Buzz Killed Business

May 31, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I just read the new book, The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich, by Tim Ferriss and loved it.  Now my daughter and wife are fighting to read it.

One interesting thing that I had happen already.  Being in this best selling book created a lot of buzz for a a company called Get Friday.  It sounds too good to be true, so I contacted them last week.  Then again on Tuesday.  Then again on Wednesday….  still no reply.  Too much buzz can send your business into the crapper pretty fast.

I still hope they call me. I would love to try this service.  However, I am wondering if it is this much work to hire them, how much work will it be to have them do projects for me?

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Small Business, Interesting Buzz, Blog 

Fox News - Book Test Online

May 29, 2007 | 1 Comment

If you are questioning the power of blogging and buzz, check out what I accidently did for someone in 30 minutes.

She emailed me to let me know that 100’s of people are hitting her site and now she may get on a morning show.  All because she emailed me and said she liked my book.

Don’t Hesitate:  Communicate!

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Why I Chose Not to Buy

May 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment

How many people walk away from buying something from you and you never know it? 

Do all the market research you want, but it is going to be much harder to survey the people that walked away because they never chose to give you any information (or buy something.)

So I decided today to write about three situations that occurred in the last few months that were decisions not to buy and why.  Maybe you can learn something from one of these.

English Horseback Riding Lessons

My daughter is switching from Western horseback riding lessons last year to English horseback riding lessons this year.  A couple of months ago we went to see a local school that taught English riding.  We’d first called, and they said to come out.

We had a particular time, but when we arrived no one greeted us.  We wandered around the stables and buildings until asking someone in the parking lot.  Then they pointed out the owner (who we were supposed to meet) and she did not stop working on moving some things.  She told one of the instructors to give us a tour.  The instructor gave us a tour and gave us a paper to fill out.  She said to think it over and let them know.

This amazed me.  I have the checkbook with me.  We knew we wanted to start the next week if possible.  It was all theirs to lose. … and they lost it.  I would have felt rude if I would have forced her to take my money and sign me up right away.

Don’t worry, Alexandra will still get to take horse back riding lessons there.  We are just starting months later and they are loosing 100’s of dollars.

Lumber

Oddly enough, yesterday I got to restock lumber in a Home Depot.  You see, we were doing a lot of Memorial Day projects and I decided to add a rock climbing thing to the play area.  I picked out the wood, then I searched all over until I found the little rock-climbing knobs that you screw into the planks.

$20 - Not bad, I thought.  Then I saw that was for 4 knobs.  I wanted 12.  $60?  I thought about it for a while and decided to put everything back.  One thing was too expensive and it stopped the sale of all the other things.  I still plan on building one, but I am going to look around for some better options now.

Mother’s Day Movie

On mother’s day we decided we would eat at home and see a movie in the afternoon.  Our two year old is just to the age that she enjoys them.  I did a quick scan of movies and was disappointed that nothing was available for families like ours.  All PG-13 and such.

Keep in mind my younger one cries and runs away every time she sees a Spider-man commercial.

Instead of spending $25 dollars at the movies, we ended up going to the park.  Hurray for us, so sad for the theater that may have liked some more money.

Three Lessons

What are the three lessons?

1) Ask for the sale.  Sometimes people really do want to buy.

2) Look at all the components of your sale.  Are there roadblocks?

3) Make sure you have things available when people are looking for them.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

10 Ways to Fail at Buzz Marketing

May 25, 2007 | 1 Comment

Today Guy Kawasaki has a great post from Margie zable Fisher called Top Ten Reasons PR Doesn’t Work.  I like it because if you substitute the words reporters with bloggers and Podcast with TV…. and lots of other new media with traditional media…. you get a perfect snap shot of what we face as buzz marketers. 

Here are the first two from his post:

  1. The client doesn’t understand the publicity process. PR folks need to better educate people about how publicity works. The first thing many clients ask is, “Can you get me on Oprah or the front page of the Wall Street Journal?” The answer might be “yes,” but the process to get to the “yes” may take months or years, and may first include a series of smaller placements.
  2. The scope of work is not detailed and agreed upon by both parties. Here’s a typical example: a client signs an agreement to spend $3,000 per month. Client expects to get three publicity placements per month. PR person expects to work 20 hours, regardless of the outcome. The inevitable disconnect leads to customer frustration and the feeling of being “burned.”

Keep reading….

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Beta Testing Handshake

May 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Handshake HQ LogoA quick update on our new secret project. Handshake HQ officially has one Beta Tester outside of our group. As soon as we get his feedback and make some changes, we will release it wider. There is still time if you want to get an early look. Just drop me an email and let me know you are interested.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

16 Year Old Entrepreneur

May 22, 2007 | 2 Comments

Mark my words, some day the United States will get education right and then there will be a big backlash.  Instead of blaming illegal immigrants and cheap foreign labor for our problems, we will blame our own kids.

How can I honestly compete with a kid that has all of their expenses covered and even gets an allowance?  The web has opened up entrepreneurship and kids are catching on.

OK, Elizabeth Grace is not a Kid.  Sixteen is a young adult.  But still, how many people that young have the drive to build it and the stamina to promote it?  Here is the email she sent me.  (Reprinted with permission)

My name is Elizabeth Grace.  I am 16 years old and recently started a website business called………. BookTestOnline.com   

Recently, I bought your Buzzoodle Marketing book from Amazon.  I love your book, it is great!   I have just started a few days ago really working the challenges.  Thank you so much!

I know this is what I need to get my business started. 

BookTestOnline.com  is an Educational Website for students in the (3rd - 12th) grades. This is a way for me to help other students with their English Book Tests. English is my best subject & I love to read.   

I am adding new book tests each week. I plan to have 50 to 75 book tests by August 2007.  After working for over 1 year, I am ready to get the marketing started. 

If you can Start The Buzz…………..for me!    Anything you do would be greatly appreciated!

Elizabeth Grace

Lets see….

  • Website with clear conversion - Check
  • Buzz Marketing Strategy - Check
  • No fear to contact people she does not know - Check
  • Long term goals - Check
  • Discipline - Check
  • Quick response with PR when someone asks for it - Check

Maybe the only fair thing to do is kick kids out at the age of 8 and make them fend for themselves, otherwise we all may be working for them soon.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Allergies and Damage Control

May 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment

If you have seasonal allergies, please read this. If you do not, don’t worry. There is a marketing message as well.

My wife watches Oprah sometimes. A few weeks ago she saw the show with Dr. Oz. He mentioned a nose bidet (neti pot) completely relieved allergy symptoms. When my allergies acted up again, she mentioned it. My first thought was that it might help the nose, but the eyes were the worst and it could not possibly help the eyes that well.

A week later, I was taking the usual regiment of over-the-counter allergy pills and eye drops (that combined, still left me feeling groggy and did not work well.) The pills were simply not working and I told my wife to explain this nose thing to me again. Then I went to the drug store and bought one, because there was nothing to lose other than a few dollars on a tea cup for the nose.

Here is the freaky thing. The really upsetting thing for me… It worked. Not just half way like the expensive pills and drops. Simple salt water gave me back a very high quality of life that is usually 8 weeks of suffering. 3 times a day I spend 10 seconds using that stupid tea cup to wash my nasal passages and I do not have ichy eyes or any other allergy symptoms. Even after spending the day outside, I only have the slightest ichy sensation.

OK, I wanted to tell the story to help other people suffering from allergies. Now the marketing part. What a nightmare for the companies selling their pills that do not work well. I have spent my last dollar on allergy remedies. Thanks to Oprah and Dr. Oz, I am guessing a few other people have also. My wife watched the follow up show yesterday and they had testimonials of how that information had changed people’s lives. They also said the nose bidet (nasal wash) were selling out everywhere and people were complaining because they couldn’t find them.

It was the right message at the right time that took away peoples pain and save them money.

How do the pharms do damage control? What can they say? Here are some of my ideas.

  • Chemicals are better
  • If it works too well, you will forget you have allergies and forget to use the bidet and then the allergies will come back.
  • That sounds very new age, you should not trust it.
  • Salt water? Researchers and doctors did not invent that.
  • No studies have been done….nor will we ever do any…..
  • This is the path to medicinal marijuana use.
  • Not having any allergy symptoms is highly addictive
  • Don’t tell your friends. Lets just keep it our little secret.

Those are my suggestions for a PR campaign doing damage control.

Let me leave you with one thought. If I had a cure for cancer, but I was making more money on chemotheropy, would it be ethical for me to withhold the cure? It is just business, right?

Update:  Within one hour of this post going live, Dr Hana emailed me.  She is an expert in this field and has a product on her website: http://www.nasopure.com - I am very impressed that she is using the right tools to contact relevant people quickly.

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Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Before you call me….

May 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I get contacted by people frequently.  In fact, 4 different potential clients contacted me since Friday.  One person wants a word of mouth campaign, so I first went to their website.

I had to update flash, and then I was forced to watch a bad video, then click as I might, I could not get to any additional information about the products.  They have a very cool product, but the website is a disaster.  They probably have plenty of buzz but people get so frustrated on the website and cannot figure out how to buy.

Before you think you need buzz, you need to have clear conversion, clear purchase or a way to collect more information, and a clear path to creating a relationship with a new, interested person.

We can help people with this, but it is a bit of a let down when someone calls wanting cool buzz marketing and they end up buying web development.

What I am trying to say is fix your plumbing before you get fancy with the landscaping.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Buzzoodle, Internet Marketing, Blog 

Are your impressions really lasting?

May 18, 2007 | 2 Comments

Want to create more buzz? Higher visibility and more referrals sound good? Then you will have to do more than hand out your business card. You need to make a lasting impression that sticks. Here are some simple things you can do to make a more memorable impression.

Follow Up, Twice.

Face the facts. Most of us do not follow up with everyone we meet. We know we should, but unless they expressed a hot interest in our widgets (things we are selling) then we may put the stack of business cards in a pile and keep putting off the follow up. And really, is following up once going to make a lasting impression? We are just doing what we are supposed to. How about following up twice? Now that would impress me.

Make the Journey Down the Rabbit Hole Easy

When you do get some interest, the first thing someone usually does to find out more about you is call your 4th grade teacher and ask what you were like as a 9 year old. When this proves to be too much of a hassle, they may also turn to Google and see what dirt they can dig up. If you have a blog, websites, interviews and a lot more out there about you, the google search results will make a lasting impression on someone.

Be Cool and Simple

Don’t talk too much and don’t sell a laundry list. Boil your core message down to a passionate, simple and easy to communicate message and then let them ask questions.

Show who you know

Name droppers are bores. But there is a really great way to show off who you know and no one is going to complain. Bring people together. Make introductions and be sure that every great person in your network gets to meet other great people in your network. Making great introductions is a great way to become everyone’s favorite guy or gal.

My Best Friend

This one is tricky. Don’t hold back praise. Speak highly of others and publically. Sometimes you can feel you are sticking your neck out, but there is more up side here than down. I really notice someone when I find them speaking so highly of me. Sometimes I am baffled because these people have never met me or barely know me and they are heaping on praise, and I think, they shouldn’t do that. It is too much. But wow do I notice them and want to give back to them.

Side note here though is - don’t fake it. If you feel it, be excited to share it.

Fight Ordinary Every Day

Every day you wake up and you have the opportunity to make it an ordinary day, or an extrordinary one. Make the decision to make it extrordinary early and you will have an added boost of energy and enthusiasm for the entire day. One of the things I hear the most from people I meet in person is, “Wow, you really love what you do…”

You can make some minor changes in attitude and behaviors that will make a lasting impression on the people you meet.

Please leave comments on this post about things you do to make a lasting impression.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

Interesting - Go Watch a Breakup

May 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment

This video is funny and the person behind it is very interesting.  Instead of embedding it here I will give credit where due and link you to another blog.

Posted by Ron McDaniel | Filed Under Blog 

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