Seth Godin on When You Should Start Marketing Your Product, Service, or Idea

Posted on 18. May, 2012 by in Blog, content marketing, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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What is marketing?

Is it a process of gathering as much money as you can, throwing it to the “creative” winds, and hoping something will come back?

Is it a practice of interrupting as many people as possible with a message they don’t care about, and never asked to receive?

Is it a performance you frantically stage around your product, service, or idea, in the final moments before launching it into the world?

Or is it something else entirely? And if it is, how and when do we employ it?

Seth Godin has been asking, answering, and living out these questions for decades. In the process, he’s written thirteen best-selling books, built dozens of companies, and crafted one of the most influential blogs on the planet.

He’s on the show today, delivering a fast and elemental definition of marketing, and what it means to engage an audience in the post-industrial era. Don’t miss this …

In this episode we discuss:

  • Seth’s definition of marketing
  • When you should start marketing your product, service, or idea
  • Why running a ton of ads just doesn’t work anymore
  • The most important element of good marketing
  • The most dangerous element of bad marketing
  • How the Internet builds trust, and why you must get it
  • A stunning example of breaking out of the old marketing system

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About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s Copywriter and Resident Recluse. Get more from Robert on Twitter and Google+.

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How to Attract an Audience by Integrating Content, Social, and Search

Posted on 11. May, 2012 by in Blog, content marketing, Copywriting, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing

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Google’s been pissing people off lately. Panda, Penguin, Parakeet (okay, I made that last one up), who knows what’s next …

Then there are the social networking evangelists whose entire fortunes are deep in Zuckerberg’s asset.

And finally, the faithful content producers, who labor slowly and quietly to build their businesses one thousand words at a time.

It can all seem a bit much to keep up with. SEO isn’t bad. Social networking sites aren’t evil. Content marketing isn’t impossible. But it can feel like it sometimes.

To clear up some of this confusion and frustration for us, I’ve asked Lee Odden to jump on the show and tell us how the smart, systematic integration of search, social, and content can attract an audience … and keep businesses — both large and small — sanely profitable.

In this episode we discuss:

  • The 3 phases of a holistic customer attraction plan
  • What the changes in search algorithms really mean for online publishers
  • How to intelligently plan a content strategy that works
  • Why it’s now essential that you become a “holistic” content producer
  • 5 content optimization audits you need to perform
  • 3 steps to implementing your systematic content plan
  • How to scale your content efforts on a limited budget

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About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s Copywriter and Resident Recluse. Get more from Robert on Twitter and Google+.

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Why You Should Build an Audience Before You Build a Business

Posted on 30. Mar, 2012 by in Blog, content marketing, Entrepreneurship, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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Where do great business ideas come from?

What about products — how can you know (or at least make a highly educated guess about) whether your idea will actually fly in the market?

In his must-read book Breakthrough Advertising, master copywriter Eugene Schwartz wrote:

“This is the copywriter’s task: not to create mass desire — but to channel and direct it.”

Though Schwartz aimed that truth at copywriters, it’s also a good starting point in explaining Brian Clark’s Minimum Viable Audience model for building businesses and products that people want.

Build an audience through content marketing. Let them tell you what they want. Build products and offer services based on their desires and needs. Prosper.

In this episode we discuss:

  • What is an Entreproducer?
  • Why you should build a Minimum Viable Audience before anything else
  • How to build a profitable business around content marketing
  • How to succeed in business without outside funding
  • Why focus groups and surveys don’t work
  • How to find and build a product that people actually want
  • How Brian built Copyblogger with a Minimum Viable Audience

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About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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How Chris Brogan Built His Content Platform

Posted on 16. Mar, 2012 by in Blog, content marketing, Entrepreneurship, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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Chris Brogan is everywhere.

From the outside, it seems that in just a few short years, he’s created an independent publishing and speaking empire with nothing more than his personality and a laptop.

The truth of his story is a lot more compelling.

He spent 10 years writing into the void. He flew to conferences around the country broke, eating leftover granola bars. He struggled to pay the mortgage, to pay the electric bill. After eight years of work, he had an audience of just 100 subscribers.

He eventually created an invaluable content platform that now gets up every hour of every day and goes to work for him.

It didn’t come easy for Chris, and it didn’t come fast, so he’s on the show today laying down some wisdom and advice that can make your own road to creating a content platform that works for you a lot less brutal …

In this episode we discuss:

  • How to write 2,000-4,000 words a day
  • The critical importance of brevity in the digital age
  • Why every online writer should read (and study) The Shipping News
  • 2 ways to find endless content ideas
  • Why it took Chris 8 years to gain his first 100 subscribers
  • Brogan’s best advice on how to create a valuable content platform

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About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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How to Turn Interested Prospects into Lifelong Customers Through “Youtility” Marketing

Posted on 09. Mar, 2012 by in Blog, content marketing, conversion, Featured, persuasion, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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Think having a huge Twitter following is enough to drive your marketing?

Is big media attention (social or otherwise) enough to drive the sales you need and want?

Those certainly help, but the future of a successful marketing campaign lies — in part — in becoming a “Youtility,” finding creative ways to to be unforgettably useful to your interested propects.

So says thought leader, author, and one of America’s top three social media consultants Jay Baer. He jumped on the show today to clearly explain the “Youtility” concept, and how you can put it to use in your own marketing mix.

In this episode we discuss:

  • Why you’d better be playing for the long-term
  • Why the future of marketing lies in becoming a “Youtility”
  • How “Friend of Mine Awareness” can revolutionize your marketing
  • The fatal flaw of merely creating a lot of content
  • 3 case studies in developing “Friend of Mine” awareness

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About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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A 30-Minute Copywriting Course from a Master of the Craft

Posted on 02. Mar, 2012 by in Blog, Copywriting, Entrepreneurship, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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John Carlton is a professional copywriter who charges $2,500.00 for his one-on-one consulting calls.

In this 30+ minute interview, he decided to lay out some of his best advice for carving out a career in the writing trade. And he decided to give it up at no charge.

Part 1 of this interview went over well last week. Make sure you don’t miss it.

If you write persuasive copy (and content) as a freelancer, or for your own business, do not miss Part 2 below for some of the most valuable tips and trade philosophies you’ll find online …

In this episode we discuss:

  • The 5 “Carlton Copywriting 101″ philosophies
  • How John wrote his most famous (and best-selling) headline
  • The Professional Copywriter’s Code
  • The old-school tactic that can jump-start your copywriting career
  • How to find the hooks that people respond to
  • Why copywriting is not a “mystic” art
  • How to use dead guys as mentors
  • John Carlton’s best advice for copywriters trying to make it

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About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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The Path to a Legendary Copywriting Career

Posted on 24. Feb, 2012 by in Blog, Copywriting, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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John Carlton is a force of nature.

He’s that rare breed who can write fascinating copy, and is just as fascinating to listen to. Every story ends up a great story.

Through the lens of his remarkable journey to and through the copywriting trade, John delivers practical business tips and killer copywriting advice in this first half of a two-part interview I did with him.

Whether you’re a veteran writer, or just starting to learn your craft, the next 30 minutes with this outspoken ad man is a worthwhile spend …

In this episode we discuss:

  • How to go from slacker to pro
  • Why writer’s block is a myth, and how to get your work done
  • 4 books that will change your career (and you should read every year)
  • The dirty little secret most copywriters don’t want you to know
  • The mental attitude that made John’s career
  • 2 secrets of John’s success
  • A vital lesson on the nature of opportunity

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About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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5 Tips for Affiliate Marketing Beginners

Posted on 17. Feb, 2012 by in Blog, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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What’s one of the most reliable ways to earn an income online?

If done right, affiliate marketing is a hard model to beat.

Problem is, there’s a lot of bad (and unethical) advice out there on how to approach it. So, I’ve invited Sonia Simone and Jessica Commins to jump on the line today to counter that bad advice, and offer their best strategies for effective, ethical, and profitable Affiliate Marketing.

Where do you begin? How do you attract customers? What are the pros and cons of various Affiliate Marketing business plans? How do you make money by building a loyal audience?

Let’s find out …

In this episode we discuss:

  • What is Affiliate Marketing?
  • The best way to make a living as an Affiliate Marketer
  • The vital element your Affiliate website and/or content must include
  • How to choose an Affiliate Program
  • Why content creation is key to profitable Affiliate Marketing
  • Affiliate Marketing legal issues you need to understand

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The Show Notes:

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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Why Not Sell Physical Stuff With Digital Media?

Posted on 10. Feb, 2012 by in Blog, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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We know that online marketing works when selling digital products.

When’s the last time you thought about selling physical products online?

Of course, the business of physical widgets is booming, even though Internet types tend to shy away from it. Online marketing doesn’t necessarily mean an exclusively online business.

Ben Settle jumped on the line with me this week to talk about his old school physical information product business.

Give it a listen to find how he gets it done, and how he gets his stuff into the hands of buyers …

In this episode, Ben Settle and I discuss:

  • Why physical information products work in the digital age
  • How to market and sell physical products online
  • The 3 myths of selling physical products online
  • The easy way to get information products printed and mailed
  • Why you should consider adding physical products to your lineup

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About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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Whether You Call it Blogging or Not, Online Content Still Rules

Posted on 03. Feb, 2012 by in Blog, content marketing, Featured, Radio, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

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What if most of the business world stopped blogging tomorrow?

Would you stop as well?

No, if that happened, you’d find yourself sitting on the opportunity of a lifetime. Social networking sites would explode with likes and retweets and pins and +1s of your original content all day long.

This is why the annual “blogging is dead” claim is so dumb. Even if it were true, your continued content production would dominate the web in every way.

So, instead of worrying about the latest claimed trend or alarming decline of the moment, stay the course.

Original content creation is the present — and the future — of online marketing.

In this episode, Brian Clark and I discuss:

  • Has blogging peaked?
  • The clear future of online marketing
  • What Twitter wants, and how to give it
  • Is the online playing field really even?
  • Why it doesn’t matter (at all) if “blogging” dies
  • What even the major brands are focusing on right now

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The Show Notes:

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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