This week Rosh and Dean offer advice to a reader who wishes to promote his work after time away from the business of his craft.

• Experience podcast #126
• Hosts Rosh Sillars and Dean LaDouceur
• This podcast is about supporting artists and creative companies with business, creativity and marketing ideas.
• Topics Mentioned: Rosh’s daughter Ava, how to promote yourself, call for entries, photography, dogs, What is your story?
• People, places and things mentioned during the show: Paul Treacy,  A photo editor, Mitch Joel, Seth Godin,  General Motors ,  Ford, Chrysler
• Comment line 206 202 3586
• E-mail Prosperous Artists
• New Media Photographer
• Prosperous Artists
• Artist blog, blogging for artists, artists podcast, marketing podcast, art marketing
• Who’s creative:photohumourist
• Music: Confusion Said
• QUESTION :  What action can you take to promote yourself?

Word of mouth has been a very powerful tool in my business.  It usually starts based on my words from my mouth.  I am very careful about how talk about my company and how I train the people around me to talk about my company. 

We keep our words, ideas simple and easy to understand.  But, we also work hard to make those words interesting.  Boring ideas will not be repeated. 

Every time you talk about your business to your employees, business partners, people on the street or family members you are starting or continuing a word of mouth campaign.   That is why it’s important to keep it positive or say nothing at all. 

Even of the cuff remarks made to your spouse or close business associates will most likely be repeated in future conversations. You will likely talk to numerous people about your business over the course of a year.  It is important to think about what you are saying.

Have you thought about the topics you should are sharing.  The concepts and ideas you are hoping to spread.  Do you have a word of mouth campaign plan?  I do and so should you.

When people ask me about my business, they will hear about my travel.  Why? Because, it generally creates a positive impression about my company. If people are willing to spend money to fly me around the country to use my services or hear me speak, the impression is that I have the needed skills to do an exceptional job. 

I talk about my specialties; people, food and interiors.  I let them know about my low risk per image pricing system and why it’s a good way to do business.

If time allows, I will share stories and present some of my images.  But, usually I keep it simple.  I don’t want to overload people and create a bunch of static.  My goal is to share just enough information to peak their interest enough to make it worth remembering and repeating.

So, what words are you going to share?

Rosh

Seven words screaming pay attention – Headlines Matter.

I was reminded about this a few Friday’s back. Maybe I should have been watching Kelly and Laura Jean more carefully when they were watching the band What Happened In Vegas play a live set at the local Hot Topic store. Instead, I was across the way at a news kiosk looking at magazines.

Here are the headlines that screamed off the covers to me:

• Shia LeBeouf can’t get laid – Details
• Uma Opens Up – InStyle
• Rule Your School – YM
• Tim McGraw reveals his new tatoo – People
• The 5 Faces of Barrack Obama – Time
• Too Busy To Live? – O Magazine

My point is this: you have to draw people in as quickly as you can. As you drive past a billboard, you only have a finite amount of time to make a first … and lasting impression. Great headlines say something in only seven words. Bad ones ramble.

Alas, some of these headlines resulted to sex, power or extreme behavior to cut through the clutter. I’m sure that Shia has his share of girlfriends. Ms Uma is being more candid then anything else. YM isn’t advocating marshall law. Oprah is preaching time management. The Democratic Party presidential candidate doesn’t have multiple personality disorder. On these, some of you may beg to differ …

The power of a synopsis is to draw us in … not to disappoint us. When talking about your work, writing ad copy, or just putting a subject in an email – craft something that shows some more thought then a million monkeys on a million computers writing Shakespeare. And always strive to do it in seven words or less!

Rosh and Dean are excited to offer their first interview with Chris Marshall of Collected Comics Library. 

Who’s creative comicgeekspeak.com

Rosh and Dean

Rosh and Dean talk about the summer business tune up list.  This is part one of the two part podcast (continuing next week.)  This list consists of twenty action items based on a post from June 24 on the  prosperous artists blog.  The first ten are listed below.

1) Evaluate your business goals: Do you need to make adjustments?

2) Reconcile your books

3) Follow up with old clients

4) Update your client database:  Input new contacts and remove old

5) Review contracts

6) Make it the holidays in July: reward people who have help you

7) Attend a new networking group:  Attendance is low in the summer and it’s easier to build  connections.

8 ) Make sure you have enough and the proper insurance coverage

9) Clean your office and organize your files

10) Update your computer software, clean your desktop and back up files

Blogs are an important part of marketing your story.  Your blog is your story and helps to present the depth of who you are for the world to see.

Directories are not the best answer.  They tend to be crowded and not very effective.  I’m not discouraging you from listing your site, but don’t make it a priority.  More people will find your blog through search engines.  Thus, making tagging your posts all the more important.

One of the best methods to encourage people to visit your site is to comment on other blogs and forums.  Don’t hold back, express yourself with insight and whitty comments.  Average comments will not stand out in the crowd, boring will be overlooked and useless information will not encourage people click on your link.

Always make it easy for people to find you.  Place your blog url address just below your name and don’t for get to add the http://  so it will active a direct link.

The ultimate answer is givers gain. The more involved you are in the community, the more valuable advice and creative insight you share the more people will want to read more about what you have to say.

Rosh

http://roshsillars.wordpress.com

If you know the answer to this question, you may have a problem.

Networking is not about passing out or collecting as many business cards as possible.  It’s about developing relationships.

You want to learn how to ask good questions and listen for opportunities in the answers.  The opportunities may not have anything to do with the person standing in front of you.  But, a warm lead and introduction may be in the offering.

As you develop relationships you provide ideas that will help keep you top of mind and encourage others to spread your story.

I recently met a person a few weeks ago who said “I’ve heard of you”.  He was meeting with some clients who happen to be looking for a photographer. He found it interesting that the next three people that walked in room all mentioned my name and said I was the best.

I’ve taught numerous networking partners how to find work for me and I’ve gained great dividends from those relationships.

These relationships didn’t start by handing someone a business card and rushing off to the next person.

Rosh

My last thoughts on all this contact management and CRM tools —

When you harness the power and potential of raw information, it then becomes usable data … much the same way water can be harnessed and used to turn a turbine, change a solid into a liquid or quench a thirst.

I highly believe in opt-in broadcast email. There are many solutions, such as iContact or Constant Contact or GoDaddy’s Express Email Marketing. Each one is a cost effective way to tell people who want to know some aspect of your business. I can say that it was one of the cornerstones on which I built Roundtable Promotions and Publicity.

When broadcast emailing, You want to set up a regular schedule and send them something outstanding … not just a message that says “Use my products and services.” Guard your email list with all your heart. I say this from experience – Be careful how you use it. I once loaned a different business us of my broadcast email list, and it lost me a number of clients and prospects who were confused by their message coming from my emailer.

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If you can, put all your data every so often in to a spreadsheet. Take a few minutes to play sort and scan with your data. Look at the columns of info you may have before you. Here’s some quick ideas for you when looking at your data:

- Just look at all of it and just see what jumps out at you. Make note of the trends and patterns of data you sense.

- One of your patterns could be that you don’t see certain types of people or too many of certain types of people.

- Don’t confuse friends and clients. Don’t pad your list with your buddies. If they don’t use your service, they may just be friends. Clients and prospects have the potential to use your service.

- Look at the job titles of the people who buy your goods and services. Chances are outstanding that people with the same job titles would have an interest in the things you do. If you work with some one at company A, they have to have someone else who handles those responsibilities at their competitor.

- You may find that a lot of people who have interest in you may also live or work in a small number of zip codes.

- Work to have the right amount of information on people. Do they use skype? Do they have one email for work and another for their off hours? Do they only have a cell phone?

- How many people do you have information who you don’t know … or worse, wouldn’t recall you if I mentioned you by name. If you sense this, you’re not doing well enough a job of staying in touch.

Here’s hoping you use what ever system makes sense to get the word our about your products and services. It’s okay if people want off your list, but those who get comfortable with your contact will welcome your communication updates like a letter from a friend. As a creative, play with it … have fun with it … but find something that works for you.