From the category archives:

Marketing

Practical Applications of Social Media in Small Business (in 20 seconds)

Hi. So, what have you been doing?
I’ve been thinking a lot about social media. I think they (whoever they are) gave it the wrong name.
More on that later.
Would you like to see what I’ve been studying? You can see everything I’ve learned about practical applications for social media in small business here in twenty seconds.
It’s [...]

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Advertising Show and Tell

Within one minute of each other, I had two friends – who don’t know each other – share two different ads wanting my thoughts on them.
Weird. But a good weird! I’ll share my thoughts maybe tomorrow. Feel free to start your discussion tonight.
Mr. W

Coca-Cola / NASCAR: Harmony

Thanks, Kathy and Tia – funny thing is … [...]

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None of His Business

Yesterday, I was ticked off when a local media rep asked me for a complete list of my clients.
I got this email last night from a sales manager I really, really respect:
Here is my follow-up question…
If a rep somehow stumbles, bumbles, rumbles into the front door of
one of your clients and they say “…tim miles [...]

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Why I Don’t Take A Percentage Of The Ad Buy

I don’t take a percentage of your ad buy. I don’t accept kickbacks or pocket discounts from media.
If you’re my client, you pay me a one-time upfront fee and then a small monthly salary that’s adjusted annually by the percentage of your growth. That’s it.
Why?
If I suggest you spend more, I want you [...]

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Buying Radio Ads: The Myth of Residual Value

Listen, most of what I know about buying radio I learned from experience and trusting advice found in two of my partner Roy’s books: The Wizard of Ads and Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads.
There are no real secrets here – just solid principles – that I shared with a colleague when his [...]

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Do you have more than one URL?

Over the weekend, I suggested to a client that they purchase an additional URL for a promotion to go to a specific landing page of their site.
“We can have more than one?” she asked.
Yep.
As a small business, one of the cheapest investments you can make (approximately US$10 for a year) would be to purchase an [...]

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Three Meaty Bits to Start Your Week

Hmm … guess these should be three different posts to jack up my page views, but I don’t want to waste your time on a Monday.
1. How I Ran An Ad On Fox News: Way cool, instructive video. I’m sure every media buying company in the world will tell you why you’re not smart enough [...]

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A Weekly Blur

Phew. What a week. How about you?
We spent most of the last week in Illinois visiting mom and dad and celebrating perfect weather for planting corn.
We’re very big on seed time and harvest around these parts.
Want to learn how patience is the greater expression of commitment? Spend a little time with a farmer. Those crops [...]

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My First Text Spam

I don’t text message much … but definitely more than I did even six months ago. We even had one of Will’s therapists text in sick a couple weeks back.
Tuesday night, I got this:
So, is this like email spam? Should I be afraid to text them to stop?
Do you get a bunch of these? How [...]

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Small Business Social Media Can Be A Lot Like This

You want to jump into every social media platform you can get your username penciled into … but some are better fits than others and, frankly, you just don’t have the time. No one does. Not even Greg.

Be careful. It could all blow up in your face like Peter’s volcano.
Start small. Start slowly. Breathe and [...]

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