Episode #134 – “Bouncing Back, Duped in the Big Apple, a New Marketing Magazine, and a BIG marketing lesson from United airlines”. – Small Business Marketing Tips

Get updates, offers & the exclusive FREE guide: “7 Killer Methods for Marketing Without Money”:

Other Useful Resources for Small Business Marketing:

NiftyClicks (Discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Ask a Question (about small business marketing – you could be featured on the show)

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It’s great to be back!  Did you miss me?  I missed you.

As usual, let me know your opinion about the topics covered in the show to help your small business this week – leave your comment below, it’s really easy to do, no registration required.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this week’s episode? Try the QuickTime version.

Feedback / Questions: Send me a message or question about your business, you just need a webcam connected to your computer. It’s fast, easy, and free. Note: You might be famous! In submitting a video (just click on the reply button below), you agree to the possibility of having your video shown in a future episode of the show to assist other viewers with their small business marketing.

Episode #110 – “The One With the Oil Spill ”

Feedback / Questions: Send me a message or question about your business, you just need a webcam connected to your computer. It’s fast, easy, and free. Note: You might be famous! In submitting a video, you agree to the possibility of having your video shown in a future episode of the show. Click on the ‘reply’ button below…

Episode #85 – “On Location Special from In n Out Burger…”

Episode #84 – “Marketing is Everything…”

Episode #83 – “I bought this t-shirt and all I got was this t-shirt…”

Episode #82 – “Windows: Just Another Pane…”

My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-de02caeecb189e47254ab20cbf90ccfe}

Episode #81 – “Software doesn’t have bugs, it just develops random features…”

Websites and Resources for your benefit:

Grasshopper (Virtual phone system for entrepreneurs)

Copy Boosters / Doodles (to spice up your copywriting and make it more effective)

Andrew’s Speaking Engagements:

Terry Wygal’s Blueprint to Financial Freedom (Nov 6-8, 2009, Houston, TX)

Peter Shankman and Nick Nanton’s Social Media Summit (Nov 15-17, Las Vegas, NV)

Other Useful Resources:

GotBiz WebTV Network (The NEW Place for Unconventional Business Education)

NiftyClicks (Discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Book a Private Telephone Consultation with me (to Help YOUR Business grow faster)

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

Episode #80 – “Nostalgia was better in the old days…”

Websites and Resources for your benefit:

Grasshopper (Virtual phone system for entrepreneurs)

Reputation Defender (Monitor and fix your online identity)

Kidpreneurs (book for kids)

Retire at 21 (blog for young entrepreneurs)

Andrew’s Speaking Engagements:

Terry Wygal’s Blueprint to Financial Freedom (Nov 6-8, 2009, Houston, TX)

Peter Shankman and Nick Nanton’s Social Media Summit (Nov 15-17, Las Vegas, NV)

Other Useful Resources:

GotBiz WebTV Network (The NEW Place for Unconventional Business Education)

NiftyClicks (Discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Book a Private Telephone Consultation with me (to Help YOUR Business grow faster)

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

(* Required) Note: Your contact information is not shared with anyone, and you’ll only receive useful communications.

I start this week with a VERY unusual ad. It’s real, I promise.

I try to do my part to help young entrepreneurs, and I was delighted to see the release of a new book, ‘Kidpreneurs’ which is an innovative way to help kids learn about the pros and cons of running a small business. You can grab it from Kidpreneurs.com and congrats to Adam and Matt Toren.

This weeks question is from someone who’s making sales using PPC, but they’re not sure how to take it to the next level. I suggest two easy tactics that will definitely increase the level of sales substantially. Look out for those tips!

As you no doubt realize, your reputation is a valuable asset. Online, do you know what others are saying about you? Find out, using Google! If you find things that you don’t want others to see, you need the nifty click that I recommend this week.

iHop restaurants do a good job at theming special menus around popular topic. I’ll give you a good example where they linked in with NFL, and show you how to use the same strategy in your business.

Let me know your opinion about the topics covered in the show this week – leave your comment below, it’s really easy to do.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #79 – “I’m Not Trying to be Difficult – it comes naturally”

Websites and Resources for your benefit:

Grasshopper (Virtual phone system for entrepreneurs)

WeLive2Care (Outsourcing service)

Andrew’s Speaking Engagements:

Terry Wygal’s Blueprint to Financial Freedom (Nov 6-8, 2009, Houston, TX)

Peter Shankman and Nick Nanton’s Social Media Summit (Nov 15-17, Las Vegas, NV)

Other Useful Resources:

GotBiz WebTV Network (The NEW Place for Unconventional Business Education)

NiftyClicks (Discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Book a Private Telephone Consultation with me (to Help YOUR Business grow faster)

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

(* Required)  Note: Your contact information is not shared with anyone, and you’ll only receive useful communications.

I stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel recently and they did something quite astonishing at check-in. I’ll spill the details in this episode. This week sees the release of “The Worst Case Business Survival Guide” by Mark Joyner, and I co-wrote one of the chapters. Available now from your local book store, or Amazon.

The question for this episode is all about how to acquire sponsors, so if you’d like to know my suggestions for doing just that, tune in.

I’ve discovered a useful outsourcing resource called www.WeLive2Care.com – I’ve used them for various VA type tasks including writing, research etc, and I’m happy to recommend them to you.

The BIG marketing lesson is from Haagen Dazs. Specifically, they used a coupon that had a specific design. You can copy and adapt the same idea to use in your business, watch the show to find out how.

Let me know your opinion about the topics covered in the show this week – leave your comment below, it’s really easy to do.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #75 – “Being Vague is Almost as Fun as Doing This Other Thing…”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Membergate (Grab the FREE Videos)

Mail Chimp (Scaleable Bulk Email Sending Service)

GotBiz WebTV Network (The NEW Place for Unconventional Business Education)

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’ve got some more outrageous business signs for you this week, they’re hilarious! Might want to check the signage in YOUR business, too! Just in case

Have you seen Dragons Den, the TV show? It started in Japan, then went to the BBC, and now it’s on BBC America. It’s a great show where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a group of 5 VC investors. They either shoot the idea down in flames, or embrace it and invest their own money. It’s fascinating to be a fly on the wall. I’ll show you a clip from an episode where a poor girl gets ripped to shreds. I felt sorry for her actually. The Dragons Den concept has now been adapted for U.S TV in the form of a new show by Mark Burnett (Apprentice / Survivor) called ‘Shark Tank’ on ABC, Tuesday evenings.

Our question this week is all about following up by phone. How long should you leave it before calling a prospect? And what should you say? Find out my top tips for telephone selling in this episode.

If you need a reliable email service you might want to try MailChimp. They offer a free version of their service – basic, but hey it’s free. Check out lots more Nifty Clicks at http://www.NiftyClicks.com

Sean Delisle is a man who implements! Find out what he did in this week’s success story…

Finally, a big marketing lesson from a big brand. This time it’s Conde Nast’s Portfolio magazine. Or more specifically, their marketing materials for getting new subscribers. They used a technique that’s little known, but very powerful and persuasive.

Let me know your opinion about the topics in the show – leave your comment below, it’s really easy to do.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #74 – “Cleverly Disguised as a Responsible Adult”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Membergate (Grab the FREE Videos)

Service Magic (Get household tasks done for you)

GotBiz WebTV Network (The NEW Place for Unconventional Business Education)

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’m upset with Archos, a company that makes high-end portable media players.  My new unit broke after using it just twice, and the company didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in helping me, or even keeping my future business.  I returned the broken unit for repair.

They kept me waiting for 30 minutes on the phone to speak to someone.  Then I discover that they apparently have some kind of insane policy where they offered me a new unit at a 15% discount.  That in itself is okay, but I would have had to let them keep the original unit.  So I would have paid for TWO units, and only have ONE.  Er, that doesn’t seem quite right.  They get to repair it then sell it on for profit, at MY expense.  Not the way to treat customers as far as I’m concerned.

On to business.  How do you get more customers without it costing you an arm and a leg?  That’s the question posed to me this week, and the answer will work for virtually any business, so take note!

What about all those long overdue jobs around the house - will they ever get done?  Well, fret not.  I have a handy solution in the form of a simple website where you can outsource any such maintenance or repair that needs to be done.

Finally, our big marketing lesson is from a newspaper.  Really.  I found one that’s doing a good job at marketing using a simple graphic on the front page that takes up just a couple of inches of space.  It’s a no-brainer mareting strategy, and I’ll give you a few pointers about how you can adapt it for your own business, regardless of the niche you’re in.

Let me know your opinion about the show – simply write a comment below.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #73 – “Marketing Helps Me Make Decisions”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

BoomText Special Offer (Get a FREE 30 Day Trial and a 60 minute consultation)

Domain Typo Tool (Research common mis-typings)

GotBiz WebTV Network (The NEW Place for Unconventional Business Education)

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)

This is an exciting week for me, and hopefully you too. Why?

When was the last time you used a Yellow Book? Personally, I can’t remember. I dusted mine off the shelf for this episode, and I’d love to know if you’re like me, using online tools to search for local suppliers, rather than books like the Yellow Pages.

The question that’s raised is all about how to spy on competitors pay per click campaigns. It is possible, and I’ve got two web resources for you, one of which is free.

Many people mistype words when they type a domain name into a browser. This is for a number of reasons that I’ll explain, some of which might be surprising to you. Fortunately, there’s an excellent free tool that will tell you what the likely mistakes are for any domain name, even one you haven’t registered yet. This is really useful because you might want to register some of those mis-spelled names and register them, in order to forward the visitor to your website.

Finally, the show wraps up with a big marketing lesson from Dell, the computer company. Dell sent me an invitation to their ‘signature event’ which caught my attention, and so I’ll explain why ‘event’ based marketing is so effective for ANY business. Yes, including yours.

Let me know your opinion about the show – simply write a comment below.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #71 – “I Do Know It All… I Just Can’t Remember it All at Once”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Infusion (Download the free guide from Infusion)

One Minute Coupon (Creates printable coupons for your website)

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)

Yep, many of the big airlines are still screwing their own business up with bad customers service, silly charges, and other nonsense. Long time viewer of the show, Meny Hoffman shares his experience about trying to upgrade on Continental. They wanted to charge him a $250 PENALTY for upgrading to a higher class of fare! The extra $1200 is apparently not good enough for greedy Continental Airlines.

United Airlines are still feeling the heat from Dave Carroll, who created the “United Breaks Guitars” video that’s been seen over 5 million times on YouTube already! Dave’s just released video #2, with a new song. It’s great!

Then there’s UPS who are still irritating me no end. They won’t deliver to our new studio address in Salt Lake City because the address isn’t in their computer! Yet USPS and Fedex have no problem. I HATE the “our computer says” type of excuse. Fix it! Computers don’t think for themseves, they do whatever humans tell ‘em to do!

This week’s question is all about the t-shirts I wear on the show. What’s the marketing signifcance? Watch the show to discover the answer.

You can now offer printable coupons on your website, thanks to OneMinteCoupons.com, I’l share that nifty click with you this week, it’s really useful.

I love hearing YOUR succes stories, so keep ‘em coming. You can submit your story using the ‘ask andrew’ link at the top of the page, and you can win an incredible prize, something from my travels

A few weeks ago, JetBlue offered an ‘all you can jet’ pass, valid for a month, and it was a major success. Think about how YOU can challenge the existing pricing model of your industry and offer something different, and better.

GotBiz.tv is officially launching 9-9-09, sign up for free updates and offes at GotBiz.tv. I’m excited to launch this new network for you, and all the shows will be free.

Let me know your opinion about the show – simply write a comment below.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #69 – “If You’re Interested in Time Travel: Meet Me Last Thursday”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Infusion (Download the free guide from Infusion)

Outrageous Advertising Book (from Amazon)

The Most Successful Outrageous Salesletter (You can download it from here)

Blurb (Full Color Book Printing)

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)

What’s going on with taxi drivers? I was down in San Diego last weekend and on every trip I took around town, the taxi drivers decided on their own tip, by giving me back my change, LESS their tip! What’s up with that?!

This week’s ‘Ask Andrew’ question is all about web design from…a web designer. That’s okay. Many designers favor form over function, or marketing effectiveness. I’ll give my suggestions, including why you should NOT use flash in your web design if you want it to be found by the search engines.

The ‘nifty click’ resource is a company that enables you to create a bookstore quality book, with a minimum quantity of just one! Price varies according to how many you order, and the number of pages in the book.

The BIG marketing lesson comes from Jamba Juice, who have opened up a new market for themselves by offering a delivery service. Fax your order, and it can be delivered. The key lesson is widening out the way you do business.

If you’d like to share YOUR favorite little known website, simply write a comment below!

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #68 – “I Listen to Bands that Don’t Even Exist Yet!”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Infusion (Download the free guide from Infusion)

Paid for Life (San Diego Charity Seminar)

StockLayouts (Professionally designed marketing materials, ready to use)

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)

Went to Austin, Texas last week and that was quite an experience. In the Little Long Horn Saloon they play a game that I can only describe as bizarre (but fun).

I have some more outrageous business signs to show you from all over the world, even a few from righ here in the good ‘ol USA!

If you own a small business that serves local customers you’ll probably relate to this weeks question, which is all about how to promote your business in the area without spending a lot of money. Or no money

Now there’s no excuse for not having professional looking marketing materials. This week’s resource, StockLayouts is an amazing find for anyone that needs business cards, postcards, stationery, posters, etc as promotional tools in your business.

Finally, the BIG marketing lesson this week comes from a company called MasterPlans.com – it’s an advanced copywriting strategy that’s incredibly effective at persuading readers. Let me know what you think.

If you’d like to share YOUR favorite little known website, simply write a comment below!

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #66 – “Global Warming: All the Cool Planets are Doing” It

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Infusion (Download the free guide from Infusion)

Lifehacker (Great blog for busy business owners)

TubeMogul (Free video distribution)

Traffic Geyser (Premium service video distribution)

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 start this week’s show with an amusing exchange between one of those Nigerian scammers and an Australian guy, and it all happened on Skype.

Awhile back Business Week had an issue that featured ‘the pet economy’, which, it turns out is not just big, but HUGE business, and maybe that could include you too?

This week’s question is probably on your mind too – how do you promote your site better? See if the tips I give can be applied to your website.

I love Lifehacker. It’s a difficult to describe blog with an amazing array of useful content. At least, I think so. Let me know what YOU think of it.

The BIG marketing lesson is from M&M’s candies, or is that sweets as we say in Britain? It’s a marketing concept that most businesses can adopt.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #65 – “Let Me Drop Everything and Work on YOUR Problem ”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Infusion (Download the free guide from Infusion)

AVG Anti-Virus Software (Get it – it’s free!)

Money From Social Media (Free guides about profiting from social media)

‘United Breaks Guitars’ (Full video on YouTube)

Top 20 Viral Videos (take a look at these for ideas and inspiration)

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)

Another packed show for you this week…

Have you heard about the ‘United Breaks Guitars’ video that’s gone viral online? I talk about that, and how United Airlines really dropped the ball. They now look like a bunch of fools in my opinion because they acted too late.

I’ll also announce the winner of the Magical Marketing Experience competition for 2009/10. I’m thrilled to give this tremendous prize to a very deserving winner. If you entered, it could be you…

The ‘ask andrew’ question is all about creating viral media. I’ll explain that although it’s impossible to design something that’s guaranteed to go viral, there are some principles you can learn and understand that will at least help you go in the right direction.

How about a nice new nifty click? When I buy a new computer there’s one important piece of software I install before I do anything else with it. Any idea what it is? Well, it’s free, and you can find out more in this episode.

The BIG marketing lesson is from Delta airlines. They’ve done something very different, and it’s a great idea that you can adapt to help your business.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #63 – “Not Made in China ”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

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

The iPhone Blog (Great resource for iPhone users)

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)

Played golf for the first time in a loooong time, and regretted it. Not just because I’m a rubbish golfer, but because I stayed out in the sun too long and got deep fried and crispy.  I’m paying the price for that one.

If you sell more than one product (I do hope so) then you’re in the same predicament as Ted, who submitted this week’s question.  He asks how to cross promote products, and I provide lots of suggestions for him, and you too.

I know so many people who have converted to the iPhone over the last year or so, and all of them love it.  I have a resource for you iPhone addicts that’ll keep you up to speed on all the latest news surrounding the phone.

The BIG lesson I promised from last week is here!  Remember how I showed you the Valenti ad and contrasted it with the one from Rosetta Stone?  Well, the time has come for me to reveal to you WHY the latter is SO much better.  See if you can identify with the good or bad example with your own advertising.

Also this week there’s a competition to test YOUR marketing skills.  If you know the answer, rush to add a comment and you could win a years subscription to NiftyClicks.com

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #60 – “I’d Give My Right Arm to be Ambidextrous! ”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

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

Interested in my new Magical Marketing Experience Mastermind Group?  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.

GotoMeeting.com (Get a Free 30 Day Trial of GotoMeeting)

Fawnt.com (10,000 Free Fonts)

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)

2 BIG Announcements for you this week, I wont spoil them for you. Don’t forget to check out the offer from Infusion, who are giving you a free trial of their online marketing management system, it’s what I use to manage my own business.

I show some examples of creative advertising that I think you’ll enjoy. They’re great examples of creative ways to stand out from the crowd and get noticed, and I hope they inspire you.

I receive a lot of questions about how to promote a business for free, and fortunately there are plenty of ways to do it. I’ll show you 4 in this episode.

One way to stand out from the crowd is to use unusual fonts for your logo / website / business cards etc. I’ve discovered a tremendous resource of 10,000 high quality free fonts at www.Fawnt.com

This week’s BIG marketing lesson is from GotoMeeting, the online service that allows 10-15 peope to meetup ‘virtually’ (share their desktop computer screens etc). I was on a Delta flight recently and I received a little card from GotoMeeting on my dinner tray. It was the right message, to the right audience, at the right time. MOST advertising gets this wrong.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Marketing and Advertising

Episode #59 – “It’s not that I forget…it’s just that I don’t care! ”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Scratch n Dent Sale (Grab yourself a bargain until everything gets sold out)

MemberGate.com (The online membership site platform – check out the free videos)

FatCow.com (FatCow WebHosting)

Wufoo.com (Create forms easily online for your website)

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)

My initial reaction on hearing about RyanAir’s plans to charge for using the toilets on their planes was shock, but in this economy it figures. RyanAir have a track record of doing things like that. Nothing is free on their flights, not even a measly drink. Rather than try and skimp and save at every turn, wouldn’t they be better off focusing on PLEASING the customer?! Apparently the only airline that gets what customers want (and gives it to them), is Virgin.

If you’re interested in one of my training products but money is tight, it’s a perfect time to invest.  I’m having a scratch n dent sale this week until all the items dissapear. Visit Scratch n Dent Sale.

If you’ve ever wondered about creating a ‘lite’ version of an existing product and selling it cheaper or even give it away for free to attract business of the standard version, pay attention.  That’s exactly the topic I’m discussing this week in ‘Ask Andrew’.

A lot of people ask me how to put an opt-in email form on their website so that they can capture the names and email addresses of visitors.  I use Infusion but that’s only really suitable for an established business in my opinion.  Enter Wufoo.com, a resource that makes it easy to create and include any kind of webform on your website.  I think you’ll like it.

This week’s BIG marketing lesson is from FatCow hosting.  This is a company that does an amazing job at creating a distinctive brand with personality.  You can learn a lot from looking at their site.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #58 – “I Don’t Need Your Attitude…I Have One of My Own;)”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

MemberGate.com (The online membership site platform – check out the free videos)

Retailmenot.com (Source for coupon codes for most sites)

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)

Some companies just don’t get it, do they? I love hearing your stories about companies that don’t understand what customers want. This week, I share a story submitted by viewer Glen Munro, who’s website service provider offered to charge him for a higher level of support – let me know what you think of the proposal.

This week’s question is essentially a website review – see if you can spot any mistakes that YOU’RE making on YOUR website.

I don’t know about you, but I get a kick out of saving money. That’s why I LOVE RetaiMeNot.com, a site that lets you find coupon codes, fast. Many online retailers invite you to enter a coupon code during checkout, and obviously most visitors have no idea where to find a coupon code, so they ignore it. Well, now you know, you can start saving a lot more money!

This week’s BIG marketing lesson is from Amazon.com. I’ve mentioned them before on the show, but this time the lesson comes from a recent newspaper ad they featured in USA Today. You can learn a useful marketing lesson from their unconventional approach, it’s really clever.

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #56 – “No Sense Being Pessimistic – It Wouldn’t Work Anyway…”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

AirfareWatchdog.com (Search for bargain airfares and view routemaps)

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)

Wow, what a busy week. I’ve been travelling around the country. Last week included:

Salt Lake City, Washington DC, Bethesda, MD, New York City, Stamford, CT, and Chicago, Il!

Did you notice that both Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s have released tiny ‘snack’ size versions of their popular ice creams – available in supermarkets? They sell for around a $1, so the profits must be substantial.

A lot of people send in questions about registering domain names, so I think this one will be helpful for you. It’s about how to register the best possible domain name for a business. I’ll give my top tips that you need to keep in mind.

As you now know, I travel a lot, and it makes sense for me to keep an eye on airfare bargains. While I use Kayak.com much of the time, I’ve also found Airfarewatchdog.com to be really helpful, for a number of reasons that I explain in the episode this week. Both are good tools for different reasons.

This week’s BIG marketing lesson is from The Guitar Center, which is a national chain of music stores here in the USA. They do a great job of keeping connected with their customers via direct mail, and I was impressed with one particular strategy that I explain in this episode. You can do something similar, and I’ve even pre-researched some resources to help you implement, fast!

Enjoy the show!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #52 – “Don’t Believe Everything You Think”

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

The Continuity Summit (details to join me in Stamford, CT May 15-17th.)

Grab Your FREE Isssue of Microwave Marketing (my best ever offer, a $77.00 value.)

Buzz Marketing (outstanding book by Mark Hughes)

Dean Hunt (he’s a master at creating buzz for online businesses – checkout his blog)

280 Slides (online presentation creator)

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)

My, how time flies when you’re having fun. This is episode #52 which means the show has been running for a year already! Thanks for your support and encouragement along the way, and hopefully I’ve given you lots of things to think about to help improve your business. Of course, this is still early days and I’ve got a lot more to share with you in future episodes, especially when the show moves to the new www.GotBiz.tv network in May.

Well, I took the cameras out and about in my local area this week. Why? So I could show you first hand, how so many companies (the majority in fact) use meaningless names for their businesses. I’ll also prove to you why it’s so important to come up with an intelligent name for your business.

Vladimil submitted a question about how to compete against a well known, well established company in the same niche or field. I provided a suggestion that any business in the same situation can use, so look out for that marketing tip.

Then it’s on to the Nifty Click of the week. This time I feature a free online presentation creator called 280Slides.com – I really like what this company offers, and I encourage you to check it out.

Finally, the BIG marketing lesson is from Entrepreneur magazine’s SmallBiz books division. They’ve done something very smart that you can copy in your business. It relates to buyer psychology, and beyond the Entrepreneur example, I’ll give you a couple of other examples to prove the point about how effective this technique can be.

Enjoy!

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #49 – “10 Out of 8 People Have Trouble With Fractions”

I stayed at a resort in Phoenix, AZ recently while I was attending a seminar, and the ‘welcome’ I received at this luxury resort was rather unusual. See if you can relate…

I realize that a lot of people aren’t tech minded when it comes to creating and selling information products online. This week’s question is all about that situation – what to do if you’re not the most technical person, how to get your first product up and for sale, making money as fast as possible.

This site you’re reading now is a WordPress blog, the industry standard for blogs. Did you know that there are thousands of themes (template designs) available for WordPress to customize the look and feel of your blog? I’ll tell you about my very favorite collection of WordPress themes.

Dell are one of the most well known computer manufacturers in the world, and they didn’t get that way without having a good understanding of marketing. The simple technique I reveal in the BIG marketing lesson is something that every online business should be doing, but you rarely see it. It revolves around what happens after they notice ‘shopping cart abandonment’ from a customer.

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Amazon Kindle (The NEW Kindle Wireless Reading Device is must have for serious entrepreneurs)

Revolution WordPress Themes (The best of the best of WordPress themes)

Info Product Dashboard (Great training program that guides you through the process of creating your first product to sell online.)

NiftyClicks (discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Private Consultation for YOUR Business (with me)

Microwave Marketing Training System (special offer for you)

T-Shirts for the show are supplied by National Media Services – check out their excellent service

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #48 – Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, you’ll know that Circuit City, the nationwide U.S. electronics chain has finally bitten the dust. I thought it was funny listening to all the financial analysts thrown in their 2 cents about the reasons for Circuit City’s demise. I’ll share my thoughts on the subject – let me know if you agree or disagree.

PayPal has grown from being an upstart startup to a goliath like company. Should you accept PayPal payments, or should you stick with regular credit card merchant accounts? That’s the topic of the question this week. Share your experiences with PayPal – good or bad.

Marlon Sanders has a knack for creating genuinely useful and practical training products. A lot of people ask me for help creating their first information based product (‘how to…’) to sell online, and while I’ve created some material in that realm, there’s an even better resource, and that’s the one that I talk about in the video this week, from Marlon.

The BIG marketing lesson comes from Old Navy, a popular clothing store in the U.S. They sent a package to my wife, Luci, that was innovative and caught her attention, and that’s what marketing is all about, isn’t it?!

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Amazon Kindle (The NEW Kindle Wireless Reading Device is must have for serious entrepreneurs)

Info Product Dashboard (Great training program that guides you through the process of creating your first product to sell online.)

NiftyClicks (discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Private Consultation for YOUR Business (with me)

Microwave Marketing Training System (special offer for you)

T-Shirts for the show are supplied by National Media Services – check out their excellent service

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #47 – Not sure if you spotted the news item about Microsoft asking for money back from employees who’d been axed.  Let me know your thoughts about that.  I just heard that Microsoft decided to let them keep the money – was that the right decision in your opinion?

This week’s question is about using humor on your website?  Should you, or shouldn’t you?  You might be surprised by my answer on this one.

I discovered a really cool nifty click resource to share with you this week.  It allows you to research your competitors keywords as used in their pay per click (PPC) campaigns, so it shortcuts the research process for your own PPC campaigns.

The BIG marketing lesson comes from the German airline, Lufthansa.  I didn’t even realize they were persuading me to begin with!  I’ll share the story with you in this episode.

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Amazon Kindle (The NEW Kindle Wireless Reading Device is must have for serious entrepreneurs)

KeyCompete (Great keyword research tool to discover competitors keywords in their PPC campaigns)

NiftyClicks (discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Private Consultation for YOUR Business (with me)

Microwave Marketing Training System (special offer for you)

T-Shirts for the show are supplied by National Media Services – check out their excellent service

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #46 – Have you checked out at a shop where they use one of those ‘self-checkout’ systems? I hate them with a passion, and I’ll tell you why.

This week’s question is from a company that wants to sell on eBay, but they’re worried about upsetting their existing distributiors. What do you think? Should they or shouldn’t they? Find out what my answer is on this.

Once upon a time there used to be ‘clipping’ services where companies would watch the news and if your industry or business got mentioned, they’d clip the story from the newspaper and send it to you. Now, you can have virtually that same service via a free resource called FiltrBox. It’s like Google Alerts on Steroids!

Finally, this week’s big marketing lesson is from UHaul, the company that rents trucks across the USA. What can you learn from a trucking company? Watch the episode to find out!

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

eBay (Do I really need to explain what eBay is?)

FiltrBox (Excellent news gathering and notification resource for any keywords that you specify)

NiftyClicks (discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Private Consultation for YOUR Business (with me)

Microwave Marketing Training System (special offer for you)

T-Shirts for the show are supplied by National Media Services

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #45 – When was the last time you were sent a thank you card from someone at a big business?  It’s amazing how rare that happens, isn’t it?  I’ll tell you about my experience.

I’ll also share the results of my experiment last week to give you the chance to name your own price for my new eBay book – you’ll be surprised at what happened.

This week’s question is from a balloon artist who has a blog but wants to know whether he should also have a website.  Do you understand the difference between a website and a blog for business?  I’ll explain all in this episode.

If you don’t know who visits your website, you’ll love the free tool I show you in the video, called ‘StatCounter’.  It’ll help you increase your conversions dramatically.

Finally, this week’s big marketing lesson is from 1-800-GOTJUNK, a highly successful franchise operation in the USA that you can learn from!

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Stat Counter (Free online software that tracks visitors to your website)

NiftyClicks (discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Private Consultation for YOUR Business (with me)

Microwave Marketing Training System (special offer for you)

T-Shirts for the show are supplied by National Media Services

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #44 – In the midst of a recession comes a story that’ll warm your heart. A restaurant owner in London has scrapped the prices on the menu, to let the customers decide what they want to move. Some call it stupid, I call it smart, and I’ll tell you why in this episode.

Many people wonder whether it’s wise or even feasible to promote a local business online. After all, it might seem like trying to crack a nut with a sledgehammer, right? Well, you’d be surprised what you can do online to get new customers for your business, even if it only serves a very small local area. I’ll give you some resources that’ll help, too.

This week’s nifty web resource is an amazing directory of millions of free books and articles, all current since the 1990′s. I’m confident that this one’ll be new to you.

I took my parents to Santa Fe for a few days recently and we discovered Cafe Pasqual’s, a phenomenal restaurant, a real gem of a find. There’s a couple of big lessons that any business can learn from this innovative restaurant, watch the episode to find out what they are.

During this episode I make an irresistible offer for you to acquire my new eBay book: ’7 Unconventional Ways to Profit from eBay’ – it’s hot off the press and just waiting for you to ge…

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Choose What You Want to Pay for my new eBay Book (offer valid in the U.S. and Canada only – click on the ‘donate’ link below and simply name your price – there’s no order form, just click the button and enter your contact and shipping information etc)

(link was removed after offer expired)

Craigslist (promote your local business)

Kijiji (another option to promote your local business)

The Free Library (free resources of articles and books)

Yelp (independent restaurant reviews)

NiftyClicks (discover the very latest web tools and resources)

Private Consultation for YOUR Business (with me)

Microwave Marketing Training System (special offer for you)

T-Shirts for the show are supplied by National Media Services

Regards,

Having trouble viewing this video? Try the QuickTime version.

Episode #41 – I go on a rant about movie trailers this week – don’t you just hate it when the movie trailer tells you the whole story of the movie so there’s no surprises left?

This week’s question is about what to do when business is down.

I’ve got a great nifty click for you to save money on online electronics shopping. It’s called ‘BeatThat.com’ and it’s a great twist on community driven content.

The BIG marketing lesson is from Videomaker magazine. Nothing to do with video, in fact it’s a clever way to retain customers and learn ‘what went wrong’ when they try and cancel a subscription.

Websites and resources mentioned in the show:

Beat That (get the scoop on the best prices for electronics)

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)

T-Shirts for the show are supplied by National Media Services