More on Internet Use by Americans: Blogging Hits the Mainstream
April 30, 2006
Last week, I wrote about a new Pew Internet and American Life report on the increased use of the Internet for important decisions. Here’s a bit more Pew data that should be of interest if you’re thinking about creating an online presence for your mediation business. This data comes from a January 2005 report, so I can only imagine that the numbers have continued to increase:
- Blog readership shot up an eye-popping 58% in 2004.
- Over 6 million Americans got news and information fed to them through RSS aggregators.
- 27% of internet users say they read [tag]blogs[/tag], a 58% jump from the 17% only 11 months prior. This translates into 32 million Americans who were blog readers by the end of 2004.
- 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs, suggesting that the public is starting to catch on to ‘net interactivity.
- Blog readers are relatively well off financially (42% live in households earning over $50,000) and educated (39% have college or graduate degrees).
- Blogging software. Instead of web development software for your new or enhanced site, consider blogging software. It’s simple to use, your webhost may already offer it as part of your package, and it’s easy to add and update site content. I’m a WordPress fan and also recommend TypePad for new bloggers.
- Autoresponder. I use and recommend AWeber. Not sure what an autoresponder is or does? Take a look at my short series, beginning with Building Client Relationships with Autoresponders.
- Digital audio recording software. I use and recommend AudioAcrobat for creating welcome audio (see the right-hand navigation bar on this site), recording interviews, creating audio FAQs, and recording teleclasses.
- Site metrics. If you have a website or blog, then you want metrics to help track traffic to your site and find out what pages or articles generate the most interest, where people enter your site (it’s not always from the home page if they find you through a search engine) and where they exit. If you presently have a website, then your webhost probably has a metrics package already measuring these stats—get in touch with them to find out how to access it. For blogging metrics, I use FeedBurner and Performancing.
- Call management software. Route your calls to your cell phone or any other phone, choose different business hours and after-hours messages, offer multiple voicemail boxes (I have one designated for weather cancellation notices, New Englander that I am), receive faxes to your computer inbox. I recommend and am a satisfied customer of RingCentral; GotVMail is also worth a look.
- Online invoicing. Simplify your invoicing or offer payment via a website shopping cart without setting up credit card processing procedures. While there are many powerful options out there, I am happy with the simple merchant tools offered by PayPal.
- Online appointment scheduling. If you don’t have an assistant and are not always available by phone, consider allowing your clients and prospects to book themselves if your market is Internet-savvy. I use and recommend AppointmentQuest.
- Online event calendar. Use for promoting upcoming information sessions or trainings. I recommend Trumba, which is free and can be added to your own website (there is also a paid upgrade to sync with your Outlook calendar).
- PDF document converter. If you send documents (contracts, agreements to mediate, letters) over the Internet you want to make sure that they arrive on the other end in the same format you sent them. PDF-formatting ensures this and Adobe makes a free reader now automatically installed on most new computers. If you want the full power of Adobe like I do you can purchase the package; otherwise, try a low-cost PDF document converter like FinePrint PDF Factory.
- Outlook add-ins. If you’re an Outlook user, consider using add-ins to make a good program a great one. I highly recommend by GTD and ClearContext (pick one or the other but don’t try to use both at once).
- RSS news aggregator. Read other blogs effortlessly by subscribing through an RSS reader. I’ve recommended Onfolio in the past and now use Bloglines (Onfolio was recently purchased by Microsoft and Internet Explorer isn’t my browser of choice). Not sure what I’m talking about? Read RSS 101 for more information.
- Podcasts. There are some terrific podcasts out there on just about any subject you can imagine—and they’re usually free. I use iTunes to automatically download new podcasts to my Windows computer (you don’t need a Mac to use iTunes) and my iPod to listen to them while driving or cleaning house. Some of my favorites include Negotiation Tip of the Week, Contrary Public Speaker, BusinessWeek Cover Story, and for a daily chuckle, The Onion Radio News. You can find your own at sites like Podcast.net or via the iTunes Music Store. There’s some good quality out there…and some really awful stuff, too, so you’ll need to experiment.
- Colin Rule’s Blog at the Center for Internet and Society and ODR.info
- Bill Warters’ Bill Warters’ Campus ADR Tech Tools
- Diane Levin’s Online Guide to Mediation (also aimed at clients and the public)
- Bob Ambrogi’s LawSites
- Perry Itkin’s Florida Mediator
- Geoff Sharp’s Mediator Blah Blah
- Dina Beach Lynch’s Mediation Mensch
- Jamie Notter’s Get Me Jamie Notter
- Stephen Raymond’s Perspectives from a Mediator
- Make it easy to subscribe and unsubscribe. Every contact with you conveys something about the way you work with your clients. Complicated procedures can inadvertently turn people off, while including only permission-granted people in your list shows your integrity.
- Promise and deliver privacy. Subscribers are worried about the misuse of their contact information. If you will never sell, trade or otherwise share a subscriber’s contact information, say so.
- Maintain regular contact and don’t overwhelm. “Too much” email is a subjective matter. Experiment to find out what your customer base finds useful. A lot of the autoresponder literature suggests that regular contact in the first 30-60 days is key and that people who’ve opted in expect you to be in touch. I think many mediators (me, too) tend toward the too-conservative on this.
- Ask. I see a lot of ADR professionals who put information out there and never ask prospective clients to buy. I used to do the same and it took me 3 years to admit I could do better. I read the marketing literature in great depth and one universal theme is, You’ve got to include a call to action.
- Educate instead of sell. Instead of selling yourself and all you have to offer, educate prospects about the benefits and values of ADR, how to choose an ADR professional, when not to choose ADR, etc.
- Make use of every point of contact with current and prospective clients. Make it easy for people to know about and opt in to your mailing list by including the URL in your email signature line, on your business card, on your letterhead, someplace highly visible on your website, and in thank you letters to current clients.
- Create a two-way conversation. Use your autoresponder to encourage subscribers to ask questions, request information, give feedback, and raise concerns.
- Provide clear benefit. Focus your autoresponder messages on the benefits of your services (which is about the client) instead of the features you offer (which is about you).
- Share what others have said about your work. Use your autoreponder to send testimonials from previous clients.
- Make your sign-up list easily visible or findable on your site.
- Create special offers or services. Subscribers want something in return for their email address.
- Create special products for subscribers. Create a “how-to” document and deliver it automatically to anyone who subscribes to your list.
- Hold a contest to get feedback. Create a contest to name a new service or one of your workshops, then invite people to subscribe to your site in order to submit their ideas in return for a chance to win a gift certificate or other prize.
- Send out your FAQs. Create a list of frequently asked questions and put together an email that answers them.
- Send articles from your blog or e-zine. Make double use of your writing by creating other streams through which it can be delivered.
- Create and deliver an e-course. E-courses give you repeated contact with a prospective client.
- Publish portions of your website. Visitors may not want to read all parts of your site when they visit. Identify the key pages and reproduce that content in an autoresponse message.
- Share your Agreement to Mediate and other pre-mediation documents. Deliver documents automatically to clients on a special pre-mediation mailing list.
- Notify of site updates. Send subscribers a notice that there’s new or updated information on your website.
- Building Client Relationships with Autoresponders
- How Autoresponders Work
- Using Autoresponders to Market ADR Services
- How to Choose an Autoresponder
- Autoresponder Strategies for Building Client Relationships
- What would make someone in my market niche want to spend real time on my website?
- What subjects do people in my market niche care most about and how can I link my website content to those subjects?
- What benefits and values do I offer my clients and how do I make that explicit in my marketing materials (hint: benefits are different than features)?
- What mechanisms can I offer that help create a two-way conversation with people who visit my website (hint: think mini-polls, audio, requests for ideas and feedback, offers of periodic informational sessions)?
- What offer can I make that would encourage visitors to be willing to leave their email address so that I can stay in touch and build a relationship with them over time?
- If I were to try building a relationship through my website instead of selling myself and my services, what would I do differently on my site?
- What [tag]websites[/tag] do I benefit from or visit regularly, and what are they doing that I’m not?
Pew concluded that “by the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key part of online culture.” Are you blogging yet? If not, it should be part of your online marketing strategy for the coming year and beyond.
Blogging Is Good for Business
April 28, 2006
Today’s Boston Globe discusses why blogging is essential for your career. And they mean “career” in the broadest sense, including your career in the mediation business. According to the Globe (with whom I heartily agree), three key reasons to blog include:
Blogging creates a network. A blogger puts himself out in the world as someone who is interesting and engaging—just the type of person everyone wants to meet.
Blogging makes self-employment easier. You can’t make it on your own unless you’re good at selling yourself. One of the most cost-effective and efficient ways of [tag]marketing[/tag] yourself is with a blog. When someone searches for your product or service, make sure your [tag]blog[/tag] comes up first.
Blogging provides more opportunities. Building brands, changing careers, launching a business—these endeavors are much easier once you’ve established yourself online.
Tap Your Inner Geek at ACR Philadelphia
April 27, 2006
I’ve just heard that my workshop proposal for the Association for Conflict Resolution conference in Philly (October 26-28) has been accepted. If you’re thinking of heading to Philly in October, I’d love to meet you in person!
Tap Your Inner Geek: Online Marketing for Mediators
Technology abounds with cost-effective tools and services to help build a thriving ADR practice, if you know how to find the best of it for your needs and market. This workshop will introduce you to ways you can tap the best of the Internet and other tech innovations to work more efficiently and market more successfully. For both the tech savvy and not-so-savvy!
Take the Ugh Out of Marketing: E-Course from Mediator Tech
April 25, 2006
Are you an ADR professional who thinks “ugh” when you hear the word marketing? Do you immediately think of unsavory tasks like cold calls, paying for expensive ads, and selling?
It doesn’t have to be that way. For 10 years I’ve experimented with on and offline marketing strategies as I built my own full-time private ADR practice. Now I’ve taken the most proven online strategies and compiled them into an introductory seven-part course that you can complete at your own pace by email. You’ll get the best of what works and the most current web-based strategies for building your mediation or other ADR business. And there’s a bonus for those who finish the course.
Want to know more? Visit E-Course: Online Marketing for Mediators.
Americans Using Web for Major Decisions: Can They Find You?
April 24, 2006
The Pew Internet and American Life Project has released a report about the internet’s role in major life decisions:
The [tag]internet[/tag] has become increasingly important to users in their everyday lives. It is also the case that for many of online Americans, the internet has become a crucial source of information at major moments and milestones in their lives.
Our surveys show that 45% of internet users, or about 60 million Americans, say that the internet helped them make big decisions or negotiate their way through major episodes in their lives in the previous two years.
Just another reminder about the ever-increasing importance of developing a solid web presence for your [tag]ADR[/tag] practice.
Tech Tools for Mediators
April 21, 2006
What kinds of [tag]technology[/tag] tools can help mediators and other [tag]ADR[/tag] professionals promote and manage business? Here are the tools I use for [tag]marketing[/tag] and managing my private practice and recommend for your consideration. I discuss a number of these tools in detail in an interview to be released soon on CD.
Tech Tools for Promoting Your Practice
Tech Tools for Managing Your Business
Tech Tools for Learning More About ADR, Marketing and Business
I’ll add to, delete from, and update this list as I find or fall out of love with tech resources. I’ve posted a copy in the main navigation bar to the right, so you can always find it easily.
Links Roundup for April 2006
April 18, 2006
Instead of the normal monthly roundup of links to other good online articles about [tag]marketing[/tag] [tag]mediation[/tag] and [tag]ADR[/tag], I thought I’d make sure you’re aware of other ADR practitioners who actively [tag]blog[/tag] so that you can sample their good and varied content.
Blogs Mostly Aimed at ADR Professionals
Blogs Aimed Mostly at Clients
Know of a good and active blog not on the above list? Leave me a comment so that I and other readers can find out more!
Autoresponder Strategies for Building Client Relationships
April 10, 2006
As with any tool, autoresponders are really useful only when you use them well. We’ve taken an in-depth look at [tag]autoresponders[/tag], how they work, how to use autoresponders for [tag]marketing[/tag] [tag]mediation[/tag] and other [tag]ADR[/tag] services, and how to choose one. In this concluding article in my autoresponder mini-series, we look at strategies for leveraging autoresponders to build [tag]client relationships[/tag] and, as a result, business.
Strategies for Building Trust
Strategies for Building Relationships
Strategies for Encouraging Opt-Ins
Ways to Use Your Autoresponder
Have you used your autoresponder in other creative ways? Share them here by submitting a comment (see form below)!
Article Series
7 Questions to Guide Your Website Content
April 5, 2006
A seasoned mediator I’m helping create a stronger online presence asked me this question today: How do I know what content is going to resonate best for people in the niche I’m trying to reach? Great question. And the mediator in me couldn’t resist offering seven more questions by way of an answer.
If you’re building a new website for [tag]marketing[/tag] your [tag]ADR[/tag] practice or upgrading your old one, you want content that sets you apart from other [tag]mediation[/tag] services in your market and tells your clients something that’s special about you, the value you offer, and what kind of relationship you offer. First, set aside some focused “think” time (I give myself a business retreat day once a month, set calls to go directly to voicemail, and use the time to think about the big-picture questions that guide my business and my practice of ADR). Write out your answers to these seven questions and use those answers to guide content decisions for your website:
