2011 April

Getting Ahead of the Curve

April 25, 2011 by Dave Wellman Leave a Comment

This week is an exciting week for Doulos Marketing. We are working hard to get ahead of the curve in our business vision, ideals, and practices. Over the past month I have been able to really take some time to focus on our purpose and direction. I will be putting the final touches on some announcements that I will be making starting the beginning of May (along with client appointments and my regular duties as Dad and Pastor).

But, before the “big announcements,” I decided I would give you a sneak preview of what’s to come:

1. Doulos Marketing is changing its overall focus from being the “inbound marketing guys” to becoming the small-business identity folks.
2. Doulos Marketing is going to work with and help small-businesses “find themselves” and in doing so create a profitable niche that will give them all the freedom that success has to offer.
3. Doulos Marketing is going to stress the responsibility of being a socially aware business owner, understanding that every business has an impact on society as well as the economy.

So there you have it …. a different kind of marketing company …. one that will work hard to get ahead of the curve.

Stop by often, ask lots of questions, join the conversation, and let’s make a dent in the universe (Steve Jobs said this first!).

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ahead of the curve, business vision, different kind of marketing company, direction, Freedom, impact on society, Inbound marketing, profitable niche, Purpose, socially aware, Success

Do you have a marketing strategy?

April 22, 2011 by Dave Wellman 2 Comments

Often times a brilliant idea becomes a business. You know what I mean. A creative person or a group of creative people have a real “aha moment.” These creative people have a passion for something, see something that needs to be done or a problem that needs to be solved and almost by accident they find themselves in business.

As these businesses are born, often little time is taken in the development of a marketing strategy. Without a powerful marketing strategy even the most brilliant of idea is doomed to failure as a business. If you are in business today or are thinking of turning your latest brilliant idea into a business, consider three things about marketing before you do:

1. What are you really trying to sell? If you are selling your passion, make your marketing about the passion, if you are selling something solves a problem market the problem solved.

2. What is the story you are tying to tell? Steve Jobs is one of the best marketers in the world and his keynote addresses are world famous. His whole intent in these keynotes is to tell a story about the new product that would cause buyers to want what he was selling.

3. How will your offering make life better for your customer? It is said that all sales are a response to some emotion. Both negative and positive emotions drive sales. How does your marketing plan reach into the emotions of your current and potential customers, moving them to buy into the notion that they must have your brilliant idea?

Planning of any kind takes time and patience. Most people, particularly those inspired by brilliant ideas, don’t take enough time to think the marketing strategy completely through. Don’t be one of those who do not. Your brilliant idea and the confidence to bring that idea to market rest in the balance.

To your success ….

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: brilliant ideas, Marketing, Marketing plan, Marketing strategies, Marketing strategy, Strategies, Strategy

Slow times will come …

April 19, 2011 by Dave Wellman 2 Comments

Everything in life is cyclical. There are times when things move quickly and times when things do not! Busy times are always more exciting and keep the adrenaline flowing, but the slow times also have great benefit. So, don’t let these times discourage you because in business, as in all of life, slow times will come.

The question that needs to be asked and answered is, “What do I do when the slow times come?”

1. Take time to breathe. In other words, when the slow times come, use them to relax and recuperate. Everything that has life needs down time. Make the slow time valuable to you by using it to bring down the stress, getting more rest, and letting life slow down to a natural pace.

2. Take time to evaluate. In the slow times, you have more time to evaluate business/life in a way that the busy times don’t allow. Take advantage of this extra time to think, plan, and tweak your existing strategy for greater future successes.

3. Take time to explore. Peter Drucker said that all business is about marketing and innovation. The slow times that will surly come are perfect times to explore opportunities to make your business unique in your market. Look for ways to make changes that provide more information, new products and services, and more value for both current and potential new customers. This time of exploration will make your business stronger in the long run.

Every business owner knows that slow times will come. The difference between successful businesses and those that just survive is what business owners do during the slow times!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Business success, evaluation, exploration, Innovation, Marketing, Peter Drucker, Slow times, strategy for success

The Patience of Getting Found

April 18, 2011 by Dave Wellman 2 Comments

Ok – you have made the decision to start blogging. You have done your research and have decided on the five key categories of content that you want to create. You have dug down into those categories and found long tailed keyword phrases that your market is searching for and you have begun the process of blogging in those areas.

But … wait …. it seems that no one (or at least almost no one) is reading your blog posts or commenting on all of your great content. What’s up with this? How come nothing seems to be moving like all the ebooks, articles, and gurus said it would? Your frustration level rises and you wonder if this whole blogging thing is even worth it!

But, before you quit, before you throw in the towel, before you wash blogging’s “bad taste” out of your mouth, be patient. Take a deep breath and let your niche market find you. You have to remember that, until you have been around for a while, until you have been discovered by other successful bloggers, until you have established yourself as a thought leader in your niche, you are just part of the blogosphere “noise.”

Successful bloggers understand the patience of getting found. They know that like any form of advertising and/or marketing you have to establish yourself as someone that stands out from the crowd. To do this you must:

1. Separate yourself from all the noise. With millions of blogs and tens of thousands of “gurus” you must develop a strategy that says, “You need to listen to me!”
2. Become the “go to guy/gal” for value-added content in the areas of your expertise. Thought leadership is essential to the success of your brand.
3. Develop a thick skin and a never say die attitude that will allow you to keep going when things look bad and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

The story is told of a man who bought a gold mine during the American gold rush. He worked the mine diligently for two years to no avail. Broke and discouraged, he sold his claim and all his machinery and headed back east to sell insurance. The man who purchased his mine struck the “mother-load” just about one foot farther into the hillside. The first man lost his patience and the mother-load he had worked two years to find.

Don’t let a perceived “slow start” discourage you or even cause you to quit. Keep working, keep producing value-added content and trust in your ability to get the message out and the right people will find you in due time. Learn the patience of getting found that is a must to reach any level of success on or offline!

Filed Under: Blogging, Inbound Marketing Tagged With: Blogging, Business, getting found, Search, Small Business, Social Media, start blogging, thought leader

Is Crude the New Cool?

April 15, 2011 by Dave Wellman 4 Comments

Ok – so I’m about to go off on a bit of a rant today. I read a lot of blogs every day and I have seen something that has me really bugged. What bugs me is the use of crude language to get a point across.

I know that in the modern world language has been devalued and what we never spoken in business circles in times past is now “simply the way people talk today.”

It is seen in the “no BS” blog post titles, to the use of formerly unspoken words for defecation. I was even on a live webinar recently where, to my surprise, two of the countries premiere authors where throwing around the “F” word. The problem is that these are not isolated incidences, I could literally quote the use of this kind of demeaning language on more than 50 blogs I have read in the past couple months.

You can laugh at me and call me a prude if you like, but I believe that the use of such language diminishes the credibility of the user. It makes me suspicious of the “altruistic” inferences that these bloggers make about “value-added content.” It makes my desire to follow them, to re-tweet them, and certainly to hire them a non-starter for me.

I think that in hard economic times, marketers should be raising the bar and creating a level of credibility that is unimpeachable. Lowering our language to that of an “angry rebel” takes that credibility away from me.

If crude is the new cool – I choose to be old fashioned, funky, or anything that isn’t cool!

Enough said ….

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: crdibility, crude language, language, language devalued, modern language

Inbound Marketing Basics

April 14, 2011 by Dave Wellman Leave a Comment

In my last post, I defined inbound marketing as, “a strategy of marketing in which real and valuable information is offered (free of charge I might add) to current and potential clients. This information, freely given, will create trust, and in the end will create a continuing flow of potential client/customers asking for access to your products/services. In other words you provide folks with answers, no strings attached, and they come to you when you are ready to buy.”

Today, I want to let you know the keys to making this kind of marketing successful:

1. You need to find a way to let your folks know that you are available and willing to share valuable information. In order to do this you must find ways to make your presence known.

2. You need to provide those who find you with valuable content from the beginning, and then offer more in depth, more specific information in trade for their contact information. This information can and should come in a variety of forms (white papers, videos, webinars, etc.) These options allow you to reach potential clients in ways that they prefer.

3. Finally, you need to be prepared to answer additional questions and meet with those who may need your products/services.

Learning these inbound marketing basics sets your business on a solid foundation and places you in a position far above your competition (in most cases). From this solid foundation, you can become the thought leader in your industry.

Talk more later ….

Filed Under: Inbound Marketing, Local Business Marketing Tagged With: answer questions, Inbound marketing, Marketing strategy, valuable content, videos, webinars, white papers

Creating Original Content

April 11, 2011 by Dave Wellman Leave a Comment

One of the most important things that every blogger needs to understand about the development of valuable content is that this content, for the most part, needs to be original. Creating original content sets you apart and an expert and thought leader in your niche.

You see the point of a business blog is to create a sense of trust between the blogger and his/her readers. If you, as the blogger, don’t produce your own content then it is impossible to create this level of trust.

There are times when another blogger/writer answers a question or makes a point about your business in a way that you think will really benefit your readers. I have not problem with quoting that author, with giving acknowledgment to that author, and even pointing people to his/her whole article (this is actually the correct thing to do), but make your post a review of theirs, not just a re-print.

I know that writing blog posts take time, they take research, and they aren’t all that easy to produce (especially in the beginning). However, if you are not creating original content, you will not see the long-term loyally, readership, brand building, or, in the end, sales that you hoped blogging would bring.

Original, valuable content …… yea, that’s the ticket!

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: blog content, Niche, orignal content, target audience, valuable content, web content

Creating Valuable Content

April 8, 2011 by Dave Wellman 4 Comments

I have been reading a lot of blogs and following twitter very closely since re-opening the doors of Doulos Marketing at the end of October, 2011. In all of that I have found a wave of marketing being done online. However, what seems to be missing in most of what I have read is that few bloggers are creating valuable content.

To this end, I am beginning a short series of articles that will help honest and interested bloggers stem the tide and provide their readers with the valuable content that will benefit them and make the blogger a thought leader to current and prospective clients.

Valuable content begins when a blogger sees a problem in the life of his/her niche market and provides a solution for that problem. Now remember, content isn’t valuable unless it really does provide the reader with a solution to the problem, not just a tease that requires the reader to buy something from the blogger.

When you are creating valuable content, you are building a level of trust that will bring your readers back to you time and again. Your readers will know that what they are getting from you is real and really good. They will learn to trust what you say and when they need something you sell, they will purchase it from you because of what you have already done for them.

It may seem like you are putting a lot of information “out there” with no guarantee of results, but it is that willingness to give first that will bring a great return on the back end.

So, as you think about your blog or the one you are planning to create, make sure that creating valuable content is a key consideration in your marketing strategy.

What do you think? Your opinion is always welcomed!

Filed Under: Blogging, Social Media Tagged With: Business blogging, content strategy, creating content, How to, interet, Marketing, quality content, Social Media, valuable content

Got any ideas?

April 7, 2011 by Dave Wellman 2 Comments

As I have been learning and growing over the past couple years, I have been struck by the different kind of people that I have encountered.

There are those who are, by every measurable standard, successful in business. They provide a great product/service, they charge a reasonable amount for their product/service, and the make a fair profit in the end. They appear to have life by the proverbial tail and are living large.

Then there are those for whom life is an adventure and there is really no pressure to work particularly hard, to earn a significant income, or to create any meaningful impact on society. They are just “travelers” who are passing through.

Then there are the masses. This group works hard, knows their jobs well, and live to the best of their abilities, both at home and at work. This is the place where most Americans live.

As I thought about these groups and watched them carefully, I saw a few people who did not fit. They were life’s dreamers. They are the thought provokers. They are the one’s who are asking the very difficult questions, not to create strife and discontentment, but to actively seek answers. These folks are the world changers. Not by revolutions against governments, but through the changes that occur in the mind and the heart.

These folks challenge the norms, they look at life simply, they carry their emotions out in the open for all to see. They force the other groups to think!

So, you ask …. “What’s this got to do with my business, social media, inbound marketing, or anything that is going to make my business grow and be successful?” Well, that depends on how you think, how you dream, what is important to you.

If you are just looking for techniques, the thoughts thrust upon you by these dreamers will mean little and will be considered an intrusion on your day.

If your life focus in only on you and what makes you happy …. ditto.

But if you let the dreamers in, if you dare to look for answers to the questions they ask, if you allow yourself to dare to dream beyond the money, the possessions, the things, your life/business could change forever. Success will have a whole new meaning, life will be an adventure (one focused not on self but on others) and the mundane will never control you again.

So, I have only one question for you today …. Got any ideas?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: adventure, Americans, dreamers, Ideas, Questions, Success, thought provokers, world changers