Back in December, we had the famous social media guru @JimKukral on TwitCastRadio.

As if that his social media expertiese wasn’t enough, Jim brought along his ukulele for some extra fun and strummed out a few bars he suggested would be the start of a TwitCastRadio Theme

Jim promised to complete the song.. and true to his word.. has been laying down some tracks for us.

Lyrics Contest

@JimKukral is a first class writer, but he’s asked for help with the lyrics for the new TwitCastRadio theme. He says that it just wouldn’t be a good community effort if we didn’t get all our tweeps involved.

So here’s your chance for a bit of Twitter Radio fame. Submit a line about Twitter, social media, Jim’s singing abililties, the social media radio show, or the fun we have on Friday nights.

Contest Rules

1. NO RULES.. submit anything you want in the comments
2. Decision of the judge (me) is final. We may use your lyrics, or not
3. The Contest will be over when we get tired of playing. Enter early, enter often
4. Creative entries will stand the best chance of winning
5. Entries must be posted as comments to this post to be considered as entries

Sometime in the next little while, I will review the comments below. I’ve got a bag full of cool prizes. A copy of Twitter Revolution, some gifts left over from the #Happy09 contest and some special goodies that I’ll pull out if we get a super entry.

One or more prizes will be given. Results will posted on Twitter, and maybe here.

Post a Tweet sized lyrical line.. a stana, a verse, a chorus or whatever else you think will help. All become property of the Twitterverse. We won’t return them to you.. but I promise I’ll read them all.

Add your @ Twitter Handle so we all can find you.

Go ahead.. post your TwitCastRadio lyric entry in the comments now

Warren Whitlock, kukral, twitter radio, theme song, social media show

I’m putting together a bundle gifts to give my followers and promote some of the best Tweeps I’ve met in 2008

You can read how this came to be here

We know that the power of our network grows as each member grows.. so it’s only natural that we want to promote tweeps in the network with a shout out here, and in Twitter messages.

And a lot of FUN!

Here’s some of the goodies in my gift bag so far

	Simply Getting Results! from @keithdb
	One Year Membership to FitBusinessWoman from @fitbizwoman
	How to Get Rich by Going to Yard & Garage Sales, Moving & Estate Sales from @edaugusts
	Master Your Time & Live Your Dreams: Conversations w/ Coaches & Creatives Who Get it Done! from @profcarol
	FatWallet Care Package from @troyredington
	Fast Money System from @mrebay
	Custom Joomla Installation from @LADwebdesign
	Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change from @MeMyselfandWhy
	Copywriting 101 for Small Businesses, Entrepreneurs, Coaches & Consultants from @allisonnazarian
	Traffic Generation Made Easy with Willie Crawford from @Henry_Griner
	Mompreneur Laser Coaching Session from @SarahRobinson
	Online Video Rock Star Training from @loubortone
	Cash In On Speaking from @FeliciaSlattery
	7-Week Shortcut to Public Speaking Confidence from @LisaBraithwaite
	The Lifestyle Fitness Program: A Six Part Plan So Every Mom Can Look, Feel and Live Her Best from @themojocoach
	Using PLR Videos Tutorial Bundle from @superaffil
	Signed copy of “The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur” from @ScottBradley
	1 Year Full Use www.VideOptin.com Optin Increaser from @mike_wesely
	Creating Membership Website Ebook and Blog Assessment Session from @kimbeasley
	Dog Treat Sampler of All Natural Treats and Organic Shampoo from @BullyStickGuy
	Group Mastery Success Pack from @wendyybailey
	Secrets to Lasting Body Transformation from @coachlaura
	Consult by The Breakthrough Specialist-Prosperity Coach from @prosperitygal
	Secrets of the Young & Successful from @ysnjen
	Quanta Change Sensory Quotient from @SaraAvery

I’m working through the list of gifts submitted for my Happy New Year 2009 gift giveaway and noticed that there were some questions about what makes a good gift and some common misconceptions.

I do a lot of “list building” promotions and we use gifts for readers that want to get a newsletter and more information. The “gifts” have to be easy for many people to get and it’s common to make that a simple e-book or Mp3. We call the gifts because they are free, and very little obligation (you can unsubcribe).

Today, I’m putting together a gift basket (or baskets) with one gift from each partner. So the guidelines are a bit different.

Maybe this will help you get more from value from giving gifts online

1. Make it a real gift If you send everyone to the same page with an free report signup and then offer that as a “special gift” on another promotion it’s not special
2. Don’t make people sign up for your mailing list 
3. Give away something that others are paying for. That shows it has real value right now
4. Make it a wide appeal. No need to give your lead generating gift when it’s publicity for you, your site and your business.

These guidlines for for contests, charity gifts etc. There are plenty of times when a “free download” gift is perfectly right.. on your sites landing page or in as a bonus for someone buying at a partners site. That’s what we call a “lead generation” marketing program.

I ask myself this question when choosing a gift: “Would I think this was a good value if I wasn’t doing this for a living”

We gave away thousands of copies of Twitter Handbook before releasing Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online. If you’ve seen the ebook, it’s got almost as much information as the real book and tons of value. We knew that the people like you that download it are early adopters and the kind of people we want in our network.

The law of reciprocity says that when you give a real gift, without demanding quid pro quo, you create a bond with the recipient. In marketing, we know that some of the people will come back and that the publicity value will outweigh the small investment in the gift.

Ultimately, giving away real value in gifts gets you the best results. Free can be more valuable that charging.

Pretty cool, eh?

Master Your Time & Live Your Dreams: Conversations w/ Coaches & Creatives Who Get it Done!

Attend my session via Twitter. Click here to use this search phrase

I’m speaking at a PubCon seminar session titled “Social Media: The Big Sexy”

The session is described as:

It
got the buzz - it got the press - and it got your attention. Everyone
is loving talking and playing social media. However, you blog, you
tweet, you Facebook – so now what? Social media is the new frontier
with new rules and players. Skeptics don’t get social media because
they don’t see how they can measure results. In today’s world a mention
on a social media Web site is just as valuable as getting your name in
The New York Times, but not all companies understand that. Many CEOs
still believe that traditional media are the only media that matter,
but think again. To convince these skeptics companies have been pulling
their hair out trying to show them the value of a blog or tweet, but
don’t know how to convince the non-believers. This session will look at
the importance of social media hits and how to measure them, what you
can do to convince non-believers, and what you can do to show them that
social media is just as good as print media.

I figured the best way to explain the power of social media sites like Twitter would be to show them. So I’m planning to show them, and I NEED YOUR HELP

Here’s how you participate

1. Tweet that you are going to help me show the power of Twitter and Social Media. Include the hashtags #sexy and #pubcon

2. A few minutes before the start time, tweet again and open a window to follow these tags ( #pubcon OR #sexy) http://search.twitter.com/search?q=+%23pubcon+OR+%23sexy

3. We will have people in the session tweeting live. There will be links for fast action fun and prizes.

If you have questions, comments, ideas, PLEASE tweet me @WarrenWhitlock

pubcon, webmasterworld, vegas, social media, twitter revolution

Here at last!  Here at last!  Let the Twitter Handbook Cover Design Contest begin! To vote, simply add a comment below (to keep it as easy as possible, please start your comment with "Entry 5" or whichever cover you like best).

Are you a Graphic Artist?

Do you use Twitter & understand the community that is called the Twitterverse?

Interested in getting involved in a project to showcase your talent & get free PR?

Do you create covers for books?

If you answered YES to all of the above - we’re interested in meeting you!

Post your interest in this contest in the comment section below along with a link to your Web site where we can see a sample of your work.

We’ll either choose a graphic artist that best matches the ideas for the cover design for the Twitter Handbook that we have in mind - or hold a contest for this project and let the graphic artist who creates the BEST book cover design win.

In the meantime - who knows who else will see your work as a result of you posting your entry to this Graphic Design book cover design contest for the Twitter Handbook when it gets published and put on bookstore shelves everywhere.