marketing tips

healthy land. sustainable future. 1010 Tijeras Avenue NW Albuquerque, NM 87102 marketing tips tools & exercises for Certified Educators Winter 2007 Edition healthy land. sustainable future. In This Issue: How To Get Free Publicity in the Newspaper Project Scope, That Slippery Slope Advertising in In Practice Direct Mail Strategies, Part 2: Direct Mail Packages Pro Tip: Ordering Marketing Materials Online Pro Tip: The Direct Mail Insertion That Always Gets Attention The Perils of “Perfectionism” Five Simple Secrets of Website Advertising How To Get Free Publicity in the Newspaper Large broadcast media and newspapers have to make decisions every day about what to present and what not to present to their audiences. After all, there’s only so much space in the paper and only so many minutes in the Six O’Clock News Hour. But you may be surprised to learn that, when it comes to local news media, especially small-town and regional newspapers, it’s a much different story. Small local newspapers are usually hungry for interesting content to beef up their coverage of local high school football and bake sales. As a result, local papers offer fertile ground for obtaining free publicity about your practice. First Rule of Getting into Print: Be Newsworthy Whether you’re writing to the editor, submitting an article about yourself or suggesting that the newspaper write an article about you, Rule #1 is: be newsworthy. Even though editors are always looking for content to fill their pages, they will choose material that is news to their readers. So it’s not enough to say to an editor, “I’m a Holistic Management Consultant and here’s what I do.” Instead, make that: “I saw your recent piece on local ranch issues and it didn’t mention Holistic Management, which I think a lot of your readers and local ranchers would be interested in.” Letters-to-the-Editor One of the quickest ways to make an impact in print is to write a letter to the editor. What makes a letter newsworthy? It relates to something that’s already in the news. News stories touching on (continues) 1 marketing tips (Letters-to-the-Editor, continued from page 1 ) tools and exercises for Certified Educators Winter 2007 How To Get Free Publicity in the Newspaper topics such as land use, irrigation, cattle issues or global issues such as desertification, atmospheric CO2 and sustainability, all offer reasons for you to submit a letter presenting information about Holistic Management. If your local paper ran a news story about noxious weeds, for example, you might write a letter to the editor about how local ranchers can improve land health and reduce noxious weeds through improved grazing – explaining how it’s being done around the world as well as locally with the help of Certified Educators like you. 3) Local papers often present regular profiles of local business people. Yours will stand out if you can, again, tie your business to larger news issues. If you succeed in appearing in an article, that particular edition of the newspaper is a good time to place a display ad for your business. You’ll get double “bang for the buck.” Op-Ed Pieces Getting onto the Opinion page in your local paper gives your business excellent visibility. As always, if you have something to say that relates to important local or national news, that becomes a framework for talking about the value of Holistic Management, about results that you have obtained or witnessed, and for stating why people should know and care about Holistic Management. Generating free publicity by getting your business into print requires some effort, but it’s not difficult. After all, as a Holistic Management® Certified Educator, you have a compelling story to tell that most people have not heard. And that makes it news. Articles There are numerous ways to get an article about your business into print, but the standard is the same: newsworthiness. Fortunately, right now, everything in the news is Green, Green, Green. As a Certified Educator, you’re in an excellent position to present yourself as an authority on green land management and how your business promotes it. Voila – your consulting practice is newsworthy. Of course, there are many other ways to find a “hook” in the news or in current events that relates to some aspect of Holistic Management and which, by association, makes your business newsworthy. There are several opportunities for developing articles: 1) You can write an article yourself and submit it to an editor. If you do, take some photographs to accompany your story. 2) You can call or write an editor and propose that the newspaper do a story on you or on one of your clients. This is almost as difficult as writing the story yourself, because you must convince the editor of its news interest. 2 marketing tips tools and exercises for Certified Educators Winter 2007 Project Scope, That Slippery Slope The learning curve in every consultant’s career invariably includes a bump or two in which there is disagreement over how much work has been agreed to, or precisely what work has been agreed to. That’s because it’s often easier to agree with your client on the objectives you both want to achieve than it is on the scope of the work you will perform. It’s a problem everyone encounters sooner or later, but you can take steps to avoid it. Make Clear What You Won’t Do It’s not enough to outline what you’ll be doing in a project. It’s equally important to be clear about what you will not be expected to do as part of the project. It’s the best way to make sure all bases are covered before you start putting time and effort into the job. Changing Scope In Progress Being clear about the scope of your project doesn’t mean it’s cast in stone. In the course of any job, stuff happens. So it’s important to remain flexible when circumstances dictate, or the client requests, a change in scope. Here’s the rub, though. As a professional, if you’re required to do more than you agreed to do, you must decide whether the change should impact your fee. If so, bring it up with the client and make it clear that you will need to charge more. Set Boundaries Up Front Once you’ve generated interest and commitment from a prospect, and you’ve settled on your project objectives, establish the limits of what you will be doing. That includes everything from describing your work flow and time line to whom you will be working with, and where. This can be harder than it sounds, as your client may want the project to get moving and not wish to grapple with details until they arise. This approach doesn’t do either of you any good if you get into conflict later on, so try to get questions of scope on the table at the earliest reasonable time. Why It Matters Disagreements over scope can threaten your client’s budget, undermine your objectives and cut into your time and profit. Worse still, such disagreements can result in dissatisfied clients. None of which you need or want. Fortunately, addressing project scope at the outset of a project is a simple step that will help you avoid a host of pitfalls. 3 marketing tips tools and exercises for Certified Educators Winter 2007 Advertising in IN PRACTICE HMI’s newsletter, IN PRACTICE, is a great place to offer your services. After all, much of its 3,000strong readership is squarely in your target market: individuals and organizations who are interested in Holistic Management and ranchers and farmers who need help. “An ad in IN PRACTICE defines you as a professional and positions you for your target market.” –Ann Adams, Editor Size and Cost As you know, as a current Certified Educator, you’re entitled to one free IN PRACTICE ad, which is 1/6 page in black and white. For paid ads of that size, the cost is usually $130/issue. Space closing is 1 1/2 months prior to publication. Art work closing is 1 month prior. If you don’t have the ability to design an ad, the IN PRACTICE staff will be happy to do that for you. satisfied clients can also distinguish you from other providers. However you approach the issue, you want to let prospects know that you have something special to offer. Your Unique Selling Proposition may also be a specific offer. For example, maybe you’re offering something free or at a discount. Or maybe you’re making an “early bird” offer to anyone who responds by a certain date. Finally, while having an 800-phone number is not a selling proposition, it’s worth noting that advertisements bearing an 800-number are noticed more. Strategies In any competitive environment, an ad has to accomplish the task of distinguishing “my service” from “everyone else’s.” It’s called having a Unique Selling Proposition. In your IN PRACTICE ads, you’ll want to distinguish yourself from Certified Educator colleagues. One obvious way to do that is by virtue of geography — where you’re located. But your real Unique Selling Proposition will probably be a combination of any unique skills that you have, strong experience in one or more particular areas, and your track record of specific results. Testimonials from Getting Results IN PRACTICE ads are reaching larger and larger audiences. HMI gets 1,300 visits daily to its website and receives 40 requests per month for sample issues of IN PRACTICE. Ann Adams, Editor of IN PRACTICE., says, “An ad in IN PRACTICE. defines you as a professional and positions you for your target market.” For Holistic Management consultants, IN PRACTICE offers one of the easiest and best-targeted advertising opportunities anywhere. 4 marketing tips tools and exercises for Certified Educators Winter 2007 Direct Mail Strategies, Part 2: Direct Mail Packages In the initial part of our discussion of Direct Mail (DM), we talked about sending letters to your consulting prospects and some of the elements that contribute to getting an effective response. These include: n n Mainly, those additional messages are about breaking through to a prospect and getting him or her involved with the offer. The idea is that if the recipient doesn’t bother to read the letter, he will at least glance at the smaller slip or read the cover of the brochure and see something of sufficient interest to cause him to read the entire package more closely. That’s a typical Direct Mail Package in the credit card business. What’s it have to do with your consulting prospecting? Lots. the value of the word “free” in direct mail, the importance of including some kind of offer in your letter, having a clear “call to action” (asking the reader to do something), secondary offers, how to add urgency to offers. Packaging the Details: More Information Is Good There’s more to a DM package than simply coming at the customer from multiple directions. Here’s the second reason Direct Marketers include several items in a single envelope: it makes it possible to provide the recipient not only with the product and the offer, but to go into detailed information about: 1) the product’s benefits, 2) why the recipient should be interested, 3) the sender’s trustworthiness and reliability, and so on. Let’s state those three items another way. Placing multiple insertions in a single envelope makes it possible to provide the recipient not only with the product and the offer, but: 1. the detailed benefits that result from managing holistically; 2. the increased profits that the client can enjoy; 3. your track record of success with other clients. In other words, when it comes to Direct Mail, your objectives are pretty similar to those of professional direct marketers. And you, too, can make profitable use of multi-piece DM packages, because detailed information is exactly what your clients want. n n n In this issue, we’ll go beyond the subject of Direct Mail letters and talk about the stock-in-trade of direct marketers, the Direct Mail Package. Why a Package? No doubt, you’ve received credit card offers containing not only a letter but multiple other insertions. These often include a Reply Card, one or more smaller slips that re-iterate the offer presented in the letter, and perhaps a brochure. Sometimes there are even stickers to fiddle around with. Have you ever noticed this essential fact? Every single, important piece of information related to the product and the offer in such a mailing is clearly stated in the letter. That’s almost invariably the case! So what’s the need for all those additional pieces of communication? (continues) 5 marketing tips What’s in YOUR DM Package? tools and exercises for Certified Educators Winter 2007 Direct Mail Strategies, Part 2: Direct Mail Packages ( continued from page 5 ) What should you put into your Direct Mail package? First, remember that, with few exceptions, a letter is the most important item you can put in a DM package. Your letter should cover all the bases: who you are, the features and benefits of the service you provide, your offer(s), a call to action and how to contact you. In addition to a letter, here are a few things you could include in a DM package. ing how valuable your service is. A page of such endorsements would make a powerful addition to any DM package. Photos. Before and After photos demonstrating the results of Holistic Management are always invaluable. You might also consider including a picture of yourself to help personalize your message. When the recipient opens your envelope and again when you follow up with a phone call, it helps to have a face behind the message. Articles. Whether you have an article about yourself from the local newspaper or you’ve printed an article from the HMI website, giving your prospect more information never hurts. And remember, as we noted in a previous issue, it can be helpful to scribble a personal, handwritten message on an article, or even across a photo, addressing the recipient by name. (continues) Testimonials & Endorsements. If you’ve got satisfied clients, ask for permission to mention them in your marketing. Better still, ask for an endorsement in the form of a quote, or even a letter, stat- ProTip Ordering Marketing Materials Online That’s a basic card for which you select from a gallery of designs and add your own text to the front of the card. Other options allow you to submit your own design or have an online printer create a design from materials you provide. There are numerous product choices and many printers to choose from, but when all you need is a brief, attractive looking message (a Reply Card, for example) to put in the mail, online printing can be a quick, easy solution. Not long ago, if you wanted business cards or a brochure, or wanted to create a postcard to use as Direct Mail, you had to find yourself a graphic designer to lay out your material and then a print shop to print it. Nowadays, you can create and order a wide variety of print materials online and have them shipped to you. For example, www.overnightprints.com and www.vistaprint.com both offer 100 standard size (4” x 6”) postcards for $24.99. 6 marketing tips Direct Mail Strategies, Part 2: Direct Mail Packages ( What’s in YOUR DM Package? Continued from page 6) tools and exercises for Certified Educators Winter 2007 make sure the postcard is stamped with appropriate postage. A couple of final points about Direct Mail. If you have a recipient’s email address, send a brief email the day before you expect your mailing to arrive in his mailbox. Tell the prospect that your package is coming, say you hope he/she finds it useful and thank him or her in advance for taking a look at it. Last of all, as much as possible, follow up your mailing with personal phone calls to recipients. This gives you a chance to ask what they thought, whether they’re interested, whether they might be interested in the future, whether they have friends or colleagues who might be interested in your services, and so on. Many more approaches will occur to you as you begin to experiment with Direct Mail and see results. Q & A’s Here’s another page or half-page piece you can write yourself or compile from HMI’s website to add to your mailing. “Questions and Answers” (or FAQs) are a great way to explain a complex service like Holistic Management Consulting, whether you’re describing anticipated results, work flow, cost or whatever. It’s more academic and “removed” than a direct sales pitch, and it almost feels like an extra in the package. But you can pack a lot of critical, relevant information into Q & As that might otherwise be awkward or difficult to address in writing. Business Card, Brochure, Flyer. Anything else you may have pre-printed, e.g., using your HMI-branded electronic templates, can be included. You don’t want anything in your DM package to be duplicated exactly in separate insertions, but the same information covered in a slightly different way is fine. Again, part of the strategy is to engage the recipient as deeply as possible. ProTip The Direct Mail Insertion That Always Gets Attention Direct Marketers have been using this one in Direct Mail packages since the invention of postage. It’s a sure-fire method of getting the recipient’s attention once the envelope is opened. What’s the secret? Fold a $1 bill into each letter you send out. Not only will the recipient accept the cash, he or she will read your letter to see why you’ve sent them a dollar. That’s easy: you’ve enclosed the dollar to emphasize that Holistic Management will help your prospect to increase profits. “Call Me” Reply Card. Ideally, the recipient will open your mailing, pick up the phone and call you immediately. Because that doesn’t always happen, you might choose to include a “Call Me” card in your package. This can be as simple as a dime store postcard with your handwriting on it or a pre-printed card (see sidebar regarding online printing). It offers the recipient, who may simply be too busy to think about anything today, a no-pressure, second chance to respond to you. The message on the card says simply: I would like to know more. The best day and time to call me is: _______________ Before you insert the card into your package, write the recipient’s name somewhere on the card, so that you’ll know who has returned it. Finally, of course, 7 marketing tips tools and exercises for Certified Educators Winter 2007 The Perils of “Perfectionism” “Perfectionism” and procrastination often go hand in hand. This is especially true when it comes to marketing a service, because a “better idea” for selling a service will always occur to you — if you wait long enough. The trouble is, of course, that you can’t wait forever. You Can’t Learn from Your Strategy Business author Harry Beckwith, in his bestselling book “Selling the Invisible”, put it this way: “You can’t learn anything from your strategy. It’s just sitting there pretending it knows what it’s talking about – while your tactics are out there getting battle-tested by the market.” Bottom line? Don’t get too caught up in planning your marketing strategy. Your time is usually better spent out in the trenches where the action is. Armchair marketing is one thing. Making calls and reaching out to prospects brings in the contracts. Sooner Is Often Better Than “Better” Too many independent contractors spend inordinate amounts of time and energy “perfecting” their marketing materials or sales pitch when what they really need to do is use the one they already have –energetically– to see how it’s working. Five Simple Secrets of Website Advertising The Internet is here to stay and websites are rapidly becoming essential even for sole proprietor consulting businesses. Whether you’ve already taken the plunge and developed a website or you’re still thinking about it, it’s important to understand why some websites are more effective than others. According to Website Advertising, Inc. (www.websiteadvertising.com), the secrets to website advertising can be summed up in five simple rules. 3. Websites should be easy to find. Make sure your website’s html code includes metatag keywords and descriptions so that search engines will be able to find it. 4. Websites should provide valuable free service(s). Make the experience valuable to your visitor by giving away useful information, e.g., even something as simple as tips on what to look for in a land management consultant. 1. Websites should be easy to understand. It’s astonishing how you can get the reader’s attention by clearly stating what you have to offer. 5. You must provide the product or service. Back up what you promise on your website. This extends from answering inquiries promptly to delivering excellent value for your services. 2. Websites should be easy to navigate. Make it easy for your visitor to instantly find what he’s looking for. Frustrate him and he’s gone. 8