The (marketing) questions you DON'T ask, can't help you.

Your number ONE asset, is something you ALREADY own.

That being...

Your brain.

More specifically...

Your ability to ask and answer questions IS your number one asset.

Yet, most rarely use that skill to help them solve their most pressing problems or challenges... to ask those searching questions in order to diagnose what's not working well enough. 

And yet, the asking of questions and getting answers is part of the solution formula.

But that's not the end of it.

You've now got to act, you've got to practically do something with the answers you've got to the questions you've asked because of the problem or challenge you were in in the first place!

Otherwise...

You'll be back to square one -- having an unsolved issue, problem or challenge. 

Let's make this practical: 

What could be a possible issue you want answers to?

How about -- why is our ad or promotion not as successful as we thought it would be? 

Now if you're an Owner who simply believes that you can't find answers to that question, that or you believe the common canned answers given out by agency owners, consultants and practitioners who say things like...

Don't worry, the market is all messed up at the moment...

It's okay, we just have to run it several more times before we embed the message in the consciousness of the marketplace...

We'll just pay for a bigger sized ad...           

It's probably the time of the month that's caused it...

Give it time, we're building your brand here so it takes time to create the kind of results and awareness we're looking for.

Although response is on the seemingly low side, we're moving in the right direction as we've had great comments from people who loved the ad/campaign.

...then you're heading for more of your money to be flushed down the toilet. 

It's far more profitable for you to ask those difficult and not so difficult questions that'll help you get to the bottom of things so you won't have to repeat those mistakes and errors of judgement that had your ad / marketing campaign, flop.

So what kind of questions should you be asking?

Well, there are literally dozens of them. And in this post, I'll give you a few of them so you can use them and apply them to your marketing ads and promos you've recently created.

But remember, YOU have to generate your own answers to the questions and then, take the necessary practical action based on those answers.

The Questions:

Have we identified exactly WHO our ideal customer target is, and is it reflected in our ad?

What are the emotional hot buttons we are focusing on in our promo piece, and does it reflect the same emotions and pains that are currently being experienced in OUR marketplace?  

Does the headline of our promo hit the right core issue?

Is our ad promo entertaining and compelling?

Is there a specific response mechanism that's easily identifiable?

Are we making an irresistible offer for the product or service being promoted, and does it make the reader drool over what we're offering?

Is the ad, all things to all people (a one size fits all, promo)?

If I had to put my mother's life savings on the line in order to fund this ad, would I do it because of the quality of the ad/promo?

There's obviously more you can ask. A whole lot more.  

Facts are...

You could get even more microscopic with your questions and by doing so, you'll quickly un-earth a intel treasure trove that'll help you create the kinds of ads and promotions in the future that'll be of a much higher quality and standard than the ones you've been putting out. 

Questions.

They'll not only save your bacon, but they'll also help you build the kind of quality, insanely profitable business you've always wanted.

Keep on asking them.

Because remember --

The questions you DON'T ask, can't actually help you.

Want big marketplace advantage and fatter profits? 

Then be a masterful question asker! 

        

Want to know what questions to ask that'll get your Email Marketing game good 'n profitable?   
Sign up for the glorious answers, here.

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Your marketing and sales results are created by YOUR system

Very few people like hearing that THEY are the reason for their poor marketing results, poor profits, poor morale, poor anything.

Oh, they of course love the celebratory din and back slapping when things go well. When sales are up, when profits are rising. 

But...

When there's low morale, low sales, low profits, high misery?

Then quite naturally, everyone else is to blame for that!

The marketplace's erratic nature is to blame.

Rising costs are to blame. 

Poor marketing advice is to blame.

Competition is to blame.

Government red tape is to blame.  

Customer hibernation is to blame.

Higher taxes are to blame.

...

And yet.. 

Despite all the above happening...

The core central message remains: 

You created a business and marketing system that takes into account, or doesn't take into account, all those external happenings.

Want different money results?

Then create a different marketing and business system that'll solve those problems for you.   

Now what you can't do is just pray and hope that what you're currently doing from a marketing, lead generation, lead conversion, customer referral and customer retention system, will some how magically produce a different set of results for you than it's currently producing.

Can't happen.

Won't happen.

Trying to force different results with the same operating system is not going to end well for you or your business.  

Like hearing it or not.

That kind of thinking is reserved for non-adults. For the wandering, unfocussed mind. 

Because each system is PERFECT for producing the results it gets. 

And that's a productive framework question for you to apply to any aspect of your business that's coughing and spluttering. (Major hat tip to Steve Sanghvi, Chairman of Microchip for that insight)

Best thing you can do for your business at the start of 2023 that'll spread throughout the entire 12 months ahead?    

Put your business principles, your strategies, your tactics, your marketing systems, your ads, your emails, your promotional campaigns... everything... through the SS framework --

"is each system I'm currently running and operating for the above elements of my business, is it producing the kind of results I want?"    

And when you do that and when you apply that simple one-sentence process, you'll find in some areas, you'll get a definite and categorical NO to the question. 

The good news about that is now you've got something to work with. 

You've got a system that needs to be tweaked, tightened or even, overhauled and recreated.  

And that's how you begin to create different results.           

And 2023 is all about producing different results. 

Stay the same, and you'll soon be yesterday's news. 

So, let's hear the core message again - 

YOUR marketing and sales results are created by YOUR system. 

And EACH system is PERFECT for producing the results it gets. 

Hint: Begin creating a NEW set of systems if you don't like the results you're getting!

[Want to create the kind of systems and communications that compel, inspire and sell? Then sign up here and find out how to do that. And, you'll also get your FREE BOOK on how to write emails that get read, opened and bought from]

Personality, Entertainment, Fun (that doesn't sound like most marketing communications, does it?)

Formulas

Templates

Frameworks

Done for you communications

Fill in the blanks

That kind of short cutting, the hack-the-communication and marketing system process, is gathering mucho online pace and momentum.

But why is that the case?

Because there are way too few creative marketing minds having the originality and brains to make their business, or that of their clients, be filled with personality and authentic ideas... to come up with interesting, fun and entertaining ways to present, promote and offer what's being offered.   

And that's super important. 

Because in today's business environment, if you plan to be like everyone else... to speak and communicate like they do... to use the same ideas and thinking they do... to give the same reasons and rationales they do for their products and services...    

Then no surprises here...your ideas and your copy won't stand out and get attention. It'll blend in and look like everyone else’s on the block. 

That'll of course mean you're not going to create any kind of unique difference and positioning in the marketplace. 

And yet, that's exactly what you have to strive for if you want that unique positioning.   

It comes as no surprise that we live in an attention deficit world where there's an obvious impatience in that most people want things, and they want them, now. 

They're easily bored. Easily distracted. Happy to flip onto something else in a heartbeat.

And that's why you need work diligently and differently, in order to not only capture attention, but to keep it and to continually keep it in an ongoing way.

Now that can't happen by guesswork, or by wishing and praying.

It takes a deliberate shift of thinking and a deliberate shift of perspective.

The problem with that?   

Many marketing 'Pros' and Owners suffering with 24/7 lazy-brain-itis.

The result of that?  

It's far more convenient and far too easy to reach for a canned, ready made, off-the-shelf solution when it comes to thinking, creating ideas, coming up with different unique angles to sell and promote. 

And when they do that...

They're not really realising that by employing that lazy recliner way of doing things, they instantly destroy using their / the businesses'... own personality in their communications. 

That's what happens when abdicating out to the wooden, off-the-shelf, solution -- you suffocate the core asset of the business -- its character, its essence, its personality.  

And if that wasn't enough... 

By sticking with being a commodity based communication business, the business destroys the whole communications and selling process from being fun and entertaining -- both for the Owner / Marketing Pro, and, more importantly... for the customer or recipient of the communications, promotions and presentations.

And look...

In today's marketing and communications world, we're all being starved from having communications being fun and entertaining.

Let's change that.

Want a clear cut example of how to bring the entertainment and fun factor into your communications? Then let me show you how I brought a yawnful presentation letter, back to life. (In fact, look at the whole communication piece here and ask yourself this core question - were you entertained, or not, would you buy the products, or not!?)  

(Important: it does not matter what business category you are in, or what you sell and promote - you can take the ideas you find in the communication piece above and see how you can apply them to your communications and promotions because I guarantee you that there IS a way to make your communications fun, interesting, entertaining.)    

  FREE BOOK shows you how to write entertaining emails that get opened, read and bought from.

       

The money-making marketing wheel gets another spin (pointer 8)

Before we get to spin the money marketing wheel once again...

There's something I've got to shout about.

It's this:

There are certain principles and fundamentals to everything that almost ALL bypass and ignore.

You'll find the flagrant ignoring and detesting of the fundamentals in anything and everything... is something akin to a mass mantra of kinds. 

A collective messing of the Pink Floyd chant.

"We don't need no... f-u-n-d-a-m-e-n-t-a-l-s" 

Want to be, and stay fit and healthy?

Exercise. Eat good food. Take your nutrition and vitamins. Live happily and healthily. Daily

The Fundamentals.

Want to be a good human?

Do good things. Say please and thank you. Be Kind. Help others. Excel in what you do. Tell the truth.

The Fundamentals.

And in the world of marketing, there's more deletion, destruction and non-profitable businesses around... all because of disregarding, discarding and dismissing the fundamentals. 

So what are some of the marketing fundamentals?

Have irresistible offers. Continually Put them in front of people most likely to buy. Have entertaining copy and communications. Have a series of back end products and services. Create astonishing after care and follow up. Stay committed to being unique and different to any other business out there doing something similar to what you do.

Those are core.

Yet like I say...

Most toss the fundamentals out into the cold. 

And instead, want to dive into the unchartered and insane, all in the name of being different and pioneering. 

Shiny object syndrome does that.

It messes with the brain. It creates chaos and confusion.

End of Sermon.

Let's spin that wheel.

And, as we do that, we see that the marketing wheel's pointer pointer, points at....

SLACK ADJUSTER.

Um... whassattt!?

That, my dear uninitiated, is what's also referred to as a beefy whopping product or service that'll top the profit numbers barometer and will bring in and boost the cashflow numbers... significantly. 

Now I've heard Dan Kennedy speak about the Slack Adjuster, and it's something that EVERY business ought to have because the thing is, most of your customers won't buy it, but... all it takes is one or two buyers a month and you'll see the money numbers will ramp up significantly for you.

Examples:

A coffee shop can sell a mammoth sized, all bells and whistles coffee machine for hundreds, or thousands of pounds. Like I say, most customers won't buy it. They'll come in, buy their coffee and croissant, maybe a sandwich, a pastry, they'll do their normal shop. Yet, day in day out they'll see this new gleaming coffee machine for sale. Some WILL get tempted to buy. And you don't need to manufacture your own - you can create a deal/arrangement with the tons of coffee machine manufacturers who would no doubt love to sell a few extra machines a month, and where you receive a 50% commission for your displaying of the machine in your shop, and selling and promoting it.                         

An online or offline place selling cooking items, pots and pans, blenders, etc. They could team up with a cooking class provider in some far off place like Bali, or Barcelona, or Brazil, or Bermuda, or Brisbane, and create a luxury experience out of it for the customer, whilst attaching a nice value price tag to it. Again, all it takes are a few people to raise their hands and the cash flow and profits that come in, can in some instances, trump sales of the normal monthly takings from the normal sales of the regular products!

One more... (actually, I've squeezed in two for you!)

A bookseller or sports equipment seller can sell 'an audience with an author', or a 'week long training bootcamp' with the stores' physical trainers. (And if they don't have any trainers and only sell the equipment, then hire a trainer and split the money!)

Doesn't matter what service or product you sell or promote. 

You can adopt, adapt and apply the examples you see above and customise it to your products and services to create your own beefy slack adjuster version.

You ARE looking to increase the average order amounts every month in your business without having to triple down on your selling to make it happen, aren't you?

Well, then don't skip the fundamental examples and instructions above that'll help you boost your cashflow.

Look out again for the next post because the Marketing wheel is going to be spun again soon. 

  Want the Can't-Throw-Away Fundamentals That'll Get Your Emails Read and Bought From, Nearly Every Single Time? FREE BOOK shows you how. 

      

       raja. hireker @ gmail . com 

         

Join Mr X for drinks on his Superyacht?

An interesting email headline just flopped into my email inbox.

And, probably for the right person, a somewhat intriguing invitation on the face of it. 

Who would that RIGHT person be?

• Most likely someone infatuated with the super yatch person in question -- (Mr X represents a real person) 
• Most likely someone who is infatuated with high value material possessions. 
• Most likely someone who WANTs that type of lifestyle.
• Most likely someone who wants to run with the big dogs, to be linked and associated with them.
• Most likely someone who likes people with big show-off egos.
• Most likely someone who automatically drools and salivates at glossy luxury pictures of the inside of a luxury super yatch. 
  
  

However...

The lead in invitation email does a rather poor and pathetic job of framing the invitation as something other that's private, elite and invaluable. 

All they've lazily done is to think and believe that those on the communication list receiving the communication, will be all googoo and gaagaa about the whole thing, who'll be mesmerised and boggled eyed over the yatch picture interiors and as such, will wrestle and hair pull in order to snap up the invitation for drinks with Mr X.

Let me add something however... 

That the conditional pre-requisite for even being in a position to accept the invitation, is to buy and enrol in one of the courses and training programmes Mr Super Yatch owner promotes and sells.

Nothing wrong in that.

However...

Simply believing that joining Mr X on his super yatch for drinks is a compelling enough reason to want to go, demonstrates you could have the highest value products and services in the world.

And yet...

Without having the proper thought out communications and copywriting, the whole thing can fall flat on its face.     

The BIG Key: (no matter what you sell and promote) 

You want to give people enough compelling reasons as to WHY it is they should buy what you're selling, take you up on the proposition, invest in what you're presenting, request the information you're offering. 

Without doing that, you're asking people to decide on something simply based on thin air.

Join Mr X for drinks

Why?

• Because he'll share some insights and info you won't get in any of his courses. 
• Info and insights that'll make you a lot more money in the next X days than anything he's shared before.  
• You'll get to meet a few of his secret aides who've inspired and helped him become a multi-millionaire, and they'll give you their most prized information that'll help accelerate your thinking and future business activities. 
• You'll get to ask Mr X any questions you want about how he's doing what he's doing, and how you can do the same.

Let's think about the difference here:

Are those reasons why above, more interesting and more compelling than the reason they've given in the PS in their promotional email for the drinks invite - 

PS. You can find more pictures of the boat here:

They've, of course, (ahem!) missed the boat here.

Don't let that be what you do with your communications when selling and promoting your products and services.

Give them REASONS WHY.

Want to create the kind of emails and communications that compel, inspire and sell?
Then sign up and find out how to do that, here.  

Help, I'm all muffled... I don't have anything to write about!

What's the big business curse infecting many a business owner's mind?

"I can't think of anything new to write about" 

And that's a curse that's spread right across the whole communication smorgasbord.

• The emails
• The ads
• The sales letters
• The campaigns
• The social media posts
• The special reports
• The blog posts

And when you internalise the fact that your communications really are the heart and soul, the lifeblood and profit centres of most business, the whole thing warrants close scrutiny.

Because guess what?

A bored and switched off customer or prospect, will go elsewhere in search of the good time feeling, in search of a better happier experience, in search of the difference making that makes all the difference.

And that means, a whole lot of customers will soon bail if prodded with enough boringness, and as such... will take with them their referral and residual value profit centres -- and yes... they'll align it to some other business!  

So how can you inject the kind of newness, freshness, the joyful entertainment that enhances the readability factor inside your communications ...the very communications that'll have your customers and audience lapping up all you have to say and share? (And therefore, buy more from you, more frequently!)

Well, you do it by accessing your already existing content factory plant.

What?!!

That's right.

You need not go anywhere outside your sweet circumference in order to have you access the kind of material and content that'll bring the hordes to you.

That's because your content factory machine is already inside you. 

More specifically...

It's all logged and lodged inside the recesses of your incredibly ample and squishily  intelligent brain.

Now the key to getting to all that delicious content nourishment, is to jumpstart and trigger your brain into being that search and collect mechanism for you.

And how do you do that?

By prodding and poking it with a series of laser focussed questions.

Questions that'll help you uncover priceless, and an almost unlimited supply of money- making goody bars.

So what are some questions we can begin with that'll get the prodding into motion? 

(And do remember, the answers to the questions can be used as material and content in multiple media formats).

Who has been your most obnoxious customer, and why?

What specific thing goes on in your industry they want no-one to know about?

What's the most absurd 'rule' in your industry that you want to see banished and crushed?

What do customers in your industry generally hate that the majority of businesses do a lot of?

What's been your most successful product?

What's one of the most priceless things about your business that you've taken for granted, yet have been hiding all these years? 

What did you have to overcome to get your business to where it is today? 

What's an admission that you want to make and clear the air with?

Who are your business and non-business inspirations?

--------

As you're most likely beginning to see, there's an endless amount of material locked up inside your brain, which, if released and poured into your communications, will bring that missing newness, freshness, authentic spirit and energy into your business. 

And yes...

Your readers and customers will LOVE this difference making that you're choosing to make. 

And don't let it stop here!

Keep going back to that content factory plant and pull out all those goody bars by asking all manner of the sane, mixed in with the wild, weird, unconventional and unorthodox questions that'll produce the kind of entertaining answers that'll be the profit making gold for you. 

So let's ask that question again?

Don't have anything to write about?

On the contrary. 

Do the above and you'll have a happy filled mountain of the stuff that you can sort, sift and apply to your heart's desire. 

    

Want MORE proper email education that'll help you entertain more and help you sell more of your products and services? 

Here's where to go!

    

          

   

The swiss army knife technique for being a creative marketing genius

 Here's a picture of a Swiss army knife.

What won't be familiar however, is the writing on the right hand page. 

Now if you want to eavesdrop on what's written there, you can get yourself a magnifying glass or enlarge the screen size so you'll not miss a thing. 

The core idea on that page?

About not having your business be a samey samey derivative, an undistinguishable commodity, a mee too, mee too... in a world filled with mee too derivatives. 

And instead, to thrive for being the difference, the unusual, the unorthodox, the unfancied, the not normal. 

Enter, Swiss army knife unorthodoxy.

How so?

Well, first, let's just take a look at what kind of tools are available at your disposal, all packed into one handy little palm filler.

And when you open this little pocket miracle up, you'll find the following:

a knife

a smaller knife

a screw driver

a file

a scissor

a cork screw 

a saw

a magnifying glass

a bottle opener

It's quite nifty a little problem solver, isn't it!

So how can one use that to create irresistible, topical, inventive, creative, energising and enthusiastic copy and communications for your products and services?  

The way you do that is use the Swiss Army knife as a metaphorical tool. 

And the way you use it is to ask questions about your product or service:

The clearest question you could probably ask is --

How many different ways or angles could I use to speak about my product or service?

Or to if you want to zero in and focus the mind even more on that, ask this question -- what are the dozen different ways I can speak about my product or service, using the Swiss Army Knife tool as a working metaphor?

Now we're cooking.

Because instead of having the mind spin off on various loopy tangents whilst it's trying to find some new fresh angle to sell your products or services...

You'll now have a framework to guide you.

But how exactly would that Swiss Army knife work as a framework to help you come up with fresh ideas or angles?          

Just as the Sak has multiple tools emanating from its centre, your centre (product or service) is also wrapped in multiple tools.

Here are some of yours:

Who

What 

When 

Where 

Why

How

Which

Now you might be thinking those aren't very unique or entertaining. 

But of course, the value and power comes from how and n what context you ask the questions.    

Let's test this out so you can practically see how everything we've talked about so far, all ties up together. 

Let's pick a product or service.

Let's go with a physical product.

You can then use the same framework I'll outline below to help assist you selling whatever it is you sell and promote. 

I'm sitting at my dining table and looking at the various items that are 2 metres away from me. 

I'll list a few of them:

iphone

headphones

trolley

fudge cylinder box

pen

coffee mug

piano

dog basket

chair

photo frame

Okay, so here's the not so scientific test to see what product out of the above gets chosen. 

I'm going to get all the items on a page in front of me. I'm going to close my eyes and I'm going to prod the laptop screen (gently, of course!) and then see what product name my finger lands on.

Here we go.

And the prodding finger lands on --

Fudge Cylinder Box!   

(Okay, so a little side note to the ultimate selection. I closed eyes, prodded screen, and opened eyes.. five times in succession. Why would I do that? Because I wanted to ensure that I land on the nominated product, twice, and not just once. Why? Because I wanted to make sure that all items had a shot, and not be eliminated at the first time of prodding.)    

 

So now we have this luxury fudge in a cylindrical box to apply our Swiss Army knife technique to.

But before that, what typically are the ideas and angles to sell something like this? 

Delicious creamy/luxurious taste? Yep

Uniquely packed and packaged? Yep

Customers love us? Yep

Anything else?

I don't think so. at least, nothing unusual, novel or different comes to mind. 

Okay so let's pull out our toolbox of Swiss Army Knife, goodies and see what we can create here:   

As a reminder, here's that list again:

Who

What 

When 

Where 

Why

How

Which

So let's take the first tool: 

Who? 

So what kind of questions (angles and ideas) can we create around the 'who', as it relates to this cylindrical box of luxury, clotted cream fudge?       

Who are the kinds of people who buy this product? An idea could be a to list them out. Maybe even create a series of mini promos or ads around one kind of person, and then the next kind, and so on.

Who are the people making this product? What life tidbit could be shared with potential readers of the ads, promos, etc. 

Who buys as a recurring purchase each month? What kind of joy and adventure is happening at these people's homes, and how does the fudge fit in by way of who eats the most, etc. 

Who are the fudgelings in the box? Why not create a series of communications coming from the fudge pieces themselves. Fudgelings. Remember where you heard that first!     

Now you can keep going with the who, and you'll probably come up with a few more novel and creative idea angles for your ads, emails, promotions, sales events.   

Then...

Once you've finished that, you can move on to the next 'tool' on the list. The What. 

Keep on doing that for the rest of the list and lo and behold, at the end of the exercise you'll have 50, 60, 70 to a 100 selling ideas and angles that you wouldn't have thought about before. 

Do you think by employing those ideas and angles to YOUR promotions and communications, for YOUR products and services, that you'll be seen as a mee too derivative commodity in your marketplace?   

Not on your life will you and your products be seen as a mee too commodity.

And in fact, why not we take this angle and creative idea generation a little further, so you can see you'll definitely NOT be bracketed in the same category as any else selling or promoting the same or similar products or services like you do.     

Do you remember the Swiss Army Knife tools I listed out for you on that actual Swiss Army Knife? (zoom up to the top of this post to see the pic or refer to the list that I'm er, listing out for you below): 

a knife

a smaller knife

a screw driver

a file

a scissor

a cork screw 

a saw

a magnifying glass

a bottle opener

Okay, so now you've got the list in front of you, how about we actually use the same list above to carve out even more ideas and angles to sell that cylindrical tube of luxurious clotted cream fudge. (And of course, apply this all to what it is you sell and promote) 

So the first one the list was... 

a knife. 

Ideas and angles. 

Our fudge is cut and carved out by the finest knives available. 

Our fudge is definitely a cut above the rest. 

We're carving out a box of luxury delivered right to your doorstep, and we can't wait to send it to you.

See how that all works?

Let's try out the 3rd tool on the Swiss Army knife (the 2nd tool on the list was a small knife so we'll just bypass that and move on to the next one on the list)

A screwdriver   

Ideas and angles.

It takes 45 wood screws and a proper good screwdriver to box up our weighty box of pre-packaged fudge that'll last you upto 3 to 4 months of luxurious indulgence

You're going to need a tamper proof box, a screwdriver and a handful of screws to hide the luxury mini hamper of clotted cream fudge away from everyone else who'll be drooling for one or more of YOUR luxury fudge's!

a file / rasp (A rasp is a coarse form of file used for coarsely shaping wood or other material.)     

Ideas and angles. 

Luxury Fudge - No File included. If you'd like to 'powder down' your luxury fudge into the finest luxury particles that you can, then ask us about our special LFF (luxury fudge file) and we'll have one sent over to you with our compliments.

--------------------

The idea here is to let your creative mind flow and express itself, without you editing or censoring anything that raises itself as an idea in your mind.

As you can probably see, by carrying our this Swiss Army Knife exercise for your products and services, you'll stand proud and alone.

You'll have ZERO competition for what it is you sell because your uniqueness and your originality in your ideas and your communications and campaigns, will be too clear and obvious for all to see that you are no derivative and no commodity. 

Swiss Army Knife.

Use it.

It'll come to your rescue over and over again, both in your marketing and business... and... in your personal relationships.          

  

  -------------------------

Want personal help with creating fresh unique ideas, campaigns and promotions to help sell your products or services? Start here by getting on my private email list