Marketing tips, marketing help and advice

3 Ideas to help you create content, which your marketplace will love

December 7, 2019 by Jim Connolly

If you’ve ever wondered, how some people are able to regularly produce effective content marketing; (newsletters, blog posts, articles, podcasts, etc), and how you can do the same, this post is for you.

1. Is this useful?

There’s a sign on the wall in my studio. It’s a small sign, containing just 3 words: “Is this useful”. That’s the mark I set for everything I create. Nothing gets published unless I believe you’ll find it useful. I don’t try and be clever. Just useful. And as long as I think you’ll find an idea or observation useful, I share it.

Some small business owners are put off creating content, because they try and make everything as close to perfect as possible.

The thing is, your prospective clients or customers want something useful, not perfect.

Once you stop aiming for perfection you’ll find it a lot easier. You’ll also get massively better results.

2. Don’t let crappy ideas block you

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find that most of the ideas you get are pretty average. But maybe 1 in 5 or 1 in 10 are good enough, to be turned into a valuable piece of content marketing.

The challenge is that in order to get that 1 useful idea, you need to allow yourself to have the crappy ones… without getting disheartened.

The way I overcame this, was to deliberately give myself permission to think of lots of crappy ideas, knowing that something useful would come from it.

When you view lower-value ideas as essential steps in the development of better ones, they switch from being disheartening to highly motivating.

3. Give your work the respect it deserves

We often overestimate the ideas of others and underestimate the value of our own. Here’s a great example of what I mean.

A business owner told me how she was taking some files off a computer for archiving, when she discovered an old documents folder. It contained loads of articles, which were really interesting. She looked to see who wrote them and found they were all her own work, from 6 years earlier!

She didn’t publish them at the time, because she thought they weren’t good enough. It was only when she thought they were written by someone else, that she saw them for what they really were. Your work is almost certainly way, way better than you think.

So get it out there.

In short, if you’re looking to improve your content marketing in 2020; focus on being useful, see your average ideas as necessary steps to your useful ideas, and give your work the respect you deserve.

How to use fear as your compass

December 6, 2019 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

As a business owner, the fears you have are largely the same as your competitors. This presents you with an amazing opportunity for 2020 and beyond.

Really, Jim?

Yes. Really.

You see, when you avoid doing the things you fear, you also avoid doing the things your competitors fear.

In other words, whatever you’re avoiding, they’re avoiding too.

This means whatever it is, is going to be in very short supply!

Here’s why this matters to you and your business:

Lack of supply = scarcity.
Scarcity = value.

If you want your business to be in demand. If you want to get your business noticed. And if you want to avoid selling based on price (and you do), learn to embrace the things you fear.

Because that feeling of fear is often your inner compass, confirming that you’re on the right track.

So, does your marketing pass the coffee shop test?

December 5, 2019 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Is logic ruining your marketing results?

Yes. Probably.

And here’s why.

Your prospective customers make purchasing decisions based on feelings. Not on logic. Understanding this principle is essential if you’re serious about growing your business in 2020.

Here’s a very quick example of what I mean.

People don’t visit coffee shops for the coffee.
They already have coffee at home.
They pay between 300% and 500% more for coffee at the coffee shop, because of how the experience makes them feel.

Logically, they’d save a ton of money by drinking their coffee at home, sitting in their own super-comfortable chair. But people, including your prospective customers, don’t make purchasing decisions based on logic. They make them based on feelings. (I explain how emotions drive decisions, here).

If your marketing message is based around a list of benefits, that’s way too logical. And it’s losing you a ton of money. Your service or product may be less expensive, more premium, faster or whatever. But are you explaining how it will make your prospective customers feel?

If not. Than start.

Because logic tells. But feeling sells.

They lean forward. And they want to get involved

December 4, 2019 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

That’s what happens when you share a truly exciting idea or opportunity with someone.

They lean forward as you’re talking. You have their attention. They’re listening intently.
Then they try and find a way to get involved with it. They can sense the promise of the opportunity. So they want in. They’ll ask if they can tell their friends about it or place a pre-order; you won’t have to ask. That’s because great ideas have legs.

Reaction to an average or below average idea looks very different.

People nod politely.
Many will tell you they think you’re onto a winner.
But that’s about as far as it goes, because average ideas lack legs. More about legs in a moment.

Why am I sharing this with you?

I hear from small business owners regularly, who’ve wasted time and money developing dud ideas, after misinterpreting the feedback they received. This need not happen to you, so long as you know what to look for.

Filter everything

Never make a commercial decision based on surface-level thinking. Filter everything for accuracy.

Before you accept any feedback, remember that people often tell you what they think you want to hear, rather than what they actually think. Their intentions are good. They want to encourage you or be supportive. But their misplaced kindness can lead you into a huge commercial loss if you accept it on a surface level.

A fantastic way to filter the feedback you receive, is to focus 95% on what people do when you tell them about your idea… and 5% on what they say.

Here’s how: Look for how eager they are to get involved, without prompting from you to take action. Just explain the idea clearly.

Then watch:

If your idea is a business product or service and includes a pre-order option, did they want to pre-order without you asking?
Did they ask you for a second meeting?
Did they request a sample of the product?
And did they ask if you’d like to demo the idea or give a presentation to their colleagues, boss or friends?

The key is to be guided by what they do, far more than what they say. It’s a proven, time-tested way to see if your idea has legs or not.

Why are legs so important, Jim?

I’ll use the example of an idea for a new product or service.

If your idea has legs, it means it will spread from person to person by itself. Every viral product or service works this way. People learn about (whatever it is) and tell their friends. Their friends do the same… repeat. These products or services require far less marketing and are massively more profitable.
If your idea doesn’t have legs, growth only comes when you tell people about the product or service. Ideas that lack legs require lots of marketing and are drastically less profitable. Growth is slow, expensive and time consuming.

So, get feedback from people. Especially those in your target market for the product or service. Look closely for signs that the idea has legs, by focusing on what people do. Are they leaning forward? Do they want to get involved? And remember that actions speak louder than words.

I know what you’re thinking…

At this point, small business owners often ask me whether it’s possible for an existing product or service, which lacks legs, to be transformed into a runaway success. The answer is yes. I do it all the time, working with clients to pump massive extra value into their products / services, which gives it legs.

Your business in 2020: Why a radically better approach is essential!

December 2, 2019 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Note: I’ve never started a post like this before. I’m asking you to read this to the end, as it challenges some incorrect, common knowledge, which can seriously hurt your business results.

In today’s post, I’ll explain how to remove the barriers that currently hold you back from achieving the business success you’re very capable of. It’s based on a spectacularly effective process I use with my clients. And it can radically improve the way you think about the whole topic of success and achievement.

Now allow me to deliver on those hefty promises.

Ready?

Let’s go!

To start, I want you to think about something for a moment. Here it is: What are your business’s growth targets for the coming year?

Let’s now think for a moment about your targets.

In particular, why you chose to set those specific growth levels for your business. Because this is something business owners often (very often) get completely wrong. And it massively limits the potential of what they can achieve, before they even start.

I get to speak with business owners, all day, every working day of my life. It’s been this way since the mid 1990’s.

And…

Here’s what I see at this time, every year

You will have 2 similar-sized businesses, in the same city, serving the same marketplace, yet with drastically different targets for the year ahead.

One will aim for a 10% or 15% increase in overall growth, and a slightly higher increase in profits.
Another will aim for a 45% or 50% overall increase with a higher profits percentage.
The majority of the time, the business owner with the higher targets will out-perform their rival. And often by a very considerable amount!

This is something every business owner should find interesting.

Why? Because this huge difference in results happens, even when they have almost identical resources available.

Here’s the part where I challenge some common knowledge.

This may surprise you. But I’m not saying that by setting a high target, you’ll do X percent better. That’s not only too simplistic, it’s a totally wrong-headed approach, which usually backfires!

In my experience, we need to go a little deeper than that.

A radically better approach is required!

Here’s what we know: When a business owner sets a target, it’s usually based on (or just above) what they believe their business can realistically achieve. Their belief is what sets the target, not the other way around. That’s why setting yourself an unrealistic target, if anything, is counter-productive. If you’ve ever tried to fool yourself like this, you’ll already know you’re too smart to believe it, so it doesn’t work.

To paraphrase a popular motivational quote: “If you don’t believe it, you won’t achieve it”.

So, how do you set, and then genuinely expect to achieve, truly inspirational business goals?

Here’s what I’ve found keeps on succeeding

In working with business owners, I’ve seen amazing results by helping them identify why they believe that (whatever target) is probably the best they can realistically expect. This includes helping them determine why they think anything beyond that relatively low target is unrealistic for them. And the breakthroughs are amazing, especially if they’ve reached a bit of a plateau in recent years.

So, how does this help you achieve at such a higher level?

It looks like this.

When you have genuine reasons to believe, based on cold, hard facts, that you can absolutely achieve way, way better results, it dramatically improves the way you feel about the potential of your business.
This causes a likewise improvement in your decision-making, as it aligns with what you now know is absolutely possible for you.
This then leads to smarter marketing / business development activities.
Note: It also brings you massively more clarity and a matching increase in your motivation and energy.
And every business that makes smarter decisions and takes the actions required has to improve. It’s pure cause and effect.

Why not take a look at your targets for 2020 and determine if you’re setting yourself up for a spectacularly exciting year, or a re-run of 2019. If you’d like me to help you get it right, read this and get ahead of the masses who will wait until January.

One bad apple: The thing about influence!

December 1, 2019 by Jim Connolly

Photo: Shutterstock.

Who influences you?

It’s impossible to connect with someone, without that person influencing you. Even a total stranger who smiles (or frowns) at you as they walk by, will influence what you’re thinking. They’ll also shift your focus, to a lesser or greater degree.

However…

By far, the greatest influence on how you think and how you feel, are those with whom you habitually associate.

The business impact of one bad apple

All it takes is one bad influence to screw up the dynamic of a wonderful, or potentially great, team.

I was mindful of this last week. I spoke with the CEO of a great, Chicago-based manufacturing company. He’s a former client, turned old friend. Anyhow, he wanted some advice. It turns out the son of one of their co-founders joined them as their new CFO in 2018. I knew them as a forward thinking company, respected in their industry for making some super-smart decisions.

That was then.

Today, things have changed.

It turns out the new CFO lacked vision and was exceptionally risk-averse. My former client explained that in just 14-months, the guy had dented morale, led to a number of good people leaving the company and caused them to miss out on what proved to be an outstanding opportunity, which was grabbed with both hands by a major competitor.

Thankfully, at the request of his own father, the CFO finally left the company. And the race is now on to get their rhythm back, so they can start moving forward and making things happen.

The lessons here?

I’m sharing this with you because it’s the second time in under a week, that I’ve had similar discussions with business owners about negative influence. From a business development perspective, you need to be extremely diligent regarding those you habitually associate with. In the above example, the co-founder’s son was so fear focused regarding growth, that others soon started to regard every opportunity as ‘a loss waiting to happen’.

Balance is important, for sure.

But when someone has the attention of the decision makers in your business, that person also has the ability to influence them, what they think (and therefore your results); either positively or negatively. This doesn’t just apply to fellow directors. It applies to anyone, who has access to you and your team.

It’s always worth questioning:

Who are you (and / or your team) listening to?

What have they got you thinking?

Are they influencing you positively or influencing you negatively?