Marketing Articles Published in 2012

Enjoy this selection of marketing articles published in the past year. Click on the title to read the rest of the article.






Magic Words to Transform Your Business Relationships

Abracadabra!
Imagine that you could wave an enchanted wand while uttering magic words that transform your business coals into diamonds. You don't need the wand and you probably already know the magic words. The sticking point like everything else in life is that it's not what you know that counts, it's what you do with what you know.

Too many business owners are looking for complicated solutions and overlook the simple secrets of business success. Why have so many uneducated entrepreneurs excelled in business? Because they only understood simple things and applied those simple things passionately. Richard Branson is an outstanding example.
One of the purposes of marketing is to build strong relationships with your clients and prospects. You build (or destroy) relationships with what you do and say. Let's explore the language of good relationships. It costs nothing except your attention to the words that you and your team use with clients and prospects - and with each other.





3 Polarizing Branding Secrets from Death Cigarettes

How can you build a stronger brand? Take a position that some people hate so your preferred customers love you.

I heard the best lessons about "How to create your Brand?" on the podcast interview with UK entrepreneur BJ Cunningham.

BJ Cunningham created a company called The Enlightened Tobacco Company in 1991, selling a cigarette called "Death Cigarettes". It was presented in a black package emblazoned with a white skull-and-crossbones logo. Just imagine how that image might appeal to the rebels. That is the start of a strong brand.

His premise was to take a position that none of the other cigarette companies were willing to take. That's good advice for any business building a brand! At the time all the tobacco companies were still denying any ill effects of smoking tobacco. You know the tired story, "It has not been proven that cigarette smoking causes cancer." Somehow the tobacco barons rehearsed well enough to deliver that lie with a straight face. But that is a different issue.


Hand Written Notes - the Original Social Media

More Personal Than Digital Media
It's impossible to ignore the Social Media crusade. Perhaps you received business through Social Media contacts and activity. I admit that I've made interesting new contacts, renewed old friendships and generated business through social media.

However, I've received a lot more business and recognition from sending hand written notes. The two best messages to send via hand written note are thank you and congratulations. Thank you for your business, help, referral, testimonial, patience, gift...

Congratulations on your achievement, recognition, new venture, milestone… The prompting for the note could be personal or business.




Boost Your Personal Brand by Leveraging Your Association Membership

As a member you have many ways to enhance your personal brand without breaking a sweat. What's holding you back?

Your personal brand is not a logo, colour or tagline. It's the combination of all that you do, say and especially what others say about you.

When you are a member of an association - that speaks about you. The credibility of the association, the ethics, the leaders and the positioning of the association speak about your personal values. But, only if you broadcast your membership to the marketplace. Don't be shy. If you have reason to be proud of your association, then brag about that association. List your membership on your Linkedin profile. Put "member of" in your email signature and display the membership plaque on your office wall. Brag about who you associate with.



How to Kick Start Your Writing To Boost Your Personal Brand
 
One of the best ways to become known as the expert is to write. You could write to or for newsletters (association, corporate, community), newspapers (community, business, trade, weekly, daily), or magazines (general, trade, association, business).




George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing  
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

The Branding Fallacy

Your Branding might be killing your business

Beware of the branding zombies. They regurgitate meaningless mantras like “branding is good”, “you need a brand” and “we can help you develop your brand.” These creatures only want your life blood. Unfortunately these zombies don’t look like the ones in Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. They look like you and me. They call themselves branding consultants, marketing agencies or graphic designers. And they try to sell you snake oil remedies.

It’s time for a branding wakeup call. This might hurt especially if you have recently succumbed to worship of the brand. Remember, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain” in the movie The Wizard of OZ. I’m ripping back the curtain. You might not like what you see. But it might save your business. I’m urging you: Pay attention to the man behind the curtain.

Let’s start by examining some of the world’s best brands.

Read the rest of The Branding Fallacy

 

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Police Chief Sends Christmas Cards to Criminals

Kudos to the Abbottsford police department for their creative marketing campaign.

Marketing is not just about selling a product or service. It is about sending messages. Every organization needs to market. That includes non-profits, public service and the police.

In this case, the Abbotsford police department produced and mailed a custom Christmas card to known criminals and “persons of interest”. It has a picture of the police chief dressed as Santa with a bullet proof vest over the Santa suit. He is holding an assault rifle. The caption is:

Which list will you be on next year?

Inside the card is the note “it’s never too late to change” along with a phone number the recipient is encouraged to call when they want help to change their life.

I assume that the role of the police is to protect the public from harm. That includes investigating crimes and charging law-breakers. But it’s better to prevent problems than try to clean up after. So part of their role means showing up and making their presence known. That helps to keep some offenders in line.

What did the Abbotsford police department do well?

1. The police targeted a specific well-defined audience. They had detailed contact and activity records about this target audience. That information gave them insight into the most likely mindsets and perspectives of the target group. They used their database.
2. The cost is low. The possible return is high. Even one less offender will more than pay back the costs of personal loss and policing costs. The risk of failure is low. Even if nothing changes, the police have demonstrated a clear attempt to reach out to offenders.Low cost and low risk.
3. This creative message is a good public relations move with the community. The public will be reassured that the department is proactive and innovative. It might be reassuring to know that the police are keeping track of the offenders. A message for their other stakeholders.
4. The Christmas card uses a tongue-in-cheek humour while hinting at a threat. Law-breakers probably understand and are motivated by threats more than most. This will certainly grab the attention of the intended audience. Bold and attention grabbing.
5. The Christmas card offers hope. Everyone needs and responds to hope. Some of those recipients might be at the stage where hope will attract them to make a phone call or make changes in their pattern of life. Offer hope.
6. The timing of the Christmas card leverages the good will of Christmas and the resolutions of New Year. Often people simply need a “logical” reason to change. People need a "because".
7. The results of this campaign are easy to measure. First, phone calls from the recipients are one measure. Second, the arrests of the people on this list will be another. Measurable.
8. This Christmas card campaign is bold and provocative and will offend some people. An effective marketing campaign is bold and provocative. Every organization has friends and enemies. You know that your marketing is bold enough when your enemies are offended. Who cares what they think. They are your enemies and will be no matter what you do. Good controversy can help your position and reinforce your message. There’s no question about where the police stand on this issue.
9. For all who receive this card the message is “We’re watching you”. That seems like a good message to send to law-breakers. That alone makes this mailing worthwhile.
10. For the community of Abbottsford, they can see that this police chief had a sense of humour, is bold and he knows his duty. Use the CEO to put a face on your campaign.

  

Merry Christmas to Chief Bob Rich and the team at the Abbottsford police department. And most importantly a Happy and crime-reduced New Year.

Read more about Abbottsford Police Sends Christmas Cards to Gangsters, Drug Dealers at Huffington Post

Read more about Abbotsford police enlist gun-toting Santa for criminals’ Christmas cards at Globe and Mail

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing  
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Gentlemen Get your Nails Done

I was surprised to find this advertisement for manicures and pedicures in the men’s bathroom. I noticed it on the counter while washing my hands. Naturally, my first reaction was, “OMG, I must be in the wrong bathroom.” Two seconds later I realized that I had just used the urinal so this must be the men’s bathroom.

I finished washing my hands while examining the ad. Then I began to wonder, “Why is it here?” “Did someone place it in the wrong bathroom or is there some new trend happening?”

So let’s examine this advertisement.

I don’t know if $59 is a good price for a combination manicure and pedicure but it was the most prominent bit of information on this ad. Look at this ad and notice your eye movement. Most likely the image of the woman’s face in the top left catches your attention, then your eyes dart to the bottom right yellow seal with $59 in the centre.

What is that selling?

Who is this ad for?

Was it intended to attract men to get a manicure and pedicure? And if so, is it targeted at men who want this service or is it trying to convince men that they should check it out?

Or, was it intended to get men to tell their wife or girl friend about this service?

What was the key benefit offered here?

The photo of the young woman was attention grabbing – especially in a men’s bathroom. You can imagine what images of attractive women are usually used to sell in the men’s room.

The second attention-grabbing piece was the yellow seal surrounding the price of $59.

The third prominent bit on this ad was the word “Express”.

The fourth place that your eyes might jump to is the top right and the words “Black Friars”. And you still wouldn’t know what this ad is about. “Black Friars” sounds like the name of an English pub to me.

If you continued to read under Black Friars, you would discover a detailed address that indicated this service was available at this hotel. That seems a long way to say “Visit the nails spa right here.” My guess is that information was for people who were not in this hotel.

As a marketing specialist I was intrigued, unlike the usual suspects, so I eventually noticed the words about Manicure and Pedicure.

A few marketing lessons from this ad:

Who are you targeting? The men’s bathroom is a different audience than the women’s bathroom. And there is more than one target audience in the men’s bathroom.

Don’t create one ad and then publish it everywhere else. You see this often where the magazine ad gets duplicated on the billboard. It saves on design cost and wastes money on publishing.

Look at the ad and think about what might be going through the mind of the viewer.

By the way, if they wanted to get men to visit the nail spa they might have used the heading, “Gentlemen, Get Your Nails Done – and enjoy the extra attention from the ladies”

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Hand Written Notes – the Original Social Media

More Personal Than Digital Media

It’s impossible to ignore the Social Media crusade. Perhaps you received business through Social Media contacts and activity. I admit that I’ve made interesting new contacts, renewed old friendships and generated business through social media.

However, I’ve received a lot more business and recognition from sending hand written notes. The two best messages to send via hand written note are thank you and congratulations. Thank you for your business, help, referral, testimonial, patience, gift…

Congratulations on your achievement, recognition, new venture, milestone… The prompting for the note could be personal or business.

Here’s why you might consider sending hand written notes.

Your note will stand out which means it will be noticed and remembered. Very few people are sending hand written notes so you will be different from the rest.

The open and read rate is much higher than for email or other avenues of digital messaging. Most people will promptly and eagerly open the envelope to see what the note says.

It’s low tech, which means that it’s simple to do and easy to follow through. You don’t need to register for expensive classes on how to use this tool or hire consultants to do it for you.

It’s your handwriting. What could be more personalized than that? There’s character in your handwriting that can never be captured by Arial or Times Roman. It doesn’t matter if your handwriting is sloppy as long as it is legible. The secret is to slow down when you write that note.

It’s handwritten so people realize that it’s personal and written from you to them – one-to-one. We never really know about your digital messages. They could be mass messaging or cut-and-paste.

Opening the envelope and holding the note, is tactile which means that it stimulates an underused sense.

This marketing device will never be hijacked by Google or Facebook. You could order custom printed stationary or you could buy a package of plain note cards and envelopes.

The next step for you is to make it a daily or at least weekly habit to send notes to clients, prospects, associates, staff and other contacts.

© George Torok is co-author of the bestselling, Secrets of Power Marketing. It’s the guide to personal marketing for the non-marketer and published in seven countries. Get your free copy of “50 Power Marketing Ideas” at www.PowerMarketing.ca

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing  
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

8 Marketing Truths that Will Make You More Profitable

Beware of the dangerous marketing myths that can destroy your business. You’ve probably heard most of them. Many are spread by the marketing mystics who don’t understand or don’t want you to understand the simple realities of marketing. The challenge for you is to sort the truths from the myths and the mystics from the masters.

 

Read this article and study each of these marketing truths to increase your profits and reduce your losses. Think about how you will apply these marketing lessons to improve the profitability of your business. 

 

1. Marketing is about sending messages
Everything you do or don’t do sends a message. Marketing is much more than advertising. Marketing includes your customer service, company policies, telephone manner, community presence and supplier relationships.

Read the rest of Marketing Truths that will Make You More Profitable

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

You are NOT a Brand – You are a Person

Personal branding or just personal?

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

It’s not a logo or a brand staring back at you. It’s your face. That face is a sign that you are a human being.

Don’t get fooled by the pundits claiming that you must have a personal brand to succeed. While they’re preaching “Brand or die” they’re fitting you for their version of branding. It’s like the used-car sales rep saying, “Trust me. This car is perfect for you”.

Back to the mirror

Smile. Notice the warmth conveyed when you smile. Notice how friendly you look when you smile. What do you feel is more attractive – a logo or that smile?

Examine that face. That face is the outward expression of all your wisdom, experience and character. Brands don’t possess any of that. Why would you trivialize your character by calling it a brand?

Look closely at your eyes. The old expression is “the eyes are the window to the soul”. Behind those eyes are your values, emotions and personality. Go ahead and wink at yourself. What did you see? Brands can’t wink at you.

Instead of fretting about your brand, get more comfortable with yourself. Identify and reinforce your strengths because that’s why people will like and buy from you.

Take everything that is you and build better relationships.

Those relationships will be far more powerful than any brand. Relationships are multi-dimensional while brands are flat. Relationships are living connections between people while brands are corporate attempts to induce a zombie-like trance on customers.

Some might suggest that if you build relationships your personal brand will evolve from that. That’s okay, but don’t focus on the brand because the brand will at best be a shadow of your personality. If you focus on shaping the shadow you risk losing the benefits of being a human being.

Who would you rather do business with – a brand or a person?

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Networking Virus

Did you spread or catch a virus at your networking meeting?

If I have a cold or the flu I can give it to you by touching you. Shaking hands is enough to spread the common cold or the uncommon flu.

If I cough in your direction would you be offended? You would be justified because many viruses are airborne.

You probably don’t want my disease. You might be annoyed if I was aware of my disease and still spread it to you. You probably know that carriers of AIDS can be criminally charged for having unprotected sex. Spreading colds and flu might not be a criminal offense yet but many of us could act more responsibly.

We know how colds and other viruses are spread but people still spread them.

At a national conference I observed:

An individual vigorously shake hands with everyone at our table then mention that he had a bad cold. Why didn’t he simply announce his cold and not shake hands? We would have understood and appreciated his thoughtfulness. Instead he demonstrated how thoughtless he was.

The president of the association coughed into his right hand – the one he shakes other victims’ hands with. Did he cough because he had a cold? Did he wash or sanitize his right hand before shaking hands with others?

The presenter coughed into his right hand several times during his presentation and mentioned that his voice was bad because he had a cold. Then this sick presenter shook hands with many of the attendees after his presentation. How sick is that?

We know that rats spread the plague. We know the results of SARS. We know the annual effects of colds and flus.

If you have a communicable disease, don’t shake my hand. I won’t be offended. But if you shake my hand when you knowingly are incubating a virus, that would enrage me.
 

After attending a networking event at which some speakers clearly complained about their cold I suffered the ravages of a bad cold over the next few weeks on my European vacation. Those sick people spread their germs before and after their speech. Thank you very much!

Rats spread the plague because they didn't know any better. What’s your excuse?

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Student Looking for Help with his Marketing Assignment

Occasionally I receive an email from a university or college student asking for help with his marketing assignment. So far it has only been males. Not sure what that means. Are guys more lazy and looking for the easy way out?

The email has followed a similar formula of flattering me, introducing himself, stating the assignment and then asking a vague question with an appeal to my generosity. The students seemed to be searching for a free homework writer. The students have asked me to write their paper or at least give them the content for their assignment. The odd one has stated that he is totally lost on where to start. But none has asked good questions. They haven’t referenced one of my articles or challenged my opinions.

In every case the student has demonstrated a lack of thought about the topic. They seemed to think that because I’m an expert on marketing I owe them. Actually I believe that I need to protect the world from flim flam artists, deceptive marketers and lazy thinkers.

I have been offended by each of these requests. The student doesn't seem to be interested in the topic enough to ask better questions, think about the topic and research my articles and blogs.

With a little bit of research they would find my articles, blog posts and YouTube videos. They would learn a lot about marketing and my thinking by studying those publications.

My first and lingering thought when I receive these messages is “You deserve to fail this course.”

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Marketing Tips video: Be Hungry and Follow Systems

Remind yourself that your competition is hungry. Are you hungry enough? If so, design and follow marketing systems to gain your unfair advantage. If someone must starve - let it be your competition.

Watch this video report from the streets of the Big City. Hear the brutal reality about your marketing.



George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Power Marketing Tip 52: Demonstrate Value

Demonstrate Superior Value

One of the criteria for your marketing is "Does it demonstrate value?" In particular does your marketing demonstrate more value than the marketing of your competition?

Keep in mind that everything you do is compared to the competition by your prospects. If your marketing doesn't position you as offering more value than the competition then it might be wasted.

How can you demonstrate the value of your product or service?

Customer Testimonials

One of the best ways to demonstrate value is with customer testimonials. This works best when you quote real customers to whom your prospects can relate.

The testimonials are most believable when they show the full name of the individual. If you sell to business, then it helps to include the title and company name of the person vouching for you.

For example, "Leslie Williams" looks better than "LW" or even "Leslie" because you are building trust by showing that you have nothing to hide.

When you only identify the person as LW - the questions that are bound to enter prospects' minds are "I wonder if that is a real person? If LW really loved the service why is she afraid to use her name?"

For a business-to-business testimonial use the person's name, title and company name.

Bilbo Baggins

VP Operations

The Shire Group

The above conveys more credibility and believability than "BB Corporate Vice President".

The next step is to proudly display your testimonials where your customers and prospects can easily see them. Treat these words from your customers with respect and pride; this suggests that you treat your customers with respect and value their feedback.

I knew I would enjoy the meal when I saw the lobby of the restaurant covered with framed letters and notes from satisfied customers.

Some of my clients keep binders of testimonial letters in protective plastic pages. These binders are tastefully displayed in the lobby or customer lounge.

It's curious that today's mail included several flyers yet not one contained a customer testimonial. Two of the flyers claimed to offer luxury grade service but failed to provide comments from satisfied customers. What might that suggest?

Put testimonials on your website. You might list them on a Customer Feedback page and also place at least one testimonial on every page because every page must demonstrate value to your prospect - especially the home page.

For business testimonials you could add the corporate logo next to the testimonial especially if it's a well known and well respected organization. For retail testimonials you might include a photo of the person.

Naturally you want to request and receive the individual's permission with any use of their words or image.

If you want to demonstrate superior value, display your amazing testimonials in a superior way.

George Torok

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Marketing Tips video: Forget about Branding and Focus on Real Marketing

It's easy to get fooled by the hype about branding. That is a good hole to throw a lot of money into. Instead go back to basics. What is the real purpose of marketing? Not to build a brand. It's to build a business with sales.

Listen to George Torok offering marketing insights from the streets of the Big City.




George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Marketing Tips video: Gain an Unfair Advantage from Your Marketing

Test your marketing with this question. Is your marketing giving you an unfair advantage over the competition? If the answer is no, your marketing isn't helping you.

Hear the brutal truth about marketing from George Torok in this Marketing Report from the Big City streets.

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Marketing Tips video: Marketing is More Than an Art

A common myth is that marketing is an art. The reality is that marketing is a science and like any behavioural science it is imperfect. It is important to recognize that like any science related to business the numbers are critical. Every good marketer needs to understand the numbers.

Enjoy this Marketing Tip video from George Torok reporting from the streets of the big city.



George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Customer Service at the Hotel Makes or Breaks Them

We were fed up with the hotel. We had held two full-day seminars there. The third seminar was already arranged but we were planning to go elsewhere next time.

The meeting rooms were better than average. The location was convenient. The lobby was attractive. The lunches were superb. And the price was competitive. But we were planning to move our business and were even willing to pay more, because we were unhappy.

Have you noticed that unhappy customers are willing to pay more elsewhere? That’s an important marketing lesson.

Why?

Our contact person was usually difficult to reach and correspond with. She was either “on the phone”, “in a meeting”, or “not in”. She seldom returned our first call. She also seemed to often overlook our email. We followed up with her so many times that we wondered if they really wanted our business.

We were not a huge account but we had shown that we could be a regular client, (two or three times a year). And we always paid promptly.

On the day of the seminars the contact person did not show up to greet us or even check on things. In fact the only staff who came to the room were the serving staff. They were efficient but not very friendly. No representative from the hotel checked in with us at any time to see if things were okay or if there were any changes.

After the meeting, there was no call from the hotel to ask for feedback or thank us for our business.

At the previous meeting, the serving staff had removed the sandwiches along with the desserts immediately after lunch. I thought that strange because some people like to have their dessert snack a little after lunch. I also like to have a sandwich at the end of the day because I'm usually famished after a full day of conducting a seminar.

Lucky for the hotel something changed. They got rid of the old and hired new people.

Amazing how that can change the customer experience!

The new contact person was cheery and easy to connect with. She came looking for us early in the day to introduce herself and welcome us. She appeared later to check on our needs and experience.

When we broke for lunch 30 minutes early, the chef rushed to provide our sandwiches and wraps. And they were superb.

When lunch was done, the server asked if we wanted the leftover sandwiches and wraps. “Yes, that would be nice.” was our reply.

“Well you paid for them so I’ll package them all up for you.”

They nicely packaged up all the leftover lunch and desserts in ‘take out' trays.

Instead of making us feel like thieves for having a sandwich later or taking a dessert home – they made us feel special by packaging it all up for us like presents.

So guess what? We plan to go back to this hotel for our next seminar.

Here’s the marketing lesson for you: If you are in the service business – nothing trumps customer service when it comes to keeping customers!

Before you spend a dollar on advertising and branding – ensure that you have the right people with the right attitude. That includes your management, because a good service culture starts with them.

Once your have the right people, provide them with the training, leadership and rewards to deliver superior customer service.

If you do that, you will save a fortune on advertising and branding because your customers don’t care about that. The only people that care about your advertising and branding are those in your marketing department.

Your customers care about service. Customers are funny that way.

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Marketing Presentation video: How to Appear to be More Successful

We would rather deal with successful people and successful companies. How can you appear more successful - especially when you don't feel successful?

How can you feel more confident?

Enjoy this video clip from a live presentation of George Torok speaking to a group of business owners and representatives. The message is practical and the performance is engaging and entertaining.




George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Be Perceived as An Expert by Writing Tips Lists

Write a list of tips or warnings for your clients and prospects. It’s an easy and effective way to position yourself as a concerned expert.

Tips                                                                

The number one principle for success. . .   

Two ways of approaching . . .  

Three questions to ask when buying . . .

Four common mistakes. . .

Five key elements of . . .

Six steps to creating a . . .

Seven ways to save money. . .

Ten tips when using . . .  

Warnings

The single biggest fallacy. . .   

Two dangers of . . .

Three wrong turns made by . . .

Four cornerstones of . . .                                  

The five myths. . .

Six major obstacles. . .

Seven deadly sins. . .

Ten ways to waste . . .

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter

Promote Your Personal Brand by Writing

One of the best ways to become known as the expert is to write. You could write to or for newsletters (association, corporate, community), newspapers (community, business, trade, weekly, daily), or magazines (general, trade, association, business).

Write a letter to the editor

This is the easiest way to be published. Watch for an issue that you feel strongly about or that touches your business. The issue doesn’t have to relate to your business. This is just a chance for people to know you. Take a stand. If you can make your communication funny, that is even better. Write it well. The editors will correct grammar and edit for length. Sign the letter with your name and a moniker that you like, or your business name. If you find nothing gets your juices flowing enough to write a letter of opinion, write to the editor to say what you like about the publication. They always print those letters.

Write a letter to a columnist or writer

Some columnists never get mail, and they will love you if you write them a letter. Pick a columnist that you like. If you like them, there is a pretty good chance that they are similar to you in some way, and they will like you.

Write an article

Even if you think you can't write, write. Then edit your work by rewriting it again and again, until it sounds good. No one will ever know how many times you rewrote. When you admire a movie you never judge it by how many takes it took to get the shot, or by the film left on the editing room floor. When others read your article they see only the finished product, not the rewrites.

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing
Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter