Jim's Marketing Blog

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

Blogs are crushing it in 2024

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woman using smartphone and laptop

Blog posts remain the most popular content format for marketers, with 9 out of 10 marketers using blogging to achieve content goals. (SEMrush, 2023).

Here are some reasons why I recommend business owners start blogging — or start taking their blog more seriously.

Blogging in 2024 is easier than ever

It’s so simple today, to publish your ideas to the world on a blog. Blogging software (I use WordPress) has matured. It’s intuitive and very easy to use.

I’m writing this post on my phone using WordPress’s Jetpack app.

Blogging in 2024 is bigger than ever

According to Hubspot, there are over 600 Million blogs out there. (Hubspot 2023).

That’s 1 in every 3 websites.

Your blog puts you in charge

Unlike social media sites, your blog gives you the freedom to publish as often as you want.

There’s no algorithm you need to follow. No content monster to feed. No shadow banning if you publish too little or too often. You’re in control.

Blogging is great for building your email list

Blogging is an exceptionally effective way to grow your newsletter list or email marketing list. Subscriber forms have developed in recent years. Add the forms to the most appropriate areas of your blog. Write the form’s copy correctly. And watch what happens.

In the last couple of years, my blog has become my main source of newsletter subscribers.

It costs nothing to get started

WordPress provides a free blog, so you can test the water before diving in. Plus, there’s no need for any expensive equipment. I regularly write posts on my phone. So if you already have a phone, tablet or laptop you’ve already got what you need to begin.

Blogging is media agnostic

You can publish any kind of content on your blog. Short-form video, long-form video, stream live events and share your photography. You can host live chats, publish audio recordings and written word posts — anything digital.

blogging in 2024

Your blog is the perfect home for your content

You can use your blog as the hub of all your online content or content marketing.

So, rather than create content for your social media accounts and leaving it there, you can also host it on your blog. This improves your blog and provides more content for people to engage with.

It also means none of your work is ever lost. And it’s on a platform that you own. In my experience there’s nothing even close to blogging, when it comes to housing your content.

Blogging and your social accounts, sitting in a tree, kiss…

Your blog amplifies your social media activity. And your social media activity will amplify your blog. It’s a 2-way street now. It’s no longer just you creating free content for a billion dollar social network. Your hard work is now building your own platform.

Plus, if your main social network becomes unpopular, you’ll still have a network of all those who followed you to your blog and subscribed to it, or subscribed to your newsletter list.

Finally

Perhaps most importantly of all, by removing all the barriers I’ve mentioned, blogging gives you the freedom to be yourself. The freedom to share your message, your way, as often as you want.

It’s also worth remembering that depending on the type of blog you build, the blog itself could become a highly desirable and highly valuable asset for investors.

Photo by Plann on Pexels.com

Write tight

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man in black sweater using macbook pro

The infinite space on the Internet encourages overlong writing.

And people have never had shorter attention spans.

Write tight.

Keep it short.

Be understood.

Photo: cottonbro studio

Why email marketing doesn’t work in 2024

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email marketing doesn't work, email marketing does not work, why doesn't, newsletter marketing

A reader shared an interesting observation with me. She told me she had “found out the hard way that email marketing doesn’t work“.

She asked me for my thoughts on why email is so ineffective. I said I’d share them here, as I’m sure some of you will find it useful.

Email marketing works

Email marketing works. In fact, email marketing works extremely well. Better than ever.

Just ask any business owner who’s using it correctly. Whether it’s used for newsletters or promotions, the return on investment is off the charts.

Email marketing also works more predictably than just about any other form of marketing. And the tiny financial investment required for email marketing makes it the most cost effective form of marketing out there.

Email marketing doesn’t work when…

What doesn’t work is ineffective email marketing. Just ask anyone who’s doing it incorrectly.

Here’s the thing: ineffective email marketing can’t work.

why doesn't email marketing work, email marketing doesn't work, newsletter, email campaign

Here are just a few, very common examples of how small business owners get email marketing wrong.

  • A poorly written email won’t work. It will fail to motivate the reader to take action; to call you, email you, visit your website, make a purchase from you, whatever.
  • A professionally written email, sent to the wrong people, won’t work. It will fail to reach those with a want or need for your services.
  • A well written email, sent to the right people, with a dull subject line, won’t work. That’s because no one will open it. The subject line has to be compelling or no matter what your message is, it will literally be ignored.
  • A well written email, sent to the right people, with a compelling subject line, offering a generic product or service, won’t work. No one wants to switch to a service that’s no better then their current service.
  • A well written email, sent to the right people, with a compelling subject line, but sent on the wrong day of the week, won’t work. At least, it won’t be anything like as effective as it would be, if you research the best time of day and best day of the week, to send it.
  • Oh, and if you send your emails frequently, or not frequently enough… that’s right, your email marketing won’t work.

You get the idea.

In short, before you reject any form of marketing as ineffective, make sure you’re using it correctly.

So, instead of telling yourself that email marketing doesn’t work, ask yourself why YOUR email marketing doesn’t work. Otherwise, you’ll needlessly miss out on one of the most powerful forms of marketing on the planet!

Image: Shutterstock.

Attract more customer enquiries, the friendly way!

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attract customers, friendly, warmth, approachable

Here’s a quick marketing tip, which can help you attract more customer (or client) enquiries. I hope you find it useful.

It starts with a question: How easy is it for your prospective customers to get in touch with you?

I’m not asking how visible your contact information is on your marketing materials. I’m referring to something that is almost as important and yet seldom written about; how approachable or friendly you seem, to prospects who don’t already know you.

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 sarcastic, rude or even confrontational when people dialogue with them or ask questions. This is a really, really bad move if you want prospects to feel comfortable enough to contact 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 Jordan and…’ they start with ‘Jordan has worked in web design since 2012 and… ‘

Why should 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 including a friendly, human touch in your marketing, you start to nurture a positive impression in the mind of your prospects, long before you ever speak with them. This helps them feel far more comfortable contacting you, hiring you or buying from you. 

Photo by KOBU Agency

Here’s what makes your marketing go viral

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Viral marketing, through people, spread it

Viral marketing is something I get asked about a lot. It’s actually pretty easy to understand.

Every piece of viral marketing consists of two things. Two things that all marketing, including yours, needs in order to go viral.

  1. It goes to someone. (They received it).
  2. Then it goes through them. (Through them, it’s shared with one or more people).

For both of those steps to happen, your marketing message needs to be easy to share and remarkable in some way.

Allow me to explain.

Viral marketing is easy to share

As I have written previously, the Kentucky Fried Chicken strapline is an excellent example of an easy to share message. It’s just 3 words long. Finger lickin’ good. That’s easy to remember and share.

The marketing message from Apple is even easier to share. When someone is using one of their products in public, there’s a highly visible Apple logo pointing at everyone who can see them. Until 2015, the Apple logo on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models was illuminated on the lid. Today, those logos are highly polished mirrors. The illuminated Apple logos and the mirror logos both work extremely well.

Viral marketing is remarkable

What makes viral marketing viral, is that it doesn’t spread from the business owner (or vendor) to the marketplace. After the initial push from the business owner, it spreads from person to person.

This means viral marketing not only reaches a lot of people, but unlike advertising, the people sharing the message are those we know and trust. That makes it far more powerful.

Here’s an example from my friend Jennie. Jennie knows I take lots of notes. So, when she discovered a note-taking app that blew her away, she emailed me with a link so I could see it. Within 10 minutes, I’d bought it too. Jennie’s remarkable experience with the iA Writer app provided her with the motivation to share what she’d found with her huge circle of friends. I’ve now shared the app tons of times, too. Plus, I blogged about it.

Greg uses 7 words

And then there’s my former client, Greg. I regularly get client enquiries through his recommendation, and the prospects are always very motivated. I asked Greg what he tells people. He said that he recommends my services to his friends and contacts by telling them; ‘Jim doubled our turnover in 5 months’.

Greg’s remarkable sales results are what motivates him to tell people about me. And his recommendation is just 7 words long, making it easy to share. There’s a lot of power there. Think about it: Imagine you are a friend of Greg’s and your small business wants, or seriously needs, to get great sales results, fast. His recommendation would be highly compelling to you. 

If you want to go viral, or you want to attract massively more word-of-mouth referrals, your message needs to do the same. To go to people and then through people.

What about you?

If you want to attract massively more word of mouth referrals or go full-on viral, your message needs to do the same. To go to people and then through people.

Take some time to review how clear, easy to share and memorable your message is. Then look for ways to improve it as much as you can. The more remarkable it is, the more widely it spreads. If you don’t already have one, create one. The fewer words the better. Greg’s is 7 words long. KFC did it in just 3 words. 

This is not an easy marketing project. So if you can hire expert help, I recommend you do. It makes absolutely no sense to ignore the power of viral marketing. 

Photo by Melissa Askew

How to sell your services into massive companies

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marketing home run

Have you ever considered selling your services to huge corporations? If you haven’t, then maybe it’s time that you did. I’m going to show you how to remove the main barrier, and make it far easier for you to land extremely valuable clients.

Once you understand what I am about to share with you, you may find it easier to gain a $10,000 client than a $500 client.

Allow me to explain.

It’s amazing what big companies spend money on

I was prompted to write this, after remembering an email I received from a friend. He’s a head of department for a massive software corporation. He had just sat through what he called a “cringe-worthy” motivational talk from a former, professional sportsperson.

Apparently, the speaker:

  • Had no business background.
  • Had no idea about the challenges they face.
  • Didn’t understand their industry.
  • Didn’t offer a single idea for how they can improve things.
  • He “shared a few funny stories, dropped a few famous names and finished with a copy/paste you can achieve anything speech”.

My friend wanted to know, why do such people get hired as speakers by massive corporations?

Here’s why that guy was hired

The reason people like that get hired to speak is simple. More importantly, it also explains what motivates massive corporations to spend money on any kind of product or service.

That speaker may have been a waste of company money, but he was a very safe bet. An easy hire, with no risk attached.

Hang on Jim, if the guy is a waste of money, how can hiring him possibly be a very safe bet?

That’s a great question! :)

Here’s how it works:

  • The decision maker, who hired the guy, isn’t spending his or her own money. The money comes from a budget, which they need to spend.
  • The decision maker’s priority is to spend their budget every year without screwing up. So they invest in what they hope will be the safest, least risky option.
  • The risk with a speaker like this is close to zero. That’s because it’s hard to measure the impact of a talk in any meaningful way.
  • Bonus: The decision maker can’t be blamed even if the speaker is demonstrably terrible. After all, they did hire a famous person!
  • So, decision makers eagerly grab any opportunity to spend chunks of their budget on these low commercial value, but 100% risk free, speakers.

The lesson here?

I think there are a couple of lessons.

1. Corporations should reward courage

Corporations need to stop rewarding decision makers, for making lousy, but safe, decisions. Instead they need to reward courage. They need to reward decision makers for advancing the company with smart investments.

Until then, former sportspeople (or influencers, faded TV celebrities etc.), can fill their boots with very easy money. At least until their impact is measured and they are no longer a safe bet for decision makers.

2. It’s really easy to sell into huge corporations

If you’re selling into a billion dollar corporation, remember that the decision maker is frightened. They will only buy from you if you can convince them that you’re a super-safe bet. If they see you as a close to zero risk, they will pay you thousands, maybe tens of thousands. And if you’re really good on the day they’ll pay you regularly, too.

Of course, in order to sound as safe as possible you need some supporting evidence. Former sportspeople have their fame.

If you’re not a former, professional sportsperson, influencer or celebrity etc., you will need to work on building your brand, like the rest of us.

If the decision maker hasn’t heard of you, you’ll sound risky. So get your name out there for all the right reasons. Highlight notable media mentions, accomplishments and anything else that will reduce or eliminate the decision maker’s fear.

Then remember the following before you market your services:

  • You’re never selling to a billion dollar corporation.
  • You’re always selling to an individual, whose priority is not to make a mistake.

Lasting success for your business

Lasting success comes from achieving the balance of being a safe bet… AND being someone who provides measurable value.

Get that balance right and you’ll build yourself a world-class reputation. You’ll also find yourself able to attract the most valuable clients, again and again and again.

Photo: Shutterstock.

Growing your list

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Build your list, list building

I receive a lot of questions from business owners, who want advice on how to grow their lists. And I usually start by explaining the absolute cornerstone of list-building, which is very seldom mentioned.

It’s simply this.

The idea of growing your list is based on a fallacy. You can’t possibly grow your list or build your list.

That’s because your list is never yours.

You simply borrow it.

Allow me to explain

We don’t own the attention of subscribers; readers, viewers, listeners, or followers, etc. We have to earn their attention… and then keep re-earning it. Never, ever take it for granted. Consistently strive to provide useful information. 

When we stop thinking of subscribers as our subscribers, we operate from a them-first mindset. This motivates us to produce our best work. As a result, we find that we retain far more subscribers for far longer. We also find they proactively recommend us to their friends and contacts.  

The pay-off is huge.

The pay-off from this approach is huge. With greater retention, plus a faster growth-rate, your lists will grow like a snowball. It’s the list building equivalent of compound interest. 

Photo by Melanie Deziel 

Proof: Your business growth potential is limitless

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Marketing forward

You now have free access to every prospective client or customer on the planet. And that’s a provable fact.

This means the potential to grow your business is literally limitless.

  • Podcasting gives you a free, global radio show.
  • WordPress gives you a free magazine, plus free, global distribution.
  • Social networks give you free access to a global audience.
  • YouTube gives you a free, global TV channel.
  • Email gives you a free, global communication channel, which scales to infinity.
  • Zoom gives you free, global access to video meetings.

This means that in June 2023, a start-up business with no budget, can reach every city on the planet, in a way that previously cost millions and was only available to the world’s biggest corporations.

It’s truly a spectacular time to be a small business owner.

With an idea and a plan, the world is yours. This is true even if you’re struggling right now. Isn’t that amazing?

So, all the tools you need are freely available to you. The question is, what will you do with all this potential?

Marketing that sticks, is marketing that sells

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marketing that sticks sells, marketing spreads sells,

Marketing that spreads does exactly that. It spreads from one person to another. And from a sales perspective, it can be a total waste of your time, energy and focus.

REALLY?

Yup!

That’s because marketing that merely spreads isn’t necessarily marketing that produces bankable results. Clickbait headlines, cute / outrageous / funny videos, provocative images, newsjacking, etc., can all be used to make a marketing message spread like fire.

Without generating a single enquiry or lead, let alone a new client or customer!

Marketing that produces bankable results; (creates sales, attracts new clients, grows your market share, boosts your revenues and profits), is marketing that spreads AND sticks. Most business owners pay way too little attention to that last part.

Marketing that sticks?

Marketing that sticks makes the prospect pause for a moment to take action, before they spread it.

For example, if it’s online, at the very least, they’ll bookmark it or save it, so they can go back to it later and place the order, make the enquiry, fill in the form, call the number… and THEN pass it on.

Yes, marketing that spreads is marketing that sells, but only if it sticks. So be sure to include a direct request (or call to action) in all your marketing. And especially anything designed to be passed around and shared widely.

Your opinions, voice, uniqueness and AI

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human opinion, ai, chatbots, marketing

Opportunity is knocking. It’s knocking loud and it’s knocking clear.

The best part? To benefit from this spectacular opportunity you just need to be yourself.

Allow me to explain.

It starts with a statement of fact: Your opinions are exactly that. They’re yours. They’re as specific to you as your unique blend of life experiences and lessons.

Conversely, artificial intelligence doesn’t have an opinion. Everything about its knowledge base is artificial.

Instead, AI is fed with masses of data. And it’s trained by groups of AI experts. One of the primary tasks of AI trainers, is to keep their AI as neutral to everyone as possible. And in seeking not to offend anyone, AI lacks even an artificial opinion.

In stark contrast

No person who has ever lived is neutral. Unlike AI, we not only have an opinion, we have countless opinions. This includes the opinions and feelings we have regarding the way we do business. And it impacts everything, including:

  • The business tactics we rule in or rule out.
  • The atmosphere we create for our clients or customers.
  • The way we sell or negotiate.
  • The value we place on our products or services.
  • The baseline quality of service or products we provide.
  • The type of staff we hire and the way we look after them.
  • The suppliers we choose.
  • The profile of customers we want to attract (and those we want to avoid).
  • The type of promises and guarantees we provide, etc., etc.

Your business, opinions, voice and uniqueness

Your opinions matter. They always have. They’re what give you your unique voice in the marketplace.

I firmly believe that today, and for the forseeable future, that uniqueness is a powerrful way, maybe the most powerful way, for your business to gain your biggest ever slice of the marketplace.

How?

A growing number of your competitors are switching to AI for their voice. For example, AI tools are creating and guiding their business plans; what to do and what to avoid. Chatbot apps are handling their frontline customer service. Chatbots are also guiding or shaping (and in many cases providing) their; newsletter content, blog posts, video / podcast scripts, advertising copy and social media interactions, etc. In short, everything that prospective clients or customers use in order to judge these businesses, is bland and lifeless.

I’m suggesting that you adopt a very different aproach to AI.

The most savvy business owners I know are also using AI. But the way they use it, excludes every area of their business that carries their DNA. Their opinions and their voice remain 100% human. It’s what guides their messaging, their priorities, their values, their commitment, their customer service and their willingness to go the extra mile. Their businesses have a pulse and personality. They are extremely easy to connect with. They are easy to relate to. And on a very human level, they’re easy to trust. Because they are human. And so is their brand. Not dull and lifeless like the previous example.

Very soon, you’ll be able to stand out and get noticed, in a way that wasn’t possible before. The opportunity is knocking. But only for those who choose to take notice of it.