Is your copy a bit lifeless? Marketing flat? Michele PW is here with tips and tricks to get your marketing and copy back on track.
08.30.08
Posted in General, Notes from PW at 7:43 am EDT by Michele PW
Is it just me or has this entire summer disappeared? Quite frankly, I haven’t a clue where it went. Now I’m gearing up for fall and I feel like summer is hiding in the corner laughing at me.
Well, I can’t complain too much. I’ve had a lot of exciting and fun things happen, and I’m gearing up for even more great things for this fall, so it’s all good. I just need to keep scheduling in that self care so I don’t get lost in the excitement. Anyone else struggle with that?
On another note, I’m happy to announce I’m done traveling for awhile (just one small trip in September) so I’ll have the time and space to really focus on myself and my business. I just got back from Miami last week, it really wiped me out, but I did get to experience Tropical Storm Faye. For this landlocked Midwestern girl who now lives in landlocked Arizona, it was pretty darn cool. The hotel
was right by the ocean so I got to watch the waves frothing and the palm trees blowing around. Definitely not why people visit Miami but it was actually more interesting than if it had just remained sunny the whole time.
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08.28.08
Posted in Business, General at 6:43 am EDT by Michele PW
One common mistake I see small business owners and entrepreneurs make time after time is this — relying on one source for leads.
In fact, I can’t tell you how many times I tell someone I’m in marketing and what they say to me is “oh, the only thing I do for marketing is word of mouth.” (I’m going to write an entire article about word of mouth marketing, maybe two, because that is hands down the most misunderstood marketing
strategy.)
Anyway, if you rely on only one marketing source, like word of mouth, I can nearly guarantee what your business looks like. Feast or famine. Either you’re buried in work, stressed to the max as you spend all of your time and energy frantically fulfilling the work pouring in, or you’re starving. Nothing is coming in and you spend your days worrying about how you’re going to pay next month’s bills.
So how do you avoid that situation? By not relying Read the rest of this entry »
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08.12.08
Posted in Business, Community Relations, General, Online Marketing, Public Relations at 8:14 am EDT by Michele PW
Great question. And it’s one that keep popping up over and over again.
The short answer is yes – it’s VERY possible to make money using social networking and Web 2.0 tactics. Both MaryPat and myself are doing it and we can show you how.
In fact, there are a number of ways you can make money from social networking and Web 2.0:
- Traffic. Most of these ways will lead to more traffic to your site one way or another. Some of that traffic is from direct links to your site, some of it is because you show up more in the search engines and some of it is because people will find you somewhere and decide they want to learn more about you and go to your site.
- Prospects or customers. Your prospects will read your articles, profile, comments, or maybe they’ll see your videos or hear your podcast, etc. and they’ll seek you out to become your customer.
- Referrals. In this case, someone find you, becomes a friend or fan, and refers other people to you.
- Joint venture or strategic partners. Many people are looking for experts to interview for their teleclasses or shows, or speakers for their events or for products to promote, etc. Again, many of these people will find you using social networking means.
- Sell products or services. You have to be careful how you do, but it’s also possible to promote yourself using social networking tactics. This truly is an art and if you don’t do it right, you can do quite a bit of damage to your reputation and your business.
That said, it is also possible to spend a lot of time and energy on this and make little to no money. The key is to know what’s the best use of your time, what can be outsourced and what you should never do.
Want to know more? Join MaryPat and I as we host a question and answer teleclass answering all your top questions on Web 2.0, social networking and traffic and then some. It’s called “Everything You Wanted To Know About Using Web 2.0 and Social Networking to Get Thousands of Warm, Hungry Visitors to Your Web Site” and here’s the link to sign up:http://www.kachingtraffic.com/teleclass
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07.28.08
Posted in General at 6:46 am EDT by Michele PW
I just got back from spending 10 days in Wisconsin. I grew up and went to school in Madison, but for this trip I didn’t actually spend any time in Madison. My parents bought a cottage in Wisconsin Dells, so we vacationed there.
Cottage is a bit of a misnomer, it’s actually a pretty big house. And it’s a good thing too, because for 10 days, it was me, hubby (for part of the time) my two sisters, my six nieces and nephews all under the age of eight, my parents and my brother-in-law. All in the same house. (Lucky there was also a big backyard.)
It’s been a few years since I’ve been back to Wisconsin, and what I basically spent the time doing is eating. Now that I live in Arizona, there are all these wonderful, fattening, Wisconsin dishes you just can’t get anywhere else and so of course I have to eat them. 
Foods like deep fried cheese curds (yes, no question they’re a heart attack waiting to happen) and turtle sundaes made with frozen custard. (Frozen custard stands never really took off outside of Wisconsin, much to the dismay of everyone who leaves the state.)
And of course there was lots of wine consumed. Lots and lots of wine. (Remember about the seven adults and six children in the same house.) However, I really didn’t gain any weight because one of my sisters brought an extra special little gift with her. The stomach flu.
It was a nasty, violent little bugger that got every single person sick. Luckily it didn’t last too long. Hubby and I were the last two to get it, and of course we got sick late Saturday night after an evening of eating and drinking. Everyone else felt sick during the day, so they stopped eating and didn’t get so violently ill. Not us. After a full day of overeating and overdrinking we spent the night in the bathroom. I can’t even remember the last time I was that sick.
So then I behaved myself for a few days after that. I guess I should be grateful, otherwise I might have eaten so much cheese and custard I would have turned into a dairy product.
But it was still fun. I enjoyed catching up with my family, playing with the nieces and nephews. A bunch of my extended family also showed up for the day, which was also nice. And as a bonus, I learned about Brett Favre’s decision to try and come back to the Packers in my home state, so got to hear what all my friends and family thought about it. (Not a pretty situation.)
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06.30.08
Posted in Community Relations, General, Marketing at 11:40 am EDT by Michele PW
Here’s me with my pink hat walking the San Diego Marathon. I’m proud to say I learned my lesson from last year, which was if I improve my attitude and smile while I’m walking, I’ll have a much better time. And I DID. I had a blast – right on up to between Mile 22 and 23. Then, I hit the wall.
And I hit it hard.
I’m not sure why I’m the only one in our little group to hit the wall but there it is. For the last 4 miles, I wanted to kill someone (or kill myself). All of a sudden the pain in my legs, which was hurting for most of the marathon but it was more of a dull ache, flared up big time. And all of a sudden, that pain became nearly unbearable. I didn’t think I could deal with it for one minute longer.
But I did deal with it. For an hour. One very long, agonizing hour.
More then that, I refused to let myself slow down. (Although I must say, that was a fairly easy decision as I knew if I slowed down I would simply be prolonging the agony.) I kept with my 15-minute mile and finished the race at 6 hours, 26 minutes — 38 minutes faster then last year.
So that was a win. Other wins to report:
• They changed the flavor of Accelerade (which is like Gatorade). Last year they served the original lemon-lime, which was disgusting. I could barely choke it down. This year they served fruit punch. Much better. (I’ve decided to attribute the change to me, as I complained last year in this very same blog about it – I have no doubt the powers-that-be at Accelerade are of course avid readers of my blog. : ) )
• The wonderful people with the oranges were still there, Read the rest of this entry »
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06.24.08
Posted in Business, Marketing at 6:14 pm EDT by Michele PW
A few years ago, I met a woman who was trying to peddle a painting created by a relatively famous Western painter.
This painter had painted it specifically for her family. It was the story about how her father acquired his favorite horse. He was hiking somewhere and came across a dead mare tangled in barb wire with the colt standing next to the body. The poor colt didn’t know what to do without his mom. So her father took the colt home and raised him.
The painter (who knew her father personally) was so moved by this story he went to his studio and painted it. He then gave the portrait to her father, who treasured it. However, the father had recently died, and the woman wanted to sell the painting.
In her mind, it was worth quite a bit. The painter was famous, many of his paintings went for quite a bit of money. And it was a one-of-a-kind. Buyers should be lined up around the block to snap it up. She thought she should be fighting them off with a riding crop.
But to her utter surprise and astonishment, no one was interested. More then that, they didn’t want to buy it for ANY price, much less the price of what she thought it was worth. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out the problem.
She actually had the painting with her when she told this story, and unwrapped it to show everyone. So I got to see this painting, which I’ve never been able to get out of mind. This picture of a dead horse, wrapped in barbwire, with the poor colt standing close by, head bowed in mourning. The landscape is beautiful but bleak and desolate around him.
Needless to say, I took one look at this painting and knew EXACTLY why she was having trouble selling it. First off, it was disturbing. The horse is clearly dead, the barbwire wrapped around her was bloody. And the colt looks so alone and helpless in the landscape. (It reminded me a bit of the scene in Dumbo where Dumbo was saying goodbye to his mother, who is wrapped in chains. Another dreadful scene.)
Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with disturbing, plenty of people buy disturbing art. But not her target market. Her target market is people who buy Western art. Western art is realistic art. While many times there is a sense of loneliness and desolation, I wouldn’t classify much of it as actually disturbing.
On top of that, many people who buy Western art love horses. People who love horses probably wouldn’t want a painting of a dead horse hanging in their living room. (Call me crazy, I know.)
So, while she probably does have something valuable on her hands (a one-of-a-kind painted by a famous artist) it’s not what the target market buys. And that, my friends, is the point I’m trying to make.
It doesn’t matter how good your product is or how much you believe your target market NEEDS what you’re selling. If it’s not a good fit, it isn’t going to matter because they won’t buy.
So the first thing you need to look at is this:
Is what you’re selling (whether it’s a product or service) something your target market WANTS to buy? Not needs to buy but wants to buy. No one buys what they need, people buy what they want. Many times they’ll justify it as “need” (i.e. I need a dress for the wedding, I need to eat organic food because it’s better for my health) but those are still wants, not needs. You WANT to show up at the wedding in a nice dress, but no one is going to shoot you if you show up in jeans. (Dirty looks maybe but no executions.) You WANT to take good care of yourself so you buy organic, but you can live a long time on cheap, non organic food. (Maybe you’ll have other health problems, but you’ll still be alive.)
If what you’re selling is not what your target market wants to buy, then you need to either find a different target market or sell something different.
And if what you’re selling IS what your target market wants to buy, but they’re not buying it, then you need to look at how you’re explaining it so people realize they do want to buy it.
Here’s another quick example of making sure what you’re selling matches up to what your target market is buying. You may have noticed Hollywood is coming out with an Incredible Hulk movie. But wait, you might be thinking, hasn’t there already been an Incredible Hulk movie? Why yes, in 2003. But the movie didn’t do very well. Why? Well, common thought is because people go see an Incredible Hulk movie because they want to see a big green guy running amok and wreaking all sorts of havoc. The one in 2003 didn’t deliver — it was a slower, angst-ridden Hulk we saw, not one gleefully stomping about ripping police cars in half.
Whether or not this Hulk movie does better in the box office is yet to be seen, and it’s really besides the point. The point is, Marvel Comics believed that the first movie did not deliver what their target market wanted, and therefore the target market did not buy. So, they decided to repackage it and re-release it (to the tune of $150 million).
If Marvel Comics is willing to redo a movie and spend $150 million on it, how much are YOU willing to spend to repackage your services and products to better match to what your target market wants to buy?
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05.28.08
Posted in General, Notes from PW at 7:46 am EDT by Michele PW
I recently went to Laughlin, NV, with my 93-year-old grandpa and his girlfriend who’s 20 years younger. (Yes, Grandpa is quite the character.)
I always have a good time with Grandpa because he is such a character (on top of everything else, he was a very successful business man so it’s always interesting to talk to him). However, it’s not always easy for me to spend time with him. Why? Because we’re moving at two different speeds.
You see, here’s the thing about people in their nineties – they move very slowly. Nothing is fast. Grandpa especially Read the rest of this entry »
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05.23.08
Posted in Business, General at 9:37 pm EDT by Michele PW
Recently I was watching the movie Back To The Future. That’s the one with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd where Fox goes back in time and meets his parents when they were in high school. During the course of the movie, his father ends up standing up for himself, which he had never done before, and when Fox returns to the present time, his entire family is in a completely different place.
So it got me thinking. One act completely transforms a life. Now, I realize this is the movies and life isn’t nearly so clear cut, but the truth of the matter is we ARE the results of the choices we make. And our life right now is the end result of the choices we made yesterday. And what our life is tomorrow is the result of what we’re choosing to do today.
What choices are you making right now? Are they choices that are going to propel your life and business forward? Or are they going to keep you stuck in the same place (or worse, moving backwards.)
Many of my clients come to me because they aren’t seeing the results in their business they want to see. They aren’t making the kind of money they want to be making, they don’t have the quality or quantity of customers they want to have. They want their business to be different.
But yet…
They continue to make the same choices they always made, which got them the results they’re seeing right now. And chances are, those choices include choosing NOT to do much marketing.
If you want to be making more money, then there’s no substitution. You have to make marketing a priority.
I wish I could tell you something simpler. That there was a magic pill or a Web site you could go to and sign up and voila — all your problems would be solved. Alas, as is most things in life, that’s not the case.
As a marketing and copywriting strategist, I’m in a unique situation of not only getting to know some of the top entrepreneurs out there but also working with them intimately. And I’ve gotten a glimpse of not only how they’ve structured their successful businesses but what they do to build and maintain that success.
And, for the most part, what I’ve seen is an emphasis on the basics. Including consistently marketing, day in and day out. Nothing sexy, nothing earth shattering. Just an emphasis on marketing on a regular basis, whether they feel like doing it or not.
However, many entrepreneurs don’t really know where to start when it comes to marketing. With that in mind, I’ve decided to begin an article series that will teach those marketing basics, including action steps, so you can immediately start putting them to work into your own business.
But remember, those are the tactics. And while tactics are important, they alone aren’t going to turn your business around. Why? Because if you don’t make the choice to use them and implement them on a regular basis, nothing is going to change in your business.
So, I’d like to encourage all of you to take a few moments over the next few days to take a good, hard look at your choices. Are you making the choices that are going to result in the business you’ve always wanted? Or are you making the choices that are going to keep you stuck or, worse, going backwards?
And, if you’re in the second group, my next challenge for you is to see if you can start making different choices.
Michele PW (Pariza Wacek) is the author of Why Isn’t My Web Site Making Me Any Money? 10 Easy Steps to Make Your Web Site Go Ka-Ching! If you have a Web site and no sales, In 30 minutes or less you can quickly and easily pinpoint EXACTLY what’s wrong with your site and what you need to do to transform it into a money-making machine! Click here to learn more and get your copy.
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05.13.08
Posted in Business, Marketing at 9:01 am EDT by Michele PW
Who would have thought that at almost-age 40, I’d own my first KISS shirt? Thanks to my good friend, Nancy Marmolejo, VivaVisbility.com, who bought it for me after seeing my fab photo with KISS star Gene Simmons.
I must say wearing it gives me a whole new perspective on life. I keep feeling like I should be blasting my 80s hair-band music and digging out my lighter. Ah, those we’re the days.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Believe it or not, I have a couple of business lessons you can take away from me wearing a KISS shirt (I’m nothing if not resourceful). Here goes:
1. First, Nancy is brilliant at this anyway, but I need to give kudos to her regardless. She saw I had posted my photo with Gene and decided to mail me the shirt. Before I even got it, she told me she wanted me to post a photo of me with it on my blog, which I’ve done. She wins because she gets additional publicity. I win because I get a KISS shirt (and an opportunity for a blog post).
So, what’s going on in the lives/business of your associates, partners, prospects, clients, etc. you can tie in to make memorable for them? Maybe it’s sending them a recent article about something going on in their industry that would really benefit them. Maybe it’s a book that just came out that addresses a challenge in their lives (a challenge you might not necessarily solve in your business). Or maybe it’s just something fun, like a KISS shirt. At the very least, you get a bunch of goodwill (who doesn’t love a gift). At best, you might end up being mentioned on their blog or other promotional vehicle.
2. Second, how many other 70s-rock bands out there can you still buy a shirt (a NEW shirt no less) with their logo on it? And, even more telling, how many are still cool to wear?
Like I talked about in the post below, KISS isn’t a rock and roll band, it’s a rock and roll brand. And it’s a brand that truly has stood the test the time.
So, what can you do to transform your business into a brand? A brand that will last? A brand where your clients will happily wear shirts with your logo on it?
That’s something to think about. (Because, clearly, if you ARE able to transform your business into a brand, you’ll be able to reap the rewards with more customers, sales and money.)
Anyway, enough about business. I need to go turn up some head-banging rock music.
Michele PW (Pariza Wacek) is the author of Sales Letter Secrets: Rev Up Your Business With Copy That Sells! Tired of your competition making money hand over fist while you struggle to sell ANYTHING? Click here to discover their secret so you can put it to work for YOUR business.
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04.10.08
Posted in Business, General, Marketing at 7:01 pm EDT by Michele PW
Yep, there’s a photo of me with Gene (yes, THAT Gene Simmons from KISS). He spoke at the recent Glazer-Kennedy Marketing Summit in Nashville. And along with getting my photo taken with him, I also got an autographed copy of his book ‘”Sex, Money, KISS,” which I read on the airplane on the way home.
So, what did I learn from Gene? (Other then his rather controversial views of women and marriage?) Well, he’s quite the entrepreneur. Here are two gems you can instantly apply to your own business:
1. KISS isn’t a rock and roll band, it’s a rock and roll brand. I’m probably dating myself here, but my first memory of KISS was seeing the other kids in elementary school carrying around KISS lunch boxes. What other rock and roll band had their photos on lunch boxes? Most lunch boxes back then were Disney and Warner Brothers characters, not rock and roll characters (and make no mistake about it, Gene IS a character).
When you read the book, he has this very interesting little side bar in there. When he was on tour, he was Read the rest of this entry »
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03.10.08
Posted in General, Marketing, Online Marketing at 1:05 pm EDT by Michele PW
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard something about the whole social networking craze. Myspace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Digg and so on.
And as a busy entrepreneur, you’ve probably been wringing your hands trying to figure out how to work social networking tasks onto your already overcrowded to-do list.
Well, you’re in luck. Here are 5 strategies to successfully add social networking into your day and start reaping the benefits.
1. Make social networking a priority. Social networking CAN make a difference in your business. It can help you develop leads, turn prospects into paying customers, increase your sales and grow your business.
BUT, you got to work it if you want to see the results.
Rather than looking at social networking as a burden or a “should” in your life, look at it as an opportunity. This is an opportunity to build relationships and make a difference in people’s lives. If you look at it that way, it might make it easier to spend the few hours a week growing your social networking network.
2. Block out time each week. I know, I know. Read the rest of this entry »
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02.13.08
Posted in General at 2:19 pm EST by Michele PW
I’m going to start by coming out and saying it – I am NOT a fan of the Patriots. So I couldn’t have been happier watching the Giants kick the Patriots’ butt all over Glendale on Sunday. (The only thing that would have made me happier is if it had been the Packers doing the butt-kicking, but I digress.)
That aside, whether you’re a Patriots fan, Giants fan or couldn’t care two figs about football in general, there’s still an important lesson here that can help you with your business and life. Here it is:
The Giants played to win.
And the Patriots played not to lose.
When you play to win, you play with passion. That’s what happened with the Giants. They played with an all-out intensity, sort of like they were playing the last game of the season with the world championship on the line. (Oh wait, that WAS the case.)
The Patriots, on the other hand, were flat. Cautious even. In many cases, they looked like they were just going through the motions, like they were only mildly interested in the final outcome.
The Patriots had no business losing that game. They had more on the line then a Superbowl ring, they also had a chance at a perfect record, which almost NEVER comes along.
But instead of going all out, they played not to lose. Almost like they already HAD the perfect record wrapped up and were trying to keep from losing it. And the Giants played like they had nothing to lose and everything to gain.
And look who walked away with the win.
Michele PW (Pariza Wacek) is the author of Sales Letter Secrets: Rev Up Your Business With Copy That Sells! Tired of your competition making money hand over fist while you struggle to sell ANYTHING? Click here to discover their secret so you can put it to work for YOUR business.
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02.07.08
Posted in Business, Marketing at 4:38 am EST by Michele PW
If you prefer to listen to this post, click here.
If you’re like many entrepreneurs, the thought of marketing makes you slightly sick to your stomach. And it’s more then a simple like or dislike of marketing, it’s the idea of trying to fit it into your to-do list. You already have a million things going on, how can you possibly fit marketing in?
So, instead, you end up not doing anything…until you run out of work that is. Then you desperately race around, trying to cram as much marketing as possible into as short amount of time as possible to try and ramp up your business.
Business picks up, you stop marketing again.
As I’m sure you already know, this isn’t a great way to grow a business on any level. But what do you do? You’re already overwhelmed with everything you have to do in your business, not to mention everything you have to do in your life, so how can you possibly fit marketing into that?
Never fear, that’s what the below 3 tips are designed to do, get you out of marketing overwhelm and into marketing superstar.
1. Make marketing a priority. Okay, don’t stop reading yet. This one might be tough to swallow but it has to be said. Marketing your business HAS to be a priority. If it’s not, then you will doom yourself Read the rest of this entry »
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02.06.08
Posted in General at 7:48 pm EST by Michele PW
Have you ever seen “A Daily Show” by Jon Stewart on Comedy Central? As you might imagine (the fact that it’s on Comedy Central is probably a giveaway) it’s a political satire show.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, Jon had a couple of segments dissecting the media coverage surrounding our presidential election. Namely, showing how the media is blowing things out of proportion. For instance: about a half dozen journalists reported Republican candidate Mitt Romney to have “exploded” at a fellow journalist. Jon showed the “explosion,” and as far as I could tell, Mitt didn’t even raise his voice.
(Bear with me, we’re getting to what this has to do with the recession shortly.) So why would the media report Mitt “exploding” when he didn’t? Well, it’s probably because “exploding” sells more air time then “spoke firmly.”
Think of it. Remember how many marketing professionals (myself included) trot out the whole “your marketing message is competing against more than 3,000 other messages daily?” Well, the media are right up there competing along with the rest of us. Not only are they competing against other media outlets but they’re also competing against people choosing to watch “Boston Legal,” play on MySpace, read “People” magazine and even pay attention to your marketing message. How on earth are they going to cut through all that clutter?
How do you think?
Case in point – Which headline would cause you to pick up a newspaper:
“Democratic candidates discuss the issues civilly”
or
“Democratic debate descends into an all-out brawl with candidates pulling hair, biting and throwing spit balls”
You get the picture.
So, what does all of this have to do with the recession? Well, again, you need to remember, the MEDIA WANT TO SELL NEWS. And reporting ‘”Well, we’re in a recession but it’s pretty mild and a lot of people are still making money” again sells less papers then “People are jumping off of buildings as they lose money left and right.”
You’re probably going to hear more and more about how bad the economy is the closer we get to the elections. And the unfortunate part of this is it could become a self fulfilling prophecy. Consider this:
“I had a bad month, it must be the recession.’
or
“I had a bad month, I better get out and do more marketing.”
Which is more empowering? Which one do you think will cause you to help your business pick up faster?
I know for myself and for many of my fellow entrepreneurs (either clients or colleagues) business is great. No recession in sight.
Now, I’m not telling you to put blinders on. Always be aware of what’s going on around you and what’s going on in your business so you can adjust as necessary. But, I’m also saying, while the media don’t necessarily lie, they are prone to exaggeration. And know that from what I’m seeing, the economy is STILL good and plenty of business owners are STILL making money.
Michele PW (Pariza Wacek) is the author of Why Isn’t My Web Site Making Me Any Money? 10 Easy Steps to Make Your Web Site Go Ka-Ching! If you have a Web site and no sales, In 30 minutes or less you can quickly and easily pinpoint EXACTLY what’s wrong with your site and what you need to do to transform it into a money-making machine! Click here to learn more and get your copy.
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01.28.08
Posted in General, Notes from PW, Public Relations at 1:15 pm EST by MichelePW
Yes I did it again. Another marathon. Except this one was a half marathon in Phoenix (a mere 13.1 miles) versus the 26.2 mile jaunt I did last June in San Diego (and yes, I’m signed up to go again).
I don’t run the marathons, I walk or walk with a little running. 
This time was a success because I completed it in 3 hours and 6 minutes, averaging about a 13-minute mile or so, which was my goal. (Actually, my goal was a 15-minute mile so it was better than my goal). I also considered it a success Read the rest of this entry »
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