Well, apparently I have a mental block about telling you that Google Places is the first thing you need to do to increase your visibility on the Internet.
And apparently it will take a certain amount of additional therapy until the healing begins, and I actually write to you seriously about Google Places.
But the beauty of the Internet is that I don't have to tell you about Google Places!
Google Places can tell you about Google Places!
So here's a "tour" of Google Places (it's really a screenshot of a Google Places page, with all the fields filled out, and some discussion and information added by....Google!).
And I'll come back and add to this page over time, as I accumulate Round Tuits, and add videos that talk about Google Places, and additional tours and explanations.
But all you have to know today is that you must participate in Google Places if you want to avoid a small business bankruptcy!
Because your competitor down the street is using Google Places!
Seriously.
And what brought the importance of Google Places to my attention was simple: I was talking to a buddy about it, and he said, "Oh, yeah! I know Google Places! And frankly, when I do a search, if it's not in Google Places, I never see it, because I'm too lazy to scroll down!"
So be afraid. Be very afraid.
If you don't participate in Google Places, you will be sad.
p.s. there is at least one scamster who promises to make you the KING OF GOOGLE PLACES if only you will bow down and worship him. And send him lots of money.
DON'T SEND MONEY TO SOMEBODY WHO PROMISES TO TWEAK YOUR GOOGLE PLACES, because you should be able to do a pretty darn good job of filling in the fields (blanks) yourself.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Some Stores Were Closed Today; Others Were Near Riots of Buying!
Today was Labor Day.
Some stores were closed. Some were asleep. And some had near riots as shoppers threw money at the staff and grabbed products with both hands.
What were the hot ones, and what were their secrets?
Well, the Apple Store at the Biltmore in Phoenix had folks hanging from the rafters, and jammed into the store, and spilling into the courtyard outside, while some stores were ghost towns.
Why? Well, Apple is good at sending emails to people who have shopped there before, telling them about special classes, or deals, or specials.
Today there were seminars at the Apple Store, and all the seats were filled. And lots of other folks had enjoyed buying there so much that they were browsing, because they liked to be there. And others wanted nifty, cutting edge products, and others were looking for information about those same products.
There were more bodies than places for bodies.
And I came into the madhouse and I was greeted efficiently and quickly, taken through the store, set up with a appointment at the Genius Bar (about half an hour after my first contact), and got the information I needed during a enjoyable fifteen minutes of training. For My Favorite Price!
The nice young lady who took care of my little ignorance problem, Elizabeth Allingham, knew all the answers, and also knew how to tell me that everybody needs advice sometimes, because nobody knows it all. Because it's hard to admit that you don't how to work the little gizmo, if you're me!
What do we learn from this Apple Store? Well, a lot. For today, the message to take away is that Apple found a formula for creating stores where the staff loves to give away free information, and to make friends out of the customers, whether they're there to buy or not! And likely as not, when they do come in, they buy!
Another place the customers were roller skating in and grabbing products off the racks was The Men's Wearhouse on Camelback Road.
I watched a transaction where Jeff greeted a customer who wanted to return a shirt, and Jeff processed the transaction just as enthusiastically as though the customer had been buying a shirt. That's good customer service.
And Men's Wearhouse also has an asset worth it's weight in gold, and then some: an email list that sends announcements of buy-one, get-one-free deals that create a buying frenzy in sedate, regular customers.
And extraordinary customer service.
A lot of stores sell men's clothing. A lot.
And the product line in the Men's Wearhouse is perfectly okay. Good value for the buck. And the tailor in the store on Camelback Road in Phoenix could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
But customer service that turns customers into friends is what sells a lot of suits at that location.
And a lot of shoe stores were quiet today.
But the Allen Edmonds at the Biltmore was as busy as it wanted to be; and Nina Ward sold a lotta shoes.
Mind you, Allen Edmonds are the best shoes made in the world (sure, you can get custom shoes; I'm talking here about shoes that cost more than most other shoes, but less than a house).
And the winning marketing strategy for Allen Edmonds is simple: set up a small store in an upscale location with all the foot traffic in the world, and use a brilliantly trained staff that educates customers about the product. And sell the best product of its kind in the world.
Now, Allen Edmonds makes and sells really great shoes.
How do I know? Well, I was wearing a nice pair of Allen Edmonds shoes (my favorite shoes) when I walked into the Allen Edmonds shoe store today.
And I guess I've gotten adequate value from this particular pair. Over the last thirty years.
And that's why I like Allen Edmonds; they cost a third more than machine-made extruded shoes, and stay in service TEN TIMES LONGER!
Actually, you could say that those shoes will outlast your feet, if you don't count the soles and heels, which need replacing at regular intervals.
TODAY'S MARKETING LESSON: Well, the retailer with the best email list wins, on the one hand. On another hand, it's good to sell quality merchandise that has a distinguishing quality: Apple/ease of use; Men's Wearhouse/fit; Allen Edmonds/quality and longevity.
Those are all good things, and a sales staff that makes friends out of customers helps a lot, too.
Some stores can still sell during a depression.
p.s. It's never too late to start your Grinch List! Remember that some stores forbid their employees to volunteer or respond to the greeting "Merry Christmas!"
So keep your eyes open, and let me know what stores Grinch Out the best, so we can all tell them how much we appreciate their inhospitable choices!
By shopping at their competitors!
p.p.s. Allen Edmonds shoes aren't just the best shoes made. They're also, according to the lovely Nina Marie Ward, made in the United States!
And if I can buy U.S., I will! I like the idea of workers in the United States having jobs. Especially jobs where they get to produce things of value, like shoes. And cars.
It might be nice if we produced more steel, too, but that's probably asking too much.
Some stores were closed. Some were asleep. And some had near riots as shoppers threw money at the staff and grabbed products with both hands.
What were the hot ones, and what were their secrets?
Well, the Apple Store at the Biltmore in Phoenix had folks hanging from the rafters, and jammed into the store, and spilling into the courtyard outside, while some stores were ghost towns.
Why? Well, Apple is good at sending emails to people who have shopped there before, telling them about special classes, or deals, or specials.
Today there were seminars at the Apple Store, and all the seats were filled. And lots of other folks had enjoyed buying there so much that they were browsing, because they liked to be there. And others wanted nifty, cutting edge products, and others were looking for information about those same products.
There were more bodies than places for bodies.
And I came into the madhouse and I was greeted efficiently and quickly, taken through the store, set up with a appointment at the Genius Bar (about half an hour after my first contact), and got the information I needed during a enjoyable fifteen minutes of training. For My Favorite Price!
The nice young lady who took care of my little ignorance problem, Elizabeth Allingham, knew all the answers, and also knew how to tell me that everybody needs advice sometimes, because nobody knows it all. Because it's hard to admit that you don't how to work the little gizmo, if you're me!
What do we learn from this Apple Store? Well, a lot. For today, the message to take away is that Apple found a formula for creating stores where the staff loves to give away free information, and to make friends out of the customers, whether they're there to buy or not! And likely as not, when they do come in, they buy!
Another place the customers were roller skating in and grabbing products off the racks was The Men's Wearhouse on Camelback Road.
I watched a transaction where Jeff greeted a customer who wanted to return a shirt, and Jeff processed the transaction just as enthusiastically as though the customer had been buying a shirt. That's good customer service.
And Men's Wearhouse also has an asset worth it's weight in gold, and then some: an email list that sends announcements of buy-one, get-one-free deals that create a buying frenzy in sedate, regular customers.
And extraordinary customer service.
A lot of stores sell men's clothing. A lot.
And the product line in the Men's Wearhouse is perfectly okay. Good value for the buck. And the tailor in the store on Camelback Road in Phoenix could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
But customer service that turns customers into friends is what sells a lot of suits at that location.
And a lot of shoe stores were quiet today.
But the Allen Edmonds at the Biltmore was as busy as it wanted to be; and Nina Ward sold a lotta shoes.
Mind you, Allen Edmonds are the best shoes made in the world (sure, you can get custom shoes; I'm talking here about shoes that cost more than most other shoes, but less than a house).
And the winning marketing strategy for Allen Edmonds is simple: set up a small store in an upscale location with all the foot traffic in the world, and use a brilliantly trained staff that educates customers about the product. And sell the best product of its kind in the world.
Now, Allen Edmonds makes and sells really great shoes.
How do I know? Well, I was wearing a nice pair of Allen Edmonds shoes (my favorite shoes) when I walked into the Allen Edmonds shoe store today.
And I guess I've gotten adequate value from this particular pair. Over the last thirty years.
And that's why I like Allen Edmonds; they cost a third more than machine-made extruded shoes, and stay in service TEN TIMES LONGER!
Actually, you could say that those shoes will outlast your feet, if you don't count the soles and heels, which need replacing at regular intervals.
TODAY'S MARKETING LESSON: Well, the retailer with the best email list wins, on the one hand. On another hand, it's good to sell quality merchandise that has a distinguishing quality: Apple/ease of use; Men's Wearhouse/fit; Allen Edmonds/quality and longevity.
Those are all good things, and a sales staff that makes friends out of customers helps a lot, too.
Some stores can still sell during a depression.
p.s. It's never too late to start your Grinch List! Remember that some stores forbid their employees to volunteer or respond to the greeting "Merry Christmas!"
So keep your eyes open, and let me know what stores Grinch Out the best, so we can all tell them how much we appreciate their inhospitable choices!
By shopping at their competitors!
p.p.s. Allen Edmonds shoes aren't just the best shoes made. They're also, according to the lovely Nina Marie Ward, made in the United States!
And if I can buy U.S., I will! I like the idea of workers in the United States having jobs. Especially jobs where they get to produce things of value, like shoes. And cars.
It might be nice if we produced more steel, too, but that's probably asking too much.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Your Online Marketing Program Needs Two Feet!
Ultimately, your secret marketing weapon is going to be your blog. It will set you apart from everyone else in your economic niche, simply because you are unique (note: there's no such thing as "very unique").
And a blog is a great way to tell people about exactly what you do, or exactly what you sell, and exactly what the experience will involve, because it just is.
And besides, it's My Favorite Price! It's FREE! Or close enough for government work.
BUT it will take you a while to generate a blog that has enough "blog juice" to rise to the tops of the search engines for nifty search terms so that it is useful for bringing you business (don't worry about what I just said; just let the words wash over you, and you'll understand them soon enough).
You also need something that works as quickly as a light switch, so that there's still a business in existence when your baby blog starts to walk in a year or two.
If only there were some sort of free, instant-on Internet advertising that's simple enough that a geriatric could do it, and that will send you much, much more business than you get today!
And, as it happens, there is such a thing.
Actually, there are hundreds of them.
Free Online Business Directories!
See, there are these things called business directories on the Internet. If you think of them as sort of easy-to-search online yellow pages, you have the idea.
And most of them are free.
So your assignment, if you chose to accept it, is to put as much information about your business in every single free online business directory as you possibly can.
I have a smart friend who has an office full of professionals. I suggested that she do this homework assignment.
She emailed me later and said, "I've plugged my business information into thirty-five of 'em. How many should I use?"
I wrote back, "How rich do you want to be?"
She got it.
Important note; some of the free directories will contact you to upgrade your listing with a paid advertisement, or an improved placement on their directory.
DO NOT DO IT.
You are not yet smart enough to figure out which paid upgrades are priceless, and which are garbage.
How do I know?
Well, I paid fifty grand in tuition for a worthless upgrade over a period of two years.
How do you like my teaching credentials?
Do you want to take the same class, with the same tuition?
Repeat after me: I will put my business contact information and business description in every single free online business directory on the Internet. And if the directory demands money in order to take my information into the directory, I will move to the next directory on my five thousand directory list! I will not pay them.
There will be exceptions, but don't even think about them until you have ALL of the free directory sites on the Internet fully populated with your information.
All is a lot. A real, real lot. A buncha lot.
And that's very, very good.
For you and your small business.
p.s. so where do you get a list of the top five hundred free online business directories?
How about typing a search term into Google? Something like "Free Online Business Directory"? The order of importance will reveal itself instantly: the important ones are listed first, and the less important ones are next in line, forever.
Into how many should you put your information?
Well, you've already figured that out, right?
Remember, some sites (including Google Places) permit you to submit photos and videos into your listings; do so, because people respond better to eyes and noses and ears than to letters.
Git 'er done!
And a blog is a great way to tell people about exactly what you do, or exactly what you sell, and exactly what the experience will involve, because it just is.
And besides, it's My Favorite Price! It's FREE! Or close enough for government work.
BUT it will take you a while to generate a blog that has enough "blog juice" to rise to the tops of the search engines for nifty search terms so that it is useful for bringing you business (don't worry about what I just said; just let the words wash over you, and you'll understand them soon enough).
You also need something that works as quickly as a light switch, so that there's still a business in existence when your baby blog starts to walk in a year or two.
If only there were some sort of free, instant-on Internet advertising that's simple enough that a geriatric could do it, and that will send you much, much more business than you get today!
And, as it happens, there is such a thing.
Actually, there are hundreds of them.
Free Online Business Directories!
See, there are these things called business directories on the Internet. If you think of them as sort of easy-to-search online yellow pages, you have the idea.
And most of them are free.
So your assignment, if you chose to accept it, is to put as much information about your business in every single free online business directory as you possibly can.
I have a smart friend who has an office full of professionals. I suggested that she do this homework assignment.
She emailed me later and said, "I've plugged my business information into thirty-five of 'em. How many should I use?"
I wrote back, "How rich do you want to be?"
She got it.
Important note; some of the free directories will contact you to upgrade your listing with a paid advertisement, or an improved placement on their directory.
DO NOT DO IT.
You are not yet smart enough to figure out which paid upgrades are priceless, and which are garbage.
How do I know?
Well, I paid fifty grand in tuition for a worthless upgrade over a period of two years.
How do you like my teaching credentials?
Do you want to take the same class, with the same tuition?
Repeat after me: I will put my business contact information and business description in every single free online business directory on the Internet. And if the directory demands money in order to take my information into the directory, I will move to the next directory on my five thousand directory list! I will not pay them.
There will be exceptions, but don't even think about them until you have ALL of the free directory sites on the Internet fully populated with your information.
All is a lot. A real, real lot. A buncha lot.
And that's very, very good.
For you and your small business.
p.s. so where do you get a list of the top five hundred free online business directories?
How about typing a search term into Google? Something like "Free Online Business Directory"? The order of importance will reveal itself instantly: the important ones are listed first, and the less important ones are next in line, forever.
Into how many should you put your information?
Well, you've already figured that out, right?
Remember, some sites (including Google Places) permit you to submit photos and videos into your listings; do so, because people respond better to eyes and noses and ears than to letters.
Git 'er done!
Okay, I Lied. Get Over It! Today We're Talking About How to Blog!
Gentle reader, you will recall that last time I told you that I was going to talk about Google Places.
And I will. I will.
But Google Places is both very, very important, and very, very simple. You will master it quickly when I tell you about it.
On the other hand, blogging is also very, very important, but not quite so simple.
Now, take it as a given that you're going to blog. You can do it badly. I certainly did, for my first month or two.
But any blog is better than no blog at all!
After all, at a very minimum, a blog is a free website that you get to edit and modify to your heart's content, any time you want! in fact, it's a series of free websites! As many as you want to create!!!! Waa-hooooo!
Your blog also makes it much less likely that you'll waste your time with people who won't buy from you because they don't like you. They'll be repelled by your blog, so they will never waste your time again!
And it'll make it much easier for people to find you for your next high school reunion!
Finally (for now), it will make it much easier for you to build a new business after a bankruptcy, or to fluff up your current business so you don't need to file a bankruptcy!
But how to start?
Well, a real expert on the subject of internet marketing for small business is my friend Alex Morris, of Findlaw. He normally teaches this stuff to lawyers, and he taught me, and I'm pretty hard to miss if you want to know about bankruptcy law in Arizona right now.
My blog is usually on page one of Google for the search term "bankruptcy blog", and it tends to be on page one, line one, of Google for the search term "Arizona Bankruptcy Blog".
Now, nobody every searches for those terms, but those are two of the search terms I use as markers to see how I'm doing in the competition for eyes on the web, and so far I seem to be doing pretty well.
And Alex gave me permission to direct you to his blog, to an article in which he tells you how to blog.
And here's the beginning of that article:
Blogging is definitely catching on in the AZ legal community. Earlier this year I wrote an article for Attorney at Law Magazine titled "Should an Attorney or Law Firm BLOG" in which I laid out a rationale for Blogging and recommended that you may want to start with the free and easy to use BLOGGER BLOG platform. BLOGGER is a Google product and is stupidly easy to use even for the techno neophyte. In fact you can be Blogging in less than 10 minutes. Here is how to do it.
1. Go to any Google BLOG like this one http://www.azlawyermarketing.com/ and click on the 'Create BLOG' button on the upper right of the page.
2. This will take you to a screen that asks you to either sign into your Google/gmail account or create one. Signing up is a simple process - but make sure you save your password.
3. Once your done with that it will ask for a BLOG title. This is important because this will be the first thing people see when they get to your BLOG. Mine is Alex Morris: Arizona Attorney Marketing Consultant in Scottsdale and Phoenix. Make sure that you utilize practice and geographic keywords in your title as it will also serve as the Title Tag of your BLOG. - an important consideration for search engine optimization.
4. Pick a URL. For this you may want to reference my article on choosing a domain name. The difference here is that I recommend that you use the word "BLOG' in your title. *Its important to note that when you first sign up the URL will have .blogspot.com on the end. For $10 dollars a year you can and should change this to a custom URL of your choosing. Therefore, since you will be changing the URL anyways - don't spend much time here, racking your brain for the perfect URL address.
to see the rest of the article, click here!
p.s. note that there is a raging religious war between bloggers like Alex, who use Blogger, and others, who use WordPress for their blogs. I'll give equal time to the Protestants in another article!
And I will. I will.
But Google Places is both very, very important, and very, very simple. You will master it quickly when I tell you about it.
On the other hand, blogging is also very, very important, but not quite so simple.
Now, take it as a given that you're going to blog. You can do it badly. I certainly did, for my first month or two.
But any blog is better than no blog at all!
After all, at a very minimum, a blog is a free website that you get to edit and modify to your heart's content, any time you want! in fact, it's a series of free websites! As many as you want to create!!!! Waa-hooooo!
Your blog also makes it much less likely that you'll waste your time with people who won't buy from you because they don't like you. They'll be repelled by your blog, so they will never waste your time again!
And it'll make it much easier for people to find you for your next high school reunion!
Finally (for now), it will make it much easier for you to build a new business after a bankruptcy, or to fluff up your current business so you don't need to file a bankruptcy!
But how to start?
Well, a real expert on the subject of internet marketing for small business is my friend Alex Morris, of Findlaw. He normally teaches this stuff to lawyers, and he taught me, and I'm pretty hard to miss if you want to know about bankruptcy law in Arizona right now.
My blog is usually on page one of Google for the search term "bankruptcy blog", and it tends to be on page one, line one, of Google for the search term "Arizona Bankruptcy Blog".
Now, nobody every searches for those terms, but those are two of the search terms I use as markers to see how I'm doing in the competition for eyes on the web, and so far I seem to be doing pretty well.
And Alex gave me permission to direct you to his blog, to an article in which he tells you how to blog.
And here's the beginning of that article:
Getting Started with BLOGGER - Google's Free BLOG Product
How to Setup a Google BLOG for your Law FirmBlogging is definitely catching on in the AZ legal community. Earlier this year I wrote an article for Attorney at Law Magazine titled "Should an Attorney or Law Firm BLOG" in which I laid out a rationale for Blogging and recommended that you may want to start with the free and easy to use BLOGGER BLOG platform. BLOGGER is a Google product and is stupidly easy to use even for the techno neophyte. In fact you can be Blogging in less than 10 minutes. Here is how to do it.
1. Go to any Google BLOG like this one http://www.azlawyermarketing.com/ and click on the 'Create BLOG' button on the upper right of the page.
2. This will take you to a screen that asks you to either sign into your Google/gmail account or create one. Signing up is a simple process - but make sure you save your password.
3. Once your done with that it will ask for a BLOG title. This is important because this will be the first thing people see when they get to your BLOG. Mine is Alex Morris: Arizona Attorney Marketing Consultant in Scottsdale and Phoenix. Make sure that you utilize practice and geographic keywords in your title as it will also serve as the Title Tag of your BLOG. - an important consideration for search engine optimization.
4. Pick a URL. For this you may want to reference my article on choosing a domain name. The difference here is that I recommend that you use the word "BLOG' in your title. *Its important to note that when you first sign up the URL will have .blogspot.com on the end. For $10 dollars a year you can and should change this to a custom URL of your choosing. Therefore, since you will be changing the URL anyways - don't spend much time here, racking your brain for the perfect URL address.
to see the rest of the article, click here!
p.s. note that there is a raging religious war between bloggers like Alex, who use Blogger, and others, who use WordPress for their blogs. I'll give equal time to the Protestants in another article!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Bankruptcy, or Online Marketing? I GUARANTEE That Online Marketing for your Business is More Fun!
My name is Joseph C. McDaniel, and I don't want you to need to file a bankruptcy for you personally, or for your business. I'll file a bankruptcy for you if you need one, because that's what I do, but I'd rather your business did well and you retired rich, without having to file a bankruptcy!
Now, this is a depression. One out of six of people with jobs call themselves "the working poor"; and a lot of people out there (it looks like around 20% to me, but that's an unscientific guesstimate) don't have jobs.
And that means that a lot more small businesses are going to be closing their doors, and many of those will file bankruptcy, and some won't even bother filing a business bankruptcy.
They'll just file a bankruptcy themselves, to deal with their personal guarantees.
But some businesses are still thriving.
While it doesn't seem fair, there are wonderful, well-run, efficient businesses out there that are going out of businesses, and their owners wonder why their business failed, and their competitor down the street is still running full blast, with customers hanging from the rafters!
Well, there's a reason, and it may not be what you think.
The reason that the competitor stayed open, and the competition didn't need to file a bankruptcy, is simple: buyers could find the competitor online when they searched for what they wanted to buy!
Note: there are two kinds of businesses right now: there are those that market effectively and economically on the Internet, and those that are going to file a bankruptcy, eventually.
And you get to decide which kind of business you want to own, simple as that.
Either the Quick, or the Dead.
Now, you may well ask who I am, and why you should bother to listen to a word I have to say? And that's a fair question, and more than fair.
There's a simple reason, and the most interesting man in the world said it in a Dos Equis Beer Commercial: "Some people know more than you. Listen to those people!"
And why am I so sure that I now have the Keys to the Kingdom of Internet Marketing on the Internet for My Favorite Price?
Because about two and a half years ago my biggest and richest client decided that it could live without me, after it had made me fat and happy and...well, soft, for the seven years before that.
If you're getting paid very well, and you have one giant client that loves you, you don't need to market on the Internet!
Until that client decides it doesn't need you anymore.
Gasp. Choke. Gurgle.
Now, I'm a bankruptcy lawyer, and I have been all my adult life.
So I wasn't really worried. I knew a lot of lawyers to whom I had referred much business over the years, and I had a lot of nifty credentials, and I'd been Chairman of Everything.
So I was going to get plenty of business, right?
Well, no. Wrong. Because seven years is a long time in lawyer-gratitude years. The guys I'd referred cases long ago hardly remembered my name.
But I still had kids in school, and a mortgage to pay, and groceries to buy.
So I needed to learn how to market on the Internet.
Fast.
And for My Favorite Price.
And as I was sitting around, despondent, listing to my phone not ringing, my office was contacted by a guy who has become a good friend: Alex Morris, my Findlaw Representative.
And he wanted to take me to lunch to sell me Internet Advertising with Findlaw, a directory for lawyers.
And I told him that I hated advertising salesmen, because I'd paid one of his competitors about fifty thousand dollars five years ago, so they would develop a website, banner, and directory entry for me on their website.
And you know how many clients I got from my gigantic investment with that lawyer directory?
Yeah, you know where I'm going; and I told him that I hated online advertising salesmen.
Instead of being offended, he gave me a two hour seminar at lunch about everything I could do on the Internet to educate the public, as well as letting them know that I was still practicing bankruptcy law, and that I was a pretty darn experienced Arizona bankruptcy attorney.
For My Favorite Price.
Free.
And it took a lot of work, but I did it, and it worked.
Beyond my wildest dreams.
Today, for instance, here's my Martindale Visibility Profile (which goes up and comes down, from day to day):
Profile Visibility
#4 in weekly profile views out of 5,856 lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
#190 in weekly profile views out of 1,008,836 total lawyers Overall
The last time I hit #2 in weekly profile views, I gave Alex trouble because I wasn't #1; he pointed out that #2 wasn't all that bad for somebody who had been invisible on the Internet two years earlier. With no advertising budget. Who wasn't very photogenic.
And I had to agree!
And #190 in a field of more than a million lawyers is also not perfect, but it's a pretty good start!
As time moved forward, I did buy some online advertising from Alex, with Findlaw, and it has been very effective indeed.
And I've also found some other friends who teach lawyer marketing, and I've learned a lot from them: one is Jay Fleischman, who is a bankruptcy lawyer in New York as well as an expert at teaching lawyers how to market a law firm online and another is Stephen Fairley, and I talk about them all on my Just for Lawyers Blog, which I wrote for the same reason that I'm writing this: to keep people (in that case, lawyers) from needing to file bankruptcy.
I'm writing this blog for a very specific reason: I have friends who have small businesses.
And those small businesses have been hit hard by this depression.
And I don't want my buddies to have to file bankruptcy for their businesses, or for themselves.
So I figured that if I was going to teach them what I had learned about quick, free or cheap online marketing techniques, I might as well teach you at the same time.
And if that sounds like a plan to you, well, it also sounds like a plan to me; so watch this space for your first class in online marketing, for My Favorite Price!
And here's a preview. Your first class is going to be about a quick, easy, free and wildly effective online marketing vehicle.
Google Places!
Now, this is a depression. One out of six of people with jobs call themselves "the working poor"; and a lot of people out there (it looks like around 20% to me, but that's an unscientific guesstimate) don't have jobs.
And that means that a lot more small businesses are going to be closing their doors, and many of those will file bankruptcy, and some won't even bother filing a business bankruptcy.
They'll just file a bankruptcy themselves, to deal with their personal guarantees.
But some businesses are still thriving.
While it doesn't seem fair, there are wonderful, well-run, efficient businesses out there that are going out of businesses, and their owners wonder why their business failed, and their competitor down the street is still running full blast, with customers hanging from the rafters!
Well, there's a reason, and it may not be what you think.
The reason that the competitor stayed open, and the competition didn't need to file a bankruptcy, is simple: buyers could find the competitor online when they searched for what they wanted to buy!
Note: there are two kinds of businesses right now: there are those that market effectively and economically on the Internet, and those that are going to file a bankruptcy, eventually.
And you get to decide which kind of business you want to own, simple as that.
Either the Quick, or the Dead.
Now, you may well ask who I am, and why you should bother to listen to a word I have to say? And that's a fair question, and more than fair.
There's a simple reason, and the most interesting man in the world said it in a Dos Equis Beer Commercial: "Some people know more than you. Listen to those people!"
And why am I so sure that I now have the Keys to the Kingdom of Internet Marketing on the Internet for My Favorite Price?
Because about two and a half years ago my biggest and richest client decided that it could live without me, after it had made me fat and happy and...well, soft, for the seven years before that.
If you're getting paid very well, and you have one giant client that loves you, you don't need to market on the Internet!
Until that client decides it doesn't need you anymore.
Gasp. Choke. Gurgle.
Now, I'm a bankruptcy lawyer, and I have been all my adult life.
So I wasn't really worried. I knew a lot of lawyers to whom I had referred much business over the years, and I had a lot of nifty credentials, and I'd been Chairman of Everything.
So I was going to get plenty of business, right?
Well, no. Wrong. Because seven years is a long time in lawyer-gratitude years. The guys I'd referred cases long ago hardly remembered my name.
But I still had kids in school, and a mortgage to pay, and groceries to buy.
So I needed to learn how to market on the Internet.
Fast.
And for My Favorite Price.
And as I was sitting around, despondent, listing to my phone not ringing, my office was contacted by a guy who has become a good friend: Alex Morris, my Findlaw Representative.
And he wanted to take me to lunch to sell me Internet Advertising with Findlaw, a directory for lawyers.
And I told him that I hated advertising salesmen, because I'd paid one of his competitors about fifty thousand dollars five years ago, so they would develop a website, banner, and directory entry for me on their website.
And you know how many clients I got from my gigantic investment with that lawyer directory?
Yeah, you know where I'm going; and I told him that I hated online advertising salesmen.
Instead of being offended, he gave me a two hour seminar at lunch about everything I could do on the Internet to educate the public, as well as letting them know that I was still practicing bankruptcy law, and that I was a pretty darn experienced Arizona bankruptcy attorney.
For My Favorite Price.
Free.
And it took a lot of work, but I did it, and it worked.
Beyond my wildest dreams.
Today, for instance, here's my Martindale Visibility Profile (which goes up and comes down, from day to day):
Profile Visibility
#4 in weekly profile views out of 5,856 lawyers in Phoenix, Arizona
#190 in weekly profile views out of 1,008,836 total lawyers Overall
The last time I hit #2 in weekly profile views, I gave Alex trouble because I wasn't #1; he pointed out that #2 wasn't all that bad for somebody who had been invisible on the Internet two years earlier. With no advertising budget. Who wasn't very photogenic.
And I had to agree!
And #190 in a field of more than a million lawyers is also not perfect, but it's a pretty good start!
As time moved forward, I did buy some online advertising from Alex, with Findlaw, and it has been very effective indeed.
And I've also found some other friends who teach lawyer marketing, and I've learned a lot from them: one is Jay Fleischman, who is a bankruptcy lawyer in New York as well as an expert at teaching lawyers how to market a law firm online and another is Stephen Fairley, and I talk about them all on my Just for Lawyers Blog, which I wrote for the same reason that I'm writing this: to keep people (in that case, lawyers) from needing to file bankruptcy.
I'm writing this blog for a very specific reason: I have friends who have small businesses.
And those small businesses have been hit hard by this depression.
And I don't want my buddies to have to file bankruptcy for their businesses, or for themselves.
So I figured that if I was going to teach them what I had learned about quick, free or cheap online marketing techniques, I might as well teach you at the same time.
And if that sounds like a plan to you, well, it also sounds like a plan to me; so watch this space for your first class in online marketing, for My Favorite Price!
And here's a preview. Your first class is going to be about a quick, easy, free and wildly effective online marketing vehicle.
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