Who do I want to buy from me in the future?”. Then, design your marketing to match. Once you’ve determined your audience and your topic then you’ll need to get on with determining your webinar marketing strategy.

Decide Webinar Objective

Is your objective to gather leads, make a specific number of sales, increase customer satisfaction, or something else entirely? Be very specific about the objective of the webinar so that you set up all aspects of the webinar with the objectives in mind. Write down your objectives.

Set Sales Goals

You may actually have zero sales goals in terms of product sales. Your goal might be to get 500 new email subscribers. Whatever your goals set them now based on your webinar objective. Write down your sales goals.

Set the Date & Time

Choose a time and date that most of your target audience will be available. Having the time and date in advance is essential to planning a successful webinar. Try to choose your date six weeks down the line so that you have enough time to plan and market the event. Document the date and time in your event calendar.

Identify Resources

What contacts do you have already? Consider past event attendees, customers, guests and current email list subscribers. Aside from people resources, how much money and time can you spend putting on the webinar? Know in advance what you have, so that you can work within those restrictions. Write down your budget in a small spreadsheet so that you can keep track of your expenditures. Later you’ll be able to include your sales from the event to track profit.

Create Your Special Offer

Each speaker should have a special offer for attendees, it needs to be created as soon as possible because it needs to be mentioned in the sales copy. The special offer should be applicable to the event and the target audience and not outside, unrelated products and services.

Write Sales Copy

Sales pages, pay per click ads, social media ads, affiliate marketing ads, etc… all need to be created as soon as you know the topic, speakers and date.

To create a good sales page and emails remember this: Intro, body with bullets, conclusion and call to action such as a registration button. Inside each areas you should have keywords. Test out different CTAs to ensure that everyone who wants to will sign up. Also include social media buttons so that people can share the information.

Create Graphics

All speakers should have headshots, a blurb about them, and information about what part of the even they will be presenting. Plus, if they are giving out any handouts, freebies, or other information graphical representations should be created. Other graphics would be banners and buttons for advertisements and images to use within your own presentation. You can ask that your presenters contribute their own graphics to the event.

Obtain Testimonials

Ask for testimonials from people who have already used your products and services or attended one of your events. Having these testimonials on your sales page with headshots and links back to their own websites will encourage more attendees. After this event is over, send a survey to people who attended the event and ask for testimonials. Do this as soon as possible.

Follow Up

The real value for you in webinars is what happens after the webinar. Whether your goal was to gather more leads, or sale more product and services you will at the very least get sign ups from people who registered for the event. Now, you can market to them via email in a way that can’t be done by a one off advertisement.

Planning in advance every aspect of your webinar event from pre-event preparation to post event is an important part of conducting a successful and profitable webinar. You really can’t wing it for a webinar event. There are too many things to coordinate from the speakers to the technology, to how you will follow up with the attendees.

27 Ways to Get Other People to Create Content For You

by Nicole Munoz

Getting other people to create your online content is one of the most painless ways to save time and ensure your blog, website and article directories are packed with top-quality, original content.

Let’s take a look at 27 different ways to make this happen.

1. Pay Copywriters or Ghostwriters

A ghostwriter usually writes articles, blog posts, eBooks, white papers and reports, and a copywriter often specializes in sales and landing pages, as well as email series – though there is often no difference between the two.

A good ghost/copywriter will increase your site SEO value with professional, original writing – in your “voice”.

2. Pay a VA

Many virtual assistants add copywriting to their services, so this way you can kill two birds with one stone, if you need an assistant too. Just be sure to check what type of writing they specialize in.

3. Guest Authors

This used to be a top way to get others to provide you with quality content – and it still is. But you should know that Google is now penalizing overly-promotional “guest posts” and “guest posters”, so follow these three tips and you won’t be the guest poster in trouble – nor will your guests.

Call them “guest authors”. Seriously!
Make sure their content is original and highly relevant to your audience
Get your “rel=author” tag and validate yourself with Google through your Google+ profile

Sure, it’s a pain to set up, but don’t neglect it. Your validation as a Google-recognized author is like gold in the SEO bank.

4. Embedding Other People’s Material

Ask permission to embed slide shows, videos, .MP3s and other material on your site. This can add richness and extra flavor, if you choose material that enhances and adds value to yours (as well as pleasing your visitors!)

5. Testimonials

If you ever receive great compliments on your services or products, these become priceless recommendations (or “testimonials”) that you can put on your website or in sales letters for that relevant product or service package.

If someone posts a testimonial on a highly public forum, you can technically print it without permission, but always ask (you may get more than if you “sneaked” it in: E.G. a headshot provided and permission to use their full name).

6. Insert Ads

Ads can bring income directly to you through your site, so choose blog themes that allow you to insert ad buttons and banners.

Avoid Google AdSense themes, however. The quality of ads has noticeably deteriorated this year, and you cannot guarantee that your site won’t become tainted by adult or inappropriate material you don’t want.

7. Comments

If you write a hot blog post, you’ll soon know it: It will incite a flurry of comments. Do put some screening in place for comments, however, so that you are not inundated with damaging spam. The Akismet spam filter is a “must”; and it’s a good idea to set your comments options to require moderation on the first post from a poster.

8. Have it Transcribed

Running a webinar or teleseminar is a painless way to create content, but make the most of it by having it transcribed into text.

Then you can offer your transcription as your blog content for that day – or you can offer it as a bonus to a paid offer or signup.

9. Create a “Round-up”

Another way to use other people’s content fairly: Create a Round-up of snippets from different sources dealing with a single topics. For example, “Top 10 Graphic Websites in 2013”; “Facebook Follies”.

10. Public Domain Visual Media

While it’s always best to commission or take your own original photos, finding public domain graphics can be a quick and handy solution. (Make sure they really are public domain, however!)

Here are three sources with multitudes of public domain photos and other visual media such as fonts and clipart…

11. Free Resources

You can insert resources such as calculators and dictionaries on your website simply by copying code into your HTML, such as TheFreeDictionary webmaster tools, which allows you to select options such as “Word of the Day” or “Quote of the Day”, among other features.

Just make sure your free resource is from a reputable site, and there’s no hidden code allowing traffic mining.

This type of HTML resource formatting is a good choice when your host website doesn’t allow App scripts.

12. Apps and Widgets

Better on blogs or websites written in .PHP rather than HTML. You can find apps for quizzes, polls, surveys, quotes – all the features available as HTML resources – and more. You can provide interactive, ever-changing content: E. G. a widget that displays Twitter tweets.

13. Plug-ins

You can do much the same thing with plugins and there is a wide selection to choose from at WordPress.org.

You can also download commercial plugins such as the nRelate related-content plugin.

14. Press Releases

Reprint press releases relevant to your target market’s interests on your website.

15. Intern Created Content

If you decide to take on an intern, one of her duties could be to create content for you.

16. Regular Features

You can create daily, weekly or monthly features that rely on externally-driven content. For example, regular “Guest Column” featuring different guest experts.

17. Using Quotes

One quick way to produce an article: Pick a topic and present “Top 10 Quotes About [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][your keyword]”. Then run a quick search, picking the best quotes from quotes aggregation sites such as BrainyQuote and The Quote Garden.

Don’t select all your quotes from one site, however. Mix and match.

18. Content Curation

Another practice that is quickly becoming a trend: Content curation – present content from aggregated sources. As free curation site, Storify says, “Make the Web tell a story”.

19. Templates

Templates may not be “content” as such, but they can help you quickly and instantly install or display content, doing the formatting part of the work for you.

And many WordPress themes incorporate widgets that add extra content to your site, such as blogrolls and archives.

You can get other templates too, to help fast-track your content creation. (E.g. review templates, blog post templates).

20. Public Domain material

You can build a blog or even just a week of posts around material that is truly in the public domain.

21. JV Partner Offers

You can insert ads from JV partners on your website – and free ones add special value.

Put them in a separate add banner or within your header. Very often, your JV partners will do the rest (sign up, sales or download pages).

In fact, ask them to provide their ad, too.

22. Reader Submissions

Invite readers to submit relevant written material to your blog, with the “prize” being publication (unless your blog serves professional writers, who would expect to be paid, of course).

Three popular types of writing you can invite:

Poetry
“Postcard” mini-writing contests
Asking for anecdotes regarding a specific topic: E.g. “What is your most embarrassing memory about learning to ride a horse?”

23. Reader Photographs or Artwork

Another type of contest people enjoy: Original artwork or photograpy.

Not only does featuring the results give you lots of free content, it also increases reader engagement and interest.

24. “[Something] of the Day”

Another type of reader-driven content that increases engagement: “[Something] of the Day” features.

Try:

Tip
Word
Quote
Horoscope
Thought
Photo

25. Recipes

You don’t have to be running a cooking blog or website to invite readers to share their favorite recipes, if your demographic is female. In fact, all you need to do is post an appetite-stimulating photo and a post that gets your readers salivating.

It’s like the Pet niche: Just as people love nothing more than writing in about their particular, unique, cuddly pet so do many love sharing their favorite recipes.

26. Retrospectives

Feature your own or others’ most popular past articles, photos, stories or other content.

Done right, this tactic can help build and strengthen your online community by making readers feel they have a “say” in your site.

27. Run a Themed Site

Creating a themed site entirely from reader-driven content (like accepting reviews for example) can be a virtually painless way to provide high quality, unique content as a background for displaying ads.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Nook Publishing Checklist

by Nicole Munoz

So, you’re ready to publish a book on the Nook. Not so fast! Have you covered all your bases? Miss one crucial step and you could botch your whole launch.

Before you upload your book, look through this checklist to make sure you’ve taken every necessary step.

Have You … Said Something Truly Unique?

For your book to really take off, it has to have something really different about it. People can’t pick up the book and think it seems like every other book they’ve ever read.

Becoming a bestseller on the Nook is only slightly easier than becoming a bestseller in paperback. Your book must stand out.

Give your book to a few people in your target market before launching. When they give you feedback, are they excited? Or do they simply say it’s good? Keep working on your book until people you show it to absolutely love it.

Have You … Formatted Your Document?

Formatting for the Nook is different than formatting for the Kindle or for the iBookstore.

One of the biggest differences is that you can’t use page breaks; but have to use section breaks instead.

Most of Word’s basic features, such as underlining, bolding and bulleting will work on the Nook. However, other features, like symbols or image wrapping won’t come out properly.

Make sure you’ve formatted your document properly before uploading. You can upload in HTML, DOC or TXT files.

Have You … Tested Your Cover Image?

Your cover will have a bigger impact on your sales than just about anything else in your description. Have you tested it to make sure it’s the best cover you can possibly have?

The best way to test your cover is to have 5-6 different covers done, then have your friends look over them. Get different opinions from 10 to 20 people and choose the one that people consistently say is the best.

Have You … Got an ISBN Number?

An ISBN number isn’t required to publish on the Nook. However, having one can add a lot of credibility for your book. If you’re serious about making your book a success, the $25 ISBN fee is a small price to pay.

Have You … Honed Your Pitch?

Why should someone buy your book? Barnes & Nobles advocates this approach to writing your description: Imagine someone asked you what your book is about at a dinner party. You have to “sell” your book in 30 seconds. What would you say?

Now take that pitch and turn it into your book’s description. It should catch attention, tell people what the book is about, hook their curiosity and get them to buy.

Have You … Got an Inspiring and Credible Bio?

Before someone buys your book, one of the first things they’re going to look at is who you are. Do you seem like a credible person? Do you have the credentials to write the book you wrote? Why should they trust you?

When you’re writing your bio, focus on the credibility building aspects. For example, if you’re writing a business book, people will care a lot less about where you grew up or what you’re passionate about than what your business track record is. Even if you’re writing a fiction book, you should still focus on your track record as an author.

Make your bio “snap” and fun to read, but make sure it also adds credibility.

Have You … Collected Blurbs and Testimonials?

Blurbs and testimonials should go in the beginning of your book, as well as at the bottom of your description. They can help convey other people’s excitement and get your readers excited as well.

Getting testimonials is easy. Just send the book to a few of your friends, have them email you their thoughts and put those thoughts in your book.

Have You … Got Editorial Reviews?

In the Nook, editorial reviews get a section of their own.

That means there’s a huge opportunity to build credibility by adding a few editorial reviews.

An editorial review is a review by someone who’s respected in your industry. For example, a journalist, a well known author, an editor of a well known publication or a CEO of a prominent company.

Have You … Leveraged Bloggers, Reviewers and Reading Groups?

One of the best ways to sell a Nook book is to get a ton of reviews, both on the web and in the Nook store.

To get reviews on the web, contact bloggers and review sites that write about your industry. Offer to send them a free copy of your book to review.

To get a lot of reviews in the Nook store, look for reading groups. These are groups of people who read Nook books. They often focus around specific categories of books. Find one of these groups and offer your book for free to the entire group, in exchange for reviews.