5 signs that your marketing sucks
Sorry to be a bit blunt however recently I’ve been inundated with private messages saying things like “Hi Mandie can you just share this please.” Or “Love your work Mandie, can you just tell everyone about what I do please?” Add that to the pile of emails asking me to submit someone else’s work to an international publication with my name on it (clearly, I won’t do that because it goes against my ethos, honesty, credibility and reputation) and you’ve a bucket loads of request every day of every week that basically want to jump on my marketing bandwagon and expect me to market their organisations for them.
So that’s good, right?
It does mean that my message is getting out there, and when you’ve sold your courses to Brazil and gained clients in the US as well as receiving “thanks for the book” messages from South Africa clearly my marketing is working, so what can I do to help you (fast) so you can get similar results without treating my business like a charity?
Lose the lies (half-truths!)
You know the posts that say they made 2 million in the time it takes to make a cuppa, or someone lost 10 inches in 7 minutes or cured cancer with carrot juice? Okay so I may be over exaggerating on the claim here, but the fact is that some people’s claims are so far fetched we sweep past them faster than the lost property bin that we had to wear if we’d forgotten our gym kit at school. Just as we don’t believe that we all have to buy our sofas in October to get them for Christmas or that we all have to go on a diet in January because Christmas is over, we don’t believe the big stories that people share. So, if they are true, you need to post more than one post claiming those results. You need to build a story around them, share real-life people talking about them, not just an image of your product with your handwriting over the top saying “wow!” If you want us to believe you, create the proof. Remember the Meme of Abraham Lincoln saying, “It must be true I read it on Facebook”? Well, this is a good indication that we’ve become incredibly cynical to what we read, so put in the effort and give us the science, facts and statistics.
Get useful
I rarely talk about my coaching and yet don’t suffer from a lack of business. Why? Because everything I write or say online is aimed at being useful, relevant and interesting. And I don’t deviate from the subjects I want to get known for. Even if you have 200 products decide the key ones that you want to be known for. Imagine you walk into a room of strangers and someone turns and says, “That’s X, they can help with X” what would that X stand for? For instance, everything I do is about helping people increase sales, confidence and success without spending a sack of cash. If it doesn’t fit my ethos and values around that then I don’t say it or write about it.
Stop selling at me
Ever been walking around a beautiful city and someone has practically jumped in your airspace to wave a clipboard at you? Did you enjoy that experience? Did you aim to not make eye contact and move in any direction other than the way you were going? That is what selling at people does. No one likes it and doesn’t’ matter how good a salesman you are if we feel like it’s a sales pitch we’ve out. So why do you keep selling? I don’t care if you’ve got 10% discount, are just putting in an order or have a magical competition to give away. The fact is you don’t qualify to talk business, products or services until you’ve got to know me. And that takes respect, not selling at people. Start holding genuine conversations and drop the sales talk.
Don’t jump on my bandwagon.
Increasingly I see a great piece of advice or story and someone else uses that opportunity to promote their own products and services. Would a Ford dealership park it’s cars on Ferrari’s forecourt and say “Hey it’s alright if we park these here right, for those that can’t afford the shiny red ones, they could have ours instead?” Of course not, and yet online there seems to be no respect for others Intellectual property. On one of my posts where I was sharing some awesome news about where the rights to my book had been sold and how you should never give up on your big dreams, someone actually added how they could help people achieve their goals and overcome a lack of confidence! The irony is that for those that bother to get to know me, like me and trust me, I go out of my way to connect you and help you grow your success, how likely is that to happen when you sell on my own posts!
Get consistent.
Once you know what you want to be known for, you need to ensure you get known for it. Obvious, right? And yet I see people share so many different messages their message becomes so diluted that it’s hard to remember what they do. I can appreciate it is scary to stick to a core message, however, when you are known and loved for that, people will naturally gravitate to signing up to your newsletter, Facebook page, etc and will start to learn about everything else as a result. Thus, consistency is key. Give people the opportunity to fall in love with you and your business. Dump the falsehoods, don’t jump on other people’s marketing bandwagons, stop selling at people and get useful. And if you do this consistently before you know it you will look behind you and discover you’ve a following. You may call it a tribe, or a niche, or a family, whatever you call it they are people ready to learn more and buy, and you didn’t have to sell at them once!
7 ways to get in the press for free
It’s been said that I make it look easy to get in the press, and while that may be true it really doesn’t in my viewpoint take rocket science for you to achieve that too. Admittedly this year I’ve worked closely with Voom Media run by Vanessa Moon, but that is purely because I’ve wanted to concentrate on other areas of my work and not as much on PR. So here are my 7 top tips to getting in the press for free.
(Just remember it will cost you your time, so make your time count, don’t get distracted by social media, get on with it, and get it out there!) And if you think you can dip in and out of this, think again. As with any area of your marketing strategy you need to be consistent with this. My marketing production line really is the basis of this, but this should get you started;
- Write a press release about something that is happening in the national news from a local viewpoint.
If you’ve never done a press release before here are a few pointers;
- Don’t try and sell anything.
- Speak third party, ie; International author and speaker Mandie Holgate added “….. (Unless you are being asked to share your personal viewpoint in a column for instance.)
- Finish with END and then add a short bio (usually only a couple of lines) explaining why you are the expert and why its relevant. (Still not salesly!) Add contact details and website if relevant to do so.
- It must have a killer headline. Something that the reader (and editor will instantly want to read). (Don’t know what words to include? You probably need to spend all of £24 and do my Marketing Production Line course to understand power words)
- Pictures really do paint a thousand words. So, add a great image that tells your story.
- Don’t try and cover too many topics in one article.
- Know who you are writing for. And no that’s not you, that’s the publication. They are not a charity they want to increase sales. So, their publication needs to be interesting, useful and relevant to their target audience. Make their life easier and provide that kind of content.
- Get yourself known as a thought leader in your industry by writing blog articles that you share in multiple ways. Social media is used by journalists to find experts to speak about all sorts of subjects so what do you want to be known for? Get blogging, vlogging and sharing your views on that subject, and make sure you do this regularly.
- Listen to local radio and buy the local papers that you wish to feature in. If they are covering a
subject and you can give them the local view on this, phone them! This way you also understand their style of communication and how you will need to adapt to fit into this. - If and when you get on the radio or to speak to a journalist remember nothing is off the record and if you sell at them, you won’t get a second chance.
- Share your big news. And if its salesy, don’t do it! Partner up with a local charity and help them raise their profile. Host an event for a local charity and get in touch with the press to tell them more. First year in business? First member of staff? Awarded a grant? New premises? Sold your first product to the US/or outside of the UK? Won an award? Read the publication in question to understand what they consider newsworthy.
- Have a strong view on a subject? Be prepared to back it up and to have some people not like your views and speak out!
- Check out the hashtag #Journorequests. And if you are thinking of writing a press release,
and dumping it on your website and adding the #journorequest to a link to your article on social media, then think again. Seriously respect how busy and how many tight deadlines journalists have. And don’t ask for my journalist friends contact details. I too respect their busy schedules far too much to let them be spammed by people who just don’t get how to use PR in their business.
Your Marketing Production Line
I love this simple tool for ensuring clients are selling well. Are they talking to the right people in the right ways to ensure they are interested, engaged and buying?
Does it ensure you are using the right words and communication to entice the right customers to you?
I want you too to hear those magical words my clients say “Mandie, it’s like clients just magically fall from the sky.” They don’t there’s a process and I help businesses, big and small find the sales strategy solutions for them.
- I’ve been on holiday in August and sold tickets to events in December that I wasn’t even promoting.
- I’ve gained speaking engagements, coaching clients and even free PR opportunities and I’ve been sat in the hottub.
- I even gained a book deal when I was not even looking for one – that is still bringing in profit years later with very little effort on my part!
To really simplify this process, if you are utilising 8 to 10 tools from the above graphic your business will be gaining new business, new enquiries, opportunities and even a book deal – well you never know, that’s what happened to me.
I’d never share something I didn’t know worked and I’ve worked with thousands of businesses to help them sell well, increase profit, engagement and sales so I know this works.
You can ditch the sales talk, and the trying. Get this right and your passion (Well actually your marketing strategy) sells your wares.
ACTION: So what tools are you using? And what are you just playing with? What are you consistent with?
Be honest.
You can download a copy of the Marketing Production Line (not for alteration or sharing) here.
This course looks at your marketing strategy in detail and trains you through modules to ensure you sell well. It can also help you get in the press, gain new business, get repeat sales, heck you could even get a book deal (I did!) this really works, its the backbone of so many clients marketing strategies in so many sessions.
And if you are just reliant on social media – you could be leaving a lot of business for your competitors!
My courses work because they use the strategies I implement with clients businesses of all sizes. Like Nicole from Ace 24 Consultancy who increased sales to their ideal monthly target within 3 days, and reached the ultimate “let’s think big” year goal in 3 weeks. (She really likes me!)
Or Mr X who asked for their first 6 figure contract – and got it.
Or Mrs X who went from part-time business owner to full-time company with offices and staff in one year!
I don’t hold back with the tools and techniques for another day, it’s all here, I just want you to succeed!
If you take action on this article and my Sales Mountain (this is great for helping you upsell and gain loyal customers) it would be great to hear what action you take – I love your business good news.