Proper use of Fonts lends to credibility
Posted by Steve in Miscellaneous on January 19, 2010
Credibility from the beginning saves a lot of agravation and starts you off on the right foot with new customers and investors. Credibility is generated not just by your presence but also the look and feel of your marketing materials (i.e. website). According to Seth Godin in his latest article, Type tells a Story, people judge you based on the type of font you use in your marketing materials.? Before they even read it, if it looks bad, they will form the wrong opinion.
It is absolutely true.
You have seen those cheesy fliers: multiple fonts, different designs, gaudy colors. Looks like a third grader did it except most third graders probably know better. How about those awful websites: fifty different fonts, funky colors, etc.
Several years ago, I read a book on selecting fonts for marketing materials. I remember a few basic rules and its great to remember them.
First a bit of nomenclature. Serif fonts are those fonts that have the horizontal marks hanging off each letter. The New York Times uses this font. The little horizontal marks help you read across a page.
San Serif fonts are without those little horizontal marks. Arial font is like that.
- On any piece of marketing do not use more than four types of fonts.
- Of those four, only one font can be a graphic or picture type font. This includes fancy design fonts, cursive fonts, or anything that is not a regular serif or san serif font.
- Of the remaining three fonts, they can be two serif and one san serif or two san serif and one serif. Do not make three fonts all serif or all san serif if you can avoid it.
That is it: three basic rules to avoid cheesy use of fonts and make you more credible. Remember, credibility is key when communicating your marketing.
When customers know the how and not the what
When designing a new product you should listen to your customers.? This is the common wisdom today which I agree with 100%. The challenge is that when you question your customers about a potential new product you run into a couple of different situations that can make the listening experience painful:
- The customer cannot articulate the problem but says there is a problem.
- The customer tells you how to improve or how to solve the problem but they never tell you what the problem is.
Before I tackle this issue I think about why the customer hired me. Usually it falls into one of these three categories:
- They do not know how to solve the problem.
- They do know how, but you do it better.
- They do know how, but they have more pressing issues and need you to do it for them.
If the customer cannot articulate the problem I question them about time, cost, return of value, and is it meeting their goals. Usually it is one of those four.? If not, I ask them why they think it is a problem. The dialogue starts opening up the possibilities and when you understand the root cause, then you can identify goals that can be addressed with the development process.
If the customer is busy telling you how the problem can be solved then the best approach is to just let them get that off their mind. Take copious notes. If the customer is really knowledgable they may be making your job very easy and they just need your expertise in executing successfully.
Otherwise you may have to go back and explore the basic problem itself. Sometimes the customer knows how to solve the problem, but does not really know what the problem is. In other words, they want in an improvement. Often this is because someone else told them they needed an improvement but once again, they could not offer any ideas.
That is your job to get this out of them.? Realizing that, you can question the customer and get their input on the situation. This may lead to the solution. Otherwise, you might have to question other stakeholders (usually you do anyway), and this in turn will lead to the solution.
Recognizing these challenges is key to successfully designing a product with customer input.? All entrepreneurs go through multiple iterations of designing and redesigning their products and services. The problem entrepreneurs face is that customers often feel this is the best opportunity to dictate the solution which often leads to a lot of How without understanding the What. To overcome these challenges, do deep dive questions. Explore the problem itself, and get the input of the customer. With this input, you can design a better product that will appeal to more than just that one customer.
Managing the Large Client List
100 clients is a lot to manage. If you worked only 40 hours per week, you could only spend 20 hours a year with each client (if you spread it out evenly). That is a bit better than 1 1/2 hours per month. That assumes you spend every moment with the client. This does not include all the other things you have to do in your job. Say you are very efficient and can spend 6 hours each day with clients. The other time is spent getting to the client, running your business/job, and dealing with everything else in support of those clients.
Now, you only have 15 hours per year for each client. That is just under two business days. You are not going to be able to do much for each client.
The answer is simple: get less clients or hire another person to split up the load. Or is it that simple? You do not want less clients, because that means less business. You cannot feasibly hire another person, because that is a huge cost.
Reality check: You have 100 clients to manage. They each would benefit from regular phone calls, visits, coaching, etc to grow their business on you. How do you manage them?
The answer is in prioritization. Identify the key metrics you need. In most businesses this is revenue. Most businesses have a metric to grow the revenue from level A to level B. In reality you really have three metrics: the level of revenue, the rate of change of revenue, and the greatest opportunity for change.
The level of revenue is important because clients typically follow the 80-20 rule. Those 20% of clients represent 80% of your business. There are a lot of reasons why this happens, but that is not for this discussion. It just does. Not only do these clients represent the bulk of your revenue, but any changes to them represent the bulk of the changes to your total revenue. Lose one of these, and a lot more of the others have to grow to make up your numbers. Therefore, the answer is to rank them in order of biggest revenue to lowest revenue. Those with the biggest revenue are at the top of the list. Identify the top 20% and put them on your list of regularly contacted customers. If you are new to the assignment, you contact them first.
The growth rate is actually more important when you consider that most businesses want to continue to grow. However, an interesting thing happens to many businesses when they reach a certain point. They stop growing. They might maintain their level of business: gaining customers as fast as they lose them; but they do not grow. You might find that a lot of your top clients fall into this range. Those top clients will maintain your level of revenue, but when you are given growth goals, where do you find them?
The answer is to try to rank your clients by growth over the previous year. You will probably find a big difference in the tables with that of your largest clients. Those at the top of this list, but at the middle or bottom of your total revenue list are those up-and-comers; those clients that are rising stars and will help you in the future. Identify the top group that represents either 80% of your total growth, or 100% of your targeted growth (whichever is more manageable).
Finally, there are always exceptions. You have a client that is very small with your company, but a large customer with a competitor. There may be an opportunity to take them away from that other company. You could have a small client that is made of people from another large company. They broke away to start their own business. They have contacts, knowledge (experience) and some cash. They just need time and some help and they will grow. This third list is hard to quantify and identify. The key thing is to go through every client in your list at least once and just understand a little history about them. What is their current situation and can you exploit it? Are there synergies with your previous two lists? If not, then add these clients as special projects. You evaluate them over time, and if they prove out, then you continue to follow them; otherwise you drop them and focus on your previous two lists.
In a nutshell you have three lists: biggest revenue, biggest growth, and biggest opportunities. These clients get most of your attention. Every now and then you evaluate the other clients to see if they fall into opportunity. Remember, they are already no in revenue or growth so they have to be opportunity.
Of course, every quarter you do a check to see if everyone stays in revenue and growth. Typically, you will not see much change over quarter by quarter, but year by year you might see some significant shifts. Since you are looking at which clients switch from low revenue to high revenue, or low growth to high growth, and only concerned with the crossover you will typically only see a small percentage of clients change in this list.
This way you can manage your priorities, maintain your revenue, and grow your company.
Stay ahead of the curve, Book discussion: “Crush It!” part 11
Posted by eviator in For Job Seekers on January 11, 2010
Nothing stays the same, everything changes. Everything I’ve been talking about, and will talk about in the future can and will change with time. The information in Crush It! is not absolute, it can change tomorrow or even later today. It’s up to you to stay ahead of the curve, and you need to always be willing to adapt, especially when something isn’t working. As a matter of fact, social networking and new media is a fantastic way to find out what people think of your brand.
In the past, it was very difficult for businesses (and individuals for that matter) to address criticism or feedback from the masses. With social media it’s easier than ever, and you need to take advantage of the opportunity. Look at what Dominoes Pizza is doing. It’s very impressive that they are willing to interact with their customers on a one on one basis. The new social media offers this opportunity, but far too few major companies are taking advantage of this. Think about how you can interact with individuals within your community?and you will always be ahead of the curve.
Notable quotes from the final?chapters:
- If you see falsehood, you can correct it. If you see praise, you can show appreciation. If you see confusion, you can inform.
- We’re all in the public eye now.
- Think through the consequences of every business decision you make before you actually make it.
- No matter how big you get, every email, every customer, every friend, every single person with whom you come into contact matters and deserves respect and attention.
This concludes the discussion of Crush It! It’s an excellent book and worth the read so check your local library or purchase using my shameless link.
How to monetize your personal brand, Book Outline “Crush It!” part 10
Posted by eviator in Miscellaneous on January 7, 2010
Advertisers are always looking for ways to effectively market their products, and you have been building an enthusiastic community around your specific subject. You’re practically doing them a favor! Most people immediately flock to Google AdSense, which displays targeted advertisements on your webpage, rss feed, etc. You can certainly make some money using this, but it really doesn’t pay very well, and it can make your website look cheap. I think we can all agree that making your website look like a NASCAR driver is probably not in the best interest of your online community, so moving on…
One of the methods Vaynerchuk suggests is placing classy banner ads on your site. See this link?for an example of how to do this. You can also try cold calling companies to see if they are interested in buying adspace on your website. Sounds ridiculous? It’s not. Go to and search for your subject. See which advertisers are using Google AdSense for ads to be posted on these websites, and take note. Call these guys up, and see if they will spend money with you. Think about it, they’re already paying for Google AdSense, so they believe in advertising online. By sponsoring your page directly they will not get lost in the clutter like they would with AdSense, and you won’t look like a NASCAR driver.
One note about advertising, you should only advertise companies and products that you yourself endorse. Don’t put something on your site that you don’t believe in.
Speaking engagements
Come up with an interesting topic, then call a show or conference organizer and offer to give a free talk about your topic. This will give you a chance to discuss something you love, build some credibility, and to do so in front of an interested audience. This could eventually lead to money: You could be paid next time you offer to speak, or even better, your discussion could lead to new clients or opportunities.
Affiliate programs
Affiliate programs allow you to get a commission on products sold through links on your website. For example, if you are interested in purchasing the book I’m discussing, click this link… Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion?and I’ll get a small cut. Cool, huh? One way to go about doing this is to simply do a google search for affiliate programs; there are tons of them out there. Vaynerchuk suggests Commission Junction and Amazon. Also, don’t overlook local businesses, there could be some good money and opportunities for you there as well.
As with advertising, remember that all of the products that you link to should be relevant to your subject / topics, and should be something that you yourself endorse.
Retail
Vaynerchuk suggests that you can create a product or a service that is related to your business. One site that I’ve seen do this effectively is Open Source Marketer, which is also an excellent resource for you evil marketers out there. You could also design T-shirts promoting your site. If your community is big enough this could be profitable in the short term, and more importantly it can help promote your website to the masses.
Articles
You are an expert in your chosen subject, right? You can contribute articles to online and print magazines, and even other blogs. You’ll see some of my posts re-posted on vcplan – The Path?to Success?(you may even be reading the re-post) which is an excellent resource for entrepreneurs looking for venture capital investment. I don’t get paid for this, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t. At the worst, at least you are getting your name out there in your community.
Seminars
If your subject lends itself to how-to type of stuff, then put together an event, conference, webinar, etc.
Books and TV
Your blog and community building efforts could lead to book or television deals. Hey, it worked for Vaynerchuk. I wouldn’t?be reading his book if it didn’t.
Consulting
As my boys at Marvel Comics say, ‘Nuff said.
Notable quotes from this chapter:
- Be patient. In time, if you continue to hustle, you’ll grow your presence and improve your skills to the point where the fish – really, really big fish – will be jumping straight into your hands.
- Anything is better than zero.
If you know of any other opportunities, or have any other links, post in the comments, or email me at edwardviator [at] evil-marketer [dot] com
Putting it all together, Book Outline “Crush It!” part 9
Posted by eviator in For Job Seekers, Miscellaneous on January 5, 2010
- Buy your domain name, preferably firstnamelastname.com When you sign up for Twitter, Facebook, etc, use this domain name (ex: )www.facebook.com/edward.viator
- Start a Wordpress or Tumblr account and host your domain on it.
- Hire a web designer to make sure your user interface is excellent. If you can’t afford one, get started anyway, but know that you should hire a designer in the future (as you can see, I can’t afford one yet).
- If you’re doing video, buy a $150 Flip camera.
- Create a Facebook fan page.
- Open a Twitter account with your domain name.
- If you’re doing video open a Tube Mogul account; if written word, sign up for Ping.fm.
- Create content and lots of it. Use personal anecdotes and let your personality shine.
- Tweet or post your content using Ping or Tube Mogul.
- Go to search.twitter and start searching for subjects relevant to your blog. Start following many of these.
- Go to blogsearch.google.com and search for blogs similar to yours. Comment and leave your name which should be linked to your webpage.
- Search Facebook for pages that relate to your topic. Join the active ones. Do the same for groups.
- Repeat 5, 8-12.
If you want to be successful, you’re going to need to focus on step 13. In other words, constantly create new content and reach out to the community online. If you’re going to need to focus on step 13. In other words, constantly create new content and reach out to the community online. If you’re content is great, you will get results eventually. Just remember, you should try to wait as long as possible to monetize your brand. Once you monetize, Vaynerchuk suggests that it is difficult to focus on content, so early on you should focus on building the community.
Notable quotes from this chapter:
- Don’t forget to include a list of all of your social network links on your e-mail signature, letterhead, and business cards.
- Make sure you have a big fat button on your site that says Want to Do Business with Me? or something along those lines.
Secret to successful negotiations
Why do some people succeed at negotiations when others do not?
The most likely cause is that neither side seriously considers what the other side wants.? Instead they only think about what they want. They may only think about the surface but they never dive deep.
The next time you are negotiating a deal, after you decide on your points, take out a separate sheet of paper.? Put yourself in the other side
The best marketing strategy ever, Book Outline “Crush It!” part 8
Posted by eviator in Miscellaneous on December 30, 2009
There are many profound statements in Gary Vaynerchuk’s book Crush It!, but one in particular had me jumping up and down like a maniac (okay, maybe I should lay off the Jack Daniel’s when I’m reading… nah). In his 9th chapter, The Best Marketing Strategy Ever, Vaynerchuk breaks it down for us in the most simple and direct way I’ve ever seen it explained. In his words… care.
That’s it! And you know what, he’s dead right. I’ve worked for many different companies (both as an employee and as a consultant), and this is the one ingredient I’ve seen missing all too often. Many times people care about the wrong things… short term sales, their own jobs, etc. As a marketer you should care about these things, especially about being profitable, but more importantly you should care about your product, your customers, your brand, your industry, and your fellow employees. Look at the most successful people in the world, from business people to pro athletes, and you’ll see this quality in every single one of them. They love what they do, strive to be the best, and do what they can to elevate their chosen cause. Why should it be any different for you? If you put 100% into what you do how can you possibly fail? This goes back to what I’ve been saying in previous posts. Be authentic. If you genuinely care and communicate in an authentic way, then you will have no problem monetizing your brand.
I’ve been involved with companies that only care about profits, and you know what? They don’t last too long. I’ve seen people go from caring about their industry and their customers to caring only about profits and losing jobs. It’s a deathstroke for business, and kills any kind of forward momentum. Why does this happen? Because people at the top level dictate the culture of a company, and when all they care about are the wrong things, guess what? It trickles down to everyone in the company. If you are a business owner, don’t let this happen. Set a good example and care about the right things.
So how does all this apply to building your personal brand? It goes back to everything we discussed before. If you are truly passionate about what you are doing, then it will come naturally. Just keep it in mind the next time you have a tough decision to make. In these trying economic times, it’s easy to get sidetracked into focusing only on profits. If you do a good job at building your brand, the money will come eventually, maybe even sooner than you think. If you communicate your passion in an authentic way, you will most definitely be on your way to building a strong brand with passionate customers.
What do you think? Comment below or email me at edwardviator [at] evil-marketer [dot] com
Distributed workers is a problem not an answer
Companies that have all their workers in one location have the primary advantage of being able to communicate in person faster with each other but the primary disadvantage of being too geographically confined in thought and not being able to meet broader world requirements. On the other hand companies that are too decentralized and distributed often fall prey to the problem of being unable to execute quickly within themselves for a variety of reasons.
In the last ten or twenty years there has been a big push for working from home. They point out the benefits of lower costs due to no office space, more productivity due to less time traveling between office and home, and happier workers. The advocates also point out those companies that are distributed that work well: companies with design centers in India, marketing in the US and production in China. They further point out that people in an office environment suffer too many distractions: too many emails, water cooler talk, physical interruptions, etc.
I think that a lot of these advocates have not really worked in both environments and do not understand how humans behave as social creatures. These companies that are distributed are distributed along lines of centers of excellence, factories, and other functional entities. Within those specific geographic locations an entire entity will exist that has common goals. When the job crosses boundaries, it is managed for that boundary crossing. Maybe it is at a higher level, has coordinators, or treated like internal customers with set expectations.
On Dec 28 I wrote about some MIT research that said that people with face-to-face networks were 30% more productive than those without. And those that were distributed that developed digital networks were only 7% more effective. This applies whether the people are working in a centralized office or are extremely distributed. Logic dictates though that those in a centralized office CAN develop those face-to-face networks a lot easier.
23% more effective.? Thats a lot of extra people. Or that is like having an extra day in the work week without you having to do any work.
All the problems that distributed advocates state about centralized companies can be solved except one: the ability to work in from home. Short of everyone moving in together this is not going to be solved. But I do not think that is a problem. My friends and colleagues that work from home say they actually have to work more hours to get things done. Why? Because everyone is so distributed they have to spend more time corralling everyone together. Too many formal meetings have to be set up that take too long.
Sales people have to be distributed to effectively serve clients and develop the face-to-face relationship with the client. Wait a minute. The advocates point out that sales people are distributed and they work well. True, but they are distributed so that they can physically meet with clients and form the face-to-face relationship.? A face-to-face IS needed, but the one with the client is more important for this job function. This never seems to be mentioned.
In the end, you have to put the priority on productivity and effectiveness. Face-to-face seems to be winning over distributed. However, the demands of face-to-face need to be addressed. It becomes a bigger challenge when you are dealing with a start-up which may not be able to afford an office or to have everyone in the same location.
Maybe we should spend some time discussing that in the future because now we are addressing how a startup can execute successfully?
Creating a community, Book Outline “Crush It!” part 7
Posted by eviator in For Job Seekers, Miscellaneous on December 29, 2009
We’ve talked about why you should build your brand, about creating content, and some of the different platforms you can use to promote your brand. However, the majority of your effort online will be about building a community around your brand. Creating content may seem difficult if you’ve?never done it before, but if you’ve picked your topic successfully, it’s the easiest part of the entire venture. The most difficult aspect of building your brand online is creating an active community. In his seventh and eighth chapters, respectively titled Keep it real… Very real and Create community: Digging your internet trench, Vaynerchuk discusses how to go about building your online community.
In my opinion, alot of marketing I see is very phoney. I think that people today are more media savvy than ever before, and they are also aware of how fake marketing efforts by major brands has become. We live in an age where prepared PR statements are a way of life (see my blog for a list of some of my favorites). I’m not fooled by them, and I don’t think anyone else is either. People value authenticity. It’s why?we go online and seek out consumer opinions. By building a community around your brand (personal and as a business), you won’t have to sound your own horn, your community will do that for you.
So how can you build this magical community? Through alot of hard work and time. The basic idea is that you should create your content and distribute it (see previous post for details), then start looking at and commenting on other people’s content. You should make the most of every interaction, stay on topic, and be yourself. Resist the urge to post things for the sake of posting them, and instead only post when you have something of value to share. You should follow people on Twitter, or sign up for some pages on Facebook. Basically, you need to get involved. You can’t just post content and hope that people show up.
When people visit your site, they will be hooked on your outstanding content (you do have outstanding content right?). You also need to make the most out of those call to action buttons (subscribe, follow-me, share, etc).
Next we will discuss the best marketing strategy ever, and you won’t want to miss it.
Notable quotes from these chapters:
- Being authentic and being perceived as such by your audience relies on your ability to ensure that every decision you make when it comes to your business is rooted in being true to yourself.
- Creating community is about starting conversations.