Post #6–Two Women Business–Kendra Bonnett and Matilda Butler

It’s the day after our elections and there is one more winner that needs to be announced: technology. We call it by its many names–MySpace, Facebook, blogging, Twitter, YouTube videos, email campaigns, banner advertising, optin pages and list management–but make no mistake. Technology, Web 2.0, social networking (whatever you want to call it) was a real winner.

As authorpreneurs and entrepreneurs, I hope the significance of the Internet hasn’t been lost on you. Web 2.0 marketing has proved its potential–no, its power–by helping build and motivate the voter base from the ground up. Make no mistake.

The blog Mashable ran a post listing more than 65 sites designed to help voters prepare to exercise their franchise. Sites range from candidates’ home pages, background on the many Propositions, polling sites, and voting services (e.g., where to vote and how to get there). In addition to all the background and supporting sites, and major candidates’ social networking accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Digg, Twitter, and YouTube, tens of thousands of voters shared their thoughts and intentions openly…even aggressively.

This election season, Two Women Business had a personal experience with the power of the Internet to make a difference…in this case at the local level. The town of Gilroy, California, was preparing to put forward Measure F to support the construction of a larger, seismically safe library. Supporters of the measure had limited funds to get the word out. To augment the phone banks, publicity and community canvassing, we created a blog site to help get the community involved and keep them informed. You can see the site by clicking here. And the result? We did what many thought impossible. Measure F passed: We needed 66.67 percent voting YES for a super majority. We received 68.10 percent.

The 2008 election may indeed be a referendum on Politics 2.0. Don’t let the lesson be lost on you and your marketing strategy.

“I have a great designer and a really beautiful website…it’s gorgeous!”

That’s what someone said to me the other day. My reply was immediate, “That’s great, but you want the interest value that an ever-changing front page buys you.” Since that exchange, I’ve been thinking more about the importance of a blog, and I’ve decided to devote several posts to the subject. I look forward to your questions and comments.

Okay, so let’s consider website beauty for a moment. I think we’ve all admired drop-dead gorgeous sites from time to time. I’ve seen some really nice sites, and their talented designers deserve our recognition and admiration. But to be successful, designers need the support of strong editorial direction.

Be honest now…How many times have you returned to a website because you loved the way it looked? Not many I wager. But how many times have you returned to a site that:

* Answered an important question
* Gave you guidance you wanted
* Helped you make a decision
* Introduced you to a new service or product
* Held out the promise of much more information and assistance

More than once, I suspect.

Here are the facts:

* Websites are NOT window dressing for companies.
* Websites are selling tools that encourage their owners to “sell” by informing prospective customers.
* Websites must be dynamic and stay current with all the latest information.
* Websites are not constrained by the costs and time of production…this fact must be reflected in the content.
* Content is STILL King…and we must never forget that fact.

Well, actually, in our current economic times Cash is the real king. So listen to me when I say that the quality of your content is the key to your ability to earn cash online. Or in the case of authors, earn readers who will buy your books. Blog platforms provide a built-in text editor that enable everyone to post and manage the content on their blog sites.

What you need is a blog strategy for your editorial content..the subject of our next post.

Unless you don’t use Amazon at all, you probably are aware of the Kindle digital book. It’s very cool. The basic unit:

* weighs just 10.3 ounces with a 6? screen capable of 600×800 pixels and gray scale images
* holds more than 200 titles (more memory available)
* has a library of more than 160,000 books, blogs, newspapers, magazines and ebooks available for download
* charges just $9.99 for most books
* handles audiobooks and music as well as text
* uses cell phone technology to link (so you don’t have to find a wi-fi hot spot
* lets you read for about a week on a single charge
* charges you only for what you download, no monthly wireless bills, contracts or service plans
* allows you to annotate text
* makes available free samples and first chapters for your review before buying

But even with all this to commend the Kindle, you may be thinking the price is still too high for you (at $359). Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device Are You Thinking Kindle? But did you know you can get a $100 rebate if you buy with your Visa card? And conventional wisdom suggests the price will continue to fall. Still some readers think it best to wait for Kindle 2.0 to come out before they buy.
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But as writers, you should know that about 250,000 Kindles have been sold. This is a platform you should probably be considering for your book or ebook. Amazon now has a section for authors to go to learn more. So check out the Digital Text Platform and start preparing to publish for Kindle.