author advice
Freebies: Content You Should Be Creating and Leveraging
January 6, 2012
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by Kristen Sears
You’ve no doubt been advised at some point to use your content to market your message. You’ve probably been told to give some away in order to get something in return, such as an email address for your newsletter. People call this content by many names. Extras, goodies, ancillaries, and freebies are all popular choices.
Any author or expert working hard at developing his or her platform should have a stash of these extra good ancillary products at the ready. (They aren’t just for giving away either! See here.) Below is a list of suggested items you can create, provide, and leverage for the betterment of your brand.
- Articles: these can be reworked chapters of your book, research your have compiled on your area of expertise, or case studies.
- Ebooks: you can use small chunks of your book to make small ebooks or convert the entire manuscript, not forgetting to convert previous works, too.
- Audio downloads: again, you can have small bits of your book in audio format or the entire thing.
- Podcasts: provide access to interviews or discussions with you and other relevant experts in your field.
- Videos: deliver mini lessons or tips in short video segments.
- Infographics: boil down a big amount of information into a one screen graphic.
- Workbooks: putting your theory or strategy into practice for those ready to implement what you have taught them.
- Apps: create an app that shares lessons or tips that people can access anywhere, anytime.
- Direct access: give them direct access to you for a consultation on the phone or via chat.
- Members only access: have a special place to send people that requires special membership to access and give them any of the above once they get there.
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The End of PowerPoint?
November 28, 2011
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Angela DeFinis is an industry expert in professional public speaking. As an author, executive speech coach, and founder of DeFinis Communications, she has spent over twenty years helping business professionals communicate with greater poise, power, and passion. Using her signature Line by Line Coaching™ process, Angela and her talented staff have trained business leaders and other professionals to speak with increased skill and confidence in engaging any audience.
I recently read a Fast Company blog about a new political party in Switzerland that wants to make PowerPoint illegal. The Anti-PowerPoint Party (APPP) is a new movement formed by Matthias Poehm, a professional public speaker in Switzerland. His goal is to “influence the public to put a stop to the phenomenon of idle time in the economy, industry, research and educational institutions.” To do that, he’s focusing on eliminating PowerPoint entirely.
While this sounds like a bad skit from Saturday Night Live, apparently the APPP is gaining momentum. And while Poehm is making the assault on PowerPoint the focus of his platform, he states that he’s really targeting all presentation software.
So what does Poehm have against PowerPoint? His party has done studies on presentation effectiveness, and they’ve found that 85 percent of participants in meetings think software-based presentations are “killing motivation.” That’s why he wants to get enough signatures to put a referendum on the ballot in Switzerland to outlaw the tool.
I admit that I’ve seen my share of bad PowerPoint presentations. I’m sure you’ve seen them too—slides filled with wordy sentences in teeny font, no design elements, mixed templates, mutli-layered and complex graphs and charts . . . it’s enough to make anyone hate PowerPoint.
But if PowerPoint is banned, what’s a speaker to use? Poehm’s suggestion: Flipcharts! While I agree that flipcharts have their place in presentations, to have flipcharts as a presenter’s sole tool may be just as bad as using poorly constructed PowerPoint slides. So rather than outlaw PowerPoint, maybe we should first focus on educating people on how to use it effectively. After all, the tool itself isn’t bad; it’s just the poor application of the tool that gives it a bad name.
Knowing this, here are a few top PowerPoint tips.
1. Prepare your material before you design your slides: Content development should always come before slide design. Therefore, brainstorm, create, organize and structure your message, and then develop your slides. This simple change of behavior will put PowerPoint where it should be—as a visual aid.
2. Create three separate documents: PowerPoint can’t be all things to all people. That’s why your speaker notes, handouts and PowerPoint slide deck should be three separate entities. Yes, this takes extra time, more organization and a bit more work, but no one said that preparing to give a great presentation was easy!
3. Design a slide deck geared for knowledge transfer: Add pictures, charts, graphs, learning models, audio and video clips and other rich images to keep your audience stimulated and engaged. Visuals are vital to knowledge transfer.
4. Consider the power of staging: Your audience relishes design, symmetry, and powerful and pleasing images. And they also need you to be as polished as your PowerPoint. Therefore, a few simple staging techniques, like making sure that your body shadows don’t block the screen, facing front and using pointers effectively, will help you feel and be more professional and more engaging.
5. Memorize your transitions: Develop, refine and memorize your transitions so that you move from slide to slide with grace and ease. Avoid the distracting behavior of constantly looking over your shoulder to see what slide is coming next.
6. Don’t read your slides: The slide is there to enhance your message and to give the audience a visual stimulus that keeps them engaged so you can pour your knowledge into their heads. You are the message and the messenger. Take heed.
The sooner everyone masters these points, the better our chances of preventing the Anti-PowerPoint Party from establishing roots here. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but . . . long live PowerPoint!
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Tips to Jumpstart Your Book in 2011
January 4, 2011
by Shennandoah Diaz
It’s that time of year. Time to sign up for gym memberships, to clean out cluttered spaces, and to make grandiose lists of things to-do in the New Year. All joking aside, if you want to make a real go at becoming a published author in 2011 there are a few commitments you need to make.
1. Commit to Read More
If you want to become a published author you need to know what’s selling in your genre. You should be reading the bestsellers plus the others to see what’s getting published and what’s standing out. In addition to reading in your genre you should be reading about the craft of writing and the business of publishing. The more you know the better your chances are of getting published (and not getting screwed).
2. Commit to Learning
No matter how good you are you could always be better. Take a class online or at your local writer’s group. Watch webinars, read, and attend workshops. Set aside at least 30 minutes every day to learn and improve your skill.
3. Commit to Making Friends
Writing is a lonely pursuit. Don’t work in a vacuum. Make friends with other writers and passionate readers. There is so much you can learn from them and the support they give you can help you weather the rejections and bouts of writer’s depression.
4. Commit to Marketing
Publishing is highly competitive. Everything you can do to raise your name above the crowd and get noticed will help you get a book deal and, once the book is published, make sales. Figure out your “brand,” get involved on social media, and start networking with your readers.
5. Commit to Writing
You need to commit to writing and submitting your work several times a week. Build a solid writing practice, line out a schedule you can stick to, and hold yourself accountable. You can’t publish a book without a finished manuscript. You have to put in the work.
6. Commit to Passion
You should write because you love it. Yes its work and yes sometimes its hard, but you have to fuel your passion and drive your creativity to its limits if you want to succeed. Any gains you make mean nothing if you aren’t passionate about what you do.
Shennandoah Diaz is the President of Brass Knuckles Media, an uncensored PR & Marketing firm catering to creatives and the avant garde. Passionate about education, Diaz empowers creatives by sharing articles and teaching workshops on marketing, social media, and publishing. Learn more at www.brassknucklesmedia.com or at www.shennandoahdiaz.com.
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