Expand Your Horizons - Take a Class!

Expand Your Horizons - Take a Class!

Welding.

Mortgages.

Music.

Landscaping.

Law.

What do these seemingly disparate topics have to do with each other - and, more importantly, what do they have to do with you? All of the above topics are subjects in which you can take classes at your local community college. 

We often hear about how important continuing education is to our success as business owners - but does every class have to pertain to our industry, niche, or business? Absolutely not! 

If you have an interest in a topic outside the purview of your main business, there are lots of benefits in learning more about it. Here are just a few:

• Take some time for yourself. It's easy, as a business owner, to get bogged down in the marketing and managing of your business. But it's very important for your well-being and peace of mind to take some time away from the business to do something that's just for you.
• Expand your knowledge base. When we stop learning, we start dying. Not every book, magazine, or video has to relate to your business. The learning process is good for you - regardless of what you are studying.
• Grow your network. By getting out and meeting new people, you will expand your network - and as we all know, our net worth is most definitely tied to how strong our network is.
• Find useful lessons that DO apply to your business. No matter what sort of extracurricular class you decide to take, there will, no doubt, be lessons in it that you can apply to your business. Maybe learning the best planting schedule for annual flowers will trigger an idea for an annual event for your business. 

Pretty much every community has a community college - and in the event that they don't, there's always the Internet! Why not grab a catalogue and find a class in a subject that interests you? Join with a friend or colleague - or better yet, make a new one. Regardless of the subject, you and your business will find tremendous benefit.

This is my 2nd post in the 60-Day Content Challenge. Look for the next installment tomorrow.

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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Want to Charge More? Start Writing! Or e-mail your marketing or design questions to Laura.

Accepting the 60-Day Challenge

"Do what I say, not what I do." Who hasn't heard this phrase? Who thinks it's a good one to live by - particularly when it comes to a marketer who routinely advises her clients to blog regularly?

All my excuses evaporated today when I accepted Jordan 'Jomo' Molotsky's 60-Day Content Challenge. That's right - 60 days in a row of video, blog, or article content, created and posted. For me, it will more than likely all be blogging - although you can look for a video or two among those in the coming weeks.

Check out the video that inspired my participation in this 60-day challenge. And if you're game, join us!

What do you have to offer? EVERYTHING! You have specialized knowledge about your business, or you wouldn't be in it. So get writing or videoing - and posting!

Here are 10 ideas to get you going:

1. Cut and paste is your friend. Repurpose material you already have sitting on your hard drive - e-mails, white papers, speeches.
2. Think about the first thing people ask you when they find out what you do - and address that question.
3. Recall all the times you find yourself thinking, "I thought everyone knew that." Obviously, everyone doesn't know that - but you do. Those are teachable moments ... and reasons to create content.
4. What are the things you want to learn more about? As you do your research, share it!
5. Have you had any significant successes with social media lately? Tell us about them!
6. Profile your clients or vendors - they'll love you for helping them get more business.
7. Be mindful of the day-to-day things ... there are teachable moments everywhere if you are paying close enough attention.
8. Write a Top 10 List - favorites, tips, steps to a process, books, movies ... anything that's germane to your business, niche, or industry is appropriate.
9. Read other blogs/watch other videos and comment on them!
10. Write a case study - or a hypothetical story to illustrate your product or service ... but do it without selling! Remember - you're offering useful content, not a sales pitch.

Those should give you some ideas to get the old gray matter percolating! I know my mind is revving up and raring to go.

See you tomorrow for Day 2 of the 60-Day Content Challenge!

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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Want to Charge More? Start Writing! Or e-mail your marketing or design questions to Laura.

How to "Get Lucky" With Your Marketing

How to "Get Lucky" With Your Marketing

Quite a while ago, I heard a CD by one of my sales and marketing mentors, Eric Lofholm, in which he gave some very good, very concise advice: DO WHAT YOU KNOW. And in my experience, that's really the key to any successful marketing campaign and strategy: DO WHAT YOU KNOW.

As I've said before, marketing is not rocket science. And it really isn't a matter of luck. It's about creating strong, lasting relationships with people who will either become your clients/customers, or who will refer your ideal clients/customers to you. How do you do this?

Here are 10 steps that you probably already know, but for some reason may not be implementing:

1. Get out there and meet people - attend as many quality networking events as you can.
2. Look for opportunities to be a connector - become known for introducing smart people to each other.
3. Use social media to build relationships - NOT to spam or sell.
4. Be a resource for people - willingly share knowledge about your industry without looking to gain anything.
5. Blog regularly - offer quality content on a consistent basis.
6. Make your Web site, blog, facebook page EASY for people to navigate.
7. Thank people who give you referrals immediately.
8. FOLLOW UP!!!!
9. Use video - it's a bit more work, but worth the effort. Ask Joey Sampaga!
10. Enjoy yourself - people are immensely attracted to others who are happy, upbeat, smiling, and look like they love what they do.

Old Irish Blessing


May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

~ Author Unknown
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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Brand Yourself & Build Your Business. Or e-mail your marketing or design questions to Laura.
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Marketing Mishaps - We're moving our physical location, so we've STOPPED taking orders!

Marketing Mishaps - We're moving our physical location, so we've STOPPED taking orders!

Let's start by restating the obvious: One of the first rules of marketing is MAKE IT SIMPLE!

Recently, I was doing some research online for organic candles, the kind that smell nice but are environmentally friendly. Happily, my search revealed a promising site on the first page, so I promptly opened it. Imagine my surprise when I clicked the link for their catalogue, only to find a sign that looked like this:

I am not making this up. This company is in the process of relocating - good for them, especially if they're moving to a larger or more prestigious location. But they can't take orders for a week, at minimum? Are you kidding me?

To make matters worse, not only were they not taking – or, obviously, filling – orders, but they'd taken their entire catalogue offline, so no one could even look at their products, should they actually have the patience to come back after March 1st.

Aghast at this incredibly poor marketing decision, I thought, "I must e-mail them and tell them they may be losing a LOT of business!" Remember, this company came up within the first 5 hits on my search for "organic candles." Again, good SEO going to waste. Nope. Couldn't e-mail them. Nowhere on this Web site is there a "Contact" button, link, or page. Apparently, the only way to reach them is through the order-placing process ... which, as we have already determined, was on hiatus.

My Admittedly Unsolicited Suggestion

Understand the difference between taking the order and shipping the product. Rather than stop taking orders altogether, why wouldn't this company simply notify their visitors that their move would cause order fulfillment to be DELAYED by a week or two? If potential customers were too impatient, they'd go elsewhere, but at least they'd have had the opportunity to buy from THIS company. With this "no orders because we're moving" strategy, the company lost any prospective customer who might have stuck with them. They sure lost me.

But let's just say there are mitigating circumstances that really did necessitate the halting of order-fulfillment. Why on earth would they disable their entire catalogue, rather than simply taking down the order form? At the very least, they'd be giving prospective customers a chance to "window shop," perhaps holding on to them long enough to bookmark the site and maybe even come back. It seems unlikely, but it's a lot more likely than having them come back without ever having laid eyes on a single candle.

Whatever industry you're in, don't make your clients, customers, or especially your prospects jump through hoops to do business with you. MAKE IT EASY! Think about the decisions that would, could, and are likely to affect your bottom line. And never, never, never give your Web visitors a reason to move on to the next site. They've got all the motivation they need to do so on their own, without you making it inevitable. 

Have any feedback? Drop a comment below!

Other Posts in This Series

Simple, Avoidable Blunders That Could Cost You Dearly

Oops, we forgot to put our LOCATION on our billboard!
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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Brand Yourself & Build Your Business. Or e-mail your marketing or design questions to Laura.
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Marketing Mishaps - Oops, we forgot to put our LOCATION on our billboard!

Marketing Mishaps - Oops, we forgot to put our LOCATION on our billboard!

Marketing specialists have many different ideas of what's most important when it comes to reaching your audience. Mine is this: MAKE IT SIMPLE!

The other day, I passed a billboard for a new Italian restaurant in Phoenix. These people obviously threw down some serious cash for this ad campaign - it's a large billboard, located on a prominent corner. And though it's the only one I've seen, there may be others.

What was on the billboard?

• The name of the restaurant, in large letters.
• A large art deco-style graphic of a martini glass
• Their Web site

That's it. No address. No location. Not even a hint as to where this place is located. But they want me to visit, right? Immediately, I figured the location must be directly under - or in very close proximity to - the billboard itself. Why else would they fail to include the location? No - the restaurant is nowhere in the immediate vicinity of the billboard.

So ... these folks are counting on several things that are unlikely to happen:

1. Readers of the billboard without instant Internet access will REMEMBER the Web site.
2. Readers of the billboard without instant Internet access will REMEMBER to look up the Web site.
3. Readers of the billboard without instant Internet access will CARE ENOUGH to look up the Web site.

Those are three huge assumptions, especially when it comes to spending the kind of money a billboard costs. [On average the cost for artwork and installation of the media on the billboard is $3,000; advertising rates depend on impress level, ranging from $5,000 to $500,000 (the higher the qualify of the artwork and the larger the demographic group, the higher the price); minimum contract is usually 16 weeks.]

I'd be interested in knowing what kind of response rate this particular restaurant receives. Speaking of which, what are the chances they're asking new diners how they heard about the restaurant? Probably pretty slim.

Marketing is not rocket science. But it does involve thinking and consideration of the end user's perception and reception. Overlooking the obvious is a freqent mistake of novice marketers. We'll touch on other ways marketers overlook the obvious in upcoming posts in this series.

Have any feedback? Drop a comment below!

Other Posts in This Series

Oops, we forgot to put our LOCATION on our billboard!

We're moving our physical location, so we've STOPPED taking orders!

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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Brand Yourself & Build Your Business. Or e-mail your marketing or design questions to Laura.
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Top 10 "First" Rules of Marketing

Top 10 "First" Rules of Marketing

In getting ready to post another piece in my Marketing Mishap series, I wondered what other people think of as the FIRST rule of marketing. Turns out, there are lots of "first" rules of marketing.

The rules below are from the first 40 results that came up my Google search for the term "first rule of marketing." We had to go through 40 because some were sales sites; others were duplicates; still others had decent SEO (obviously) but didn't make any sense; still others didn't apply. Just goes to show you that SEO works, even if your Web site doesn't.

Some of these tips are better than others. There's at least one I think is just plain wrong. But for better or worse, these are the SEO leaders for the search 'First Rule of Marketing.'

What's yours?

1. Take charge of your marketing. Don't leave it to others.

2. Know thy customer. Especially before you make a big shipment.

3. Just do it. Seems easy enough, right?

4. Do no harm. As in, spell your own company's name correctly.

5. Only advertise something that you yourself would want and would want to hear about. Really - that's what it says.

6. Test to find out what your market wants. The Blues Brothers said so.

7. Zero in on your target market. Get really, really specific.

8. Have a good product or service. Another easy one, right?

9. Have a plan. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Really.

10. Manage your expectations. In marketing, business, and in life.
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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Brand Yourself & Build Your Business. Or e-mail your marketing or design questions to Laura.
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Marketing Mishaps - Simple, Avoidable Blunders That Could Cost You Dearly

Marketing Mishaps - Simple, Avoidable Blunders That Could Cost You Dearly

OK, I'm not generally the snarky sort, but lately I've been seeing some really wacky things in the area of marketing. These are basic, basic oversights and boo-boos that should NEVER happen. And yet they do. I think it goes back to a frequent saying from my friend and marketing mentor, Adam Urbanski:

When you're in business for yourself, you're really in two businesses:

1. The business you're in.

2. The sales and marketing of the business you're in.

I get the feeling a lot of people hang out their shingles without obtaining the marketing training they should before they get underway, so they make incredibly foolish and costly errors. Marketing is not rocket science. First and foremost, it is the art of relationship building. But there are a few little things you MUST remember, even as you are working to build those relationships and create your brand.

Our goal is to take a look at some of the goofier blunders so that you can avoid making them yourself. Remember, the people who did these things aren't bad people ... they're just not very good marketers. Yet.

Other Posts in This Series

Oops, we forgot to put our LOCATION on our billboard!

We're moving our physical location, so we've STOPPED taking orders!
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Sign up today for Laura's next workshop, Brand Yourself & Build Your Business. Or e-mail your marketing or design questions to Laura.
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