Let’s give them something to talk about
Is it true that all you need is a handful of influential people to get a good buzz going about your idea, a la Malcolm Gladwell?
Social network theorists wanted to know.
Duncan J. Watts of Columbia University and Peter Sheridan Dodds of the University of Vermont in Burlington put the notion to the test. The results are extremely interesting:
More important than the influencers, the researchers found, were the influenced. Once an idea spread to a critical mass of easily influenced individuals, it took hold and continued to spread to other easily influenced individuals. In some networks, it was far easier to get an idea established this way than in others. The entire structure of the network mattered, not just the few influential people.
Dodds compares the spread of ideas to the spread of a forest fire. When a fire turns into a conflagration, no one says that it was because the spark that began it was so potent. “If it had been raining,” Dodds says, “that same match wouldn’t have had an effect.” Instead, a fire takes off because of the properties of the larger forest environment: the dryness, the density, the wind, the temperature.
The upshot of the study, Dodds says, is that “in the end, you don’t have control over how people spread your message.” The best way to increase the odds of person-to-person transmission of an idea is to make it a good idea and to give it “social worth,” he says. “Some things are just fun to talk about.”
Read the article at Science News.
How to improve natural search performance
I love both the ending and the beginning of each year. These are times when top experts give some of their best advice, such as this article from Rob Garner, 22 Considerations for Improving Natural Search Performance.
Working to improve your Web site’s natural search performance (versus paid search performance) takes a lot of time, but it’s well worth the effort for attracting your target market.
(The article is a post on MediaPost’s Search Insider blog, which I highly recommend. However, I can’t help but notice that post URLs are not optimized for search. Hmm.)
Online Spin… spinning, spinning, spinning
I like the Online Spin blog, where you’ll find Controversy Served Fresh Daily. Written by several top online advertising pros, you can count on getting an earful. And, of course, you have the chance to chime in.
I receive several e-newsletters every day from a variety of sources that cover online media, advertising and marketing. There’s a lot of hype, hope and hysteria going on now, and I find myself spinning out from all the differing opinions and reports.
It boils down to this: No one has a crystal ball. No one is omniscient. Nothing and everything is new under the sun. Guard your time, attention and wallet carefully 
Copywriting tips for online marketing success
I discovered Copyblogger today. Wow. If you’re interested in copywriting for online marketing, this blog by Brian Clark is a fabulous resource. Be sure to read The Best of Copyblogger in 2007.
Thanks goes to Andrew Daum of Riffs and Rants on Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for pointing out Copyblogger. Andrew’s blog is another great find this morning. Too good to keep to myself!
The top three elements of an effective proposal
I discovered Dr. Tom Sant and the Sant Corporation several years ago when I was heavily involved in proposal writing. Dr. Sant is a leader and innovator in the proposal writing field and the author of Persuasive Business Proposals. 
I highly recommend this book, as well as Sant’s amazing proposal generation software (ProposalMaster) that helps you create persuasive proposals. Working with Microsoft Word, the software guides you through a series of screens where you select relevant content to easily build your document.
Do you know the most important elements of an effective proposal? See if you can pick the top three from the following list:
- Accuracy of the content
- Addressing the customer’s needs and objectives
- Addressing the requirements of the RFP
- Case studies / success stories
- Clarity of the writing
- Completeness
- Compliance
- Conciseness
- Cost justification / ROI / Life cycle cost analysis
- Facilities section
- Graphics
- Management plan
- Pricing
- Prior experience
- Project plan
- References
- Resumes
- Technical innovation
- Technical plan
- Vendor’s history / capabilities / experience
According to Sant, the three that seem to matter the most are:
- Addressing the customer’s needs
- Addressing the requirements of the RFP
- Cost justification / ROI /Life cycle cost analysis
“People want to know that they’re getting what they need, that you’re going to deliver it in a way that conforms to their expectations and technical requirements and that will offer good business value. The other stuff? Background support. Substantiation. Sometimes a reason to eliminate a vendor. But ultimately not as important.” (from What Matters the Most in Winning, Sant’s Messages That Matter blog).
Learn more about the Sant Corporation
Be sure to sign up for their free e-newsletter. It always contains practical advice you can use immediately to write winning proposals.