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The Easiest Way to Get People to Say Yes

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Getting people to do what you ask, especially people who don't really know you, is hard. Unless you make it easy. Some of the biggest roadblocks that keep people from saying "yes" when you ask them to do something is that what you're asking is too involved, too complicated, takes too much time, or they don't know how. In other words, it's too hard to say yes. In order to get past those roadblocks, you need to compensate for three underlying factors that are present in every human being. 1. What's in it for me? You've probably heard marketing advice that says your marketing needs to answer the question "what's in it for me?" There's a reason that advice won't go away...because it's true. As people, we all have a certain amount of selfishness inside of us (some more than others). And one way that selfishness comes out is when we're asked to take action, we ask why. Why should I do this? What's in it for me? In fact, if you really dug deep into the human … [Read more...]

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The First Rule of Being Awesome

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What does it take to "be awesome?" If you've spent time reading advice on how to grow your audience, build a list, or have a popular blog, chances are you've seen the advice "be awesome" in there somewhere. But what does that mean? How, exactly, can you "be awesome?" Now maybe I've had my head under a rock, but it seems to me that there's lots of people telling you to "be awesome" and not enough people showing you how. So guess what? I'm going to do just that. Introducing "The Art of Being Awesome" In the coming weeks and months, I'm going to teach you the art of being awesome. I'll be covering specific things you can do to stand out, get noticed, and get people to like you. I'll even show you some of the steps I've used to connect with A-Listers when they had no idea who I was. I'm calling this the "Art of Being Awesome" because it truly is an art when done right, and one that I'm going to help you master. Alright, … [Read more...]

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Using Silence to Get Attention

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A while ago, I asked you to share your most burning marketing questions with me in the comments of this post, and you all submitted some great questions. I was particularly intrigued with the question submitted by "Lazy Rockstar" which was... For the last few years the message has been, “You don’t need record companies. Artists will market themselves online and . . . (Cue: ‘Age of Aquarius’)” Now you have ten gazillion artist websites and everything you do gets lost in the noise. So, here’s the question, “How do you make ‘good’ noise’? – Lazy My answer? Don't make any. Instead, draw attention to your silence. All of us are being constantly bombarded with advertising "noise" in every media you can imagine. It's become so bad that it now follows you where ever you go (I'm referring, of course, to mobile marketing). And with all that noise, we as humans have learned to "tune out." Sure the commercial is still playing on the radio, but you're busy … [Read more...]

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Do Your Readers Have Fan Stories?

A while ago, I was browsing the web and stumbled onto a news headline that announced Conan O'Brien had changed the opening credits of his show in response to a fan's input. So I watched the video (below). … [Read more...]

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Marketing Rehab: 21 Signs You Need Help

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Celebrities and rehab. How many times have you heard those two words used together recently? News about celebrities entering or leaving rehab has almost become a daily occurrence these days. And whether it's for alcohol, drugs, sex, painkillers, or some other addiction, each of those celebrities you hear about in the news have one thing in common. They reached a point where they realized they needed help. They might have been warned by a doctor, got arrested, had someone stage an intervention, or realized on their own they were out of control. But regardless of how they reached that point, they all accepted the fact they needed help. Outside help. Professional help. Many entrepreneurs are in a similar situation with their marketing. I'll be honest; there have been times when I desperately wanted to stage a marketing intervention with a business owner who was completely oblivious to how bad their marketing sucked. Fortunately, self-restraint and the wise counsel of friends … [Read more...]

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