I received two separate reports of an internet marketing event that took place this last weekend. Though saying it took place is being generous. The promoter was expecting 800 people. He revised his numbers to 400 the week before. The actual count was under 30; probably under 20. Was the event promoter just not good at his job? I have seen this happen to other promoters, too. Is it a sign of the times? Possibly. A combination of both? Maybe.
Twice I have seen events labeled as “Expos” fall flat on their face. (If an event can fall flat on its face.) What’s the problem with the word expo? Nothing, if you’re putting on an expo. But think of the way that audiences participate in expos. They come and go at whatever time, maybe they have a schedule and have a few events that they will make a point to see. But for the most part, an expo involves wandering through aisles of booths with various demonstrations going on at all times.
The problem that these two promoters had was that they were putting on Sell-A-Thons. You know the event: Four speakers a day, all giving a 90 minute talk with an upsell at the end. The price of admission is low in the hopes of filling the room and letting the speakers sell to the audience. There’s nothing wrong with a Sell-A-Thon if you know what you are heading into from the get-go. I have picked up a lot of useful information, some great contacts and been exposed to some terrific speakers with truly worthwhile products. But as a promoter, you really need to get the butts in the seats from 8:30 in the morning til around 6:00 at night. An expo is a walking around event; a Sell-A-Thon is a butt-in-seat event.
This past weekend’s event was called a “Summit”. That sounds like a pretty high level meeting. But anyone who has been to more than three events knows a Sell-A-Thon when they see one.
Which leads me to some of the problems I see in seminar marketing in general. (That was a long way around, wasn’t it?)
First of all, stop insulting your prospects’ intelligence. If it’s a Sell-A-Thon, man up and tell it like it is. If you are worth your salt as a promoter, you will be able to add enough value to the event to entice people in.
Second, people who go to opportunity seminars (business opportunity, internet marketing, etc.) for the most part, don’t have extra money to spend. That’s why they are looking at business opportunities. That means you should put your event someplace that is cheap and easy to fly into with low price hotel rooms. (If you are marketing to the super-affluent, reverse everything I just said.)
Third, people have a hard time finding time these days. A three-day event really cuts into a person’s week. Don’t believe me? Go to a three-day event and count heads on Friday then count heads on Saturday. Count how many people leave early on Sunday.
Fourth, and most importantly, people need value for their time. They are scrambling to pay the bills, to keep ahead of inflation, to keep up with the world. Just as they are tight about spending their money, they are even tighter with spending their time.
There’s nothing wrong with Sell-A-Thons. Promoters make money on them every day and people buy good products that they might not have known about. But try packing some real content into the day. Give people more than they expected. The days of people throwing their credit cards down are gone, at least for the time being. Whether you are selling seminar seats or gift baskets, you have to stop blowing smoke up people’s skirts and start giving them real value.
I am on a simplification rampage lately, throwing out, donating, shredding as much as I possibly can. I am tired of all the excess. Tired of too much (non) information, too much noise, too many possessions.
When the world gets too complex, we hide in the simple. We like to say we relish simple things and maybe that’s a nicer way to put it. But really, we go hide in our little nest or cave and let our brains quiet down, trying to get ourselves back to center.
To that end, I’ve started unsubscribing from as many marketing emails as I can. I am throwing out the people who send me announcement after announcement of launch after launch. I am getting rid of the people who are in a niche I am no longer interested in or have put on the back burner for now. Mostly I am getting rid of duplicate marketers who are selling variations of the same thing.
Which brings me to my frustration with the world today. We’re all doing variations of the same thing. I have a friend who calls it “mowing each other’s lawns.” We’re all selling something to the next guy. But what I don’t see is people PRODUCING things. And I don’t mean just tangible things. I don’t see the innovation and creativity that are needed to turn this country’s and the world’s economy around. I haven’t seen him, but I hope there is a farmer in Iowa who has been tinkering in his barn and is developing a new, cheap biofuel or an engine that really does run on water. I hope that there are enough young people who still want to go into farming to produce our food, even though being a reality TV star looks like more fun. I hope that there are people who aren’t waiting for the government to create jobs and are working to create jobs for others. I hope that somewhere there is a researcher who is patiently trying and testing his ideas, which other scholars have scoffed at.
Everyone likes to think they “think outside the box” but really, how many people take the time to think at all, much less think creatively. How often do you get a chance to sit quietly and wonder about the why and how behind the headlines or even people’s actions. How often do you have a chance to slow down and observe how something works? How often are you able to throw off the filters of your education, upbringing and social environment and truly think from a different perspective?
Doing the same stuff isn’t working. The world is in transition. This should be a time when you are not only allowed but encouraged to pursue “crazy” ideas. But I think that first we have to clear out the noise, stop relying on what other people tell us we should be doing and just get our brains quiet.
Frank Kern sent me the latest video from Ryan Deiss, internet marketer extraordinaire. Ryan is proclaiming the death of the long form sales letter. He talked about it in a video format. (Full disclosure: I didn’t finish watching the video because it kept getting hung up every 8 – 12 seconds and because I couldn’t tell how long the video would be.)
Oops. Well, I think we just hit the first problem with video sales letters. Videos get hung up. They sometimes download slowly. If they are the kind that you can’t fast forward through (we are living in a TIVO world) then people aren’t going to hang around to hear what you have to say. As technology improves, this will be less of a problem. But we are dealing with the here and now.
Besides being cute as a button, Ryan is right that people nowadays don’t like to read. Except of course, for the people who like to read. If your target demographic is over 50, they are probably more likely to read than watch a video. The older they are, the more likely that is. If your demographic is skewed more to females than males, they will probably be more likely to read. If your product has anything to do with books, writing, reading, etc. your prospects are probably readers.
If your target market is 12 – 22 year old males into extreme skateboarding, then yes. They don’t read. Also, extreme skateboarding is a whole lot more fun to watch than a writer sitting there trying to figure out what to say.
Is the long sales letter still appropriate in some cases? Absolutely. People skim long form sales letters, looking at the headlines and sub-headlines and stopping to read what catches their interest. Very few people read the entirety of a long form sales letter. (Full Disclosure Again: I am not completely sure I have ever read all of any long form sales letter I have WRITTEN, much less stumbled onto online.) If you are targeting – ahem – older people, we are readers.
All that being said, there’s one more important factor, whether you are using audio, video or the written word (I recommend all three). People are more and more pressed for time. The news cycle is faster, internet speeds are insane, the economy has people stressed and most people feel like they are rushing just to keep up. So, no matter what medium you are using, make your point and be done with it. Just as long form sales letters sometimes go on too long, so do videos and audios. There’s nothing worse than sitting through someone’s INCREDIBLY LONG video that is a takeoff on the latest (FILL IN THE BLANK HERE: JAMES BOND, BOURNE IDENTITY, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, etc., etc.) movie. They are always too long, the pacing is slow and the acting (since the marketers usually star – after all, it’s their little fantasy) is enough to make you gouge your eyes out with an ice pick. Doesn’t matter if you are using the long form sales letter, audio or video, tedious is tedious. Make your point. Then shut up.
I have been working on web copy for a client who is a fairly new real estate investor. His goal is to wholesale houses, helping people in foreclosure, work short sales and maybe doing some rehabs.
I sent him the first draft of the website copy. Now my goal, when I write branding site copy, is to put the person or company in the best light possible. I want visitors to get a feel for the person, get comfortable and have confidence in their abilities. In other words, I have been known to lay it on thick.
I was so pleased to get an email back that said something to the effect of “I like it, but I’m not sure I am able to do all those things.” (Which ones? Leap tall buildings in a single bound? Slay foreclosure dragons?) I had to laugh. Most people have no problem stretching the truth a bit when it comes to advertising or marketing. After all, “Everyone does it.” It is one of the points I ponder on a daily basis. How far should you go to put yourself in a good light? How much truth should be revealed? And if you are competing against people who are flat out lying, what do you do? How do you fight it?
I have said before that I think the average consumer is tired of the hype, tired of being promised the world. They are looking for people who are real, who are sincere, who are trying their best to do what they say they will do. I think my new client is going to do just fine in this new economic environment. Cheers to him. And to all of you out there who are struggling to bring integrity back to marketing.
I know…. it is TOO easy. But someone has to take the low road.
“You are always a valuable, worthwhile human being, not because anybody says so, not because you’re successful, not because you make a lot of money, but because you decide to believe it and for no other reason.” – Dr Wayne Dyer
Really Wayne? Cuz I’ve never met ANYONE who has an undeservedly high opinion of himself.
It’s time that you begin to tap into the beautiful truth that, if you can see it in your head, you can hold it in your hand.-Bob Proctor
OK Bob. I can see George Clooney naked in my head. Very clearly as a matter of fact. But I am holding NOTHIN.
In the spirit of trying to stop the spread of mass stupidity (If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem) this category is dedicated to all those stupid quotes that people tend to share on social networking sites that make no f***ing sense. I’ll be adding to the list as I come across them. If we don’t stop this, we will become a nation of sheep, parroting other people’s ideas with no intellectual input of our own. Wait… Ah crap….
From Facebook: “My acronymn for TIME= To Invest Moments Thoughtfully
… you can quote me.” Gee. No thanks.
This is a “retweet” from Twitter. As if it wasn’t stupid enough the first time, someone had to pass it along: “RT @SkinnyThinking: If a thought or a story makes you feel bad, know that it’s a lie and ignore it.” WRONG. Just because something makes you feel bad, doesn’t mean it’s a lie and should be ignored. You know, like cancer.
“Everything happens for a reason.” Not really. But if it makes you feel better to assign a reason to everything that happens, then go for it.
“How are you going to have the time to fix the problem if you don’t have the time to do it right the first time?”
How about tomorrow when my schedule isn’t so crowded???
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” WTF?
More to come…. stay tuned.
When I worked on cruise ships, the bigger ones in particular, we were constantly having our photos taken – by the ship’s photographers, passengers and friends. Some of the people you had your arms around you barely knew – staged camaraderie for the folks at home. (Which is how so many politicians end up shaking terrorists’ hands at fundraising dinners.)
I am reminded of this because I have been doing a lot of hard thinking (and chewing) on marketing these days: selling, being a platform speaker, writing marketing copy for myself and others. There are various components that I am gnawing on that I will address in future posts. One is whether or not you have to make hyperbolic claims to sell. Another is whether or not people really want truth in marketing or do they want to be sold a dream. And today I am thinking about cross-promoting, joint ventures and really, endorsing others.
More and more I am asked to do “send outs” to my list to promote people’s events. Some people I know personally; I know their work and I have no problem recommending that people go to their events. Others I may know peripherally or maybe they have attended one or two of my events. Still others I have not met at all – they are on the “circuit” and promoting someone will give you a chip to cash in when you need something promoted. And finally, probably what got me started on this rant today, are the people who I just think either bring nothing to the table or who are hucksters or both.
I can be endorsed by some of the biggest names in the book/speaking business if I write a big enough check. I can write a chapter in their next bestselling book. I have seen these people endorse just about anybody and anything, from truly poorly written work to just flat out stupid theories. I’ve also seen them endorse some good work, too. But at this point, any time I see certain names attached to a launch, my eyes roll back in my head and my B.S. detector goes into overdrive. They have no credibility with me. But (and here’s the rub and not a good massage-y kind of rub but a “don’t touch my second-degree sunburn” kind of rub) millions of people still believe in them, buy their books and the products they recommend.
So do you close your eyes and think of England and jump into bed with these people, rationalizing it by telling yourself that you are putting out quality work and this will help get the word out to the people who need it? Do you keep marketing slow and steadily, never getting into the inner, higher circles because you don’t want to play the game? Do you sit there in your humble home with your five year old car and pile of monthly bills saying, “Well, at least I can sleep at night.” The truth is that these people are extremely successful, they make a lot of money and even if their credibility is eventually shot (which is doubtful because it’s a great big world) they still are living an extraordinary lifestyle and yes, they are very happy. They have no problem sleeping at night.
I know this is marketing. I’m not stupid or naïve, but there has to be a certain level of truth in what you say to the general public, whether it is policed by the FTC or not. Where do you draw the line between creative marketing and outright lies? At what point does the fat of the steak become the sizzle? Who do you endorse and whose email do you pretend you never received? And am I the only one stupid enough to be worrying about this stuff?
I was behind a mattress company truck on the highway the other day and their slogan, written across the side of the truck was “Number one in customer satisfaction.”
On the surface, that sounds pretty good. Reassuring to a certain extent. And then I thought about it…
Far be it from me to be harsh… ok. Stop snickering, pick yourself up from the floor and keep reading! As I was saying, far be it from me to be harsh, but I don’t really care if the company is number one in customer satisfaction. I want to make sure I am satisfied. I mean really, if everyone else is enjoying their meal but yours has a cigarette butt sitting in the middle of it, do you really feel good that everybody else is happy??? See. It’s not just me.
You know what I’d rather see? A picture of a manager and a crew delivering a new mattress to a house in the dead of night with the message: “We don’t sleep until you sleep.” Or “If you’re not satisfied, we don’t sleep.” Heck, if I’m going to suffer because of shoddy workmanship, I want the company to suffer too.
How not to “tweet”:A judge running for reelection put this one out and it somehow caught my eye amid all the clutter on my “twit-stream”. (Don’t ask.)
@Judgesoandso: Join mailing list to receive information about re-election campaign, learn how you can volunteer! http://idiotslink
Oh Joy! Be still my beating heart! I can help this guy get a great paying job and not get paid myself? Where do I sign up? Well, not with the link which dropped me on his FaceBook page. If I didn’t have a FaceBook account, I wouldn’t have access to the information to volunteer. As it stood, I didn’t even have the inclination to sign into FaceBook and investigate further.
Not that I suspect he is a self-centered flaming jerk, because really, he looked like a nice guy, but let’s just say that he wasn’t aware of the necessity of benefit-driven marketing. Granted, it’s hard to work an entire political platform into 140 characters, but when you are going into a field which pretty much allows you to lie and lie big, why not take advantage of that leeway? How about “Volunteer for my re-election campaign and I’ll wipe out your first three speeding tickets. Sign up here.” Now that’s a benefit.
OK. So maybe that’s a little far-fetched but you see where I’m going with this. So how about “It’s time Joe Average got a fair shake in the legal system. Help make justice better for you.” A little more reason to help this guy get re-elected.
My point? People buy something or do something when it is to their advantage to do so. What YOU consider a benefit may not be what THEY consider a benefit. You need to really think about what your customer needs and wants and be able to present yourself in such a way that you bring value to them. A benefit isn’t a benefit when it doesn’t benefit the end user. Wasn’t that fun?
(With apologies to Steve Lawrence and Sammy Davis, Jr.)
This is a quickie post but it’s something that’s been bugging me for a long time. When did people become afraid of using the word “me”? (Except of course, for those self-proclaimed divas who have no problem stating that they need some “me time”. But that’s another post.)
So, I will just play the Grammar Fairy, come down, tap you on the head with my magic wand and tell you how to use the word “me” with confidence.
Easiest one to remember: After the words “to”or “for”. Sure, I could go all the way back to first year Latin and impress you with my knowledge of the dative case, but hey – who cares? To me; for me. Give the ball to me. The package came for me. Simple. And hardly anyone screws this one up.
But here’s where people have trouble. When they add in another person. For example:
Come down to the office and meet with Bobby and I.
Take out the “Bobby and” and read the sentence aloud.
Come down to the office and meet with I.
Kind of obvious now, isn’t it?
Anytime you are unsure as to whether you should use me or I, take out the “whatever and” and read the sentence out loud without them.
“But Barb,” you ask. “What about predicate nominative?”
Dear God, you warm the cockles of my heart.
The predicate nominative is a noun that follows a linking verb that restates or stands for the subject.
We had a running joke in our house. No one would respond to the question “Who is it?” with “It’s me.” We’d all say, “It is I, predicate nominative.” My mother had corrected all of us enough times that we just added in the grammatical footnote automatically.
But for those of you who did not have the benefit of my mother correcting your grammar for 18 years, just think back to the song in Peter Pan: I Won’t Grow Up. The chorus was: “I’ll never grow up, not me.” “Not I.” “Not me, so there.” Peter could fly but his grammar sucked. Not I.
So, fear no more. You are allowed to use the word “me.” Just not in the context of “me-time.”
And that’s the marketing word.
OK. I’ll admit it. I’m jaded. Cynical. Bitchy. All of the above.
But I also call ‘em like I see ‘em. And I have to tell you, I am really tired of the hype and B.S. coming from the speaker at the front of the room.
It’s called platform sales and it’s a great way to market your product or service or yourself. Don’t get me wrong on that point. Most of my clients come to me by seeing me speak at a live event (which is ever so much more fun than a dead event). But I think it’s time speakers stopped with the crap. Crap like:
Hand-Me-Down NLP: “Perhaps many of you like me have tried many times to be successful.” Wow, I am so glad you scanned through NLP for Dummies while you were swilling your Starbucks Vente (which actually means “twenty”) at Barnes and Noble. “I was sitting in the audience, just like you are today, blah blah blah.” There is more to Neuro-Linguistic Programming than scattering a few trick phrases into your talk. If you are going to use NLP, spend the time and money and learn what it is all about. Clumsy NLP doesn’t work. Think nails on a chalkboard.
Tale of Woe: Stories are powerful ways of relating a message, no doubt about it. But it seems to me that every speaker who gets up to sell has to have been 1) raised by horrendous or neglectful parents; 2) raised by loving but dirt poor parents; 3) been down to his last eighty-seven cents when he sadly watched his car being repossessed in front of his wife, children and mother-in-law; and, of course, 4) lived in a van down by the river. I actually watched one psychologist/personal coach do a 90 minute presentation where he laid out all his issues with his mother. He left home when he was about 15 years old. When I saw him, he was well over 60. He had 45 years to resolve his issues and move on with his life. Obviously, he hadn’t. I am thinking that this is not the guy I want as my mentor. Get over it. And stop sharing. So you had a whacked out mother. A lot of people did. Suck it up and move on you baby. He’s wasted an entire lifetime and then he had the nerve to waste 90 minutes of my lifetime. Just doesn’t work for me. Sorry.
Touching the Audience: I’d love to name a particular name here, but then I couldn’t tell you all I want to. Let’s just say there is a male speaker who has an old school carny barker style and he likes to rest his hands on audience members’ shoulders as he speaks. He thinks he is demonstrating a “connection” to the audience. I have actually seen him kiss audience members (male and female) to demonstrate that he loves them all. One word: Ewwwwwww. First, the guy is creepy. Second, he doesn’t even like himself, so how could he possibly love others. Third, some people don’t like to be touched by strangers, even non-creepy ones. Fourth, he’s an asshole. No. Really. Fifth, did I mention Ewwwwwww? He may sell like a little banshee (and I have heard his trainings are actually great, full of content and he really likes to help people) but he would be so much better off leaving the Grecian formula pompadour and attitude behind. That “Rich Jerk” style doesn’t do it for me. Which leads us to…
Look how rich I am!: “I’m rich. You’re not. You suck. I’m great. If you want to be rich like I am (and you are some sort of pinko commie loser if you don’t want to), buy my course.” I have to rank this right up there with loudly berating a waiter because the food wasn’t EXACTLY the way the high-maintenance jerk special ordered it. If I have to put people down to elevate myself, I’m in deep kim-chee. On another note, most of the guys putting up those pictures of themselves and their toys (and, insulting all the women in the room by including their trophy wife/girlfriend in those pictures) don’t really have them. How many times have you seen some guy or gal standing next to that rented Bentley in front of the rented mansion? Puh-leeeeeze. We know the house. We know the car. We know it’s rented.
Can I get an A-men?: No, you can’t. I don’t want to spend time shouting your fruity, stale catch-phrase back at you just so you can think the audience is “with” you. And that includes all of you guys still using the Austin Powers “Yeah, baby.” It’s obnoxious. If you want to know if the audience is with you, see if they start filling in the words on their own. Regurgitating is not learning.
Shoulder Massage Train: “Everybody turn to the left and rub the shoulders of the person in front of you.” OK. See touching the audience above. Ewwwwww. I don’t want strangers giving me backrubs. Take me to dinner first. Hello!
Bottom Line: All of these are effective means of connecting with an audience when used correctly. My complaint is with the clumsy and stale ways that these sales techniques are applied. Marketing is constantly shifting. Our economy has taken a wild swing from a few years ago. People are smarter and more sophisticated about marketing. They can fact check and product check in seconds by going online. Old school marketing is just that. Old school. And it isn’t working in today’s market atmosphere. And here’s a clue: If this stuff isn’t working for platform speakers anymore, then these same techniques that you are adapting to one-on-one sales situations won’t work anymore either. That’s your heads up. Take a look at the way you are presenting yourself and your product. And start really relating to what your target market wants and needs. Cuz tricks are for kids.
