Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing ideas to help you grow your business

Criticism can be painful. We need to wise up

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biz dev. business development, marketing advice, advise

Criticism can be painful.

Painful enough to stop us from creating great products and services. Painful enough to stop us from marketing them as creatively as we possibly can.

The thing is, almost all criticism comes from people, who aren’t in the market for what we do. It comes from people who were never going to hire us. It comes from people who envy our success.

  • If we sell premium services, the low price crowd will be critical. It’s too expensive!
  • If we sell low price services, the premium crowd will be critical. It’s too cheap!
  • And whatever we sell, there will always be small-minded people, who’ll snipe at us. Who do you think you are!?

We need to wise up!

We need to listen to relevant voices. We need to learn from informed voices. We need to appreciate well-intentioned voices. And we need to ignore the rest.

Only then will you be free to do your best work. And free to market it the best way you can.

P.S. You may find this useful: “Why people criticise you and how to deal with it, in just 3 steps“.

How to build a huge and valuable list

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content marketing, list building, blogging

Hold onto your hat – I think you’re going to love this!

If you want to build a large and extremely valuable content marketing list, today’s post is exactly what you’ve been waiting for.

I was inspired to write this, after a reader emailed me. He explained that he had just read this post. Then he made an excellent point. And it highlights why most small business owners fail to get the content marketing results they want. Here’s what he said, along with my response.

He said that if his newsletter had lots of readers, he’d make time for it. he’d take it a lot more seriously. He’d publish regularly. He’d invest in a professional newsletter distribution service. He’d make it a high priority business activity. But he can’t justify the time now, because his readership is too small.

Overcoming the biggest challenge with list building

Every small business owner with a newsletter, podcast, blog or vlog started off with a tiny audience (or list). Just them and their friends. Mine started off with 6 readers. And one of them was me! However, there’s one massively important difference between those who build a huge list and those who don’t.

  • Those who build a huge list put the time and effort in, in advance, so that it grows. They do their best work and turn up regularly, when they have just 10 people. Because they know that’s the only way to build an audience of 1,000 people or 100,000 people.
  • Those who fail to grow their list, also start off with enthusiasm. But their enthusiasm drops, if their list isn’t growing as quickly as they expected. So, they commit less time to it. And things slow down even more.

The cornerstone of building a great list

The only way to successfully grow an audience or list, is to treat your work as if you already had the numbers you wanted. I wrote with as much passion, commitment and energy when I had 6 readers, as when I reached my first 10,000 readers. And I write with that same commitment today.

From day one, you need to invest the time and effort required. Here are some examples of what’s needed, plus a few tips.

  • Put in the effort. It’s work… not something you fit in around work. Put time aside specifically for developing and publishing.
  • Turn up often. If you have a newsletter, which you only publish once a month, it will take a lot longer to build your list, than a weekly newsletter. If you have a blog and you only publish once a week, it will take a lot longer to build your audience, than if you publish several times a week.
  • Learn what kind of information your marketplace needs and wants. A great way to do this, is to look at questions they ask in relevant forums or on social media.
  • Learn how to become a better (and better) communicator. Whatever content marketing channel you choose, learn from the best.
  • Make your work easy (and interesting) to read / watch / listen to.
  • Make it easy to share. This is essential if you want your list to grow.
  • Never add anyone to your list. Seriously, don’t. That’s not content marketing. That’s spamming. And spamming sucks.
  • Avoid content marketing tricks. Tricks have a predictable habit of backfiring. Just commit to doing the work. That has a predictable habit of succeeding.

I know what you’re thinking. That sounds like a lot of work. And it is. However, the rewards are disproportionately huge if you’re willing to commit to doing the work.

Here are a few more posts I’ve written on this subject.

How blogging can help you attract new clients.

How to earn trust with your content marketing.

The death of blogging.

Content Marketing: Is this useful?

I hope you find this useful. More importantly, I hope it inspires you to improve your content marketing, so you achieve the outstanding results you’re capable of.

I’ve had enough!

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business development, marketing

We often find that great success is preceded by the words, “I’ve had enough!”

It’s a battle cry.

A battle cry for business owners who are tired of spinning their wheels. A battle cry for those who want something better. And it can lead to amazing breakthroughs. More progress in weeks than was previously seen in years.

Of course, once you’ve decided that you’ve had enough, you need to take action. Intelligent action, to be precise. Otherwise your battle cry is just 3 empty words.

If you find yourself today, feeling that you’ve truly had enough of a problem, use that emotion as fuel. Allow the power of your battle cry to motivate you. Then take action, today, on whatever business problem you’ve had enough of.

Because today’s activity is what creates tomorrow’s reality.

Before you publish, hit pause!

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internet marketing, optimization, digital marketing

I want you to think about the following for a moment:

  • The last tweet you sent.
  • The last newsletter you published.
  • The last snap you shared.
  • The last Facebook update you posted.

Each of those actions could easily be a prospective customer’s first exposure to you (and your business). If so, it will help form their first impression of you.

Here’s the thing. First impressions count.

  • First impressions count, even if you are having a bad day.
  • First impressions count, even if they are inaccurate.
  • And first impressions count, because if you screw it up, you often won’t get a second chance!

So, what’s the solution?

Well, here’s something that can certainly help you.

Drum roll please…

Pause… for thought

It pays to pause for a few moments before you publish anything. That’s because most of what you publish is easy to find via search engines or the social networks you use. And we know that the vast majority of people now check providers out, before deciding to hire them or buy from them.

Think about the wider, longer-term implications of what you are saying. Never underestimate the impact of an angry tweet, a needy Linkedin post or a spammy Facebook update, etc. Once it’s published, it’s out there. It’s in play. It’s carrying your name. And it’s carving your reputation!

Tip: Read this » How To Build a World Class Reputation.

21 Tips to build a better business

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business tips

In no particular order:

  1. People buy what they want. Not what they need. You need to understand this and adjust your marketing accordingly.
  2. The word ‘Webinar’ carries a huge amount of negative baggage. It’s purely toxic. If you want to use video marketing, call it something less sleazy.
  3. People buy for their reasons. Not yours.
  4. You don’t have any clients, customers or subscribers. Instead, you borrow them. You need to earn and then re-earn their custom, attention and trust.
  5. When you want to generate high quality cash flow fast… find new products for your customers. It’s way quicker and far more profitable, than finding new customers for your products.
  6. Your brand is either working for you or against you. Tip: If you haven’t intentionally created a brand for your business, it’s working against you. It’s losing you money. Fix it.
  7. Low quality customers or clients are the unavoidable result of bad marketing.
  8. Keeping your promises is a proven way to build a great reputation.
  9. Everything your business does, is marketing. The way you answer the phone, your payment terms, the suppliers you choose, they way you reply to emails, your location, the way you write, the design of your website, your prices or fees, your guarantees, your social network updates… it’s all marketing.
  10. Build an email list of prospective clients or customers. Don’t rely on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or any 3rd party, for your communication channel. It’s like building a house on rented land. Attract people via 3rd party platforms. Then, encourage them to subscribe to your email list.
  11. A confused mind always says no. So keep your marketing as brief and clear as possible. Fewer options. Fewer words.
  12. Businesses with a small marketing budget tend to go broke. They dabble with DIY marketing, whilst their savvy competitors eat their lunch.
  13. The most powerful marketing is permission based. When people subscribe to your list, your message is treated very differently, than an unsolicited email from a stranger.
  14. Don’t lower your prices or fees. Increase your value. Here’s how.
  15. Stop waiting for the right opportunity. Make it happen. Create it.
  16. Learn how to make your marketplace curious. Why do prospective clients call you or email you? It’s because they need to know something and their curiosity motivates them to get in touch. So, you get a sales lead or client enquiry. And a chance to convert them into a new client or customer. Don’t explain everything in your marketing, unless you want very few sales enquiries.
  17. The more your services or products resemble what your competitors offer, the less visible your business is.
  18. Embrace brevity. Shorter messages are more powerful. Most marketing I see is at least 75% too long.
  19. Avoid using buzzwords. Those who don’t understand them will be confused. Those who do understand them, will cringe.
  20. Tell the truth. It’s the easiest, least stressful way to build a great business and your marketplace will respect you.
  21. If your business isn’t attracting regular sales leads or client enquiries, your marketing is broken. The very thing that feeds your business isn’t working. It’s costing you a fortune. Needlessly. Why are you allowing this to happen? Think about that for a moment.

Great ideas, better decisions and less risk

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If you’re in the process of making an important business decision, today’s post is just for you. At the very least, it will help you increase your chances of a successful outcome.

Okay. Let’s go!

I’d like to start by sharing something with you. It’s about certain questions, which people ask me all the time.

Here’s just a small sample.

  • If I provide (whatever) as a new service, will it be successful?
  • Will I be more successful, if I become a niche provider, rather than a generalist?
  • Is this a good name for my new business, product or service?

If you take a closer look at those questions, you’ll notice they have something in common. They’re all decisions. And by asking me the question, the questioner is asking me to decide.

Great ideas are not anointed

Here’s the problem with that approach: Great ideas are not anointed. There are many factors, which determine whether a business idea will fly or flop. Ironically, one of them is the ability of the business owner to make business decisions.

For example:, when the first tablet devices were made (years before the iPad), they flopped. They flopped, not because tablet devices were a bad idea. Apple’s success proved that beyond all doubt. They flopped because of the poor decisions that were made about the design, development, marketing, and quality of the first tablet devices.

Will that idea of yours succeed?

I think your idea stands a very good chance of success!

If the research stacks up. If the numbers work. If you’re committed to making timely decisions based on good data. If it’s marketed professionally, you’ll probably knock it out of the park.

But you’ll only know for certain, if you try.

Yes, there’s a risk attached to trying. In fact, there’s a risk attached to every decision. Think about it, even the decision to do nothing is filled with risk, because a business that’s doing nothing is a business that’s going nowhere. And that’s really risky.

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