Marketing – Page 10

Press Releases Remain Essential For Media Coverage

An alarming report
was released recently
regarding the rate
and extent of climate change.

There was very little
media coverage on it.

Because it was
written for scientists
in the field
and made no sense
to anyone else
(including me).

And there was no
press release
summarizing it
and
translating it
into everyday
aka media friendly
language.

If you want
the media to cover
a topic,
you need to talk to them
in THEIR language.

Write a press release.
Give it to someone
outside your industry.
Ask them what it says.

If they don’t understand it,
the average person,
the media’s target audience,
likely won’t understand it.

That means the media
won’t be interested in it.

Not Everyone Is Online

I’m online every day.
I prefer to handle
everything
online
and not see
anyone face-to-face
or talk to them on the phone.

It is easy for me
to think
EVERYONE is like me
because so many of the people
I deal with
are also heavily online.

But that’s a tiny percentage
of the world’s population.
Heck, it is a tiny percentage
of America’s population.

Print book sales,
for example,
consist of 66.69%
of total book sales
in the US.

The majority
of readers,
some of the most educated,
wealthiest people
in America,
read offline.
They don’t read on their phones
or other devices.

Remember this
when
setting up systems,
crafting marketing campaigns,
deciding where
your products or services
are sold.

Only a small fraction
of people
are consistently online.

The Magic Behind The Curtain

My Mom is known
for her awesome Christmas Cake.
Until this year,
she was the only person
with the recipe
and the only person in our family
who made it.

This year,
she was too weak
from the COVID
to make it
so she supervised
one of my brothers
while he made it.

He didn’t realize
a) how expensive
and how hard to supply
the ingredients were
and
b) how labor intensive
and finnicky
the recipe was.

He shared that news
with everyone.

About half of the people
now don’t want Christmas Cake.
They said they can’t eat it
knowing it costs my Mom
and now my brother
so much effort and money.

Not everyone wants
to hear the details
behind the making of
a gift/product.

Some people merely want
to enjoy it.

Remember that
when sharing information
about your products.

Don’t Use Violence Against Women As Shock Value

The latest (horrifying) trend
in warning about possible societal collapse
is telling people
there will be physical and sexual
violence
against the women
in their lives
if it happens.

I block every climate activist
or scientist
who uses this ‘example.’

Why?

Because I assume
that’s their secret fantasy.

Unfortunately,
it IS too many men’s
secret fantasy.

I put that person
in the group of people
who are threats.
They become
one of the people
who might hurt me
if they get
an opportunity
to do so.

I don’t support them.
I don’t want to be
in the same room
as they are in.
I warn other women
away from them.

Even if they aren’t
fantasizing
about sexual violence
against women,
they are certainly
NOT listening to
any of the women
in their lives.

Any woman
would have told them
expressing these thoughts
out loud
was a BAD idea.

Worst case,
they will someday
engage in violence
against women.

Best case,
they don’t listen
to women.

Either case
means I stay far away
from them.

Don’t use violence against women
for shock value.

Having Your Own Online Space

I LOVE social media.
I absolutely love it.

Many of the venues
are great for promoting products,
especially books.

There are a variety of people
and many experts
are on social media.

But these social media sites
are controlled by other people.
I was evicted from Facebook.
Twitter is having issues.
Sites come and go.

My own sites,
my blogs,
including this one,
remain.

I have been posting
daily
for over 16 years
here
(first on Road To Forbes,
then on Client k).

I own the site.
I decide
what to do with it
and how long
I stay here.

That’s valuable.

If you’re building a business,
set up a website
or blog.
Own it.
Control it.

Ensure customers
always know where to find you.

Changing Font Sizes

The most recent WordPress update
has decreased the font sizes
on all the templates.

This is a message
that WordPress’s target market
has significantly changed.

Different font sizes
appeal
to different demographics.

When I was young,
for example,
I liked small font sizes.
Now that I’m older,
small font sizes
drive me away
from sites.

If I was blogging
for the first time today,
I likely wouldn’t continue.

And that’s fine.
I’m no longer
WordPress’s target market.

If you change font sizes,
you’re changing target markets.
Do this knowingly.

Find Common Ground

I recently watched the movie
Rosaline.

It is teen-targeted movie
based on
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Which is often
the first Shakespeare play
teens study in school.

This is a shared experience,
a common ground
most teens share.
And it is something
the movie
can be marketed around.

That is key
with effective marketing
– Find a shared experience
and then promote around it.

It could be a problem
like cleaning hardwood floors
or a shared experience
like a record release
by a popular artist
or something else
most of your target market
has in common.

Find that angle
and then craft
your marketing around it.

Halloween And Increasing Participation

I love Halloween.
It is my favorite celebration
of the year.

And I want it to continue
forever.
I want newcomers to the country
to participate in it
and derive joy from it.

So I don’t make any comments
if they’re doing it ‘wrong’.
I give kids candy
if they’re dressed in costume or not,
if they say the words or not,
if they’re older,
if they don’t know what to do.

Because you and I,
as business builders,
know,
when we try something
for the first time
or even the fifth time,
we’ll make mistakes.
We’ll do it ‘wrong.’

And their friends,
their peers
have the critique role.
THEY will guide
these new trick or treaters.

Our job,
as candy distributers,
is to encourage
these new entrants
to Halloween.

Promote Your Newsletter

As another social media platform
changes leadership,
this is a good time
to market the sh*t
out of your newsletter.

EVERY business should have
a newsletter.
That is direct contact
with customers and prospects
WE control.

I download my list
of subscribers every month
so I can switch newsletter providers
at any time.

Post links to
newsletter sign up pages
on every social media platform.
Add that information
at the bottom of every invoice/receipt,
every message.

Then offer unique content
with your newsletter,
something people can only receive
if they subscribe.
This could be tips or advice
or coupons or anything else
your customers would value.

Build your newsletter.
MARKET your newsletter.
It is your most powerful promotional tool
and it is all yours.

The Importance Of Events

Experts often post
about how everything is always available
and how this lack of scarcity
makes it more difficult
to stand out.

In the Romance Novel Industry,
one of the solutions
to this challenge
is
to hold events.

10 writers promote
a themed Facebook party, for example.

Before and during that party,
their books are in the spotlight.

There is curation
for that event.

Readers who are interested
in the theme gather.
They share an experience.
They then buy the same books
and share that experience also.

TV shows have watch parties.
Viewers post while watching
the episode
at the same time.

Video games have release parties.
Everyone goes online
and plays the game
at the same time.

Events are one solution
to cut through the noise.

And the good news is…
anyone can organize
and host one.