July 2010 – Page 3

Professional Writers And Writers Block

One of the bloggers
I usually read
is taking a break,
claiming writer’s block.

That’s bullshit.

Writer’s block is an excuse.
Yes, it happens to all writers
but professional writers don’t let it stop them.
They employ tactics
(such as writing anything,
drivel or not,
until the creative spark relights)
to push past it.

Entrepreneurs,
instead of blaming the ‘muse’,
blame the lack of ‘passion.’

Again, that is another bullshit excuse.
There are hundreds, possibly thousands,
of ways to reignite passion
(such as looking back on business ‘wins’
and remembering what they felt like).

Successful people don’t make excuses.
Go out and make that dream come true!

Conversion Rates

The internet has been
promoted as a fast and easy way
to reach millions of prospects.

The problem is…
those millions of prospects are needed
because conversion
from on-line prospect to buyer
is very, very rare.

Seth Godin has a great post
on how conversion rates vary
by interaction methods.

Conversion rates
for bloggers and other online interactions
are 2% or lower.

I can vouch for that.
Of the regular readers of my writing blog,
I’d say less than 1% have bought
one of my books.

Walk The Talk

I recently read an article
on marketing
written by the female president
of a marketing company
for a site targeting female business leaders.

The advice was solid
but I immediately discredited it.
Why?
Because she used (American) football analogies
throughout the article.

Yes, I know that women DO watch football
but businesswomen hear these same football analogies
from male marketers all the time.
We groan when we hear a female using them.

The irony is…
she was talking about
designing copy specifically for target markets.

Walk the talk
if you expect to be listened to.

Jaclyn Smith On Celebrity Branding

Former Charlie’s Angel
Jaclyn Smith
was one of the first celebrities
to put her name and face
on products.

Her brand is as relevant today
as it was thirty years ago.

She took risks
over the years
and has passed that risk taking
onto her children.

“When I started,
nobody was doing celebrity branding.
But you can’t be afraid of failure.
I always tell my kids,
‘Go toward something that frightens you.’
You have to put yourself on the line,
or you’ll never get anywhere.”

Go toward something that frightens you.
Take that step today

Job Hopping And Success

I am a big believer
in job hopping
during the early stages of a career.
Spending a couple years
in a few different companies
provides a solid base
of management styles and experiences
to draw upon.

Research by Monika Hamori
of Spain’s IE Business School,
however,
states that once we get to an executive level
and our eye is on the CEO seat,
we should stay put.

Why?

Because if companies hire outside for a CEO,
they look only at candidates
that ARE already CEO’s.
They don’t look at CFO’s or COO’s or…

Companies are more likely
to hire a non-CEO
from their internal pool of candidates.

So job jump at the lower levels
and stay put at the higher.

The Same Tone

A cousin of mine
will be visiting my city
at the end of July.

She phoned,
asking me to send her
details on where I live, etc. etc.

I sent her
a chatty ‘glad-you’re-coming’ email.
Her reply
was very professional and rather dry.

I teased her about it
as I knew she didn’t mean to be such a stiff
but when I received it,
I felt like she slapped me in the face.
All my friendliness was being rebuffed.

It is SO important to mimic your prospect’s tone.
If she is formal, address her formally.
If she is informal, address her the same way.
Not only is it respectful
but it puts the other person at ease.

Teaching Real Life

There are competent teachers
and there are GREAT teachers.
The lessons great teachers
share
are about real life.

One of my favorite teachers
would present three or four ways of arriving at
calculus solutions.
She wasn’t just teaching about calculus.
She was teaching us
that there was more than one way
of getting to any goal.
That lesson was priceless.

Terry Starbucker
shares a lesson from one of his favorite teachers.
This teacher would present
his exam questions
from hardest to easiest.
The hard questions would have to be answered
before moving to the easiest.
The lesson was, of course,
to do the most important things in life first.

Are you teaching/mentoring at this level?
If you aren’t, why not?

Goal First, Then Tactics

I was given the opportunity
to participate in a multi-author series.
The other authors are big names.
I know the series will do well
and I’ll grow my readership by participating.
The stories are to be written in first person
and be humorous.
I’ve never written humor or first person before.
I said yes.
I want to be part of this series
and I’ll figure out how to meet the requirements.

That’s how I work.
I set a goal
and THEN I figure out ways to achieve it.

The recently departed Nicolas G. Hayek,
leader of Swatch,
did the same thing.
“CEOs must say to their people:
‘We will build this product
in our country
at a lower cost and
with higher quality
than anywhere else in the world.’
Then they have to figure out
how to do it.”

Set a goal
and THEN figure out how to achieve it.

The Realism Of Twilight

I was asked why I think
Twilight is so effective
at reaching its target market.

One of the reasons is
because it is ‘real.’
How can a vampire vs werewolf story
be ‘real’?

Because it embraces the unpopular
or the unnecessary.

Sex sells, right?
Every teen knows this.
Well, Bella is a virgin.
There’s no sex in the first three movies.
There’s no nudity.
Twilight walks away
from this easy marketing ploy.

The werewolves belong
to an aboriginal band.
All the actors and actresses
playing the werewolves
also belong to aboriginal bands,
even the ‘hottie’ Jacob.
This extra layer isn’t going to
sell more movie tickets.
The average movie goer isn’t going to care.

There’s no preaching about either.
There’s no one blatantly marketing it.
There’s no need to.
Teens are savvy.
The true fans know.
They become Twilight ambassadors or Twi-Hards.

And THAT is how deep
this ‘silly’ vampire movie is.
Is your more ‘serious’ product as deep?

Please Don’t Read My Emails

I received an email from Old Country Buffet
telling me that the restaurant
will be open for breakfast
on July 5th.

Hours later,
I received another email
from Old Country Buffet
explaining that the first email was sent in error
and ‘please do not read it.’

Sure thing.
I won’t read your emails.

Never tell customers
not to read your emails.
(This should be a no brainer, I know).

A better response would have been
explaining that the first email
was sent in error.
Sorry about that.
Here’s a coupon for 20% off your next meal.

This does the opposite.
It rewards the recipients
that DO read your emails.

And THAT is what you want.