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MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits

The ezine with brainy marketing ideas and
resources for marketers and small businesses


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Brought to you each Tuesday by
Lois Carter Fay & The Marketing Idea Shop
http://www.marketingideashop.com
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com

Issue 7 - August 12, 2003
Reading time: 10 minutes
Circulation: 320

Don't be stingy...share this with your friends.
PLEASE FORWARD ~~~ WITHOUT CUTTING ~~~

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*****SALE SALE SALE SALE *****
*****Don't miss this great opportunity.*****
*****Marketing Idea Shop's New Ebook is Ready.*****
*****Learn How to Make Your Sales Go Through the Roof*****

52 READY-TO-GO SALES MEETINGS -- 52 WAYS TO HELP YOUR
SALESPEOPLE (AND YOURSELF) WIN AT THE GAME OF SALES
By Jim Wilson with Lois Carter Fay

This ebook is filled with 52 terrific ideas to help you and your
team make more sales. Like how to close with confidence, how to
deal with the price issue, how to get past stalls and put-offs
so you don't waste your time with tire-kickers, and much more.

***BUY IT ONLINE NOW***
Normally $47, but from now until August 15, it's just $37.
So you SAVE $10.00!

Click on the link or paste it into your browser window:

http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=39749

If you prefer to order offline, call 1-800-203-8660 or 1-540-289-3840. We can take your order over the phone or give you our fax number.


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IN THIS ISSUE

1. Going Viral
2. Quote of the Week
3. Quick Tip: The Buzz Machine
4. Glossary of Marketing Terms
5. 6 Secrets to Creating a Successful Ezine
6. Marketing Idea Shop Ebooks
7. Resources for Entrepreneurs
8. Marketing Fun
9. Smell the Coffee

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1. Going Viral

Do you know people who use Hotmail as their email provider? I'll bet you know LOTS of people who do. That's because at the very beginning, Hotmail added an ad on the bottom of each outgoing email that said, "Get Your Private, Free Email from Hotmail at www.hotmail.com." (It now advertises other services.) So, every time someone sent an email to a friend or associate, the message for Hotmail spread...just like the common cold virus, from one person to another. And soon people were talking about viral marketing.

But why does Hotmail do this? Because it gets all its users to come to the Hotmail website to retrieve their email. Hotmail can charge premium prices for its ads and create other revenue streams because it has so many users and web visitors.

I'm sure you've also heard about Napster, the online music service that used to allow people to download music from each other for free. The service was so compelling and easy to use that practically every college student in the US heard about it and used it before you could say, "Bob's my uncle." Unfortunately, copyright problems abounded and the courts shut it down. Nevertheless, before its demise, millions of songs had been downloaded.

I've seen a couple of new viral campaigns recently that have intrigued me.

Plaxo helps you keep your contact files up to date. It works with Outlook and Outlook Express and, since it's web-based, it allows you to access your contacts from anywhere. The user can quickly and easily send out a "confirming" email to all his email contacts, asking them to update their data. For those of us who don't include anything except name and email address in our Outlook files, this is a very easy way to get everything into that file (by putting all the burden on the recipient...not, in my humble opinion, something I think you should do!). An email goes out to each contact asking them to update their information, including address, phone, fax, home address, birthday, and other items. And, of course, the email has a footer on it that says how the recipient can also get Plaxo. It was created by one of the founders of Napster. It's f*ree. So that makes me wonder how they make their money. Are they gathering all of this information to sell it to email and direct marketers? Or will Plaxo later change to a subscription price or develop a premium product that covers the costs of all the f*ree downloads?

Novatix is a cool little program that allows you to send photos embedded within your email without making the file huge. For those of us who are still on dial-up so that we can't receive humongous files, and those who cannot or are unwilling to receive attachments, this is a very inexpensive way to send and receive photos. Again, the viral component is inserted in an email; it says, "Created with Novatix SendPhotos, the easiest and fastest way to share pictures. Check it out: http://www.novatix.com" on the bottom of every email. You can try it for f*ree or download it for $19.95.

Create something viral--or something that people LOVE to or are COMPELLED to pass on to their friends and associates--and you can really rake in the sales. When you think viral, think fun, compelling or something that everyone wants.

Now...get thinking. (And please forward this ezine to your friends
and associates!)

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2. Quote of the Week

"If you don't see yourself as a winner, then you cannot
perform as a winner."

~~Zig Ziglar


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3. Quick Tip: The Buzz Machine

In the PR field, getting influential industry people to support your product or service has long been an established practice to quickly create a buzz about it. For instance, fashion designers provide stunning dresses for actresses to wear to the Academy Awards. Do the actresses pay for them? No, of course not. But everyone in America knows who designed them, and the designers sell more dresses.

When Seth Godin decided to write his book, PURPLE COW, he knew he wanted to create a buzz about the book to drive sales before it came out. In the past he had been rather successful creating excitement about his books by doing things like offering the entire book, UNLEASHING THE IDEAVIRUS (which was later published in hardcover), as an ebook absolutely f*ree through various listservs and business associates. He did this again--in a fashion--with PURPLE COW. However, instead of distributing the actual book, he created a separate product, 99 COWS, which he offered as a f*ree downloadable ebook for a limited time. But he took one more innovative step. He hired a new kind of PR agency, BzzAgent (who generally works for a hefty fee), to create a buzz.

BzzAgent has a large stable of members who actively promote its clients and their products online and through other word-of-mouth activities. Members are generally "early adopters," folks who love being in on the ground floor, finding out about new things and telling their friends and associates about the cool new gadget, book or product. They are not paid for their participation, and they choose to participate only in campaigns that they truly support and admire. If this is you, sign up at their website: http://www.bzzagent.com/index.jsp


What are you doing to create a buzz for your company or
product?

Need help? I consult! Send an email to mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com
or call me toll free at 1-800-203-8660.


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4. Glossary of Marketing Terms

What's the difference between a gatefold or a letterfold? If your newsletter bleeds, do you need to call a doctor? Do you have brand police at your company, and are you in trouble? Can you create buzz 24/7 with viral marketing?

If you are wondering what all this means, find out by downloading this f*ree brief "Glossary of Marketing Terms" from Marketing Idea Shop. When you get to the shopping cart, you do not have to put in any credit card information. Just skip that part for f*ree items. You do, however, have to put in your name and email address.

If you need to know *all* the latest marketing terms, you can buy the book DICTIONARY OF MARKETING TERMS by Jane Imber and Betsy-Ann Toffler. It is filled with just about every term you need to know.




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5. 6 Secrets for Creating a Successful Ezine

Electronic newsletters, or ezines, are one of the best ways to communicate on a regular basis with your customers and prospects -- if these critical people have email capabilities. Ezines are succinct, do not take as much time as print newsletters, are very inexpensive to produce and distribute, and are delivered directly to your contact instead of having to get past the "gatekeeper."

Here are six secrets to creating a successful electronic newsletter to get you started.

-->Plan and write useful content.
-->Develop a good mailing list.
-->Keep it simple.
-->Make sure it can be read in ten minutes or less.
-->Produce it regularly.
-->Add the fine print.

This is an excerpt of a f*ree article you can find on my website. To download and read the complete article, click here: "6 Secrets for Creating a Successful Ezine."

Remember, there's no need to put in your credit card information to download f*ree articles. Skip that part.

Looking for help to create your ezine or newsletter? I consult! Send an
email to me or call me toll free at 1-800-203-8660.

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6. Marketing Idea Shop Ebooks

COMING IN NOVEMBER
To paraphrase a common saying, if you don't know where you want to go, you'll probably end up someplace else. Creating a marketing plan is essential for any business. But it's getting harder and harder to do because you can't stick to the old tried-and-true methods of marketing. Today, you must include an online component to your plan, as well.

My new ebook, MARKETING PLAN ESSENTIALS: ONLINE AND OFF (working title*), is coming in November, just in time to distribute at a seminar I will present for VECTEC in Hampton Roads on November 11. You'll learn:

-->How to generate more sales by tweaking your current marketing efforts.
-->What 3 things you simply must include in your plan.
-->Two strategies to improve your Google page rank dramatically.
-->How 5 viral marketing campaigns spread like wildfire, and how your company can win in the word-of-mouth game, and much more.

I'm looking for more successful case studies for this book. Send me an email with a paragraph describing your company, the basics of your campaign and why you consider it a success. If I include your company in the book, I'll send you a free copy of it, a $47 value! Use the subject "Marketing" when you email me: mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com

*Also, I'd like a better title for my book. It needs more zip, but I'm fresh out of creative juices today. Send me your ideas for a title and if I use yours, I'll give you a f*ree copy of the book when it's completed. Use the
subject line "Book Title" and send it to mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com

As always, you DON'T have to do it yourself! I also provide
consulting services and can write your marketing plan for you.
If you need a marketing plan and don't know where to start, or
don't have the time to do it yourself, send me an email or give
me a call. mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com or 1-800-203-8660

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SUCCESS
I'm creating an ebook called SUCCESS SECRETS OF WOMEN
ENTREPRENEURS (tm). It will profile a wide variety of women
business owners (WBOs) and describe how and why they are
successful. Since each person's idea of success is different,
the chosen entrepreneurs are likely to have vastly different
goals, measures of success, incomes, philosophies, and so on.

The deadline to nominate someone is October 15, 2003.

To nominate yourself or someone you know, send me a short
"pitch" that tells me:

-->Name
-->Company
-->Address, phone, fax, email, website
-->Number of years in business
-->Number of employees and/or gross sales figures
-->Description of business
-->Briefly, why this WBO is so special

If you or your nominee are included are included in the book,
I'll give you a f*ree copy when it's completed.

Send the email pitch to me with the subject "Success" at
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com

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52 READY-TO-GO SALES MEETINGS
Ever have to run a weekly sales meeting for your team?
It's tough coming up with topics and ideas, isn't it? Here's
your opportunity to get 52 ideas without a struggle!

Marketing Idea Shop's brand-new ebook, 52 READY-TO-GO
SALES MEETINGS...52 WAYS TO HELP YOUR SALESPEOPLE
(AND YOURSELF) WIN AT THE GAME OF SALES, is for you.

It is co-written by sales guru Jim Wilson of Selling
Strategies Inc. and yours truly, and jam-packed with ideas,
questions to discuss with your team and strategies
to keep your meetings productive. Don't miss this one.

Here what you'll learn:

-->How to use the reversing technique to find out what's
really important to your prospect.

-->How to get past stalls and put-offs so you don't waste
your time with tire-kickers.

-->How to use your sales thermometer (and other tools) to
close the sale.

-->How to beat Brand X and convince the prospect your product
is SO much better than the competitor's.

-->How to deal with the price issue (these tips are so simple,
you'll wonder why it was always so painful).

-->Ways to go for the "No" and why you should NEVER be
discouraged by this little word.

-->How to set goals so you don't wander aimlessly off track.

-->How to overcome objections and convince those fence-sitters.

-->Ways to identify pain and soothe the prospect into buying.

-->How to stay focused so your sales call doesn't become a
social call.

-->Why anxiety doesn't have to put you in freeze-frame.

-->Why you must forget about attitude and focus on behavior.

-->How to close with confidence...and put that money in your
pocket.

***BUY IT ONLINE NOW***
Normally $47, but from now until August 15, it's just $37.
So you SAVE $10.00!


Click on the link or paste it into your browser window:

http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=39749

If you prefer to order offline, call 1-800-203-8660 or 1-540-289-3840. We can take your order over the phone or give you our fax number.

A $7 service and delivery fee applies to offline orders.

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7. Resources for Entrepreneurs

-->Do you ever have to send gifts to clients or thank yous to business associates for referrals? Rowena's, Inc. takes the work out of it for you. Everyone loves food, and some of us also like to cook. You can get both at Rowena's, a gourmet cake and foods company in Norfolk, Va. There are cakes and curds, sauces and jams, and books and treats. Rowena's CELEBRATE VIRGINIA! cookbook includes outstanding recipes from many famous Virginians, including Senator John Warner and Willard Scott.

http://www.rowenas.com/

-->The Virginia Electronic Commerce Technology Center (VECTEC) has a great online E-Business Research Center. It's f*ree and contains more than 900 articles and statistics on e-business. What a resource!

http://www.vectec.org/researchcenter/sub.html?category=8

-->Want to learn more about viral marketing? UNLEASHING THE IDEAVIRUS by Seth Godin is a quick read that is packed with examples and creative ideas. Its step-by-step tactics can help you start a viral campaign for your company. $11.20

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/marketingidea-20

-->Wonder whether you should use the word lay or lie? Get confused by further and farther? Whether you need punctuation or you should capitalize a certain word? Check with the Grammar Slammer.

http://englishplus.com/grammar/gsdeluxe.htm

-->Do you need a shopping cart and credit card processing on your website? The KickStartCart program is an easy-to-use, affordable and powerful shopping cart system. The application process helps you obtain your own credit card processing at very reasonable rates. The shopping cart is intuitive, allows you to upload products whenever you want, and offers unlimited autoresponders. Instead of a large upfront cost, you pay for the cart monthly. You can even try it out for 30 days totally f*ree.

http://www.kickstartcart.com/app?pr=31&id=41484

-->Here's an ebook that media hounds can't live without, MEDIA RELATIONS POWER by Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound. Whether you’re new to public relations, or a seasoned pro, this compilation of 21 of Joan’s most popular special reports will show you how to build and develop valuable relationships with the print and broadcast media that can result in thousands of dollars in f*ree publicity. You’ll find at least 199 tips (we counted them!) to fire up your publicity campaign. Joan’s reports are on topics an inch wide, and filled with content a mile deep. That means you’ll find in-depth tips on a very specific publicity challenge, a savings of $40.00 over the individual reports price. $149 for all 21 special reports.


http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=81064


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8. A Little Marketing Fun

Here's a little game from MarketingSherpa that you might enjoy. It's called "Torture a Spammer" and you get to choose the torture...like boiling in oil, burying them in a ton of mail, etc.

http://torturegame2.emailsherpa.com

Check out the rest of Sherpa's site -- http://www.marketingsherpa.com -- and sign up for one or more of their ezines, too. They're great.

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9. Smell the Coffee...

It's been a good summer for us. Don and I have had alone time with each other, time with the older "kids" and grandbaby, time with each of the younger kids by themselves and together. But the summer is winding down.

The kids are "trickling in." Nessa came home from camp on Sunday and Roni will be back from Wisconsin on the 16th, my daughter Erin's 26th birthday. Happy Birthday, Erin!

It's time for all the worldwind school shopping--the most exciting time for the younger ones. How cool. New looseleaf paper, new binders, new notebooks, a million pens and pencils to throw around the house and under every piece of furniture. Ah, maybe that's the ticket. If I just buy them one pen and one pencil each, perhaps they will put it away so they can find it when they need it. (Nah, they will steal their sister's stuff.)


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