Left Brain Focus for Right Brain Creative Businesses

What’s a cat got to to with business?

My cat, Paris,  has some very definite ideas on the subject.

Meow! Meow!

When he wants something, he asks for it.  He doesn’t think about it, wonder if it’s OK, or he’s causing too much bother.  He just asks.

Lesson:  if you want someone to do something, ask them.

Meowing, Leg Rubbing, Jumping on the Keyboard

If meowing doesn’t work, he tries rubbing against me, or jumping on the keyboard.  If I ever type  www1111111qqqqqq on this blog, you’ll know why.  Use multiple methods to reach your prospects and interact with them.  Some people prefer email, others like RSS feeders or blogs or white papers.  People also learn in different ways.  Most of this blog is text, but I’m working on a new secrets of successful marketing program that will have both text and audio.

Lesson: use more than one marketing tactic

Nap regularly

Take a break every once in a while.  Look back at what you’ve done, and analyze what’s working. Especially if you’re a one-man (or woman) band, give your brain time to relax.

Lesson:  you can’t be brilliant every day, all day

Feed me!

If he wants food, he’ll start meowing, then run right over to the food dish.  It’s absolutely clear what he wants.  Your instructions, and your marketing, should be clear too.  Show people what you want them to do.  If your search is broken, it’s hard to buy.   If you can’t tell, have someone else test it. Use clear language too.  If you don’t know your customers’ lingo, learn it – talk to them the way they talk, in terms they’ll understand (rank higher in Google, not WS3 compliant).  As,  you can see, Paris wants to reach Francophones.

Lesson:  less friction means more sales

Squirrel!

It’s easy to get distracted when a squirrel crawls up the fire escape or a bird flies by.  However, the cat is safely inside, and the squirrels are outside.  No matter how hard he tries, he’ll never reach them through  the double-paned windows.  The latest trend or toy may work for you  (or not).  Don’t chase after it just because it’s new.  Think about whether it fits into your business, your personality, and what your clients are doing.

Lesson:  just because it’s bright and shiny doesn’t mean you should spend five hours a day on it

Create stories

Like most cats, Paris likes milk.  He’s always trying to get at the little pitcher of milk for my morning tea.  First, he jumped up on the desk, then he tries to put his nose in the pitcher.  When it didn’t fit, he dipped his paw in the pitcher, tipped it over and lapped up the milk. Businesses need stories too.  Show your personality in your writing and your marketing, rather than being a copycat (sorry, couldn’t resist).

(Note: he only did this once… and I let him because it was funny… once… now I put the milk where he can’t get it)

Lesson: say and do things that make you memorable

Plan your attack

If you see something you want to catch (a cat toy, a twist tie), approach it slowly.  Calculate how far away it is, whether it’s likely to run, and the best angle of attack.  If you’re marketing a product, make a plan.  Put the cart and horse in the right order.  Who will you approach? What will you do? How will you close the sale?

Lesson:  know what you want and how to get it

Be picky

Cats are notoriously finicky.  They’ll eat the stuff in the blue can, but not the green can. The pictures on the boxes both look fine to people, and the food does too.  It’s the cat’s opinion that counts.   When developing your marketing, pick a niche.  Do what appeals to the people in that niche, not what appeals to everyone (or to you).

Lesson: market to your tribe (not everybody)

Image via Wikipedia

Stories sell art. They sell books. And they sell you too. The stories people tell about you are at least as important (if not more so) than the stories you tell about yourself.

The painter and the leopard

For example, this one from Canvoo (Clint Watson, the author of the post, used to run an art gallery):

Richard Iams (one of the artists he represented), occasionally painted wildlife. Once, he hired a handler to bring in a leopard (for reference photos). However, the leopard had other ideas, broke away, and leaped on top of Richard. Luckily, he was a large fellow, managed to stay upright, and escaped without harm.

Clint says he sold a lot of paintings telling that story.

Inside the artist’s studio

Here’s another one from Clint’s post:

Brian Kleiwer started telling little stories (via email) to his “tribe” about each painting he created. He’d talk about what he was thinking, how he felt at the time, the music he liked to listen to – things that made a connection between himself, his painting, and his tribe. He sold 82 paintings in around 100 days.

Special delivery

Someone on Amazon bought a copy of a physics textbook. The copy he received had missing pages. He wrote a review on the site, complaining bitterly. The author saw the review, got on a plane (during the holiday season), and personally delivered a brand-new corrected copy of the book.

I guarantee that the people who bought those paintings and the man who bought the textbook all told their friends, their families, and their colleagues the stories about the art and the book.

People call me “The Wizard of Words” and “The Clarity Driver” – much better than any names I could give myself.

What do your clients say about you? What do you want them to say?

I was in the library the other day and saw a sign that said:

Free Computer Classes for Beginners

Sept. 25

Sign up at library desk

I thought, it’s an instant marketing offer.  There’s often a lot of confusion about what an offer actually is.

They don’t have to be complicated though. A few lines will do the trick.

The price: free

What it is: computer classes

The intended audience: beginners

When: the date of the class

Call to action: sign up at the desk

That’s all you really need.  The rest is commentary.  Now go and test.

Image via Wikipedia

Here are some of mine (from some pretty random sources).

Godot never comes! – Thom Singer (from a recent comment on Chris Brogan’s blog).

Waiting (and waiting) for perfection, or for someone to save you, won’t move you forward. Instead of waiting, do something. It’s OK if it fails, which leads me to..

Give yourself a D – Seth Godin (Linchpin)

Failure happens. If it does, you’ve learned something.

I have always believed that writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is ransom notes . . . ~ Philip Dusenberry

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds – Albert Einstein

If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am for myself only, what am I? And if not now, when? – Hillel

This may not seem to have a lot to do with marketing, but it does. If you only give and give you will be poor and hungry. It is OK to want to earn money for your work, and be paid accordingly. However, if you only interrupt people and act selfishly, you will be perceived as greedy and self-centered. Give some things away (but not everything). What are you waiting for? If it’s Godot, he’s not coming.

What are your favorites? Share them below.

A firm that markets to dentists sent a friend of mine the following email on Facebook:

New Patients from Facebook?

On Facebook:

• There are more than 500 million potential patients.

• You can target your patients by location and age.

• You can test and use what works.

• You set the daily budget you are comfortable with.

More info here (then it gives contact details)

Talking to the wrong people

Really? 500 million. Gee, my friend is gonna need a bigger office!

But seriously, this makes no sense. Does anyone go to Facebook looking for a dentist? No. When you need a dentist, and don’t know one, you ask your friends.

And how is my friend supposed to fill cavities for people who live 100 or 200 or 3000 miles away? Has this firm invented the virtual dentist?

Interruption, not permission

My dentist friend doesn’t want these emails. Yet, the company sending them doesn’t care (and I guess Facebook doesn’t either).

He, (and anyone else wanting to grow their business, is much better off using permission marketing to build a fan base of people who WANT to hear from him.

Numbers instead of niches

It doesn’t matter how many people are on Facebook. Numbers don’t matter. What does matter is reaching people who actually need/want your services, and who you can help. You cannot clean someone’s teeth if they’re in London and you’re in Philadelphia. You want to reach the right people, not just any people.  You can’t make money selling water skis to a list of 1,000,000 people who live in the desert.

Marketing like this is painful – both for you and your potential clients.  You won’t make money, and they’ll get mad at you (instead of wanting to do business with you).  Kinda like root canal (which, thankfully, I’ve never had).

Share your thoughts

Have you tried Facebook marketing?  What happened? Have you gotten any silly emails like my friend did?

Image: Wikimedia