The Public Speakers Guide to an Effective Holliday Toast

Do you know how to give a Christmas or holiday party toast?

Like many people you will be spending time with friends, family, and co workers for the holiday season. Over the years I have witnessed terrible attempts at offering a toast. A toast is meant to motivate and inspire the guests. There are different approaches to offering an effective holiday toast. You can go the funny route or decide to deliver a heartfelt toast. It is totally up to you, the circumstances and your audience.

In this post I will reveal 5 things to do when giving a holiday toast:

K.I.S.S.

Keep it simple silly! You may enjoy the spotlight or you maybe super nervous either way that can be a cue to ramble. You want to avoid giving a 15 minute toast people are at the holiday party to socialize, eat, and drink and believe me you don’t want to be the person preventing that. An effective toast should be no longer than 5 minutes and even that is pushing it. 

Be Sincere 

You were selected to give the toast for a reason so you should explain early in your toast why. Explain your relationship to the person and the reason why they deserve a toast. Also keep in mind that it is not about you. 

Tell a Story

People need to be entertained. Did you know our attention spans are shorter than a goldfish? According to Statistic Brain a humans attention span in 2012 is 8 seconds and a goldfish is 9 seconds. You feel honored to give a toast and you should know enough about that person to formulate a theme and a quick story. Share whatever will tie into your toast and make the listers listen, follow and understand the reason for the toast.

No Inside Jokes

You probably know the person being toasted very well but, you should avoid referencing any inside jokes as part of your toast. You do not want to alienate the other guests because they won’t know what you are talking about. 

Have Fun

Don’t stress too much it is only 3 - 5 minutes. If you mess up really bad remember after a few “special holiday eggnogs” it will be a thought in the wind. This time of year is about spending it with people that you love and creating memories. 

Have you thought prepping for your holiday toast?

Facebook Changes Again

Change.. everybody loves change right?

A few weeks ago Facebook changed their News Feed algorithm. The algorithm determines what content you see in your News Feed. Before content from the friends and business pages that you previously Liked or frequently interact with were more likely to show up in your News Feed. 

With the most recent change Facebook is still placing an emphasis on producing and sharing quality content. When Facebook changed the algorithm they stated that, “high quality articles” will be given priority and the, “latest meme” craze will be given lower priority.

If you have a business page on Facebook this change has probably affected your analytics. Many brand pages experienced a huge decline in organic reach and organic reach percentage since the first week of December. I don't think you should be super worried because you should be focused on forming relationships with your community and not just the numbers. 

Action Steps to Deal with the Change

Like I have always preached my whole career take your consumer off social media bring them into your sales funnel via email lists.

Focus on producing great content that your target audience can benefit from. I think it is great that links to relevant articles or blog posts will receive higher rank in the News Feed. 

Make an interest list of all your friends and followers that frequently engage with your Page so you can send post directly to them.

What do you think of the most recent Facebook changes? 

Amazing Content Marketing Tips for Public Speakers

There has been a shift in the way consumers purchase products and interact with brands or businesses. The popularity of social networking took the marketing world by storm. Social networking is the reason why the marketing industry has changed.

If you are a public speaker believe it or not, that is a form of content marketing. Speaking is a type of content marketing that removes the middle man. The focus of content marketing is having the ability to communicate with your target audience and what better way than public speaking? With a live crowd you definitely have to be engaging, compelling, interesting, and offer some great value. Be your best voice for your business and get out there and start telling people what problems you solve.

Content Marketing is huge because:

- Consumers can see reviews, complaints, and suggestions all with a simple search or glance online

- Consumers do not hesitate to tell friends and family about good or bad service. Word of mouth advertisement has always been huge but with social networking, telling your immediate friends and family has turned into telling the world.

-There are also many other businesses that target the same audience as you. You just need to stand out, by showcasing your personality and what makes you and your business unique. You want people to like and trust you. If 3 people are selling the exact same chocolate bars, you have to figure out what different approach you bring to the table to win the consumers business.

You Can Repurpose your Public Speech

Speech to Graphics If you used a slide show during the original presentation you can turn that content into a PDF training or e-Book. You will have to edit it so that it can stand alone as a product without your speech backing it up. This can be a great opt - in giveaway. Check out Slideshare.net

Speech to Video I recommend video taping your entire presentation. That will be a way for you to critique your speech and develop a plan of things you can work on. You can also use the footage to make a highlight reel or you can break the presentation down into smaller pieces. 

Speech to Text You can also transcribe your speech. You will not be able to use it word for word but it will be a great start to a blog post. You can also break your speech down into a series of blog updates with proper planning.

I personally think many successful businesses have been using the content marketing approach for many years before it actually became the “thing to do.” It is all about forming valuable relationships with the consumer. If you are trying to grow your business content marketing will help you get there.

Social Media for Authors

As a business owner and entrepreneur you may have noticed that there are many social media platforms out there and you may feel overwhelmed.

In this blog post I will cover the 5 Social Media sites that are best fitted for authors. Social media marketing is effective because that is where the consumers are. You do not have to be everywhere but I want you to pick a social network that you want to master then move on from there. Below are the top social media sites and what they offer. You must enter any social media site with a goal of self promoting to get your book in as many hands as possible. 

1. Facebook – Nearly everyone is already on this website, and that includes companies and other entities more concerned with business than “pure” personal socialization. Authors can get a lot out of Facebook since it allows for a variety of media on its pages. Facebook have very powerful targeting capabilities too. Once you narrow down on your target market and what they like you can directly target these people with Facebook ads and status boost options.

Facebook is great for visual updates on your book, for instance: photos of key events, characters, locations in your book can help your readers get a full understanding of your book and behind the scenes.

2. LinkedIn – This is a great resource for those with books that deal specifically with something of interest to the business world. LinkedIn’s demographic has a higher average household income per user than most other sites—Facebook and Twitter included—and most people logging into it do so for rather more serious business than your average social networking site. LinkedIn is considered the 'serious' site there is no direct sales here. LinkedIn is used to target any businesses or organizations that would be interested in your book.

To get the most out of LinkedIn, follow these quick tips:

Quick Tips for LinedIn
1. Optimize and complete your profile for your industry. Make sure you are using keywords that will help your ideal customer find you.

2. Join groups and be social! LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50 groups. You want to join groups that your target market would frequent. Think outside the box here you will be surprise in the many different ways you can connect with consumers.

3. Make sure you have a great profile picture. A professional headshot with you smiling and showing your pearly whites is perfect. No videos with friends, family, or pets. Stay Professional.

3. YouTube – This is one of the best social media marketing resources online: Youtube. People love quick videos. Videos also help your audience connect with you and the human behind the brand.  If you know people who review or talk about stuff related to your topic or book on their channels, you can simply send them a message and invite them to talk about your book in exchange for something like a free copy. This way, you get videos talking about you out to your target audience.

4. Twitter – Twitter is  full of live conversation from people all around the world. Twitter moves fast it allows you to update short tweets throughout the day. Be sure to tease the reader into wanting more info so they will buy your book. When you use Twitter to market your book, steer clear of direct sales pitches (or, at least, of using them alone). You should try to intrigue people before even directing them to a sales page, and the best way to do that is to tweet information or useful ideas from the book—as opposed to ones that are simply about it.

5. Google+ - Google+ can function much like Facebook— with even wider integration in your other web activities—and you can promote your books with it by joining relevant communities and circles as well as participating in events that may be popular with your target market. 

 Remember to focus on sharing great content then find away to work your sales into your activity. 

Why Your Website Needs Video

My VIP Video Days are rapidly approaching. The next one is Friday, November 8, 2013. We have 2 entreprnuers coming in town to learn effective video techniques. Everything I teach is effective and something an entrepreneur on a shoestring budget can accomplish.

If you want to learn:

• How to make a $50,000.00 production about you and your company for only pennies on the dollar....a video like this will help you SMASH your competitors.
• All about video equipment like tripods, lights, microphones, ear prompters, clamps, diffusion, gels, etc.. . . what you need and what you don't need and how to buy it cheapl

 Come visit me at The Retreat Center in Virginia Beach, VA we have the following date available:

Friday, November 22, 2013 1 Slot

Follow this link if you want to learn more VIP Video Day

I also found this great info graphic on Visual.ly the shows why having great video is important to your web presence.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

3 Quick Tips for Self Publishing Authors

Many authors are choosing the option to self publish their book on the kindle platform. Social media should become a priority when you are trying to create a buzz for your book. You should have a strategic approach because if done correctly social media can help you market your book effectively. If you feel totally confused and not sure where to start this blog post is for you. I am going to cover 3 mistakes that authors make everyday and how to fix them quickly.

1. No plan for Social Media 

 You log in to your social media accounts, like a few posts, update a link then log out. Deep down you know that you should use your time better but just don’t know what to do to stay focused on your goals.

Recommendation: Schedule your time and start thinking of yourself as an business. To be effective on social media you need:

1. To create and publish your own content

2. Get ideas from other people in your industry to stay current

3. Read articles and blog posts so that you can share your thoughts about what you read with your community.

4. ENGAGE you have to get out there and talk to people in your industry.

2. Develop a relationship with reviewers 

Just like you, reviewers are busy. If you think that requesting reviews by emailing  or messaging different book bloggers will get you reviews, think again!

Recommendation: Establish a relationship with different book bloggers. You can start out by leaving comments on their blog, re-tweeting their posts, or asking for advice. This is a much more friendly and strategic approach so when you are ready to ask for a review you will not be a complete stranger.

3. Don’t automate everything 

Yes scheduled tweets and updates help save a lot of time but it is counter productive if you don’t back them up by actually engaging with your community.

Recommendation: Join the conversation! Being social will help people learn who the human is behind the book. Your target audience wants to know you! Reach out and talk to people. Post 80 percent content 20 percent marketing.

These are 3 really quick tips that any author can implement into their current social media strategy to market their book.

I also wanted to let you know if you are seriously considering the self publishing option I recommend you invest in one of the best and most updated Amazon Kindle courses out. It is by far the best I have seen. The course titled Kindling covers making money with fiction and non fiction books. 
So follow this link  http://jvz8.com/c/41743/3813 so you can get started publishing correctly on Kindle today!

Great Book Marketing Strategies for Authors

I am currently in Las Vegas, NV for Author 101 this weekend. The event goes until Sunday October 27, 2013, so far I have had a great time speaking and connecting with other authors, publishers, and entrepreneurs. 

It is a known fact that many people want to write a book but few get past writing the first chapter. There are common struggles associated with authors that took the leap and have a book out. A common obstacle many authors face is how to market their book. Finding a way to share your unique words with the world does not have to be a mystery. There are many techniques that many top selling authors follow and I found this cool infograpic that covers common strategies authors use the market their book. Check it out below! 

 

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.