Going For It - New Years Book Marketing Resolutions.

Depending on the source you believe, somewhere around 500,000 new books hit the shelves this year.

What does this mean?

* If each book were but an inch thick, and all the books were placed on a single shelf, that shelf would be over 7.8 MILES long. You book is but one of them. This does not take into consideration all the books out there already. That's just this past year.

If you walked into a bookstore and asked for your own title and the clerk pointed and said '7.8 miles down, on the left,' how would you feel?

* Walk outside tonight. Count every star you can see in the sky. Write down the total number of stars you can see, then take that number times a factor of 200,000. The resulting number is the number of sites competing for your potential buyer's attention. This number varies widely depending on the source and nobody knows for certain, but it's somewhere around 400,000,000 sites. That's 400 million. (again there is a lot of argument on this point)

* We must remember that many of the competing books out there have big money and big marketing and publicity machines backing them up, while many of the competing sites have SEO experts at the helm with huge budgets and years of education, knowledge and experience. Such is your competition.

Sadly, authors who initially hoped they would become more famous are more likely simply becoming more invisible.

This year, if you are serious about your book, you should perhaps get really serious about marketing.

Putting up a nice website, writing a blog, twittering and facebooking, doing a book trailer or a press release and the like, while commendable, are not really going to set you apart, as nearly every single one of those 500,000 authors and companies and 400 million owners of those sites are doing this also. Everybody is doing this. So, what will work?

Developing a laser sharp marketing strategy and marketing plan that will set you apart and create real awareness for you and your book will work. If you are but playing at marketing, you must begin to really work at marketing your book. It is perhaps not necessary to work harder. It is always advisable to work smarter.

What does developing a real book marketing strategic plan involve?

* Developing tightly focused buyer profiles
* Formulating laser sharp branding strategies
* Developing traditional and non-traditional publicity strategies
* Writing keyword optimized, profile specific marketing copy
* Developing an effective media strategy
* Developing a keyword strategy specific to your niche profiles
* Implementing a website optimization strategy for the visitor
* Search engine optimization for the search engines
* Developing effective targeted optimized blogging strategies
* Developing effective social media marketing strategies
* Learning to develop inbound marketing strategies with outbound strategies

Some of these are Internet strategies. Over 70% of your potential buyers now consider the Internet to be not just A choice, but THE FIRST choice when making purchasing decisions. And the points above are but starting points. The strategy must be implemented and you must work that strategy every day. You will need to adjust that strategy as market conditions change, new opportunities are presented and ideas once good become not so good.

Nobody writes a book to become a marketer. People write books because they want to be an author.

However, the term 'author' now encompasses the term 'marketer'. If you do not get serious about marketing, you will be an unknown author. Free articles and ebooks regarding marketing are available at the Free Publicity Focus Group article section here. Free video training is also available here. A free, no obligation consultation is available here.

It is the year 2010. The marketing methods used in the past decade will not work well in this environment.

The market is not a thing - the market is an event and it is an event that changes and morphs and moves and becomes something different every single day. You must not only keep up with these changes, you must stay ahead of them or be left in the dust. Owning a business and saying 'I hate marketing,' is like owning a car and saying 'I hate buying gasoline'. People do not actually hate marketing. People actually hate selling. But selling is just a subset, a component of the marketing model.

Are you ready to go for it? Make a resolution in 2010 to get really serious about marketing.

Feel free to contact me at don@freepublicitygroup.com

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The Single Key That Leads To Internet Marketing Success Or Failure - Part Two

This is Part Two of the series on trust. You might wish to begin by reading Part One found elsewhere on this site.

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make in regards to marketing is attempting to market a product or service to those who do not need that product or service. Playing the numbers is a 1950's mentality approach to marketing that holds little value in today's environment.

In this environment, presenting people with a message that holds no interest at all for them, with no prequalification whatsoever, will not create trust - it most likely will instead destroy any trust they might have previously held in you.

You cannot sell anything to someone who does not want to buy it. Effective marketing today demands that you first qualify your potential buyers before being so bold as to jam their inboxes or mailboxes with your message.

We need only to look at all the commercial skipping technologies available today to see the value in this statement. TIVO, popup blockers, spam filters - the list goes on and on. Over 90% of those who can skip sales messages DO skip sales messages. John Q. Public is slammed with hundreds of unwanted sales messages every day, from all directions, and John Q is simply fed up.

You do not want your business to be lumped in with spammers and purveyors of such vulgar communications. This does nothing to create credibility or trust in the minds of your potential clients. Frankly it creates nothing more than resentment and mistrust.

Trying to force an unwanted or unsolicited sales message on a potential client is like is like trying to force a hook into a fish’s mouth and then expecting it to bite. This will not work. You must instead offer something the fish wants to bite. The fish will only bite when the fish wants to bite.

Spammers are not the only parties guilty of these archaic marketing methods. Inexperienced Internet marketers (established businesses or not) form a large majority of those marketing in this environment. These newbies are especially prone to fishing by force. Remember: it takes but one unsolicited sales message these days to result in your business being quickly blacklisted and sent to the spam box for eternity

True professionals understand the value of opt-in marketing in both the electronic and the real world. Though much more research is required up front, opt-in marketing actually results in less work and less wasted effort and resources than simply throwing a lot of something against the proverbial wall and praying that some of it sticks. Though hurling stuff at the wall may not cause failure immediately, approaching marketing from this perspective creates an ugly downward spiral - a vortex that grows exponentially and constantly demands more and more resources to yield less and less results.

Sending your message to only those who have previously demonstrated an interest in your product or service will always produce far better results. This is day one, Class One, Chapter One in the modern marketing textbook.

It is also the final test in Trust Building 101.

Posted by Don at Free Publicity Focus Group

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The Single Key That Leads To Internet Marketing Success Or Failure

There is a single factor, unrecognized by many, that can mean the difference between success and failure in Internet marketing. Even if everything is done right, this factor can singlehandedly destroy any business. Conversely, even if everything else is lacking, this factor can still cause a business to succeed.

Surprisingly, as important as this factor may be, it is so basic that most businesses simply fail take it into consideration at all. The failure to consider this when presenting a business to the world could be said to be the very base upon which all success rests. What is this all important component of a successful Internet marketing strategy?

Trust.

People will only buy from a business if they really trust that business.

If people do not trust you, they will never buy anything, regardless of the price asked or the quality of the product. If they do really trust you, they will do business with you even if everything else is not up to par.

Trust is formed as the result of many seemingly unconnected factors. Building trust is an intuitive and perhaps a subconscious process. We often cannot verbalize why we trust a particular business or individual. We cannot say why we do - we only somehow know that we do, or we do not. We know it the minute we walk through the door. On the Internet, we know it the second the web site flashes on to the screen. We never actually decide to trust or not to trust. We instead feel trust.

As buyers we can begin to experience trust as the result of a handshake, in the eye contact – in hundreds of ways. We sense feelings of mistrust in the same way. However, as business owners in an Internet marketing environment, we are not given the opportunity to develop that trust through a firm handshake or a steady gaze. We must instead build trust through words, images, initial impressions and site design.

Intuitive processes are quite hard to define. While our fathers may have trusted banks and presidents, many of us today do not. Is this due to a greater awareness, better communication or media influence? Or is it the result of something else now present that was not present in years past?

The subject of building trust could span an entire book, or perhaps many books. It cannot be given a full treatment in a single article and so I shall attempt to cover the subject over a number of concurrent articles.

That being said, here is one easy takeaway idea. Understand that there are basically two broad categories of businesses. There are takers and there are givers.

Takers take. They take your money. They take your name. They take your email address.

Givers give. They give free advice. Free articles. Free gifts.

If a business is a ‘taker’, people will most likely not trust that business.

If a business is a ‘giver’, people will often trust that business, even if everything else is messed up completely.

If a business is a ‘giver’ but has strings attached to the gift, people will know that business is just a taker trying to appear to be a giver. Don't do this. This old-school tactic is number one on the list of things that can immediately destroy trust.

In the next article I will continue with the subject of trust and how to begin to build it.

Posted by Don at Free Publicity Focus Group

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Using Social Media As A Marketing Tool

One of the hottest topics in marketing today is the subject of using social media tools for marketing. It appears to be quite difficult for some to get their heads around what this means for businesses that market products and services through the traditional model.

It is often quite difficult to say what social media marketing is. However it is quite easy to say what it is not. Social media marketing is not a 'thing', nor is it an event. Social media marketing is a process. This process is now an integral part of the ever evolving successful marketing model.

All vehicles are more than the sum of the individual parts. Likewise the entire marketing model always becomes something more than the sum of its perceived parts.

Let’s use the analogy of an automobile as an example. To function, all the parts of the car must be in place for the car to function properly. However, once we arrive at our goal, we cannot say that the gas pedal got us to the destination; nor was the engine or the steering wheel responsible for the distance traveled. Instead, all these ‘parts’ worked together as one unit to get us to the destination. Each of these parts is made from the base material known as metal.

Likewise communication encompasses and umbrellas the entire marketing model. Communication cannot be split out from the model as it is an integral component of each and every ‘part’ of the process. Communication could be said to be the base metal of the ‘parts’ of the marketing model - the vehicle – that gets us to our marketing destination.

Like the term social media, social media marketing is a just another buzzword. In fact, social marketing is the oldest form of marketing in existence. It existed before radio, before TV, before newspapers, magazines, billboards, flyers and direct mail. It is merely one person telling another about a product or service. In years past this has been called many names. In the decade just past, it was termed referral marketing. All those in marketing know the value of a qualified referral. A referral is the holy grail of marketing for myriad reasons.

This is why social media, when used as a marketing tool, produces results on a scale and of a quality that no form of old school, intrusive advertising will ever touch. These social media conversations can produce referrals on a massive scale.

Communication is simply one person speaking to other people. That person might be the president of the company, the PR department, customer service or, perhaps more importantly, the customer. The plethora of social media tools out there merely enable conversations between all the people involved – good, bad and ugly.

What does all this mean? Social media tools are another set of ‘parts’ formed from the base metal of communication, which have been added to enhance the overall performance of the vehicle known as the marketing process. Granted, the vehicle will still move and will function without this ‘part’, but those who do not incorporate this into their own marketing vehicle may soon find themselves lagging far behind the rest of the field.

Posted by Don at Free Publicity Focus Group

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Creating Awareness In A Global Marketing Environment

In the 'old days', creating awareness of a product or service in the marketplace required a simple and very straightforward approach. Most of us just advertised in the media available at the time. These outlets included newspaper, radio, television and magazines. Frankly, it was a no-brainer. We decided on an ad budget, determined the appropriate percentage of the budget to be allocated to a particular vehicle, created and placed the advertising and tracked the results.

All of that has changed.

In this environment, an effective marketing strategy must be concentrated in four distinct, key areas:

Search Engine Presence and Optimization

A very large percentage of the buying public now looks at the Internet as not just a choice, but rather as the first choice when making purchasing decisions.

Traditional Outlets (Newspaper, radio, TV, magazines, etc)

These are still important if the product or service is offered locally versus globally. However, many people will choose the Internet first even when making local purchasing decisions.

Social Sites

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social sites are also being used by a very large percentage of the buying public. If a business is not there, it runs the risk of being invisible to a large segment of its potential new client base.

The 'Blogosphere'

Bloggers are fast becoming the new media. It is urgent that any business create awareness of products or services here or risk losing those who look to blog reviews and opinions when making purchasing decisions.

It is a much bigger game, and tracking ROI has become very difficult.

In addition business owners must be aware of the shift that has occurred from outbound strategies to inbound strategies. In years past, creating awareness was primarily an outbound strategy. We found potential customers and clients and delivered a message using the tools of the times. This outbound strategy was a 'yell in the client's ear' approach that was based primarily on advertising in the vehicles available at the time. Commercials, billboards, direct mail and like vehicles formed the basis of the marketing toolkit.

In today’s environment, businesses must marry that outbound strategy with a laser sharp inbound strategy. The inbound strategy allows the potential client to easily find the product or service they seek. Search engine optimization and Internet publicity strategies are the primary components of this inbound strategy.

It is a much bigger game and the learning curve is very long. However, though there is much more that must be dealt with in this environment, the ability to take the little mom and pop corner store to the global marketplace brings something to the table that was perhaps not there before.

It is really fun.

Posted by Don at Free Publicity Focus Group

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Brand, Branding and Branding Statements

Excerpted from McCauley's Marketing Manifesto

Section D - THE BASICS - BRANDING AND BRANDING STATEMENTS

1. You must develop your own brand.

a. Without a brand, you are dead.

2. You must develop a branding statement.

a. Without a branding statement, you are really dead.

3. Your brand and your branding statement set you apart from the ever growing crowd.

a. Having these established will make you memorable, rather than just being a memory. If you do what everyone else is doing, you will look like . . . well . . . everyone else.

4. Your brand and your branding statement must literally jump off every marketing piece or page you create.

a. The idea here is that, when your potential client or customer thinks of their needs, they immediately think of your brand.

The branding statement used by the Free Publicity Focus Group is:


Big Results. Small Investment.


There was some white space added here for impact. Simple is best. Nearly any English speaking person will get the message these words hold. (See Your Brand And Your Branding Statement located at www.freepublicitygroup.com )

Nothing more need be said.

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Advertising - Should I Advertise?

Excerpted From McCauley's Marketing Manifesto

www.freepublicitygroup.com/marketing_manifesto.html

Section E - THE BASICS - ADVERTISING

1. Advertising costs money and produces fewer results

a. As a society, we have advertised ad nauseam. Though it used to work well, advertising no longer works like it used to. Advertising is an intrusive message. It interrupts rather than informs. It does not pull, it pushes. Think about those used car dealer commercials. The ones with the horns blowing and the sirens going off and the big yellow bursts on the screen or page. Most novice marketers are those type of marketers. This style of marketing requires huge numbers to be effective. You most likely do not have these kinds of numbers yet. Using this type of advertising is why advertising gets such a bad rap. It is also why people say 'I hate marketing'. This is not marketing, it is advertising. (See Section A above).

2. Publicity is free and produces greater results

a. People do not like ads. Think about this. When you pick up a newspaper, do you prefer to read the ads or the stories? When you watch television, do you jump up to make a sandwich when the show comes on so that you can get back in time for the commercials? TIVO, spam blockers, popup blockers, paid radio - the list goes on and on. The success of commercial skipping technologies is a testament to the simple fact that people dislike advertising. As a marketer, the very last thing you want is to have people fast forwarding past your message. People do not like to read ads, but they do like to read about subjects they find to be interesting. This is why content is king and why publicity works.

3. There are generally two unique categories of advertisements – ‘Awareness’ advertising and ‘Results’ advertising

a. Awareness advertising allows you to tell people you exist ‘We’ve been here for 25 years!’

b. Results advertising produces quick results - action - ‘Sale This Thursday Only!’

c. You should not totally discount advertising. It is necessary at a local level. If advertising becomes a necessary evil for you, you will most likely need to utilize both in a mix that is right for your business. Always use one or the other at any given time. Never create a message like ‘We’ve Been Here 25 Years But Will Be Out Of Business By Thursday!’ That won’t work unless you are a furniture company pretending you are going out of business - again.

4. Traditional LOCAL advertising will never disappear, but will be used far less on both the national and, in the future, at the local level

a. A recent study has shown that 50% of people now look to search engines FIRST for local and national business information, followed by 24% Yellow Pages, 4% local newspapers and 1% television. Yet only 44% of small local businesses have a website! What does this means? It means that if you are a small local business and have no website, you are virtually invisible to 50% of your potential LOCAL customers. Hmmm. Now might be a good time . . .

b. Another recent industry study shows that Boomers (who make up a huge majority of buyers now) spend 9.5 hours a day on a screen - mostly television. 77 % of this screen time occurs between 7:30pm and 11pm. 76% listen to radio. Older boomers read print. Those age 55-65 spend 100 minutes per day reading print on average, those age 45-55 spend 30 minutes per day reading print. Most of this is with their LOCAL papers - 57% read local dailies, 68% read local weeklies. This means that, if your market is LOCAL and you have a PHYSICAL business storefront, you should be using your LOCAL dailies and weeklies.

Posted by Don at Free Publicity Focus Group

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Getting The Attention Of The Media

Excerpted From McCauley's Marketing Manifesto
http://www.freepublicitygroup.com/marketing_manifesto.html

There has been a great deal of talk lately regarding whether it even makes sense to approach traditional journalists anymore when attempting to create publicity for you, your product or your service. The answer to that question is found in the client profiles you create. That being said, if you find that you must necessarily pursue this as part of your marketing strategy, I offer the following from McCauley's Marketing Manifesto, Section H, Media - Traditional Journalists:

MEDIA – TRADITIONAL JOURNALISTS

1. The media does not care about your product or your service

a. This is because the media is interested in news

2. The media really has no reason to care about your product or your service

a. This is because the people in the media are paid to report news. A sales pitch does not qualify as news.

3. The media WILL begin to care about you, your product or your service ONLY if you present something that has real news value

a. Real news value can mean many things at different times. Even if your message has real news value, it is always up to THEM to decide how this will be judged and how important it might be to their slice of the mind of the public. It is not up to you. Don’t bug them. Feed them quality information instead and be patient. Demonstrate that you know your subject and that you are a real professional. Don't call us, we'll call you is a good rule to keep in mind.

b. You will be forced to jump through their particular hoops if you hope to get coverage. Every one of these will have a different set of hoops. However, media people are accustomed to getting ‘pitches’ so, learn how to pitch effectively.

c. That being said, a 'pitch' to a journalist is NOT the same as a 'sales pitch'. They are two completely different things. This too is an art form with a huge learning curve. If you do not know the difference, don't even attempt it. I will say it again - traditional journalists are not paid to listen to sales pitches; they are paid to report news that is important to the public.

4. Traditional journalists, though still important, are not AS important as they once were.

a. If your potential buying profiles are still watching TV, listening to radio or reading newspapers and magazines, then you will need to learn to pitch well as you will necessarily need to get coverage in tv, radio, newspapers and magazines. If your potential buyer is using the Internet exclusively, concentrate your efforts there instead. Due to the move by journalists to the Internet, (and if placed properly), your message will be picked up by default. Remember that it is always best to create relationships with the media and not to be perceived as a huckster. (See 'The End Of An Era' located in the articles section of this site"

b. 'THE MEDIA' is not a thing. The media is a group that is comprised of real, live human beings. Remember that always. Treat them with courtesy, dignity and respect as you would anyone else. They are busy people and you must respect their time.

5. A media release is a one time, very directed news communication tool with a time limit

a. Never use a cookie cutter release. Never use someone else's release as a model. You will be seen to be like that guy in the bar - you know the one - the guy that goes from table to table saying exactly the same thing to every girl in the place, hoping to get lucky with someone - anyone. Using someone else's release as a model is like asking someone if you can read a letter they wrote to their girlfriend, copying it and then sending it to YOUR girlfriend. The results will be pretty much the same.

b. A media release may or may not directly create sales. Usually not. The purpose of the media release is to help create the 'buzz'. The buzz creates the sales. The media release is a vital component of the strategy and should be treated as such. If anyone tells you anything different, run away, run away.

6. The Internet is fast replacing traditional media (duhh)

a. There are two types of improvement models:

Constructive: This is where a new idea improves upon an existing model in some way, leaving the existing model in place

Destructive: This is where a new idea completely replaces the old model, rendering it obsolete.

The Internet could be said to be a destructive form when applied to traditional media. Though this will not happen immediately, the Internet will eventually most likely completely replace tradtional media. Newspapers are really feeling the heat now. Radio is not far behind.

For now, depending upon your target profiles, you may need to use both the Internet and traditional media. Don't ignore either. It is your specific profiles that will determine which should be used and in what ratios.

Posted by Don at Free Publicity Focus Group

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Social Marketing And Blogging - Thoughts

The following thoughts are excerpted from McCauley's Marketing Manifesto. Note: Social marketing at the corporate level, a relatively recent development, is far too broad a topic for inclusion here. That being said, for the rest of the world . . .

1. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social sites are not social marketing.

a. These are social marketing message delivery tools. Social marketing is a completely different subject. Remember that tools are just tools - they are not the strategy.

2. Engaging in social marketing is the Internet equivalent of doing referral marketing, only a lot bigger.

a. Social marketing is not 'new'. As a matter of fact, social marketing was the first form of marketing to exist. Back before we had newspapers, radio, tv, magazines and other forms of media, the only way to get the word out was to tell other people - your friends - their friends - and the word was simply passed from person to person. Media and the Internet made this far easier to do without paying for advertising.

b. If people like you, they will pass the word along to their friends. Those friends will then bypass every other option available to get to you, because their friend recommended you. This is the power of social marketing. (See 'What Successful Marketers Know . . . That Most Don't' located in the articles section of this site)

3. As a tool, Twitter can be used for marketing but should not be used as a sales pitch machine.

a, Social marketing involves creating trust, developing real relationships and providing value at a level that will cause another to pass the word regarding you, your product or your service. Therefore you should strive to provide that trust and that value. Try not to bore everyone with never-ending sales pitches or frankly boring posts. An informal study has shown that there are basically three types of tweeters:

Type A
9 am – ‘Buy my stuff’
11 am – ‘Buy my stuff’
1 pm – ‘Buy my stuff’
3 pm – ‘Buy my stuff’
5 pm – ‘Buy my stuff’
7 pm – ‘Buy my stuff’

This gets old fast and becomes an unfollow. This is like saying ‘Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!’. This is tweeting up the wong twee.

Type B
9 am – ‘Just got up’
11 am – ‘Thinking about lunch’
1 pm – ‘I ate too much lunch. Naptime’
3 pm – ‘Just got up’
5 pm – ‘Thinking about dinner’
7 pm – ‘I ate too much dinner. Going to bed’

This also gets old and becomes an unfollow. If you do this, you are in twubble.

Type C
9 am – Great Twitter tools (link)
11 am – Found a great article that will help you (link)
1 pm – Found a whitepaper everyone should read (link)
3 pm – Read this survey
5 pm – Read my article on advertising (link)
7 pm – Found a cool web site (link)

Type C's get the followers. The point is that providing valuable information to others, passing it along, makes for happy followers. They will come to appreciate you and will actually look forward to your tweets (assuming you are attempting to use these types of tools to create awareness). Remember this. Please remember this. It's twue.

4. Be careful what you say

a. Of course, this goes without saying but I said it anyway. One of the worst examples is when you get a post that says 'I found a site that got me 2000 new followers last week!' Then, when you visit their Twitter page, the poster only has 100 followers. What does that say about the person who made that post? Ask yourself - why do you covet those followers in the first place - what is the real goal here?

Always remember that a bad message or a bad impression sent to a lot of people will only cause you to fail faster. First things first. If you don't know what those first things might be, stop here and start at the top of this page again.

5. Treat social marketing tools as you would the watering hole or the golf course.

a. Think of social marketing tools as places to get familiar and casual with your potential buyers outside the restrictions of the marketplace. We know that lots of really great deals are made at the local watering hole or on the golf course. This is because it pays to know people and this is how you get to know them. However, if you as a business owner spend all day in the bar screaming ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ you will most likely be out of business very quickly.

If you are going to attempt to use social marketing, the easy way out is to pretend you are at a casual party filled with potential clients. Don't bore, don't blather on endlessly about yourself or your accomplishments and don't dance in inappropriate ways. You are in front of thousands of potential customers who, depending on the time of day, have not been drinking. Act and speak accordingly.

Posted by Free Publicity Focus Group

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Marketing 'Experts'

Once upon a time a man searched for years to find the greatest Zen Master in the world. After decades, he found a person who everyone said was that master. It took him many days to climb the mountain where the master sat. At last he reached the feet of the Master.

"Oh great master," he said, "for many years I have searched and at last I have found you. Tell me, please tell me how I might become a great master like you . . . "

"Print up some business cards," replied the master.

Anyone can say 'I am an expert'.

Imagine you walk into a hardware store. A man wearing red bib overalls runs up to you and exclaims 'You need a hammer!'

'I do?' you ask.

'Absolutely, yes you do. I am the hammer expert. Come on. Let me show you our hammers. These hammers are cool. They come in different colors and sizes. They are the best hammers money can buy and can be used for just about any purpose . . . .

Ten minutes later you finally manage to get a word in. 'But I am here to buy a tool to change a tire,' you protest.

'Doesn't matter. You can use a hammer. I am a hammer expert and the uses for these hammers are unlimited. Why, just the other day . . . "

The question is this: Would you buy that hammer you really don't need because the hammer expert said you needed the thing? No.

Experts are everywhere these days it seems. Many of these people are not experts - they are tool salesmen. It is an unfortunate fact that most of these experts go about things backward. They first decide upon a tool and then try to retrofit you into their tool profile. Don't allow this to happen. If you do, you will waste a great deal of time and money and will end up with a hammer that will not accomplish your goal. How can you tell you are talking to a real expert?

1. Experts analyze - they don't fantasize

If anyone tells you the answer before asking the questions you are not talking to an expert - you are talking to a salesperson. A real expert will do an analysis of your situation before making any recommendations whatsoever.

Real experts often turn away more clients than they accept.

2. Real experts have real experience.

The first question you should ask should be 'How long have you been an expert at _______?' If the answer does not end with the word 'years', (plural) run away. Even if the answer does end in 'years' you may still wish to back away slowly, especially if the expert is an expert at selling a particular tool only.

3. Real experts know that they do not know everything

A real expert will refer you to other real experts if they do not consider themselves to be an expert on a particular subject. This is why doctors and attorneys refer clients to other doctors and attorneys. There is no such thing as an expert who is an expert in everything. If anyone tells you that they are the expert in everything, cover your pockets, cover your you-know-what and, again, run.

4. Above all else, real experts are realistic

If your expert is promising the moon, that is likely where you will have to look for that expert - after that expert takes your money. Experts do not make promises - they make projections. No one can guarantee the success of anyone else.

The expert might make you angry at times. This is because real experts are known for telling the truth. You may not want to hear the truth. This is because your expectations may be unrealistic. Most marketers do not want to hear bad news - they only want to hear good news. A false expert will be more than happy to tell you all the good news you want to hear - until they get your money. Then, they most likely will not answer the phone, as they are probably out having lunch with their tool-selling buddies.

A real expert will most likely burst a few bubbles. They will be realistic. This is what you want. This is how they developed a reputation as a real expert. Real experts do not deal in hopes or dreams - they deal with reality and facts. This is also why you should use them. Real experts are building a reputation - not making a fast buck. No real expert would gamble a long-term reputation against a few short-term dollars.

Finding a real expert out here can be difficult. It is said that the Buddha, after a lifetime of teaching, in his final words to his disciples, gave the best piece of advice he could muster:

"Just do the best you can."

posted by Free Publicity Focus Group

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The Most Powerful Marketing Strategy You Will Ever Use

First, allow me to preface this by stating that I am not the bragging type. I am, however, very confident that I do know my subject. My subject is, of course, marketing.

Since 1977, I have personally built 3 service businesses in the 'real world' from nothing; all very successful. I spent no money whatsoever on advertising or marketing. I have consulted with hundreds of businesses and have helped them build those businesses. I have been there and I have done that. What I am about to show you will, if implemented and used consistently, allow you to build whatever business you own faster and more efficiently than you dreamed possible. Not only can you do this; anyone can do this.

This technique lies at the very core of many of the successful business ventures I have been involved in since the beginning. Let us begin by considering:

The Key Factor

Every successful marketing professional knows that referral marketing is the most effective method to use when marketing a product or service.

If someone gets a referral to some product or service from one of their friends, they will pass by every other form of advertising offered them and knock themselves out to seek out and find what their friend has recommended. If a friend recommends a website, they will go there. If a friend tells them a particular book is quite good, they will spend the money to check it out without hesitation. (Did you see yourself there for a moment?)

This is because most people believe their friends will not lie to them, jerk them around, yell at them, blink at them, try to trick them into hitting a buy button or use any other slick marketing tactic on them. If their friend tells them something is worthwhile and relevant, they will often seek it out immediately in absolute trust and will most likely purchase it. Those of us in the marketing game know that a referral is like pure gold, for a referral is pre-sold. It is often money in the bank. The credibility that lies at the heart of successfully marketing anything is inherent in the referral process.

However, referrals are sometimes hard to come by. We often forget to ask. The referrals you get most likely come sporadically. We would love to have a mailbox full of referrals every day, wouldn't we? But that seldom happens (for most of us). Most of us treat referrals as a hit or miss proposition. Wrong.

Be aware that there is a method that can create an ongoing, unlimited stream of referrals. This method outperforms any other method I have come across in 30 years of creating marketing and publicity plans for my clients. That method is to use gifting to create publicity, awareness and, most importantly, referrals. In a nutshell, here is how it works.

The Method

* You, as owner, offer a gift of real and lasting value at no charge
* You allow the gift to be passed to others
* You brand the gift
* You then publicize the gift itself

The end result is that your gift can go ‘viral’ and create a massive amount of free publicity for your practice or business, a huge amount of awareness and a virtual landslide of new referrals. Done properly, it works every time. It almost never fails. However you will find many people who don’t experience success.

I Tried That! It Didn't Work!

I have found that there are two broad reasons why this methods does not work for some people.

a. Many marketing companies and professionals use gifting. However in my opinion, it is used in the wrong way. A gift should be just that - a gift. It should have no strings attached. Giving a coupon or discount as a gift creates precisely the opposite effect you might wish to achieve by using a gift. It is an advertisement disguised as a gift. Trust is essential in the marketing process. If you are perceived to using any form of trickery or dishonesty, you will be quite dead in the proverbial water.

The minute you do this, your potential buyer sees right through the tactic. A REAL gift, given without any strings attached or any forced action, is greatly appreciated. Don't dress up an advertisement as a gift and expect any real results. You might as well give away those silly branded pens or calendars with your name on them.

b. Another primary reason most gifting strategies fail lies in the perceived VALUE of the gift itself. Hey, who needs another book about social security? Or a free report about gold? These gifts most likely generate some names, but really provide no value whatsoever. That information is available everywhere, always and at no charge. Do these types of 'gifts' provide any real value? Is this something people will knock themselves out to pass along to their friends?

People who use these types of strategies are collectors of names, not marketers. They are playing numbers. Marketers want the names of those who have a real interest in their product or service. Don't fool yourself into thinking you are experiencing success if you are collecting names. You can get names from a phone book. Very few of those names in the phone book will be interested specifically in your product or service. This is why advertising to the masses pulls such low numbers in regards to actual results.

What Will Work For Me?

The gifting strategy will work every time, but only if the gift meets the following test. The gift:

* must provide REAL value,
* must be something that is not generally or widely available elsewhere
* there must be a PERSONAL CONTACT involved in the exchange of the branded gift.

If your gift meets those three simple criteria, you mostly likely will be successful.

Hopefully, you have done the research to understand your potential client or customer. You know who they are, you know where they are, you know how many there are and you know how they prefer to receive their information. Most importantly, you need to know what they want, and you need to give it to them in the way they prefer.

If you know what they want, give them a gift that satisfies their own perception of their needs. Give it freely. Give it without obligation. Brand the daylights out of it and encourage them at every step to pass the thing along.

Then publicize the gift.

The end result is the best anyone marketing a product or service can hope for. The gift opens the door in such a way as to create good will. It sets the stage for allowing your potential buyers to see that you do have their best interests at heart - that you are not trying to trick them into buying something or signing up for something. You are providing something of real value at no cost.

Publicizing the gift itself is what makes this work, as this plays on the desire to obtain something of real value at no charge. If the gift truly helps the receiver solve a real problem, the ‘PR value’ is enormous.

How Does This Method Work?

a. You, as owner, give a gift, (a gift of real value, with no strings attached). Brand that gift with your own unique brand. Once the potential buyer sees there are no strings attached, no tricks involved, they WILL pass that gift along. The fact that the gift has your brand attached is not a from of coercion or trickery. Your message goes with the gift, and brings into play all that referral marketing offers.

b. You then publicize the fact that the gift is available only from you. You do this using the media, the Internet, your clients lists – any way you have available to you.

It is ridiculously simple. It is extremely effective.

What Is The ‘Downside’ To Using This Strategy?

The downside, if there is one, is that the gift may not lead directly to new client. That, I suppose we could say, is a downside. But to that I say, so what? Your message has gotten into the hands of another potential client in a very favorable, non intrusive manner, you have created good will, you have shown yourself to be mega professional and you have created the opportunity for that impression to be passed along to many other people. Your primary goal here is to position yourself as someone who has the best interests of others at heart, and to demonstrate your willingness to help others.

The gifting concept incorporates all of the best marketing stragies one can use, rolled up into one neat little package. It creates awareness, very positive publicity and allow your message to perhaps go viral. It is the best of all worlds.

For more visit www.freepublicitygroup.com

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Stupid Marketing Tricks Part VIII - The Cleaver Advertising Agency

Today is Hugh Beaumont's birthday (the actor who played the Beaver's father). Yesterday I was accused of 'spamming' because I mentioned my website address in a post on a discussion group for crying out loud. I also signed up for yet another social networking site. Now, you might ask, how do all of these things tie together in my own mind? In answer, I offer the following.

Stupid Marketing Tricks - Part VIII - The Cleaver Advertising Agency

Newspaper, radio, tv and magazines are suffering massive meltdowns. The revenue is drying up. The publishing business is not far behind. Why is this so? I call it the 'Ward Cleaver Syndrome'.

Back in the late 50's and early 60's print media used to run ads that featured Dad sitting at the head of the dinner table, dressed in a crisp white shirt and skinny tie and smoking his pipe, smiling cluelessly. Mom was always serving up something like a perfectly cooked turkey in her beehive hairdo and A-frame dress, while the kids sat in their plaid shirts, buttoned up completely to the top, with a napkin sticking out of the top, sprouting their cowlicks proudly and licking their little chops. The background was normally greenish and the headline was always shouting something like 'My Family Deserves Only The Best!'

This is the year 2009. Those days are gone. However, the people who created those ads are not. And, unfortunately, many of them still want to run things.

When I listen to or read some of the rants, wails and comments of the big dogs in these industries, I get the impression that they are most likely sitting in a 50's style backyard bomb-shelter, typing it out on a Royal typewriter, or perhaps broadcasting their message using a tube style ham radio. ('Gee Beav, I guess things are changin' huh?')

Not in their world. In this, the real world.

Marketing is now 'social' in nature. 'Social' is a term that loosely means 'NO GATEKEEPERS'. It is a free exchange of ideas and information. As I have mentioned hundreds of times, you, as an individual, are on a completely level playing field against corporations that have millions in their advertising budget. You are equal. This is fantastic news for you. This is bad news for them.

This opens up a whole new can of worms, filled with both good worms and bad worms. China be damned - the Internet is all about free people and free exchange. Some of the newspapers, magazines, radio and television moguls don't like the free exchange of information. Free exchange means they have nothing to sell. Bloggers can now destroy companies. Google and Amazon are making their moves to take over the world. Blah, blah, blah.

It is only the Cleavers of the world who are getting upset, because their tightly controlled little world is crashing down. You can hear the desperation in every word they speak. The fear is as thick as the maple syrup on Mrs. Cleaver's pancakes. They are losing their control.

As a marketer in the year 2009, you can now take your message directly to your buyer. No advertising necessary. No regulation imposed. Do as you please. The market itself will determine your fate, not some editor or some publisher or some other myopic, self righteous judge of what the public may have or have not.

The field of book publishing is trying desperately to adapt. However, like everyone else, as a group they have no idea which direction to take. Unfortunately most of those in power have a June Cleaver 'The Internet - isn't that nice, dear!' kind of mindset. Too late for many of them. Many of the publishing companies appear to be more interested in FIGHTING the changes than they are in MONETIZING these positive changes. In a social environment, they will lose.

The Color Computer is gone. 8 tracks and CB radios are no more. Neither is it necessary to play by any set of rules given by any organization with Mr. Cleaver at the helm. Don't get me wrong. Beaver Cleaver's dad was a really nice guy. However, today, Mr. Cleaver would be merely clueless and completely out of touch. Try though he might, he could no longer control anything, for the world will have passed him by.

Google is not destroying any newspaper, radio, tv, magazine or publishing company. The market itself is determining that these things are no longer relevant to any degree and therefore, they will not survive in their present form.

If you are still using marketing strategies from the 1990's and before, you will not be attacked. No one will tell you. Instead, you will simply be politely ignored. Then, much like Ward, June, Beaver and Wally, you will be forgotten.

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