Blog: Marketing and Social Media

Photo credit: Becky-Johns.com

Does Chris Brogan Know How?

I subscribe to Chris Brogan’s weekly newsletter. But he doesn’t really call it a newsletter. And it comes out every Sunday morning. First thing. That’s why I find it so intriguing. It’s not on a business day, so it’s more personal. He always uses my name in the first or second line. And he spends a moment connecting in conversation – consistently talking about the different teas he likes – is drinking now as we speak, or how we’re sitting down to have a relaxing moment to chat (except that we don’t get to talk.)

Chris positions himself as TRANSPARENT. That’s why when he sells something, it doesn’t really feel like he’s selling. He’s promoting himself in a way that doesn’t FEEL like promotion. In fact, he wants each and every one of us to feel that he’s accessible and trustworthy (I think we trust people when they disclose stuff about themselves and act in a humble way. That’s what Chris does.)

And when he started selling ads in his newsletter, he was totally upfront about it, even asking his readers where the best position is. Are they better placed at the beginning? At the end? Middle?

Chris promises to answer all emails. So I sent him one. And by gosh, he responded. Not only did he respond, but he thanked me for contacting him – twice! And he really truly IS transparent. Here is the list of disclosures on his website:

Chris Brogan’s Disclosures and Relationships 

• I am President and CEO of Human Business Works, a business design company.
• I work for New Marketing Labs, LLC, a social marketing and media company, and the Pulse Network, as Entrepreneur in Residence.
• I am co-Founder of PodCamp, an unconference series.
• I have written for Entrepreneur Magazine
• I write for SUCCESS Magazine
• I have written for American Express OPENForum
• I am an advertising partner for Federated Media. (Check there if you want to place ads with me).
• I am on the Advisory board for Hubspot
• I am on the Advisory board for IZEA
• I am cofounder of Third Tribe Marketing (affiliate link)
• I sometimes use Amazon Affiliate links to point to books I’ve reviewed.
• I’m an affiliate for Premise (affiliate link)
• I’m an affiliate for Screenflow (affiliate link)
• I’m an affiliate for Aweber email service.
• I’m an affiliate for Mark Dykeman’s Unstuck (ebook)
• I use Skimlinks to monetize some product sales on this site.
• I am an affiliate for the Genesis WordPress theme.
• I am an affiliate for Hootsuite.
• I am an affiliate for Fill Your Stadium.
• I am an affiliate for 1automationwiz.com
• I am an affiliate for Fear to Fuel
• I am an affiliate for Chris Pearson‘s DIY Themes site for the Thesis WordPress theme.
• I am an affiliate for Inmotion Hosting for sites other than chrisbrogan.com
• I am an affiliate for the Standard WordPress theme.
• I am an affiliate for Chris Garrett’s Guest Posting ebook.
• I am an affiliate for Teaching Sells, from Brian Clark (Because I think the product is worth it).
• I am an affiliate for Scribe SEO, also from Brian Clark (but am still getting the hang of using it).
• I am an affiliate for Chris Guillebeau’s Empire Builder Kit, because he’s good people.
• I am an affiliate for Rapid Videoblogging
• I am an affiliate for Beyond Blogging (because I’m in the book).
• I am a proud affiliate of Tourism Currents (because my friends Becky and Sheila put a lot of work into it).
• My site hosting is sponsored by Rackspace Cloud (*and* I’m an affiliate for them, now).
• I am an affiliate for The Biz Web Coach (Jim’s a friend)
• I have occasionally put affiliate sales links in posts older than 10 days. If they are explicit ads for a specific product, they are products or services I endorse. Those links are explicit.
• If they are Google Adsense, it’s whatever Google thought was relevant.
• I took money for an ad from CEA
• I took money for an ad from eBillMe
• Pure Digital gave me a Flip video camera to review.
• Nikon USA gave me a D60 to review (later to purchase).
• Nikon USA gave me a D300s to review (so far).
• Garmin sent me a Nuvi 200 to review (to be returned).
• BatchBlue gave me an upgraded account to review.
• FreshBooks gave me an upgraded account to review.
• Saddleback Leather sent me a messenger bag to review.
• Kodak sent me a Zx1 to play with, and then the new one .. forget the name.
• Hanes paid for a trip to Walt Disney World for me to meet and talk to them about their products and efforts.
• I am sent NUMEROUS books to review. I’ll only review the ones I like, unless I suspect you might like it, too.

This is quite a disclosure list! Did you notice all the affiliate relationships? He probably wouldn’t have them if they didn’t make him money. You know, in my opinion, all these things are working for him. And he’s willing to disclose much more.

How to Make More Money

So what does it have to do with Making More Money? Well, Chris’ newsletter this week is entitled, “How to Make More Money”. The very first line starts with: “I’m so happy, Lisa!” – remember, using my first name right away. But enough about that. Chris sells a course for folks who work hard online but don’t make the money they hoped to make. It’s called “Mastering the Digital Channel.”

Maybe it’ll help you make more money. Thank you, Chris. I hope it’s a cash cow for you, too.

For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Marketing and Social Media.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book, The WebPowered Entrepreneur – A Step-by-Step Guide is now available at:

• Amazon.com: http://bit.ly/AmazonTheWebPoweredEntrepreneur
• Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/BNTheWebPoweredEntrepreneur

Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. She helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com