Intrepid LLC

I recently stumbled upon Leo Babauta’s Mnmlist blog, a blog about minimalism and simplifying your life. It has been a profound find, as I am in the process of trying to simplify things in my cluttered life (and I simply LOVE the blog’s design).

But as I was spending time thinking about these things in the context of my life, I got to wondering if there is anything to applying the same concepts to our marketing efforts. Just as it seems to be the case with my crazy life, I oftentimes wonder if most entrepreneurs have a marketing program that is far too complex.

So, here are some minimalist ideas to think about and some important questions to ask yourself:

1. Is your message too complicated? Make it easy for people to remember why you are special.
2. Is your website too cluttered? When people visit your website, make it easy to learn what you do and easier to contact you to do it.
3. Is your strategy on the social web too complex? Your simple online mission is to engage and serve others. That’s it.
4. Is your target audience too scatter shot? Be laser focused on a niche. Don’t try to help everybody.
5. Are you focused on simple storytelling? Do NOT try to communicate one thousand different ideas/messages/concepts/fixes…
6. Can your prospects look at your marketing collateral and easily understand the call to action?
7. Is your diet of new learning focused on the things you need to improve? Don’t read thought leadership on shiny objects (as Seth says) that don’t really advance the goal.
8. Do you have BOATLOADS of pointless busywork? Instead, be laser focused on the important work.
9. Do you experiment with all kinds of new tactical options on a whim? Instead, execute only on new ideas that fall into the scope of your crystal clear marketing plan.
10. Wait, do you even have a marketing plan? Oftentimes, the lack of a road map leads to confusion, complexity and disarray.
11. Are you worried about too many details? Such as inventory, blogging, twitter, facebook, sales, promotions, employees, sick days, cubicles, vacations, graphic design, vendors, invoices, accounts receivable, etc? Instead, focus only on the customer. All the rest will fall into place…

So, minimalist marketing isn’t about cutting back on your marketing, or reducing your marketing budget, or even cutting the time spent on marketing. What I am talking about here is simplifying things so that your program is uncluttered – and can do it’s job.

What do you think? Agree or disagree with this concept? Got anything to add or subtract? Let me know if you have additional ideas to simplify your marketing…

[photo by marmota]

Popularity: 100% [?]

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% [?]

The message behind this cartoon is that there are NO shortcuts when it comes to developing a list of qualified prospects for your business.

There are no automated tools to harvest LEGITIMATE prospects from the social media fields – no randomly picking names from the phone book – no cold-calling names from the local Chamber directory.

It still takes work, blood, sweat, and tears to build a community of serious, qualified prospects. Don’t let ANYONE tell you otherwise…

Be Intrepid.

Popularity: 6% [?]