Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing ideas to help you grow your business

It’s time to get emotional. Yes. Really!

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marketing advice, help

Someone recently asked me why her business needed a story. She thought it was, “a load of trendy nonsense”.

When I answered her question, she emailed me back to say it had changed her perception completely. She said it would improve her approach to marketing forever.

I decided to share my answer with you, and I hope you find it just as useful.

Why your brand needs a story

My answer begins with a quote from advertising legend, David Ogilvy.

“There isn’t any significant difference between the various brands of whiskey, or cigarettes or beer. They are all about the same”. “[…] The manufacturer who dedicates his advertising to building the most sharply defined personality for his brand will get the largest share of the market at the highest profit”.

That message isn’t new. It was written decades ago, as you can tell from the examples he uses. Yet it’s even more valid today.

Think about it: Apple’s iPhone is the best selling mobile phone in the world, despite being one of the most expensive. It doesn’t have the best display, the best camera, the best signal reception or the best battery life. But it does have the best story.

Emotions drive decisions

Your prospective clients or customers are motivated by emotions, far more than logic. The way they feel about your brand, is what will drive their decision to hire you, buy from you and recommend you. And it’s your story, which determines how they feel about you.

P.S. Read this, it will show you how your story can help you attract more word of mouth referrals.

Content Marketing: Is this useful?

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marketing tips, content marketing

I originally hoped to publish a post today. The challenge was, I couldn’t think of anything useful to share with you. And when I can’t think of something you’ll find useful, I leave it.

Then it hit me… that message, in itself, is pretty useful.

Allow me to explain: It’s useful to know that the only time you should publish a newsletter, podcast, video or blog post, etc., is when you have something useful for your audience.

Otherwise, it’s all about you

Which is fine if you’re a celebrity and people want to know all about you. But if you’re just a regular business person, like me, people want something they can use. An idea. A tip. A quick insight. Whatever.

So, before you hit publish, ask yourself: Is this likely to be useful or is it just adding to the noise? If you believe people will find it useful, publish.

Nothing we publish is going to be useful to everyone. But if we start off from the useful mindset, we’re less likely to write stuff just for the sake of it.

How to attract more clients, using The Small Print

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marketing tips, marketing help, marketing advice

Have you noticed something about The Small Print we find in marketing messages and on packaging?

The small print is small for a very good reason. They don’t want us to read it!

That’s because it’s almost always negative. Usually a disclaimer, telling us that the offer or message isn’t quite as good as it sounds.

Flipping The Small Print

Here’s something I’d like you to consider.

How would you feel if you read the Small Print and instead of it containing a disclaimer, it gave you another great reason to make the purchase?

Well, it would certainly shatter your negative preconceptions. It would also be memorable for all the right reasons. It would help you trust the product or service provider. And this would make your buying decision far, far easier.

Your prospective clients

Now let’s think about your prospective clients or customers.

How do you think they would feel about your service, if your Small Print gave them that kind of powerful, trust-building message? Could it have the same, positive impact on how they feel about doing business with you?

Absolutely.

BONUS: Here are 3 proven ways to quickly attract more clients.

How to make your marketing totally, utterly unmissable

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marketing tips, marketing advice, marketing help

What do the following have in common?

  • The trailer for a movie, which is part of a franchise you really enjoy.
  • A radio interview with a musician, whose music you’ve always loved, talking about their new album.
  • A Facebook post from an author, whose books you collect, announcing their new title.
  • A newsletter from a brand you like and trust, announcing an exciting new product.

The answer is that they are all examples of marketing you value. Marketing you wouldn’t want to miss. Marketing that doesn’t even feel like marketing.

How to create unmissable marketing

So, what was it that made those marketing examples unmissable?

  1. You gave permission for the marketing message to reach you. You tuned into the TV station or radio channel. You liked them on Facebook. You subscribed to their newsletter.
  2. The product being marketed (movie, album or book etc.), is something you’re interested in.

Without your permission, the marketer is being a pest. No one wants to be pestered with unsolicited emails, off-target advertising or unrequested social networking messages.

Without your interest, the “offer” is just another annoying, time-wasting, badly targeted sales pitch.

How to make your marketing unmissable

Firstly, make sure you only market to people who want what you’re offering.

Secondly, earn their permission. How? Here’s a strategy that works:

  1. Think about the brands you have given permission to contact you.
  2. Write them down.
  3. Next, ask yourself why you did it. Why did you subscribe to their YouTube channel, their newsletter or their blog? Why did you like them on Facebook or connect with them on Linkedin? Why did you ask them to send you their catalogue or email you their updates?
  4. Finally, see what you can learn from their strategy, which you can adapt, to earn the permission of your prospective customers.

It takes more effort to create unmissable marketing. However, it can massively improve your results.

Tip — Read this, it will really help your marketing stand out; “The Number 1 Thing You Must Know For Your Business To Succeed“.

Why storytelling is the cornerstone of successful marketing

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marketing tips, advice, help

Depending on where you buy it, there’s a popular liquid that costs around $26,000 a gallon. Unlike water, this liquid isn’t life-preserving. That’s to say you can’t drink it. It isn’t life-giving either, so you can’t water crops with it.

In fact it does just one thing… and LITERALLY NO ONE needs it!

Despite this, it sells very successfully for tens of thousands of dollars a gallon. Have you guessed what it is yet? The liquid I’m referring to here is Chanel No.5 perfume. So, why does a pleasant smelling liquid sell for such a huge price?

People buy stories

Chanel has successfully built a story around their perfume. It’s a story about style, opulence, beauty and sensuality. It’s nothing whatsoever to do with fragrant smelling liquid. It’s all about the feelings associated with the Chanel No.5 story.

For example.

  • When we buy Chanel No.5 for someone, they know they’re receiving an expensive, classy gift. We’re telling them that we’re the kind of person who gifts Chanel No.5.
  • When we buy Chanel No.5 for ourselves, we get to connect with the aspirational lifestyle embodied by the Chanel No.5 brand. Beautiful people. Stylish locations. C’est Chic.

People buy the Chanel No.5 story. They have zero need for the product, but the story makes them want it.

Your story

If you’re like the vast majority of small business owners, you won’t have a compelling story to motivate people to want to hire you or buy from you. Sure, you’ll have a list of services. Yes, you’ll offer a number of promises and benefits. And your competitors will be doing exactly the same.

Why should someone buy from you? Make no mistake, your ability to answer that question with a compelling story, could be the difference between making a living and making a fortune.

PS: This will help you get it right – Why your business needs a story.

What everybody needs to know about costs

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marketing tips, advice, help

The price and the cost are never the same thing.

For example.

  • The price of a TV set can be a fraction of the cost attached to watching it. Some people who spend hours watching TV every day, find it costs their health, relationships or education.
  • Other’s buy a TV and find the price is an investment, because they limit their TV time, selectively choose what to watch and expand their knowledge.

The internet is packed with business advice, ranging from toxic to gold dust. And the stuff that seems like gold dust is usually the most toxic.

This is especially the case, with anything that claims to provide a shortcut to success. There are no shortcuts. Just direct routes.

If you want to make better decisions, before you decide to pay the price, stop for a moment and consider the cost.

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