Celebrity Books with a Marketing Message

I love to read a good juicy book. My favorites are autobiographies & biographies of people I admire or want to learn more about. What I've realized from the past few I've read is that whether they're a business icon (Cathie Black, for example), or a celebrity (Oprah) each story has had some marketing relevance.

Even though these books were written with a completely different spin, I'm going to share with you here some of the marketing & promotional lessons I've learned from these famous people.

Celebrity Reads With a Twist

Lesson #1: Extend Your Brand - There's just no one better at this than Oprah. What began with a local talk show is now a communications empire. Her brand expansion is into areas for which she had no previous experience including publishing, radio broadcasting, Broadway producer, and now of course, the premium cable channel, the OWN Network. How can a small business apply this lesson? A salon can brand its own hair care products; a consultant can expand by writing a book, a printer can expand by offering direct mail services. Just be open-minded & see the bigger picture.

Lesson #2: Never Say No - The late Joan Rivers (rest in peace, we miss you) is quoted as having said that early in her career as the token female comedienne of her time, she took on every gig offered to her. This got her in front of audiences & helped her hone her skills. She never thought anything was beneath her & was as professional on a free gig as she was on a high paid one. A small business owner can do the same by being creative & figuring out ways to make a customer happy even if that's not going to make the owner a lot of money. I have gone out of my way to do small things (sometimes for no charge) & it has always been appreciated & has usually resulted in a referral down the road.

Lesson #3: Take Risks - Cathie Black the former CEO of Hearst Magazines tells a story in her autobiography Basic Black, when she worked for Si Newhouse at USA Today. During the paper's infancy, she was hired as President & was unhappy with their advertising agency. Without telling anyone she brought in a new upstart agency to pitch the account, loved their innovative approach, then got buy-in from others. Once she had that buy-in she recommended the change to Si himself (a very difficult taskmaster) who agreed. Cathie risked having egg on her face & upsetting the apple cart but in the end, became a hero. You too should take risks now & again. Go full force after something you believe in even when others don't. A good visionary leader will see things others can't & these visions will often produce far greater results than safe ones.

Lesson #4: Treat Your Suppliers Like You Treat Your Customers - In Jack Mitchell's book, Hug Your Customers, he talks about how he makes annual trips to the designers overseas whose lines of clothing he carries. He swears this makes for a far better relationship than simply ordering from them via standard channels like all the other department stores do. Nurturing these relationships has allowed his small upscale chain of stores to offer special trunk shows, first run designs & other unique benefits because he goes out of his way & treats them well.

Apply this in your own business by showing your appreciation for those who support your business. If you're a retail location, treat your landlord well; offer to credit your suppliers online or in an ad, etc. Find a way to give credit & show respect & it will come back to you. (In this spirit, I'd like to thank Tim of Night & Day Media for his recent work on my book's website!)

Lesson #5: Shameless Promotion - Ava Gardner, once dubbed the most beautiful woman in the world, began her acting career in the days when movie studios practically owned their stars. This means you did whatever they told you to & didn't ask questions. Because she was so beautiful they promoted her like crazy. In her biography, there are numerous accounts of her being promoted using posters, newspaper ads, trade ads, even being cast in movies for her looks only to have her voice looped over by a better speaker. All this, however, helped to make her the biggest movie star of her time.

Small business owners now have more access than ever before to promotional opportunities, most of which are free easy to do yourself such as online press releases, YouTube uploads & other online social media. As a business owner it is your responsibility to get out there & make the most of any opportunity that will get you positive press.

Lesson #6: Be Your Own Brand Ambassador - One of my favorite biographies is American Son, about the life of JFK, Jr. The book is written by the former editor of George magazine. George was the brainchild of JFK, Jr. & he was it's spokesperson. Sure, it doesn't hurt to be the son of a former President, but in some ways that could have worked against him. JFK, Jr. attended all important meetings, made himself available to the press for PR, & worked around the clock to make the magazine a success. Someone of his stature may not have had to work that hard, but he felt a heavy burden to ensure its success & thought he owed it to his loyal employees - in fact, he worked harder than anyone on his staff. The rest of us who don't have the fame & fortune he did still have to be our company's best Brand Ambassador & make sure we set the tone for what we want our businesses to be.

If you're looking for a good small business marketing read, this will help you market like a pro! Visit http://www.myaffordablemarketinghandbooks.com.

Copyright 2014 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

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Using White Papers to Boost Your Small Business Marketing

A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that helps readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. This definition from Wikipedia also (surprisingly) states that white papers orginated in 1922 as a government tool, with the issue of The Churchill White Paper.

There are essentially three types of white papers:

• Backgrounder: Describes the technical and/or business benefits of a certain offering from a vendor, either a product, service, or methodology.
• Numbered list: Presents a set of tips, questions, or points about a certain business issue.
• Problem/solution: Recommends a new, improved solution to a nagging business problem.

White papers have evolved from use by the government to use in B2B marketing & now have become a popular marketing & communications tool for use in online lead generation.

Of course, white papers "in the old days" were exactly that - on paper, mailed or handed out in person. Now, they're downloaded & read electronically or printed out when desired by the reader. No matter, the goals are the same. A white paper is evidence of your expertise & when used correctly, is a vital credibility tool.

Here's how to get them right (or "write" as it were):

1. Decide which one is best for your use. Clients in the tech industry use backgrounders effectively. This gives them the platform to present their expertise in a broad-brushed way. Often effective is to use a case study within this format to further enhance your credibility. A numbered list is a great way to present "Top 10 Tips to...." Here you can lay out your expertise by showing insider tips or whetting the appetites of potential leads to get them to call you for more information. And, lastly is the Problem/Solution format which is best used for a breakthrough product or service. Here I always advise watching infomercials to see how that kind of presentation is best communicated.

2. How long should it be? I'm asked this frequently by clients. Normally, I advise no more than 10 pages for a small business. Mostly because you don't want to "drop all your candy in the lobby" or give away your secrets. Also, most people don't read anything much longer than that.

3. What other pages should I include? All white papers should have a nicely designed cover page. Some use a Table of Contents as well. Another page to keep in mind is a "final" page where you can thank the person for reading it, make an offer, restate your business philosophy, etc. And, feel free to say "keep this for future reference." In other words, make sure you don't lose them.

4. Don't forget the obvious. I've downloaded white papers that have no branding on them at all beyond the cover page. This is a missed opportunity. In the footer of each page should be your company name & URL as well as an email or phone # (depending upon how you want to be contacted). And, please number the pages - it's much more professional.

5. How do I promote it? A white paper should be "sold" on your home page. I think that if you're giving much-needed advice & leads are going to self-select by signing up, then an email should be required to "register" for it. How else will you/your sales team track/follow up? An hour or so of basic programming is worth the expense. Sometimes white papers are immediately available for download once an email address is entered, other times (my preferred method) an email is sent (to confirm it's not spam) as a well-written thank you note along with a link to download it themselves. This affords you another opportunity to ensure you've received a qualified email address and get in prospect's email inbox.

6. To track or not to track? If you can afford the additional programming fee, I strongly recommend incorporating the ability to track clicks on the download button. Otherwise, you can manually count how many emails your system sent out with the subject line that pertains to the download. A great subject line that spurs action & decreases the chance of it becoming spam is "Here is the white paper you requested from ABC Company." An amazing tool I've begun to use is bitly to track various online efforts I do to promote my business. In fact, you can get my newest white paper here! http://bit.ly/10White.

7. How else can a white paper be promoted? Social media is an obvious choice. Offer it up on a company page on LinkedIn (& don't forget if you use twitter, to check the birdie box to get it out on twitter too) or Facebook. Make an offer to your online circle by directing them to your site. Write a Press Release. Announce it in an email newsletter. Put it at the end of your email signature block. Be creative!

8. How much does design count? It should be designed for easy reading, but not so overly done that it looks like advertising, or uses up a zillion color ink cartridges if your prospect decides to print it. Don't use color bleeds, don't use too many design elements or many different fonts. Do use charts & tables for emphasis as well as stock photos & sub-headers to help break up heavy copy.

9. Decide follow up before you implement a white paper. Don't let a warm lead get cold. Follow up by offering a free consult, or a trial period, or lead them to a demo on your site.

10. Measuring effectiveness is key. If you normally close 3 of 10 regular leads, but you find you're closing substantially more using a white paper, then continue the process by writing new ones every so often on additional topics within your expertise. If the number is lower than normal then ask a trusted client or colleague to read through it with fresh eyes to point out any missed opportunities or room for improvement.

So, now that you know how go ahead and get started with White Papers - write now! Need help? Contact us...writing white papers is part of what we do for our small business clients!

Remember...get started marketing TODAY so that TOMORROW your business will still exist.

Copyright 2014 Affordable Marketing Solutions LLC

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Effective, inexpensive marketing in this economy

Imagine getting in your car and expecting to get to your destination without gas. Silly, right? Now, imagine trying to create a successful business without marketing? Hmm…see where I’m going with this?

Marketing IS the gas that fuels your business.

There simply is no other way to bring revenue in the door without some form of marketing. It’s just flat out impossible.

Now, before you say “I’m just staring out, I don’t have a marketing budget”, or “times are tough, I don’t want to spend a lot”, let me stop you. You can market your business without spending a fortune. Perhaps without even spending at all.

Let’s look at some amazingly affordable marketing solutions you can implement right now:

1. Email – Do you have signature block at the end of your emails? If not, you are missing a large opportunity to get the word out. Make sure you include all the ways to contact you & even add a tag line. You’d be surprised how much mileage you can get out of this consistent branding opportunity. Make it policy that any employees must also have one.
2. Email Marketing – At every opportunity, try to collect emails from prospects as well as existing clients. You can easily do this by putting a sheet at your front desk if you have a retail location, asking for emails when calling to confirm appointments, etc. if you are a spa or medical office, etc. Then, using your existing email system (no subscriptions required) just be sure to send them something relevant & of course don’t forget to use the “BCC” line to protect everyone’s privacy.
3. Phone – Do you have a message on your after hours, or voice mail system that plugs your business? A short, simple message that states “Thank you for calling _____. The company that ____. This is ____. No one can take your call right now, so please leave us a message & someone will return your call as quickly as possible.” Remember, for a first-time caller, impressions are everything. You may also want to consider stating your cell number for client emergencies.
4. Business Cards – Be sure you have them stashed everywhere. In your briefcase, padfolios, wallet, purse, notebook, pockets – I mean everywhere! You never know when an opportunity arises to give someone your card, or to put it up at a community location. Also, don’t forget to include a business card with every piece of correspondence you send out. It can subtly say “pass me along”.
5. Write articles – If you want to set yourself up as an expert in your field, set aside time & write articles that will get people’s attention. Send them out on the web & be sure to send them to your local media outlets & publications.
6. Website – If you already have one, be sure to consistently update its content to stay fresh & of course, add to it as necessary. Learn how to update verbiage yourself. It’s not that difficult and you can save money by doing these yourself.
7. Network – Pick up the phone & call 5 people that you think will be great resources for you. Call friends & ask if someone they know needs your product or service. Ask everyone, everywhere you go & make time to network once a week. I like Fridays when people are more relaxed & open to a quick (& I mean QUICK!) chat. Then, ask those people for more referrals & the list keeps going.
8. Do reviews – Go to book sites & review books within your industry & area of expertise. Get your name out there & be sure to include links to your email & website, if you have one.

These days people are tightening their spending belts but they will continue to spend some money now so make sure it’s YOU who gets the business. And, when the economy turns around you’ll be top of mind for those on whom you made a great impression.

Good luck!

Randye