Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach to other professional speakers, CEOs, and business owners - and certainly from my own experience - I can safely say that too often, we get caught up in trying to get everything just perfect.

While you are working on “perfect,” someone else with “just okay” is raking in all the money. 

Face it - Reading the next book, attending the next seminar, or trying the latest software alone will do nothing for you. This is the classic "Ready, Aim, Aim, and Aim" syndrome. Always aiming and never pulling the trigger.

The key lies in taking action. I would like to invite you to try a technique suggested by my colleague Michael Masterson—the Ready, Fire, Aim technique. Do something; even if it is wrong, go ahead take the shot -- screw up.

At the very least, you are moving in the right direction.Fellow speaker and prosperity guru Joe Vitale says, “Money loves speed” those who take the swiftest action make the most amount of money.

Go ahead -- DO IT, and once you're moving, then worry about making it perfect.

Let's take the specific context of internet marketing as an example. And we'll start with your e-zine or blog...

In its simplest form an e‐zine or blog is all about information. Give your reader the information he wants to read about, and he will reward you with his trust and eventually his money.

There are five phases for any Internet marketing entrepreneur. In phase one, you read and study Internet marketing, go to conferences, devour e‐books and courses. At this stage, you are thinking about internet marketing all the time, yet you are not actually in it yet—not actually doing it. You don’t have a list, product, or the infrastructure in place to do business online.

In phase two, you dip your toe in the water—developing a product and making a few sales. The income is not significant. Except now, the idea of making money online is no longer merely a dream, an idea in your head. It’s reality. Making your first few sales will energize you and propel you forward to phase three.

In phase three, you develop more products, build your e‐zine subscriber list, and start making a significant spare‐time income online. Maybe it’s a thousand dollars a month in sales. Maybe it’s a thousand dollars a week. It’s not enough to live on, yet. But the extra money allows you to buy nicer things and become more financially secure.

In phase four, you reach a point where your Internet business makes enough money for you to live on—enough for you to quit your job and leave the rat race behind forever. For some people, this might be $2,000 to $3,000 a week in net online revenues.

In phase five, you double or triple the size of your list, add more products make more deals, and start making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, or even a million dollars or more. You become an Internet millionaire.

The problem is that the large majority of people who explore Internet marketing never get past phase one. They get addicted to reading “make money on the Internet” materials and attending conferences and tele‐seminars on the subject. But they never actually do something.

No matter what the marketing strategy, tactic, or business development effort - get going with baby step... RIGHT NOW.

You want an inbound link back to your blog or website? Great - leave a comment below with your reactions to the "Ready, Fire, Aim" technique - and you'll have DONE something to build your business. Do it!!!

Many people I speak to tell me they do not use e‐zines because they simply do not have the time. As a marketing speaker and marketing coach to very busy CEOs, business owners, other professional speakers, and consultants, I hear you. 

Here's the secret: It only takes me two hours or less per month. And those two hours are some of the highest ROI hours I can spend.

You're getting my simple formula for writing e‐zines that will make your ezine much easier to write - and more profitable to send.

Write five to seven short stories about a topic, one to three paragraphs each. You want the reader to be able to get through each story in under a minute. You do not have an unlimited amount of time with your reader so make sure he can read your entire e‐zine issue in about five minutes.

The next little tip might seem insignificant but I think it is vitally important. Do not put any click links to your stories; you do not want to give the readers mind a chance to wonder, because they are waiting for another page to load.

Many Websites like to give you a brief description of the article and then ask you to click on a link to read the whole article. That is just too many hoops to go through to read the story. Do not have just a story title and first paragraph with a link to the entire article.

Write short articles and include the entire article in the e‐zine itself, not a teaser part.

So here, it is in 4 Simple Steps:

1. 5 – 7 stories

2. 1 – 3 paragraphs each

3. Maximum reading time < 1 minute per story < 5 minutes per issue

4. No click links to stories—the full story is in the e‐zine.

There you have it quick, simple, and effective.

BONUS: Here are 8 more tips for writing an e‐ zine, courtesy of Dan Ranly, www.ranly.com:

1. Write for surfers and scanners

2. Provide information quickly and easily

3. Think both verbally and visually

4. Cut copy in half

5. Use lots of lists and bullets

6. Write in chunks

7. Use hyperlinks

8. Give readers a chance to talk back (feedback)

Feedback from YOU is always welcome in the comments area below...

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PERSONAL NOTE: Although I started my marketing speaking and consulting business in 2001, my work has focused almost exclusively on making professional speakers successful since 2003. For the last 7 years, that's what gets me flying out of bed each morning (sometimes at 5am!) and it's what brings me the biggest professional joy on a daily basis. Enough about me - let's talk about YOU...
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If YOU are a professional speaker, coach, consultant, author, or thought-leading solopreneur, your marketing and business development prayers may be only a few days away from being answered...

Whoa... Stop the tape! That paragraph sounded like a lot of hype and malarkey, didn't it?

It did to me, too - except that for YEARS, my secret dream was to find a "Magic Service" that would take marketing, prospecting, and booking tasks (and all the gruntwork too!) OFF my plate and let me refocus 99% of my time and energy on working with my amazing clients and speaking to the groups I love.

• Was it a Virtual Assistant firm? That helped - but no
• Was it my Webmaster? Great for tech - not for this
• Was it my Sales Coach? Love the guy, but he wasn't gonna do my work for me
• Was it my Mastermind Group? Super for accountability - the work was still on me
• Was it my own Marketing Consultant (yup I've hired 'em too) - wonderful insights but zero implementation help
• Was it my Intern? She's awesome for prescriptive tasks, but not the marketing brains + marketing brawn "Magic Service" I was envisioning
• Was it recruiting and training my own Marketing Manager? Over the years, I tried - but it was hit or miss. Faith came from the printing industry and was great at selling printing - not speakers. Pete was a radio guy - and smart, hardworking, and persistent. But this wasn't radio. And Glenda - well, don't ask about Glenda. As she tells it, she couldn't book me because I "wasn't already famous" and "nobody knows my name" (Guess whose job it was for them to GET to know my name!!) 

So where did that leave me? I had three options:

1. I could wait to get rich and famous on my own and then maybe - just maybe - work with one of a few "elite" speaker agencies like Holli Catchpole's SpeakersOffice. (As of now, unless you're willing to change your first name to Nido, Jim, or Desi, Holli's roster is full up.)  
2. I could wait to get rich and famous on my own and then perhaps some wonderful speaker's bureaus would become interested in booking me once I was already booking 30-40 gigs a year under my own steam at fees between $7,500 and $10k per speech
   
3. As a marketing speaker as well as a marketing coach to some of the best and brightest NSA speakers and other experts who speak professionally, I could create the "Magic Service" that I myself wanted to use. 

(Music - Lights - Drums): NEW "Done For You" Marketing Services and NEW Speaker Booking Service debut in May 2010...

Part I: Done for You Marketing Services

This idea has been percolating - and our team has been strategizing together on how to best launch these services for you since January of 2009, so this is definitely not some random collection of subcontractors that other consultants may trot out from time to time.

I've worked individually with each member of our team and they have proven themselves time after time on multiple client projects ranging from a few hundred dollars to design your killer business card to $10,000+ for creating your complete online and offline marketing platform, print materials, video, social media, and a host of monthly ongoing "done-for-you" services.

Part II: Speaker Booking Service

The most exciting part - for which we're almost at capacity even before the launch - is the new Speaker Booking Service...

Because of the devastating 2008-2009 downsizings and layoffs in the world of speaker's bureaus, event management companies, trade and professional associations, and meeting planning firms, there's an unprecedented glut of amazing talent out there who...

• Know the meetings industry inside-out
• Can articulate the value proposition of hiring strong professional speakers
• Will hit the ground running already well-practiced with between 70-80% of what they need to know, say, and do to get the interest of decision-makers and open long-lasting relationships (and between you and me, we'll teach them the other 20-30% of what they'll need to book YOU specifically!)
• Don't need to be "shown the ropes" in the speaking industry because they've already been actively working in it - either on the buying side or the selling side or both
• Will get to know you and your thought leadership platform in detail so they can represent you as your dedicated marketing and sales rep with no overhead, no recruiting hassles, and no turnover headaches 
• Will stick around because YOU don't need to feed them 40 hours of work per week - we will!
• Will get better the more you use them because you will get a dedicated agent with whom you book a block of outbound marketing hours. Our booking staff becomes your booking staff
• Will become more affordable the more you use them because as you buy bigger blocks of time, your hourly rate will go down. If you become a high-volume client, it's possible that based on our work together, your hourly fees eventually disappear in exchange for a higher commission rate on booked business. (Totally your call, but the service is designed to maximize the value for you either way)

Finally, the kicker is - with these two new services, you get BOTH the brains AND the brawn. You may not want consulting from me right now and you might just want some "done-for-you" services such as the booking service...

You STILL get my input as your "marketing quarterback." As you work with our team of speaker booking agents, graphic designers, web designers, social media specialists, ghostwriters, and the rest of my team, I'm watching the process, helping guide your decisions, and serving as "creative director" to the team and "marketing advisor" to YOU. 

Frankly, it's amazing to me that nothing like this hybrid marketing strategy plus done-for-you services firm existed to help make professional speakers, consultants, and thought-leading solopreneurs successful. But it's here now!  

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. If you're equally pumped about this and/or want to learn more, call me at 610-716-5984 or drop me an email at david@doitmarketing.com and we'll talk about which of these services might help YOU become more visible, more marketable, more bookable - and more successful!!!

Keep your eye on the Done For You Marketing Services page over the next few weeks as we roll out the details and initial service offerings so you can see all the "marketing jobs" we'll be able to take off your plate. 

You could pay a marketing coach or ad agency or brand consultant BIG bucks to create (or recreate) your brand. A word of advice: DON'T!

You need a snappy name. Something sharp, clever, clear, and concise. Something you’d be proud to have your fans and customers display on a t-shirt, coffee mug or bumper sticker. You want to be the go-to resource – no – you want to be the rock star in your profession or industry. And you’re just one strong branding step away – you can almost TASTE it!!!

But you’re not smart enough to do it yourself.

Oops, wait a minute… yes you are.

Fact is, a lot of advertising agency types and “branding gurus” are simply overpriced hacks. Shocking, I know… you’re stunned that coming up with a cool name for your new services, programs, and products could be simple, straightforward, and easy.

Well, sit down with a nice hot cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage and strap in – ‘cuz you’re getting my secret stash of branding whoop-ass.

Take your topic or product or service (Leadership or Cookies or HVAC or Recruiting or Plastics) and add one or more of these brand building blocks. Some stand alone – some work in combination with others. Sometimes you’ll want to put the building block BEFORE your service/product and sometimes it will sound better AFTER. Play with these – they’re my gift to you.

Instant Branding Toolkit

Market
Exchange
Zip
Zap
Focus
Momentum
Fun
Power
Professional
Savvy
Smarts
Sense
Action
Pyramid
Dive
Redline
RPM
GPS
Roundtable
Summit
Slide
Swing
Sandbox
Playground
Monkey
Chimp
Rhino
Hippo
Gazelle
Tiger
Lion
Shark
Dolphin
Insights
Forum
Café
Center
Storm
Success
Life
Mojo
Club
Hub
Lounge
Launchpad
Library
Archive
Free ____ tips
Free ____ tools
Tips
Tools
Toolbox
Toolkit
Club
Network
Posse
Bakery
Mashup
Focus
Resource
Queen
King
Flyer
Circle
Gameplan
Blueprint
Treasure chest
Strategies
Tactics
Secrets
Profits
Revealed
Disco
Party
Pantry
Bakeshop
Factory
Foundry
Vortex
Nexus
Universe
Galaxy
World
Planet
Star
Done right
Made easy
Cocktail
Bar
Game
Advise
Monitor
Puppy
Daddy
Mama
Baby
Zoom
Boom
Direct
Show
Thunder
Undercover
After hours
After dark
Agent
Sauce
Juice
Jazz
Page
Letter
Book
Cruise
Action
Roadmap
Max
Navigator
Gps
Master
Accelerator
Advisor
Lightning
Bullseye
Profits
Revenues
Hang out
Shout
Scream
Bam
Mall
Feast
Meal
Lunch
Zone
Poop
Scoop
Machine
Force
Onramp
Route
Highway
Express
Check
Box
Square
Speed
Accelerate
Compass
University
U
College
Academy
Institute
First
Prime
One

I'm looking forward to buying from the following businesses in the very near future... maybe one of these will be yours:

• The Cookie Machine
• The Video Advisor
• CareerNavigator
• SalesGPS
• Coffee Hangout
• Guitars After Dark
• The Fitness Foundry

And if you end up using something you create with this list as your new brand, do me a favor – please make a generous donation to your favorite charity. Even a tiny fraction of what you would have paid the “ad agency” will make a BIG difference to the non-profit of your choice. If you don’t have any particular good cause in mind, here are three I recommend:

http://www.acumenfund.org     
http://www.roomtoread.org
http://nsafoundation.org

Rock on, you do-it-yourself brander, you!!

Do you like this list? Want to Tweet it? Quote it? Add to it? Use the comments area below and let's hear what's in YOUR can of branding whoop-ass!!

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

By three methods may we learn wisdom: First by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is bitterest.
-- Confucius

Let's examine these three methods a little more closely.

Learn by reflection: My friend and mentor, Michael Ray, believes that the question, "What should I do?" is not really a question of action - it's a question of information.

When it comes to small business marketing, whenever you find yourself asking, "What should I do?" there's something you need to find out first: it could be information about yourself, your capabilities, your prospects, your marketplace, your goals, your resources, or your intentions, but there's some piece of information that is missing.

When you have all the information, you will know exactly what to do.

The best way to access this information might be to take 10 steps back from the problem - zoom way, way out - and spend some time on a mental "retreat." The retreat could be as short as an hour, or as long as a week, or even more if you have the time.

Take the time you need to re-examine the situation and your relationship to it. Look inward and explore your intuition and your feelings. If you need more external information, go find it - talk to people, do some research, get out and about.

But always bring that information back and examine it introspectively and holistically to put all the pieces of the puzzle on the table. Then, allow what you see and feel to help you decide what
to do.

Learn by imitation: Best practices are dead. So that's not what I mean by imitation. But if you see something that works in one company or industry, see how that might apply in a cross-pollinating way to your organization - and specifically to the marketing challenge you're trying to acquire wisdom about solving.

For example, what can you learn from:

Southwest Airlines flies to a limited number of cities that are profitable for them. They choose where they want to compete.

AOL used to send out countless millions of subscription CD's for people to try their service firsthand.

Sony prides itself on the speed with which they can take a new idea and prototype it in order to get feedback from internal groups. Their average time to prototype: 5 days.

As composer Igor Stravinsky put it, "A good composer does not imitate; he steals."

Learn by experience: People sometimes make the mistake of assuming that learning by experience is the same as learning from your mistakes. That's only part of it.

Perhaps more important is learning from your successes.

Look for what went right in the past; what successes were easy, effortless, and enjoyable? What did you put into motion that "just clicked" and turned out even better than you expected?

It is these successes that are some of your most powerful teachers in business and in life.

I'm not suggesting that you try to replicate past successes - you can't.

But you can replicate the conditions under which those successes came to be. You can look back and recall the tools, the skills, and the resources that you mobilized. You can start to inventory your strengths, personal preferences, and your own best ways of working.

And those things, if used intentionally and with clarity, are much more likely to serve you well in the future!

As a small business marketing coach, I'm often asked about market research. It all comes down to customer intimacy.

Now THAT sounds like a fancy marketing term. It’s definition is simple – the business that knows their customers best WINS.

How do you get to know them?

Move closer to the customer. Live in their world, think about their problems, and think about their clients and prospects. Their families. Their wants, needs, hopes, dreams, opportunities, and challenges.

Think about what they’re up against. Consider what they need the most help with.

What’s the first step? Research. Preparation. Homework.

Industry, regional, business, demographic and consumer news, trends and statistics are now at every business owner’s fingertips on the Internet. Often for free.

If you’re not intelligently researching your target market’s issues, challenges, and pressures, how can you possibly come to them with a credible solution?

Don’t like sitting at the computer all day? An even better idea is to hit the street.

Visit your local clients, talk to your contacts in the fields you serve, get some firsthand information about what’s going on in their world – what are their challenges, perspectives, obstacles, priorities; what are their dreams, their “only- ifs,” and their biggest aspirations?

Is this a lot of work? You bet. Do the majority of small business owners put in this kind of effort? No way. Which is exactly why YOU should be doing it!

And then leave a comment below with your questions, thoughts, and advice on the ideas above.

Are you a DO IT freak? Welcome to the club!! Please use the social media buttons at the top of this post to share it with your network. YOU are a rock star!

Professional speakers, coaches, consultants, and independent professionals should not present themselves as technicians, number- crunchers, or talk about their “techniques, approaches, and methods.”

Newsflash – Your customers and prospects don’t care.

Instead, present yourself as a problem-solver.

For years now, large accounting firms have taken the lead in portraying themselves as "business partners." They know the danger of being viewed as "number crunchers" or “geeks” or... heaven forbid, “consultants.”

Why have they changed their tune?

Simple. Experience shows that today's customers want both solid results PLUS personalized help, guidance and direction. And as a small business owner, YOU are ideally suited for this role!

For many customers, your business can become a one-stop shop, giving customers the benefits of a product expert, service partner, information advisor, strategy planner, and personal guide all rolled into one.

There is another factor here that should not be ignored: It is never in your best interest to be viewed as a commodity. Today, your small business must offer the value of a consultant in order to secure lasting and price-irrelevant relationships.

You must be able to subtly and regularly communicate to every customer: “These are the measurable ways I am enhancing your results.” Do that, and they won’t leave you for a slightly cheaper alternative down the street. And do it consistently, and you’ll develop customers for life.

Every small business has a brand, whether they know it or not. That branding occurs in the minds of your customers, prospects, employees, stakeholders, and community at large. One mistake that’s fairly common in small business is letting the marketplace determine your company’s positioning.

You need to take control of your brand and position yourself in the marketplace. It is your job to shape and fashion the perception that prospects have of you and your firm. If you assume that “everyone knows what our company does,” you're in trouble – big trouble. It is your job to determine, define, brand, present, and then control the way your business is perceived.

Here are a few basic, but very important, elements in controlling perception: What's the message (written and unwritten) conveyed by your business cards, your emails, and your brochures?

Imagine a motivational speaker whose email address ends in @aol.com or a management consultant who hands you a homemade business card with inkjet streaks and those little fringly perforated edges? Not exactly a confidence-builder, right? 

Remember, people want to do business with professional, hassle-free, customer-centric businesses. The image you convey determines how prospects think of you.

When it comes to specific products and services, do you offer options and different levels of service, or a take-it-or-leave-it deal?

More importantly, do you talk about your company and what the company does (inputs) or do you focus on overt benefits to your customers and successful outcomes (results)?

If the client's bottom-line results are not foremost in your discussions, why should customers choose to work with your company? (Hint: work to develop a simple 1-page sales tool for each of your products and services where client results and outcomes – in dollars and cents – are always on page 1!)

• If you were to fully live your life, what is the first change you would make?
• What areas of your life could be upgraded or improved?
• What could you start working on today that would make the biggest difference?
• How could you make this goal more specific or measurable?
• What would be the biggest impact from achieving your goal(s)?
• What do you love? How can you bring in more of it?
• What do you hate? How can you eliminate/reduce almost all of it?
  
• What's one thing you would love to do before you die?
• What could you do right now that would really put a smile on your face?
• For your life to be perfect, what would have to change?
• What do you really, really, REALLY want? (Really!!)
• Are you willing to be the hero of your own story?
• What obstacles might stop you?
• Who are your allies? What weapons and tools do you have?
• What - or who - is at hand right now that might hold the key to your success?

The big day is here for iPhone and iPod Touch users: 

The Do It! Marketing app is now available (FREE!)

Good news - it's way cool...

Great news - grab this app and in 60 seconds, you'll get access to some of the best business, marketing, and entrpreneurial minds on the planet including:

• Scott "Hello My Name is Scott" Ginsberg
  
• Chris Brogan
• Seth Godin
  
• MarketingProfs
• Find & Convert
• Bob Bly
• CopyBlogger

...and about two dozen more.

PLUS you can "surf and go" - this app supports offline reading in planes, trains, and tunnels. Once you download the posts, no need to stay connected! Catch up on your marketing smarts even in "Airplane Mode."

Rated "5 stars" by my Mom and "4 paws" by my dog - but you'll love it, too! 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/marketing-built-by-appmakr-com/id351058116?mt=8

Download it, play with it, and if you're getting some good mojo from it, post a review or a rating - or leave a comment below and let's hear what you think...