Carbon Copy Marketing “No No’s”

There is actually a course called Carbon Copy Marketing, but this blog post makes no reference to that course since I know very little about it anyway.

What I’m really asking is “are you a carbon copy marketer and to what extent is copying someone elses marketing blueprint benefitting or hurting your online business?”

I’m all for copying to a certain extent but as marketing estrodinaire, Jim Connolly and I discussed with the some weeks ago, following someone elses marketing blueprint can actually be detrimental to your business.

What was interesting from my conversation with Jim was that he has been in marketing for many years and then when he came online, what he did, was applied his knowledge of offline marketing, online.  This is an observation I had made many years ago from the “big guns” in Internet Marketing … most of them worked in marketing prior to making a living online.

Now, I’m not suggesting you give up your online marketing strategies to go learn all about offline marketing since I think perhaps the underlying success factor amongst those who applied their offline strategies online, had something that I believe many online marketing beginners miss ….

They have a real understanding of marketing

They know “how” marketing works … who their target market is, the mindset of their target market and what will make them buy and, they apply these basic principles to their online business.

One of the few things I remember from working toward my MBA, was just how “bad” it was to compete on price only and yet online, whilst subtle, many marketers compete on price!  Have you noticed that all the home study courses cost more or less the same.  Membership sites are popping up all over the place using the same price structure?

The value added bonuses are from the same circle of affiliate marketers and to get the bonus, you have to opt into their list?

If you want to be different, if you want to stand out from the crowd, it’s time to add some value to the products and services you provide.

I stopped competing on price a long time ago but the value I give goes way beyond building a blog.  As I explain to prospects, in the early days when I built blogs, this is as far as most of my clients went with their blogs … the first and last post, was the one I helped them write.

When I began adding value by focusing on building an online business using a blog, over 95% of my clients worked their blogs and made it work for them.

The difference … I stopped competing on price and focused on giving value. And for me, this meant increasing my prices, not lowering them.

The likes of Tesco supermarket make value mean “cheap” but we are not cheap!

We are providing a solution to people wants.  And do notice I said “want” and not “need,” since want is actually a far more powerful motivator than need.  This is why the likes of Tesco do well with their “value” range … they appeal to those people who think they need to cut on spending when in fact, most of them want to reserve money for their wants … going to the cinema, eating out, buying their child a new computer game.

So, how do you add value?

You have to be different?

How do you “be” different?

You have to be creative and, you can start this creative process by asking “how do I want people to feel when they consume my product or use my services?”  “What value can I add that my competitors are not providing?”  You can create your niche within a niche just by being different and therefore, even in a so say oversaturated market, you can compete successfully and win.

Until next time,

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Don’t Let Recession Hold You Back

You know what, turn off the TV!  Stop reading the news about the recession!  It’s crippling your business and your success.

I’ve just been watching Rich Schefren on his 24 hour Ustream live incentive.  Personally, I just can’t turn it off - it’s great.  As I’m writing this, Rich is interviewing a copywriter, Clayton Johnson, and he said that if you focus on helping others build businesses, during a financial downturn, you can actually captitalize on this.

People are fed up of being laid off the minute there’s a hint of financial distress

People don’t want to be “in” on the Rat Race and so when laid off, many people look to starting up their own business.

These people are usually aware of the failure rate in starting a new business but, at least they can give 100% to their own business and walk out with 100% minus costs.  They’re not being told what skills they should have and what aspects of their biggest strengths are not required for their business - boy did I hate this when I worked in the corporate world.  When did these people suddenly become my maker?

Anyway, I digress …

The point I really wanted to make here is …

Just because there is a downturn in the economy, it is not the end of the world!

There is still enough money to go around to pay your bills, buy you a decent holiday, allow you to eat well, you just have to get that money from a new and different source.

It’s time to dig!

Pearls, diamond and gold are not found on the surface.  You have to dig for them and so long as you’re digging in the right place, you’re persistent and consistent, you have to strike gold at some point.

This is why the old saying is “hidden treasures.”

So, what’s the difference between Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Sir Allan Sugar and you?  Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Sir Allan Sugar are “diggers,” who refuse to give up digging.

So, how do you keep digging during a financial downturn?

If your online business does not focus on business building, then focusing on solving people’s problems will not diminish because of the recession.  People still want to know how to get rid of migrains, how to manage ADD, how to fix their PC etc.

And the great thing is, the Internet is termed “WWW” for good reason … it’s the World Wide Web, and so just because recession is prevalent in one part of the world, it’s unusual for it to be world wide.  So, get creative and offer your products and services to others around the world.  Information products allow you to do this.

I could make this a long post, but I highly recommend that you grab a copy of Rich Schefren’s report “The Entrepreneurial Emergency.”  In it, he will tell you the difference between having potential in your business brought about by your knowledge, skills etc versus what “constraints” you need to overcome in order to be successful.

This report is relevant no matter what business model you’re using to make money online and it really gets to the heart of why you should be focusing on business building and not on the website or blog which, are just tools to help you market and grow your business.

Get the report now, enjoy the read and, go implement.  Oh and for the sceptics - this is not an affiliate link … I just felt it necessary to share this great resource with you.

Change Your Online Business Model Or Watch Your Business Die!

Is your business suffering because you’re too “emotionally tied” to your old, tired and worn out business model?

I’m telling you, there is nothing that baffles me more than watching people waste thousands of dollars (or pounds) on building a website and then deciding it’s not good enough and then spending thousands again to have more of what they had before.  If the first model didn’t work, why are you pulling it down and creating more of the same thing? 

I’ll tell you why shall I? 

It’s comfort! 

You’re so emotionally tied to what you’re familiar with, that you’re too afraid or too complacent to move away from that comfort zone and follow a model that is proven to work.  A model that could take your business to a new level. 

This I believe is the same trap that the Associated Press is falling into right now because they’re so attached to their old paradigm … that people still want news the old fashioned way …. like paying reporters to travel and write stories that they then syndicate to traditional news organizations.  They’re even suing Moreover for linking to their stories and now in defence of their action, the CEO Tom Curley states that: 

“We — the news industry — have come to that fork in the road.  We must take bold, decisive steps to secure the audiences and funding to support journalism’s essential role in both our economy and democracy, or find ourselves on an ugly path to obscurity.” 

The sad truth is, in my opinion the Associated Press are probably already walking that “ugly path to obscurity” and it seems that the only people not recognizing they’re probably on that path is them.

It was only about four months ago whilst watching Working Lunch here in the UK that a journalist being interviewed said that they recognised how poweful blogs were for bringing up to the minute news to the masses and as journalists, they had to adapt to blogs or watch the profession die.  Perhaps Tom Curley could do with listening to some of these pearls of wisdom.

But, that’s the Associated Press - they’re big and whilst someone will hang for their downfall (although not literally) the CEO will just go and get himself another job elsewhere. 

But let me ask you this, 

“Could your business be on an ugly path to obscurity because you won’t step out of your comfort zone and change your business model?”

If the Associated Press ever does go under, I’ve no doubt that someone in the organization will say “we should have seen it coming sooner.”  And if you’re trying to build an online business, it shouldn’t be too hard to establish if you’re on the slippery slope to failure because you’re either:

1. Not making any money from your website or blog,
2. Your business is stagnent and has been stagnent for some months
3. You’re having to work twice as hard to bring in the same level of income that you previously enjoyed

Now listen, I know competition is tough on the net, but every day, someone brings out a piece of software that enables you to automate your business, or comes up with a business strategy that is guaranteed to make you more money.  All you have to do is copy one of the “proven” methods that best suits your business and your personality - I did say personality - there are some methods that I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole simply because they just don’t suit me.

Also, it’s a fact that over 90% of businesses do not know how to market on the Internet so unless you’re in a highly competitive market such as Internet Marketing itself, you have a very good chance of winning online in your chosen field of business.

A word of advice though …

If you already have an offline business and you want to take it to the World Wide Web, but you know you’re not really interested in marketing on the Internet - i.e. you just want a web presence rather than really working your online business - then in my view, a website is what you shouldn’t have!

Personally, I can’t see the point in having a website unless you’re going to work it.  And just because you found the best designer to build you the best site, does not mean that you’ll get any visitors to your site, make any sales or sell your services.  And my best advice to you is that if you don’t know anything about either SEO, article writing or linking strategies and you’re not prepared to either outsource or learn them (bearing in mind, SEO could cost you an arm and a leg for very little return), keep your money in your pocket and build yourself a basic blog.  At least you can become recognized an authority even with your infrequent but ”quality” blog posts - a status you’ll never achieve online with a “third person speaking, corporate looking, dead as a doornail website.”

I know this might sound harsh, but there is nothing worse than visiting a website and it feels as though “no one is at home!”  Ever get that feeling?  I personally feel that about membership sites built with Joomla, but that’s another story!

My point is though, if you do what you’ve always done, you’re going to get what you’ve always got.  So don’t think that by tearing down your old website and building a better “same old” site is going to make any difference to your online business.  

But you’ve seen the figure … over 90% of businesses do not know how to market online and so my guess is that by following a proven online business model, you’ll not only bury your business for fear of moving away from your old outdated business model, you’ll build a better stronger business and in the process, a stronger you.

To Your Online Success,