More Clients Memorandum

If you had to start from scratch

Posted byIan Brodie on January 15th, 2017.

Every now and then someone will ask me “if you had to start your business from scratch, what would you do?”

It's a useful question to ask yourself every now and then. It focuses your mind on the key things you really need to be successful rather than the tons of other stuff you happen to be doing because, well, you've always done them.

It was asking myself that question a few years ago that made me realise I was doing far too much networking and face to face marketing when really my business had become almost completely online.

And today, if I was to start from scratch, I'd probably focus on just a few, simple things:

I'd have a really simple lead magnet that solved a core problem for my ideal clients. Ideally a template for something they could use immediately.

I'd use Facebook Ads to drive traffic to a landing page where they could subscribe to get the lead magnet. (And yes, Facebook Ads do work well for b2b these days too).

On the thank-you page I'd invite new subscribers to join me on a webinar which I'd run once a week.

I'd have follow-up emails giving further tips in the area of the lead magnet and reminding them of the webinar invite. 

On the webinar I'd do 50 minutes of great content then promote a product or offer a free strategy call as a first step to working with me.

And my ongoing emails would send valuable information, while offering up whatever my product was.

And that's about it. Very simple marketing system. But one that works really well.

When that was working and generating a steady stream of leads I'd add in another source of traffic. Then another lead magnet. And I'd consider getting a Facebook group active in addition to my email marketing.

But overall, I'd keep it simple. Simple gets results.

What would your “starting from scratch” system be? It doesn't have to look exactly like mine, but I'd advise you to keep it simple. 

More Clients Memorandum

Why simple is the key to success

Posted byIan Brodie on January 8th, 2017.

Ever seen a world-class juggler on TV or in a show?

They'll juggle with 8 balls, or 4 flaming torches, or a handful of razor sharp knives. I even saw Steve Rawlings juggle with furniture recently.

All very impressive.

But here's the thing. If you're trying to learn to juggle, you don't start with 8 balls, a bunch of flaming torches, razor sharp knives or furniture.

You start with just one ball. Then move up to two. Then do three.

You start simple and master the basics.

It's the same with any sport or musical instrument, or learning to drive.

Start by mastering the fundamentals. And often that's al you'll need.

But with marketing we seem to think we need to do everything. Usually all at once.

We're encouraged to go on twitter, do video, webinars, email, seo, snapchat. Every time a new platform appear some expert pops up telling us it's the future and we all need to be using it.

But marketing is just like juggling. Try to do too much from the start and you'll just drop everything.

Instead, focus on one. One source of leads. One lead magnet. One follow-up method. One approach to converting contacts into clients.

Master the fundamentals first.

More Clients Memorandum

One of the only ways to differentiate today

Posted byIan Brodie on January 1st, 2017.

You know, there used to be a time when you could differentiate yourself by doing something different. Offering a different result or a different service to your competitors.

Those were the days when finding good people was difficult for clients. When your competitors were all local.

Those days are over.

These days smart people who can do (or claim to do) the same stuff as you are just a google search away. So what's your differentiator if it's not what you do?

It's who you are.

Faced with a choice between multiple competitors who all claim to be able to do the same thing, clients usually pick the people they feel the most comfortable with.

And to do that, they need to know you as a person.

That's not easy in today's online world where most communication is virtual. But it's not impossible either.

What it requires is that first, you communicate regularly. They can't get to know and like you if they rarely hear from you. 

And secondly, you've got to infuse your communications with your personality. Far too many communications from small businesses and solo professionals feel like they've been written in the PR departments of mega corporations.

If your clients wanted to hire a mega corporation they would. They don't need you to pretend to be a mega corp too. 

When I started email marketing 7 years ago I immediately got decent results by sending out high value content.

But my results really took off when I started telling stories – usually about my own struggles and challenges.

Of course, I still got across valuable content in those stories. But using a story format also allowed people to connect more with me. To empathise and to know I'd had similar experiences to them.

It made all the difference.

So, how are you infusing your personality into your marketing? 

More Clients Memorandum

These 3 things are all you need

Posted byIan Brodie on December 30th, 2016.

As the father of a 20-year-old and a 17-year-old, I get exposed to some interesting aspects of modern culture through their viewing habits.

I'm not sure we can learn much from the constant stream of “epic fail” videos that our youngest streams onto our TV via Youtube, or from some guy called Memeulous making fun of “Blackpool Grime” (don't ask).

But if we look at the rising stars who've made it big on Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat and other new media, there are definitely some patterns.

Of course, none of us is likely (or would want) to become the next Youtube sensation. But if we have an open mind we can absolutely take the lessons from what these folks have done and apply them to our own businesses. 

So what do these new media superstars do that makes them so successful (and that we can apply ourselves)?

Well, firstly, they have something different to say.

If you're not in their target demographic then their video game reviews, makeup tutorials or humour might not seem interesting or different to you. But to the people they aim at, they hit the spot. And they're different to all the other people doing similar things.

Is your content clearly different to your audience, or do you essentially say the same things as others in your field?

Secondly, they reach directly to their audience.

They don't rely on publishers or magazine editors or other people's websites or shows to get their material in front of their audience. They've established their own presence and their fans come directly to them.

Do you have a direct channel to your ideal clients, or are you reliant on other people for them to hear your message?

Thirdly, they communicate frequently and regularly.

No one became a Youtube sensation or Instagram superstar by publishing once and waiting for things to happen. They publish weekly or more often. They keep their fans coming back for more time and time again.

How frequently do you communicate with your ideal clients?

Nail these 3 things: a distinctive point of view, reaching your ideal clients directly and communicating regularly and you can establish yourself as a trusted and respected authority for your clients.

Miss any of the 3 and it'll be an uphill battle.

More Clients Memorandum

Trust me, I’m a marketer

Posted byIan Brodie on December 25th, 2016.

“Trust me, I'm a marketer”.

Said no one ever.

Because deep down, most people have a slight mistrust of marketing. We know that the goal of marketing is to get us to buy something so we don't fully believe everything we hear.

In fact, one of the best ways I've found to make my marketing believable is to avoid it sounding like marketing.

There seems to be a habit in the marketing world of hyping everything up. Adding superlatives to every sentence.

For me, that immediately causes me to be wary of what I'm reading or seeing.

Of course, on a sales page you expect to be told about the benefits of the product you're looking at and how it can help you. You're reading it expecting to be sold to.

But in emails, videos or blog posts, if you try to sell too overtly it can backfire.

When we read an email, for example, we expect it to give us useful information. We don't mind a gentle pitch to find out more information about a product at the end.

But if the email seems to have been written with the sole purpose of pitching a product to us then we tend to get suspicious. Especially if it feels like the writer is “trying too hard” to tell us how brilliant that product is. We just don't believe it.

Years ago I ran a little campaign where I wanted to offer a free report to people. Initially the email I wrote had a bunch of bullet points about how valuable the report was, how it would teach you a series of wonderful techniques for getting more clients, how you'd get results really fast, etc.

But in the end I got much better results when I toned down the promotion and made it much more low key. I essentially just said “I've written this report. People are getting good results using it. Would you like a copy?”. 

That more low key version did better because it was believable and it didn't feel like I was pushing too hard. I've tried to follow that pattern since.

Take a look at your emails and blog posts as if you were reading someone else's. Do they sound a bit hypey? Or trying a bit too hard?

It may be that making them more low key will get you better results.