May ‘20 Newsletter
My brother runs a company called Academic Business Advisors that is focused on transforming the education system from the industrial age to the network age. The company helps businesses with innovative products that will accelerate that transformation to shortcut the lengthy process of getting accepted into the educational system. One of his recent blog posts was about the affect of the Coronavirus shutdown on the education system in the next school year and beyond. The post can be accessed at https://blog.academicbiz.com/.
Some of the points that stuck with me included:
- Schools will likely remain closed until there is a tested vaccine.
- Teachers will need to combine live and recorded lectures with games or simulations, 1:1 coaching, virtual field trips, guest appearances with outside experts, and social benefit projects to be able to reach students who have different skills, learning styles, resources and interests.
- To enable parents to provide the home schooling that is needed for young children to succeed with distance learning, there will need to be a national initiative to enable parents to spend time with their children without sacrificing their financial status.
- There will be more use of virtual environments where students engage together to solve problems to advance, such as in World of Warcraft, Second Life and Minecraft.
- Schools will experiment with different solutions, such as having 1st and 2nd graders attend school on Monday and Wednesday mornings, and 3rd and 4th graders in the afternoon on those days; and to avoid having all the kids in the hallways, the teachers will switch rooms while the kids stay put.
For those who have kids in secondary school, and for employers concerned about the future workforce, this is important information. Hopefully, the redesign required to the education system as a result of the Coronavirus will ultimately lead to a better system that will provide greater engagement and prepare our kids better for the future.
- Last Chance
While you are stuck at home, why not take this opportunity to get your book written?
To help those of you who want to write and publish a book, I have opened up my book writing course, as well as my book publishing course, for free! Once you register for a course, you have two weeks to take it, at no charge. This offer is only good through May 20. If you sign up by May 20, you’ll still have 2 weeks to take the course from the date you register. For more information about the courses, visit the SkillBites website at www.skillbites.net. To sign up, use Coupon Code Covid19 at checkout.
2. The SkillBites Show
Each month, we bring you an expert to help you get your book done, leverage your book, grow your business or improve your life. The shows are recorded, so if you can’t listen to one live, you can listen to the recording by clicking here.
Our next SkillBites Show will be held on May 20, 2020 at 1 pm ET. Our guest will be Anthony Mora, president and CEO of Anthony Mora Communications and PR for Writers, and author of 2 novels and 7 plays. Anthony began his media career as a freelance journalist and magazine editor. He has placed clients in a wide range of media including CNN, Time, the New York Times, Oprah, the LA Times, the BBC and hundreds of other media outlets. The firm, which offers customized campaigns and individualized attention, specializes in public relations, media training and social media. Anthony will discuss such issues as how to work with a PR firm to get the best results, and how to gauge if your PR campaign is successful.
To listen to the live presentation, you can go to https://zoom.us/j/3021564627 or call in, using a line local to you:
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abAXTgmoXv
Meeting ID: 302 156 4627
Save The Date:
Next month, the SkillBites Show will be on June 17, 2020 at 1 pm ET. Our guest will be Linda Ratner, founder of Ratner Consulting. Linda has built, sold, and continues to operate successful businesses across several industries. She has developed rare practical insights into operating systems, creating and managing key performance indicators and creating work environments that foster the success of any venture. 80% of entrepreneurs fail within their first 3 years. The primary reason they fail is they don’t have good systems or metrics. Linda will share the 6 components that entrepreneurs need to focus on to grow and scale their organization.
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Last month, we heard from Ann Covery. Ann talked about PR for authors, including how to pitch your book, and how to find your best story angles.
If you missed this presentation, you can listen to it by clicking here, or you can read a summary of the show on the SkillBites blog by clicking here.
Do you have expertise that you believe would benefit the SkillBites community of entrepreneurs and authors? If you would like to be the guest on the monthly SkillBites Show, contact me at judy@skillbites.net or 610-783-4519.
- Building Relationships
While things may never get totally back to ‘normal’, at some point the quarantine period will end. For those who plan to continue their businesses, this is the time to focus on building relationships. Reach out to all your current and former clients, not to sell them anything but to find out how they are doing, and if there is anything you can do for them. Similarly, reach out to the prospects on your list. Then come up with a list of people you would love to have a relationship with, such as influencers in your field. Having a professional relationship with several influencers who might be willing to promote your products or services could get you better results than having hundreds of relationships with former clients and prospects.
Once you have identified the influencers you’d like to build a relationship with, find out how you can reach out to them. They might be on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. There’s no barrier to contacting them on Twitter. The best time to reach out is Sunday morning, as most people don’t work then and many people check their Twitter accounts then.
Figure out what you can offer them that would be of value to them. If you have a podcast, for instance, they might be interested in being a guest on your podcast, as that will increase their influence. Follow them, re-tweet their posts, and help them out where possible. When you provide value to them, they are more likely to provide value back to you. Then you’ll be able to seek their help when your book is done, and maybe get them to write a Foreword or provide a testimonial.
4. Earn Commissions For Referrals
Do you know anyone who has been wanting to write a book but has been stalling? Let them know that SkillBites offers a variety of services to make book writing and publishing easy, quick and convenient. When you sign up to be a SkillBites affiliate, you can get a commission for each person who signs up to purchase SkillBites services through your unique referral link. To obtain more information and to sign up for our referral program, click here.
Thanks for supporting SkillBites. If there is anything you think we ought to be doing better or anything we should be doing that we’re not, please let us know. We value your input.
Cordially,
