Increase your profits in a recession!
November 24, 2008 by PaulFlood
I’m going to be writing a series of posts about small business strategies to profit during a recession.
First of all, I do believe there are some real serious economic challenges, particularly for large companies or even smaller companies who may be having some challenges obtaining credit. I also believe that there are a lot more opportunities than the media would have us all believe.
Case in point – During a recent segment on Good Morning America, Diane Sawyer was interviewing an Avon distributor. She acted astonished that women were buying cosmetics in such a tough economy. About half of the people I know are women and I can’t tihink of a single one who quit applying makeup every day. The absurdity of Ms. Sawyer’s comment was unbelievable!
Head to Walgreens, Krogers, Wal-Mart, Macy’s or any other store and see if they have cordoned off the cosmetics department because the economy is bad!
One thing I really shudder at is when a business owner tells me they are cutting back on their marketing because of the economy. If they are cutting back, then their marketing was likely ineffective image advertising, they have no mechanism for tracking results or really don’t know what to do.
Don’t cut back! Instead, sharpen your approach. Understand your market, the media that will reach them and the message that you are sending. Track your results, improve what is working and toss what isn’t. Make every dollar you invest in marketing bring you prospects or sales.
Try multiple approaches and see what works best for you. You won’t know what will work best unless you test it. Be bold and different from your competition. Stand apart from the crowd and provide incredible service. Create a loyal fan base who would never consider leaving you. Give them a reason to buy more from you and to buy more frequently.
In future posts, I’ll be giving you strategies and tactics that will likely deliver the greatest return for your business. If there is something that works particularly well for you, share it with me so we can help each other gropw and succeed
Dedicated to multiplying your sales!
Paul
Are you making friends on facebook?
November 24, 2008 by PaulFlood
to look at facebook for the day.
I saw another friend request
and decided to click away.
I staggered back and looked around
And the breeze blew back my hair
I remember staring at the computer screen
And thinking, does this person really care?
Well who are you? (Who, who, who, who?)
I really want to know
Well, I really wanna know.
Do I really mean anything to you?
If so, I really wanna know!
Many join facebook to keep in touch with friends
and hook up with people in our past.
Many of us see it as a powerful internet
marketing tool to build and expand our business. I
stumbled here on the advice of a local friend and,
a short period of time, I found myself attracted
to like-minded people and became a part of a
“Tribe” of real friends that I care about.
I know who they are. They approached me or I
approached them to become a friend. They told
me why they wanted to meet me or how they
heard about me. We were never really strangers.
The bottom line is…
…They showed an interest.
When I asked them to tell me about themselves,
which I usually do, they responded. We found
some common interests and introduced our
friends to them. Our tribe continues to expand
in friendship and influence. We’re part of a new
consciousness and way of doing business and you are
invited to join but first…
Tell me, tell me who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
We’ve learned from experience that taking a
bit of time to know a few people well makes for a
much more rewarding and fulfilling facebook
experience.
This leads to a lesson I was fortunate to learn early in my
facebook life from teachers like Ian Chapman, Brian Campbell and
Travis Greenlee and the lesson was that there’s an etiquette for
reaching out to make facebook friends.
(There are outstanding guides available that my friends above
have created. Be sure to click on their profiles to learn
how you can access them and their wonderful lessons.)
I’m writing about what I think is one
of the most important elements of facebook -
the friend request and introduction. That is… if
you are serious about making real friends.
When I started here, I clicked on names and
sent friend requests, hoping people would respond
positively. Fortunately for me, many did. One day,
I learned a lesson:
A new friend responding to my friend request me wrote,
“It’s nice to meet you. Tell me something about yourself.”
Being the shy rock and roll dude many of you have come
to know (facetiousness exaggerated) I wrote to Jennifer
to tell her a bit about me.
She wrote back saying only about 20% of the people
she asked ever responded. Since then, I’ve been asking
the same question from people who ask me to be a friend
and find about the same percentage respond.
These are the people with whom
I’ve become very close, ie. My Tribe. It’s like being at
a party or a business networking event. We have the
option of meeting many and knowing nobody or
meeting a few and finding good friends.
If you are here to connect and network by building
relationships, here’s a few tips I’ve learned from others
and from experience that may help leverage and
accelerate your success.
The approach
Tell me, tell me who are you?
Facebook allows you to add a message to your
friend request. Use it to begin a relationship.
How did you hear about me?
Let me know. Try to make it personal.
Believe it or not, I really wanna know 
Looking to meet others? If you can access their profile,
look for something that jumps out or interests you. Maybe they
wrote a note that got you thinking, if so, mention
it in your message.
If you were referred by a friend, tell us. Are
they a fb “Celebrity” whose work impresses you? Tell them
(I’ve connected with best-selling authors and
messaged how I’ve enjoyed their work or used
their business strategies to help myself or clients).
Remember that you never get a second chance
to make a first impression. Make it count.
Start with the attitude you are beginning a relationship,
not snagging a prospect!
Social networking is about relationships and trust.
If you want to be a friend, approach meeting a new person
as you would offline. Introduce yourself. Once they respond,
send a message or write on their wall to get to know them better.
As with an offline relationship, be sensitive to what you
write or post. When you meet someone at a chamber of
commerce luncheon, church group or other social
event, would you follow up your meeting by placing
a sign in their front yard or front door advertising your
business or opportunity?
The same applies here. A bit of subtlety and tact is
in order. People like to buy from those they know and trust.
Take a moment to think about how you will develop
a trusting relationship and becoming the magnet that will
have people asking, “Who are you?”
By pursuing real friendships vs. adding volumes of
contacts to your network, you will likely have a more
fulfilling experience. If it’s a choice between
adding 10 names or getting to know 2 people
get to know 2 people.
We have all met and made great friends
with fairly anonymous approaches and that in
itself is exciting. Think of how much more
exciting it will be for you to be adding many friends
instead of just many names!
To many who have been on facebook for
a while, this may seem very basic but it is something
that far too many people overlook. The oversight
can easily lead to great frustration 
For one last time… I really wanna know tell me,
Tell me…
Who, who, who AAARRRE YOUUU?
To your great success!
Paul
If you’ve enjoyed this post, get updates from me on twitter
or visit my blog – The Small Business Marketing Guide
PS – Are you interested in learning more about building
your facebook presence? Ian Chapman just
released his book Facebook Strategies,
which many of us have been eagerly awaiting.
If you plan to monetize facebook and avoid
loads of critical mistakes,
this book is a must-have for your library!
PPS – My thanks and apologies to Pete Townsend…
“I stretched back and I hiccupped
And looked back on my busy day.
Eleven hours on the internet
God there’s got to be another way!”
“How can I measure up to anyone now
After such a note as this?”
What are you talking about?
November 11, 2008 by PaulFlood
Are you writing copy for a newsletter, blog, web site or sales letters? Do you write your own brochures or business letters? Do you ever wonder if your message is getting through? When you proofread your materials, do you stop to wonder if it is even interesting?
What’s my point? Okay, bear with me and I’ll share a small business marketing tip that can make a huge difference in response rates in the response rate to everything that you send out. It is a secret of top copywriters and has meant a big difference in my income and that of my clients.
To quote Dan Kennedy, “Write like ya talk.”
That’s right, pretend you are having a conversation with your prospects and clients. Forget that you are writing anything related to business. Just pretend you are talking and let it flow like you would in a conversation. Can’t think of what to write? Then start talking into a recorder, play it back and take notes about what you’re saying.
Summarize your notes and begin writing. When you’re done, pull out the recorder and read what you wrote and play it back. Is it interesting? Ask someone else to read it aloud to you. What’s it sound like? Is it interesting? Does it catch your attention? Does it compel you to learn more about your product or service?
If it’s not interesting to you, what makes you think someone else will want to read it?
What’s the lesson here? If your intention is to communicate an idea to a stranger (which is what you are doing with a brochure, letter or web site) then you want to make it easy to read. It’s often hard to be interesting when using formal business language. Try to be conversational when you write and more people will read what you write.
I’ll be writing a lot more about this topic in different blog posts. If you find what I am writing to be interesting, then you want to do a couple of things. Learn from my style and try to see how you can weave it into what you are writing.
The other thing to do is to be sure you are signed up for my Marketing Moments e-zine so you get my e-course and the other great bonuses I send to my readers. You can subscribe by completing the form below. Have any comments or ideas about what I’m writing? Then go ahead and comment on my posts. I’d like to get a community going here with input from a lot of great minds like yours!
Have you been drawn to the Dark Side of the Web?
November 8, 2008 by PaulFlood
The Dark Side of your site? Is Paul on another Rock and Roll theme using Pink Floyd to make a point? Well, those of you that know me remember my penchant for weaving album themes into my notes but this time, it’s all about YOUR web site and how easy it is to read. We’re talking about readability.
You can have the best copy writers in the world write your copy but if the font and background colors or graphics distract from your sales or marketing message, you will lose potential prospects by the thousands.
If your site is a commercial site promoting your business, you must make it easy for your prospect to read. Your goal is not to be creative, cute or pretty. The goal is to interest a prospect in your product or service so you can get them interested enough to take a step towards buying. That said, every element of the site or ad should be created with that specific goal in mind.
What is the Dark Side? Well, it is called reverse printing, which is white or other light color print on a dark background. You may think it looks very cool but remember, the goal is not to look cool, it is to generate sales.
I have seen many sites with a great message destroyed by reverse printing. A facebook friend recently directed me to a site with red type on a purple background. I literally could not read a word of it. You see, like 10% of males, I am color-blind. I see colors but certain combinations are difficult to see. It was like trying to understand a Grateful Dead album cover. I was a prospect for the service but I clicked away because I couldn’t read it.
The force can be with you
Think of a few of the major players on the internet. Take a minute to look at Google, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook, Amazon or other top sites.
How many are written with a reverse type font? None.
Now, go to your library and pull out any book. How many use black paper and white ink? None.
Now, look at your newspapers and magazines. How many use black paper and white ink? None.
Do you notice a common thread here? Dark print on a light background is easy to read. If it is hard to read, a lot of your prospects will click away.
Light print on a dark background is hard to read.
Let’s return to the goal of your site. If it is to generate revenue, make it easy for your audience to read your message. If your web designer tells you otherwise, get a new designer. If your ad agency tells you otherwise, get a new agency.
You could have Dan Kennedy, John Carlton, Yanik Silver and the spirit of Gary Halbert collaborate to create the most powerful sales letter in history. If it is hard to read because of the selection of type and ink, you just wasted a fortune.
If you are compelled to use reverse type, at least test it against a non-reverse control. Track how much time a visitor spends on the page. Track sign-ups to your newsletter. If the reverse pulls better for your niche, by all means stick with it. However, I think you’ll find the Dark Side is limiting your sales.
Now Luke, defeat the Dark Side. Let the Force be with you and… make it easy for the everybody in the Empire to read. Dark print on a light background is the way of the Jedi. Our message must spread across the galaxy and the citizens must not struggle to read it. Only you can help spread the message!
Oh no!!! Imperial Storm Troopers are outside of my office, I must find Master Yoda. He has a message I must get to the resistance and I am out of white paper and black ink. Curses!!! I can only hope that the Staples on the planet Alderon is open at this late hour!
Wish me luck and may the force be with you!
Signed,
Jedi Master Paul Flood
PS - A lot of people disagree with me on this point and say there are situations that call for reverse printing or graphic intensive sites. Others say brand consistency is important. I look at a web site as a marketing investment. As such, it’s purpose is to increase sales.
My small business clients hire me to make them money, not build a brand so I look at a site as any other marketing piece and ask the question, “Will this lead to a sale or a prospect wanting to buy the product?”
In print ads, reverse printing reduces readability and sales. Statistics and studies have proven this repeatedly. I’m applying the same rules and will continue to advise against reverse until research proves otherwise.