Tiny Business, Mighty Profits

Super Cool Tool For Making Visuals

Russ Henneberry — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:47:49 +0000

Wordle allows you to paste text into it’s simple user interface and it spits back a visual of that text.

This is a visual representation of this blog post about creating a Content Marketing Plan.

Check out the visual that it created:

Which Of These Would You Share With Your Network?

Russ Henneberry — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:11:33 +0000

Firstly, it is critical that you watch at least part of the second video to see the woman explain why it is important to drive safely while she has a poodle sitting on top of her head.

Secondly, sometimes it just takes a real life example to illustrate a point.

I have said ad nauseum on my blog, in my Meet Up group and everywhere else that anyone will listen to me — that…..

“We only share that which we find valuable with our network.”

Which of these videos below would you be more likely to share with your network:

This first video is a prime example of a business trying to apply old marketing techniques to the Internet. She thinks that the Internet is the same as her television set. Sorry honey, I only watch commercials when they are wedged between two kick-butt scenes in Lost.

This next business owner is not only a master of animal husbandry but also of creating good content for the web. Content that (if we were so inclined) we would be proud to pass around the social web.

What are your thoughts? How do you go about ensuring that you create content that gels with the social web? How many miles do you think you could drive with a dog on top of your head?

(Attention SEO Newbies) What You Need To Know About SEO

Russ Henneberry — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:26 +0000

So, you are wondering “What Do I Need to Know About SEO?”

This is a series of links to other posts that I have written about SEO. It was surprising to me how much I had written about the subject.

Start clicking on links and you will certainly learn something if you are a SEO newbie.

SEO and PPC are where I “cut my teeth” in Internet marketing but I have since began to distance myself from them as I discovered the wonders of Content Marketing.

Firstly, the days of using SEO as a stand alone strategy are gone. SEO needs to be a part of your overall Internet marketing but is not the end all strategy that it used to be.

That being said, it is very important to understand how the search engines work.

Here is what you need to know:

Firstly, SEO is about outranking your competition for keywords or keyword phrases. You need to understand how to use a basic Keyword Research tool like the Google Adwords tool to get started.
You need to be worried about your competition as much as you are about your own site — do some competitive research.
Get your on-page SEO taken care of:
You need to understand how to check the number of incoming links you have as well as how building inbound links can affect your website rankings.
Lastly, it’s time to take a look at how social media will eventually intersect and meld with SEO.

The 5 Tool Tiny Business Owner

Russ Henneberry — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:19:36 +0000

Well…. the Cardinals are on a losing skid and this may be one of those seasons Saint Louis baseball fans would rather forget.

We could blame Tony LaRussa, but in the end it is the players that have to show up and get it done. We just seem to be a bit short on talent this year.

Baseball scouts look for players that have all of the following five characteristics. These players become affectionately referred to as “5 tool players.”

Running Speed
Arm Strength
Hitting for Average
Hitting for Power
Fielding

These guys are natural baseball players. They are built to succeed.

It got me thinking —- what would a 5 tool Tiny Business owner have?

The 5 Tool Tiny Business Owner

Tool 1: Common Sense

You don’t need a Finance degree to run a successful tiny business. I mean seriously… when is the last time you needed to run a Dupont Analysis for your tiny biz? Yep, that’s a Wikipedia link to ‘Dupont Analysis’ — who else but Wikipedia would have an article about that snoozer topic?

What you do need is the ability to reason through situations, keep your head level and figure things out. Common sense is a difficult skill to learn and train someone on — you kinda have it or you don’t —- like running speed in baseball.

Tool 2: Courage

Your courage has certainly been tested as a Tiny Business owner. I am certain of that.

The courage to get out of your comfort zone. The courage to walk into a sales presentation that is over your head. The courage to tell a customer that they are wrong and stand your ground. The courage to pull the plug on a partnership or to pull the trigger on a new product or service.

It takes courage and a heavy dose of it.

Tool 3: Persistence

If you are a tiny business owner, you were the type of person that didn’t know when your big sister had you whooped at Monopoly. You didn’t think that being down 65-4 in your 6th grade basketball game was a big deficit.

There is no quit in you.

If something isn’t working, you try harder or you try something new.

Tool 4: Kindness

Isn’t it refreshing to know that the Internet is making kindness a key “tool” to business success. It’s true. The Internet turns your business into a crystal clear fish bowl.

And we are all tapping on the glass and staring at you.

If you aren’t a good person, we will find out. If you aren’t genuine, we will find out. And if you are kind and do good things for others — we will find that out too.

As Dr. Deb Carlin says, Kindness is good business.

Tool 5: Creativity

Marketing today takes creativity — I have been quoted as saying that you need to be your own paparazzi.

Creating articles, video, podcasts, infographics and whatever else to build attention or buzz requires a bit of creativity.

Creativity can be developed — the more you write, the better you will get. You will start to find your voice in your podcast or video posts.

Do You Need All Five Tools To Win?

Absolutely not. But it would be helpful to understand which of these are your strengths and which your weaknesses.

There are very few 5 tool baseball players. If someone hits well for power, they often can’t run well or can’t hit for average well. But running a tiny business is your profession and working on these tools will make you a major leaguer.

What about you? What tools would you include as the most important in running a tiny business? What tools should tiny business owners be working on? Will the Saint Louis Cardinals make the playoffs this year?

Pulp Fiction Style: Vincent Tells Jules About Corporate Life

Russ Henneberry — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:00:09 +0000

Vincent: You know what the funniest thing about working for a corporation is?

Jules: What?

Vincent: It’s the little differences. A lotta the same S@#% we got with our Tiny Business, they got there, but there they’re a little different.

Jules: Examples?

Vincent: Well, at Big Bucket, Inc., they actually have a supply closet. And I’m not talking about no little drawer full of staples and Scotch tape, I’m talking about a real supply closet.

Do you know what they call a – a – a day off at Big Bucket, Inc?

Jules: They don’t call it a day off?

Vincent: No man, they got a Human Resources department there. How would they know whether you were doing enough work or not?

Jules: Then what do they call it?

Vincent: They call it PTO. Paid Time Off.

Jules: PTO!

Vincent: That’s right.

Jules: What do they call it when you take off for a funeral or something?

Vincent: A funeral is a funeral, but they call it ‘Bereavement Leave’

Jules: ‘Bereavement Leave!’ Ha, ha, ha. What do they call it when you just want to spend some time with your kids?

Vincent: I dunno, I didn’t spend much time with my kids.

And here is that classic scene… excuse their French…

Analytics Addiction: An Important Weekly Internet Marketing Process

Russ Henneberry — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:58:53 +0000

People love marketing on the Internet because they say it is (and I quote)…

“more measurable.”

But —— in an act of irony only outdone by my 2 year old daughter wearing a “Daddy’s Darling” onesie while screaming and raking my face with her fingernails —— I usually find that business owners have no way to measure what is happening on their website.

Using “The Google Machine”

Google offers a free program called Google Analytics that will offer you more than you care to know about the health of your website. It is easy to install (especially if you are using WordPress) and is designed for even the most data averse business owner.

No matter how UN-analytical you are, there is one report you should look at once per week.

[I will mention here that this report is the "gateway drug" to all other reports. If you monitor this report once per week, you will soon begin to delve deeper and deeper into the statistics. And this is a good thing --- unless you become a statistics junkie. You will know that you are a statistics junkie if you are checking your Google Analytics more than once per day and are looking for a way to access it via your smart phone. ]

Traffic Sources Report

The Traffic Sources report is an important report to look at once per week.

There are only three different sources of traffic on the Internet:

1) Referring Sites

If someone links to you, you write a guest post or you place something interesting on a forum or comment section of a website —- people will click and they will register as a visitor to your website.

This type of traffic is reflected as “Referral Traffic” in your Google Analytics.

2) Direct Traffic

If someone bookmarks your site — or someone types your website address directly into their browser this is registered as direct traffic.

3) Search Engines

If someone goes to Google.com, Yahoo.com, etc and searches for ‘best yellow widget’ —– then Google/Yahoo displays your site and the person clicks —- this is search engine traffic.

The Gateway To Google Analytics Addiction

Take a look at the breakdown in the image above. Almost 3/4 (70.48%) of the traffic to this website is coming from referring sites.

Aren’t you curious?

What websites are referring all that traffic?

What keywords are people typing in when they are coming in via ‘search engine traffic?’

How long do people remain on your website when they enter via Direct Traffic vs Referral Traffic?

This is why I call this the “Gateway” report in Google Analytics. It leads to Google Analytics addiction. :)

Click to drill down on these reports and find out where the traffic is coming from. Start exploring the statistics on your website once per week.

It will do you good.

But be careful. Don’t become an Analytics junkie. The data, in and of itself, doesn’t make you any money. It is a tool.

Do you use an Analytics program? How do you keep from checking it every other hour?

What Are Your Trigger Phrases? An Exercise In Gaining Referrals

Russ Henneberry — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:08:05 +0000

Do you know them when you hear them? Of course you do.

They make your ears perk up like my 4 year old’s ears when I say the word “PANCAKES.”

They are the phrases you hear that make you say —– “That person should hire me.”

Mine are:

“I have a great idea here but I don’t know how to market it.”

“I just need someone to teach me how to use the InterTubes to market my business.”

“I need a new website, mine is really outdated.”

Who Else Is Listening For Your Trigger Phrases?

We all know that referrals are gold.

We know that you should be cultivating referrals —- but how do you do it?

Sometimes it seems easier to cultivate cherry tomatoes in the Saudi Arabian desert than to cultivate referrals.

Here is an excellent exercise in gaining referrals for your business — grab a pen and paper (or open your favorite word processor software) and write down as many of trigger phrases as possible.

Now, open up your email software and write an email that goes something like this:

Dear Mr/Mrs Referral Source,
I love you and you love me — we are a happy family. With a nick knack paddy…. wait … AHEM!

I realize that you and I have been friends for many years and have sent each other many referrals but I wanted to give you some formal information about the products and services I offer and the “trigger phrases” that you might hear that would make you realize that someone could benefit from my services.

I have included in this email a full list of my products and services along with a list of trigger phrases that I often hear when someone needs my products and services.

I am hoping that you will reciprocate by sending me a list of your “trigger phrases” and directing me to more information about your products and services.

Or something like that. Buy, you may want to omit the nick knack paddy whack stuff — unless you really know the person.

Educating Your Referral Sources

The real tragedy in tiny business is that while people may very well want to refer you, they are not able to because they don’t know exactly what you do.

What exactly do you offer?

Using content, like this blog post, an email, a video, etc to educate your referral sources about exactly WHEN and HOW to refer you can be a powerful exercise in gaining referrals.

What are your trigger phrases? How can we educate each other about when and where to refer each other? What is your favorite nursery rhyme?

The trouble with having magic hands…

Russ Henneberry — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:00:22 +0000

is that when those magic hands aren’t working, you aren’t making any money.

Yesterday, I heard someone describe a local chiropractor as having “magic hands.” Which sounds like a good thing to have when you are a chiropractor.

However, if all you have to offer is intimately tied to you —- it kind of paints you into a corner.

You don’t have a magic process.
You don’t have a magic product.
You don’t have a magic location.

You have magic hands.

Those hands can’t be sold to someone else. They are a part of you. Those hands can’t be outsourced or hired out. They are a part of you.

If you remove your hands from the picture, the business fails.

This is often the case with tiny businesses and I think it is definitely the case with the business I have built thus far. For Pete’s sake — my domain is russhenneberry.com. My business is me. It is my speaking, my writing and my personality (good or bad) that defines my business.

If you remove me from the business — it’s dead.

I need to remedy this situation. And I would like you to consider your business in this light.

Are you building something that will persist if you remove yourself from it? How can we make sure that our businesses can be sold in the future, that we can hire out or outsource work? Do you use a chiropractor? Does he/she have “magic hands?”

Braveheart Rallies The Troops For a Sales Call Against A Larger Competitor

Russ Henneberry — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:27:05 +0000

William Wallace: Tiny Business Owners, I am William Wallace.

Soldier: William Wallace is 7 feet tall.

William: Yes, I’ve heard. He writes blog posts by the hundreds, and if he were here he’d win dozens of sales over our Big Business Competitors by cold calling and sweet talking prospects.

I am William Wallace, and I see a whole army of Tiny Business Owners here in defiance of the tyranny of our large competitors. You have come to win this sale as a tiny business owner, and mighty you are. What will you do with that tiny and mightiness? Will you show this prospect that you have more flexibility, a greater understanding of their needs, and superior customer service to your larger competitors? Will you show them content on your website, distribute that content through social networking both on and off-line to show that you have are an authority in your industry?

Will you fight for this sale?!

Veteran soldier: Fight against that? No, we will run, and we will find a smaller project that is below the radar of our larger competitors.

William: Aye, fight and you may lose this sale, run and you’ll find smaller deals. At least for a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our competitors that they may take some of our sales, but they’ll never take our tiny and mightiness?!

And here is the legendary speech …

The Wide Gulf Between Observation and Participation

Russ Henneberry — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:26:30 +0000

When you are listening to the broadcast of a sporting event there are two commentators:

Commentator #1: This guy is a well-spoken graduate of broadcast school that has a solid radio voice and can make the action on the field come to life with his words. He is the “play-by-play” guy.

Commentator #2: This guy or gal is usually an ex-ballplayer. He has played the sport that he is talking about. He isn’t the most polished radio or television voice but when he speaks, he knows what he is speaking from experience. He is the “color” guy.

When I am listening to any broadcast I am much more interested in what the “color” guy has to say about the game, than the “play by play” guy.

The “color” guy has been there. He has done that.

He has participated.

This is true in marketing as well. There are thousands of activities you could undertake to market your business today:

You could start using Twitter
You could take out a Yellow Pages ad
You could create a directory listing on Bing, Google or Yahoo
You could snail mail 1000 postcards to a list
You could create a Facebook fan page
You could take out a 1/4 page ad in your local paper

There is only one way to TRULY learn how to use a tactic —- participate in it. Do it. Test it out.

Become the “color” guy.

And when you are looking for advice make sure you are not putting too much stock in what the “play by play” guy has to say.

What are your thoughts about participation vs. observation? What advice do you have for the rest of us? Who is your favorite sports broadcaster? (Mine was John Madden —- BOOM!)