Promoting Yourself and Usability (which comes first?)

1
Promoting Yourself and Usability (which comes
first?)

• with Ilise Benun
• author of Self Promotion Online
• www.selfpromotiononline.com

2
(No Transcript)
3
The challenge

• How do you persuade prospects, clients, and
  colleagues that you know what youre talking
  about, and that they should listen to you, when
  what you say isnt often easy to hear?

4
Heres what well cover

• Promoting usability internally vs. promoting
  yourself as an independent.
• Obstacles to self promotion
• How to talk about what you do
• What really is self promotion?

5
What stops you from promoting yourself and
usability?

• Negative connotations
• Shyness
• Us vs. them attitude
• Isolation
• What else?

6
Self promotion is user-centered.

• Know the users. Who do you need to interact with?
• Understand the users. What do they need from the
  big picture? What are their challenges and
  concerns?
• Speak to users. What do they need to hear? Tailor
  your talk so you speak their language.
• Make your deliverables usable. (EX Create an
  executive summary based on your report.)

7
What do you do?
8
Answering What do you do?

• 1. Your 7-word blurb
• what you do or what is usability
• 2. Your 15-word blurb
• plus who you do it for
• 3. Your 25-word blurb
• plus how and when you do it
• Where does jargon fit in?

9
Self promotion is educating

• Define your terms. Explain what you mean.
• Be an expert who educates, while also involving
  others, spreading risk and responsibility.
• Point out the effect of good and bad usability.
• Show that usability isnt about preference but
  task success.
• Tie usability to the bottom line.

10
Self promotion is being a resource

• Learn as much as possible about the product and
  the business strategy of the company.
• Build trust by showing youre a team member.
  Know the priorities.
• Become the knowledge database. Aggregate data and
  distribute it.
• Put together (and distribute) a usability
  bibliography.

11
Self promotion is high visibility

• Position yourself as an expert.
• Get invited to management meetings, product
  meetings, bug reviews.
• Get involved in trade groups.
• Organize seminars and invite everyone.
• Socialize with those whose help you need.

12
Self promotion is giving and helping.

• Be constantly reaching out.
• Be generous with your business card, your
  information, your ideas.
• Create documents that help other departments
  achieve their goals.
• Answer questions on discussion lists.
• Volunteer to take notes at a meeting.

13
Self promotion balances positive and negative

• Emphasize the positive.
• Highlight what works as well as what doesnt
  work.
• Include positive user reactions in usability
  reports
• Make courageous but gentle recommendations.
• Use others as the bad examples.

14
Self Promotion is the way you conduct yourself.

• Reliability
• Responsiveness
• Resourcefulness
• Professionalism
• These are all marketing tools.

15
The 5 tools you need to promote yourself

• 1. Business card for networking
• 2. Email address and signature file
• 3. Web site?
• 4. Calling script and list of prospects
• 5. Printed materials for sending out
• 6. A plan to follow up

16
Email marketing

• It drives prospects to your Web site.
• You can do it without a Web site.
• Email marketing spam?

17
Email messages that get read are

• Brief
• Personal
• Useful

18
Email marketing campaign

• Send personal messages to strangers.
• Send generic messages to an opt-in list.
• Send updates, tips and useful links.
• Send attachments, but dont expect them to be
  opened
• More about this in the online course.

19
People skills you need

• How to make contact without alienating people.
• How to make people comfortable.
• How to ask intelligent questions. (Tell me more
  about that.)
• How to introduce yourself.
• How to remember names. (Hint its about
  listening.)

20
How to make a connection

• 1. Learn something new.
• 2. Offer something useful.
• 3. Tell me more about that.
• 4. Link what you do to what they do.
• 5. Exchange contact information.

21
Buy the book today.(Be direct about what you
want people to do.)
22
Thanks for your contribution.

• If you want to receive this presentation and/or
  Quick Online Marketing Tips, give me your
  business card.