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Mar
14

Superhero “smells” inspire marketing campaign

By | Main Content

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What a GREAT idea.

A quote from the QMI Agency News Wire:

“Comic book fans, you don’t have to smell like your parents’ basement anymore. Fragrance company JADS is launching its Avengers collection of colognes – scents inspired by Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk.

“Everyone has a favourite comic book hero, right? Now fans can experience what they love about these iconic characters in a much more personal way,” said Andrew Levine, CEO of JADS, which has previously put out scents based on Star Trek and Star Wars.”

This is flipping brilliant!

From the marketing, positioning, and story telling side… it doesn’t get better than this idea.

Look at the descriptions:

Patriot, inspired by Captain America, pays homage to the “confident, stand-up-to-bullies average Joe” in every man, with “hints of green lime and white pepper, and finishes of dry oak, sandalwood and tequila.”

Mark VII smells like mandarin and jasmine with light patchouli, reads a company release, for an Iron Man-like “I don’t play well with others” confidence.
Worthy, the release says, is a woody citrus cologne that will give you the musky manly “god-like” scent of Thor.

Smash!, is described as a clean scent with notes of water lily and nutmeg, sandalwood and warm cedar, apparently reminiscent of the “full range of emotions” displayed by the Hulk.

There is also a “Russian spy/trained assassin” perfume, called Black Widow; a Nick Fury-inspired scent, called Infinity; and a “dangerous-sexy” unisex scent based on the villain Loki, the bad brother of Thor.

I am not saying you need superhero-themed products or bundles.

But I AM SAYING that you should be looking at mainstream media for inspiration.

What movies are out there that your buyers would be interested in?

If you sell mainly to guys… what is the best guy movie out there?

Can’t you theme a campaign around the theme of the movie?

Or if you sell to women… what is their best and most watched movie right now? Is there a way to tie your article into that?

All this takes is practice… some elbow grease… and some initiative.

Nothing more.

My article about Gene Simmons got listed ON the Gene Simmons site (March 8th)!
This is the article they linked to:
http://blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/gene-simmons-and-the-power-of-persistence/Gene Simmons - Marketing Great

Think about that.

I wrote an article about an experience in my life.

I posted it to my blog and sent it out to my list.

Simple.

This also happened with a large number of other articles I have written.

Holy Crap cereal posted and linked to my article about them too.
http://blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/cat-poop-coffee-and-holy-crap-cereal-wacky-marketing-that-works/
Or Saddleback leather
http://blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/writing-your-signature-story/
Or Kinjos
http://blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/kinjo-sushi-and-chocolate-goodies%E2%80%A6-secrets-of-success-in-a-recession/

Don’t over think this…
…just try it.

People you have met. Books you have read. Movies you have or want to watch.

Write a story around it.

Post it to your blog and on the article directories.

Rinse…repeat.

Its a simple formula that continues to drive traffic and sales.

Maybe, just maybe, worth an investment of your time every week?

Ya – I think so too.

Have a great day.

Troy

Ps: My entire Wild West Wealth 2-year long campaign was based on the Wild West and the Gold Rush. It was fun and easy to find material to use in my articles, and resulted in a couple hundred people getting to the event. It also helped make Chris V a multi-millionaire before he was 30 years old. Now you can get all of those audios for a whopping $29!
https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nathnisf

Or, if you need more help developing your signature story… get the Story Selling home Study program at http://www.storysellingtips.com

Sep
21

How Grandpa’s $1,000 bar tab increased prospects by 300%

By | advertising, Direct Marketing, Leads Generation, Marketing Plan, Neighborhood Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Story Selling, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

2 Comments

Who are YOU bribing to get as a customer?

Ethical bribes, but still a bribe.

The hypsters out there will tell you that you don’t need to incent people to buy… they will just be attracted by your positive energy or incredible products and will whip out their credit cards for the pleasure to do business with you.

Realists will show you proof that plan is a sure-fire way to failure.

There was a great article I just read in the Huffington Post about a home owner who got FED UP with their realtor lack of results. Most realtors have that hope, wish and meditate on a sale until it happens BS. That’s why 97% of realtors out there make less than the waitress at your local diner.

…which is exactly the type of realtor this home owner was stuck with.

Since JUNE(!) they have had 3 showings of their home.

Less than one a month. Yikes – that is not how you sell a house.

So instead of listening to the renegade-realtor-who-does-things-oh-so-different, they took things into their own hands.

Right across the street was “Grandpas Bar & Grill” – a favorite watering hole for the neighborhood minglers.

And Grandpas place would be a friendly place to eat and drink for anyone who bought this house for sale.

The frustrated home owner had a brilliant insight and offered out of her own pocket a $1,000 bar tab at Grandpas!

Flipping brilliant.

Did it work?

A 300% increase in showings since her new promotion hit the street!

So it worked – not their wonderfully brilliant realtor just has to do half what they are paid to do…close the deal.

“We live in a place where restaurants and bars come within walking distance so we thought this was a way to cross-promote the neighborhood and our homes.”

How does this relate to you?

I hope you can see where I am going with this… if not, you need more help than I can provide :o )

Here are the lessons to be learned:

* Wishing and praying won’t build your business – YOU have to build your business.

* Look for complimentary businesses, products and services you can bundle in with your own products or services.

* Think outside of the basement here – how often have you seen something like this in your city? I doubt if you have ever seen a $1000 bar tab with home purchase offer before. Why not? It makes sense! Or a $1,000 restaurant gift. Or a $1,0000 maid service. Or a $1,000 credit towards movers. When you are selling a home worth a few hundred thousand dollars, a grand out of your own pocket isn’t going to kill you, or the deal. If you are selling a product or service worth $200 – a $50 gift certificate is worth it (especially when you factor in repeat business from the client once you get them into your marketing funnel – right?)

* The economy is still sluggish and people are not spending like they used to – so you had better think up some very innovative ways to get them to notice you, over the hundreds/thousands of others trying to get inside their wallets also.

* Many realtors are clueless when it comes to marketing your home – so pick and choose wisely. See if you can find one who has at least studied SOME direct marketing. It won’t be easy to find (I’ve looked)…but snag one if you find one.

This was a great example of an average everyday homeowner who got fed up with dismal results and took it into their own hands.

Not only have they tripled their prospects…

…the got MASSIVE media attention from this (Huffington Post, NBC Chicago, Sun Times, to name a few). That alone is worth a fortune for both the home owner and for Grandpa’s bar!

Last – she got over the hoping and praying phase that her realtor would perform for her – and she took ACTION to do it herself.

This is a very recent story, so we will have to wait and see how effective it is… but with 300% more prospects to talk to, odds are VERY good someone will buy soon (and they will have a hell of a good story to tell their friends and family about this home they bought which was in all these newspapers!)

Now get busy.

Troy

PS: We are just getting ready to launch the new and improved Cash Flow Calendar for 2012 – 15 months of done-for-you, pre-written marketing campaigns, and a TON of money making tools that you haven’t seen here before.

Watch for it.

In the meantime, there are a number of solutions here to help you grow your sales if they are slow http://www.blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/on-line-store/

May
11

Sales without the slime trail

By | advertising, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Email Marketing, Entrepreneur, Main Content, Success

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As a sponsor of an event a few months ago, I went in expecting the content to be delivered on (I wrote the copy based on what they told me would be delivered).

While it was a decent event, I felt the content was lacking in delivery of “selling without feeling slimy”.

There were some good points brought up, but I go back to this…

…I am an AVID note taker.

Nothing I love better that investing in a seminar, an getting so much information that my hand is sore from all the writing and my book is full of ideas to test.

Unfortunately, I came away from this with one thing written down :(

Even that I had heard before in a previous session with the one speaker.

So, being me, I wanted to add my 2 cents worth.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
How to Sell without Feeling Slimey
(the things I wish they had discussed)
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

* Use your free content to sell – MAJOR over-delivery on free information, tips and helpful or intriguiing stories.
I realize that this IS work… and it takes time. Which is exactly why your competitors DON’T do it and why you SHOULD. The more content you provide, the greater your perceived level of expertise, the less you have to sell anything – your expertise and contest sells FOR YOU.

Get in the habit of writing for 10 minutes a day. Just dump your thoughts out into some form of printed or online journal (I LOVE http://www.evernote.com for this – its free – and a HUGE gift to keep your thoughts organized. Lord knows, organization is not my thing and this gem saves my butt more times than not!)

* Surveys and questionnaires. Simple – yet rarely used. Have a look at what is going on here (and post your comments too please) http://www.blog.smallbusinesscopywriter.com/changes-at-clayton-makepeaces-blog-and-what-it-means-to-us/ – this simple little post and question gives me some invaluable tips on what my clients and prospects want – and don’t want. Took very little time – but has HUGE value to me in the long run.

This may sound harsh but it is meant to help – you DON’T know what your customers and prospects are thinking. You have no clue. Nor do I. The ONLY way we can figure that out is to ask them in a survey – or run a promotion and guess their hot buttons. Both ways show you quickly.

* Mix up your messages. Write text emails. Html emails (I am not a huge fan but understand some of the benefits). Give them pdfs. Offer lots of pictures and articles about your family, friends and work associates. Tell stories. Do the odd promotion. Test out some short videos and audio downloads. Mix them up and see which ones get the greatest response.

* Build new bundles. And make them catchy. I saw a wine label called “Mommy’s Time Out”. Love it. It focuses on a fun title – targets a specific type of person – and gives them something to talk about with their friends. A gal I know that ran a massage studio called her bundle the “61 Minute Vacation Package” – simple – but very effective. Hundreds of other examples available on my sites.

* TELL YOUR STORY! I don’t understand why so many people are so scared of doing this. They do want to know your story – your kids – your background. They want to hear fun and wacky things about your pets, your employees, your customers. how do I know? Because I use them – and people love them. Be it the Amish clients I write for, or the trainers, speakers and authors – every single one of them has a story to tell – so do it.

* Share. Give them your favorite tools you found. Your favorite recipes. Your favorite books and movies. People EAT that stuff up. Look at all the reviews on the average Amazon page – it’s there for a reason! It helps sell and bond.

* Put more emphasis on the bonding side of your sales cycle. Create and draw out the flow from when a prospect gets into your funnel – to when they buy. And buy again. The emails you will send them. The videos you will share. The audios. The stories. The promotions. Draw it out and think it through.

I could go on for a long time here… but I won’t.

Hope these points give you a few new ideas (or drill home some old ones).

Troy

Jun
25

Your 6 month marketing plan at 63.27% off

By | advertising, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Marketing on the web, Neighborhood Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter, Wacky marketing ideas

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You know what next Wed is?

If you’re in Canada, it’s Canada Day.

July 1st is also:
Freedom from Fear of Speaking Day
International Joke Day
Financial Freedom Day
1st US Zoo Opened (1874)
International Build A Scarecrow  Day
Children’s Art Day

For any astute marketer, this is a gold mine (ALL business owners should
consider themselves a marketer).

Think about it…

…I just gave you 7 different ideas to run a theme based promotion.

They are unusual.

They are fun.

They stand out from the crowd.

They can be a cash cow if you know how to leverage a wacky event like this
and turn it into something that can build revenues in your business.

The best part?

They also build stronger bonds with your prospects and clients.

It certainly shows them that you are different than the rest, and try to at
least have a little fun in your business.

And they work.

Theme based marketing is one of the greatest ways to improve your cash flow.

Even Dan Kennedy says

“Theme marketing is one of the most powerful things you can do.”

One last thing about July 1st?

We are now officially half-way through the year.

Yikes.

And I have something for you that will help you make the most of the next 6 months…

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I am giving you 63.27% off the calendar.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

My 2010 Cash Flow Calendar is packed with hundreds of ideas you can use
for marketing in the last 6 months of the year.

Imagine every day of the rest of the year having a list of themes like those above.

Plus templates you can use to write the promotions.

As long as you send out newsletters, promotions, blog posts, articles…

…the Cash Flow Calendar will give you unique ways to build your business
and position yourself as a fresh voice in the crowd of competitors you have
in your field.

Why 63.27%?

Because I am offering you the one and only chance to get the calendar in
digital format, so you don’t need to pay shipping.

And only half the calendar is valid for the rest of the year.

Combined, those make for a VERY healthy savings.

…and will make you extra cash flow if you use the ideas in there.

“Received over $1000.00 worth of sales from it in one day”
We executed the 09/09/09 promotion and received over
$1000.00 worth of sales from it in one day!  Fabulous I say.”
- Fran Agar – Ballymoon Beauty

Get your copy now through this special link:
https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nathniit

You can read all the details at www.cashflowcalendars.com
(but must use the link above to get the 63.27% discount)

“I will personally make at LEAST $6,000 using this tool.
What are YOU waiting for?” I highly encourage you to
pick this up – it’s incredible.  It’s THAT GOOD.”

- Mandi Crawford – Roaring Women

Enjoy… and profit.

Troy White

PS: You may be asking what the catch is… even asking why
you should get a copy now?

Because every single day you wait…
…means another chance to improve you cash flow disappears.

Delaying only hurts you.

You get an immediate download and can have your first promotion
out the door TODAY, and it will more than return your investment.

So why wait?

https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nathniit

“This calendar activates your creativity”

I have found this calendar to be very useful
in so many ways. It is designed to maintain
and organize your business along with activating
your creativity. That is what it did for me.

It is a big help for finding new ideas for marketing
that are highly unusual (and profitable).

Thank you Troy and Kari for this valuable tool.

- Audie Perove -

https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nathniit

Mar
08

7 Time Tested Tips for Making Your Advertising Work

By | advertising, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Success, Time management and productivity

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The entire marketing and advertising business is backed on testing. If you are not testing different marketing methods, different advertisements, different media, etc., then you will never know what works and what doesn’t.

It’s not exactly rocket science what I just said – but the fact of the matter is that less than 5% of businesses test anything.

So if it is so simple – why aren’t more people doing it?

Laziness, time constraints and lack of knowledge are the most common reasons I hear.

I can’t help you with the first 2 – but I will share with you a number of marketing ideas you can test.

Try one – measure the results, then test another. You are looking for the most powerful marketing method that you can continue to run for months/years to come.

(1) Tell a story – one of the best ways to pull your readers into your marketing and get them to buy. The Wall Street Journal runs a one-page story talking about Two Young Men – both from the same upbringing and neighborhood – how one went on to accomplish great things and the other went about life with dismal results. This incredible story has been running for decades now and in that time it has generated billions of dollars in subscription sales.

(2) Use clichés like “sick as a dog” – people can relate to them and there is a comfort feeling around them. As well, most people talk in clichés – so you must write like you talk. But a word of caution, do not over use them.

(3) Never write any marketing pieces if you do not believe in what it is you are selling or trying to accomplish – it will be very obvious to the person reading it that you don’t believe it.

(4) Don’t try and be cute or sophisticated. Be sincere, educational and passionate in your writing. Do whatever it takes to get into a peak emotional state before you start writing – be it music, exercise lots of coffee – whatever floats your boat.

(5) Write to a grade 7 reading level. This can be easily checked in Microsoft Word – go to “Tools at top – then – Options: then Spelling and Grammar: check the box that says Show Readability Stats. Every time you do a spell check form now on it will tell you what grade level your writing is at. This is your lowest common denominator and a guideline you must use in all your business correspondence and advertising – unless you know without a doubt that 100% of your market is at a Ph.D. level.

6) Pretend you are sitting around a fire with one of your best friends. You know that they have some possible interest in what you are selling. But they are skeptical at the best of times. What would you say to them to get them to try it out? How would you say it to them? This is exactly what your ads need to read like.

(7) Always use real postage stamps on your envelopes – never metered mail. Make it look as personalized as possible – not like it came straight from a machine.

There are 7 simple ways to get better results in your marketing and advertising; but they are useless if you don’t try them.

Try one this week and see what happens. And please let me know how it goes.

To your success,

Troy