Making Web Sites Work

Blog Commenting - Putting in Your Two Cents Worth

An article mentioned in this weeks Bloomberg BusinessWeek Tech Insider caught my eye. Working on the Waterfront outlined how technology (and self-employment) enables a growing number of people to actually work from the beach. Not much new here for veteran road warriors, other that how to get bargain access to Malibu beach from the Las Costa Beach Club.

The real gem in this article came from the posted comments. The best was posted by Sherry Paprocki. It simply said, 'Hey, part of the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Branding Yourselfwas written at the beach!' So who is Sherry Beck Paprocki? She's the author, of course. And not just any author. She's published over a dozen biographys on celebrities including Katie Couric, Martha Stewart, Vincente Fox, and Bob Marley. Quite a group to be associated with.

Which was Sherry's goal in the first place. By adding a comment to the post she created an association linking:

• Business News- Bloomberg BusinessWeek
• Working on the Beach - alternative office environments
• Entrepreneurs - interested in alternative environments and personal branding
• Sherry's book -  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Branding Yourself

I agree that not everyone would have searched for the book from the comment. Only Sherry's target prospects would have invested the effort, but it only took a 17 word comment on her part. Hey, it was just like a day at the beach!

Let's Go Fishing

Ready to try you hand at it? It's easy, it's kind of like fishing:

• What are you trying to catch?
• Where are they hiding?
• Which bait should you use?

The bait is your book, product or service. The fish is your prospect. Where are they hiding? Online of course. Identify online news outlets catering to your prospects. Use Google Alerts or set up a feed to keep track of the topics associated with your area of expertise. When you get a nibble identifying a likely article or blog, post a comment and see if you get a bite.

Posting comments to business blogs is a easy, low cost tactic to put your marketing two cents worth in front of likely prospects. Go ahead, post one here.

 

 

Thank God It's Monday! Book on Kindle available at no cost from August 2-7, 2010

This extraordinary message appeared in my inbox last week. I simply had to share it with you...

"Here's your chance to get the Kindle version of the Best-selling book, Thank God It's Monday! How to Create a Workplace You and Your Customers Love, without paying a cent.

If you have a Kindle, iPad, or even your PC (there now is a Kindle reader for the PC and it's free too), you can download your very own edition of Roxanne Emmerich's best-selling TGIM book for the Kindle... but you have to mark your calendar to remember to get it during this special promotion."

Why on earth would a best-selling author, speaker and CEO give away something so valuable, for free? Her message explained "This is a limited time offer, sponsored by the publisher to create a massive impact and help companies looking to bust bad attitudes, kick-start sagging sales figures, and create companies that employees love to work FOR and customers love to work WITH." 

I believe it's just another example of visionary business leaders who know how to make technology work. Making her best-selling book available in Kindle format costs virtually nothing. Amazon wins by promoting the Kindle, the Publisher wins by building a buzz for the book, Emmerich wins for taking the lead with this marketing tactic.

Don't waste time trying to figure out why she decided to launch this campaign. Whatever the reason, this is a limited time offer, so you need to act now!

"How to get it? Visit www.Amazon.com or search using your Kindle Reader device between August 2nd through the 7th and shop the Kindle Store for the title: Thank God It's Monday! by Roxanne Emmerich and then download it."  

Thanks Roxanne!

Is your book available in Kindle format? If so, post a comment on how it's working for you.