October 5, 2009

A Brick-and-mortar Business Benefits from Paper... Using
Predictable Behaviors to Get What You Want... Get Over Your
Fears and Never Neglect a Free Offer... How to Keep Your
Info Marketing Skills Up-to-date... and More.

Many entrepreneurs have dreams about owning and running a brick-and-mortar business. These dreams are filled with images of doors bursting open and hundreds of excited customers filling up a store or restaurant or whatever dream business you may have.

To get started running their own business, quite often entrepreneurs will look at franchises. These can be great profit centers, and they come with all the information and tools needed to run and operate them.

There's just one thing standing in the way: the upfront cost of actually licensing a franchise. The more popular the chain, the higher that price tag creeps up.

However, if you're looking to run a business, can't afford a franchise and aren't interested in starting from scratch, you may still have another option.

In my neighborhood, people often mourn the loss of a long- standing business. Whether it's a popular restaurant or a local mom-and-pop grocery store, the loss of these businesses that have helped define a neighborhood really strikes home.

This is where your opportunity lies. Now, a business on the verge of closing is something that may at first sound like a bad investment. However, you must consider the reasons why they are closing shop.

Perhaps the family has just lost interest in running a business, or perhaps they are hoping to pursue other business ventures. In these instances, it could be possible for you to move in and take over an existing business -- possibly even without all of the high costs a franchise would include.

Keeping your new business afloat will take some work. You'll have to learn the quirks of the neighborhood and most likely the names of all of the regular customers.

You can even introduce something new to the business. An information marketing product, such as a newsletter, is a great way not only to connect with the locals, but also to give them notice and get feedback about changes you hope to make.

In short, there are some great business opportunities to be found in every neighborhood. Small businesses are essential to many towns across the country, and one of them may just be your key to success.

If you watch closely, you'll begin to see how predictable people are, and you may just be able to use their responses to get what you want.

By testing human responses to marketing efforts, I know that people will do a swan dive to the words "free," "sale," and "50% off." It's become human nature to want to get things at a discount. But that's not the only thing that's built into predictable behavior.

There's also the cultural reactivity that you and every one else experiences as you pass through different stages of your maturity. By simply understanding a person's cultural idealism -- and the pictures they paint in their own minds -- you will be able to better understand and anticipate their reactions.

Along with cultural reactivity, however, comes moral reactivity. This is where your moral or religious education has formulated your belief system. Your morals gradually form as you mature. Over time, they strengthen, shift or maybe even break apart entirely. But they are one of the strongest cornerstones of your conviction.

Just think; wars are fought over moral boundaries, and human lives are laid on the line because of them. Suffice it to say, the ability not only to understand, but also accept someone else's moral stance can go a long way towards establishing a successful relationship with them.

Most people also experience emotion reactivity, which is an instinctive response to situations; one we are all born with. This might be what some people refer to as "a genetic predisposition," but it, too, matures with time and experience. Some people are just wired to be hot-headed, indolent, or over- emotional. Hopefully, with age, their responses become more appropriate, but sometimes they don't.

The key to getting what you want is understanding how a person will react in a given situation. You can start by identifying some of the predictable behaviors they may have in common with the rest of their community. However, it is important to remember that every person is different and that you are not limiting your conversation based on predicted behaviors they may not have.

It's funny how many of us neglect free offers. You probably, however, think you would never turn down a free offer if it was presented to you. Well, consider these: coupons. Every week, we get all kinds of them and pay absolutely nothing for them...and we don't pay attention to them either. But with the amount of money they can save us, it's basically like getting a check for free money.

Last week, for instance, I read about a woman named Heather Hernandez who walked into the grocery store and bought $160 worth of groceries. The thing is, she only paid $30 for them. How did she manage to knock $130 off her grocery bill? By putting a little time in and cutting out some of the free coupons she'd received.

Since the recession hit, the popularity of paper coupons have made a remarkable comeback. Everyone is using them, from teenagers to wealthy people. It doesn't matter what kind of money a person makes or their age, coupons are becoming a staple of shopping in our country once again.

If you're concerned that people will judge you negatively for pulling out coupons at the cashier, think again. The truth is that they'll probably admire and respect you. Heck, they've probably got a handful of them in their own pockets, anyways! These days, saving money is back in style.

Coupons don't just save you money, but they also provide the opportunity to have some fun with friends and family. It's become quite popular for people to get together on a weeknight, or even spend a few hours together on a weekend afternoon, to sit around and cut their coupons. It provides a low-cost social outing that lets people enjoy good company while doing something productive.

The fact is that everybody spends all kinds of money every year on groceries. It's actually quite strange that coupons have lost so much popularity in recent years. I mean, who would have thought that saving money could be such a bad thing? If you can save even $10-$15 per week, that can be well over $500 in savings per year!

If you want to save money and ride the wave of resurgence in saving, take some time and go through the free coupons you receive every week!

** How to Keep Your Info Marketing Skills Up-to-date
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

The other night was a late night. And a bad one.

I had gone through another pot of coffee and four whole sheets of paper, completely covered with illegible scribbles. Nothing was coming. I had to get some Web content done for a client and everything that I was doing was no good. I got up, paced around, played some music, ate a slice of toast, turned the music off, and then sat down at my desk again. Still nothing. This was bad -- I needed to get this content to the client the next day.

If this sounds familiar to you, then I feel happy to join the ranks of other hard workers in the info marketing field. You are trying to crank out the best work you can and sometimes your brain is not cooperating.

Anyone who tells you that information marketing is an easy job just, well, doesn't understand it. You have to access every nook and cranny of your brain in order to get the knowledge of your area of expertise AND present it to an audience. This is for them to be informed and for you to get paid. It's not a paint-by- numbers endeavor and only certain people can do it.

Things go well when you start in info marketing, as you are fresh to the field. You are all gears and wheels, and writing your information comes fairly quickly. Then you hit the potholes: writer's block; lack of enthusiasm; or lack of new information. They can be painful and sometimes long-lasting, but it is an absolute that these problems will happen. It's just part of your professional life.

But knowing that these things will happen is a good way of preparing yourself for when they arrive on your doorstep. It's also a good way for you to work towards keeping your information marketing skills fresh.

Keeping your information marketing skills fresh is different for every marketer. But every marketer should first realize that inspiration is key. Whatever you are writing about is the topic you have the most enthusiasm for and knowledge of. Never let that thought falter in your mind. Even if you are tired of pounding out more baseball stats or antique automobile specs, remember that this is the stuff you love. It can be a bit tiresome, but it's the thing you love to inform others about. Don't let fatigue of the subject get in the way of renewed inspiration on your info topic.

With this in mind, every info marketer who wants to stay fresh should also know when things are going wrong and acknowledge it. If you read my little bit at this article's intro, you'll see how I wasn't doing this. I was basically forcing myself to write my content. This will always go wrong. Your clients are not stupid and they will realize when you deliver them something filled with recycled ideas and ho-hum concepts. Then they will leave. If you get in this situation, just take a break. It's all you can do. Take a walk, read a book, go to the movies...whatever. Don't try to continually force content out of your tired mind. It won't work out in the end and you'll go crazy in the process.

But one thing every info marketer should be is up-to-date. That is, the content they are writing about is up-to-date on the subject they are writing about. This can be great for two reasons. The first is that you can always get new ideas for your written content and the second is that, if you get into one of those writer's block funks, you can sit back and read new ideas often just for pleasure. That's often all you need to get refreshed and go back to your info marketing business.

Just to go back to my story at the beginning: I finally abandoned everything and went into the kitchen. I had a stack of dirty dishes and decided to go to work on them. After about five minutes of scrubbing, my mind started to calm. Then, out of the blue, the next paragraphs for my content came. The words just flowed and I dropped what I was doing at the sink and went back to my desk. After a few minutes, it was done.

Sound cheesy? I know -- it does to me, too. But it's true. I had forgotten that, in order to keep my mind and skill set fresh, I had to relax a little. Always be looking for what individual situations you need to keep your information marketing skills fresh. It's different for everyone, but once you know how or what circumstances you should be in, you'll be ready for anything.

Good luck!