John Bradley Jackson

“One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one you feed.”
- Cherokee Author Unknownmebeli

I think I was about 12 or 13 years old when I became aware of the two wolves that battled inside me. Like the Cherokee parable, one wolf was good and the other was evil. Like a lot of young men, I made good choices and I made bad choices. Sometimes, the evil wolf made me lie to get what I wanted. Most of the time, the good wolf encouraged me to do the right thing. I did the best I could while not truly understanding this duality within me. I never told anyone about the two wolves—for me it was a private angst.

As an adult I have learned to manage a truce with the two wolves, but from time to time my desire to win at all costs was prodded on by the evil wolf. My corporate life found me battling many bad wolves; some were my bosses and coworkers while others were my customers. They challenged my ethics and begged me to do whatever it took to “succeed”. It seemed that the higher that I climbed the corporate ladder, the more I was challenged to compromise my personal ethics so I could do what the corporation needed. I regret that I made some lousy choices and hurt others in the pursuit of money and position while being subservient to the wolves at bay.

Because of these ethical challenges and my desire to take control of my work life, I eventually left the corporate work world for my current life as an independent writer, consultant, and teacher. I wanted to better manage the wolves within me and make better choices. Moreover, I wanted to teach others how to make better ethical choices—I guess that may sound lofty or presumptuous.

Yet, even today the two wolves are still at war within me. I must feed the good wolf daily to keep him strong since the evil wolf still lives.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

E-mails dominate B2B communication. E-mail volume dwarfs that of the telephone, fax, and direct mailer.

If you are like me, you are getting dozens if not hundreds of e-mail messages a day; most are spam and are deleted. The rest are scanned or put aside to be read later. The truth is most don’t get read.

Given this low survival rate of an e-mail, the writer must resolve to communicate efficiently with the hope to engage the reader. Here are a few thoughts about how to write better e-mails.

1. Always personalize the letter with the reader’s name. It is cliché, but no word is more important than the reader’s name.
2. Be brief. If you can’t get your point across in a few sentences, your e-mail will be deleted. Short e-mails rule.
3. Avoid attachments. Attachments are the domain of viruses, spam, and eye fatigue. Ever fearful of hackers, readers more and more are choosing not to open attachments.
4. Give context. If the reader does not know you by name, tell them how you came to contact them or where you met. Give them a reason to continue reading.
5. Use simple subject lines. Use a subject line that accurately describes the purpose of the e-mail. Don’t tease or fib. Clever subject lines reek of spam.
6. Be clear. Say what you mean. If there is a call to action, tell them. Be specific.
7. Tell the truth. If you are selling something say so. A good value proposition tells the reader why to buy.
8. Benefits sell while features tell. Speeds and feeds will be ignored. Focus on how your offering helps the reader.
9. Key points need white space. Present your key points with lists, dashes, asterisks, or bullets surrounded by white space. This says read me.
10. Call to action. Close with the next step, the call to action, or what is needed.
11. Contact information. Include your signature with all your contact information.
12. Consider a Postscript. Postscripts are a great place for a reminder about the call to action or for an incentive.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

As mentioned in my previous blog entry, my Google Adwords campaign was suspended because of “malware”. Additionally, my blog URL was flagged as potentially harmful to visitors. All in all, not the marketing message that I want send.

After nearly two weeks of back and forth with Google and my web designer, we found “tracker code scripts” embedded in my blog. The only cue was a set of brackets <> with invisible HTML code embedded. The code could have been cut and pasted erroneously from a website, but more likely it was done with malicious intent. Regardless, Google considered the tracker code harmful to their customers.

I got a message today from Google saying that the issue was resolved, but my campaign remains suspended and site still carries a warning. Maybe there is a lag for the fix.

What lessons have I learned? Hmmm.

1. There really are bad guys out there.
2. Web based businesses are not as easy as you think.
3. Virus and spyware software solutions are important but they cannot catch everything.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you know that I am a big fan of Google AdWords and the other varieties of pay per click advertising. In fact, some of you reading this blog right now came to my site from such an internet advertisement.

While internet advertising is the rage right now, it is not without its problems. Mostly, it is because of the internet pirates out there known as scammers, spammers, crooks and thieves who prey on the websites like yours and mine. The bad guys have many tools.

One such tool is “malware” or malicious software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner’s informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, dishonest adware, and other malicious and unwanted software.

My AdWord campaign was infiltrated with malware and Google caught the problem and shut down my account. The bad news is that I have to prove to Google that my website is clean. They provided me with links to software tools to clean things up. So, my campaign is shut down for 48 hours.

Additionally, my site is considered suspect for Google users for the same reasons. When I do a search for my blog, Google posts a warning that my site may not be safe. It kind of feels like the health department did an inspection and shut me down until I get rid of the cockroaches. I fully understand Google wanting to protect its customers, but this really sucks for an internet based business.

Prior to this event I routinely ran Norton Internet Security and Webroot Spyware, which apparently is not enough to avoid this type of problem since the bad guys keep on inventing new ways to get around the protective software. At Google’s suggestion I loaded a software program by Trend Micro called HijackThis. It is used to identify and purge the malware.

With that done, I contacted Google via live chat and they said that they would be back to me—-you see, they think that I am part of the problem. Let’s see how this goes over the next day or so. Stay tuned.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

In the ancient Greek poem “The Odyssey,” the story’s hero, Odysseus, tells the Cyclops that his name is “Nobody.” When Odysseus instructs his men to drive a fiery iron spit into the monster’s single eye, the Cyclops yells out in vain, “Friends, Nobody is killing me now,” so no one comes to help.

This action-adventure humor, dating to around 800 B.C., is one of the first recorded jokes, according to the classics scholar Owen Ewald, who recently presented his findings on “Humor in the Ancient World” at Seattle Pacific University. So much for the history lesson.

But, seriously, does humor belong in your advertisements? On your website? In your brochures? In your sales pitch? In your blog? My answer is MAYBE and, even then, proceed with caution! The decision depends in large part on your audience.

B2B markets are made up of business people who are a serious lot —just ask them. No time for jokes or funny business. When I was naming my book “First, Best, or Different”, I tested my prospective titles with business book readers. All of my funny titles bombed. My prospective readers were offended by funny titles such as “When Pigs Fly”; I was told with indignation that their businesses were not pigs. I think it was Bob Dole (1996 Republican nominee and World War II veteran) who said, “You don’t want to get into a wrestling match with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.”

While I agree humor can increase the effectiveness of many marketing activities, there are pitfalls or areas of risk when adding humor to your marketing effort. For example, how many times have you laughed at the Super Bowl commercials, but can’t remember what they were advertising? The joke gets attention but does not necessarily communicate the value proposition.

Also, what is funny to you can be offensive to others. While ethnic jokes are understood to be potentially offensive to some, people can get offended seemingly by the most benign things. Even jokes about hair color can prove offensive. For example, “Why do blond nurses bring red magic markers to work—-in case, they have to draw blood”. Now that is funny or is it?

Humor is also regional and cultural. What works in New York may not work in Kentucky. For example, “Kentucky: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names” may be offensive to Kentuckians. My apologies to the state of Kentucky and the fifteen families who live there. Funny? Not to my relatives.

I find humor to be particularly misplaced in email communication because it is a two dimensional medium and can be easily misconstrued. Simple sarcasm can be interpreted as mean spirited. Have ever had someone react angrily to an email you wrote when you truly meant no ill will? I know I have. Because of this I have all my blogs read by a professional proofreader and morals expert (my wife Janet who has blond hair this week).

When in doubt, be discriminating about your use of humor in your marketing. If you feel your funny idea might be offensive, it probably is. Keep the jokes for the country club or dinner table—it is just safer that way.

Did you hear the one about the blogger who …..

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Internet advertising is growing three times as fast as the other methods. Marketers spent $21 billion on search marketing in 2007. It is forecasted to reach $31.3 billion by 2011 according to International Data Corporation. In 2000, internet advertising revenues were effectively zero!

While internet advertising is still relatively new, companies can successfully implement an internet marketing strategy with dramatic results. The options include rich content, paid search campaigns, blogging, and article writing.

A 2007 search study by Enquiro found that 65.3% of business buyers said they would start their research with a search engine. The study found a heavy reliance on online research in all aspects of the purchase cycle.

What really matters to the search engines? First of all, don’t think of your home page as a static brochure — home page, product page, services page, about us, and maybe a news center. Rather, think of it as a resource for people to solve problems. Searchers will use a keyword or phrase that describes their problem, their pain or a general category of solution. Thus, be sure to populate your site with relevant terms that people will use.

Pay per click advertising is hot right now since it can pinpoint your messaging to people searching for your offering. Pay per click is a form of advertising found on search engines, advertising networks, websites and blogs. The advertiser pays when a visitor actually clicks on an “ad” to visit the advertiser’s website. Advertisers bid on keywords or terms that they believe that their target customers use to find information on products or services.

Frequent content is important and this is why blogs help so much. Blogging is viewed as new content by the Search engine spiders each time you release a blog. If you don’t have a blog consider creating one. Once loaded on your website, no maintenance is required from your web designer.

Article marketing is another high impact tool which is low cost and is a type of online advertising. Article marketing consists of short articles on topics of interest to your target audience or industry. Once written, you make these articles freely available for distribution and publication in the marketplace. Each article contains a ‘bio box’ and ‘by-line’ which include references and contact information for the author’s business. Well written content articles released for free distribution have the potential of gaining the author business credibility within his or her market, as well as new clients.

Internet advertising works. Get on board.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Price skimming is a pricing strategy which utilizes a high price for a brief period of time; this type of pricing is generally used with the introduction of a new product. The purpose of this pricing strategy is to “skim” the profits before the competition enters the market.

When TiVo launched its early DVR products they commanded a substantial pricing premium in the market with the early adopters. This premium helped pay back TiVo for the R&D costs associated with the creation of the new product and the new market. Where a highly innovative product is launched, research and development costs are likely to be high. This includes the costs of introducing the product to the market via promotion, advertising etc.

Yet, there are other reasons for establishing a high price. A company can build a high-quality image for its product by charging high prices initially. This is especially true for luxury products which can benefit from skimming since the buyer tends to be more ‘prestige’ conscious than price conscious. To this buyer the high price denotes quality.

Similarly, where the quality differences between competing brands is perceived to be large, or for offerings where such differences are not easily judged, the skimming strategy can work well. An example of the latter would be for the manufacturers of “designer” watches. Buyers of Rolex watches expect to pay more for the brand; it is almost as if they demand it.

The beauty of skimming is that the price can be lowered later if necessary. The converse is seldom, if ever, true. Once you educate the market about your price, raising the price is damn near impossible.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

It is hard to believe, but my book “First, Best, or Different” was published a year ago. To say the least, it has exceeded my wildest expectations. Sincere thanks to everyone who bought the book. It means a lot to me.

I have an idea. How about you share it with a friend?

I wrote the book to help people market their products and services better. It would be awesome if you could pass it on to someone else and help them.

Thanks,

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

If you deal with difficult or angry customers on the phone, you know that the biggest problem is that they tend to go on and on, don’t listen, and dominate the conversation, which means you can’t get a word in edgewise. This consumes lots of time, and of course, it’s hard to help a customer who won’t let you talk.

There’s a simple technique that you can use on the phone to get the customer to stop talking. It’s called “silence is golden”. Like any kind of conversation, telephone conversations have rules. One of those rules is that when one person is talking, the other person sends signals to the “talker” that they are listening, and still there. This is necessary because the parties can’t see each other.

The only way to know there is a person on the other end is if the other person makes some sort of noise, usually “yes”, “uh-huh”, “I understand”, etc. Consistent with our self-defense principles, you do not want to follow this rule.

The best way to get a person to stop talking on the phone is simply to say nothing at all. If you can avoid breathing into the phone, or if you can exclude any noise getting through from your end, this is even better.

Eventually, the person on the other end will stop, and say something like “Hello, hello, are you there?”, and pause for a moment. This gives you the opportunity to say something like, “Yes, I was listening to you. Let me see if I understand what you are saying…” By repeating back what the difficult or angry customer said, not only are you back in charge, it also gives the customer time to cool off.

Now that you are back in charge, you can help fix the problem.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.

Pay per click is a form of advertising found on search engines, advertising networks, websites and blogs. The advertiser pays when a visitor actually clicks on an “ad” to visit the advertiser’s website. Advertisers bid on keywords or terms that they believe that their target customers use to find information on products or services.

When a searcher enters a keyword or term in a Google or other search engine that matches the advertiser’s keywords, the advertiser’s ad is displayed. These ads are called “Sponsored links” or “sponsored ads” and appear next to or above the “natural” or organic results on the search engine text listings or results. You will typically see these ads displayed to the right of the text search results.

Pay per click ads may also appear on websites. In this case, Google AdSense and Yahoo! provide ads that are relevant to the content of the page where they appear, and no search function is involved.

The major players in the pay per click industry include Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, and Microsoft; there also are many small players. Prices for per click can be as low at $0.01 per click. Popular search terms can cost as much as $10.00 per click.

Sophisticated buyers of pay per click advertising learn to pick multiple key words that better target their customer, but cost less. For example, “car dealers” is a common but expensive term that frequently gets bid high and may not be affordable. Yet, “Orange County California Car Dealers”, which is a much more specific term, is much more affordable. The prices for keywords are determined by an auction process and thus can change.

Pay per click is proving to be a viable and cost effective way to advertise on the web. Choose your keywords carefully.

John Bradley Jackson
© Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.