Respect Your Potential Clients!

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If you prefer to "learn by example" then here is an example of what not to do when someone wants to hire YOU. 

My issue is HTML for my internet/smartphone radio station's website, Groovy Reflections Radio. 

Everything is fine on the website except for one nagging issue: The coding for “recently played”  won't work correctly! HTML was provided by Shoutcast; they host the radio station. The song titles show up, however, 95% of the artwork (generally the album cover) shows up as missing. Here’s what it looks like:

Basically that piece of code needs to be rewritten. Also, it’s supposed to sync with Amazon and it does not. I also thought up an alternative solution: Insert the Groovy Reflections logo (see above) or some other graphics there. I want the listeners to know what songs they are hearing; makes it more fun for them! The current song does show up in the player WITH the LP cover so no issue there, thankfully.

I discovered that someone locally I know not only does SEO work but knows html as well. Know him a couple years, meeting through the vast Orange County network. Have met in person too at a meet-up. We had a nice phone discussion for about 45 minutes almost three weeks ago and I felt comfortable working on this with him.

Put all the information together in both text and graphics that recapped what I explained on the phone and sent it to him within 24 hours. 

He said he would look at it that weekend.

A week went by. Sent an email wanting to know if he was still interested in the project and he said he was. Then, silence. No follow through. I contacted again and said that it appeared he wasn't interested and that I would find someone else. He said he had emailed me a few days back. Never received it. Then, he said he would look at it on Wednesday! I figured, well, okay.

We are friends on Facebook. On Wednesday I saw him post about all the new clients he has. Great.

Last night I was supposed to go to a meet-up, however, taking care of my clients comes first. I stayed home. And wouldn't you know it, guess who did attend? Ah...the webs we weave by posting on Facebook. After seeing that, wrote another email and said:

 “I'm glad you are at that event tonight! I'm working on stuff for a client. My clients always come first. That's how I do business.

In all honesty, I am tired of getting messages from you that you are going to take on the project yet nothing happens. 

I am sorry. I really have to move on. I was looking forward to seeing the dazzling work you do and recommending it to others however I am on the hunt for someone who will actually do the work now.

Don't mean this to sound cruel or mean. You have to understand how I feel as an ignored client here. I have never done this to any of my clients and I guess my expectations were too high.

Thanks for your efforts.”

This morning I received an invoice for the work. 
Folks, don't treat potential clients like this! What would you do in my situation? It’s now almost three weeks and I still have an issue that needs fixing!

Rick Nelson sung about being "strung along" in this song from 1963. I promise never to waste your valuable time and provide the highest quality, professional marketing services to you! Find us on our website, or say hello on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. 

Potential Clients, Homework, and You

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You get calls from companies soliciting you, right? Yeah, you’re on the do-not-call list; however, that doesn't stop them. A carpet cleaning service calls my home phone all the time.


A few months back I was doing some business with LegalZoom and must have checked something off in an email that stated I’d be okay for businesses they partner with to contact me. So one local business did just that and started calling my business line about three months ago. 


The first time they called I answered it; listened for a moment, told him I was running out the door and could he call the following week? Of course, I completely forgot about the “appointment” and was, indeed, terribly busy. I politely begged off. 


After that, I stopped answering his calls. But then the reinforcements were called in. The owner of the business started leaving messages. And then, suddenly the avalanche of calls finally stopped.


Sigh of relief.


Little did I know it was just a tactic to catch me off-guard.


Working quietly at my desk in the late afternoon, the phone rang. Picked it up without looking at the return number and said hello. “Hi, I’m Richard Perry* and I’ve been trying to reach you for a while now. I can help you with your SEO! You just need twenty keywords…” …”Is that right?” I responded, then adding “What’s THAT going to cost me?”


Asking him a question was a BIG mistake…”blah blah blah…and you need a marketing specialist…” 


First I thought I didn’t hear him correctly. Sadly, I realized he was telling ME, someone who is well-seasoned in the marketing world that I NEED someone who likely has far less experience than me! 


Held back attacking him Jersey style. Instead, I spewed out something about my background and then gently told him outright that he had insulted me and our conversation was over. Seconds before I hit the OFF key on the phone I heard “Are you having a bad day?”

A low score on that phone call!

Wow! This pathetic phone call could have been a success for him if he had bothered to do a quick internet search and spend five minutes of his time doing a little homework. He already KNEW my name. He would have found my LinkedIn profile and within minutes a grasp at the type of work I do, my education level, and much more. From there, he could follow the link to my website, blog, or Twitter account.


Let’s say he went to my Twitter account and read my bio. He’d see that I like sushi. That would have been the perfect ice breaker to get through to me. Since he was calling from two towns away, he could have said…”Have you ever been to the Fish-o-Hama Grill? Their tuna is so fresh.” 


Or maybe go to my blog, scan the last two posts, and make a comment to me about one, thereby showing some interest in me?
It’s THAT simple. Take the time and learn who your potential client is. The info is out there and it’s free!

Do your homework and you'll get a good grade from me.

Afterwards, I summarized the event and posted on Facebook about it. Got lots of great feedback: Apparently I’m not the only one getting lame calls like this one!
The J Geils Band sang about not doing their homework. Click here, enjoy this rockin’ song and don’t take their advice! 

* Not his real name.

Promoting Your Incredible Blog!

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This is part 3 of a 4 part series. Scroll down for the other parts.

You’re up and running; writing up a storm! But wait, there’s an important element missing…where is the audience? Sure you can write great stuff, but if it isn’t seen, what’s the point?

Where the heck are the PEOPLE? Well, the first question I’m going to ask you is this: Do you already have a presence in social media? If you don’t, leave a comment here and we’ll talk about getting you started. However, today I’m assuming that you are active in at least one of the “Big Three” (no offense to MySpace), Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Twitter. Okay, so you’ve been tweeting. Well, now you have something to tweet about, so get it on out there. Make sure what you tweet about your blog has a catchy phrase. It doesn’t have to be that ho-hum but descriptive title for your blog post. As you meet new tweeps you’re on some common ground and if you feel like you know them a little, why not tweet to them that you’re blogging now? Chances are they’ll at least look at it; they may subscribe. If they don’t, no harm done.

On your Twitter home page, you may want to do a custom background and include the link there as well. Of course, do search on key words and find tweeps to follow who would be interested in what you’re writing about.  Don’t be discouraged if there’s little response at first, but do rejoice when you see your first tweet about your blog get retweeted! Thank them for it!

Facebook. On your personal profile, you may want to announce that you have a new blog and welcome your friends to check it out. A more targeted approach is sending a personal message to friends that have an interest in your subject matter and inviting them to check it out. Post the blog posts on your profile with a short summary of what it’s about. Do NOT be upset if your friends aren’t interested or never comment on your posts. It’s not for everyone.

Start a Facebook business/fan page. If you have the time and energy, go for it. Suddenly, you’ve opened yourself up to millions and millions of people! Some of your friends will like your page. But if you’re in a hurry (aren’t we all), then consider a Facebook ad. A TARGETED Facebook ad may yield results quickly. Will all of them be interested and comment on your blog posts? No. But some will be there because they are VERY interested in what you have to say. And they may tell their friends, perhaps by sharing one of your posts. And that’s how it all starts.

Add the URL for your blog to your personal info on Facebook. This won’t generate a lot of traffic but may likely be seen by your new Facebook friends who will explore your info to get to know you better.

LinkedIn. You’ve got a profile there, right? There’s a space on your home page directly to the right of your smiling mug (you DO have a photo of course) where you can post your link and some commentary. Let your professional connections know that you’re blogging and have something to say. Imagine my surprise the first time I received a comment there from someone who happened to be a connection that I hadn’t heard from in a long time. I immediately sent a message thanking him and then catching up on what he’s been up to.

Networked blogs. There’s a nifty app on Facebook where you can register your blog. People can vote on your posts and the more votes, the higher up on the Networked Blogs page you’ll be. You’ll gain followers much as you would on Twitter or on the original location of your blog. The point here is that followers, subscribers and the like can come from several places. And you need to make sure you are hitting them all. For more on Networked blogs, go here.
 
These are just a few things you can do to promote your blog and SEO needs to be explored as well. I do want to point out that my approach could be labeled as “soft”.  It’s up to you how aggressive you want to be with your marketing efforts. I recommend slowly building a quality audience rather than “chase the numbers”.  Certainly experiment a bit and find the best solution for you.

Click here for Part Four, here for Part One, and here for Part Two.