Let me share with you an infographic from those smart guys over at Frugaldad.
The problem in a nutshell: patents are a 19th century solution to 21st century problems. Click to continue
Latest mind-blowing fact about ebooks
This just in, courtesy of Seth Godin:
The number of ebooks published in 2012 is going to exceed a million, easily. That’s more than 8 times as many books as were published to the public a year ago.
I’ve been talking about this trend for quite some time now. If you’re in the audience business (and you are), the self-publishing gold rush is on.
Ebooks are now one of the most powerful, disruptive forces in publishing and marketing today.
Brand and disruption
Your brand establishes expectations that form the reasons why people choose to buy from you versus someone else. Those expectations aren’t just things you promise and deliver on. Nor is it limited to what your brand looks like, or how it’s packaged.
Your brand defines how people feel about you.
A good brand reminds people why they choose you again and again. Emotional connection is a hard thing to measure or to pinpoint why it does what it does. Just as important, a strong brand creates a powerful bond. There’s a risk in there for anyone hoping to engage in disruption tactics involving their brand.
It can easly backfire.
Coke found that out when they switched the colours on their iconic product to silver and white as part of a well-meaning campaign. Consumers got angry and the company abruptly ended their limited run months ahead of schedule.
Much of the blame was that it created confusion between their regular and diet products, but there’s more to it than that. The brand’s colour–Coca-Cola red–is more than just a fundamental part of the product’s design.
It turns out that it’s deeply rooted in how people feel when they buy that product. Take that away from your consumer and they’re missing part of what makes your brand what it is.
What your business card absolutely must do
The modern-day business card is carry-over from the Industrial Revolution and dates back possibly as far as 15th century China. It once was a tool to communicate status. Later, it became one of very few ways—other than the phone directory—to help people know how to reach you.
Things don’t work that way anymore.
It’s not hard to find someone’s contact information anymore. What is difficult today is finding the right tools to attract and sustain someone’s attention—to be memorable.
Your business card communicates an experience to your audience.
I know it’s old fashioned, but…
Let’s just get this out of the way. Some don’t believe business cards anymore.
I still do. I believe that little things count for a lot in business.
The information your card contains and how it is presented instantly defines the way your audience perceives you, along with what you have to say and what you are selling.
Even with something as simple as a business card, when you design with your customer in mind, you’re creating a powerful suggestion about how you work and of how you can help people.
Taking the time to ensure your business card delivers a great experience isn’t all that hard to do.
Let me share with you what I’ve learned”
Print on the best stock you can find.
This is the number-one thing you must do. Buy the very best paper stock you can. Print in smaller batches if you have to. Good stock looks professional and avoids the frayed, dog-eared look that afflicts so many flimsy cards. Personally, I’m quite happy with the stock they use at moo.com.
Avoid glossy finishes, but ensure white space.
There’s a practical reason why you should say no to glossy and yes to generous use of white space. Business cards can be really handy to write on. Don’t underestimate this benefit. A short note jotted down on the back of your card can do amazing things. It’s one of the subtle ways that something mass produced can become personalized. People like things that are made just for them.
Don’t be clever at the expense of being useful.
Look online and you’ll find lots of examples of clever business cards. Some of them are even useful. But many are just wasted expressions of vanity. What am I going to do with an all-steel embossed card that’s impossible to read in low light and that I can’t write on? I mean really.
Be selective.
Most people today are drowning in too much information. Make it easier for them to reach you by being selective about what you include on your card. If phone, email and your website are the top-three places people go to reach you, then include just that. Unless you’re in a business that predominantly uses fax (and you have my sympathies if you are), then cut that from your card. There’s no penalty for leaving some things out. Keep it simple. We’re not living in the 1970s anymore. There are other places people can go to find additional information about you if they need it.
Include a photo, but only pro-grade.
Since all business is personal and so much of marketing today is relationship-based, including a professionally-shot photo of yourself on your card is never a bad idea. But do this only if the photo is a professional headshot.
Short and sweet.
The life of the modern business card is short and sweet. Gone are the days when the cards you give to people would be tucked into a rolodex and used repeatedly when someone wanted to call you. Most people today aren’t going to keep your card for very long: just until they can enter it into their address book or CRM. Keep your card simple, purposeful and memorable: that’s what sells. Complement it with other products to serve as leave-behinds that can deliver substance: free ebooks, guides and reports are just a few examples.
Think about the reader’s experience.
Focus less on what matters to you and instead ask what creates the best experience for the person who receives your card. Remember: the more information you put on that 3.5 x 2 inch piece of paper, the smaller the typeface you’ll need, and the less white space you’ll have.
Rethinking the professional speaker’s one-sheet
Photo: Gawker Media
Now that so much marketing is digital, the professional speaker’s one-sheet is looking more and more like an anachronism.
It was a time-honoured tool for generations, consisting of a headshot photo, a brief bio and an overview of your area of specialty.
It was a speaker’s key marketing tool. It got the job done.
The traditional one-sheet was designed based on three assumptions: it would be almost exclusively used as a paper-based product, you could reuse that product for a mass audience, and it was an acceptable, unidimensional substitute for introducing yourself personally to someone.
Let’s challenge those assumptions.
So much about the way we market has changed. Today, it’s more relationship-based, far, far less dependent on paper, and people learn a lot more about you faster than ever.
On top of all that, there are tools out there that just everyone has to quickly (and regularly) create a more engaging, personal introduction with your audience.
I’m not saying you should blow-up your one-sheet. Far from it.
The copywriting sales mastery that used to go into that product is as vital as ever. And if you don’t invest in developing a professional product that’s engineered to sell, you’re leaving money on the table.
But you do have to stop thinking about it as a static, single sheet printed on paper.
If you are a professional speaker or presenter, this is still one of your top marketing products. It just has to catch-up with the way people make decisions today. That’s at the root of professional speaker marketing (and it’s why it’s a fast-growing part of our business here at thinkit creative).
Think of your product—your bio, photos, benefits statement, testimonials and areas of specialization—as modules. These are components that you can rearrange and tweak to suit the interests of a specific speaking engagement. Put them all in a folder and generate digital products on the fly. There are pros who can help you with this.
Don’t stop there. Consider shooting a short video and posting it to a special webpage on your site…just for that upcoming speaking event. Link it to you what you send. Integrate what you have to say with your other material on your website, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles (among other sources).
Static, mass-produced products are out. Personalized, interconnected and flexible digital products are in.