Archive for the ‘Classical Marketing’ Category
Friday, June 27th, 2008
There’s no arguing this, your Unique Sales Proposition (USP) is one of the most important marketing messages you can share. Fortunes have been made on these apparently simple slogans:
- “When it absolutely and positively has to be there overnight.” - Fedex
- “Hot, fresh pizza delivered within 30 minutes - guaranteed - or it’s free!” - Domino’s Pizza
So what do you get when you miss the mark or wort still, you borrow from someone else’s USP, you get a weak and potentially damaging USP like this…
(more…)
Posted in Classical Marketing, Rants and Raves | 1 Comment »
Monday, May 19th, 2008
Before the Internet existed there was a business service called “clipping” and what the clipping companies did was scour the newspapers and influential publications of the time clipping content. They’d look for information you had specified (clip it out) and send it to you. This was a fantastic way to get critical information about important matters. It was leading edge for its day…
Quaint huh? Now you can do this and more for free with Google Alerts. Here’s how:
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Posted in Classical Marketing, Internet Marketing | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
It doesn’t seem that a day goes by without more news about how the recession is affecting business. “Sales are slowing” says one source, another says “Revenues are down 15% this month alone.” In troubled times special measures are required, and over the years as a business consultant I’ve had to shepherd a few companies through some rough patches.
Here are 16 tips to help you survive and thrive during a recession. And if you recognize some of the advice as the same for turning around a business in distress then you’d be right! Like I said… special measures. Remember, you need to do business to stay in business.
(more…)
Posted in Business Development, Classical Marketing | 1 Comment »
Friday, April 25th, 2008
Though the North American economic downturn is hurting many traditional magazine, newspaper and television advertising providers, the digital advertising sector is rallying because companies are shifting their marketing budgets to the web.
Big advertisers are getting ‘web savvy’ and advertising online. General Motors recently announced it will spend $1.5 billion–half its annual advertising budget–online. Kimberly-Clark, home of Kleenex and Huggies brands, increased its Internet allocation to 26% from 10% of its marketing budget. And McDonald’s recently inked a digital deal reportedly worth $10 million.
All this spending proves the online advertising trend is real, and Google (the world’s biggest Internet advertising company) recently reported first-quarter earnings that exceeded all the Wall Street estimates, quelling concerns about its growth.
The main reason digital advertising does well is because it’s easier to measure the success of your web ads versus your TV or print ads. On the Web, you can count the number of times consumers look at or click on your ads and the dynamics of the web also let you adjust your adverts rapidly to maximize change.
Bottom line, web spending is growing at a much faster rate than spending on traditional media and there’s no immediate signs of this stopping any time soon.
*Inspired by recent Forbes article.
Posted in Classical Marketing, Internet Marketing | No Comments »
Thursday, March 6th, 2008
There are gigabytes of information on my computer system. When I have free time I like to go exploring the archives because “there’s diamonds in them there mines!”
And on a recent ‘expedition’ I uncovered this little gem. A while back I offered a free teleseminar called “44 Ways To Fail in Advertising and Marketing”, it was well received and became the inspiration for this 13 page report.
If you’d like to get a free copy, enter your name and email below and you’ll receive your free PDF report via return email.
PS. Because I don’t enjoy spam any more than you do, you’ll need to confirm your request for this free report - simply look for my email and click the ‘confirm’ link.
Enjoy!
Posted in Business Development, Classical Marketing | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
Don’t just scratch the surface…
“Go Deep With Advanced Internet Marketing, Strategic Content and Web2.0 Social Marketing Strategies”
…and attend an advanced workshop!
You Will Learn:
- How to ‘Power Blog’ and set one up in record time
- How to cascade your content using free services and automation
- How to use social sites for expanded content syndication and exposure
- James’ “Best Practices” for Internet Marketing and Strategic Content
- The “Purity of Search”theory and why it’s the only theory to follow
- The secrets of ‘TIME’ - the proprietary Internet Marketing system James developed and licensed to companies like Goodyear (all new version!)
- The power of social bookmarking with sites like DIGG, Technorati and more
- How to duplicate your efforts through technologies like Autoresponders
- How to make viral Internet Marketing work for you
- James’ secret e-Bay marketing twist that allows you to sell “Free” for hard cash!
“I like to think of you as the King of Blogging…” ~ Deb Crossen, Fiesta Buckhorn (Past particpant of ‘Blogging for Business, Fun & Profit’)
Course Benefits:
Internet Marketing is constantly evolving and knowing what path to take when considering your company’s IM strategy can be daunting. Join James as he leads you through an array of powerful techniques and strategies that will help you devise your own IM plan and show you the best way to move forward.
Who Should Attend:
Business owners, managers, marketing execs and anyone involved in corporate brand building, or the creation and management of ‘web content’.
“Working with you has been a complete pleasure.” ~ Rob Crocock, FEO Ontario (Booked James for their annual conference)
How To Book:
Space is limited to 12 attendees so call or email your order today. Payment in full 1 week prior to attendance is required to ensure your space.
Seminar Includes:
- 5 hours in-depth classroom training. Small class sizes of 12 or less
- 30 days post-seminar unlimited email support - priceless!
- Beverages: coffee, tea, juice, and water
- Printed course materials and backup digital copy too
- Additional post-seminar materials delivered via email
- Chance to win $1,200* prize package
BONUS:
One lucky seminar participant will win* the following IM Blog package valued at over $1,200:
- Domain registration
- 1 Years website hosting
- Installation and configuration of a WordPress blog
- Choice of a custom ‘look and feel’ for their website blog
- Personal one-on-one coaching and setup support
*Please note the winner is selected at seminar start. Prize redemption begins during workshop as part of the practical demonstrations and continues afterwards as necessary. Some conditions apply
For more information please contact us.
- Date: February 19th, 2008
- Location: Burlington Art Gallery
- Time: 8am to 1pm
About The Trainer:
James has developed and delivered training around the world for companies including Rolls Royce, the Bank of NovaScotia, CG, the British and US Governments and more…
Posted in Business Development, Classical Marketing, Internet Marketing, Seminars & Training | No Comments »
Monday, December 31st, 2007
“This Simple Stealth Technique (and a Novel Twist on Article Directory Use) Uncovers People’s Truest Desires!”
*TIP* Use this special report for niche product analysis and for stimulating new product ideas. It includes step-by-step instructions and plenty of screen shots to show you precisely what to do next. It’s very easy to follow and it’s yours with absolutely no strings attached.
Here it is, simply click the link to open/download:
* Stealth Ezine Techniques [PDF]
Enjoy!
James Burchill
Posted in Classical Marketing, Internet Marketing, Strategic Content | No Comments »
Friday, December 28th, 2007
NOW BOOKING THE JANUARY 2008 STRATEGIC CONTENT CREATION WORKSHOP
Workshop Details
- Date: January 16, 2008 (It’s a Wednesday)
- Time: 7:30 am until 9:30 am (we can stay a bit longer if you like)
- Location: The Burlington Art Gallery (The Fireside Lounge)
Here’s what you’ll discover:
- My 2-4-2 article creation system.
- My “27 minute formula” for article writing.
- The best places to publish your work online - and how.
- The “secret sauce” all successful articles *must* have.
- The cardinal rules, what they are, and when to break them.
- How to ‘Fog’ your work for maximum impact and effect.
- Power MS Word tips and more…
Here’s What You’ll Get:
- Work Book with workshop notes and reference materials
- Unlimited email support after the workshop for 14 days
- Breakfast - assorted muffins, breads, fruit juices, tea, coffee, fresh fruit platter.
- And the networking opportunity to meet other like minded people
Next Step:
To book your space at this upcoming workshop order now. The booking deadline is fast approaching and there are only a few seats left. Please note, if you order and we are over booked, your payment will be immediately refunded.
Posted in Classical Marketing, Internet Marketing, Seminars & Training, Strategic Content | No Comments »
Sunday, December 9th, 2007
Here’s the last 4 of the 10 deadly advertising sins that we’re covering today:
(7) Making customers work too hard
(8) Failing to explain why
(9) Giving up too soon what works
(10) Forgetting who your customer is
Here’s the link to Part 2… just in case
And so without further ado…
(7) Making customers work too hard
This one is simple. Is it easy for people to do business with you? Do you make ordering easy, do you take a variety of payment types, or do you sabotage your own success? Take a close look at your “buying process” and see if you can make it simpler.
(8) Failing to explain why
Buy from me… Why? Failing to explain WHY is a killer. Why are you offering a special? Why is it that your store is better than someone else’s? Give the buyer reasons why they should choose you. Get creative… and frankly, I don’t mean to be rude… but no one really gives a [#$%^&*] that you’ve been in business since the world began, and that you offer great service [duh... you're supposed too!] The more believable and plausible your reasons are, the more you will sell.
- [SIDEBAR] I once ran an advert telling people that my wife would make me move furniture and shop for drapes if I didn’t sell enough that day. It worked, and people were laughing at me (with me?) for ages…
(9) Giving up too soon what works
“It’s boring now… let’s change the advert” - Woah there hoss, you only pull an advert when the numbers tell you it’s not working - NEVER because you’re bored. Sure, you see the darned thing everyday, but each day a new customer sees it, it’s still new to them. Business people are forever “getting creative” when they should simply leave well alone until the numbers say it’s time to change.
- [SIDEBAR] By all means test other adverts too - you can always improve, but don’t pull an advert just because.
(10) Forgetting who your customer is
And last, but by no means least - always send your sales messages to your PRIMARY PROSPECTS. You can’t sell everything to everyone so stop trying. If your product appeals to the over 45 year old divorced women then target them in your adverts. Identify, select, and consider calling them out directly “Attention! If you’re a divorced woman 45 and over then…” You think they’ll pass that over? I think not… Avoid cliches like the plague [*grin*] and avoid headlines and offers that are non specific and vague.
So there you have it, the last part of the 10 deadly sins. There are more… but I’m not being paid enough to give away all my secrets 
Posted in Business Development, Classical Marketing, Rants and Raves | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007
Back in May of 2007 I wrote about people stealing your traffic by altering your content prior to rendering (or serving up) the page. Today I recieved an email about Google’s new measures to combat cloaking.
Google’s opinion on “undetectable” cloaking
In his recent blog post, Google’s Matt Cutts commented on a Danish company that offered ‘undetectable’ cloaking to its customers. Google tried to check if this claim was true and they quickly found a website that used the services of the company. It turned out that their cloaking wasn’t undetectable at all:
“If someone is trying to manipulate Google by deceptive cloaking, it means that a webserver is returning different content to Googlebot than to users. That’s a condition that can be checked for by algorithms or manually, and such cloaking is certainly not ‘undetectable.’”
Basically, if the page on the server is different from the page the user sees - Google considers this cloaking. And Google is about to start kicking *ss and taking names — if it already hasn’t begun.
Try it. Get caught monkeying with the content and Google will drop you from their index. And frankly I say good riddance, it serves you right for trying to trick the wee spiders 
But seriously, I’ve never liked these change scripts altering your work because as a content creator, my stuff gets published quite a bit (which is flattering) but when the publisher then steals MY traffic by programmatically embedding links into the page “on the fly” - well, I’m rooting for Google on this one!
So, if you think you can outsmart the G-Man… think again. Google is watching and looking for cloakers. If you are currently using some of the more popular text switcher programs (and you know who they are) you should stop immediately - or risk having your website delisted. On second thoughts, keep it up (6)
Posted in Classical Marketing, Internet Marketing, Rants and Raves | No Comments »
Not everyone wants to "curl up with a good blog," some prefer a good book which is why I compiled the Best of this Blog into an easy to read/print eBook.
