When we first met Nick and Jack, we were floundering a little with our training business…we had all of the pieces, but didn’t have a cohesive vision or strategy of where it could take us. Since working with them, we have put more systems into our office, we are looking at the marketing (and the results of that marketing!) in a whole new light, our website actually looks like a professional did it, AND we have an awesome vision for our company that will allow us to retire in just a few short years. Sometimes we get so busy in the day to day “stuff” of our businesses that we forget to stop and look AT our businesses, The Dicks + Nanton Agency has afforded us an impartial outsiders’ view of our own business and the potential that it has.
Andy Tolbert, The Blue Jeans Broker, 
“The Celebrity Branding folks are all professionals in every sense of the word. From start to finish, they have always been a class act. They have guided us, inspired us and most important, looked out for us. And they have great morals and ethics to boot!”
- Dr. Gayle Carson, The Spunky Old Broad
“Hi this is Kimberlee Frank “The Real Estate Junkie” and I am writing to let you know how joining America’s PremierExperts® made a difference in my life. First off, I have shared the stage with a lot of people. However, it was always me having to impress my audience. Now, thanks to America’s PremierExperts®, I have a long list of credentials that allows me to get on any stage. The media coverage was out of this world. The friendship with Jack, Nick, and Lindsay is something that can not be replaced, we will always be connected. I have written many courses and wanted to write a book but never seemed to find time. With the help of America’s PremierExperts®, they made it happen and not in years but everything was done in just 12 months. I just wanted to say “Thanks”. I couldn’t have gotten this type of media coverage, book, and 
Nick, We were interviewed live today by Fox 40 
“Nick, the weekend in Hollywood was great… your program is terrific and I really appreciate the speakers you brought in.”
-Ben Glass
Nick Nanton’s Blog
Are You Using The Media? You Should Be.
Friday, June 11th, 2010
Did you know right now there are journalists sitting at their desks wondering what’s new that they can write about? It’s true. Having worked with a number of journalists over the years, I can’t tell you how many times I have been told that the information I just provided is exactly what they needed to meet a deadline. Journalists, like potential clients, are at the mercy of the information they find. When information comes to them, it makes their job easier. Easier job = happy journalist. So what does this mean to you? It means that if you are marketing and branding your company, you need to know what journalists are looking for and be ready to supply it. Maybe it’s information about a grand opening, ...read moreHow to Choose Your Avatar
Friday, April 16th, 2010
No, we are not talking about picking a movie time here, but if you saw the movie, then you know that an Avatar is a representation of yourself. Wiki says, “An avatar is a computer user's representation of himself/herself or alter ego, whether in the form of a three-dimensional model used in computer games, a two-dimensional icon (picture) or a one-dimensional username used on Internet forums and other communities... It is an object representing the user.” Now that we have that straight… Choosing the right avatar to represent your personal brand is just as important as selecting a logo for your company. Perhaps more important in the world of social media because that is what people see every time they correspond with you on Twitter, ...read morePut Your Best Image Forward
Monday, March 29th, 2010
One of the most important personal branding tools is a professional photo. Please note that I said professional photo; the image you use for your personal brand should be taken by a professional to ensure that you are portraying the right image. There are photographic styles for every image, but a quick snapshot taken by your friend with poor lighting, a busy background and other people in the image is probably not the best image for your brand. A friend in the publishing industry tells the story of a famous actor – I dare not name – who was to appear in a magazine. When a request was made for the actor’s photo, he sent a picture of himself at what appeared to be a ...read moreYour Direct-Mail Campaign is Only as Good as Your List
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
We talk a lot about technology because it's new and sexy, but sometimes it's important to refocus on the basics. The basics may not be as sexy, but they have built great businesses for years and are still working for branding and marketing in the new economy. Even in our highly digital world, branding consultants will tell you that the direct-mail campaign is still one of the most important tools in a branding agency’s bag. But even if you plan the best campaign, if your campaign doesn’t reach your intended recipients, you might as well throw your cash out the window. When your mail piece arrives at the post office, it is feed into a machine to read the address and give it a barcode for ...read moreWhat Lance Is Doing That You Aren’t.
Monday, March 8th, 2010
When Lance was the only one in his office who was single, his “friends” got together and decided to help him out. So they put up this billboard.
Oh yeah and they made him his very own website as well:
www.datelance.com/
While this is a pretty funny prank that ever so timely in the month of February, what I want to call your attention to is how clear the message is here: Lance is looking for someone to date (or at least his friends are looking for someone for him to date!).
And while some might argue that he must have a strong desire to be miserable (that was a joke), lets assume that he’s looking for ...read more
An Audience of One
Thursday, February 18th, 2010
What is that one mistake that people, usually unknowingly, make when it comes to marketing themselves? Press play below to find out! I was talking to a client the other day and I realized something that I wanted to share with you. It’s the concept of the Audience of One. As most of you know, my background is in the music business, and in the music business, everyone wants what? A record deal! In the business world, I found that everyone wants a book publishing deal and seemingly everyone in the world wants a reality television show deal. Why is that? Well, when I really break it ...read moreDo You Exist on “the 2010 Web?” Watch this to find out!
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
As we wrap up 2009, I thought I would give you my predictions for 2010 and give you a heads up about something you may never have thought about that could be severely affecting the growth of your business. It's a big problem, with a simple solution. To learn the solution, watch this 2 minute video I prepared for you: As always, I'm here to help and I wish you a very safe and prosperous New Year. ~ Nick read moreHave you met the 3 foot giant?
Monday, November 9th, 2009
I don't often post entries that aren't about some sort of way to grow your business directly, but every now and then, something comes along that is simply worth sharing. First, let me pose a question to you: Would you trade places with a 3 foot man in a wheelchair? Before you say "NO WAY!"you need to watch this video from a friend of mine, Sean Stephenson (it's only about 3 minutes and TRUST ME, it's worth watching): Seriously, just watching this 3 minute video of Sean, ...read moreADWEEK: Business Leaders Most Persuasive Celebrity Endorsers
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
I just got this from Michael Fishman at Juniper Pond Media: It's an article written by AdWeek that shows that Business Leaders are the "Most Persuasive" Celebrity Endorsers of products in ads. Business Leaders Ranked Highest with 37% of the "Most Persuasive" vote, followed by athletes (21 percent), TV/movie stars (18 percent), singers/musicians (14 percent) and former political figures (10 percent). Read the entire article here: http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/data-center/research/e3i26911e62ce1ee0f7592607732d0b6d57 So, that leads me to the question, what are you doing to become the business celebrity that endorses your own products or services?! If nothing, you need to start seriously considering it. read moreRichard Branson, Lindsay Lohan, Jay Abraham and the New Rule of Engagement
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
I just got back from an amazing week of building relationships. It started in Los Angeles Monday night when I attended Richard BransonDirect to Fan: Creating an Effective Offer Page and Fan Acquisition Techniques by Mike King
Saturday, September 12th, 2009
Although this is an article for fledgling bands, don't fool yourself. It's a great article that you can take some real cues from to help you market better using social media combined with solid marketing principles. Thanks to @collinsmatt for sending it my way! Here's the link: http://blog.tunecore.com/2009/09/direct-to-fan.html read moreBecome a Journalist, Quickly and Easily with YouTube
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
I was reading through a Mashable post today, as I usually do-- and by the way if you don't read their stuff, you should be! It's the best stuff out on the web on social media trends and tips. In any event, today they had a post titled "The Journalist's Guide to YouTube" that had some great tips in it, but the one that really caught my eye was the last one was a section titled "How Journalists Can Use YouTube" that discussed a really cool way for people all over the world to broadcast local news, and a link to educational content that will teach you how to do it well. They mentioned that one of the toughest things for ...read moreGreat Video Tool
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
If you're looking for something a little different for your website, whether it be for marketing or for pleasure, you've got to check out Animoto It turns your photos and videos into movie preview style videos. They look better than just about anything else I've seen. Enjoy! read moreGreat Video Tool
Thursday, August 27th, 2009
If you're looking for something a little different for your website, whether it be for marketing or for pleasure, you've got to check out Animoto It turns your photos and videos into movie preview style videos. They look better than just about anything else I've seen. Enjoy! read moreThink Social Media is a fad?
Monday, August 24th, 2009
Think again. I found this great video that gives you some hard facts. Check it out and let me know what you think. read moreYOU Are the One Responsible for the Economic Recovery
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
I just got back from New York City, where our first group of America’s PremierExperts® launched their book in Times Square! Thanks to your support we hit the best-seller list! We also had some great training sessions including a spectacular 3 hour social media marathon session with Peter Shankman from HelpAReporterOut.com on how he grew his following with social media from 0 to over 100,000 and built a million dollar business in a little over a year. Our final adventure was on a private yacht (the same one they used on the show The Apprentice!) out to the Statue of Liberty to celebrate our Entrepreneurial Freedom. (here is a link to a pic I took of the Statue of Liberty: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=59418242&id=2008767#/photo.php?pid=7973266&id=507820116...read moreI’m a ________ (Insert Your Career Here), Not a Celebrity…or am I?! (Part Deux)
Friday, August 7th, 2009
In my previous post, I discussed 3 strategies for becoming a Celebrity in your market niche to lock out your competition and increase your profits. Those strategies were: 1. Websites 2. Blogs 3. Articles If you haven’t read that post yet, you can read it by clicking here Now we’ll get to the other 2 that I promised you. Let’s get started: 4. Press Releases This is an easy concept, but most people miss it. So, you may want to read this part twice. People do not know what you are doing unless you tell them. It’s as simple as that. Did you land a big settlement? Did your practice just celebrate its 20th anniversary? Are you under new management? Are you opening a new location? Are you involved in a charitable cause? These are ...read moreI’m a ________ (Insert Your Career Here), Not a Celebrity…or am I?!
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
When people I meet first learn that I Coach on the topic of Celebrity Branding®, many of them shut down almost instantly. It’s funny, because if there were one subject most American’s are obsessed with, if they would admit it (yes guys, you too!), it’s Celebrities. But I’m actually not talking about Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Oprah or Dr. Phil, I coach entrepreneurs, CEOs, professionals and many others how to charge more for the same services they are offering now, create recurring revenue streams in their businesses and lock out their competitors in their field of expertise. How, you ask? Using the power of Celebrity Branding®! Interested now?! Celebrity Branding® is a series of strategies used to get a specific market, those who ...read moreSales PREVENTION Skills
Thursday, May 28th, 2009
This morning I went to breakfast with my dad for his birthday. So first of all, happy birthday Dad! But, afterword I was inspired to record a video, you can view it below, or keep reading to see what I talked about. But, our waitress was so unfriendly that I almost didn’t want to buy breakfast, and I was hungry! But our experience reminded me of a couple things that happened recently that I like to call “sales prevention.” And I do think some of the activity in this “new department” is responsible for the slump in many people’s businesses. The other day I was placing an order for some ...read moreCheck out IncSpring.com
Friday, May 15th, 2009
It's a very cool website that allows you to pick up great brand concepts and designs-- sometimes even with domains! They'll even sell you an entire business concept! Here is a quick video I filmed about it, check it out: http://tinyurl.com/qtnznp read moreTHINGS YOU NEED TO SEE: Cool Gadget for Web Videos
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
A friend of mine, Brook Pifer of www.Brook-Pifer.com, just sent me an Xshot Camera Extender today. If you are doing any flip videos or anything else where you need to video or photograph yourself, this is the best solution out there, it makes life so much easier! UPDATE: Now, FOR THE RECORD, I'm NOT suggesting that you need to use this thing in public, although the two friendly girls in the marketing image suggest that may be a great idea. LOL I'm suggesting that anywhere your comfort zone might let you use it (for me, that would be in my office), that it's an easy way to get a good image of yourself. It's never better than say...someone else you ...read moreTexas and Australia Collide!!…???
Friday, March 27th, 2009
It's hard to believe that 1 week ago last night, Thursday night, I was in Austin at South By Southwest (SXSW), the biggest music festival in the U.S., rocking out to one of the bands I represent, "A Day to Remember." These guys have been tearing it up recently. Their most recent release hit #21 on Billboard's Top 200 records in February of this year. You can check out some video of them on youtube, there's lots of them out there! Be forewarned, they rock pretty hard and heavy :). But the story I'm going to tell you about actually happened exactly a week ago, on Friday morning, at one of the biggest brunches you can be invited to, the BMI SXSW ...read moreAll You Need in a Video (Part II)
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
In my previous post "All You Need in a Video" I talked about the fact that a heartfelt video that connects with your prospects and clients, regardless of production value, is all you need in order to connect with your audience. Well, here is an example of me taking my own advice (notice that the birds weren't added sound effects! they were just part of the background, and I was still able to get my message across!) Here is a link to the video: http://www.celebritybrandingyou.com/cby-video/ read moreCelebrity Branding You™ – Isn’t He Just Talking About Personality Driven Marketing?
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
I was being interviewed on Inc. 500 CEO, Chris Hurn's Small Business Success Strategies series, last week and he asked a question that I answer all too frequently in person, but I'm sure many of you have never heard my answer. What he essentially asked me is, “How is Celebrity Branding® different from personality branding, and the long-standing concept of a personality driven business?” While I can't summarize everything that Celebrity Branding® includes in one short article, let me tell you one of the main differences. The main difference is in the magnitude of focus and commitment you give to your positioning. You can have personality in any brand. But Celebrity Branding® is taking your personality and making you the focus, not the back-story ...read moreSomewhat like on American Idol, “I’m going to Hollywood!”
Friday, February 6th, 2009
I'm heading out to the GRAMMY's with my wife and my business partners tomorrow. We're really looking forward to it and we're actually staying right across from the Kodak Theater where they film the Idol finals. We even got invited to Ne-Yo's after-party. We'll let you know how that goes... Anyhow, as I was packing, I was reminded of the last time I flew on a plane, a few weeks ago when I was coming back from France. I had so much time on the plane I actually ran out of things to do, watch, read etc, so I resorted to the airline's shopping catalogue...in german. I saw an image very similar to this one:
Now I can ...read more
ALL YOU NEED in a video!
Monday, January 19th, 2009
I wanted to show you a video from none other than LeAnn Rimes. I went to her website because I'm actually going to be in Nashville on Thursday where she'll be hosting the finals of the Colgate Country Showdown on TV and one of our clients is in the Top 4 and is competing for the title. I'll let you know how it goes! But, in any event, check out the video she has up on her site: http://www.leannrimesworld.com/splash/splash_wicc.php It's to promote her song, "What I cannot Change." What I want you to notice is that even big stars don't always spend lots of money and time to get a great quality video up online. Many of us hide behind the fact that we ...read moreIt All Comes Down to This…
Saturday, January 17th, 2009
I’m writing this at 5:50am at the Nashville airport, getting ready to hop a plane back to Orlando. I arrived yesterday afternoon to watch our client Johnny Bulford www.johnnybulford.com compete in the finals of the Colgate Country Showdown. It’s kind of like American Idol but it’s only for country music and it’s been going on a lot longer! It’s in its 27th year! Artists like Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, Leann Rymes, Billy Ray Cyrus and many others got their career starts in the Showdown. There were thousands of local and regional contests that all culminated in the final that was hosted last night, by Leann Rymes, with the top 5 winners from the final 5 regions. Johnny was the ...read moreBuilding a Business on the Back of your Blockbuster
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
In the past several months I have been traveling the country and meeting with many highly successful business owners and entrepreneurs, including several "household names" that you would certainly recognize if I mentioned their names...but that's not the point of this blog. The point is that I'm going to teach you how to avoid making the big mistake that most people make at the height of their success. These celebrities, at one time or another, had millions of dollars media (radio, television, internet and newspaper), F-R-E-E media, talking about them and giving them publicity because what they had to offer, whether it was simply an entertaining personality, answers to a burning question the fans wanted to know, or the answer to a common problem the ...read moreDo your clients think you would wash their kids in your kitchen sink?
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
What do all of these images have in common? Keep reading and I’ll tell you!
As I was driving into my neighborhood a couple of weeks ago (before I moved into our new house, which is tiring to even think about, and why I didn’t get a chance to send you this sooner!) I saw a sign taped to a stop sign that read:
College Babysitter
555-555-1212*
*(actual number withheld to spare the poor kid)
Now, it doesn’t take more than about 4 seconds to find your own punchline, but if you’re like me, the first thing your mind conjures up, is probably something like one of the above pictures, or this:
No one gave this “well-educated” college kid the first lesson in marketing! You’ve got ...read more
Meeting With George Ross
Thursday, July 24th, 2008
I am writing this blog on my flight back from New York City after some great meetings. I flew up yesterday to speak at the New York/Northern New Jersey chapter of Glazer-Kennedy Insider’s Circle on my book tour to promote Jack and my new book, Celebrity Branding You. You can check out some pictures here: http://tinyurl.com/6kvog9 When I finalized my trip to New York, I decided to take up George Ross, Donald Trump’s Lawyer and Chief Negotiator as well as his board room co-star on The Apprentice, on his offer to visit him at his office next time I was in the city. So I emailed George and we set up a time to visit yesterday morning. You can see ...read moreA Funeral Home that has Members and the Secret to Moderate Success
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
As I write this blog post I’m sitting in the exit row on an airplane coming back from my second trip to Baltimore this month (I also had to go to Cleveland for 2 days which was even more interesting!). The guy sitting next to me was looking for some calculus homework help…fate obviously placed him in the wrong seat! I could have spent the entire duration of the flight convincing him to throw in the towel and take up something useful, but hey, I can’t save everyone. Oh well… I can assure you the marketing conferences and meetings I have been attending have been well worth the trips or you would never get me to leave my wife and 2 sons to go to any such place! And yes, for ...read moreAre you relevant?
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
I hope my subject line didn't make your heart skip a beat because you thought I was being rude, but my point is that this should be the exact question you ask yourself when trying to communicate with your "audience" of prospects and customers. If you can stay relevant, and integrate current events, pop culture and news items that your prospects and customers are paying attention to into your marketing, your message will be much better received and it will be more likely that your audience will act on your message. If you have been reading my posts and articles for the past few months, you'll notice that I have posted several times about American Idol. It’s currently the biggest show on TV, and I have ...read moreAmerican Idol 2008 Picks
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
Back on March 17th, on my Business Blog, I posted the following post: http://www.dicksnantonagency.com/blog/the-idol-factor.php When there were 10 left, I made my top 5 picks for American Idol. Interestingly enough I got the top 2 right and Brooke White did make the top 5. 3 out of 5 isn't bad odds for the music biz! I think David Archuletta will win, however, when he puts out his first record, if he tries to go too pop I believe he will be eaten alive. I believe he will do best in the A/C market with Josh Groban and Michael Buble. We'll have to wait and see. I do feel that David Cook will sell way more records, and that he's a more mainstream artist, but I don't think ...read moreThe Power of Connecting
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
During this time of constant media coverage of the impending Presidential election, I am constantly reminded of the words of Dr. Frank Luntz, world-renowned professor, political consultant, and author of the book Words that Work. In the book, Dr. Luntz discusses the “Beer Factor.” He says that, although many factors weigh into electing a President, one of the most important things a candidate can do to create a loyal following is to sit down and have a beer with potential voters. Bill Clinton was wildly successful due to his charisma and an overwhelming majority of people found him interesting whether or not they agreed with his past. Thus, he passed the Beer Factor test. The underlying principle here is that he had the ability ...read moreStart the Conversation
Monday, April 21st, 2008
It always amuses me when I go to a group meeting of some kind (like the last one I attended in Nashville - The GKIC SuperConference - in early April) and people walk up to me out of the blue and say things like "Hey Nick, how are you? Are the kids doing well? How have things been since that record deal you just negotiated? Is the band doing well?" This may sound like idle chatter, but what makes this exchange so fascinating is that often I have never spoken a word to this person in my life. Seriously. What I have done is started a conversation with them through blogs, articles, press releases ...read moreEvent Update: Songwriters and Sales Letters 2008
Monday, April 14th, 2008
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Songwriters & Sales Letters 2008, originally uploaded by ndnproductions.
We held a client appreciation party called Songwriters and Sales Letters at this year’s Glazer Kennedy Insider’s Circle™ SuperConference in Nashville, TN (April 3-6, 2008) along with Chris Hurn of Mercantile Commercial Capital (2007 Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies).
Our friends and clients got the extremely rare opportunity to hear four of the greatest songwriters of all time play their hits. These songwriters don't go out into public often but, due to ...read more
Why YOU Are Such an Important Part of Celebrity Branding®
Friday, March 28th, 2008
I spoke at the University of Florida’s Music Law Conference just a few weeks ago and the topic of discussion that surfaced (as it always does) was, “Where music is headed and is there a solution to stop piracy and free digital downloading?” When I gave my answer, there was a puzzled look on many faces, not because it was a profound answer, but more likely because it was an “I knew that!” kind of answer. The computer has made many things possible and many common tasks easier. But every sword cuts both ways, and the fact that digital data can be perfectly duplicated has wreaked havoc on many industries. Even though many industries have felt the effects of this phenomenon, one of ...read moreThe Idol Factor
Monday, March 17th, 2008
About 30 million viewers tune in to watch American Idol each week. With significant interest and business in the music industry (and for a touch of guilty pleasure) I tune in each week and play "Armchair Record Exec" along with my wife, Kristina. I have even taken a stab at playing some "Fantasy Idol" and picking the winners. I had a good run at it last year but alas Sanjaya Malakar staying on the show led to my demise because I continued to pick him to get the axe each week, but much to my disgust (and my Fantasy Idol ranking) he stayed much longer than any of us expected! But I digress... The interesting thing about American Idol is, if you watch from ...read moreThe Secret Summit of Million Dollar Marketers
Monday, February 18th, 2008
I just returned from a meeting that you probably had no idea existed. I had heard rumors of this meeting taking place in the past, but this time I too got the call to attend. The meeting took place in a midwestern town that was practically in the middle of nowhere. I assume this is because it was very inconspicuous and no one there would recognize the celebrities who were present, 20 of the best marketers in the world to be exact. I don’t know for sure how many total there were, but I do know there were at least 3 private jets at the airport from the members of this group. All that to tell you that this was not a vacation ...read moreWhat’s old is new again!
Monday, February 18th, 2008
Continuing on the theme of one of the articles in the Dicks & Nanton Business Growth Report (if you aren’t getting it…you should be! So shoot us an email to let us know!) I wanted to take a minute to look at how “cyclical” opportunities can create astronomical revenue for your business. Let’s look at an example. It seems if you slap the word “organic” on any product these days you won’t be able to keep it in stock (and you’ll be able to charge about 10 times the price for it!). You can look at many industries from food to cosmetics and you’ll see that if organic products aren’t already the fastest growing sector, then they will be very soon. What is ...read moreProduct Placement and the Football Playoffs
Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
Thanks to ad-eliminating “Tivo” and other fast forwarding DVR’s, expensive television ads are hurting and returns on investment are falling. To counter attack the loss, advertisers and the people that sell to them are creating new and different ways of placing your product directly in the main event. This is referred to as “product placement.” This weekend while both working and watching the football playoff games I had turned my attention to the post-game show. “What to my eyes did appear” but Jared …the spokesperson for Subway, giving live advice to all of the sports announcers about which one of the subway sandwiches sitting on the table would be the best for them to feast on. Yes, Jared was wearing his Colts game ...read moreThe conclusion to my story…
Monday, November 12th, 2007
Last time we discussed how I was speaking with a sales person on the phone and right as I was warming up to her and asking her to tell me a little bit more about her services and fees, she “flipped the switch” and became a sales drone losing all hope of connecting with me and making the sale. If you didn’t get a chance to read that, you can click here to read it. Now for the solution: What should she have done? She should have told me “the story.” She should have taken the time to understand what I was trying to accomplish and then proceeded to paint me a picture about how much better my business would be 1, ...read moreA Sales Story…with a Sad Ending
Friday, October 19th, 2007
I took a call this morning that I was actually rather excited to take. We are marketing some medical products for a client of ours who is a physician and I got an interesting inquiry about marketing through an online community of physicians. This could be a great supplement to the other forms of marketing we are doing. So I took the call and a pleasant sales woman and I began to discuss how she could help us market our producs. From the moment I asked her about the different “packages” she turned into a sales drone. I ...read moreRadiohead, The 4-Hour Work Week and the Importance of Raving Fans – From Copyblogger
Friday, October 19th, 2007
Copyblogger continues to put out great content on a daily basis. this post really caught my attention because those of you who speak with me regularly know that I always encourage my clients to think about music and business in a congruent fashion because the music business is no different than any other business at its core. It also has some great commentary about why an indie act would even want to consider getting a record deal...or not. Check out this post for a great perspective and some advice you can actually use: www.copyblogger.com/radiohead-the-4-hour-work-week/ read moreHow to Attract More RSS Subscribers – For Real (from Daily Blog Tips)
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007
This is a great article about how to attract more RSS Subscribers. You can read it by clicking on the link below: Daily Blog Tips For those of you who don’t know what RSS is, here’s a link to “Feed 101” from Feedburner, the best in the biz! Feed 101 read moreREVEALED: The 1 Trick That Will Let You Fire Your Marketing Agency and Keep More Money for Yourself
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
Jack, my law partner, and I have had this ongoing dialogue for the past year or so about which word is better: 1. Attorney 2. Lawyer What we do know is that lawyers prefer the “high-brow” word Attorney and so many of them use it in their marketing too. In their opinion, it increases the perceived value of their services. What we didn’t know is whether the general public felt the same way or not. We both had a hunch that the word lawyer was more commonplace, and therefore a better keyword for us to use in our online marketing and pay-per-click campaigns. Now, one year later, WE KNOW ...read moreBig Profits From Little Changes
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
Periodically we always take a fresh look at our product lines and those of our clients to see if any can be slightly altered to its advantage. Use a list like this, of eight ideas, just to run through quickly in your mind. One big change a year can make a huge difference in your bottom line and sometimes without adding very much in additional overhead. Those changes are Power Changes because they make such a big addition to your income stream. #1) Can you “plus” a product, service or business you have? "Plussing" is adding something to a current product you currently have, to create something else. Look at the beverage industry and all of the flavors of Coke that have come out ...read moreGetting Clients Online – “Show and Tell”
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007
One of the biggest fears for most people who are thinking about doing business with you online is that they don’t know you personally, and want to make sure you aren’t trying to scam them. The best way to remove this fear from site visitors is to literally take it back to elementary basics “show & tell.” By this I mean you should both show and tell visitors who you are. Tell them about your company: a. when it was founded b. where you are located c. who the principals are d. who the core management team is e. who some of your customers are f. what you do Show ...read moreIs Your Business Extraordinary?
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
It drives me nuts when I go into a business and I have a chance to look around for more than 5 minutes without someone noticing me or asking how they can help. I usually laugh, leave and chalk it up to stupidity. But you know what drives me REALLY nuts?! When a business serves me, but they do it just like everyone else. When you go to the store and buy something, what happens next? I’ll tell you. 99% of the time the answer is NOTHING. You can buy a television, groceries, a car, or anything else you so desire and 99% of the time they let you walk out without thinking twice and if you’re lucky you may get a half hearted “thank you ...read moreRiches In Niches
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
While we are all inclined to say that “our business can help anyone” is that really the smartest path for your business? Lets look at a simple commonplace example. If you are having knee problems, do you go to a family practice doctor, or do you go to an orthopedic specialist? Well, I go to the orthopedic specialist and I would guess most of the rest of America does too. And you (or your insurance company) usually pays more for a visit to the specialist. This is just one example of many that I could discuss, but you get the point. You see, we’ve been taught in today’s society to go see experts. And we’ve also been preconditioned to pay these experts more for their services. This ...read more
