Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them, is a little known book by JK Rowling.

Get it…

…or at least take the lessons I learned to heart and use them in your business.

This is not the actual mainstream book series like Harry Potter.

This is a niche book for true fans and devoted followers.

From the back:

“A copy of Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them” resides in almost every wizarding household in the country. Now Muggles too have the chance to discover where the Quintaped lives, what the Puffskein eats and why it is best not to leave milk out for a Knarl.

Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to Comic Relief, which means that the pounds and Galleons you exchange for it will do magic beyond the powers of any wizard. If you feel that this is insufficient reason to part with your money, I can only hope that passing wizards feel more charitable if they see you being attacked by a Maticore.”

Brilliant!

Not only is a great bit of teaser copy to the magical world that lays inside these pages, it leaves a harder close than normal books would – I SURE don’t want to get attacked by a Maticore, I don’t know about you!

The Manticore is a “highly dangerous Greek beast with the head of a man, the body of a lion and the tail  of a scorpion.  As dangerous as the Chimeraea, and as rare, the Manticore is reputed to croon softly as it devours its prey. Manticore skin repels almost all charms and the sting causes instant death.”

So what does this have to do with you and your marketing?

First, you need to realize that your greatest fans and customers LOVE new products that help them understand and use more effectively your other products.

JK Rowling has one of the best imaginations in the world, and her ability to put that into a form millions could read is amazing.

But she gets marketing.

She KNOWS that there is a segment of her customer base that would love to know more about the creatures in the books and movies that don’t even really exist (well, they do in the mind anyhow).

88 pages of descriptions of monsters and beasts that she created.

What they eat.

What they look like.

What to be careful of.

Did I say brilliant?

Think about your client base and the questions they have about your products and services?

Anything keep on coming up in the questions you get?

Why don’t you create videos, books or articles that address the questions and give them a chance to get involved.

Or create new products that help deepen the use of the existing products they own.

If you have a client base, there are other things you should be offering to them.

Period.

But its up to you to figure out what they want ad how they want it delivered.

The second BIG lesson here is something I have been hinting at A LOT lately!

Sub-niches.

A real GOLDEN opportunity for you in this present economy is to find very specific groups of people within your client base that have common characteristics.

Maybe a percentage of them skydive.

Or read Harry Potter books.

Or own cats.

You can target JUST THOSE people in your marketing.

It makes your marketing much easier to do.

And even MORE easier for your ideal clients to notice.

It’s like the “Pet Lovers  Realtor” I have spoken about.

She gets it.

She markets in kids magazines (parents with young kids are highly likely to also have a pet).

She markets in pet magazines and newsletters on a local scale.

She markets in some of the usual places… but in a city of 5,000 realtors… she is the ONLY one calling herself the Pet Lovers Realtor and using a picture of her and her dog.

So, so much easier to stand out in all the clutter when you are calling out to a VERY specific type of person.

Do you see that?

I hope so – this is a monster opportunity to improve the results of your marketing with just a few minor tweaks in your approach.

If you didn’t notice yet, I am doing this in the Dog market right now.

This is a $56 BILLION dollar market in Canada and the US… and no one is doing sub0niche marketing like what we are talking about here.

I am woofing PUMPED about this!

I have something BIG stewing for dog lovers like you and I.

This Thursday, I am hosting a webinar that will show you a proven way to improve the health of your dog, while putting some extra cash in your pocket.

If you are interested in finding out more, just fill out this form and I will be in touch right away with the webinar details…

Dog Lovers Who Like Making Money

Person Information
First Name *
Email *

It just shows you are interested in finding out more, no other catch, hook, or gimmick.

Talk to you soon. Troy

Not exactly sure where I saw it – you may have too.

But I want you to note a couple things about this GREAT example of both marketing, and video marketing.

First the video:

Some of my personal favourite quotes:

“Blades so gentle a toddler can use them”

“Do you think your razor needs a vibrating handle, flashlight, a backscratcher, and 10 blades?

…your handsome-ass grandfather had one blade… and polio”

“Stop paying for shave-tech you don’t need.”

And of course… “our blades are f***ing great!”

What I love most about this video is that in 90 seconds they have some fun, make some fun, tell some jokes, offend some people… and sell their membership oh so good.

It’s beautiful.

It’s a 90 second video!

Now, their website: http://DollarShaveClub.com

The about us page is great:

“Like most good ideas, The Dollar Shave Club started with two guys who were pissed off about something and decided to do something about it…”

A STORY!

You know how much I love using stories in marketing.

These guys tell theirs on why they started the business (many guys biggest frustration with shaving is the rip off prices they charge for the blades).

So they create their own line of simpler, less-expensive blades…

…and add in a membership piece to it.

F***ing Brilliant!

These guys will kick some serious butt with this.

2 million views of their video in just a few weeks… ya, they’ll do ok.

Everything about the message, the story, and the website are SIMPLE.

Something we all need to aspire to and emulate.

Spend some time on this site and video today. Then think about how you could simplify your site and message, maybe have some fun along the way while putting more moola in your pocket.

Have a great day.

Troy

PS: Another fantastic thing you should be doing today is signing up for this free webinar I am doing with Tom Poland on March 20th.  Tom is a master at generating referral business… and he is sharing his best strategies with you on this call.

How To Get Ten Successful Referrals Every Month
(And even when you’re on holiday or asleep)
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/177974689

Make sure you sign up and show up – Tom has some fantastic information for building your business.

Looking back, this is something I should have invested much more time and money building.

Looking forward though, there are always things to be done along this line.

Some businesses are easier to figure this out, others can be much more difficult (which usually means you have to start a sideline business that relates to your main one, but has recurring revenues built in).

You’ve hear me talk many times about the Lobster Guys and their million dollar business built up in 3 months.

But, I have yet to talk about this restaurant in Chicago that sells memberships instead of meals:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/dining/reviews/rstaurant-review-next-in-chicago.html?pagewanted=all

(sent to me by Greg Douglas of Douglas Environmental www.douglasenviro.ca)

This BREAKS all the so-called ‘rules’ of the restaurant business… and they are thriving!

Can’t even buy a membership right now – they are full up with a waiting list.

You’ve heard me praise Apple before on their use of the App store for building in recurring revenue – and their incredible focus on creating a cult of followers (yes, I am a fan – using Mac as my main computer for 8 months now, and using iPad and iPhone religiously too)

http://blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/time-to-create-a-cult/

What I may not have talked about is my love of recurring revenues from the information marketing world.

Like click bank.  You can set up your own products to sell on click bank, or sell other peoples products on there too.

Last year I did an AWESOME call with Dan “The Man” Lok on how you can set up recurring revenues from Clickbank.

…here is the recording (and he has a new coaching class starting mid-March if you are interested – let me know if you are and I have a nice gift for you to get started).

http://www.danlokpassiveincome.com/troywebinar.html

============================================
Starting March 1st, I am doing a Troy Party.
============================================

It is officially my 10th year in business, and I am gearing up for some FUN STUFF for you.

Will you play with me?

It’ll be fun for sure!

More to come.

The main point is…

…it’s time for YOU to put some serious thought into creating passive income from your business, or starting a new business that DOES pay you passive income.

Paper.
Pen.

Usually the best place to start your planning.

Think about everything you know about businesses that built in membership models, and MAKE them fit your own.

The pay off could be fantastic… and I would love to help you get it going.

Chris V came to my Wild West Wealth Summit in 2007.  At the time, he was in a business that was ‘ok’ but not his true passion.

Here is what happened after he built a passive income type business…

“…grew from $2300 per month to over $96,000 per month”

“Troy, I cannot thank you enough for the 2007 Wild West Summit you put on. My membership business grew from $2300 per month to over $96,000 per month and still growing at a ridiculous rate… all from your marketing calendar, copy writing and you helping me tell my story with the world. I have gone from a College Student to a Millionaire in under 3 years with my Dream Home on the water being built as we speak… My wife and new born daughter thank you even more!.. lol

I think your event, your information, your personality is incredible!”

Chris Vermeulen
Founder, TheTechnicalTraders.com

Let me know if I can help you build your own passive income-based business.

Troy

PS: One of the greatest things I personally did to help myself make the necessary changes at a faster pace was to start writing more.

There is a therapeutic quality to writing that can propel your business forward at breakneck speed.

But again, it takes guts to do and motivation to start.

If you want to start now… get the Story Selling Home Study and I will also give you my 31k club training series.  For the next 31 days I will fire you up and get you writing more often, with greater profits as your goal. http://www.storysellingtips.com

The 31k club has transformed many lives of those who went through the Story Selling Coaching.  Now you get it free with the Story Selling Home Study course!

“You know who’s weird? Astronauts. Saints. Nobel Prize winners. Scientists. People with hobbies you’ve never heard of or are afraid to try. People who speak their minds. People with both problems and (gasp) solutions. People who are (enviably) not like you. Being weird means being noticeably different. It means being or doing something that makes other people stare, or laugh, applaud, or boo. And it’s something we all need to cultivate.”

This is the quote from a wonderful article about the business benefits of being weird.

It was sent to me by a good friend and fellow marketing consultant, Graham McGregor (who has an incredible free book at http://www.TheUnfairBusinessAdvantage.com - grab a copy – it is awesome).

Weird things get media attention…

…and buyers attention too.

Weird has far less competition than trying to be all “professional”.

The best part?

Weirdness is more profitable than being normal.

My VERY WEIRD marketing assistant Casino - always on the job looking for bizarre marketing ideas

People eat up weirdness!

Just look at all the reality shows, celebrity mags, and the utter fascination with train-wrecks-in-the-making that we see plastered all over the media, and even in our own personal lives or circles.

Weirdness is where it’s AT in 2012.

Have a look at this fantastic article on Forbes.com

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2011/12/13/why-weird-is-wonderful-and-bankable/

Then think about what YOU can do to crank up the weirdness in your business!

(and watch for my rather bizarre and unusual month of March coming up… some very interesting things on the plate for you and I!!!)

Have a great and prosperous day.

Troy

PS: It’s never too late to start sharing the weirdest stories from your past http://www.storysellingtips.com.

Weird works and gets attention… then mix that with some personal stories about yourself and you have a WONDERFUL (and hard to ignore) mix for your marketing.

Try it… you’ll like it.

Rabid fans and buyers!

And the 3 companies I wanted to share with you today have tapped into their respective communities and built stellar businesses from them.

The important thing for you and I to note?

Each one of them does it a little bit different, but the basics of what they are doing and how they are doing it are the same.

First, the find a market – and hungry market that either has too many other options to choose from, or no good options to choose from.

Second, they target a very specific type of person.  They DON’T try and sell to everyone.

Third, they monetize their relationship.  Either with a free newsletter that makes its money from paid advertising, or with a paid membership model

Both work great.

Last, there is something in here for you… no matter WHAT business or industry you are in.

There is ALWAYS a way to customize these ideas and make them your own.

Example #1: Tasting Table

They have built a healthy database of one MILLION newsletter subscribers in just a few years!

Here’s a great overview and video…
http://mashable.com/2012/01/10/video-tasting-table/?WT.mc_id=obinsite

Great signup box text from their site:

Free daily email for adventurous eaters everywhere.  Hungry? Sign up:
(simple, to the point, targeted, call to action)

Example #2: Birchbox

They discovered that some of the biggest pain points for customers included the overwhelming selection of beauty products and the inability to get a hands-on experience before buying.  The answer? For a fee, they mail women a box containing four to five deluxe beauty products every month.

More details…

http://mashable.com/2012/01/31/birchbox-video/?utm_source=iphoneapp&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=textlink&utm_campaign=iphoneapp

Example #3:  Kopi Coffees

Again, for a fee, they send subscribers a different gourmet coffee each month, hand-picked by a team of experts that includes some of Europe’s most respected green bean coffee traders.

Full details…

http://www.springwise.com/food_beverage/single-estate-coffees-curated-delivered-monthly-door/

The reason I wanted to share these with you is to open your eyes and ears to the potential with these 3 ideas.

There IS a way to make it fit your business.

Will you try?  That’s the real question!

If you need help coming up with a way on how, invest in the Story Selling Home Study Course http://www.storysellingtips.com and I will gladly give you some email feedback and ideas.

To your membership and niche marketing success!

Troy

Hope you have a wonderful day and evening ahead.

Nothing says loving like some laughing.

…and the guy in this video I am going to share with you is one of the BEST LOVERS out there!

Door to door sales is one of the toughest gigs in the world.

I should know… I did it for 2 years.

You may recall that I owned a College Pro Painting Franchise to put myself through University.

It was a GREAT way to spend the summers, and to learn about running a business with employees (I had 8 painters… more like children I had to babysit, but that’s another story).

But a big part of the reason why I did well in College Pro was that I LOVED knocking on doors to find painting jobs.

Yes, I got the door slammed in my face and was sworn at far too much (really people?).

But I also landed a TON of new business this way.

I also hired myself out to the other Franchise owners to knock on doors in their neighborhoods.  $10 a lead I think… and it was great $$.  They were scared of doing it themselves… so they hired me.

Seeing this video, I realize how well I could have done with some of this dude’s skills.

Pay attention to his quick one-liners and use of humor through every step.

Not saying we all have to be a stand up comedian like this guy, but I am saying a little self-deprecating humor mixed in with some good belly laughs makes for a VERY compelling sales argument.

Makes it VERY difficult to say no.

Have a peek and see for yourself.

Happy Valentines Day!

Troy

I admit it: I am weird.

Very unusual in many ways.

One of the things that makes me an oddball is my fascination with wacky marketing ideas.

I love them!

You should too.

Always be on the lookout for those high priced, high oddball-factor products or services.

They are full of great lessons and ideas for your own marketing campaigns.

For example, you may recall my article on Cat Poop Coffee and Holy Crap Cereal.  One if s product idea that garnered tens of thousands of free media publicity for a teeny tiny coffee shop in Calgary.  The other snapped up thousands of dollars in first day sales as soon as they re-named their product

http://blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/cat-poop-coffee-and-holy-crap-cereal-wacky-marketing-that-works/

And now the Panda bear is giving the Wild Cicvik from Thailand  a run for its money.

$18,000 a kilo?

YIKES!

That had better make me 20 years younger, more attractive, wealthier, and 20 pounds lighter too for that price.

But my forecast is that they will do very well with this.

It’s exclusive.  Not something you can get at the local supermarket… so those who love a good story and an unusual experience (those with the money) will be flocking to the place that sells this Panda Poop Tea.

http://gawker.com/5859434/worlds-most-expensive-tea-panda-poop

The right kind of people are magnetically drawn to this type of product.  People with disposable income. People who LOVE a good story and can’t wait to be the first to tell their friends what they did or bought.

People who are willing to pay an extremely high price for either bragging rights, or for that ultimate experience they can share with their friends and family.

The kind of person you NEED as part of your customer portfolio.

We all should have  segment of our customer population that is wealthy, affluent, and looking for something unique.

You’ve heard me talk about Saddleback Leather (http://www.sbackleather.com).  Their prices are reasonable but on the higher side for leather bags like they have.  But the STORY behind their beautiful leather bags and 100 YEAR guarantee make

THe BEST Leather Bags Out There

for a very compelling Valentines Gift, or Birthday Gift, or that special gift for anyone and everyone you know who loves quality leather goods (hint, hint….Valentines Day is just around the corner!).

Now we have $100 hot dogs! http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/01/24/vancouver-restaurant-selling-100-hot-dog

Awesome.

Just down the street you can pick up a $2 hotdog from a cart….but the “most expensive hot dog in the world” – a $100 cognac-infused sausage topped with oil-seared Kobe beef, lobster meat and a picante sauce.The foot-long bratwurst is infused with 100-year-old Louis XIII cognac – which has a $2,000 price tag of its own – and must be ordered 12 hours in advance so fresh ingredients can be prepped.

Now THAT is how you get media attention, world record breaking Guiness attention, and how you call out to the locals who have the money and are looking for something fun they can put their money into.

You see a BIG part of marketing to the affluent is in the experience side.

Quality is quality.

But experiences are tough to compare and tough to ignore.  When you have $1,000 in your pocket that’s consider pocket money for the day (every day), you start looking for unusual places to spend.

You can star out the day with some Cat poop coffee.  Have some Panda poop tea for a mid-morning picker upper, then a $100 hotdog that is infused with $2,000 cognac.  By 1 pm that day, you have had such a unique experience to share, it is WELL worth the money to you.

Not to everyone…

…that’s the point.

Marketing to the affluent is difficult for people to get their heads wrapped around.

Because most people think price is the major factor in buying decisions.

It isn’t.  It plays its part, but it isn’t the big part.

Especially when catering to those who high disposable income.

When I interviewed Dave Munson of Saddleback Leather, he revealed one of their HOTTEST sources of leads… a place I never would have thought of… but a place that is full of wealthy story-seekers.  I have never shared his source, but may one day when the timing is right.

So for you, I want you to think about the craziest, whackiest, most pie-in-the-sky concoction of products and services YOU could be offering.

Something that would increase your prices by a factor of 10.

And then consider how you can offer it.

I am not saying you need to replace your other products or services…just to add in ONE product worthy of media attention like all of the businesses here are lapping up.

If you have that one thing now – or know of one like it – PLEASE let me know!

I would love to do a write up on it and share some publicity with others (possibly a JV on a affluent marketing product I am working on too).

Think about adding a zero, or even two zeroes to y9our products.  What would you need to do…to offer…to promise… or to add into it to justify the expense.

Market it right and you just created a HUGE profit center!

And you are off to the races with all kinds of media attention and a whole new kind of client you can work with.

Try it and please let me know what you do.

I would love to interview you on this!

Troy

PS: The Story Selling Home Study is just about ready and it will be a big help to you in creating the ultimate marketing tools to promote your new product. One of the grads of a previous live Story Selling class wrote a single page letter for a client of theirs and their website went from $500 a month to $15,000 a month in sales, almost overnight….and all because of this one page story.

Find out how he did it and how you can too.  https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/app/manageCart/addProduct?productId=274

PPS: If you aren’t in my daily email list yet, you are truly missing out.  Mon through Fri I publish a power-packed marketing lesson like this delivered to your inbox.  Just one of them could be worth thousands, maybe tens of thousands or more to you this year.  If you want daily tips (5 days a week – instead of one or two) – click this link and you will start getting daily tips from me. and start supercharging your mind around the concepts of massive marketing success from the least likely of places! (Clicking the link automatically signs you up to the daily – no other action is needed) Click this link to SUPERCHARGE your email marketing

It always amazes me.

Without a single thought or care about mastering the basics of marketing, they sprint head first following the scent of a shiny new “social media marketing tool”.

Meanwhile…the greatest marketing opportunities are right in front of their eyes.

Here is a perfect example that was sent to me by my friend and fellow marketing consultant, Graham McGregor (who, by the way, has an EXCEPTIONAL free book you can grab at  http://www.TheUnfairBusinessAdvantage.com).

======================
How they capitalized
on one of the
worlds greatest disasters.
======================

Before the naysayers go off on their tangent about capitalizing on disasters… listen in first before you judge.

The Titanic sunk in 1912.

Thousands of lives were lost.

The 100 year anniversary of this disaster is in 2012.

…rather than shying away from the sinking of a cruise liner, the New Zealand Cruise Ship, the MS Balmoral, decided to make the most of it.

2,000 people have pre-booked a cabin for the MD Balmoral voyage that retraces the route of the Titanic’s maiden voyage

Not only are people paying up to $12,100 for passage on this cruise, they are also lining up to “have costumes made to re-create the appearance of the original passengers, while there have also been requests from musicians to audition for places in the modern version of the string quartet that played as the flagship of the White Star Line fleet began to list.”

This Centenial Celebration is gearing up to be a highly enjoyable one for the passengers, and a highly profitable one for the Cruise line.

(http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10775547)

======================
What did they do right,
and how can you copy?
======================

The 2012 Cash Flow Calendar http://www.cashflowcalendars.com is designed to help YOU do exactly what the MS Balmoral has done…

…find unusual events, and create theme-based promotions around it.

For example, in January of 2012, here are a few unusual events you could create themed product or services launches around:

* Second week of January is National Pizza Week
* The fourth week is National Mozart week (and Jan 27th is his birthday)
* January 12th is the 36th Anniversary of the passing of Agatha Christie in 1976
* Friday January 13th is not only a Friday the 13th, but is also the Rubber Duckies birthday
* Sunday, January 22nd is National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day… what better reason for a pet-related marketing campaign (pet campaigns can be a BIG draw for contests, competitions, and just fun all-around promotions).

Keep it simple.

Find a special event or date you could really have fun with.

Do some research about the basics of the date or reason for celebration.

Create a 3 step (minimum) campaign that has some fun with the date, tells a great story that ties into that date, then relate the celebration to your special offer.

Send out all 3 steps, each of them having fun and telling a different part of the theme or story-based campaign.

Simple.

In theory… right?

The key is to just do it. Don’t overthink it… massive momentum and action will take you MUCH FURTHER than over analyzing it will!

Just get it done.

Have some fun.

And give your clients and prospects something fun to get excited about too.

It worked for the cruise line… and will work for you too.

Here’s to a fun-filled, promotion and story packed marketing year!

Troy

PS: People often ask if this applies in their country too (assuming they are outside of North America).

Why not?

Even if National Pizza Week is an American thing, or a Canadian thing, so what?

There is no rule book saying you can’t create your own holiday like this.

DECLARE IT!

You don’t need to ask for permission to do a promotion… just get it done!

The 2012 Cash Flow Calendar...turning wacky dates into money making marketing campaigns

The 2012 Cash Flow Calendar http://www.cashflowcalendars.com walks you through the basics of good theme-based promotions and gives you AMPLE opportunity for standing out from the crowd.

…it also gives you a 12-month, week-by-week calendar you can modify to suite your own marketing plans for the year.

Rest assured though… actually filling the calendar out for your own use… and then IMPLEMENTING what is planned… is THE KEY to massive marketing success in 2012.

Thinking about it or promising to do it won’t get you there…

…getting it DONE will.

     People LOVE unexpected surprises.

Sometimes, unexpected surprises can be the launching pad for exceptional results in your marketing.

2 top of mind ones that I really like…

…Johnny Depp and Lady Gaga

Johnny Depp, to me, is one of the greatest actors of our times.  He is also an incredible unexpected hero to 9 year old Beatrice and her classmates.

Beatrice wrote Johnny a letter asking for him to come to their school assembly…

…hoping he would… but probably not planning on it.

But he did – in full Jack Sparrow get up.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11498980

He was filming his newest Pirates of the Carribean movie and brought come decked out crew members with him – all in full Pirates outfit and character.

What a way to make an impression!

I think Johnny just added a whole new legion of fans, and a significant pay raise for all his future movies.

Lady Gaga… loves making her fans scream with delight.

I wrote an article about her some time ago http://blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/how-to-monetize-your-little-monsters/

Some people didn’t like it – saying all she had going for her was skin and breasts.

Sex sells, they battled back. 

She is nothing without boobs, says another. 

While I am not one to disagree that sex does sell and showing some skin definitely attracts a certain type of person…

…Lady Gaga IS a masterful marketer.

And she doesn’t rely on her looks exclusively to warm over her fans (her customers).

She likes to pick up the phone and call one of her fans –completely out of the blue and unexpectedly.

Now THAT is a way to win the hearts of your fans!

Imagine the buzz that both of these unexpected surprises have given their customers.

Imagine what you could do if, just once a month, you did something unexpected for your clients and prospects.

A few unexpected surprises you could start using every month.  Alternate them – or stick with the ones that get the biggest shock-value from them:

-       Call a new client out of the blue – heck, call them all.  Say hi – have no ulterior motive – and just say thank you. (in the day and age of emails everywhere – the actual phone has become a VERY powerful tool for touching base.  I saw it this past week when I called a new customer how shocked he was, I am making it a new practice in my business!)

 

-       Send a handwritten card.  While I love services like send out cards for keeping in touch, a real handwritten card is unmistakable and will win them over much faster.

 

-       Send one random customer a present every month or week. Make the present something of value – and don’t always use your own products – use other people’s products as the central theme here.  This is not self promotion – it’s selfless promotion.

 

-       Pick a customer of the month and put their picture (with approval of course) on your site, your blog, in your store.

 

-       Do a write up on your customer of the month.  This would be especially powerful if you are dealing business to business.  Use your writing prowess and do an editorial on them – send it out to all your other clients. Send it to the press. Send it in a newsletter.  Plaster the write up everywhere.  And frame it and send it to the customer your profiled so they can hand it up in their office.

 

-       Give someone cash, for no rhyme or reason.  I had this happen to me a few weeks ago and it was an incredible feeling.  The amount doesn’t have to break the bank – the thought is what matters.

 

-       Gift them something sweet.  I have written enough about Kinjo Sushi here, but one of his secret weapons is his chocolates he gives out.  Only to the ladies and children… but it is a practice that makes him a mint (pun intended). He knows down to the penny what each free box of chocolate brings him back in business.

 

-       Use the product launch strategy of giving away one of your high end products.  But don’t build it into a launch – just do it without expectation of future sales (you can and should do a write up on the gift recipient though).

 

-       Use part of your profits to do a random donation to a good cause.

-       And yes, you can monetize these ideas – not only with the great karma and word of mouth, but with the immense pr potential when you do this consistently. Don’t do it once and call yourself a hero, expecting the press to crawl all over you.  Do it consistently for a year – and you won’t have to tell the press – your customers will do that for you.

I am making it part of my business (should have done it sooner – doh!).  I hope you do as well.

To your success.

Troy

Your 2012 Marketing Plan and Calendar (complete with thousands of marketing ideas, blog post ideas, promotional campaigns, etc)

PS: If you want off-the-wall marketing ideas… the 2012 Cash Flow Calendar is ready to roll… http://www.cashflowcalendars.com
…done-for-you, copy and paste marketing campaigns that make 2012 your best year yet!

If you need help with your marketing and promotional plan for the next 12 months…

…this is an exceptional way to plan out all your campaigns, with simple formulas and copy/paste templates.

We executed the September promotion and received over
$1000.00 worth of sales from it in one day! 
Fabulous I say.” – Fran Agar – Ballymoon Beauty

You may have heard of an ad that ran 65 years ago with the headline:

“Hand Woven by The Mountain People of New Mexico”

New Christmas Patterns in these unique ties. Wearers say an exceptional value.* Sold only direct from weavers to you.

It was a one-page ad that ran in the November 1940 edition of Life.  Simple – copy intensive – with a picture of the ties.

Fantastic example of copy-driven theme marketing (click the image to see a full size)

Get this: that ONE AD SOLD 26,000 TIES!

An amazing success story. And an amazing ad (written by James W Young).

What is most evident about the ad is the unique ways they use a number of great advertising techniques – ones that STILL work today just as well.

Think about this:

1) A unique headline – “mountain people” conjures up pictures with those two words.  “Hand woven” portrays the quality that they put into the ties.  Combined, this is a very intriguing headline.

2) In the subhead, this statement is interesting – “Wearers say an exceptional value.*” Note that the * references a footnote at the bottom of the ad that is actually a testimonial of a happy buyer.=]

George W Engelmann, well known Chicago business man, writes:

“Enclosed is my order for some of your ties. I would like to

take this opportunity to tell you how well I like your ties.

When I wear them they never fail to attract favorable

comment. They are also the most durable ties and best value

I have ever seen”

NOTE: a testimonial in a clothing advertisement! How often do you see that? 65 years later and few people are using this simple strategy.  The footnote is a nice touch – very interesting way to get people involved in the ad.

Also note how the testimonial is written. Chances are the adman wrote the testimonial and had the client approve of it.  In your business you should do the same. Your clients will provide glowing testimonials but (typically) have a tough time saying the best things about your business and how those things affect other potential buyers.

This testimonial touches on “here is another order” “they attract favorable attention” “durable” “best value” “well know business man” All of that in a couple short sentences!

3) The ad starts out with a very compelling story:

“For over 200 years the Spanish people who settled New

Mexico have been raising sheep and weaving wool. Their

looks have been handed down from father to son…..”

and on it goes into the story of where they live, the types  of fabric they make, the colors, the make of the tie, intriguing features like “invisible silk”, how they wear, wrinkle free, the textures, cleaning… and so on.

It literally forces you to read the entire story!

Then it goes into “My Christmas Offer” showing that they obtained a fantastic deal ($1 per tie) – makes the perfect gift – guaranteed.

How to order details are very intricate – making sure people know exactly what must be done to get a part of this special offer.  It is even discussed how they will be  packaged so the customer knows what to expect in their mailbox.

Last, the true  kicker: why they MUST order now – “before the Spanish go on their El Natividad” and why you must make a decision now before Christmas gets here and your gift is late.

What an amazing ad.

And, there is absolutely no reason you can’t use a concept like this in October and November for your year end specials.  Either you sell products or services that make a good gift – or it is the perfect time in the new year to order a new model.

Find a way to use these ideas:

- intriguing headline – make it a visual one

- testimonials – lots of them – or your best quality ones at minimum

- a great story about you – your employees – your spouse –  your kids – your pets – whatever, just make it interesting

- descriptives on what they get and why it matters

- a very special offer that WILL NOT be repeated

- make it descriptive on how to order (and give them options)

- the big reason why they MUST order now!

- tie it in to a holiday or special theme

Not rocket science – but if they can sell 26,000 neck ties with an ad like this – don’t you think you could find a way to sell more of your products and services using similar techniques?

You could if you try!

To your success,

Your 2012 Marketing Plan and Calendar (complete with thousands of marketing ideas, blog post ideas, promotional campaigns, etc)

Troy

PS: The 2012 Cash Flow Calendar is ready to roll… http://www.cashflowcalendars.com
…done-for-you, copy and paste marketing campaigns that make 2012 your best year yet!

If you need help with your marketing and promotional plan for the next 12 months…

…this is an exceptional way to plan out all your campaigns, with simple formulas and copy/paste templates.

We executed the _________ promotion and received over
$1000.00 worth of sales from it in one day! 
Fabulous I say.” – Fran Agar – Ballymoon Beauty