Do It! Marketing Blog: Marketing for Smart People™

Recently, two additional Do It! Marketing team members earned their Inbound Marketing Certified Professional designation - Catherine Bernard and Dusty Meehan.

In order to receive the Inbound Marketing Certification, the recipient must attend a variety of courses and pass a comprehensive certification exam, demonstrating subject matter expertise in the following areas:

• Advanced Search Engine Optimization and Ranking Improvement Strategies
• How to Blog Effectively for Businesses
• Social Media and Building Community
• Business Applications for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other Social Networks
• Viral Marketing and World-Wide Raves
• Creating Strong Calls to Action and Effective Landing Pages
• Inbound Lead Nurturing (Turning Leads into Sales)
• Successful Email Marketing
• Analyzing Results and Demonstrating ROI

This certification demonstrates our expanding commitment to serving our community of professional speakers, consultants, coaches, trainers, experts, authors, and thought-leading service business owners as their "instant infrastructure" team combining:

• Inbound marketing services to make the phone ring and fill your calendar in the best possible way (when you get THEM to call YOU!)
• Offline thought-leadership marketing through article placement in leading trade, professional, and industry publications of your target market, webinars, teleseminars, guest interviews, and other hand-selected opportunities
• Admin/backoffice service and support for upselling, cross-selling, and stimulating repeat and referral business from buyers, audiences, and past clients

If you'd like to learn more about how we can help YOU generate more leads, better prospects, and bigger sales - visit Done-for-You Marketing for Speakers, Consultants, and Experts.

p.s. It's also a great way to fill your calendar with LESS time, effort, energy, and drudgery.

• Leadership Skills
• Teambuilding
• Motivation
• Supervisory Skills
• Customer Service
• Meeting Facilitation
• Process Improvement

• Healthcare
• Corporate
• Financial Services
• Small Business Owners
• Entrepreneurs
• Non-Profit
• Faith-Based Organizations
• Anyone who wants to maximize potential, overcome obstacles & achieve goals

• Architectural drawings
• Building plans
• Hammering
• Screwdriving
• Framing
• Drywalling
• Plumbing/HVAC
• Roofing

• Tall people
• Short people
• Families
• People who want a new house
• People who'd like to move
• Caucasians
• African Americans
• Asian Americans
• Latinos
• Anyone who wants a house they can call a home, a roof over their heads, and to obtain housing

MARKETING TIP: Nobody CARES about YOU and what YOU do! They want to hear about the outcomes. Outcomes go way beyond features, benefits, processes, and methodologies.

Sell me on the HOUSE and what my life will be like when I've moved in, or have guests over, or have a picnic, or retire.

Talk about ME, MY life, and what MY experience of your product/service will be. That's all I really care about!

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David Newman is a marketing speaker and marketing coach who works with professionals who want to do a better job of marketing so they get more leads, better prospects, and bigger sales.

This video clip speaks for itself (you should have your audio/speakers turned on):

What can YOU do that will impress people with YOUR versatility and talent?

These days, "being good" (or even great) is merely table stakes - you need to MASTER your offerings so your audience knows they're in the hands of a professional good enough to deliver A+ work while being confident enough to have fun.

In my marketing seminars, we spend about 10 minutes talking about what I call "canvas size." And my point is that most people's canvas is too small. Sometimes WAY too small.

To indulge the analogy for a minute, most folks can fingerpaint just as well as others... they just limit themselves to those small little 3x3 canvasses you can get at the art store.

Now, let's say you have big-canvas talents. For example, let's say you're a Chuck Close or a Jackson Pollock.

You could certainly paint on a little 3x3 canvas, but you wouldn't have the space or capacity to express YOUR message in YOUR way.

You'd be constricted, small, and tight. You certainly would not be considered a master of modern art. You're working on the wrong canvas size - it's too small for you.

Or worse, you'll make a mess on the rug and the table as your paint spills over the edges. You need more space.

Are YOU working on a big enough canvas?

Are you SURE?

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David Newman is a marketing speaker and marketing coach who works with professionals who want to do a better job of marketing so they get more leads, better prospects, and bigger sales.

"Nearly all rich and powerful people are not notably talented, educated, charming, or good-looking. They become rich and powerful by wanting to be rich and powerful."
-- Paul Arden

How’s that for a goal? Imagine this:

“Billy, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Billy: “Rich and powerful!”

Isn’t that great? What is wrong with that answer?

Nothing, NOTHING, NOTHING! Or as my mother says, “There’s nothing wrong with making a lot of money, you know.” (Thanks, Mom.)

Paul Arden gets it. On the cover of his book It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be, he has the subtitle “The world’s best-selling book by Paul Arden.”

That’s what we’re talking about!

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David Newman is a marketing speaker and marketing coach who works with professionals who want to do a better job of marketing so they get more leads, better prospects, and bigger sales.

As a marketing speaker and marketing coach, I've seen small businesses at both ends of the spectrum - from the very successful to the very NOT successful (and, of course, a lot in between).

Of particular interest to me has always been the small business marketing challenges of the solopreneur.

You too may have come to the realization that running a successful solo business is a real F.E.A.T. -- and here's what that means to YOU: 

Fee - Demand high fees. Right from the get-go. Why? Because if you're a solo business owner, you live or die on your margins. Profits are not optional, they're required for survival. Early on, they help you stay afloat and that's even more important at the outset than later.

Wanna be cheap or affordable? Terrific. But wait til you're successful and your retirement fund is in the bag!

Starting out at the shallow end of the money pool is a fast way to drown!

Enthusiasm - Energy and drive and fun are REQUIRED to keep you going. You won't always be up and happy, but your core enthusiasm is the deep-rooted foundation that will help you get back up just one more time after you're knocked down. Again and again. And again.

You gotta love what you do - or do what you love. This is a decision, by the way - not a circumstance and not a "woo-woo" pile of nonsense. If you need a personal "live-with" or mantra to keep you on track towards enthusiasm in your business, then so be it.

I'll share mine with you if it's helpful:

"Do work you love WITH those you love and FOR those you love." 

That's it - pretty simple. But if a project, task, client, or intitiative comes across my desk and it's NOT in line with my personal live-with, I DON'T do it. And you shouldn't take on people or projects that violate yours, either.

Altitude (aka what I call the "Alpha Dog Effect") - Your ambitions and accomplishments ALWAYS gravitate to the same level as that of the people you hang out with.

What does that mean for you? Easy: Hang with the cool kids, successful kids, optimists, drivers, movers, shakers. Seek out the people who are doing more of what YOU want to do more of.

Hang with people who earn more than you - and you'll soon join their ranks.

Make friends with people who are dedicated to bringing MORE to their business, their clients, their prospects, and their marketplace. And you'll bring more to yours.

Do NOT waste a moment of your time with the brokeass losers, whiners, coulda-beens and excuse mongers ("It's the economy, it's the banks, it's the government, it's the weather, it's the market, or my favorite - it's the stupid prospects")

Tenacity - Like a dog chewing on a bone, you have to stick it out.

If you are able to get up in the morning and just as happily work for someone else - you're MUCH better off if you just go do that. Entrepreneurship might not be for you. 

If you're like most of us, then you're in business for yourself (and for YOUR specific business) because you don't know how to wake up and NOT do it.

Bust through walls for your business and soon you'll be sitting on an empire.

Not because you read it on some marketing guy's blog -- but because you're on your way to doing it anyway. Long before you landed here to get my encouragement, respect, and congratulations!

A colleague recently said to me, “No one has found the top secret formula for successful online marketing yet.”

I disagree. A number of companies know exactly what works and are making small fortunes with it.

The primary concept is that online marketing works best when you e‐mail to people who ALREADY know you. Therefore, successful online marketers build their “house file” or “e‐list” (lists of prospects and their e‐mail addresses) using the process outlined below, and then sell to those people via e‐mail marketing:

1. Build a Website that positions you or your organization as an expert, guru, or leader in your field or industry. This is the “base of operations” for your online marketing campaign.

2. Your Website should include a home page, an “About the Company” page and a page with brief descriptions of your products and services (each product or service description can link to a longer document on the individual item).

3. You should also have an “Articles Page” where you post articles your company has published on your industry or area of specialty, and where visitors can read and download these articles for free (e.g., a home improvement contractor would have tips for small do‐it‐yourself home improvement projects).

4. Write a short special report or white paper relating to the problem your product or service addresses, and make this available to people who visit your site. They can download it for free, but in exchange, they have to register and give you their e‐mail address (and any other information you want to capture).

5. Consider also offering a monthly online newsletter, or “e‐zine.” People who visit your site can subscribe free if they register and give you their e‐mail address. You may want to give the visitor the option of checking a box that reads: “I give you and other companies you select permission to send me e‐mail about products, services, news, and offers that may be of interest to me.”

6. The more “content” (useful information) on your site, the better. More people will be attracted to your site, and they will spend more time on it. They will also tell others about your site.

7. The model is to drive traffic to your site where you get them to sign up for either your free report or free e‐zine. Once they register, you have their e‐ mail address and can now market to them via e‐mail as often as you like at no extra cost.

8. The bulk of your online leads, sales, and profits will come from repeat e‐ mail marketing to this “house” e‐list of prospects. Therefore, your goal is to build a large e‐list of qualified prospects as quickly and inexpensively as you can.

9. There are a number of online marketing options, which can drive traffic to your site, that I can help you with. These include free publicity; e‐mail marketing; social media advertising; search engine optimization; direct mail; and e‐zine advertising.

10. The key to success is to try many different tactics in small and inexpensive tests, throw out the ones that do not work, and do more of the ones that are effective.

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Need a great marketing speaker for your next association conference, company meeting, or franchisee/dealer event? Marketing speaker David Newman delivers the goods - over 600 presentations since 1992. David's clients include 44 of the Fortune 500 and countless small and mid-size organizations, associations, and non-profits.
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I was browsing through my ebook edition of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich and this particular passage jumped out at me.

Thought you should see it. YOUR comments welcome below in the COMMENTS section... just scroll down and let me know what you think.

9 Reasons People Fail

1. Lack of well‐defined purpose in life. There is no hope of success for the  person who does not have a central purpose, or definite goal at which to aim.   Ninety‐eight out of every hundred of those whom I have analyzed had no such  aim.  Perhaps this was the major cause of their failure. 

2. Lack of ambition to aim above mediocrity.  We offer no hope for the person  who is so indifferent as not to want to get ahead in life, and who is not willing to  pay the price. 

3. Lack of self‐discipline.  Discipline comes through self‐control.  This means  that one must control all negative qualities.  Before you can control conditions,  you must first control yourself.  Self‐mastery is the hardest job you will ever  tackle.  If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.  You may see at one and the same time both your best friend and your greatest enemy, by  stepping in front of a mirror. 

4. Procrastination.  This is one of the most common causes of failure.  “Old  Man Procrastination” stands within the shadow of every human being, waiting  his opportunity to spoil one’s chances of success.  Most of us go through life as  failures, because we are waiting for the “time to be right” to start doing  something worthwhile.  Do not wait.  The time will never be “just right.”  Start  where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your  command, and better tools will be found as you go along. 

5. Lack of persistence.  Most of us are good “starters” but poor “finishers” of  everything we begin, moreover, people are prone to give up at the first signs of  defeat.  There is no substitute of persistence.  The person, who makes persistence  his watchword, discovers that “Old Man Failure” finally becomes tired, and  makes his departure.  Failure cannot cope with persistence. 

6. Negative personality.  There is no hope of success for the person who repels  people through a negative personality.  Success comes through the application of  power, and power is attained through the cooperative efforts of other people.  A  negative personality will not induce cooperation. 

7. Lack of a well‐defined power of decision.  Men who succeed reach decision  promptly, and change them, if at all, very slowly.  Men who fail reach decisions,  if at all, very slowly, and change them frequently, and quickly.  Indecision and  procrastination are twin brothers.  Where one is found, the other may usually be  found also.  Kill off this pair before they completely “hog‐tie” you to the  treadmill of failure. 

8. Over‐caution. The person who takes no chances generally has to take  whatever is left when others are through choosing.  Over‐caution is as bad as  under‐caution.  Both are extremes to be guarded against.  Life itself is filled with  the element of chance.

9. Wrong selection of associates in business.  This is one of the most common  causes of failure in business.  In marketing personal services, one should use  great care to select an employer who will be an inspiration, and who is, himself,  intelligent and successful.  We emulate those with whom we associate most  closely.  Pick an employer who is worth emulating. 

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Need a great marketing speaker for your next association conference, company meeting, or franchisee/dealer event? Marketing speaker David Newman delivers the goods - over 600 presentations since 1992.
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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!

A famous trapeze artist was instructing his students how to perform on the high trapeze bar. Finally, having given full explanations and instruction in this skill, he told them to demonstrate their ability.

One student, looking up at the insecure perch upon which he must perform, was suddenly, filled with fear. He froze completely. He had a terrifying vision of himself falling to the ground. He couldn’t move a muscle, so deep was his fright. “I can’t do it! I can’t do it!” he gasped.

The instructor put his arm around the boy’s shoulder and said, “Son, you can do it, and I will tell you how.” Then he made a statement, which is of inestimable importance. It is one of the wisest remarks I have ever heard. He said, “Throw your heart over the bar and your body will follow.”

Heart is the symbol of creative activity. Fire the heart with where you want to go and what you want to be. Get it so deeply fixed in your unconscious that you will not take no for an answer, then your entire personality will follow where your heart leads.

“Throw your heart over the bar” means to throw your faith over your difficulty, throw your affirmation over every barrier, throw your visualization over your obstacles. In other words, throw the spiritual essence of you over the bar and your material self will follow in the victory groove thus pioneered by your faith‐inspired mind.

Expect the best, not the worst, and you will attain your heart’s desire. It is what is in the heart of you, either good or bad, strong or weak, that finally comes to you. Emerson said, “Beware of what you want, for you will get it.”

Excerpted from BLAINE LEE, THE POWER PRINCIPLE, SIMON & SCHUSTER

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Need a great marketing speaker for your next association conference, company meeting, or franchisee/dealer event? Marketing speaker David Newman delivers the goods - over 600 presentations since 1992.
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I rarely - and I mean RARELY - promote products and programs presented by strangers. You'll only hear from me about top-notch folks whom I personally know or whose materials I've personally used and benefitted from.

Allyson Lewis' brand new "7 Minute Life" Productivity Tools is one such resource you really have to take a look at.

Have you ever felt like you were...

• Working harder than ever, but not accomplishing anything that made you feel truly purposeful, proactive, and productive
• Doing 'what you needed to do' for your family, friends and employer/clients, but weren't fulfilled
• Spending most of your time 'putting out fires' and not accomplishing the really important things
• Working hard for 'someday' when you'll be able to do what you want with the ones you love  -- feeling like there had to be more?

My friend, professional speaker and productivity expert Allyson Lewis felt that way too. But when someone introduced her to a new way of thinking many years ago, her life began a radical and wonderful change in just 7 minutes. And, yours can too!

Allyson Lewis’ work is about making things possible. With The 7 Minute Life™ System you get the motivation AND information to take you to the next level. This is a highly accessible resource you can immediately benefit from. 

Allyson developed a simple, yet powerful process for prioritizing, organizing and simplifying your life - to get more of what you really want in life and make more of a meaningful contribution to those around you!

Now, she's put some of the key processes and techniques she uses into a series of short videos so that you can become more productive and feel more purposeful in just 7 days! And, best of all, she's allowing me to give these videos to you for FREE!

Anyway, enough about what I think - pop over to the free videos on the site and decide for yourself if this is (finally) the "go-to" productivity resource you've been looking for to make "getting things done" easy, effortless, and enjoyable.

I know that's what it is for me!