In my next post we'll explore my frustrations with Twitter not having an archive which could preserve tweets about great podcasts (or other items which might be helpful to others).
And if you think these 2 points are mutually-exclusive, according to Princeton's WordNetWeb, the first meaning of "medium" is "a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information"...and we're talking about both storing (archiving) and communicating (podcasts & Twitter) here.
How/why podcasts are amazing possibly life-changing mediums
Hearing illuminating life-changing information, most of which is...free!
Listening to podcasts while exercising: Walking, cycling, working out at the gym, etc.
For me, this makes working out fun and interesting because I'm always learning and finding out about new things and trends in social media, internet marketing, searching the web, etc.
Advancing in your business or career or profession or studies because you're learning new things all the time.
Being respected by your peers because you're so knowledgeable about subjects, current events, etc.
Becoming a subject matter expert because you're so knowledgeable about it.
Becoming a great conversationalist because you're well-versed in a diverse variety of topics.
Keeping your mind active by learning new things.
Possibly preventing Alzheimers Disease, exercising your mind, keeping your mind and thinking processes agile, and improving your memory. And if you have a hard time remembering what you hear while you're working out at the gym you can try using Evernote.
The Problem(s) with Podcasts
The information (your information if you're creating the podcast recording) is locked in an audio (mp3) file. There's gold in podcasts and you need to find a way to release the treasure contained within so others can find and experience it.
To unlock the file you need to either:
Add "show notes"(notes describing what's in the podcast which would be posted on the podcast's blog),
Note: FREE "makes the compelling case that in many instances businesses can profit more from giving things away than they can by charging for them." - Source: Amazon.com.
And while the unabridged 6-hour audio would be no-cost, the abridged 3-hour audio would be sold for $7.49. Don't believe me? Well, it's stated on Chris Anderson's The Long Tail blog.
And you can go to Hyperion's site and download the "Abridged" audio book in 16 MP3 files totaling 136 MB.
Price: Free.
Cost: Your email address and some time (which is money) to download all of the files.
DISCONNECT: But wasn't the "Abridged" audio supposed to be sold for $7.49?
Note: I'm no expert at audio compression, but my guess is that these files (totaling 136 MB) might actually be the "Unabridged" version (101 MB file at Audible.com which is supposed to be free). A quick sampling of the Prologue of each of these sounded the same to me.
Prologue at Hyperion's site: "01_Prologue-Abridged.mp3" - 6057 KB
Question: Did the Publisher Get the Memo?
So if Audible.com and Hyperion's audio book versions are the same (unabridged), we have to wonder if Hyperion:
Just made an error in labeling the audio book: "Abridged" vs. "Unabridged", even though "Abridged" is shown in the description as well as in the file name of all 16 files.
Made an error in pricing the "Abridged" audio book for free instead of the intended $7.49. Or,
...drumroll, please...
Just couldn't bear the thought of giving the book away for free unless it was "Abridged".
In other words: So much value is usually attached to the full work for the full price, that simply giving away the full audio book for free may have been unacceptable/undoable for the publisher.
Perhaps they simply couldn't bring themselves to give away the full book and label it as such.
Even though the author felt the "Abridged" audio book was worth more.
Unless of course, the publisher didn't read the book, but that would be impossible (and we're sure that's not the case)!
And if I missed the point on all of this, then my apologies in advance to everyone involved: Hyperion, Amazon, Chris Anderson (who we love!), C.C. Chapman (who we love!), etc. And if you're feeling this way, please see: The bullet point below as well as "The Bottom Line: Everyone Wins!" below...
And realistically, Hyperion probably deserves huge "Kudos!" for offering 16 chapters (abridged or unabridged) for free online, given an industry that's probably more disposed to giving away one free chapter online. So, "Bravo Hyperion!"
Bottom Line: Everyone Wins!
And the funny thing is: It doesn't really matter because everyone wins.
Hyperion: "Your email will only be used to send you information about our other great books." So Hyperion gets some free marketing privileges.
Audible.com: Similarly, Audible gets some free marketing privileges, your free membership...and Audible Inc. is a subsidiary of Amazon.com. Hmmm...
Plus you need to download Audible's AudibleManager software to play Audible's files in their proprietary formats, so as users ("members") accumulate more audio book files over time, this will create switching costs a laMichael Porter's Five Forces so customers will be more likely to stick with Audible rather than switch to another audio book provider.
Amazon: See paragraph above and image of book above leading to Amazon's site.
Chris Anderson: Because his book is getting great publicity and we'll probably buy the dead-tree version anyway because it's easier to highlight and looks cooler when you carry it around (unless you have a Kindle 2...made my Amazon...of course). And we love Chris Anderson anyway!
Steal This Book
The Biggest Loser...not! - Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman
And unfortunately "The Biggest Loser" could have been Abbie Hoffman, author of Steal this Book, because he came before his time and he missed it by one word: "Free"...or did he?
Premise: While a free book is "a steal", stealing the book reduces your book sales to the point that you don't make any money (at least back in the day when there were only dead-tree books).
Reality: "Abbie Hoffman couldn't get anyone to publish Steal This Book --thirty publishers turned it down. When the book was released, bookstores wouldn't carry it. Newspapers, TV and radio all refused to run advertisements. But despite these setbacks, Steal This Book found its way on to the Best Seller list in 1971. ...The book sold more than quarter of a million copies between April and November 1971." - Source: Amazon.
"It's embarrassing you try to overthrow the government and you wind up on the Best Seller's List."
-- Abbie Hoffman - Source: Amazon.
"A driving force behind the social revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, Hoffman inspired a generation to challenge the status quo. — Studs Terkel"
- Source: Amazon.
Bottom Bottom Line: Social (Media) Revolution
So from one "social revolution" in the 1960's and 1970's...to a "social media revolution" in the 2000's (and who can argue with that term given what's been happening recently in Iran and Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook?).
Perhaps FREE (The Future of a Radical Price) is the Steal This Book of the 2000's? And with the current buzz re: FREE, it certainly seems to be.
And perhaps ironically, there's also a Kindle version of Steal This Book now, and interestingly the warning on Amazon's page states:
"Warning: The Publisher assumes no liability for damages arising from you trying ANYTHING mentioned in this book. The world of 2005 is far less tolerant than the world of 1971." - Source: Amazon.
And for publishing itself, it might end up that the concept of "Free" is a radical concept both before it's time, yet very effective, in giving some taste of a product (like the entire unabridged book or audio book!), and then upselling to something perceived to be of more value (abridged book that takes less time, or in a desirable format like Kindle, or the book in paper).
Free vs. One Cent
Marketing Over Coffee's podcast last week mentioned the concept of "Free vs. one cent" (e.g., Predictably Irrational) and having a "premium" version/strategy which people are willing to pay for like a physical book, DVD, consulting service, speaking engagement, etc. And yes, this may be a "tired and worn" concept now...but apparently it works all the way to the bank:
For example, using free eBooks etc. to promote listbuilding, email/ eNewsletter marketing, etc. (especially since email marketing is one of the most tried-and-true methods of internet marketing and social media marketing is still proving-out and establishing its business case).
MOC also quoted David Meerman Scott at Podcamp Boston as saying: "Free is where you start, not where you end"...because you can't eat attention.
So we'll see if the current buzz/attention re: FREE's marketing model helps us all put food on our tables. Great: now we can be "internet foodies" instead of "internet marketers".
Links to free versions of FREE: The Future of a Radical Price:
Google Books - Online ebook with live Table of Contents for easy navigation (Time limit: one month).
See "Question: Did the Publisher Get the Memo?" above
- Check with Chris Anderson's The Long Tail blog for updates to free releases of "FREE", e.g., coming soon: "free FREE on Kindle and other ebook readers, including the iPhone".
Transparency note: No affiliate links were used in the blog post above nor was any compensation of any kind received by the blog post author.
I love working out at the gym because it's a great opportunity to listen to internet marketing podcasts and learn about the lastest marketing strategies and trends. The only problem is that when you hear great ideas (especially ideas that you're thinking of tweeting/blogging about later) it's tough to remember them. Since it's hard to remember several ideas (or website links) throughout your entire workout and until you get to your home/office, it would be great to be able to write them down. But who wants to carry a clipboard or notebook around the gym?
Solution: Your Mobile Phone/iPhone and the multi-platform Evernote program.
Evernote is an excellent web-based as well as phone-based program you can use to jot down your notes in a hurry. All you have to do is register on Evernote's website and then download the Evernote software and install it onto your laptop/desktop (PC or Mac) and web-enabled phone. Since the Evernote site has directions, videos & tutorials & screenshots, I'm just going to show you how to use Evernote at the gym during your workout.
How to Improve Your Memory During Your Workout at the Gym
Download and Synchronize podcasts onto your mobile phone/iPhone.
Note: I use Juice and Windows Media Player for this.
You may use iTunes.
Listen to the podcasts while doing your workout.
When you hear a great idea start Evernote on your mobile phone/iPhone.
Jot down a note in Evernote.
Example: "MOC: Google Website Analyzer" (see Evernote image).
Rinse and repeat (do this for every great idea you hear that you want to remember).
Extra credit to boost your site traffic:When you get back to your home/office write a tweet or blog post based on the great idea.
Clearly when you write these notes on Elliptical Trainers or the Treadmill they don't always look that great (do not do this...see the Caveat/Warning below).
But the point is: All they have to do is be good enough to remind you of the idea you need so you can take action on them, e.g, writing a tweet or posting a blog post.
YouTube Video: "How to Improve Your Memory During Your Workout at the Gym"
How does this help me Attract More Visitors to my Site?
You might be thinking, this is all great, but how does it help me get traffic to my website? Basically, by helping you remember all of the great ideas you heard in internet marketing and social media podcasts so you can blog and tweet about them on Twitter. That's it, no magic or mirrors involved, just enabling you to write more blog posts and Twitter tweets which others may see or find via Google searches and then follow to your website (from your blog or your Twitter bio/profile).
Comments
Have a better way to remember great ideas during your workout? - just let me know...
And "extra credit" points for ways which improve your site traffic as well.
Caveats and Fine Print Warnings!
Please consult your Doctor before engaging in any exercise program. Also, please be sure to *pause* during your exercise routine *before* writing notes in Evernote in your mobile phone/iPhone! After all, you don't want to end up falling or having an accident at the gym.
In Part I of "Why Internet Marketing is Like a Disney Cruise - Are you Clean with that?" I mentioned the hand sanitizers used on Disney Cruises in all of their places to eat. Since we went on our cruise a number of supermarkets have also placed moist hand wipes at their front entrances. Now every time you go to the store you have an opportunity to think about your internet marketing techniques / methods / practices and think "Are you clean with that?".
8 Tests for Clean Marketing
Can you sleep at night? - "Sleep like a baby"? (soundly, peacefully).
Or are you kept up at night worrying?
Would you be OK with your marketing methods if your Mother read about them in an exposé on the front page of the New York Times?
Do you get a little queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach when you think about your marketing techniques?
Do your Friends ask you questions like, "What happened to you, you always used to be so (insert any nice wholesome word/concept here)?
Could words like bill of goods, cheat, con, deceit, deception, delusion, dishonest, double-dealing, evasion, exaggeration (huge), falsehood, fraud, hype, illusion, lie, misleading, misrepresentation, overstatement (gross), pretense, scam, scheme, shell game, snake oil, snow job, subterfuge, etc. be associated with your internet marketing techniques?
Would you use the same marketing methods on your friends or family. (The ones you like, that is).
If someone used the same marketing method on you, would you feel tricked or played for a sucker. Again, the "Golden Rule".
Solutions: "Faith, Trust, And Pixie Dust"
Clarity and transparency - it's as simple (and clean) as that.
If you can explain your internet marketing methods to a child or to the hero of a child (e.g., Mickey Mouse, Tinker Bell, Sleeping Beauty, Lilo [not Stitch!]) and they're ok with them, then you're probably OK.
Being open and honest with your visitors and customers will give them a reason to believe in you, and your methods, and your site - a reason to have faith in you and trust you, your business, and your website/blog/podcast.
Building trust through the words you use and living up to them with follow-through.
Building trust by using trust badges/symbols, etc. where a visitor would want them to be. E.g., Better Business Bureau, Association logos, Visa/MasterCard badges (when purchasing), etc.
Building trust through real Testimonials/Reviews. People can spot bogus testimonials. Remember what your Mom said, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."
Using persuasion instead of delusion or confusion. Be conscious of when you begin using internet marketing hype instead of a persuasive argument.
Pixie dust: It's ok to have add a little magic - some zing. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) seems like magic, but it works. So a little "white hat" SEO (the good SEO) is fine. Especially since these techniques are no more than what Google recommends so it can serve-up more targeted search results to its customers (searchers). You're just helping Google's customers find what they're truly looking for better.
Bottom Line: Add content and value - true value - and market them as straightforwardly as possible.
Morality Screed versus "What Just Makes Sense" and the Law
You might be thinking that this is just a heavy-handed moral screed, but really it's a plea to consider how your marketing efforts are viewed by those who encounter them, your potential customers. Then turn it around and think (deep down), "Do I want to be marketed to that way?" and that should be your answer.
"The Federal Trade Commission Act allows the FTC to act in the interest of all consumers to prevent deceptive and unfair acts or practices. In interpreting Section 5 of the Act, the Commission has determined that a representation, omission or practice is deceptive if it is likely to:
mislead consumers and
affect consumers' behavior or decisions about the product or service."
Want the scoop on techniques for attracting visitors on the Internet? Well, I blogged about these in Part II of my last blog post on the "Best Twitter Tool and Trick for Short URLs" (see image on right).
But since the blog post was so long I think most people missed seeing the best part: The low-down on the actual Internet Marketing Techniques that were used in the post.
As you've probably figured out by now, sometimes I like to write example blog posts and then analyze them below the example post. If that wasn't clear before, it should be now.
Part II of Blog Post re: Attracting Visitors
In any case, if you missed seeing "Part II: Attracting Visitors and Internet Marketing Techniques" of the blog post, then you might want to check it out to see why these Internet Marketing techniques are good things to keep in mind for attracting visitors:
Twitter is a great way to attract potential visitors to your blog or website.
Intriguing/interesting Titles attract people to your blog posts, articles, or emails.
Delivering on what your Title promises is very important.
Uploading a video to YouTube has several advantages.
Use Examples.
Asking your readers to do something is a "Call to Action".
"Always be Testing".
Navigation/Usability: If a web page or blog post is long, make them easy to Navigate (e.g., the Table of Contents).
Hope this helps. By the way, for more info on Navigation/Usability you can see Rick Henkin's Create More Customers blog.
Questions or Comments on any of this? Just let me know...
There's a great trick for shortening web addresses (URLs) in your Twitter posts (and no, it's *not* TinyURL!).
But first, what is Twitter?
Twitter is a micro-blog where you post 140 character updates simply answering the question "What are you doing? These short one-way posts, known as tweets, are shown on your Twitter profile page. These updates can also be received on Facebook, your mobile phone, your blog, etc. For more info see the Twitter Wikipedia article.
Table of Contents
Since this is long post, please see the clickable Table of Contents* (below/right) --> * How was this Table of Contents created? See Bonus Trick #5 below.
Web addresses (URLs) are long. Clearly with only 140 characters for an update message in Twitter, the less characters (letters, numbers, symbols, and spaces) you use, the better.
Solution
Shortening the URL using free web services like SnipURL or TinyURL which take long URLs and make them shorter.
--> Note: This is also great for PowerPoint presentations as well as Email messages, where long URLs can break-up if they're longer than one line (e.g., a huge link to a Mapquest map - yikes!).
These are great solutions, but SnipURL's "snipped" URLs can be shortened even more.
With all of the people using TinyURL in Twitter (about 2.5 million uses as of when this was posted), it's too bad they don't know about SnipURL and the trick for making their URLs even shorter. And of the 90,000+ uses of SnipURL in Twitter, only half used the trick.
Both short URLs have far less characters then the original URL.
This savings would be even greater if you started with a longer web address.
Note that the domain names are 7 characters for both of the URLs (excluding the ".com"):
snipurl (7 characters)
tinyurl (7 characters)
The number of characters after the ".com/" can vary, but there are usually 4 to 6 characters.
From what I've seen, SnipURL's algorithm seems to create less characters at the end than TinyURL.
- Definitely a case of "less is more". This might be because TinyURL has been used more than SnipURL.
For the example above the characters following the domain names are bolded below:
With SnipURL, you can shorten the URL even more, by using any of SnipURL's shorter domain names: snurl.com or snipr.com. For the example above, any of these URLs will lead to the same web address:
Or delete the "u" and "l" in the SnipURL above to get:
http://snipr.com/3n4l1
Now you're probably thinking, "Can I make the URLs even shorter by deleting the leading "http://" characters too?"
- Answer: Yes, but then the URL won't be clickable in Twitter (Yikes!).
- See the deleting the "http://" test in Twitter.
If the description of the Trick above doesn't make any sense, just view the Video below...
You might be thinking, "This is completely ridiculous - You're only saving a few characters at most with this stupid trick."
Answer: Yes, but with only 140 characters allowed for a post, the prime Twitter real estate (space available) is very valuable and you need to save every character you can...especially if you are trying to squeeze several URLs into a post as in the next example:
Now you're probably wondering, "Why would you want to post such a cryptic message? Are you a spy or something?" (Answer: "No!").
Well, here's the situation: I had just posted a comment to the blog page of one of my favorite podcasts, Marketing Over Coffee. Unfortunately MoC's software/settings for Comments had stripped the helpful links from the comment I'd made.
As a workaround to this dilemma I posted the tweet above so someone searching on the keywords might find the links. (Ok, I cheated and used my first name in the search to limit the number of search results...but you get the idea, right?).
What did I do with the extra characters saved with the SnipURL Trick?
- Inserted the phrase: "How-to" to describe the link
(which actually gives the solution many people might be searching for).
Bonus Trick #2:
- How do you get SnipURL's (Snip!) into your Browser Links or Bookmarks toolbar?
Go to SnipURL and "simply" drag the Snip! button to your Links or Bookmarks toolbar.
While this usually works fine for Firefox, in many cases it doesn't work for Internet Explorer.
--> Trick for IE: Right-click on the Snip! button, choose "Add to Favorites", then click the down-arrow next to Create, scroll down to the Links folder, and click Add. Easy, right?
Bonus Trick #3: - How do you get your Twitter posts to be displayed in the right column of your blog?
And while you're there, be sure to subscribe to their "Snips" e-Newsletter, which sends you an email of interesting snippings every week - definitely a guilty pleasure(!), but you can get a read on hot trends and popular culture too.
What do you think?
Do you have a better way to do this? If so, please leave a Comment below...
If you like this post, then:
Subscribe to the Feed (see the orange "subscribe in a reader" feed icon at top-right of page.
Let your favorite Social Media/Networking site know (see "Share & Enjoy" icons for Digg, etc. below).
Tell A Friend (see "Share This Post" and/or TellAFriend button/link at bottom of post).
PART II: Attracting Visitors and Internet Marketing Techniques
What does the blog post above have to do with Attracting More Visitors to your website or blog?
- How can these Internet Marketing techniques help promote your site?
Twitter is a great way to attract potential visitors to your blog or website.
Intriguing/interesting Titles attract people to your blog posts, articles, or emails.
Using carefully selected keywords is very effective and critical to the success of your Titles.
Delivering on what your Title promises is very important.
Just in case someone wanted something other than what they found here, bonus tricks were included.
Did you find what you were looking for?
If yes, then more value was provided.
If not, hopefully you found something that was helpful (a trick, resource, or link).
Since "Twitter Tools" is a very popular search and "Twitter Tools" is also a WordPress plugin, content was provided for those searchers finding this post as well:
Bonus Trick #2 and other info "Twitter Tools" searcher might find interesting/helpful.
The video can be searched/found on YouTube or search engines.
Linking a YouTube video back to your blog or website both in the video description and within the video can be very powerful.
Of course with any Social Media community, try to be sensitive to what they consider to be blatant marketing (bad) vs. subtle markerting (may be ok, depending on the community).
Any video has the potential to become viral and be passed around exponentially.
Use Examples
People like examples as they show "how to".
People love Stories...and Examples can tell a story and make cold data/info personal.
Asking your readers to do something is a "Call to Action". (e.g., Tell A Friend)
Sometimes all you have to do is ask and people will respond favorably.
"Always be Testing"
The Twitter Test "deleting the "http://" test" (above) is a tiny testing example in homage to what Bryan Eisenberg says: "Always be Testing" (in his book titled: Always Be Testing: The Complete Guide to Google Website Optimizer):
Navigation/Usability: If a web page or blog post is long, make them easy to Navigate (e.g., the Table of Contents)
If the post was broken up into several posts, then it would appear in reverse order and lose its scanability, effectiveness, and flow. Instead of doing this give your readers an easy way to navigate (links, Table of Contents, etc.).
If you liked this post you might also enjoy receiving our 77 Great Tips of Internet Marketing to help you Attract More Visitors and Create More Customers(SM).
This is the follow-up post to my last post about "17-Minute Podcast Which Could Change Your Life Forever". In this post we'll look at: How/why podcasts are amazing, possibly life-changing, mediums.
