Archive for September 2006

Blurbs, testimonials, and quotes are a great way to promote yourself or your book as you let the clients and readers do the talking. No worries about sounding like a braggart. But there are good, bad, and tricky testimonials.

“This is a great book!”

“Joe did an excellent job on the project!”

Do these tell you anything? These are empty and generic quotes. Here’s one that’s an example of a tricky testimonial, but you wouldn’t know it:

“Jane is very reliable.”

This tells part of the story. The rest of the story… “Jane is very reliable in arriving late for work every day.” Makes it easy for someone who didn’t like the person’s work to avoid saying something bad. But in most cases, the employee wouldn’t use such a person as a referral. So referrals can’t be trusted 100% — another problem with the traditional job search process.

When reading book reviews in Amazon or elsewhere, you can tell which ones are the author’s friends. They’re short and empty. They tell you nothing about the book. It’s better not to have a testimonial than one like this, I think. What if a big name wrote this kind of blurb? The blurb is useless in terms of convincing you to buy the book, but the author’s association with the person could convince some people to buy it (that old “It’s who you know.”).

When asking for a testimonial after the person agreed to supply one, ask the person to answer this results-oriented question and the testimonial will more likely be valuable.

“What has [product or service] helped you achieve?”

The latest article from Roy Peter Clark of Poynter.com and author of Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer says it’s the 100th anniversary of the “blurb.” Since when do words get their own anniversaries? How do we know which ones deserve an anniversary?

A reader responding to Clark’s article wrote a great comment and an excellent example of a tricky blurb:

My all-time favorite came from a soft-hearted sportswriter who was asked to provide a blurb for a memoir by a washed-up and nearly illiterate professional boxer. His contribution: “Obviously a labor of love.”

You can make your testimonials more credible if you include one that’s not positive. Why would you want to include that? It shows you’re honest and human. But why would we want to show our weaknesses? C’mon. Everyone has weak areas and we might as well as be up front about them and earn credibility points.

I tried to get one from an editor on an assignment that didn’t work out. Even told the editor that I fully expected a testimonial that wasn’t positive. No luck. But then again, I understand because it would be difficult for me to point out something negative about a person’s work and then let it get published for all the world to see.

Here are a few articles that provide insight into book authoring. Chronicle Careers explains what editors look for in books. Remember editors come from different backgrounds and have different tastes. The article lists a few basic steps that could apply to most book authoring situations.

Godin’s 19 points of advice to authors looks at the big picture of writing a book. AbsoluteWrite has many articles on writing books. Also Anne shares her experience in writing a book proposal.

If you get a great idea for a book, before tracking down an publisher or agent — write an outline. Flesh it out. You might be surprised to see the idea doesn’t work out or isn’t enough for an entire book (maybe write a few articles on the topic?) that stands out from what’s already on the market. Before approaching anyone or pursuing the idea, I do two things for a quick evaluation of the idea:

* write an outline

* evaluate its uniqueness from already published books

Usually I can tell right away whether the idea is a good one or not.

Yesterday, I received an email from a company looking to do work for me. Items in quotes are directly from the email. Non-quoted items are my comments.

I apologize for intruding into your busy schedule. Please allow me to introduce ourselves.

Polite, but already off to a negative start. Says he is intruding. It might be better to say something along these lines: “I’m sure you’re very busy, so I’ll keep this short and to the point.”

We feel that your website can be improved substantially in terms of design, and shall be happy to undertake this for you.

Insult followed by the company’s delight in taking on my lousy site so it can get business for itself. “Substantially” makes my site sound like something leftover from the ’90s. Why would I want to hire a company I never heard of that’s already insulting my site without ever seeing it? This line is generic and the email is obviously a template. Oh, it doesn’t even address me — just says, “Hi”.

If it’s the truth — I appreciate the honesty as I’m always grateful when someone catches an error or typo here and lets me know. Perhaps, it would help to point out specifics to show why my site needs help. “The red doesn’t work because it comes across as such-n-such. The navigation needs a lift because of this.”

The next few paragraphs goes into the technologies covered, how smart and talented the employees are, and where the company is located — to clearly point out its ability to do cheap labor.

I love this, which appeared in the disclaimer after the person’s name:

Please note that we have not purchased your e-mail address from any commercial source. We have accessed it through primary research on the internet.

Yeah, and yet there is not one iota of information in the email showing the company did its research except find out my email address, which isn’t hard.

I looked at the web site and check out the portfolio. Half of the web sites look like leftovers from the ’90s. The other half resembles my site — basic, clean design. I wonder how the company would “improve” my site. If I had money to burn, I’d hire the company for kicks and see how it plays out.

The site claims it validates W3C HTML 4.01 Transitional and CSS. HTML, yes. CSS, no. Tables everywhere. This site uses XHTML and CSS for layout. I give the company credit for one thing — there’s no mention of content work. Just reading the site’s contents, you know this isn’t a company you want to hire for writing content.

Networking experts suggest doing research to find the right companies and the right person to contact. But when you do make contact, what do you say? You don’t want to start a relationship with a total stranger asking to take on work. Think of how you would build a relationship. Offer an email newsletter or offer to send a free report — something you can give them for free.

I still can’t picture cold calling (specific people) and trying to start a relationship. Maybe it has to do with my not being a natural telephone user. That’s why I appreciate online networking.

I love editing… other people’s work. You know how many of us don’t like to look at pictures with ourselves in them? That’s how I feel about editing my work. After all the research and rewriting of sentences, I can’t see my writing with fresh eyes anymore. Occasionally, I’ll read an article I wrote months later and see a few easy fixes. Even if I had read the article the day after I wrote it — I wouldn’t have caught those fixes.

But I make an effort to self-edit using similar steps covered in Editing Made Easy. The article focuses on manuscripts, but most of the tips work well for articles. But when I edit my work, it feels like I’m doing it with one eye as the rest of me cringes reading my own work.

Two don’t-miss steps when self-editing:

* Sit on the article for at least one night (writing the article in the morning and editing at night doesn’t count — must sleep at least once and naps don’t count either).

* Read it aloud in my head. I don’t know if it’s a deaf thing or not, but I hear words in my head almost as if they’re being said out loud. My head does a better job than my voice anyway. When I reach a spot that sounds bad, then I say it out loud.

I do have moments when I stop self-deprecating and look an article with fresh eyes (when it’s published). Occasionally, I’ll respond thinking “Whoa. I wrote that?” (in a positive way). It’s easy to forget why you stay in business as a writer when writing something every day and on a regular basis. Your own words sound monotonic (did I use that correctly?) and unimpressive, but then you are surprised when reading an article you wrote over a month ago and seeing that there’s a reason why people hire you, and you feel better about being a writer.

I’m also lucky to have a family willing to be a second pair of eyes.

I’m not ignoring this milestone. Many people have said what needs to be said and far better than I could say it. I like what Rodent wrote. We unfortunately have many other dates to remember.

Here was my story of “Where were you when it happened?”

Smart bloggers know they need to read other blogs if they expect visitors to their own. Businesses with and without blogs that don’t visit other blogs live in a world like Rapunzel… isolating themselves (by choice unlike Rapunzel) and missing opportunities. Furthermore, businesses with blogs send the message they’re “too good” for other blogs. “We don’t have time to read your blogs, but you have to read ours.”

People who don’t have a blog and take the time to read blogs and comment impress me. They get it. They know that getting involved with the blogosphere is important even if they don’t have a blog. After all, those blogs could be talking about you or your business. Blogs writing about your industry are also valuable because they tell you how they view your industry or offer insight.

One expert suggests leaving comments on blogs with a Google PageRank (PR) rating of 7 or better. This means you get visibility on a popular site and your site could get traffic since since most blogs allow us to link to our blog or web site. However, this advice concerns me because you miss out on the high quality sites in your industry that have a PR of 4, 5, or 6. There may not be many in your industry that have a 7.

I doubt anyone is going to track all your comments down and report that you’re visiting only the popular blogs — but as long as you post meaningful comments and avoid the “I agree” type of comment, it should be OK and could very well pay off. Just remember those blogs with a lower ranking could be the 7s, 8s, and 9s of tomorrow.

Furthermore, when you comment on sites with less traffic, you’re more apt to get noticed. Popular sites can easily have hundreds of comments and some of us won’t bother reading the comments when we see an entry contains many comments. The popular blogger is already overwhelmed with emails and comments, and most likely won’t personally respond to your comment. She might read it (if there are over 50 comments… don’t know about that), but you’re forgotten as soon as she reads the next one.

Of course, some popular bloggers surprise you with a response. Steve Rubel, Joi Ito, and Seth Godin have been kind enough to reply. So some do make the effort to connect.

Two things to consider when commenting:

* Be genuine — so people don’t think you’re leaving a comment just to get your URL out there. Most bloggers consider a comment like “Great site!” as spam.

* If it’s a reply to a blog entry or comment about your business, comment ASAP even if it is to simply say that you’re looking into it. The point is to tell the blogger and commenter they’ve been heard and you’re on the case.

If you wait till you resolve the problem to leave a comment, it won’t have as big an impact as immediately writing a “looking into it” comment because bloggers and readers move on quickly to other topics. Think about a time when a company responded quickly and another when the company replied slowly. How did the timing impact your opinion of the companies?

Want to thank two non-bloggers: Joanne Lozar Glenn and Andy Mason for regularly visiting and leaving great comments.

I learned two new things this week. One, there’s an organization called Writing Instruments Manufacturers Association (the prerequisite abbreviation: WIMA). Two, the pencils I may have used could’ve been dangerous if they weren’t certified. Gotta dig through the house and kids’ backpacks to track down every pencil and check if it has a right live between our fingers and thumb. Learn about the pencil stamp of approval from this news release.

The Pencil Makers Association (PMA) certification program verifies the materials in pencils don’t reach toxic levels. Thank you, PMA. When I do puzzles and anything else in pencil, I’ll be sure to remember your importance to make sure that when I put the germ-infested pencil in my mouth that I don’t get poisoned.

Yes, this is tongue-in-cheek. It’s Friday.

So many article libraries and content directories exist for the purpose of providing free content for publishers in search of articles for their own publications or web sites. These offer you the opportunity to get your name out there, establish yourself as an expert and thought-leader, and link back to your web site or resources like a book you’ve written.

You don’t have to limit yourself to these article libraries. Contact publishers of email newsletters, blogs, web site and other content that are appropriate for your articles’ subject matter. Don’t just contact anyone out there. After I published the last issue of eNewsletter Journal (in which the editorial clearly said it was the last issue), I continued to get article submissions and they weren’t even right for my audience. Many focused on money making schemes whereas my newsletter was focused on building relationships through online marketing.

If these folks had read my newsletter, they would’ve wrote a note along the lines of “I’m sorry to see your newsletter go. Here’s an article that might fit with the new newsletter…” and of course, the article should match the content.

Another route is to join a network of bloggers who post articles. Blogcritics is one example. I often post book reviews there as well as the occasional video review. The site contains a diversity of high quality articles that are editor-approved before publishing and a very nice-sized traffic to go with it.

The most important thing to remember: Avoid blatant self-promotion. People easily recognize it and you’re likely to lose credibility.

I believe the following make for a strong and successful library because these features encourage more submissions:

* Save byline – So you don’t have to enter your byline (bio) every time you enter an article. Better yet, save multiple bylines so you can select the right one based on the article.

* Accept text AND HTML in the same box — all you would need to do is click a box if you’re using HTML. It’s time consuming to convert the article to the other format.

* Accept unlimited articles in one session.

* Allow at least two links in byline.

These are the best article libraries based on others and my humble opinions:

www.ezinearticles.com
www.ideamarketers.com
www.goarticles.com
www.article-host.com
www.articlecity.com

The list (Know another? Leave a comment. I add more as I come across them):

chinese-school.netfirms.com/submit-business-article.html
finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/Free_eContent/
groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness
groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce
groups.yahoo.com/group/articles_archive
groups.yahoo.com/group/articles4you2use4promotion/
groups.yahoo.com/group/free-content
groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Reprint-Articles
groups.yahoo.com/group/freezinecontent/
groups.yahoo.com/group/netwrite-publish-announce/
sbinformation.about.com/library/blsubmission.htm
store.bellyandbeyond.com/yhst-4403591833340/submitarticle.html
www.a1articles.com
www.activeauthors.com
www.addme.com
www.addme.com/index.htm
www.allbusiness.com/Article_Submit/submit.asp
www.amazines.com
www.amrithallan.com
www.article99.com
www.ArticleDashboard.com
www.articledestination.com/
www.articlefinders.com/
www.articlegeek.com.
www.articlehound.com 
www.articlepros.com
www.articlestop.com/
www.articlesubmit.com
www.article-treasure.com
www.bestmanagementarticles.com
www.boconline.com/sub-art.shtml
www.bpubs.com/
www.businessknowhow.com
www.business-opportunity.biz/addarticle.php
www.businesstoolchest.com/articles/submit.shtml
www.clearviewpublications.com
www.clickforcontent.com
www.commoncontent.org
www.connectionteam.com/submit.html
www.constant-content.com/
www.digital-women.com/submitarticle.htm
www.ebooksnbytes.com/articles/submit.shtml
www.ebusinesshelpsite.com/Articles/submit-article.htm
www.ecademy.com
www.executivecoachingstudio.com
www.family-content.com
www.free-articles-zone.com
www.freelancewriting.com
www.freesticky.com
www.freesticky.com/stickyweb/
www.goarticles.com
www.home-based-business-opportunities.com
www.homebiztools.com
www.internationalpractice.com/business/
www.internetbasedmoms.com/submission_guidelines.htm
www.iSnare.com
www.justarticles.com
www.makingprofit.com
www.MarketingArticleLibrary.com
www.marketing-seek.com
www.MarketingSwap.com
www.marketingwords.com
www.mbnet.com/article_add_form.asp
www.MyFamilyLiving.com
www.optimizemag.com/mediakit/contribute.jhtml
www.powerhomebiz.com
www.salessuccessmagazine.com
www.searchwarp.com/Login.asp
www.selling-it.com/Add_article.htm
www.smallbusinessoutpost.com/
www.submityourarticle.com
www.theallineed.com
www.theezine.net
www.thewhir.com/find/articlecentral/
www.tigrafix.com/articles/submission.htm
www.topten.org/
www.toupin.com
www.virtual-professionals.com/articles.shtml
www.webmasterslibrary.com/articles/
www.webpronews.com
www.web-source.net/articlesub.htm
www.workoninternet.com
www.worldwidefreelance.com
www.writerswrite.com
www.zinos.com/

Seth Godin hasn’t been relying on job interview for a long time. Before I read the part about one of the worst employees he ever had — I immediately recalled a time when my team interviewed candidates (after the manager conducted the interview). One of the strongest candidates gave a fabulous interview… and turned out to be an unreliable employee.

Of course, plenty good quality employees got hired through the job interview process, but companies have missed out on good ones, too. It may or may not be because of the way they interviewed or they had to pick from three strong candidates. Nowadays, most companies require multiple interviews (manager, colleagues, and manager’s boss). This gives the candidate a chance to “connect” with other people — but does it work? Sometimes.

Joel Spolsky writes about finding the best developers — and it’s not through the job advertising process because the best ones rarely have to take that route. While what he says makes sense, there are plenty of strong developers who don’t get opportunities to switch to a better job because they haven’t met the right people yet.

A few companies do “trial” runs to test out a candidate. The problem with trials is they require more than a few hours or days to determine if the person is a fit. It isn’t fair to the candidate to quit a job just to go on a trial run.

I read that only six to eight percent find jobs through Internet postings. Computers have somewhat cursed the job hunting process. They take the human factor out of it as employees search for candidates through keywords. It’s harder to break into a large company.

Probably the best chance anyone has in finding a job is through networking. But I know plenty of talented individuals who are looking for better jobs and can’t connect with the right people. Not only do you have to connect with the right people, but those right people have to have a job that fits the individual. No magical formula exists for connecting employee and company. Have you found something that works?

Anyone needing a strong and personable IT manager in the Dallas area? I’ve got one for ya.

Drew Meyers discusses RadioShack’s unusual approach to laying off 400 people. I commented:

I had the same reaction as most everyone when I saw the headline. But after reading the article — I learned the RadioShack warned its employees this was coming and it would be by email. Furthermore, the company wanted to reach all these people at the same time at the privacy of their own desks. The Dallas Morning News article (free registration may be required) says, “Employees knew that the cuts were coming and that they initially would be notified electronically, but some experts questioned the procedure.”

It resembles my daughter’s volleyball tryouts. Last year, everyone received a letter stating whether or not they made the club team. The girls opened the letters in the gym. You could tell from their faces who made it and who didn’t.

This year, when she tried out for the school team, the coach gave them letters and told them not to open it until they were off campus. Much better. Everyone could celebrate or get upset in private.

This doesn’t mean I think RadioShack did the right thing — but that there’s another side side to the story we may not consider. It gave the company an opportunity to reach 403 people at the same time, and then they met with their supervisors 30 minutes after the notice went out.