1. Creative Commons search

2. Yahoo Creative Commons search

3. Flickr Creative Commons search

Free stock and public domain images

Much like with Creative Commons images, many just require attribution be given to the original creator. If an image is in the public domain, it is completely free for you to use for any purpose, altered or not, without credit required.

5. Stock.XCHNG

7. Everystockphoto

8. PDphoto

WikiMedia Commons

Aggregating all of the associated media from the various Wikimedia Foundation projects, the WikiMedia Commons is a large database that includes primarily freely reusable images, audio and video broken down into their various license categories. Be sure to note which type of license the image you want to use is under and follow the reuse guidelines for that particular license. Some useful collections include:

12. Public domain

13. Creative Commons

14. Sound

15. Video

Free audio sources

16. opsound

19. Internet archive open source audio

Free video sources

20. Internet Archive Moving Images Collection

21. Open Source Cinema

Further resources

25. TeacherLibrarianWiki’s list of copyright-friendly image sources

26. NASA

I recommend digging a little to find an image that is not too overused.  It is possible to find stock photography that doesn’t look glaringly like stock photography. Trust me, you will feel like you have been sucker punched when you are driving down the freeway and see the same image you used for your entire fall campaign on a billboard for a used car dealership.

Also, before you use any image, audio or video, double check the license agreement for allowed uses and attribution requirements.

For Barb’s full list, be sure to check out the complete article.

As the person here at ReachForce ultimately responsible for having a regularly updated blog, I know how very difficult it can be to continually come up with new blog post ideas.  Lucky for me Kipp Bodnar has created a great list of 20 Ideas For B2B Blog Content To Drive Traffic and Boost SEO on the Social Media B2B blog. Here are some of my favorites:

• Profile your customers
• List the top ten twitter users in your industry
• List the top five blogs in your industry
• Start a contest and ask for submissions
• Use Trendrr to create graphs of industry information
• Compile the top ten blog posts on a specific industry topic

I can’t wait to start using some of these ideas myself.  Some things we do on The B2B Lead:

• Guest posts from partners and customers
• Quote great articles and blog posts and then expand on those ideas (hence this post)
• Write a cliff notes version of hit industry books
• Feature other companies who offer complimentary services or products to your own

Don’t forget to read the full list of 20 ideas!

Remember in school when you took a quiz to see what kind of learner you are?  In case you didn’t, there are three types of learners:

• Visual (seeing) learners
• Auditory (listening) learners
• Kinesthetic (touch/experience) learners

Does your marketing mix appeal to all three types?  We are trying to add more to our mix to appeal to a greater audience.  We have a new way for visual learns to understand what we do.  We created a map that shows a live feed of contacts we are discovering right now.  It is pretty cool if you haven’t checked it out yet.  Thanks to Jason for creating it.  Is there a cool or new visual way you could explain your business?

When trying to reach visual learners, consider:

• new graphics
• charts
• videos

For those who are auditory learners, you might try experimenting with:

• podcasts
• video or recorded case studies
• webinars

For kinesthetic learners, look into:

• interactive demos
• in-person events
• free trials

I am always looking for ideas on how to stand out in the crowd, so when I saw this idea on two different blogs, I had to share it.  In case you missed Dianna Huff or Drew McLellan sharing this interesting direct mail they received themselves, both were sent a FedEx package with chocolate covered grasshoppers inside.

The package said, “You’re a risk-taker, a dream-realizer. What’s left to do that you haven’t already done? Eat a grasshopper. They’re farm raised, covered in chocolate and rich in protein. So, not only will you be breaking boundaries, but you’ll be eating healthy, too.”  A note was attached with the real promotion, “Entrepreneurs can change the world. Join the movement now! grasshopper.com/idea”

According to a Fox News video, a company in Needham, MA sent the grasshoppers to 5,000 “of the most influential people in the U.S.” in the hopes that these people would then talk about the company and its campaign.

Drew and Dianna seemed to have different takes on the success of the campaign.

Drew loved the campaign – Bottom line — it worked.  3-D mailings may cost a little more money — but they deliver big results when they are done well.

The folks at Grasshopper.com decided to send out 5,000 of the attention-hopping packages to entrepreneurs, bloggers, celebrities, journalists and customers.  They spent 3 months assembling the list and made sure the packaging and cross promotion (Twitter, YouTube, bloggers, their website, etc.) were all in order.

This was a very well thought out and executed campaign.  Bravo to the Grasshopper gang.

While Dianna seems to have mixed thoughts – So, the company got me and lots of other people to write about its campaign — which according to the Fox News video, was the company’s objective.  But, it didn’t get me to buy — or even consider its service. Is the campaign a failure or success?

To me, 5,000 doesn’t seem to be a particularly targeted audience but it did seem to get the company the coverage they were looking for.  After all, I didn’t even get the chocolate covered grasshoppers, and I am writing about them.

Obviously this campaign worked best because the name of the company is Grasshopper but the idea of a bold direct mail piece is possible for anyone.  Something else to learn from the campaign is to not just focus direct mail on prospects.  You might get more bang for your buck with bloggers and thought leaders.

Photo credit: Drew’s Marketing Minute

I came across a great post by Ann Handley on Mashable, “Everything I Need to Know About Twitter I Learned in J School.”  She goes over 8 mantras she learned in journalism school and how they apply to Twitter:

1. Make every word count

In traditional news journalism, and on Twitter, you only have so much space. On Twitter, of course, it’s a mere 140 characters. As I learned in journalism school, writing short is a lot harder than it looks. It’s a lot more work to choose your words wisely, and be concise, than it is to ramble on luxuriously.
Keeping a tweet really short – like close to 85-100 characters – also makes your tweet more “Retweet Friendly,” since it allows a little wiggle room for forwarding.

2. Keep it simple

The best news reporters tell a story simply and clearly. Similarly, don’t try to cram too much information into a single tweet. On Twitter, less is often more.
Also: Link directly to blogs or other online sources, and always link to the full story, rather than trying to juice up page views by, for example, linking to the home page. Shorten URLs through bit.ly or similar services. Most Twitter clients will usually condense your links, but I like bit.ly’s rich click-through and retweet stats.
Finally, avoid the temptation to fit more into a tweet by the liberal use of abbreviations. Such shorthand might maximize your character count, but they make your tweet read like a teenager’s text message.

3. Provide context

News reporters do this by plugging in some of the back story on any given news item. On Twitter, offer context by using keywords and hashtags, when appropriate, so that readers can more easily get the gist of a conversation, thread, or topic.

4. Lead with the good stuff

In journalism, the “inverted pyramid” style places the most important information at the top of any story, and then the ensuing narrative explains and expands on it. In other words, the first paragraph should contain enough information to give the reader a solid overview of the entire story. Approach sharing links or information on Twitter in a similar manner, giving the strongest and most compelling bit in the tweet, and then link to the rest of the story elsewhere.

5. Write killer headlines

Headlines “sell” a news story or a blog post much like a great tweet invites a reader to click. Author tweets that are short, punchy, and are compelling, either because they tell the reader precisely what you’re offering (”How to…” or “27 Ways…”) or because they’re clever or funny.

This applies to so much for B2B marketers – subject lines, blog posts titles, Press Release headlines, etc.

6. Graphics expand on the story

A good image or graphic complements a news story. Similarly, a picture on Twitter tells a story with far more impact.

7. People make things interesting

News reporters often focus on how people are affected by a given situation or event. On Twitter, it’s also the people that keep it interesting. That means talking to (or “@ing”) folks liberally, as well as adopting a conversational tone and community spirit.

And this applies even when you are representing a brand. This can be hard for B2B Marketers to remember but never forget that people buy from people. Personal outreach from your brand makes people feel like they are really connecting to someone.

8. Consider the reader

Journalists spend a lot of time coming up with the right angle for a story. On Twitter, be similarly thoughtful in your approach. The immediacy of Twitter might tempt you to dash off a tweet with little forethought. But if you respect your audience of followers similar to the way journalists consider their readers, you’ll spend more time thinking about what to tweet, than you will actually doing it. Believe me, your followers will appreciate your efforts.

A good question to ask yourself before you tweet – “Will anyone care?”  If it is what you ate for lunch, probably not.  If you ate the best buger of your life, maybe so, of course not if all of your followers are vegitarian.

For examples of each mantra be sure to check out the full article.

Notice:  If you are a professional Twitter user, you probably already know this tip so please take a minute to share your favorite Twitter tip with The B2B Lead followers.

Now for those just getting started on Twitter, here’s a simple tip on retweeting.

When you are just getting started on Twitter, building your following and having quality tweets are two of the biggest challenges.  A great way to solve both is retweeting.  See a great tweet?  See something interesting worthy of sharing?  Think that your followers would be interested in it, retweet it!

Proper Twitter etiquette dictates that you begin your tweet with RT followed by the original tweeters handle.  Example: RT @ReachForce: Building a Sales Enablement Playbook Part 1 – http://tinyurl.com/qotz4f.

When you retweet someone else, they are likely to start following you and there is a good chance they will retweet you in the future.  When you are retweeted, your message is now seen by a new audience also creating a situation where you could gain more followers and build your personal brand.

Looking for a specific topic to tweet about?  Try searching for it on Twitter first.  If it is a hot topic, you might see a few people with similar tweets.  Be selective about who you retweet when building your lead generation Twitter brand.  Think thought leaders in your industry, prospective customers, customers and partners.  This will help with general awareness as well as help demostrate your participation and thoughts on the topic.

Creating new content on a regular basis is tough and very time consuming.  Here at ReachForce with almost everything we create we create a plan on how we are going to make use of the content in as many places as possible.  Things like converting eBooks or whitepapers into blog posts and vice versa or using surveys for lead information gathering as well as trend mapping.

Well, nurture marketers and sales teams out there here’s a GREAT idea!  I got an email from an Account Executive at MarketBright (see his picture below) that simply invited me to visit the MarketBright blog.  Then he went on to list a few of the most popular posts.  I thought this was brilliant.  He wasn’t trying to sell me anything, well maybe he was in the last paragraph but it was subtle.  He was just letting me know they had a resource I may be interested in.  No customization was needed, just a simple introduction and a list of the resources.  Easy as pie.

Here’s what the email looked like –

Ok, I must admit I think the picture is a little cheesy.  But it did make me giggle so I guess it worked, it caught my attention.  But otherwise, his hook worked.  Now I’m sure with the MarketBright email tracking, Jon was able to tell what I was interested in and now he knows what to follow up with next.

If you have a blog, steal some content from there.  Big change your prospects missed it the first time it went out.  If you don’t have a blog, pull out highlights from eBooks, whitepapers, webcasts, basically anything else you have and put together an email that links back to each of these.

I’m stealing this idea and going to do something like this for our pipeline nurturing program.  No selling from me, just trying to be resourceful for our decision makers and help encourage further interaction.  Jon, your email worked.  You caught my attention and I acted.  Thank you for the great idea.

Being a somewhat typical marketer, I pay attention to the look and feel of everything we do.  I believe that a cohesive look for our brand is essential because we run so many integrated marketing programs.  I came across a great post on Mashable, HOW TO: Create Custom Twitter Backgrounds by Ben Par.  The post goes into why you would want a custom background and examples of some great ones but to me the best part is  a list of tools to help you create your own:

• MyTweetSpace: MyTweetSpace is one of the simplest ways to create a Twitter background with minimal effort. It allows users to create badges, add graphics, play with text, and more to create elegant backgrounds and left-hand text columns. You can even log in with Twitter and MyTweetSpace will automatically update your background.
• TwitterBacks: This website provides a set of templates perfect for creating your ideal Twitter background. The templates come in PSD (Photoshop) form. In fact, my Twitter account utilizes a TwitterBack template as the basis for my design. Can you guess which one?
• TweetStyle: TweetStyle offers free background templates, custom Twitter backgrounds, and a few useful blog posts on the subject of the backdrop.
• Free Twitter Designer: This handle little app provides an easy-to-use image editor to help you create a professional-looking theme.
• TwitBacks: This is another tool for creating backgrounds. This one specializes in left-hand column-based backgrounds.
• TwitterGallery: TwitterGallery is a directory of themes based on color and category. You can even click the “install” button under any theme, log into Twitter, and poof!…your background is ready.
• Peekr: If you stumble across a great Twitter background and want to take a quick look at it in its pure form, the Peekr bookmarklet is the way to go. Click on the bookmarklet once to show only the background, and press it again to bring everything back to normal.

One tip I would add is to be sure to change your design colors to match your new background.  When you are in your Twitter account, click on settings and then change design colors. You can change your background, text, links, sidebar and sidebar border to match your new background.

We have already done this for the ReachForce twitter page but I can’t wait to get started on my own personal background.

Lose Control of Your Marketing is the latest eBook from David Meerman Scott.  It is mostly composed of excerpts from his new book World Wide Rave.  Readers of The B2B Lead already know I am a huge fan of Mr. Scott, especially his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR.  However, the ideas presented in this eBook were a little hard for me to accept whole-heartedly.  As the name suggests, he encourages marketers to take down any barriers to their content and lose control to allow their ideas/content to spread.  As a bit of a control freak and one who lives by the mantra that everything marketing does must be measured, I had a bit of an internal struggle while reading this eBook.

According to David, You need to think in terms of spreading ideas, not generating leads. A World Wide Rave gets the word out to thousands or even millions of potential customers. But only if you make your information easy to find and consume.

One of the most difficult ideas for me to accept is the idea that sales leads are the wrong goal.  Isn’t my number one goal as a marketer to provide qualified leads to Sales?  David’s most compelling argument is that he has seen content downloads multiply by as much as a factor of 50 when a registration form was taken off.  I don’t know that I could ever take down every form on my website, but it is worth a shot on an eBook or two, just as a test.

The last part of the eBook focuses on how organizations should create a social media policy for its employees.  At ReachForce we are very open to allowing all employees to participate in social media, but if you are trying to create your own social media guidelines, David gives some great tips.

Helpful hint: if you are strapped for time you can probably skip pages 16-21.  And if you really don’t have time to read this eBook at all, let me leave you with David’s main point: The biggest requirement is that you change your behavior, so let me remind you of the most important strategies for successful marketing in a world of social media:

• Stop obsessing over the old measurements of sales leads and marketing ROI.
• Make your valuable online content free and registration-less.
• Give away lots of good information (videos, photos, data, graphs, audio, blogs, e-books, and the like) to enthusiastic or curious people interested in your products and services.
• Encourage an organizational culture of sharing.

Remember 1999?  The tech bubble had yet to burst, times were good and our biggest worry was Y2K.  Back then marketers had a positive attitude and spent time tailoring messages to their audience around how the benefits of their product would help the prospect.

We all know that times have been tough this year, we don’t need to be reminded in every email, direct mail, blog post and webinar invitation we get.  If I want to be reminded, I just look at my stock portfolio . This is a plea to all marketers out there, STOP talking about the recession.  Don’t remind your audience that their budgets have been cut or that they are now a man down.

If your prospects have had budget cuts and layoffs, there is no need to remind them of the current economic state; they live with the reminder every day.  Instead, now is the time to focus on the positives.

Here are some reasons why you should NOT highlight the recession in your next marketing message:

• Stand out from the crowd.  If you are sending out the same  ways to recession-proof your X, as everyone else, your message will be lost.  I automatically delete any email or webinar invite I get that has the word recession or economy in it.
• You are subtly reminding your prospects that their budgets are shrinking and that they should be spending less.  FYI- your goal is to sell them something meaning you want them to spend more.
• Now is the time to really highlight how you are going to save your prospects time and money.  Make them feel like your product is the one thing that cannot be cut from the budget.
• Perception is reality.  As long as the media and we as marketers continue to propagate the idea that we are in a recession, then we will be in one.  We can all do our part to be more positive.

My point is that we all know we are in a recession and although things are beginning to look up, we don’t need every marketing message to remind us of our budget cuts and staff losses.