Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Want better advertising results? Read this

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Advertising not working, marketing ads

A lot of small business owners spend a lot of money on advertising. Often with pretty poor results. So, I put this together to help you avoid the most common advertising mistakes.

Here they are in no particular order.

  • You’re using brand advertising [ads that contain no obvious call to action], when you should be using direct response advertising [ads that contain a direct call to action]. Almost all small businesses should use direct response.
  • You’re advertising on a platform your prospects don’t use / don’t pay attention to.
  • Your advertising is online, when it should be in print media [or the other way round].
  • You’re buying advertising on platforms that people don’t trust, rather than advertising on highly trusted websites, podcasts, etc.
  • You’re advertising at the wrong time in your prospective client’s [or customer’s] buying cycle.
  • You’re advertising to get maximum clickthroughs, rather than targeted clickthroughs from actual prospects.
  • Your advertisements are not written by a proven copywriter.
  • You’re advertising a product or service, which people prefer to buy via the recommendation of a friend.
  • Your advertisements are bought based on what they cost, rather than their potential effectiveness.
  • Your advertisements are in places where lots of your competitors are advertising.

There are lots more common reasons why advertising doesn’t work.

For example, your advertising message is irrelevant to your target prospect, or it’s lacking in targeted motivation, or it points to a poorly converting landing page, or it points to a landing page that loads too slowly, or the special whatever you’re offering isn’t as special as you think, or it explains too much, or it sounds too similar to an advertisement they’ve already clicked on, or it sounds too good to be true, or your target prospects are privacy conscious and your website requires cookies, or you are not bidding for your advertisements correctly, or your advertisement is reaching just a fraction of the number of people you think it is… seriously, I could go on and on, but you get the drift.

In most cases, small and medium-sized business advertising makes lots of these mistakes simultaneously. These mistakes are more damaging than the individual damage each one causes.

That’s because they compound together. Think of compound interest, but working in reverse.

Do you even need paid advertisements?

For many small and medium-sized businesses, their biggest advertising mistake is that they’re buying them in the first place! I don’t buy advertisements. My clients have no need to buy them either. It’s an increasingly expensive, complex game. And you don’t need to play. It’s just one form of marketing.

I hope you found this useful, my friend.

The big strategy behind every successful business. Here’s how it works!

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marketing, think big, big plans, big action

You deserve a successful business that fills you with energy. A business that motivates you to do your very best and rewards you on every level. A business, which is so inspiring that when you tell people about it, they feel excited.

That’s why I’m going to give you a proven, BIG strategy. A big strategy, which could be exactly what you need right now. And the best part? It makes sense on every level and is spectacularly easy to understand.

It starts with this.

Think big. Really, really BIG!

This isn’t just “positive thinking” bullshit. It’s grounded in fact. And it’s extremely effective.

Here’s how it works.

  • By thinking really big, you find yourself making bigger plans than before.
  • The power of making bigger plans, is that they inspire you to make bigger decisions.
  • The power of making bigger decisions, is that they motivate you to take action. And BIG actions are the actions that lead to transformational results.

Here’s the thing: No one gets excited, energized or motivated by average plans or average ideas. Literally no one.

Try this

I’d like you to consider the following.

I’d like you to consider thinking really big… TODAY.

Instead of thinking about how to grow your business by 20% between now and December, add a zero. Shoot for 200% growth. This will cause you to elevate your thinking in order to match the elevated target.

You’re probably thinking that you can’t possibly grow your business by 200% when the economy is so messed up.

If that’s what you’re thinking, well done because I think you’re probably right. And it doesn’t matter.

Why?

Sure, you may miss your target by 50%. But your business will still have doubled. And if you miss your target by 75%, you’ll still have absolutely smashed that original 20% target.

In short, stop unintentionally limiting your potential. Give yourself the motivation you need, by setting the compelling targets your business needs. When you do, it reignites the excitement, energy, positivity and direction you had when you first started your business.

Get your prospects’ urgent attention and immediate action

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marketing hot prospects

What keeps your prospective clients awake at night?

There are 2 broad answers to that question.

  1. The things they’re worried about. Their fears, apprehensions, anxieties or concerns.
  2. The things they’re excited about. Their goals, dreams and the opportunities ahead of them.

Here’s why those answers are critically important to your business.

Urgent attention and immediate action

Anything that keeps your prospective clients awake at night, is an extremely high priority to them. They’re looking to take action immediately. It’s where their urgent attention is.

In order to help them, and for you to benefit from helping them, your task is twofold.

  1. You need to determine exactly what they’re worried about or excited about.
  2. You need to clearly demonstrate how your services or products will help them in that key area.

Most marketing doesn’t do this. Instead, it focuses on how great the provider is. How happy they are to help. How their clients or customers love them. And it’s spectacularly less effective than addressing the issue, which is both urgent and of high priority to your prospects.

Improve your strategy

If you want to attract vastly more red hot prospects, you should strongly consider using a better strategy. Like the kind I develop for my clients. Their marketing speaks directly to the most urgent wants and needs of their prospect.

It addresses that thing, which is keeping their prospect awake at night. Only after that, does it position my client as the answer.

  • Get this right and it attracts enquiries from super-motivated people, eager to take action!
  • Get it wrong and you’ll attract far fewer enquiries. And these will be from lukewarm people, who are in no hurry and who often lose interest. In other words, extremely low quality leads.

Take a look at the various marketing assets you use. Do they focus primarily and directly on the things that have your prospective clients’ urgent attention?

If not, you’re needlessly leaving money on the table. And you’re missing out on an amazing opportunity to attract the most motivated prospects. That’s the prospective clients currently kept awake at night, who are urgently looking for a service just like yours, right now, but they’ll go elsewhere, because you’re not speaking directly to their need!

It costs $26,000 a gallon and it’s less useful than water!

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marketing stories, storytelling

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.

How the story works for Chanel’s marketing.

  • When we buy Chanel No. 5 for someone, they know they’re receiving an expensive, classy gift. They then connect us with the feelings they associate with the Chanel No. 5 brand. Beautiful people. Stylish locations. Wealth.
  • When we buy Chanel No. 5 for ourselves, the story we’re telling ourselves is that we’re now connected to the aspirational lifestyle embodied by the Chanel No. 5 brand. Beautiful people. Stylish locations. Wealth.

People buy the Chanel No.5 story. They have no need for the actual liquid. But the story behind the brand makes them want it.

The story behind your brand

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 [specifically] or buy from you [specifically].

So, ask yourself: Why should someone buy from you? Then get to work on building your story.

Because make no mistake, your ability to answer that question with a compelling story, could be the difference between you making a living… and making an absolute fortune.

Almost everyone will ignore you

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Marketing to everyone

Almost everyone will ignore you.

And that’s perfectly fine.

Because some people will love you.

The message in those 3 sentences is worth remembering. For example, when you’re creating a new product, or putting a marketing strategy together.

Here’s the thing

You can’t appeal to everyone.

You don’t need to appeal to everyone.

Think about it, if everyone wanted to hire you or buy from you, you couldn’t cope!

So focus your marketing, and wider business development, on some people.

Some people?

  • The kind of people who ‘get’ the way you work.
  • The kind of people who value your vision.
  • The kind of people who will love working with you or buying from you.
  • The kind of people who make the very best clients or customers.

In a nutshell, ignore everyone with your marketing and focus very specifically on some people.

It’s the fastest, least expensive and most straightforward way to dramatically improve your marketing results. And build a world-class client base.

Moving your business forward

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work harder, the success code

If the work you’re doing right now feels comfortable, it’s almost certainly not moving your business forward. It’s not helping you make meaningful progress and not leading you toward the attainment of your goals.

Why?

Because your best work never feels comfortable. Here’s what your best work looks like.

  • It’s the kind of work that forces you to grow into the person who can take your business up a level.
  • It’s the kind of work that inspires you to make better decisions.
  • It’s the kind of work that gives you energy and makes you feel truly alive.
  • It’s the kind of work that attracts the clients or customers you want.
  • It’s the kind of work that gives you a sense of real optimism.
  • It’s the kind of work that causes you to make exciting plans for your future.

Look at that list. Now, ask yourself if the work you’re doing is honestly your best work. And just as importantly, if you’re not doing your best work, find out what’s blocking you.