Trying to identify all the relevant journalists and influencers for your product or service, track their editorial calendars, and pitch them is a tall order with all the other things on a small business owner's daily agenda. Nigh to impossible, frankly. But what if you could get a daily list of reporters actively looking for pitches, nicely organized by topic area?
Believe it or not, it's out there. Just sign up at http://www.helpareporter.com/ to start receiving their thrice-daily compilation of reporter "expert" inquiries. It's free!
To quote HARO's founder, Peter Shankman, "Everyone’s an expert at something. Sharing your expertise may land you that big media opportunity you’ve been looking for."
Check it out today. I'd love to see more local business owners from The Woodlands in the news!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Small Business Marketing Idea: Brand Your Customers Online
If your community is anything like mine, almost every car on the road tells you something about the family inside. They may have a sticker that tells you the car contains two parents, three kids, a dog, a cat, and a feral guinea pig. You may find out that their kids are cheerleaders, martial artists, baseball players, or hockey stars. I'm in the South, so I may even find out what church they attend.
I recently saw someone doing a fantastic job of creating the equivalent for their members' blogs. This group, Hopeful Parents, has an excellent community website for families of special needs kids. They have done an absolutely awesome job of finding a niche market they have passion for and creating a valuable service - of value to both the members and to advertisers and sponsors. If you're interested in online communities, I'd encourage you to check them out as a model.
You can find them online at http://www.hopefulparents.org/ . Or just check the blogs you read for this badge:
The badge is actually something that would be super-easy for any business to implement, and very smart for businesses that target moms, techies, or any group that blogs heavily. Of course, you have to have a business your customers can be passionate about - but if they are, giving them a way to tell people online is as much of a no-brainer as giving away free t-shirts or coffee mugs.
It's easy to do - a very simple graphic and a snippet of code. You can find it on their site or contact me if you'd like help.
I recently saw someone doing a fantastic job of creating the equivalent for their members' blogs. This group, Hopeful Parents, has an excellent community website for families of special needs kids. They have done an absolutely awesome job of finding a niche market they have passion for and creating a valuable service - of value to both the members and to advertisers and sponsors. If you're interested in online communities, I'd encourage you to check them out as a model.
You can find them online at http://www.hopefulparents.org/ . Or just check the blogs you read for this badge:
The badge is actually something that would be super-easy for any business to implement, and very smart for businesses that target moms, techies, or any group that blogs heavily. Of course, you have to have a business your customers can be passionate about - but if they are, giving them a way to tell people online is as much of a no-brainer as giving away free t-shirts or coffee mugs.
It's easy to do - a very simple graphic and a snippet of code. You can find it on their site or contact me if you'd like help.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Small Business Marketing Highlight of the Week: Amber Simpson, Posh Salons, The Woodlands TX
This week's highlight is an ambitious, vivacious independent stylist. She is amazing at partnering for referrals. Every time I mention a beauty-related service I need, she has a card right at hand for just the right person. And I'll just bet that person has her card, too.
She's not selling things I don't need or pushing, just listening and making high-quality recommendations. She has become my go-to source for all things related to beauty care. This makes me more loyal to her - her value to me goes beyond the service she directly provides. It also means that others take care to refer clients to her. And, for all I know, she gets referral fees. I've never asked.
Two important things about referrals:
- Only refer to people and businesses you trust to build your good name. The quality of your connections will affect peoples' opinions of you.
- Only refer when it's a fit. No one will thank you for doing otherwise.
Now, get out there.
1. Find related businesses: Who else does business with the kind of clientele you want?
2. Learn more about them: Talk with the business owner to find out what kind of clients they actually want, and what kind of services they offer in detail. If possible, take advantage of the service yourself so you will be able to refer based on your own experience.
3. Strike a deal: Offer to mutually refer appropriate clients. You may even want to include a referral bonus of a flat dollar amount per new contact or a percentage of their first sale. If you do this, be sure to provide your new partner with referral cards to give their clients so you'll be able to track them appropriately.
It can be done -- just ask Amber!
She's not selling things I don't need or pushing, just listening and making high-quality recommendations. She has become my go-to source for all things related to beauty care. This makes me more loyal to her - her value to me goes beyond the service she directly provides. It also means that others take care to refer clients to her. And, for all I know, she gets referral fees. I've never asked.
Two important things about referrals:
- Only refer to people and businesses you trust to build your good name. The quality of your connections will affect peoples' opinions of you.
- Only refer when it's a fit. No one will thank you for doing otherwise.
Now, get out there.
1. Find related businesses: Who else does business with the kind of clientele you want?
2. Learn more about them: Talk with the business owner to find out what kind of clients they actually want, and what kind of services they offer in detail. If possible, take advantage of the service yourself so you will be able to refer based on your own experience.
3. Strike a deal: Offer to mutually refer appropriate clients. You may even want to include a referral bonus of a flat dollar amount per new contact or a percentage of their first sale. If you do this, be sure to provide your new partner with referral cards to give their clients so you'll be able to track them appropriately.
It can be done -- just ask Amber!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Small Business Marketing Highlight of the Week: Tavola Restaurant, The Woodlands, TX
The owners of Tavola Tuscan Bistro in The Woodlands, TX do a great job of marketing to their existing customer base to encourage repeat visits, word of mouth, and general customer delight. They never consider a customer coming to the restaurant as a single, one time event. They reach out to create a relationship with everyone who walks in the door, and they do it without being pushy or intrusive.
They have a comment card that includes newsletter sign up. It's done a great job in helping them to build their opt-in email list. They use this to market their weekend menu specials as well as new menu additions and special events.
These "events" could be special wine dinners by reservation only, or they may be things that everyone who happens into the restaurant that evening can enjoy. For example, one Saturday evening, Tavola hosted an American/Italian wine challenge, where diners could purchase a flight of tasting glasses. Two of the wines poured were American, two Italian. Guests got to learn about the traits of the two, share their knowledge, and a couple of lucky diners even went home with a bottle of wine as a prize. I'll bet almost everyone who was in attendance that night mentioned the event to someone they knew.
How can you get creative in your business to make a customer mention you to a friend next week? It's not just about being great at what you do (although that's important too - I wouldn't suggest a friend eat at Tavola if the food weren't also fantastic). It's ALSO about adding a little something different to the mix.
They have a comment card that includes newsletter sign up. It's done a great job in helping them to build their opt-in email list. They use this to market their weekend menu specials as well as new menu additions and special events.
These "events" could be special wine dinners by reservation only, or they may be things that everyone who happens into the restaurant that evening can enjoy. For example, one Saturday evening, Tavola hosted an American/Italian wine challenge, where diners could purchase a flight of tasting glasses. Two of the wines poured were American, two Italian. Guests got to learn about the traits of the two, share their knowledge, and a couple of lucky diners even went home with a bottle of wine as a prize. I'll bet almost everyone who was in attendance that night mentioned the event to someone they knew.
How can you get creative in your business to make a customer mention you to a friend next week? It's not just about being great at what you do (although that's important too - I wouldn't suggest a friend eat at Tavola if the food weren't also fantastic). It's ALSO about adding a little something different to the mix.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Small Business Marketing Assets
A note to all small business owners: take the extra few minutes to keep your marketing assets (logos, ads, web graphics, etc) organized. Get yourself a small external hard-drive and set up files for whatever's relevant of:
- Logo
- Business Card
- Ads
- Website
- HTML Email
- Other graphics
Back up your customer database while you're at it.
Just put new things in there as they come in. Don't let it build up and become a project. Let me tell you, the time will come when that external hard-drive will be worth its weight in gold.
- Logo
- Business Card
- Ads
- Website
- HTML Email
- Other graphics
Back up your customer database while you're at it.
Just put new things in there as they come in. Don't let it build up and become a project. Let me tell you, the time will come when that external hard-drive will be worth its weight in gold.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
A Great Small Business Tagline
Today, I ran across a guy whom I found fascinating. His name is Garrett Maddox, and he goes by the tag "The Singing Financial Advisor." That's even his website url.
We were introduced by a mutual friend, another small business owner in the area. She told me she was going to connect us and referred to him as "Garrett Maddox, the singing financial advisor." When he called me, he used the same line. "Hi, this is Garrett Maddox, the signing financial advisor." Now, if he'd just used his name, I'd have been lucky to remember it. But as it was, it's impossible to forget. It's easy to share.
Now, that's not for everyone, but it's worth remembering - when it comes to small business, a UNIQUE and MEMORABLE name or tagline can be more valuable than a precisely accurate one.
We were introduced by a mutual friend, another small business owner in the area. She told me she was going to connect us and referred to him as "Garrett Maddox, the singing financial advisor." When he called me, he used the same line. "Hi, this is Garrett Maddox, the signing financial advisor." Now, if he'd just used his name, I'd have been lucky to remember it. But as it was, it's impossible to forget. It's easy to share.
Now, that's not for everyone, but it's worth remembering - when it comes to small business, a UNIQUE and MEMORABLE name or tagline can be more valuable than a precisely accurate one.
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