Alphabet Soup Bios

The Publicity Hound’s
Tips of the Week
Issue #691 Feb. 16, 2013
Publisher: Joan Stewart

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“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

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In This Issue
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1. Alphabet Soup Bios

2. Social Media Know-it-All’s

3. How to Collect 15 Testimonials

4. Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House: I’ve been inundated with emails
and Facebook comments from readers congratulating me for going
TV-free. Several Publicity Hounds said they took the plunge years
ago and love their new lives. I haven’t canceled cable or donated
the TV yet, but these comments on Facebook are nudging me closer.

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1. Alphabet Soup Bios
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My friends in the National Speakers Association will beat me with
their microphones when they read this.

Remove the “alphabet soup” from the professional bio at your
website.

It isn’t unusual to see something like this on a speaker’s bio:

Jane Smith, CSP, CPAE, CMC, MSW

Or this, on the bio of a builder:

Stanley Jones, GMB, CGP, MIRM, CMP

Makes my eyes glaze over!

Nancy Juetten’s too. She’s “The Bio Doc,” and during Thursday’s
free webinar on how to rewrite your boring bio, Nancy mentioned
“alphabet soup” as one of the most frequent bio mistakes. Other
boo-boos are failing to identify your target audience, no call to
action, and not differentiating yourself from your competitors.

You can list professional designations elsewhere on your website,
on your speaker one-sheets or in your marketing materials. But
they clutter a professional bio and confuse many people outside
your industry.

Alphabet soup also makes it more difficult for journalists to
quickly cut and paste a few paragraphs from your bio into stories
they’re writing about you–which is why Nancy’s advice also applies
to press releases.

Listeners were in awe as they heard Nancy rewrite the bios of three
volunteers on the call. You will be too when you access the free
replay and the slides. Find out where
you can get your hands on 10 templates that will instantly transform
your bio into a client magnet–and all you have to do is fill in
the blanks.

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2. Social Media Know-it-All’s
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So you think you know social media?

Read these “30 Terrible Pieces of Social Media Advice You Should
Ignore.”

I did, and I discovered I’m not always using hash tags correctly. This
is must-reading, even for social media old-timers.

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3. How to Collect 15 Testimonials
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How long does it take you to collect 15 testimonials that you can
use on your website to wow customers and journalists?

It used to take me forever…one…slow…testimonial…at…
a…time.

Until I hired Jeanne Hurlbert to create a customer satisfaction
survey for me. You may have taken it a few years go.

The results were startling.

Not only did I know exactly what my Publicity Hounds wanted, and
how much they were willing to pay for it, I had several dozen
dazzling testimonials right there in the survey results, with the
writers’ permission to use them. They’re now sprinkled throughout
my website and on numerous marketing materials.

Unless you have at least 15 testimonials, five case studies and
hard statistics that show 9 out of 10 customers are satisfied,
and 95 percent would invest with you again, you’re leaving
one-third of your revenue, or more, on the table.

Register for the free webinar I’m hosting with her from 3 to 4 p.m.
Eastern Time on Thursday, Feb. 21. It’s called “Connection 2X:
Master Your Marketing, Skyrocket Your Sales, and Catapult Product
Creation to Double Your Business in 2013.”

It’s perfect for authors, experts, speakers, coaches, consultants,
publicists, PR pros, service providers, business owners and
nonprofits.

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4. Hound Video of the Week
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Gus drags his swimming pool into the house, and doesn’t give up
until mission accomplished. More than 2.1 million views on YouTube.