The Sales Lion by Marcus Sheridan » YouTube and Video Marketing

Most Emails Stink as a Sales Tool. Here’s Why…

Marcus Sheridan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:22:31 +0000

Somewhere in the world, right this very moment, a sales person is getting ready to blow another opportunity.

How is this happening? Well, chances are the individual is writing an email that looks just like this:

Dear Mr. Jones,

I’m emailing you to confirm our appointment this Friday. Please let me know if you have any questions or needs.

Sincerely,

Boring Sales Person

Yep. That’s it. Another terrible email going out to a prospect to ‘remind them’ of the sales appointment. Here’s another awful one that someone else in the world is typing as you read these words:

Dear Mr. Jones,

I just wanted to thank you for our recent meeting, I thought it was very productive and enjoyed it very much. Please let me know if you have any needs or questions.

Sincerely,

No-So-Effective Sales Person

Now be honest: Have you ever written an email similar to one of these? Chances are, if you’re in any type of business that sells anything at all, the answer is ‘YES’.

As for me, I used to send out these same types of emails, until I came to a clear realization– Such emails do absolutely nothing to further the sales process…NOTHING.

When it comes down to it, we need to look at normal email as a tremendous opportunity to help prospects and existing clients progress towards a buying decision. And because content is the greatest sales tool in the world, we must get to the point where we start including blog posts and video links (that we’ve done) in every email we EVER send out…for the rest of our lives.

I really mean this statement, and I make it because of these facts:

The more time someone spends on your website, the closer they are to spending their money with YOU.

The more someone reads your words or watches your videos, the more they trust YOU.

The more educated someone is about your products/services, they more they’ll tell others about YOU.

And on and on and on…

To understand even deeper the connection of email, ‘tipping points’, and content marketing; I’ve made a video talking about this very subject. So if you have a few minutes and you really are looking for a way to improve your sales procedure and cycle as a company, please give it a look (plus the Lion growl at the beginning is the coolest ever ).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Your Turn:

My question today is simple: Are you using existing blog posts and videos in the emails you’re sending out to prospects and clients? If not….why??? Also, if you are doing this, tell everyone about some of the success and results you’ve experienced.

Speaking of email, I’ll be keynoting MarketingSherpa’s Email Summit that will be taking place in Las Vegas from Feb. 7-10. In my session, I’m going to dive quite a bit deeper into the concept of content marketing tipping points and how they can forever change your business, especially when aligned with email marketing. Brian Solis and Dr. Flint McGlaughlin will also be keynoting the event which last year was attended by over 800 marketing professionals from around the world. For those of your interested in learning more, please check out the incredible line up and session topics.

Download your FREE copy of my 230 Page Inbound and Content Marketing Made Easy eBook now and start reading in 60 seconds!

The Most Important Small Business Video Marketing Tip You’ll Ever Receive

Marcus Sheridan — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:25:10 +0000

While speaking at the Hubspot User Group conference last month, a kind lady in the crowd asked me the following question:

“Marcus, what are your thoughts on video? I read all of this stuff that I ‘have to do’ and I feel overwhelmed just getting started.”

My response was blunt:

“The only people screaming that videos have to be perfect are the ones that get paid to make the videos. My point? Just hit record. Get started. Some will always be better than none. As long as you try to get better and better, you’ll be just fine.”

As soon as I stated these words, the kind lady showed a smile of relief. Finally, someone was there to help her realize she didn’t have to be perfect to embrace video marketing. She needn’t be a videographer. All she had to do was give it a try.

The Amateur vs. Professional Debate

I mention this story because last week I again found myself in a little debate with a video ‘professional’ on Gini Dietrich’s blog Spin Sucks. If you’d like to read the comments verbatim, feel free to see them here, but the philosophical difference I share with this gentleman and many others about video is this: It’s foolish to expect that average Joe business owners are going to be great and ‘professional’ when they first start video marketing, especially with factors such as budget, learning curve, and equipment playing such a big role. Should the end goal be ‘professional’? In most cases, I’d say yes, but the end goal should not be the standard of a starting point.

Fact is, I’ve talked to thousands of small businesses over the past 3 years regarding the power of video. During this time, I’ve developed a very good ‘feel’ for the main reason business owners and entrepreneurs hold back from simply pushing record—The fear of imperfection.

This is why videographers who bad-mouth any video that’s not ‘professional’ make me want to bang my head against a wall. They’re actually hurting businesses from growing because they’re setting the initial bar way, way too high for the majority of their potential clients.

The Sacred Art that is Video Marketing

When it comes to video marketing, I often wonder what breeds this ‘no amateurs allowed’ paradigm from certain people.

As a comparison, does a blogger have to be a great writer to start blogging?

Does a company have to have a perfect business model before they open the doors?

Does a teacher have to be a great teacher before they set foot in a public school?

Does a parent have to be a great parent before they decide to have their first child?

No.

The fact is I can’t think of a single skill we all just ‘get’ from the beginning.

But for some reason there are those that make video out to be some sacred art that no one is allowed to attempt unless they do everything on the sacred ‘list’.

I call bull on that one, and I’m living proof.

We All Start Clueless

The first video I ever made for my business was in Feb of 2009. I had no idea what I was doing and just knew the next big ‘thing’ was video marketing and YouTube. So I decided to talk about a product in the swimming pool industry called Salt Chlorine Generators.

As for the quality of the video, I’m happy to say it stunk. In fact, to verify my claims, I’m going to show it here. If you want to watch it, fine. If not, I’ll cut to the chase in saying the quality is awful, the content is very average at best, and the lighting is so bad it makes me look like I’ve been lying at the bottom of a lake for the last 3 days.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Notwithstanding all of these ‘terrible attributes’, the video is something I’m proud of. It marked the beginning of a very, very important marketing/branding tool for my swimming pool company. Oh, and did I mention it also has 21,000 views, ranks for multiple keywords, and has made thousands of dollars in product sales?

Fail to Launch or Launch to Learn?

There are two types of companies when it comes to video—Those that suffer from a failure to launch and those that choose the opposite approach: launch to learn.

Obviously, I adhere to the latter. In fact, this philosophy has helped me train dozens of other small businesses how to get started with video and YouTube over the past year. My goal in working with them is always simple—let’s get better and better with each one.

The beauty is as companies get better and better with video, they’re also making sales in the process. This is what smart business and marketing is all about, which is why waiting for perfection and ‘super professional’ is a ridiculous business model. Furthermore, here are a few facts:

Windows Movie Maker (and similar editing programs) are intimidating for a large majority of small business owners, and do take time and practice to learn.
The only way for many people to get comfortable being in front of the camera is by….being in front of the camera, a lot.
Viewers don’t expect YouTube videos to be perfect or super professional, especially for a small business that doesn’t have a million dollar advertising budget.

Case in point? As my company has been learning video marketing over these past 3 years, here are our stats:

Over 100 videos produced
Over 1,000,000 total views
Over $1,000,000 in product sales

Amatuer videos? Yep, sure thing, but I’ll take those numbers any day of the week.

There is a Place for ALL Levels of Video

I don’t mention these facts as a green light for businesses to simply produce junk and throw it on YouTube. There is a time and place for high quality and professional. Anyone who watched my video last week knows I’m a huge proponent of hiring professionals to produce truly professional work, as it clearly has its place in every business.

But in the world we live today, there is a place for amateur video of all levels. 3 years ago I was a video dummy. But with each and every video that has been produced, my company has gotten better and better. We’ve gone from poor amateurs to ‘pretty decent’ amateurs, and in 2012 we’ll be spending another $15,000 on a new camera , equipment, and education with the end goal of becoming ‘great amateurs’.

But again, it all starts somewhere.

So let’s not put the cart before the horse my friends. Video marketing is possible for all of us. In fact, great video is possible for all of us. But please, don’t be afraid to learn. Don’t be afraid to experiment. If you do, the results just may amaze you.

Now go push record.

Your Turn:

What has been your company’s experience with video and ‘failure to launch’? Do you feel video it has to be perfect or are you a work in progress? And if you are doing video marketing, how long have you been at it? Has the learning curve been difficult and what have been the results? Finally, I’d be curious to know what editing program you use?

As always, the conversation below is your turn to add your thoughts, questions, and comments…and please know that everything you say is valued and appreciated.

Read a ton more of my thoughts on video in my FREE, 230 page eBook, ‘Inbound and Content Marketing Made Easy’. Download Now!

How to Create an Incredible Personal Branding Video that Sells YOU

Marcus Sheridan — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:30:41 +0000

We hear a lot of talk about ‘personal brand’ all over the internet. And no doubt, we should. When it comes down do it, branding, or the way others perceive us, affects almost everything we do in life, be it personal or professional.

This being said, branding has always been something very, very important to me. The bottom line is I want to be known for something, I want to have a message, and I want others to know exactly what that message is.

Tapping into the Power of Video

As a whole, I think we’re all (at least those of us with blogs and businesses) want the same thing. We want folks to recognize our mission, our talents, and our worth. And more often than not, we completely lean on the words we write to transport that message to the world.

This, in my opinion, is selling ourselves short of the resources available to us, especially when it comes to the power of video.

What’s crazy to me is I look around the blogosphere and see people that have built pretty decent brands, large audiences, and are receiving speaking opportunities—yet most don’t even have a personal branding video. And for those that do, the video is average at best.

Some of you may remember an article I wrote a few months back entitled, “Blogging, Serendipity, and How I Met One of My Heroes”. In that post, I mentioned my love for West Virginia University, sports, and the voice of the Mountaineers (football and basketball)—Tony Caridi, who serendipitously had been reading my blog for quite some time as he is a Hubspot customer, trying to leverage the power of inbound marketing to take his video production company, Pikewood Creative, to the next level.

To make a long story short, I went to Tony’s company and worked with his staff on their Inbound Marketing, and Tony in-turn produced a video for me and The Sales Lion brand.

As promised then, here is the video, and I’m going to sincerely ask that if you’re reading this article to please take a few minutes to watch this. I doubt you’ve seen a personal branding video quite like this and it preludes everything we’re getting ready to talk about…

Click here to view the embedded video.

How to Create a Branding Video that Sells YOU (or your company)

The night Tony sent me the completed version of this video I emailed it to my 10 year old daughter Danielle and asked her to watch it. A few minutes later I got an excited phone call from my wife. She said:

“Oh my goodness! Danielle and I just watched the video and when it finished she was jumping up and down screaming, ‘My dad is so awesome, my dad is so awesome!’.”

Needless to say, those words gave me a huge smile. She had been moved by the video, touched in a proud and positive way. I’m sure she’ s naturally biased but that is still the type of emotion we want viewers to have when they get a chance to watch such a video.

So how is it done? How does a personal branding video go from being a simple visual clip to a moving expression of one’s unique mission and identity? Along with Tony’s help and input, I’ve come up with 2 essential keys:

The Power of Story

Many writers fail to properly use the power of story, especially personal ones, in their work. Most business also suffer from the same. This, my friends, is a huge error.

In speaking with Tony, ‘Story’ was the first word he mentioned with respect to creating powerful video for individuals and companies. As he put it, “Everyone’s got one, you’ve just got to find it.”

This is why, when we shot the video, Tony asked me question upon question, many of which were similar in nature.

I later found out he was asking these questions because he was digging for the ‘Marcus Sheridan Story’, and after he and his producers went back and looked at the clips, they knew exactly what the story was that needed to be told– from struggling pool guy to Sales Lion to Speaker/Teacher of Inbound Marketing.

Amateur vs. Professional:

In 2006, before I even knew what inbound marketing was, I had a professional video made of our swimming pool installation process, our company, our customers, etc. To say the video was above and beyond anything anyone had ever done in the fiberglass swimming pool industry would be an understatement. It was easily 10 years ahead of the competition and since its production on DVD, we’ve sent it out to about 3000 prospective customers over the years.

Without question, the DVD made many, many sales on its own. It’s quality shocked people and looking back, that was the first time I truly embraced the power of ‘content’ without even knowing what I was doing.

Oh, and did I mention the video cost me about $35,000? Yeah, back then that was a lot of money. But again, it was worth every penny.

And so it is with personal branding videos. For quite some time, I’ve had a video of me giving a seminar on the side column of this blog. Although this video shows good content and has lead to speaking opportunities, it by no means screams of ‘high end’ production. And because I frankly want to speak to millions of people before it is all said and done, I knew such a video, although a ‘start’, was clearly not the end goal.

As Tony pointed out, these days, because technology has allowed each and every one of us to be photographers and videographers, many people think they are pros when they are not, thus preventing their visual branding from reaching its full potential.

Although I’m a huge advocate of Average Joes and Janes ‘just doing it’ when it comes to writing blogs or producing video, I do feel that there is a time and place to let an expert be an expert. Does it cost a lot more to do it this way? Yes, of course, but the potential monetary gain is also more than worth it in almost every case.

As Tony said, “You can go to the grocery store and buy a really nice steak for $30 and cook it yourself…or you can go to a 5-star restaurant and have Bobby Flay cook it for $400.Which one do you think is going to be most memorable?”

Good point Tony.

The video above has hours and hours worth of editing that went into it. There were two cameras, recording at different levels, during the shoot. The dancing caricatures were completely the idea of Tony and Pikewood, as were the typing scenes, music, pace, etc.

Bottom Line: All I did was talk, and then I sat back and let the artist paint the picture.

Take Your Brand to Another Level

Hopefully you see where I’m coming from with this. Branding is huge. It can make or break your successes as a blogger and/or business owner. And because of this fact, the time for you to embrace the power of video is now. If you can only afford to do something yourself, then do it. If you can afford to do something professional, even though it might be a financial stretch, then by all means make it happen.

But embrace video. Tell us about you. Tell us your story. What you are is special, and it’s about time the world understood that a little better, don’t you think?

Your Turn:

Let’s talk about video and branding. What’s been your experience with video? Has is affected your company? Have you used it as a branding tool? What have been your observations? And finally, if you’re not yet on the video train, why the heck not?? ;-)

Have a great week everyone!

Get your FREE 230 Page Copy of Inbound and Content Marketing Made Easy Now and Be Reading in 60 Seconds!

Is Derek Halpern Wrong? The Debate of Web Sidebar Design and Conversions

Marcus Sheridan — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:28:47 +0000

Before we jump into this incredibly important question of website side-bar design and conversions, let me just say that I’m a big fan of Derek Halpern. As those of you know that read this blog regularly, I’ve praised him in past articles and think he clearly has one of the great minds in the internet marketing arena. Simply put, the guy produces, and there is no arguing that, which is also why the likes of Chris Brogan and Pat Flynn have sought his advice when it comes to optimizing a website to maximize conversions. At the same rate though, I felt prompted to write this article because although Derek’s methods will fit many online business models, they don’t necessarily apply to everyone (as I’m sure he’d agree), which is why I felt the subject needed further thought.

In his excellent article “The #1 Conversion Killer In Your Web Design”, Derek says:

Murder Clutter… Before It Nukes Your Conversion Rates

Look:

With widgets, plugins, social media profiles, and other junk like that, it’s easy to overload your website with a bunch of garbage you don’t need.

And worse, when you do just that, your conversion rates PLUMMET.

The simple solution is to DITCH the baggage, and focus on what you NEED visitors to do to grow your business.

In most cases, you need visitors to subscribe to your email list or buy your stuff, and that’s what you should focus on.

Related posts? Twitter feed? 10 million social media profile icons? Badges?

“Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!”

Great thoughts from Derek here. Really. Not only do I love his writing style but his point is a very valid one—too much stuff can/does hurt conversion rates. And as far as the effectiveness of badges on the sidebar, I’m sure we could spend hours debating the merits of that one, but I think the key question is actually this:

What’s your definition of a conversion?

For some folks, a conversion might be capturing someone’s email so they are now part of your ‘list’. But for others, ‘lists’ may not be the end-all.

For example, in the coming weeks, I will be spending more time building my list to promote my new inbound marketing/Hubspot newsletter, but never do I expect this list to be the main focus of TSL in terms of how I monetize this site. More on this in a minute…

In the same article, Derek goes on to say:

But it’s not practical to ONLY include a call to action in your sidebar. You need a little bit more:

Every blog sidebar needs:

an opt-in form (at the top of the sidebar)

links to resource pages (preferably right under the opt-in form)

links to popular articles

Anything else is a potential distraction.

By no means do I think Derek is necessarily wrong with what he is saying here. In fact, just as I said before, I think in the majority of cases, based on most people’s goals, he’s absolutely right. But for me, when all is said and done, the goals of this site are:

1. Build an incredible community through the ‘personal’ feel and interaction of the site.

2. Raise awareness of my speaking services so companies hire me to come out to their place and rock and roll their marketing world.

Speaking

My third priority is the list building side of things, but it does not trump 1 and 2, which is my my sidebar also reflects a different goal than does Derek’s. For example, when it comes to achieving goal #2 of this site (speaking services), my sidebar is the catalyst to make this a reality.

For example, right now I’m showing a ‘I’m Speaking at Content Marketing World’ badge. The reason for this is simple: I want to speak at more events and this badge is a social proof to others that (hopefully) makes them think: ‘Marcus is speaking at one of the most impressive marketing events in the country, maybe I should have him at my event too.’

Further on down the page, you’ll notice a YouTube video of me speaking at a marketing seminar. I will be frank in saying this video alone has benefitted me tremendously on a monetary level. Currently, over the next 6 months, I’m scheduled to be a paid speaker at 6 events, and many others are in the works. Although I’ve always had ‘speaking’ as a service here at TSL, it was not until I posted that video on the sidebar a few months ago that the calls and emails started coming in. Simply put, there is no better social proof than that of video, and I think just about every sidebar should include one, especially if you’re looking to be a paid speaker. Another great example of this is Jason Falls. Check out his site to see how he leverages his side bar to garner tons of speaking opportunities.

Finally, you’ll notice just below the video scrolling testimonials of my web coaching and speaking services. Again, this just lends itself to the #2 goal of this site.

Community

As I mentioned above, the #1 goal of TSL is to build community by creating a ‘personal’ feel between me and my audience. There are diverse ways in which to accomplish this (one of which is taking the time to genuinely answer every comment that comes through these parts) but again, the sidebar reflects these goals. Although I could take a minute to discuss the social media widgets and why I want them there, I’d like to turn your attention to the bottom right of this page, The Sheridan Clan.

Every month, certain articles that do well here on TSL get clicked and read thousands of times. But most pale in comparison to the number of clicks the photo gallery gets of The Sheridan Clan, which usually gets clicked about 10,000 times each month. Heck, even the phrase, ‘The Sheridan Clan’ is now branded. People all the time ask me, “How’s the clan Marcus” or “How’s the Sheridan Clan doing Marcus?”. Is this phenomena due to the fact that people are obsessed with my family and simply can’t stop clicking?? No, of course not, it’s a simple reflection of the #1 goal of this site—Create community with a ‘personal’ feel. And I ask you, is there anything more personal than family?

To close this article, I want to reflect back to the question I asked earlier?

What’s your definition of a conversion?

The catch to this question is that if you don’t know the main goals of your site, conversions really don’t mean a thing. But once your goals are clearly defined, then you can start to develop your sidebar to match said goals.

So to answer the question stated in the title of this article, ‘Is Derek Halpern Wrong?’, I’d say the answer is NO—assuming your goals are to build your list. If that’s your goal, then I’d suggest you adhere to his clutter-free methodology, because like he said, the numbers don’t lie.

But if you have other goals and priorities, makes sure you consider those too as you look to maximize optimal web design.

Your Turn:

OK, we’ve got a great opportunity here folks. What’s your take on sidebars? Is less more? Do you like badges? How about social media buttons? What are the goals of your site and how does your sidebar reflect them? And finally, why do you keep looking at my kids? (Just kidding ) C’mon friends, throw your thoughts in, because this is a topic that affects all of us.

Transparency and Inbound Marketing: The Greatest ‘Sales Technique’ of the Information Age

Marcus Sheridan — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:43:51 +0000

I got into a nice little debate yesterday with my good friend Danny Brown over at Gini Dietrich’s site, Spin Sucks. You see, I wrote a guest post there entitled ‘5 Reasons You Should Discuss Pricing on Your Company Website’ and as I’d hoped, it sparked great conversation and debate on both sides of the issue (you really should check it out btw).

<Marcus Tangent Alert***> Speaking of ‘debate’, I don’t think we see enough of that in blogs (See Davina’s virtual love fest post). I love it when people don’t agree with me yet still act civil. For example, in the article I wrote earlier this week about some of the best blog header designs on the internet, Gini Dietrich and Shonali Burke both didn’t like my choices. In fact, Shonali was the first to comment, and gave me the immediate ‘thumbs down’. I was thrilled. Seriously. But that’s a whole other discussion and now I’ll get back on topic

In this debate with Danny, of which many other folks chimed in, the key word that kept coming up again and again was ‘Transparency’. You see, I firmly believe that transparency, combined with great inbound marketing, is the greatest ‘sales technique’ in the world today. And no, I’m not exaggerating one iota.

The Age of Sales Techniques is Dying

There was a period in my life of about 5 years when I read just about every book on ‘selling’ that was ever written. I couldn’t seem to devour enough of the subject and my natural tendency to ‘be the best’ lead me from one book to the next. But all of this stopped a couple of years ago when I started to undergo a complete paradigm shift regarding my approach to selling, and it happened when I truly started to understand the principle of inbound/content marketing.

Frankly, I don’t think most people really understand inbound marketing from a contextual standpoint. Seriously. They don’t get it. Heck, many make it out to be a ‘science’ way more complicated than it really needs to be. As for me, I see it in these simple terms, and if you never remember another thing I say here on TSL, please just remember this:

If your customers have questions, it’s your duty to answer them….with utter transparency.

Got it? Good.

The entire reason my swimming pool website is the most popular of its kind in the world, and the entire reason it generates more leads than I could ever possibly handle, is because it follows this simple aforementioned statement.

That’s why if someone asks me a question, I go write an article about it.

“How much does a fiberglass pool cost?”
“Who shouldn’t buy a fiberglass pool?”
“How do fiberglass pools compare with concrete pools?”
“Do fiberglass pools look cheap?”
“What are the problems with a fiberglass pool?”
“Who are your biggest fiberglass pool competitors?”
“Who makes the best fiberglass pool?”
“Are fiberglass pools ugly?”
“Are fiberglass pools too small?”
“How does ‘Brand X’ compare to ‘Brand Y’?”

The list of questions goes on and on, but with each one, upon hearing it, I wrote about it. 400 brutally honest articles later, it’s a consumer’s best friend—The voice of the fiberglass pool industry.

All this with no Google keyword grader, no expensive SEO consulting analysis, nothing.

Just listening and writing, that’s all it is.

But transparency goes way further in the sales process too. Whenever I set up a sales appointment with a prospect, one clear point is always made, and it usually sounds a little something like this:

“Mr. Customer, the entire reason I’ve spent countless hours writing articles and creating videos about fiberglass pools is because I care about consumers like you. I want you to be educated. I want you to be informed. This is also why the purpose of my visit to your home is not really about teaching. I’ve already done that and I expect you to take advantage of the tools I’ve given you. The purpose of my visit is to help you choose which pool and options, price them for you, and then earn your business at that time. In other words, I’m there to sell you a pool. Sound Good?”

Almost always, after a few second of surprise, the prospect says “Ok Marcus. That sounds great!” As you might imagine, this then leads to an incredibly productive sales appointment and very high ‘closing rates’.

Is Anyone Else Sick of ‘Sales Techniques’?

I’ve always been bothered by the fact that selling involves one sales technique after another that eventually leads to one closing technique after another that eventually leads to one ‘no’ (from the prospect) after another that eventually leads to more ‘resolve concern’ techniques after another that eventually leads to a ‘yes’…or ‘no’. Crazy, huh?

I now prefer to skip all that junk and simply give great content, make sure the prospect does his/her homework, and then reach a natural conclusion—either we’re a good fit or not.

Do you realize how many consumers are simply looking for a voice they can trust? People are so jaded with tricky semantics and silly sales processes (especially online) that all they want is for someone to be straight with them.

Why Not?

So I say why not? Why not be brutally transparent with your approach to business? Why not be the voice of your industry? Why not address issues that no one else has the bravery or guts to talk about? And why not earn the trust of all those around you in the process?

Your Turn

So what’s your take on all this? Do businesses need to be more transparent with their content and approach? Or should we not try to fix something ‘that isn’t broke’? Whether you have just a thought or a diatribe, I’d invite you to jump in below and say what’s on your mind.

How to Use Skype to Build Fans, Followers, and Amazing Relationships

Marcus Sheridan — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:41:55 +0000

Are you using Skype to build relationships and increase your network of friends, fans, and followers? If not, you’re truly missing out on one of the best pieces of technology the world has seen in a long time.

But assuming you already understand the beauties of Skype, but don’t fully see how to leverage it to build these relationships, I’ve selected the example of a few people that have taught me wonders of how to truly do just this when using this amazing medium. Here goes….

The Example of Derek Halpern

I had the pleasure of chatting with Derek Halpern of the stellar blog, Social Triggers, on Skype yesterday. Derek has done some incredible things online. He has a huge audience, has been interviewed by Chris Brogan, and is as innovative as they come with internet marketing. Notwithstanding all his success, and with very little to ‘gain’, Derek spent 30 minutes with me on Skype, discussing web marketing, blogging, and many other topics businesses and bloggers like you and I deal with on a daily basis.

Looking to take my blog to the next level, I asked Derek to identify the things I was doing wrong with my site and without blinking, he immediately offered concise pointers as to where I was falling short, with the main one being my poor efforts in building a proper email list. (Speaking of building your email list, if you haven’t signed up for Derek’s free series on this subject, I strongly recommend you do so now by clicking here).

In all reality, the advice and tips I received from Derek would have cost me quite a bit of money from a ‘consultant’, but $$$ wasn’t his goal with this half-hour video chat. Instead, he just wanted to help a fellow blogger and further a budding friendship.

Simply put, Derek Halpern understands the power of Skype to build relationships.

The Example of Paul Wolfe

Oddly enough, a few hours before my conversation with DH, I had the pleasure of meeting ‘in-person’ through Skype one of my favorite bloggers from across the pond, Paul Wolfe. Many of you have likely already read articles from Paul’s excellent writing/online marketing blog, One Spoon at a Time, but what you may not know is that Paul is already making a very decent living online through his bass guitar website, a niche by which he has made quite the name for himself in that corner of the internet.

Just as with Derek, instead of me having much value to offer Paul, he focused instead on asking me questions about TSL. As we discussed my future plans for the site, Paul came through with some tremendous suggestions for a series on the site that would directly align itself with the eBook that I’m in the process of putting together and will be releasing within the next few months.

After spending an hour with Paul on Skype, I was left with an incredible appreciation for a fellow that not only talks the talk when it comes to marketing a product and service online, but truly walks the walk—a guy that has built huge followers and makes a great income through incredible amounts of hard work and content production.

Simply put, Paul Wolfe understands the power of Skype to build relationships.

The Example of Robert Dempsey

About 6 weeks ago, I finally caught up on Skype with Robert Dempsey of the popular Dempsey Marketing Blog. Within minutes of chatting with Robert, I was blown away with his desire to learn more about me, my goals, and where I was taking TSL. We discussed a variety of topics, and with his years of online experience, Robert gave me some incredibly sound advice. But not only that , as we were discussing my site, I mentioned to him a little code issue I was having with the design, at which time he immediately jumped under the hood of TSL and fixed the problem—something that would have likely cost me $75 or more with my WordPress designer.

As you can assuredly imagine, I was simply blown away with Robert’s help and interest, and because of his actions, I’ll always be a loyal fan.

Simply put, Robert Dempsey knows how to use Skype to build relationships.

It’s All About Service

I’m sure you’re getting my point with these three examples. Skype can be an incredibly powerful medium folks. It allows us to take online relationships to ‘the next level’, and as shown from the gents above, the entire key to making Skype work for you is by asking questions, offering solutions, and looking for ways to help and serve the other person.

This is exactly what Derek, Paul, and Robert did—and it’s what you should be doing if you have access to this ever growing communication tool that is literally changing the world around us. I could literally go on and on about the other people (like Ingrid and John Falchetto) that have become some of my best friends, on and offline, simply because of the connective awesomeness Skype allows for each and every one of us. My point? Use it folks. Sign up for it you haven’t already. And if you already use it, ask yourself if you can do a better job of building true and lasting relationships because of what you give to others. Oh, and lest I forget—my Skype name is Marcus_Sheridan, for any of you readers that would like to connect even further.

Your Turn:

First of all, are you using Skype currently to build relationships and/or better your business? If so, how has it made a difference in your online relationships? Can you think of an experience you had where someone really served/helped you by using this medium? As always, I hope everyone jumps in here, and if you have any questions about Skype in general, make sure to fire away below.

Inbound Marketing, Patrick Swayze, and How Your Company can be Coolest Guy at the Dance Every Time

Marcus Sheridan — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:12:44 +0000

Which guy is your company at the dance?

I love the movie Dirty Dancing(1987). Yeah, I know, I’m not supposed to say that, as it doesn’t quite fit the ‘macho’ approach most guys try to maintain. But hey, the 80’s were my glory days and without question, there was about a 5 year period there where I thought Patrick Swayze was just about the coolest guy of all time. (Note: If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t fret, I promise this little article won’t stink).

You see, Swayze, or ‘Johnny Castle’ as he was dubbed in the movie, was ‘Mr. Cool’ at the dances. ALL the ladies wanted to have him spin them around the dance floor. He was the guy with all the right moves, and certainly never had to beg anyone to accompany him in ‘The Tango’.

In Dirty Dancing, there was also an ‘anti’ Swayze, whose name was Neill. He was your typical ‘nerd’ at the dance (please nerds, don’t be offended ), going up to ladies at every opportunity and asking anyone he could for a turn, with little or no success.

Although you might be wondering why I bring up this analogy, it’s because these two guys are perfectly symbolic of the state of marketing for many businesses throughout the world, as you’ll see in the following video.

I spoke to a group of business owners this past week in San Anotonio Texas about the power of inbound marketing and Web 2.0, and I wanted to share this with my wonderful community here at TSL. But before you click off this page, I promise that if you watch this short, 5 minute action-packed video, you will:

Smile a lot.
Laugh a little.
Realize I’m even goofier in person than when I write.
See boundless passion.
And hear the best example of inbound vs. outbound marketing you’ve ever heard.

My point? Please watch, I promise, it will be worth it. Oh, and when you’re done, I’d love to hear your thoughts below….

Click here to view the embedded video.

Google Search Results, the Death of Niche Sites, and Why Inbound Marketing is the Future of SEO

Marcus Sheridan — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:37:30 +0000

Where do you see the future of SEO?

By this point we all know that search engine rankings in Google can make or break a business, and because of this reality, the race for SEO has been on for the last 15 years or so, with constant changes in Google’s ‘sacred algorithm’ making every SEO’s job a most complicated task. But Google made big news this week with the following statement on their blog:

In the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking—a change that noticeably impacts 11.8% of our queries—and we wanted to let people know what’s going on. This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.

The Beginning of the End?

So what’s this simple statement mean? Well, in my opinion, a few things. First, it marks the beginning of what Google will actually become.

I’ve never viewed SEO (or Google) as a magic machine , requiring the perfect mix of keywords, backlinks, and the like to give positive results. Yeah, sure that’s what it is today, but my gut tells me that’s not what it’s going to be tomorrow. Personally, I’m of the belief that Google’s Algorithm will be human before we know it.

“Human, what the heck to you mean Marcus?”

What I’m saying is that I think we should write to please humans, not ‘machines’ or ‘magic equations’…if we’re thinking long term. I say this because I believe the day will come when the search engines read pages exactly as a human would—and see the value, or lack thereof, in the content.

The Death of Niche Sites

This brings me to another point:

I believe niche sites will be obsolete, at least as we now know them, in 10 years.

Well actually, they’ll still be there, but they sure as heck won’t be showing up in search engine results as they do today.

Why? Because it’s Google’s job to give their clients (the searchers) the most relevant and helpful information possible. Google doesn’t want people gaming the system and simply showing a one page sales pitch on the latest miracle hair treatment for men. Such a ‘product’ simply doesn’t fit the bill.

I know many readers of this blog have niche sites. Heck, I’ve even played with and made money from them. But based on the fact that great content is becoming a moral imperative, I simply can’t believe the days of niche sites, at least as they’re currently done, are viable as a long term business model.

Does this mean you couldn’t start a niche site today and experience great success? No of course not. In fact, if you’re good, you may very well make a ton of money. But you better get it while you can, because if Google’s statement is any indication of their future search engine goals, niche sites will be going the way of the dinosaur.

Content and Inbound Marketing are the ONLY Answers

This is also why great content, and tons of it, worded in a way that searchers and consumers can actually understand it, is the future of search engine results (SERPs). Like the Google quote said, they’re looking for “ in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.”

To me, this also is another haiku for inbound marketing—The concept of giving so much great content (be it blog articles, free reports, white papers, case studies, videos, etc) to consumers that you (or your company) become the source of education that every consumer is looking for—and thus makes Google dang happy.

Your Turn

So my question, friends, is what do you envision Google’s search results to be like in 10 years? Do you think the ‘man in the machine’ will be more human than ever? And will niche sites go the way of the dinosaur or be stronger than ever? This is an important subject so I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

10 ‘Content Rules’ That Will Help Your Business Rule The World

Marcus Sheridan — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:30:51 +0000

The universe works in some amazingly powerful ways. Such was the case about 10 months ago when I was cruising home from a sales appointment and contemplating all of the amazing things that were happening in my life. As most of you already know, my swimming pool blog had reached the pinnacle of the industry, and my company was thriving because of our inbound marketing and content production efforts.

But as I sat in my car with a little smile on my face while attempting to grasp the beauties of small business marketing done right, my cell phone rang and showed an out of state number. Not expecting anything, I answered the phone, and no sooner was welcomed on the other end by a lady’s soft voice who told me her name was Ann Handley.

To make a long story short, Ann explained to me how she was writing a book and had heard talk about my inbound marketing success, and the fact that blogging and content marketing had skyrocketed my company’s sales success. Always up for a good marketing conversation, Ann and I spoke for the next 20 minutes or so and had a great dialogue in terms of what content meant to my company and the future of content in general. Before we got off the phone, I asked Ann one simple question:

Me: Tell me Ann, what’s the name of your book?

Ann: Content Rules.

Me: That’s freaking awesome.

You see, those two words had basically summed up my entire feeling and relationship with content in general. Say what you may, but content rules the world of business as we know it. It’s what makes sales. It’s what drives business. It’s what’s on the News. It’s all over—and it sure as heck rules.

When Ann told me the title, I knew she was onto something special.

Fast forward about 8 months and a smile came to my face as I received my copy of Content Rules, written by the kind lady on the phone, Ann Handley of the very well known MarketingProfs, and also co-authored by C.C. Chapman, founder of Digital Dads.

I’ve since read the book twice over and without question, it did not disappoint. In fact, I think it’s one of the most important books a business (big or small) can own in this amazing age of content and information—assuming its precepts are actually followed.

But instead of me yapping off about how great the book is, I want to give you a brief glimpse into some of the powerful, thought-provoking nuggets found within its pages (Note: Because Ann and CC compiled so many case studies and interviews with marketing superstars to formulate the book, some of the below statements are made by some familiar faces). Here goes:

10 ‘Content Rules’ that Will Help Your Business Rule the World

1. The notion of marketing to your customers by interrupting them repeatedly with advertising or other marketing messages is simply not enough any more.

(My take: Don’t be an idiot and keep wasting your money on dumb, old-school advertising)

2. Advertising is a luxury, but content is survival. (Joe Pulizzi of Junta42)

3. Just as a person is more than flesh and bones and hair and teeth, good content, too, is more than text and graphics and video. It’s an embodiment of your brand. It’s designed to inspire people to read more, or view more, or get to know and love your company a little more. Good content can quickly become the soul of your brand to the online world.

(My take: The ‘Soul’ of your brand. Wow, I’m diggin that.)

4. You don’t have to create everything and publish everywhere; you don’t have to do it all inclusively—create killer blog and podcasts and white papers and webinars and ebooks and puppet shows and whatever else you imagine. You don’t have to do all of that. But you do have to do some things—and, at the very least, one thing—really, really well.

5. Words matter. Write differently. The language you use and tone of your voice provide an untapped, powerful way to forge a distinctive identity. (John Simmons)

6. Our web site represents who we are as a company, and its voice says we are down-to-earth. No smoke and mirrors. Conversational. Approachable. And no ego, because the site isn’t about us. It’s about our customers. (Katie Martell of Netprospex)

7. Don’t be afraid to polarize people. Most companies want to create the holy grail of products that appeal to every demographic, social-economic background, and geographic location. To attempt to do so guarantees mediocrity. (Guy Kawasaki)

8. Words we’d like to ban from marketing: Impactful, Leverage, Synergy, Revolutionary, Proactive, Solution, almost any word that ends in –ize (monetize, utilize, optimize, etc)

(My take: This was a really funny and informative part of the book, as the authors were explaining some of the worst business ‘buzzwords’ that have basically been abused to death.)

9. Your awesome site isn’t awesome. Getting your stories into the hands of people who need them is awesome. (Chris Brogan)

(My take: And you, Chris Brogan, are awesome.)

10. Content is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving (some guy named Marcus Sheridan )

Those were just 10 quotes of about 100 or so I specifically underlined in the book that I thought were excellent. As you can see, the amount of information, or should I say ‘content’, that Handley and Chapman gathered here from great minds and successful companies is unmatched by any book I’ve seen produced on this subject thus far. In fact, I’d compare its scope to a 2011 version of the best selling business book ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins that was written 10 years ago—it’s that important.

So do yourself, your employees, and your customers a big favor and purchase this book. Just go to the Content Rules website and they’ll take you from there. And no, the link is not affiliate, as that ain’t my bag. My only goal here is to change your company forever, and this book, if followed, will do just that and put you at the very top of your niche– throughout the world.

Your turn: OK, time for some comments from our awesome community. Was there a quote in the list above that you have found to be true with your business? Also, what ‘content rules’ would you add if you could write a book on this subject? And finally, if you’ve read the actual book, give us your thoughts, as I’d love to hear them.

Why You Should Start Writing, Stop Hiding, and Quit Worrying About the Competition

Marcus Sheridan — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:30:04 +0000

The days of you worrying about the competition are over.....

This post has been building within me for months but finally boiled over the other day when Jens from Sly Marketing asked me the following question with regard to blogging and inbound marketing on my last article about content creation:

I have recently talked to a few guys at a print design company, a fairly successful company with about 30 employees. They asked me about marketing, and I told them about inbound marketing and blogging. They were skeptical, because they didn’t want to share anything with their competitors. What if they just copied everything they did?

Although to someone like you or I that actually sees the ‘big picture’ of content and inbound marketing, there is a surprising number of business owners in this world that are afraid they’ll be giving too much of themselves to their competitors if they embrace such a marketing paradigm. To these business owners, I offer you this suggestion:

Pull Your Head Out of Your Butt

Sorry for the strong imagery, but it’s the truth. The idea that other companies and businesses will copy you and get an advantage because of the fact that you teach, inform, and inspire is quite possibly the dumbest thing in the history of the world. In fact, here are 5 keys to remember if you’re hedging over the idea as to whether blogging and inbound marketing are right for your business:

5 Reasons You Should Stop Worrying About the Other Guy and Worry More About Yourself:

1. You’re Nothing Special (Part I): Ouch. That’s right. Your company is nothing special until you actually do something special. And what’s special in 2011? Special in 2011 is giving more than anyone else. Special is embracing video, blogging, and social media in an effort to be the most informative company you can be. Special is willing to put yourself out there in the realm of public voice and thought and participate in the conversation. Unless you’re doing this in 2011, you’re nothing special.

2. You’re Nothing Special (Part II): So here we are again, but this time we’re talking about the way your company does what it does. Let me give you an example: I was once talking to a manufacturing company about Web 2.0 principles. I told the owner the first thing I’d suggest is that he take video of every little thing his company does in the factory, how they do it, and what makes them so dang good. And do you know how he responded? If you guessed, “I don’t want my competitors to see how we do things”, then you were right. After wanting to splash a bucket of cold water on the guy’s head, I simply told him the following:

You’re not freaking Coca-Cola. You make stuff a lot like everyone else. So stop thinking your stuff is such a secret when it’s not.

So many businesses are so worried about hiding ‘important information’ from their competition that all they’re really doing is hiding their value and ‘story’ from the all-important consumer. It’s crazy. If companies and manufacturers would start realizing this and stop paying so much attention to what their competition supposedly knows, then maybe we’d hear a lot less complaining about how bad the economy is and more talk of profits in the marketplace.

3. You Can Lead a Horse to Water but You Can’t Make Him Drink: Because of the way we embraced blogging, video, and inbound marketing in the swimming pool industry a few years ago (read story here), my company and I became the ‘voice’ of the fiberglass pool industry. And once we did this, guess what I then started doing? If you guessed that I shared every business ‘secret’ I knew here on TSL, then you’re right. Many people thought I was crazy. “Why would Marcus show everyone how he’s had so much success?” is a question that has been posed quite a few times over the past year. And the answer to the question is simple—Most business owners are lazy marketers. They’re the horse that doesn’t drink. I can spell success out for them all day long but the majority (again Pareto’s Law always proves true) simply don’t do what it takes to be successful. Amazing….sad…yet very true.

4. There’s Room for Everyone On Top: This may come across as a bit Utopic but it’s true. Having an abundance mentality, I firmly believe there’s room on top for everyone. Thus, if I can help more companies to succeed, the laws of karma will in-turn bless me and my business as well. Why is it that way? I have no idea; I just know that it is. Sure, it takes guts to show the world the right way to run a business, build a product, or offer a service—but it’s this same mentality that blesses everyone while thrusting your company to the top of its field.

5. The Train is Already Leaving the Station: If businesses want to live in fear of great marketing, then they must understand this—The train called inbound marketing (blogging, video, etc) has left the building. Either get on or be left behind. Or, to put it in my most eloquent manner—It’s time to poo or get off the pot folks.

Success is not going to wait for coward business owners. Success will enter the lives of those persons that have a teacher’s mentality. So, to all you business owners out there right now that are looking down this path of marketing and debating its merits, look no further. The time is now. Get on the train, there’s still just enough time.

What do you think? Am I being too strong? Also, what are some other reasons businesses don’t embrace these new age marketing principles? As always, you’re comments are what make this blog a community, so please take a moment to share your thoughts, good or bad.

PS: You may have ‘liked’ TSL on Facebook, but why not be ‘real’ friends? Here’s my FB account, let’s make this real.