Green And Profitable Monthly Column: Run It in Your Publication

Make Inroads Into the Lucrative Cultural Creative Segment by Running Shel Horowitz’s “Green and Profitable” Column

Showing businesses and organizations how to profit from green and ethical practices–lowering costs and boosting revenues. A mix of how-to, profile/review, and analysis.

• About the Column
• Why Your Readers Will Benefit
• Shel’s Qualifications
• Endorsement from Jay Conrad Levinson, Creator of Guerrilla Marketing
  (and co-author with Shel of Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green)
• Corporate Clients: Grow Your Brand by Private-Labeling Shel’s Column for Your Own Customers
• PR/Marketing Agencies: Increase Clients’ Reputation
• How to Run “Green And Profitable” in Your Publication
• Column Format
• Sample Columns
• Excerpts From Published Columns

About the Column

Green is HOT right now—but many businesses find themselves asking, “Isn’t green too expensive? Can I really go green and still keep my costs down?”

Going green not only lowers costs, it can actually boost profits and Shel Horowitz’s new monthly column, “Green And Profitable,” will show small and large businesses, virtual and brick-and-mortar alike, how to go green while staying profitable. Shel adeptly analyzes and distills the latest trends and green information—and shares specific ways that businesses can go authentically green (no greenwashing here) to create loyalty among consumers who demand that green commitment:

• Show your readers how to go green in affordable yet effective ways
• Profile businesses that have successfully lowered their costs by taking green measures
• Monitor green trends in the market
• Examine the politics of green business and green activism
• Discuss ways to harness the marketing advantages of going green—to turn a company’s green commitment into lower costs—and higher profits.
• The column is syndicated internationally by the author, enabling you to cut out the middleman and get this high-quality cutting-edge content for an extremely affordable price. For the first 100 media to subscribe, the price will be just $10 US per insertion per publication, guaranteed through the end of 2012 (even cheaper with a two-year subscription).

Why Your Readers Will Benefit

Business people want to go green, but they don’t always know the best and most affordable ways to do so-or how to find a marketplace eager to hear their green story and the effectively tell it to that market. Shel’s column provides how-to tips, examples of successful companies and green marketing makeovers, and important trends to watch.

Shel’s Qualifications

• Shel Horowitz’s consulting firm, Green And Profitable, is the first business ever to earn Green America’s rigorous Gold Certification as a leading green company
• Author of eight books, most recently Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (Wiley, 2010, co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson): a #1 category bestseller at Amazon that has resold rights internationally, and gained more than 50 endorsements from prominent marketers like Chris Brogan, Mark Joyner and Marcia Yudkin—as well as environmental leaders such as Joel Makower and Jacquelyn Ottman.
• Cited frequently in major media, including repeat appearances in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Los Angeles Times, and many more.
• More than 1,000 published articles, including previous regular columns for Business Ethics and the Western Massachusetts Business & Economic Review, a weekly guest blog at Fast Company for two years, and publishing his own monthly marketing newsletters since 1997.

“We were pleased with your work, your speed, your writing ability and ability to grasp complex subjects.”
—Sharon Goldinger, People Speak, California

“You are the best and great to work with. Appreciate your responsiveness, makes things easy on this end!”
—D’vorah Lansky, web publisher

“Thanks for yet another competent and clearly assembled product. It’s a pleasure to say it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”
—Ira Bryck, Director, UMass Family Business Center (14-year steady article writing client)

“Shel never missed a deadline. Publishing the newsletter every two weeks seemed almost effortless to him.
“Using his publishing background to tap into what readers would like to read-with absolutely no guidance from me-he created several columns that helped to highlight AuthorHouse authors and services without overt chest-thumping, which is key to using a newsletter as a sales tool but even more so when the audience is a group of creatives.
“After almost two years of working with Shel on the newsletter at AuthorHouse, I left to start my own company, Hanapin Marketing. I cannot recommend Shel Horowitz highly enough and he continues to do work for me to this day. His professionalism, his “shepherding” approach to working with clients, and his depth of knowledge always make for a successful project.”
—Patrick East, former marketing and product development executive, AuthorHouse (formerly, 1stBooks Library); current president, Hanapin marketing, www.hanapinmarketing.com

“Shel Horowitz is …a mensch, a scholar and a gentleman… also a very talented writer…we happily refer business to him. His latest book is awesome.
—Jeffrey Eisenberg, CEO of Future Now, Inc., The Conversion Rate Specialists

“Shel, when I see your name on an article, I know it’s going to be worth reading.”
—June Campbell, business writer, http//www.nightcats.com

“Wow, your client-oriented attitude is very refreshing. Shel, you did a great job — I love your work! Thank you, and we’ll definitely have many more projects for you soon.”
—Simon K. Grabowski, GetResponse.com, Poland

“I’m one of the legions of authors who have benefited from years of Shel Horowitz’s advice and inspiration–thank you for all the ideas and information you have shared with me and writers around the world.”
—Roger C. Parker, Author of Looking Good in Print and many other books, www.publishedandprofitable.com

“You are absolutely the best in the industry. You deliver when you say you will and do not over commit your time—and your work is stunning in its power and clarity. Not only have I had personal experience with you over many years, but I have referred several others who have been very satisfied also.”
—Merry Schiff, H.R.S., Executive Director, National Electronic Billers Alliance, California

“It’s nice to work with someone who gets it the first time, isn’t a cry baby and knows they aren’t writing the next great American novel.”
—Thomas McEuen, SYNERGY Insurance Solutions

“You provide excellent service and it’s a real pleasure to work with you.”
—Stuart McRobert, CS Publishing, Nicosia, Cyprus

How to Run “Green And Profitable” in Your Publication

For the first 100 media to subscribe, the price will be just $10 US per insertion per publication with a 6- or 12-month subscription ($60/$120), and $8.33 per column for 24 months ($200), guaranteed through the end of 2012 or the end of your subscription, whichever is later. Please fill out this brief form. Once you’ve chosen your preferred option, we can either set up an automatic Intuit Payment Network (our first choice) or Paypal subscription, charge your credit card, or invoice you for payment by check (drawn on a US bank account, payable in US dollars)—your choice of two years, one year, or six months at a time.

Save Even More! Run both Shel’s business column, Green And Profitable, and his consumer column, Green And Practical, and pay 25 percent less than buying them separately. Pay just $90 for 6 months, $180 for a year, or $300 for 2 years—that works out to only $7.50 per column for the year or half-year, and just $6.25 per article on the two-year subscription—what a deal!

Column Format

You will receive a 600- to 800-word article every month, including a brief blurb with link (three lines, maximum). The blurb must be included.

Sample Columns

This Major Paper Company Has Been Recycling Since 1950 (717 Words)

Would you believe…a household paper products company that switched to recycled raw materials in 1950, and has been producing recycled paper towels, napkins, toilet paper, and tissues ever since? A company that was so dedicated to creating “paper made from paper, not from trees”(TM) that it actually set up its own paper collection service (and currently collects paper for recycling from a 300mile radius)? A company that saw no reason to jack up prices and has remained a consistent player in the lower price points? And a company that did this with such humility that it didn’t bother telling the public for decades, and didn’t make a big deal about it until this spring?

Click here to continue reading.

Some Big Companies Going Green and Profitable (697 words)

In the corporate world, if you start talking about going green, you’ll often hear messages like this: “Yes, we’re going green, despite the expense. It’s the right thing to do.”

Yes, it is the right thing to do. And yes, very small companies are often nimble enough to seize the combined economic and environmental advantages. But smart companies of any size can go green in ways that are highly profitable. Even large, slow-moving companies can save enormously. Want some examples?

Click here to continue reading.

Raising the Bar on Green Marketing (719 words)

The old green messages are beginning to look a bit pale. Accusations of greenwashing are rife, and often, those charges have more than a little substance—does anyone really believe BP is a green company anymore?

Click here to continue reading.

Can One Community Self-Sufficiency Initiative Really Do All This? (666 words)

What if a single action could: get troubled teens off the streets and into something productive—and develop their entrepreneurship skills in the process…provide fresh local organic food to inner-city people with no other access to quality produce…clean up a blighted neighborhood vacant lot and spark a caring community spirit? What if that action could be done without any significant government or corporate resources, other than a space to have it?

Click here to continue reading or to listen to an audio of this article.

Don’t Hide Your Light (711 Words)

The box says “100% of the electricity used to manufacture these crackers and this container come from green power sources,” and has a nice little accompanying graphic of a windmill. Just above this is a Forest Stewardship Council certification logo denoting sustainably harvested timber sources for the box.

This is a company that’s doing the right thing, right?

Wrong. Both of these logos and statements are on the bottom panel of the box, where no one can see it unless they’ve already bought the crackers—or perhaps if the prospect accidentally knocks the package off the supermarket shelf, happens to land the bottom facing up, and somehow notices the small logos while picking up the box.

Click here to continue reading.

Excerpts From Published Columns

NOTE: Arrangements can be made to publish previous columns (please contact us for details).

Build Your Expert Reputation, and Let Customers Come to You (November, 2011)

While old-fashioned push marketing is intrusive and even offensive, nobody gets offended when you simply place pertinent, helpful, well-written information in front of your prospects: information that’s easy to access, easy to understand, and easy to implement.

What you’re actually doing is creating a relationship and marketing based on that relationship. You build trust, confidence, and a sense that you can help with their problems or goals. And instead of going for the quick hit and expecting people to take action on the basis of interrupting them, you become a presence over time, showing up pleasurably in their mailboxes and social networks, and at the green conferences and trade shows they attend…

Why Greens Hate Hard-Sell (October, 2011)

Let’s look at one hypothetical typical green family. Children’s health may be the primary concern of the mom, while her husband worries about the soaring cost of heating their home. His mother, who lives with them, has poor circulation and is cold all the time. The teenage daughter wants to make sure the workers involved are paid fair wages for harvesting the crops, but her younger brother is trying to find organic food that tastes good and doesn’t seem weird to his classmates. If you try to reach all of these very different constituencies with the same marketing message, all of them will ignore you.

One way around that is to do different marketing pieces for each segment; Volkswagen and Apple are two companies that have always done that pretty well. Apple, for instance, markets one set of benefits to graphic artists, a different set to educators, and entirely different ones for musicians and film production people.

But for smaller companies, that approach may be expensive. A better alternative might be to incorporate multiple marketing messages into the same communication. Offer multiple pages on a website or brochure, multiple sections in a retail store, different series of informational documents aimed at different audiences.

A Whole Country that Runs on Renewable Energy (September, 2011)

In a country with only 318,452 inhabitants as of January 2011 and approximately 116,000 households, this tiny country has the capacity to supply much of Europe’s energy needs. In fact, plans are afoot to build deep-sea cables that will export as much as 5 billion kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable electricity to the rest of Europe–enough to power 1.25 million homes. Those of you based in Europe, especially, should be on the lookout for opportunities to profit from this coming industrial shift. And those in other seismically active parts of the world might want to think about how to get your country into massive geothermal.

Easy Money-Saving Green Tips for Business (August, 2011)

Environmental measures can be easy or hard. Go for the easy stuff with the biggest return first. For example:
Most businesses leak huge quantities of heated air in the winter and cooled air in the summer. Simple and very inexpensive measures like insulating outlets and switchplates on outside-facing walls with foam gaskets (and plugging unused outside-wall outlets with baby outlet protectors) can make an immediate difference. So can making sure windows are properly caulked. And ensuring that doors to the outside close tightly and have weatherstripping and heat-trapping rubber sweeps.

The Certification Conundrum (July, 2011)

On one hand, you want to take full advantage of all the work you’ve done to get those multiple certifications you painstakingly earned–and on the other hand, you still want to create an attractive package with adequate white space and a great design, not cluttered up with a bunch of certification logos.

If that were my challenge, I might put text like this on the wrapper:
“Certified organic, fair trade, kosher and vegan. Benefits Audubon’s forest, farm, and bird preservation efforts in Costa Rica. For more details, please scan this QR code into your smartphone, or visit www._________.”

Matching Locavores and Local Farms (June, 2011)

When the organization started tracking in 2003, there were only nine farmers markets in the Pioneer Valley-but now there are at least 40 seasonal markets plus four winter markets (a more than 400 percent increase in eight years). CISA has 199 member farmers, 50 retailers, 32 restaurants, and a total membership of 312. And in its three-county service area, reversing the farm-loss trend elsewhere, more acreage is actually in farmland now than when the group was founded.

In other words, through a massive branding campaign, this organization actually created a consciousness about buying local. People who in the past had not thought much about where their food comes from have made a conscious shift to buying some portion of their food supply from local sources-and that, in turn, has helped the farm economy to stay solvent.

The buy-local strategy, according to CISA’s website, offers these five benefits:

The Secret of Building a New Market Lies within these Five Simple Questions (May, 2011)

If you’ve been struggling to build a green business, or to offer green products or services through an existing business, this column might just make your day-because I’m going to share the single biggest component of determining whether you will have a viable market for your offering.

All you have to do is ask yourself five simple questions:

Fukushima Accidents Make It Clear: We Need Safe Energy Policies, World-Wide (April, 2011)

Clean, renewable, non-destructive energy sources like solar, hydro, geothermal, wind, and even exotic sources like molecular or magnetic power can generate enough power so we can dispense with both coal and nuclear (as well as other polluting, greenhouse-gas-generating fuels like wood, which are renewable but not sustainable).

But in order to do so, we need to rethink the way we do energy. I propose three basic principles:

Energy should be generated close to or at the place where it will be used, to minimize friction and transmission losses.
Small-scale systems cause much fewer negative environmental consequences than large ones (for instance, in-river hydro that lets the water keep flowing is far more environmentally benign than large dams).
“Negawatts” and “negabarrels”–the energy we save by increasing our energy efficiency-can account for reductions of 50 percent or more in our energy needs.

So…how can we Green And Profitable entrepreneurs move this rethinking forward?

Sustainabilty Innovators Around the World (March, 2011)

Think about how many resources are consumed by a standard wheelchair van. A huge vehicle with complicated, slow, hydraulic lifts: expensive in both money and materials to build, and consuming huge amounts of fuel to operate.

Now…reinvent the whole thing: a one-person electric vehicle, tiny, secure, and empowering the wheelchair user to control his or her own transportation. The user rolls in up a ramp through a rear hatch facing the curb, fastens the chair, and then it’s off to work, play, or whatever.

How Do You Balance Conflicting Environmental Priorities? (February, 2011)

Is it better to switch to no-till farming, which dramatically alleviates soil erosion but is very difficult to do without herbicides–or to build up soil quality naturally through organic or biodynamic methods, and hope that the soil doesn’t blow away in the meantime?
What is the real benefit of using biodegradable plastics (such as compostable cutlery or packaging) if the sources of corn or potatoes for these plastics are genetically modified plants? And when food is scarce in many parts of the world, do we really want to divert cropland from food to plastic (or energy) production?
Which is more sustainable: a lightweight plastic bag made from virgin materials (i.e., petroleum), or a plastic clamshell using 40 times as much material, but made from recycled water bottles?

Is there a “right answer” to these kinds of questions? The answer is situational. For the wheat growers of Washington State where a foot of topsoil has disappeared in the last 40 years, the no-till method sounds pretty compelling. In a different landscape, ravaged by chemical pollution, the organic argument would probably win out.

Don’t Hide Your Light! (January, 2011)

Full column appears above

Going Green: Private Sector Must Take Up the Slack (December, 2011)

Walmart has taken numerous major steps toward sustainability in both its operations and its product line. Why?
1. Walmart’s always been awesome at slashing the cost and boosting the efficiency of its logistics. So the dozens of green operations initiatives that actually save the company millions of dollars are a no-brainer. Examples range from fitting its long-haul trucks with separate temperature systems so the big diesels don’t have to run just to heat or cool the cab, to switching to LED parking lot lighting in some stores–which slashed energy consumption by 48 percent and maintenance costs by 75 percent-to saving 678,000 barrels of oil and 290,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases a year just by cutting plastic shopping bag waste by a third.
2. The company realized that bringing in green product lines (from energy-efficient lightbulbs to organic food to healthy cleaning and body care lines) opened up enormous revenue and profit potential.
In other words, the company realized it could both save a fortune and make a fortune. So what’s not to like? And this is the future of going green…