Ya GOTTA see this!

Ya...Dien....I can't believe, in THIS day, why small biz owners do NOT understand "marketing" or have even given any thought to HOW to get customers/clients/ patients!

They simply think the "old" program of "Build-It-And-They-Will-Come"!

Hogwash! When my wife and I started up our Antique Shoppe.....I did NOT want to spend a bundle on Newpaper or Radio ads. I found ways (like Joe Cossman....ya gotta read a copy of his book "How To Make a Million in MailOrder") to get "FREE" write-ups and publicity.

And....we collected each customers "Email or Address".....to build a Customer List to contact later.

I also did my "Browser Bucks" and "Bee-Back" cards and other promos.
A Mexican Restaurant opened in my town last year. GREAT food. I "sold" him on "collecting Cell Phone Numbers" from his diners by placing a Tent-Card with a QR Code that said, "Scan Here for 1 Discount on your Bill"

So.....diners would pull out their phones, scan the code and show the cashier the code and get their discount. Thus.....he started collecting a "Diner-List" that....if he wanted to get a Spurge of Diners....he'd send a Text offering something special and....that would FILL THE SEATS!

Anyways.....there will ALWAYS BE ROOM for guys like me who can help biz owners get more biz!

Don Alm.....still at IT

Great idea you have here Don! I too have done this in the past. Biz owners love it.

I started a bit different than you. My dad had a spec home for sale and it had been there a while. The real estate agents weren't showing it and it was off the beaten path so I decided to go down and shoot a video of it. It wasn't even a pretty video since it was the first time I even remotely did something for the purpose to get it ranked on Google. Well on January 14, 2011 I uploaded to YouTube and within a week or two it was on the first page for search terms people would enter who was looking for that house. Friends of mine who knew far more about internet marketing was asking how I did when it was the top of the first page of Google with over 28,000,000 search results showing.

I was feeling "some" confidence but since I still didn't feel like I could do that every time I went to a friends mower sales and repair store that I had been doing tv commercials for. I showed him what I did with my dad's house, reminded him of the competition in the real estate market and told him I thought I could do the same for him. He asked how much? Don't laugh but I told him $200.00 (because I wasn't fully confident I could do that a second time although I felt like I could. Long story short I shot a live video for his biz just like I would for a tv commercial. When I asked what he was mostly interested in promoting he said gravely mowers but not to promote Snapper because they weren't selling and he was thinking of dropping that line. If you know anything about me O not only promoted Gravely but also ranked for Snapper as well. A couple months later I stopped by to let him know how many people were looking at his video. When I walked in a saw the floor full of Snapper's. I asked him about it and he said it was a funny thing ... people were coming in asking for Snapper when before it wasn't doing to well. I showed him the hits for Snapper and asked if that could have been what did it and just smiled. I suppose I could have got residual from him at that point but since I told him only $200.00 when we first talked I kept my word. From that point forward though I started getting paid for my video work.

As time went on I started being the serial entrepreneur I have always been and got away from video. Recently I thought about doing it again and after seeing this thread I know I am. I love video and it just flat out works for my customers so we are going after that again.

Thanks for the thread Don and getting me fired up again.

Randy