A recent book I just read by Elizabeth Marshall and Michael Port, The Contrarian Effect, really got me inspired to change up my traditional marketing approach. For most businesses, marketing is a simple act: referral, some cold calling, some direct mail. But that’s the old way. It’s the way Seth Godin refers to as “interruption” marketing. You call up someone or get a referral to contact someone on your time table, not theirs. You “interrupt” them in their busy day and that’s irritating to most people. Sure, it can get you initial results, but what about long-term profitability and success? Don’t you want your clients/customers to esteem you on a long-term basis? (You have a problem if you answer no to that question.)
So, how’s a person to be a contrarian? Easy. First, buy Elizabeth Marshall and Michael Port’s book. Second, read it. Third, consider the things you learn from it and really put them to use.
How am I going to use it?
I’ll risk giving away proprietary secrets here and give you a few ideas.
1. Set up a new blog. Yep, this current blog I use is a catch-all and it’s starting to give me multiple personality disorder. Am I a biz blog expert, a Twitter/social media strategist, or a moonlight entrepreneur expert? Or a novelist? Or a book reviewer? You choose. Depends on which day of the week I’m posting. But to seriously give my clients/customers the real deal (I really should, you know, since they pay me money each month), I’m moving the bulk of the biz blogging and social media stuff to realbrilliant.com (now don’t go there yet; see, this is proprietary info; I still have my copyediting sales stuff live there), but very soon, realbrilliant.com will be biz blogging and social media ONLY.
2. Record a series of podcast interviews with veterans in the bliz blogging and social media industry. This is what I’m most excited about. To talk with others who do biz blogging and social media about how they do it for their clients/companies and how they make it work.
3. Host a monthly teleseminar (eventually) for businesses interested in adding a blog or social media approach to their marketing. My “free” event, which according to the Contrarian Effect, is the most effective way to expand a business without irritating your prospects. I’m a bit nervous about this one, because I tend to not like conference calls much (just ask my boss and coworkers), but I am the daughter of a radio dj and have a pretty good broadcast voice (I think).
4. Restart a halted ezine about biz blogging that goes out monthly or weekly (haven’t decided) to my clients to help make their blogging better. I did a bit of this in 2007 and then ran out of steam (probably because I just didn’t care anymore and got a full-time job to boot), but now that I know what kind of clients/customers I want, this should be a lot more fun!
5. Add a bunch of core content to the realbrilliant blog that helps businesses make smart marketing decisions and generally becoming a cheerleading section for small business success. This is where I really started work back in December, so I have some
good stuff to transfer over to the new blog as a sort of resource
library. Hey, I think I may have enough for ebooks in a few months.
Stay tuned!
I have a lot to do.
But each of these things is a contrarian approach. I could grab a list from my office floor (still filing, yes) and start cold calling prospects without offering them anything in return. I could use that list to mail out postcards that do not invite them to a free event, or I could use that list to get referrals and harrass those poor folks until they start blocking my calls and emails. That doesn’t sound fun to me.
What sounds fun is using that list from my office floor to introduce myself and to offer valuable information that is not a burden, but a gift. I’m going to use that list to send postcards inviting folks to listen (at any time they choose) to my series of biz blogging podcast interviews, or to attend a monthly teleseminar talking about biz blogging and to subscribe to my ezine. I’m going to continue to become a person of influence to businesses as one of THE people who know about biz blogs and social media.
Now THAT sounds like fun.
I am going to put my time and energy where my mouth is. Time to act on my own advice. I’ll report back on how I do. But give me a bit here, okay? My to-do list is slightly scary. I’d much rather watch season 1 of the Mary Tyler Moore show (my current addiction). But just a little bit each day should get me there.
