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Archive for July, 2009

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There is no way I can share ALL the excitement that went on at Blogher. I would have to write a post a day for a month, or more. But, I can share some thoughts about great women I met there – and some of my feedback on the sessions I attended.

So, first…shout outs to some excellent bloggers – with links to their blogs. DO stop over and visit and read them. You will be so glad you did. I know that there is nothing better than communicating and connecting with strong, outspoken women on blogs. Women not only with a message to share, but with a purpose in mind- a purpose such, empowering other women. It doesn't get any better than that.

Paula Gregorowicz – I doubt Paula knows how flattered I was that she approached me on the first day and mentioned my blog. I got to talk with Paula later on, and was so glad that I did. Her calm demeanor was just part of her focus – she is full of good thoughts and advice. And, I love her Inspiring Image of the Week blog posts. Ladies, she's here for you. Check her out.

Barb D – one of the women who sat near me during the session on Leadership: Owning Your Expertise (led by Kathie Orenstein of the Opt-Ed Project), inspired me to think differently about who I am and how I communicate – by sharing the story of who she is and how confused she is – to be in the world as a smart woman, but a bit unsure of where she fits in. 

Her openness and honesty was indicative of the Blogher conference as a whole, but this time – I felt a connection I don't often feel. Because Barb D and I are of the same generation, and I was where she is, not that long ago. You MUST go to THIS POST and watch the video. You MUST! And, then, thank Barb for sharing it, please.

I also sat next to a truly funny blogger – and was so impressed that her daughter had added different sayings to each of her businesscards, I wanted to kick myself because my daughters are talented and wonderful and full of spirit, too – but they don't involve themselves in my blog world. In fact, they are pretty content living their own lives and letting me live mine, and no matter how hard I push, they just won't blog. <sigh>

Now, all I can tell you about Madame Halushki is that she is funny, in print – not so much in person. She was coy and subtle and open and helpful, but not so funny. Maybe it was the leadership session – doesn't lend itself to being funny, and all. Anyway, she is funny. I LOVE her blog, and you will too. Get over there and have a good laugh today. [how embarrassed am I that I did not even write down her REAL name? She will forever be Madame Halushki to me.]

Lori MacKenzie – is the third person who participated in our small group, at the Op-Ed project session. She's from Stanford. Yep, THAT Stanford. That does mean she's smart. She's smart. And, oh, did I mention – she's smart? Not that you aren't smart. Or that I'm not smart. Or that any of the other women I talk about aren't smart. We're all smart. But, we're not employed by the gender studies at Stanford. Now, that's taking smart to another level. IMHO

Here's the scoop – Lori is so smart, she showed the rest of us how WE could be smart, too. She's taken the Op-Ed class – so, she knew how to phrase our "I'm an expert because…" statement to give us the most bang for our buck. She was friendly, happy, funny, delightful, and smart. Did I mention she was smart? I am so thrilled that she sat right behind me, so I could be part of the group she was in.

And there you have it. Four women who have made a difference in my life. Just by being what they are – women supporting other women. Wow.
 

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By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

HP just recently launched a new video contest which they're hosting on their YouTube channel called the HP You on You Project that invites people from around the world to create and share videos that express who they are – WITHOUT showing their faces. The contest is an extension of HP’s “The PC Is Personal
Again” ad campaign which you probably have seen that features celebrities such as tennis champion Serena
Williams, recording artist Fergie, and Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. They appear in a series of "hands" commercials discussing what they do with their HP PCs that do not show any of their faces.

It appears to me that by their selection of these particular celebrity spokespeople that HP is definitely trying to market to a younger, hipper, female audience with this campaign. With two strong, well-known women in the mix, plus one young, hot guy, they should be engaging well with this audience. It a bit different than this HP ad that ran earlier this year with NBA all-star Kevin Garnett wandering through his daily routine and using his HP to check up his competition.

Anyhow, this new contest is really about encouraging creativity. HP is utilizing new  video remixing and webcam video creation tools on YouTube that allow people of all skill levels to submit high-quality, professional looking videos that showcase their own individuality.

“HP hopes to inspire and foster creativity,” said David Roman, vice
president, Marketing Communications, Personal Systems Group, HP.
“Combining personal passions, digital remixing tools and the YouTube
stage means we’ll be able to gather, celebrate and reward expressions
of originality like never before.”

So what is truly unique about these video submissions is that entrants must NOT show their face or the faces of any other people in their video. Therefore, no one should be recognizable. The video should express the spirit of innovation and self-expression enabled by HP computer products. The YouTube site gives suggestions  such as volunteering activities, rescuing stray dogs, climbing mountains, weaving baskets underwater, whatever defines you. Here's a sample video from Natalie, a blogger who's passion is sewing:

The contest runs through Aug. 30th and offers contestants a chance to win more than $300,000 in cash and prizes. Each week a panel of experts will select the top 20 videos as semifinalists. YouTube users will then vote to select the top four videos, which will then be in the running to win the grand prize of $40,000 along with recognition of the video on the YouTube homepage.

After six weeks, each of the 100 semifinalists selected by YouTube will receive an HP Artist Edition notebook PC, and the 20 finalists selected by YouTube viewers also will each receive $2,500. The first-, second- and third-place winners will receive $40,000, $20,000 and $15,000 prizes, respectively.

So while we have seen a great number of brands launching user-generated video contests over the past couple of years this one does do a good job of integrating the theme of the contest with their branding and making it fun and interesting for consumers at the same time. If anyone decides to enter, please let us know. Once created, this type of video is a great way to promote yourself as well as your business and share it through your social networks.

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[forgot to mention a great contest...please scroll to bottom if you have already read this - it's worth your while]

I'm not a good "live blogger" – hence, you did not hear from me though I was at Blogher last week, and met some truly amazing women. I did a session on Blog to Book, that you can get a sense of here, and I attended some sessions that blew me away, which I'll talk about over time. The women on the panel I moderated were worth your time so I will have to do a separate post about them… in the next couple of weeks.

But, in the meantime, here they are – go see them, talk to them, learn from them:

1. Deb Rox from Deb on the Rocks – she has a fab book, 5 Ways to [ Blank ] Your Blog – that I highly recommend. Deb was able to talk to the option of self-publishing, and why. But she also related to those touchy issues of publishing – like, how the heck do you even write the darn book! Ans: it's not easy!

2. Penny C. Sansevieri – whom I have admired from afar for a long time. She's a marketing expert for authors - do not ignore her! Her advice was so spot on, I hope the audience was taking good notes.

3. And, Stefanie Wilder-Taylor who has been published by traditional publishers – and writes at Baby on Bored. She's funny – online. We did not find her that funny during the panel. Read her blog – you'll be glad you do. It will make you laugh.

Now, on to the really good stuff…

Linda Lowen from About.com Women's Issues was there – and we discovered she lives in Syracuse, while I live (for the time being) in Rochester and OMG! we are so close to each other we can do lunch! I am so happy about that. Linda is one of the very best writers I know. Linda, thank you for being you. Thank you for being such a really good writer. Really…good. (notice I didn't say great – because great is overdone; when someone says 'great' today, they just mean average. GOOD is what we strive to be, as writers – and Linda has the market cornered on that! I cannot wait for her book!)

Rhonda Shasteen was there – yes, Mary Kay herself! Well, she's not Mary Kay, but she speaks for Mary Kay. She speaks of leadership and empowering women and standing tall if you're smart and talented. I was more than delighted to meet her in person. Regular readers will remember my Open Letter to her, back in Feburary encouraging her to blog, which she does, now. This is a woman to watch – she is destined to accomplish great things. I hope she will let me tag along.

Kamy Wicoff of She Writes gets a place on this first post because – she made me feel important. Some of you may be surprised but…I'm not all that confident about myself and my work. I'm often stuck in those ancient Dick and Jane days where women were supposed to be kept "in their place"…sort of like children, seen and not heard. So, I put up a good front and it works well, but underneath, there's a lot of, "I'm an average person…certainly not an expert."

Kamy called me on that and said, with a surprised look in her eyes, "Why would you question that you know more than everyone else…when you do?" This during the publishing session. (which she knew from attending a previous session on how to identify yourself as an expert…and I said I couldn't)

Do I know more than everyone else? Well, I know more than a whole lot of people. Surely there are experts with more experience, but I've been in the trenches, and studying this for more than 10 years, so…I am an expert. Kamy helped me stand a bit taller, and to be proud of my knowledge. Which I try to share here, and in the many emails you send me, dear, dear readers of Lip-sticking.

That seems to be enough for one blog post. I will have more. Very relevant to us – to women on the net, and everything we do.

Let me just end with a story – my move to CO is pending. Many people have introduced me to connections in CO, for which I am so grateful.

One connection, a woman I have NOT met yet, is Beth Lang, president and CEO of Alexa's Angels. Beth sent me 200 positivity bracelets to pass out – and I cannot tell you what fun that was! The women of Blogher embraced this idea, and all of them were eager to pass the message on, not only to other women, but to their daughters!

More on that in a future post. I will have Beth in a podcast for you, also. In the meantime, get your own Posi+ivi+ty bracelet and pay it forward.

EXTRA: I received notice of a contest that may interest a number of this blog's readers. I meant to post on it earlier, and forgot (sorry, Deb!) I'm posting on it now to give you a chance to win $10,000… here's the scoop – Sponsored by websites.com, this contest is giving $10K to the "best new small business website built within a certain timeframe. Contestants can choose from a directory of website developers to build their site, and they can host the site anywhere they choose." Get to the Websites.com site and get entered. Time is of the essence!

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In
this challenging economy, it's more important than ever to show some love to
your customers. Let them know they're special and how much you appreciate their
business.

1. Give Them a Welcome Gift: Some great welcome gifts I've received include books,
   plaques, mugs, even an expensive hand cream. You could also give them an
   online gift card. A great way to retain special customers is a gourmet
   gift basket or a monthly gift such as a fruit of the month club, cake of
   the month club, etc.
2. Have a Special Customer
   Appreciation Event: If you
   have a physical storefront or office, you can throw a special party for
   prospects and customers at your place. If you work out of a home office,
   you can do a an event at a venue such as a hotel or put on a virtual event
   through a conference call or webinar.
3. Answer Customer Phone Calls and
   Emails Immediately: People
   love to feel special and acknowledged. Don't wait days to respond to your
   customers, or worse, not respond to them at all. If you're overwhelmed,
   you can hire a virtual assistant to respond to your clients' phone calls
   and emails.
4. Remember Their Special
   Occasions: Make a note of your clients'
   birthdays, anniversaries, kid's graduations, even pet's birthdays. A
   friend of mine, Kelly O'Neil, founder of the upcoming Mentor to the
   Millionaires Conference, tells the story of how her Mercedes Benz dealer
   sent a special birthday card to her puppies. This doggie birthday card
   cost the dealer only a few dollars, but it turned into a $68,000 sale.
   Kelly ended up buying another Mercedes Benz from the dealer who sent her
   the doggie birthday card.
5. Write Testimonials for Them: Send some love to your customers by writing
   testimonials about the virtues of their businesses and give them plenty of
   referrals.
6. Feature Them in Your
   Newsletters and Social Media:
   You can also give your customers some great visibility in your email
   marketing. Social media web sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn make it
   easy to recommend people and write testimonials for them.
7. Call and Thank Them When They
   Give You Referrals: When
   people give you great referrals, call them and thank them personally. They
   may even give you more referrals during your thank you conversation.

_______________________________________________________

I'd love to know what you think. Please feel free to give me your comments.

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Are you a moral marketer? Could you turn down a product for review if you knew you couldn’t be honest due to the size of the "gift"? How about sustainable products? Are you a change agent or an enabler?
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by Guest Blogger, Lena West, Chief of Social Media Strategy at xynoMedia

When you criss-cross the country as much as I do in a given year, you start to see and meet the same people. Eventually, people start to attend events just to hear you speak.

However, the more you're on-the-go, the more people you meet and it becomes increasingly hard to place when, where and how you met someone. Ok, it's not increasingly hard – it's hell. At least for me it is.

It's not even about having a senior moment (I'd be the first to cop to it if it were), but rather overload…too much information…too many faces to remember.

Earlier this week I was on a conference call with a new social media strategy client. I knew some of the people on the call well and others I had met only briefly. As we're getting the call started, one woman pipes up

and demands to know why I can't remember her. She told me when, where and how we met and I still couldn't recall. I felt slightly put upon and I thought she was rude to put me on the spot like that. I mean, after the first time I tell you I don't recall us meeting, in the words of Mrs. Bucket (pronounced Bouquet…tee…hee), "Leave it, leave it, leave it!"

I CAN, however, recall flying into Boston directly from speaking at a conference in Chicago to speak at a Marketing Profs event. I woke up the morning I was supposed to speak and didn't know what town I was in. I lay in bed for about 2 or 3 minutes and STILL didn't know where I was. I then got up, opened the window, looked outside and remembered that I was in Boston. (After that conference, I promptly took myself home and stayed there for about a month.) So, I say all that to say, if I can't remember what state I'm in sometimes, how can you possibly expect me to remember that I met you for 3 minutes at a conference 2 years ago?

What's worse, I find that women do this more often than men. Why, I don't know. Which is why I'm writing about it on this blog. Part of marketing your business is networking and if your networking includes putting people on the spot, you're networking efforts won't go far.

So, if you do this to people, please stop. It's certainly OK to say something like, "I think we were on the same panel at NetPromoter in San Fran…" It is not OK, however, to grill someone. If you slip up, just apologize and keep the conversation moving.

Now, I DO NOT say all of this to be rude. I am deeply humbled when people come to hear me speak. And, if you know me well, you know this to be very, very true. I just spoke to a group at Ogilvy's new digs on 11th Avenue (NIIICEE digs…rooftop garden nice) last week and the group wanted to know about me and how I started my career. I am still amazed when this happens. And, at one point during that meeting, I felt a deep sense of gratitude to the people who took time out of a beautiful evening in NYC to hear me speak.

I try to be as gracious as possible when people insist that I know them, but I admit that it does boil my water a bit — especially when it happens multiple times at one conference.

If this happens to you, what do you do? How do you handle it?

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By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

The bathroom is for family only. 

They can't park in front of your house.  If they do, they'll be towed.

They can't have a replacement for the dropped fork.  Sorry, now they'll have to eat with their fingers. 

It's their fault they can't figure out how to use the fancy-schmancy wine opener. Sorry, they'll have to go without. 
(making sure you say the sneering "sorry" as sarcastically as possible.) 

That they violated their guest "contract" by not making the bed, so now you don't have to give them breakfast. 

Their visit time has expired.  (Well, okay…maybe ever so politely…) 

Yet, businesses often treat their paying customers this way.

Hmmm…maybe it's time you took another look at your customer service policies.  And, check out how it all actually works (or doesn't, since it only takes one person to ruin a customer experience.) 

P.S. While you're at it – look at your employee policies. They're people too.  And, what goes around, comes around.  I've stopped eating at one parking-challenged restaurant because of their treatment of employees. They actually posted a sign (where customers could see it coming in?!?) "Employees: DO NOT park in the back lot; the spaces are for (insert names of owners) ONLY.  If you do you will be towed."  Wow. What a happy, happy place to work…and these people are making my food??? (In fact, any sign or document that begins with "DO NOT" in all caps sets a negative, adversarial tone for all involved.  I mean, really.  Unless you're managing a nuclear or bio-weapons facility, you really don't need the Nazi fear language.) 

So, you've read all the way down here and wondered what the heck this has to do with marketing to women?  Well, here's that tip:  Women hate to be dissed – and unlike (most) men who will grump a bit and simply never come back – we'll get on the phone, online, on twitter, on the mountain top, on the street corner…and tell one and all about our bad experiences (just as I'm still telling people to never, ever have an event at the ABQ museum as long as the single point of failure works there.)

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