If you’re going to study anything, study marketing.
For 3 years, nearly everything I studied had to do with success principles and finance. Then came time management which ended up being my specialty. I didn’t even touch marketing for the first few years.
You might recognize them as what I refer to as the four pillars.
A few years back, if someone had asked me what they should study I would have recommended success principles because they lay the foundation for everything else.
However, today I am of the mind that as many of the best underground marketers (Frank Kern, Jay Abraham, Brendon Burchard, Dan Kennedy, etc) actually sneak in success principles so people might be better off starting with marketing.
Now I’m not saying to run over to your local bookstore and pick up a marketing book used at universities. That’s what some people would do.
Instead, I’m saying to go online, look into the individuals I mentioned above and see if you like what you see.
You’ve got YouTube, forums and sites such as mine to help introduce you to some of the best minds out there.
Even if you’re not able to attend their seminars due to location, there’s always eBay where you’ll be able to pick up some of their materials at a fraction of the cost.
Why I am so into marketing these days?
Because believe it or not, whether you’re self-employed or work for a company, whether you’re a parent or single, you are always marketing.
As Keith Cunningham says, “If you do not consciously create good habits, you will unconsciously create bad habits.” The same is true with marketing.
We need to consciously create who we are.
From the moment we leave our house in the morning, or jump online via social media, we are creating our image, so it’s critical you create the image you want for yourself.
Each day I put two to three quotes on my fan pages; something interesting, something funny, and something that will (hopefully) catch people’s eyes.
Share something of value with your followers, every single day.
That applies whether you have 10 clients or 2,000.
So when I came across an article the other day on some marketing masters I thought I’d share some of the secrets that I’ve discovered from seven of the best minds out there
#1 Seth Godin: Be remarkable
Today, we have the attention span of gnats. That’s just what the Internet has done to us. If we don’t like a website in the first 15 seconds, we’re gone. You’ve got to stand out to the market, somehow. You do that by being the best, being unique, being cutting edge, being retro, being crazy, being different, being something. As he puts it, “being the purple cow in a field of black and white Jersey cattle” is powerful. It’s not just enough to get someone’s attention; you can run naked down Main Street to get attention.
#2 Steve Jobs: Design matters
Despite what you might think, Apple did not create the MP3 player…but it’s pretty much the only one left standing and the iPod set the stage the Apple’s huge growth. The iPod, iPhone, iPad, even the Mac mini and Macbook weren’t just products but statements. Apple is kwown for creating products that work. Steve Jobs added the cool factor as well. Design might not be everything, but it’s still pretty darn important.
#3 Walt Disney: Dream big
If there’s one lesson Walt Disney taught me it’s that you’ve got to dream big. Not many people would have been able to turn what was once swampland in Florida into what is today known as Disney World and one of the most popular destinations in America. Catering to family, fun, happiness…three things that never go out of style, it’s no wonder Disney is as powerful as it is today.
#4 David Ogilvy: Never stop testing
David Ogilvy is considered the “Father of Advertising.” He was the master of the “split test,” where two versions of an ad were published at the same time, but “coded” with a unique way for consumers to respond, so the winning ad could be identified, then rolled out nationally. One of his most famous quotes: “Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”
#5 Michael Jordan: Excellence sells
Michael Jordan may not be a marketer per say, but his show brand still dominates the basketball world despite having retired from the sport more than ten years ago. During his years with the Chicago Bulls Michael dominated the game on both ends of the court and sponsored everything from breakfast cereal and sports drinks to underwear and healthcare. Even today it has been estimated that he earns $60 million from Nike royalties alone. If there’s one thing Jordan has taught us, excellence sells.
#6 Tim Ferriss: Make the huge promise
Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, is a relatively new kid on the block which his best selling book coming out just six years ago. He taught us that we love to consume huge, hyped up promises, even when we know they’re insanely unrealistic. Join the “new rich” by only working four hours a week. Who wouldn’t want that? Crazy, maybe. Marketing genius, definitely.
#7 Mary Kay Ash: Make other people feel special
Mary Kay Ash is well known for her marketing innovations which included giving expensive gifts (PINK Cadillacs were probably the most memorable), offering incentives for recruiting others and an emphasis on direct sales through friends and family. But if there’s one thing I remember about her story it’s that she constantly encouraged both the corporate staff and the independent sales force to act as if each person they met was wearing a sign around his or her neck that read “Make me feel important”.
Seven simple concepts that are worth their weight in gold and can apply to any business.
Adrian Shepherd