If you follow Joseph Jaffe (and if you don't you will after this post), you may have noticed that he and Mitch Joel have both posted a challenge called "Keynote for a Cause" to donate 100% of the proceeds from a keynote speech to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.  This weekend, David Thomas of SAS jumped on board offering his social media expertise in the form of a workshop from which he will donate all of the proceeds to the Red Cross.

This got me thinking and inspired me to act as well.  My wife and I already donate the largest portion of our charitable funds each year to Project Haiti through St. Edward and Isidore Parish here in Green Bay, WI - a group that sponsors medical and other missions to Haiti several times each year.

Like David, I don't command tens of thousands of dollars for a keynote speech, and I'm not really a keynoter anyway. What I do well is teach organizations how to use social and new media for marketing. When we find ourselves in a situation like this, it's a call for all of us to use whatever talents we have to make a difference in the situation at hand. So, with that, I'm throwing my hat in the ring to offer up two Workshops for Haiti.

So, how will this work?

It's simple. You need some social media expertise and your humanitarian side wants to help those in need of our help in Haiti, so you raise the bid on the social media workshop and feed your need for knowledge and make an impact in your world all at once! The funds will be split between Project Haiti and The Red Cross.

The particulars:

My half-day social media workshops normally start at $4500 but for this I'm setting the reserve price at $1500 and we'll work up from there.

If you want to put in a bid, DM me on Twitter (@danavan), e-mail me: dana [at] marketingsavant [dot] com or drop me a voicemail at 888.989.7771 with your highest bid. If someone bids you up, I'll drop you a line to see if you want to raise yours!

Bidding ends on Thursday, January 28th at Noon.

Funds will be split 50/50 between Project Haiti and The Red Cross.

Workshops in Wisconsin - I'll cover travel/lodging. Anywhere out of the area is your responsibility (I travel cheap)

Bid me up!

In the mean time, make a difference for those that need it and text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 or help us with Project Haiti - Donations can be sent to:
St. Edward and Isidore/Project Haiti
3667 Flintville Road
Green Bay, WI 54313-8330

From a small biz perspective, this is a great example of how powerful social media is and how quickly it can catch on for a small biz operator with a good value proposition and a little willingness to experiment. Check out the whole NY Times article for the skinny.

For Mr. Kimball, who conceded that he "hadn't really understood the purpose of Twitter," the beauty of digital word-of-mouth marketing was immediately clear. He signed up for an account and has more than 5,400 followers who wait for him to post the current location of his itinerant cart and list the flavors of the day, like lavender and orange creamsicle. , Marketing Small Businesses With Twitter - NYTimes.com

So, what's your small business doing to get engaged in social media today.

It's ready, are you? Are you ready for 30 great ideas for the 30 days of Entrepreneurs DIY Marketing Month this June?

Let's make something clear at the beginning. Not every idea in here is meant to work in every business. But you can be sure that you will find several that will work in your business!

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