(By the way, i first wrote this blog in July 2007)

Here’s is a tip for you. Whenever anyone says anything at all, your wife, husband, friends, partners, you should focus on 2 things.

1. What they’re saying
2. Why they’re saying it!
   

Most people don’t know the real reason why they’re saying anything but you can learn a lot by studying this. They certainly won’t know how much they’re giving away.

Here’s what I’m getting at. The biggest, most asked questions my new clients have when they want some advice on starting a new business, marketing online or making more money from their existing business…is……….

“Jimmy Can you optimise my website for Google? I want more traffic”

I hear what they’re saying, but what they really mean is:

“Jimmy can you sort out my website for me so I can just sit on my arse while Google sends me lots of traffic, bringing me lots & lots of money for doing absolutely sod all? Also I need to ensure that if it fails, then I can blame you. Deal?”

Now, don’t get me wrong – SEO is an important part of any marketing strategy. But to think about basing your whole marketing strategy around SEO and hope that Google will send you free traffic, and continue to send you free traffic, means you’ve got the mindset for running a business completely wrong. You’re doomed to failure!

Most websites are not even set up to deal with tonnes of traffic and they simply wont convert theses visitors into customers.

Now I need to be careful what I say here as I have contracts with some SEO companies, so here goes. For most businesses, SEO IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY!

I’m glad I got that off my chest!

Here’s What You Need to Know

Without going into keyword research, follow up strategies and how to build a website around it, this is much more important.

The qualities needed to set up and run a successful online or offline business today, are exactly the same as it was 15, 50 or 2,000 years ago ….long before the internet existed. ……… Determination, persistence, burning desire, continuous self improvement, hard work, continuous education, testing & measuring, smart marketing, take advice from real experts etc, etc.

This still applies to running a business online!

Now that the internet is here, everyone thinks they can get a piece of the action without any effort. Lets face it, although everyone says they want to have their own business, if you actually handed them  a ready made, proven, easy to use business template on a silver platter, most people will run a mile……. or they’ll give you 197 excuses why the time’s just not quite right for them!

Why? Quite simply because most people are scared stiff of taking on the responsibility for their own success and/or failures.

So when they approach me about starting a business and ask the big SEO question, from the offset they are sub-consciously telling me that they want to hand all responsibility over to someone else like Google……..or.. ME!

At least if it fails, then they can conveniently pass the blame. And if succeeds?  Well, with that approach…It won’t!

Don’t worry, I’m sure that was the first question I asked too. The point I’m making is, be prepared to embark on a journey of self discovery and improvement before success in your business can be fully realised. You simply can’t expect someone to send you customers for free!

People are actually more scared of success than of failure!

Why do you think everyone spends all their spare time, hours, days, weeks on social networking sites like Facebook, online chatting, gaming, forums, blogs? The answer is, the same reason they watch Eastenders, Coronation Street or Big Brother. It’s not only to escape from their mundane lives but it’s also to exonerate them selves from any responsibility.

Don’t get me wrong, some of this website stuff is fun. I do like Facebook because it saves me time and makes it easier to keep in touch with old friends. But spending all your free time watching crap TV or on social websites is the equivalent of sticking your head in the sand.

In the famous words of the great Scottish comedian, actor, musician, Billy Connolly when asked by chat show host Michael Parkinson;

“So Billy, as someone who came from a poor working class background in Glasgow, an abused child with very little education, how did you get to become so obviously very talented & hugely successful?”

“Well” he replied,” I didn’t get it sitting watching the f****** Des
O‘ Connor show”

That sums it all up for me!

So the point is, if you spent one hour a day, every day, learning about marketing and the secrets of setting up an online business, instead of hiding, how long would it be before you could resign from your job? 3-6 months I bet!

How many people are prepared to do this? Very few, (which is just as well)

It would be wrong for me to say it’s easy to make money online, but it’s fair to say that it’s easier now than it ever was to start your own business….. IF…..and only IF….you’re prepared to commit yourself and to keep learning! These days, you don’t even have to leave the house or spend days in the library researching different markets to get started (although you should try it)

Any successful business (online or offline) must be built upon a series of proven marketing strategies and systems………….at least ten!

SEO can be done last only when all the other strategies are in place.

So let’s get back to basics. If you really want to have your own successful business, you must start with working on your on self-image to convince yourself that you deserve success and then develop the confidence within yourself to take on the responsibility necessary to succeed.

I have read numerous books on this subject of self improvement and most of them are crap. I’ll save you a few years of trial, error & frustration by recommending THE book you must get which will change your life. It changed mine…..most other positive thinking books just confused me and mad me make stupid decisions.

Run a search on Amazon for “The New Psycho-Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz and get your attitude and mindset ready for success.

To your success
Jimmy Crangle

Even people who insist they buy logically or based on features do so because that’s what makes them feel better. Therefore, appeal to their emotions first and foremost. Benefits are the language of emotion, Features, the language of logic.

I often meet people who will insist that I’m talking crap and “they only ever buy on logic”. There’s a big difference in what people say and what they do! If it was true that everyone  bought using only logic with no emotional leverage, they would all be driving Skodas!

One of the common problems most companies have translating their product or service features into benefits is that they are “looking at the label from the inside of the bottle,” in the words of best-selling author and ad guru Roy H. Williams. “In other words, because they know too much about their businesses, they often assume that others, too, not only want to know them but also should know them. These companies all their spend time (and money) “assuming.”

Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak

The Steak: Here’s an example to illustrate my point:

“This ring features a 1.4 carat, pear-shaped cut white diamond with an SI1 clarity grade and an H colour rating…..”….. What ?

Unless you’re a gemologist (if that’s the right word to use) that’s just complete nonsense!

The Sizzle: Here is what sells diamonds better:

“Imagine that special evening when you gently slip this on her finger and stare intensely into her eyes. She peers at this symbol of your devotion, the promise of your future together, and tears begin to glisten. An adoring smile spreads across her face, and at that moment your love is sealed forever.”

Ok, I know I’m pushing it here but you get the point!

Every ad, email, website, sales letter must pull one, or more, of the 7 main emotional strings that make people buy.

1. Love
2. Hate
3. Greed
4. Guilt
5. Pride
6. Fear
7. Envy

Use these emotions to weave around your sales pitch and tap into the thoughts and feelings that are going on inside peoples head and guts. The things that irritate them, keeps them awake at night, makes them angry, happy, proud or sad.

By the way, this applies to EVERY business, industry, product or service. It doesn’t matter if you are selling diamond rings, plumbing service, carpet cleaning, toilet cleaning, engineering equipment or what ever.

Sell the Sizzle, Not the Steak, sit back and let them beat a path to your door

To your success
Jimmy Crangle

Did You Know That Red Font Always Out Performs Black?

If no one sees your headline they are unlikely to see your ad. The most important element of any ad is the headline. One small change here can increase or decrease your response rate by as much as 700%.

Everything you say in advertising must be very, very specific. A headline should talk about your customers, not about you because no one cares about your company. It should grab people’s attention and get them to read your ad.

A headline should not attempt be cute or clever, unlike ad agency style advertising, it should offer a benefit, provoke an emotional reaction or just get people interested enough to read more. Do NOT mention your company name; it’s a waste of space. No one cares about your company, they only care about their problems and how you can address them!

Here are some real examples:

Bad Headline: New Weight Watchers Diet Hits the Shelves

Good Headline: New Diet Burns Off More Fat Than a 98 Mile Run

Bad Headline: New Study from Sydney University Claims 35% of all men are unfaithful

Good Headline: 7 Ways to Tell If Your Partner Is Cheating On You

Which ad is more interesting? Which one grabs you?

A good place to study good ads is in the Cosmopolitan magazine. The Cosmo editors admitted that they spend more time choosing good headlines than they do on choosing the articles to put in it! After all if the magazine doesn’t get bought and taken off the shelf, it doesn’t matter how good the stories are! Another good resource is the headlines on the Yahoo or MSN home pages.

Here are some powerful headline strategies, which also work extremely in newspapers, magazines and of course with Google Adwords:

• Offer the biggest promise of benefit
• Identify your ideal prospect
• Offer news if possible
• Quick and easy solution.
• Ask provoking questions (Are you sick of …….) – Make the reader feel inclined to keep reading

The Advertising Secret Formula That Always Works

Every piece of advertising, every webpage, sales letter, brochure or banner ad that you send out must…. MUST …. include ALL of these ingredients.

1. A Powerful Headline That Commands Attention.
2. An emotionally provocative, benefit driven message that states your USP (Unique selling proposition).
3. A Compelling ‘Call to Action ‘ offer something valuable for contacting you.

Not some silly statement like ..please contact us for more information….yeah that’s going to make them jump of their seat and lift the phone!

Strangely most advertising doesn’t include any of these ingredients or at best, there’s at least one missing! If you do NOT include all of these ingredients in all of your advertising then send your advertising budget to a good charity where it might do some good.

Remember newspaper ad reps, yellow pages reps, ad agencies….. anyone who makes money selling advertising will do anything to convince you otherwise, after all that’s how they get paid!

To your success
Jimmy Crangle

The biggest objections happen to be some of the biggest myths in marketing. It really amazes me that many who start out in business seems to have various opinions of what does and doesn’t work, even though they have never even so much as read a eBook on marketing. Conventional wisdom is rife!

Many believe that the internet is different from all other media and therefore a different approach is required. Of that their business/industry is different. Wrong!

Well let me expose the 5 great myths, if you’re easily offended then don’t read on!

Myth 1. ‘Businesses/Corporations Won’t Respond to This Direct Response Marketing’

Businesses don’t actually buy anything, they never have, they never will. People buy things…human beings…the same emotional creatures who buy things on the internet for EXACTLY the same fundamental reasons they did at the local market 2,000 years ago!

The only thing that has changed is the tools & media we use. Why is it that despite advanced modern technology, ‘word of mouth advertising’ remains the most powerful form of marketing available? Yes, it’s true, hands down it’s still the best!

Myth 2. ‘I Just want to Start an Internet Business’

Stop and thing about this for a second…There’s really no such thing as an internet business. If you advertise in a newspaper does it mean you have a newspaper business? Or a yellow pages business? The internet is an advanced media, a fantastic lead generation and delivery tool…if used properly! Those who think they have an ‘internet business,’ have gone bust or they will go bust. Always remember you ‘re dealing with real human beings, not computers.

Myth 3. ‘I Don’t Think That Will Work, I’m Entitled to My Own Opinion’

Everyone Has an Opinion and Everyone Has a Bum. Your opinions don’t matter. The opinions of your friends, family, spouse, other business owners, the guy down the pub… DON’T matter. What works, works. Why It works… Doesn’t matter.

Don’t take advice from well intentioned people who really don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s one of the biggest mistakes people make in life.

Myth 4. ‘I Lost Money In a Business Before, I’m Not Cut Out For It

Most, if not all, successful entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes. They keep making mistakes and they keep learning. They are able to see the reality of what happened. Those who fail in business and in life consider these mistakes and misfortune as bad luck or they blame others. It’s no coincidence that most successful people have gone bust a few times before they picked themselves up, re-evaluated what happened and started all over again. Keep Learning and Never Give Up!

Myth 5. ‘You Need to Be Lucky To Be Successful’

Attitude Is Much More Important Than Aptitude. I almost finished this report off by saying “I wish you the very best of luck” but luck has really got nothing to do with it. Your success will depend on your burning desire to succeed and if you’re prepared to learn the skills necessary to succeed in any business

If you think that running a successful business is now in some way ‘easier than before’ then you’re off to the wrong start.

The definition of luck is, “When preparation meets opportunity”. Get prepared by learning as much as you can about marketing and that great opportunity will not pass you by.

To your success
Jimmy Crangle

If you want to guarantee failure for your project then you can disregard this statement and go ahead with your venture. You’ll learn the hard way.

Isn’t it amazing that the reason most people fail in their business is right at the very beginning? It’s like building a house on a swamp. I’ve been there before. I just couldn’t wait to get started and I held on to the false belief that if the product was good enough then it would sell itself…..it never did.

The most important step you can take is finding a niche market to target. You must identify a “group of people” who are easy to reach and actively looking for a solution to their problem. You MUST identify the niche and the problem before you can think about what product or service you’re going to sell to them.!

It’s worth mentioning this again. Identify a group of people who are easy to reach and actively looking for a solution to their problem!

Most people come up with a product they ASSUME people will want and then they try to force it on the market, only to be left totally bewildered as to why no one wants to buy it!

There is another common myth in marketing that you just have to meet people’s needs. Well, there’s a lot of truth in this……………. but here’s the naked truth.

PEOPLE DON’T ALWAYS BUY WHAT THEY NEED, THEY BUY WHAT THEY WANT

Try to find out what people want to buy instead of what they might need.

Carefully define your target market as this is the number one key to your online marketing success. Never try to appeal to too many people, because it’s a very expensive mistake and you could kill your business before it even gets off the ground. GO NICHE!

Case Study – Sue Morris – Thailand Adventures

Sue Morris invited me to join her when she was struggling to get her teaching organisation off the ground back in 2002. I was backpacking around Asia at the time and I’d just discovered that I’d lost ALL my money on the stock market…….so I accepted.

Sue was running a teacher training program for young graduates who wanted a gap year teaching experience in Thailand. All new teachers must complete a 4 week TEFL (Teach English as a Foreign Language) course before teaching overseas, which was included in Sue’s package.

As the market was saturated with TEFL course providers, Sue was having problems getting enough students to sign up even though she was offering an attractive package.

Sue believed she had a TEFL training course with a job package included and was competing head on with the other TEFL providers. When I asked Sue what her customers/clients were really looking for, she said she “thought” her customers wanted to work in, or take a TEFL course in, Thailand but she wasn’t sure.

I suggested that we run a one day telethon campaign to find out for sure. We simply spent a day calling everyone on the database and asked each one the Magic Marketing question that few people ever ask. ………………………..“What do you want?”

You’ll be amazed at what you’ll find out when you ask these
4 magic words

We discovered a trend in what people were telling us. No one mentioned anything about a TEFL course. Not once did it come up. They all said they wanted to teach English in Thailand, explore new cultures and travel around Thailand. Of course the TEFL training course was part of the vehicle to achieve this and they knew it, but it wasn’t part of the conversation that was going on inside their heads.

We devised a marketing campaign that was built around “Teaching in Thailand” and “Experiencing Thailand”. So by not talking about “TEFL courses” or “working in Thailand” as she had been doing, Sue increased her enrolments and sales by 300% within 6 weeks.

So the moral of the story here which also applies to YOUR business is:

“DON’T GIVE THEM WHAT YOU THINK THEY WANT – GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT”

Tap into the conversation that’s going on inside your prospects head then build your product, service, USP and marketing campaign around it.

To your success
Jimmy Crangle

Most business owners look at what their competitors are charging then set their prices a little bit cheaper or bang in the middle. This is a big mistake because you’re leaving yourself wide open for attack and you’re not differentiating your self from your competitors.

This is a weak approach from business owners who are simply too scared to increase their prices incase they lose existing or new customers. Or they’re just scared of what their competitors will think of them. You’ll never be truly successful with that mindset.

If you live by price then you die by price. All it takes is for one, or all, of your competitors to undercut you and you’re finished.

Once you escape a price competitive environment, via positioning and guerilla marketing you really can “set your own price”.

MOST ADVICE YOU GET ABOUT DEALING WITH PRICE RESISTANCE IS WRONG

If you deal with price resistance by arguing in favour of your better service or higher quality then you’ll still find your sales work difficult. People do want superior goods and services but they still don’t want to pay premium prices from them. Many business owners fight this battle every day with their customers unnecessarily.

The secret is to switch the standards of comparison between you and your competitors. Compare apples to oranges and throw in the superior quality at no extra cost.

Reinvent your products/services by packaging them up. Add value, bundle goods and services together, include delivery, warranties, cast iron guarantees, desirable bonuses, payment plans, VIP membership clubs.

If you offer a service, throw in some products and if you offer a product, include a service.

If you have already set your prices for a product or service which you don’t want to change, then fine. Simply keep the existing product/offer at the current price and then design 2-3 premium package options, say Gold & Platinum.

Give your customers the choice and they will most likely choose the middle or silver option, if it’s appealing enough. They in effect decide what they are comfortable with and how much they are willing to give you. This is one of the most powerful sales tactics I know of.

Always offer the Premium Gold package first and all the other packages will seem cheaper. If you want to sell more of your Gold packages then introduce a Gold Plus option, and so on.

The Old Tricks Still Work Best

Remember some sales tactics have worked for thousands of years and still work today. “The ‘Widget’ normally costs $199 but you can have it today for just $99” etc. Ok, your customers aren’t stupid and neither are you. We can all see right through these simple gimmicks, but guess what? THEY WORK. We all love to think we got a great bargain and then rush home to tell everyone about it because it helps justify buying the thing.

“….well Mary it was actually priced at $199 but I got it for just $99……”

Savvy business owners and marketers learn to change the rules of the game and set their own prices based on how much they want. It’s got nothing to do with what your competitors are charging.

Forget about playing fair, it’s time to change the rules to suit you and your business.

All your life you’ve been conditioned to play fair and that subconscious conditioning is holding you back.

Beating your competitors is all about finding or inventing an unfair advantage for yourself. Go ahead and make price comparison impossible for your customers, and make it impossible for your competitors to keep up with you.

To your success
Jimmy Crangle

So if you shouldn’t advertise, how can you generate customers or sales?

There is seldom any MAGIC BULLET in marketing, rather it’s a series of many automated systems that come together to produce a steady stream of customers. There you have it there’s the secret right there. Just don’t go throwing your money around and hoping for the best.

You should be using a combination of up to at least ten other marketing strategies and you must test and measure each one, continuously.

Wrong Question – Wrong Mind set

A marketing expert in New York back in the 1960’s (I can’t remember his name) who set up marketing systems for doctors and chiropractors said he always got asked the same question everywhere he went.

He would set up marketing systems for each practice and would aim to get 72 patients before moving on to a new client. He worked out that any new practice needed 72 patients to be viable.

The question he always got asked was “What is the single best thing you do that generates most of those 72 patients”. His reply was “I don’t know of any one thing I do that brings in 72 customers. I do however know of 72 things I can do, and I will do, to bring in one customer…..and i do all 72 of them”

This is brilliant advice. In other words, you should be using a combination of at least ten other marketing strategies. It might take a bit of work at first but there’s no other way around it. Implement these 12 strategies below into your business, sit back and watch the sales come in.

Here are the top 12 marketing strategies that you should use in conjunction with each other:

1. Direct Mail – The most effective strategy when done properly. Most people get it wrong or give up after one letter.
2. Well Organised Website - With a clear objective, tone and feel.
3. Email Marketing – To your own list. Becoming more and more difficult.
4. Telephone Marketing – Only when following up on leads generated by other marketing strategies. NOT cold calling!
5. Automated Voice Broadcasting – Eliminates cold calling, staffing problems, maintains customer relationships,  slashes costs and boosts profits.
6. Press Releases - Why spend money on advertising when PR gives you coverage for free?
7. Affiliate Programs - Get others to sell for you by offering an overly generous commission.
8. Auto-Responders - Not the auto reply ‘thank you’ message but a series of sequenced messages sent to your list over 6-12 months or longer to build and maintain trust.
9. Free Reports/Guides – that offer valuable advice and help people solve problems.
10. Magazine/Newspaper Articles – One of the best forms of advertising…. and it’s free!
11. Google Pay Per Click, PPC - Unlike most other forms of advertising, PPC is highly targeted and highly effective. Unfortunately most PPC advertisers don’t know how to write good ads, and they waste their leads with a poorly arranged website which doesn’t convert clicks into leads and therefore customers.
12. Sell to Your Existing Customers - The single most underused resource in any company.

There are many other things you can test such as banner ads, postcards, video etc. Get multiple marketing channels delivering quality traffic to your website, keep selling to your existing customers and your success is virtually guaranteed.

To your success
Jimmy Crangle

One of the great lies of advertising is “Get your name out there and run some ads.” This lie was the key reason for the big DOT.COM crash in 2000.

Here is a top secret tip. The ad agencies and newspaper reps don’t know how to advertise! I’m serious, ad reps and ad agencies haven’t got a clue how to advertise effectively. Yes they’ll create great looking ads, with nice images and cute headlines but guess what?

Ads that win awards rarely generate sales and ads that sell rarely win awards.

The only type of advertising you should use is direct response advertising. The only purpose of direct response advertising is to produce a clear measurable response.

If you want to save yourself a fortune in business then remember this - All advertising MUST do one of two things:

Generate Sales……… or……… Generate Sales Leads

By doing this you can instantly tell if this ad, newspaper, banner, campaign is working!

Your ‘branding’ and ‘image building’ is a secondary benefit of direct response advertising.

Here are the 3 fundamental reasons why most advertising doesn’t work:

1. No attention grabbing headline (Business name, location doesn’t work as a headline)
   

1. No reason(s) or USP (Unique selling point) to choose you over other ads
   
2. No compelling offer or call to action
   

The trick is to get people to send you their contact details in exchange for a free offer, report, guide or DVD. If you have a larger business, you may even want to set up a separate phone line with a number that only appears in your ad.

If you’re directing people to a website, you may want to set up a special web page that also only appears in your ad. This will ensure that you can clearly identify who, if anyone is responding to your advertising.

Another cheaper system to track offline advertising is to list a different contact name in each offline publication which will be relevant to each advertising campaign. So ‘Call Steve’, Mary, John etc will be the contact listed on each ad campaign and this first question your sales staff should ask for and take note.

Tell this to your ad agency or newspaper rep and watch them explode into a rage.

To your success
Jimmy Crangle