“Networking is not about hunting. It is about farming. It’s about cultivating relationships. Don’t engage in ‘premature solicitation’. You’ll be a better networker if you remember that.”
~Dr. Ivan Misner
NY bestselling author & founder of BNI
Nov 06
Networking Quote: Ivan Misner
Nov 05
Keys to Create Content for your Blog
One of the challenges most bloggers face is what to write about on their blog.
Internet expert Joel Comm writes about this subject on his blog. In his post, “How to Decide What to Write About,” Joel states:
“People are always search for how-to do this or that. Just go to Google and search for “how to” and see how many millions of results are returned. In fact, if the search engines like my blog than I can come up on the first couple pages for the phrase “How to decide what to write about.” Wouldn’t that be interesting?”
Click here to read the full post
I find it helpful to brainstorm a list of topics. You can even create a mindmap starting with one idea in the center and then adding ideas around it.
Above all, writing on a regular basis takes practice. Find the time to write daily. Use simple language and write with a specific audience in mind.
Good luck and happy writing!
Rick Cooper
Marketing Coach
Oct 17
Attraction Marketing Secrets: Book a Radio Interview
While print media coverage can have a long life, radio interviews can help you communicate a message and develop trust and rapport with a large audience. The media loves people that can communicate a clear message quickly and easily with a little personality.
1. Select your message
To get an interview on the radio, you need to be able to speak clearly and easily and engage your interviewer in a dialogue. Your host is the star of the show and they’re in charge. You’re the guest and your message is the entertainment. So, be entertaining and stick to your message. Keep your message simple.
2. Script your interview content
If you want to communicate effectively, you need to script your content. That doesn’t mean reading from a script during an interview. It does mean learning your content inside and out, backwards and forwards.
Pick up the Phone and Call the Media!
3. Contact the media
You need to be proactive if you want to book an interview on the radio. You’re going to have to pick up the phone, call the media and pitch your story to them. Keep your conversations brief and to the point whenever you talk to the media. Find out if they’re on deadline and if so, keep it very brief or call back when they have more time.
4. Prepare for your interview
Take time to prepare for your interview. Review your script and role play the interview. Practice until you are comfortable.
Radio interviews are a great way to get publicity, especially if you have a great voice and you can speak with confidence. Practice till perfect and start booking interviews.
Rick Cooper
Marketing Coach
Oct 17
Marketing Quote: Jay Abraham
“If you’re attacking your market from multiple positions and your competition isn’t, you have all the advantage and it will show up in your increased success and income.”
~Jay Abraham
Jun 13
Work on your Goals
“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.”
~Jim Rohn
I love quotes. There is so much wisdom contained in them. This quote from Jim Rohn reminds us of the importance of planning and goal-setting. The simple act of making a plan or setting a goal begins a chain reaction of activities that will lead us to greater success.
Action Step: What goals can you set today that will move your business forward? Take 10 minutes to set a goal and then take one action toward that goal.
Rick Cooper
Online Marketing and Social Media Trainer
Jun 10
Attraction Marketing Secrets – How to Get Publicity With a Press Release
One of the best attraction marketing strategies available is to get publicity. You can increase your visibility by getting coverage from the media. It’s not an easy task, but if you have a timely message, you can do it.
After you develop a publicity strategy and a plan, the first step to get publicity is to write a press release. This critical document is used by the media to identify trends, locate experts, and select story ideas.
1. Select a message
Getting publicity takes consistent effort and it takes a consistent message. Select a message you will communicate frequently over a period of 3-4 months. Write a series of press releases that focus on different aspects of the message. Make direct contact with the media, pitching your story and offering to be interviewed on the topic.
The press release should not be about your business. It shouldn’t be about you. It should be about a specific group of people. For example, you could write about baby boomers, small business owners or retirees. Your message should appeal to your ideal clients because that is ultimately who you want to reach.
Your press release should be newsworthy and should tap into the theme of hot topics and current trends in the news. It doesn’t have to be related to what you do as a business owner. But, that’s always a plus. Just remember not to promote. You are the expert!
2. Create a compelling title
Just like an article needs a compelling title, so does a press release. Look for examples of press release titles on PRNewswire.com. Don’t look at corporate press releases. In general, their press releases are boring are all about me, me, me. Keep your title simple and focus on the benefits of the message. You want to draw people in with the title.
Make Your Press Release Newsworthy!
3. Craft an informative opening paragraph
Keep your message focused and use the opening paragraph of a press release to communicate the who, what, when where and why. Include your city at the start of the paragraph. You can include a date or leave it off.
Grab the attention of the media and draw them into the press release. Give people a reason to read further. State the problem and explain that there is a solution.
4. Draft the press release
Draft an outline of the content and write the press release. Focus on providing value. If you want to get the media’s attention use the press release to provide tips and strategies that will be meaningful to an audience the media is trying to reach.
One of the strategies you can use in communicating with the media is to share 3 tips or strategies. If you have the opportunity to be interviewed by the media, you can’t ramble on, you need to be very focused.
Most people have a difficult time communicating a clear, consistent message. They’re all over the place. If this sounds like you, you need to invest some time in boiling your message down to its basics.
5. Quote yourself as an expert
One of the differences between an article and a press release is the opportunity to position yourself as an expert in a press release. Quote yourself in the press release 2-3 times. For example, “According to Rick Cooper, The Attraction Marketing Expert, “A press release can help you book an interview on radio or TV or be quoted in print media.””
Use words like “according to, says, said, indicates, states, stated, and shared. It might be uncomfortable in the beginning to write about yourself in the third person. Imagine someone else is writing the article for you. Do not list yourself as the media contact. Use someone else’s name.
A press release is a great tool to help you craft a compelling message for your publicity campaign. Post your press release on the internet, send it by email and include it in packages to the media. With consistent effort, you will get visibility and ultimately publicity. Read Guerrilla Publicity by Jill Lublin and Rick Frishman. Be persistent and seek out additional resources to help you learn how to get publicity.
Rick Cooper
Marketing Coach
Jun 05
Are You Leveraging Email to Build Trust and Rapport?
One of the best tools you can use to develop customer relationships is email. It offers the possibility to create an ongoing relationship by communicating information and providing value. Are you leveraging email to grow your business?
Do you consistently send email messages to your list? Do you mail to everyone at once, or do you make use of sub-lists to send a more targeted message?
Email is an amazingly versatile tool to build trust and rapport. It allows you to share information through broadcast messages, email newsletters or advertisements. One of my favorite strategies is to use autoresponders to create an ecourse.
Compared to other forms of promotion, it’s very inexpensive. You just have to pay for the cost of the email marketing tool. It’s also green, there’s nothing to print and mail. All things considered, email is a great tool.
Unfortunately, open rates are down. There are more and more messages and fewer people opening them. But, it’s still worth the effort. And permission based marketing means that people want to hear from you. As long as you provide value, you will get a result.
What opportunities do you have to create email campaigns? Have you taken the time to develop a strategy? If not, you might want to set a goal to make better use of email in your marketing.
May 12
5 Tips to Get More Speaking Engagements
Experts gets more clients! You can use public speaking to increase your visibility. You may also have the opportunity to generate leads or sell products.
Public speaking is a great way to find clients. When you stand at the front of the room, people will perceive you as an expert.
So, where can you go to speak?
Here are 5 tips to get more speaking engagements:
1. Service organizations
Call your local Kiwanis or Rotary club. They are always looking for speakers. Also, check out Meetup groups including Successful Thinkers.
2. Professional associations
There are many great professional associations for specific industries or careers. Make a list of associations and ask for referrals. Check out their local website and look for the Program Director. Network with other professional speakers. I attend the Sacramento Speakers Network. Look for a group in your local area or start your own Meetup group. After you deliver a speech, refer other speakers to them.
3. Companies
Do you have a topic that would interest sales professionals? Call the sales manager or owner of a small to medium size business to book a free local talk. Offer to speak for 30 to 45 minutes at their weekly meeting.Make the talk motivational, as well as providing ideas they can implement.
4. Conferences and Events
There are a lot of events that feature speakers. Many conference organizers hire professional speakers so they know they are getting a good speaker. There are also a lot of smaller events that feature unpaid speakers. Keep an eye out for local events. Connect with your local chamber of commerce and look for flyers for upcoming events.
5. Host your own event
This one is the most challenging to pull off. You need to book a venue or find a place to host the event free. You need to market and promote the event. You need to make confirmation calls. And you need to arrive before and stay after the event. There are also decisions about whether you will serve food, allow time for networking, and how to handle registration. Other than that, it’s a great strategy.
Public speaking is one of the most powerful ways to grow your business. You will literally have people beating down your door wanting to talk with you because you have the answers.
Make sure you take the time to develop your speaking content. Write a script, memorize it and practice. Practice, practice, practice. Get clear about your goals for the speech.
One word of caution, be sure to get approval in advance before you attempt to generate leads or sell products during a speech. Many associations have strict rules against selling. Learn what you can in advance about their rules. Then, make a specific request. If they say yes, then you’re good to go.
You are an expert! Now, get out there and speak!
Rick Cooper
Marketing Coach
May 10
5 Tips to Develop Rapport through Email
One of the greatest assets you have as a business owner is your customer list or database. That includes all of your clients, prospects and members of your network. It’s anyone you can communicate with to add value and promote your business.
One of the ways to communicate with customers and prospects is through email. Do you have an email list? If so, how often do you communicate with your list?
If you want to build long term customer relationships and grow your business, then you need to communicate regularly. Email is a great tool to help you build trust and rapport.
Here are 5 tips to develop rapport through email:
1. Send messages consistently to your email list
Think about your list. How often do you think they would want to receive messages from you? Identify how many messages to send per month and then stick to it. Some people send 1 message per month, others send 1 per week, and still others send several messages per week. Get on a schedule and do it consistently over time.
2. Create a content rich ezine to send your list
People like information. And they love good information. So, position yourself as an expert and write articles. Then, create an ezine to send your articles. Choose a simple design and send your ezine monthly. Be authentic and let your personality come through.
3. Develop an autoresponder campaign to warm up new prospects
One of the ways to build trust and rapport is to create a content rich ecourse that educates at the same time it builds trust and rapport. You can use autoresponders to deliver a sequence of email messages over time. What problem can you help to solve? Create an ecourse and then promote it on your website or blog.
4. Send broadcast messages to invite clients and prospects to free events
A broadcast message is a single message you can send to your full email list or to a sub list. You can invite people to a teleseminar, send an article, send a link to your blog or help to promote someone else. Determine how many promotional messages you want to send per month and stick to it.
Focus on Adding Value!
5. Don’t over-market to your list
You should use an email marketing service that complies with the Can Spam Act. That gives people the ability to unsubscribe. People will unsubscribe. Don’t worry about it. But, do minimize the risk of having too many people unsubscribe by making sure that you do not over-market to your list. Too many messages too close together may encourage someone to click the unsubscribe button. As long as you are looking for ways to add value, then people will look forward to your messages.
If you follow these 5 tips, you will increase your results substantially. Think of email as a strategic marketing tool. Take time to plan your communication schedule. Develop your skills in creating email marketing copy.
Be authentic when you write your messages. Look for ways to add value. People will read your messages if they find value in them.
Write your way to success!
Rick Cooper
Marketing Coach
Apr 27
Write an Article to Position Yourself as an Expert
Looking for a great way to begin positioning yourself as an expert? Write an article! This is a quick and easy strategy to begin adding value to attract clients. People want to know that you are knowledgeable before they work with you. Show them.
As an author and a speaker, I have developed a body of content over the last 7 years. But, when I first started my business, I didn’t have anything except what I knew in my brain. I started out simply by writing articles, posting to a blog and then creating reports.
Over the years, I wrote several books, workbooks and created an audio CD set. I know this can seem daunting to someone just starting out. Hang in there. It gets easier each time you do it.
Attract Clients with an Article!
Here are 5 quick tips to help you get started:
1) Brainstorm a list of topics and then prioritize them
2) Don’t worry about coming up with the perfect title, just get started
3) Make a list of 3-5 points you want to cover in the article
4) Write the first draft and then set it aside
5) Edit, edit, edit
I have now reached a point that I can write an article from start to finish without having to make any edits. (Okay, it’s always a good idea to read through your articles at least once to catch typos.) I take more time when I write books, reports and ebooks.
If you have thought about writing articles, but have hesitated, what’s holding you back? Take a risk and get started today!
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