Grow!™ with Inbound Marketing Blog

As mentioned on my Twitter

account earlier, I am testing blogpresslite today. So far seems fine. There was lots of whining in the apps reviews about having to use Picassa with it.

First - that is true. Not the fault of the app developer it doesn't seem. Looks like Google wants it that way. Second - so what? If you've got any kind of Google account you can add Picasa with zero effort. Third - some photographer was whining about his website and not wanting to use Picasa as it would dilute his site presentation. Sorry dude - a) you don't have to share your photos at all from Picasa - google now stores blogger photos there and they can be locked and b) why not use Picasa to get yourself another point of presence, drive some traffic to your main site and even sell a print or two right from Picasa? Instead the guy bailed on this app and Picasa and a marketing oppty - probably uses only film too.

In sum, the free version works fine - I need to post a review to counter the whiners and maybe check out the paid version

Let's Grow!

- Posted by Wes Stalcup using BlogPress from his iPhone

For months, the header information at the top of the blog, has said "Grow!... the constant challenge we face from birth." 

I changed it today. 

The wording suddenly sounded biased toward the negative.  Now it says, ..."Grow!...the OPPORTUNITY we're given from birth"  and it applies to the individual or business or any other organization. 

Now I don't have anything in particular against "challenge" - I actually like the word & what it means to me.  Yet depending on context and who you are it may carry a connotation of heaviness.  Something which is daunting. Something which must be overcome. Opportunity though, tends to have a more hopeful meaning to most. 

It's been said "if you're not growing, you're dying."   That's easy to understand.  Especially if you think of plants or crops.  From that vision it's easy to map it back to our own lives and activities. 

It's easy to translate too: Growth is way better than the alternative.

Here at home in Celina, Texas we have several late season plants still growing and blooming such as pumpkins (some of the giant type for October), watermelons (tasted great!), cantaloupe (also great!), mandevilla (stunning) and morning glories (actually no bloom yet). 

Every day they reach out a little further.  The fruit grows a little bit bigger, toward a day when it will be ready for the business end of things.  Were it not for seasons and the shrinking number of the their growing hours, I think the vines would be keep right on growing.   Plants don't think about personal growth.  They just do it - assuming the right conditions.

Every day we each have the opportunity to reach out a little further,  let our dreams & projects grow a little bigger.  We can prepare to deliver results.   One advantage is we're not constrained by the seasons.  We can go right on growing, improving ourselves & producing good things 365 days a year.  The other advantage we have, is that conditions around us don't have to be perfect.  We can create the conditions for growth right in our own minds.

So, from day 1 of our lives, we have the blessed opportunity for personal growth.  Every day we get to ask ourselves and choose -  "This day, will I grow?"   The best approach?  Just make the choice to grow.  Don't even question it.  Declare it.  "Today, I will Grow!"

Let's Grow!

All Results Drivers (customer, constituents, followers, employees, members) want the answer to one question.

Do you know that question? It's only 2 words.

Ask yourself the question about everything you do on the internet and your results will improve. No doubt. Guaranteed.

A quick intro to help get to the question, so you can begin to make sure you answer it. I recently took a class where a gentleman named Jim Kukral was one of the instructors. Jim's a big personality with a lot of great insights. He always has a look on his face that makes you think he is going to bust out laughing. A smile not quite contained. You should add Jim to your list of people to get good stuff from.

Jim likes to say there are only 2 reasons people use the internet. 1) to be entertained or 2) to solve or get an answer to a problem.

Think about it for a minute & I bet you'll agree.

For this discussion, I might suggest that can even be distilled further. People use the internet to have needs met. (I can't help them with some of those needs, to be sure. :-) )

People - your Results Drivers - judge whether what you are offering satisfies their needs and wants by asking this question about everything you do.

The question? "So What?"

Ask yourself that simple question until you get to the fundamental final answer. The answer which, for your business or activity, is the last answer you can give. That answer will be the benefit your Results Drivers get from that offering.

Really simple example: You say, "We're offering new software"

So what?

"Um.. It's faster."

So what?

"Well... you get your results in less time..." (getting closer)

So what?

"Faster results mean more time for you to do other things"

Ah... So your software means the user will have more free time. That might actually meet a need or want.

Now that you have that answer, you can frame it back into your relationship with the user - in the spirit of Billy Mays - as a question to find out if it really matters. [An aside...speaking of Billy Mays, if you didn't watch the first season of Pitchmen, do catch the reruns - it's quite educational AND note that Discovery Channel has renewed the show for another season. YEA!]

"Are you tired of wasting time waiting on your old software?"

It's sound rudimentary and terribly obvious for that example. Who wouldn't do that for a software product? But, how often do we forget it or think we can ignore the concept in another context.

Do all the elements of your Growth Engine (sign up for Grow! - the eCourse for definition) answer "So What?" for the Results Drivers you engage there?

Does your blog entertain or offer usable bits of advice? Your website? Your Twitter stream? Your Facebook page? Your storefront or shop? Your YouTube channel?

Go back & double check.

Then... Let's Grow! Wes

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• Discovery renews Pitchmen (tvsquad.com)
• What's Next In Internet Marketing? Find Out! (jimkukral.com)

Everyone says you’ve got to be on Twitter. Although many aren’t sure why. Nor is it clear what Twitter will be when it grows up.

Here’s the scoop and what it means to you.

Twitter still doesn’t have a business model, which is ultimately necessary to ensure longevity. It’s likely to be acquired by a larger company and/or morph into something different from what it is now. If it doesn’t, it may not be around for long. Perhaps this creates implied risk in the minds of users.

Why might that be the case? Research now shows the retention rate of users, which is the percentage of last months users that return this month, is lower than other social networking sites and suggests people just aren’t sure what to do with it or aren’t finding value in it. It’s sort of a wild west really. There are side shows, snake oil salesmen (& women), neighborly discussions, con artists, people of

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ill repute, legitimate businesses selling or doing customer support, and so on - all tweeting away like mad. It’s pretty noisy all the time. There are dozens of tools and 3rd party support sites that have sprung up around Twitter because the Twitter programmers made access easy and open. Some of these 3rd parties do have business models. Most, if not all, have a free element which, as you’ll see, is to our - the users - benefit.

Given the lack of clarity though, what’s all the fuss about? Simply, a place that millions of people visit everyday and where many engage in actual discussion, sharing information, etc has something very compelling about it. I’ve spent a lot of hours trying to get my hands around Twitter and some of it’s surrounding 3rd party tool sites. In the process I discovered some of the best and worst of it all.

The question is, does Twitter hold any value for your organization? The answer is: yes it can, if used correctly. Remember the goal is to help you build relationships with your Results Drivers.

This post is adapted from and concludes in Grow! - The eCourse, Chapter 5.

So, if you are on the fence check about Twitter out the chapter 5 & the rest of the course for FREE by signing up over on the left column <<<<<

Make your days great - by choice!

Wes

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Last year - 2008, early in the year, I bought a new hybrid SUV (not shown) from a Japanese auto maker. It was when gas prices were at a peak. Fuel efficient vehicles, like the Prius (pictured) and similar, were in high demand. I got a little bit off the price. The financing was not as good as if I'd gotten a gas guzzler - such as a truck. In fact, I traded a huge guzzler and took a beating on that end of it. That part may have not worked so well for the dealer either. It sat on their lot for over 60 days.

The other day I received another personalized email from the parent company. One of many offers to buy a vehicle. This one offered me a great interest rate plus cash back on a "new" 2008 - the same model as the one I have, which by late in the year they couldn't move.

Frankly... I was peeved. And amazed. I was peeved because it was a better deal of course. But more so because as personal as the email seemed, it showed they ignored what they actually knew about me. It was a total waste of their email marketing loyalty program which quite possibly did more harm than good - that's the part that sort of amazed me. The company has reputation for quality and customer service. I assumed if they had that right, their customer marketing would be done intelligently as well.

Not so much. They offered me the same exact vehicle I already owned, which was one year older now, at a better price & lower interest rate. Now, there was no way they were going to take my current in trade for a new one of the same year - they already had too many and I would be upside down in the deal. No reason I would need to trade, either.

Sure, it's possible I wanted two of the same car, but unlikely. Their offer simply came off as being out of touch and impersonal. All their offers over the last year said "come get another car". This last one really set me off.

Sadly for them there was no need for such a thing to occur. With modern email marketing services they should have multiple lists and much better granularity about my status, current vehicles, how long I'd owned them & more. They would roll me from list to list over time, sending offers appropriate for my situation as a customer. Had they thought, instead, about suggesting upgrades from a dealer?... say... a trailer hitch or a complete luggage rack? Maybe something else related to a driving vacation during last summer or this coming one? What about other options I didn't take originally? Apparently not.

Are you hurting your business with a one size fits all mail list? Join the 21st century.

Use multiple lists. Don't treat prospects the same as customers. Don't treat small customers the same as big ones. Tailor your messages. One service which gives you that kind of flexibility and one we use is Aweber.

True, you have to feed and care for each list. You have to think a little harder. It takes a little more work, time and money (maybe).

Not as much as finding new customers.

Let's Grow!

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A friend asked me the other day how the notion of Grow! by building relationships with people - whom we call Results Drivers - actually helped a business needing to grow it's profits in this economy.

It's a reasonable question.

If I am talking about using technology tools such as blogs, Linkedin, YouTube or Twitter to connect with people the word "profit" doesn't necessarily get mentioned in every discussion. Point taken. Profit is at least one step removed, but far from forgotten.

In the early portions of Grow! - The eCourse, our discussion is about Results Drivers, some of whom are customers. I cite the proven idea that getting more sales from an existing customer is easier and cheaper than getting a new customer. So, closer connections with existing customers equals sales achieved at lower cost which equals higher profits. That's assuming you make a profit on sales to begin with.

If you are not making a profit on each sale to begin with there can only be two reasons: 1) your product or service with overhead costs are more than you are selling for - which is a totally different topic and one for which selling more doesn't help. You can't really make "it" up (a loss) on volume. or 2) your volume of sales (revenue) has not yet surpassed your total expense. That is: you aren't breaking even yet as shown above in the diagram. That is the case where increasing sales to existing customers and getting new customers will grow the business AND lead you to profitability. It can often do it very quickly.

The idea of Grow! is to put tools into place which can improve all kinds of key business or orgaizational metrics by a keen focus in one area: The people - Results Drivers - who have to biggest impact on your results.

Let's Grow!

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Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Grow! - The eCourse...

"There is a secret to addressing growth. One which, if you know it and use it, will keep you focused on the right activities. It will lead to thinking that drives the results you want. The secret is actually pretty simple. But first another question...who drives the results you want for any given metric? They do. Who are they? “They” - your audience - are Customers. Constituents. Community. Students. Vendors. Owners. Employees. Faculty. Board. Shareholders. Or someone else.

One thing is certain.

They are someone. People.

So here is the secret: To grow, you have to build relationships with people.

You probably knew that. You may have been doing it for years and may be very good at it. However, have you noticed something? The times are changing. Always have been, yet the rate of change is increasing. You will be glad to know, there are really only 3 things between you and all the growth you can handle."

In Grow - the eCourse, we'll walk through the tools to address the things in your way and fuel a growth engine. It's free. So check it out.

If you step back and view your local school district or local school as a business which faces many of the same challenges as a business, then you can

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easily apply some the internet's hottest tools toward the benefit of that "business". It can be a win-win for you and all the those who benefit from better schools and schooling. Obviously, the kids should and will receive the biggest benefit. Equally obvious, I hope, is that in the end, that benefits society as a whole.

Here is one area the tools discussed in Grow! - The eCourse can help. In the previous post, I noted how tax dollars were capped and test scores drove ratings. So, if your revenue is capped, you want to improve your music program, but your math scores aren't where you want them - do you spend more money on improving math scores or invest in fine arts?

First, the district needs to communicate there is a question to answer - in this example: math vs. fine arts. A blog by a district authorized person, is a great forum for this. The blog's existence would of course be communicated to the parents and tax base. At least then the constituents will know about the topic. It would be highly beneficial if such a blog where regularly updated with all manner of topics as part of a holistic communications plan.

Second, what might be a creative way to offset the need for tax dollars to fully fund two things when there are only tax dollars for partial or base level funding? Thinking like a business still, this where a school / district can do a little creative marketing. A booster club run by volunteers (parents usually, students sometimes) AND endorsed / relied on by the administration can create a more enriching experience for the students without a budget increase.

Typically, a booster club will help with fund raising and organizing the boosters. Less often do you find a) alignment with the school on a messaging program about the organization being boosted b) coordinated communication of that message and c) use of modern tools to do the communication or other booster activities. If a booster club operated more as an adjunct of the school, in terms of alignment and direction and communicated to their audience in several ways, their opportunity to grow the organization and increase the value of that activity in the eyes of the community would rise substantially.

So, let's take a school marching band as an example. Let's assume the band director and the administration are aligned on the value of band as an important program. If not, that may be first task. It works best as part of a broader plan started at the top. The administration should occasionally blog about the band. The band director (or designee) should regularly be blogging about the activities and goings on with the band: contests, awards, concerts, new half time shows, scholarships, etc. These posts should be connected to outbound RSS feeds, sent as email broadcasts, twitter feeds and so on. All parents, local tax base, school boards, students, teachers and admin should be made aware of the multiple ways to connect and receive these updates.

Now layer on the boosters. To whom the school refers in their communications.

Twitter accounts for the band could be set up. By band director and boosters. Real time updates from contests, football games, reminders of concerts, and so on could be made to constituents unable to attend. A facebook "page" could be owned by the band or band boosters, even the student members (officers or those who understand the marketing purpose) who can and will agree to make periodic updates, post photos (don't forget waivers may be needed) as well as links to the blog feeds mentioned above.

With the increased visibility and transparency at the school level, the job of the boosters adding to the overall marketing of the band becomes easier. They can feed off the support from the school itself and work on further share of mind and participation within the community. Fund raising becomes less an uphill battle as the benefits and value are communicated consistently. More non-tax funds lead to more enriching experiences. Tax dollars go further.

If the administration takes such an example to heart and applies it broadly in a suggested holistic communications plan, well, an old saying applies, "a rising tide lifts all boats."

To Growth!

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I've mentioned in this blog and on twitter, the U.S. school districts face challenges similar to those of business. Of course there are differences, but the similarities are striking. Public schools in the U.S. are a $520B "industry". A district superintendent is equal to a CEO. Principals are Senior VP's. They all report to a board. They have customers, known as students and parents. There are shareholders, known as taxpayers. They have to deal with regulatory authorities, usually the state.

There is a great need, nationwide for public school districts to adopt well designed communications plans for their audience. Who is their audience? Again, it's the people who drive their results. It includes, but is not limited to: students, teachers, parents, those paying school taxes, community and state officials. Seem like a lot of different people. That's one level of complexity. What to communicate and how are others. Nearby you there is probably a district that could use some assistance in building a unified communications plan that leverages the best tools the internet has to offer.

Here's why...

Public schools district are funded (at least in Texas) with tax dollars. It's a fixed amount per student. So, the top line revenue is very predictable and you can't just create another product to grow. You can only grow the top line by getting more students.

In Texas, districts can sell bonds, which is debt. Many people assume if a district holds a bond election and it passes it, that it means a tax increase. It doesn't typically, unless the state has authorized the increase for all districts. If a tax increase is not authorized in parallel, the only way the bonds can be sold is for the tax base to increase, because the district is likely spending every authorized dollar. Tax base increase then only happens by local growth - new neighborhoods, businesses, etc. Bond money is often used to build facilities. The reason is simple: If that money were pulled from district operating funds it would impact salaries, supplies, etc. Often a bond election is only the authorization to sell bonds in the future when there is room under the cap.

In our area, constituents complain about the constant assessment testing or preparation for same. Turns out most schools would just as soon skip it and focus on teaching/learning in others ways with other metrics. Problem is that ratings are derived from test scores. Those ratings then influence people's decision whether to live here or there. If ratings drop so do move ins and thus revenue. So the schools have to do the testing.

I'll continue this topic with other complexities faced by public schools. By now, if you are a marketing person, a taxpayer or a parent you may be getting a sense of how there is more to it than you thought. If you missed the link on some school stats it's: http://tinyurl.com/school-dists there you can find U.S. stats for public schools from 2006-7. Check the numbers.

For almost every district, increased communications with their "results drivers" will no doubt lead to outputting a better "product" - educated, well balanced kids. More on this soon.

To learn more about applying technology to communications problems like this or your district, sign up for Grow! - The eCourse

Recently, I've had the chance to visit with business owners, a school district superintendent, a school board president, university leaders, church leaders, scouting leaders, Rotary club leaders and to look in the mirror.  

Tis St. Paddy's day. It's been a busy few days preparing to take a couple of days off with family. It's "sproing" break. Of significance on the Grow! side of things is completion of the first chapter of "Grow! - the eCourse" and staging of a new email campaign via Aweber to handle subscriptions and sending out the eCourse - automatically. I love that service. and blogger too. We are lucky and blessed to have such tools at our disposal.

To learn how you can use these or others, check out "Grow! - the eCourse" by signing up at TTXW You don't even have to be Irish!

All though you'll feel more lucky if you are. and yes, I'm at least 1/4 Irish, 1/4 Scot. We're not 100% sure about the Stalcup line. The story is Swedish

The other day, I was privileged to give a short talk to my Rotary Club. The group consists of mostly local business owners and community organizations. The topic was, of course, growth. More specifically the idea of using some of the plethora of internet tools available to us all to get our expertise and message in front of as many people as possible to maintain and grow our organization.