Dave Saunders » Blog

Is Feedback Killing Your Results?

Dave Saunders — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:34:51 +0000

For the last couple of weeks of December I listened to my collection of recordings from notorious grump and marketing master Jedi Dan Kennedy. During one discussion he mentioned how he never has “feedback forms” available for the audience. Why?

Because

a.) he doesn’t really care about their input. If people are buying, he’s doing things right.

b.) the audience isn’t qualified to give him relevant input. The comments usually say more about the person making the comments than the recipient.

This makes sense to me because “unqualified input” seems to come from everywhere. When I’m doing a copywriting project for a client, the English Major who insists that single sentence paragraphs “aren’t allowed” may be qualified to critique my next book but certainly knows nothing about writing ad copy.

While I love Toastmasters, the obligatory “uhm counter” role carried out by the grammarian is a minor surface issue. Watch the top paid talk show hosts and listen to how many times they say uhm. Now, do you want to tell me that you can’t be a successful speaker if you say uhm when you talk?

Now, if you dig deeper and build a person’s confidence as a speaker (which is what Toastmasters is great for), the uhm’s will magically reduce in frequency on their own and the remaining uhm’s don’t sound like they’re coming from a Nervous Nelly anymore.

That doesn’t mean I don’t listen to feedback. For example, I listen to what clients say they’re looking for. That tells me something about them and there’s often more in their feedback than what appears on the surface.

“Perception is reality” is only reality for the person with the perception. Speak in front of 100 people and ask for feedback, you will receive the results of 100 different perceptions.

So which reality is reality?

All of it and none of it.

Sonia Simone at Copyblogger posted about this topic as well.

How about you? Have you ever been derailed by feedback?

Technorati Tags: Branding, Dan Kennedy, Marketing

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Position Yourself for Online Success Through Personal Brand Positioning

Jean Klett — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:40:43 +0000

When it comes to marketing on the Internet, your brand is your identity. It lets potential clients know exactly who you are and what you and/or your business are all about, and can go a long way toward separating you from the rest of the crowded Internet pack. Your brand is what it is based on who you are, how you do business, and how you provide value. That is why personal brand positioning is so important if you are serious about making your presence known online. Without it your website will quickly get lost in the shuffle. Here are a few steps that can help position yourself for success on the Web.

First of all, to achieve successful personal brand positioning, you need to take a close look at who you really are by taking the time to explore things like your core values and your passions. This will help you find your special niche, which leads to the writing of your brand description. Next, take the time to define your dreams and put them into action. Develop what it is that you are really trying to accomplish with your brand. Without an end result to strive for, you will simply flounder along without direction. Then, it’s time to take action. Define your target market and pursue them with passion.

The next step in personal brand positioning is to figure out what may be stopping you. Maybe it is a fear of failure, or even a fear of success. Whatever it is, you need to identify it and find a way to overcome it, or you will simply crash and burn. Another step in brand success is to recruit a squad of brand “cheerleaders.” It is tough to make it in any business venture on your own, so you need a corps of folks around you who will keep your spirits up during the inevitable tough times. Next, you need to learn how to package your brand. Since appearance is everything when it comes to marketing, your package needs to communicate who you are with just a quick glance.

Another important step is to develop your own unique style. This will serve to differentiate yourself from your competitors, and give your brand a distinct online presence. Finally, it is time to roll your sleeves up and get to work. With patience, perseverance and a strong personal brand, Internet market success is within your grasp.

Author: Jean Klett
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Excise Tax

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What’s 2010 Look Like for Yahoo?

Dave Saunders — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:20:13 +0000

If Google is the Godzilla of the search market and Bing is Mechazilla, Yahoo! is Mothra: Kind of sad and dorky looking but people still know who he (it) is.

Of course, it wasn’t always that way. I remember when people talked about Google as being a “pipe dream” if founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin thought they had any chance of making a dent in Yahoo!’s market dominance.

Some dent.

As mentioned in this CNN Money report, Google and Bing are kicking Yahoo! to the curb. Google’s dominance in the search world is uncontested. Today, they own the game but the former lordship of Yahoo (and Netscape, and MySpace, and Friendster, etc.) should serve as a reminder that when it comes to playing King of the Hill on the Internet, the higher ground doesn’t really mean much.

Here comes Bing. Even though Bing is 3rd in search market share, it’s rapid growth is made only more worthy of note when you consider the money machine behind it. Microsoft can afford to play with Bing until they figure out the magic formula for search (if they haven’t already).

And money is something Yahoo! is no longer swimming in. This past week they “shutdown” to save money. While this WSJ post mentions that Adobe also shuts down at the end of the year, Adobe isn’t having cash problems.

Yahoo! apparently has some money for unique marketing ideas though. They paid the extra bag fees for passengers at SFO and SJO on Dec 23rd. Did everyone get Yahoo! luggage tags in exchange for having their bag fee paid?

But with Yahoo! ending their search engine arms race, what’s left?

I’m sure these guys aren’t going to give up without a fight, but what does the Yahoo! brand even mean anymore? Creating a brand out of thin air is one thing, but having the elements of your brand fall off and try to connect that brand to “new things” is sort of like opening a can of Coke to find a lemon-lime soda inside…or New Coke!

Ewwwwwwww

What do you think? Is Yahoo! still Yahoo! without search? What do they represent to you today? How is that different from a few years ago?

Technorati Tags: bing, Business, Google, Marketing, SEO, Social Media, Yahoo

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370 Passwords Twitter Won’t Let You Use, and No One Else Should Either

Dave Saunders — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 23:40:02 +0000

From the “huh, that’s kind of odd” category, Twitter has hard-coded 370 passwords that you may not use.

To check it out, simply visit the sign up page, view source and look for the source code that starts out like this…