Business Development

After a hiatus, the Marketing with Moxie blog is back!! Have you missed us? As part of my effort to think bigger in 2012, I’ve decided to take a more proactive approach to my posts here.

So look for marketing tips and tidbits in three general categories.

1. Tips and cool tools. Once a week or so, I’ll summarize the latest and greatest marketing gadgets, websites, or tools any small business owner can use. I run across things all the time in my news feeds, via the Duct Tape Marketing blog and in my in box.

2. Marketing strategy. I’m a firm believer in strategy before tactics. I have also found that focusing on strategies first is like pulling teeth for many small business owners. A lot of them just want a “sure-fire” tactic that will generate leads and create sales. Mention strategy, and they’re likely to glaze over. But that’s a huge mistake. While stand-alone tactics can sometimes do the trick to grow your business, tactics backed by a strategic marketing foundation will work better, almost every time. I’ll be going through the Seven Steps of Marketing Success again this year – the proven system created by John Jantsch. But thanks to a new and revised version of the steps, you’ll see even more relevant strategies to grow your business.

3. Small business owners with marketing moxie. When I started this blog, I intended to profile small business owners who have  an “inner marketing moxie.” These people are natural marketers. They just think bigger all the time like Zappo’s founder Tony Hseih – the source of the quote in this post. They just seem to inherently get marketing and sometimes do it without even knowing it is marketing. Others are very intentional about it, and have stories to tell. I’ll be inviting these business owners to write guest blogs to share their “secret marketing sauce,” or I’ll interview one from time to time. Are you a small business owner with marketing moxie? I want to hear from you!!

So, all the best to you in 2012 as you work to grow your business, and as all of us involved in the Duct Tape Marketing network like to say this year – Think Bigger!

Here’s the second part of my interview with “The Book Doula” Liz Alexander. If you’ve wondered about writing a book to share your knowledge or expertise, it could add value to your business.

Moxie Marketing:  Okay, let’s say a business owner is inspired to start writing.  What subject should she pick?  Does it have to be about her business?

The Book Doula: Let me start by saying that I don’t believe anything counts until it sells. A book written that no one buys or reads might as well not exist in my view. Fine, if someone wants to write a book just so they can call themselves an “author,” that’s their prerogative. They’re not the folks I want to work with. My passion lies in helping people share their subject matter expertise with a wider audience, in service of their business. I’m all about ROI: you invest in a professional to help you birth a good book in order to boost your business or future-proof your career.

Second, let me share publishing’s least understood dirty little secret. You are NOT going to make much money from selling books. But that’s not the point when you recognize the huge indirect benefits to your business. And there’s plenty of data, anecdotal and empirical that supports that, which I’ll be sharing in an upcoming eBook. (And if readers would like a free copy, they can email me; this won’t be available until late July or early August.)

If you’re unsure what topic to write about, check out the video at the bottom of my home page (www.bookdoula.biz) in which I advise you to write a book that takes your business or career where you want it to be, rather than just promote where it is now.

That’s one of the conversations I love to have with new clients, helping them identify the most salient subject that both serves their readers and their business.

Moxie Marketing: This probably isn’t for everyone. Do you have a checklist or series of questions that might help business owners discover if writing a book would be right for them?

The Book Doula: Absolutely. The first thing I do with my clients is to take them through a 10-question process that helps them see that they have more to offer than they realize. In fact, with the right guidance and support I can’t think of any reason why a business owner shouldn’t write a book. The beauty of self-publishing means that you can showcase your knowledge and expertise with a short eBook that can be available for download on your website very quickly; books don’t have to be 400-page hardbacks any more.

Here are three of those questions. And if anyone would like to email me at drliz@bookdoula.biz putting “Questions” in the subject line, I’ll be happy to share the other seven with them J

a)    WHAT’S YOUR MAIN MOTIVATION FOR WRITING THIS BOOK? (What’s in it for you? Note: we’re not interested in the reader with this question.)

b)    WHO ARE YOU WRITING THIS BOOK FOR? (Who needs/wants it?)

c)    WHAT SPECIFIC PAIN POINT(S) WILL YOUR BOOK ADDRESS? (What’s in it for them? Why will your reader need/want it?)

Rick, this has been a lot of fun. Thanks so much for inviting me onto your blog.

Moxie Marketing: My pleasure. It’s was great to have you!  To learn more about Liz and her business, visit her web site:  www.bookdoula.biz

Have you ever purchased a product or service after reading a book by a business leader or hearing an expert speaker talk about the subject of his or her book?  Yes?  Then you’ve encountered the king of content marketing  - the business book.

You’ve heard me talk frequently about how content that educates does more to get people to know, like and trust your business than just about any other marketing activity. So, why not write a book?  Well, because it’s hard. More than one business book author has told me that getting his or her book published was like giving birth. Enter the “Book Doula,” Liz Alexander. She helps people give birth to books. I spoke with her recently. Here’s the first part of our Q&A:

Liz Alexander

Moxie Marketing: What’s a book doula?

The Book Doula: Book coaches, book doctors, book midwives, book shepherds…there are a lot of author services folks out there. I’m The Book Doula, not just because I’m also drawing on the metaphor of “birthing” a book, but because there’s more to a successful birth than what goes on in the delivery room.

In ancient Greek times a “doula” was a female servant who provided practical and emotional support before, during, and shortly after a birth. There’s so much more to writing and publishing a book than the mechanics of it. Just because I can teach you “how” to write a book doesn’t mean you’re going to start or finish it.

As I wrote in my latest eBook Birth Your Book, there are all sorts of underlying reasons why aspiring authors face “writer’s block” or procrastination, or don’t find their original topic compelling enough to maintain writing about it for months on end. That’s where someone like me comes in. I’m going to set you up for success by helping you identify the most compelling reasons why this book needs to be birthed.  Then I’m going to keep you inspired and accountable. These are challenging things to do on your own.

The other reason why I like the concept of a doula as opposed to a coach or doctor or midwife, is because of my approach of “structured flexibility.” Every client is different and, given that I’m not a fan of cookie-cutter approaches anyhow, I prefer to work with people who trust that after 25 years as a successful published author and entrepreneur, I can guide them where they want to be…without always knowing precisely how that’s going to happen.

Moxie Marketing: Is this something small business owners should consider doing?  I mean, you don’t have to be a titan of industry to write a book, do you?

The Book Doula: My clients have included:

• A sales manager for a leading real estate company who wanted to share his innovative approach for helping realtors become more trusted, referred, and rewarded.
• Several “solopreneur” coaches who recognized that writing a book would help them branch out into speaking and consulting, in order to attract new, higher revenue streams.
• The owner of a nutritional services company who already offered a number of recipe eBooks but wanted a “signature book” in which to relate her philosophy about overcoming stress and fatigue;
• The co-founder of an independent insurance agency who specialized in eldercare issues. She wrote a short book aimed at helping adult children overcome their anxieties and insecurities around talking about later life issues with their aging parents.

These folks are all “titans” in my eyes because they’ve gone beyond what most people do –- dream about writing a book without taking the action that would make that dream a reality – but they’re not famous or running multi-million dollar enterprises by any means.

I call these people “everyday thought leaders” because they help shape and influence conversations and actions in areas of life that affect us all, whether that be how to convert more leads into sales, ways to inject more fun into our lives, how to improve our health, or communicate more effectively with our loved ones.

I’d rather hear from them than a titan of industry any day, wouldn’t you?

[Part two of my Q&A with Liz Alexander, the Book Doula, will be in my next post.  Visit Liz's web site at www.bookdoula.biz]

I happened upon a fellow marketeer today who appreciates the fine points of marketing with moxie.  Heather Stephens is a full-time mompreneur who specializes in teaching others how to market a home based business online with a family by their side.  Read her post…

I like your thinking, Heather!  It reminded me of my very first Marketing with Moxie blog post, which I re-post today as a tribute to all of you with marketing moxie!

mox·ie (mŏk’sē) noun Slang

If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner in Austin, don’t miss this year’s RISE conference the week of March 7. Created originally in 2007 by Roy and Bertrand Sosa as a week-long, free “un-conference” for- and by- entrepreneurs in Austin, Texas, RISE has now grown into an ongoing annual program that leverages its proprietary web interface to provide one-of-a-kind resources and experiences to entrepreneurs worldwide for free.

There are dozens of sessions to choose from in locations all over town ranging from bootstrapping your business to sales training to the kick-off event with Robert L. Johnson founder of the RLJ Companies and Founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET).

Of course, I hope you’ll join me for one of three sessions I’m hosting on Monday March 7 at the Better Business Bureau Conference Room on La Posada Drive:

8-9:30 am:  Seven Steps to Marketing Success

10-11:30 am: The Social Media Pyramid: Unraveling the Mystery of Social Media Marketing

12-1:30 pm:  Winning the Local Search game PLUS Teaching Your Business to Market Itself with Referrals

See you there!

My semi-regular weekend roundup of marketing stuff with Moxie that I came across recently.

Facebook Business Page Upgrades

Mashable’s Vadim Lavrusik posted a good review on the new features Facebook launched last week for “Fan” or business pages.  One of my favorite improvements is the ability to post comments and likes under your business entity, rather than just your personal name.  Read more.

50 Places to Find Images for Every Small Business Need

From Small Business Trends:  ”Your blog posts, your marketing materials and your website all need images. As a small business owner, you probably think that photos come with an expensive price tag, but they don’t have to. In this post, we highlight 50 image sites and services where you can get photographs and types of images for free or a low cost.”  Read more.

Add Skills to Your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn has added a beta tool to help you search for people (and list your own) by their skills. More and more, Linked In is getting it right with powerful new features to help you connect and grow you B2B business.  Read more.

I couldn’t resist taking advantage of today’s date to write a Top Ten List of Reasons I Don’t Need Marketing. October, 10, 2010 or 10/10/10 apparently has metaphysical, mathematical and psychological implications.  I found this random and mildly amusing web page about the significance of the day, which won’t happen again for 100 years.

Take 10 metaphysical minutes to ponder this list. Do any of these reasons sound familiar to you?

10. Marketing is over rated. We have a sales force and all they need to do is SELL, SELL, SELL!

9. I’m busy running my business, I just don’t have time to work on marketing

8. Marketing?  We ain’t got no marketing,  We don’t need no marketing.  We don’t have to show you any stinkin’ marketing!

7. It costs too much.

6. There is no ROI.

5.  I’ve tried advertising before, and we didn’t generate one new customer.

4. I’ve got a website.

3. My sister-in-law designed a great logo.

2. Our quality and products sell themselves.

1. We’re already doing marketing! We know our narrow target market, understand who our ideal clients are, can say what makes us different, have developed content that educates, have a great marketing kit, created a brand identity, have a great web site and know how to use social media — we’re doing mailers, newsletters, special offers, networking, advertisements, public relations, have awesome repeat business and we’re getting all the referrals we can handle — NOT!

Bold new moves top the weekend edition of Marketing Stuff with Moxie, my semi-regular compilation of three compelling or noteworthy marketing tips, tools or tactics I’ve come across in the past week.  Apple, Facebook and the Huffington Post caught my eye for this edition.

Apple Planning Music Subscription Service

This interesting development reported by Rolling Stone isn’t about small business marketing, but since the Austin City Limits Music Festival is in full swing here in Austin, it seemed appropriate to post something about music today.  Check it out.

New Facebook Page Could be Big for Business

Facebook rolled out a new groups feature this week that you oughta check out.  Duct Tape Marketing’s John Jantsch posted a good overview on his blog.  What do you think?

Blog For HuffPost’s Small Business America!

Are you the next celebrity small business blogger?  The Huffington Post wants you!  I can think of a number of Moxie Marketing friends and clients who could have fun with this.

A call to action makeover, why your business should be on facebook, and the best way to grow a business top the weekend edition of Marketing Stuff with Moxie – my semi-weekly compilation of three compelling or noteworthy marketing tips, tools or tactics I’ve come across in the past week.

Five Signs your Call-To-Action Needs a Makeover

Do you even have a call to action on your web site or landing page?  A compelling offer or clickable link for people to get to know like and trust you?  You should.  Hubspot’s Diana Freedman discusses a few ways you can tell that you need to makeover your site’s call-to-action.  Read more.

Eight Reasons Your Business Needs a Facebook Fan Page

If you’re like many small business owners, you’re just not sure about jumping into the social media fray.  A lot of my clients suffer from Facebook Fan Page Fear.  Here are eight compelling reasons from MySEMExperts blogger Harry Huxford that might help you overcome your fear.  Or you could go to your Fear Coach and pay a lot of money. Read more.

The Best Way to Grow A Business?

I’ll bet you could come up with the answer on your own.  Yup, it’s word of mouth, or basically referrals. Think about the favorite, easiest deal you ever closed – the one where the prospect practically said “let’s get started!” before you could even ask for the sale. It was probably a referral. Here’s a nice blog post by WinWeb’s Stefan Töpfer about a recent Linked In survey T-Mobile conducted.  Read more.

A side commentary on that list tip. I read a number of stories this week about the small business bill Congress sent to President Obama.  One congressional critic said, “Small businesses don’t need more credit, they need more customers.” Amen.  Don’t expect Congress to help you get more customers. You’ve got to do that on your own and word-of-mouth is the easiest, cheapest and most effective “small business stimulus plan” ever.

In my last post, I talked about the elusive definition of marketing and how most small business owners feel about marketing. They know they need marketing. They might even be doing it, but they're not sure where to begin or if it even works. The business owner who stood up to announce, "I hate marketing," identified his pain. But what is pain, really? Pain is a symptom.  It means something else is going on.  So what's really happening? Why is marketing such a pain for small business owners and entrepreneurs? Because they focus on tactics before developing a strategy. They don't have a systematic marketing plan. They throw money away on an ad campaign, a fancy website or some shiny new online gadget with out first understanding their customer's wants and needs. They don't know to get those customers to know, like and trust them.  But why do they do that? One reason is obsession over the product or service.

Keith J. Cunningham, the author of Keys to the Vault and a noted teacher on business mastery said in a seminar I attended recently in Austin that a key mistake business owners and entrepreneurs make is obsessing over their product. They focus on making it perfect or developing technical skills and ignore many of the building blocks of businesses, like identifying what pain their product will solve and understanding who their ideal customer is. They don't work to create a unique difference that makes them stand out in the marketplace or develop core messages to communicate that difference consistently.

Those steps are the keys to develop a marketing strategy. Sure, it all starts with a great product or service but that's not what people buy. They are looking for things that make you referable, like your incredible guarantee, your unique process, exciting packaging or great people. Those things make a buzz in the market place. If you've flown on Southwest Airlines you know what I mean. Getting from Point A to Point B is their product, just like American Airlines. Yes, Southwest did obsess over their product by buying only one type of airplane (the Boeing 737) and developing fast boarding systems to keep those planes flying, but everything was developed with the customer in mind and they infused their business with a corporate culture that emphasizes fun and rewards employees for delighting customers. Have you ever heard anyone go off about the crazy-fun flight attendant on American Airlines?

So, what's your business worth to you? Are you willing to slow down long enough to find a cure for your marketing pain? Or, do you think you don't have time for the "fluff" of creating a marketing plan? It takes time to get it right, and you might need a little rehabilitative therapy along the way. But if you develop a systematic, step-by-step marketing plan to grow your business and use it to fuel the right tactics, your business will be healthier and so will you. Done right, it will help you realize your business and professional goals.  And you'll know that when you see it.