What is the one thing, or the many things, you can demonstrate through social media, that most effectively markets your wares and/or skills?

Are your business strategies transparent throughout your organization, including, and most particularly in your social media content?

Let’s take a look at what you are saying…on your website and on all of your social network sites…consistently.

1. Do you speak with courage?  Having a belief and conviction that what you are offering, whether goods or services, is relevant for your clients and prospects today.   It  must come through in your message, regardless of where it is published, or how long or short it is.  Speak from the heart, conveying the benefit, and the value your product or service has for the reader, along with your faith in yourself in bringing it to them.  Let people know that what you say can be relied on.
2. Is your message intelligent?  Much of today’s social media content is seen as junk, and discarded before it’s even opened.  Quite frankly, with good cause.  Outsourcing can have benefits, but social media requires a special communication skill.  It must be done intelligently.  If you have a social media manager, director, or other outside party who speaks in your behalf, make sure they understand you, your organization and what you stand for.  Clear, concise, detailed messages that don’t overwhelm or throw the reader into confusion are what is called for.  Today’s readers are very savvy.  Your message must respect that and respond to it.
3. Are you kind?  Price-gouging in today’s market will earn you few points, nor will despairing remarks about your competition.  Use your social media to share positive messages and best value (not bargain basement out-of-date throw aways) deals that benefit your client or prospect as well as you.  Share your knowledge and your prosperity in ways that benefit anyone who needs or seeks your help through any of your social media portals.
4. Are you trustworthy?  Do you do what you say you will do?  If you promise to deliver a product within two days, is it there within two days…or two weeks, or whatever commitment you have made.  Does your social media reflect all the ways in which you demonstrate trustworthiness…testimonials, guarantees, samples or demonstrations prior to purchase?
5. Are you loyal?  The only way to build loyalty amongst your clients and prospects is to be loyal to them…first.  Always let them know you appreciate their business. Send tokens of appreciation. A simple thank you note is often just as appreciated as a bonus or a gift.  Let those who support you know that they are important.  Use your social media outlets to convey that fact…often.

If you wonder about how you are perceived by your social media audience, why not try a survey tool such as Survey Monkey, found at www.surveymonkey.com/; or  Zoomerang On Line Surveys at: www.zoomerang.com/online-surveys/.

Knowing how others see you can move your social media messages in a direction that markets to the heart of what specific need is not being met in the marketplace today that you, and you alone, can best provide.

Who else has figured out that it is the sensationalizing that has created all the fear and panic, not the events themselves?  Absent all the media attention, weather-related events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and fires…which have been occurring since time began…would be covered factually and as a natural life event rather than an epic catastrophe.

I take nothing away from the individual pain and suffering that is felt when a major drama plays itself out. The sensationalizing of it, however, does in fact remind me of the story of  “Chicken Little.”  If you recall the story, one young chick had a seed that fell on its tail, then he went around to all the the birds, Henny Penny, Turkey Lurkey, (OK by how surely you remember), and others around him telling them the sky had fallen, because “a piece of it had landed on his tail” , until ultimately he had gathered a crowd, who then ran into the wily fox, who convinced them to run into his den, from whence none of them,  except of course, the fox returned.

Wouldn’t it be nice to get economic news, reported as news rather than as the latest killer/thrill novel?

So…what can you and I do to change all this?

Here are a few rules that world-wide entrepreneurs, and all their friends and families,  can adopt that I believe will make a difference, and get the world headed toward a more peaceful existence, and out of the mind-set that the sky is falling.

• Quit worrying.  If you’re struggling with this, think of this quite: “Troubles are a lot like people.  They grow bigger if you nurse them.” Author unknown.
• Show compassion and kindness.  There is misery around us, and denying it or avoiding it won’t make it go away.  That doesn’t mean taking on others’ burdens, but even a smile or a positive thought can brighten their outlook. Someone shared with me a story recently of a teenage boy who befriended a very shy newcomer, and many years later was told by that person that he had saved a life, as at that point he had felt so bereft he was planning to commit suicide.  Kindness counts.
• Work smarter, not harder.  Spend your time on what matters to those you serve.  Nearly everyone’s heard of  Pareto’s 80/20 Rule…only 20 percent of what you do in a day is really worthwhile.  So it’s important to know which 20 percent to focus on.  As you go through how you spend your day, if it’s not obvious, or doesn’t readily become obvious, ask.  Use surveys, make phone calls, see people face to face, and ask them, “Of the service or products that I provide, what is most helpful and important for you?  From that you will be able to develop your  marketing, email and social media strategies to do what’s important, and worry less about the things that aren’t important that don’t get done.

Choose not to get caught up in group hysteria, and to know that the sky is, in fact, not falling, even though there are seeds dropping everywhere.  We can see beyond the wily fox, who waits to find the advantage of every catastrophe, and individually and collectively use those seeds to plant and grow better world in which to live.

One of our greatest catastrophes in recent history was the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11/2001.  In this case, it truly did appear the sky was falling.  And from that catastrophe, the strength, determination, and tenacity of humans to heal and go beyond (finding and planting the seeds from despair if you will), is clearly shown in what has come since.

Also more apparent is our increasing ability to identify the wily fox.  There may be times in your life when you feel very much like Chicken Little.  However, you also now know to ask the right questions, take appropriate action, and be confident that you know how to keep the sky from falling.

Take your 50 best customers who love what you’re doing, and ask them if they would like to, and are willing to  share your new product or service with at least 10 of their associates, or people they know who could benefit as much from your product as they have. Let them know that you value their assistance and that you insist on showing  your appreciation in some way, either through an affiliate program if they care to participate, or in some other way that allows you to show how much their support means to you.

Think of Amway, Avon, Fuller Brush.  How have they done so well for so long?  They’ve helped other people succeed through sharing.  They have found ways to show their gratitude in a business relationship that creates a win-win for everyone.  How many times do you get 3, 4, 5…or more…emails, tweets, or facebook posts in a single day that are touting the product of a friend?  A friend or business associate of yours telling about what another friend has or does that you might find interesting or beneficial?  And don’t the majority of those postings acknowledge their affiliate relationship? 

While there are tons of new products and new services, the best marketing still comes from the oldest ideas…the more you do to help others succeed, the more successful you are.

Let’s take a look at your product.  Perhaps you have a small online business.  Your website has a home page that describes what you have to offer…a flea collar for cats and dogs that uses only natural products and no man-made chemicals, for example.  You have around 100 customers that you sell products to regularly, and they all love the collars you’re making for their pets.

However, because the collars aren’t mass-produced, and the natural products used to create the flea collars are hand-picked and processed herbs, the collars aren’t inexpensive to make.  You want to kick off a big marketing push, but your profit margin isn’t big enough to support the kind of money a large marketing company wants to charge you for a full-force campaign.

What you can do, however, is set up social networking sites and partner with some of your best customers to help you advertise.  Make sure you let them know you insist on rewarding them, not only for being loyal customers, but for helping you bring new prospects to a product they know, love, and believe in.

One of the best ways to allow your customers to assist you is to ask them if they’d like to make short video clips that demonstrate how your product works for their benefit.  Then post them on your website, and on YouTube, or other media network.  Real people giving real demonstrations of product uses and successes, especially when combined with a touch of humor, can help kick off a social networking revolution that can skyrocket your business overnight.

Sharing your success with the person who was willing to put in the extra effort to help support you not only makes good business sense, it makes good relationship sense.  A sense of celebration emerges.  Everyone knows that celebration, joy, and happiness are contagious, and pretty soon, even those good customers who seemed reluctant to engage in a real marketing effort are caught up in the wave and swept away in their efforts to help you…and then them…succeed.

People helping people.  One person helping another, one by one, spreading the word and creating a huge wave of success.  It’s a revolution.

Today’s marketing revolution is not a battlefield, where there are dead bodies strewn everywhere as one person steps over another in the competition to get to the top.  Today’s marketing revolution is a cooperative; a social network success where all who choose to participate are rewarded. There is the  intrinsic reward of  sharing  something you have found to be beneficial with others, and there is often the monetary reward you receive that allows the person whose information you share to show appreciation.

Who is it that really matters in what you do? It is the customer who determines your future…your fate in business, so who better could you engage as a business partner.  When your passion is to please your customer, it easily becomes a shared passion when your product or service is truly valued.  And who doesn’t like to hear “Thank you” in a way that prompts you, and those you share with to keep on sharing.

He’s not paying me to write a critique.  I won’t make a dime.  In fact, he doesn’t even know I’m doing it.

But…I have to.  I have spent hours reading, re-reading, high-lighting, putting tabs on places I will go back to again and again.  Techniques I will use for myself, clients and prospects.

You can look at all the endorsements in the book…from some of the best web marketers in the world like Alex Mandossian, Armand Morin, Mike Filsaime, Matt Bacak, Joel Comm and Michael Fortin…and know this book will be an instant best-seller.  So my critique is totally unnecessary.

But…it could result in one more book sale, and even more importantly, one more person who benefits from the techniques offered in this book.  Someone who succeeds as a result of what they learned. Right now, the economy sucks.  So one more book sale will make a difference.  One more entrepreneur who succeeds because of the book…makes an even greater difference.

If you are currently marketing on the Web, without the kind of success you want to achieve, here are the top ten reasons this book may be right for you: 

1. You may have found or created the best idea or product in the world, set up a great business plan and built a beautifully designed Web site.  Without customers, however, it’s all for naught.
2. Your sales copy doesn’t have the right building blocks to sell your product and you’re not pulling customers in.
3. Your email marketing campaign doesn’t have an autoresponder sequence that effectively sells by using your well-crafted sales copy.
4. The bullet points in your sales copy don’t highlight or emphasize the benefits the prospect will get from your product.
5. You may have a great offer, but some element of the “triad of sales” elements…the offer, close and risk reversal, is missing, and as a result, you’re not closing the deal.
6. You haven’t moved into audio/video delivery or your delivery isn’t working.    High quality audio and video will help your prospects get to know you and trust you.  If your audio or video is substandard, hard to hear or see, or…if your delivery doesn’t move the prospect to the sale, your prospect is gone…along with the sale.
7. You’re not marketing to targeted traffic.  Are you using Google AdWords…in a way that succinctly helps your prospect literally see the benefit of your product or service?
8. There’s no story on your website or in your sales copy that compels your prospect to look for the great opportunity or solution only you have.  “Oh, yeah, one more thing…”  This Steve Jobs’ quote is synonymous with a yearly product launch that triggers the human emotion to “close the loop”, to be the first one to get whatever it is that he’s about to sell.  Are you setting a framework for your product that employs the psychology of influence to create intense curiosity and drive the need for closure?
9. Do you have a “dominant story idea” and do you know how to make it work for you? Everyone loves a hero or heroine, a risk scenario, and a “just in time” rescue.  Believe it or not, most products and services contain a dominant story idea that can be described so the prospect “sees” himself…all the way through the story…up to and including the rescue…which of course your product or service provides.
10. Time and money are of the essence…you need help now.  You’ve invested so much time and money in your product or service you don’t want to quit…and you don’t want to fail.  For under $20, you could, with just a little more effort, find the secrets to turning your Web venture around.  Are you the hero or heroine who has risked everything to create a new life for yourself…doing work you love…who could fail…unless you find a rescue plan that works?

If one or all of these elements applies to you, Ray Edwards’ Writing Riches: Learn How to Boost Profits, Drive Sales, and Master Your Financial Destiny with Results-Based Web Copy…is right for you. There is a solution for every one of the ten challenges mentioned above… and more.  I recommend it highly.  But don’t rely on my recommendation.  Read the recommendations of the top marketers in the world who’ve endorsed it, and who have paid Ray Edwards ‘big bucks’ to write copy for them.  His techniques work…and he’s shared everything…spared nothing.

Learn…and earn.  Help build the story of economic recovery (rescue) from the brink of disaster (the news certainly says we’re there right now) with one simple step by one entrepreneur…you. (hero or heroine). Buy the book today…read it and put the techniques into practice immediately.

P. S.  I just checked Amazon…better get a copy NOW…or you’ll have to wait as the current printing is almost gone!

I call it neon networking.  It’s bright, bold collaboration.   Here is the essence of what it is and how you can do it:

Find others in your field who are selling a similar…but different…product.  If you’re not sure what that looks like, take a page from the self-help field.  There are numerous modalities of products and services that are available.  They all focus on helping you find a solution to an issue that may be keeping you from leading a full and satisfying life…be it spiritual, mental, or physical.  They offer many different approaches for you to consider, and many are now networking to support the overall field and one another.  You could, for example, get an email from a newsletter to which you subscribe that endorses another person’s book.  If you buy the book through the link they provide, you get the book…and bonuses from others in the field. 

How does it work and who benefits?  Actually, everyone benefits.  You, for starters,  get more than the book…often the bonuses are worth far more than the dollar value of your purchase.  Next, the person or company who sent you the email gets a commission from the book sale under an affiliate or other agreement.  Then, everyone who added a bonus that came with the book offer gets a lead…an opportunity to sell you one or more of their products.  In order to get the bonus (whether you decide to buy something from them or not), you have to provide an email address.  Then, in nearly all cases, there is an offer of an upsell that is included in the link to the bonus.  Or, you may be asked to subscribe to a newsletter which provides another opportunity to offer you their product.  Everyone wins.

Now…how could you make it work for your business?  What are your good “connections and collections?”   Let’s say you have a website that sells flea collars and other accessories to dog owners.  Approach a  group of… similar but different… entrepreneurs including groomers; someone who sells grooming tools; someone with a great book on dog grooming and/or training;  a veterinarian; a dog sitter;  a dog walker and a kennel.  Put together a list of offers that could feature a product or service from each entrepreneur, with bonus gifts from everyone else in the list, and an agreement on commission or affiliate percentages for each product sold.  Then, agree on timing and rotation of the various offers, hire a professional writer to put the package together for each entrepreneur’s email list, set the timing, the auto-responder sequence for each email letter, and you have networked to win.  The purchaser gets the product plus bonuses, and the seller, whether as the direct seller, the affiliate, or one of those offering a bonus, gets the opportunity to sell…repeatedly.

Some say these are hard economic times.  I think it’s more accurate to say these are great creative times…these are the times that, when we are willing, we can find new and better ways to fill the needs of our customers and prospects.  These are the times that allow us to show new strengths, make new friends, and work together to build prosperity for everyone.

And no one wants to miss that heart-stopping, drama-laden moment in the movie when the hero swoops in at the last possible moment to rescue the heroine from the imminent disaster.

If you want to stay on top with email marketing, that’s the experience your subscribers are looking for.  Saying the right thing…at the right time…in the right way will keep your subscribers coming back for more. 

Take a look at what your subscribers have been doing lately.  How many of them are making repeat purchases?  How many are asking for more information?  And how many want to know when your next product is coming out?

Here are a few tips to keep your subscribers happy, anxious for more, and ready to buy:

• Use all three means of communication designed to engage…writing, video, audio.  Yes, it’ll be a little more work on your part, but your subscribers,  they’re worth it, aren’t they? 
• Use engaging words in all three formats.  Tell me…which would you rather read, see, or hear…”See Spot Run”…or Wow, you should have seen Spot, that little wiener dog with those super short legs and long body take after that big scary burglar in the black ski mask that tried to get into our house.  He’s my hero.” 
• Build a relevant relationship.  OK, now that you’ve got their interest up, you’ll need to tell them why that story is even relevant to them.  Maybe you sell alarm systems, so you can take that story and add in “If I had my alarm system installed before this occurred, poor Spot wouldn’t have been at risk of being hurt by the burglar.  And I wouldn’t have nearly had a heart attack.  Save yourself from this type of incident,  by watching this video (have link here to video), which describes in detail how are alarm systems work, how many different kinds there are to meet your specific needs, and how to get the best price available by ordering yours now.
• Make sure you’re providing exactly the right product, at the right time.  Ask questions like: “Is there ever a better time than right now to update your security system?  If you know you should, and really want to get this done, but just aren’t sure if you can fit it into your budget, call us.  We want to make sure you get your security needs met…now…before you’ve been robbed.  We want to work with you to make sure you’re comfortable with a payment option that exactly fits your financial needs as well.  We’re here to help you save the day…your way.”

Staying on top in email marketing doesn’t have to be hard.  In fact, the more relaxed and entertaining it is, the better it is…and the easier it is to stay on top.  

When the emails to your subscriber list start to sound like the same old thing over and over, your subscribers get bored and drop off your list.  When they’re entertaining, fresh, and always relevant, the next installment…the next email…is anxiously awaited.

Yes…you can do it.  In a Universe as vast as this, there is always some fascinating new tidbit of information, or some scintillating historical relic that in some way can touch the hearts and minds of your subscribers.  Something that has a relationship to your product or service and helps to illustrate the value you provide to each and everyone of your subscribers. 

Email marketers, when you watch the news, find relevant topics and links to share…and build a connection…you bring value to your subscribers. 

One of today’s top internet news topics is  Justin Beiber.  And he’s bungee jumping in Austraila.  Just in case you’ve been hiding in a dark corner somewhere in the world for awhile, and don’t know who Justin Beiber is…he’s the young Canadian heartthrob pop/R&B singer who’s taking on the world…one YouTube moment at a time.  In fact, that’s actually where he was discovered.  He’s an overnight sensation…so popular his performance in Australia was severely curtailed because of the security issues his popularity raised. 

Now…maybe that’s not a big deal to you.  But…if your passion…and your business…revolves around video making, video marketing…or all things video…, it’s a big deal for your subscribers…and you.

Why?  Because it’s timely, relevant news that you can use.   It’s a clear demonstration of the power of video (OK, maybe talent has something to do with it as well) and a perfect way to begin a conversation about how video can help launch a career or a business…and skyrocket anyone from the unknown to the…well-known. 

If  you market to business owners who want to add video to their websites, or create YouTube videos exclusively, something like this can seriously tweak their interest…especially their interest in your ability to help them get something they need, want or desire…now.

Even if this isn’t your niche, it’s still possible to use this news to inspire your subscribers.  Besides being a great video ad,  it’s also a good description of what happens once you hit the “big time.”   If I went bungee jumping tomorrow…trust me…nobody would notice, let alone care.  But…at the level Justin Beiber is at now…it’s hot news. 

Hmmm…maybe I’ll qualify that statement before I start sounding like a pitiful self-loathing writer.  (although some say that’s when we’re at our best) and state that I do have my followers, and maybe a few people would care…especially if I broke my arm and couldn’t write…or fix dinner…or clean the cat commode…but it just wouldn’t be newsworthy.

The point, however, is that when you’re watching for it, there’s always something in the news that in some way is connected to your subscribers.  If there weren’t people who would be drawn to whatever is being published, it wouldn’t get published.  Truly.  And, when you look for a bit, there’s always a connection.

Right now, for example, there’s another headline that reads…”Times 100 Most Influential People.” Talk about something to work with.   Whatever business you’re in, I’ll bet you can pull something from that article that relates directly to your subscribers’ interests. 

Let’s see here…the first picture up is Sarah Palin.  So…what might your subscribers find of interest about Sarah?  Her espoused conservatism, her “homespun” colloquialisms, her glasses, clothes, hairstyle; her family?  There is so much to pick from I could go on all day. 

If you’re sure your subscribers just aren’t “into” ” Sarah Palin…with 99 other candidates to pick from, I know you can find something that one of them has…does…or is…that relates to them.  Something they would find of interest and of value. 

Maybe you won’t make another sale…today…by sharing.  As long as you share something relevant…timely…and valuable with your subscribers, however, you’ll continue to impress upon them your desire to add value…and interest…to your relationship.

Isn’t that what it’s all about…relationship?  And in today’s busy, digital world…for business, you’ve got to be there in a more  timely, relevant way to keep the relationship alive. 

I first heard it at a Stephen Covey workshop years ago.  It stuck with me, and I put it in my toolbox.  I pull it out and use it…all the time.

Today’s great copywriters, including John Carlton, Ray Edwards, Clayton Makepeace, and Michael Fortin, to mention just a few, all talk about basic marketing concepts that have worked for centuries…and how you can apply them in today’s marketplace.

For me, the “begin at the end” is one of those basic marketing concepts that helps me focus on what to do…in any market…any time.   It’s firmly fixed on my goal-oriented vision board, and here’s why:

• When you’re clearly focused on where you’re going…you will get there.
• With sign-posts to detail progress, you can stop along the way to enjoy the view…and stay on the road.
• Making course correction is a lot easier when you know where your main road is.

How can you apply that to email marketing? 

Well…the goal of email marketing is to convert subscribers to loyal customers…the end to have in mind when you start.

When you’re sending email marketing messages, you’re making friends who will buy your product or service, or…who will help you make a difference in whatever organization you are working with.

“Begin at the end” then, for email marketing means…put more focus on  “How do I attain high conversion rates” than on “How do I attain more subscribers?”

To put it simply, which would you rather have… ten subscribers who buy your products, or 200 subscribers who buy nothing?  Which of those two scenarios will pay your bills, feed your family, and allow you a little time to stop along the road to enjoy the view? 

Which of these two scenarios actually provides something of real value to your subscribers?  They signed up to get your emails for a reason…your job is to help them get whatever it is they came to you to get.

So…now..if you agree (and if you don’t, you’re wasting your time in email marketing) than start working on the signposts that you can check to ensure you’re on the right road:

• Whatever niche you’re in, what is the problem that each individual wants to solve?
• Why potential solutions are there?
• Why hasn’t it been solved in the past?
• What unique value proposition do you offer that no one else offers?  It’s important to spend time here, because it is a major arterial point — will you be able to convince your prospects to stay on your road — the road to success for you and them — or will they turn left or right — leaving you on the road to failure?
• Have you provided your prospects and subscribers with easy, clear, direction on what they need to do next to stay on your road?
• Have you set clear guidelines for yourself and your team on changing course, and cleaning debris from the roadway.  If you’re getting a lot of subscribers, but no action, it’s time to make course corrections and to clear the road.  This may sound a little harsh, but once again…ten subscribers who buy…or 200 subscribers who do nothing?

It takes a little time and effort to find out what your prospects want to accomplish; what the barriers are to accomplishing it; and presenting solutions for their consideration; followed by clear direction on what to do next if they choose your solution. 

When you’re focused on attracting the best…getting conversions…you’ll constantly be looking for reasons to help your subscribers justify why they signed up as a subscriber to take a journey with you to start with. 

Good email marketing isn’t a constant barrage of sales propaganda.  Good email marketing is a steady stream of balanced emotional and logical rationale.   That “one person you’re communicating with” wants and needs help. They want a solution to  the problem that you have convinced them…through your email communication… that you have the best answer.  To stay on the road with you…is to find the solution.

Sometimes the harder part in beginning at the end…is to see clearly…that you have to keep the road to success clean.  A clogged highway slows down all traffic. 

In email marketing, that means reviewing your results frequently.  Test…and then test some more…your subject lines, and your content.  Remember to ask your subscribers…do surveys and get feedback.

And…when you’re focused on attracting the best (subscribers who are buyers), you’ll need to leave the rest.  Develop a system that sets criteria for ending email relationships. 

When you have subscribers who…month after month… aren’t taking any kind of action…not opening your emails…not reading the content…your value to them is insufficient.  Put them in a separate data base.  Set an email sequence with a different set of reasons that might appeal.  Set a  limit on the number of follow-up emails you’re willing to send, within a specified time period.  Then, let it go.  You’re wasting their time…and yours.

When you begin with the end in mind…what will it take to get higher conversion rates…you’ll be looking at the solutions you’re creating.  You’ll begin by asking…and then creating solutions…to whatever problem it was that brought your subscriber to you.  It’s the “Highway to Success” in your subscriber partnership. 

With the right attitude, and the right tools, it’s a long, long road…a shared adventure to…everywhere you want to go.

• Transactional…having a conversation, and are you…
• Transparent…do you say what you mean and mean what you say?

Sure, there are lots and bells and whistles you can use in email…and other marketing arenas.  The more technology progresses, the more buttons you can embed, and the easier they are to push.

When all is said and done (at the end of the day, bottom line), the only thing that really matters, though,  is whether you’re able to reach…and convert…prospects into buyers…buyers into long-term customers.

So…do you need every tool that’s out there?  Do you need to send direct mail flyers?  Do you need to be on Twitter, Facebook, and other social sites? Do you need to send email newsletters as well as promotions and sales material?   Do you really even need an  Internet presence?

Well…not if you’re selling the tomatoes from your field right off the vine, at the corner, only to your neighbors who have been buying those same tomatoes for years and years.

If, however, you’re a business with the potential to grow…possibly even go global, then, yes, you want to have a presence on the Internet.  You want to use every tool available to you that puts you where your prospects and customers are.

Email, for the time being, is still the world’s larger social network.  It’s still more “relational,” more personal, more one-on-one.  However, as fast as the technologies are advancing, it may become a secondary social network soon. 

So now is the time to find out where your prospects and customers hang out…and then see if you can entice them to invite you to visit with them.  Email is a starting point…if they have it.  But check out the demographics for who’s on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, MySpace, IM, texting ….  If your prospects are there, join in.

You have noticed my careful reference to talking “with” and not “to” your prospects.  And that’s for a reason.

It’s easy to talk “to” your prospects and customers.  It’s easy to describe all the wonderful “stuff” you have that they must need.

It’s more challenging to talk “with” your prospects and customers.  Talking with is having a two-way conversation.  It’s asking them to tell you what they want and need, and how it will help them, so you know how to get it for them, if you don’t already have it.

Talking with your email subscribers can have a dramatic impact. Use surveys and ask for feedback. Ask them about all the ways they’d like you to communicate with them.   This allows you to shape the messages you send in a way that makes it clear you’re passionate about getting them what they want, need, or desire.  When you’re providing material that people will be glad they saw or read, they’ll read it, and they’ll keep coming back.  And if they make a purchase and they’re satisfied, they’ll buy again.

A true willingness to please the customer and their willingness to accept what you have to say because they trust you… very much depends on how you talk with them.  Using whatever tools you can find that help you to do it well.

If you do any marketing at all, I encourage you to likewise.   If you’re an email marketer, I strongly encourage you to read it…and to watch the video clip it’s based on. 

Why?  Because Seth gets to the heart of why the ad was created. 

You don’t have to belong to a big company like Purina (owner of the Friskies cat food brand) to understand the importance of target marketing.  Nor to understand the viral potential of video clips posted on YouTube…or embedded into an email message.

This ad is about a cat that comes into the kitchen for its “treat” — a can of wet cat food — and is then “transported” through a “magic portal” into an imaginary outdoor world, and back again…to experience a can of Friskies cat food.

So..now that you know that much, would you say the target market here was…cats? 

OK, of course not.  Cats…as far as know…can’t tell us whether they would buy this cat food based on the ad…or not.

So…basically…the target market…is cat owners.  In this interview, Seth does a great job of interviewing the Purina marketing director Susan Schlueter, to ferret out “the rest of the story” on how this ad was created…and who…exactly…it was created for.

It’s a great exercise in thinking beyond the obvious.   The question is, will it capture the needs, wants, and desires of a specific market, and then entice them to buy? 

This ad is about the close relationship…between the indoor cat and its owner. 

Well, kind of.  It’s about what marketing creatives think  the close relationship is between the cat and its owner.  What do cat owner’s think their cats are thinking (how’s that for “thinking beyond the obvious?) …when they’re sitting at the window, or staying home alone and crawling up the curtains, and all those fun things indoor kitties do when we’re not around?

So this ad “envisions” what cat owners might think the sensory, sensual experience of the cat is when eating wet (canned)  cat food.  Off on an outdoor adventure…then back to the safety of home and hearth.

The article describes further, though, the detail of the specific market Friskies is targeting.  Not “just” cat owners, but, according to Ms. Schlueter,  ”cat owners who are very involved with their cats, and have a deep relationship with their cats. These are owners who love to get inside and experience the magical world their cats experience.”   So we’re talking here about a very specific niche market inside a larger market. 

Then, drilling down further, the marketing director says it’s even more defined…that it’s an attitudinal,  not demographic, target.  In other words, it doesn’t matter your age, gender, where you live,  or how much money you make.  It’s about your relationship with your cat.

So what are the key points you can take away –and take to the bank if you use them?

1. There are plenty of small niche markets inside of larger markets.
2. How your prospects feel…attitude…can cut across and through all segments.
3. Relationships matter.  When you “think beyond the obvious” to drill down to relationship connections, you can tap into many triggers that initiate buying behaviors.

Make every email marketing dollar count.  Think beyond the obvious. Whether you work for a large or small company, or yourself, the more specific your target is, the easier it is to identify with them.  And, the better you are able to capture and describe the experience you’ve identified,   the more likely the message is to feel personal…meant just for them.

By the way, I let my cats watch this video clip, and they both sat up and took notice.  I’m not so sure it was the adventure that intrigued them, though.  It seemed more related to the “chirping bird.”  Hmmm…canary dinner??