[Gary] Peeples Helping People, LLC

Because no one does anything on Friday

You follow road maps, blue prints, guides, manuals, instructions; all these things were written by someone. Ever stop to think about that?

Have you ever thought about making your own?

Make today the day you stop following a map.

Start drawing one instead.

OKAY...Okay...okay...maybe Monday then. No one does anything on Fridays.

Be more successful right now - with this one word

First, here's a list [and videos if you have time] of successful people:

1. Steve Jobs

2. Bill Gates

3. Frank Lloyd Wright

4. Buckminster Fuller

5. James Cameron

6. Mark Zuckerberg

7. Tom Hanks

8. Harrison Ford

9. Lady Gaga

10. Tiger Woods

All completely different personalities, careers, and specialties; but with one common thread: They each have an unmatched PASSION for accomplishing their goals.

Someone once told me:

I never went wrong when I hired the person who wanted it the most.

Want to be more successful? Be more PASSIONATE.

PS. No one on that list graduated College.

How to be more memorable

I just got back from a trip and it reminded me of an interesting concept:

The unexpected is the most memorable. 

Think about it. 

Take any recent vacation; you probably remember the unplanned parts [the detour you took or the scary road conditions] before you remember the hike you took or the beach you sat on.

Or any recent party you hosted or went to; you likely remember the things that went wrong [the burned main course or the spilled wine] before you remember a conversation or a joke.

The unplanned, the interruption, the unexpected — it burns in your brain. You didn't see it coming and it stands out. 

If you want to be more memorable, seek to provide the unexpected.

How do you get 17,429 people to like your status on facebook?

Become one of the most well-known rappers of all time and post the word "What?"

 

Be more like Kurt Vonnegut - 8 ways to be more interesting

In the book Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction, Vonnegut made a list of eight rules for creating a short story.

I would like to repurpose them as:

A list of ways to be more interesting

1. Use the time of a listener in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the listener at least one idea or fact he or she can connect with and root for.

3. Every idea should be supported by the desire to achieve something.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things: reveal character -- in you or the topic -- or advance an action you want the listener to take.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading topic, discuss the awful things that have, will, or could happen - in order that the listener may see what you, or the topic, are made of.

7. Talk to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your listeners as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Listeners should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves.

 

How social media plays a major role for marketing [via @jeffbullas]

Via www.jeffbullas.com

International School Of Management How Social Media Plays A Major Role For Marketing And Publicity Of Large Events

View more presentations from Jeff Bullas.

7.5 ideas for using the web to market a small business

You run a small business and it's extremely geographically based. 100% of customers are within 20 miles of the location.

Or maybe your national, but your a small business in terms of revenue or scale.

How can you use the web effectively?

First, let me say you have to find the right marketing mix for your business. That is a trial and error thing; no magic bullet. Plan to test, measure, analyze, and learn. I love digital marketing, but it's only a piece of the puzzle.

Also, whatever you decide, you should consider how it integrates with your offline strategy. These things need to work together.

Lastly, you must know what your goals are. Without them you are just trying trendy things, seeing what happens, and not getting any better.

Yeah, I mean, maybe you're doing what the cool kids are doing, but you know, the cool kids are probably all unemployed now.

But seriously; goals: know who you are after, where they are, what you want to share with them, and what you want them to do. Doesn't need to be more then 1 page on a word document. 

All that said, here are 7 suggestions to try when building a digital marketing strategy for small business:

1. Have a home base. A website is good. A blog is good. I'd go blog if I was choosing one or the other, but honestly, having both works as well -- just make sure they are integrated. 

2. Make this home base social and interactive. Images, video, content, press releases, presentations, pdf's, etc. Any content you can produce should either live here, or you link to it from here. The goal for all your media efforts is to get everyone back to here to experience this stuff.

3. Test all of the key social channels: Facebook fan page & FB places, Twitter [preferably as a human, not a brand -- i.e. Barry Judge, CMO of Best Buy], Youtube channel, Flikr and Foursquare. Develop content for them and focus on them daily.

And  integrate these into your home base [via live FB feeds, "like" this on FB buttons, "tweet this", etc.]

4. Develop an Email database and test ways to use it. Groupon and Living Social have shown that email marketing is still relevant, despite industry buzz of email dying. I've tested both, and both have produced results. But again, you have to know what you are trying to do with them. 

Side note: with a solid email address collection strategy you can be your own "Groupon". 

5. Submit your url to the major search engines and register as an "owner" where you can. This allows you to add content to "places" and location results. It's amazing how this simple thing enhances the user experience, but not many small businesses even bother with it. 

6. Test geo-targeted keyword buying on google and yahoo. This can be effective if you have specific goals, and your not competing with too many businesses with endless budgets. You'll have to find out if it works for you.

Side note: worst case, you can use google and yahoo as a "poor mans" messaging focus group. Create a handful of copy options -- that get your message across -- and track click through. It's a great indicator of what general pop responds too.

7. This isn't a digital tactic, but it's important. Good copy is king. And it's essential to the success of everything above: site, content, social, email, etc.

I recommend spending some time on blogs dedicated to copy writing; Copyblogger is fantastic. Also, look at some of your favorite advertisers and take notes on their copy. And Practice.

7.5. Yes, I wanted to add one more, but I didn't want to screw up my odd numbered list. Woops. 

I felt I couldn't make a list like this and not highlight MEASURE YOUR RESULTS. You have to measure everything you do. For sites, there are analytic tools; for FB, there are interaction reports; for Twitter, there are tools like Klout. Definitely plan to use those tools.

So, this isn't everything you can do, but it's a start. What ever you do or try, I suggest you make this one of your goals: ENGAGE with the consumers where they are. 

All of these resources exist so that you can build relationships with the people that are looking for you -- they already exist. And you don't have to sell to them; they want to buy. They are merely waiting for you to solve their problem.

That's the beauty of web -- you can find them and start a conversation. But you have to go find them where they are. Taadaa.

Have some more to add? Please do so in the comments; love to hear them!