PARTNER News

Monday, November 29

Why You Should Care About People That Visit Your Site But Will Never Buy Anything (via @FlowTown)

I've done a lot of work with marketers who tune a web site or sales process to get huge increases in profits.



You may have heard of a single word in a headline creating a 45% boost in readership. Conversion to sales stays the same and the same investment 45% more sales and maybe double the profits.



Not a bad days work, eh?



So suppose you to a web site conversion rate for 2%of visitor to 8%.. that FOUR TIMES.. Awesome.. or at least I thought it was till I learn how real people think about these business.



Now I see that when 8% buy, there are 92% of the visitors leaving you.



Maybe 100% of visitors turning into customers it unrealistic.. let's say that half of the visitors won't opt in or buy now matter what you do.. that's 50%.



Then let's cut that in half because you won't get it all perfect on those people.. that leave 25% who have some interest in you.. They didn't land on your web site by accident.



The rest is simple math. 25% is over 3 times as many people as 8%.



OK, we can't get them to buy today.. we may not even get them to sign up in our sales and marketing funnel.. What to do with these people?



1. Stop calling them "traffic" or "eyeballs' .. when I take the time to visit your web site (or store) treat me like I have value.



2. Give them a good experience at what ever level of engagement you can. They will leave with a smile and that's gotta be good karma



3. Read the rest of this article on Flowtown.com



4. Brainstorm about putting these into play.. and then let's talk about what other ideas we can add to this list

Amplify’d from www.flowtown.com

They Might Share Your Content

Maybe Lack Of Interest Is Telling You Something About The Product

You Might Be Able To Capture a Lead

Just because a customer may not buy from you right now doesn’t mean you can’t sell something to them down the line. Chances are, if a visitor ends up on your website, they at least have some kind of an interest in your market, which means they are potentially a valuable contact for future mailing. Create a mailing list for readers to sign up to, and include a field or two for them to specify their interests and reasons for coming to your page. This information can be used to segment your audience and hit them with targeted emails in the future.

Read more at www.flowtown.com
 

Creating Customized News Feed with @zimbio

I'm always looking for new ways to help my author clients and friends share things easily online.



book marketing strategist Warren Whitlock on Zimbio



One way I've been seeing a lot more new readers here at @amplify is by simply sharing the RSS feed link with a few directories. Since most bloggers would promote their blogs by submitting their feed to multiple directories, it doesn't take much to stand out when you direct attention to your social media feed.



Looking at new directories, I found a long list on one blog.. with several that were just trying to sell a position or ad. Then I saw #zimbio



I'm creating a #wikizine n @zimbo.. more on that when it goes active. In the mean time, I'm sharing some of my best blog posts with others there.



You can follow the fun with this button My Zimbio



Warren Whitlock Zimbio Stories

Twitter User Get Information Before It Is Leaked

Twitter users worldwide got a sneak peak at a trove of Wikileaks’ classified information early Sunday after copies of a German magazine containing the information were mistakenly sold early at a newsstand.


Thursday, November 25

Is there are Twitter #unfollowbug? Should we care?

@ikepigott wrote a #storify about unfollowing:



"Some people want their Twitter to be completely mutual. There are tools that enable this, by easily flagging which people you follow that aren't following you back."



My short answer is NO RULES. Follow or don't follow whoever you want.



That leads to a problem when someone like me connects with someone who seeks a perfect balance of counts and judges by ratios.



Some of them unfollow me.



And sometimes, Twitter, me, apps I'm using, new tools I test, and random bits in the Twitterverse set a follow status beyond anthing we know about.



Unfollow is NOT blocking. It's not saying "I hate you and never want to hear from you"



While I wouldn't think of clicking unfollow because a person said something (other than a very tiny few where the language and topics were really foul on an ongoing basis) I do have to prune and manage where I can. If I do unfollow, I rarely know WHO I'm unfollowing.. so please don't take offense. It's not you.. It's not even me :)



Since I can't read even 1% of the tweets coming through my account.. it really makes little difference if I follow you or you follow me. I'm GRATEFUL that so many people choose to follow me, but I really much more interested in ENGAGEMENT.



I'm not social to find people for a broadcast. We've covered that.. it DOES NOT WORK in social media. We're here for the conversation.. to make a connection and share experiences in order to make, grow and build on relationships.



If I don't follow you, you can still @WarrenWhitlock and talk to me. I read 100% of those tweets and respond to every question.



If you care about me following you.. GREAT.. I'm happy to click "follow" and will see a "@WarrenWhitlock will you follow me?" Tweet as an invitation to have a conversation.



I don't autofollowback, but I do try to follow every person who mentions me in a tweet (No, not you Mr. lurking spammer, I'm on to you and your tricks).



And now the reason for this clip.. PLEASE DON'T WORRY ABOUT THIS.



The attached story about "damaged reputation" is just plain silly. I'm following all the people involved and wish you all well in you pursuit of balance.



If my mentioning this offends you and you unfollow me.. so be it. If you care about that, please care enough to post a comment here or tweet me @WarrenWhitlock. I'd be happy to hear about the economic consequences of the so called #unfollowbug.. though my guess is that anyone @ChrisHerur lost due to this bug would not make a great client :)



(For the Record.. I'm a big fan of Chris and Social Media Club. And like all the other people involved.. great people as far as I know them.

Amplify’d from storify.com




Dot A



Unfollow Bug


by Ike Pigott, 3 hours ago


Saga of the Twitter Unfollow Bug


Read more at storify.com
 

Wednesday, November 24

"The TSA should change its name to Totalitarian Sexual Abuse"

I got a tweet this afternoon from a guy in line for a TSA screen...



He asked "scanner or pat down?"



I answered as I always do to an A or B question.. BOTH!



Got me thinking.. all this kvetching at the airport is just bad karma. We know TSA is over the top, and we also know that the likelyhood is that a scan or grope won't do permanent damage.



How about trying "Go ahead and look at me naked.. and can I have the grope session too?".. then thank them and ask if they want to do it again.



I'm working on the hope that other outcries will be heard, TSA is not safety, and it's a joke that we need to end.



In the mean time.. why not have some fun?

The TSA should change its name to Totalitarian Sexual Abus

Government At Work: Groping Children Is Preferable to Perceived Profiling

See more at snarkandboobs.wordpress.com
 

Old Media Idea of the Day. Let's Use Twitter as a New Source

News Flash: Twitter Already Is a News Network



A minor flurry erupted in the blogosphere today, after Twitter co-founder Biz Stone mused during a Reuters interview about creating a “Twitter News Service,” which he described as a kind of partnership with major news organizations to extract news from the millions of tweets carried by the micro-blogging network daily. A spokesman for Twitter later posted a message saying the company “no plans for a Twitter news network” and that Stone was simply thinking out loud.

Amplify’d from gigaom.com

Twitter staffer Matt Graves’ response was closer to the point, however: He said the company was not thinking about creating such a news service because “it already exists — it’s called Twitter.” In other words, Twitter is already functioning as a news network or wire service, something we have pointed out a number of times. When you can get live reports from eyewitnesses of earthquakes and other disasters within minutes of them happening, you have a news network (as Biz himself has noted in the past).

See more at gigaom.com
 

Why You Should Do EVERY Radio Interview You Can

Two great stories from small-time broadcast interviews.



Today, Internet show can bring you listeners and leads months later and links to your sites the search engines love

Amplify’d from www.sellingbooks.com

Why You Should Do EVERY Radio Interview You Can

The end result: From that one interview on that tiny station, and that one person who happened to be driving through that town, our client made $800,000. He had saved his client about $6 million, and earned his hefty commission.

Read more at www.sellingbooks.com
 

One more step towards Facebook's goal of global domination

Facebook moved one step closer to securing a trademark on the word “Face” when it’s used with online chat rooms or bulletin boards, after receiving a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today.

Amplify’d from www.insidefacebook.com

The trademark would cover the word “face” when it pertains to:

Telecommunication services, namely, providing online chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users in the field of general interest and concerning social and entertainment subject matter, none primarily featuring or relating to motoring or to cars.

Read more at www.insidefacebook.com
 

I'm staying on the ground till they sort this out

One account of getting through a TSA screening

Amplify’d from noblasters.com

“You don’t need to see his identification.”

On November 21, 2010, I was allowed to enter the U.S. through an airport security checkpoint without being x-rayed or touched by a TSA officer.  This post explains how.

Read more at noblasters.com
 

Netflix moving away from DVD rentals

Instant savings for me. Now I won't feel compelled to watch and return a DVD several times a month.



I may have to replace the walk to the mailbox with some calisthenics while I'm streaming movies.

Amplify’d from blog.netflix.com
The Official Netflix Blog
You might also wonder why we haven’t introduced a new plan that includes only DVDs by mail. The fact is that Netflix members are already watching more TV episodes and movies streamed instantly over the Internet than on DVDs, and we expect that trend to continue. Creating the best user experience that we can around watching instantly is how we’re spending the vast majority of our time and resources. Because of this, we are not creating any plans that are focused solely on DVDs by mail.
See more at blog.netflix.com
 

Change: Lessons on What's Next

the innovation behind three companies -- Foursquare, Square and Zappos.


Tuesday, November 23

I'm think @SallyHogshead is FASCINATING

I devoured Sally Hogshead's book last week and immediately had to check out her web site and blog.



She had two great interviews with other authors that I know and I just had to read and watch.. and then I noticed that most of her blog is not selling Sally..



That's why she's so fascinating

Amplify’d from www.bestsellerauthors.com

fascinate_coverSally Hogshead, wrote a book explaining how to be fascinating. FASCINATE: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation

I just finished reading Sally’s book and have dozens of questions for her whenever I get a chance to do an interview. She’s an expert on her topic and I imagine could produce more content, talk for hours and fascinate you with what she knows.

However, on Sally’s Blog, there are interviews with other authors that would be on interest to anyone wanting to know more about persuasion and fascination.

Sally marketing is for her readers. Provides information that readers will love and draws you in with an appeal to your emotional needs, not hears.

Read more at www.bestsellerauthors.com
 

Heat Up Your LinkedIn Profile: @KeithFerrazzi talks to @ChrisBrogan

Social media isn't much if it's not social.



Be something more than a cold boring resume.



Read @ChrisBrogan's advice and make your profile more you.

Amplify’d from www.keithferrazzi.com
keith03-bio.jpg

“Make sure you’re really in to LinkedIn, not just using it as just as a cold, stiff place to stick your profile. It’s not just a resume online. It’s a place where you’re actually angling towards your future. If you’re seeking out some different kind of opportunity and your previous experiences don’t even include a line-up to it, we then write the experiences such that they highlight the parts that do a line-up to it.

So for example, you are, I don’t know, a professional baker and you’re trying to get into the baking world and out of your old corporate job, then what you talk about is, you know, that you used to be a senior project manager of this organization and that during very difficult project meetings, you’d bring in your fresh baked whatevers – tell that story. My point is that your LinkedIn profile can speak of language that drives people to what they think they can do for work with you and how they should be viewing you, how they can couch you. The language of your LinkedIn profile is a very active, fluid thing that allows you not to gloss over bad parts of your past or anything like that but just to keep focusing people towards where you want things to go.

Read more at www.keithferrazzi.com
 

Monday, November 22

"I tried to make Twitter what I thought it should be and it didn't work. Know I'm writing as an expert"

Most of the people I talk to offline don't get Twitter, don't use it and that's just fine with me. I know a people who don't use a computer and others who hate phones.



If the person is important to me, I talk to them where they are.



I started using Twitter because people I wanted to talk to were there. For me, it's always been about connections and conversations. People are social.. Twitter is just a tool to connect to some of them.



So when a "marketer" tries to talk about Twitter as a channel, or ask if it's social.. I start off skeptical. Jeff Sweat laments that he can't force feed longer ads at us. I suppose that's the position we'd expect from a guy selling banner ads :)



But there's some hope. These guys are starting get it.. Twitter is not another channel to broadcast your ads. Once they stop trying to compare new things to old ideas, and figure out they can server their customers better by listening, tthey may find a use for Twitter.. or not.



Either is fine with me.

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com
Jeff Sweat

Jeff Sweat


Editor-in-chief, Yahoo! Advertising Blog



Posted: November 19, 2010 06:37 PM


If you're a marketer with a message, you have to hope that your followers are looking at their Tweet stream at that very second. In a place like Facebook, or even Yahoo!'s new social integration, things from people you care about have a way of sticking around.

Read more at www.huffingtonpost.com
 

Sunday, November 21

Saturday, November 20

"Can Your Help Me Become a Best Seller?

I've had many request requests from author looking at how they get some help making their book a best seller.



So I set aside some time to help those who want to get their message out, create a business around their book and become a best seller.



It's been up for a few days with a special early bird deal.. thought I should share it with my friends here before I change it to the regular price





eeb8085f86034eeb8b1a387f5ca636c5

Amplify’d from www.bestsellerauthors.com


Best Seller Roadmaps

Best Seller Roadmap For Authors

I have set aside time to work directly with a few authors. I keep the number small because I want to work with you personally, and give you my full attention.

Read more at www.bestsellerauthors.com
 

Tuesday, November 16

Watch @feliciaslattery write here book the right way

I tell authors to start a blog BEFORE they start writing a book.



Often the title, the theme, the direction of the book will change.. SO WHAT?



We are in the age of REAL TIME.. and the time to start getting into the real time is right now.



Go look at the book.. leave a comment and CONNECT with Felecia. If you are a author, you'll learn what she knows (and is learning).. if you are speaker, you need to follow Felicia.. and everyone else.. I think you'll like the book :)

Amplify’d from cinderellainterrupted.com

The reason I created this blog is to work on my next book, Cinderella Interrupted, and to get the feedback, suggestions, opinions, and thoughts of you, my dear reader. I’m writing this book for women who having reached a certain age and certain level of success in their lives yet still find themselves yearning for more, privately thinking to themselves, “I did everything right, but I still feel like there’s got to be more…”

See more at cinderellainterrupted.com
 

Saturday, November 13

Will Facebook announce email on Monday #titan

I've got mixed emotions on this.



At first, I used email to track my friends on Facebook... then I turned them off to use Facebook directly.



When I got it tuned to not get 4700 Farmville notes, I started noticing that business friends actually paid attention to message sent in Facebook.



So if I had a @Facebook.com address, would I have to reprint my business cards?

Amplify’d from www.tcmagazine.com

This coming Monday, November 15, will see Facebook holding a new press gathering, and the rumors say its focus will be Project Titan, an email service to rival the likes of Yahoo, Microsoft and Google.

The new service would enable Facebook's 500+ million users to get an @facebook.com email address, and have a more integrated social/email experience. Just bring together emails from other accounts, add Facebook friends, updates, deals, and you've got yourself the next thing to keep people on Facebook even more than before. There's great potential to such a solution so it will be interesting to see how Facebook plays its cards.

Read more at www.tcmagazine.com
 

Old Media Faux Pax of the Day:

To view this post with the advice that interstitial pages will keep you from being seen, you first have to view an interstitial page.

Amplify’d from www.fastcompany.com

Try to avoid interstitial pages, ad pop-ups, or other elements that interfere with your content. In some cases, these distracting elements may be picked up in the preview of your page, making the screenshots less attractive.

See more at www.fastcompany.com
 

Sunday, November 7

I met up with a few hundred "Internet Marketers" .. none were checked in on @Foursquare

A friend asked me to meet him at a Vegas resort where hundreds of "Internet Marketers" were holding a big event.



Some of these people are very successful entrepreneurs, some quite successful, looking to learn from those making millions



I've often wondered just how much you can learn from someone who says social media is a passing fad. (the answer "PLENTY".. They know what works and the basics of business are the same :)



So I checked in on #FourSquare.. and I was the only one!



I'm only connected to a few thousand people on @Fourquare, so I made sure I checked the venue where many thousand of people, and all of these conference attendee were located. One from a few hours before.



I seriously thought my connection was broken.. that I had found a glitch in my phone's app.



So I asked around. "Why would I want people to know where I am?" was the common response.



My contacts there included dozens of "gurus".. people who speak at public events and have thousands of followers and students of marketing. Experts at "membership communities" and "local marketing" were on stage there.



I knew that Foursqure wasn't for everyone.. and I'm of the opinion that MOST people will never checkin as part of a game.. but what concerned me was the fact that these were marketers at a seminar looking for "the next big thing"



Several discussions about concerns of someone well known getting accosted by people, or women who don't want to be stalked. I think that is perfectly normal and appropriate thinking.. each individual choice is valid.



When one guru told me they had never heard of Foursquare.. I knew I was on to something. These are the same types of comments I was hearing about Twitter and Facebook back in 2007-08. I think planning on them being wrong is a pretty safe bet :)



Checking the agenda. Not one Social Media speaker at that conference. What does that tell you?



Contrast this with @Blogworld (#BWE10) or #pubcon.. at these events, there will be hundreds of users checking in. Laptops open, blogging and posting updates.. and another trend.. These are the types of conferences that are growing.



When asked why I declined to attend that event, I said "There's 200 people here talking "Internet marketing" Tomorrow, I'll be one of 200 SPEKERS at #pubcon"

Amplify’d from www.youngentrepreneur.com

Foursquare – The Social Network You Can’t Afford to Ignore

See more at www.youngentrepreneur.com
 

Friday, November 5

The conversation about you is going on now. (via @ConversationAge)

Planning is all well and good, but not an excuse to put off listening.



Customers, bloggers and media are talking about you online today.



Here's my plan.



1) Start listening right now

2) Respond when you can help

3) Do everythng else in this article



We're in REAL TIME now. You need to plan, manage, measure and evaluate, but you have to be engaged while you are doing it.



Yes, this is harder than waiting till you are ready. No, you don't have a choice.



The conversation is going on, with or without you. Join the conversation now. It's okay if you aren't quite ready. Tell us that. Be authentic, we'll understand.



Just don't tell us you don't care (the message we get if you are not here)



Here's a "one person listened" case study.



I mentioned on @Amplify that Cox Cable wasn't listening. A customer service rep in Kansas noticed and commented that he couldn't access my account but would do what he could.



I was happy. SOMEONE CARED.



He followed through. Found a Cox rep in Vegas who fixed my problem. I was ecstatic and they got back a customer worth thousands of dollars per year.



A month later, I referenced Cox again. A local rep thanked me.



Cox lost 13 months of my business because of one bad CSR experience. I tweeted, blogged and told many people about my bad experience.



I had heard that Cox had a social media plan, but I couldn't get a response. @Cox_Will was one person who followed my universal social media plan.



I call it "Listen and Love" .. pay attention to the conversations that are already happening and respond like any decent person would to a friend.



You customers don't care about your metrics. They want to know you care about them.

Amplify’d from www.conversationagent.com
2 years

Survey: 86 Percent of All People Don't Know the Plan Comes First

Only 14.2% of businesses find their social-media strategies to be “very effective” – and only 7.3% consider them “very revenue generating.” Dare I say these 14% or so are the same who establish goals and metrics and then measure against them?

Read more at www.conversationagent.com
 

Thursday, November 4

@egoldstein Are any of today's changes worth my @amplify running at half speed?


Why @lkr Thinks Gmail Priority Sucks

Good tips for organizing you inbox.



Sure, the headline is over the top.. but that's MY kind of headline.. honest, but slanted.



I use the Priority Inbox feature when I need to clean out things that I need to unsubscribe to or set filters. I like getting the ton of mail I don't read, it's my own personal database. I also use a separate email address to subscribe to newsletters and now have a complete history from many people that comes in handy from time to time.



Laura is right we do need to avoid sitting in front of email. I'm much more efficient when my IN box is EMPTY.



What do you do to manage your email?


Turns out @Clearwire isn't the only one lying about download speeds

I'm going to skip the urge to write yet another post on my horrible experiences with #clear.. having given up when contacted by their social media guy who said he'd either fix things in a day or make sure my contract was cancelled and issued a refund.



Instead, I got turned over to collections that same day.



But no, I'm not here to repeat that I've never met anyone who tried #clearwire and had a bad experience. Or that their parent company @Sprint has spotty 4G coverage at best. Not my ax to grind today.



I just want to #amplify this graphic.



American mobile providers are so good at hype that they actually have arguments over which is fastest on a standard that is about 10% of the real standard.. saying anything to get you into a contract for service that is continually behind the rest of the world.



How do we let them get away with this?



I know better is possible.I've watch @CoxCable learn to interact with customers, offer me a "it works or you don't pay" ultra super fast service that I'm happily paying 5 times as much for. When it has a problem, I tweet and someone answers me.



My hope for the future is that we all will learn to DEMAND that a company perform. The locked in contracts are dinosaurs. I'm betting that the telcos will soon retire to tell stories of the good old days when they had their customers confused.



So who's going to take their place?


Wednesday, November 3

New from @LinkedIn: Recommend Products on Company Pages

Product or service recommendations from one’s professional peers are among the most trusted forms of product information. They play a critical role in helping professionals cut through the clutter in making time-sensitive decisions about key purchases.



Making intelligent recommendations helps define your professional persona as an influencer and helps you build credibility with potential employers, partners and colleagues. Most importantly, it offers additional value to your network of connections who may be looking for your recommendation before they make their next purchase.

Amplify’d from blog.linkedin.com

Recommend your favorite products and services on LinkedIn Company Pages

We’re really excited to be launching Company Pages with over 40 companies globally ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. These include HP, Microsoft Corporation, Samsung Electronics America, AT&T Business Solutions and Dell in the US, Philips in Europe, Volkswagen in India and more. The initial feedback from companies has been extremely positive. Here’s HP’s Chief Marketing Officer Michael Mendenhall: “LinkedIn is a pioneer in harnessing the power of social media and brands can benefit tremendously from participating in this networking of leading professionals.”

Moving forward, we’ll continue to profile great examples of Company Pages on our blog. In the meanwhile, check out your own company’s page at http://www.linkedin.com/companies/.

Read more at blog.linkedin.com
 

Mark Zuckerberg: "The iPad Isn’t Mobile"

I explain that why the iPad is NOT a "game changer" about 23 times a week.



Once in a while, I get thinking that I may be wrong... maybe Apple will live up to the hype and we'll all be talking about another category they dominate soon.



At least Zuck is on my side. :)



The iPad is a great piece of hardware. One of the MANY MANY coming that will put computer and connections everywhere.. but when the flood of other tablets, giant phones, small computers and tablets of all sizes come out, it will not be a "new category"



Get an iPad, use it for anything. No problem.. just not a "game changer"

Amplify’d from mashable.com

Mark Zuckerberg: The iPad Isn’t Mobile

The real hint to Facebook’s iPad plans, though, is that Tseng focused on the form factor and not iOS. This could mean that Facebook’s looking to build an HTML5 version of its website optimized for tablets. At the very least, Facebook seems intent on keeping a consistent experience across all tablet devices.

Read more at mashable.com
 

Do You Read the @Paperli?

Paper.li is a very cool technology, putting stories on a page from the people you follow on Twitter.



Cool looking page, but does anyone read these things?

Amplify’d from paper.li
The Cassie Lee Daily








bestsellerauthors.com - November is a great time to think about health.
It’s National Diabetes Awareness Month, and I’m reminded of a huge best seller success we had a few years back bringing awareness to the dangers of d...







WarrenWhitlock








Read more at paper.li