Timothy Crawford | The Marketing Mash Up

Does your business card look like everyone elses? You know, plain text on a white background?
I feel your pain. You just wanted a presence right? Forget just having a presence and instead make a statement.

It’s time for a business card makeover.

Follow the link below and get a new lease on your promotions.

What would you rather be

Daring or Boring?

Think all marketing is the same?

The same ole pitches, the same ole cookie cutter nonsense? Prepare to be inspired by the off the wall creativity in these marketing actions.

Follow the link

A picture is worth a thousand words

You can have great looking text, eye-catching graphics, use all the right colors and still end up with an ad that stinks.

Why?

Because the idea is what matters most.

Execution is important, but ideas are the foundation for great ads. You can put a pretty dress on a pig, but it’s still a pig, now its only a nicely dressed pig.

I’ve dressed up a few pigs trying to get my “ad legs” under me.

Everyone has trouble learning how to write good ads. My problem was I’d rush the process. I’d get what I thought was a good idea and charge off down the mountain. WRONG! I’d end up working for an hour on a bad idea just to find out it was a bad idea. Thru trial and error I discovered I needed to get a handle on a idea generating process that worked.

Eventually, I grew tired of making not so great media pieces so I searched high and low for better ways to come up with great ideas.

I found good books, bad books, valuable advice and some silly advice . Then I found The Book.

“Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads”

by Luke Sullivan.

I can’t say enough great things about this book. If you are starting out in copywriting or advertising and you only buy one book, make it this one.

I’ve used this book and the lessons in it to create better ads. One of the tips Mr. Sullivan gives is “Writing Hot, Edit Cold”.

Note: I can’t take credit for the following idea generating method, I learned it in Luke Sullivan’s book

What is writing hot?

Write Hot

Writing hot is allowing your mind to enjoy the ride. Throw no idea away. Don’t judge yourself. Do not edit - just get all the ideas in your head down on paper. By looking at your subject from all different angles. you allow yourself the freedom to be silly, outrageous, risky and everything in between. Your only goal is to fill up that blank sheet of paper with ideas.

Edit Cold

Once you’ve got all those ideas down you pull out another sheet of paper and start picking the maybes. Pull a few workable ideas from your pot of ideas. If you’ve done the writing hot part right you’ll find at least a handful of good ideas for your ad.

Sure there’s still work to do, such as trimming it down to one of your edit cold ideas, but you are alot closer to a better ad than when you started out. My tip: Use the “Write Hot, Edit Cold” method to generate ideas that don’t stink.

No one likes a pig in a pretty dress.

Thanks for reading

I’ve thought alot about Mr. Godins’ post and the message behind it. I’m not so sure we should aspire for greatness. My theory is be consistently good and when the big challenge comes engage the super thrusters.

I blogged about it on my blog here:

Thanks for the premise Seth. I hope you can see my point

read more | digg story

I spent New Years Eve thinking about great ideas for my business. If you’re reading this blog you’re probably looking for ways to make your business better too. The world of business is full of firece competitors, to win at the game we think it’s about outdoing the other guy everyday, every time - always. It’s about being great, hence the search for great ideas.

You catch the competition slacking and go in for the win. Much Success!

My only problem with this search for greatness thing is the greatness part. I don’t know about you, but searching for greatness doesn’t motivate me. Winning motivates me. Greatness is just too big to get my head around. It’s too hard. All that pushing is mentally tiring. I don’t know how to stop pushing so eventually I get burned out and you can’t win if you’re burnt out.

Finally, On New Years Day I got it. I realized I don’t need to be great, after all, Greatness is a label assigned by critics, probably the people I’d consider great at what they do, don’t see themselves as great at all. Sure, they - you and I may have our great moments, the other times we should strive for consistent goodness. How about we focus on rising to meet challenges? Sound doable? We should consistently do our level best and when the heavy-lifting time comes we can still have enough in the tank to hit the mark.

Fact: Michael Jordon missed over 50% of his shots, but the ones that mattered most, well - he made most of those. Even though MJ hasn’t played a game in 10 years alot of people still consider MJ the “greatest” to ever play the game. Doesn’t that beat all?

Welcome to 2008 and keep reading this blog. Add it to your RSS feeds. I’ll do my best to make all my shots and the most important ones, I’m knocking those down.

All net.

Thanks for reading.

Whenever I need a little inspiration I check out how the rest of the world is living.

I gasp, whince and ask myself “Why not me?”

so

Why not you?

Here’s the list

1-10 of Inc Magazines Top 5000 Businesses

No. 1

MemberHealth
What it does: MemberHealth, the top company in this year’s Inc. 500, manages Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage. In 2006, it processed 52 million prescriptions.
MemberHealth

No. 2
Cedar Point Communications
What it does: Makes telephone switches, including a residential line switch that cable giant Comcast buys in bulk.
www.cedarpointcom.com

No. 3
Hospital Partners of America
What it does: Owns and operates five general and acute care hospitals and is about to add two more.
www.hospitalpartners.com

No. 4
Red Ventures (Tie)
What it does: Acquires customers for services such as DirecTV. The company works with consumers from purchase through arranging installation.
www.redventures.com

No. 4 (Tie)
Genoptix Medical Laboratory
What it does: Provides medical laboratory services to community-based hematologists and oncologists, as well as offering software applications that facilitate the administration of diagnostic tests.
genoptix.com

No. 5
Fusion Solutions
What it does: Staffing and consulting for clients in the telecom industry, including Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, and MetroPCS.
fusionsolutionsinc.com

No. 6
Bill Me Later
What it does: Operates an online payment system used by merchants such as Wal-Mart and Overstock.com. Shoppers click “Bill Me Later” and enter a birth date and part of their Social Security number. The company pays the merchant overnight and bills consumers…later.
www.bill-me-later.com

No. 7
Groupware Technology
What it does: Tech consulting with a specialty in servers, storage, network security, and enterprise-wide communications systems.
www.groupwaretechnology.com

No. 8
M Space Holdings
What it does: Builds, sells, and leases modular buildings, primarily to schools and government agencies. M Space also provides its customers with financing options.
www.mspaceholdings.com

No. 9
By Light Professional IT Services
What it does: Works on a Department of Defense program that will expand the military’s network bandwidth capacity. CEO Robert Donahue Sr. is a retired three-star general.
www.by-light.com

No. 10
HydraMedia
What it does: Matches advertisers like Kraft with a network of affiliated website publishers including MySpace.
www.hydramedia.net

Source:

Inc Magazine Top 500 Businesses

- http://www.inc.com/inc5000/

The digital world never sleeps. The internet offers up a potluck of bowls you can serve to stay in front of potential customers. One click or one tap on a handheld device and customers can connect to your service.

Boom. Connection.

Haven’t you heard? New technology is “sweet”.

How important is e-business to your business? Is being out of the digital loop life or death?

I don’t know. There’s still a few business opportunities outside of cyberspace; auto mechanics for instance. I chose my mechanic based on word of mouth. I didn’t get information about him from the internet. A good friend recommended him.

Case Closed.

There are many business lines that can only slightly benefit from this intestinal internet influx, others can get their bread toasted and buttered twice from their cyber-business plots. Based on market niche, you’ll have to decide if the internet is a small piece or the whole enchilada.

I took a look at the Inc top 5000, particularly the top 10. Did you know only 1.5 of the top 10 are internet based businesses?

1 lives on the internet and another bridges brick and mortar businesses with a popular social media network.
(That’s where I get the .5)

You’d think it at least 5 of the top 10 were internet based considering how often gurus claim the internet is the biggest game in town. Quiet as it’s kept; Brick and Mortar business are still viable - very viable.

I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond the other day, trust me, there’s still some business left to be had that doesn’t involve a mouse or a hotspot.

We searched for a parking spot not a keyword.

If you’re still undecided about the internet as it pertains to your business do this:
Get a web presence, if for no other reason than helping customers locate your contact information. It’s convenient to be on the go, jump on my blackberry and look up your street address.

So yes, a presence makes sense, but don’t let the techie gurus fool you. The internet is just “one of many tools” your business can use to compete, but there’s still many other powerful weapons of mass induction that you can use to retain, grow and spread market share.

Little things like; business cards, brands, market positioning, signs, ads, letters and general salesmanship altogether - they matter.

And I think that’s “sweet”.

Copied from my other blog: Here

Writing Stuff That Works in the New World of Social Media

I was watching television last night and a Martha Stewart commercial appeared. My first thought was Martha looks pretty good for 67. Wow, She doesn’t look a day over 60. My second thought was “Why is she talking like that?”

Here, let me quote her:

“…if you went out to the store to purchase these items they would be quite costly…”

Costly? Doesn’t that sound a little pretentious? I even started mimicking her in a British accent. A bad British accent. “Costly, costleeeeee, cost - ly”

Why didn’t Martha just say; “..if you go out and buy these in the store it’s going to be expensive”? I said the exact same thing, but mine sounds more real. Less convoluted, more natural - easier.

Want to get your message across in the new world of social media without people mimicking you?

Write like people talk

If you’re speaking in a podcast or a videocast, once again, relax and just talk. Be conversational not pretentious. You’re not going to impress anyone by using a $4 word where a $2 word should be.

Sure, we all know what costly means, but doesn’t it have the air of trying too hard?

Media copy in the new world must be written in a tone that creates an emotional connection. Social networking sites are full of diverse folks from different backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and countries. If you want to connect with people in a social setting - talk sociably. If you talk like a stranger you’ll be treated like one and friends don’t buy messages or stuff from strangers…

I thought it made sense to share info on one of my other sites. So far it’s getting good responses.

Lets see if I can keep the party going.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

Hello Fellow Traveler,

Over the years I’ve brought good business books, great business books and some utterly useless ones as well. I’d often wish someone I trusted who was unbiased would’ve warned me about the stinkers, but I also wished someone would’ve hit me over the head to pick up the great ones SOONER.

The goal of this page is to help you avoid the not-so-great business books and pull your collar about the ones that give valuable information.

I’ll give you my honest opinion of each book including a brief synopsis and a simple rating of 1-5.

*1 being a stinker

*5 being a homerun

I hope you find this page helpful and visit my website, blogs and articles located over on the left side of your screen. Add me to your favorites as I’ll be giving out lots of free stuff on all of my websites.

It’s nice meeting you, thanks for stopping by.

Best Regards,

Timothy Crawford

Marketer, Copywriter, Entrepreneur and One of the Good Guys

Visit my Business Book Review Site Here:
Visit my Business Book Review Site Here:
Visit my Business Book Review Site Here:

Lately they’ve been saying advertising is in the toilet.

They say the worlds changed and the ad game is a relic of a bygone era. I guess they have a point. There ’s too many ads. Too many TiVo boxes. Too many channels. Too many satelites. Too many radio stations. Too many blogs. Too many podcasts. Too many websites.

You’ve got your Broadband. Your Lowband. Your Dialup and Fiber Optic connections.

They say advertising as we’ve known it is nearing the end of its shelf life”.

Seth Godin, a guy i admire and the author of “Permission Marketing” is leading the “Advertising is Dead” parade.

I hear you Seth.

There are a lot of other ways for people to get entertainment so a commercial that used to get 10 million impressions ends up pulling only 2 million. And those darned TiVo machines can be set up to skip commercials. And people on the web all the time instead of watching Fox - they’re killing the advertising industry.

I’ve got 8 words for those shaking in their black oxfords:

‘When in Rome do as the Romans do”.

The influx of technology and entertainment outlets only means advertisers need to be more creative. As a media/copywriter/speaker I’m not worried. If companies stick to the old rules they’ll lose market share. Those who embrace the new ways of reaching people will reap the rewards. If it’s permission marketing or buzzmarketing or branding or…

It doesn’t matter.

Someone will still need to write the permission marketing media.
Someone will still have to come up with the great buzz inducing idea.
Someone will still need to mold the brand into a tangible form.

Companies who are nimble and adapt quickly will be just fine. Down revenue is a heavy motivator. And the folks who bring them the creative ideas using the “New” marketing channels will prosper.

Wow, I like Rome already

My name is Timothy Crawford. I write stuff. Thanks for reading.