2-Minute Video Book Review: e-Riches 2.0 by Scott Fox

March 25, 2010

Greetings and I hope you enjoy my 2-minute video book review of e-Riches 2.0 by Scott Fox. I enjoyed this book and think it’s good for anyone who needs a basic, comprehensive overview of better internet marketing and ecommerce practices. It’s not overly technical and stays pretty basic. Enjoy the review! Please let me know if you have any feedback on how I can improve my book reviews. Thanks!

Abbreviated Transcript from video:

Hi there, I’m Jenny Munn and for my 2-minute video review I wanted to share with you a book called e-Riches 2.0 by Scott Fox.

According to the back of the book, it is targeted for businesses new to online marketing to full fledged e-businesses in search of a huge burst in sales, buzz, and lasting customer relationships.

Here are a few helpful sections from the book that reinforce certain mentalities that I share :

1. This is one of my favorite quotes from the book, and if readers take away anything, it is this: “it is geeky and outdated to be too corporate; let you, and your company’s personality shine.” Caveat – don’t let loose and cross the line to being unprofessional, but the Internet is all about transparency. If people google you and you don’t show up, that’s not good.
2. Shift from the mentality of having a “website” to having a “product presence,” as this encompasses everything from your website, to enewsletters, blog comments, social media, SEO, product and company reviews, etc.
3. Marketing tactics should include consistent, online content in the form of RSS feeds, autoresponders, and blogs. You should be collecting email addresses ASAP.  

And lastly, this book provides a good overview and some basics for those in e-commerce.

Thanks guys, see ya’ll next time.

You can buy e-Riches 2.0: Next-Generation Marketing Strategies for Making Millions Online here (P.S. I’m an Amazon affiliate). Thank you!

One Simple Step to Being a Better Storyteller

March 16, 2010

Being a good storyteller is hard. You have to know how to construct an engaging story that’s told to the right audience with the right blend of timely, compelling details. Do you think you’re truly getting your message across? This is the challenge as we’re all in such a hurry these days and overloaded with information. However, better business storytelling can get you more publicity, more sales, website conversions, and overall credibility.

I have a simple tip to being a better storyteller. Have you heard of the phrase, “the devil is in the details?” Well, same thing with storytelling. The secret is specificity. Give out a few meaty, juicy, specific details and people will remember what you have to say. Here’s an example I got from watching Oprah the other day:

• Oprah’s show was on the documentary Food, Inc. and Oprah was spreading the message of knowing where your food comes from. She also interviewed Alicia Silverstone (the Clueless star) who is an outspoken vegan. Alicia was telling the audience what happened to her when she started her vegan lifestyle. She didn’t just say, “I felt better” or “my appearance improved.” Alicia talked about how her brittle nails got stronger and the white marks on them disappeared; how her eyes got brighter and the white parts whiter; how her skin got firmer and her complexion drastically cleared up; how easily she um, had bowel movements. These details gave her credibility and helped the audience engage and understand.

Crafting a message so that people remember it is the fundamental message behind storytelling experts Chip and Dan Heath’s book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.These guys were just in Atlanta on their book tour for their newest best-seller, Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.

So the next time you’re telling someone a story (either online or face to face), think what specific details you can include that can draw someone in. Use your senses. Give the details, and get engagement.

Using WordPress as a CMS: A Website Mini-Case Study

March 10, 2010

I am coming up on the 3-month mark since the launch of www.JennyMunn.com as a blended blog/website. I have gotten some really fantastic, surprising results. Plus I’m already well into the second phase of updating and improving the site. I thought I’d share with you guys some of my findings in a mini-case study format.

Challenge
I needed a website that would attract potential customers for my new Atlanta freelance copywriting business and have them feel comfortable reaching out and using me for potential work.

Solution
First (and most importantly), I took some time to strategize and develop website goals. I decided that I wanted to focus on showing clients (and potential clients) that I was a professional, credible copywriter. This goal set the tone for my entire website and helped me confidently move forward with the copy. (This focus sounds like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at some of the freelance websites out there)

For the technology, I had the option of hiring a website designer, using a GoDaddy template, or doing something in between. I settled on the “in between” and created my own website using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS). This is important for two reasons: 1) WordPress is generally a blogging platform but I am using it as a website and 2) the concept of business owners using a CMS is huge because it means we can go into our website and update or change the content immediately (without much technical knowledge).  

Results
I have gotten interesting results with these tree focuses:

1. Website Focus on Education: To reach my goal of getting established as a trustworthy freelance copywriter, I dedicated a portion of my website to education. I have had many clients express appreciation over this and it helped them make a decision whether they needed a copywriter or not.
2. Organic SEO: I optimized my freelance copywriting website with certain SEO keywords and phrases.  I have had several Atlanta-based clients find me via my website through organic searches. What’s interesting, they were all ready to hire me immediately with no bidding.
3. Tracking Popular Content: Through analyzing my site statistics on Google Analytics, I have found that my most visited pages are my Blog and About Me page.  My business strategy includes dedicating time to testing different copy and formats of my popular website pages so I can continue enhancing and refining the content.  

Has anyone else had interesting results from either launching or re-launching a website? Have you gotten any good client feedback? Anything you’d change for next time? I’d love to see your comments. 

Thanks for reading! 

P.S. Another random fact: most of my potential clients don’t know what WordPress is (unless they blog, which most don’t) or CMS (acronym for Content as a Management System) means. I created an ebook, Beyond a Blog – Insider Tips to Creating an Affordable Website with WordPress, around how I built my website with WordPress as a CMS which gets downloaded by a lot of colleagues but not a lot of clients. Thus, I am writing a new free report that I will post as a PDF download from my home page that will be better suited to potential clients.

2-Minute Video Book Review: Content is King by David Mills

March 7, 2010

Hello there! I hope you enjoy my 2-minute video book review of Content is King by David Mills. This is a great book for website owners, copywriters, and marketers who may be in charge of online content. Any other good books out there on the same subject? I’d love to know. Enjoy the book review – an abbreviated transcript is below.

Abbreviated Transcript:
Hi there, I’m Jenny Munn and for my 2-minute video review I wanted to share with you a book called Content is King: Writing and Editing Online by David Mills.

What I really enjoyed about this book is it is consumable very quickly. The font is large, the sections are broken up very nicely, and there is lots of bulleting, images, bold words for emphasis, and checklists.

As the title implies, this book is about writing and editing for the web. It is targeted to business owners, marketing professionals, and copywriters. As a copywriter, I think there are very useful sections in here:

1.  I am a big fan of information products and help clients with ebook content and formatting. He touches on some great formatting ideas
2. He really delves into the how’s and why’s of content components. For example, we all know that headings and sub-headings are important. But he takes that one step further in describing how these components affect the psychology of the reader. Headings and subheadings work to increase interaction with the reader and increase conversions.
3. Also, he talks in more detail about certain web pages such as the home page. The objectives of a home page is to 1) grab attention and 2) encourage ACTION. That’s it.  Does your website do that?

I’m not sure how easily findable the book is since it was written by an English author and is part of what looks like a British Series called e-marketing essentials, but I picked this up at my local library in Brookhaven. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to write better copy and to know the psychology behind it.

Thanks guys, see ya’ll next time.

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