Welcome to my new blog. I am thrilled to be member of the Duct Tape Marketing Team and I hope to bring you useful tips, and strategic insights that help you market more effectively to reach your goals.
You might be wondering why I called this blog by such a long name, "Dan Janal's PR LEADS Blog," and I'll explain why and show how you can benefit from this example.
First, my name, Dan Janal. In this age of mass customization, it is important to be known. Your name is your biggest asset. My market is speakers, authors, experts and solopreneurs, so I'm not into three-letter acronyms like IBM, NCR or ABC. People want to know who they are dealing with. Tell them!
The second reason I use my name is that while I have a long history in online marketing and public relations -- I was on the PR team that launched America Online eons ago and I wrote one of the first books about marketing on the Internet back in 1996 when it was just me and Al Gore on the Internet. I've taught Internet Marketing classes at Berkeley and Stanford, and have spoken at Internet conferences in Beijing, Budapest, Brazil and all over the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
However, I haven't paid as much attention to promoting my name, and I'm sorry to say that people started to forget who I was. I've been building PR LEADS into the best way for experts to get publicity -- but I wasn't getting publicity for myself.
Lesson 1: Brand yourself.
The second part of the title is "PR LEADS." There's a double meaning here.
Yes, it is the name of my core business, so a little promotion never hurts. But the real reason has to do with strategic marketing. In the time line of a marketing campaign, PR LEADS and advertising follows. That is, spend your seed money and personal effort first on publicity to build awareness. Then spend the massive dollars on advertising and/or direct mail so people know who you are and what your product is when they see the ad as a reminder and a call to action. Remember, PR LEADS.
In his seminar book on marketing, Professor Phillip Kotler defines marketing as "the process of making sales easier." I agree completely. By creating a service that delivers on its promise, your customers will tell their colleagues and friends to visit your site and do business with you. I've never made a cold call in my life and my business is well into the six figures within 15 months of startup.
Lesson 2: PR is part of the marketing process. It is not a stand alone mission.
Finally, the word "blog" is part of the title." That's to separate it from my site, or other services. As you begin to create your empire, you will find that you will create additional products or services. You'll need to name those products and extend your brand. You'll want to avoid confusion. So I added the word "blog" so people didn't think this was the extent of my services, but would realize it was one more offering that carries the implied credibility my brand offers.
Lesson 3: Pick names and titles that build on your brand so your customers realize what they are getting.
Today's takeaway: When you create your business -- or expand -- keep in mind these important rules for marketing so you can grow an empire!
Grats Dan, looks great!
Posted by: Jim Kukral | June 01, 2005 at 10:02 AM