Creating Fans Out of Thin Air
Posted by Laura Roeder | Filed under Social Media
In this screencast video you’ll learn:
- How to get your first testimonials without devaluing your services by giving it all away for free
- How to create a free get-the-job-done website in five minutes
- My “ninja move” for getting fantastic market research out of this process
- How to use social media to generate buzz about you and your business
- How to use twitter to show off live testimonials
Please comment and let me know what you think!
April 9th, 2009 at 2:02 am
This cast is straight DOPE. Fantastic concept. Bet you catch me doing something similar very soon! Appreciate the goodies. BTW, what software did you use for this screencast? Would love to incorporate it into my own offerings.
April 9th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Thanks Austin! (Or is it Aaron?). I used screenflow, and just opened up a photobooth window (I’m on a mac) to do the video display.
April 9th, 2009 at 3:13 am
There are some good tips in this video. Of course, for fans to win or talk about something, whatever that something is should be worth winning and talking about. The more you can demonstrate that, the easier it should be to get people excited. For products, attractive Web sites with pictures and videos could go a long way toward such demonstrations. For services, demonstration may not be as relevant or even possible, but a well-made Web site can still be persuasive.
Free Web hosting does make it easy to get started, but if you can manage even a simple Web site from a template, that plus a custom domain name and basic Web hosting for your domain name can easily and inexpensively improve your image. A proper Web site with your own domain—even a simple site—can make you look more serious about what you are doing and more stable, which can contribute to a greater overall appearance of professionalism and thus, greater trust from your potential customers. And if your potential customers trust you, they’re probably more likely to recommend you to their friends.
April 9th, 2009 at 5:11 am
Hi Laura – thanks! Great tips. I look forward to more videos from you on leveraging social media.
Best, Wendy
April 9th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Hi Laura,
Thanks for posting this video, great information on building interest and getting testimonials!
My question is on promoting the contest. If I am just posting this to my Facebook and Twitter I will be reaching about 100 people who already know me, how do I get this out to people who don’t know me and are potential customers?
Thanks,
Phil
April 9th, 2009 at 5:59 am
Hi Laura,
Great video and advice on how to use social media. Thanks for all your tips and tricks. Keep up the great work — you’re doing a wonderful job so far.
Daynah
Daynahs last blog post..What is Fail Whale?
April 9th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
You are very generous with your knowledge and you know a lot! Always fun to see what you’re presenting next.
April 9th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Brian – Excellent point! It’s true that if what you’re offering is awful no amount of tips and tricks are going to help you. Professional websites are always better, I just wanted to give people an option to get them in action if they don’t have a site already and how to build a site from a template would be a liiiiittle long for this, maybe that will be another presentation though!
Phil- GREAT question. The idea is that by posting to your network you are encouraging folks to spread the word to their networks. You can do this by asking people – please share, please retweet, please forward. (You’ll notice on this post I have a button to make retweets easy and I specifically ask for comments.)
You can also email pals with newsletters or blogs and ask if they’ll post a quick announcement about your contest, make it easy for them by giving them the exact phrasing. Or even if you’ve never spoken to the person, it doesn’t hurt to ask! Many blogs do “links” or “round up” days where they include content like this and if your contest is a perfect match for their readership they very well may include it.
Wendy, Daynah, Barb – thanks for stopping by and commenting!
April 9th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Laura,
Great information. I really get alot out of what you teach. However, I have one question. Where is your WHISK?!!?!?
Robs last blog post..Politics and Personalities
April 9th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Very inspiring…thanks for giving me something to think about!
April 9th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Hi Laura,
Thanks so much for this step-by-step guide on how to set up a contest like this. I recognize some of the things from the contest you just wrapped up as well!
Your email newsletter and video blogs are always full of great tips – keep ‘em coming!
Inga
Inga Rundquists last blog post..ingarundquist: Yet another fantastic how-to session from @lkr about how to create fans out of thin air – http://creatingfame.com. Thanks for the tips Laura
April 10th, 2009 at 12:44 am
Dude, I’m totally going to do this.
@ElizabethPW
Elizabeth Potts Weinsteins last blog post..Give Yourself A Raise — Get An Assistant
April 10th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Thanks for the post. Any chance you could post a lower resolution version of this video? Its just taking too long to load.
April 10th, 2009 at 3:42 am
I loved it, very good information!
April 10th, 2009 at 3:47 am
perfect timing! adding you to my RSS and Twitter now and look forward to inspiration and advice as i am in the business plan stage
April 10th, 2009 at 4:50 am
Great stuff! I will definitely be sharing this with friends and family who also need this kind of information. And I’m so going to follow you on Twitter…Oh, look, just did it!
I’m so excited to have found this (via IttyBiz on Twitter)! Thanks for taking the time to put this together. I’m sure a lot of people will get a good deal of use (and hopefully fans) out of it!
April 10th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Thanks for your comments everyone!
Martin – you’re not the only one having problems with the video. I’m working on a better solution for showing it in high-res. The problem is there are some detailed parts where you need to read my screen and they get illegible at a lower resolution.
April 11th, 2009 at 4:12 am
Laura, met you at Dave Dee seminar in LA. You gave an awesome presentation on social media. We learned A LOT! Thank you! Just watched the video and it has wonderful info!! Sent it out to other people already. I have 2 sites, one for my design work and another for my graphic tees. Seems to me from your videos I gotta have both in one place now.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Excellent “how to”. Thanks for sharing!
April 13th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
You are a ROCK STAR! I love love love this information! Thanks for sharing so much valuable information.
Clarissas last blog post..So You Think You Can Sew?
April 16th, 2009 at 5:18 am
Laura, the content is good — even quite good. I learned the most, however, from the presentation, which is immaculate. You never broke eye contact with the camera, never seemed to glance at notes or a cue card, and your delivery was sure footed, bright and crisp. Bravo!
I use a mac as well and it appears as if you’re using Screenflow. What did you do to get the video to automatically expand to full screen? Nice touch!
Cheers! Jim
April 16th, 2009 at 5:19 am
How is it that some people have pictures aside their comments. I registered with commentluv but that doesn’t seem to be the trick. ~Merci
April 16th, 2009 at 5:54 am
Great post Laura, thanks. I loved the way you just brought it all together in an amazing presentation. You just got yourself a new fan
Jim, I’m guessing this, like most blogs, uses gravatars. Just go and register your email address and upload a photo at http://en.gravatar.com/
Mike Haydons last blog post..First 3 Places To Kickstart Your Online Presence
April 16th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Thanks Jim! To get the video to expand to full screen I used this wordpress plugin: http://www.nickstakenburg.com/projects/lightview/
The people with pictures signed up for something called gravatar
April 16th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Wow Laura, Thank you for that wonderful step by step how to. I will definitely be using it as soon as I launch the product I am currently working on. After I finish this comment I am on my way to follow you on twitter, and RT the tweet that sent me here. (After giving this post some social bookmark luv) Thanks again
April 17th, 2009 at 6:10 am
Great little video!! Like to learn a little more how you did that!
Al
April 21st, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Hey, Laura, loved the show! Your blog is very nice and clean. Can you give me some feedback on my blog? http://www.webfusion5.com/_blog/Online_Business_Builder
Jason Cochrans last blog post..How I got 816 (and counting) Twitter Followers in 1 week
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:24 am
Great vid! Learned something great! I will definitely apply the concept.
September 25th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Why can’t you decide which side to part your hair on ?
September 25th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Ok Laura – you look to be about the age of my kids.. what I want to know is –> truthfully–> Are you making a full-time living out of this… out of blogging… or what? I’m a displaced knowledge worker who needs to replace a 6-figure corporate income….I can’t spend 40 hrs/week and wind up making $5K for the year . Is all this stuff worth the time and effort involved, or is everybody a broke blogger ? Tell the truth now.
September 27th, 2009 at 5:31 am
That was a great idea! I love the power and endless creative ways that social media can be used to leverage your depth of influence. I toyed around with a similar idea last spring, but I’m now motivated to try it again in this manner. Thanks for sharing, and expect some super-crazy videos from The Carlton Zone as a result!
Carlton´s last blog ..The Truth About SEO
September 27th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Moo Kanh – nope, I am not a professional blogger! My blog is one marketing tool that supports my business which yes earns me a full-time income.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:52 am
Thanks Laura!
I learned one reason why I can’t even give my services away, and I’ll be changing how I write offers immediately.
The notion of soliciting testimonials feels very awkward though.
Dave Doolin´s last blog ..What the Heck is HTML TITLE element and why do I need one?
October 6th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
With the FTC regulations changing for testimonials, I’m curious to hear how you’ll respond with your own marketing efforts. I have a few ideas, but in the shift to “more typical” type testimonials, how do you think that will impact marketing?
Lisa Young´s last blog ..Inspiration & Business: A Lesson in Consistency
October 8th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Isn’t Laura fabulous!
Simple ideas with the potential to have such a huge impact
(Thank you so much for your inspiration Laura)
Would you help me to make my competition a success…
“SO HOW CAN I HELP?”
By entering my competition and then telling all your teacher friends.
http://coaching4teachers.wordpress.com/head-higher-competition/
Thank you in advance for your help
Wishing you all every success in Crating Fame for yourselves
Hannah
Hannah Jones´s last blog ..Head Higher Competition Launched
October 24th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Great ninja tactic, Laura! I’m linking to this from my blog for freelancers and other service providers.
Thanks for sharing!
Lexi
Lexi Rodrigo´s last blog ..Day 23: Finding Clients in Blogs
October 24th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
[...] Hold a contest and give away a few of your services. A good way to promote your contest would be through Twitter and your blog. This approach is similar to Laura Roeder’s tactic for “Creating Fans Out of Thin Air,” which you can learn by watching her video here. [...]