Answers to your Marketing questions...
I got some pretty good questions, and comments from you guys, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to answer them today.
Email #1:
Hi
Here's one for you.
Where would I buy leads for a business like this: Mill Your Own Lumber
Everywhere I look people are selling lists directed only to marketers that only sell to marketers. If someone only understood that there are many people selling all kinds of different things people would be making a fortune! John B
Mr.X: John, thanks for the great question. Actually there is a really neat place you can go to find all the commercially available mailing lists, email lists and trade publications. It's called the SRDS (Standard Rate and Data Service), and they publish HUGE monthly directory of all the lists you'd ever want. The good news is, most public and university libraries subscribe to it, and you
can go there and use it for free. Just ask the librarian to take
you to the "SRDS." In your case you may also want to look at the SRDS consumer magazine directory, and the SRDS trade publication directory--I suspect there are plenty of in print publications that cater to the crowd you're looking for.
Email #2:
Hello Mr X:
I would like to ask this: If i *DO* have a product idea (to record AND make transcript or e book of ) how would I then most
cost efficiently (or Free?) copyright it to be my exclusive property so that I could then issue "resale rights" or not per se, and open to the limited and master rights issues as well?
Thank You
Bruno
Mr. X: Thanks for the question, Bruno--it's one I get a lot. While I'm not giving any sort of legal advice here, it is my understanding that when you create a product, all you have to do is put a copyright notice on it, and the date. Just look in the front of any book, and you'll see, "Copyright MMIV, Joe Blow Publishing." That's all you need--you'll then own the copyright. You can also register your work with the US Copyright office, but all this allows you to do is recover more damages if you have to sue anybody, which business-wise is a real pain in the butt.
Email #3
Hi Mr. X,
I've just created a new information product and need to get some testimonials. How do I go about it if I haven't got the product produced yet? I have the transcribed CD's but not the produced product.
I also do not know any famous marketers well enough to ask
them and don't know how to contact them anyway...
I've attached the sales letter that will become my web page once my web guy gets around to it. Any input would be very helpful - this is my first product of this type.
Thanks,
Joe M.
Mr. X: Thanks for the great question, Joe. The best way to get testimonials is to have a testimonial contest with existing customers, or prospects. In your case, you may want to give away some of your transcripts, and then offer a big prize (usually a 30 minute phone consultation with you) to the best testimonial, smaller prizes to everyone who submits one. Using this strategy I generated 10 pages of outcome-specific testimonials in about two days--it's amazing what people will do to win a contest. Obviously they have to truthful, but most people will submit something useful.
As far as getting to know any "famous marketers," the best way is to invest in their materials, take action, get results, then send them (mail or fax, not email) a summary of how you got the results you did using what you bought from them. If you do this constantly, they will eventually take notice of you--all "famous marketers" are always on the lookout for up and coming doers, and they also appreciate those few people who take action with what they teach.
Thanks for the great questions, guys--keep 'em coming. Send them
to: marketingquestionsonly[at]michaelkimble.com
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
Email #1:
Hi
Here's one for you.
Where would I buy leads for a business like this: Mill Your Own Lumber
Everywhere I look people are selling lists directed only to marketers that only sell to marketers. If someone only understood that there are many people selling all kinds of different things people would be making a fortune! John B
Mr.X: John, thanks for the great question. Actually there is a really neat place you can go to find all the commercially available mailing lists, email lists and trade publications. It's called the SRDS (Standard Rate and Data Service), and they publish HUGE monthly directory of all the lists you'd ever want. The good news is, most public and university libraries subscribe to it, and you
can go there and use it for free. Just ask the librarian to take
you to the "SRDS." In your case you may also want to look at the SRDS consumer magazine directory, and the SRDS trade publication directory--I suspect there are plenty of in print publications that cater to the crowd you're looking for.
Email #2:
Hello Mr X:
I would like to ask this: If i *DO* have a product idea (to record AND make transcript or e book of ) how would I then most
cost efficiently (or Free?) copyright it to be my exclusive property so that I could then issue "resale rights" or not per se, and open to the limited and master rights issues as well?
Thank You
Bruno
Mr. X: Thanks for the question, Bruno--it's one I get a lot. While I'm not giving any sort of legal advice here, it is my understanding that when you create a product, all you have to do is put a copyright notice on it, and the date. Just look in the front of any book, and you'll see, "Copyright MMIV, Joe Blow Publishing." That's all you need--you'll then own the copyright. You can also register your work with the US Copyright office, but all this allows you to do is recover more damages if you have to sue anybody, which business-wise is a real pain in the butt.
Email #3
Hi Mr. X,
I've just created a new information product and need to get some testimonials. How do I go about it if I haven't got the product produced yet? I have the transcribed CD's but not the produced product.
I also do not know any famous marketers well enough to ask
them and don't know how to contact them anyway...
I've attached the sales letter that will become my web page once my web guy gets around to it. Any input would be very helpful - this is my first product of this type.
Thanks,
Joe M.
Mr. X: Thanks for the great question, Joe. The best way to get testimonials is to have a testimonial contest with existing customers, or prospects. In your case, you may want to give away some of your transcripts, and then offer a big prize (usually a 30 minute phone consultation with you) to the best testimonial, smaller prizes to everyone who submits one. Using this strategy I generated 10 pages of outcome-specific testimonials in about two days--it's amazing what people will do to win a contest. Obviously they have to truthful, but most people will submit something useful.
As far as getting to know any "famous marketers," the best way is to invest in their materials, take action, get results, then send them (mail or fax, not email) a summary of how you got the results you did using what you bought from them. If you do this constantly, they will eventually take notice of you--all "famous marketers" are always on the lookout for up and coming doers, and they also appreciate those few people who take action with what they teach.
Thanks for the great questions, guys--keep 'em coming. Send them
to: marketingquestionsonly[at]michaelkimble.com
Let's get to it...
Mr. X.
Group M Marketing
Kimble and Kennedy Publishing
