The Success Center

This is a guest post by Mike Holmes and will be continued by Rod Kirby in next week’s installment.

Entrepreneur’s can learn a lot from Barack Obama when it comes to marketing their businesses.

Was it because AdAge named him Marketer of the Year?

No…

Was it because he raised $639 million in campaign contributions, nearly doubling McCain’s $335 million?

No…

Was it the way he used Web 2.0 to galvanize and speak to thousands?

No…

What was it then?!

Easy… his follow up strategy.

What??

Nobody can dispute it: he ran a phenomenal campaign!! He literally transformed that six letter word: CHANGE. He had millions of volunteers–and, during his campaign, those volunteers received text messages and emails from him on a regular basis.

But then he won.

Now what?

He could’ve done like most political campaigns: “Thanks for the memories.” “Thanks for your support.” “Wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am…you really helped ME a lot!” But he didn’t do that. Instead, he keeps in contact through his website and maintains those forged relationships. He hears his supporters voices, concerns, and ideas. They still have their leader and he his followers. So when it comes time for re-election he won’t have any trouble drumming up support!!

Take Care of Your Supporters

One day Jesus was met by thousands of people–He taught them,  healed them, and welcomed them. After a while He “called His disciples to Him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’” [1]

If Jesus were like most marketers, He would’ve said, “Well thank you everybody for supporting Me; I hope you guys get home safe…ummm…I’m pretty much done here…you guys’ve helped a lot. Thanks!” Instead of that, He fed them with seven loaves and a few fish. And after “they all ate and were satisfied.” [2]

Take care of supporters!

Don’t just use them and throw them away! Keep in contact, hear their opinions, listen to their ideas, receive their feedback, and etc. Don’t send them away hungry lest they “collapse on the way.”

What do you think?

1. Matthew 15:32 (New International Version)
2. Matthew 15:37 (New International Version)

Mike Holmes is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He’s also a blogger that writes on business and leadership development from a Biblical perspective. When he’s not writing blogs or speaking he can be found writing bios in the third person. Check out his website/blog here. Mike is also working on his second book: “Biblical Stratgies for Marketing Success.”

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According to Wikipedia there are around 38 specialized areas of marketing. They break it down by either the type of product you advertise or how you advertise your product. Today, I want to share with you the greatest marketing secret I learned a couple of years ago.

It’s called content creation marketing or the “give to get” model. Essentially you create content that educates, inspires, or empowers people and give it away for free in hopes of getting something in return. That could be information, sales leads, actual sales, or something else that’s valuable to your business.

This form of marketing is effective for the entrepreneur because it delivers value to the customer at the beginning of the relationship instead of at the end of a transaction. Social media marketing is only an extremely popular form of word-of-mouth advertising (idea being, if people like you they’ll eventually buy from you). Content creation marketing takes it a step further by giving people something to talk about.

How can you maximize this form of marketing for your business? Here are a few thoughts;

Start Writing: You can start a blog, write e-books, or create white papers (detailed studies). The key is to come up with something extremely valuable that you can give away. Out of all of these, blogging gives you the most return on investment. Sure, people can share an e-book or white paper once, but blog posts stay in a constant stream of sharing – especially if it’s good content. When it comes to blogging, the rule of thumb is, if you feel like you’re giving away too much . . . then you’re on the right track. Here’s my best advice on blogging;

• 8 Magazine Strategies that add Value to Your Blog

• 3 Magazine Advertising Strategies for Blogging Success

• How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Blog

• 5 Keys to Blogging Success

• How to Grow Your Blog’s Community in 3 Easy Steps

Start a Show: Youtube, Vimeo, and other video sites are absolutely huge right now. A video has more of a chance to “go viral” than almost any other form of content. Once you have someone’s attention and you’ve delivered something of value, you’ve earned the right to make an offer. Here are some ideas on what kind of videos to make;

• Interviews – set-up meetings with key people in your industry and ask them questions from a customer’s point of view.

• “How to’s” - show people “how to” use a specific product, service, or how to accomplish a task.

• Best Practices/Tips – I’m a big fan of learning how to do stuff better. Show people the best way to accomplish a goal or objective.

Video Blog: If you don’t have anything super important to share then share your everyday life. Video-blogging is still pretty engaging on a content level. People love to “go behind the scenes” of other people’s lives (that’s why reality TV is so popular). Want some advice on how to produce that A-list video blog? Here you go;

• Focus on a topic – No one wants to sit and watch you ramble on and on about nothing in particular. Gather your thoughts and drill down to the important stuff in your video.
• Spend a Little Money – I absolutely hate watching low quality videos on Youtube and so do you. If all you’re going to do is produce videos then spend a little money on a decent camera. You can get a Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera (Amazon Aff link) for only $130 on Amazon right now. That’s what I use to produce my “Inside the Success” web show.
• Become a Production Engineer – Ok, not really. But, don’t forget the importance of good sound and lighting for your videos. Unfortunately, you won’t get the best audio from a Flip or Kodak pocket camera far away. But if you get right on your subject and stay in good light, your video will turn out awesome.

Get on the Radio: Before this whole internet thingy took off people used to listen to radio shows (come on, you know that’s funny). Why not start your own? I use Blogtalkradio to produce my “Inside the Success,” show. Here are a few suggestions on producing your best show;

• Plan Ahead – Don’t “jump in” the water without knowing which ocean you’re in. Get your solid show idea on paper first and plan for success.

• Pick a Niche – Don’t interview random people or discuss random topics. Just like blogging, choose an area of expertise that you can own, flesh out good topics, and choose guests based on those first.

• Have a Back-up Plan – Things don’t always go as planned, especially if you’re doing a live show. Have plan-b at the ready. That could be, having a second guest at your fingertips if your primary guest doesn’t call-in. Having a second phone to call-in with if your primary goes dead. Whatever you need to get the job done, just be prepared.

• Cancel Noise – I’ve done a couple of interviews where I was outside, in my car, and a firetruck drove by or my dog started barking because of a siren going off. Now, I run the show in-doors, put the dog up, turn off phone ringers, and etc. Do whatever it takes to make sure listeners can listen!

Content creation can be time consuming but it pays off in dividends! Unlike traditional marketing techniques you put the customer’s needs first instead of throwing them a sales pitch. If you don’t have their needs in-mind then your content will lack power and the influence you’ll need for them to eventually buy. Do you agree or disagree? How do you market your products and services? What works for you? Share your thoughts below.

Note: Enjoyed these tips? Subscribe to my Success Tips Newsletter 2.0 to explore marketing your business even more. I’ll be sending out the first issue for 2010 later today. Take a look at past issues in the Email Archive.

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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Welcome to “5 Free ways to market your business,” a series on entrepreneurial success.

I get asked a lot, “Rod, how in the world do I advertise my business when I can barely afford to pay my bills every month?”

Well, in this day and age there are many things you can do to “get the word out” about your business venture or company. And lucky for us, most of them are free!

5 Free Ways to Market your business: Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

What is marketing?

Simply put, marketing is the answer to “how am I going to get the word out about my company, product, or service?” It’s the way new prospects find out about what your company has to offer. Advertising your product or service is extremely easy when you have a large budget set aside for it. But what happens when your marketing budget is whopping zero dollars? What do you do when you’re budget is tighter than a pair of pants bought at too small a size?

That’s when you get creative! God gave us creative minds to help us get out of tough situations in unique ways. Entrepreneurs are creative by nature. Before I share with you some great ways to market your business on a shoe-string budget lets confront some typical myths about marketing.

Myth #1 – “I have to hire a professional to help me get a maximum return on my marketing investment.”

Truth – Actually, a professional would be great to consider as your company grows. Marketing consultants usually have relationships built with marketing firms, media outlets, and the like. However, your greatest marketing investment is actually yourself. It’s easy to throw a few dollars at a consultant and tell them to get you a TV and radio spot. But, when every dollar counts, you have to put your own foot forward, set a plan in motion, and work it like you’re running for president.

Myth #2 – “It takes money to make money. If I want new clients I’ll have to spend a little to get them to patronize my business.”

Truth – Not at all! The techniques that I share will cost you nothing at all or very little if anything. The world teaches us that it costs more money to get new customers than it does to keep old ones. But if you follow the examples below, then you’ll be able to have your old customers sending you new customers absolutely free!

Myth #3 – “Email marketing is better than direct mail marketing, newspaper ads are better than radio ads, vice verse, and etc,”

Truth – No one form of marketing is better or more effective than the other. It really comes down to how the tool is used. Most would agree that television ads reach more people at one time than most forms of advertising. However, if I’m in the car selling business and I place my ad on a daytime cartoon show for kids, then my entire campaign is ineffective. A smart marketer knows that the different tools of marketing are to be combined in a creative and functional fashion that generates the results he or she wants.

That does it for the myths behind marketing today. Stay tuned because tomorrow I’ll show you how developing your own in-house marketing materials is one of the best ways to market your business for free!

What do you think are some other misconceptions or myths about marketing and advertising? Sound off in the comments below!

5 Free Ways to Market your business: Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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When you think of a used car salesman, what comes to mind? Sneaky, untrustworthy, aggressive, uncaring what else? What about marketing guru or sales genius? You wouldn’t think so off the top of your head, but if we take a closer look that’s exactly where they fit into the scheme of things. Hopefully, at the end of this article you’ll have changed your perspective on used car salesmen and how they can help you make sales online.

What’s their Story?

If you can sell a car you can sell pretty much sell anything. From the salesman’s point of view, getting your initial stock is expensive, keeping them on the lot is expensive, and having a physical location to sell them brings about more bills than owning a home. But, selling one of them is the golden ticket to living a lifestyle that is hardly blue collar.

So, you’ve got to give the salesman a little slack, it’s a hard business selling a car, even if it is a lemon and they know it. What’s fascinating to me is how they sell it and what we can learn as social media marketers from them.

Step 1 – Form a Relationship

The best car salesmen know that you have to really get on “the customer’s side” when it comes to selling. You’ve got to make them feel like you care, get to know them, and help them make the best car buying decision.

Fortunately for you, your platform is social media so you’ve already established a relationship with your fans, followers, friends, and associates in your field right? You don’t have to “make them feel like you care,” because you really do (at least you should). Here are a 10 tips on building relationships and here are a few more;

• I find that Facebook is great for cultivating relationships since it really brings things to a personal level. I enjoy chatting with you all there as well as other bloggers that I follow and it really brings people together. Note: I especially enjoy the business chat at my Fan Page as well.
• Don’t forget your local community online. We get so wrapped up in making connections all over the world that we forget to make them at home as well. Give Twitter Local or Twitter Search a try and connect with users in your own backyard.
• Remember the Biblical principle of Sowing and Reaping? That applies to relationship building as well. Sow good seeds [information, how-to's, links, articles, resources, etc.] into good ground [other bloggers, your followers, your fans, colleagues, etc.] and you’ll reap a harvest [donations, sales, endorsements, resources, tools, etc.]

Connecting people with information, articles, tools, etc. ultimately makes you a resource to people. By doing so you’ll leave a valuable impression on their minds and when they need something they’ll come to you.

Step 2 – Go for the Connection, Not the Sale

Ever notice when you’re looking at a car and the salesman says, “You and this car were made for each other,” “I can see you cruising down the highway with the wind in your hair in this baby!” Or, “Wanna give this puppy a quick test drive and see how she’ll handle on the open road?”

Connecting you with the product is a covert, yet genius way to sell because it puts the product in your hands or on your mind. A great used car salesman knows that if he can get you thinking of how you’ll use the car or put you in it, it’s only a matter of time before you sign on the dotted line.

How can you use this technique in social media? Here are a few ideas;

• Give free samples of your products
• Hand out free trial offers of your services
• Create video tutorials that demonstrate a particular skill, ability, or usage of a tool
• Start a contest or free give-away
• Write “How-to” blog posts that show people how to make the most of a product or service
• Create a podcast and interview people who have used your products or services
• Write white papers, case studies, or ebooks that demonstrate the benefits and results of using your product or service.
• Start a directory with the information of entrepreneurs within various fields of expertise

The possibilities are endless but the end result is the same; get your product or service in the hands of your market or in their imagination and you’ll make sales.

Step 3 – The Big Pitch

Once the car salesman has successfully established a relationship, connected you and the car in your imagination [or got you to test drive], he goes for the big pitch. This is the moment of truth, now or never, do or die. Let’s listen in on how the master used car salesman seals the deal;

“This baby’s only got 12,000 miles so you’ll definitely have reliable transportation, new tires, and I’ll throw in a limited warranty, and free car washes for a week! You ain’t gonna find a deal like this anytime soon! What do you think pal? Can I get you to sign here so you ride home in your new car?”

Look closely at the pure genius of the salesman. He clearly states the 4 laws of sales attraction;

• Features – what the product has.
• Benefits – what the product can do for the buyer.
• Value – what extras come with the product.
• Call to Action – what the prospect needs to do.

How does this translate for the social media marketer? It’s simple, when your viewer or prospect enters your sales funnel, make sure you clearly state the 4 laws of sales attraction mentioned above. Like a fisherman with too much bait on the end of his line, they’ll net you sales every time. However, they don’t work unless you’ve established the first two steps. Without them your net will simply break.

Imagine a spider spinning its web with the intricate patterns crossing each other to strengthen the core of the web. As you exercise the first 2 steps you’ll strengthen the foundation for which to lay your pitch upon.

The Wrap-Up

So, as you can see, used car salesmen are sneaky, uncaring, and pure marketing geniuses! You meet a few honest ones here and there, but the majority that I’ve met really have looked like the guy in this picture above. Do you agree with their sales tactics and methods? What else can we learn from them? What strategies are you using to sell your products and services online? Leave your comments below and let’s really talk this out!

P.S. – Don’t forget to cast your vote in this week’s poll, Has Social Media Marketing Changed the Online Sales Landscape?

Want More? Check out these awesome related articles;

How [not] to Make Money like a Used Car Salesman

Making Social Media Marketing Work

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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This is a guest post by Ralph E. Plaskett

Do you remember the last piece of mail that you received? Do you remember what it was about? If you are like most people, you don’t. You probably considered it to be junk mail because it didn’t pertain to you or your interests. In the online world, this would be called spam – unwanted or unsolicited mail (or email). This type of mail is what I like to call name, rank, and serial number mailings, otherwise known as traditional marketing.

Traditional marketing is far from being effective because it doesn’t appeal to the wants, desires, and interests of the people. As humans, we often think that something works when we see an abundance of it. Unfortunately, we see even more bad marketing because many businesses owners feel that because they see an abundance of a particular marketing piece that it must be effective. Well the secret is that they are often not effective for the reasons mentioned above.

So how do we turn from marketing that wastes money to marketing that provides a solid return on investment? The answer to this question is quite simple yet difficult for so many business owners and entrepreneurs to understand. If you have ever worked in retail, your manager probably told you “The customer is always right”. Although this isn’t always true, the philosophy behind this popular saying is true. ‘The customer is always right’ takes the focus off of self or
the company and raises the interests of the customer in the employee’s mind. People-focused marketing does just that; makes the marketing about the recipient, not the company or its products/services.

If you have ever spoken with someone that only talks about themselves or their interests, then you know how annoying it can be. Your marketing is no different. The challenge that small business owners face is turning their marketing from self-centered marketing to people-focused marketing. To accomplish this, small business owners need to understand who their customers are. Here are a few questions that will help you figure out who exactly are your customers.

•       What are their interests?
•       What are their fears?
•       What kind of periodicals do they read?
•       Do they have their own lingo?
•       What is their education level?

As you can imagine, this isn’t even close to a complete list of questions that small business owners can ask to gain a better understanding of their customers. Each industry, product, and service has its own questions that can be asked to become familiar with customers who may be inclined to purchase. Far too many small business owners do not do the necessary research to truly know their customers. It is much easier to put their name, rank (years in business), and serial number (street address) than to do the hard work of understanding who is the customer and how that relates to their product or service.

Once a solid understanding of the customer is discovered, the creation of a message that is tailored to that ‘ideal customer can be created. This is known as message to market matching. What many small business owners don’t understand is that their product or service is a solution to someone. They also don’t understand that everyone isn’t their customer (which is a totally different article). Your product solves a problem that the customer is facing. The challenge of the small business owner is to discover how many solutions/benefits their product or service provides. This is why it is critical to understand who the customer is.

Making marketing that is centered around the customer and the benefits they will obtain from a product or service is admittedly difficult, time-consuming, but very rewarding. Not only are you providing benefits and solutions to your customers but your will also increase your revenue 10-fold.

Proverbs 13:4 (NIV) says The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. So which one will you be, the sluggard wishing and hoping for greater success in your business or the diligent who is fully satisfied and seeks greater achievements?

———————–
About the Author
Ralph E. Plaskett is known as the Peculiar Marketing Expert for peculiar people, the go-to resource for action-oriented information where readers can take the words right off the page and put them to work immediately! His effective strategies develop, grow, and expand businesses for Christians. Visit his website at
http://www.PushingKingdomBusiness.com

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Last week I wrote an article called, Quit Your Job and Make Millions, which takes a look at some of the things you should do so you can quit your 9-5 and start that dream business of yours. I followed that up with, Save Money, Quit Your Job, and Make Millions which takes a first-hand look at the financial aspects of quitting your job to start a business. So, let’s go a bit deeper and assume that you’ve finally quit your job, saved up enough cash to keep you a float for a couple months, and have everything you need to get started. Now what?

You might have killer services or products but they won’t go anywhere if you don’t get the word out about them. In this post let’s explore some ways to market yourself once you’ve finally quit your job and started your business.

1. Professional Head Shots – It’s time to ditch your web cam snap shots, cell phone pictures, and your mom’s pictures of you from your local Sears photo studio. Spending a little money on quality head shots from a professional photographer can and will go a long way. Sure it might cost you a little for quality, but they’ll become one of your biggest assets once you finally quit your job. Head shots will increase your marketability, exposure (if used strategically), and profile.

2. Business Cards – Yes, people still have business cards and hand them out. It’s still the number one way people can get all your information in one space. Now that you’ve got your snazzy new head shots, plop those bad boys onto  a card and have your face do all the talking! Go full color for maximum impact and pay for high quality card stock so it won’t get easily tossed into the trash. Also, try out a double-sided card. One side to promote yourself and the other for your business, services, or products.

3. Start an Email Newsletter – Newsletters are extremely easy to start, manage, and promote. Especially via the web. Select an area of your business that’s easy for you to share with anyone (universal appeal) and write short articles, tips, insider info, etc. to support your business. A newsletter is an excellent way to engage with potential customers because it positions you as an expert in your field. I use Constant Contact as my newsletter marketing service of choice. They make it easy for you to create a newsletter, customize it’s look, collect data, and get statistics so you can see who opened your email. To see email newsletter marketing in action, sign-up for my “Success Tips!” newsletter here. (Beyond that reason, you’ll also get awesome weekly tips on being successful directly from me, all killer no filler.)

4. Get on Linkedin – Linkedin is a great professional social networking website that allows you to connect with people in your industry, share information, and join groups of like minded individuals. We’ll explore more of the social networking aspect of quitting your job and starting a business on Wednesday. For now, just know, that if you’re not on Linkedin then you’re missing opportunities! What kind? What about having all your professional information easily accessible to over 40 million professionals? Yea . . . it’s kind of a big deal.

5. Do Market Research – Have you ever tried writing a term paper without doing the research first? Why would you start a business without finding out who your competitors are, who you want as customers, or how your competitors are reaching their market? You don’t have to write a booklet on the subject, but you need to know some general things so you know how to best impact the market. Remember, if you don’t know who your customer is, what they want, and who’s giving it to them . . . your competitor does!

Note: Constant Contact has a great survey service that allows you to collect information from people and track results. Give it a try, it’s priceless!

6. Start a Blog – Blogging is a fantastic way of engaging your market on a broader scale. It positions you as an expert, draws people into who you are and what you do, and is extremely easy to promote when you maximize the tools already listed in this post. There are plenty of articles here that can help you get the best ROI with your blogging efforts. By the way, you can also educate potential customers on your products or services strategically. Why make a sales call when the sales could come calling you?

One thing I teach my coaching students is that YOU are your business. When you’re just starting out you have to create and market the brand of You, inc. When people connect with you they’ll automatically want to connect with your company. This is called magnetic branding. You could spend hundreds of dollars on a TV and Radio advertising; but when you present yourself people connect with who you are and not just what you have to offer . You’ll create raving fans of your products or services and not just one-time buyers.

What other ways would you market yourself, services, or products? If you own a business, how did you get the word out about your company? This list represents only the tip of the iceberg of marketing yourself. What would you add? Sign-in to your favorite social site like Twitter, Facebook, or use your OpenID and leave a comment below.

About the Author Rod is the editor-in-chief of The Success Center, Producer of "Inside the Success," and a Success Coach. For more information, tips, and advice on being a successful Christian-preneur subscribe to Rod's "Success Tips!" weekly newsletter.

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Welcome to “5 Free ways to market your business,” a series on entrepreneurial success.

In this final chapter we’re going to learn the golden key to marketing for free . . . your customers!

That’s right, using the clients you’ve already satisfied to bring in more clientele is pure gold! Learn more after the jump! [...]

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Welcome to “5 Free ways to market your business,” a series on entrepreneurial success.

In part 2 we’re going to explore networking and giving seminars as very lucrative ways to market your business for free. I say lucrative because even though they’re great ways to get the word out about your business they have the potential to turn into sales effortlessly. Get your pen and paper out, school is in session! [...]

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Welcome to “5 Free ways to market your business,” a series on entrepreneurial success. In Part 1 we’re going to explore creating your own marketing materials and email newsletters as great ways to market your business absolutely free. These are tough times we live in and if you’re business could use a bump in “foot traffic,” then read on to find out how to make it happen!

[...]

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