Episode #67 – “Windows: Just Another Pane”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Infusion (Download the free guide from Infusion)

Paid for Life (San Diego Charity Seminar)

Mesh (Easily share files between computers)

NiftyClicks (Discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Get a Private Telephone Consultation with me (to Help YOUR Business)

Buy This Week’s T-Shirt (from National Media Services)

Great news from Disney!  One of their executives phoned me the other day.  They had watched the episode where I told you about the dining disaster at Cinderella’s Royal Table in Magic Kingdom, Florida.  You’ll discover what they told me and I think you’ll be as pleased as I was.

Thanks to Reuven who alerted me to an excellent video by marketing agency 22Squared.  Let me know what you think of it.

Our question comes from Louie Bernstein, who tells me that he’s needs more people to try his software, so it’s an issue of conversion.  I dissect his website and give some suggestions about how to improve the conversion.  You can apply the same principles to your website.

Microsoft Mesh is a relatively new service that’s currently free.  It allows you to easily transfer files between computers, say a desktop PC in the office with a laptop you use when you travel.  I used to use a service called ‘BeInSync’ which worked well until the company went out of business!  At least Microsoft aren’t going anywhere, so I feel good about using their service.  Actually, it’s very impressive.

The BIG marketing lesson is from the restaurant chain TGI Friday’s.  The way they promote their loyalty scheme is very impressive.  There’s 3 key points that I want you to take away to adapt in your business.  See if you can spot them.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

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Episode #62 – “I Bought This Shirt and All I Got Was This Shirt! ”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Infusion (Get a FREE Trial of the #1 Marketing Management System)

Are you interested in my new Magical Marketing Experience Mastermind Group? It’s my brand new 12 month coaching program to help you accelerate your business success. Fill in this form and I’ll get back to you once full details have been confirmed. Note, there will be an application form, but priority will be given in the order that these forms are received.

GiveAwayOfTheDay (Free software each day)

NiftyClicks (Discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Get a Private Telephone Consultation with me (to Help YOUR Business)

Buy This Week’s T-Shirt (from National Media Services)

I was down in Florida last week and spent a day at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World.  There’s only one high-end restaurant in the park, called ‘Cinderella’s Magic Table’ and it’s located inside the castle in the center of the park.  Well, it turned out to be a disaster, and in this episode I’ll tell you why.

My background is in video production so I’m fairly knowledegable about technology.  If you’ve wondered what the best camera for web video is, I’ll answer that for you this week.

I love freebies, and there’s a great resource called Giveaway of the day that I frequent because I can get all kinds of software completely free, each day.  Each offer is only available for a single day, after that the normal price reverts, but I’ve snagged some great finds on this site.

The BIG lesson this time is in what NOT to do with your advertising.  It’s from Valenti, a company that does match making, and their ad is truly awful from a marketing perspective in my opinion.  I’ll show you what they did wrong so you can learn from it in your own business.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

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Episode #54 – “I Wear This Shirt When I’m a Grouch’”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

The Promo Dashboard (Great New Resource to Help You Increase Profits Online)

‘Care About Color’ Report (Vital information for Your Business)

JustOneClubCard.com (combine all your store cards onto one)

NiftyClicks (discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Get a Private Telephone Consultation with me (to Help YOUR Business)

Buy This Week’s T-Shirt(from National Media Services)

Considering more people get struck by lightning than are catching swine flu, I’m thinking the frantic news reports are a little bit unnecessary, don’t you? There again, I’m guessing that governments are rejoicing at the chance to distract some attention from the economy!

I was at Chicago O’Hare airport the other day and as I was walking through the food court I glimpsed a hand made sign that made me look, then do a double take. I’ll show you the sign, and let you tell me what you think of the store manager who put it there.

Our question is all about what colors to use for a website design. Good question, because many people don’t think too much about it, they tend to opt simply for personal preference. If you want more on that topic, you can download a special report – there’s a link in the show notes below.

I don’t know about you but I have a lot of store loyalty cards and it’s a pain to carry them around with me, which is why I loved the nifty click resource that I discovered this week, courtesy of Adam Weiss, the podcaster. Let me know if it’s useful to you.

Finally, the BIG marketing lesson is from Coca Cola. They’ve implemented an intriguing twist on the ‘build-a-bear’ concept at their store in Disney’s EPCOT center in Orlando, Florida. Cool idea, and I want you to benefit from an important underlying principle.

Let me know (by posting a comment on this blog) your thoughts about the McDonalds sign.

Enjoy!

Regards,

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Episode #42 – This week’s show is a special one. I filmed it on location in Disney World, Florida, and may I be so bold as to suggest that I share lots of interesting business lessons from one of the most innovative, forward thinking, and consistently outstanding companies in the world – Disney. I hope you’ll look at the theme parks in a whole new light.

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Disney Theme Parks (discover all the Disney theme parks here)

Regards,

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Episode #40 – The folks at Disney are master marketers, in fact there are few companies that match their expertise in that area.  I’ll show you the latest campaign they’ve dreamed up, it’s very cool.

This week’s question is about pricing products – do you think that most customers are concerned by price?  Or do you think price is not the most important factor in a transaction?  I’ll share my viewpoint on this with you, let me know if you disagree – you’re allowed!

It’s a pain in the posterior when your website goes down and you don’t know about it.  It’s especially difficult to track all your sites when you have a number of them.  Fortunately there’s a new, and free service that solves this problem.  I use it.  I like it.

The BIG marketing lesson is from Top Gear, the popular UK based show about cars.  I’m not the slightest bit interested in cars, but you’ll see why I enjoy the show so much.  I even download it on my full to the brim iPod – so it must be good!

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Are My Sites Up? (Free service that notifies you if any of your websites go down)

Top Gear (Popular UK based car show)

Yanik Silver’s Underground Online Seminar (Feb 2009 – for advanced marketers only)

NiftyClicks (discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Private Consultation for YOUR Business (with me)

Microwave Marketing Training System (special offer for you)

Regards,

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Episode #27 IMPORTANT: If you’re reading this BEFORE Thursday Oct 23rd, register for a special, FREE Webinar I’m conducting LIVE, with Jim Edwards at 7pm Eastern, (4pm Pacific, 12 Midnight GMT), by clicking here. It’s all about ‘the one and only magic fomula to cashing in online’ (everything else is just a more complicated version of this simple and POWERFUL formula that YOU MUST know and understand).  Again, it’s FREE, so register now (we only have 83 spots lefts as I write this and I ALWAYS have to turn people away due to the capacity of the system).

Also, if you’re in the NYC area, join me this Saturday and Sunday at The Info Products Seminar – it’s $497 to attend which is an absolute bargain considering the wealth of information you’ll learn.  Click here to grab a last minute seat, subject to availability.

If you’re reading this AFTER Thursday Oct 23rd, sorry, you missed out

Right, now it’s time for business.  Disney have made a radical move for 2009 with their U.S. theme parks Disnelyand in California and Disney World in Florida.  I’ll spill the beans at the start of the episode.

This week’s viewer question is about how to record audio then have it transcribed, a useful process for all business owners and entrepreneurs to know about.

Your Nifty Click fix will be granted again with a brilliant way to search ALL of CraigsList.  I show you my ideas for using this nifty tool, let me know your thoughts and ideas about it on the blog.

The BIG marketing lesson comes from Gramercy Tavern, New York City’s #1 restaurant.  I had the pleasure of eating there last week and it was absolutely phenomenal.  Not aloof and stuff like so many high-end restaurants, it had the perfect ambiance and superb service.  The marketing principle I reveal comes from the book ‘Setting the Table’ which I highly recommend.  It’s written by the owner of Gramercy Tavern, Danny Meyer.  Do yourself a favor and grab the book yourself, it’s packed with useful ideas that any business can benefit from.

Search All Craigs (search all of Craigslist)

‘Setting the Table’ Book (by Danny Meyer)

Disney Free Day (get in for free on your birthday)

NCL (Norweigian Cruise Line)

NiftyClicks.com (admit it, you need to feed the addiction)

1 on 1 Consultation with me via phone (I’ll help you with any aspect of your business)

Microwave Marketing (Special offer for viewers only)

Regards,

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Episode #16 – Ever spiraling gas / petrol prices seem to be the hot topic of the moment, and I show some creative ways that people have come up with to cope. I also present some practical ideas of my own.

The viewer question comes from a guy in the health niche who believes that he doesn’t have any competition. I explain why he has LOTS of competition, and what to do about it. Apply the principle to YOUR business.

Finally, the BIG marketing lesson comes from Google, a company that needs no introduction. It’s interesting to look at what Google did when they brought their search engine to the marketplace because it was a VERY crowded market, yet they managed to dominate, even obliterate their competition – I’ll explain exactly what they did.

I’m delighted to announce the winners of the Magical Marketing E xperience adventure in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida on August 19th – 21st, 2008. The winners (and their videos) are:

Louie Bernstein – Video

Pete Genot – Video

_________________________________________________

Resources and websites mentioned in this episode:

Internet Download Manager (download files 5 times faster)

Body Composition (viewer question)

Google

Regards,

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Episode #15 – First things first.  You can see I’m wearing a nifty t-shirt I had designed for the show.  If you’d like to grab one, they’ll be available soon.

What is going on with web 2.0 company names?  It seems as though the view is ‘the silier the better.’  Well, there’s one rather big snag.  people can’t spell these names, and if they can’t spell ‘em, they’re not going to visit, are they?!

The viewer question this week is about how to promote a new website.  Learn from the principles I suggest, because they can be applied to all kinds of businesses.

This week’s nifty click is a tool that enables you to add audio to a website very easily.  It’s the best way I’ve come across so far, and it’s inexpensive too.

The big marketing lesson comes from Blendtec, a company that makes blenders.  Pretty dull product, but they’ve done an amazing job at making the marketing entertaining and interesting.  As a result their business has been revolutionized.  Smart marketers, and a great product.

I reminded you in this episode that there’s still chance to join me on our magical marketing experience adventure in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida on August 19th – 21st, 2008.   Just follow the instructions and submit a video to YouTube.  Record 30 to 60 seconds of yourself letting me know what you like best about this show, or even better, how it’s helped your business directly.

Again, as a reminder, post the video to YouTube (it’s very easy), copy the URL of the video page, and send it to me at: comp@helpmybusiness.com.

Resources and websites mentioned in this episode:

BYO Audio (add audio to your website easily)

Will It Blend? (marketing videos from Blendtec)

Regards,

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Episode #14 – I was recently in England and spotted a cereal box in a supermarket that stood out from the crowd – I’ll explain why on the video.  It’s a great unconventional marketing lesson in how to get noticed in a crowded marketplace (think how many cereal products there are).

The viewer question this week relates to expanding a massage therapy business for increased profitability. I think you’ll find my answer interesting because you can apply the principles to many different service industries.

I love Nifty Clicks, don’t you?  Let’s talk about this week’s gem. If you hate having to register on a website before you can gain access to the ‘free’ content, this one’s for you.  It’s called BugMeNot, and it’s simply a site that contains logins for lots of popular sites – just search for the site you want to gain access to, and chances are you’ll find a login.  Don’t misuse this site – there are logins for sites where you should be paying to gain access.  I don’t endorse that.

The big marketing lesson comes from Tiffany’s the jewelry company.  Their famous blue boxes have become synoymous with Tiffany’s, and they say ‘quality, luxury, and exclusivity.’  I explain how you can improve your packaging to make a better first (and lasting) impression.  Packaging is VERY important, and most people overlook it, or treat it as an after thought.

I made an invitation in this episode for 2 people to join me on a magical marketing experience adventure in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida on August 19th – 21st, 2008.  This is a sold-out experience, but you have the opportunity to win a place by submitting a video to YouTube.  Simply record 30 to 60 seconds of yourself letting me know what you like best about this show, or even better, how it’s helped your business directly.

Post the video to YouTube (it’s very easy), copy the URL of the video page, and send it to me at: comp@helpmybusiness.com.

Resources and websites mentioned in this episode:

BugMeNot (bypass registration on websites)

Marketing to the Affluent Book (Dan Kennedy)

Gravitational Marketing (Jimmy and Travis website)

Tiffany’s (jewelry company)

Fast-Pack (mettalic mailers)

Regards,

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Episode #1 - Welcome to ’Help! My Business Sucks!’ – the show that helps you get more done and have more fun!  Each week I’ll be sharing powerful marketing lessons you can apply to your business to take it to the next level.  This week, I take a look at lessons from Disney, Guinness Book of Records and I demo an amazing screen capture tool called Jing, from Techsmith.

iPod User? Try the Quicktime version.