@ChrisKnudsen tweeted this must read article from Entrepreneur magazine that has great advice like this. “Never assume all of the risk in exchange for half of the reward.” Or, another way of saying this: don’t do all the work for nothing…because if you work with types identified in this article you’re likely to have nothing to split.

Favorite quotes:
“Brilliant academics are not necessarily brilliant businessmen.”
“In lieu of a partnership, first consider licensing deals or strategic partnerships.” (I’m not sure what the difference is between strategic partnerships and partnerships.)

My advice… The quicker they are to offer ownership in exchange for payment, the more doubts I have. If you’re really going to make money you don’t want to bring on more partners to share the profits with. I’ve never seen this work.

The types mentioned in the article ring so true that it’s funny!

We also discussed business to business sales and how when working with potential clients avoid those who don’t return calls or emails. They aren’t ready or aren’t interested. That sounds obvious but it’s my first weeding out.

Example (for some reason I hear more examples of PR firms this year so I’m using them in this example but it applies to all kinds of partnerships):

PR firm: Let’s work together! Send us everything (many requests follow).

Me: Send something, get no response. Or get response months later at the last minute.
Message: We’re too busy to talk to you.
Me: Stop all work.

I’m often jealous of people who have good business partnerships because it’s something I haven’t been able to pull off. I always attract the same sort of person. Maybe it’s a reflection of my own weaknesses! But starting next week I’m going to work for my husband part time and it’s our first anniversary. The marriage partnership is going great – hopefully this new one will too!

Any advice to share from your partnerships?

I just had a question about newsletters and thought I’d post my thoughts. I spoke to Joan Stewart of Publicity Hound last week. She asked me why I don’t collect email addresses. I didn’t have a good answer except that I haven’t. So I’m not an expert on email newsletters. I’ve read about them but haven’t done one consistently, but here are my thoughts.

Email Newsletter Tips

• Spend time looking at newsletters you like and borrow elements that you like.

• Consider running a design contest to come up with an effective design. This usually involves having a design made then someone to mark it up (coding). I like Digital Point Forums or 99 Designs. I’m horrible at design and picky (a terrible client) and this helps me get a broad range of designs to choose from. It’s also more fun. It’s also great when you’re on a budget.

• Reuse content as much as possible (from your blog, what people have said to you on twitter, customer comments and questions, etc). This blog post came from a question I answered by email and I just expanded it into a full post.
• Do you currently capture email addresses for newsletters on your blog and web site? Remember that your own list is more effective than one you buy. Also consider asking another company who has a complimentary but not competitive position in the market  if you can write something for their audience. In return put a link to sign up for your newsletter.
• Promote your social networking sites where people can interact with you (places to find products, featured product testimonials, video and photos). Link to your Facebook Page, your YouTube channel, your Twitter account, your blog, etc.

I like the idea of a giveaway for those who sign up for your newsletter and/or post to you on a social network with a story, a photo, video, etc relating to your company. I need to do this (give away copies of my book).

I also found this advice about newsletters:

Give readers actionable content – information they can use right away to solve a problem. You just need to know what your readers’ problems are.

How do you find out what’s on your readers’ minds? Survey them. You can ask, “What is the one problem that’s nagging you that you really want to solve?” If you ask that kind of question, then you’re going to get a variety of answers, and you’ll know what you should be writing about.

I’d probably go with Aweber for its solid reputation but I’m also an affiliate of Constant Contact (free 60 day trial) which is probably the easiest to figure out. Aweber though is known for being whitelisted (less email providers marking your newsletter as spam that goes straight to trash). Since you share the same server with groups then a spammer can get the entire group banned.

Since email newsletters are not my expertise I’d like to hear what you think. Comments?

I have been waiting for this day! Facebook is opening up so that you can claim vanity URLs this week. Previously this was only for big brands but now you can have your own simple, elegant, branded URL for your Facebook Page (businesses) or profile (personal).

The blog post says: “We expect to offer even more ways to use your Facebook username in the future.” More details please!

Here’s the old style URL (tough to remember and share) and what it could look like after Saturday:

Start thinking about this now – what usernames you’ll choose. You can’t change or transfer it. If you signed up for a Facebook Page after May 31 or a user profile after today at 3 p.m. EDT, you may not be able to sign up for a username immediately because of steps we’ve taken to prevent abuse or “squatting” on names.

Questions? here’s their FAQ, if you’re an administrator of Facebook Pages, get more details here. If you want to learn how to use many of the features of Facebook, check out this guide to Facebook.

Make sure that you do this and you claim your name before someone else does.

This is a guest post from Angela Connor, who runs the news community WRAL.com. She grew this online community to over 11,000 members in just 18 months. I read her new book and love her no-nonsense practical advice. She and I are both work with Happy About to publish our books (an exciting and nerve-wracking endeavor – if you love our book it’s a little like saying our kids are the best looking and smartest – which they are).

I respect the work Angela has done and asked her to share some tips with us. Her rules apply to any type of online community: engaging with others on Facebook, Twitter, etc. This is a valuable skill to have if you’re in this game.

Thanks Angela for sharing:

Top 5 Rules of Running an Online Community

Have you ever struck up a conversation with a complete stranger in the checkout line at the grocery store once you both realize the line hasn’t moved in the last ten minutes?

Perhaps you’ve locked eyes briefly with a parent as you both painfully watched another parent manhandle their screaming 3-year-old at the park.

The connections you make with strangers in these types of situations are based on a shared experience. Something that affects you both and has no bearing on whether or not you were previously acquainted.

These are the same connections we can make online, and sharing personal experiences is one of the most effective ways to engage an online  community.

As a community manager, I have employed many tactics to engage members and encourage participation. Some work better than others but nothing seems to resonate more than a personal story. When you share something personal, it evokes emotion and prompts others to share similar experiences.

When I blogged about the anniversary of my father’s death, stories about dad’s who’d died too soon poured in and the level of sharing was unbelievable. The same thing happened when I recounted a time in high school when I almost froze to death while waiting for the city bus. It was as if there was suddenly a competition to see who had endured the worst winters and could recall all of the gruesome details.

If you ever want to start a conversation fast, sharing something personal will get the job done. If you share something from your own life, it is almost certain others will follow suit.

It is what I consider one of the top five rules of community engagement.

Here are the other four:

Stroke a few egos
Flattery will get you everywhere. It is imperative that you go above and beyond in this department. When you have constant contributors, and people who are vested in the best interest of the community, you have to express your grattitude. and tell them how much you need and appreciate them.

Ask questions
Never underestimate the power of a question. Ask members what they think about current events, or potential changes in the community or forum.Find out what they think about local and national issues. Ad don’t think your questions have to be intellectual. Sometimes something as simple as “What are you cooking for dinner tonight?” can create a major dialog.

Acknowledge good work
See, “stroke a few egos.” Acknowledging good work publicly is good for everyone. It encourages the contributor and shows your appreciation of their time and efforts

Accept and respond to criticism
This simply shows that you’re human. Building an open honest relationship with your community is key. When people know that you are accessible and available and willing to hear them out and respond, you build a level of respect that cannot be bought. It also illustrates your commitment to the community and how much you value their presence.

Today’s consumers are faced with infinite choices, and if you don’t provide an experience worth their time, they won’t be back.
Remember, we are living in the conversation age, where the number of choices online are infinite and the audience that was once easily bought must now be earned.

You can find out more about engaging online communities in Angela’s new book, “18 Rules of Community Engagement: A Guide for Building Relationships and Connecting with Customers Online.”

On Amazon: 18 Rules of Community Engagement (Happy About, May 2009)
@communitygirl on Twitter

Blog: Online Community Strategist

Forward by Peter Shankman

Writing a book is hard but it’s opening up a lot of possibilities for me. First, it scares me to death. What am I afraid of?

Afraid of being criticized.
Afraid that no one will read it.
Afraid it will suck.
Afraid it won’t sell.
Afraid it’s not good enough.
Afraid I don’t know enough.
Afraid people will ask me to speak about it or they won’t. Or that I’ll suck at speaking because I’ve become such a writer.

The anxiety surprises me because I’m a writer! So it has dragged on and on. Part of that is because nothing is ever enough. I’m so self-conscious that I sabotage completing it. I can’t make up my mind. I keep adding to it like writing another entry in my blog. But it really is closer. But I’ve learned something and gotten something from writing this book than anything else I’ve ever done – and it’s not even published yet.

Just the process of writing a book has brought a lot of focus to my work. I’ve revisited blog posts and organized a lot of information that is otherwise buried and unconnected. This helps me see how the pieces fit together. I’m also constantly on the lookout for new information and examples for my reader. I have a reason to continue researching.

I bookmark several web sites on Delicious each week, sometimes several a day. I plan to write a post about each page I’ve bookmarked in my onlinePrbook blog. My bookmarks are my collection of resources and will always have new information. I love that I can put notes about each page I save.

I want to present the information in various ways (anyone know of a company that produces preloaded or branded iPod shuffles?)

Here’s another lesson: Writing a book gives me a reason to get to know people and to form new relationships with organizations and people I have followed for years but never reached out to. I ask them to write a blurb for my book or to review it. I’ve found no one reads it (we have no attention span) but they have other ideas on how we can promote it.

Amazingly the biggest group I’m reaching right now are women. This is a first in my career. I love reaching women because I feel less intimidated by them. I know that sounds ridiculous. Maybe it’s because PR people tend to be women or men who like working with women. Or maybe I’m just attracting women with the content I present and the way I present it. It’s given me a chance to network with women who are great mentors and some are even cheerleaders (or in other words, evangelists).

Too often I try to do things by myself. It’s opening up new possibilities as I continue this process and meet people who I respect but never had a reason to contact. Now I do.

My publisher is Happy About. I like them because they get the ISBN and into Amazon and have an affiliate program so other people can promote my book. Built into the system. I’m quite sure I’m one of the highest maintenance first time authors. But I think the payoff will be worth it on both sides. And if I ever publish another book I’ll have it down.

How about writing a book? Ever thought of it?

I’ve used Sharpie pens for years. I use their highlighters & their permanent markers in all colors. I’ve had a mini sharpie on a keychain (abandoned that idea). When I was at DisneyWorld I noticed the tables with Sharpies so and masks kids could color. In all of the busy lines and chaos it was great to have a place to take it easy. Plus they make the masks like a passport of everywhere you’ve been at Epcot.

What has really been impressive though is how Sharpie is using social media, (though being a somewhat boring product). They are getting raving fans instead of people like me who simply liked their products but never evalangelized them. They had a lot of passionate Sharpie lovers out there so they just joined the existing conversation.

Examples:

1. They set up a celebrity booth in LA with camera crews and PR attention for a new stainless Sharpie pen (I learned about from David Meerman Scott’s Facebook update). They keep you updated on their blog and social media sites. Think about this: could you get that kind of buzz for a new pen?? If you’re Sharpie, yes!
2. Celebrities and bands get involved.
3. They talk about different unique ways to use their product, like how to decorate a basement with $10 worth of Sharpies (great discussion during a recession!) and making wrapping paper. Their pens are an artist’s tool for kids and adults alike.
4. Sharpie is an example of a trusted brand with a great image and decided to join the conversation with videos on YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, a blog, and a Facebook fan page. They fan the fire that was already there (another good argument for building trust with your customers over the long haul).

Sharpie started social media marketing less than a year ago. From the slogan: Write out Loud! To the spend: $2,000. All with one woman: Susan Wassel, social-media manager for Sharpie (fun job!). She says:

“Everybody owns a black Sharpie, we want to give them a reason to own the rest of the colors.”

I love seeing the fun and creativity Sharpie brings to their marketing. Follow them for inspiration!