The top three reasons that small business owners avoid developing their online marketing plans and stay away from social media is lack of capital, lack of time, and lack of skills. This is where a blog will fit your needs perfectly—it is relatively cheap to incorporate into your site, requires very little time, and you do not need any special technical skills or writing expertise to use it. View this guide for tips on getting started with a blog and for best practices on maintaining it.

What is most important to having a successful blog is to understand that it is like hosting a networking event on your site, around the clock. People can read what you’ve written, which should be entertaining and informative. They can also participate by asking questions and posting comments. This can become a sounding board for revealing your areas of expertise and truly helping potential customers. It can also be a place for your current customers to tout your goods or services.

The beauty of the blog is that it does not need to be a picture perfect dissertation of what you do; as a matter of fact, it is better if it is more conversational and speaks to the masses. You can also have fellow employees or business associates write posts to expand your reach. One cardinal rule of blogging is to not only start this conversation, but to respond as well—keep the interaction moving.

Learn more and get started today!

55% of small businesses that blog have increased traffic

For many in the social media world, this is a “no duh”, but for small business owner thinking about blogging, this is some serious validation to what many of us have been preaching for the last few years.

Many small businesses have been asking themselves how to stand out in the leveled playing field of the web. In the early days it was awesome. You could put out a better looking web site and compete with companies 100 times bigger than you. You looked the same.

Then came social media and the ability to stop broadcasting and start communicating.

Many saw this as a perfect way to give great customer service and get their web site to be a lead generation engine and not just a digital brochure. However, bigger companies could throw their resources at this and build large communities and execute big campaigns.

This means that there were few channels left to show you are great to work with and know your business. This was were blogging came in.

The team at Inbound Marketing looked at data from 1,531 HubSpot customers (mostly small- and medium-sized businesses). 795 of the businesses in the sample blogged, 736 didn’t.

The data was crystal clear: Companies that blog have far better marketing results. Specifically, the average company that blogs has:

• 55% more visitors
  
• 97% more inbound links
  
• 434% more indexed pages

To review the report and look the graphics, check out the full article here.

Easier said than done, headlines are an art all their own. I try desperately to write good ones but some times mine are on the verge of clinical because I want to tell exactly what you are about to read (SERIES X Part #Y – THIS IS REALLY COOL AND I THINK YOU SHOULD REAL IT BUT THIS IS TOO LONG FOR YOUR READER, SO PLEASE CLICK) but get caught up in it all resulting in an epic FAIL. Other writers on our team have this trick down to a science. Joe and Ken are masters at this and have a combination of funny, quirky, SEO bait and “gotta read this” rolled into one.

So what is one to do if they are “headline deficient” or “title impaired”? Consult with the masters, of course.

Two of those masters are ProBlogger and CopyBlogger who blog about blogging and show you how to be effective and actually make money with this skillset. Dean Rieck over a CopyBlogger recently wrote a killer article with a killer title – “9 Proven Headline Folmulas that Sell Like Crazy“. I am going to disect them and see how they apply practically to your own blog.

1. ) Say it simply and directly – I like this because you get right to the point and people know what to expect. It needs to be short. This is a hard one. Difficulty – 7 out of 10

2. ) State the big benefit – Usually involves the word “Free” or some time benefit. This is a moderate one. Difficulty – 5 out of 10

3.) Announce Exciting News – People love the news especially when it is timely or exclusive. Difficulty – 3 out of 10

4.) Appeal to the “How-To” Instinct – I have to admit that I am a sucker for hacks that can improve my life and getting advice from the experts. Difficulty – 6 out of 10

5.) Pose a Provocative Question – Bloggers like to think they are controversial when most times they are just annoying. This is one of the most challenging types of headlines but if you get it right, traffic, trackbacks and comments are yours for the taking. Difficulty – 9 out of 10

6.) Bark a Command – Now we don’t mean be a dictator or be a jerk but having a strong command will give attention to what you are asking them to do. If it is compelling they will click. Difficulty – 7 out of 10

7.) Other Useful Information – Sometimes this just useless information to fill up your brain or be used once in a board game but I gotta tell you men and women both love the lists. 10 of this or 10 of that or 9 types of blog headlines. Difficulty – 4 out of 10

8.) Honest enthusiastic testimonials – Readers love real people and those testimonials that are real ring true but also hear what other people like them say about it. Difficulty – 4 out of 10

9.) Authenticate your statement with something that makes it more real – The more real the more compelling and the more click through. Easy to try but hard to make work. Difficulty – 8 out of 10

We want to know what you think

I was reading an article in Entrepreneur.com and they stated that “Twitter grew 3,000 percent in April. Facebook hosted 61.2 million visitors in March. LinkedIn counts 20 million users worldwide.”

THOSE ARE POWERFUL NUMBERS. BUT HOW DO YOU TAKE ACTION?

We have been piloting classes in Social Media and we have found that there are found basic things you should do if you are going to start leveraging social media tools for your small business.

Way #1 – Google Alerts: Know Who is Talking About You
For those of you who don’t know Google Alerts, you can set up alerts to come to your email or an RSS feed based on keywords you set. You can set them up at http://www.google.com/alerts. You will need to create a Google account to get it running.

Way #2 – Get a LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn provides the opportunity to connect with others who are also looking to create partnerships or to collaborate. LinkedIn has incorporated additional social networking capabilities such as special interest groups and open discussion threads. You can also have people recommend you and recommend them which can be very powerful for people searching for someone with your expertise to hire you or your firm.  You can get started by creating a profile allows you to post your online career history, then to connect with your network, many of which probably are on LinkedIn already. You can also set up your company on LinkedIn and get your employees/contractors connected to your company profile. This can also help promote not just you but your firm as a whole.

Way #3- Using Twitter: To Tweet or Not to Tweet
Many people, including me used to advise companies to start with a blog, but now it is probably easier to get on Twitter first.  This allows your to engage in conversations faster and better along with building a powerful network that will drive traffic to your web site and blog. This way, when you do things like an  announcement of a new product or promotion you can use Twitter to include a link back to the details on your company’s blog or website, all while waiting to get a coffee.  Connecting with people on Twitter produces the necessary personal touch so many clients and customers prefer and shows that you are really listening. You can also leverage Twitter to get instant answers to questions, feedback on brand elements and product ideas. Be warned thought, Twitter can be a time sink. Look at using tools like Tweetie, Tweetdeck or Seesmic Desktop to keep up with ongoing conversations.

Way #4 – YouTube: Internet Video is Not Just for Laughing Babies and Sneezing Pandas
Another way to capitalize on the fast pace of social media is by posting videos on YouTube. I know, I know, when you think of YouTube all that seems to come to mind are viral phenomenons like the Star Wars Kid, Laughing Baby and the Sneezing Panda. While alot of the content on YouTube is very juvenile and not very useful for work, many companies are establishing an outpost on YouTube for many reasons. To share interviews, protect their brand, have a channel to rapidly respond to PR crisis issues (e.g. Burget King) and even to demonstrate your knowledge to the world to help establish your company as a thought leader. You can started with very low overhead (I use a Flip video camera which is $100-200) and using your channel to uploading a short clip can be a rapid way to test the market and also demonstrate your knowledge to potential customers.

The irony of online video and sites like YouTube? You reach a wider audience than network or cable TV. That is pretty powerful, don’t you agree?

Way #5- Set up a Blog: How Will People Know You Are an Expert

Having just a web site is very 2005. If you are out there trying to build reputation, especially as a thought leader in a particular area, you must start a a blog now. Blogging takes disseminating information about a company a step beyond formal press releases, ads, marketing brochures and websites. A well-managed blog invites peoples’ perspectives and provides an opening for real relationships to be formed which is a critical aspect of great customer service, and a good user experience.

Blogging doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment, but expect to spend 1-3 hours to research, write and edit a post. You should also do it on a regular basis. If you are going to write daily or weekly, be consistent and pick a day to publish. I find it best to writing during mornings or on weekends to maximize my schedule. The nice thing about blog tools now is the ability to schedule. You can write a post when you have a free block of time and schedule it when every you want it to go out. Granted, some things are time sensitive but if you look to build readership, you must be consistent otherwise people will think your blog is dead and unsubscribe or just stop visiting.

Another side benefit is that search engines love blogs. Blogs that are refreshed regularly get a boost in search engine rankings. When blogs publish a new post, it lets the search engine know that you have new content and they spider your site and reindex you, helping you with increasing authority and relevance in search engine rankings.

The Bottom Line – Mix Social Media with Traditional Media and Find the Mix that Best Suits your Business

Pulling a quote from the article in Entrepreneur.com which is very appropriate – “Traditional advertising and marketing is not dead,” says Olivier Blanchard, business strategist and principal of The Brand Builder Marketing. Blanchard advocates integrating social media into a more traditional marketing and advertising plan, “so you can have a healthy mix, much like a diversified investment portfolio.”

Time is money, so before you dive in you have a solid website, e-mail list and a contact database before venturing into social media.

Remember it is conversation before conversion. No matter what the platform, the true value of social media is found in the conversation. You are not necessarily going to get tons of comments every day, or @tweets/retweeting your every word but you are engaging a potential customers or clients in the way you could not have before and than conversation naturally leads to the point were they become new customers and your investment in social media will come full circle.

…in a good way. His post “Backwards Work” stuck with me for a solid day, because he’s absolutely right. You’ve got to know the rules to break them, and you need to know what you want your end result to be before you start swinging for the fences. As Chris said, “know what it is you’re shooting at before you draw back.”

So without rehashing everything Chris wrote (its damned fine blog post on its own so go read it), I want to talk about the one thing that will help secure success…excitement in marketing your own company.

Excitement in your company period. Because, if you aren’t excited about your own business…no one else is going to be!

If you really want a good example of what passion and excitement for your product, brand, service or what it is that got you to start your own business, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better example than Gary Vaynerchuk. When I’m getting frustrated in what it is I do for a living, I go to YouTube and check out his talk from Web 2.0 Expo NY from September 2008 on “Building Personal Brand Within the Social Media Landscape,” and I get pumped all over again.

Now calm down, Sparky. I’m not telling you to go out and be Gary, but you can take a few things away from that talk that will help you. Gary’s passion for the things he loves (like wine, personal brand, and the New York Jets) is empowering. He loves what he does, and it pays off in spades? Take a lesson from that, and apply it to your own business. Whether it’s plumbing, coffee, design, legal work, the medical field, or, hell, even turning? paperclips into life size replicas of the entire 1969 winning Super Bowl team. In his talk Gary says, “if you love it you will win,” and that’s something I’ve always believed in.

Whatever it is…you started a business for a reason right? I mean, you didn’t start a business because one day you woke up and said, “I’m really good at (insert your whatever it is you want to do here), but I really don’t care about it…maybe I should go into business for myself doing that.” No. Something inspired you to shuffle off the 9-5 coil and strike out on your own. Now I’m saying this, and I am making the assumption you didn’t have a large bank roll behind you. I’m assuming you stepped out into the cold dark unknown of self employment, looked at the horizon, and smiled like a Cheshire cat. I’m assuming you looked out at whatever it is you wanted to tackle as the boss of a new business and said to yourself, “I can do this… and I want to for the rest of my life.”

You’re going to fail sometimes, but it’s that excitement for whatever it is you’ve decided to get yourself into that pulls you through to the next achievement. If you don’t have that, go back to the 9-5’er, lick your wounds, figure out what went wrong, and let someone else worry about where the monies coming from for a while.

If you’re on the fence about whether you’re excited about what you do or wherther the shine has worn off… pick a side and go there. It’s going to suck at times. It’s going to be exhausting at others. There are going to be days where you look at your loved one, friend, employee, or business partner and think, “What the hell did I get myself into?” The answer to that question is the very same thing: “I love what I do for a living!”

Chris Brogan wrote in his post: “Someone had to hunt the first mammoth. Oh, and that poor bastard died a bloody death.”

Bring me that mammoth and my rock. I’m ready to go down swinging. I’m willing to put in the hours, the time, and the effort to move forward regardless of the obstacle. I’m ready to get called crazy, loud, determined, passionate, and…a success. I am going to fail, and I look forward to it so I can get back up, dust myself off, and attack whatever knocked me down in a different direction.

I am a Small Business owner, and I’m excited to wake up every day and say that.

In Gary Vaynerchuks’s talk. he says, “if you love it you will win.” That’s something I’ve always believed in and something that, even before hearing Gary say it, has been the key to all of my successes.

Until next time…stay wicked.

* Photo courtesy of istockphoto.com

I recently read Putting the Public Back In Public Relations written by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge and it had some profound information on how to handle the relations between a business and a blogger. Granted, this book is all about public relations, but for businesses, shouldn’t this be important? After all, businesses should be interested in how the public perceives the company, not the shareholders, banks, investors, etc. Instead of publicity, which to me makes it seem like it’s a celebrity, the term “public relations” conveys a more congenial tone & reflects the business’s intention to serve its citizens.

So what exactly are some tips that businesses can use to reach out to bloggers?

First, learn what blogs exist that relate to your product/brand. Do some searching on sites like Technorati, Google, Delicious, even on Twitter Search and find out whether they are credible enough or not. Are other people citing their articles as evidence of their street cred? Would you be comfortable in their writing style and also do they have a big enough audience? This all falls in line with the next point, which is to read what the blogger is writing.

Perhaps the most crucial of all the tips I could possibly give, if you don’t actually read what the bloggers write, then how can you build a rappor or relationship with the author? Answer: you can’t. Imagine if you happen to be publishing a book or writing your own blog post about a subject you know very well – say it’s automobiles. Then, you get an email from a company out of the blue with a press release for their latest product. If the press release was on gardening tips and trends and they also wanted you to write about it using the info given in the email, you would find that insulting because first of all, that’s not your expertise and you’re not writing about it in the beginning, and second, you have no idea who the person emailing you is so there’s no connection.

What to do next? I’d say let’s look at the posts the author is writing about & since it’s in your industry, you might as well begin the conversation by commenting on some of their blog posts. No, I’m not talking about simiply saying “Hi. Great post.” but something much more interesting. Begin the conversation. C’mon. You are in the industry so you’re telling me that there’s not something you can talk about in a blog post about your industry? Either agree or disagree with something in the post and explain why. If there is a reaction to that blog post, then respond with a reply. Don’t just leave it with one comment and think that it’s enough…because it’s not.

Be authentic & upfront. If you’re going to have a genuine conversation and rapport with bloggers, then don’t lie to them because they’ll definitely find out. And if they find that you’ve been lying to them or have deceived them in some way, you’ll not only hear from them on their blog, but word will quickly spread not only about you, but also your company. Authenticity (yes, that word) is a powerful tool in getting bloggers to pay attention to you. If you’re upfront with them & tell them who you are when commenting or in your correspondence in emails, Twitter, Facebook, etc. then you’ll be better rewarded for it.

Speaking about correspondence, learn how the bloggers prefer to be contacted. I know that one of the most famous technology bloggers, Robert Scoble, prefers a certain method of getting contacted and if you don’t adhere to it, then you only increase the blogger’s ire & distrust as they know you don’t really know anything about them. Pay attention!

Putting the Public Back in Public Relations gives great details on how you should view bloggers. It should be noted that blogger relations will NOT happen overnight. Start now to cultivate these relationships. Another thing to take away is that you always want to be showing bloggers you care and in four distinct ways:

- Know who they are & why what you say is something they need to pay attention to.

- Customize your story to the bloggers. We’re beyond the generic story at this point.

- You’re an expert in the field and bloggers should respect that. You also know key players in the industry.

- Bloggers should view you as a resource NOT as a PR spammer. Learn to give info when asked & just talk.

Brian Solis has also published a free ebook on blogger relations that has much more detailed information than listed here.

As typical with social media and the web, the main point to take away is that you need to listen to the public and also bloggers. Read what is being said and respond accordingly. Do not fear what is being said and through active conversations, you will be able to generate a team of bloggers who will, from time to time (not all the time), be willing to write about your product.

I mean, there’s stuff like the federal government’s prohibition on persistent cookies, as well as the fact that they have to be a lot more sensitive to Section 508 Accessibility issues (an area where the private sector could learn a few things), the digital divide considerations, personal privacy, etc. But because it’s government, there’s whole ‘nother cultural and even regulatory barriers.

There were three sessions I attended that I’ll be drawing from here (note, session recaps may not be available): Social Media/Executive vs. Agency Level with David Almacy, former White House Internet Director; Social Media Subcouncil – What is it? with IRS’s Jaqi Ross; and Running a Federal Blog with Jeffrey Levy of the EPA. (I’m going to focus on federal government issues here.)

Just Like Private Industry, Only Very, Very Different
First off, every government agency is different, in terms of its policies on IT access, privacy, employee social media participation, and every other damned thing. So things that one agency are able to do on the Web don’t necessarily translate over to other agencies. From my corporate viewpoint, government is the entire “industry,” and individual agencies are separate “companies.” (Also, throw in political appointees for guaranteed turnover every few years, adding even more fun.)

On top of that, as David Almacy pointed out, the Executive Office of the President is also different from agencies (for example, it’s subject to the Presidential Records Act, etc.), and what they’re able to do or not do on Whitehouse.gov doesn’t automatically roll down to the agencies.

There’s also a sensitivity to using third-party service providers, which we kind of take for granted in the public sector, either because of incompatible user agreements, or the desire to be not seen as favoring any one service (though that last bit seems to be fading).

Mitigating Factors
Despite hurdles, some folks in government are trying. To some extent, companies may be able to work with government to adjust their terms of use; the Smithsonian is on Flickr and added a bunch of their photos to the Flickr Commons, after the photo license terms were tweaked.

And during the White House Internet town hall last week, they used Google Moderator to handle questions, though they handled registration, instead of using Google accounts.

In another example, the EPA’s blog uses Wordpress, hosted on EPA servers, though they don’t use user accounts for people to comment. (The process they used to set up and publish the blog, as well as the review policy and comment policy, was also pretty similar to what I’ve experienced with corporate blogs.)

The Social Media Subcouncil
In an effort to share knowledge, collect info, and keep agencies from having to reinvent the wheel every time, there’s an interdepartmental working group-type thing called the Federal Web Managers Council and their 3-month-old Social Media Subcouncil (their wiki is open to all — in fact, they’re seeking input from private industry). Here’s Jaqi Ross (right) and members of the Social Media Subcouncil during their session:

I was heartened by the fact that such a group exists, populated by volunteers who see the merit in all this social media stuff. With enough pulling from the top and pushing from below, maybe government will be able to make use of more social communication tools.

Of course, social media isn’t a silver bullet for government’s (or society’s) problems. And besides getting it right,  everyone is still trying to figure out how to measure social media return on investment and success metrics. So at least the public sector has that in common with everyone else.

Anyway, I’ll continue following the work of Government 2.0 Club and similar organizations, and maybe even see what’s going on in the Social Media Subcouncil, since what they’re doing is important to participatory government. It matters.

That’s right, we’re giving away a MacBook Air® and an all inclusive website with our friends at Woman’s World Magazine. We thought now was as good a time as any to give people a chance to start a blog, business or take their hobby interests online. Who knows, by doing so, it may help someone recession proof their income.

With the economy being what it is, now is a great time to crank out a blog, voice opinions or showcase work. Blogging is a great way to position yourself as a thought leader in your field. Especially if you have tips and information that can help others do their jobs or run their businesses better. For those who have had crazy thoughts about starting a business, now is your chance to go for it! Start with a simple website, tell people what your business does, what you can do for them and publicize your URL on everything and to everyone you meet. And for those hobbyists out there, why not take it online? You can provide information, pictures and knowledge with others who share your same interests. Sure it’s going to take a little time and thought, but doesn’t everything in life that’s worth while? Using our website builder tool will make it a snap to set up a website or start a blog. (Believe me, if I can do it anyone can.)

And wouldn’t it be more fun creating something on a MacBook Air? The first time I laid eyes on the MacBook Air at my local Apple store, it was “covet at first sight.” It’s so sleek, so thin, so light, so cool and soooo hip! I’m still coveting one, but alas, I can’t enter for a chance to win … but you can. So what are you waiting for?! Check it out.
http://cli.gs/BG7aP3

Since it seems like every social media type in the Western world is currently over in Austin for South by Southwest Interactive, I thought it would be a good time to catch up on a few things. Especially things that don’t involve Twitter, as all the attendees, in their attempts to try and find the best parties, will probably be doing their level best to turn the Twitter server farm into a smoking hole:

* Content Sanity Check: For my part, I haven’t been discussing many small business-specific items of late (my recent entries on networking notwithstanding, though those apply to everyone). I’m going to try to get back into that groove, though I’m looking for ideas, so if you’ve got a question or topic you’d like to see regarding how small business folks can use social media to improve their bottom line, please give it here.

In the meantime, my fellow bloggers have had the small business beat pretty well covered — don’t miss Sian Simon’s series on local search marketing, as well as Steve Fisher’s ongoing 2009 Marketing Plan series, and Jill Foster’s posts over at Women Grow Business.

* Publishing Housekeeping: On the publishing side, looks like this here Solutions Are Power blog has finally taken the plunge and upgraded to WordPress 2.7. I’m getting used to the new interface as we speak. Native photo uploading has also been restored, so you should be seeing more pix in entries. Your blog consumption experience should remain unaffected, though I guess now would also be the time to fix my neglected (actually, nonexistent) blog author profile page.

* “About” Quick Tips: Apropos nothing, it really helps orient your visitors if your blog has an “about this blog,”  “about [this business],” or “about me” entry permalinked from somewhere prominent on your blog, like the nav bar, side bar, or header. That way people, especially people who come to an entry directly from a search result, can see what else you’re about.

* Popularity: Eyeballing the numbers, it looks like my item on 5 Stories of Twittering Gone Bad has been pretty popular over the past 30 days. To that list, I would add: If you’re a reporter, Twittering in court may be okay; however, if you’re a juror, well, that’s a completely different story.

Maybe I should keep updating it as a living entry. Then again, it’d probably do better as a wiki — say, the “Twitter Mistakes wiki.” I’m guessing that’s the only possible way it would scale.

Anyway, if you’ve got other comments or suggestions, for me or for the blog team as a whole, please feel free to leave a comment.

QOTD-from Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand

Bk series intro, chapter overview
I’m still immersed in the useful insights of authors Shel Holtz and John Havens; and I can’t get enough of their book. Last week launched this review series covering the third chapter about characteristics of transparent organizations. And in light of economic times, how transparent sales strategy benefits your business seemed timely to talk about now.

QOTD-from Tactical Transparency: how leaders can leverage social media to maximize value and build their brand

Communications that interrupt your customers … are out!

Communications based in relationship-oriented marketing … are in!

So this may sound painfully obvious but I ask for your patience in saying this: being honest is the cornerstone of relationships and certainly those in a sales dynamic; yes – I appreciate those of you who may be rolling their eyes at this seemingly trite remark. But frankly how present is honesty – and the correlating transparency – in traditional sales development? Potential customers are often viewed as numbers to quench a thirsty sales quota. And after working in sales years ago, I remember some of colleagues’ approaches. What I recall most is their competition for numbers only vs a sense of service and long-term relationship building. In this chapter, Holtz and Havens specify how transparent relations emerge trust between you and your customer to ideally form a longer term opportunity to reach goals – for sales pro and customer alike.

Combining sense of service and influence: honesty is the link
The desire to actually sell someone your product is not the problem; but thrusting one-way pitches with a here-read-this-brochure insistency is. This chapter offers it all — sharing (8) tactics of transparent, relational tips to the Social Customer Manifesto, the authors discuss these concepts in a concrete, results-driven style. From making small talk more substantive with potential customers — to sharing social media ideas for two-way talks — the examples & case studies provide great context to transparent communications that can lead to trust and thus to customers more likely to see your sales professionalism as a resource.

My favorite part
…about this section is how influencing one’s customer in the spirit of serving them was addressed. It was framed as another trust building investment to seek a green light on just how much impact the sales professional can have. A featured expert describes what he asks his customers up front as they enter the sales cycle, quoting:

How heavily do you want me to influence you here?

In the context of educating the customer, I found this directness refreshing (and strategically useful). The sales executive asked permission from the customer on what degree of involvement they can engage. And it’s understood the sales exec will honor the customer’s reply, even if it delays the sales decision.

Direct. Transparent. Permission-centric. Trust-based. Service-driven…all make for fertile ground in having fruitful relationships with new and current clients.

In weeks ahead: reviewing selected chapters from Tactical Transparency

• -Ch. 16: Yeah, But…: overcoming objections;
• -Ch. 17: Your Road Map to Transparency: creating a plan
• And did you catch them? Check out thoughts via audio cast & more for the first review in this series, starting with Chapter 3: Do You Have What It Takes? Characteristics of Transparent Organizations
• …and a take down of Chapter 4: Why opaque selling doesn’t deliver long-term return on investment.

Photo Through A Glass, Darkly by Drumsnwhistles under Creative Commons License A-NC-ND Works 2.0.

Book jacket for Tactical Transparency used with permission from Meredith Stanton at John Wiley & Sons.