February 10, 2010

Another 10 Success Rules to Live By... What it Means to Go
Viral... Let Me Refer You to This Success Secret... Hands-on
Hobbies Can Bring Info Marketing Gold... and More.

On Monday, I revealed my first 10 personal rules of success. Here are another 10 that I live by without exception:

1) Take Ownership for Everything You Do. Whenever you do something great, make sure to take ownership for your great idea or hard work. On the flip side, you have to do the same for when something doesn't work. Don't be afraid to own up to your mistakes. It will only increase the respect of your peers.

2) Don't Be Afraid to Make a Mistake... But Don't Repeat It. While I may not be happy when someone makes a mistake, I will usually cut them a lot of slack if it's the first time. And depending on the error, if they fess up to it, I will chalk it up to a learning experience. However, if I encounter the same mistake over and over again, then we have a problem. Try your best not to make mistakes, but don't fear them and certainly don't repeat them. It shows to everyone that you aren't paying attention and will lessen your value in the future.

3) Listen. It's funny when I come across people who claim to be good communicators. More often than not, it just means to them that they're good talkers. Communication is a two-way street and, to succeed as a good communicator, you have to listen and retain information as well, if not better, than you can express it.

4) Be Punctual and Be Prepared. Never be late. Ever. If you say you're going to be somewhere at some time, get there five minutes early. And always be prepared. While I can't stand it when someone is late for a meeting, it is as equally frustrating when they show up unprepared. Or even worse...

5) Never Make Excuses. This relates to the "Take Ownership" rule. Sometimes I hear the blame game and I roll my eyes. I totally understand that some obstacles that come up are unavoidable and may cause a delay in your schedule. But when you've got to be somewhere important, you better make sure you have all of the likely scenarios covered (traffic jams and weather are typical excuses. If it's something that could creep up, budget extra time).

6) Remove All Negative Things From Your Life. Negativity is the number one thing holding you back. Negative people tell you that you can't do things or are constantly complaining about silly little things totally beyond their control. You have to either stop talking to these people or, if unavoidable, make sure to brush off their negativity like an annoying fly on your shoulder. Same goes with negative things. People get frustrated that their car keeps breaking down. Fix it and you won't be frustrated anymore! Sometimes, it's that simple.

7) Write Things Down. I like to think I have a great memory. However, the more things that pop up in my day, the more the chances increase that I'm going to forget something. I've got a big notepad on my desk and I use it all the time. Whether it's sticky notes or a journal, whatever works for you, write important stuff down. Never leave it to your memory!

8) Sometimes the Easiest Way Is the Best Way. My wife is a do-it-yourselfer. She loves to paint and decorate. She had a great idea last week: Instead of buying new curtains for our kitchen, she would make them. So she bought a $500 sewing machine, ran around to six different stores for various fabrics and hardware, spent three days making and installing these things and, after all of that, she's not happy the way they turned out. She spent more money and time on one set of curtains than if we went to a store and bought them. Think about the costs-to-rewards ratio before doing a task. You might realize it's more efficient to take the easy way.

9) Respect the Differences in Others. No one has identical situations and what matters for some people might not matter for others. And while I have a hard time understanding why some folks do the things they do, I have to respect that decision. For example, I can't live without a car. I need to be able to get somewhere on my own terms at a moment's notice. However, I have a colleague who has decided that taking the bus was a far better option. He didn't like the stress of driving in rush hour and preferred to spend hours on a bus instead. While I can't understand that thinking, I respected the decision and that was that.

10) Be Charitable. Donate money to good causes when you can. Natural disasters are horrible reminders that we're not in total control of our lives. Think about how you would feel in the shoes of someone who has gone through an earthquake, hurricane or tsunami. Then do whatever you can, with your time, your money or both.

So, these are what I try to live my life by to help achieve personal and business success. They're my own rules, but I am willing to share all of them with you. Feel free to take them into your own life.

With the mainstream use of the Internet, advertising companies have faced many new challenges. How do you capture the attention of online readers? Do they read online messages differently than they do traditional print media? How can I get as many people as possible to see an ad?

Millions of people spend at least part of their day online, whether for work or personal reasons. Unlike a newspaper or magazine, the Internet has countless (in fact, limitless) pages and making sure that your message gets to your intended targets can seem like finding a needle in a haystack.

In the search to discover sure-fire ways to reach thousands of viewers, the latest buzzword to appear is "viral." What is a viral message? And how do you make your message viral?

A viral message is a video, web site, image or any other online media that is spread quickly and extensively through word-of- mouth. You can't pay someone to make a message go viral, although many online agencies seem to make this promise.

A message goes viral because it is interesting. The Cadbury commercial of a man in a monkey suit playing the drums to a Phil Collins song is an example of a viral ad. The commercial has little to do with anything, especially eating or buying chocolate. But, it stands out. You laugh. You're in awe that someone would go to the hassle of creating this and you wonder why.

This may start to sound like a formula, but, trust me, there is no way to ensure a message goes viral. The message must tap into some common thread of interests and get in to the hands of people who want to spread the message. Simply because it's interesting doesn't guarantee success.

Now, it is important to consider whether you really want a message to go viral. There is a downside to viral media, more often than not the advertiser goes unnoticed. A man in a monkey suit playing the drums is funny, but if you stop watching just before the end, you miss the Cadbury logo. And, if you're standing in line at the grocery store, looking over the chocolates, are you going to associate that funny image with a desire to buy chocolate?

Viral marketing is still in its infancy. The promise of millions of people seeing your message and spreading it to friends and family without any action on your part sounds like discovering an online mother lode. Yet, no one is quite sure if viral messages convert to sales. It is just as likely that all of these viewers will laugh at a silly video and then move on to find something funnier without considering the brand behind the scenes.

My advice is to stick to creating targeted ads that are on message and have a clear call to action for your product or service. If, in the creation of ads that are designed to convert viewers to buyers, you create something that goes viral, then consider yourself very lucky. If not, you still have a powerful advertising tool in your hands, one that could bring more success than any silly video ever could.

Last Sunday, as you may very well know, was Super Bowl Sunday. The Super Bowl usually dominates conversation for most of the week; however, it's not all about the two teams and numerous athletes competing. Instead, there is plenty of buzz about the advertisements that will be featured during commercial breaks and halftime.

Every year, it seems more and more hype builds for the ads. It's not uncommon for various companies to recruit big-time Hollywood stars to appear in their commercials, while paying even bigger money to the broadcaster for specific timeslots. These ads typically cost millions of dollars just for the timeslot. Production costs are more.

To all you small business owners out there wondering how the heck you could ever compete with such giant corporations that have seemingly endless budgets, the ads can be as depressing as they are entertaining.

The thing is, however, that you don't need a bunch of movie stars in a million-dollar commercial during the Super Bowl to sell your products and grow your business. What you need is an innovative approach to promote your product, while offering it at a high quality.

There are so many ways nowadays to effectively market your business without spending all kinds of money. Creating a web site or Facebook site; or taking advantage of other social networking opportunities like Twitter can really help boost the appeal of your company and drive up sales. You can even pay Facebook to post your business' ads on the pages of potential customers, whose profile or wall posts indicate they may be interested in what you're offering!

Along with new technology, you can still use older marketing techniques that are just as cheap or cheaper. The most important is word-of-mouth advertising. I still contend that this is the best form of advertising to grow a small business. Building support for your business based on the experiences of happy customers being shared to colleagues and friends leads to sales, plain and simple. Referrals are huge. Of course, in order to get referrals and build a good buzz around your business, you need to offer a good product.

The truth is, many of the business I frequent in my neighborhood on my leisure time or use in my business dealings are businesses that I've been referred to. That's because I trust certain people when they tell me about a good thing. The thing is, many of these businesses are extremely busy and bustling, yet they rarely, if ever, run a full-scale ad campaign.

As you can see, you don't need a pricey Super Bowl commercial to compete. You need to take advantage of the resources you have at your disposal and utilize them to the fullest.

** Hands-on Hobbies Can Bring Info Marketing Gold
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

"Oh, I can't, I can't..."
 
My colleagues and I hear that a lot from people who dream about becoming entrepreneurs, but then second-guess themselves. Their dreams are grand, but, for whatever reason, they decide against pursuing those interests.

This is a truly negative attitude to have. If you say it once, you'll probably say it again, and it will always hinder you from realizing your true potential.

I am always trying to get people to think about what skills or interests they already have if they want to become info marketers. I know I've said it again and again, but that great interest in whatever info source you might have should be a great info marketing source all by itself. It could be a recreation, a sport, or even a hobby. All three are pretty much the same and it's just a matter of taking whatever you love to do and creating information content to an audience who want to know more about, well, what you know. And they will pay for it...

But there is always that question: "Are hobbies really that good of an info source?" It's a legit concern and one worth debating. In the end the answer is "yes." There are those hobbies and activities that a large part of the population do and have done for a long time. People always want info about them.

And if you are doing them, too, that should be your ticket to getting your info marketing business going. Here're some of the most basic but very in-demand hobbies for which people always need good info:

--- Video games: Video games are everywhere now. On computers, in cell phones, in back pockets...everywhere. And the industry is huge, too; it reached the billion-dollar mark in sales in 2008. While once thought of as evil electronic mind control devices that make your kids lazy, they have been shown to be both popular and surprisingly helpful in some areas of cognitive skill, according to new research. It's really global and people everywhere of all ages are playing them. Are you a gamer? It's nothing to be ashamed of. Do you know something about them? Secret codes maybe? Ways to play online? New game info perhaps? Well, put the game pad down and get going on an info product!

---Fishing: Not interested in the electronic world and prefer the company of lakes, boats, and scaly, fighting water creatures? Nothing wrong with that either. Fishing is still a huge hobby and, again, a global pastime. People in Europe, Asia, and here in North America still enjoy tying flies, collecting lures, and heading off into a remote fishing tank to wet a line and hook a big fish for themselves. TV shows and magazines have cashed on it, so why can't you? Any fishing info, from hot fishing spots to new gear, is always in demand.

--- Models: In this day and age, with computers and television screens everywhere, it's common for people to want to come home and work with their hands. Sometimes they go for woodworking or gardening. But quite often they go back to something that has been popular for decades: models. There is still a wealth of hobby stores selling put-it-together miniature replications of objects and figures. It's a hobby of precision and is really hard to get good at. Model building is something that, if you are hip to it, is a very useful info marketing source. There are models for everything these days -- historical vehicles, comic and pop culture figures, even whole cityscapes -- with loads of enthusiasts keen to get more info on whatever new models, modeling tools, and model lifestyle news are available. Interested? Get going!

--- Stamps and postcards: With the common use of e-mail and text messaging, the idea of collecting anything related to the mail system seems too antiquated to mention. But in a way the digital world has done an odd service for collectors of stamps and postcards -- and that is that, since it isn't used as much, its products have gained value on the collectors' market. A postcard from the island of Borneo in the 1950s or a postage stamp from Tuva can be very valuable to the right person. Even more valuable is info on where to find these things, their value, etc. It's a great info source for the right people and, if you are one of those people, you could be sitting on a gold mine.

Obviously there are loads of other universally popular hobbies I could get into -- comics, sports memorabilia, and antiques. But I think you get my drift. There are just loads of info sources out there and they are related to things you like to do. Remember that info marketing is born out of providing the world info on something you love. Look around you and see what you enjoy the most. That is the seed of your future info marketing success.

More to come, so stay tuned.