Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Get more client enquiries by being approachable

By |

marketing approachable

How easy is it, for your prospective clients or customers to get in touch with you?

I’m not talking about how visible your phone number, email address or contact form are. I’m referring to something that is just as important and yet seldom written about: How approachable you seem to be, to a prospective client or customer.

For example.

  • When a prospect is reading your newsletter, how approachable do you sound to them? The best newsletters are written, so that the author comes across as friendly, informed and interested in helping you. The least effective are written by people who come across as impersonal, distant and only interested in what’s in it for them.
  • When a prospect reads your comments on social media, how approachable do you sound to them? Some business owners can appear patronising or sarcastic when people dialogue with them or ask questions. This is a really, really bad move, if you want prospective clients to feel comfortable contacting you.
  • When a prospect reads the about page on your website, how approachable do you sound? Many small business owners write their about page in the 3rd person, rather than speak directly to their reader. Instead of saying; ‘Hi, thanks for stopping by. My name is Jack and…’ they start with ‘Jack has worked in web design since 2012 and… ‘

Why does this matter to you?

Here’s what we know for absolute certain: The less comfortable someone feels about approaching a potential service provider, the less likely they are to contact them.

By building the human touch into your marketing, you start to nurture a positive relationship with your prospects long before you ever speak with them. This helps them feel far more comfortable contacting you, hiring you or buying from you.

Content marketing: It’s all about pressing the publish button

By |

marketing

Image: Danielle MacInnes. 

Hannah just emailed me with a question. She wants to know what’s the secret to publishing content marketing more frequently. Here’s my reply.

There are lots of reasons for not publishing more of our ideas, to more people, more often.

  • I just can’t think of anything useful to say right now.
  • Maybe no one will bother reading it.
  • I know what I want to say, but I can’t figure out how I want to say it.
  • This needs to be really, really good and I’m not sure I can write something of that quality today.
  • I don’t have enough time.

Those are totally valid reasons. I know because I’ve experienced all of them more than once over the years. However, I don’t think they address the primary reason why so few people, regularly create and publish their own content marketing.

In my experience, as someone who has mentored hundreds of people on content creation and delivery, the main barrier is pressing the publish button. Moreover, their concern regarding the response they might face, after publication. The fallout, criticism and possible confrontation.

It’s certainly true that if we choose to publish nothing, we don’t need to worry about unleashing a wall of potentially hostile responses.

It’s also true that we miss out on all the opportunities that could come our way, if we were to press publish and share our ideas or observations.

But tragically, by failing to press the publish button regularly, we never learn how other people manage to publish regularly.

Here’s the thing. By repeatedly pressing the publish button, we become perfectly, totally comfortable, publishing our original content whenever we have something useful to share.

Here’s an example of what I mean.

  • My first blog post took several days to write, edit, re-edit, format, re-edit… then publish.
  • This post was written on my phone and published on WordPress in around 15-20 minutes.

What was the difference between the two posts?

The experience I gained, from pressing the publish button several thousand times.

Google indexing scraped content from my blog: Part 2

By |

Image: Mitchell Luo

My recent problem with stolen content seems, for now, to have stopped. No, Google hasn’t stopped the crooks from scraping my blog, or the dozens of other sites these people attack daily. Google hasn’t even responded to my request for help. And the scraper’s sites are still packed with freshly stolen work.

Just not mine. For now, at least.

In case you missed the previous post, the reason these particular scrapers are such a problem, is they’re able to steal my work, AND get it submitted for indexing by Google in seconds.

Their scraped copy of my work was then selected by Google as canonical (the original version). My original work was regarded as a copy and wasn’t indexed. This means it can’t appear in Google Search Results.

Scraping my content by RSS feed

It’s a bit drastic, but I’ve had to remove my RSS feed, which the criminals use to steal my copyright protected posts, publish them on their sites and stuff them with ads (yes, Google Ads).

There’s a big downside though. Without an RSS feed, there’s no easy way for people to subscribe to this blog via feed reading services like Flipboard or Apple News.

I tried several less severe alternatives, but these people use very sophisticated software, which bypassed all the solutions the various experts I spoke with were able to suggest.

Google indexing scraped content is a huge issue, which very few victims (original content producers) are even aware of. They certainly see that they get way less organic search traffic from Google.

But most will have no idea why. They won’t know that none of the content they’ve written (since they were scraped using this ultra effective scraping software) can appear on Google Search.

Content scraping is easy money

Google pretty much owns search. So there’s little or no motivation on their part to finally start taking content scraping seriously. The problem has been here for over a decade.

Yes, Google asks people not to scrape sites. But Google do very, very little to proactively stop ranking the stolen work. The processes involved in reporting stolen / scraped content is, at best, arduous; especially when there’s a lot of content to report. And even if successful, Google will not ban the scraping site. You have to keep on filling in forms… which is why many victims simply give up.

Whilst there’s little motivation for content producers to keep on reporting the criminals, the content thieves have huge motivation to carry on. They can set up a site, pack it with scraped content and Google Ads, and literally make money automatically. They don’t have to do anything once it’s set up, other than watch the advertising revenue flow into their bank accounts. Easy money is an understatement.

The huge Google problem, which they don’t give a rat’s ass about

By |

Goolge content theft, crooks

Image: Pawel Czerwinski  

This brief post is unlikely to be indexed by Google. Although it’s written for humans (like you), it’s value will be determined by Google’s famously incompetent bot. The bot needs a minimum of three hundred words in order to get a handle on what the topic is.

That’s why lots of blog posts and articles read so poorly. They’re deliberately written over-long. The author is playing the Google game. If they want search traffic, they have to add unnecessary fluff. They also need to keep repeating certain words and phrases, or Google’s bot won’t know what to rank them for.

Google’s stolen content problem

The Google game is like most games. The vast majority play by the rules. Others don’t.

My posts are stolen by criminals within minutes (sometimes seconds) of publication. They use software to publish them and submit them to Google’s index.

In many cases, their illegal copy of my copyright protected work is chosen by Google as the original ‘canonical’ version. My original is then seen as a copy. I could even be penalized by Google, for Google’s own mistake. There’s no workable recourse. The bad guy wins.

Google search is broken. And for the foreseeable future it will stay like that. They’ve trained writers how to write for their extremely limited Google bot. The bad guys know how to profit on autopilot. It costs Google nothing. So, there’s no motivation for them to put their house in order.

When an service is as huge as Google, it’s beyond reproach. Yes, if a major publication complains, Google takes immediate action. The rest of us need to live with it. We need to play the Google game and accept theft of our work. That really sucks, but they’re Google… so!

BTW: This was 299 words.

Here’s an update: Google indexing scraped content from my blog: Part 2

How to get free access to the world’s best marketing writers

By |

Write better marketing copy, marketing messages

Yes, you read the title of today’s post correctly. It’s not a play on words. I have lifelong, free access to the world’s best marketing writers, and you can have it too.

This post started off with an email from Deborah.

My associate Deborah has a seemingly limitless capacity to ask great questions. The kind of question’s I’ve never asked myself before. Earlier today, Deborah asked me for book recommendations, to help her improve her writing. She’s already a great writer, and it’s easy to see why when she’s always seeking out ways to further improve.

That wasn’t the question that prompted this post. It was only her starter question.

Her follow-up was the kicker!

Just one book?

I recommended a book by Roy Peter Clark, called “How to write short” and it’s a classic from a master of the craft. He shows you how to write compelling messages and engaging content, using as few words as required. I don’t do book reviews. I don’t do affiliate links. You can search for it or find it on his website, using the link above. If it sounds like something you want to improve on, grab a copy. In my eyes he’s the boss of writing short, highly effective copy.

Back to Deborah’s question.

She thanked me for the recommendation. Then she asked me the question that inspired this post. She wondered why I only recommended one book!

Here’s my answer.

More importantly, here’s where you’ll discover how to have unlimited, free access to the world’s best marketing writers and communicators!

I study and practice my craft, daily

When I started out in this business, I learned everything I knew about sales and marketing, by studying the work of others. Initially I studied the work of colleagues, who were older and more experienced than me. Then I widened it out to all my inputs.

So, whenever I read or heard a powerful message, I’d write it down. Then, I would unpack the message to figure out why it was so powerful or motivating. I wanted to learn from it.

And I still do the exact same thing today.

I gather inspiration and rather than just swipe it, I swipe it and study it. The wordplay, the rhythm of the syllables. The mental imagery generated. The degree of urgency created… anything I can learn and grow from.

small business turn around, turn around times tough, things tough business

Here are some examples I noted and studied today.

They’re all from leading companies and brands – – those with the financial resources to hire the greatest marketing writers in the world.

I studied.

  • High converting text from website buttons and contact forms.
  • Powerful calls-to-action on store signs.
  • High yield headlines.
  • Motivating paragraphs from marketing emails and letters.
  • Memorable straplines.
  • Engaging tweets.
  • Powerful slogans.
  • The copy used on packaging and products.
  • Social media profile copy.
  • Instantly clickable email subject lines.
  • … and everything else that attracts my eye or my ear.

Rolls Royce, Apple, Rolex, Disney… international brands of that size and influence don’t hire $100 an hour marketing writers. They hire the very best and money is no object. Their wording (like the examples on that tiny list) is worth a fortune to you and your business.

You don’t have to wonder if their copy works. Yes, it works!

You don’t have to wonder if the copy writer knows what they’re doing. Yes, they REALLY do know what they’re doing!

My task and yours, if you’re interested, is to look for the lessons. Let these masters of the art teach you with their examples of excellence.

Then, use your version of it.

Put it into play.

Test what you’ve learned and measure the results.

Refine it, and then test again.

It’s a great way to improve. Because I publish information very regularly, I’m able to test what I learn just as regularly. I can quickly discover what’s effective and what’s less useful. This is one of the many reasons I believe every professional should write a blog and / or a newsletter. It’s perfect for developing your skills and style.

Making your work stand out

By not reading the same books (or subscribing to the same publications, podcasts and Youtube channels) as others in my profession, I’ve been able to develop my own style. It’s a style that’s often rough around the edges. It’s unorthodox. It’s certainly not perfect.

It can’t be perfect.

Here’s why.

The moment you’ve written something perfectly aligned with the style-guide, you’re camouflaged among the thousands who strive for that same version of perfection. Lost in an ocean of similar writing.

You’re no longer a voice. You’re an echo.

You’re no longer a signal. You’re a noise.

The way I write is imperfectly my style. And it constantly evolves, as the marketplace does.

Conclusion

You can learn a lot about written communication from the most effective and talented experts on the planet – – by way of non-obvious sources. The work of these genius writers is everywhere.

Seriously.

It’s on cereal boxes. It’s the book titles on the world’s best-selling books. It’s what catches your eye on magazine covers. It’s in movie trailers… it’s everywhere. And the people paid to write that material are among the best paid, most effective writers in the world. They’re really good. And worthy of our attention.

That’s not all.

By pulling from these priceless, non-obvious sources, different sources, you also give yourself the freedom to develop your own style and your own voice. Essential assets if you want your message, your work and your products or services to get the attention they need.

The world’s best are there for you to study and learn from. It’s free. And yours for life.

What an amazing opportunity.

The BIG marketing problem that no one talks about

By |

Marketing silence, feedback marketing

Image: Nick Fewings

You’ve probably heard the old phrase; “Silence is golden“?

Well, that’s not the case when it comes to the marketing of your business. In today’s post, I’ll show you how silence can have a devastating effect on your results, plus how to avoid it from happening to you.

I was in a coffee shop once, when a guy with a very obvious hairpiece came in. He had natural, thick brown hair around his ears, with a jet black hairpiece on top. Of course, no one mentioned it to him. People just smirked when he wasn’t looking. Whether this guy needed the hairpiece for vanity or medical reasons, it’s entirely possible he has no idea that it’s so poorly matched to his natural hair.

A very similar kind of silence happens regularly in business. And when it does, it costs you a fortune.

Allow me to expand on that.

  • We check out the social media accounts of a potential vendor. We notice their updates are mostly just a series of sales pitches or automated quotes from famous people. We don’t tell them their social media activity is so dull that we leave in seconds. We silently move on.
  • We go to a website to check out a potential service provider. We then see that their site looks amateurish and decide not to consider them. We don’t email them to let them know their site created such a bad impression. We silently move on.
  • We start reading a poorly-written piece of marketing and quickly discard it. We don’t call the company and tell them their content is losing them business. We silently move on.

Faced with all this silence, how do you figure out if what you’re doing is working for you?

You ‘listen’ to what your results are saying. That’s where the most accurate signal is.

Don’t wait for someone to tell you your marketing sucks. Because they won’t. Your friends don’t want to upset you. Your competitors don’t want you to become a threat. And strangers don’t give a rat’s ass.

In short, the silence of your marketplace is easy to miss. If things are too quiet, for too long, take action.

Give your best ideas away for free. Here’s why

By |

content marketing

What I’m about to share with you may sound a little counter-intuitive. It isn’t. In fact, it could help you achieve breakthrough results.

Allow me to explain.

I come across the following problem a lot. Mainly from service providers, who are struggling to attract new clients with their content marketing. Their primary concern looks something like this:

I know I need to provide good, free advice via my content. Surely if I give my best ideas away for free, no one will pay to hire me?

I’ve already explained why you should be stingy with your time, but not your ideas. However, there’s another, excellent reason why you should provide outstanding, free advice.

And it’s this…

Think for a moment about the alternative. Imagine you publish a newsletter, videos, a blog or a podcast. Now let’s also imagine that instead of sharing great advice, you share weaker information. Average free stuff. Nothing special. Nothing that really stands out.

Guess what?

You’ve just given your marketplace a weak, low-impact insight into your work. You’ve painted a lousy picture of how good you are. So, not only will people be highly unlikely to hire you, they’ll also be unlikely to share your newsletters, videos, podcasts, blog posts or subscribe to you. That’s a huge lose, lose. (Actually, that’s wrong; it’s a lose, lose, lose, because you’ll also be damaging your reputation as a knowledgeable professional. Ouch!)

Here’s what really happens when you give great free advice

Yes, freebie hunters will certainly gobble up all your free advice. But that doesn’t lose you a penny. Why? Because they were never going to hire you anyway. Freebie hunters are the dabblers. The DIYers. So, they were never a prospective client.

Yes, a subset of genuine prospective clients who take your free advice will do (whatever) themselves. Of course, if they find your ideas so powerful that they actually use them, they’re highly likely to subscribe to you and share your work. That’s how every successful resource spreads. Also, I know from experience that many of them will later hire you.

However… there’s also a hefty subset of prospective clients who will find your high quality advice extremely valuable. Now, this subset of prospective clients are the ones who value their time. They love the peace-of-mind that comes from getting expert help. They value professionalism.

These prospective clients will hire you, so you can do the job properly for them. And yes, they’ll also share your newsletters, videos, podcasts, blog posts and subscribe to you.

How do I know for 100% certain that this works?

Simple: It’s how I grew my own business!

It’s why I get enquiries from prospective clients, multiple times, all day long, every day. And if it works for me, it can work for you too. Just make sure to offer as much value as you can, as often as you can. Hold nothing back.

4 Important reasons to write regularly, which no one told you about

By |

marketing 2021

As a business owner, there are many compelling reasons to write regularly. For example, newsletters and blogs can be hugely valuable marketing tools. The same is true of contributing articles to services like Linkedin, Medium and Facebook.

But you already knew that.

Here are 4 extremely valuable benefits of writing regularly, which seldom get mentioned. Here they are in no particular order.

  1. Regular writing makes you a better observer. As a result, you notice more of the world around you. You experience more from life.
  2. Regular writing helps you think with greater clarity. The process of getting ideas out of your head and onto the page, is a wonderful antidote for foggy thinking.
  3. Regular writing is a powerful development tool. To write effectively on any subject, you need to know about that subject. Even better, to write about a subject regularly, you need to constantly learn more about it.
  4. Regular writing is an act of contribution. When you share your ideas or stories with others, you invest in them. You connect with them. How might that help your business? Think about that for a moment.

By the way, if you’re uncomfortable about publishing what you write, here’s a suggestion. Don’t publish anything! Just write for yourself. You’ll still enjoy the first 3 of those 4 benefits.

Marketing 101: Never sell to a stranger again

By |

marketing, content

Smart people speak, because they have something to say.

Dull people speak, because they have to say something.

And the difference between those approaches is huge!

The same is true in business

When smart business owners connect with their marketplace, they have something interesting to share. When the average business owner connects with their marketplace, it’s usually a sales pitch or special offer.

Most small business owners connect with their marketplace when they need something. They need more clients, customers or sales… so they interrupt strangers with a needy message. They have nothing of interest to say.

Yes, the business owner is interested in gaining clients, customers or sales, but that’s only of interest to the business owner.

The marketplace just sees another sales message from a stranger and ignores it.

Here’s a far more successful approach

Successful small business owners do things very differently. They remain in contact with their marketplace on an ongoing basis. They use their newsletters to create and share useful articles. Some also produce videos or podcasts. The point is, they share VALUABLE, USEFUL ideas and information… rather than broadcast sales pitches and needy requests.

This keeps the smart business owner ‘front of mind’ and showcases their knowledge.

But it does WAY MORE than that.

It also causes their marketplace to think of them as a valuable asset to their business. And if a business owner keeps delivering value for long enough, the marketplace will regard them as reliable, too.

So, the business owner is no longer a stranger. They’re a known, reliable, valued source of knowledge.

Now, when the smart business owner DOES have a marketing message to share, it’s received with enthusiasm. It’s received by people who, before they even read it, already know and value the source of the message.

Just stop for a moment and consider this: Think of all the additional clients you’d attract, if the already knew who you were, already knew you were helpful, already knew you were reliable and already knew you were extremely knowledgeable… the next time they need a provider from your industry.

I’m telling you, it changes everything.

I haven’t sold my services to anyone in decades. But small business owners, freelancers, advisers, photographers, accountants, trainers, etc., hire me all the time.

And they always feel like they already know me.

Because they do!

You deserve the same.

Marketing in a hurry

By |

marketing blogs

I shared the following idea with a group of very smart entrepreneurs. They found it useful, so I thought I’d share it with you.

It’s simply this:

“Marketing isn’t something you do in a hurry, when business is sluggish. It’s an ongoing part of running a successful business”.

Successful business owners already understand this. As a result, there is a growing awareness of them in their marketplace. And because successful businesses use content marketing, their prospective clients (or customers) will regularly receive useful information from them. This useful information not only informs their prospective clients, it helps build trust.

Awareness and trust are essential. And ongoing, content marketing achieves both. Here’s how it works.

The rest market sporadically. Usually, when business is sluggish. So they take their need for sales to the marketplace, via special offers or out-of-the-blue advertising.

Because they fail to market on an ongoing basis, their prospective clients have no real awareness of them. And no awareness means no trust. So, even if the prospective client has a requirement, the marketing fails.

It has to fail. That’s because people buy from providers they trust. And a competing provider, whose marketing they regularly receive and whose brand they know, already has the prospective client’s awareness and trust.

In short, make content marketing an ongoing part of your business. Not something you do when times are tough. Get it right and you’ll find you never have to market from a position of need again.