Junta42 blog

Content Marketing, Musicians and Growing Your Business with Free Content

I had the pleasure of working at my brother's (Tony Pulizzi) gig last night at the Winchester in Lakewood, Ohio. Tony opened last night for Alan Holdsworth, one of the most prominent guitarists of the last 50 years (Musician Magazine voted Holdsworth one of the top 100 greatest guitarists of all time).

The Tony Pulizzi Trio (Tony on guitar and vocals, Walter Barnes Jr. on bass and Elijah Gilmore on Drums) have been growing in exposure by opening for bands like Holdsworth and Spyro Gyra (Elijah and Tony pictured to the right). One reason is their use of content marketing.

A band makes money on a show through what they receive as a percentage of the gate or flat fee, in addition to what product they can sell at the event. In addition (and more importantly), it's essential to try to build relationships with those prospective fans that want to hear more from the band, including upcoming schedules, to grow future sales and spread word-of-mouth and referrals.

So, in addition to my job in selling Tony's product, we had an email sign-up list. The Results: by the end of the night, Tony had tripled any previous CD sales from prior events, and we managed to collect almost three times the number of email newsletter sign-ups.  Not bad ROI. 

Here's how he did it.

95% of the audience had never heard of the Tony Pulizzi Trio before.  The majority of fans were there to see Holdsworth.  The place was packed (standing room only). We were assigned one small table in the back to sell CDs.

After their opening song, Tony introduced the band and announced that he wanted everyone to go home with "a little taste" of the band.  So Tony made over 100 demo, three-song CDs of their latest work (which they played that night).  The demos were free to anyone that wanted them.  Before the end of the 45-minute set, Tony again announced that the free demos would be available in the back. The band also made themselves available for signing.

Here was how we made this work:

As soon as the band started to play and Tony announced the free demo, people started coming back to the table.  Lots of questions like, "are these guys local?" and "where are they playing next?". Every person received their free CD.  As I handed them out, I asked this simple question:

"If you like what you heard tonight, please sign the email sheet so we can keep you updated on their upcoming schedule."

Conversion rate was about 50%.  Not bad considering most people are wary about giving out their email address, especially at a club.

As I handed out the free demo, I had the opportunity to give them an overview of the products available.  There were three CDs, one rock oriented, one acoustic jazz, and one of the Trio's most recent Jazz/Rock/Funk music.

All in all, a hugely successful night in the Trio growing their fan base.

What can you, as a marketing leader, take from this message?

1. Create content that is valuable and relevant to your audience.  Holdsworth's jazz-rock fan base would be open to the Trio's music since it was the same style/genre. The band was tight, and the music was exactly what they wanted to hear.
2. Give away your content for free, no strings attached, but offer other opportunities to continue a dialogue with your customers. Fans could take the demos without signing up to the sheet, but most people, when given the offer, had no problem signing the sheet and actually seemed to want to. That means they wanted more and were willing to open a relationship with Tony. Could you give your content away for free, but offer premium content or opportunities to get their information?
3. Surround your free content product with opportunities to drive revenue, without overtly selling. As we handed out the demos, the CDs were right in front of them. I never asked once if someone wanted to buy a CD.  As they became interested products, I simply described what it was.
4. Position your product specifically to your customers likes/needs through your communications. As prospects began to look at the CDs, I simply asked them if they were into more rock or more jazz/funk.  Once I received that answer, I could point them to the CD that made the most sense to them.
5. Consider partnering with a non-competitive partner with a similar target base. The trio opening for Holdsworth and other prominent acts is essential for growth.  Can you find similar partners that will help you grow your business?
6. Some customers want closer access to you and your product...give it to them.  Fans who bought CDs were excited about having members of the band sign them.  Tony and Elijah had writer's cramp by the end of the night, but made happy fans and increased sales because of it. How can you make yourself more accessible to those customers that want it, without putting off ones that don't?

The basic content marketing process is alarmingly simple, yet extremely effective.  All businesses of any size can take these simple steps and use them to grow their business.  Don't get complicated.  Just create valuable, relevant and compelling content for your target audience, give it away for free, and give ample opportunities for them to get involved with you on a more personal, consistent level.

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Print Newsletters Still Pay Dividends in a New Marketing World

The following article of mine was published in the May, 2008 issue of ContentWise (formerly Publications Management).  For more information on ContentWise, click here.

How Print Stacks Up
Printed newsletters are getting a raw deal. With social media marketing getting the lion’s share of media attention, printed corporate publications seem to be considered an “also ran.” But don’t tell that to corporate marketers.

According to Publications Management’s most recent Publishing Characteristics Study, printed newsletters are now the preferred custom publishing medium at 40%, outdistancing both custom magazines (35%) and electronic publications (18%). That means that almost half of corporate marketers are delivering consistent editorial information to their customers in the form of printed newsletters.

Even more, a recent Junta42/BtoB Magazine study found that 28% business-to-business marketers still rely on the printed newsletter to communicate with their customers and prospects.

Considering all the marketing options out there, these are pretty powerful numbers.

At first glance, the findings don’t make sense. More consumers are using the Internet than ever before, especially when making buying decisions. Forrester recently found that 92% of buyers go online first to research a possible purchase. In addition, ITA Toolbox states that consumers spend almost 10 hours per week consuming online content in the form of social media, editorial media and vendor content/websites.

Consider the Buying Cycle
The research clearly shows that the power of the Internet is growing and strong in the beginning stages of the buying cycle. Search engine optimization (organic listings) and search engine marketing (paid listings) are continuing to grow within the key corporate objectives of reach and acquisition.

But printed newsletters play a key role toward the retention and loyalty portions of the buying cycle. Especially during the current economic recession, corporate marketers need to be concerned most with retention and loyalty, as budgets continue to get cut and customers look to lower expenses by switching vendors. Newsletters deliver relevant and compelling information to customers on a consistent basis, which is valued by customers and positions your company as a thought leader.

Let’s consider some key reasons why corporate marketers are continuing to rely on printed newsletters:

• Customers still enjoy print, but use it differently than the web. Both printed newsletters and magazines give customers an opportunity to educate themselves on the industry and your company’s products and services. Engagement, or the time a consumer spends with your brand message, is gaining importance as a key marketing measure.
• Less Print = More Share of Voice. The trend toward less traditional magazine launches continued in 2007 – 200 less launches from 2006. This trend will continue. With your customers receiving less printed material, there is a clear opportunity to capture more attention through printed newsletters.
• Integration with Online Strategies is Key. In the past, corporate marketers published newsletters, and then took that content and posted it to their online microsites and corporate websites. Today, more corporate marketers are flipping the process – putting up consistently valuable content on their websites, and then pulling key stories from the web to create the newsletter version. This is the best of both worlds, combining timely news that your customers and search engines can access immediately, with high-quality packaged editorial in print newsletter form for easy digestion.

If you currently produce a printed newsletter, odds are you’ll be sticking with it, especially during the current economic cycle. If you are considering starting a print newsletter, you may opt to begin the process by focusing on your very best customers (the 20% of the 80/20 rule). As long as you understand your business objectives and define the measurement of your print newsletter, success should be within your grasp.

5 Tips for Integrating Your Print Newsletter

1. Produce your web content first. Then pull the “best of the web” together for your printed newsletter.
2. Remember that web content should be keyword driven. You may need to edit your print stories for more search engine impact.
3. Company stories are fine, but industry education stories get the attention. This is especially true for the web.
4. Distribute a press release with every issue. This can drive prospects to your newsletter signup page since newswire sites often rank high with search engines.
5. Create an email “issue alert” for “opt-in” customers and prospects. This is a great way to notify customers that the print issue is there or coming soon.

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Catch Me at Business Marketing Association in Vegas

As a speaker at the Business Marketing Association’s upcoming Annual Conference (taking place June 11-13 at the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada), I’m excited to say that I’ll be sharing the spotlight with some of the industry’s top business-to-business marketing experts and gurus.

Here are but a few of the b-to-b luminaries – keynote speakers and panelists – that will be headlining the conference:

• Eduardo Conrado, Corporate Vice President of Global Business & Technology Marketing & Communications, Motorola
• Jeff Hayzlett, Chief Business Development Officer, Graphic Communications Group, Eastman Kodak Co.
• Keith Pigues, Chief Marketing Officer Ply Gem, Inc.
• Keith Ferrazzi, Founder and CEO, Ferrazzi Greenlight. Author, Never Eat Alone
• Rick Braddock, Chairman and CEO, FreshDirect
• Tom Wade, CMO, PGA Tour
• Bud Denker, EVP, Penske Racing
• Judith Sim, SVP & CMO, Oracle
• Katie Schoessel, Director, Partner & Prepaid Marketing, Discover Card
• Tom White, Founder, Profoundly Simple

And more!

 

I hope you can join me to learn from the best minds in b-to-b marketing! Event also includes seminars and workshops to help you crystallize your business-to-business marketing programs, advance your brands, and network with your peers.

 

Share ideas, gain knowledge and put concepts into action. This is one conference you don't want to miss.

 

Visit www.marketing.org/conference for details and registration.

 

See you there!

Huge Opportunities for Businesses Who Focus on their Content Strategy

I had the pleasure of guest blogging at the King Fish Media ThinkTank blog the other day. You can check out the complete post here.

This was written after I had a brief conversation with a marketer that was taking the angle of content marketing being nice "fluff" to give your clients, but not necessary to the overall marketing strategy for most companies.  Of course, I (as nice as I could) disagreed with the gentleman and cited a number of reasons why he was completely off his rocker.

The web has turned most business models completely upside down, and created huge opportunities for others to launch businesses from nothing at all. The delivery of consistent and valuable content may be the most important indicator of financial success for future businesses.

If I'm launching a business today, or looking into the overall vision of the company, I'm looking at these three aspects of the business.

1. Customer Service Excellence
2. Valuable, Relevant Content Strategy
3. Helpful/Innovative Product Product

Note that I put the product itself as #3 on the list.  Products can be duplicated in almost every industry today, especially with the rise of cheaper labor overseas.  What separates one business from another is #1 and #2, which involves honest, transparent and consistent communication with customers and prospects. Cool products come and go - a relevant and consistent message is timeless. IMPORTANT NOTE: new products launch all the time and can become successful very fast just by the nature of the product. We've seen this happen with many web-based applications. But without a consistent content marketing strategy, competition can come in and duplicate the product quickly if the company has not clearly differentiated itself through their communications.

Medium-sized and Larger organizations with better-known brands should begin positioning their content as a product in their company (mostly so organizational management starts to take the concept seriously). This means creating R&D budgets, long-term content strategies, ongoing measurements against the content, and content growth strategies.

By doing this, an organization will make the investment necessary to truly differentiate themselves from the competition, and fend off any new competitors who simply try to copy their base products.

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The Power of Custom Video – How the Easter Seals Raised Money without Trying

I had the pleasure of attending the annual Easter Seals Northern Ohio “Spirit of Independence” Gala over the weekend. This year’s Gala honored Mal Mixon, CEO of Invacare for his tireless commitment to helping children and adults with disabilities (btw, Mal is an outstanding dancer. First on the dance floor.  I loved it). Full disclosure: Easter Seals Northern Ohio is one my clients.

After dinner, CEO Sheila Dunn introduced a video presentation that discussed three specific areas where Easter Seals Northern Ohio provides services: speech therapy services for children, camping/activities for children with disabilities, and home care for elderly adults.

The videos worked because they simply told the story of the children, parents and seniors affected by Easter Seals’ services. After the video about Joey, a young boy who works with Easter Seals Northern Ohio on the ability to communicate for effectively through speech, I saw a number of people at the Gala tear up (my wife and I included).

Then we enjoyed the story of multiple children with disabilities laugh and play at an Easter Seals camp and retreat. The final story, about home care services for adults, showed how, for one woman, Easter Seals services keeps her from going into a nursing home. It was clear that still being able to live at home was one of the most important aspects of her life, which Easter Seals makes possible.

Return on Investment
After the creation of any kind of content marketing, even with video, seeing a return does not usually happen immediately. Often it takes ongoing analysis, integration with a CRM system, and continuous tracking and feedback from sales staff and customers.

Well, for this particular situation, the return was immediate. After the video concluded, Sheila came to the stage and talked about how they wanted to fund 10 kids to get to go to camp (at $250 a child). You could tell by watching Sheila that she wasn’t sure how this would go.  I’ve been at events and auctions where a question like this was put out and failed miserably. Nonetheless, Sheila asked – and the audience answered!

Within seconds, hand after hand raised to support the children. Within 30 seconds, Easter Seals’ staff was overflowing with charitable contributions to help get kids to camp…the same camp that they just saw children with disabilities laughing, playing and being normal. I’m not sure how many camp donations Easter Seals ended up with, but it was clearly beyond Sheila’s expectations.

The Power of Video
We are visual beings. We build our reality through our eyes and create our perception of the world. Telling your story through video, a story that resonates with your customers and supporters, is the present and future of content marketing.

Could the Easter Seals have had the same amount of success at the Gala without the video? Possibly, but doubtful. Could your business improve by developing an ongoing video series about how your product or services truly helps people? Absolutely.

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