Step 1: Make a list

Make a list of all the attributes of your ideal client. Make her/him into a character, if that helps. If it’s important to understanding your target, describe the kind of clothes she wears, what she enjoys doing, what she eats, where she lives. Also how old she is and how much money she makes are key. If you sell high end jewelry, you are probably not selling to broke college kids.

Step 2: Look at where she shops

Now that you have the first list, make another list of where that person would shop. Banana Republic or Wal-Mart? Macy’s or Target? This can give you an idea of how your audience makes its shopping decisions. A Wal-Mart shopper is probably swayed more by price than brand loyalty, while Banana Republic shoppers are likely to stay loyal to the brand.

I know it may be difficult to come up with some of this information, but don’t be afraid to generalize or assume, if you have nothing in the way of research.

Step 3: Do some research

Visit Google Ad Planner to get statistics to help you if you’re looking to promote online (and of course you are!). I’ve written about this resource before, so go back and study it. It will help you search for the websites that your demographic (based on age, income, education, and/or geography) visit the most. This can help you decide what websites you need to have a presence on.

It’s important to know how your target audience likes to be marketed to. If the results show up that your demographic is heavily into Facebook, then it’s a no brainer that you need to be on there. It doesn’t matter if you’re not into Facebook: if you want to sell, you have to speak your customers’ language.

You can also research those companies you listed in step 2 and see what their websites and ad campaigns look like. If they’re motivated by sales, that needs to be part of your marketing strategy. If they are brand oriented, you need to work on building your brand so that customers become evangelists.

Need help figuring out your target audience? Let’s brainstorm together.

What about a video?

I have devised a storyline for Ima Iosafe, a personalized external hard drive looking for a little getaway from the drudgeries of being blasted with flames and dunked in water. She’ll have many adventures, and I don’t want to give away too much right now, but here’s a sneak peek of Ima IoSafe.

So relating this back to you, don’t necessarily do what everyone else is doing when it comes to marketing. Think of something wild and crazy that will get people’s attention and curiosity.

What kinds of marketing have you done that was outside the box?

I don’t get a lot of phone calls. When I do, I’m excited that they might be new clients for Egg. Suffice it to say, when I received two calls from recruiters this week, I was less than thrilled. After all, I work from home. I have a staff of two. I don’t need temp staffing.

One called because I was nominated for the same Women Who Mean Business Award that her manager was. Not enough reason to have something in common. Get your pitch right, girl.

I would never call a company out of the blue and say, “Hey! I see we both wear blue occasionally. Can we help you with your marketing??”

Don’t these people see that there are other ways to get business, like:

• Becoming an expert
• Blogging
• Social media
• Press releases
• Email marketing

All right all you closet cold callers. I want to out you right here and now and help you convert to better marketing. Tell us your true cold calling confessions!

1. Blog. I think you know how I feel about blogging. I’ve been writing this blog for three years, and recently started a parenting blog. Not to mention me contributing to Dell’s Small Business Blog and a soon-to-be-announced e-marketing blog.

Why: Blogs are full of information. On what you know. What better way to show the world that you know your stuff than to blog about it regularly?

2. Public Speaking. This is one I decided to work on in 2009. I’ve spoken at the Hispanic Business Expo (something I won’t be doing in Spanish again) and I am frequently found on teleseminars about marketing.

Why: Speaking to a crowd really shows your confidence and your knowledge in a topic. The idea is that people are so impressed with you , they come up to you afterward and hire you on the spot. I’m still waiting for that.

3. Interviews. In the last year I’ve been interviewed several times, for blogs, podcasts, live webinars, and other e-products. I love letting my inner marketing geek out and helping people do their own marketing.

Why: Again, it shows your stuff. And if you sell ebooks or other products like I do, interviews are a great way to drive people to your website to buy.

4. Social Media. Another big one for me. I don’t do enough talking about marketing, but when I do, people listen. People who follow me on Twitter have approached me for projects. You can’t always see the results but they happen.

Why: People are on social media to learn. If you can teach even just one person, you’ve done your job.

Now, what are you doing to establish yourself as an expert?

Sparkplugging is starting a new tradition called ‘Spark an Idea Thursday’.  Each week we’ll be sharing some great ideas for a topic of interest to our readers.  We invite you to grab our image and carry the tradition through to your own blog!  If you do, please link back to this post so we know where you were inspired!

Many of you work out of your homes, like me. And I’m sure you have distractions. But have you ever stopped to think that you might not be the only one getting distracted?

If you have children at home or pets, people calling your office may be able to hear them. Above all, you need to maintain your professionality, so here are some tips to keep your office quiet.

• Please the pets. If pets are the noisemaker, put the dog outside and cover the birdcage when you plan to be on the phone.
• Give the kids something to do. Kids want your attention, and it’s inevitably when you’re on the phone with a client. Explain to your child that you have certain times to spend with them (try for their crankiest hours) and certain times you have to work in your office. Alone. With the door closed.
• Create a balance. Do spend some dedicated time with your child, and do work alone. But also allow for some time where your child can quietly work in your office, perhaps coloring on the floor. Let them know that if they get noisy they have to leave.
• Involve your kids. A lot of times, kids just want to know what Mom or Dad are doing. Put them in your lap and let them type on a Word document or explain what you’re working on. If they’re young enough (like mine) their eyes will glaze over and they’ll soon leave you in peace!
• Pick a better time. If there’s no way around a screaming baby, choose to work off hours, like when your spouse is home or after bedtime. You’ll get more done if you can concentrate.

But come on, people. You know you have to spellcheck ANY email or marketing collateral that leaves your office. RIGHT??? Not so. I got this email today.

At first I only caught the “fist” (2 times!) but bonus! They also misspelled Opportunities. What sucks is the email wasn’t sent by Career Builder, but that’s sure the brand you see all over this horrible email (it’s horrible not only because no one bothered to read it but also because it wasn’t targeted. I don’t have 4+ years experience in mortgage underwriting).

I feel like I don’t really need to say it, but people! Use spellcheck! Actually read through your emails before you send them out!

Do you have any funny examples of companies not checking over their work? Please share them!

I don't think so.

Clearly, those places aren’t ideal for an internet marketing firm. Not to say they’re not right for your business, but they’re not where my audience (business owners who at least appreciate online marketing) go to get their messages.

So I ask you this: what channels are you using right now to market your products? Are they all appropriate for your target audience? Could you stand to change a few methods to better reach them and to keep up with all the amazing tools that Marketing 2.0 has to offer?

I want to talk about your target market. First off, do you know what I mean by that?

A target market is the group of people most likely to buy your product or service.

So if you’re a virtual assistant, that target market will likely be solopreneurs, who may work from home, who have trouble doing all their tasks by theirselves, who need a little help a few hours a week with administrative work.

If you sell organic cat food, your target market would be people with cats who have a little more money to treat Fluffy to special organic food.

Take a minute to write out who your target market is.

• What type of person is he or she?
• How old is this person?
• What income does he/she make (can be vague like upper/middle/lower class)
• Where does he/she shop?
• Does he/she have to live in a certain area to be an ideal customer for you?

Now for the big question: how does he/she receive his/her marketing messages? Is he/she computer savvy? Then the answer might be social media sites. If your target market is seniors, this might not be the case.

It’s important to understand your target market before you plan your marketing campaign. That way, you know what marketing tools to use to best reach and convert your target market to sales.

For most businesses, cutting back on marketing means We just don’t do any marketing. This frustrates me! You can cut back on marketing spending quite easily without actually cutting back on your marketing efforts.

Let’s say you spend $5,000 a year on advertising in a publication. $10,000 on television commercials. We’ll use this as a simplified example. So you no longer have $15,000 to spend on this stuff for the results you’re getting. Great. Slash it. But replace it with something more affordable and still effective. Maybe that’s monthly press releases sent out via PRWeb and to editors. Maybe it’s creating an effective social media strategy. Maybe it’s an email campaign. Whichever you choose, you will spend a fraction of the money you were spending on advertising, and I guarantee the results will be better, in spite of the economy.

If you’re a solopreneur, or the one doing just about everything in your business, I can see that you wouldn’t want to take on more work. But if you want to have any work to do at all when we come out of this recession, YOU HAVE TO DO MARKETING. Sorry, didn’t mean to shout. I just hate it when businesses think marketing isn’t one of the top 3 things they need to do to survive. It’s like running your nails down a chalkboard for marketers. Uggggh.

Ok, so how do you do that?

• Dedicate 1 hour a day to research how to do your own marketing.
• Read ebooks, listen to podcasts, read blogs on how to DIY marketing.
• Ask colleagues what tools they’re using to market their businesses.
• Find a Small Business Development Center, SCORE or other entrepreneur resource in your town to help you.
• Hire an intern for $7 an hour from your local college’s marketing department. She might know more about social media marketing than you do!
• Buy ebooks on DIY Press Releases, Email Marketing or Social Media from The Marketing Eggspert Library! (sorry, had to get that one in; but seriously: for less than $20 you can’t get a better deal!)

Readers, any other ideas on how to get started doing your own marketing? Let’s hear them!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSZ6k3QIsAk[/youtube]

Here’s why I’ve switched sides:

• The brand clearly has brand ambassadors. These are people who love the brand and promote it out of love, not payment. See the McNuggets rap above (this went from being just a fun video some kids made to getting picked up by McDonalds for a commercial. I dig that they’re using the grassroots efforts others have done to sell.
• McDonalds clearly has a brand promise: Simple easy enjoyment. Now, I might not agree with that, but 58 million people per day visit their restaurants, so it’s got to be true.
• The company listens to employees and consumers. They have created a Global Moms Advisory Panel that takes the input from mothers worldwide, and they have a social media platform for McDonalds employees who give their insight.
• McDonalds is slowly (but faster than other large corporations) understanding the power of interactive marketing, social media, and blogs. They held a global game, The Lost Ring, during the Beijing Olympics. They invited top bloggers to participate, and the results were impressive. Also, the fact that Mary Dillon was the only speaker who considered speaking to bloggers (why bother, right?) spoke volumes to me about McD’s willingness to move forward into Marketing 2.0.
• The Big Mac Chant Contest proves that they care about their fans and customers, and did so by inviting them to participate in the contest to revamp the “2 all beef patties” chant.

Way to go McDonalds. I look forward to writing more about you.

If you’re doing bad marketing, you shouldn’t do marketing at all.

You know who I’m talking about. You’ve seen those low budget commercials, crappy websites, unprofessional blogs, horrible emails…the list goes on. And do you buy from those companies? No.

So how do you know if you’re doing bad marketing?

• You aren’t getting sales as a result of your efforts
• You wrote the copy and you are not a writer by any stretch of the imagination
• You’ve done no research into good copywriting, setting up a blog, email campaigns, etc.
• You don’t ask or get feedback on your marketing
• You hate doing it
• People unsubscribe from your email list faster than you can send out emails

I know you want to save money. I appreciate that. But you might be wasting more time and money in trying to go it alone than you would hiring a competent professional. Marketing consultants, like yours truly, often charge per project or a monthly marketing fee, so you only pay for the marketing you need. And they get it done in a fraction of the time it takes you.

So decide what your time is worth, and determine whether you truly think your marketing results are optimal. Then give me a call.

I was driving this morning when I saw a Sara Lee truck, and an age old quandary of mine was solved. I was never sure if the jingle was “Nobody does it like Sara Lee” or “Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.” The truck told me it was the latter. Good jingle, but difficult to understand.

According to Wikipedia, a jingle is a memorable slogan, set to an engaging melody, mainly broadcast on radio and sometimes on television commercials. Did you know there is a jingle preservation society?

So why and how can a jingle successfully market your business?

• It’s Memorable. If you can’t get that annoying charming tune out of your head, the next time you buy toilet paper, guess what’s going to be playing in your head and getting you to buy the jingle brand?
• It’s Clever. There are a lot of bad jingles out there. But the ones that work say something amusing or witty, and those are the ones that work.
• It Puts the Brand Out There. A jingle should emphasize the brand name clearly. No question.

So if you’re considering a tv or radio commercial, pay a professional to create an effective jingle that will generate interest. Get feedback before you play it on air. Make sure the words are clear (I just read a blog post about a jingle for a burger joint whose jingle sounded more like “boogers.”). Get it perfect before you release it.

Here are some great examples of jingles that work:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHIo4VruGZY[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s34b8T44514[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctNAs1K7nbo[/youtube]

This year? Not so much. With the economy down the toilet, retailers started pushing aggressive sales in early November. Stores like Kmart and Kohl’s started sales early, and Kmart even added prize giveaways with Disney to entice shoppers. Seems it’s like pulling teeth to get people to spend money these days.

Wal-Mart is creating Value Bundles of items that sell well to generate more sales. The Nintendo DS can be purchased with games and accessories for $149.

I could be wrong, but if you go out today, the crowds might be a little thinner. You might not break a bone this year.

If you’re sadistic enough to go out on Black Friday, check out this site that lists all the savings.

So, I’m thinking, if this guy thinks I’m a millennial, and markets to me as if I were one, he’s in for trouble. Not to get into semantics, but I classify myself as Generation X (it’s funny; both generations identified teens as apathetic; it’s just that my generation grew out of it). Where Millennials prefer text message marketing and Facebook applications, Generation X reacts better to direct mail and coupons.

And then what about Boomers and seniors? They’re not as connected online, so strategies outside of internet marketing have to be included.

As you can see, every generation (not to mention every person) has its own preferred method of being marketed to. Don’t waste your time trying to lump everyone into one strategy to reach your own goals!

Florida hasn’t even been declared yet (don’t get me started; I’m biting my nails that we can pull through and get our sh#5 straight this go ’round).

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about Obama as a brand. You see t-shirts that say “Obama Mama.” You see “Change” bumper stickers and signs everywhere. Will it go away once he’s president? Will we embrace a president that is a brand? Or as my hub says, a rock star?

Clinton was a rock star/brand in his own way. He showed us that all presidents aren’t stuffy white guys. Some play the sax (and have affairs but that’s a different brand altogether). But social media has propelled Obama to a level of brand never before seen. Everyone on Facebook and Twitter is talking about the election. Not just intellectuals. 18 year olds. Moms. Plumbers. Electricians. Everyone.

And they’re picking sides. But with Obama, it’s not just picking sides, like in a presidential election. It’s like picking a brand: Coke or Pepsi (or rather, old, flat Pepsi). You’re saying something about who you are when you proudly say you support Obama. It says you’re:

• hip
• liberal
• open-minded
• creative
• have a sense of humor

I’m interested to see how far he carries the brand in his politics. Or how far we carry it in support of him.

Viva Obama!

I didn’t plan on writing another print book. The first one just didn’t satisfy me creatively or financially. But it’s an interesting story how this book project happened (and a great example of Marketing 2.0 at work). I’m a big fan of the Small Business Trends blog, and one day Scott Shane had this post about his new role at Business Expert Press. They’re creating short and sweet books for entrepreneurs who need knowledge they can quickly digest and implement.

My blood started racing. I’m an entrepreneur! I have things to say! Maybe I should write another book. I left a comment on his post with an idea, figuring I wouldn’t hear back.

Within 2 hours, Scott Shane wrote me back. To make a long story short, I spoke with the publisher, David Parker, (nice guy, by the way), who addressed all the concerns I’d had with my previous book, and within days, I had agreed to write a book!

Why Internet Marketing

Obviously I’d want to write about marketing, but let me tell ya, I was a little intimidated to put my name on a book about social media. After all, I’m only a recent convert. But then I decided, I don’t have to be an expert on the topic. I already know experts! So really, I owe the confidence to write this book to attending BlogWorld. I met so many great contacts who I plan on tapping knowledge from for this book (you know who you are!), that what I don’t know, they can fill in!

So stay tuned. I’ll blog about my journey in writing the book (I’ve given myself 3 months to write it) and the insight I get from the experts I interview. And let me know if there’s anything in particular about internet marketing, Facebook, Twitter and blogs you want me to write about in the book!

How does it work? Simply buy a cup of coffee with either Obama or McCain’s name on it. It’s as simple as that. (Interesting sidenote: out of the 30ish states participating, all but two states had Obama as the winner.)

7-Eleven has been doing this promotion through the last 3 presidential election. They’ve also tied in with CNN and USAToday for this promotion.

So here’s why I’m impressed with this promotion, and what you can learn from it:

• It rides on a hot topic, the election. That’s always a smart technique to participate in the buzz. Looking for a way to get a lot of attention? Pay attention to the news. Politics, scandal, celebrities. Figure out how to ride on their publicity to create your own.
• It’s simple. It doesn’t get easier than buying a cup of coffee. Don’t want to put an Obama bumper sticker on your car? You can still show your support by buying a cup of coffee! Avoid complicated promotions or contest, because your audience will be turned off.
• It’s cheap. This is not a “buy a car and get $800 in free gas” campaign. It’s something that every American can participate in, simply by it being affordable. The more affordable your promotion is, the better results you will have. You can guarantee 7-Eleven has more than doubled its coffee sales since this began.
• It’s interactive. The site includes a map that shows who’s winning in each state. This campaign is taking the interactive component of Marketing 2.0 to heart. And that’s what makes it work. If you can get your audience involved, you’ll see an increase in traffic and sales.

Cold calls have been around since…well, probably since telephones. Why would you think such an archaic method would work for so long? Times are a’changing, my friends, and marketing ain’t what it used to be.

Today’s hot topic, thanks to HubSpot, is Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing. Think of them like this:

Outbound Marketing: your little sister or brother, or the annoying kid from down the street. He/she just won’t leave you alone! Just like My Buddy, everywhere you go he’s gonna go. Outbound never changes your mind about anything, and in fact turns you off.

Inbound Marketing: Think of Inbound as throwing a bottle into the ocean. A very well-researched, highly targetd ocean. And instead of one bottle coming back, a whole slew come back. Is that a good analogy? It’s creating a demand and then sitting back and letting the customers come to you.

Hubspot has a great video to illustrate this point:

Tamagotchi Family Reunion Sweepstakes
Bandai America, The Rogers Group (the PR agency) and Mr. Youth (the promotions agency), created the Tamagotchi Family Reunion Sweepstakes in support of the new Tamagotchi Connection Familitchi.

The newest version of the virtual pet toy focuses on family and allows kids to raise up to three characters in their Tamagotchi. To reinforce the “More family, more fun” theme, the Sweepstakes encouraged Tamagotchi owners to visit www.tamagenerations.com where they could play games and find family heirlooms.

Collecting 20 Tamagotchi family heirlooms automatically entered the kids in the sweepstakes, which gave away a weekly prize of Family Fun packs of movie passes, theme park tickets, etc. The Grand Prize winner would get their own personal family reunion with the Tamagotchi characters, which included:
- a fully-catered meal for 25
- two Tamagotchi characters to play games
- Tamagotchi Gift Bags for everyone
- games for the party
- professional photographer to chronicle the memories

To promote the “More family, more fun” message, The Rogers Group staged a partnership with www.FamilyReunion.com and Family Tree Magazine’s website. Both sites agreed to cross-linking and cross-promotions.

The efforts of all involved resulted in just under 3,000 sweepstakes entries during its its six-week run (April 3- May 15) and garnered 461,588 print impressions and an estimated online audience of 13,702,113.
The sweepstakes winner, an 8-year old in Newtown, PA enjoyed her very own Tamagotchi Family Reunion on Sunday, July 20 with her siblings, parents and friends.

Here are the things I want you to take away from this case study:

• Heavy giveaways. Tamagotchi gave away not only their products but other prizes like movie and theme park tickets that would entice more people to sign up. If you want anything (like contact info) from people, you’re going to have to give something away.
• Cross promotion. Bandai America worked with other websites and companies to create a stronger link to the contest. Note that they didn’t cross promote with other kids’ products but rather family reunion sites. Nice.
• Huge press. The result was amazing publicity across the board. The contest introduced more people to Tamagotchi, and made more fans for life.

Read the link and debate on marketing vs. advertising.

He notes that the word “advertising” sometimes seems like a dirty word, a dishonest way to get attention. I can see this point, since I work hard at Egg Marketing to get my clients publicity the “old fashioned” way: by putting out press releases, getting interviews, writing blogs, etc.

Advertising does of course have its place in the world. I guess the way for me to balance my thinking toward it is to say that it’s wise to see beyond just putting ads in magazines and newspapers. This is costly, and there are so many ways beyond this to market your company more affordably. Consider:

• Press releases
• Email campaigns
• Monthly newsletters
• Blogs
• Article marketing
• Networking
• Joining forums and business directory sites
• Viral marketing
• Word of mouth

Diversify your marketing basket. Let it include advertising, but don’t let it be exclusive.