Cindy Ratzlaff

Bestselling author, award winning brand marketing and social media pro, Cindy Ratzlaff, creates sales driving campaigns for authors, books and publishers.

4 Great Marketing Ideas Your Business Can Use Now

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Every day thousands of fantastic articles and marketing ideas for entrepreneurs and small business owners come streaming onto the web, and throughout social media. What’s a busy entrepreneur to do.  You can’t read everything.  You can email yourself great links to articles you want to read later or save the links to a private circle on G+ or even bookmark them for handy reference. I use the G+ strategy most of the time and add sites that regularly deliver to my Google Reader account.

For those who haven’t yet figured out how to scan the headlines and save the best for later, here are a few ideas are so creative and useful that I want to make sure you don’t miss them.  I’ve added short introductory paragraph to tell you why they’re worth your time to click through and read and possibly save. But all of these have ideas that you can use, right now, to amp up the action on your marketing.

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Personal Branding Tips | How to Start Even Before You Have A Business Idea

By Cindy Ratzlaff

I received an email from someone recently asking me for ideas on how they can begin developing their personal branding even though they don’t yet have a business plan or a fully imagined business idea. I was impress they were thinking about branding at this stage of their business development and the question got me thinking about how we can all set up foundational brand elements now that will serve us as we grow an idea into a business.

But how can we brand something that doesn’t exists, you ask? We can’t.  But I believe that you are always the brand.   So you can and should begin to articulate what the brand of “you” includes.

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Beginner’s Guide to Social Media Marketing

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Using social media to market your book, brand or business is a relatively low-risk way to dip your toe in marketing waters. Most social networks are free to use, although the time required to use them well will cost you human capital.

I’m an entrepreneur, just like many of you, and I’m my eighth year of owning my own business.  Statistically, if I can make it through this year, I’ll have beaten the brutal odds of business that fail in the first five years.  In these first seven years, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that fear of trying something new leads to failure.

Most new businesses fail in the first seven years.

I usually write about more complex tools and strategies, but in speaking to new entrepreneurs or small business owners this past year, the questions I most often get are:

  • How can I add social media to my marketing without adding additional employees?
  • How can I do everything you suggest and still have time to work on my products?

Lack of time and money are the #1 and #2 saboteurs of start-ups.  So to everyone who has not yet jumped into the social fray to promote their business or service, here’s my simple beginner’s guide to using social media for business.

I believe most businesses can benefit from a simple, straightforward social media strategy that includes:

  • A Facebook profile for the “face” of the business; the owner or spokesperson
  • A Facebook fan page for the business itself
  • A Twitter Account
  • A YouTube Account
  • A Blog

With these five social media basics, even the most cash strapped and time deprived entrepreneur can begin to create digital footprints that lead back to their business. Adding additional social networks such as Instagram and Pinterest may be advisable for some businesses, but these five will give you a good basic foundation from which to build a large online following.

Setting up the accounts is easy and entrepreneurs should not become distracted by the bells and whistles and they wish list that comes with fully tricked out Facebook pages or beautifully designed Twitter accounts.  When you’re swamped, stick to the basics and don’t let “ideal” stop you from starting with “good enough.”

Here’s a simple beginners guide to a social media marketing strategy map anyone can use.

  • Blog 2-3 times per week and keep posts to 500-600 words. Make them keyword rich (words you would enter into Google Search to find YOU). Make sure each post gives one interesting or useful piece of information to the reader about your area of expertise.
  • The same day you blog, post a link to that blog on your Facebook Fan Page, adding an invitation to join you on the blog for more posts on your subject matter.
  • Allow this post to auto-post to your Twitter account by linking your Twitter account to your Facebook fan page through this Facebook app link: http://Facebook.com/Twitter.
  • The next day press the share button under your Fan Page post and share it to your personal profile.  Your friends are your closest supporters.  Ask them to share your post with their friends, leave you comments and let you know if you can help them with your area of expertise.
  • Two days later, turn your blog post into a simple, how-to video by reading it into your web cam. Put the “script” up on your screen so you can look directly at the camera.  Speak as though you’re explaining the concepts in your blog to just one person.  Post the video to YouTube and tag the video with your keywords.

This is an over simplified map, designed to get you thinking about sharing content throughout social media.  There are many, many subtle and more complicated nuances and strategies to increase your visibility, but this is a start.  If you’re a new business owner or entrepreneur who has not yet begun to use social media in your business marketing, begin here and add new strategies as you get comfortable.

There is so much you can do in social media marketing, that sometimes the overwhelming feeling of “I can’t do everything” stops us from doing “something.” Focus on the basics first. Where do the majority of your ideal customers spend time on line? For most of you it will be Facebook. Makes sense, right? It’s the largest social network with the most active monthly users. So start there with a personal profile. Talk about your business, your products, your services and special deals. Next venture into the world of Facebook business pages to create a stand alone page dedicated to your business. Master those two properties before moving forward with the rest of the recommended steps in this article. Don’t let fear of the task ahead stop you from bringing your business to a larger audience through social media.

Time Saving Digital Tips, Tools and Techniques Used by the Pros

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Entrepreneurs and small businesses know they should add social media marketing and digital tools to their customer acquisition and outreach plan, but time, money and a steep learning curve often hold them back.  I asked a group of digital marketing professionals to share one tip, technique or tactic they use to shave time, money and frustration from their marketing plates.  Each of these tips come from full-time marketing, PR and/or digital strategy professionals who work on-line and in social media every day.

Time is our most valuable asset as business owners.

Karmen Reed of Kick Off Topic

My password manager: I use Roboform. This awesome tool is not just a security peace of mind, but also a time saving “must have” tool. Roboform manages all your digital, online passwords and you have to remember only one master code, that you set yourself, to access any site or tool on your computer requiring a password. It can be synced between your multiple computers, and Firefox as well as Chrome extensions allow for super easy access. Extra points — Roboform is available on your iPhone as an app too.

Lisa McKenzie* of Red Carpet Strategies

Once a month I religiously use ManageFlitter to ensure that I am connecting with my ideal community and audience on Twitter.  ManageFlitter allows me to quickly delete spam and inactive accounts leaving my Twitter steam filled with people I want to stay connected with and tweets I want to read. The “drag” feature across profile avatars is my favorite for quick deletes.

Gail Doby of Design Success U

Google Docs is our baseline tool for communicating with our global team.  We are able to maintain a central filing system in the cloud, which is extremely helpful with a team working on projects at different times of the day or night.

Mary Lengle of Madison and Company

I help clients tell their stories through video and I’m able to meet with people via SKYPE to go over our scripts, shot lists and overall video strategies.  I use it on my iphone, ipad, desktop and laptop. It’s a great communication tool and time saver.

Nancy Leyes Myrland of Myrland Marketing

I set up search columns in TweetDeck, (or whatever Twitter management tool you are using) for the exact title of my three most recent blog posts, then watch those columns periodically throughout the day to find and thank those who are sharing my blog posts. Your Twitter name isn’t always included when people share your post, so this helps you catch them so you don’t miss the opportunity to nurture a relationship by thanking someone for their kindness. This also saves times because you don’t have to check different sources to find these shares of your blog posts.

Keri Francek Jaehnig of Idea Girl Media

My time-saving tip and everyday lifesaver is Workflowy.  It’s up on my computer all day long.  I use it to organize note, tasks and collaborate with clients and colleagues through the select sharing feature.

Holly Kolman of Mobile Site Store

Dropbox is a tool you can use on your computer or internet-ready phone. I have sent enormous files like audio and video files, and when I give my clients password access, they can access them at any time. It’s very convenient and makes it a lot easier to keep track of files than email.

Doug McIsaac of CBS Television affiliate, KTVQ

Use a mind mapping tool like Mindomo when you are planning projects

If you have tools, techniques and tips to share with entrepreneurs and small business people, please share them here and we’ll take a look.

*Full disclosure.  I am also a partner in Red Carpet Strategies.

Top 10 Reasons Not to Include Video in Brand Marketing

By Cindy Ratzlaff

A recent, highly unscientific poll of my social media circle revealed the following top reasons for not incorporating video into their brand marketing:

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.

10. I can’t afford to invest in expensive equipment

9. I don’t know what to talk about.

8. I don’t have anyone to run the camera.

7. I don’t know how to use the video even if I could create it.

6. I don’t like the way I look on camera.

5. I think people will think I’m boastful or vain.

4. I don’t have time to learn how to edit video.

3. I’m not convinced that video will increase my revenue.

2. I don’t have a tangible product to show on video. I’m a consultant.

1. I’m not comfortable in front of a camera.

According to a January 2010 report by research firm Forrester, optimized video increases the incidence of Google front page search results by a factor of 53x. And, Internet Retailer’s April 2010 report states that e-commerce site visitors are 85% more likely to purchase if they’re presented with a video.

Let’s debunk the top 10 concerns about using video in your brand marketing.

10. You do not need expensive equipment to create video. You can upload still photography and copy to a site called Animoto and create polished 30 second commercial style videos in minutes, free of charge.

9. The How-To category on YouTube is very popular. Any subject related to your business that you can show or tell is perfect for a video. Think about what you offer and add “How To” to any aspect of it and you’ll have your first video.

8. You can use the camera already inside your computer to record yourself. You don’t need a camera operator. You can purchase an inexpensive tripod to mount your video camera, turn it on yourself and walk in front of the camera. YouTube gives you a simple and easy to learn way to clip the unwanted beginning to a homemade video so you can start your video at the beginning of your presentation.

7. Create the video. Save it to your computer hard drive. Upload it to your YouTube Channel. Share the link on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and your website. Put the link into your e-newsletter. These are just a few ways to use the video you create.

6. Get over it. No one likes the way they look on camera. But consumers like to see the face behind the offer. They like to look into your eyes and know that a real person is making the offer. If you truly can’t do it, create a powerpoint and capture your presentation with a program like Camtasia for PC or Screen Flow for Mac and you’ll have a video without ever showing your face.

5. This is old mental programming. We’re marketing in a new very social, very connected world and to succeed, you’ll need to put those feelings behind you and operate from the knowledge that sharing the things you know if actually selfless and generous.

4. You do not have to edit your video, in the beginning, if you keep it short. Practice making 15-30 second videos where you deliver one tip or strategy or idea at a time. Put it up and repeat after me: “Imperfect action is better than no action.” Your audience will value your authenticity and watching you improve. Later you’ll be able to reference those early videos, laugh and share your journey with your followers. Sales is about storytelling. You’re early efforts become part of your story.

3. If you still don’t believe that video will increase your revenues, you haven’t been paying attention. See the intro paragraph to this article and spend some time on google.

2. Sharing ideas on video is demonstrating authority. If you are a consultant, you’ll want to position yourself as an authority and let people see you in action. Video is ideal for consultants. Consumers buy based on a “know, like and trust” factor and video is the fastest way, aside from in-person presentations, to establish a feeling of relationship.

1. Confidence comes with practice. Talk into the camera as though you are at a cocktail party or networking event. Create a heightened sense of yourself without going over the top. Practice. But above all, to borrow a phrase from Nike, just do it. You can see some of my early work and later work here, which I hope will encourage you. I am not remotely “perfect,” yet I’ve been able to impact people, share knowledge and increase my personal brand awareness.

Have you been using video in your marketing with positive results? Please share your thoughts here to help encourage the entire community.

5 Cool Social Tools Worth Your Time | Twitter Tool Kit

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Twitter is the amplifier of a social media marketing campaign—shouting out provocative sound bites and abbreviated teasers.

When used strategically and in synergy with a well-rounded marketing campaign, Twitter is the social whipped cream.

Here are five nifty Twitter tools to add to your entrepreneurial arsenal. Each one brings something special to the table and could add just the sparkle you need for your next campaign.

TWEETDOC

Create a document bringing together all the tweets from a particular event or search term. A tweetdoc allows you to keep a record of what happens on Twitter. You can set parameters such as date and time ranges, number of tweets to capture, hashtags and search terms and capture the Twitter conversation. Great for brand monitoring reports, competitor analysis, real time news stories such as the recent Hurricane Irene reports on Twitter, conference chatter to find and follow influencer’s and other attendees or simply to keep your finger on the pulse of an industry or technology.

TWYLAH

Twylah aggregates your tweets and highlights your brand areas of expertise, based on what you tweet about. It serves them back to you in a beautiful SEO optimized webpage that gives readers a clear visual impression of who you are and what you talk about. When you send a “power tweet” from your Twylah page, your Tweets are captured, organized visually and by keywords and your Twitter followers are directed back to you optimized landing page, which is populated with relevant tweets on the same topic. Twylah gives you yet another piece of high style social real estate to reinforce your brand identity. Seeing all your Tweets in one spot, visually and topically aggregated is an eye-opener too and can serve as a brand audit to help you quickly see if you’re hitting your target messaging or going off topic too often.

TWEETGURU

A quirky series of Twitter tools, auto tweeting bots and services that allows you to, among other things, direct message multiple Twitter accounts at once. You might want to use this feature if you’re reaching out to your personal list of press people on Twitter about a launch party or a big brand announcement. The free version has a limit of 12 accounts at one time for your direct message but this can save you time and that’s the point.

HOOTSUITE

Hootsuite’s free tweet scheduling feature is easy to use and with a modestly priced pro account agencies can manage multiple accounts at once, assign individual tweet action items to team members and keep track of which team member answered the Twitter query and their new analytic tools generate custom reports for clients and play nicely with Google analytics. Hootsuite is a timesaving tool, a team tool, a monitoring tool and a scheduling tool all in one.

TWUBS.COM

Twubs are groups built around content aggregated from hashtags. Twubs gives you a live tweet feed of an event, conference or Twitter Chat based on a specific #hashtag and offers tools such as a Tweetup and Events scheduler. You can register your event hashtag at Twubs, embed a Twub widget on your website, and the Twub offers a complete Conference suite of tools like live moderation, conference displays, live event audio and presentation streaming, RSS feeds and more to engage participants who attend in person or those watching remotely. These features could be used by speakers and can even include photos and videos. A moderator can view the stream in a time delay mode and control which tweets are shown to the audience and which should not be.

What other Twitter tools would you add to the list? Let’s share our favorites here.

5 Digital Apps under $10 | Low Cost Last Minute Holiday Gifts

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Avoid the malls and the post office by sending clients, friends and family a digital application, the ideal last minute holiday gift . They can be downloaded, enjoyed instantly and they provide fun, information or function throughout the year.  Demonstrate your forward thinking digital style  this year by gifting these fabulous applications to both the tech savvy and the digital immigrants alike.

Get your digital Santa on with these fun apps for the whole family.

Brushes for iphone, ipad and itouch – $4.99 at itunes

Brushes is a mobil painting application and winner of an Apple Design Award for 2010. This nifty app will keep the kiddies mesmerized on long trips and let you appear to be thoughtfully researching important information in those long boring budgeting meetings. You can paint pictures using templates or freestyle and Brushes records your strokes so you can export them and replay them as a QuickTime Movie. Bring out their creative side with Brushes.  This app is ideal for children, creative adults who love to doodle, amateur artists and even sophisticated digital artists.

Robert Parker 3 W’s of Wine – $3.99 at itunes and $4.99 at eRobertParker.com for Java enabled mobile devices

If you’ve ever been asked to select the wine for a business event or wanted to impress your friends with your wine knowledge, here’s the app for you. A database of more than 2,000 affordable wine from top producers all around the globe are at your finger tips in this easy to use app that lets you search by region, color, variety or even food. Once you try a wine suggestion and like it, you’ll be able to add it to your personal “My Wines” list along with your comments. It’s like having the famous Robert Parker in your iphone, at your command. This is the ideal gift for young professionals, people new to wine drinking or casual wine lovers who want to learn more.

Elf Ur Face – Free download at itunes

Take a picture of yourself, family, friends, or pets and give them some elf effects to put them in the holiday spirit. Then you can email the photos or post them to Facebook, Twitter or save them to your desktop for that long, really interesting holiday letter you know you’re writing. This app will provide hours of fun for kids and adults alike and is just plain good fun.

Mrs. P’s Reader Challenge mobil app – Free download at itunes

Mrs. P’s Reader Challenge is a fun new game that helps kids develop reading skills and comprehension and is brought to life by the voice of TV celebrity Kathy Kinney as Mrs. P.  It features five stories from MrsP.com’s Magic Library: The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea and The Frog Prince; and two are the Grand Prize winners of Mrs. P’s 2009 writing contest for kids: Pretty Princess and Funky Frog and Spattered Mud and Crushed Petals. Readers try to win a pot of gold by answering multiple-choice questions about the stories, assisted by funny and encouraging audio prompts from Mrs. P.  Great for kids 4-10.

Zagats To Go app – $9.99 download at itunes

The famed Zagat Restaurant Guides are available in app format on itunes and you’ll get a year’s access to fresh restaurant ratings and reviews from over 45 trusted guides; all for less than the price of  one traditional paperback guide.  This one download gets you ZAGAT for your iPhone and iPad.

Affiliate Programs | Income Stream for Authors

By Cindy Ratzlaff

Most authors do not want to become affiliate marketers, spending time promoting other people’s products for a percentage of any sales generated.  It seems time consuming and slightly unseemly.  But those same authors, writers, speakers and entrepreneurs wouldn’t hesitate to recommend books they love to their friends and followers.

Recommending books to your fans and followers is a good marketing strategy.

If you love to read. have ever recommended a good book to a friend or reviewed a book online, then setting up an affiliate relationship with Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com can help pay your web hosting bills, increase your position as a trusted source of information and support authors and writers through recommending their work. You simply sign up for an account and when you find something you’d like to recommend, you grab the link and share it on Twitter, Facebook, your blog or even through your e-newsletter.  You can build a “recommended reading” widget through these affiliate programs and add new books easily.  These sites pay you a small commission on each sale resulting from your recommendation.  You will not get rich with this strategy, but you can bring in enough to pay for a book or two per month that you’d probably buy anyway.

It’s not the money that makes this worthwhile.  It’s a win-win marketing strategy that helps your visibility, increases your social currency and frankly, gives you something to blog about now and then when you’re stumped.

I only recommend books I love and in the case of Amazon.com, I occasionally recommend other products that I personally use like Samsung HMX-F90 camcorder as well as the really inexpensive but awesome tripod I use which costs less than $15.00 and that has a travel case!

I know that I enjoy reading lists from trusted sources.  Trust is the key issue here with dabbling in affiliate marketing.  If you recommend things you don’t like, people will come to view your lists as a waste of time.  So don’t squander your social currency.  Recommend the best and earn a little change in the process.

I’d love to see your recommended reading lists.  I’ve been so busy reading non-fiction books by clients so I can help them with their promotional plans that I could use a good novel to sweep me away.

Get a free copy of "How To Create An Author Brand," a step-by-step guide for developing your brand message.