May
17

11 of the most compelling…and bizarre…benefits of working from home

By | Home business, Main Content

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If you already work for yourself, you know how AWESOME it is.

If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, hang on and think about this…

There are a TON of benefits of working from home.

Some of the ones I enjoy most:

* playing dumb every time a family member or friend asks you what it is you do for a living. After 11 years, neither family nor friends seem to understand what I do – nor do I bother explaining.  Best kept that way me thinks.

* staying up till 1 or 2 in the morning -  and sleeping in – on a Tuesday (or Wed, or Thur, or pretty well any day you damn well please).

* turning on the morning news so you can laugh at the traffic jams, accidents, and total mayhem caused by road-ragers.

* not shaving… hell, you can shave half your face if you want… people on the end of the phone won’t know (watch the video Skype calls – they might know)

* working out in the middle of the day – twice a day like me – and saving your nights for play time (and not having to deal with the meat heads at a gym)

* walking the dog on a hot sunny day – at 2:00 in the afternoon (hint: IDEAL time for beautiful girls to be walking their dogs – and IDEAL time for single guys like me to enjoy the abundance of beauty in the world! Best part? Most single guys have jobs and don’t work from home – so they can’t enjoy the scenery like me!)

* throwing out your ties – I did it by accident but haven’t needed one in a long, long time.

* nap time – if needed, when needed, wherever needed (couch, bed, office chair – kitchen chair – doesn’t matter when or where)

* winter woolies – avoiding the cold weather by staying home and warm – vs the job-keepers who much bundle up, warm car, de-bundle, wait, re-bundle, brave cold, fight rush hour, curse, fight cold after parking car, unbundle – rinse and repeat at 4:30… every single work day. Hah!

* being permanently unemployable!  once you have lived the above benefits for some time… you can never again go back to the land of job-keepers.

* taking the afternoon… or even the day off… whenever I WANT.  No asking, begging or pleading to book a vacation day.  Take it when I need it.

After 11 years of being self employed (along with numerous other stints throughout my life of self-employment – including my painting business which paid for my university education) – I can say….

… I am officially UNEMPLOYABLE!

And I love it that way.

If you’ve never experienced the raw passion that goes hand-in-hand with being your own business… it’s time to take action.

To find a system and a mentor (better yet – a TEAM of mentors) that want you to succeed.

To find a training platform that shows you EXACTLY what to do, when and how to do it.

And to find a cash flow system that puts SERIOUS money in your pocket if you use the formula given.

I have it.

And I would love you to have it to.

You can get started down the path for just $25.  Complete with training, mentors, a cash flow system and the support team you need to get going QUICKLY.

$25.

Can’t even fill your tank with gas for that… but you can start a home business that INSTANTLY gives you tax write-offs and new income streams.

AND it gets you a team of self-employed mentors like myself that will see you through the transition from being a slave to others… to being in COMPLETE CONTROL over your own life and future.

Join me – it’ll be the BEST THING you do this year (well – sometimes those naps at 2:00 on a Tuesday can come close!)

$25 to change your life and give you the tools that will forever alter how you make a living.

Pretty smart investment if you ask me…

Start here…

work at home business

Or you can see some of the questions and answers here…

Or some video testimonials here…

and here…

After all that, just commit.

I will help you go from there.

Have a great long weekend!

Troy

May
16

WANTED: Parentpreneurs for Interview (and marketers in need of cash flow)

By | Cash Flow Calendar, Main Content

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For 11 years of self-employment now, I’ve been performing mind implants on my daughters.

Marketing implants.

Entrepreneurial Spirit injections. Parentpreneur

And turning them into independent thinkers and entrepreneurs-in-the-making.

LOTS OF PARENTS ARE LIKE ME.

They see that the traditional High School->College->Corporate Career->Retirement at 65 model is BROKEN.

Seriously dysfunctional.

Yet most people stick with that ideal and convince their kids to do the same.

Despite all the PROOF that the world has changed and that mode; doesn’t work anymore.

But there is a secret society of “PARENTPRENEURS” like myself that want more for their kids.

To give them the tools to enable their future wayyyy beyond a broke and ancient model of ‘security’.

Are you one?

I created a Facebook Group http://www.facebook.com/parentpreneurs that is going to showcase Parentpreneurs like you.

Like your neighbour.

Or your cousin.

First – go and like that page – I can then give you updates on the incredible success stories I will be showcasing.

Second – if you want to be interviewed (or know someone I should interview) for the Parentpreneur community, like the page and post a note about doing an interview.

Let’s show off our ability to install the entrepreneurial spirit in the new generation – the ones that will be creating breakthroughs and wealth WITHOUT the corporate nonsense.

Deal?

Please go like the page and become part of a brand new, passionate community

NEXT
- – - – - – - -

Time flies!

We are more than halfway through May – and nearly to the halfway point of 2013 – WOW!

One of the simplest ways you can increase your cash flow and grow your business is to start marketing more, with more creative campaigns.

Waaaaay back in 2008 I created the Cash Flow Calendar to help with just that.

Fran went from $1,000 months to $1,000 days with the calendar.

Doc Carney made $11,500 with just one campaign idea in there, back in 2011.

Today… it’s your turn.

The 2013 Cash Flow Calendar sells for $87 normally – but I am doing a special offer for our halfway point celebration. We are nearly halfway through the year, and I am offering you 50% off the calendar so YOU can make the second half of 2013 way more profitable than the first!

The full details of the calendar, the campaign ideas, the bonuses and the copy and paste emails you can use at at http://www.cashflowcalendars.com

BUT – the 50% off deal can ONLY be seen here
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=PJR8YTS7B5GAQ

If you want some help with increasing your cash flow, the 2013 calendar is PROVEN to give you a serious advantage.

Grab it for half off and some serious profits will be headed your way (not to mention giving you the tools to start thinking about marketing in a whole new way!).

Have a great day!

Troy

May
13

Simple marketing campaign rollout for a Calgary business

By | Marketing Plan

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I have a client in the HVAC business that hired me to write them some marketing pieces for generating leads.

They first came to me with the intention on getting a fancy-dancy glossy brochure done up.

They were going to be working with a large design firm in town… but that company didn’t do the copy – just the design.

So lo and behold, they found me on Google.

First thing I did was convince them to go with a lower priced brochure. 

Slick, expensive brochures are NOT the way to drum up business.

I don’t know HOW MANY small businesses I’ve spoken to that blew their entire marketing budget on a fancy brochure – just to have it clutter up their garage – and do NOTHING to boost their sales.

We did a combination of black and white flier for simple neighborhood marketing, small display ads for community newspapers, a simple letter for the commercial market they target, and some verbiage for a much less complex or pricy trifold brochure (which they still wanted and can help – but is NOT a marketing strategy on its own).

Some interesting comments came out of this after I sent them the copy.

First – they asked some people with zero marketing experience (let alone direct response marketing experience) for their thoughts.

The one thing they recommended – a logo.

Uhg.

Why do people think a logo is so important in the sales process?

I don’t know a single person who bought a product or service because of a logo!

Do you?

Anyhow – a few comments I made to them about this I wanted to share because I think they are helpful to anyone and everyone marketing their small business on a budget.

So the logos I put in are smaller, and near the bottom – never at the top and big, which is what most people do (and why most advertising and marketing fails).

An ad, letter, or flier is designed with one purpose in mind -  to get them to read it (ultimately to take action).  A logo does not give them a reason to read it – it just blatantly says “here’s a logo so this is an ad”.

I just have seen logos decrease response and sales vs increase so don’t believe in the use of large, blatant logos.

Her comment to me:

Somebody made a comment and suggested to ad the logo somewhere in the add but they are not the expert on this type of things

To which my reply was:

No problem.  I hear it all the time.

The majority of people have never studied marketing or advertising – but for some strange reason think they are experts in it.

Anyone who invests some time and studies direct response style marketing (marketing that has measurable results), would know that logos do nothing to help ad response (decrease it more than increase as a logo immediately stands out as being an advertisement.

Once a company is larger and has a bigger client base, logos can help with the branding… but for a small company just getting started, a logo does nothing to improve response.

Remember as well – the marketing I do is based on results. 

So don’t let people tell you how to do your marketing or how glossy your flier or brochure should be, unless they have invested lots of time and their own money in marketing.

 

Everyone thinks they are an expert in marketing.

But they shouldn’t be listened to for marketing advice unless they have studied and applied marketing for small businesses on a budget.

My thoughts anyhow.

 

The rollout plan for this marketing campaign:

The black and white flier should be sent out to communities you want to target with higher than average lilkelihood of needing service work done.

Canada post has the unaddressed admail services to do this (Their site walks you through the process).

I would recommend targeting 2.000 – 3,000 homes as an initial test – approximate cost for Canada Post and printing of the flier would be ~$500.

That will give you a good guage of how it works. With the commercial letter – compile a list of as many businesses as possible – ideally for best response to have the names of people you would typically deal with for this type of sale/service.  Then mail those letters with the persons name mail-merged into the letter – a plain white envelope (just your return address on the envelope – not the business name or logo). Hand stamped too – not metered stamps. 

With the display ad – community newspapers are a great place to run those – start here www.awna.com

Let me know if you need anything else on this for help.

Troy

May
07

4 Rules Of Lead Generation and Follow Up Letters (and one BIG, yet common, mistake)

By | Leads Generation

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Leads.

We all need a steady stream of them.

Some people rely on word of mouth.

Others on Facebook.

Others use direct mail.

There are hundreds of different ways to generate leads, but having
a system to capture leads, and assist the conversion process makes
your life much easier, and more profitable.

One of the best things you can do is to find ways to drive either
online or offline *traffic* to a website where their contact details
can be captured.

Usually in exchange for a gift (report, book, audio, cd, dvd, etc).

ONCE YOU HAVE THE CONTACT INFO…

You need to do something with the information to show them who you
are, what makes you different, and why they should do business with
you vs. all the other alternatives out there.

Here are some simple rules for following up with brand new leads.

Rule #1

Must Have A Good Headline - and possibly a different font
as the rest of the ad

All Bold if in print - NOT ALL CAPS - which is difficult to read
(but you can test all caps in an email subject if just using a
couple words - some tests have gotten good response with this)

Your ad must visually stand out from other ads (look at the ads in
the section you’ll be advertising in and make yours look and sound
different)

Either an attention getting headline - or a benefit based headline
(WARNING! STOP! If you are about to…  or the Fastest and Easiest
Way To Lose Weight- For FREE…or… How To Win Friends and Win
Friends and Influence People)

Rule #2

You must address the readers - not yourself.

Use ”normal people talk” not “advertising” talk - make it sound like
a conversation you would say to a prospect the first time you try to
get their attention

Again, you must contrast with others in the section - talk like one
of them

Write your ad as if you are talking to one person only.  Most ads
are written as if they are talking to a group (use words like you
and yours - actually count the use of you and your versus I and we - there should be less than 5% of the use of I
, me or we)

When people are looking at ads - they are typically interested in
buying - so always remember you’re talking with people
who already have a burning desire for your offer

Rule #3

Make Your Display Advertisement As Long As It Needs To Be

There is a false belief that you must keep your ad as short as
possible (again - false advice from people who have never been
accountable for the results they get from their advertising.  The
more you tell the more you sell has always been true - and it always
will be. I have seen very few examples of short copy outselling long
- would love to hear if you have found otherwise.)

Always be addressing the benefits of what you provide to them - not
the features. List out everything about you, your business, your
product or service - then ask ”so what?” - do you answer that? Do
you tell them what it means to them?

What is in it for them to read your ad and to call or come by your
business?

Rule #4

Find a way to leave them with an emotion after reading your ad

Create a picture in their mind of their new lifestyle - using your
product or service - enjoying the benefits - thinking how glad they
are that they used your service or bought your product

BY FAR - the biggest mistake made - you MUST have call to action
(most people miss this one. ask for them to take action - request
your report - get their free coupon - book a free consultation -
make it a limited time offer - or limited quantity - or a single day
of the week)

This doesn’t even scratch the surface…

…but I’ll bet you could chose JUST these 4 rules and come up with
some great ideas to improve your lead generation response!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

There is a snappy report and course I wrote on creating display ads
that work – it’s just $20 and you can get it at
http://www.smalldisplayads.com

Considering each new client you get is probably worth hundreds, if
not thousands to you in your business dealings with them… $20 is
a steal if it means 5 or 10 new leads a month!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Have a great day.

Troy

Apr
26

The Marketing Ring of Fire

By | Marketing Beach Bum

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Have you ever heard of the ‘ring of fire’ workout?

Sounds painful – doesn’t it?

Well, it is.

But it has a significant marketing lesson for you in this video…

Apr
26

Event planning and getting butts in seats through marketing

By | Main Content

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A long time friend emailed me today asking about doing a local event for marketing training.

Events are always a great way to get more exposure, find more clients, build more of your information product library, and put a few extra dollars in your pocket.

I used to do events regularly but slowed down in 2008.

But I have been thinking of doing more, so his question to me was timely, reflective, and hopefully informational to you if you are thinking of doing an event yourself:

Great to hear things are rocking for you and you found a great niche to make some money in.

No shortage of entrepreneurs who need some help with their marketing, to say the least.

With live events – I go tired of doing them. A lot of work and the return was just ok.

Maybe I wasn’t doing them right, don’t know.

I charged $797 I think my last year doing Wild West – so similar price point to yours.

Since then though I have not done events so can’t speak to the price point people are willing to pay (2008 changed peoples mindsets around putting money into their marketing – seems to have come back – but there was a time that seemed more difficult to get them to invest – could have been me, not sure).

If you are doing a multispeaker event – get a commitment in writing (contract) that they will promote your event xx number of times – through webinars, teleseminars, emails, etc.  One of the biggest hassles I found was the non-delivery from the affiliates of marketing the event.  At the last one – out of 100 people – I think 2 came from the speakers.  So ALL of them came from me – and that makes your job much bigger and more difficult.

Your biggest challenge will be in getting butts in seats.  You will need to do email, teleseminars, direct mail, Facebook ads, etc.  And lots of it.

The one thing going for you – we don’t have much competition in Alberta for some reason.

There just doesn’t seem to be much for events going on, for whatever reason.

I have been tossing around the idea of doing another one here, if I had a partner to organize and promote it.

Talking to one gal who has done a ton of tradeshows and symposiums before. Someone I have known for many years.  Wait and see where it goes.

Hopefully some of this gives you some insight into event planning for this.

Much more to discuss – probably a phone call would be best me thinks.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks, Troy

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