SpeakerNet News 6/21/2013

6/21/2013 Editors: Rebecca Morgan & Ken Braly See “About SpeakerNet News” at the end for information on how to submit tips and use this newsletter. Remember, your “dues” for this free ezine are submitting two tips a quarter. Send your best tips to editor@SpeakerNetNews.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/SpeakerNetNews SpeakerNet News Sponsors SpeakerNet News Sponsor Teleseminar Info Monday, June 24 Put Persuasive Power in Your Promo Prose: Fix Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You with Barbara McNichol If you’re in the speaking business, no doubt you’ve spent years in workshops and trainings, or working with coaches, to be a better speaker. But how much time have you spent working to be a better *writer*? Whether or not you’re a book author, you do a lot of writing every day to support and promote your business. Does your writing hold you back from being as successful as you could be? Do you know? This short session with leading editor Barbara McNichol will help you tune up your writing so you always make the impression, and get the results, you want. Read the details of this session below, then register or order the MP3 recording. Note: Everyone who registers for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free. Audience Involvement Equals More Bookings You’ve been in the audience with speakers who drone on for hours. You shift in your chair, trying to keep alert and focused, but finally succumb to boredom. Your phone, tablet, or laptop comes out and you entertain yourself by responding to emails, texting your friends, and/or catching up on Facebook. You never want to be a speaker who causes people to mentally escape. You want to engage people, and that requires getting them involved. Would you like to enlarge your portfolio of options to add to every presentation, whether a keynote or workshop? Do you know which techniques work well and which will backfire? Would you like some sure-fire processes that will work even with cynical audiences? These three recordings will give you some ideas to add to your repertoire, as well as tips on how to use them successfully. “Keep ’Em Engaged and Attentive: Having Effective Interactivity in Every Program” with Izzy Gesell, CSP “Get Your Audiences Involved and Get More Business” with Karen Lawson, PhD, CSP “Audience Involvement Strategies for Involuntary, Cynical, and Non-Participatory Attendees” with Frank Bucaro, CSP, CPAE More info All SNN single-focused packages are detailed here. Miscellaneous Tips Get video testimonials from everyone in your session — Ed Robinson An easy way to get a video testimonial from everyone in your session is to ask! Near the end of your program, have them get out their smartphones and give them to their neighbor. Have each person choose the most important thing they are taking away from your program, then their neighbor starts the video. They give their name then the most important takeaway. Have them instantly email it to you. You now have lots of videos to post to your website! Internet radio show tips — Rebecca Morgan If you’ve appeared as a guest on Internet radio shows like those hosted through BlogTalk Radio, you know the interviewers can be wonderful and very professional — or the opposite. Since anyone willing to pay the fee can be a radio talk show host, the quality varies widely. Having just appeared on several dozen of these shows the last two months, I thought I’d share a few tips. Before accepting the invitation, listen to a previous show or two. The host’s page should have links to past shows. Does the host hog the air time, monopolizing the conversation? Is s/he respectful of the guests? If not, no need to appear. If you expect to have a lot of real-time listeners, ask for the stats of how many listen live. Some shows have few real-time listeners but lots who listen via recording. You only care if you expect call-ins. Since some shows have very few listeners, the only benefit (unless you want the practice) is getting a link to your website. If you’re expecting gobs of book sales or new subscribers, don’t do it. Just as with any radio show, provide the producer (usually the host) with your head shot, paragraph bio for their web page, title(s) of your book(s), and 5–10 questions. Of course, some will ignore your provided questions and ask you things that are not at all in your area of expertise. You get to practice how to respond to off-focus questions and bring it back to your expertise. :-) Some have a long list of demands, including your subscribing to their Twitter feed, Facebook page, blog, etc., as well as your promoting your segment on your social media. Confirm not only what time your segment is to start, but when it is to end. Some segments are 15 minutes, some 2 hours! Some hosts are using your appearance as an opportunity to sell you their media training coaching. Be cautious if they push their post-interview critique and are persistent in scheduling it. Some of these "media coaches" actually *need* media coaching! How to find what’s hot — Steve Miller I’d asked for how others learn what’s new, what’s hot, other peoples’ opinions, and anything else that might stretch my mind and benefit my clients/audiences. Here are the responses: Alex Neuman — I rely on feedly.com as I used to be a Google Reader user in order to keep up with my interests. I set up Google News RSS feeds by looking for keywords at news.google.com and copying the RSS link (at the bottom left) into my Feedly news sources. That way I can check up (any time during the day) on news about topics important to me and my clients, which I can then share publicly through social media or privately through email. Lamar Morgan — For what’s hot, all I have to do is look to my LinkedIn home page. There is actually more stuff being delivered to me through that one venue than I can possibly absorb...and it is quite good. Back-of-room sales tips — Robin Speculand To maximize our back-of-room of sales this year we have: Before the presentation, checked price of books in the country I’m speaking in. This is especially important for places like India, as books are much cheaper. Printed a 4-color, 1-sided, high-quality A4 product promo handout to place on the tables/chairs at the start of the session. Offered bundled prices. Showed, right before lunch, the product slide with the prices for that country (where required we include shipping). Mentioned we only have a limited number of products with us. We bring enough product for 25% of the audience. (Editors’ note: For more ideas on how to increase back-of-room sales, get our 3-recording intensive, “Selling More BOR Products”) Speaking notes tip — Elaina Zuker When you have several pages of notes placed either flat or slanted in front of you on the lectern, if you print your stuff normally (filling the page from top of page to bottom) you’re going to be showing the crown of your head if you’re reading (or even glancing) from the bottom of each page. Better: print your notes only on the TOP THIRD of each page; that way you’re never looking down. Also, instead of turning the just-read page as you would a book, SLIDE it over to your left once you’re done with it. Much smoother transition, and less likely that the sound of moving the page will be heard by the audience thru the mic. Producing a book quickly — Michael Podolinsky CSP My seminar master copy notes prompt me what to write. I’ve been teaching the material for 32 years so it’s a part of me. I write in 90-minute chunks. Many studies on top executives show we maximize productivity by focusing uninterrupted for 90 minutes. Change venues every 90 minutes — I sit outside Starbucks for 90 minutes, then go to a breakfast place for 90, than come home, do email, hit the gym and go to a restaurant for 3.5 hours (I take 30 minutes to eat lunch in between two writing periods), go to one of my favorite watering holes and work there for 90 minutes. Result: 5,500 to 6,500 words a day. Other writing tips: When you need research data or stats to back up a claim in your manuscript, type in XXX and keep writing. Later, go back and search your doc for XXX and look up the information. Similarly, if you want a callout, graph or table inserted, type YYY and keep writing. Want some client input or quotations? Type ZZZ and keep writing. Don’t worry about spelling, correcting grammar, or duplication of thoughts. That will be cleaned up in editing. Just keep writing. Write like you speak. Easier to write and read. Even one-word sentences. Easy (er)! (Editors’ note: For more ideas on how to get a book written, get our 3-recording intensive, “Get Your Book Completed Now!”) Use postcards for after-session followup — Anna Conrad I get postcards made with a vacation image on the front along with my company’s logo and contact info. At the end of every presentation, participants address the postcard to themselves with one thing they learned and one thing they commit to doing differently. I mail these postcards a week and a half after the session. It is a great reminder of the session and of me. Responses to question on posting fees online — Bill Cole Here are responses I received from my question, “What are the advantages and disadvantages of posting your speaking fees to your website?” Kathy Reiffenstein — Pros: conveys transparency, is user-friendly in that user can get pricing info quickly and easily. Cons: limits flexibility to adjust or negotiate pricing for different markets, different types of clients; lets your competition know your pricing (which may or may not be a bad thing); may cause you to miss the opportunity to speak with a prospective client because they’ve looked at your rates and eliminated you. Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts — I’ve been in business for 25+ years and don’t believe in putting my fees on my website. When someone finds me, I want the opportunity to share with them the value I offer. Many people are willing to pay a little more than they expected when they know they’ll get extraordinary value. When you post your fees, people are not so inclined to contact you, and you become merely a number. The advantage is you don’t have to deal with bottom feeders, but I don’t think the trade-off is worth it. I’ve had very few of those and have gotten business from “conversations.” Headline-writing resource — Kathy Reiffenstein Crafting a headline for your carefully written article or blog post is likely the difference between having it read or passed over. Yet most of us don’t have much background in writing compelling headlines. Here is an excellent resource from copyblogger.com, “How to Write Magnetic Headlines.” You do have to register to access the ebook, but it’s free. SNN Offer SNN’s “Book Marketing Report—What Really Works” features success tactics of those who’ve recently published a book, covering which marketing techniques work in today’s market and which don’t. This brief e-report shares proven tools for increasing books sales in our profession and in today’s challenging market. Technology Tips Watch YouTube videos later — Peggy Duncan I was watching a video on YouTube and needed to stop and see the rest later. I right-clicked on it and clicked “Copy Video URL at Current Time.” I pasted that on my calendar for later that day (Ctrl+V to paste). When I paste that URL in my browser later, it’ll go right to where I left off. Yes, I can click the Watch Later command under the video, but I’d forget to watch. That’s why I added it to my calendar. Online tech dictionary recommendation — Ken Braly Don’t know your 802.11n from your USB 3.0? David Pogue’s column recently praised an online dictionary of technical terms, one which offers for the non-techie more “user-friendly” definitions of technical terms. It’s at computerlanguage.com. Travel Tips Advantages of American Express Business Platinum card — Marv Marshall One of the many advantages of having an American Express Platinum Card is the travel insurance. Help will be on its way for emergency situations wherever you are around the world. The annual $450 fee can be paid by using American Express points. At renewal time, connect with the Membership Consulting Services (MCS) Department and you can use 45,000 of your points to renew your membership. SNN Offer “Best Practice Travel Tips from Road Warriors.” Ten years of the best travel tips from SNN readers. 8 eBooklets. Special limited-time pricing now for SNN readers. Download your set today. SNN Offer Get industry leaders’ wisdom delivered every two weeks. Special $4.95 introductory offer. Get each new SNN teleseminar recording with our SNN MP3 subscription service. speakernetnews.com Requests for Info / Advice Experience with LightSpeedVT? — Abby Marks Beale Does anyone have working experience with LightSpeedVT, an online course provider? Please share what you liked/didn’t like. I promise to compile the results. Get your “free 15”—that’s 15 minutes to brainstorm with Making Money in Your Jammies expert Rebecca Morgan. Email to set your appointment to discuss how you can turn your intellectual capital into non-airplane income (NAI). Get serious about starting a new income stream. Rebecca@RebeccaMorgan.com SpeakerNet News Teleseminar Info Monday, June 24 Put Persuasive Power in Your Promo Prose: Fix Writing Mistakes That Are Costing You with Barbara McNichol You put up yet another blog post and linked it to a host of offerings, but nothing is selling. Or you’ve published an excellent book but the back copy cover wouldn’t entice even your mother to buy it. Or you’ve rewritten your one-sheet message to book more engagements, but how you describe your programs doesn’t resonate with those you want to impress. Because your business results tie closely to the marketing copy you write, how you learned to write in school just won’t cut it today. In this teleseminar, Barbara shares common mistakes that often scuttle your attempts to convert words into action — mistakes you might not even know you’re making! Step one is being aware of those mistakes; step two involves discovering what you might do differently to: Craft persuasive paragraphs that address your reader’s pain (it’s not all about you!) Say what you intend to convey in clear, concise ways (a confused person doesn’t buy) Tap into imaginative ways of expressing your message (overcome the boring factor) Make it easy (not tedious) for people to read what you say in writing (whack wordiness) Plan your messages in a way that puts the writing process on autopilot (so essential information isn’t forgotten) Don’t miss this opportunity to “go deep” and strengthen everything you write — from emails to proposals to one-sheets, blog posts, and back-cover copy. No one will be persuaded to take action if there’s no persuasive power in your pen. Register or order the MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free. Date: Monday, June 24 Time: 7:00 pm Eastern, 6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific  (Enter your location here to get your local time) Length: 60 minutes Cost: $25 Special Limited-Time Offer: If you want more information on ideas on how to write persuasively, we’re suggesting the MP3 recordings of several earlier programs to complement this program: “Copywriting Secrets for Infopreneurs: The Right Words Can Help You Sell a Lot More Speeches, Services and Products!” with David Garfinkel “Mastering the Name Game: Create Powerful Names for Books, Speeches or Companies” with Alexandra Watkins With your order of this live or recorded session, at checkout you will be offered these recordings. 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