100 Entrepreneur Blogs is a new post on Start Up Success and we are honored to be included in the post.

It is also a great example of how to get people to link to you.  (Look, I linked)

Why does this work?

1. A good list is a time saver for the reader.  You could not find 100 quality blogs in an hour of searching on Google, because no one has sorted them by category or quality.
2. Links to blogs show up in the control panel of those blog authors.  They are going to see the list.
3. People will link to the article because of ego.  They are on a list as a valuable resource.
4. People will bookmark this as their reading list (not really a link, but traffic).

It does take a little longer to write something like this.  But the return is great.

I like simple ways to create good links and new ways for people to find me.

 I signed up for FriendFeed, uploaded my image (which is always on my desktop) and inputted my userid for digg, twitter, tumblr, del.icio.us   …  Which are all the same.

The end result is that in 30 seconds I have created a channel of content about me that will probably generate some good traffic in the future.  View my Buzzoodle FriendFeed profile and add me as a friend.

One great aspect is that Tumblr imports my blog feed (Yes, this blog) and FriendFeed imports Tumblr.  So even thought I cannot directly add this feed, it does end up over there.

That is a solid 30 seconds of work – I might take the rest of the day off.

Since we are on the topic of books, my good good friend Phil Gerbyshak has an interesting post and interview about a book… or is it a napkin?  You decide.

Warning:  About Fiction, not about business!

Well, let me take you away from your regularly scheduled buzz stuff and write about a friend of mine, David Shepherd.  He is a business author, puts on fantastic events for Interior Designers (Where I have spoken several times) and is now a powerhouse fiction author.

His book is a psychological thriller about how a few decisions turn a person’s life upside down.  It is called Resurrecting Randi.  In the spirit of full disclosure, we did do some consulting a while back on this project but I am not paid to make this post and we are not currently working with him.  He has really taken the bull by the horns and done his own buzz campaign, and it is going very well.

Just take a look at the site – he is listing his book tour very publically and is doing a great job of connecting with people.

If you like Fiction, especially stuff that has you talking the next day, pick this one up.

I had someone ask me a few questions for an upcoming eBook about weathering a recession.  My answers were probably a little more buzz related than average, and I thought some of you might like them.  So here they are:

 1. What are the common mistakes most businesses make in a recession?

This is something of a loaded question.  Mistakes obviously depend on the industry you are in.

It is well known that cutting back on marketing in a recession will mean a negative impact on your future growth after a recession.  However, if you are in survival mode, there may be no avoiding it.
2. What are 10 methods you would use to survive and prosper in a recession?

#1 – A recession is a great excuse.  This won’t be popular, but a recession is a great excuse to make cuts.  If you have had some marginal performers, use this as an excuse to become leaner and meaner.

#2 – Use down time for new product development.

#3 – Identify what makes you special and then get the whole team behind creating buzz.

#4 – Reinvent yourself.  An industry can collapse any time, not just during a broader recession.  Look at how Kodak reinvented itself after film sales dried up.

#5 – Shore up the value you are creating with your existing clients.  Make sure you keep what you have before worrying about new customers.

#6 – Upsell to your existing clients worries.

#7 – Take advantage of more availability of workers.  Hire Virtual Buzz Assistants to work from home and create more results for you.

#8 – Sell hope – focus on how your product or service helps provide a light at the end of the tunnel.

#9 – Automate more – If you need to save money, find ways to automate processes that used to take a person.

#10 – Don’t give in to recessionary thinking – Your attitude should not dip with recession worries.  If your attitude dips, people sense it and you will hurt your prospects.
3. What are some little known money-making opportunities for businesses?

It really depends on the business.  I would not suggest losing focus on your main money makers. Assuming you have the time to spend, you might try setting up every person in the organization with a blog, giving them a class or workbook on how to use it and creating an affiliate lead genration tool for each person.  Then every employee could be an affiliate marketer for the business (as well as a content creator.)  By making everyone a brand ambassador with the potential to earn some extra money, you make every person a member of the marketing team.

I was very lucky to get involved with an excellent start up called Business Expert Webinars.  May 28th at 1:00 EST I will be presenting my first webinar on getting business results with your blog.  If you are interested in blogging or would like to get better results, be sure to sign up.

Part of the webinar is Avoiding Widget Creep.  How cool is that as a bullet?

There is a new social network for business.  APSense – I am almost afraid to recommend these things as they tend to fill up with people hocking eBooks and other things, but this one does have some potential.  They seem to have thought a lot about the features and even have revenue sharing added to the mix.

Go set up a profile if you are interested in checking it out.  One thing I like is that they have built the network to promote your business – so none of the pretending to not be promoting yourself while you promote yourself…

The idea that you can contact someone and they will drop everything they are doing to talk to you, write about you or even promote you it not a very realistic goal.

Lets try it.  – Stop reading and promote me to all your friends and family for the next 30 minutes – go ahead – just start calling and emailing….

I will wait….

See, you kept reading instead, didn’t you?

Yet when we start promoting and creating buzz, that is exactly what we hope for.  I sent you an email, why haven’t you blogged about me yet?

The best you can hope for is often to get on someone’s to do list.

That is not as bad as it sounds – we all want repeat exposure, and if someone keeps rewriting your name on the to do list and moving it forward each day or two, it is better than an advertisement.

Here are some tips to stay on someone’s to do list until they finally act.

• Make your request easily actionable (Something they need to do)
• Repeated contacts, but not too frequently.
• Make the person feel appreciated – SuTree made me an expert.
• Have a clear benefit stated.
• Make your request difficult to decline. 
• Assume you are on the to do list of a busy person.  It is not a NO until they say no.
• Follow up after a yes. 

My to do list is always full of technologies to check out, books to review, etc.  I say yes, but the people that keep communicating with me rise to the top while others may never get addressed and may fall off the list eventually.  If you think about the dynamic of the to do list, you will change the way you interact with people.

The reason you communicate with people is to create relationships.  Maybe not directly, one to one, but connections none the less.

 Before you dash off your next email, consider if you are just answering the question or building a better relationship.

Email mistakes you may be making:

• Email too short: If you are just replying to a question, you may be losing an opportunity to create a better relationship.  What could you send that demonstrates value and caring?
• Email too long: If your email is too long, people will just skim it and get what they need.  Send the email with links that point to more information they might be interested in.
• Personal & Caring:  Address the person and make your message more about them and less about you.
• Email Signature: One of the ways I frequenly contact people is to look up a recent email and scroll to the bottom.  If you do not have a good email signature, you are missing out.

And lastly, don’t give away the farm.

You should build resources that you can send people to if you get common inquiries.  For example, I could have sent a recent group of inquiries the link to our blog post on 99 ways to create buzz.  Instead, I let them know they get that link if they sign up for our free Buzz Marketing email course.  The link was shorter, the message was shorter and the relationship is stronger because they sign up for our course.

Don’t get me wrong here – don’t double the time required to answer emails.  Simply have resources available that you can send or link to that strengthen the relationship beyond a yes or no.

Steve Rubel has an interesting, if not shocking, post about practice and becoming and expert.

 Read it and think about how that technique could be incorporated in your organization.  Each employee should understand online media and deliberately practice creating buzz a little bit each day.  No, not two hours – don’t worry.  But a little bit every day, measuring it and reporting it.

Some will succeed, some will fail and a few will become rock stars.