Introduction  Hello again Tribuners! In this week's issue, I'd like to discuss relationships -- both online and offline. First, I'll talk about how to really be effective in networking at conferences and events. I'll also cover social media, and how it really is just an amplifier of who you are. I also found a great search engine optimization resource I'd like to share with you. It's very well written and designed, and it's free. Lastly, I'd like to talk about a new trend in blog and content page design that's sure to be noticed. I hope you enjoy this week's Tribune. Brandon
 To celebrate that Cup, SitePoint is letting the game dictate the price! For a strictly limited time, we're having a HUGE digital book sale with a freebie at the end. So regardless of what's happening in South Africa, you can go for glory with some of the strongest contenders in our library. Find out how to play and win now! Summary Effective Networking for Netizens Lately I've heard a lot of people talk about effective networking at business events such as meetups, conferences, and trade shows. I was talking with someone at the after-party of ConvergeSE last weekend and the topic came up again. He said, "I'm no good at networking. I always end up meeting one or two interesting people, and spend the whole night talking to just them." Little did he know, he was excellent at networking. Networking is not about giving out or collecting as many cards as you can during an event. It's about quality, not quantity. I would much rather meet one really interesting person at a conference or meetup and get to know them, than spend five minutes with ten different people. Networking is about building relationships. It's impossible to build a relationship in five or ten minutes. After five minutes, no one is going to remember who you were. Spend an hour talking to a person, and chances are they'll not only remember your name, but they'll recall several topics of the conversation and several aspects about you personally. Next time you go to a networking event, follow these tips to make the most of it: Don't Try to Meet Everyone At ConvergeSE, I only really got to know five people, and two of them were a couple. Now, I was introduced to probably a dozen people, but I recall little about most of them. I remember the people I spent a substantial amount of time with. Don't Pitch Your Stuff Sorry, but this is one I'm fairly passionate about. Please, please avoid pitching to people when you first meet them. I was at a half-day conference last week and several people I met instantly went into pitch mode. After just a few minutes I was looking for any excuse to leave the conversation. You can still talk about yourself. Definitely answer questions about what you do, who you work for, and what services you offer. You can even go into detail. But don't force the information on people who've yet to ask. Ask Questions On the heels of "Don't pitch" ... what do you talk about? Ask them what they do. Or find out an interesting fact about them: Do they have kids? What sports do they like? You can talk about your background, where you went to school, Windows or Mac ... a hundred other topics. There's plenty of time to talk about business too, but it shouldn't be your only goal. Get Their Card or Contact Information Forget about giving them your card -- unless they ask. Instead, if you want to stay in touch, ask them for their card or contact information. There's no need to have everyone's card; it's perfectly fine to just say "I enjoyed talking with you" and move on. After an evening networking event I usually end up with maybe one or two cards I asked for. I don't count the ones that are forced on me; I usually just throw those away. Stay in Touch Usually I send a handwritten card to the people I really connected with at a conference or event. Again, that's usually only a handful of cards to write, but it's a nice personal touch. You could also simply send an email. I also follow them on Twitter and add them on LinkedIn. I only add them as a Facebook friend if we're actually friends. If I hang out with someone again at an industry event, or after we've met and kept in touch for a while, I'll add them as a friend. Don't Overdraw In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey likens relationships to emotional bank accounts. You're unable to open a bank account with $0 and immediately start making withdrawals, right? It takes a few deposits first. Similarly, avoid jumping the gun and asking for a referral, or worse yet, their business. Grow to know them and build a real relationship. Try to make deposits from time to time too. It can be as simple as sending a birthday or Christmas card, or forwarding an article that might interest them; any of these methods can be seen as a big deposit in their eyes. Be Yourself Don't try to be what you're not. Just be yourself and you'll understand this networking caper in no time!
 Discover the secrets to effective, profitable email marketing when you download the free report "Email Marketing 2.0: the Three Techniques That Will Actually Make a Difference In Your Email Marketing." Hint: this report does NOT cover subject line suggestions, SPAM words to avoid, best time of day to send, or how to address your contacts. Don't wait -- Download your free copy now! The Truth About Social Media Recently, Scott Stratten (@unmarketing on Twitter) posted a video of a talk he gave on social media. About halfway through, he said the following: "If you suck, social media just makes you suck harder." So many people seem to think that social media is a magical advertising medium, where you can automate some posts and receive tons of customers. Oh, if it were only that easy! Social media is no miracle solution to your marketing problems, it's a communication tool that helps you listen to and connect with your customers. The only way it differs from email, the telephone, or a letter is that the messages you post go out publicly for everyone to see. And they're permanent.* Social media is really just a megaphone to amplify your own (or your company's) personality. So be yourself, and be genuine. Don't try to game the system; rather, try to build relationships with people, as in the networking article above. That's what social media is all about.
*Sure, you can delete messages like tweets and blog posts, but you can never keep people from making screenshots of your messages, nor keep Google from indexing them. Just because you delete it, doesn't mean it goes away.
Astute SEO for Starters SEOMoz, a search engine optimization web service, just released The Beginners Guide to SEO. This ten-part guide is beautifully illustrated and laid out like a magazine spread, rather than a typical article. It's also extremely well written. If you're just starting off in SEO, I highly recommend reading The Beginners Guide to SEO.
 Adobe Business Catalyst is a new hosted service that replaces 5 or more separate tools with one integrated solution. Incorporating web hosting, content management, ecommerce features, email marketing, and built-in customer management tools, Business Catalyst can help you accelerate your projects and increase your profit margins. Try it out for free at businesscatalyst.com. Death of the Dull Blog Post Speaking of amazing design, isn't the old single-column blog post layout becoming a little old? I'm not talking about the blog design, but the actual post/page content area. We give so much thought to the template design, but what about the layout and typography of the post itself? if you run a blog or content site, check out "The Death of the Boring Blog Post" over at Smashing Magazine. Right now, very few online publishers are going to the trouble of varying their layouts, but the ones that do are truly stunning. I'd rather read these beautifully designed blog posts, with stunning imagery and charts, than a dull-looking single-column post. Could using these attractive layouts be the future of online content? They're definitely a great way to differentiate yourself among the hundreds (or thousands) of blogs out there. Is the time and effort required to put these together worth it in the end? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Chime in over on the forums and let me know what you think!
That's it for this week's Tribune. If you're in the United States, have a safe and happy Fourth of July holiday this weekend. Brandon Eley
tribune@sitepoint.com
Editor, SitePoint Tribune
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