Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Do you want to make a lot of money - and don’t really care how?

Do you want to feel like you’ve done something of value, that you’ve made a difference…and been well compensated for doing so?

Like you, I’m in business to make money but I have this weird hang-up. I like to deliver real value and have fun working with smart people who - while they may not know what to do (yet) - do know there are no easy, one-size-fits-all magic answers.

So, in renovating my web site - I looked at a lot of small biz (and big biz) consultants’ sites and offerings. I waded through numerous busy, jam-packed “Hey, Look at ME!” sites with sales pitches masquerading as free advice…”easy” cookie-cutter marketing (1)…”guaranteed results”…”Five Easy Steps Guaranteed to…” and “All your dreams will come true! Just sign up!” c’mons. Hmmmm…these aren’t really my competition. Most of the people who buy this kind of stuff aren’t my ideal client anyway.

Here’s what I’ve done:

Modeled my new site after those of people like Tom Peters and Seth Godin. Yep, both are big-timus, big-name marketing poobahs and authors…and they sell things. But their sites aren’t relentlessly perky; they don’t insult my intelligence by promising marketing magic; they don’t constantly pitch, pitch, pitch…and I get something useful every time I read their blogs. They also point me to other blogs and things of value, with no strings attached. (Other great sites that deliver value and don’t scream, “buy! buy!” at you: ConverStations (Mike Sansone, blogging coach), Own Your Brand (Mike Wagner), and Grokdotcom (web gurus).)

Dare I say it? They have “class.” Certainly, Seth (whom I’ve never met, but he responds to my emails, so I feel like I know him) wants people to buy his books. He lists them on his blog. But he doesn’t yell at me to do so, all over the place and in his emails. The list is there on his web sites if I choose to look at it.

Simple, clean, easy to navigate sites, with things of value easy to find and readily available. What a concept!

I did similar research when I decided to offer a free e-letter (again). My biggest peeve is that many “free e-letters” are little more than sales pitches for pre-canned consultant happy talk. They bury any worthwhile content way down the page. First, I’ve got to scroll through product sales pitches…then, of course, they come up again at the end. Okay, okay, already. I get you want to sell things. Nothing wrong with that. But, geez, Mr. Expert, stop screamin’ at me. If you’re so good, why are you having to pitch so hard? (And, please stop sending me other emails with all kinds of reminders and “special” offers.)

Here’s what I’m doing with my e-letter. One topic, one page, once a month. If you sign up, you won’t get product pitches. I won’t send you anything other than the free troubleshooting guide and then the monthly e-letter. If there is news re a webinar or service, I’ll give that very shortly at the very end of the e-letter - and I won’t send you any additional “reminders” re those webinars and services. (More about why I’m calling the e-letter “Stuff You Already Know…But Are You Doing It?” in another post.)

(1) If you’re just getting into marketing and/or are up to your eyeballs in running your biz - the “easy” cookie cutter marketing can work well for you, up to a point. The gotcha is that – when things go wrong or you need to kick it up a notch - you won’t have the knowledge and tools you need. Also, your stuff may well look exactly like your competitors who bought the same cookie packages - a really big issue if you are all doing business on the Web (same formats, same messages, same wording, same styles, same materials. same “unique sales proposition.” Ouch!)

Related Posts:
Run, Run Like The Wind If You Hear
Why I (Still) Hate Consultants