Intrepid LLC

cartoon by @gapingvoid

In my examination of what makes for intrepid marketers, it is clear to me that they are simply master storytellers. They can take complex issues, and make them simple. They can take ordinary people, and make them legends. They can take boring things, and make them scintillating.

In other words, they are master storytellers. They talk about things that matter. They keep you riveted. They make you believe. They are master marketers. They are intrepid marketers.

There are many tools at their disposal. But what most intrepid marketers utilize in their quest to do something remarkable, is a blog. It is amazing to me how many individuals and small business people still do not blog. But the list of people who are achieving big things and living big dreams because of their blog is a steadily growing list.

But just why is that happening to that select and intrepid group? Here are a few reasons…

The free form of a blog is liberating, and conducive to storytelling. There are relatively few constraints on a blog, and spirited, creative thinkers thrive in this medium.

But ordinary people can make something happen too. I mean, look at me for chrissakes…

Blogs facilitate conversation. And as any intrepid marketer knows, this is what the new marketing is all about.

Blogs don’t care if some new idea you are trying out tanks, big time. You can always write new content the next day.

Blogs demand that you be different, edgy, living on the edge, pushing the envelope. That nice tri-fold brochure you have? That is so yesterday…

Blogs just seem to work better when you are being yourself. Be yourself, yes, but speak your damn mind. Be honest. Be transparent.

So, if you currently aren’t blogging, get out there and do it. Try it. Experiment. It can be free. And the lessons you learn, and the experiences you achieve, will be worth the effort. Two key thoughts:

Blogs require a sustained effort over time. Blogging takes a while. Don’t retire after ten posts. It works, but slowly…

Blogs work best when you use them to spin electronic yarns. About whatever the heck you are passionate about. I mean, I really can’t think of a better medium to facilitate good story telling. Use them!

What do you think?

[Read my list of 99 ways to be an Intrepid marketer.]
[Subscribe to this blog via RSS]
[Subscribe to this blog via email]

Popularity: 5% [?]

I was reading Leo Babauta’s e-book about focus recently, and he was talking about the importance of rituals. He says it is easy to get distracted in this modern age, but when you engage in rituals, you are more likely to be focused and in the moment. He writes:

A ritual is a set of actions you repeat habitually — you might have a pre-bed ritual or a religious ritual or a just-started-up-my-computer ritual. One of the powerful things about rituals is that we often give them a special importance: they can be almost spiritual (and sometimes actually spiritual, depending on the ritual). And when they become special, we are more mindful of them — we don’t just rush through them mindlessly.

And I thought, I bet intrepid marketers have marketing rituals. So let’s examine this idea…

If intrepid marketers (CLICK HERE to learn what an intrepid marketer is) engage in rituals, based on Leo’s writing above, we should assume they are focused. On this point, I don’t think there is any argument. The question then becomes, what are they focused on? And thus, what part of their marketing process is cemented into daily ritual…

Are you focused on the customer? It is my opinion that each business needs to be more customer-focused, and thus, we need to devote more time – each day – to thinking about every customer interaction. We often overlook even the little ways our customers interface with our business.

What to do? Setting a ritual where you review these interactions – on a regular basis – is vital to success of your business. How about creating a series of questions you ask yourself – maybe at the end of each day – that help keep you focused and review how each customer interacted with your business, and how you can improve those. Include everything, from products, to voice mail, to your invoicing process.

Are you creatively focused? If being creative is an important part of your work, and it is for most of us, then ritual is probably a very critical element in your creative process. What does it take to get you in the creative mood? Do you need to remove all distractions, such as email? Twitter? Phones? Do you need to use a specific creative space, such as your studio, coffee shop, or the conference room?

What to do? Figure out what you need and then execute on the ritual so you can deliver your best creative work. And don’t let ANYTHING disrupt the ritual process.

Are you focused on process? Or results? These are two very different things, process and results. How you might ritualize to focus on these two would be different in my opinion.

What to do? First of all, do you have your process committed to paper? Can you measure the results of each step in the process? A regular examination of this process, and ritualizing to determine what is working and what can be improved might be a good thing to always be getting better at what you do.

As for results, well, isn’t this what we are after? Most people are more worried about the process than the results, and that’s why they have NO cash flow. It might be helpful to set a weekly ritual where you focus on thinking through all you are doing to be sure they are leading to actual positive results for your business…

Are you focused on conversation with your marketplace? Is interacting on the social web important to you and your business? Well, then you need a ritual. And I am not talking about getting on Twitter and just doing whatever for several hours.

What to do? What is your goal on the social web? If it is to identify and make relationships with new prospects, then create a ritual where you listen for keywords that are of interest to you, and begin a conversation. Then share information with that new contact. This three-step ritual might work for you. Here is what I do to help bring some sense of ritual to one element of my social web activity.

See, I am thinking most small business people don’t have marketing rituals. We are all too busy trying to manage the mundane and time consuming tasks of running our shop day-to-day. But, if Leo is right and rituals are a set of actions you repeat habitually, then we all need to formulate some new rituals. Life is too hectic, and we probably don’t have the discipline to focus our minds – on a regular basis – on the important things related to our business.

What do you think? What are your rituals? What works for you?

[Subscribe via RSS]
[Subscribe via Email]
[photo from untitled blue on Flickr]

Popularity: 11% [?]

cartoon by @gapingvoid

OK, so maybe it is not almost Christmas, but when in the hell did March suddenly pop up right around the corner?

It made me quickly realize I am a wee bit behind with some of my goals, projects, marathon training, etc. But the sudden and brutal realization about where we are on the calendar made me step back for a few minutes, take a snapshot of where things are, and reassess where to go next. It was a good wake-up call.

And actually, that’s a good thing.

Although apparently it was two months ago, it feels like only yesterday that I published this post, where I laid out my 2010 goals. I have made some progress on these, keyword on “some.”

But as I was doing this, I was thinking about this tendency we all have to only check progress at very well-defined points in time – the top of the hour, the close of each week, the end of each month.

Why do we do this? Why do we only make resolutions around January 1st? Sure, there is a sense of order around doing these tasks on well-defined points in time. But why do we do that to ourselves?

This recalls one of my favorite quotes, “Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.”  [from the film Vanilla Sky.]

This quote speaks to me. It is profound in that it reminds me that you can make, affect, enforce, and do change – whenever you want to. You don’t have to wait for society-selected times.

As for my 2010 goals, I am not panicked. Yet. I am making progress, and new ideas and new projects have presented themselves since I wrote my goals post. I am not making excuses, I am stating fact. Life happens. Which is all the more reason to keep focused on your goals. And at any given moment, use the inspiration to make the adjustments/changes you need to get back on track.

Sure, the advice we receive to write down goals, and check on their progress at regular intervals is good advice. But you will get distracted. You will get off track. Just don’t decide to wait until March 1st to figure out how to get back on track. DECIDE and take action now.

Be Intrepid. When you want to make change happen, do it.

To be notified via email when new blog posts are published, CLICK HERE!

Popularity: 9% [?]

So, what exactly is an intrepid marketer? And why have I built a business – and started this blog – around the idea of making people intrepid marketers?

The definition of intrepid from the Wiktionary is fearless, bold, and brave. It’s etymology is the Latin intrepidus, meaning “not nervous.” Here is a more detailed explanation for why I named the company HERE.

Fear is something that always holds us back. Fear of being rejected, so you never submit that project on time. Fear of never achieving a goal, so you never set out to do it. Fear of taking that leap to do something you love and are passionate about, so you stay in a job you hate. Fear of being truly innovative and taking your small business in an exciting new direction, so you just do the same old tired things…

I want to make intrepid marketers out of all of us. So, here is a partial list of attributes that make people intrepid marketers:

1. Intrepid marketers take decisive action.
2. They are bold.
3. They are fearless.
4. They do not fear making important decisions.
5. They create a serious marketing plan…
6. …but aren’t afraid to make mid-course corrections on their plan.
7. They read voraciously.
8. They have a blog.
9. Their web presence engages. It is NOT static.
10. They embrace the social web.
11. The celebrate transparency.
12. They give back to their community.
13. They serve others…
14. …and they even serve their competition.
15. They don’t hide behind traditional media.
16. They teach.
17. They tell stories.
18. They listen.
19. They embrace new technology…
20. …but only new technology that advances their goals.
21. They don’t tear down others…
22. …but they learn lessons from the mistakes of others.
23. They love joint venturing.
24. They love collaborating.
25. They love learning. And never stop learning.
26. They engage with others…
27. …even with people they disagree with.
28. They focus only on the customer experience.
29. They recognize that every employee is in the marketing department. From the CEO to the cleaning crew.
30. They see every conceivable customer interaction as something that can and should be continuously improved.
31. They see that automation is a bad word, most of the time.
32. They worry about communicating well.
33. They welcome customer feedback…
34. …especially negative customer feedback. It helps them improve.
35. They thoughtfully comment on the blogs of others.
36. They share. Freely.
37. They only upsell if they are truly benefiting the customer.
38. They ask a lot of questions…
39. …but only to really hear and learn from the answers.
40. They don’t gloat or show-off.
41. They believe in quality over quantity.
42. They admire courage.
43. They know that marketing is a two-way conversation, not a one-way push.
44. They sense that interruption marketing is evil, and should be mercilessly destroyed.
45. They don’t compete on price…
46. …and they won’t. Ever.
47. They have no fear walking away from prospects who aren’t the right fit.
48. They love what they do.
49. They are minimalist marketers.
50. They don’t “work.”
51. They don’t take credit. For anything.
52. They demonstrate value. With ease.
53. They know you earn your brand. Not hire a consultant to “create” your brand.
54. They test and measure. Everything.
55. They are always improving. Everything.
56. They understand the power of video, even if the medium isn’t right for them.
57. They understand the power of podcasts, even if the medium isn’t right for them.
58. They love networking…
59. …by which I mean they love learning how to help others.
60. The relish the chance to connect people.
61. They know what they don’t know.
62. They are trust agents.
63. They understand the power of images.
64. They respect differing opinions.
65. They push themselves, even when there are obstacles.
66. They aren’t afraid of improvisation.
67. They know there is no such thing as an overnight success.
68. When they identify a problem, they fix it. They don’t wait and let it fester.
69. They don’t spam.
70. They hustle.
71. They are creative.
72. They have patience…
73. …but they don’t sit around and wait.
74. They respect the A-listers…
75. …but they help and push the little guys.
76. They are innovative…
77. …and actually know what innovation really means.
78. They don’t have too many products or services. They focus only on what they do very well.
79. They are continually trying to improve themselves in every way. Personal development never ends.
80. They are good problem solvers.
81. They are NOT afraid to adapt to an ever-changing environment.
82. They see themselves as artists.
83. They don’t multi-task. They focus.
84. They are in the moment.
85. They are deep thinkers. And they make time to do serious thinking.
86. They sweat the small stuff.
87. But spend time focusing on the big stuff.
88. They know how to apply the 80/20 principle to their situation.
89. They honor and celebrate referral partners.
90. They are not conformists.
91. They aren’t afraid of sharing what they know. They aren’t held back by this notion of “people need to pay me for my knowledge…”
92. …but they charge a premium for their services.
93. They embrace relationships.
94. They live by “serving first, selling second.”
95. They don’t have time management problems, because they are always focused on the important stuff.
96. They have balance, and enjoy things outside of business that drive them.
97. There is nothing fake about them. They are real.
98. They apologize when they need to. And work hard to fix the problem.
99. And they are honest. Always.

OK. So what else am I missing? Remember, this is a partial list. And it is always changing. What do you think?

[photo by ~jjjohn~]

Popularity: 18% [?]

We all have a list of things that need to be fixed, adjusted, upgraded, tweaked, improved, or destroyed with malice. Yet many entrepreneurs don’t take quick action to deal with these little nagging problems. I talk about how intrepid marketers identify these issues, and take decisive action. Enjoy.

CLICK HERE to learn how to be an Intrepid marketer…

Popularity: 8% [?]

I recorded this video following a recent run. It was one of my first longer distance runs (for me anyways) and I had to push myself to get through it. And it made me think that intrepid marketers often have to push themselves to achieve. And they aren’t afraid of pushing the envelope either… Enjoy!

Need help pushing the envelope? Click HERE to Be Intrepid!

Popularity: 8% [?]

In today’s “You Might Be Intrepid Marketer” episode, I talk about how intrepid marketers are NOT afraid to dive in and build relationships. With real people. In a video filmed last Friday morning, I share some thoughts about how profound relationships – that are formed online and strengthened in real life – can have a dramatic impact on your marketing and your personal brand. Enjoy!

Click RIGHT HERE to Be Intrepid!

Popularity: 8% [?]

The first in a series of blog posts discussing how we can all be intrepid marketers. In this episode, I talk about how we must NOT be afraid to try new marketing tools (apps, online tools, software, hardware, new technology). I suspect a majority of what we experiment with will not work for our business, but you just might land on something that may change your business. Forever.

The online, social web, and technology sites referenced in the video: TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, Mashable + Foursquare…

How we help you Be Intrepid…

Popularity: 8% [?]

Be An Intrepid Marketer – No. 34
Spent the day with two colleagues yesterday. We were doing an initial deep dive with a new client, sort of getting a handle on the scope of the project and working to visualize how to make magic happen.

Funny thing was, we went into the day with a vision of how things should and could proceed. And as it typically happens, things went down a different, but very positive path.

Now, a good man makes his own luck, I firmly believe. And our careful thought and preparation for the day made some good things happen. But to be honest, we were pleasantly surprised at how well things went. The client was clearly charged by the results of our collaboration.

At the end of the day, one of my colleagues said something profound: “Let’s figure out what happened here, so that we can ‘Do It On Purpose’ next time.”

And therein lies the nugget that I want you to think about today. When something goes well with an interaction, whether it be with a client, a loved one, friends, etc., think about and analyze what happened so that you can position yourself to recreate the magic down the road.

All too often people, me included, stumble into a situation that goes well but they never take the time to think long and hard about how to recreate the scenario. Make a commitment to yourself not to let that happen again. I think the hardest part is to recognize and acknowledge when this happens, so that you can then exercise the discipline to seriously reflect on it.

When magic happens, embrace it. Learn from it. Then do it on purpose!

Be Intrepid.

[photo credit: Kuzeytac]

Popularity: 9% [?]

Be An Intrepid Marketer – Recommendation No. 33 -

So, I have recently gotten connected to a great PR service called HARO, or Help A Reporter Out.

This service, which has been around for a while, is a means by which journalists can submit queries to a broad audience, and make it known about specific sources they are looking for their article, book, blog, radio show, etc…

[I am an active user of HARO for both my radio show and my author's book tour project - both from High Velocity...]

Why is this important to you? Well, for one, if you are looking for sources for your blog or podcast, HARO is something you should explore.

But…

The simple goal of this post is to give you one simple idea that can help you both serve your existing clients – AND wow your existing prospects.

And it is this: forward specific HARO requests to your clients and/or prospects to let them know you care. They will appreciate that you are looking out for their best interests by giving them helpful tips to advance their PR efforts. It can go a long way towards helping you stand out from all the clutter with the other people in their world.

How does it work? Once you start receiving the queries from HARO, it will be easy. You will receive daily emails from HARO with a list of queries such as “need digital media success stories” or “need money-saving tips for entrepreneurs.”

HARO will provide you with an email address to contact the reporter if you are, or know of, a good source. All you have to do is forward that to your client/prospect, and recommend that they contact the reporter directly.

Boom. You’ve done that person a nice service. And whether or not they take any action on it isn’t your concern. But more importantly, they will remember you!

Be Intrepid.

Popularity: 2% [?]