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A Case Study on the Benefits of A Unique Voice

by Adam Lehman on March 9, 2012 in Marketing with 1 Comment

I read a couple of blogs that highlighted Dollar Shave Club. I was intrigued. I got to their website & I was sold.

Here’s why:

Remarkable offering
AWESOME BRAND PERSONALITY!

Loads of companies have solid offerings. Loads.

Very few communicate it in a unique way.

Dollar Shave Club could have shown an earnest video emploring potential customers to save money, go with a brand that doesn’t need to cover advertising overhead & created a nifty little chart showing you how you’d save over time. Boring.

But they went the opposite. In fact, confused viewers took the site as a fake because there was so much personality. These are some responses to their YouTube Video:

*Wish You Got This Response from Your Marketing?

Comment on Dollar Shave Club YouTube Channel

*Actually Taipans, You're Allowed to Have a Voice

So many businesses or brands don’t think this is possible. They feel like using their authentic, unique voice will drive people away. In reality, consumers like giving their money to people.

Go ahead. Sound like you. Crack a smile. Give a wink. Make a joke.

We want it.

On Guarantees in Marketing

by Adam Lehman on March 8, 2012 in Marketing with No comments

Look all over the web – especially amongst the marketing world – and you’ll find guarantees.

Get 10,000 fans on Facebook, aqcuire a million Twitter followers, get on the front page of Google, make $3000 a month in 10 minutes a day, etc, etc, etc.

In marketing there are few guarantees. Any honest marketer will tell you this.

At NuGrowth, we routinely help people grow their business, find new clients & expand their footprint. Yet in the beginning, the only promise you’ll hear from us is that in 6 months, you’re going to know your market much better than you do now.

There are times I’ll work with a blogger or small business and after doing a quick audit, I know that their platform could grow dramatically with some work. I know it. But guaranteeing it would be a lie.

A change in Google’s algorithm, Facebook’s timeline, Twitter’s mass-follow policy, or the competition can dramatically shape the impact your efforts can have. (I’d still suggest those efforts regardless. Effort never goes to waste).

Best practices are possible, but guarantees … not so much.

6 Keys to Emails that Get Read

by Adam Lehman on March 1, 2012 in Email Marketing with 3 Comments

Email Marketing is as powerful as ever. At least if you believe the data… (I do)

Here are 6 keys to Sending Emails that Actually get Read

Monster Subject Line

I’m running a half-marathon as a fundraiser for a non-profit I believe in. I wrote an email to about 100 contacts I hand selected. My subject line “I’m Running. I Need Your Help!”

I got LOTS of responses, even those that didn’t have an ounce of interest in donating. Old college roommates emailed me and we caught up. Relatives thought I was emailing them as I ran from the cops.

Your subject line is critical. Ultra-critical.

You can offer the most earth-shattering service and save people lots of money, but if the subject line is weak, they’ll delete the whole thing.

Protip: Be Emotional. You’re writing to people and people have emotions.

World Class Content

Write awesome stuff. Killer stuff. Compelling stuff.

Make me grab a box of tissues and shed a tear. Put your readers on the edge of their seat.

Protip: While writing, use 6 proven principles of persuasion.

Earn Permission

My little brother could send me and email about the most irrelevant, mundane piece of fluff and I’d open and read the whole thing. Seth Godin gets me to read every freaking word he writes.

How’d they do it? They have permission to take up my time. Either because of a deep connection or authority or whatever, they’ve gained permission to communicate.

Earning permission separates the “get rich quick” crowd from the honest marketers.

Protip: There are people who you have their permission that you’re probably not targeting currently. Take a moment to write them down (scrolling through your facebook friends or recent twitter interactions is a great way to do this.)

Solid Design

Make sure your emails don’t look like crap. Spend the extra time & intention to create templates that work well with your brand & your brands voice.

Poorly designed layouts can frustrate. We all know this, but for those strapped for cash or time, it’s easy to fall in the trap of throwing garbage together and hitting “send.”

Protip: If you don’t have an ultra unique brand, go for simple. You can always build on it. Also, don’t be afraid to simply send emails in text format.

Test. Test. Then Test Again.

Write up two subject lines and test which one gets open more. Test various sending times.

Sometimes you just hit folks at the wrong time of the day. Sometimes that subject line you’re not sure of is KILLER! Give it a shot. Test, improve, test, improve, test, improve….

Protip: Get REALLY good at A/B testing. You’re welcome.

Understand that Your List is Unique

Lots of marketers will give you specific advice about how to speak to an audience, but your audience is unique. Each email list is a unique amalgamation of people, professions, demographics and cultures.

Take some best practices with you as you jump into email marketing, but remember that your list is different than the list of all other marketers. Be sure to treat your list special.

Protip: Ask questions. In my experience, some of the most read email marketing campaigns were surveys that promised displaying the results to those who completed the survey. This enables you to learn about your list and starts the dialogue.

Any Others You Want to Add?

Taking My Own Medicine (and Pulling Ads)

by Adam Lehman on February 28, 2012 in Blogging with 1 Comment

If you’d poked around this blog, you’ve seen a few advertisements on the sidebar.

I’ve experimented over time with ads. I’ve run adsense, affiliate links and pumped in a solid host of Amazon Affiliate links.

I’m done with that.

Why I Pulled All the Ads from my Blog

My whole platform is honesty and authenticity. Sure it’s nice to get an email telling me I’ve just received $60 because someone clicked on a banner ad and then bought something, but it’s not me. When this platform grows further, I’ll monetize it in a way that will be MUCH more valuable to my audience, not just some hope that it’ll grow.
Ads train people to ignore what they see here & across other parts of the web. You’re busy, I’m busy. We don’t have time for this game.
In all honesty, Ads are an attempt for me to look bigger than I really am. That’s fake. No thanks.

Social Media vs Email Marketing

by Adam Lehman on February 27, 2012 in Email Marketing, Marketing, Social Media with 2 Comments

Eloqua just published some remarkable statistics about Email Marketing vs Social Media.

Using aggregate numbers from their clients, they decided to look at how each effects traffic to websites.

Here’s the data:

The numbers for each are increasing:

Web traffic from Social Media are up 331% over a year.
Email opens grew 27% over the past year.
Email click-throughs grew 19% over the past year.

You could interpret the data to mean that social media is growing rapidly, so you should jump on board. Or you could argue that email marketing is significantly more important for you business.

I’d argue that it shows an increasing percentage of online engagement (not shocking to anyone) and companies should jump on board with both.

But lets say you have to choose one:

Considerations for focusing on email marketing:

Email marketing is going to require that you capture data from interested folks. That requires a bit more effort than a “like” on Facebook or a “follow” on Twitter.
Email marketing is the anti-Groupon. You’re going to be connecting and rewarding your most interested customers with incentives rather than “new” folks.
Email marketing gives you a place for long-form story-telling. Pro: you get to be a bit more creative. Con: it requires more work.
Consumers can learn to ignore your emails.
Email marketing can “feel” spammy if done wrong.
Lots of solid data supporting best practices here.

Considerations for a focus on social media:

Typing status updates or tweets doesn’t require a lot of time.
Much more “conversational.”
Longer investment until influence shows the return you’re looking for.
Crowded space. Fighting for attention with celebrities, comedians & close friends.
Data supporting best practices exists, but not solidified.

What are your thoughts on the data?

You’re Allowed to Sound Like You

by Adam Lehman on February 21, 2012 in Marketing with 1 Comment

In the world of social media, it’s so freaking easy to sound like everyone else.

You write a blog like Seth Godin. You tweet like Guy Kuwasaki. You facebook like Mari Smith.

In working with brands, it’s SO hard for them to develop their own voice. They want to talk about their offering like the offering they idolize. They want to use the same channels as their hero. They want to copy someone else’s model for success.

Hint: those people became successful by using THEIR OWN voice.

Take a deep breath. Write down what makes you unique. Don’t worry if you have some of the same skills and unique traits of others. But write & tweet & post using YOUR unique voice.

What is AdamLehman.us about?

by Adam Lehman on February 20, 2012 in Blogging with No comments

I’m working through Bryan Allain’s “31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo”

On day #3, Bryan challenges readers to write out a response to the question, “So what is your blog about?”

Here’s my answer for this blog:

I publish insights about leadership, marketing and life. These might be interesting industry trends or lessons I’ve learned in work, life & relationships. I try to concentrate on authenticity. With so many people and brands out there inflating their image or ego, I like to observe and report about the realities of the world.

Colplay has a line in their song “Politik” related to this:

“give me real, don’t give me fake.”

I Need Your Money for 2 Things

by Adam Lehman on February 15, 2012 in Ramblings with No comments

I don’t often ask for money, but when I do there’s a good reason.

~~#1 HopeMob on Kickstarter~~

[Update: HopeMob REACHED THEIR GOAL!]

First off, head over to Kickstarter and pledge to Hope Mob. It’s a campaign to organize some good in a world full of marketers trying to sell us crap we don’t need. Sean King is heading it up and he’s done some ridiculously awesome stuff using social media.

~~So far they’ve raised over $100,000, but don’t get a dime unless they hit their $125,000 goal.~~

#2 I’m running a Half-Marathon

Anyone who knows me knows that raising money & running for long (or short) distances isn’t really my thing.

But I’m pretty passionate about the cause I’m running for. It’s transformed my life. So check it out:

Donate to Adam Lehman runs 13.1 for YFC

Will the Real Valentine Please Stand Up?!

by Adam Lehman on February 14, 2012 in Ramblings with 1 Comment

St. Valentine was a holy priest in Rome, who, with St. Marius and his family, assisted the martyrs in the persecution under Claudius II.

He was apprehended, and sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all his promises to make him renounce his faith ineffectual, commanded him to be beaten with clubs, and afterwards, to be beheaded, which was executed on February 14, about the year 270.

Woah. Way more epic than a box of chocolates or some flowers….

Moral of the Story: manufactured, mass market notions pale in comparison to honesty.

*for more on St. Valentine, read up on Wikipedia.

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A Case Study on the Benefits of A Unique Voice

On Guarantees in Marketing