Posts from — July 2009

I was speaking recently at the Boca Raton Hotel, and one of the conference attendees said that most websites and blogs have deadly boring personalities. She said yours don’t!

It was a flattering remark, and I knew what she meant. The websites we create have something unique about them. Your eyes don’t glaze over when you see them, whether it is
for a dry cleaner or for an association, I think that:

Websites should be interesting:

1. They should look unique, have character, do something different than your competitors’ do.

2. Your “Stand out” benefit should show. If you’re the drycleaner that can get the ink off my linen jacket. Then maybe that should be featured in a museum.

3. You should ask for visitors’ email addresses, and give them something Free for it.

4. Your website brand should be the same as the one in your store, in your catalog…everywhere, so people remember it.

5. On this website, the dry cleaner is on a busy street, but you can always spot her truck with her Apthorp Cleaners brand on it…in all the traffic.

Continue the conversation with you visitors with a great e-newsletter or Tip of the Month…and remember to thank them at holiday time, birthdays, and odd holidays.

Call us about your website: Lois Geller: 646-723-3231

Lois K. Geller
President
Lois Geller Marketing Group
1400 Marina Dr.
Hollywood, FL 33019
P. (646) 723-3235
F. (954) 456-2877
Visit me at: http://www.joyofdirectmarketing.com
http://www.twitter.com/loisgeller

If you look real hard, you can see this lizard.

The Nike commercial that says, “Just do it” always makes me smile, because it sounds so easy…and in life few people abide by those words.

It has especially struck home recently, as we’ve had some people come and go, at my office because they just couldn’t get things done. There’s a great saying in the Dale Carnegie Course, “I know people in the ranks who will stay in the ranks. Why, I’ll tell you why, because they haven’t the ability to get things done”

Our art director is not like that and I’ll tell you what happened at dinner last night…

His friend was telling me an amazing story. Apparently Donald was out on his terrace, and cleaning off some foliage from pillars he’s replacing. So, he was up on a ladder, and noticed that there was a palm frond hanging over the top of the roof. So, he reached up to pull it down, and jumped when the frond, leaped back away from him. Donald saw that he had pulled the tail of a huge lizard, and he said he could feel (and hear) the thumps as the angry lizard marched up the rooftop.

Wow, I couldn’t believe it. I would have moved out of the house the same night. I kidded them, and asked what the lizard’s name was. Donald said he had none. So, I named him Lizard Ferrer, as a take-off on the big investment bank, Lazard Freres.

I told my friend that I wanted to see what this thing looked like. And, first thing on Sunday morning, I received this photo of the strange looking critter. I was amazed at how beautifully Mother Nature had painted him, so he blends right in with the foliage.

And, I love the photograph so I thought I’d share it with you. And, I want to make the point that if you need to do something on that list of yours, get it done. Don’t think about, worry over it…or ponder too long. You might miss an opportunity.

Just do it!

This year I spoke about the power of Social Media, sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. One of the things I like about the social media world is that in many ways it’s like direct marketing on steroids – faster, more intimate, and easier-to-measure.

I was amazed that many in the audience didn’t know about Twitter or LinkedIn. Some had Facebook accounts for showing family photos.

I spoke about strategy and how to drive followers from Twitter to Facebook and then to your blog. As people get to know you, the more likely it is that they will do business with you, especially in b2b.
The title of my talk was How to get Tons of Free Advice on the Internet. I showed them how I floated questions on LinkedIn and received dozens of great answers from leading lights in our field.

My enthusiasm for this subject is over the top because I have a great time meeting people online. The Merit audience wanted to know the basics. I was amazed that with all of the publicity around these programs (how did Obama win the election? Social Media) that they hadn’t at least tested the waters. After all, it is all free.
My takeaway was:
· Many people in business are depressed. They’re worried about their companies and their jobs.

· They are waiting for business to come back as it has in the past.

· They are marketing conservatively, doing what they’ve done (just mailing less).

My advice to them and you:
· Develop the right attitude now! If you stay positive and keep on truckin’ – trying new ideas – something is a bound to work for you.

· If you just wait for business to come back, as it has before, it might not. Go after any piece of business that has a chance to pay off for you. (I call it the Dandelion Theory.) Blow out as many programs as you can, and one will take root. Maybe more.

· Now is the time to think creatively. Tell people about the benefits ofy our product or service, as if you were recommending it to a friend. Skip the rhetoric. Talk like a human being and tell your prospects why they should buy it now.

· Don Libey at the conference said, WAYMISH. Why are you making it so hard for your customer to buy from you? Make it easy on your website, on the phone, on your direct mail. Short is best.

And, let me know how you’re doing. Visit me at twitter.com/loisgeller at LinkedIn: Lois Geller, Facebook: Lois K. Geller and by email: loisgeller@loisgellermarketinggroup.com Easy, huh?