-•- WorkAtHomeNews.com Newsletter - Issue 295 -•-
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Webmaster Help
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Changes are coming, so be ready. If you've been reading this part
of the newsletter for a few weeks then you're well aware that one 
major patent suit has been won against Microsoft. This one lawsuit
has forced Microsoft to get together with many outside companies
to look at their future. Plug-ins like Flash, Acrobat, and others
that are widely used could end up working sporadically, or not at 
all, following updates due out from Microsoft. Be sure that you're
keeping an eye on your Internet news website of choice because an
announcement regarding the changes is likely to be made soon. When
the change is announced, you will probably have to make a change 
to your website anyplace that an outside application is called. I
know this isn't going to be fun for anyone, and I am not exactly 
looking forward to making any changes, but I will be ready. If you
are not the webmaster of your site, or hired someone else for the
design end of your site, be sure you give them a call of you could
end up waiting weeks with a broken website. This really isn't the 
place for me to get into all the dirty details of the lawsuit or 
why Microsoft hasn't licensed the patented software, but this has
the potential to be big news. Macromedia, the makers of Flash are
among the companies that are very worried about the changes since
these changes could render all Flash files unavailable without some
changes, OUCH! If you think you'll be able to wait on the changes,
think again. Generally within a week of a browser update you will
see about 20% of the Internet using the new browser. That's a big
chunk of the public, a public that won't put up with broken pages.

 
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Featured Guest Article
======================
 
GOT MEME? How to Attract Your Clients' and Customers' Attention
By Charlie Cook

No "meme" isn't a typo and Got Milk, the more commonly know
phrase, is actually a marketing meme. If you've opened up a
magazine or watched TV in the last ten years you've seen the
fun and memorable Got Milk ad campaign using celebrities with
a milk mustache. Chances are it got your attention and you
remember the phrase, "Got Milk".

A good meme is simple, provocative and infectious. An effective
meme rolls off your tongue and sticks in your mind. Others
remember it and pass it along to their friends and colleagues.
It's the cultural equivalent of a gene. For those of you
without a national advertising budget, helping prospects and
clients quickly grasp what you do and having them spread the
word about your services is a form of zero cost marketing that
you can use.

You may already have a tagline, slogan, or catch phrase you
use in your marketing, but does it work as well as a meme?
Like a gene, memes synthesize complex information, concepts
and ideas and pass them along with little effort. They
communicate what you do in a few words or in a short
sentence. They enable you to get across the benefits of your
products and services to prospects in a form they'll remember
and repeat to others.

Does your current title, tagline, or catch phrase:
- Tell people what you do?
- Create a perception of need?
- Start conversations?

NOT MARKETING MEMES
- Labels such as "Trial Lawyer" or "Copy Editor" or
"Computer Specialist". The problem with labels is that they
don't tell anyone how you can help them, or which problems
you solve. In most cases they kill further conversation.

- Descriptions of work processes and methodologies. These
usually start with "I ...". While at some point a prospect may
want to know how you work, it is their problems and concerns
which interest them the most and are the best place to begin.

- Offers such as "Buy this and get two free." Your meme
isn't meant to convince someone to buy but rather to get
his or her interest and start a conversation.

MEMES
Effective marketing memes focus on a specific clientele and
a solution, or better yet a common client problem. For 
example, "I help independent professionals attract more 
clients", identifies a market and a client problem. It also 
invites the follow up question "How?" FedEx grew their now 
billion dollar business with the meme, "When it absolutely, 
positively, has to be there overnight".

Whether you use a meme in the elevator, on your business
card or in your mailings, it should help your prospects know
whether you are taking to them and define you as someone
who can help them solve a problem, and prompt prospects
to ask if your products and services could help them, too.

GET MEME
The "Got Milk" campaign used both words and images to get
their message across. If you are only relying on words, you
may need more than two, but limit it to less than ten. Use
the following steps to write your meme.

- Identify your target market.

- Define problems you solve for clients.

- Clarify the benefits you provide.

- Determine what you would like people to do after they
hear or see your meme. What question do you want
them to ask or what action you want them to take?

- Use this information to write five conversation-starting
phrases that summarize who you help and the problems
you solve.

Once you have these draft memes, try them out. Some may
elicit blank stares; others will prompt people to ask 
questions or start listing names of people they know who 
could use your products and services. A good meme can 
start a chain reaction in people's minds and prompt them 
to move from prospect to client. When you hear people 
repeating your meme to others, you'll know you've got 
one that works.

Coming up with an effective meme isn't easy, but its the
lowest cost and most valuable tool in your marketing tool kit.
You may be pushing prospects away with your current
tagline instead of helping people understand what you do
and, more importantly, what you can do for them. So get
meme, and get going with your marketing.

---------------------------------------------------------
2003 C In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. 
The author, Charlie Cook, helps independent professionals 
and small business owners who are struggling to attract 
more clients and grow their businesses. To get the 
free marketing guide, '7 Steps to Get More Clients 
and Grow Your Business' visit 
www.charliecook.net or write ccook@charliecook.net


 
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Marketing Tip
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The do-not-call list is big news, but probably not for the reasons
you think. The do-not-call list has been in the news due to legal 
battles, but it has bigger meaning for us marketers. The fact that
so many people are behind the do-not-call list clearly shows that 
the public in general doesn't want to be bothered any more with an
intrusive advertising medium. The obvious hatred for spam is also 
a clear indication. What does it mean? It means We're are going to
have to focus on inquiry based marketing. Inquiry based marketing 
is, in effect, focusing on consumers who have already expressed an
interest in our product or service in some way. Pay-Per-click is a
great example of inquiry marketing. Consumers say they are looking
for product X, and the inquiry returns a list of providers selling
product X. Another great example of inquiry based marketing is the
magazine ad. For example, you sell tennis balls, so you put an ad 
in a tennis publication. Ok, seems obvious right? Well, you're on 
base with that assumption but have you really looked for any sites
or publications where you can use inquiry advertising? The average
business owner is still pumping their ads into an adverting world 
that is overloaded with ads already, and consumers are tuning them
out more than ever. A key to your upcoming advertising success is 
going to be getting your ads included in places where they aren't 
looking so much like an ad. Think about it, when you visit one of
the search engines, do your search, and get your results, do you 
think of those results as ads? Many of them are, but as a consumer
you're not seeing them that way. Think about it, and then put this
simple strategy to use for yourself.

 
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