How Social is Your Message?

Need a promotional idea for February? Check these out...

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:08:00 -0500

February is American Heart Month
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and February is the perfect month to run a healthy heart campaign. Businesses needn’t be in the health-care industry to run such a program. Anyone concerned with the wellbeing of its business partners, vendors and employees can launch a campaign. Healthy employees result in lower health-care premiums. Encourage everyone to get a physical and reward those who do with heart-shaped stress relievers. Use social media like Facebook to promote healthier eating and exercise. Engage clients, vendors and employees through Twitter and tweet about success stories. Contact your distributor partner, as she can help you find lots of great heart-themed promotional products.

February 2
National Groundhog Job Shadow Day
Rather than fixate on the groundhog and whether he sees his shadow today, become part of a movement that has high school students shadowing your employees to learn more about business. Students will gain valuable insight into what they’ll need for their future endeavors, and businesses become important mentors for today’s youth. Reward all participants with imprinted products like backpacks or speakers for MP3 players. Your distributor can help you set up the program.

February 6-10
International Networking Week
Since business doesn’t operate in a vacuum, you need to get out there and network. This week is the perfect time to set up and run networking events within your business community. Announce the event via social media like Twitter and Facebook. And provide imprinted products for all participants. Selections can include neoprene laptop sleeves, iPad accessories and leather portfolios. Your distributor is a valuable resource for putting the event together.

February 14
Valentine’s Day
If you love your clients, let them know … today! February 14 isn’t just for red-hot lovers. Send boxes of logoed chocolates to clients with a handwritten note expressing your appreciation for their business. Consider throwing in a bouquet of imprinted roses to complete the sentiment. Your distributor partner knows where to get all the lovey-dovey stuff for you today.

February 21
International Pancake Day
Take time today for a fun promotion. Visit clients with pancake kits that include mixes, aprons, bowls and spatulas as a way to say thanks for doing business with us. Host a pancake breakfast for all employees too. Your distributer partner can get everything for a logoed kit.

Random act of kindness

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:50:32 -0500

Last night while waiting on the “express lane”
I was stuck behind two ladies who seemed to
be taking an awfully long time checking out.
I started to get irritated and wanted to say,
“Hey, what’s the hold up ladies?!”
But then I saw something that broke my heart.
It seems the one didn’t have enough money
for some of her groceries.
I saw her look to her friend for help,
saying something about a check not coming in.
Then she took some food out of her bag
handing it back to the cashier sadly saying,
“I guess I don’t really need this.”
Dejected, she headed out of the store.
In the parking lot, when I handed her the groceries
that she couldn’t afford, you would have thought she won the lottery.
It made her day as much as it did mine to be able to help her out.

If you are still reading this at this point,
consider your own random act of kindness.

Donate something to the Foodbank of Monmouth & Ocean…
http://www.foodbankmoc.org/?page_id=102
there are people RIGHT HERE that need our help.

Image Is Everything

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:48:00 -0500

It’s been said time and again that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and this axiom is particularly true in the business world.

The first impression that prospective clients get of your business most often comes by way of your logo. Your logo symbolizes your company and plays a crucial role in promoting your business in the marketplace. A great logo design is the foundation for building a recognizable and memorable brand for your business. And a professionally designed logo can make even the smallest business look established, stable and credible.

Below are the 3 main reasons for having a great logo.

1. To create a unique identity

In almost every industry imaginable, the market is very competitive with very little differentiation between products and services. A unique mark or logo can help to separate you from your competitors. A particular design can help to make an impact on prospective clients’ relative short-term memories by providing a representation of your product as being more attractive than the competition. A visual identity can establish a good image and personality for your business even more so then a written description can (a picture is worth a thousand words after all).

2. To represent a reputable image

Most people, whether it’s right or wrong, judge a thing or person by what they see. An effective logo has the capability to communicate immediately to a prospective client that your company exists and is ready to cater their needs. This is why it is vital to come up with a mark that mirrors the strengths and vision of your company. A weak or non-existent logo can lead to anonymity, causing you to blend into the market, eventually leading to failure.

3. To represent quality

Along with creating a reputable image, a quality logo will also portray the quality of your product in prospects’ minds. If it looks like you spent some time and resources on developing a quality logo, it means that you have most likely done the same when developing your products and services. People usually stick with quality brands that can be trusted, so if your logo can help get them to that point then so much the better.

Attaining success in the business world requires proper management, accurate planning and effective marketing strategies. Your logo should be at the core of your marketing strategy in order to give you that edge against your competition in order to attract more prospective clients. Your logo is a representation of your company and can say, “Hey there! Consider us, we are the best in the industry!” On the other hand, poor logo design will miss to serve its purpose to identify and communicate, and in many cases can in fact negatively impact your business.

Designing an effective logo is not an easy task and usually requires a lot of thought and effort. In order to have the most appealing and persuading logo possible, kindly consider letting the professionals at Adpro Imprints help you conceptualize and create it for you. With almost 30 years of experience making our clients look good, you can trust that we will do the same for you.

Social Media: The Time Is Now

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:39:00 -0400

Last week I gave a speech at the Red Bank Toastmasters club about social media. I started by asking the audience a simple question, “Who here is involved with social media?”

Now, how many questions outside of, “Who here breathes air?” do you think you could ask where every single hand in the room goes up?

Apparently social media is as common these days as the air we breathe…crazy!

After my speech I had a few people approach me with questions about how to get better at social media. One person didn’t have a company, but wanted to work on his personal brand. I gave them a few ideas such as registering his name (URL), starting a blog and completing his LinkedIn profile.

I had another gentleman tell me that his company actually frowned upon their employees engaging in social media. I gave him a few ideas to bring back to his boss, and then showed him how to set his privacy on Facebook so that he can still mingle socially online, because let’s face it, with a boss like that who knows when he may be looking for a new job…of course that was a joke, but he understood the point, that you need to stay connected because you never really know, right?

So even if you don’t completely get it yet, start “social”-izing…it’s the only way to stay relevant…The Time Is Now!

John Zalepka

Earthquake rocks Facebook!

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:43:00 -0400

It seems that everyone has a story about where they were and how they felt when the Great Quake hit today. Personally, I felt like I was back at Bar A around 2am during my Belmar years.

I really didn’t know what was going on, I just knew it was weird.

I had just popped a couple of Excedrin and I was starring at my computer screen… when all of the sudden my entire building started rocking, I thought I was going to be sick. I got up and walked to the front of my store at Adpro Imprints where I saw t-shirts and sweatshirts swinging all over the place.

Is this really an earthquake? In New Jersey?

After the shaking had stopped, I ran back to my computer…I needed to know what Mother Google had to say about what just happened to me…I was disappointed when I found nothing under the news feed.

Then I thought, of course, Facebook…Here was my post: “Ok, was that an earthquake or what?”

Within 8 seconds my friend Joe Leone from Social Media Monsters responded that it was indeed an earthquake, with a 5.8 magnitude and the epicenter was in Virginia.

Wow! I had just gotten the most breaking news possible in 8 seconds…and on Facebook no less!

I was also happy to know that I wasn’t going crazy as questions and comments about the quake from friends began filling my “news” feed.

And I thought…How cool is it that we get “news” from Facebook instantaneously?

John Zalepka

Are you integrating your online & offline marketing efforts?

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:13:00 -0400

Let’s say you were advertising your brand as the greatest, most reliable HVAC contractor in all of the land. But you never connected with past clients that would have been more than happy to post on your Facebook fan page just how great, and reliable you are.

And let’s just say that someone does a Google search because they are in the market for a great, reliable HVAC contractor.

Instead of finding a well-crafted social presence that you control, Google sends them a link to a blog post from that nightmare customer a few years back who had a less-than-reliable experience with you. In fact, not only are they are telling everyone how un-“reliable” your business is, they even have a link recommending someone else, your competitor.

It could happen, in fact it IS happening, EVERY DAY. And if you are not integrating your online and offline marketing efforts, you are doing more than just losing a potential customer - you are potentially damaging your brand.

People are talking on many different social media platforms, some you may not even be aware of, and they may even be talking about your business. There could be a conversation going on RIGHT NOW that you don’t even know about. Wouldn’t you like to be a part of that conversation, good or bad?

It’s not enough for YOU to tell people how great you are in your advertisements. People are very skeptical these days when they see what they know are “paid” ads, either online or offline. Studies have shown that only 15% of people actually believe advertisements…and those same studies show that over 90% of people believe peer recommendations.

So get moving…get your raving fans to talk about you & refer you to their friends…just make sure to give them something for their efforts so they will want to continue helping you out.

Stay friendly, my friends!

John Zalepka

Scared Shirtless?

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:24:19 -0400

Learn to Sell Apparel Like a Pro!

I got an email the other day with “Scared Shirtless?” as the headline from a supplier in the promotional products industry.

After a quick chuckle surrounding the play on words, I found myself more than a little curious so I clicked through. I opened the email and was invited to a webinar where I could “Learn to Sell Apparel Like a Pro!” Now I’m thinking, ‘well since I get paid to sell apparel, that makes me a pro…I’d better check it out to make sure the other “pros” know what they’re talking about’. In any event, the value proposition was there, I would get FREE tips for apparel sales.

With a simple headline I was “pulled” in, I wanted to find out more, I was curious, I was engaged and I couldn’t help myself. The headline didn’t try to “push” me to buy anything…there would be plenty of time for that, an abundance of opportunities for me to buy something once they got me to the site…books, cds, mp3, videos, etc.

If the headline had just offered me “10% Off This Great CD Set To Sell More Shirts”, I would have deleted that email in about a half-a-second.

It can be argued that headlines may be more important than the content itself because if they never click through there is no chance of conversion. So the goal should always be to get them to click through, but then make sure you can deliver or they won’t be coming back.

John Zalepka

No new content = No new traffic

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 07:23:53 -0400

One of the first things that I did when I started this blog was to link it up with Google Analytics. I wanted to see just how much traffic my site would get and from what referral sources the traffic was coming in.

I have learned a lot in these past two weeks about how people get to the site, how long they stay, and how many pages they view just to name a few. And with great pride, I watched how the daily traffic to my site steadily built on itself…that is until Sunday and Monday (yesterday).

I did not post anything on Sunday or Monday because I wanted to see what would happen to the traffic. And if you didn’t guess it already, Sunday’s traffic dropped off drastically and Monday’s was nearly non-existent.

How many times have you stumbled upon someone’s blog post because of a link in an article or due to a Google search, only to see that their last post was from over two ago? Even if their post was earth-shattering (at the time), you most likely didn’t finish reading the article, or worse never went back to that site because as we now know…no new content = no new traffic.

So get to posting & then keep on posting. For that is the only way that you will stay relevant in the minds of those you wish to eventually sell something to.

John Zalepka

Social Media...Still don't know where to start?

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 10:00:33 -0400

We have all heard the many success stories about how average everyday people are just crushing it (you know making million$) with social media. The great news is that these average everyday people are using the very same social media platforms that we all have access to, and the best part is that most of them are FREE!

However, just having access to them for FREE! does not guarantee you anything.

It is the equivalent of having a FREE! gym membership and expecting to have six-pack abs because you go to the gym once or twice a month. You need to put in the hard work necessary to really get in shape.

Similarly, your FREE! social media membership will only benefit you in direct proportion to the amount of hard work you put in.

This is how I’m getting started…

I believe that the best way to get started is to concentrate on your core. Much in the same way it is important to have a strong core when working out, it is important to have a strong core when starting out in social media…my Core 4:

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube

Studies have shown that people only believe about 15% of online advertising, while they believe 90% of their peer reviews.

Get your accounts up and running and start connecting with people. But whatever you do, don’t start selling (adverting) right away. Instead, start posting great information (content). Information that your customers and prospective customers will find useful. Try to become THE source for when people need information about something in your industry. Become the local celebrity expert! We’ve all seen people become famous recently just because of something “crazy” they posted on social media. But really aren’t they just positioning themselves as the expert of ‘how not to jump off your roof onto a trampoline while riding a bicycle’?

After you have connected and engaged your friends / readers / followers / subscribers by providing great content, they will start to give you back their information and hopefully start to refer you to others who may find your product or services useful by retweeting, reposting, liking, etc, etc, etc.

Make sure to put links back to your website where people can get more information and make a purchase; only then will you be able to capitalize on your hard work on the Core 4: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin & YouTube.

So let’s get started!

John Zalepka

A 280% response rate on a direct mailer?

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 22:56:00 -0400

I read an article today about how a fast-food chicken franchise was able to garner a 280% response rate on a 5,000 piece postcard mailing. For perspective, in case you were wondering, the “typical” or “average” response rate for direct mail is 2%.

So how, you might ask, is it even possible to get more responses then the number of pieces sent?

The answer is quite simply by incorporating social media and the sharing element of this type of networking into the campaign.

From a cold list that they purchased from a list broker, they were able to get 14,128 hits (280%) to their micro-site that they set up specifically for the campaign, with 6,089 people providing some sort of personal data.

First, a postcard was sent which had perforated coupons that were redeemable in the store. The postcard also featured a PURL, or personalized URL which incorporated the recipient’s name, encouraging them to visit “their own” website for additional coupons and a “chance to win” something big. Once on the site, they were asked to “share” these great offers and chance to win with their friends via Facebook, Twitter, etc.

All told, in four weeks they had over 1,300 coupons redeemed and over 3,400 additional names and contact information for their data base.

This fully integrated multi-channel direct marketing campaign with viral components earned the agency the 2010 Direct Marketing Practices award from PODi (the digital printing initiative).

The simple fact that this direct mail campaign was more “social” then the traditional one-way communication of most postcards blew away any preconceived notions that direct mail is dead.

With the saturation of the market with email messages, right now is a great time to spend on direct mail. Coupled with the fact that many businesses are scaling back on direct mail, this is the perfect opportunity for a well-planned campaign to really stand out in people’s “actual” mailboxes…just make sure it’s “social”.

John Zalepka

"We have enough business already"

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 23:32:00 -0400

As a marketer, this comment from prospects and clients has always baffled me. I have always screamed in my head, ‘What do you mean you have enough business already?!’

Tonight as I presided over our biweekly meeting as President of the Freehold Phrasers Toastmasters Club, as is customary at the end of the meeting, we took volunteers for the different roles for upcoming meetings; Grammarian, Ah Counter, Joke Master, and the ever-coveted Speaker role. We basically set our agenda until the middle of September…it’s starting to seems like “we have enough business already”.

When I first took over the position of President of the club, I quickly assembled the executive board for a meeting about the upcoming year. When it came time to discuss public relations and new membership, I had a TON of great marketing ideas.

After I was finished presenting all of my “great ideas” to the group, they asked me a very poignant question, “How big do we want to get?” At 32 members, our club is rather large for a Toastmasters club. And because we have so many members, and a limited amount of roles, I understood what they were saying.

Of course we could get more members if we advertised more, but at what cost? By adding too many members too fast, we would risk alienating and discouraging the members that we already have.

However, as a marketer this is unacceptable to me. Maybe we could just add a few minutes to the agenda to allow for more speeches? Maybe we could meet 3 or 4 times a month instead of 2? Maybe we could start a whole new club? Maybe, maybe, maybe…

Or maybe we should focus our marketing internally for now. Perhaps we need to focus on developing the talent we already have and really help our members to grow. Yes of course, that’s it! While we can and should plan for expansion and the future, we should never do it at the expense of what we already have.

So when you feel like you have enough business already, focus on what you have and how you can help your people grow. Then, when the time is right you will grow too.

Because let’s be TOTALLY honest here, you can never really have enough business, can you?

John Zalepka

Toastmasters: Skills for everyday life

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:46:38 -0400

Do butterflies attack your stomach whenever you’re asked to speak before a group?

Can you confidently express your thoughts and ideas?

Do you have the nerve to ask your boss for a raise?

Whether you’re speaking to one or one thousand, Toastmasters can help you speak clearly and confidently. At home or on the job, Toastmasters will provide you with the confidence you need to get ahead.

I spent my writing time today putting together a presentation about giving effective Toastmasters speech evaluations. I will be delivering my talk tomorrow night at the Freehold Phrasers’ BBQ & Pool party meeting. The BBQ starts at 6:00pm followed by the meeting at 7:30pm.

Toastmasters is a “learn-by-doing” public speaking club where men and women hone their speaking, listening, evaluating, presenting & leadership skills in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere.

Guest are always welcome to attend our meetings on the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of every month at the Greater Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, located at 57 Schanck Rd, Suite C-3 in Freehold, NJ. The exception is tomorrow’s meeting which will be held at 125 Crine Rd. in Morganville, NJ.

For more information please visit our website: www.FreeholdToastmasters.com or call club President John Zalepka at 732-610-7654.

The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 08:05:43 -0400

Exactly 235 years ago today, our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence granting all Americans the “unalienable Rights of…Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Single-handedly the coolest mission statement ever!

And with that America was open for business…leave everything you have behind they said…your family…your home…your country…for a chance at the “American Dream”.

No promises were made, just a chance. Hell, we had just come out of a battle with the baddest nation on the planet, no one knew what to expect next.

But they came, and they came from everywhere. And now 300 million people and 128.9 million Facebook users later, we’re still in business.

Sure times haven’t always been easy, there have been battles and wars fought internally and externally, there have been changes to the rules and regulations many times over, and our leaders from ever side of the political spectrum have come and gone.

But what has stayed consistent over the years is our belief in the company (America) and the belief that we all really do have a shot to “make it”, whatever “it” is.

Lou Gehrig knew it…72 years ago today he stood before a packed house at Yankee Stadium, suffering from a disease (ALS) that took his baseball career, and ultimately his life…and yet declared himself “The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth”. On what was probably the saddest day for Yankee fans he was telling people, ‘look, don’t feel bad for me, I have already lived Life & Liberty and had experienced a ton of Happiness’ (as any 6-time World Series Champion would). He closed by saying “that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.”

So you see, we have been through a lot, as a country, as families, and as individuals, but the United States of America Company is still open for business. And the best news is you are already an employee…all you need to do is put the hard work in that it takes for any employee, in any company to climb the “corporate ladder”.

How high do you want to climb?

Happy Birthday America!!

John Zalepka

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SERVE, WHO HELP KEEP OUR RIGHTS OURS!

Excuses, excuses. Everyone has them, what are yours?

Sun, 03 Jul 2011 10:41:33 -0400

The sun got in my eyes…

…the #Trust30 challenge ended on Friday…

…it’s a holiday weekend…

…I never got to a computer yesterday…

…I was spending time with my family…

…I’ll just say I meant 30 business days.

Yesterday was a very busy day for me with the family. The beach in the morning, a dip in the pool in the afternoon, and a pig party in the evening.

The truth of the matter is that I could have posted to my blog yesterday from anywhere, but then I could have gotten sand in my phone, or dropped it in the pool, or, well there I go again.

You see there was never a perfect time for me to sit down and write, plus I hate typing on my phone, you know I have fat thumbs. What if I had typos or grammatical errors…wouldn’t people think I was an idiot?

Plus, what would I write about? What could I possible offer about marketing while sunning (burning) myself on the beach that would be really thought provoking or interesting? I’m doing it again, aren’t I?

Now what do my excuses have to do with marketing?

Well my suspicion is that if you are a small business owner, you probably have some excuses about why you don’t market your business more, or worse don’t market it at all.

Marketing is all about putting yourself out there and telling people who you are. And as long as you stay true to your message and target properly, then your message will be fine. Will it always be perfect and great? Probably not, even the greatest of marketers don’t always get it right…New Coke, anyone?

Anyway, I found a good article on the Top 3 Excuses for Not Marketing a Small Business, and what to do about it.

So let’s cut out the excuses and get to work.

John Zalepka

Push Yourself

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:39:10 -0400

“How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?” – Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog

Some of you have been following my progress this week (if you missed it, check me out at Zalepka.com) and I must say that my brain is exhausted. Not exhausted to the point where I need to lie down and take a nap, but more like how I used to feel after the first 5 two-a-days back in football training camp, exhausted, but excited and hungry for more.

Through my writings and by utilizing some of the different social media platforms, I’m attempting figure out how companies are using social media to grow their businesses. My hope then is to bring that information to you, our loyal customer base, and help you to take advantage of this social boom as well.

After a long day on the job it takes some effort to do the extra things that you know you need to do in order to achieve success in your field; much in the same way it has been a struggle for me to write for 5 days straight. However, once you get past that fatigue and you push through the lactic acid buildup in your brain, you will be stronger and wiser for it; while putting yourself in a position to capitalize on the opportunities that will seem to virtually pop up out of nowhere. They call this is called creating your own luck.

So stay tuned, because at Adpro Imprints we’re committed to your success!

John Zalepka

A Fantastic Marketing Tactic!

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:34:22 -0400

Here I am, 4 days into my commitment to myself to post for 30 days straight. I got the idea from the #Trust30 prompt of the day, which is basically a fantastic marketing tactic for promoting a book. The book, Self-Reliance, is in celebration of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 208^th birthday.

When I received the prompt today however, I was having a difficult time trying to formulate an answer that somehow related back to marketing. So I decided to skip the prompt and just focus on the marketing.

When I first began my social media journey (this past Monday), I found myself with about 100 tabs open on my browser as bounced around the internet trying to absorb as much information as possible. I think I saw the link on a tweet… ralphwaldoemerson.me

Upon landing on this very basic looking site, I was immediately asked to take a challenge. Being that I am such a competitive person, I am always up for a challenge. And the best part was, I would only be competing against myself (which isn’t as easy as you may think, but that’s another topic for another day).

So here I am committing to better myself through writing this blog. And I am grateful for #Trust30 for making me take on this challenge and make that commitment, that pledge. And yet, they never asked me to buy the book, sure they let me know it was for sale, but they gave me value first.

It appeared as though they really wanted me to increase my own self-reliance and better myself. And all they asked for in exchange for helping me along was the proper credit in my posts, tweets, and updates.

And even though I didn’t use their prompt today I’m still talking them up, aren’t I?

I’m sure there will be quite a few people in my network (friends, followers, connections) that are bound to see, click, read, or perhaps buy the book (note to self: maybe I should figure out how to monetize these referrals).

And what did it cost them?

Domain Registration $10… Design $1000… Hosting: $100… Thousands of people blogging and referencing your book on social networking sites for free: Priceless!

So basically, if I figure out what value I can give first, maybe more people will buy my “book”… I just bought theirs.

John Zalepka

10 Year Text Message

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:00:43 -0400

Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Imagine your future self, ie, you 10 years from now. If he/she were to send you a tweet or text message, 1) what would it say and 2) how would that transform your life or change something you’re doing, thinking, believing or saying today?

(Author: Tia Singh)

A text message from my 45 year old self: JB was right, Web 2.0 created a million millionaires, and the good news is we’re one of them! The better news is that because we have been so socially engaging to our network of contacts over the past 10 years, we are in position to become a billionaire by leveraging Web 3.0… get ready for a most excellent adventure!

I couldn’t help not to think of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure when I read today’s #Trust30 prompt. The irony in my head was not lost on the fact that their time machine was a 1960’s style phone booth and mine was also a phone (albeit a much more sophisticated Droid). And as silly a thought as it seemed at first, my most excellent and ironic time machine began to make more and more sense to me.

Much in the same way as Bill & Ted were able to convince (kidnap) the likes of Napoleon, Billy the Kid, Abraham Lincoln & Genghis Khan to follow them, aren’t I doing the same thing with social media …”like me”, “friend me”, “follow me”?

And talk about the ultimate cold call victory …two metalhead slackers are able to appear out of virtually nowhere and sell a menagerie of historical figures on the fact that they need to help them with a high school presentation sometime in the future. And why do these important historical figures ultimately agree to participate and help the boys? The short answer is; because they were likeable and social.

So I guess the moral of the story is, if you keep making connections and stay friendly, likeable, and social with your message, you will one day too have your Wyld Stallyns’ moment.

PARTY ON, DUDES!

John Zalepka

Overcoming Uncertainty

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:42:00 -0400

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down a major life goal you have yet to achieve or even begin to take action on. For each goal, write down three uncertainties (read: fears) you have relating to each goal. Break it down further, and write down three reasons for each uncertainty. When you have three reasons for your fear, you’ll be able to start processing the change because you know where the fear stems from. Now you’ll be able to make a smaller changes that push you towards your larger goal. So begins the process of “trusting yourself.”

(Author: Sean Ogle)

Upon my first read through of today’s quote and Sean Ogle’s subsequent post I started thinking about my “goals” …all of the sudden visions of me swimming in a pool full of hundred dollar bills filled my head.

As I read through a second time though, I realized that I did not “fear” money, what uncertainties could I come up with? I mean I could definitely find something to spend all of my goal (money) on. That’s when I began to come to my senses; I realized that money should never be THE goal, instead it should be a by-product of a goal that you actually achieve.

Dictionary.com defines a goal as: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed. Now you could certainly make a case that money could be a “result” of your “effort”, but then what would be a good goal? Should I set out to make $100,000 per month? $10 million per year? Perhaps a net worth of $1 billion should be my goal? My point is that maybe money is better off on my business plan and left out of my personal goals.

A friend of mine whom with I am working on a project, sent me a text message yesterday stating that we needed to take the project in a different direction. I agreed with him, but figured we would talk about it later in the day. Within a minute, I received another text message from him stating that it was done. My first thought was, ‘What do you mean it’s done? We didn’t even give ourselves a chance to second guess ourselves.’ When I asked him about it later he said that, “When I make my mind up about something, I need closure right away.” Wow, what a concept! He is able to move on, where I would have been left hemming and hawing until someone else made up my mind for me.

So my life goal is this; Decrease the amount of things that I allow myself to ‘think about’. Sure there will be major life decisions that I will need some time to properly formulate the best way to handle, but for the most part, for my day-to-day, I need to follow my gut …make a decision, take action and then stick to my guns. I have emails sitting in my Inbox from weeks ago, I have papers piled up on my desk that I need to go through, I have half-finished projects waiting for the perfect time to complete them.

I’m not sure why I have such a tough time deleting an email or throwing away a piece of paper. Maybe my fear is the uncertainty of finality. Whatever it is, it has got to stop! I need to start trusting myself, after all I’m a pretty smart dude. I have to understand that there will never be a perfect time, or a perfect place, or a perfect business partner. Einstein said it best when he defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

So take action and take it now …before you end up in a strait jacket.

John Zalepka

Most Ordinary

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:09:00 -0400

Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are our most potent at our most ordinary. And yet most of us discount our “ordinary” because it is, well, ordinary. Or so we believe. But my ordinary is not yours. Three things block us from putting down our clever and picking up our ordinary: false comparisons with others (I’m not as good a writer as _____), false expectations of ourselves (I should be on the NYTimes best seller list or not write at all), and false investments in a story (it’s all been written before, I shouldn’t bother). What are your false comparisons? What are your false expectations? What are your false investments in a story? List them. Each keep you from that internal knowing about which Emerson writes. Each keeps you from making your strong offer to the world. Put down your clever, and pick up your ordinary.

(Author: Patti Digh)

All of my businesses have revolved around some aspect of marketing, advertising or sales. Even as a small child I can remember being a sucker for great marketing… whether is was gum or baseball cards conveniently placed down low on the checkout line at the grocery store, or TV commercials in between my Saturday morning cartoons, or the Sears Christmas Wish Book, I had to have it all.

That’s why it was no surprise that when I saw today’s #Trust30 challenge question, I read it from a marketer’s perspective.

Ordinary, much like beauty, is indeed also in the eyes of the beholder.

Busy business owners often borrow (steal) ideas from successful companies in their industry, often trying to emulate concepts and product offerings that they cannot deliver on. A small retail boutique would be crazy to try and compete on price with Walmart… it’d be like like asking a Little-Leaguer to try and hit a CC Sabathia fastball (I’m a Yankees fan btw).

However, time and again I have small business clients ask me to print up fancy brochures and marketing collateral that contain a lot of industry jargon, that, truth be told, they hope no one ever asks them about. They try to be “clever”, but what they are really doing is over-promising and setting themselves up to under-deliver.

Your marketing efforts should focus on what you already do well and apply it to your ideal market segment, then rinse and repeat as often as possible. Social networking sites and blogs can make your marketing go viral as fast as you can upload a video customer testimonial or whitepaper answering questions about subject matter that you know about.

I firmly believe that if you spend a little “extra” time focusing on what you already do well (ordinary), then it’s just a matter of time before your ordinary becomes extraordinary!

John Zalepka