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Here’s what your marketplace wants from you right now

By Jim Connolly | May 26, 2022

Leaders leadership

Clearly, we are living in very uncertain times. And your prospective clients hate uncertainty. It makes them anxious. It creates confusion. It causes them stress.

What does this have to do with you and your business?

When things feel uncertain, people proactively look for leadership. They are powerfully drawn to those who display clarity, confidence, direction and a cool head.

So.

  • If you’re a leader, there’s never been a better time to demonstrate your leadership. (This shows you how).
  • If you’re thinking of becoming a leader, there’s never been a better time to get started.

Because that’s what your marketplace is eagerly looking for right now. They value it more than ever. And no matter what industry you serve, the opportunity is immediately open to you.

He’s very optimistic, as he slowly kills his business

By Jim Connolly | May 22, 2022

It’s important to feel optimistic about your business. However, the wrong kind of optimism will crush your chances of success.

Let me tell you about the meeting I had with Bob. His story explains exactly what I’m referring to.

I last spoke with Bob (not his real name) regarding his business, back in 2015. He’s the friend-of-a-friend and seems like a really nice guy. He’s also very optimistic about the future of his business. Optimistic enough to refinance his home, something he said he’d already done “more than once”. I found his optimism interesting, as in the 7 years since we last spoke, his business has barely limped along.

And back then, he’d already been struggling for years.

So, his business has been going nowhere for a very long time. And based on the plans he shared with me, there’s no realistic chance the business will see any future growth.

That’s because his business development ‘strategy’ totally fails to address his actual problems. Sadly for him, he’ll simply be repeating the same common errors that have been hurting his business all this time.

So, why is this happening and what’s the lesson?

The 2 types of optimism

Like I said at the beginning, it’s great to feel optimistic about your business. In fact, we have to be optimistic. But only if our optimism is justified. You see, there are 2 types of optimism. One is essential. The other one is toxic.

I’m referring to justified optimism and unjustified optimism.

  • Justified optimism is based on sound planning. It’s the confidence that comes from knowing you’re doing the right things, correctly. And the knowledge that your business is making measurable progress in the expected timescale. This kind of optimism is clearly justified.
  • Unjustified optimism is very different. It comes from ignoring the reality of your situation. It comes from hoping things will ‘just get better’, without making the ESSENTIAL improvements your business is screaming for. It’s rooted in fear; the fear of change and ironically, the fear of loss.

Unjustified optimism comes with a very dangerous side-effect: It has the exact same power on your mind, as justified optimism. If your business is stagnating or even shrinking, yet you choose to believe everything is going to be great, it acts like a narcotic.

A narcotic?

Yes, a narcotic!

Why?

Because pumping yourself up with optimism, even unfounded optimism, takes away the pain (or urgency) you need to feel, in order to motivate yourself to fix what’s wrong.

Here’s an example I use, when explaining this to groups of young entrepreneurs.

It’s like seeing black smoke bellowing from the back of your car, but choosing to ignore it and instead, telling yourself that your car is doing great. Even if you 100% believe your car is in amazing shape, the engine will still get trashed if you ignore all that black smoke. The unjustified optimism does nothing to solve the problem. It just stops you doing what’s required.

Business owners tend to be optimistic. Let’s face it, we have to be! The fact we started a business in the first place, with zero guarantee of success, takes a lot of optimism.

The key here is to make sure that our optimism is always justified. And that our optimism is grounded in the reality of our situation today, along with the plans we’re making for tomorrow.

Your business, Steve Jobs and Malcolm Gladwell

By Jim Connolly | May 19, 2022

marketing ideas reality

Today, I’d like to share a business development idea with you that’s seldom talked about. However, it’s a key factor in the success of some absolutely remarkable people and businesses.

Let’s go!

Malcolm Gladwell was once asked in an interview, if he would reveal his “secret sauce” for writing a best-selling book. After all, he should know! His reply was extremely interesting. Here’s a snippet from what he said:

“The moment you write a book hoping it will be a best-seller, your chances of it becoming a best-seller go downhill. […] You write the book you would want to read.”

He then went on to make an excellent point about Steve Jobs. He explained that Jobs never commissioned the development of a product or service, based on what he thought would be a smash hit. Instead, Jobs developed the type of products that he himself wanted to own.

Now, let’s unpack that and look for the common thread. Because it’s pure gold!

  • Malcolm Gladwell writes the kind of books, which he would want to read. And interestingly, his books are unlike any other books in his niche. (Until ditto-head authors decide to rip his ideas off). Gladwell’s books are also among the best selling non-fiction books of the last 2 decades. And those 2 factors are directly connected.
  • Steve Jobs created products he wanted to own. He famously shunned focus groups, deliberately striving to produce the kind of remarkable products he longed for. In doing so, Jobs’ success with Apple led to his company being the most highly valued in the world. Again, those 2 factors are directly connected. Recommended reading – Steve Jobs, marketing and liars!

In short, deliver the level of service that you’d love to receive. Create compelling products that you would love to own. Develop solutions for pressing challenges, which you’d love someone to solve. And make the experience of doing business with you so exceptional, that it would knock you off your feet if you were the customer or client.

Success leaves clues. Our job is to find them and apply them into our businesses.

What’s really blocking you?

By Jim Connolly | April 30, 2022

Marketing iPad image

Today, I’d like to share some ideas about what could be blocking you from achieving the results you want. I’ll also help you dispel a couple of common myths, which could be seriously damaging your business.

It starts with a quick look back at yesterday, and what I did in the first 90 minutes of my workday.

I began by reading what I had planned. Next, I replied to some emails. A few of them were from clients. One of which ended with a brief Zoom chat over coffee. The majority of emails were from readers of my newsletter. I then wrote my next article, put the iPad Mini I’d been working on in my bag, left the coffee shop and came back to my studio.

It’s that last sentence, which is the important part!

You have the tools

I did everything I just mentioned, using a cheap tablet device (see above). At a push, I could have done it on a phone.

This means you already have the tools you need to market your business, even if all you have is whatever device you’re reading this with!

It means you have the tools to connect with your marketplace, share your ideas, show your work, make connections with amazing people, demonstrate your value, build yourself a community and engage with them.

So, you have the tools you need.

The right time is now!

Finally, I have a question for you: What exactly is it that you’re waiting for, before you’ll take your business to the next level? If you’re waiting for the right time, unless you have months and years to burn, the right time is now.

So, you not only have the tools you need, you also know that the right time to get started is now.

This means you’re finally free to figure out (or admit to yourself) what your real barrier is.

Yes, I sincerely hope you find these ideas useful, but more importantly my friend, I hope this inspires you to take action on whatever is blocking you.

The marketing power of being first

By Jim Connolly | April 28, 2022

Photo: Shutterstock.

I’d like you to consider the following, seemingly unrelated facts. They’ll provide you with a really useful insight for your business.

  • Although it’s 2022, we still remember Sir Roger Bannister as the first person to run a mile in under 4 minutes.
  • Apple became the world’s most valuable company, largely from the profits of its iPhone; the world’s first smart phone.

There are a couple of really valuable business lessons here.

When you are the first to do something, it’s talked about and it’s remembered for a very long time. We remember Bannister, even though Australia’s John Landy broke Bannister’s record just weeks later. Landy was faster, yet remained relatively unknown because he wasn’t the first person to go sub 4 minutes. The first person was covered worldwide in the media of the day. Landy was largely ignored.

Secondly, it doesn’t have to be perfect. The first iPhone was really buggy. It even lacked a basic copy and paste facility for over a year! However, it was extremely useful, compared to the so-called feature phones that preceded it.

You and your business

Here’s a highly valuable question to ask yourself: What useful adjustment or change to your product or service, could you be the first in your industry to provide (locally, nationally or globally), in response to the current economic challenges?

Here’s why that question is potentially of so much value to you.

You don’t need anyone to tell you that we live in very uncertain times right now, or that lots of business owners are struggling. However, other businesses large and small are innovating and inspiring their marketplace, just like they did at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Again, just as in 2020, the businesses that will thrive are the ones willing to adapt to the new, commercial realities.

It’s easier than you might think

Fortunately, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. For example, an idea that’s common in another industry may be unheard of in yours. It just needs to be new to your locality, industry, profession or marketplace.

And it absolutely doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be useful, based on the 2022 requirements of the market you serve.

Great ideas are not anointed

By Jim Connolly | April 23, 2022

marketing ideas

In business, great ideas are not anointed. They flop or fly based on feedback from your marketplace.

Sure, you can do a thought experiment. You can sketch an idea out and estimate what the possible outcomes might be.

The thing is, the only way to really know if that idea of yours will fly, is to try it. To put your idea in play.

Yes, do the research. Be sure to do the planning, too. But then you need to get moving. You need to take action and shift your idea from concept to reality.

Taking action requires courage, because once your idea is in play, it has the potential to flop. However, taking action is the only way to give your idea wings. And the best idea in the world can’t fly, without wings.

WARNING: Stay in your comfort zone!

By Jim Connolly | April 18, 2022

stay in your comfort zone, comfortzones

You really should stay in your comfort zone.

Yes. Really!

Comfort zones are perfectly fine. Just ask anyone at the top of their field and / or getting what they want from life. They will 100% agree that they’re in their comfort zone!

There’s just one pretty-small caveat. You need to be comfortable, when doing the things that are consistent with what you want from life. If you are, you’d be a fool to leave your comfort zone.

If you’re not getting what you want, and not comfortable enough to do what’s required, it isn’t a zone issue. Blaming the zone is nothing more than passing the buck.

It’s a YOU issue.

Thankfully, that places it fully under your control.

Get noticed: Make a difference, not a noise

By Jim Connolly | April 17, 2022

get noticed, make noise, make difference

It’s hard to get noticed today. And there’s a really good reason why.

The world has a social media megaphone. Everyone can now tell everybody about everything.

To compound the noise pollution, thousands (and thousands) of influencers and brands are encouraging their flocks to amplify the noise.

Here’s the thing: As the noise from this chatter has increased, we’ve become better and better at ignoring it. Yes, technology let’s us filter the notifications and reduce the noise somewhat. But we ourselves are paying less attention to the chatter. It tends to wash over us.

Getting noticed

And that’s really, really important for business owners to know.

Why?

Because now that talk is cheaper than ever, our actions have spectacularly more impact.

  • People don’t notice the noise. Certainly not beyond a surface level.
  • They notice the difference we make. And this is especially true, when we make a positive difference to them or something they care about; their business for example.

In short, to earn the attention and trust of our prospective clients, we need to look for ways to demonstrate the value we bring, which they’ll find useful. If it’s useful (to them) it isn’t noise. So, they pay attention.

Get noticed above the noise

Rather than having a ton of social media accounts and filling them with noise (automated retweets, funny images and GIF’s, sharing famous quotes, etc), go for quality. Make a difference.

The message you’re reading right now is an example of what I mean. By taking a little time this morning, I’ve produced this information, which I believe some of you will find useful.

  • I do almost nothing on Facebook.
  • I don’t even have a Linkedin account.
  • I share ideas, like this one, and I use Twitter.

That’s it.

And every day, amazing prospective clients reach out to me.

Here’s the thing.

It’s increasingly hard to get noticed on social networks. Millions of business owners, marketing people and agencies are using the same, so-called tricks and tactics. And in doing so, they become camouflaged by the millions of others, who are doing the same thing.

We need to step away from the noise, my friend.

If you find you’re not getting the results you and your business need, focus on making a difference. Find something you can do, which will have a positive impact (be useful) to your prospective clients.

It’s less time consuming than adding to the noise, and massively more effective.

You should use information marketing. Really. Do it!

By Jim Connolly | April 15, 2022

Content marketing, information marketing

Today, I’m going to share the power of information marketing with you. It has the potential to sky-rocket your sales results. Actually, it has vastly more potential than that!

I was prompted to write about this, when answering a very common question from one of my readers. They wanted to know, how I find the time to write so many newsletters and articles.

It’s all about my information marketing strategy. And now you’ll see why you really need to start using it!

Let’s go!

Finding time or making time?

A business owner doesn’t need to find the time to go to work, or find time to look after their clients / customers. When a task is important to us, we make time for it. The time for it is set aside, in advance. It’s in our calendar. It’s high on our to-do list. And as a result it gets done.

Marketing is a top-level business activity for me. Not just for me, but for everyone serious about growing a successful business. I know that the information I create, (free marketing tips, ideas and advice) doesn’t always look like marketing.

But it absolutely is.

Some would call it content marketing, but content marketing is extremely limited in comparison.

I call it information marketing

And here’s what it does.

  • It reminds those who choose to follow my work, who I am and what I do.
  • My newsletters, website articles and social media updates showcase my knowledge.
  • My content also provides people with a checkable body of work, which proves that I show up regularly with helpful information AND that I’ve been doing this for decades.
  • This means people know who I am. They know my work and that I’ve reliably provided it for a very long time.
  • The marketing pay-off is that I’m earning their trust, long before they even contact me. And they’re sharing my work with even more prospects!

Now, imagine your prospective clients already had that kind of relationship with you and your business. Consider how much more likely they would be, to buy from you or hire you.

THAT’S what makes information marketing so effective. It provides you with a regular, predictable flow of exceptionally high quality new clients or sales. It also means you never have to sell your services to a stranger again. Because they will already know all about you and your services or products. Information marketing works beautifully.

Okay, now let’s look at just how easy it is.

Information marketing is ongoing

All successful marketing is an ongoing business activity. It’s about becoming, and remaining, visible to your marketplace; so your name, company name, branding, logo, face, etc., is familiar to them.

Almost every small business and many medium-sized businesses get this wrong. They tend to only market their business when there’s a problem; like when they’ve lost a major account or they’ve seen a worrying drop in new clients.

They then, suddenly start marketing to their prospects… even though they’re total strangers to these prospects. It’s extremely ineffective.

And it’s avoidable when you use information marketing.

information marketing, content marketing

It requires way less money than you think

Actually, information marketing takes less money AND less time than you think.

Allow me to explain.

Less money than you think?

Yes. If you market your services the way I do, you don’t need to buy ads. I haven’t paid to advertise my service in over 20 years. Not a penny.

That’s because when you publish useful tips, ideas and advice, which your marketplace will value, they’re attracted to it.

And you’ll be really easy for them to find.

Here’s a quick look at how that works.

  • If you write an article like this, or even something as short as a tweet, your prospects can find it on a search engine. Yes, tweets are findable via Google. Just be sure that when they find your information, it’s very easy for them to contact you and subscribe to your newsletter list. That’s really important.
  • If you write a newsletter (and you REALLY should), people will share it. This is especially the case when you answer common problems for people in your target market. That’s because people tend to know lots of similar people; (those who live in the same area, or are in the same profession, or have the same type of problems, or are in a similar income bracket). So, your initial subscribers will share your newsletters for you, and you’ll be organically building a bigger and bigger, targeted list.

That’s right.

You’re not only connecting with a growing number of prospects. Your growing number of prospects are sharing your work, for free, with even more prospects.

That kind of personal recommendation is massively more effective than an advertisement.

information marketing, get noticed, content marketing

Less time than you think?

Oh yes. Way less time.

Whereas content marketing is known for being about producing a high volume of often low-quality ‘content’, information marketing is focused way more on the quality of information you share. This means you have zero need to ‘pump stuff’ into every social network on the planet every day.

Note: I only use Twitter, my website and my newsletter. That’s it!!!

The information marketing strategy I use with my clients, allows most of their work to be used in multiple ways. So, you invest time creating one piece of useful information, and it can provide you with multiple marketing opportunities.

For example, if you write a useful article for your website or a blog post, it can be:

  • Published as a newsletter. Longer pieces can be published as a 2 or 3-part newsletter series.
  • Published on Linkedin.
  • Published on your Facebook Page or in your Facebook Group
  • Published on a forum your marketplace uses.
  • Extracts can be published as short-form content.
  • And visuals can be published on sites like Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

So, you create once and yet produce many, many marketing *assets. (*Things you can use, to attract, help and engage your prospects).

Some all-new information marketing material takes minutes to create. It can be as simple as taking a photo, related to the prospective clients you want to work with. For example, photos of events you’re attending, or photos that show people how you work. These help your prospects to better understand what you do, and they make you more ‘real’ to them. These photos can be really interesting and shared on multiple platforms.

But that’s not all.

After a very short time, as you become more used to creating and sharing useful information, you’ll notice the process takes less and less time.

Information marketing isn’t a time suck

Remember, you don’t need to share something new, multiple times a day, or even every day, as with content marketing.

Information marketing is about producing information that’s useful enough, for people to share your work for you.

It’s all about quality, not quantity. Value, not volume!

You could create just one useful article like this, every 10 – 14 days. By using it in the various ways I explained a moment ago, this would give you something useful and new, to share every 2 or 3 days for a few weeks, to attract the attention of new prospects and start building a valuable connection with them.

Consider again the marketing potential of growing your very own, huge, targeted audience, of extremely high quality prospects. Then measure it against the effort required for information marketing.

If you can see the full potential, you’ll want to get started.

What next Jim?

The best time to start information marketing: building this kind of connection, relationship and trust with your prospects is 10 years ago. But the second best time is now.

If you’re not already marketing your business, by sharing useful information, which you know your prospective clients value, please give it some serious consideration. I have used this model since the 1990’s. And I’ve helped countless business owners transform their sales results with their own information marketing strategies.

I’m telling you, not only does information marketing work better than any form of marketing I have ever used or studied, it works better today than ever before.

Photo: Shutterstock.

How to avoid arguments with clients or customers

By Jim Connolly | April 11, 2022

how to avoid arguments clients, customer arguments

Photo: Shutterstock.

I was prompted to share this tip with you, after recalling an argument between a business owner and one of his customers. It was noisy, public and lost the business owner at least one customer. As you’ll see, the whole situation could have been avoided. Here’s what happened, along with a valuable business lesson.

First, here’s a quote from the 1936 classic, How to win friends and influence people.

The book’s author, Dale Carnegie, said; “Show respect for the other person’s opinion. Never say, you’re wrong! to them.”

You are right. They are right too. Maybe!

When someone disagrees with us, it’s easy to think that they are wrong. This is especially the case when we truly believe that our opinion is right.

Here’s the thing: It’s entirely possible that their opinion and our opinion are both correct, even when we see things very differently.

For example:

  • I really dislike the taste of anchovies. In my opinion and in my experience, anchovies taste disgusting.
  • You may love the taste of anchovies. In your opinion, they taste absolutely delicious.
  • If we went through a lie detector test, we would both be proven to be telling the truth — even though our answers were 100% different.

That’s the thing about opinions. When an opinion is given as an answer, it’s usually one of dozens, maybe hundreds, of possible correct answers.

How one retailer got it VERY wrong

I was prompted to write this post, after listening to a business owner arguing with one of his customers. The argument took place in a cycling shop.

Here’s what happened.

The customer asked if the retailer stocked a particular brand of tyre. The retailer asked why the customer wanted that brand. The customer explained that in his experience, it was the best on the market. The retailer then insisted the customer was wrong. He even went so far as to get his iPad out and show some negative Amazon.com reviews of the tyre, which the customer asked for.

Incidentally, I would have picked a different brand of tyre than either of those picked by the customer or the shop owner. That’s because depending on our experience with different brands of tyre, we will have formed different opinions.

Anyhow, the customer walked out of the shop, shaking his head in frustration. After the confrontational stance the retailer took, and his raised voice, I doubt the customer will ever return — especially as he now knows he can get the tyre he wants, for less, on Amazon!

The retailer had a smug grin on his face, assuming he’d won the argument. What he’d actually done, was lose a customer by showing zero respect for the customer’s opinion and turning a sales enquiry into a heated argument. I’m not sure any business owner can sustain too many victories like that.

How to avoid arguments with clients, arguments customers,

Turning a difference of opinion into a valuable opportunity

We don’t have to agree with everyone. What we should do, however, is learn to respect their right to their opinion.

Indeed, we can use our difference of opinion as a way to create a useful dialogue. We can even use it to deepen our relationship with customers, clients or contacts.

For example, here’s an effective way to handle a business situation, when your opinion is different from the other person.

  • Explain that all you’re interested in, is finding the best solution for them. This places both of you on the same side. The difference this makes to the tone of the conversation is huge.
  • Give the other person the opportunity to say what they want to say, without butting in. By allowing them to get their point across, they will feel less tense and feel more positively toward you, for showing them respect and recognition.
  • If you believe they’re incorrect or about to make a mistake, you should offer them another perspective. Note: You’re not arguing with them. You’re offering them your perspective based on your experience and expertise.
  • Then, offer an example of how your suggested approach has worked in the past, for people with similar challenges. This is massively more effective than looking for holes in their position and bombarding them with reasons why they’re wrong.
  • Ask them what they think… and listen again without butting in.
  • Because there’s no confrontation, no argument to be won or lost, the other person is free to consider your opinion. They can now agree with you, without losing face.

Does this approach magically win around everyone, whose opinion is different from yours? No.

However, I’ve used this approach since starting my business with huge success. It has gained me many clients and many good friends too. Equally, it has never lost me a client, unlike the kind of confrontational approach, used by the store owner in my example.

Interestingly, I’ve always found this approach to be massively more effective at helping others see things my way, than attacking their opinion.

Respect never gets old

The technologies we use today are very different from those, which were used when Carnegie wrote that best-selling book. However, business is still all about people. Showing respect for others and their opinions, is just as important today as it was in 1936.

Exposed: The productivity pattern

By Jim Connolly | April 7, 2022

productivity, business people success

Whether you’re a business owner, or running any commercial project, there’s a direct link between your productivity and what you can achieve.

So, what’s the secret behind the most productive and successful people in business?

There isn’t one.

There really isn’t.

Thankfully, there is a very common pattern, though. A pattern, which when followed leads to massively more productivity. And it’s one of the common factors behind the world’s most successful businesspeople.

The productivity pattern

The pattern behind the most productive people looks a lot like this.

  • They decide exactly what they want to achieve.
  • Then, they figure out what needs to be done in order to achieve it.
  • Next, they focus on the most effective way to do it.
  • Finally, they do it.
  • They do it even if it isn’t the perfect time, even if their personal life is in a mess, even if they’re tired, even if they’re feeling demotivated, even if they’re scared… they still do it.

That last part is where the vast majority of us stumble. However, some people will absolutely do the last part, but fail to take those first few steps. They discover the hard way, that advance planning is an essential part of any successful business target or goal.

It’s proven to work

The above pattern works in every industry. It works in every kind of economy. It works regardless of our age. And it works whatever our academic record is.

‘It’ works.

But it only works, if we do all the work required, regardless of the hurdles before us. Like they say; when you’re just 1% away from switching a light on… you’re still in the dark.

Do the planning.

Do the work.

And win big.

It’s not easy. However, it’s a pattern for success that has proven to be exceptionally effective. And most of us want our businesses to be commercially successful, rather than just ‘easy’.

Word of mouth referrals: It’s never been easier

By Jim Connolly | March 30, 2022

word of mouth marketing, Word of mouth referrals, recommendations

Word of mouth recommendations open up an amazing opportunity, for you and your business. If you choose to embrace it, you can have an army of enthusiastic people successfully selling your services.

  • Without paying them.
  • Without even asking them.

There’s a little work required on your part. But once it’s done, you’re good to go! You can then watch extremely high quality sales leads / client enquiries roll in. Over and over and over again.

The work?

Get recommendations by word of mouth

It’s actually pretty simple.

I do it daily with clients.

It works like this.

Think of a product or service you’ve used, which impressed you so much, you told your friends. That’s all you need your offering to do. It’s not about reinventing the wheel. It’s just making some adjustments, which stand out in a meaningful way.

This is what gets people telling their friends, associates and social media contacts about you.

People in your industry have already done this very successfully. In fact, there are countless examples from every industry.

It’s how we all prefer to find new restaurants, phone brands, bars, accountants, motorcycles, authors, marketing consultants, lawyers, professional photographers, financial advisers, software products, artists, fashion brands, doctors, … everything.

Seriously, you need to be a part of that list. You need word of mouth recommendations or referrals working for you and your business.

Word of mouth marketing has never worked better

How come?

The power of a recommendation comes from it being third party and independent. In other words, not from someone who works for the provider they’re recommending, or who is being paid to recommend the product or service. Until relatively recently, someone’s ability to reach people about how delighted they are with you, was restricted. Now, social networks allow anyone to instantly tell 50, 500, 5000 or 50,000 people how delighted they are with you.

Let that sink in for a moment and imagine what that would do for you and your business.

Plus, in many cases, these recommendations and wonderful comments about you, are findable by people using search engines. This gives your recommendations an even wider audience and an even longer life cycle!

Get daily word of mouth recommendations

I work with business owners every day, who are enjoying the massive benefits of free, word of mouth recommendations.

You deserve the same.

So take the time to recreate your products or services, so that people want to tell their friends and contacts about you. If you want to do this right, first time, get some expert help.

Either way, do not miss out on this amazing marketing opportunity to grow your business, from wave after wave of word of mouth recommendations and referrals.

Hard to resist or hard to remember?

By Jim Connolly | March 27, 2022

decision making entrepreneur

Your prospective customers need to believe that you, your services or your products are exactly what they want. And from the very first moment, they’re looking for hints to help them decide.

That’s why your branding is so important. It’s a pivotal part of what forms their first impression. And first impressions are exceptionally powerful. So powerful that once a first impression has been made, even facts won’t change them.

Whether we like it or not, prospects are already forming their impressions of our products and services.

The brands that have been intentionally designed to create the right impression are hard to resist. The brands that have not, are hard to remember.

It’s completed. On time, as promised!

By Jim Connolly | March 22, 2022

excuses, reasons, jim connolly 2

Here’s what our clients want to hear from us.

It’s completed, on time, as promised!

That’s exactly what they hired us to do. It’s also what we agreed to. And by delivering on our promise, we’ve just proven ourself to be a professional.

Here’s what no client wants to hear from us.

A convincing excuse, for why we failed to deliver on our promise.

That’s because no matter how clever, how creative or how sincere our excuse is, they don’t want to hear it. It’s not what they hired us for.

Investing our energy

Some service providers would do well, to put as much energy; thought, creativity and effort, into delivering, as they do when crafting their excuses.

Those who put their energy into delivering as promised enjoy amazing results. Not only do we get paid, we earn the trust of our clients, too. We also get repeat business, client referrals and build a world-class reputation in the marketplace we serve.

Just think. We get all those rewards, simply for focusing our energy correctly. What an opportunity!

What to do when the economy is terrible

By Jim Connolly | March 18, 2022

business lesson, mistake

There’s a really good chance that wherever you are as you read this, the economic forecast is something between terrible and absolutely terrible.

Although a growing number of businesses are really struggling, others in the exact same industry are thriving. I know, because these thriving businesses are owned by the kind of people who hire me.

Whichever of those groups you are in, my advice to you is the same. You need to do 2 things.

  1. Reflect.
  2. Take action.

Let me explain.

Reflection and action

If we reflect on our current situation, our progress and the direction our business is heading, and discover we’re on course to hit or smash our targets, we need to take action.

  • We need to retain control of our focus.
  • We need to fight against complacency.
  • And we need to carry on doing the right things, correctly.

If we reflect on our current situation, our progress and the direction our business is heading, and discover we’re not on course, we also need to take action.

  • We need to wake up and accept the urgency of our situation.
  • We need to decide that more of the same is not an option.
  • We need to get strategic.
  • We need to make better decisions.
  • We need to take better actions.

There are business owners who are already switching between those 2 groups.

Switching groups

Some of those who were doing great got cocky, took their eye off the ball and slipped into the struggling group.

Some of those who were struggling woke up, stopped pretending this would ‘fix itself’, started planning and saw their results catapult them into the thriving group.

In short, regardless of where you and your business fit into this picture, it’s time to reflect and take action. Because when the economy is this screwed, a casual approach causes casualties.

It’s nothing at all, yet it’s everything

By Jim Connolly | March 17, 2022

It’s really nothing at all.

You send a quick email to a contact, whose business is going through a tough time. Just to let them know you’re available if you can assist them in any way.

Except, it isn’t nothing.

It’s everything.

helping crisis, business kindness

That same person was wondering why no one’s offering to help. They then receive your email. Someone, (you), came through for them when they needed it. They’ll never forget what you did. This remains true, even if they never take you up on your offer.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Simple.

What’s right is right

The right way to treat people remains the right way to treat people; regardless of whether it’s in our personal life or our business life. Just as we would eagerly reach out to assist someone we know personally, we should do the same professionally.

Yes, there’s an well established business case for helping your contacts. It radically improves how they feel about you. And your success depends heavily on the good will and assistance of others. I’ve operated this way since starting my business 27 years ago, and it’s a key factor behind my longevity and accomplishments.

But primarily, it’s just the right thing to do: To treat others the way we would like to be treated.

It’s so easy that it’s nothing at all.

Yet, it’s everything.

Overcome your fear of criticism

By Jim Connolly | March 12, 2022

critics, criticism, jim connolly marketing

Criticism is painful.

How painful?

It’s painful enough to stop us from creating great products and services. It’s 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 you sell premium services, the low price crowd will be critical. It’s too expensive!
  • If you sell low price services, the premium crowd will be critical. It’s too cheap!
  • And whatever you sell, there will always be small-minded people who snipe at you. Who do you think you are!?!

NB: You’ll find this article useful “Why people criticise you and how to deal with it, in just 3 steps“.

Criticism is poison

This means 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.

Then… we need to follow the numbers!

Look at what the numbers tell you. Pay attention to your customers and prospective customers. Monitor their interest. Only then will you be free to do your best work. And free to market it the best way you can.

You’ll be amazed how your results improve when you learn how to deal with critics and their poison. It frees you to do your very best work, rather than a diluted version. It enables you to stand out, rather than try to blend in. It gives you and your products or services the visibility that only comes, when you’re truly doing things your way.

Of course, once you do this, the only thing stopping you is ‘you’. That’s both extremely liberating and more than a little scary. However, I work with businesspeople every day who’ve now learned how to overcome the fear of criticism. And the improvement it makes is life-changing.

You can overcome it with the right help

Decide today (yes today) to take action on overcoming your fear of criticism.

Every day and every opportunity you lose because of this needless hurdle, is another day and another opportunity you’ve lost.

Unbelievable results, unbelievably fast, with unbelievably little effort

By Jim Connolly | March 5, 2022

unbelievable results

They’re everywhere: experts, claiming to be able to deliver unbelievable results in unbelievable time with unbelievably little effort.

Don’t believe them!

Growth hacking, business hacking, success systems, tricks and shortcuts are everywhere. Not because they WORK, but because they SELL.

A huge subset of the population wants to believe that they can get rich (thin, healthy) quick. They want to reap the harvest, without planting the seeds and tending the soil. They want the rewards, without the effort. They’re looking for magic – something that breaks the laws of cause and effect.

This is why today, we see the marketplace flooded with online gurus selling the 21st century equivalent of snake oil. It’s well-crafted bullshit. Bullshit designed to press all the right buttons, on those who are looking for unbelievable results. And the hungry marketplace laps it up.

The fastest route to success

The fastest way to get from where you are, to where you want to be, is to take the most direct route. To find out what works and do it. It’s about doing the right things, correctly.

Shortcuts to success are nothing more than costly detours. Be extremely cautious of anyone trying to tell you otherwise.

The marketing tip that’s guaranteed to work, even if it fails

By Jim Connolly | March 1, 2022

professional development

A reader emailed me with a good question, followed by a very good question.

It’s about a highly effective strategy I mention often, yet I’ve never previously explained that it’s guaranteed to work, at least to some extent.

He asked: How can I earn the trust of prospective customers, when they don’t already know me?

My reply: Make a big, audacious promise to your marketplace, with a confirmed deadline, then deliver the promise on time.

He then had an even better follow-up question.

He asked: But what if something goes wrong and I deliver after the deadline?

My reply: Well, you’ll have proven to your marketplace that you’re brave enough to set clear, measurable deadlines. In addition, you’ll have proven that you’re honest enough to admit you were late. Whilst also proving that you’re professional and dedicated enough to keep going and deliver, albeit late, rather than quit and fail to deliver at all.

In short, even if things go wrong, you’ll still have proven your; courage, honesty, professionalism and dedication. Those are huge trust-building assets.

If you’ve heard me extol the effectiveness of setting deadlines before, yet been worried about the potential downside, I hope this gives you a clearer understanding.

What are ‘Mini marketing campaigns’ and how do they work?

By Jim Connolly | February 26, 2022

mini Marketing campaign, client referrals

Many of the most effective forms of marketing, don’t feel much like marketing at all. The mini marketing campaigns idea I’m about to share with you, is one such example. I hope you’ll find it as useful as I did, when I initially uncovered it.

Let’s go.

Often, the service we receive is really good. And in fairness, this happens a lot more often than not. The reason we tend not to remember it, is precisely because it happens so frequently. There’s a lot of forgotten, really good service around.

Today’s post is about what happens when we crank things up and offer a service that’s even better than really good. It’s about what happens when we’re providing a level of service that our clients (or customers) WILL remember. A level of service that’s better than it needed to be, which delights our clients and gives them a story to share.

And that’s just the start!

Mini marketing campaigns

When we do more than expected, more than we need to, we transform our client interactions (work flow) into an extremely valuable series of mini marketing campaigns. Each of these campaigns helps us to grow our business on many fronts. And without even knowing it, we’re growing our business on multiple levels all day, every day.

Multiple levels?

Yep.

As you’d expect, when we consistently provide a service where we do more than we need to, it motivates our clients to tell their friends about us.

And that’s great.

But the benefits are way bigger than that!

  • It deepens our client’s trust in us.
  • In addition, it vastly increases the value of our services to our clients.
  • Plus it earns greater loyalty from our clients.
  • And as a natural consequence, we’re likely to retain them as clients for far, far longer.

And it’s so easy to do

This part may come as a surprise, given the many, huge benefits of this approach. The extra effort required is actually, surprisingly small.

That’s because like every pattern of work, doing more than we need to soon becomes a habit. It becomes our natural way of working. And we don’t need to remind ourselves when something is a habit. In fact, habits can be a lot harder to break than to acquire. (I cover this in more detail here.)

It takes a little while for everything to gel, but think in terms of days or weeks, rather than months. Once it becomes habitual, you’re not even aware you’re doing it.

The effort required is tiny. Because by simply going about your typical working day, you’ll be automatically marketing your services in multiple, valuable ways.

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Hi! I'm Jim Connolly and I help small business owners to increase sales, boost their profits and build amazing businesses. Read more here.

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