bio | marketingforhippies.com

Ten Story Revealing Questions

By: Tad | Published: July 22, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Whether it’s a product or a service – people are very curious about and reassured by stories. Your story is often at the heart of your credibility. They want to know what makes you so good at or so passionate about what you do. Stories humanize things. Stories connect people. No one wants to hear pitch (maybe Donald Trump, but the man isn’t well . . .). People want to hear stories.

1) What got you started doing what you do? What drove you to do this? What was the moment when you realized you just had to start this business?

2) Why did you choose to go about it the way you did?

3) How did you go about developing your particular approach to the problem?

4) What were the major obstacles or hardships that got in your way as you built your business?

5) What have you experienced in your life that gives you the ‘street cred’ to do what you do?

6) If you’re David with your business – then who is Goliath?

7) Why are you so passionate about what you do?

8) Who has been your Obi Wan Kenobi? Which mentors or teachers have most inspired you in this work?

9) As you look back over your life – what are the primary questions you’ve sat with, struggled with? What are the different elements you’ve been trying to balance or weave together?

10) If you had to sum up your life in three chapters, what would the chapter titles be and what would they each be about in one sentence?

If you’d like get cool posts like this in your inbox every few days CLICK HERE to subscribe to my blog and you’ll also get a free copy of my fancy new ebook “Marketing for Hippies” when it’s done.

| Categories: becoming a hub, marketing strategy, word of mouth - Tags: authenticity, bio, building trust, communicating value, marketing, real, safety, stories, trusted advisor

Marketing for Psycho-Therapists

By: Tad | Published: July 10, 2010 · 1 Comment

I just met with a therapist today for lunch.

We were doing a consultation and it really reminded me of something . . .

If you’re a therapist it can kind of seems like you’re screwed in the marketing department.

After all, ethically, you can’t even ask people for a testimonials sometimes. You can’t really build a community amongst your clients since confidentiality is so important. And there are often a lot of strict relationship boundaries at play too.

Hardly sounds like the warm, relationship building kind of marketing that we’ve come to know and love.

So, what to do?

Here are my top tips for therapists:

online video: give people a chance to virtually ‘meet you’. This could look like a welcome video on your website, or you talking about a topic that fascinates you, it could be you in conversation with or being interviewed by someone else, it could be you showing people your office where you work. So many things. The content is important, but, surprisingly, the fact that they can get a sense of your vibe just from how you are is just as important. Don’t underestimate the power of ‘vibe’ in marketing.

a blog: write about things you’re passionate about. Write about your critique of the counseling industry, share your own journey, write about the worst and best counseling sessions you ever received and what you learned from them, write about how cooking a good meal is like healing work, write about how what you learned mountain climbing made you a better counselor. Let them get to know you and how you see healing and therapy.

free talks: Do as many of these as you can. Get out there in front of people. Tell them your opinions on things. Talk about the topics you’re most passionate about. Are you passionate about masculine/feminine dynamics? Talk about those. Are you passionate about the idea of the shadow? Talk about that. Are you passionate about movement and healing? Talk about that. Get. Out. There. This lets people meet you in a very safe way.

write a book: Being an author gives you instant credibility and it’s kind of the best sales letter you’ll ever write.

anonymous case studies: if you and your clients are okay with it – why not share stories of some of the clients you’ve helped. You can change the names, dates and details as long as you get the heart of it across. These kinds of ‘before/after’ stories are incredibly powerful.

free sessions: most therapists do some version of this. because it works.

a great photo: if you’re all about warmth and understanding in your practice but your photo seems cold, austere and unforgiving . . . I can’t even begin to tell you how much money you’re losing. Find a good photographer and get a photo that really captures you.

a kick ass bio: go and get Nancy Jutten’s Bye Bye Boring Bio ebook. Your bio is likely the most important piece of marketing collateral you have.

think niche markets: sure you COULD help everyone. But it’s useful to think about the groups you’re BEST able to help. Pick your top three and really focus on those. To read more thoughts about identifying your niche click here. To watch some videos, click here.

connect with other hubs of those niche markets: Who is already connected to those niches? Who do they already trust? Doesn’t it make sense that if those people knew about your practice that they would refer you more business? Click here to read some more about hubs and to watch some videos click here.

| Categories: holistic practitioners, marketing tactics, Uncategorized - Tags: authenticity, bio, building trust, marketing, pink spoons, pressure free, real, safety

Does your bio have all four of these critical elements in it?

By: Tad | Published: July 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Since I sent out the promo for the spring sale of my colleague Nancy’s kick ass bio ebook “Bye Bye Boring Bio!“, I’ve had a few people ask. “What about youuuuur bio Tad?”

Uhhhm . . . I’m working on it? Will totally share it when I’m done.

Perhaps we can all work on ours together? (high fives)

The Four Critical Elements of a Kick Ass Bio:

So, today, I thought I would share with you what Nancy (The Bio Whisperer) considers the four ‘must have’ elements of a homerun bio (you may have never considered some of these before).

CRITICAL ELEMENT #1: Stunning Results

Your stunning results are the most compelling benefits you deliver for your ideal client.

Here are a couple of quick examples:

- Bette James Laughrun’s Isagenix nutritional supplements business was the #12 income earner in the company for much of 2008.

- Patricia Fripp is an award-winning speaker, sales presentation trainer, and executive speech coach who delights audiences, electrifies executives who speak, and transforms sales teams.

- Marci Shimoff is the woman’s face of the biggest self-help book phenomenon in history, Chick Soup for the Soul. Her six best-selling titles in the series have met with stunning success, selling more than 13 million copies worldwide in 33 languages and have been on the New York Times bestseller list for a total of 108 weeks.

CRITICAL ELEMENT #2: A Succinct Story

This is a short, concise story that gets to the heart of your passion for your business and grabs attention in a compelling, memorable way.

Here are a couple of examples:

- Even as a young child, Dennis Conner was aware of his environment. He noticed that by pushing furniture and accessories around, he could affect how his space felt. This passion for three-dimensional space has been a driving force behind his career and life choices … If you’ve looking for help in selling your home, wanting to make your home or office feel and look better, or need assistance with holiday space planning, call Dennis Conner at Design Dialogue. After all these years, he’s still pushing furniture around.

- Publicists need to be able to keep a secret. Publicist Nancy Juetten often tells her clients that as a nine year old, she figured out how many licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop, and she’ll never tell.

This is a memorable, compelling, and engaging way to build trust and invite new opportunities to be of service. It works very, very well.

CRITICAL ELEMENT #3: A Sassy Sound Bite

This is a memorable, compelling, engaging way to build like, trust, and respect with your ideal client.

- Kim Duke of www.salesdivas.com believes that cold calling is best left in the freezer.

- Credible quotes from the media can also serve as sassy sound bites. For example, Meetings and Conventions magazine calls Patricia Fripp “one of the country’s 10 most electrifying speakers.”

CRITICAL ELEMENT #4: Social Information to Help Your Clients Know, Like and Trust You Immediately

Don’t keep your bio strictly business. Add a comment or two to help your ideal client like you on the spot.

For example:

- Emmy Award Winning TV Show Host John Curley can make balloon animals and grow a beard in less than a week.

- Viva Visibility Blogger Nancy Marmolejo is fun, friendly, smart as a whip and prone to creative outbursts.

- DIY Publicity Expert Nancy Juetten‘s son Kyle says that if there were Olympic medals for cleaning, she would earn the gold.

| Categories: becoming a hub, holistic practitioners, marketing tactics - Tags: bio, building trust, real, stories

Is Your Bio Doing You and Your Business Justice?

By: Tad | Published: July 8, 2010 · Leave a Comment

I want to tell you why I will likely not be helping anyone redo their bios anytime soon.

(If you are an independent professional such as a coach, consultant, solopreneur, aspiring and thriving author, speaker or infopreneur – pay attention – Even if you aren’t this could me more relevant than you might think)

It’s about your bio.

But to rewind . . .

I was just in California for a pretty amazing meeting of some of North America’s top business and marketing coaches.

I’ll tell you about it sometime. Pretty cool.

While I was there I met a lady who has been referred to as a “bio whisperer”. She helps people take their mediocre bios and make them ‘wow’ worthy. In the last year I’ve come to understand how our bios are one of the most overlooked and undervalued parts of our marketing. So, a few months ago I totally redid my bio.

And, since she was sitting next to me, I pulled out my laptop and I showed it to her.

I thought it was really good!

She did not.

Within five minutes, she had given me a whole new understanding of what my bio could sound like. She lovingly, expertly and yet ruthlessly eviscerated, critiqued, took apart, reworded and re-imagined my life story.

I was sold. You need to check her out.

Her name is Nancy Juetten, and she is the author of the popular and well-reviewed “Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action Guide”.

I just bought it. It kicks ass. It’s one of the most practical, high value ebooks I’ve ever read.

If you want to jump right to buying it – you can go here:

CLICK HERE

But before you do – let me give my pitch on why your bio matters. A lot.

Why your bio matters more than you think:

We live in a day and age where people are more skeptical than ever about advertising, marketing and business. Cynicism is rampant. Dealing with faceless corporations in the age of facebook is losing its luster.

In the age of social media – relationships matter more than they ever have. People are no longer buying from ‘companies’ they are buying from ‘people’. And the beginning of the relationship is them being clear about who you are and what you’re all about.

Relationships matter. So does authenticity.

People smell bullshit faster than ever before.

And attention spans are shorter than they’ve ever been.

To sum it up: we live in an age of A.D.D. cynics.

So you have to capture their attention FAST. And they need to get that you’re ‘REAL’ extremely quickly too. Within seconds of seeing your marketing materials (e.g. brochures, business cards, websites, posters) they will decide if you are relevant to them and whether or not they like and trust you.

Harsh but true.

Your bio is the place they look to learn about who you are and what your story is.

Your story is what they will or won’t connect to. If they connect to your story – they will overlook a lot of marketing gaffes.

There are three possible scenarios with your bio:

SCENARIO #1: No Bio. This is terrible. Suddenly your business feels cold. Bureaucratic. Antiseptic. A bit too clean.

SCENARIO #2: A Bad Bio. This might even be worse. I have read bios that come across as resumes, or too quirky and no substance – some that make the person seem incredibly arrogant. If you’re making reference to your “extraordinary capacities” as a “prodigy” and citing your “exemplary achievement” – I might consider cutting those bits out. Regardless of ‘how’ it goes wrong – a bad bio will lose people faster than anything. After all, if you’re they’re going to be getting the support from you but they don’t connect with you . .

SCENARIO #3: A Great Bio. When you have a great bio people’s hearts will leap. It will become immediately clear whether or not it’s a fit. They will feel your humanity and already have warm vibes towards you – before you’ve ever met. A rockstar bio will also share your story in such a way that you earn expert status and media attention. More and more people aren’t buying products or services – they’re buying stories. They want to feel a connection with what they’re buying. Your bio is central to that.

And there is no product on earth that I know that can help you create an inspiring, clear and powerful bio like Nancy’s ebook.

When people ask me for help with their bio I will send them to her ebook.

Why is it so good?

Her ebook (and I think this is the best part) is paaaaacked with examples of real life bios that work. It’s one thing to hear the concepts and hope they work – it’s another to read a bio and feel the impact of it.

It’s also packed with step by step instructions on how to craft your own.

So, go check this out and let me know what you think:

CLICK HERE

warmest,
tad

| Categories: becoming a hub, holistic practitioners, marketing strategy, Uncategorized - Tags: authenticity, bio, real