-> Creative Cooking with Winter Veggies
This year, in addition to our regular farm share during the summer months, we joined another CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) farm just for winter vegetables. So our counters are filled with squash, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, while beets, parsnips, and celeriac take up much of our vegetable drawer in the fridge.  So we have to get very creative with our cooking… (click here to continue reading)

-> Hear & Meet Shel, January 2010

• Pioneer Valley Book Launch Event for Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet, Broadside Books, Northampton, MA, 7 pm, Tuesday, January 26.
• Roger C Parker, a well-known marketing guy and author of numerous books including Looking Good IN Print (a classic of design principles that’s been on my bookshelf for decades), interviews me about my brand new book Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson), Wednesday, February 3, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT. This is for paid members of my co-author’s Guerrilla Marketing Association, but I’m allowed to invite people to the call. Check the Green and Ethical Marketing Page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-and-Ethical-Marketing-with-Shel-Horowitz/203659771513?ref=mf or my Twitter feed http://twitter.com/shelhorowitz for the call details after January 28.
• I speak at the two-day Forum Davos conference in Davos, Switzerland, February 9: “Communicate the Value in Your Values and Turn it Into Sales: Effectively Marketing Your Social/Environmental Commitment” (this is the same hall and just after the world-famous Davos World Economic Forum, where people like Bill Clinton speak–I’m extremely excited).
• Monday, February 22nd at 9:00 pm ET, 6 pm PT, I’ll be leading another teleclass for Hilton Johnson’s organization (which means, once again, you’ll be getting notices about his health coaching and about the other speakers booked that month, which include T. Harv Ecker). This time, my topic is “Create Value from Your Values.”
• February 23, the incredible Sean D’Souza from Psychotactics will interview me about cracking the best-seller list without any kind of big dollar outlay.
• Wednesday, February 24, 5 pm, I’ll be exhibiting my new book and other goodies at the Amherst-Area Chamber’s Buy Local Expo. Somewhere within ten miles of Amherst, MA.
• I’m attending Ryan Lee’s Continuity Summit, March 4-6 in Stamford, CT, http://www.ryanlee.com/rsvp/. He’s not even charging for the seminar, though of course, you’re on your own with lodging. Last year’s conference was excellent, although a bit high-pressure for my taste.
• March 24, I’m doing a teleseminar for Stacy Karacostas on Green and ethical business success: stacy (at) success-stream.com
• April 25, I’ll be speaking on collaborating with a co-author at the American Society of Journalists and Authors conference in New York. http://asja.org/wc/2010/
• May 8, I’ll be speaking once again on book marketing at CAPA University in Hartford, CT (also in negotiation to speak at both IBPA-U and Book Expo America later that month)

You can also read several recent interviews with me:

• Willi Paul interviews me on sustainability and frugality: http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1455
• Dollar Days, on frugal/ethical marketing and the new Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green book: http://blog.dollardays.com/small-business-expert-interview-shel-horowitz-ethicalgreen-marketing-expert/
• The Examiner, on environmental advocacy, the Greening of my own life, and environmentalism’s intersection with marketing: http://www.examiner.com/x-14744-LA-Renewable-Energy-Examiner~y2010m1d4-Interview-with-Shel-Horowitz-of-Frugal-Marketing
• Dr. Dave Hale interviewing me and other experts on our social media predictions for 2010: http://drdavehaleonline.com/blog/social-media-predictions-for-2010/

-> Friends Who Want to Help

• If you follow me on Twitter, you might notice that some of my Tweets originate from “ShelHorowitzEthicalGreenMarketing”–and that if you click on that origination message, it takes you to the home page for my new book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green. I think this is waay cool. If you’d like to get your own branded tweets, from whatever you want to be known for and pointing to the link of your choice, it costs nothing to sign up: http://su.pr/1vpxQN Thanks to Tammy Fennell for developing this, and telling me about it.
• Suzanne Evans is driven by a passion and desire to help business owners discover the key to success – being authentic in their business. In just two years she grew her business from zero to a quarter of a million dollars by helping more people. She thought this growth was normal and when she realized it was not, she wanted to find a way to share her journey with you. In retrospect, she realized that helping more people and making more money begins with finding your own authentic marketing blueprint. The coolest part? When she stopped traditional “salesy” marketing, she made over a half a million dollars. She’s sharing her story on a no-charge call on January 12: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1076845
• At the recommendation of both Mari Smith and my long-time Vitual Assistant Michelle Shaeffer, I just signed up for Backupify, the leading social media Backup provider. Backupify makes secure, automated, daily backups of your online accounts. Backupify supports backup of Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, Wordpress, Basecamp, Flickr, and more… 15 services in total. Too new to know how well it does, but certainly worth trying. Best of all, Backupify is free if you sign up before Jan 31st. Click this link to register.

-> Media Coverage of Shel

* Pioneer Valley Book Launch Event for Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet, Broadside Books, Northampton, MA, 7 pm, Tuesday, January 26.

* Roger C Parker, a well-known marketing guy and author of numerous books including Looking Good IN Print (a classic of design principles that’s been on my bookshelf for decades), interviews me about my brand new book Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson), Wednesday, February 3, 7 pm ET/4 pm PT. This is for paid members of my co-author’s Guerrilla Marketing Association, but I’m allowed to invite people to the call. Check the Green and Ethical Marketing Page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-and-Ethical-Marketing-with-Shel-Horowitz/203659771513?ref=mf or my Twitter feed http://twitter.com/shelhorowitz for the call details after January 28.

* I speak at the two-day Forum Davos conference in Davos, Switzerland, February 9: “Communicate the Value in Your Values and Turn it Into Sales: Effectively Marketing Your Social/Environmental Commitment” (this is the same hall and just after the world-famous Davos World Economic Forum, where people like Bill Clinton speak–I’m extremely excited).

* Monday, February 22nd at 9:00 pm ET, 6 pm PT, I’ll be leading another teleclass for Hilton Johnson’s organization (which means, once again, you’ll be getting notices about his health coaching and about the other speakers booked that month, which include T. Harv Ecker). This time, my topic is “Create Value from Your Values.”

* February 23, the incredible Sean D’Souza from Psychotactics will interview me about cracking the best-seller list without any kind of big dollar outlay.

* Wednesday, February 24, 5 pm, I’ll be exhibiting my new book and other goodies at the Amherst-Area Chamber’s Buy Local Expo. Somewhere within ten miles of Amherst, MA.

* I’m attending Ryan Lee’s Continuity Summit, March 4-6 in Stamford, CT, http://www.ryanlee.com/rsvp/. He’s not even charging for the seminar, though of course, you’re on your own with lodging. Last year’s conference was excellent, although a bit high-pressure for my taste.

* March 24, I’m doing a teleseminar for Stacy Karacostas on Green and ethical business success: stacy (at) success-stream.com

* April 25, I’ll be speaking on collaborating with a co-author at the American Society of Journalists and Authors conference in New York. http://asja.org/wc/2010/

* May 8, I’ll be speaking once again on book marketing at CAPA University in Hartford, CT (also in negotiation to speak at both IBPA-U and Book Expo America later that month)

You can also read several recent interviews with me:

* Willi Paul interviews me on sustainability and frugality: http://www.planetshifter.com/node/1455

* Dollar Days, on frugal/ethical marketing and the new Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green book: http://blog.dollardays.com/small-business-expert-interview-shel-horowitz-ethicalgreen-marketing-expert/

* The Examiner, on environmental advocacy, the Greening of my own life, and environmentalism’s intersection with marketing: http://www.examiner.com/x-14744-LA-Renewable-Energy-Examiner~y2010m1d4-Interview-with-Shel-Horowitz-of-Frugal-Marketing

* Dr. Dave Hale interviewing me and other experts on our social media predictions for 2010: http://drdavehaleonline.com/blog/social-media-predictions-for-2010/

Gina Mollicone-Long’s book Think or Sink impressed me a great deal, looking at the interaction of physiology, emotions, and success. I particularly like her approach to failure as a learning experience. If stress, job worries, or even weight loss issues are dominating your thinking, this book can pull you out of your funk. Visit http://www.ginaml.com/think/ for the book and a pile of bonuses, including my 12 New Year’s Resolutions For a More Ethical, Ecological, Profitable, and Successful Business.

Meanwhile, Jim Garland hopes to raise $10,000 for The Mark Victor Hansen Foundation’s antipoverty/literacy/entrepreneurship training work through his book, The Practical Guide to Exceptional Living. Lots of focus on gratitude and how to discover your ultimate life experience. You get the book, e-book, audiobook, and $2500 in bonuses. http://www.thepracticalguidetoexceptionalliving.com/

If you follow me on Twitter, you might notice that some of my Tweets originate from “ShelHorowitzEthicalGreenMarketing”–and that if you click on that origination message, it takes you to the home page for my new book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green. I think this is waay cool. If you’d like to get your own branded tweets, from whatever you want to be known for and pointing to the link of your choice, it costs nothing to sign up: http://su.pr/1vpxQN Thanks to Tammy Fennell for developing this, and telling me about it.

Suzanne Evans is driven by a passion and desire to help business owners discover the key to success – being authentic in their business. In just two years she grew her business from zero to a quarter of a million dollars by helping more people. She thought this growth was normal and when she realized it was not, she wanted to find a way to share her journey with you. In retrospect, she realized that helping more people and making more money begins with finding your own authentic marketing blueprint. The coolest part? When she stopped traditional “salesy” marketing, she made over a half a million dollars. She’s sharing her story on a no-charge call on January 12: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=1076845

At the recommendation of both Mari Smith and my long-time Vitual Assistant Michelle Shaeffer, I just signed up for Backupify, the leading social media Backup provider. Backupify makes secure, automated, daily backups of your online accounts. Backupify supports backup of Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, Wordpress, Basecamp, Flickr, and more… 15 services in total. Too new to know how well it does, but certainly worth trying. Best of all, Backupify is free if you sign up before Jan 31st. Click this link to register.

Ethics Articles

• How To Fix the experience–then the “fish”

Global Travel Review

• Staring Down Rifle Barrels Near Mount Ararat (the Biblical Noah’s Landing Place)

Down to Business

• Blog Mistakes

Peace & Politics

• Shock and Trance: Diagnosing a Culture of Indifference

Frugal & Fashionable Living

• Start Thinking Now About Making Next Year’s Holidays Greener

Good Business Blog

• Is It Time for the “Elm Street Economy?”
• How Progressives Can Move Obama to the Left
• TSA Subpoenaed My Friend For Telling the Truth
• Stand Against Injustice! Join These Two Facebook Groups
• Poetry as an Organizing Tool? Oh , Yeah!
• How Many Contacts Do You Need to Make a Sale?
• Olbermann on the healthcare travesty
• This is What Gives Marketing a Bad Name
• Advice to New Entreprenurs
• The Dawn of Eco-Chic?

-> A Life-Changing $11.95 Gift for the Entrepreneurs in Your Life
A one-time deep-discount (minimum 32 percent) offer from now through December 31 that WILL NOT be repeated, ever. And the more you buy, the bigger the discount, all the way down to 77 percent, in case quantities. Your perfect chance to snap up inexpensive but extremely valuable gifts for business owners, key staff, colleagues, and customers.  This may be the perfect gift for the entrepreneurs and marketers in your life, especially those who’ve been hit hard by the recession. Imagine a roadmap to business success that shows how to… (click here to continue reading)

-> This Month’s Tip: Website Models for Writers, Part 1: Shel Horowitz’s Book Marketing Tip, Dec. ‘09
For authors and publishers, certain ways to structure a website make particular sense. Lets explore six different models (three this month, and three next month): Resource sites, author sites, publisher or series sites, buy-my-book sites, blog sites, and salesletter sites.
(click here to continue reading)

-> Hear & Meet Shel, December 2009

Some of the opportunities mentioned pay a commission to Shel. Shel maintains high quality standards for mention in this column, and has either personally vetted the product, experienced previous products of top quality from the provider, or mentions in the write-up that he hasn’t seen it. Many products get turned down if they don’t meet these criteria. If you’d like to know if a particular program is commissionable, you’re welcome to ask us.

–> Media Coverage of Shel

Reminder: last three days to pick up your deep-discount copies of Principled Profit, and then they’re gone forever.  Buy cases at just $4 per book, single copies at $11.95. We sold quite a few at $17.50, so this is a great deal.

-> A Life-Changing $11.95 Gift for the Entrepreneurs in Your Life
A one-time deep-discount (minimum 32 percent) offer from now through December 31 that WILL NOT be repeated, ever. And the more you buy, the bigger the discount, all the way down to 77 percent, in case quantities. Your perfect chance to snap up inexpensive but extremely valuable gifts for business owners, key staff, colleagues, and customers.  This may be the perfect gift for the entrepreneurs and marketers in your life, especially those who’ve been hit hard by the recession. Imagine a roadmap to business success that shows how to… (click here to continue reading)

Some of the opportunities mentioned pay a commission to Shel. Shel maintains high quality standards for mention in this column, and has either personally vetted the product, experienced previous products of top quality from the provider, or mentions in the write-up that he hasn’t seen it. Many products get turned down if they don’t meet these criteria. If you’d like to know if a particular program is commissionable, you’re welcome to ask us.

–> Media Coverage of Shel

Some exciting things! I’ll be speaking at ForumDavos, Davos, Switzerland in February…Clean and Green Club is ready to launch and you can be a charter member…this is the final month of the sale on Principled Profit, with prices as low as $2.50 book in quantity.

-> A Life-Changing $11.95 Gift for the Entrepreneurs in Your Life
A one-time deep-discount (minimum 32 percent) offer from now through December 31 that WILL NOT be repeated, ever. And the more you buy, the bigger the discount, all the way down to 77 percent, in case quantities. Your perfect chance to snap up inexpensive but extremely valuable gifts for business owners, key staff, colleagues, and customers.  This may be the perfect gift for the entrepreneurs and marketers in your life, especially those who’ve been hit hard by the recession. Imagine a roadmap to business success that shows how to… (click here to continue reading)

Some of the opportunities mentioned pay a commission to Shel. Shel maintains high quality standards for mention in this column, and has either personally vetted the product, experienced previous products of top quality from the provider, or mentions in the write-up that he hasn’t seen it. Many products get turned down if they don’t meet these criteria. If you’d like to know if a particular program is commissionable, you’re welcome to ask us.

–> Media Coverage of Shel

For authors and publishers, certain ways to structure a website make particular sense. Lets explore six different models (three this month, and three next month): Resource sites, author sites, publisher or series sites, buy-my-book sites, blog sites, and salesletter sites.

Common Elements

For the first four of these six, certain common elements could be:

•            A navigation mechanism

•            Pages that create interest in your book(s) and/or you as the author

•            Pages that market the author to the media and to meeting planners, schools, bookstores and libraries

•            Pages that market your book to resellers

•            Materials that others can freely use on their own websites, e-newsletters, and print publications (thus spreading you to new audiences)

•            A blog that you can update on your own, at any time (some whole sites are nothing but a blog; see the fifth model)

•            Schedule of appearances (if you can keep it current—personally, I find it easier to do this in my newsletters)

•            Archive of past newsletters

•            Some way of keeping in touch with visitors

•            Feedback mechanisms: contact information and forms, order forms, comment pages, etc. (Warning: Never put your e-mail address as a text link on your website; the spam robots will collect it and you’ll be sorry! I recommend web-based contact forms)

•            Links to other relevant websites

•            A site-wide search tool (Google has a particularly nice one, and it’s free)

Let’s look more closely at the pages that generate interest in you and your book; they should offer…

• Solid information that will save or earn the reader money, solve a problem, learn a new skill, address a pressing desire (e.g., lose weight, find a mate, de-stress), shed light on historical or current events, etc.
• Excellent entertainment
• A brush with celebrity

Resource Sites

When people search on the Web, they’re typically looking for specific information about a topic. If they find your site while they’re searching, you hope the high-quality information you provide will convince them to buy—or at least sign up for your newsletter so you can sell to them later.

To set up this type of site, create a few dozen pages on your topic. These are fun sites to do and easy to gain traffic but they can get out of hand pretty quickly, because there’s so much good stuff out there.

You can see examples at <http://www.frugalfun.com > (my site on having fun cheaply, with arts and travel magazines and frugality resources—which gets at least 50,000 visits every month these days) and <http://www.frugalmarketing.com> (my general business site). Both of these sites actively promote my books but also attract a lot of traffic that will never buy, because they just want the specific information they came for

Author Sites

A site to promote your ” brand” as an author. It should let readers get a sense that they know you personally, as well as, of course, introduce them to your various books. It may or may not have a direct-selling component.

This kind of site is also an ideal place to set up a fan club.

My wife’s site at <http://www.ddinafriedman.com> is one of these

Publisher or Series Sites

Similar to the author site, but promoting the book series or entire publisher line. Typically, these present a catalog page, with tiny book covers and brief descriptions; when you click on the cover or description, you get much deeper information about the book.

Condensed from a much more in-depth section in Shel Horowitz’s seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers.

• I speak at the two-day Forum Davos conference in Davos, Switzerland, February 9: “Communicate the Value in Your Values and Turn it Into Sales: Effectively Marketing Your Social/Environmental Commitment” (this is the same hall and just after the world-famous Davos World Economic Forum, where people like Bill Clinton speak–I’m extremely excited).
• Wednesday, February 24, 5 pm, I’ll be exhibiting my new book and other goodies at the Amherst-Area Chamber’s Buy Local Expo. Somewhere within ten miles of Amherst, MA.
• I’m attending Ryan Lee’s Continuity Summit, March 4-6 in Stamford, CT, http://www.ryanlee.com/rsvp/. He’s not even charging for the seminar, though of course, you’re on your own with lodging. Last year’s conference was excellent, although a bit high-pressure for my taste.
• March 24, I’m doing a teleseminar for Stacy Karacostas on Green and ethical business success: stacy (at) success-stream.com
• April 25, I’ll be speaking on collaborating with a co-author at the American Society of Journalists and Authors conference in New York. http://asja.org/wc/2010/
• May 8, I’ll be speaking once again on book marketing at CAPA University in Hartford, CT (also in negotiation to speak at both IBPA-U and Book Expo America later that month)
• Pioneer Valley Book Launch Event for Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet, Broadside Books, Northampton, MA, 7 pm, Tuesday, January 26.
• Monday, February 22nd at 9:00 pm ET, 6 pm PT, I’ll be leading another teleclass for Hilton Johnson’s organization (which means, once again, you’ll be getting notices about his health coaching and about the other speakers booked that month, which include T. Harv Ecker). This time, my topic is “Create Value from Your Values.”