A couple pictures from the Snader Show in San Mateo, CA. Met up with several customers and made great connections with those that battled the fierce weather.
What a set up!
CEO Hal Rieseger and Dave Herget
Strengthening your Online Presence Step-by-Step
Step #1 – Create Your Editorial Calendar
What is an Editorial Calendar and why do I need one? Well, I like to think of an Editorial Calendar as a personalized road map or ‘Thomas Guide’ that will get you where you want to go – a healthy, thriving and profitable business with a strong online presence.
Everything in this series builds on this simple little piece of paper. Your Editorial Calendar determines the subject of blog posts, what features to spotlight, products to sell, Tweets, what to say on Facebook and so much more. It’s powerful! Here’s how.
1. Open a new spreadsheet.
2. Label columns across the top to include the following –
* Month – Starting with January, go from top to bottom of the page
* Topic – Overall theme each month
* Sell – Product to spotlight
* Add More Columns – Include all the ways you advertise.
3. Start with Topic – Jot down some themes or highlights you can tie into for that month – tradeshows, holidays, weather, etc.
4. Fill in the rest of the columns with products, services, specials and promotions.
5. Make sure all promotions, articles, ads, etc are about the product(s) or service(s) that is highlighted that month.
So there you go. That’s it. Not so hard now was it? Having a plan and a strategy that ties all your communication efforts together will save you from scrambling every month for something to say, do, or write. Taking the time to lay out an Editorial Calendar ahead of time frees you up to concentrate on the important day-to-day operations of your business.
I’d love to hear from you. Let me know how you’re coming along with your Editorial Calendar…
PS: If you’d like to see an example of one, just let me know and I’ll post one.
Strengthening Your Online Presence Step-by-Step
With the hubbub of the holidays over and the New Year in full swing, chances are you’ve already started thinking about an action plan for 2010. Last month we talked about our exciting new marketing series called “Strengthening Your Online Presence Step-by-Step”. So let’s get started.
Step #1: Create an Action Plan – Your Editorial Calendar
Oh I can hear the groans already. I understand, believe me. When it came to sitting down and writing out a plan and a year’s worth of promotions the very first time, I protesteth loudly too (even though it was only to myself). ‘I don’t have the time to do that!’ I told myself. I was overwhelmed before I even started.
However, let me say this… after I drudged through it and put things down on paper, I have to admit that it was the best thing I ever did. AND… have done one every year since! Here are some great results you can have when using an Editorial Calendar -
#1. Save time – What used to take FOREVER now gets done in hardly any time at all!
#2. Eliminate frustration – You’ll have a plan and know what to write about. No need to stare at the dreaded blank page trying to figure out what to write about.
#3. Be pro-active – Your marketing is cohesive and well thought out, not re-active to whatever the wind blows in that day.
#4. Get complete coverage – It’s easy to see the entire year, insuring that each product (or service) gets the attention it deserves. Nothing is accidentally left out.
#5. Set a strong foundation – Nearly everything you do from here on out in this online marketing series, builds on this one sheet of paper – blogging, featured products, Tweets, Facebook posts, newsletters and more.
Save yourself tons of time and frustration… write your plan of action. It’s not too late to put together an Editorial Calendar for 2010.
To learn more on how to create your own Editorial Calendar, check out “5 Simple Steps to a Powerful Piece of Paper”.
And don’t forget to leave a comment! I’m waiting to hear from you… groans and all.
Barbara Deckmeyer
Happy New Year!
Hello there! It’s Barbara, the Online Marketing Coordinator here at Fast Forward Video. I’m pretty excited… with the start of the new year, we’re also starting a new series about marketing your business online. Why you may be asking? Well…
Many business owners I talk to say they know the importance of having a strong online presence. Yet inevitably, I hear time and time again ‘I know I should do that, but I just don’t know how’. I don’t have the time‘.
The internet is such a vast, and ever changing marketplace. It can be daunting to find the time to try and figure out what to do, what works, what doesn’t AND run your business on top of all that! Sheesh! Yet, stop and take a quick minute to consider what you do for your OFFLINE marketing. I’m guessing you don’t use every single marketing strategy out there available to mankind. Now THAT would be overwhelming!
The same goes for online marketing. You don’t have to implement every online marketing technique either. You start with the ones that have been proven to work right now and then you build from there. How do you know which strategies to pick? There are several very specific marketing strategies that every business should be implementing today, without exception! And we’ll be discussing those strategies here, in this series.
So… to help you with your online endeavors, I thought I’d run a series that will walk you through the same steps I take whenever I set up a business online. You may have already done some of them or even most of them. Nonetheless, you may pick up an easy tip or two.
If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, post a quick comment below. Let me know what you think. And (here’s the best part) if you post your interests, needs and questions ahead of time, I’ll do my best to address them in the series! How cool is that?!
A few of the strategies we’ll be working with include WordPress blogs, Twitter and Facebook. I’m so looking forward to helping you get your business established online. Don’t forget, post a comment below! They come straight to me at my desk.
This is going to be fun!
