Sound Solutions: North Bank Audio Solutions

I’m not asking this question from a political perspective in any sense. I am a Barack Obama supporter, but by no means do I assume that all or even most of the readers of my blog, listeners of my podcast, my clients and colleagues are.

What I do expect from you, regardless of your political sensibilities, is to learn from the success of his political campaign from a marketing perspective.

Here is a few of things I noticed and admired about his campaign from a marketing perspective. If you have anything to add to the list, please add a comment with your thoughts. I may come back and add more as I think of them.

1. The consistency of the message and the brand.
   Everything from catch phrases to the typeface he used to the color schemes and imagery. Take a look at any of his YouTube videos of campaign events. They all start off with the same, simple black background and white text.
2. Everything funneled back to Obama.
   Even though he had a team of people working for him, everything the campaign did came back to him. His campaign was uniquely unified.
3. He used many forms of media - both traditional and new:
   This is the first major political campaign to really focus on online marketing. Their new media tactics included email marketing, online video, social networking, blogging and podcasting. Their campaign efforts became viral and many of these new forms of media are quite inexpensive. Of course, they also employed traditional tactics of canvassing, TV, radio and print ads and phone banking.
4. He got his supporters involved:
   The Obama campaign’s biggest strength was in their humongous list of donors and volunteers. This can be partially attributed to his understanding of his target markets and how well his message resonated with them.

I’m sure I’ll think of dozens of things to add to this list, but feel free to help me out by posting comments on this post. You can also include what you learned from a marketing perspective from other political campaigns as well. Feel free to include things you learn to do as well as things you learned not to do.

One way to leverage your time and propel you to expert status is by creating information products. A CD is an information product. This is something that can be free or for a fee. The free option is opt-in bait for a website, the ethical bribe, or the “pink spoon” as it is sometimes referred to. CDs are extremely easy and inexpensive to create and market.

This article was harvested from a transcribed teleseminar I hosted which can be part of a teleseminar. It may not be something that I’ll sell, but it’s something that I can use as opt-in bait. Then I don’t have to deliver this teleseminar every week or month. I can just say, “Do you want to learn these things?” and I can use the same sales or opt-in page I use to get people to opt in to this seminar. I can send them directly to the recording.

It can be just as effective as a teleseminar. The only reason it might not be quite as effective is there’s not a specific date attached to it, so there’s not as much urgency for people to opt in. There’s nothing that it has to go into once you put it up there. There’s no reason not to take advantage of this kind of thing.

Also, the recordings can be sold as bonuses along with other programs or products to add value. If you have some sort of coaching or higher-end program, you can include a recorded teleseminar, for example, “The Seven Deadly Mistakes” or “Six Essential Pits.” This is a great way to leverage that if it pertains to your target market and the problems that they have.

The recordings are also an instant legitimizer. Once you become a publisher of an info product, things will start to happen differently for you. Obviously, it’s not going to happen overnight, but you will have more opportunities if you have some sort of product to sell or give away.

If you have hosted a teleseminar, you already have an info product. There are a couple of different options. One could be a digital download, which is easy to set up. I suggest doing that no matter what.

There are also the CD and print material. There’s usually a higher per CD value with these, but it really depends on your niche market. You will just have to look into that to see which one is more realistic for you and a better deal.

I definitely encourage you to get started with this. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Even if you just record and do not edit or spiff it up, your content can be a great legitimizer to give away to your prospects.

1. It’s not about you. It’s about your audience.

   Think about what’s interesting to your clients and prospects – not what’s interesting to you.

   Don’t spend a lot of time talking about the specifics of what you do. Your clients don’t care about your experience, what equipment you use or how many degrees you have any more than they care about what size shoes you wear.

   Talk about what your clients need and want and then transition into a solution. Only after you’ve made that transition can you tell them how you can help them – but even at that point, keep it solution oriented instead of detail oriented.
   
   

2. Talk to one specific customer.

   Don’t refer to your audience or readers as “you guys,” “everybody” or “y’all”. Remember – it’s about relationships. Technology helps us connect with more people, but it can also make the connections that happen seem face and impersonal. Talk as if you were talking to one specific person.

   It helps to either make up or think back to an idea client. Have you ever had a client who was a perfect fit for you? If so, pretend you are talking to them. If not, make up a person and talk to them. Some copywriters even go so far to suggest creating a picture of your ideal client, writing about their hobbies and family and giving them a name!
   
   

3. Be personal, humble and authentic.

   This is pretty much a no-brainer, but sometimes when we start promoting our business, we think it’s best to look like a “big company.” While a professional touch is important, make sure you’re being true to who you are, what you company’s mission is and most importantly – what you clients, customers and prospects want.
   
   

4. Use specific examples.

   Sometimes the best way to explain something is by showing an example. Testimonials and case studies are great examples. Try not to be entirely theoretical – some people like to have facts to grasp onto. Testimonials can also be a great credibility booster and you don’t have to toot your own horn.
   
   

5. Follow this basic formula for any big topic you present:
   
   

· Problem – Where is your ideal client’s source of pain?

· Solution – How would they relieve that pain?

· Stuck – Where might your client get stuck when trying to solve the problem?

· Process – How would they go about getting unstuck?

· Action – How can they get started now?

I recently hosted a teleclass called Leveraged Marketing Basics: 5 Simple Steps to Turn One Hour into a Successful Marketing Plan. In it I explain one simple strategy that separates those succeed with online marketing with those who struggle. I also talked about how to leverage knowledge, content and materials you already have to create tangible, scalable results.

If you’ve ever been discouraged by how long it takes to create the marketing materials you think you should have to promote your business or how expensive promoting your business seems to be, you need to download the recording of this teleclass. In this class, I reveal the secret that all successful marketers use to effortlessly promote their products and programs online.

To get the full transcript and audio download of this class for free, simply click here and register. Along with the transcript and audio recording, I’ll also give you a list of all the valuable resources mentioned on the call so you can easily refer back to them. Click here for instant access.

Here’s the scenario:

• You have your call or presentation recorded.
• You want the audio recording cleaned up.
• You also want the call transcribed.

Here’s where the big mistake comes in…

Many people don’t know which order to have things done in.

Do they have the audio edited and then transcribed, or do they have it transcribed first and then edit the audio?

Well, I’m hear to tell you the best way to handle this situation. This tip will save you literally hundreds of dollars over the next year.

1. Have the recording transcribed first.
2. Then go through (or better yet - have your assistant go through) the transcription and highlight the portions that should be deleted from the audio. Do the highlighting digitally with a software like Microsoft Word.
3. Then, send the marked up transcription to your audio editor.

The reason this will save you so much money is by being specific about what needs to be taken out of the recording, your audio editor will spend less time communicating with you and less time working on your project. He or she will be able to easily locate the edit points and remove the unwanted parts without having to listen to the entire audio.

“So,” you might say, “that’s great and all, but what if I don’t have my recorded calls and presentations transcribed.”

Well, that’s another big mistake people often make. They spend the money to have a presentation recorded and sometimes event edited, but they don’t put in the extra money for transcription.

I’m hear to tell you that transcription can pay for itself, if you follow these steps:

1. Turn your recorded teleseminars into free or paid products. Remember to require an opt-in before you give away a free gift. With the audio, include the transcripts as a pdf eBook. This will double the value of your product and allow all types of learners to consume your content.
2. Chop up your transcript into marketing materials! Some great repurposing opportunities are blog posts, articles for submissions, press releases. You can even turn them into powerpoint presentations, lay them over the video and submit them to the viral video engines.
3. Don’t do it all yourself! This one is the real kicker. The beautiful thing about recordings is that they multiply your reach and  the impact you have on the world with little added effort. What would the point be of taking yourself away from your high payoff activities when you could hire someone else at a fraction of what you charge to do these things even better and faster for you?

Need some help getting started with these steps? Contact us or check out our free teleclass on leverage marketing here.