Are You Building a Brand or Cash Grabbing?
Branding and making money go hand in hand, right? Well, yes, absolutely they do. BUT, there’s a huge difference between the two, and it’s this difference that business owners have to keep in mind if they hope to succeed in business and make things go as smoothly as possible.
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‘Cash Grabbing’ Businesses
We all want to make money, and with the way the economy has gone, the drive for cash seems to have intensified. The faster and easier we can make it the better. But, this isn’t always a good thing. You see, these techniques may work very well, but the results only last for a short time. They can also have serious, negative effects on your business.
Spamming is a great example. You know what? It works. As much as we all hate it, it works very well if you know what you’re doing and choose the right industry. Many people can make thousands in the day or two that the website is live and ranking in the search engines.
Unfortunately, the search engines try to get rid of these types of websites as quickly as possible, so you don’t have long to make money. It doesn’t help your reputation any and you can guarantee that you’re going to make a lot of people mad. In fact, an image of a large, angry mob with pitchforks and torches comes to mind.
Article marketing is another popular way to build links. While I won’t debate the value of the method in this post, I will mention that this portion of marketing is famous for being loaded full of…well…junk. Now, if I were to do this, I believe it would damage my business. How? Because I’m a copywriter and I make my money by providing quality. Have I done it? Yes, but after I learned a bit more, I stopped.
This is why I use a completely different form of article marketing. I create high-end quality pieces that people want to link to and place them on authoritative sites. This reflects my quality and improves my reach at the same time.
The same thing happens in real life. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I mean those marketing tactics that rival those of our biggest political figures. These are the tactics that aren’t necessarily illegal or wrong, but they still make you cringe just thinking about them.
Again, these business models make a quick turnaround and die. It doesn’t mean that you can’t make a living off them. It just means that you’d better not get attached to it. You’ll be starting numerous companies and websites simply to keep your income at a decent level.
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Building a Brand
When you build a brand, you rarely make large amounts of money at the start. It’s a long hard slog that can be downright disheartening, but the result is a legacy you will undoubtedly leave behind. These businesses also run completely different from the cash grabbing businesses mentioned previously.
Brand focused businesses rely heavy on word of mouth advertising, social media, and…well…advertising period. But, you need to be cautious. Every move you make will reflect back on your company and have either a positive or negative effect. This includes your marketing tactics, networking, charity, community events…everything.
If you are building a brand, quality is absolutely vital in everything you do. You need to look and act the part. You need a quality website, quality advertising materials, a quality marketing program, and a good connection with your target audience.
In addition to appearance, you don’t want to risk having something fall apart during one of the most critical moments in your business’ life either. And believe me, this happens. It’s Murphy’s Law. There’s no taking a short cut; everything you purchase and do has to match your image.
When I set up my new website, for example, absolutely everything from the architecture and keywords to the types of services I chose to offer and how I set up my business model were all chosen for specific reasons. The same can be said for my marketing strategy. I don’t want my clients to feel hunted or pressured. They can trust me to help them, and they know if I don’t know the answer, I can find it for them.
As for how far you’ll get by building a brand, it’s hard to say. You might become the next Richard Branson of Virgin Mobile, or you might only make enough to live out your life comfortably, but I’m a firm believer in the idea that it isn’t worth having if you don’t have to work for it.
So, knowing both sides, how will you choose to build your business? Do you prefer one method over the other?
Things Are Looking a Little Different Around Here
Well, it’s true. Things are looking a little different around here. New name, new design, new plan, pretty much new everything. And, let’s just say that it’s been one HECK of a ride. Sorta like a roller-coaster on steroids with a bit of horror movie mixed in.
Anyway, there’s lots of little glitches roaming about and a move to a new URL in the mix, but it’s certainly coming along. In the meantime, please excuse anything that isn’t quite yet up to snuff. I will launch the site officially once I get everything done and will kick it off with a really cool contest my husband and I came up with. I can’t wait to get it going!
In the meantime, a few huge, massive thank yous (in no particular order). These people truly are the best in the business and some of the best friends I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. I have put my business and life in their hands and would do so again any day. These people have given me everything and more.
To you guys: Even though I’m a writer, I just can’t seem to find the right words to thank you quite enough. You played a huge part in helping me get to where I am, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful. Hopefully, the good Karma comes back to each of you tenfold, and if there’s anything I can do to repay you, please let me know. I can only hope to give you all a fraction of what you have given me.
Tim (Tim Nash) — My development wiz and resident bacon-saver. Not only did you help me out immensely, but you’ve outcoded everyone I know and helped me see the light when I thought I was seeing the end. I thank you for the support, conversation, laughs, friendship and willingness bravery to tolerate the rant of the century.
Ian (MC3 Design) — My designer… You truly are the very, very best. Your work is as beautiful as your kindness. I am forever a devoted fan and friend. Again, thank you.
Glenn (Divine Write) — Confidant, Smarty Pants, Mentor and Friend. You have been the voice of clarity and reason from the day we started Tweeting. Your great business sense and willingness to give me a listening ear have made it possible for me to be where I am today. I am forever in your debt.
Netta (Word Webbing) — Best friend and goddess extraordinaire — Netta girl, we’ve laughed together, cried together, gotten angry together, and made good use of each other’s shoulders. It’s people like you that make this world wonderful. Thank you for always being a call, tweet, or email away. I love you like a sister.
Albert and kidlet (My devoted family) — You’ve been there with me through thick and thin, give me the gears when I needed it, a hug when I thought I was going crazy, and have made all of this possible. I love you two with all my heart and don’t know how I could ever go through life without you.
Preparing for a Small Business Disaster
I recently tweeted the question ‘What is one mistake the webmaster’s often make?’ While my Twitter followers came up with lots of great answers, my dear friend Charles, who you may know on Twitter as @hawaiianshirts, came up with a fantastic answer. He asked what I would do if something happened to my website. In all honesty, I couldn’t come up with anything besides the word ‘panic’.
To get a little farther into the topic, Charles came up with the excellent post I am sharing with you today. This post really got me thinking about what would happen if I was no longer here. What would happen with my company? My website? Would my husband think to check? Heck, my poor darling doesn’t know how to check my email. The entire situation would be quite a nightmare, I’m sure.
Webmaster Disaster Preparedness for Small Business
In memory of all of the on-line small businesses that did not weather the storms; but with a little forethought, possibly could have.
Like many small businesses on-line you have poured every penny you could get your hands on into the business. As well as devoted hours upon hours of your time to get where you are today. Business is good, your brand has a following, and your family business is paying the bulk of your personal and operational expenses.
Yep, we have all done the Snoopy dance at one time or another. But lets bring in the evil thunderclouds and rain on your parade.
You awake one fine morning and find out that your business or ecommerce website is no longer online. Your money tree has vanished overnight; you think to yourself… what shall I do? The reality is that you’re in a complete state panic and you can’t think clearly at all.
Ok so you managed to calm down enough to make a call your hosts support department (that is providing they offer 24/7 support). The support technician finally answers and informs you that the RAID controller went out last night and IT is working on it. Whew, glad it’s a problem with the RAID controller and not my site. Even though you have no idea what a RAID controller is, you take the tech for his word and make the assumption that it will soon be fixed.
Minutes have now turned into hours and support is now telling you the repair is estimated to take a few days. Assuming you are financially dependant on your ecommerce site, you are now faced with some important decisions. I am willing to bet that very few SB have any idea what to do next.
That is why you need a Disaster Preparedness plan for your small business. Hint: Your first step is for you to go out and buy a tabbed notebook. Also keep in mind that my suggestions and comments below are not intended to be a business or site specific nor a comprehensive plan. But I do hope they make you give thought to this important, yet seldom talked topic.
- Your site is down and you have determined that you need to move to a new host. Time is money and researching prospective hosts can be time consuming. Do it while things are rosy, once you have decided on a backup host, write down all of the pertinent information in your book under the Hosting tab.
- Shipping API’s, what could go wrong there? I mean all those do is retrieve the shipping cost from the shipping service. Ok smarty pants, your pinging USPS during the holidays and their service is down for an unspecified time. Folks, you just lost your ability to make strong holiday sales. Without a shipping rate being returned, its most likely that your shopping cart wont allow the user to proceed and or close the transaction.
- One solution is to ready an API for a backup shipper. Some 3rd party carts have multiple shipping options so all you may need to do is pre-configure it, and then it’s just a flip of a switch. Regardless, note it in your notebook so you have a quick reference.
- Site management. If you’re like many SB you are probably the cook as well as chief bottle washer. If your stricken with an illness that lays you up for weeks, maybe even months, do you have someone that can fill your shoes?
You probably don’t, so it’s highly advised that you discuss this amongst those who will be impacted by your absence. In your site management section, document where, what and how the site is managed, as well as any passwords that may be needed, etc.
Don’t forget things like domain renewal, management of auto payments etc
- You give up the ghost in your sleep. Ok that’s certainly not my idea of an early retirement, but I could happen and does. I asked my wife Peggy what she would do in that situation, she so elegantly said she might place a for sale ad in the paper. I steered clear of the “its an Internet business” discussion and asked what the selling points would be and how she would conduct the transaction. Her response then changed to “I don’t know”. Well that’s an honest and respected answer because I don’t either. Is there such a thing as a website Realtor?
- Accounting. Well you may say that it has nothing to do with the actual website, indirectly it does. As Webmaster you’re probably in charge of managing your payment gateways and reporting features. In your notebook, document the critical processes as well as offer some insight on how to access them. If your temp bookkeeper is under the gun to file your estimated state sales tax and they can’t access the data, you’re in a heap of trouble.
- It’s all on your PC, what can go wrong there? I say anything and everything can go wrong with a PC. When your hard drive blows up just how do you plan on accessing all your important files? Answer, you don’t. So play it smart and buy a thumb drive with a fairly large amount of storage capacity. On it you can store a backup of your web, as well as important files and other information. Also if MS Outlook email is a key component of your business operation, make a copy of the .pst file and store it on your thumb drive. Microsoft’s .pst files have a size limit and once you hit it you will loose all core functionality and access to your local emails and settings. You will get no warning that its about to happen.
So that’s my short list for a Webmaster Disaster Preparedness plan for small businesses. Think about your own business, discuss with those concerned, and document an escape plan. It just might help you survive an otherwise cataclysmic web event
Mahalo
Charles Stankovich, co owner of Wave Shoppe Hawaiian Shirts
(On a personal note, Charles creates stunning Hawaiian dresses, shirts, and sarongs from fabric he has designed himself. They are truly beautiful, and worth checking out.)
Changes For Angie’s Copywriting
Hiya!
In case you haven’t noticed, things have been quiet. Well, I have no excuse except to say I’ve been very pleasantly busy! And I have an announcement:
Angie’s Copywriting is getting a new look, a new brand, and a new direction. We’re doing away with all of the old stuff and bringing in lots of new and exciting things. When is this going to happen? A few weeks hopefully depending on the copywriter and the technical side of things. 
In the mean time, hope things are going well with all of you, and if you need anything, please give a shout!
An In-Depth Look At Morals, Values and Business
I had originally planned to write a post on the single biggest mistake anyone in business makes, but I had a very pleasant surprise yesterday. A fellow Twitterpeep and a passionate SEOer known as Suthnautr (David Curtis in the real world) posted a response to my post “Do Morals and Values Affect Your Writing?”
He took it quite a bit further than I did, and frankly, did an excellent job. I fully agree with his points and wanted to share that with you as well. In reality, I think this is something that everyone should consider whether you get a paperroute or are starting with a fortune 500 company. Without further delay, his guest post/response:
Having studied philosophy, morals and ethics a bit I believe that I owe it to people to tell them the truth.
There is more than one way to tell the truth, however. If a little girl’s cat runs away and gets run over (and I know because I have seen it get run over) I won’t tell her the truth – I’ll tell her that most cats that run away get found by nice families and are given a new place to live. Technology needs its own truth – if I were explaining technology to a tribe living in a jungle led by a medicine man with rattles and a string of animal claws who didn’t understand it, the truth I would describe would be something quite different from how I’d word it on my Web site meant for more technically experienced and educated people. I have taught basic computer to people for years – and I know for a fact that these same people often can’t figure out how to set the clocks on their microwaves, VCR’s, etc – you know the old joke from www.internethelpdesk.com (no longer around, I’m afraid), where the tech refers to them all as just “Serious 12 O’Clock Blinkers”.
There are PLENTY of them around – a whole LOT of them around – and a whole LOAD of them are business owners and executives. Special considerations have to be made explaining things to them, because someone told them once (and they will NOT let it go) that there is just one thing and one thing alone that’s important – (when it’s not and hasn’t been for ten years) and if you don’t agree with that, then you’re, well, just no “good”. So if they can’t be educated, you still owe it to them to help them because they’re so ignorant and mis-informed that for their own good you have to take them on as clients because if you don’t, they are going to get ripped off big time.
Morality and ethics are a bit different from “truth” – and maybe more akin to philosophy – where perceptions of reality are shifted based upon whichever philosophy you adhere to (Whether you know it or not – we all view the world through the veil of some kind of philosophy or another). Sometimes I have to help shift someone’s philosophy slightly to let them see an advantage in something I’m proposing.
In general a lot of Web copywriting in the past has relied on print advertising scenarios and solutions (fear tactics, keep up with the Jones’, jump on the bandwagon, be the first in the neighborhood etc. etc.) or whatever else made sales happen as expected. More recently the “Imagine that…” scenario seems to have worked well… but now the Web copywriting model is more of a “dialogue with the people, and do it genuinely, they’ll find you out if you don’t” (with which I agree). But the fact is that in all I do, I personally believe in my true heart of hearts that what I do now, right now, is the right thing or I wouldn’t be doing it. Tomorrow I may learn differently and change – but keeping up with what works today is the best way to do things.
As far as (finite) money goes, making money is a game of musical chairs (visit my site http://www.buildingcapital.us ) to see why someone MUST lose even if everyone did everything exactly right – and everyone was a CPA keeping every rule and doing everything by the book. My job is to get the money that’s out there. Someone has got to get it, I do my job better than most, and I owe it to my family, my wife and my kids to get it first – by convincing those who will get ripped off if they hire someone else that I’m the right man for the job, even if I have to say I agree with his idea that we must do something I know no longer works.
The economy is full of artful and successful con-artists and rip-offs who truly do not care whom they hurt. The economy is such that some will always make it and some will always go bankrupt – and my job, my number one job, my obligation and moral duty, is to do whatever it takes to make sure that the guy living in the tribe in the jungle (whether it be filled with trees or tall office buildings, whether that non-technical guy has a title like chief or CEO, CFO or is just some citizen operating a small to medium family owned business) is to make sure he doesn’t do worse (out of ignorance) by hiring someone not as good as me at performing the services I perform or by hiring someone who is promising the world and is going to rip him or her off for quadruple what I would charge. It is also my duty to lead him in the right direction if the job is beyond me and he needs someone better. I will NOT screw him up just to make money.
My personal morality and ethics play a major role in writing, all the time.
(Image provided by MacieKlew)
