A Penny for Your Brilliance.

"Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

Everyone has something to give. And knowledge is a powerful currency.

I spent the last several days at the Small Business Marketing Unleashed conference put on by the amazing (did I mention amazing?) folks at Search Engine Guide. I absolutely love that this event is limited in scale to about 100 people. At that size, you can actually meet and interact with people at a level you just can't do at a Big Business Expo.

A powerful theme emerged on day one, and continued throughout the next several days. And it has huge relevance in the business world.

Left and right, people were giving away their knowledge.

Yes, we paid to go to the conference, but as conferences go, even that was a modest investment. But it wasn't just the sessions where information and knowledge was being shared. It was in the hallways. At the lunch table. On the walk from the conference center to the hotel. Over dinner, drinks, even poolside.

People of all stripes - web marketing, search, social media, branding, marketing, business owners, lawyers, technology folk, social media monitoring, video and podcasting - were all too happy to spend time with one another learning, asking questions, sharing, lending a few words of knowledge or experience. And what happens? Everyone benefits.

It's the have-a-penny-leave-a-penny philosophy of business. You're an expert at something, so leave some knowledge for someone else who needs it. And in return, someone is bound to come along to replace that knowledge with something you needed too.

When you're marketing your business, via traditional or social means, contributing your expertise is one of the most valuable things you can do. An e-book. A white paper. An educational video. Or 30 minutes of your time spent with someone to impart a bit of your vast knowledge. Some friendly advice or insight to a new business owner.

Now, before someone freaks out on me for advocating giving away the "secret sauce", that's not what I'm suggesting. But pieces of it? You bet. No one is going to be able to replicate or replace your business by using your PowerPoint slides. But by teaching and sharing, you are cultivating a sense of ownership and learning in others.

I learned so much from my friends this weekend. I have come away richer for the experience, and hopefully left a little something in the penny jar for someone else. Thank you to you all for your intellectual philanthropy, and making it fun in the meantime.

If you aren't out there sharing what you know with someone who can benefit from just a handful of your expertise, please go pick up the phone or send an email. Right now. I'll be here when you get back, counting my pennies.

image by r-z

Small Business Marketing Unleashed: Columbus, OH

Today, I wanted to give all of you a heads up about a fantabulous event I'll be attending in Columbus, Ohio this September (the 22nd and 23rd to be exact) that's focused on small business owners and how they can make the most of their online marketing efforts.

It can be overwhelming to digest all the STUFF that's out there about online marketing, so Jennifer Laycock and the folks at Search Engine Guide have put together this tight knit forum with speakers breaking down the elements of search engine marketing, viral marketing, blogging and local search.

So what can you expect? The conference is limited to 100 attendees, and the workshops are limited to 25 people each to maximize opportunities to ask questions, interact, and learn. And it's not about just piling on the theory; these workshops are designed to give you real, usable ideas that you can take back to your company and put in play right away.

Some of the super duper speakers on the agenda:

Jennifer Laycock, Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Guide
Matt Bailey, Founder and President of Site Logic Marketing
Matt McGee, Owner of SmallBusinessSEM.com
Debra Mastaler, Owner of AllianceLink
Stoney deGeyter, President of Pole Position Marketing
Heather Lloyd Martin, President and CEO of SuccessWorks Search Marketing Solutions
Mack Collier, Owner of The Viral Garden
Christine Churchill, President of KeyRelevance
Sage Lewis, Founder of SageRock
Christina "CK" Kerley, Founder of ckEpiphany Marketing
Michael Stebbins, President of Market Motive

With such an intimate group, the networking opportunities are second to none. I know I'm looking forward to putting faces to so many of the names I've known from Twitter and Plurk and the slew of blogs I read. Why not come join us so we can meet in person, too?

The $750 admission is a steal for a great conference (register by 8/29 for the early birdy deal). Head to the SBMU website and complete your registration today so you don't miss out on the fun. Hope to see you there!!

Disclosure: Nope, I don't work for SBMU or SEG, I'm not a sponsor, I'm not a speaker. I just happen to think that Jennifer and her work is pretty darn brilliant and think you will, too.

Five Small Business Marketing Miscues (and how to atone)

I work with several small businesses, and there are enough miscues out there in the marketing world that they warrant a quick rundown. I'm sure these aren't really just for the small guys, but always talk about what you know, right?

#10. Too Much Jargon
Five dollar words aren't usually worth the price. Even in business to business situations, the most elemental philosophy still holds. You're talking to people - humans - and they're the ones making the decisions about whom to work with. Speak to people professionally but humanly, and use words that feel more conversational than those that come out of your graduate school textbooks. Take a breeze through your collateral and see if the text would make sense to someone outside the industry. Necessary technical issues aside, you'll get much more mileage from your conversations with your people if they really believe you're talking to and with them, not over them.

To atone if your'e a Jargoneer: Pick a page (or a paragraph) on your website full of buzzwords and industry jargon. If you can't be an objective judge, have your husband/wife/teenager/friend read it for you. Cross out all the offensive words. See what you're left with, and start there for a rewrite. And go subscribe to Copyblogger and read Brian Clark and the gang's super awesome insights about writing, and writing well.

#9. Viewing Marketing as an Expense
Especially in today's economy (or recession or downturn or icky point, whichever term you prefer), small businesses have a tendency to panic and pull the plug on all things marketing - even brainstorming. I agree with MarketingSherpa today about using this time as an investment in your business and a great time to find those opportunities to really connect with your clients and customers or explore new avenues like online marketing and some of the cool social technologies out there. The market always, I repeat always, comes back around. And when it does, the time you've taken to have great dialogue with your customers will pay off when you're first on their mind.

To atone if you're a Marketing Scrooge: Spend some time with a few simple strategies that won't break the bank but are super valuable. Find the 25 customers that have been with you the longest and take them to lunch. Pick 50 of your best clients and write them a handwritten thank you note for their business.

#8. Mass Anything.
Gone are the days when you can throw 57,212 darts at a board and hopw that one sticks. Yes, ok, if you blast the world with a bunch of form letters, you might get a bite. But how personal is that? Mass email, mass advertising, mass mailings. They're all just a "toss and hope" kind of tool, and you risk alienating the people who are hopeful for personal and exclusive relationships with your company only to be handed a number and a Dear Friend letter. Small business is, and always will be, personal.

To atone if you're a mass blaster: You're much better off taking the money and time from the paper and envelopes and printing and postage and trade mag ads and doing some really great picking apart of your customer base and finding out who they are and what makes them tick. You may find a great deal of interesting information about clients and customers you never knew you had, how they found you, why they love you, what frustrates them. Understanding is the first step. Then you can talk to them, individually, with messages and ideas that are really relevant to them.

#7. Being Deaf
You're the business owner, which means you know exactly what your customers want, right? Are you sure? Are you sending out surveys or collecting comment cards and stuffing them in a drawer somewhere? Do you have a feedback form on your website? Do you insist on having your employees talk to customers about how they found you or what they like or what challenges they're having with your product or service? And then the million dollar question: What are you doing with the information once you have it?

To atone for being deaf: Start listening closely. If you get comment cards, read them, and don't dismiss the negative ones out of hand. Respond to the feedback emails you get - personally - and thank your site visitors for taking the time to share their feedback. And pay attention to the trends. One person lamenting that your return policy is too strict is one thing. A cadre of frustrated people might be pointing out something you need to fix.

#6. Bandwagon Jumping
There are so, so many techniques and technologies out there that it can be supremely overwhelming to decide which you need to use and which you can safely put aside. Some things will never go out of style - personal phone calls, one on one meetings, a personal letter or email to a valued customer. But launching a loyalty program or starting a blog or having an email newsletter can all be incredibly valuable if - and only if - they truly bring something of value to your customers. Small businesses especially need to look closely at what's out there before deciding where your time and money is best spent. Have a look here to see a few of Social Media Today's recommended starting points.

To atone if you're in a rush to hop the next train to techie town: Start by participating and exploring the technologies that you're hearing and reading about so you get a true sense of what they're really doing and who else is participating. Then, spend some time evaluating what your customers use (asking them is a good start) and how they use them. Are they just lurking on Twitter, or do they find it a valuable source of information about resources for their business? Do they have a Facebook page and look for connections from potential business partners? And most important of all, ask them what they love about your website and what they'd like to see on it to help them. It might be a few simple tools, and you're suddenly engaging your customers like never before.

I'll round out my top 10 in another post coming soon!