Recent survey finds 70% of pros can't pitch

We created a survey at 15SecondPitch.com which we turned into a press release which you can see here on forbes.com.

http://tinyurl.com/jzghy



:)

laura

Podcamp Presentation: Pitch Yourself in 15Seconds

Podcamp Boston was a great time! I have a lot to say about it, however, I've had a few people ask if there was a place where they could hear my presentation, so I wanted to post this right away.

http://www.15secondpitch.com/podcasts/podcamp.mp3 I know this is not the easiest way for you to hear this, so I apologize in advance and I'm looking at better alternatives.

In this presentation I share 15SecondPitches from; Chris Brogan, Adam Weiss and Bryan Person.

:)

laura

Carnival of Marketing--My Love Letter from Seth Godin--sort of

I reached out to a few truly visionary marketing folks with the following request.

I wonder if you would provide a one or two sentence summary on the best marketing pitch that you've ever heard. (or pretty much anything else you'd like to give two sentences on.)

Here's Seth's response:

I love you. I miss you. I can't wait to see you tomorrow when you get home.

Seth

This is why so many people look to the wise bald man for marketing wisdom. In two sentences he reminds us that the most effective marketing is the most intensely personal. It is what is most relevant to your audience at this very moment. Who wouldn't want to get an email like this? I would! Thanks Seth!

For more Seth, go to: http://sethgodin.typepad.com

Carnival of Marketing--The Art of Word of Mouth

Here's a great article from Sean Moffitt, Sean is the founder of AgentWildFire.com a word of mouth marketing firm in Canada. He's written "30 Top Great Tips" on how to get word of mouth marketing work for you. It's worth checking out all of them, here are the five tips I liked the most:

#1 - Leverage the Six Key Motivations Why Humans Talk – tap into basic human instincts that control most of us, we talk: 1) to survive, 2) to connect, 3) to make sense of the world, 4) to reduce risk, 5) to benefit economically and 6) to relieve tension. Try to make your word of mouth quench one of these motivations.

#5 - Launch a Meme – a meme is an idea designed to spread; create a “bandwagon effect” for your word of mouth by attaching your own meme to it through catchphrases, lingo, metaphors, jingles…etc. so that not only does it convince others but encourages them to pass your message onto others.

#11 - Create the Best Soundbytes – most human’s capacity to only recall 7 things at one time, above that number and we either have to commit it to memory or more likely toss it out for other stuff to wade in. Take the most relevant points from your own experience and our Word of Mouth Handbook and make your key word of mouth points in 5 bytes or less.

#16 - Be Inspired – genuine authenticity and passion greases the conveyor belt of word of mouth; true word of mouth advocacy can’t be faked (nor should it be), but honest enthusiasm is magnetic and powerful and infects others with a feeling of excitement and energy, use is to make your word of mouth sing.

#18 - Make the First 30 Seconds Count – most people make impressions lightning fast –provide the “why I should I care benefit” in the first ½ minute of your conversation to avoid the “why didn’t you tell me earlier, I would have paid more attention” response.

I'd love to hear how you are using word of mouth marketing to increase traffic to your blog and or build your business. Read the entire article here:
The Art of the Word of Mouth Conversation

Carnival of Marketing--Maybe the word Marketing is Part of the Problem?

I asked several people to send me their thoughts on marketing, specifically for this Carnival. I wanted to get the freshest content available. Our first article is from Chris Brogan, who is a very busy man. He runs: GrasshopperFactor.com
ChrisBrogan.com and
Podcamp.org among others.

Chris writes about how he and a partner conceived of a two-day event, planned it, convinced dozens of small businesses and individuals to sponsor it, and drove more than 200 people to register, all without a lick of marketing experience.

Chris says that the word "market" is part of the problem, that perhaps "connector" is a better title to hold than "marketer," and that the true magic lies in a company or client's ability to build participation into their product, service, or brand.

THIS IS NOT A MARKET

I am not a marketer. I am an unmarketer. I am not a salesman. I am an unsalesman. Somehow, with the help of others (most notably Chris Penn who runs financialaidpodcast.com), I was able to convince scores of people to give us money (almost $8,000 in increments of $100 or $200), convince hundreds of people to book a weekend with me, and convince an entire technology-centered community to talk about what I’m doing.

I’m one of the founders of PodCamp, a free unconference built around creating downloadable audio and video to distribute on the internet via RSS feed. But enough geektalk, because podcasting is a rotten term. I’m in the business of creating conversations through digital media. Podcasting is hot enough to have convinced Nielsen Analytics to create a report about the economics of podcasting. (Don’t feel like reading? Here’s a podcast about it).>Nielsen podcast

I’m passionate about the new media space because I’ve seen it in action. I’ve seen bloggers bring down political candidates. I’ve personally listened to podcasts that gave me the advantage of topical knowledge over a vendor, who hadn’t heard his own CTO’s statements about their products before coming to sit across a table from me. And I’ve seen the value of the ME in new media by watching coverage recorded from the perspective of the common man.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE:
This is not a Market

Hear a multi-million dollar 15SecondPitch

Click the pink play button to hear an example of a pitch that I helped an indie-filmmaker create to secure millions in funding for her film, with an A list actress as the star.


powered by ODEO

I'm hosting Carnival of Marketing--starts--tonight

I'll be hosting Carnival of Marketing which will start at 7pm tonight. Please send me your articles for consideration by 5pm EST tonight! The Carnival of Marketing was Noah Kagin's idea. His blog is
Okdork.com He's had some incredible people host so far, including a great one last week by MarketersStudio.com . Send your articles to: laura at 15SecondPitch.com