Joey Ragona | Strategic Business Academy

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Market Your Product

marketing strategies hidden in plain sight

Marketing strategies are everywhere.

In this case, she could have served us crickets for all I care.

Well, OK, that’s exaggerating.

But there are marketing strategies to learn from our restaurant experience last night.

Let me set the scene:

We went out to dinner for my daughter’s 15th birthday.

She loves a particular restaurant. And, she loves sitting on the top patio.

So, we get our table.

The first thing we notice after sitting down, is how HOT it is.

We look up and see a barrage of heaters lining the rooftop.

It makes sense, because the patio is an all glass enclosure right now. Because it’s winter here.

So it’s a tad bit cold.

But when I say it was hot, I mean HOT.

Especially since we had two space heaters positioned directly above us.

We felt like WE were the ones on the grill.

So, we call over the hostess.

“Hey, can you do us a favour and turn down the heat a little?”

She says “Unfortunately…

By the way, if you ever begin a discussion with me with the word “unfortunately”, you’ve pushed my Sicilian button.

Back to the story.

She says “Unfortunately, I can’t. The heaters are on a temperature control for the whole building and we can’t touch it.”

I dunno, something like that. Because like I said, “unfortunately” shuts down my ears.

Bad call.

In the wink of an eye, I’m p!ssed that I have to endure this heat throughout the meal.

Enter our waitress.

She takes our drink orders – as usual.

And, I have my usual. Ginger Ale. So does my son. Ice tea for my daughter and water for my wife.

All that doesn’t really matter , but I’m sure you were wondering ;-).

Onward.

Our waitress comes back with the drinks.

She notices we are looking up at the blazing heaters.

“Is it too hot?” she asks.

“YES” I say. “It’s really unbearable.”

“I’ll turn the heat down for you.”

“Really? That would be great. I already asked the other girl over there if she could do it, but she said it was impossible.”

“No” the waitress said, “I can turn your section down…give me a minute.”

DONE.

In that ONE moment, that waitress earned her tip.

As I mentioned at the top of this post, she could have brought us crickets for all I cared…

…because ALL I DID care about was being comfortable. I wanted to eat my meal without feeling like I was being cooked.

In other words, that waitress made us FEEL comfortable with her “marketing strategies”.

She did it by simply noticing our discomfort and taking the proactive initiative to ask.

Which earned huge brownie points for her.

Even the delays in getting the food, and the loud music was now bearable.

What’s the point of all this you ask?

It’s about marketing and selling.

Believe it or not, what that restaurant ‘sells’ to my daughter (and us too) is a FEELING.

In fact, EVERY restaurant, mechanic, doctor, hairdresser, corner gasoline station…sells a FEELING.

So do you.

We have said over and over again…we go back to that restaurant “because of the vibe.”

The food is expensive and it’s not the best cooking we’ve ever had wither.

But we go for the “vibe”. The atmosphere. How it makes us FEEL.

Except the beginning of last night was off to a bad start.

The “vibe” destroyed (at least in my mind) because of those damn heaters.

And, the “I-can’t-do-anything-nor-will-I-check” attitude of the first girl.

The vibe returned only with the help of the second in command.

The person responsible for making us FEEL welcomed and comfortable.

So, the question is;

How are YOU making your prospects and customers feel welcomed and comfortable with your marketing strategies?

Are you pushing them through the door as fast as possible? Do you shove “menus” in their face and ask them to buy “overpriced mediocre food” while they sit at an “uncomfortable table”?

Or, do you take the time to notice the “heat” might a bit too high?

All this stuff matters.

One of the way it matters in our business, is through email communication.

If you are doing what every other marketer is doing…

…such as “hey! thanks for downloading my FREE PDF…now GO OVER HERE AND BUY MY SHYTE” stuff…

I’ll bet the “vibe” of your tribe ain’t cool.

Your market has changed. They expect you to care.

Part of caring is PROVING that you care through the marketing strategies you choose.

Like that waitress cared if we walk out with a sunburn or not.

And that means taking the time to communicate with them.

Joey

BTW – so many people ask me how to write emails. They want to know how to write personal and set the right “vibe” for their customers. So, I created Email Archery. It shows you how to write emails without being “salesy”.

You will learn how to develop a trusting relationship that will let you sell stuff – without slamming people with hard sales tactics, spammy emails and annoying hype.

To get on the next release of Email Archery in Feb 2019 – click here.

Entrepreneurial Mindset

how many businesses fail

The reason how many businesses fail is counter-intuitive.

As soon as you get this though, your business will ca$h-in.

Ready?

Mistakes are Mandatory.

That is, if you want massive success.

For every entrepreneur I meet who isn’t afraid of making mistakes, there are 99 others that let fear control their day.

I can’t do anything for the 99%.

But the one percent? It’s the ace in the hole that help their business scale fast.

The underlying reason how many businesses fail is simple.

You, me, and EVERY entrepreneur WILL absolutely, undoubtedly, positively…

Make mistakes.

It’s only a matter of time.

The one percent are entrepreneurs who jump without a net.

It doesn’t mean they’re fearless.

It means they take action in spite of fear.

They pack their parachute on the way down. AFTER jumping out of the plane.

In other words – one percent of entrepreneurs practice speed of implementation (SOI).

Simply, SOI means they learn something new and go try it.

Even if ‘something new' is data from a failure

Because 80% of the time, whatever we try doesn’t work.

This by no means is easy.

But it’s how many businesses fail, separating the winners from the losers.

Because the data and knowledge we get from a failure lead to the next idea or test using SOI.

Take for example, a simple Facebook Ad.

A recent conversation with a client will help me show how this works in real life:

A client wanted to run a Facebook Ad campaign.

The first try was to sell a product he convinced himself the market wanted.

He based his assumption on video views and a tonne of free opt ins.

So, we ran traffic to it.

Needless to say it didn’t sell.

Now, the first thing most (99%) entrepreneurs do, is outcast Facebook.

Or, say “advertising doesn’t work.”

Why? Because they’ve “lost” money.

But here’s the difference between the 99% and the 1%:

We learned what the market DOES NOT want.

We also learned the audiences he thought were prospects, actually sucked as targets for advertising.

So, this “mistake” was an INVESTMENT in his business experience.

It is knowledge acquired that he won’t forget.

And, it’s knowledge that gives him an edge over competitors.

So I made sure we celebrated.

We didn’t frown about the money “lost” – even though it hurts.

Because had my client not run ads, he would NOT know the audience he first targeted are the wrong people.

Had he worried about making mistakes, and run ads only when things are “right”, we would still be waiting years from now.

Businesses fail because entrepreneurs try to get it “right” before doing anything.

It’s no wonder their business fails.

So, it’s kind of funny when we think about it.

THE BIGGEST mistake is avoiding mistakes.

KaPOWW…

My head just exploded…

Here are three points you might want to print and slap above your computer monitor:

STOP trying to get it right the first time
MAKE MISTAKES to find what doesn’t work faster than your competition
FAIL FORWARD FAST and often

The last one means – every failure leads to the next step. That step might be another ‘failure’. Or, it could be the final piece that illuminates the bulb.

Ask T. Edison 😉

Anyhoo, here’s the point – cut and dry:

Mistakes don’t COST money…

“Mistakes MAKE Money”

(print that one out too)

It’s the counter-intuitive part of how many business fail I told you about at the beginning.

I’ll let it sink in.

Because mistakes make money ONLY if you:

don’t repeat them
are willing to pivot from the mistake and try something else
willing to accept yet ANOTHER mistake until you succeed

Read that last one again.

I’ve watched too many entrepreneurs give in too soon and businesses fail because of their lack of commitment.

EVEN when they say “I’m ok with making mistakes.” The truth is, they’re NOT ok with making mistakes.

They are ok with making one or two…after that, they throw in the towel.

So there you have it.

Are you ready to apply these business essentials? You can choose to be part of the 99% or the 1%.

Whenever you’re ready for the 1%, I can help you. The first thing we’ll do is design a blueprint for your business – preparing for mistakes ’n’ all.

To set up a time to talk, here’s where you go: Blueprint Strategy with Joey

Have an awesome day!

Market Your Product

The Facebook Pixel War – What You Need To Know

I GOT CAUGHT in the cross-fire of the Facebook Pixel war!!

This is embarrassing.

But it happens to the best of us.

Here goes;

For the past few days, my Facebook Ads have done nuthin.

Zero.

Or so I thought.

So, like I teach all my clients when something isn’t working, it’s time to blaze a new trail.

The first thing I did was turn off the ads that aren’t working.

Remember I told you I turned OFF the old ads because the Facebook pixel said I had no conversions?

It’s true.

I turned 'em all off except one. Dunno why.

It’s a good thing though.

Because leads are coming in today on a regular basis.

But there’s more.

I checked the Facebook Ad stats … and they are reporting…you guessed it – NUTHING!

“WTF??”

I’m spinning my wheels wondering why my ads aren’t working…yet, they are.

Here’s why I “got caught”

If you don’t know, there’s a “Facebook pixel war” on.

Simply, the browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc) have a new “block tracking” feature.

And this screws up the reporting data you and me rely on.

Because they block Facebook from tracking anyone landing on our marketing lead pages.

I warned my clients about this weeks ago.

And here I am – totally freaking out – completely FORGETTING what I taught my clients to look out for 🙂

Yikes.

Here’s why this is important.

This “pixel war” will continue.

Facebook, Google, and all the rest will figure something out to track again.

Then the browser dudettes will find a way to stop it.

So, the point of this LONG post is:

Make sure you track in many places.

I would have missed the fact my new opt-ins came from the Facebook Ads if I didn't have tracking set up in my Infusionsoft system.

And, I would have turned that last Facebook Ad off –

If you’re spinning your wheels with making Facebook ads work, take a look at my Facebook Insiders’ Group.

I update that membership constantly.

So, you are ALWAYS up to date with the latest information, strategies and workarounds so you don’t get caught like I did 🙂

I need to follow my own advice – don’t cha think?

LOL

Anyhoo – here’s where you get in on the group

Increase Your Sales

How to sell products online

This is a big one; how to sell products online.

When you get it, your business changes forever.

Here it is:

“What we are actually selling is the outcome another person wants – the benefit – the feeling”

Eben Pagan taught me that in 2011.

Since that time, all I’ve focused on in my marketing is how to communicate the:

Benefit

Feeling

Measurable Outcome

I’m obsessed about knowing exactly what my customers want.

All this takes is talking to 1 customer a day and find out what their fears are.

When you listen carefully, they will describe what they want using specific words.

And then you use those words in your marketing.

That's How To Sell Products Online

As an example, I spoke to a personal trainer this week. She told me; “I need people to understand my product so I can sell easier.”

After a few digging questions, I asked her; “are you SAYING this stuff in your marketing?”

“No” she replied.: -)

“Well, do you think you would make more sales if you DID?” I asked.

We both agreed that she would.

Without pulling her hair out “trying to make people understand.”

For starters, when WE understand exactly what our market wants – we make sales. Easier. Faster. Effortless.

CLARITY is the FIRST part of any successful marketing campaign.

But that’s not all.

The other 2 parts of how to sell products online are CONNECTION and CONVERSION.

At the end of the day, your customers have ulterior motives they need from your product.

So I finished my call with the personal trainer with 2 ninja strategies she could use immediately 🙂

I got the feeling she was completely happy with our call 🙂

So there you have it.

I’m betting the same is true for you.

Even if you don’t think you’re good at marketing or copywriting…

My guess is you know more about your customer, your market, and how to sell products online than you think you do.

Get that stuff down on paper and start using it!

BTW; even though I never wanted to teach it, I’m creating a new Email Marketing training.

Because lots of people ask me to help them write emails that will convert.

So now, because of the knuckleheads destroying email marketing and giving cool marketers like you and me a bad rep by being totally obnoxious and hard selling…

I’ve decided to spill the beans on how to do email marketing the right way.

Without being pushy or annoying.

It’s called Email Archery.

It will work even if you have a small list or think you’re not a good writer.

I’ve opened a pre-notification list for you here.

The best thing about this is I will work with you & create training based on what YOU need to know.

So the class will be limited to 60 people.

It will help me build a collection of case studies so I can report on the results when I sell it later to the public.

There’s nothing for sale right now. You can get it at a discount when you choose to buy it during the launch period.

Just click here to put your name on the Email Archery pre-notification list to get started.

Market Your Product

Just The Hottest Facebook Ads Strategy I’ve Ever Learned

Let me spill the beans about this Facebook Ads strategy I learned about from my mentor Frank Kern…

One of my clients asked if the Facebook video marketing I’m doing would work for them.

I said “dude, this strategy is the BEST thing to come along since sliced bread. If you don’t do it, I might have to fire you 😉

LOL

Because this is a HUGE opportunity”

Here’s why

Facebook is moving to a video-based platform
It’s DIRT CHEAP to put my “commercial” in front of ideal customers.

It’s a winning combination.

And there is a basic, underlying reason for this;

Facebook is challenging YouTube.

So, Facebook makes it EASY and CHEAP to get our message to the right people.

When I say “cheap”, here’s what I mean:

After I checked this morning, it’s costing .90¢ to get a complete stranger to watch 100% of my videos with this new Facebook Advertising method.

Even better, I’m paying 0.22 for someone to watch 25%!!

How freakin' awesome is that?

I’ve focused on this ONE video strategy using Facebook Ads since July 12.

The best part is, it’s as easy as ABC.

Most noteworthy, in these 2 months, I’ve reached 281,131 people.

234,160 of those people have engaged with my ad.

Did I mention all these people are complete strangers?

Here’s the bad news:

The big corporations will catch wind of this Facebook ads “hack”. Which means the costs to advertise will skyrocket once again.

As a result, it will push us little guys out of the game (unless we establish position NOW)

So I told my client; “what would happen to your conversions if you put a specific, targeted message in front of your ideal customers for .90¢?”

I asked him another way – “what is your customer worth to you?”

In his case, it’s $197.

“In that case”, I told him, “you could put your ad in front of 218.8 people, and if you got ONE sale, it would pay for the cost of the ads”

Think about that.

Therefore we have 218 chances to make ONE sale.

Of course, our business can’t survive on breaking even.

So, if you have an awesome product or service, I’m sure you can sell more than one if 218 people saw your offer.

Am I right?

That’s the simple reason why I’m all in on this Facebook ads video marketing strategy.

It’s also the reason I’m helping ALL my clients implement the same thing.

Because the clock is ticking.

If this makes sense and you want to see if it works for your business, here's how to set up a strategy session with me: Free Business Coaching Session

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