This weekend two very nice things happended.

#1 We went from Google Page Rank 5 to Google Page Rank 7

#2 I moved the wordpress blog to a new server with upgrades of all the software.

You are probably looking at it and thinking nothing has changed, but from my end a lot has.

Unless you are on my email list (where you get 20 free Buzz Marketing lessons), this will not make so much sense.

Early in the week I tried an experiment with my email list. I sent out an email where I packaged 3 ebooks into one file and sold them for $9. Just for one day (Actually a day and a half) and in a more personal way.

This blog post is the details of the way I did it and the results I got.

Before I begin, let me say THANK YOU to the people that are on my list.

To Begin With

Some basic params – The list is small, under 1,000 people because I purged it a year or so ago. While my list is small now, I usually enjoy a 40% open rate. I frequently get people asking me to resend one of the Buzz Marketing courses because they keep them all saved, refer back to them and send them to clients. (Nutty, I know, but thanks)

This whole campaign took me about 2 hours. Imagine if my list was bigger, the results would have been bigger too.

Negativity Boost

Anyone studying email marketing knows that a negative subject line gets a higher open rate. But that does not take the creativity out of it. It just means you can pique someone’s interest more. So my subject line was “How to have a terrrible birthday.”

49% Open Rate - And still climbing.

Study Emails you like to read

I have also been paying attention to the emails that I like to read – very closely.

Here is what I have noticed. I do not care if you are selling something or not. I respect that people need to make money. However, it is an absolute crime if you do not make it interesting for me.

I read emails where the personality shows through.

I read emails where I feel like I know the person and I believe they know what they are talking about.

I read emails if the person has made me laugh in the past.

I read emails if the person has helped me make money in the past.

What I do not read

I have some good friends and I am on their email lists. I like them, but I do not open many of their emails. Why?

• I know they publish long articles – and I do not have time to read a random article or long newsletter.
• They only use their email to sell stuff.
• They never provide instant gratification – You know, those people that always invite you to free webinars or tease you with things you have to buy.
• They do not write in an authentic voice.
• They do not seem like real people when they write.
• They do not make me smile.

So, I am telling you this because I really do have an email strategy, and the above observations play into it.

My goal is to build a list of people that enjoy reading my emails, find value in quick tips and articles and really know me even if they have not met me.

Can email make you a Celebrity?

Since that email two days ago, I have attended two business events. In both cases, people came up to me and told me how much they enjoyed the email. Were they daffy? It was a sales letter! Emails also poured in with people saying they could not wait to find out what happened.

The Ultra-Secret Trick

I am not here to tell you I made millions off of a $9 product. I had nearly a 50% open rate, nearly 50% of those people clicked the link to look at the product and about 8% of the people that opened the email purchased the ebook. Great percentages, but small list. I made about $300.

If you did not get the email, let me tell you this was a very personal and fun email to write. I talked about how we spend money on our kids for birthdays, but not much on ourselves. (Gee, do you think that hit a cord with a couple of people) I promised to spend whatever I made on myself for my birthday. Plus, the three ebooks were worth about $40 if bought separately, so it was a great, one day deal if you were interested in them.

The Ultra-secret trick was no ultra-secret trick. I told a personal story that entertained (at least some) people. They seemed to appreciate it and want to know more. I was selling something, but not tricking them into it. People do not seem to mind that. I know I do not mind that.

So how am I spending my bonus wealth?

#1 – My kids get to buy me something with part of it. So they are taking me horseback riding. I thought it was my birthday!

#2 – A group of normal stuff like dinner, some clothing (I have lost 50lb in the last year and need some 1/2 sized clothes, replacing everything is expensive.)

#3 – I am going to set aside a portion for a new video camera I want. Video is a great way to entertain and teach – and I am committed to doing more of it. I am just not equiped properly yet.

Again thanks. I feel really privileged to have such a responsive and interested group of people signed up for my emails.

I know one truth about financial advisers. They have extremely strict rules on what they publish.

I have had many Financial Advisers call and want to hire us, and they always ask what we would recommend for the issue around the strict rules of approval. Publishing one blog post could take 6 months to get approved.

This got me thinking. I understand that the financial sector was regulating what their associates could say for what they thought were good reasons.

But maybe if they did not have the restrictions more people could have had an honest opinion. Maybe people working in the same company would have had differing opinions on what was going on. And maybe some of those people would have been smart enough to publically question the practices that have lead to these problems.

Then again, maybe many of them were just jumping on the easy money bandwagon and they would not have even though twice about it.

No, this is not a post about a blog that tells you how to dress.

I actually was helping someone roll out a new blog and they wanted to post a lot of promotional things. They could not quickly grasp that the blog posts should be more conversational and less promotional, yet never forgetting that there was a goal.

Then I used the analogy that websites are formal business attire, and blogs are business casual.

She got it right away.

Business Casual in the land of blogs means:

1. Letting people get to know you without disclosing your party behavior.
2. Talking about topics without selling.
3. Creating a give and take, less formal way to communicate.
4. Putting a face on the stogy business identity.
5. Showing real people’s success are behind the business.

Your business blog should be business casual to be effective.

I just thought I would pose a question that I have been thinking about lately.

Are you letting your skills limit you?

It is easy to say, “I am a marketer, that is what I am good at.” But are you something because you are good at it?

What were you good at in High School? Are you that now?

• I rocked in fast food, but I let the career opportunity slip away.

What were you good at in College?

• I was an excellent waiter and bartender in college. Ahhh, those were the days.

What was your first job after college?

• I quickly proved my technology skills and moved to the top of a small technology consulting firm. Eventually coding other people’s stuff just made me tired.

What was your first big deal success?

• At Ernst & Young I become a Benchmark Analyst and was billed out at $250 an hour. And I knew so much less back then!

When did you stray from the expected path?

• As a Professor of English in the University of Guadalajara, I had a blast. Too bad being a professor in the US is a bit more work.

What are you best at today?

• Now I find myself being a medley of experiences and skills. Marketing, Technology, Training, Speaking, Consulting….

…..But what is next? What is next for you? Are you taking your skills to a new level or are you thinking about trying something completely new? If you think that your skills define you, you are letting your skills limit you.

I am trying a little experiment with my email list and blog.

I like to do experiments with marketing to see what works. This week I am doing a special experiment to see what happens.

I am a parent, and we spend money and do fun things on our kids birthdays, but not really on our own. I am guessing I am not the only one like that out there.

So in about 1 week I turn 40-something.

I decided to package three things together and make them insanely low priced.

Then I would offer it for one day only and whatever I make will be what I spend on this unwelcome day.

If I sell a few things, maybe we will go to the movies.

If I sell 1,000, I will go to the beach. It could happen – I don’t know how many of you will want to take advantage of $20 off of a $29 3-pack of Marketing eBooks.

The 3-pack includes:

- Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing – a PDF of the published book.

- Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing Strategy Guide – PDF worksheets to improve your buzz stories.

- How to Look Smart, Important and Attractive Online – PDF on personal branding.

Coupon Code: bday – $20 off of the $29 cost.

Click Here

The coupon expires at11:59 PM on Sept 23rd.

Keep an eye on the Buzzoodle Blog later in the week and I will let you know what happens. I am not sure I will ever offer those three things for $9 again, so if you have been on the fence, this is a good time to jump down and buy.

As always, thanks for reading.

Ron

This post, Web Marketing Nonprofit Organizations is written by guest writer Hans Strock.

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Non-profit organizations need marketing, and luckily for them, it can be done online for less. It just takes some time to develop. Here are some things charity and non-profit groups can do to spread the word. We’ll Use African United Partnerships for these examples.

1. Start a blog. Yes, this is obvious, but the way you craft it really counts here. To be really effective, talk about what you are doing. Tell stories about what is going on. Most importantly though, show the results that donations are doing. Keep it positive and show people that their donation money is being put to good work, and to make them feel good about helping out.
2. Fundable.com. This site is totally dedicated to fund raising. It allows users to set a timeline and dollar amount for your cause. Its quick and easy to use, to boot. The only thing to be aware of is that if you don’t meet your goal within the deadline set no money gets donated at all. If you are confident you can make it though, this is a great, easy tool to use. For an example of this, check out the page for African United Partnerships .
3. Squidoo. This was originally started for charity groups, so this should be a no brainer. You can eve submit your group to be added to their list of charity/non-profit groups. This means that any user creating a lens can have a portion of any profits made on it go to your group. Be sure to join groups to take advantage of this. Once again, check out the lens from African United Partnerships to see how it’s done.
4. Blog Networks. Once you start a blog be sure to claim it on a blogging community like MyBlogLog.com and BlogCatalog.com. Be sure to follow other blogs here to grab their attention as well.

5. Mingle. Don’t just build these things and sit on it. Talk to people! Read other blogs and comment on them. Send them emails with helpful things. Make them see you as valuable. When the time comes, they will return the favor.

6. Main Site. Make sure you have a professional looking main site that details your cause well. Also, make sure there is a very clear, easy way to donate. It doesn’t help to get people rallied for your cause, but be confused on how to help. Here, we see that AUP (http://africanunitedpartnerships.org) has a professional looking site with big donate buttons on every page.

The important thing to note is that you really have to focus with these and take the time to cultivate them. Use the powerful social aspect of these tools to build links and relationships with other people. It is also important that you look professional. People want to make sure their money is going to a good cause. Leverage the power of relationship building combined with good design on your sites to build that trust and audience. The web has some powerful methods of reaching people around the world. Take advantage of it to spread the word.

What is a Brand Ambassador? You may have heard the term.

It is the same thing we are doing with employee ambassadors. It is when you help your key constituents become walking logos or an extension of your corporate brand.

Here are 10 ways an average, happy employee can become a powerful brand ambassador:

1. Start a blog and talk about work.
2. Word of mouth – Talk about what a great place it is with others.
3. Brand Ambassador Party – Maybe a party where the ambassador can demo your product and sell them.
4. Twitter.com – Micro-ambassador
5. FaceBook.com
6. LinkedIn.com
7. StumbleUpon.com
8. Del.icio.us
9. Search – Searching for comments about the company
10. Any online groups – and there are millions.

Those are just the low handing fruit. Check out our Employee Ambassador Program if this topic interests you.

Shama Hyder has a really great article on her blog – Are Videos on the web effective.

It is still early in the adoption of video, but with things like Amazon s3 for video hosting, things are becoming easier.

I recently had an article published in the New Writer’s Handbook.  It was about how to make money with your blog.

The interesting thing about this is that it was just a blog post I did a while back.  They approached me and I made money with my blog because they paid for the article rights and I also got great publicity by being in a wonderful book with a lot of great writers.

If you read that past article, you will see why it applealed to them.  If you are wondering How to make money blogging, you have to realize the  answer is diverse.

I have made money directly from my blog in the following areas:

• Book Sales
• eBook Sales
• Consulting
• Speaking Fees
• Membership Dues
• Article Sales – as in this example of the article making it into a book.
• Affiliate Links
• Reviews (I do not do paid reviews, but I sometimes mention clients as part of the broader effort)
•  Web hosting sales via our reseller opportunity.
• Affiliate Members
• Plus great JV opportunities that eventually lead to making money from the blog.

That does not even include all the great free PR and visibility we get.

You really need to make money blogging if you want to be able to justify the time and effort it takes to do a good job.  And if you want a good income blogging, find many different revenue steams and cultivate them.