We Are All Environmental Journalists Now

Interesting take on the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen from the Guardian:

"The problem is getting anywhere near the truth. Most countries do their diplomacy in private and do not want anyone—let alone the press—to know what goes on in the negotiations. Beyond that, the talks are so technical that few can understand them even if they are explained. Moreover, meetings are closed, all decisions are dependent on others and are made in secret, the UN secretariat is opaque, the diplomats and negotiators are unaccountable and speak in code, and because of the insane complexity of the negotiations, there is probably only a handful of people who actually understand what is happening at any moment. The drama at the very end when world leaders start their horse-trading will be genuinely dramatic, but no one will actually see it take place."

[Read the full article]

Using Design Elements to Support Meaning

Nice example of meaning manifested through a carefully chosen design element:



The postcard above accompanied a magazine insert encouraging breast self-examinations. I'll bet it would have been even more effective had the emboss been of an actual breast, requiring the reader to actually practice a sort of self-exam.



[via directdaily]

Communication Breakdown

When your communication strategies aren't working, you probably identify with one (or more) of the following:

The Fun Theory

Making an action more fun makes people more likely to do it. We seem to forget this too often.

Why We Need "Socialized" Health Care

Thanks to Worldchanging's Andy Lubershane, we now have an easy-to-follow, entirely sensible argument in support of health care reform:



Now, can someone produce a similar short describing Congress' various proposals?

Keeping It Real Green: PDF Now Available

Yep, I finally got a PDF version of Keeping It Real Green up and online:



> Click to Download <

It's begging to be expanded into a full-on e-book, so if there are additional issues or subjects you'd like to see covered, do let me know.

To read about the design thinking that went into the guide, or to order a hard copy version, go here and fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

Flow

I finally had a chance to watch Flow, an incredible (and incredibly disturbing) documentary about the privatization of the world's water supply. More than just an anti-corporate diatribe, the film speaks to the inevitability of the looming water crisis, and what that might look like based on where the battles are being fought now. And they are battles.



Water is a $400 billion industry—the third largest behind electricity and oil. My mind kind of explodes at that statistic. We're talking about water. The slow commodification of the natural resources most fundamental to human existence should raise alarm bells in every human being. And yet, one in five Americans refuse to drink anything but purchased bottled water; even though a four-year study by the NRDC found over a third of the tested bottle brands were contaminated with synthetic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic.

Visit Food and Water Watch to learn more about water issues in the U.S.

This isn't just an "over there" issue impacting the lives of underdeveloped or developing countries: as of May 2009, over 30% of America was experiencing "abnormally dry or drought" conditions. Public water supplies are being handed over to private corporations, who are then denying entire populations access to clean water supplies—and frequently contaminating the remainder.

We can each participate in the change

One of the strengths of Flow is the movie's focus on solutions. There is a growing movement of ordinary citizens across the globe who are banding together to demand safe access to clean water. Here are just a few easy things you can do to help:

• Watch Flow, and talk about it with people you know. Information needs to spread, and you're how it happens.
• Sign the petition to add "the right to clean and accessible water, adequate for the health and well-being of the individual and family" to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This simple act will enable those struggling for safe water a powerful tool in the struggle for access.
• Delve deeper by exploring the various resources and groups working on this issue.

Happy Fourth! Ink Initiative Poster Sale for A Great Cause

The Ink Initiative produces high-end illustrated posters that are screen printed by hand, and donates all profits to charity (this year's nonprofit organization is Philabundance). Talk about a worthy business model. Anyway, they're having a 2-for-1 sale while supplies last.



In the meantime, drive safe, enjoy your BBQ, and don't lose any fingers!

More Adventures in Direct Mail: SF Bike Coalition

Earlier in the week, I dissected the failings of a snail mail campaign that was sent to me by a local arts nonprofit. On that same day, I received another mailing, this time from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, who couldn't have taken a more different approach. There was nothing particularly fancy about the envelope's presentation or contents, but it was clear that the group had invested a good deal of energy making this single mailing as effective as possible. Here's how I knew that:

• Bigger envelope means more bang for the buck.
  Although it was a standard 9" x 12" manila envelope, I knew there had to be something juicy inside to warrant such a large mailer. That thing was getting opened out of pure curiosity.
• One message, many materials.
  Turns out the mailing was intended to get my business on board with San Francisco's "Bike to Work Day." Small plugs for the SF Bike Coalition were cleverly scattered throughout the materials (including a copy of the group's newsletter), but they were all directly tied to the issue at hand: Bike to Work Day (the newsletter, for example, contained a Q&A about the event, among other BTWD features). Picking one message and reinforcing it throughout the mailing kept me from getting distracted, detached or confused.
• Appealing to your audience:
  "It is a known fact that employees who arrive at their workplace by bike are alert and productive and are generally healthier employees. Their employers reduce health insurance premiums and avoid costly employee benefit expenses like parking..."
  Overcome objections in advance.
  One of the best aspects of this mailing was the use of social marketing techniques (more on that later). From the opening of the introductory letter to the content of the newsletter, it was clear the Coalition had thought long and hard about what might prevent recipients from acting on their call for participation, and heading these objections off at the pass. The messaging was framed to address common employer concerns, including costs and employee productivity, which made it really easy to be won over.
• Provide the right incentives.
  Finally, the Coalition included a ton of materials to help its audience act on its request for participation in BTWD. Don't know the best way to implement the program among your employees? Follow the enclosed checklist. Unsure of which routes to take, or how hilly the streets are? Check out the enclosed San Francisco Bike Map. Need a way to get the word out to your employees? Post the enclosed BTWD poster. Looking for a fun team project? Take the enclosed Team Bike Challenge. Concerned about safety or getting stranded without a car? No worries, just check out the enclosed pamphlet explaining the San Francisco Emergency Ride Home program. And of course, if you want more info about the event or the Coalition itself, read the enclosed newsletter. Thinking ahead has allowed the Coalition to provide the answer to every potential question in advance, making it incredibly easy to participate.
  

These last two techniques are, as I mentioned, a significant component of social marketing (not to be confused with social media marketing, which relies on web 2.0 tools like Twitter or YouTube to spread a message). Social marketing is an incredibly effective way to encourage positive behavior change in individuals within a group context. It's a little broad to get too detailed here but the SF Bike Coalition, knowingly or not, has adopted several of its most successful principles:

1. They knew their behavior goal (employer participation in Bike to Work Day).
2. They knew their audience (employers with specific concerns about how BTWD would effect their employees health and productivity).
3. They addressed potential barriers for action (not enough information, too dangerous, too costly).
   
4. They included incentives to reinforce the behavior they were looking for (maps, team challenges, emergency rides home, posters).

Now, if they follow up with a phone call asking me if I participated, then they'll really be on point (after all, you need to measure if your campaign worked to know whether it's worth the investment). I only had two real issues with this mailing, and I have to admit they're not minor:

1. They failed to vet their mailing list (although I'm a San Francisco business, I'm not an employer), leading to a lot of wasted paper.
2. They included a lot of paperwork, much of which may get tossed.

That said, it's a relief to get a direct mail piece so thoughtfully directed to its audience. By taking all of the above into account during the design and writing stages, the group has vastly increased the likelihood of a positive response rate. The next time you send something to your constituents, I hope you'll consider these points, too.

How Not to Do Direct Mail

I just received a direct mail solicitation from a wonderful nonprofit that supports local photographers through exhibitions, education and youth mentoring. I wish so much they had taken a different approach with this mailing, because I can't imagine this one will yield the kind of response they're hoping for.

The package arrived in a standard white no. 10 business envelope. It contained a one-page letter, a semi-gloss, full-color, tri-fold brochure that unfolds into a 12" x 18" poster, and a self-addressed, unstamped reply envelope. What's so wrong with this?

• Concealing the goods.
  Why drop coin on a beautifully printed poster-sized piece, and then hide it in a nondescript envelope that makes it look like junk mail? Either gussy up the mailing container, or make the poster a self-mailer that begs to be unfolded immediately.
• Address anonymous.
  "Dear Friend" is no way to address someone when you're asking for their money. In this day and age of variable printing, there's simply no excuse. And if your marketing director doesn't know what variable printing is, you've got an even bigger problem.
  
• Not quite compelling:
  "Your membership is your ticket to a remarkable range of programs and benefits."
  So much copy, so little targeting.
  The front of this single 8.5" x 11" letter included a litany of member "benefits" directed at all kinds of different people—including artists, art lovers, collectors, and who knows who else. Simply laundry listing your organization's features and hoping readers are willing to pick and choose what matters to them is a great way to make sure nobody pays attention to anything. Pick an audience, and write exclusively to them.
  
• Features do not equal benefits.
  And here's another thing: listing what you offer doesn't explain how your audience will benefit. Don't tell me about your exclusive, members-only parties, tell me how I'll make important career connections and discover new trends before they hit the mainstream.
  
• Letterhead overload.
  I understand the desire to acknowledge a nonprofit's staff, board of directors, advisory committee, and curatorial council members, really I do. But if you're printing this on your letterhead, it means you're repeating this information with every single communication you send out. Why? It might hurt to hear, but you need to ask yourself if the reason has more to do with the staff's needs than your audience's.
  

But all this wasn't enough to turn me off and convince me not to give. No, the straw that broke the camel's back was the flip side of the letter. An entire page dedicated to a collaborative art project that I (little old me) was invited to participate in! How exciting, I thought. And all I have to do to be eligible is purchase a membership and send in my own mail art submission? I looked for the cost of membership on the accompanying brochure/poster. $50 ain't bad, considering I'd also get access to the rest of those features listed so exhaustively on the front. And that's when I noticed the deadline for submissions: May 1, 2009. Receipt date of this package? May 1, 2009.

That's right, folks. I was invited to participate in a project—a project that was supposed to sell me on donating to this organization—on the day of the submission deadline, effectively making me ineligible. That's not an oversight. It's not a mistake. It's a slap in the face to your audience.

This is not a time for this kind of ineptitude, folks. Tighten up! Don't waste your marketing dollars on what has the potential to be a highly effective campaign by not thinking it through. If you need expertise, then ask. But nonprofits can't afford to be making these kinds of mistakes right now.

Finding the Right Green Certification Program

There are over 300 environmental certification programs available to organizations who, for whatever reason, feel the need to get certified. These programs vary wildly: some are nonprofit, some demand high fees, some have extremely high barriers of entry, and almost all of them have different requirements and certification processes. Finding a credible, appropriate, attainable third-party certification system can feel seriously overwhelming. But if you answer a few initial questions before looking for a particular program, the process becomes much less daunting.

What kind of organization are you?

Before you start looking for certification, it helps to do some self-reflection. On one of my email lists recently, someone asked if there were any certification programs specifically geared towards nonprofits. My response (on which this post is largely based) was that many of the actual steps you can take to green your organization are applicable to any sector, so a certification that doesn't specifically target nonprofits might still be appropriate.

Here are a few questions to consider when looking at your own organization:

Why do you want to get your organization certified?

When it comes to environmental certification, there tend to be two camps of certification seekers: those who want a formal, guided system for judging their practices, and those who feel it will help their business model in some way. Both are completely legitimate reasons.

Beyond that, though, there are additional things you should consider. Are you looking to increase credibility among your various constituents? Are you looking to save money over the long term? Does it reinforce your mission (unlike many pursuits, I believe one of this nature doesn't require absolute mission alignment)?

Answering this question will help give your search more focus (e.g. if your goal is to increase credibility, you need to look for a rigorous, respected certification body). And remember: if your main goal is to reduce your organization's environmental impact, you don't actually need a third-party certification to do so.

Do you have specialized certification needs?

Whether you're a nonprofit or for-profit organization, there may well be environmental or sustainability issues that are specific to your industry. Product manufacturers and retailers may have different considerations than service-based organizations, for example, and it may make sense for you to look for a program that addresses these issues. That said, if you can't find a niche certification, there are likely plenty of other options that are just as well-suited to your organization.

What kind of resources do you have to devote to this endeavor?

Many nonprofits (and smaller businesses) are either on a shoestring budget, or are assigning the process to an already overworked staffer. If this is the case, you'll need to find a program that won't require large financial outlays, or that will provide hands-on support. Being realistic about what your organization can and can't commit to—or, what you're willing to commit to—will help narrow your options.

Where should you look for a green certification program?

Once you've identified your own goals and limitations, it's time to start searching for an appropriate third-party program. There are two primary types:

Government-run certification programs

When it comes to government-sponsored environmental programs, most of the certification action tends to be at the local level. Many city and county governments, and sometimes state governments, are developing programs to encourage area businesses to improve their environmental practices. Be aware that these programs vary dramatically in their standards and participation requirements—you'll need to do your due diligence. Also consider whether or not a local certification will help you reach your previously identified goals. If you're looking to build credibility among your customer base, for example, they need to have heard of the program enough to value it.

Sadly, many municipalities don't offer government-run programs at all. If this is the case where you live and work, I highly recommend petitioning your local government to implement one. They need to know that business owners and nonprofit directors alike want such programs.

Finding a program: Check with your local business development agency, environmental department, or chamber of commerce. Don't forget to check at the state level, too.

Nonprofit (and for-profit) certification programs

Almost every non-governmental, third-party certification program nowadays tends to be nonprofit, as the 501(c)3 designation seems to lend an air of credibility to the certifying body. But in reality, it's the stringency of the program's requirements, and their working processes, that you should pay attention to.

And it certainly wouldn't hurt to check out who's on their board of directors, if they have any "partner" businesses/sponsors, and so forth. One particular certifying organization that was pointed out to me recently is set up as a nonprofit, and looks perfectly legitimate on first blush—yet they are affiliated with a for-profit consulting firm. This kind of affiliation isn't necessarily problematic in and of itself, but it can certainly impact the certification's credibility if:

• The for-profit affiliation isn't an entity you'd feel comfortable doing business with under ordinary circumstances;
• The for-profit affiliation exerts any influence on the certification process;
• The for-profit affiliation directly benefits from the certification process.
  

What criteria should you use to judge an environmental certification program?

You don't have to be a sustainability expert who knows how many microns of CO2 your pencil sharpener puts out, but there are some essential standards you should look for in your certification system:

1. No, or minimal, pay-to-play

Keep an eye out for costly "membership requirements" and other fees. While minor administrative costs aren't unreasonable, huge fees definitely eat into a program's credibility.

2. Full transparency and disclosure

Program processes, certification guidelines, contacts, member lists, etc. should be made available on request (good), and/or clearly posted online (better). A credible program will tell the public exactly what it asks of its member businesses.

Also, keep an eye out for programs that allow you to be a member without certification, as non-certified members often dilute the credibility of certified members thanks to public confusion/conflation.

3. Rigor

This, in my own opinion, should be the most important piece of the puzzle. First, what is their certification process? Programs that require some proof of compliance, whether on-site inspection or some kind of documentation, are far more credible than those that rely on the honor system.

Next, how expansive is their requirements list? Look for programs that address the triple bottom line (people - planet - profit). This should include at least issues like employee benefit programs and community enrichment (people) to environmental conservation and improvement (planet).

How does the program measure impact? Do they ask for hard numbers (and proof of them)? Are they asking about low-hanging fruit like day-to-day operational tasks as well as larger decision-making (like equipment, appliances, construction, business models, etc)?

How often do they require re-certification, and how do they manage that process? If you can't easily uncover any of this information, think twice about participating.

4. Support and guidance

Finally, does the program provide suggestions, help and resources or tools during the certification process? A really good program will help walk your organization through the certification process, pointing you to legitimate resources to help you implement whatever changes need to be made. This is especially important for nonprofits and other organizations who might not have huge resources to commit to the process.

Does the certification system have brand recognition within your organization's circles of influence? If you expect your customers to care about the certification, it helps if they already know what it means.

Finally, what kind of marketing support will they provide—a simple listing in their online directory usually isn't enough (since it relies entirely on search engine ranking). Do they place media ads or do PR campaigns within your circles of influence or mainstream circles? Will being a member bring your organization much cachet?

Making your decision

I've watched as the market for third-party certification has exploded, and it's amazing how many of these organizations treat it as more of a marketing tactic than a bottom-line environmental decision. It's far too easy to shell out a few bucks, and get a pretty green stamp of approval. The trouble is, if that stamp doesn't communicate anything of real value (to your business and to your customers), you've wasted both money and time. Worse still, you risk undermining the whole point of environmental certification: to provide a legitimate and rigorous public review of your organization's environmental efforts. And that's the very definition of greenwashing.

But getting certified doesn't have to be a traumatic, costly, or otherwise difficult experience. As with most business decisions, it simply requires a little due diligence before you jump into the process. Following the above recommendations will help you narrow your choices and select the most appropriate program for your organization's specific needs.


Have you gone through the certification process yourself? Have you found it useful in reaching out to your customers? I'd love to hear your thoughts and questions—please leave your comments below.

Related Posts:
The Case-by-Case for Sustainability

Harvard Medical School Misses the Point When it Comes to Fundraising

Some organizations are finding themselves mired in controversy as a result of decisions made in response to the dysfunctional economy. Take Harvard Medical School: it turns out that the school has more professors on the Big Pharma dole than anyone—including students—ever knew. About 18% of Harvard Medical professors have reported that "they or a family member had a financial interest in a business related to their teaching, research or clinical care" (and there's no way to know how many unreported relationships exist). This represents a potentially huge conflict of interest, and students are up in arms.

A struggle for research funding

Lack of endowment funding is the primary reason cited for why these professors feel it's appropriate to suck from the pharmaceutical teat without disclosing such relationships to the students they claim to be teaching:

"School officials see corporate support for their faculty as all the more crucial, as the university endowment has lost 22 percent of its value since last July and the recession has caused philanthropic contributors to retrench."

In other words, the school doesn't have enough funding to support faculty research. So faculty turn to the pharmaceutical companies. But is it appropriate for an institution tasked with teaching our nations' new doctors to allow a commercial industry to secretly underwrite those who teach?

More to the point: is this kind of financial relationship necessary?

An alternative solution

As the Times piece indicates, the potential conflict of interest, the lack of disclosure rules, and the student and public backlash are all causing real harm to Harvard Medical's reputation. It may even damage the school's ability to raise what little endowment funds are still available.

But what if the school leveraged the need to preserve classroom integrity to shore up funding sources outside of Big Pharma? What if they framed their fundraising efforts with a core message that read something like this:

We need your support to keep Big Pharma out of our classrooms, so our next generation of doctors can be trained objectively and fairly.

This would need to be supported, of course, by action. School officials would need to demonstrate that they're taking what internal steps they can to prevent such a tragedy—steps like instituting rules requiring the disclosure of financial relationships to both officials and students (or better yet, limiting or prohibiting financial relationships between faculty and industry).

With proper messaging, this controversy might just be turned around to actually solve the underlying problem causing the whole thing. Sadly, school officials will probably miss this fundraising opportunity and instead plaster a bandage over the controversy. Hopefully, it won't be a Band-Aid™ brand one.

The first sure step toward profitable sustainability

It doesn't matter if you're a struggling nonprofit, a corporate behemoth, or an independent business: if you're considering incorporating sustainable practices into your systems, you may feel like there's an insurmountable mountain ahead of you. "Sustainability is unsustainable for our business" is a common mantra for those who can't stand the idea of climbing that mountain; it gives us an easy way to explain our inaction. And for many, it might be right on the money.

I realize this sounds counterintuitive coming from the likes of me, but let's be realistic. A lot of folks start taking steps they feel will lead to greener...something...and quickly find themselves spending more money than they can justify just to do right by Mother Nature. The cause for this ineffectiveness is usually pretty simple, though: in the excitement of change-making, organizations often forget to factor profitability issues into the new system.

The first step for any business is not to implement actual changes, whether to the physical plant, to the product lines, or to processes. Rather, the first step needs to be measurement. A business needs to first measure its processes, as well as the impact of those processes across all areas:

• Product or service footprint: raw materials, manufacturing, distribution at every stage, usage and disposal
• Operational footprint: facilities, employees, supply chain, etc.
• Human footprint: internal policies, and how those policies impact human behavior
• Strategy footprint: how do you incorporate/apply sustainability thinking to every decision made?

A business has to know how their current processes work and what the impacts of those processes are, or any moves toward what they think is sustainability may fall short. This is why there are no universal, easy answers, or a simple checklist.

Unfortunately, measurement can seem challenging, as there also aren't many affordable resources for small-medium sized businesses other than good old-fashioned man hours. Life cycle assessment software (for example) can be expensive. But there are perfectly functional options for the willing: at the very least you can use a simple spreadsheet like Excel or OpenOffice. However your organization chooses to track this information, it starts with details such as:

• Utility use: water, gas, electric, garbage
• Purchasing: products, transport, frequency, quantity, vendor selection
• Materials use (which overlaps with purchasing): quantities, disposal, health impacts, conversion to profitable products, etc.
• Human resources: employee benefits, commute impacts, behaviors, attitudes, wants, productivity, job descriptions
• Structural organization: hierarchy, decision-making, policy implementation, etc.
• Strategy (which overlaps with structural organization): decision-making, short- and long-term goals, employee/er involvement, communication, etc.

Each of these can further be broken down by department or function (so maybe marketing has its own sets of measures, while HR has another, and so forth). This is important, because it allows you to scale your measurement according to the size of your operation. You can stay at the larger level until your group is comfortable that the system works and reaps valuable information, at which point you can drill down to the detail level.

Don't misunderstand: this process is completely unsexy and often tedious. But this is where you discover where the company can both save money and make money by applying sustainable thinking and innovative processes. Not only that, but the measuring has to be conducted before the change process starts, throughout the process, and after the process. And then, assuming there is enough commitment, it should influence how the company adjusts and adapts over time.

This is how you get to a workable, profitable, sustainable system—by simply tracking what you're doing before any changes are made at all. Without this baseline, you're essentially shooting fishes in a barrel. And I'm pretty sure that's completely unsustainable.

Making Sustainability Reports Work for You

As American businesses begin to feel the heat of their impact on climate change, corporate sustainability reporting has become one of the tools they use to fan the flames. Between 1997 and 2007, the number of companies producing CSR (corporate social responsibility) reports grew by more than 750%, according to Corporate Register. In real terms, just over 2,000 American companies issued reports this year alone—but who reads these things? Turns out, a new study indicates there may be some real value to issuing a sustainability report for your own organization.

Reporting Can Impact the Bottom Line—For the Better

One of the most basic findings of the study, conducted by the Global Reporting Initiative among 2,300 respondents, found that 85% of CSR report readers have a more positive opinion of the company after reading. About a third of respondents also use these reports for decision-making purposes. It would seem, then, that organizations who rely on thought leadership and increased credibility to shore up their customer base would really benefit from such reporting. I'm thinking of nonprofits, consultants and other service-based businesses in particular. But companies seeking capital funding would also stand to gain by producing reports that demonstrate their commitment to long-term sustainable strategies.

Those readers who are spurred to action after reading a company's sustainability report tend to respond with their dollars. Almost 75% of respondents say that reading a company's CSR report makes them want to either purchase the company's products or become a B2B client. That can be a potentially significant ROI, but it's dependent on a few key things:

• The report is accurate and thoughtfully produced.
• Your organization invests in distributing the report as widely as possible.
• You maximize the opportunity by directly engaging readers.

Producing a sustainability report that works for your organization

Like most projects, a sustainability report can be as straightforward or complex as you're willing to make it. But whether your report is a simple two page report or an elaborate multi-page treatise, the process needs to address the specific concerns of your readers.

Define your target audience. Reports geared toward investors will require far more statistics and detail-level information than those aimed at consumers, for example.

Gather accurate information. Knowing what standards to use, and how to accurately measure company initiatives and impact, is essential. Consider asking your audience what issues matter to them before even writing anything down, and think about how those issues dovetail with your organization's environmental and social impact on its larger communities. This will help you create a framework for content. If you skimp on this process, you risk alienating readers and undermining the whole report.

Organize information into meaningful messages. Try to balance your organization's philosophy and policy approach with real-world stories that illustrate those more abstract concepts. While the length of your report will determine just how much information you can include, you should take your cue from the framework you created in the previous step. If you have a particularly green supply chain, for example, you might outline your general purchasing policies, and also profile a specific vendor.

Engage your readers. This is where you capitalize on your report. Respondents to the GRI survey indicated that they frequently want to continue the conversation with the organization in question after reading their report. This could mean including response cards with the report itself, creating an online microsite where readers can join the conversation, or following up with a targeted campaign aimed at expanding the reporting initiative. All of these approaches give readers a specific reason to take the hand you've extended.

Towards a Truly Sustainable Strategy

If the GRI survey gives sustainability reporters cause for celebration, it also reveals a key concern: whatever reporting choices an organization makes, it must converge with an overall business strategy. Successful corporate sustainability rests on an organization's willingness to embrace entirely holistic processes; slapping together a glossy CSR brochure that trumpets your company's recycling efforts ain't gonna cut it. My recommendation is always to start with the why and the what (your organization's long-term values, approach and audience), and use reporting to communicate the how.

By treating the sustainability report as a conversation opener rather than a monologue, you have a better shot of influencing your reader and reinforcing the report's underlying message of commitment. And when your communications become a real-world tool used to engage your audience, it strengthens those relationships at a time when strong relationships can make or break a business.


Shameless Plug™: If you think your organization would benefit from some form of sustainability reporting, give me a call. We can talk about your ideas, and come up with a cost-effective solution that works for you and your audience.

Bad Habits Can Kill Your Marketing Efforts

When it comes to marketing, your problem isn't a lack of effort—even if you haven't pulled the trigger on that new website (cough), or gotten around to this year's holiday mailing. The truth is, you're marketing every day, every time you engage your customer base:

Every customer phone call and email you respond to
Every customer phone call and email you initiate
Every marketing campaign you execute
Every blog post you publish
Every forum or social networking message you post
Every time you describe what you do for a living to someone you meet
Every time you deliver a product or service to a customer
Every time you leave your business card somewhere
Every question you answer
Every payment you collect

Clearly, the problem isn't that you aren't doing enough. The real issue is that you're not putting enough thought into how you're doing these everyday things.

The Danger of Relying on Habits

When you execute the tasks above out of habit, it's easy to forget that they're actually two-sided transactions. You're delivering a message during each task, and the person on the other end is receiving that message. This is true even if you're not saying anything. Filling an order? The package the order is shipped in sends a message. The very process you've set up that your customer has to pass through sends a message—how many times they have to click through your site, how long it takes them to find your phone number, and so on. Even if you're not thinking about the message you're sending, the customer is still receiving it.

Replacing Bad Habits with Better Messages

So why do we keep perpetuating current habits? You already know: it's simply easier than identifying and transitioning into better habits. And by better habit, I mean something very specific: I mean a message that bridges the gap between speaker and listener, delivered in a way that makes it easier for the listener to understand. This is a process I'm going through myself as I redesign my now mythical website, and I really feel for organizations who are struggling with it.

Developing a thoughtful message, and then delivering it, takes deliberation. But it doesn't necessarily take pain. In fact, when you rely on a specific step-by-step process, it can be almost enjoyable (or, "a wonderful learning experience," as one of my clients once put it). The process looks something like this:

• Identify the message(s) you're currently sending
• Identify the message(s) your market wants to hear
• Take a good hard look in the mirror
• Connect the dots between what your organization provides and what your market wants
• Control each transaction so the agreed-on message gets through
• Measure the reaction to your efforts
• Adjust the messaging as much as necessary until you get it right
  

The Most Dangerous Habit of All

Obviously, developing better messaging habits takes a lot of work and a lot of insight. It can be so challenging, in fact, that most organizations end up perpetuating the worst habit of all—they skip over the discovery stages of the process and jump straight into creating new messages. If you yourself take one message away from this article, I hope it's this: don't skip the discovery.

The discovery, in which you take that good hard look at what you're doing (and what your market really wants you to do), is almost the whole point. It's the process that you've been skipping this whole time. It's what makes the habits hard to break. And if you continue to skip it, opting instead to just churn out some new marketing message based on current assumptions, you're just replacing one bad habit with another. That's a waste of time and money, and a way to miss real opportunities. So take a moment to think it all through. Research. Observe. Explore. Do it on your own, get help if you must, but do it. Because old habits die hard—but not if you kill them carefully.

Free Illegal Signs Workshop in NYC

The Anti-Advertising Agency is hosting a free workshop in New York City on July 1, where you will learn how to identify illegal signs and get them removed. Why should you participate? Because advertisers are essentially stealing from you when they advertise illegally - they are using public space (supported by tax dollars, very often not theirs) to impose their message on you. There's nothing wrong with holding businesses accountable for their marketing efforts; in fact, if more of us did this, businesses would be a lot more mindful about how they communicate with the public.

Public Policy Belongs to the Public

From Pro Bono Junkie's Blog:

"The rise in nonprofits should be a canary in the coal mine for society, telling us that we need to have the courage to demand better public policy to ensure the sustainability of our way of life.

Our local, state and federal governments are not effectively meeting the needs of society. Fortunately, we are a country of entrepreneurial and compassionate people who see the walls of the mine collapsing and are willing to throw themselves against the wall to prevent its fall." [Full post]

The Girl Effect

How to Create a DIY Art Gallery

The Budget Gallery is a "temporary art show in co-opted public spaces" that are curated, promoted and executed with the intention of making fine art accessible to the general public. Stay Free/Anti-Advertising Agency man Steve Lambert has now created a wiki for staging your own DIY Budget Gallery.

Now hop to it!

Carrotmob: Harnessing Consumer Power so Everybody Wins

What happens when hundreds of people agree to give a single business their business in exchange for an environmental commitment? Watch and find out:

Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

This really is the perfect example of how the strength of individuals can benefit business and the environment. It bridges the typically hostile gap between activists and Big Corpo. It appeals to the everyday shopper. It has the potential to make real change. And they've even got a business plan (okay, not yet). If you're an angel investor looking for the next perfect project, this might be it.

How a Marketing Plan Builds Your Business

It’s time to dust off that old marketing plan that’s been crammed in the back of your bottom drawer next to your business plan,and crack it open. Oh, right - you don’t have a dedicated, stand-alone marketing plan. But that’s okay, because you’ve got it all in your head, right? Wrong. Without a written, comprehensive marketing plan, you’re throwing money away without even realizing it.

What’s So Important About a Written Plan?

There are plenty of reasons why you, savvy businessperson that you are, need a written marketing plan, and the most obvious is that you don’t yet have one. Ask yourself: does the competitor down the street (or online) have a written plan? If they do, then you’re a step behind already and you better catch up. But if they don’t, which is far more likely, then creating one for yourself will give you an instant competitive edge.

A well-written strategic plan will provide you with several necessary insights:

• It makes clear where your money is being spent and where your money should be spent. A good plan includes an audit of your current marketing activity, which accounts for both direct and indirect marketing expenses. It also defines workable budgets for the future.
• It reveals strengths and weaknesses in your tactics, and provides specific ways to fix the weaknesses and maximize the strengths.
• It tells you if your marketing tactics are effectively aligned with your goals.

But even more importantly than holding a mirror to your current marketing activity, a thoughtful marketing plan provides you with a tactical step-by-step plan to reach those business goals. This necessarily sets you in a clear direction, making decisions about which marketing tactics to use, how to implement them, and how much money to spend on them, much easier to make in the heat of day-to-day business.

It’s important to realize just how inefficient on-the-fly marketing decisions can be. Making such last-minute, high-pressure choices will almost always dilute your efforts, which means you’ll yield a lower return for the time and money you’ve invested in those off-the-cuff, time-pressured decisions. Creating a strategic marketing plan that you can turn to in these moments will significantly reduce wasted time, money and resources.

So What Does a Good Marketing Plan Look Like?

Realistically, your plan can be as simple or as complex as you choose to make it. You’ll have to balance your available resources with your ideal plan, of course, and find the level of detail that works best for your business. A full-blown strategic marketing plan, however, should include at least the following elements:

• An analysis of your brand position, market segments, and product delivery strategy
• A set of specific marketing goals and objectives
  
• An audit of your current marketing tactics
• A step-by-step action plan to reach each goal (each action should build on the others to create a cohesive strategy)

There’s more to it than that, but those are the essentials. Without them, your marketing plan is more of a marketing notion. Remember: a plan should be executable, appropriate to your needs, and effective.

Can You Do It Yourself?

If your business is already struggling to come up with the cash flow to execute each individual marketing tactic already, it can be tough to convince yourself that it’s worth dropping the cash on a professional strategist. After all, who knows your business better than you? And you’re no stranger to bootstrapping. A DIY marketing plan is certainly better than none, and it will obviously save you money in the short term (though probably not over the long-term).

Start with a simple, one-page plan that you can put together yourself. It should include:

• Your overall business goals
• A short list of marketing tactics that can best achieve those goals (be picky)
• What steps you need to take to implement those tactics.

You must be aware, though, that this is not an ideal approach and it will not be a reliable plan over the long haul. Creating the above plan successfully is often harder than it sounds. Identifying appropriate, reachable goals, understanding which marketing techniques work best for those particular goals, and then identifying the specific steps you’ll need to take to maximize the effectiveness of your chosen marketing techniques, all require a level of marketing expertise you may or may not have.

If it’s not reliable, then why bother with a one-page plan? In actuality, it’s more of an exercise to prepare you for working with a professional strategist. Preparing such a limited marketing plan for yourself will reveal what you know and don’t know, and where you might need outside expertise. This is important information: the best business owners recognize their own weaknesses, and find ways to correct for them (usually by hiring someone for whom their weaknesses are actually strengths).

A professional marketing strategist will inevitably bring a different set of skills to the table: they’ll provide you with a broader market context, a better understanding of your competitors, insight into the most effective marketing methods available to you, and an understanding of how to combine everything into a holistic, effective strategy. And perhaps most importantly, a professional will bring a level of objectivity you simply can’t achieve on your own. When you spend all day, every day making your business work, it’s easy to lose perspective and begin to see everything through the lens of that business. Hiring someone who has both your best interest in mind, and the ability to see beyond your business, will result in a marketing plan that you can easily implement, and implement successfully.

And Finally...What To Do With That Plan

Whether you choose to handle your marketing plan yourself, or hire someone to help you with the process, it'll be useless if you cram it back in that drawer and let it gather dust. The best way to make sure you actually use your plan is to start with a solid foundation. Take the time to do it right from the start, and implementing it will come naturally.

Once it's written, review it regularly. At the very least, you should be reviewing your marketing plan every quarter, but every month is even better. This will allow you to align your cash flow with your upcoming marketing expenses, make adjustments, and generally avoid being caught with your pants down (as in, I meant to start putting money aside for my new catalog last quarter and now I have no budget!).

Reviewing your plan regularly will also give you the satisfaction of checking off action steps as you take them and making adjustments as necessary. It's awfully rewarding to cross things of your to-do list, especially when you can watch those to-do items turn into sales. And that might be the best part about creating a written marketing plan: seeing that plan turn into reality before your very eyes. Because the very nature of such a plan is to build momentum and, ultimately, build your business.

How Will People Find My Business Blog? 20 Useful Directories

One of the most frequent questions I hear from business bloggers is How on earth do I get visitors to my site now that I've set up my blog?! This ain't The Natural - if you build it, they won't come unless they actually know it's there. So how do you get more eyeballs on your blog? The easiest ways to promote your blog also happen to be the cheapest (how often do you get to say that?!). Try this:

1. Blog regularly. Frequent bloggers typically get ranked higher in search engines.
2. Tell everyone you know about your blog. If you use MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn or any other social networking site, let those networks know about your blog.
3. Add your blog to any forum signatures you have.
4. Link to your blog from your website home page.
5. Comment on other people's blogs (make sure your comments are useful and relevant).
   
6. Register your blog in as many free blog directories as possible (see the list below).
   

Free Blog Listing Directories:
Bigger Blogger
Blogarama
Blog Catalog
Blog Flux
Bloggapedia
BloggernityBlogging Fusion
Blog Hints
Blog Hop
Blog Listing
Blogoozle
Blog Rankings
Blog-search.com
Blog Top List
Eaton Web
Globe of Blogs
MyBlogLog
SuperBlog Directory
Top of Blogs
WeBlogALot

When using the above directories, look for a "Submit Blog" or "Add a Blog" link and follow the instructions carefully (most directories will disqualify your blog if you don't read their directions and terms line for line). There are plenty of additional directories you can turn up with a quick Google search, but I've avoided listing those that charge a fee or require a reciprocal link. I guess I'm just a no-strings-attached kind of girl. You will, however, often have to create an account with most of these directories (just be sure to opt out of any mailing lists, unless you want to be bombarded with silly tip sheets). You should never pay to list your blog - it's just not necessary.

Finally, some folks suggest adding your blog URL to your email signature and/or your business card. I've found that these approaches tend to be pretty ineffective, and the latter may well distract viewers from your business URL (which is where you really want them to go).

Engaging Environment: The NYC Air Bear

I've mentioned Italo Calvino's Marcovaldo, or Seasons in the City, before and I'm reminded of it once again. The book is about a man who manages to see the bits and pieces of our environment that the rest of us overlook. I love what the Air Bear does: it captures what we can't see, using it to engage and entertain.



The work is part of a series by artist Joshua Allen Harris (if anyone can point me to his website, which I couldn't manage to dig up, please do).

Pro Bono Possibilities

Can you imagine giving away 50% of your products for free? Even though Roughstock donates both cash and services to qualified organizations at the rate of about 10% of our billed revenue, apparently we pale in comparison to design kings Pentagram. According to The Taproot Foundation's recent newsletter, Pentagram "reports that 50% of their clients are nonprofits who they serve pro bono." That's half their client base!

Of course, they have the heavy-duty resources to dedicate to such projects. You can also look at it as an investment in public relations and branding. Nevertheless, that's a huge commitment that speaks volumes about the company.

San Francisco Green Business Resources

When I decided to get certified by the city of San Francisco as a Green Business, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would I have to invest in expensive changes, or sacrifice business productivity for the sake of environmental savings? It turns out that the process was fairly straightforward and the required changes and commitments were easy to implement. Not only that, but the program's coordinators were always ready with resources and ideas.

If you're a San Francisco business owner who's interested in making operational improvements to reduce your environmental impact, you're in luck. The city has some fantastic programs and resources to guide you through the process. The list that follows is segregated into appropriate categories to help you find what you need, fast.


Certification Programs

San Francisco Green Business Program
Aimed at helping companies further their commitment to the environment, this multi-agency program certifies businesses and provides help along the way.

Grants, Loans and Tax Credits

San Francisco Mini-Grants
SF Department of the Environment gives away free money for environmental business projects (quick turnaround grants from $1,000 to $10,000) on a first-come-first-served basis.

San Francisco City Grant Programs
While not environment-specific, San Francisco offers plenty of free money for businesses looking to expand operations, implement new programs, or simply grow.

San Francisco City Loan Programs
While not free money, loans can help get your business where it needs to go.

San Francisco Enterprise Zone Tax Credit
This program offers tax breaks to employers operating within designated Enterprise Zones, and/or hiring from Enterprise Zones.

Participatory Programs

SF Approved Green Purchasing Program
An extensive collection of resources for implementing your own sustainable purchasing policy (you might also want to read my article, "How to Find Green Vendors")

San Francisco Commuter Checks
Looking for a way to provide additional benefits to keep your employees happy while serving the environment? These tax-free public transportation vouchers help encourage employees to reduce car use.

Sunset Scavenger Business Recycling and Composting
It's free to recycle and compost your waste in SF! This site provides all the info you need to start reducing your landfill waste. Your compost even helps grow local wine! This program is especially great for restaurants that produce high levels of food waste.

Neighborhood Revitalization Programs
San Francisco operates revitalization programs in many neighborhoods, working with local businesses to provide opportunities, business support and funding.

Tips, Guidelines, and Additional Resources

SFPUC's Environmental Resource Guides for Businesses
A collection of prevention tips and guidelines for various industries.

Small Business, Green Business
The SF Small Business Commission's list of green business resources and a few additional programs.

The above links should give you plenty of food for thought. As you can see there are tons of resources at your disposal, and most are easy to act on. I hope you'll join me and the hundreds of other local businesses who've decided to incorporate sustainability into our bottom line! And in the interest of pooling our collective intelligence, I'd love to hear your own success stories, challenges, or other resources you've found helpful.

Drunk Driving Campaign

Nice environmental installation from Jupiter Drawing Room for Arrive Alive South Africa. These appeared in nightclub restroom stalls:



[Via Osocio]

How to Find Green Vendors

My latest installment of The Sustainable Studio is now online, and this month I focus on how to implement a sustainable purchasing policy. Whatever industry you're in, the advice contained in this article will help you understand what sustainable purchasing is all about, ideas for implementing your own policy, and where to begin your sustainable vendor search.

"So just what makes a vendor sustainable? Is it as simple as finding a printer who stocks recycled paper? There are currently no strict definitions for what makes a business sustainable, unfortunately, so it is up to each of us to find a system that is both meaningful and practical. As a San Francisco-certified Green Business, I have a simple yet stringent purchasing policy in place for Roughstock Studios. I assign a single point for each of the following attributes that a potential vendor meets..." [Read the full article on Business of Design Online]

I'd love to hear your reaction to the idea of implementing such a policy, as well as any questions you might have about how to practically do so. Feel free to leave a comment either here, or on BoDo!

Great Resource! Information Design for Advocates and Activists

If you think charts and graphs are sexy like I do, download this booklet immediately. And if you think charts and graphs are evil necessities that you must use in the execution of your social justice campaign, public messaging plan, marketing strategy or whatever you need to call it, download this booklet immediately.


Click above image to download the PDF booklet.

"Visualizing Information: An Introduction to Information Design is a booklet...designed to introduce advocacy organizations to basic principles and techniques of information design. It’s full of examples of interesting design from groups around the world in a variety of media and forms. It has tips, excercises, and even recommended Free Software packages to help polish up your graphics."

For only 25 free pages of text and graphics, this little publication packs a wallop. It's good to see something along the lines of Edward Tufte become a bit more approachable and digestible. Big ups to John Emerson and his contributors for sharing their skills.

Recession-Proof Marketing

With all this talk of an economic downturn and the House's recent approval of a questionable Economic Stimulus Package, now seems as good a time as any to offer a few suggestions for marketing in a downturn:

• Lay the groundwork early. Don't wait until the belt is already too tight to breathe; strengthening your marketing efforts now will help minimize any damage should a full-blown recession kick in.
  
  
• Resist the urge to stop marketing altogether. Many businesses immediately suspend their marketing budgets, but this just reduces your chances of bringing in all-important revenues.
  
  
• Look to current customers. We all know it's cheaper to sell to current customers than to secure new ones, and this is especially important to remember when you're pacing your marketing spending. Ask yourself what your current customers need during this time (or better yet, ask them!), and find a way to deliver it.
  
  
• Make well-reasoned cost cuts. Instead of sending out a massive direct mail campaign, why not shrink your mailing list to include only the most qualified leads? This will increase your success while decreasing your expense.
  
  
• Move online for savings. Email campaigns, and online networking are effective and inexpensive ways to market when budgets are tight.
  
  
• Leave your competitors in the dust. Take advantage of others' quickness to cut their marketing budgets and run a pointed campaign or two to keep your company front of mind.
  
  
• Look to alternative markets. Chances are, you've been overlooking a market segment that might prove valuable to your business. Now's the time to reach out to these new markets to bolster your bottom line.
  
  
• Work on you. No, not in the self-help, wish-your-way-to-success way! If your market is slowing, though, take a good hard look at how you're doing business, how you're communicating with your customers, and identifying how you can do better. Strengthening your business from the inside-out will make it much easier to pull your business out of the recession rut.
  

So what do you think? Do you have any other tips or suggestions for overcoming that self-destructive inclination to stop marketing when times seem tight? Leave your comments below!

Social Justice is a Numbers Game

If it weren't for teachers, this country would be seriously screwed.

"Radical Math Teachers are educators who work to integrate issues of economic and social justice into our math classes, and we seek to inspire and support other educators to do the same.

We believe that math literacy is a civil right, and that our nation's failure to provide students, especially low-income youth of color, with a high-quality math education, is a terrible injustice...

We encourage our students to ask the question: 'What are the problems that my community is facing, and how can I use math to understand and help solve them?'"

[via Social Design Notes]

Does the Media Elect Our Leaders, Or Do We?

Who determines whether a presidential candidate is electable or not? According to a short but bittersweet article from FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), the answer turns out to be the media outlets that cover the campaigns. FAIR uses USA Today as an example, citing a recent article in which John Edwards apparently does not exist in the presidential campaigns. The problem, FAIR argues, is that Edwards is the only Democratic candidate who consistently holds his own against the two supposed front-runners, Clinton and Obama:

"Missing from USA Today's polling about electability was John Edwards--even though aside from Clinton and Obama, Edwards is the only Democratic candidate who consistently polls in double digits. And when other polls have included Edwards in questions about electability, Edwards generally does better than the other two, sometimes by wide margins. In a CNN survey of December 6–9, Edwards beat Romney by 11 points more than Clinton and 9 points more than Obama. He beat Huckabee by 15 points more than Clinton and 10 points more than Obama. Clinton lost to McCain in this polling by 2 points while Obama and McCain were tied, but Edwards beat him by 6. There's not as much of a difference with Giuliani, but Edwards still did 3 points better than Clinton and 2 points better than Obama."

Whatever your political leanings, it should frighten and disturb you that your choices are being narrowed before you even know about them. Edwards is a viable Democratic candidate (to my mind, he happens to be the only one who doesn't sound like he's constantly blowing smoke up America's collective ass), but you'd never know it to watch the news or read a major metropolitan newspaper.

Sad, that. America deserves better; we should demand better.

Marketing Resolutions for the New Year

Trying to find the perfect marketing resolution for 2008? Try any of the ideas below to strengthen and grow your business through the coming year. Some of these ideas are simple to implement, while others may require investing a bit of effort and even money. But investment is all about ROI; everything on this list offers at least one significant benefit for organizations of any size.

Words of warning! Not all of these techniques may be right for your business, and almost all of them will be far more effective if you hire the right professional to help. And while that may sound like just a little bit of a pitch, it's also very true.


Brand Builders:

1. Create or update your logo
   Benefit: Creates an immediate visual connection with prospects and customers. Sums you up at a glance.
   
2. Create or update your identity collateral
   Benefit: Sends the message that you're a legitimate, professional business. Unifies your brand image.
3. Define your core values
   Benefit: Focuses your business, aids in decision making and strategic planning, and provides customers a point of connection.
4. Write a blog
   Benefit: Develops a consistent voice for your company.
5. Issue a press release
   Benefit: Enhances reputation, increases company exposure to the public.
6. Update your packaging
   Benefit: Creates a cohesive look and association with your company. Can also increase sales.
7. Create a marketing budget and feed that kitty
   Benefit: Enables you to actually afford to market your business, saves headaches when it comes time to implement your marketing plans.
   

Relationship Builders

8. Start an email newsletter
   Benefit: Keeps your business front-of-mind, educates prospects and customers about your company and offerings, opens the lines of communication between your business and your audience.
   
9. Network off-line
   Benefit: Creates real-world connections with prospects.
10. Network online (in forums, user groups, and on blogs)
    Benefit: Increases public awareness. Builds online connections and resources.
    
11. Conduct a survey with a prize drawing
    Benefit: Opens the lines of communication with your audience, solicits useful information for strategic planning, builds goodwill.
12. Offer something useful (product sample, e-book, white paper, etc.) for free
    Benefit: Builds goodwill, creates demand, engages prospects.
13. Write your policies down—all of them (if you don't have specific policies, create them)
    Benefit: Minimizes mistakes, creates a clear framework for customers to work within.
    

Sales Builders

14. Build/update your website
    Benefit: Too many to list! Strengthens reputation, builds legitimacy, informs prospects, offers customer support, increases sales (particularly with shopping cart functionality).
15. Conduct a highly targeted direct mail campaign
    Benefit: Reaches only those who are prequalified to buy from you.
16. Exhibit at a trade show
    Benefit: Puts you in direct contact with those who want your product or service; personalizes the business.
    
17. Solicit referrals from current customers
    Benefit: Leverages your current customers, automatically establishes trust with prospects.
18. Explore a new demographic
    Benefit: Expands your market reach.
19. Run a print ad in a consumer or trade publication
    Benefit: Reach a large audience in one shot.
20. Design an easy-to-use product catalog or service brochure
    Benefit: Informs prospects and encourages direct sales.

Do you have ideas of your own that can be added to this list? Post them in the comments below and I'll add them as they come.

Donating to charity? Make sure they're legit...

If you're considering donating to charity—whether anonymously, in your own name, or as a gift in another's name—you may want to make sure they're legitimate first.

The American Institute of Philanthropy's Charity Watch rates hundreds of charities, so give them a visit before donating to make sure your money is going where it's supposed to.

The Project

When was the last time you worked on a project that felt like this?



Sure, it's an awfully cynical look at what should be a well-oiled process. But the above results are entirely avoidable by dropping the egos, working within acknowledged limitations, remaining open and flexible, and skipping ahead to the last panel.

Create your own at TheProjectCartoon.com! [via Freelance Switch]

Six Essential Questions for the Business Blogger

It doesn't matter whether you've been toying with the idea of starting a business blog, or if you've been feverishly blogging about your company's widgets for years: you have plenty more to learn. A quick look through Google's list of "business blogs" reveals some common problems: lack of activity, poor readership and appalling representations of the businesses they're meant to promote. These issues do more than render a company blog ineffective; they can do real harm by giving potential customers the impression that the business simply can't be bothered to get it right.

What follows are six simple questions you need to ask yourself if you're starting a business blog or have one already. They won't take long to answer, but they will help you strengthen your writing, connect with your readers, and build your business' online presence in a truly positive way.

1. Why am I blogging?
Think long and hard about what you expect to gain from your business blog, because you're going to be investing hours of your valuable time into it each week (and if you're not, you should be). Mapping out a specific goal for your blog will serve you in two important ways: it will make the writing process easier as time goes on, and it will vastly increase your chances of success.



To map the most appropriate goals for your blog, consider the nature of your business. If you're a retailer, for example, you might want your blog to increase direct sales, or serve as a customer support center. If you're a consultant, on the other hand, you might want your blog to help establish you as an expert in your particular field. Identifying your goal will help keep your blog focused, as well as make it easier to develop new content.

2. Am I offering relevant content?
If you took the time to honestly answer the first question, then it shouldn't take you long to answer this one, too. That's because the content of your blog should be directly related to your blogging goals. If you want your blog to increase widget sales, start writing about the special features of your brand of widgets. Or maybe your blogging goal is to establish yourself as an expert in your given field, in which case you might want to share industry insights and useful advice. Because I aim to provide practical, real-world marketing for my clients, I always include at least one easy-to-implement marketing tip in my monthly e-newsletter, the Roughstock Roundup; there's no reason why you can't do the same thing in blog format.

In addition to ensuring your content is directly related to your blogging goals, your content must also be relevant to your readers. Avoid what I like to call Cute Kitty Syndrome by asking yourself if each blog entry will really be of interest to your readers. Posting the intimate details of your summer vacation, for example, can easily bore readers who are looking for content about your products or services, and make your business appear less useful to potential customers (unless, of course, you happen to be a travel agent).

3. What is my position?
Avoid trying to be all things to all readers. You're competing with thousands of business blogs, and this is a great way to differentiate yourself from your online competitors. Show your readers why your company is different, both in the way you address them and the content you provide. One of the biggest mistakes I see business bloggers make is being afraid to have an opinion or a unique voice. Just as your personality inevitably informs how you do business, so should it inform how you communicate with your blog's readers.

You should always remain professional, of course, but don't be afraid to let your sense of humor show, or reveal your own unique approach to your industry. When I started my Bar Stories drinks blog (now on permanent hiatus), I was concerned that my slightly irreverent writing style might turn off my corporate clients. But when one of them contacted me directly to let me know how much fun they had reading it, I realized I wasn't taking as big a risk as I'd feared.

4. Am I paying attention to my readers?
Just like a brick-and-mortar storefront, your blog provides a great opportunity to connect with new prospects. Unlike real life, however, where you can see with your own eyes how many customers are walking through your door, blogs require extra work to know if they're getting the job done.

If you're not paying attention to your readers—how often they're visiting, what they're reading, if they're commenting—there's a good chance that you're shouting into an empty room. The best way to know what your readers think of your company blog (and by extension, your company) is to ask them—make sure comments are enabled and encourage readers to leave responses (that means replying to their comments, too). Take a poll every now and then, or hold a contest to increase interactivity.

But don't stop there. Make sure you track your visitors (StatCounter and Google Analytics offer great services free of charge). Knowing where your visitors are coming from (other blogs, directory listings, internet searches, and so on) can provide excellent insight into what kind of content readers are looking for. Use this information to help make your writing more relevant to them.

5. Am I being consistent?
I can't stress enough the importance of consistency when you're blogging for business. You would never accept anything less than consistent excellence when providing face-to-face customer service, so why would you present an inconsistent image to your online readers? This doesn't mean that you have to write only about widgets and nothing else (assuming that your company makes widgets, of course). It simply means that your overall tone and approach should remain recognizable, so returning readers know what to expect.

Your blog is, after all, an extension of your brand. As such, it should reinforce your real-world identity and offer visitors a familiar space to return to again and again.

6. Am I getting the results I want?
This is where we come full circle: don't forget to ask yourself periodically whether you're reaching your original goals or not. Knowing how to measure your success based on your initial blogging goals can be a challenge., and many businesses hire companies who understand the fickle nature of blog readership to help them create blogging plans from the get-go. With a little logical thinking and a decent dose of creativity, however, it's not impossible to assess your blogging results on your own.

If you started blogging to build credibility, your search engine ranking is a great way to measure your success. Are other businesses, blogs, or organizations in your industry linking to you on a regular basis? If you're low in the search engine results for keywords in your industry, or if others aren't recognizing your blog as a valuable resource, you might need to rethink the content you're providing to better achieve those results.

Click-through rates, conversion rates, entry and exit pages, and visitor length are additional statistics that can help you measure your success. Just make sure that you're reviewing the statistics most appropriate to your goals, or you won't get an accurate view.

When all is said and done, a business blog is a long-term commitment. You owe it to yourself and to your readers to continually assess the fruits of your labor and make adjustments when necessary. Going through the above questions on a periodic basis will ensure that your blog content stands out from the crowd, differentiating your business from your competitors.

---

Related Posts:
How Will People Find My Business Blog? 20 Useful Directories
How a Marketing Plan Builds Your Business
Bad Habits Can Kill Your Marketing Efforts

The Green Jobs Act Needs You

From the Ella Baker Center:

"...the media so far has missed one of the most interesting and innovative proposals that will be voted on: the Green Jobs Act of 2007.

This ground-breaking legislation will make $120 million a year available across the country to begin training workers (and would-be workers) for jobs in the clean energy sector. When the bill becomes law, 35,000 people a year will benefit from cutting edge, vocational education in fields that could literally save the Earth."

This is the kind of legislative thinking that we need; not only does it offer marketable vocational skills to those in need, it also creates a workforce ready and able to help grow a more sustainable economy.

To quickly and easily show your support for the Green Jobs Act, just fill out this short form and click "Send!"

Spreading an Ideavirus

Seth Godin makes a very interesting point when he talks about how best to respond to the virus that is fundamentalist terrorism:

"The best way to counter an ideavirus, any ideavirus, is not by challenging the medium in which it spreads. It didn't stop pirate radio or salacious TV shows or online porn. What has always worked the best is countering one ideavirus with another one. To use the same medium to spread a different, better, more powerful ideavirus. You don't counter racism by making the act of uttering racist statements against the law. You do it by spreading an idea (racism is hateful, wrong and stupid) that keeps the racist from expressing his ideas because all his friends will shun him if he doesn't.

If you want moderate ideas to spread in a community, promote the people who are spreading those ideas. Make them heroes. Amplify their message and help it spread..."

A Serious Blow to Internet Censorship?

Right on the heels of my recent post about internet censorship comes what might very well be a solution. Picidae is an project created to bypass governmental spying and censorship via the internet. The project has seen a mild flurry of publicity across the internet as it nears release, and now as I try to load the site once again, I get an internal server error. Uh-oh.

The program (which, I believe, was developed by someone in Germany) is based on the technique used by governments like China in which a user's internet habits are tracked as they enter information online. Typically, censoring governments log search engine entries and URL entries, and if the offending site is restricted the user either is denied access to the site or gets their internet connection shut down completely. So, for example, Googling "Tiananmen democracy movement" might either return very few results, or shut down your internet connection.

Picidae allows you to enter an URL via their servers, and returns an image map of the target URL, as opposed to an html page. The links remain clickable and simple forms can still be filled out (so you could search Google all day long).

It's a brilliant concept, a potentially revolutionary system. I can only hope that the inability to access picidae.net at this moment is due more to some kind of access overload than to something more insidious.

[Edit: The Picidae site appears to be up and running now.]

Internet Without Borders? Think Again.

Technology has broken down global barrier after global barrier, bringing the outside world into some of the most geographically obscure localities. American TV shows are exported to countries still jonesing for our brand of "culture" and products cross oceans both ways, scratching that consumerist itch that continues to spread like a rash over the earth's surface (the number of Chinese products, for example, imported to the U.S. more than tripled in the last twenty years¹). China would seem to be reciprocating the favor, opening the mainland to U.S. imports as well.² But some borders will not be breached no matter the price paid by the country's citizens.



China has the dubious distinction of joining a dozen other countries in enforcing an internet "black hole." The above map, produced by Reporters Without Borders, shows us who is not allowed to freely surf the net throughout the world. Some of these countries filter out sites that disagree with the ruling government, some monitor and log users' internet activity, others ban private service providers and still others go as far as to imprison those who use the internet to freely express themselves.

While it strikes me as unforgivably unjust that our global economy continues to support such political oppression, maps like the one above remind me how deeply graphic depictions of this kind of injustice can strike a chord. With so much visual clutter bouncing off our retinas, it's nice to see some meaningful messages being sent through the airwaves and internet tubes, too.

(Don't forget to ask yourself: how does the U.S. fare in all of this?)

[via Strange Maps]