My 3-Week Buzz Marketing Challenge is over. I completed a good number of the challenges but certainly not all of them. Getting on a board of directors isn’t easy! (But I did try!)

I didn’t post about every buzz marketing challenge I took on. Some of them I was doing beforehand as well. These last few challenges are summarized below, so you can get a clear picture of what was accomplished in the 3-week time period.

For those of you that are new to Instigator Blog, my goal was to complete as many of Ron McDaniel’s 57 buzz challenges as possible, from his book Buzzoodle Buzz Marketing in 3 weeks. At least 2 or 3 others followed up after me and also started their own 3-week challenges.

Generally speaking I was very pleased with what I was able to accomplish. More than anything I learned a number of important lessons, which I’ll be sharing soon.

1. Call Someone You’ve Never Talked To. I tried (but left a message.) This is a tough challenge because many people are shy about calling strangers. I absolutely believe this can work though. Ron McDaniel recommends calling someone that you’ve read about in the newspaper, congratulate them about their success and go from there. That’s precisely what I did when I called Mohammed Hassan, who is involved with a microloan/microcredit organization in Montreal (which I had read about in the Montreal Gazette.) Mohammed did call me back, now we’re playing phone tag.
2. Online Directory. The challenge here is to use online directories to put your name and profile out there. An example used in Ron’s book is LinkedIn. I’ve used LinkedIn for quite awhile but not actively. Very soon I’ll be updating my LinkedIn profile, so stay tuned!
3. Instant Messaging. I use instant messaging constantly to communicate with people. Often it’s to share industry news as well as updates on what I’m doing. As Ron points out in his book, instant messaging can be disruptive, so use it cautiously and don’t get frustrated if you don’t get an immediate response. A powerful use of instant messaging is to spread news quickly. If you’ve got a big enough contact list you can ping people fast, and spread some serious buzz.
4. Write a Blog. Well, obviously I’ve got this one covered. Writing a blog is the single most effective way of growing your personal brand and generating buzz. End of story. Once you start blogging, tons of opportunities will come. You may be able to republish your content on reputable websites. Connect with like-minded guys doing interesting things for the blogosphere. It’s incredible what blogging can do.
5. Produce an e-book. This is not something I’ve finished doing, but I’ve been talking to a couple of people about the possibility. E-books and audio books remain quite popular, and even if you give them away for free, they can generate a lot of buzz. Ron points out that e-books can be great sales tools. It’s important to brand them properly so people know where the e-book came from.
6. Send a Press Release. I undertook this task for my friend, Jimmy Moore, from The Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Show which is a great, in-your-face and inspirational podcast. We sent out an initial press release to a variety of health magazines and websites hoping to seed the turf a little bit and get him some recognition. Recently, Jimmy’s been asked to speak on two radio shows, so the PR might be working!
7. Give a Speech. I didn’t do this within the 3-week period, but I’ve been invited to speak at 2 events coming up in the near future – one in May and one in June.

Buzz marketing does work. Take a look at the 57 buzz marketing challenges and get started.