500th Link wins a free book (unless you are a splog or unrelated)

Update:  We have a winner!  How to get free traffic and links to your blog.  I have contacted the author and if I get an address back, we will ship out a copy of Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing.

Seth Godin has a post on why risk free is bad for word of mouth.  I agree with his post and it got me thinking.  Beta testers like to create buzz for products when they have taken risks and tested out unstable software.  Why?  Taking a risk with a new product gives someone a feeling of ownership and investment.

If people know it has risk and you overcome the problems, you are a far bigger success story vs if you waited until the product was perfect before ever letting anyone know about it.  Even if you secretly did overcome huge obsticles.

Ultimately it depends on the product.  Airlines and mechanical hearts, I think I will take the less risky option. 

If you were going to attend the tele-seminar Creating Buzz for your Book, it has been delayed one week due to last minute technical difficulties with the conference call company.

Ann McIndoo will be setting up another host for the site next week at the same time and day.  Sorry for the delay and we hope you will attend.

Lots of people want to start a blog.  I get one question most frequently.  What do I write about?

First, pick a topic that is broader than the product you are selling or your job.

Next, don’t put your best posts first because no one will read your first few posts.  Get some definitions and such out of the way early on and then start adding some really good posts.

Now, lets assume you are going to do the following:

• A few great articles per month
• Some links and comments to important industry news frequently
• Some personal observations

What else can you write about to post good content?

• Famous Quotes
• Events
• Interviews with people your readers will find interesting
• New product or tool reviews
• Bullet lists – like this one
• Links to other bloggers information
• Images, Video, etc.
• Go to the library and find information you can add to your blog

Watch your most popular posts and ask yourself why they are so popular.  Eventually you will get a feel for what readers appreciate and you can focus more on those areas.  But be sure to keep trying new things at times.

If you are in business, you probably do a lot of referral networking.  Going in and doing a pitch to a group about your business and hoping to get referrals. 

If you are selling something simple, such as make up or your restaurant, you may get lots of business from the whole group.  If you have a complex sale, such as insurance, legal, technology or accounting, you will probably be better off targeting your message and forming buzz partnerships.

A buzz partnership is when you and another company form an agreement to create some buzz for each other and jointly. This happens when you have established a reasonable level of trust and appreciation for each other and familiarity with the stories and products that the other company has.

Once this happens, it is easy to create buzz for each other and both win.  How?

• Joint seminars
• Tell stories to your clients that illustrate a point with your buzz partner.  If they show interest, let them know you could set up a chance to meet them.
• Referrals
• Co-Branding Events – Share a booth
• Create a blog and both contribute to it
• Offer specials to each other’s client list

There are many more.  The key to success is not to try to do this with too many people.  Create a special group of buzz partners that really support each other and care about the success of the parnership.