Bird Droppings Become a Key Marketing Ingredient

One of the stories during Monday evening’s news broadcast featured a New York salon that gives facials with bird poop as a key ingredient.

I couldn’t find the story on the news site, but the story and video is at Reuters.com.

Because I’m in the New York area, the story was sensationalized by calling the ingredient “bird poop,” but the salon cleans up the urban visual by calling it “nightingale droppings.”

The news reporter tried the $200 facial and said her skin felt smooth and clean. But was it the bird poop that soothed her skin, or did the overall cleansing treatment associated with every facial make a difference?

Whatever made her skin clean doesn’t matter. The bird poop story made the news, and you can bet that women (and probably men, too) are lining up to try this “revolutionary” product.

The moral? Market the strangest, most-outrageous part of your product or service, and be sincere in your belief that the ingredient works. Some will laugh, but many more will jump on the bandwagon and buy.

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June 11, 2008 | Filed Under Marketing News | Leave a Comment

Your Name as a Marketing Tool, Revisited

Daily Blog Tips recently asked their readers if they’d purchased their name as a domain.

It’s the same question I asked last year, and here’s where I provided an example of why it’s a wise move to register your name.

Did you make time to buy it, or are you hoping it will be available when you’re ready?

Here are some options to consider if your name, as you’d like it to appear online, is not available.

1. Place a hyphen between the two names.
2. Consider registering the dot net domain.
3. Register the name with your middle initial and re-launch your personal brand in that manner.
4. What do people call you (the tech guy, the security lady)? Register those names, if available, and be sure to add your name in the keywords and meta tags to correspond to this moniker.

My name site not only markets my books and speaking topics, it also serves as an access point to all of my Web sites.

Can you see your own site assisting you with this marketing technique? Then it’s time to make a small investment in your future by buying your name now.

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June 9, 2008 | Filed Under Solo Housekeeping | 2 Comments

Finding New Ways to Access Library Data

Research sources available in local libraries are starting to disappear.

The sources I’m referring to are the ones that cost hundreds of dollars in yearly membership fees paid by state governments.

Have you noticed this circumstance in your local library, or have you never used these sources, available through your office computer when inputting your library card number into their online system?

I’ve noticed it because these very-important resources allowed me to create statistical reports that aided my marketing. The data I was able to compile included:

Similar businesses in all U.S. states, their income and number of employees

U.S. and Canadian businesses within my target market

Regional data regarding the changing business landscape and population

Most solo marketers are unaware of this valuable resource, and now that many libraries are fund strapped, some will never know what they missed. Maybe that’s good, but cutbacks in any form aren’t.

If you’ve noticed the lack of access to vital marketing information at your local library, here are three possible solutions:

1. Check other county libraries to see if the databases are still available. With one phone call, I learned that a neighboring county still provides online access to this data. I don’t work or live in that county, so I’ll ask a friend who lives there if she’ll allow me to access the database through her library card.

2. Find the resources through an out-of-state library system. The reference source I count on most is available through the New York Public Library, but I must travel to New York to access the database because it’s not available online. Still, this is worthwhile option if No. 1 doesn’t work out.

3. Become a paying member of another library system. If a library outside of your state will let you pay a yearly membership fee to access their databases from your office computer, this option is both convenient and smart.

It’s heartbreaking that local libraries are unable to dodge the funding crisis, but there are alternatives to find the marketing information you need at a moment’s notice.

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How to Get Back to Marketing After a Vacation

Do you have trouble focusing on projects when returning from a half business, half vacation trip? That’s what I’m facing now.

I absolutely enjoy my business, but motivating myself to get back on track isn’t always easy.

My solo marketer status is also a factor; there’s no one except me who’ll get me in gear.

So what can you do get back to business?

1. Review past successes. You must move forward if you want to experience those same results.

2. Consult your project book and calendar. You have no one to blame if you miss looming deadlines.

3. Check your bill due dates. How will you make payments if you don’t get the work done? If that doesn’t motivate you, it’s time to fill out applications to work for someone else.

The reason you’re able to take a vacation is because of past progress. Keep that in mind as you create new marketing opportunities that grant you the next day off.

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June 4, 2008 | Filed Under Solo Housekeeping | Leave a Comment

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