Manny G asks the question…

Well Manny, that IS the question ain’t it… Good on ya for asking it, because it means you’re asking the RIGHT questions. Most are not.

So how do we actually use the tools out here…? our blog, our social media presence, the google thingamajiggy, how can all of this STUFF actually fuel and grow our careers…!?

How do you actually make a profit with this?

Well there are many ways to look at this. Many strategies and tactics to pursue. And the BEST way to go about it, is of course the best way FOR YOU.

Given, you know what that is, (which many won’t) OR you find some person who can talk to you and help you discover what that is. (which many cant)

But I digress.

Aside from choosing any one tactic, just about all of which I’ll be teaching you over the course of our journey together; I’ll do my best to sum up what I believe will be the most useful bit of information I can contain in this response, and keep this dish shy of another 3,000+ worder.

First off, the fact is that no one is going to randomly discover you-unless you are REALLY REALLY lucky and all the right things line up for you properly, which is very rare. So that means that you’ve got to GETTING peoples ATTENTION, some how.

Given you have something worth sustaining their attention ON. You just have to over-deliver these days. Mediocre isn’t good enough.

Get To The CORE

So, independent of any channel, on or offline, the first thing I’d say is that you have to remember to always focus on The C.O.R.E.

That’s your job. When in doubt, come back to the C.O.R.E. fundamentals.

They are as follows:

Connect – on stage, on twitter, on Facebook, on the street… You have to CONNECT with an individual. Without it, you don’t have their attention. You’re still just noise.

OVER-deliver – here’s where you have to bring the goods. a presentation, a performance, a freebie gift on your website to get them to sign up for your mailing list. You have to OVER-deliver. Wow them with what you have for them.

Reciprocate – next you need to give THEM a chance to RECIPROCATE. People, for the most part want to build mutually interesting/valuable relationships on some level. If you’ve connected with them, and already overdelivered something valuable to them, then it’s important for you to give them a chance to reciprocate. Maybe it’s just a shout out to their audience, maybe it’s a social share, maybe it’s to purchase something from you.

Experience – and finally, just continue to focus on the experience. I’ll say it again. Just continue to focus on the experience. You are a provider of experiences. Provide a great experience, always seek to improve it, and rinse and repeat steps 1-4.

Bottoms Up Folks.

The second mindset I want you to adopt and implement in everything you are doing, regardless of platform is to stop thinking from the top down…. and start thinking from the BOTTOM UP.

The real secret I think is to approach things as ONE connection at a time.

Make ONE real meaningful connection with one person at a time. Stop trying to attract random people in massive anonymous numbers! And if you are in fact talking to a massive audience, then try to talk to them like they are already a great friend of yours and whom you have much care and respect for. Listen to them. Always try to cultivate and develop the habit of making those authentic and personal connections with people.

Call up a linkedin connection, host a tweetup with your fans, better yet, host of meetup.. Be creative, and get on a google hangout or call a new facebook friend on skype.

Try to build 10 SUPERfans, instead of 1,000 reciprocal twitter followers… INSPIRE and you’ll BE inspired with what you find!

Does that help?

That’s been my approach, and it’s not only WORKED, but it has fundamentally changed my attitude toward social media and building an audience online-for the better.

I hope it helps you, and let me know if it does! Or if it doesn’t, let me know why, or ask me whatever questions you have that would help it make better sense and I’ll do my best!

That’s it for today, just want to say that I’m proud to see you making so much progress. Keep at it, and you’ll do great things.

Be Your Best,

Jamie

“Attention-getting tactics to promote your music (on a limited budget)”

This is a special post by music marketing legend Bob Baker!

By Bob Baker

Recognition! Attention! A legion of loyal fans! Those things are what most working musicians aspire to have. Yet, I can’t count the number of frustrated band members I encounter every month who work hard at their music but end up playing to empty rooms and not being invited back to perform at area nightclubs.

Of course, you know by now that you should first have great songs, strong vocals, a defined musical focus and image, not to mention an engaging live show, to have half a chance at luring recognition from music fans and club owners. Therefore, it’s no surprise when the bands that lack those elements don’t cut it.

But how many times have you seen (or been in) a killer band and said to yourself, “This group really deserves to have a crowd. People don’t know what they’re missing!” More than a few times, right?

The typical problem with these bands is that they concentrate almost entirely on the music. Which is no crime, but it leaves the marketing and promotional aspects of their music to chance. I don’t know about you, but I realized long ago that I wanted more control over my career (and life), not wanting to depend on the whims of fate to steer me.

The moral here is this: Getting a grip on the marketing aspects of promoting your music will stack the deck in your favor. And when it comes to grabbing the attention of the many new ears that will hear your music, spending at least some energy on creative promotional techniques will speed the process along. Then you’ll be able to spend more time making great music and less time rolling the dice and hoping a crowd shows up or that somebody will buy your record.

Attention-getting tactics don’t have to be complicated or expensive. You just have to think beyond simply pinning up fliers and letting some of your friends know about your gigs. Also, please realize that no one promotional effort is going to work miracles. Low-budget, grass-roots music marketing can be effective, but you have to approach it as a long-term, ongoing activity—not a one-shot deal.

Music marketing is a lot like multi-track recording. Each layer you put down adds to the ones already created. That’s why you’ll need to develop and deploy an ongoing series of promotional assualts—each one reaching more people, making them more familiar with your name, image and sound.

What follows is a random list of ideas you can use to promote your music. Hopefully, reading over these will inspire you to use them and/or come up with even better marketing tactics of your own.

• Take advantage of the free entertainment listings offered by publications. Spotlight, the Riverfront Times, the Post-Dispatch and many more—they all offer a free service of listing who’s playing where and when. All of those newspaper sections are very well read. So why doesn’t every band in town take advantage of them?Perhaps they figure their fans will automatically do all the work necessary to seek them out. Maybe their comfortable and lazy with their current status. Perhaps they think the club will send it in for them. (Ha! Guess again.) Maybe they were too busy creating music and simply forgot to send it in.I ask you: What good does it do to poor all your heart and energies into practicing a mind-blowing set and then do nothing to get people out to witness it? I think you know the answer. € Offer local record stores a package-stuffer arrangement. Many retail businesses will stuff a flier or discount coupon into your bag along with your purchase. Wouldn’t it be great to get a record store to put your 5 1/2″ by 8 1/2″ flier into all its customers’ packages? Your message would go directly to the music-buying public!

• Start visiting record stores and asking about the arrangement. You might find a sympathetic owner who will do it simply to help you out. But you’ll quite likely meet resistance with this unusual request. What then? Call it quits? Hardly.

• Make the package insert two-sided. Offer to put the store’s message on one side and your message on the other. You pay for prining the whole thing. That way, the store gets free promotion and an incentive to stuff them—and you get lots of effective exposure.

• Set up a band information telephone hotline. While sending in free entertainment listings and compiling and using band mailing lists are all essential, a musical act can add real promotional muscle to its attack by offering a band hotline. That way, fans can call the phone number any time and get up-to-the-minute details on where you’re playing that week, along with the latest info on new releases and merchandise (including ordering instructions).Have no fear. You won’t need to install an extra phone line and buy an answering machine to have a hotline number. Many companies provide voice-mail services inexpensively.Locally, there’s a company called VoiceTech (781-8888) that offers a line complete with a menu of choices (including a short sample of your music) for about $30 a month. Otherwise, a simple number with outgoing message and voice-mail capabilities might run you as little as $10-12 a month. The company I use is Answering (968-3334).

• Give something free to everyone who attends your live shows. You want your name to be imbedded in the consciousness of everyone who sees your band live. Simply being in the club while you’re playing is a start, but you’ll want to make the most of the opportunity and connect with those living, breathing beings further.One way to do that is to give something free to everyone who attends. Plant a couple of your best, supportive fans at the door and have them pass out some inexpensive item (small sticker, novelty business card with your band hotline number on it, mailing list sign-up form, band newsletter, homorous instructions on how to best enjoy your band, a Letterman-like top-ten list).By giving away these freebies, your name and image sinks in with these customers, plus many of these promo items will end up going home with the people who enjoyed you the most—adding more strength to your growing army of fans.

• Sponsor an award or special ceremony. Is there a distinguished person in your community who you’d like to honor? Or is there an anniversary, special date in history or cause you’d like to recognize? If so, plan an event around that theme and make a party out of it.Under normal circumstances, the local media couldn’t care less about your regular weekend gig at Barney’s Bar & Grill. But give them a one-time event with a news “hook” such as a tribute, awards ceremony, etc., and you just might have a media landslide on your hands.

• Sponsor a college or community radio show that features your style of music. Stations such as KDHX (88.1 FM) have businesses that sponsor different shows all the time. Why not a band? Sure, it will cost you some money, but it will be a lot less than advertising on a commercial station, and you’ll be reaching a highly targeted audience.

• Seek Out Exposure on Local Cable TV. “The obvious thing you should go for is exposure, and public access TV is your best bet,” says Doug Moody, founder of Hollywood, Cal.’s Mystic Records. “They have to give you access, they have to expose you. It’s amazing how many people actually watch those local access stations.”
  

  Additional benefit:

  According to Moody, it’s also good practice for future promotional trends. “In the next couple years, visual records will definitely be out. The Philips Corporation in Europe has put out cassette tapes you can play on your TV, and Sony has a mini-disc. Whatever the format, you’re going to be dealing with visual records. You have to learn to present yourself visually.” (As quoted in Getting Radio Airplay by Gary Hustwit, $19.95, Rockpress Publishing, P.O. Box 99090, San Diego, CA 92169.)

  Call the cable company that services your area and ask about its lineup of entertainment-related public access shows.

• Hold a Contest Related to Your Band or Release. Can you come up with a fresh idea to fire up the competitive spirit of music fans in your area? The band Symon Asher did. This Seattle, Wash.-based group held a contest to guess the origin of its name. To register, people had to go to local record store outlets and fill out an entry form. Clues on the band’s name were mailed weekly to radio stations and music press, creating even more of a buzz about the band.Why it works: There are five very effective angles to this promotional scheme:
  1. Forcing interested parties to register at record stores puts those contestants right smack in the middle of the record-buying environment, where they can buy your album.
  2. Also, by bringing more people into their shops, record store owners have more incentive to promote the contest, particularly in-house, giving you even more exposure to music consumers.
  3. Since the contest is about nothing but the band’s name, the publicity benefit is priceless: name recognition!
  4. By hanging onto all the entry forms, you’ll have a hefty batch of fresh names to add to your promotional mailing list.
  5. Getting the media involved by sending them clues to give to their audiences adds yet another layer of exposure—one that most publicists would kill for.

  Find a way to make the contest idea work for your band. It could just as easily be applied to the title of your new release, too.

• Sponsor a College or Community Radio Show. Stations such as KDHX (88.1 FM) have businesses that sponsor different shows all the time. Why not a band? Sure, it will cost you some money, but it will be a lot less than advertising on a commercial station, and—by sponsoring a show that features your style of music—you’ll be reaching a highly targeted audience.

• Write and Record a Seasonal or Current Events-Related Song. We all know your independent CD release barely stands a chance of getting radio airplay on the commercial stations. Even the college and community stations require a little effort on your part to get any substantial spins over the airwaves.That is, unless you use your imagination and come up with a novelty song that relates to a current topic in the news or holiday. Christmas songs will almost always get some play during the Yuletide season. But stretch further.Ideas: What about songs pertaining to a local political scandal, sports team or election? And how about putting a St. Louis (or whatever city you’re in) slant on Halloween, July 4th or Valentine’s Day.

• Believe it or not, these novelty songs will have a much better chance of getting commercial airplay—which will get your name out there, possibly paving the way for your more serious songs later.

• Multiply Your Press Exposure. When you do get a review or feature story published in the press, make copies of it and send it to everyone on your industry contact list—including radio stations, other publications, nightclub owners, booking agents, A&R people. Reinforce your recognition factor with the people who are most likely to help you get even more exposure. Also, don’t forget to include press clippings or quotes in mailings that go to your fans, too!

• Target Specific Cities and Regions for Best Results. You don’t need to do live shows across the country, coast to coast, to effectively promote your music. In fact, it will probably be better for your exposure level and record sales (not to mention your sanity) to zero in on a predetermined number of cities.
  

  Example:

  “You shouldn’t spread yourself too thin,” says Rob Squires, bassist for the Denver, Colo.-based Big Head Todd & the Monsters (now signed to Giant Records). Before landing the record deal, Squires says, the band took this approach: “To establish ourselves, we’d hit Chicago, San Francisco, Austin and the Colorado cities every other month. Our plan worked out great. There’d be more and more people there each time.” Plus the group was eventually signed to a label that could give them nationwide support. (As quoted in Fast Forward, a newsletter put out by Disc Makers, 1328 N. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19122. 1-800-468-9353.)

   

• Find Alternate Ways to Market Your Band. Is there a non-music publication or type of retail store that admirers of your style of music might patronize? If so, you might consider reaching potential new fans through those unlikely means.
  

  Example:

  Last year BMG Distribution moved a lot of hard rock and metal sampler cassettes by advertising them through, of all things, comic books. The tapes featured cuts from such bands as 21 Guns, Babylon AD and the Rollins Band. Readers could order the samplers via a toll-free 800 number.

  “There is a significant portion of the comic-reading and record-buying public that overlaps,” says Rick Bleiweiss, BMG’s senior VP of marketing. “A number [of the comic book respondants] went out and bought the albums based on hearing the tracks on the sampler—and that’s exactly what we want.”

  (As seen in Billboard, $225/year, 1515 Broadway, 39th Floor, New York, NY 10036.)

Take some of these promotional ideas and make them work for you. If you’d like to share your own music marketing tips and success stories—and get a free plug in this column—please send them to the address below.

Bob Baker is the author of “Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook,” “Unleash the Artist Within” and “Branding Yourself Online.” He also publishes TheBuzzFactor.com, a web site and e-zine that deliver marketing tips, self-promotion ideas and other empowering messages to music people of all kinds. Get your FREE subscription to Bob’s e-zine by visiting http://TheBuzzFactor.com today.

Imagine completely wiping all partial pieces of patchy information around how and what you are supposed to do with this thing you’ve heard of being referred to as content marketing, and online marketing. Let’s reboot, reinstall, and refresh the worlds most powerful piece of processing technology, your incredible brain.

Now. Welcome.

As mentioned earlier, there is a SEVERE obstacle that interferes with our ability to function at the highest levels of our potential. It is a silent threat, but it is real.

As we’ve discussed before OVERWHELM, UNCERTAINTY, no clear structure, information overload are not just pitfalls, they are crushing your ability to use your mind effectively.

I’ve taken the hard work out of it for you-and after 10 years have finally created a simple yet sophisticated structure to allow your creativity and productivity to flourish as a MODERN Content Creator.

Everything boils down to these 5 simple steps. They are the FIVE functions of your business operations cycle as a content creator.

Please understand that simple is not the same thing as easy. But the purpose of spending so much time creating a simple yet COMPLETE framework for us-is so that we CAN focus ALL of our attention and energies on the FEW things that make the difference and let us live our dreams.

Seriously. This took a LOT of work.

Like GTD, it is a SYSTEMATIC APPROACH.

In other words… The concept, the design, the components, the principles are all encompassing. It works. Simply use these 5 steps, master these 5 functions and you can experience endless freedom and fulfillment doing what you love, for those that love what you do.

End of story.

To stand behind this framework, I assert a challenge, in the spirit of keeping things interesting, and testing these principles…

If anyone thinks they have mastered the following 5 functions, and that they are still not exactly where they want to be after doing so, doing exactly what they want to do, then please contact me and I will politely guide you to the area that needs to be improved-or is not fully understood.

I recognize after just typing these words, that this could come across as egotistical, or arrogant…

This is not the intention. In the spirit of contribution and genuine service I owe it to you to provide the very best content possible, AND to be open to the possibilities of any oversight or any ongoing improvements that can be made. Thus I encourage you to challenge, or suggest, or express your opinions.

So without further ado,

The 5 Steps To Endless Freedom and Fulfillment as a Modern Creator!

Step 1 = Platform 

First step is to plan, build, and connect your platform. You need to lay the foundation properly. Effectively. Going back to the analogy of a builder with tools and physical materials, you just cannot half ass it.

If you set a weak foundation, it’s gonna catch up to you eventually, in time or money, or both.

You gotta do it right.

Think BLUE collar work ethic and mastery of the fundamentals, just transferred over to a digital universe.

It’s the same fundamental principle for building a house, a deck, a porch…

You’ve gotta ask yourself, or consult with someone who could guide you to determine WHAT channels you should be on, WHY, and HOW to best set them up so you’ll have a solid foundation to start from and work with.

Your platform is just the infrastructure to engage with your audience, to listen, communicate, and deliver your content through.

You must know who your audience is, what specific persona’s you are targeting, and where they are on the path to purchasing your content.

Your platform, logistically, is your mailing lists, your website, and your social media channels.

It’s typically founded on 2 key things.

1. A lead magnet (freebie, or opt-in gift, what have you..)

2. Cornerstone content.

Both need to be unique, high value, and relevant to the audience you are targeting.

Step 2 = Production: 

But a platform is largely useless without a loyal following, and so in order to build an audience you gotta complete step 2. Growing an audience that cares about what you’re doing is how you grow a brand in the modern world, and that starts with CONTENT.

Core function:  The second step, and the second function is: To Develop, Perform and Produce high value content through targeted projects and processes. I.E. To convert content into currency and find workflow.

Let’s break this down a little further and look deeper into the meaning and implications of these words.

The end result is simple. You have unique content, in ANY final format, that is of high VALUE.

This means that you’ve done your market research, you know your audience, you know what they like, and you have the ability to deliver that content to them.

QUALITY and VALUE are not the same thing. High quality may mean things such as well written, interesting, or grammatically sound. High value CONTENT is currency. High Value in contrast to high quality, in this case means that it is something that a certain amount of people will pay money for.

The performance, the event, the concert, the session, the consultation, the recording, the book, the piece of art.

There are 3 pieces, phases, components, whatever you will… that go into creating high value content which of course starts with the ability to DEVELOP it, to perform it, and finally to produce it-in its full and final form.

This is done through TARGETED projects and processes that have measurable and defined parameters or goals.

For example… The Content Strategy for your new book would be a project, whereas your Content Marketing “process” may be a well tuned and continuously refined set of operating procedures that encompass all the repeatable moving parts within your production cycles.

To reduce the production phase into a universal skill-set, you’d get the following.

Skills - content creation, content marketing process, project management/prioritizing, market research)

The bottom line, from a logistical standpoint is that if you can’t develop, perform, and produce high value content, then you will not be able to create or sustain profits for the shareholders… In other words for you and your business. It ain’t gonna work until you can.

Step 3 = Positioning: 

Now just because you have the ability, and even the final product of true high value content… the second step is absolutely vital, and you should recognize that you have to get this right too. The first two steps are the two biggest pieces, as the final three can be easily tweaked, and modified, these first two are intrinsic to the foundation of the business itself.

If you didn’t do full scale market research and in depth competitor analysis in the process of creating the high value content, THAT it what you need to dive into to complete this step.

Your Unique Value Positioning is the center of your brand message, and is reflected throughout your external branding and audience experience.

As a Modern Content Creator – it all starts at an intrinsic level. At a soul level. Your U.V.P. should be a reflection of your internal principles, values, and guiding purpose.

If that sounds deep… That’s because it is.

Being a Modern Content Creator (or whatever you’d prefer to call it) is not for everyone. It’s quite the responsibility, and it’s something you are drawn to-or compelled to do generally out of an inner drive or calling.

You don’t just write, or produce, or coach, or train, out of a haphazard idea you had one day.

Your UVP comes from knowing your purpose, vision, and your message. Your life, your story, your dreams. It’s all there. You just need to Identify, define, and align your U.V.P.

The conversation is global. Instant. All the time.

Thus competition is global.

MODERN Content Creators are lynchpins because there is only one of them. Because they identify, define, and align their U.V.P. They know who they are, and they are deeply aware of what the others in their space are doing, and what they represent.

The great news is that opportunity is literally infinite now, because as MODERN Content Creators, everyone is a lynchpin, so even more people can work together to add MORE value to their audience, and create more opportunity in their marketplace.

It’s a matter of adding more pieces to the pie, more flavors of ice-cream, co-opetition, etc.

Step 4 = Promotion and Partnerships

Once you’ve nailed the first three steps, the final two are relatively easy, and a few very simple, minor tweaks can result in HUGE benefits for your brand and your bottom line.

Step 4 is your traffic/lead generation campaigns, also known as your marketing funnel.

Marketing is NOT something that we just suddenly start to do… It’s not something that happens AFTER you create whatever it is you create… If it is, then you haven’t build a solid foundation for your brand, and need to revisit steps 1-3.

Marketing starts at the very beginning of the process. You don’t HAVE to create content that is specifically made for solving a specific solution or meeting a “specific” need. For example, writing and pitching a song produced specifically for a film/tv/video game or ad placement based on a criteria and description placed on the market. Essentially as a classified ad.

BUT AGAIN, you DO need to have a loyal audience that will pay you. You’ll learn more about the 3D brand later,

Your marketing funnel consists of each traffic generation branch of your tree, (whichever promotional tactics work best for your market) and goes all the way through the relationship development process.

One clear distinction about my principles, and I believe a very pragmatic, simplified definition that works is that your marketing funnel, in terms of your where it differentiates from your sales funnel is that it represents everything that goes into and leads up to the first sale.

From brand impressions, to relationship development with your subscribers and audience, through any and all channels i.e. content, social, or paid traffic strategies.

Step 5 = Performance and Profits 

After any campaign, an event, a tour, launch, or session…

We have to know two things… Which takes us to our fifth and final step in the business cycle for Modern Content Creators… What strategy and tactics did we try, and what was the effectiveness of the approach we took.

What were the bottom line RESULTS, and how can we measure the performance of our efforts.

Conversions. Performance analysis.

This is the final step, and everything leads up to bringing our audience from initial lead generation, through the relationship development process, and INTO our sales funnel.

That’s how you measure the bottom line. Your profits. Now for almost all of us, it’s not solely about profits, it’s not even mostly about profits. But to continue to do what we love, for those that love what we do… We MUST make profits, as well we should.

The best part about these last two steps is that we can automate a large part of the mundane, manual processes through the leverage of modern magic we call automation technology.

Once a subscriber has become a customer, then he or she enters your sales funnel.

Your sales funnel is going to be unique to how each individual wants to set it up, but it is essentially, the ROOTS of your tree.

Typically it starts with a smaller front end product or service and then leads into backend product suite that provides deeper, more effective offerings and value delivery at higher price-points and greater levels of intimacy or attention.

Use To Build Your Assets

Go through these five steps, master these 5 functions, and you can experience endless freedom and fulfillment doing what you love, for those that love what you do.

As a modern content creator the name of the game is to use the tools available to build your assets through value creation – by developing your ability to manage the five areas of your business and master these five functions.

Your lifelong course of mastery will be constantly progressing in each of these areas.

It is simple, as is everything in the Modern Project Studio, but that don’t mean it’s easy.

Your Assets: The Four Assets of a Modern Content Creator

Your Platform – This is the infrastructure, the tangible and intangible assets of your loyal audience.’

Your Knowledge and Skills – The valuable expertise, insight, capabilities, and perspective you’ve gained.

Your Content, Product & Service Suite – The resulting distillation of your knowledge and skills packaged and produced for consumption.

Your Relationship Capitol – The valuable contacts, connections and database you have.

———————————————————————————-

In Conclusion

So there you have it. The 5 simple steps to endless freedom and fulfillment doing what you love, for those that love what you do. Refer back to this anytime you have a question or uncertain about why a particular part of your brand is not working.

And… to top it all off… You wanna know what the best part is?

The best part is that each of the 5 steps correspond to EACH of the 5 phases of this course. So it’s a mini-model microcosm that will teach and show you at the same time.

Again, your FIVE core functions are:

ability to perform the following 5 functions.

1. To Be Able to Develop, Create and Communicate High Value Content (Production)

2. To Define, align, and communicate your brands message and Unique Value Positioning (Positioning)

3. To Drive Targeted Traffic To a Sales Funnel That Works (Promotion)

4. To Profit, Test, Measure, and Improve all results through effective performance analysis. (Performance)

=

5. To build and maintain a loyal audience that loves what, why, and how you do what you do (Platform)

When and If you fully understand these 5 simple steps you will be at the next level, and you’ll see me one day somewhere, and you’ll smile and say something like… Duhh!

It will be fun.

So make sure you stick with it, and don’t give up.

Your feedback and interaction play a vital role in both YOUR overall success with this content-as well as in my ability to gauge what’s working and what’s not to continually improve this course and make it better and better for you and our whole community!

So give your boy a holler!

I’m not much for the mushy stuff, but i’m a glowing ball of joy underneath this macho facade, and I just love getting on the phone or getting an email from amazing people like you, from all over the world and hearing how this stuff is helping, learning more about you and your journey, and letting you know that someone is here for you, that has your back, and is cooking you up some more incredibly tasty, secret weapon content served up on a weekly basis.

The goods, for those with the goods. (That’s you!)

It makes my day to hear from you, even in short little thank you for the article tweets, i’m serious-the pay is crap, but the relationship I continue to get to develop with you are what it’s all about for me.

Today we’re back in action with another M.C.C. Roundup, it’s short and sweet today, as I know you’re brain is already good and overloaded with DATA flow, (one of the main reasons I started the Roundup in the first place) and there are some real gems in this one.

The MusicPreneur Manifesto

Startups and big brands make all the streaming revenue. Theres no money in the music industry. The real solution is going to come FROM and WHEN artists and musicians CREATE new value, and learn how to use the tools to do what they love for those that love what they do.

I don’t think the solution is going to be from the TOP down… I think the real solutions are going to come from the bottom UP. Starting with YOU, the MusicPreneur. It all starts with the proper mindset and understanding what you need to know as well as how to begin.

What started as a white paper, turned into a full blown MANIFESTO, and if you’re a MusicPreneur, or you want to fully understand what that really means, then this is just what the doctor ordered. I’d put away your reading list for a night or two and really consume this content, i’ve put my heart and soul into it for you.

Here is the open letter to our DIY community called The MusicPreneur Manifesto. This may turn into a paid report or book at some point, but for now it’s your GRATIS! http://www.jamieleger.com/the-musicpreneur-manifesto/

1 Open Consulting Slot Available

Interested in working directly with me, as a trusted and long-term extension of your own board of directors?

Well, you best snatch me up now.

As of this writing, I actually have a one-on-one consulting opportunity available. If you’re interested in at least doubling the profit of your business, better head here now.

Long Term Coaching Clients – Several Seats Now Open!

Now Selecting Applicants for an Elite Coaching Program available for only a handful of members in our community, and will run the entire course of a year. For those that are ready for it, this course is going to take your brand and your lifestyle to the next level through the most personal, customized, and detail oriented guidance you could get anywhere.

It’s not OUTLANDISHly expensive either, but it WILL require the lions share of my time, is not particularly cheap, but this is the program that pays all the bills so that I can continue to deliver you the most Leading Edge Content for Creators, for you, for free… Thus it requires that you are already running a profitable business.

CREATE Your Heaven On Earth in 12 Months… Bam. This material is no joke. If it’s time for YOU to retire early and experience endless freedom and fulfillment doing what you love and choose to do for the rest of your life, then go here.

From One of Our Very Own

Brian Dean, one of your fellow MCC’s has put together some EPIC posts, including his most recent
Googles 200 Ranking Factors – http://backlinko.com/google-ranking-factors
Additionally, check out his Definitive Guide To Guest Blogging.

Good on ya Brian, way to go! Look out for this emerging writer folks.

5 Services to Boost E-mail Productivity
http://mashable.com/2013/04/10/5-services-to-boost-email-productivity/
Holy crap – 2 hours and 14 minutes. That’s how long on average it takes to get through the stacks of e-mail you get every single day.
That’s insa

SaneBox’s 100 E-mail Hacks
http://www.sanebox.com/l/100-email-hacks
Continuing on the e-mail bandwagon… This 59-page eBook from SaneBox doesn’t require an opt-in and is full of really cool little tips and hacks. If you’re a Gmail user, Chapter 5 is especially worth a read.

5 Steps to Increase Your Business Productivity
http://ebenpagan.com/accelerate/video-1-fb/?orid=105023&opid=23
Eben Pagan has just released a new report and video teaching the 5 steps to increase your productivity as an entrepreneur. I registered and took a look yesterday, and it covers some really good points worth considering on your journey, especially the hidden obstacles that get in the way of business productivity and profit (many of these are actually emotional, so we don’t even notice them).

Honorable Mentions

The Key to Creating Content that Resonates with Your Audience

Self Publishing is the Future for Writers (Must Read)

That’s it for this week folks, little sloppy on the formatting-got some things in the works behind the scenes taking all my time! See you soon with a fresh new training served hot and ready!

Be Your Best,
Jamie

Follow me on Twitter

*PSSST.

Only a Few 1-1 Breakthrough Sessions Available (This is your opportunity to put your business into high growth mode.)

Book a session while you can - https://www.timetrade.com/book/T5G6M

WELL WELL WELL. Coming right along, you are. Don’t have much time to dilly dally here cause i’m serving up another CRITICAL piece of training that’s going to help you better TRANSLATE the unique characteristics and professional value that are all YOURS.

You’re second function as a Modern Creator is to identify, define, and align, your Unique Value Position. Period. Now you’re going to learn all about this today, and even start developing it-but let’s lay the groundwork first…

What Is a Unique Value Position?

It’s one of those X factors that’s going to make or break your success. period. See… as society and global commerce evolves, people who are creating strong foundations for long-term future success are zooming all the way in, narrowing down, and locking in their Unique Value Positioning.

They are doing this because now almost HALF the population works on some sort of a “freelance” basis… Meaning, people everywhere are taking their destiny into their own hands and going into business for themselves! And why wouldn’t they? Their is no such thing as “job security” anymore, and all the traditional education and training we’ve been taught is becoming less and less relevant to CAREER success anyway.

I mean, why wouldn’t we try to find our TRUE purpose and path and spend our lives doing the things we love? More and more, people are finding ways to bridge a “best of both worlds” approach to their professional career and I think at the HEART of why those who succeed in doing this vs. those who don’t-is an identified, defined, and congruent U.V.P.

NOW, in order to get to a “cellular” level for understanding this concept let me say it like this…

Your experiences, talents, skills, aspirations, interests, values… Etc. They are all like illuminated little beacons of signal that point to your U.V.P.

Basically, those who are going to be successful in the near future, and those who are already there now, have in some capacity (whether conscious, or unconscious) HONED IN on their unique strengths and abilities and somehow bridged the gap to meet their market with a product or service that is needed enough-that people will pay them for it.

It’s not easy. I’m not saying that it is… and people who will tell you that it’s as simple as just “following your passion” and blogging about daffodils-because you love them more than anything else in the world…. etc. probably don’t have a realistic or experienced enough perspective…

But, you are a CREATOR, you can CREATE a way. Right? You’re Damn right!

Bottom line, at the center of building your personal brand, the thing that is going to distinguish you and underscore your success-isn’t a “fill in the blank” answer…

It takes you following something strategically and sticking it out for a long period of time… Usually without much initial evidence that it’s “working…” Which can be tough. But it’s about being prepared, knowing how to use the tools, building a solid foundation and platform, keeping your eyes open, and utilizing your creativity to both solve existing problems, and create genuine connection through adding value to peoples lives.

What I’m really saying here is that, the new “path,” in the NEW economy, is NO LONGER a cut and dry set of options-like doctor, lawyer, accountant, butcher, baker, candlestick maker…

The points of distinction aren’t vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry like they used to be… Now we can CREATE our own flavors, red velvet supreme mixed with raspberry sherbet. You tracking?

It’s more precise tuning, more-so part of an internal narrative and core understanding of who you are.

It’s about finding a way to do what you love, serving those that love what you do. However you can make that happen.

It takes work to find out how to make that work, I don’t think theres any way around that whether you’re a musicpreneur, an expert, a contentpreneur… or anyone else for that matter.

But you are a CREATOR… It’s your job to look at your life, your experiences, your interests, your content, your goals, your areas of passion, the few key things you most love to do, and allow yourself the time to develop that, follow some things, try and fail, and eventually figure out what that all amounts to for you.

Balancing the practical aspects of being a CREATOR (creative, intuitive, highly talented, multi-capable solutions oriented individual) and an ENTREPRENEUR, (running a profitable business) are the requirements of building a successful personal brand as a MODERN Content Creator who gets to experience endless freedom and fulfillment doing what you love, for those that love what you do.

You’ve gotta get granular, and you gotta zero in on this thing I call your Unique Value Position. It’s ALL yours, you gotta FIND it-which may take some time… but disciplining yourself to do this now is what can make you an INDESPENSABLE asset to your audience, your market, and everyone around you. Forever.

Again, this is something that ultimately rests at the center of YOUR core. It will probably take some time, some trial and error, and likely some persistence to unlock, but it’s THERE, you just have to commit to finding it.

Neither I nor anyone else can tell you what it is for you… but, I CAN SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the complexity and time it might otherwise have taken you to clarify, define, and align with your U.V.P….

And that’s what I’m going to equip you with today.

Are you ready to get started?

GREAT!

Let’s Review Our Progress

So first a quick recap… YOU are a CREATOR, and It’s ALL content marketing. Hopefully you’re obtaining a very clear understanding that Marketing is not a dirty word, (except when people aren’t deeply proud of their CONTENT and what they created in the first place.) and is the SECOND half of your job as a Modern Content Creator.

Content Marketing.

Turning your content into currency is the magical moment when you’re content CONNECTS with your audience on an emotional level, that provides value to them in a unique way. Being a MODERN Creator requires a balanced integration of both the Artist and the Entrepreneur in you.

• To be successful in the GLOBAL conversation as such, you need to think and operate like a MODERN Creator. We must embrace the tools and technologies available to compete today and for the rest of history. We must not only create content with A.D.D. in mind, but we must shape the EXPERIENCE to deliver unique value that builds brand loyalty.

• It’s not NEW tools, apps, tactics, or ideas we need… It’s the creativity, clarity and focus to use the ones we have-BETTER.

• The Modern Creator builds a 3 Dimensional Brand that communicates in high definition and creates a transparent, congruent experience for their loyal audience.

Again, it’s not only your ability to create valuable CONTENT, but your effectiveness in building a sustainable long-term career, your success in delivering your message to the people who need it; all heavily relies upon your ability to get that content in front of the people that are looking for it.

Part of your responsibilities IS translating and promoting your content, because relying on people to “discover you” is a sure-fire way to kill your career.

Leading Edge Creators rise to the occasion and embrace the opportunities of the New Economy. They understand that they have the innate power, creativity, capability, and responsibility to CREATE their OWN Economy.

• You are a CREATOR of value. Content creators are the Gold-miners of the Modern world.

• You’ve learned that Content Marketing is a process, and that you are a Multimedia StoryTeller.

• You have now gained basic comprehension for the lingo, and know the difference between a Content Strategy, and all that the term Content Marketing really encompasses.

All of this nicely leads us into your next lesson, your second function as a Modern Creator:

To identify, define, and align your Unique Value Position.

It’s a term that encompasses a few concepts, and simplifies the process of you translating your professional value and unique points of distinction.

Your U.V.P combines three key terms you’ve probably heard before… Value Proposition, Unique Selling Points, and Branding Position.

This lesson will not only explain how to define your key distinctions as a business or for each of your brands, but it will take you through an exercise for how to actually do it yourself.

It is my aim to simplify and clarify this as much as possible for you so that you never have to think about or get confused about what a USP, a Core Value Proposition, or what your Branding Position is.

We’ll be clarifying-through real life examples-what exactly those terms mean in a moment… But I want to take a step back and make sure you get the bigger picture first, before we start getting more granular.

Your Unique Value Position is merely the external translation of the CORE value and service you offer to your market.

Since we can’t read minds, we have to be able to clearly communicate what it is we do, and as always, clarity is key.

Thus, nailing your U.V.P really starts with connecting, defining, and focusing on the starting point.

Everything begins with purpose, vision, mission, goals. From there; core values, skills, talents, and background are key factors in your business development as an Expert or Creator.

Your U.V.P is not something that’s necessarily set in stone, nor is it’s definition a “fill in the blank” exercise.
There are many variables. Nothing is a one size fits all, but it’s a beneficial exercise in gaining more clarity and focusing your core marketing message.

In an infinitely more narrow and competitive world of commerce, distinguishing your points of distinction is a highly valuable pursuit.

Don’t Be THAT GUY.

Big enough to serve ALL your needs, yet SMALL enough to still care…

Or

Great customer service at a bargain dollar price…

…Small businesses are notorious for these vague, practically worthless points of distinction… Don’t be that guy!

Let’s Get Some Terms Squared Away

Since there is often some confusion around a few foundational terms and their many slight variations, as well as in how to accurately define this stuff for YOUR brand… I’ve taken all the hard work out of it, and clarified everything you need to know to help you define YOUR value and distinction as a Modern Creator or Expert.

First let’s understand the differences between your VALUE Proposition, and Your Unique Selling Proposition/Points.

Core Value Proposition: A customer Value Proposition is the Core Benefits of what you are offering. Whether that is for a single product or the total service you offer.

It needs to be…

Short
Specific
In Customers Language
Tangible

This is the brief, category level, or type of business/brand you are, which generically explains what you do.

It’s something that you’d informally tell someone in a loud place-to someone whom you didn’t fully have the attention of… I.E. In a loud bar or club…

For example, Pizza Parlor, Business Coach/Consultant, Website Developer, etc.

Lots of options. Competitors. Non-specific. Informal.

Now, for CONTENT Creators, or Knowledge Workers of any kind, it’s best to define your Core Value Prop by completing the following sentence:

You help “X=whom,”do/have/be “y=what,” so that/to accomplish “Z=why.”

For Example, I help Experts & Creators Turn their Content into Currency, Master their A.B.C.’s, (Audience, Brand, Cashflow) and Experience Endless Freedom and Fulfillment doing What They Love for those that Love What they Do.

This is much more specific, and is a better strategy for talking to people about what you do. It’s clear, it’s interesting, and not only is it a great conversation starter, it’s also something that will stick out in someones mind-and could potentially send you referral traffic of some sort somewhere down the line.

So make it interesting, specific, and tell people exactly what you do.

*Now, for Artists and Bands… I can hear you saying, but what does that look like for me?

Your core value prop would be something like this:

I’m an “X” —- I’m a Singer Songwriter Producer. Or, I’m a Cellist and Midi Guitarist. We’re a Rock/Soul/R&B/Pop/Country band, Etc.

The more specific version would include something like this:

My music is like John Legend mixed with Jason Mraz, and a little bit of Sublime.

A soulful storyteller driven by rhythm whose songs will make you cry.

Get creative, your a musician and/or a songwriter…illustrate with words.

A USP, or Unique Selling Proposition, or Unique Selling Points, are just that, a short little summary that defines what separates you from your competitors, and answers the question why they should buy from you.

For example, I’m The Master Content Strategist for Modern Creators.

I wrote the Definitive Guide To Content Marketing Strategy for Creators.

Author of The MusicPreneur Manifesto

I show Leading Edge Experts How to Create Their Heaven On Earth.

Empowering Modern CREATORS with the tools and tactics to lead in the NEW Economy.

Bestselling Author.

You get the point… Any distinguishing accomplishments, achievements, awards, or any further distinctions that more specifically differentiates you from others, as well as capsulates your unique value.

Your USP answers the question: Why should I buy from YOU?

Classic USP’s

Fedex – When it absolutely has to be there overnight.

Dominos – Fresh pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less or it’s free.

Nyquil - “The nighttime, coughing, achy, sniffling, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine.”

ABC Trimmers – Will trim and maintain your trees and shrubs six times a year, once every other month, for $16/month.

USP = Amongst others who have the same Value Prop. how are you better or what makes your product or service unique?

It has to be clear and unique. NOT – save money, save time, great service, great price….

Something specific like:

A simple golf swing methodology that won’t aggravate your hip or lower back and will teach you to hit the ball further with less effort!

This can be a distinction in WHO you CATER to, such as-you teach WOMEN entrepreneurs, or even more specific-such as you teach Empty Nest MomPreneurs to leverage the internet and build a business…

So it’s really a process of further definition and distinction, as their are varied levels of needed clarification that you should be able to communicate very precisely.

The USP goes a bit further than the Core Value Prop. by explaining the key differentials that make your product/service better or unique to your competitors, and the FINAL piece is your POSITIONING strategy.

Branding Position

Positioning encompasses both the STANCE you have in your market, (i.e. what you stand for, how or why you do what you do) as well as your story. At least the parts of your personal and professional journey that got you where you are, or made you who you are, or tells people where you’ve come from and what you’re about.

Branding should be a transparently projected image of what you represent, what role you play in society, and what role you play to your audience.

For most Creators, the core of your branding position should come from an authentic place, and get to the root of your core values, purpose, mission, and personality.

The focus is on the type of client/customer you are trying to attract, although it encompasses your specific points of distinction that highlight your strengths among the many competing options.

Yes, there can be a little overlap between your Core Value Prop, your USP and your Branding Position… Nothing is set in stone. This isn’t mathematics. Again, all of this is simply a way to bring some much needed clarity-to an inherently hard to clarify subject matter.

When I work with 1-1 with Thought Leaders in my premium program, we’re typically focused on turning dedicated experts into the Market Leader and the Highest Authority on their topic, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you are have to be the GO-TO authority in your market…

The Enthusiast, or the Researcher, are both very valued resources that can be the basis of your initial positioning.

I don’t recommend anyone position themselves as something that they cannot backup…

For newer Artists, you can talk about your influences, your aspirations, your life story, the message behind what you’re doing. Etc.

Essentially you want to position yourself authentically, AND you want to use social proof and any credentials you have to raise the PERCEIVED VALUE of what you offer; OR you want to cater your Branding position to speak DIRECTLY to the prospect you are specifically trying to attract.

I.E. Your Affordable Family Chiropractor.

My Branding Position:

I am Jamie Leger, The Business Coach and Consultant for Experts and Creators by day, and DIY Singer Songwriter Producer by night.

I have been apart of the blogosphere since it began, and have watched SEO evolve into the Content Marketing Process. I have spent the last 10 years-running a business online, publishing and marketing content, and writing and producing my own music in my home studio.

As a teacher, content creator, and independent artist in the NEW music industry, I’m a multimedia storyteller. A Modern Content Creator that’s doing what he loves, for those who love what he does.

I’ve built a lifestyle business that allows me to enjoy serving my clients and audience during the day, and create my own music and content as well-at night.

After 3 years of specialized coaching and consulting for Experts and CREATORS of every type, I’ve had the privilege of working with 100’s of clients and students at every level and have a very organic footing on the current state of our community and the surrounding artist and creative marketplaces.

I basically get to test, learn, apply and share what works at the ground level across a range of interrelated communities and all forms of CREATORS-doing amazing stuff in the modern world.

I’ve artistically designed a lifestyle that allows me to run a sustainable business, as well get to share the insights, concepts, tactics, and strategies that are working in our digital economy with YOU, for FREE.

The experts and thought leaders that I’m blessed to coach and consult pay the bills-so I can further explore, share, and help artists and other DIY’ers like myself as a hobby… For free. The majority of the principles and strategies I teach can be applied just as effectively for artists and musicians, as they can be for experts, authors, comedians, consultants… etc.

I am in a unique position to be able to be completely immersed in this stuff from all angles, all the time. The amount of input, feedback and insight I get through being in direct conversation with my audience, clients, and students-from first, second and third hand experience-is incredible.

In addition to the 10 years on my own and well over the 10,000 hour limit in learning, applying, and studying the greatest in the world at each particular skill I wanted to develop, I test and try each new idea on my own as well (i’m not just teaching people, I practice what I preach.) In result, it’s my honor to be able to share the most cutting edge, advanced, and PROVEN strategies, tactics, tips, and insights with CREATORS like you!

Here are three questions you need to answer:

1. Complete the following sentence… “I help x, do x, so that/to achieve x.”

2. I do it better or differently from everyone else who does something similar by/because…

3. The perspective, story, and position I speak and deliver my message from is…

Alright, let’s take my CORE training program, for another example…

Content Academy: The Content Marketing, Audience Building, and Traffic Transformation Bootcamp for Modern Creators.

12 Weeks To Traffic Transformation – Double your traffic and learn how to create and communicate your content in High Def!

CAPTURE your audiences attention, and CONNECT with them through your content.

You need to build an audience to build a brand. It doesn’t work the other way around. YOUR audience exists all over the world, and are already participating in the global conversation.

The technologies already exist. They are out here, and you ALREADY have all you need right now… You are a CONTENT creator, and it’s your JOB to get your message, your stories, your knowledge and expertise out into the world.

You don’t need more resources, you need more RESOURCEFULNESS. You don’t need more tools, you need to learn how to use the ones you already have access to BETTER. You need both the PRACTICAL training to turn your Content into Currency, AND the mindset adjustments that will empower you to CREATE anything you want as a LEADER in the NEW economy.

Content Academy will officially indoctrinate you as MODERN Creator, guide you through the often overwhelming chaos that is the world wide web and teach you how to more effectively harness the tools at your disposal.

I’ll be telling you what you need to know as a content creator, and pointing out the key lessons and insights I’ve gained over the last 10 years.

You will be equipped with a full palette of tactics, techniques, and strategies, to build your audience, get more traffic, and grow your brand online.

You will be provided with a FULL arsenal of tactics to communicate WORLD CLASS content, gain targeted traffic, and the learn the biggest secret that will leverage ALL your efforts, as well as help you create a respected and AUTHORITATIVE presence within your community.

You will understand the cause and solution for how to break through your mental and socio-economic limitations, AND live the life you’ve dreamt of.

You will learn how to turn your content into currency, and maximize your greatest asset.

How to use your content to generate targeted traffic, and build a loyal audience that loves you for life.

Learn how to Drive Targeted Leads to a Targeted Message and Convert Visitors into Loyal Subscribers and Customers.

It’s the only program like it, and it’s created for you specifically. You’re welcome!

USP:

The Comprehensive-Content, Audience, and Traffic Training course FOR Experts and Modern Creators.

How to build a Tribe and Perpetual Lead-Flow for your Brand using the Internet.

The only Online Lead Generation course you’ll ever need.

It’s all broken down into a simple 5 step framework that you can refer to for the rest of your life, to keep things as uncomplicated and clear as possible.

Production = content creation
Positioning = branding
Promotion = marketing
Performance = sales and testing
Platform = Infrastructure, network, audience

These FIVE core functions, are skills and key areas of focus-that you will develop, get good at, and ultimately master if that’s something you desire to do.

1. To Be Able to Develop, Create and Communicate High Value Content (Production)

2. To Define, align, and communicate your brands message and Unique Value Positioning (Positioning)

3. To Drive Targeted Traffic To a Sales Funnel That Works (Promotion)

4. To Profit, Test, Measure, and Improve all results through effective performance analysis. (Performance)

=

5. To build and maintain a loyal audience that loves what, why, and how you do what you do. (Platform) The Master Function and the KEY to success in the NEW Economy. You need to build a solid foundation for your network and audience.

Positioning:

Official Bootcamp for Content Creators by THE Business Coach and Consultant for Content Creators!

After a decade of focusing on just this business model, working with Expert/Artist/and Personal Brands of every level, making virtually every mistake, and having been fortunate to learn from some of the best masters and mentors on the planet, I’ve created the ultimate training course for content creators in the modern world.

Content Academy is a sophisticated, FOCUSED plan of action that will actually TEACH you HOW to use the tools of the Modern Content Creator to create and communicate your content, drive targeted leads online, CONNECT WITH THEM authentically, and Build a Loyal Audience that Loves You For Life.

To signup and/or reserve your seat, go here and nab a spot before they’re all gone.

In Conclusion

You now have a solid foundation with some practical examples of what you need to do, why it’s important, and some simple frameworks for HOW to do it.

Again, begin by answering these questions and if you have any other questions or points of confusion, either reread the article, or see me in the comments and we’ll get you squared away.

1. Complete the following sentence… “I help x, do x, so that/to achieve x.”

2. I do it better or differently from everyone else who does something similar by/because…

3. The perspective, story, and position I speak and deliver my message from is…

Until next time.

Be Your Best,

Jamie

Follow me on Twitter

Get your free spot in Content Academy!

What’s all this talk about the social brand?

what does it mean?

how does-or did brands and business actually evolve?

when people say that brands needs to adapt or die, what does that actually mean? adapt to what, exactly?

I believe this article will answer that question.

But first, let me tell you a little story about the death of the One Dimensional Brand.

Old jack, frustrated with his business and the way things were going in his town which seemed to be much different than the city he once knew, the city he grew up in, decided to pack up his operation and venture off into a fresh new territory where he could execute his one and only function… to sell enough of his products and services to eat and sleep in comfort so he could wake up and do it again.

Sure enough Jack met the same problem in the proceeding three towns.

What started out as a mild inconvenience had turned into a glaring problem he was now forced to confront.

Mentally backtracking each encounter to identify the cause for what suddenly felt like business obsolescence, he was able to pinpoint the problem.

Jack simply lost his ability to compete, because several people were now selling the same thing Jack was, but they were selling it for cheaper than jack could even produce it.

Unfortunately, jack built his whole business on providing his product at the cheapest price.

If you say that business and the internet haven’t changed commerce forever, i’d say, you don’t know Jack!

Jack was what we could call a ONE Dimensional Brand. His business model was being the low cost leader. Therefore, Jacks Unique Value Positioning was built with only one pillar of support, thus a very unstable platform for success in ANY economy.

What’s the lesson?

Insane levels of global Competition, openly accessible resources for everyone, the long-tail; has created more choices, and requires a greater level of distinction, a greater level of value-to be successful in the modern world.

Best buy is now amazon’s showroom.

It’s a perfect example when you can sympathetically point to a big box superstore as the underdog business model.

What’s needed is a deeper level of value, of connection, a multi-dimensional experience, what’s needed for thriving success in the new economy is brand loyalty.

What businesses who adapt and survive will do-is embrace the new economy and the 3 Dimensional Brand.

The 3 Dimensional Brand.

The 3 Dimensional Brand synergizes the other two dimensions into a congruent brand experience.

Stories and messages are how we are biologically wired up. It’s how we relate, it’s how we communicate. I think, although it’s the reference point, the industrial age only existed for a very brief moment and only existed out of a primitive evolutionary process that was needed to get us to today. To the modern world.

I believe the stage is set for the next couple hundred of years or more. For the rest of our lifetime anyway.

Their’s not really that much NEW stuff that’s going to change everything. Sure their will be incredible advancements in science and technology, but we’re not talking about anything radical like say, the INTERNET, or FLYING cars…

The infrastructure is in place, and the evolutionary process has quite naturally evolved the world of business as well.

The economy has evolved.

The Brand has evolved.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence, like a random and non-related set of events… I think it’s been sequential, progressive, logical, and beautiful.

I don’t think their’s anything hard to comprehend about what that means, and I think that people who are voraciously searching for the next “thing,” are missing the boat.

I think that the next big “THING,” is that we all actually figure out how to use the tools… The tools of the Modern Content Creator.

This starts with embracing and developing the other dimensions of our brands.

What this requires is clarity, and focus.

Everyone has the capacity, but it’s hard work.

Those who invest their attention in becoming a 3 dimensional brand, will inevitably find success in attracting and keeping the ATTENTION of their audience.

When I talk about being 3 dimensional, that simply means that in addition to the WHAT, it is you do/produce/provide, we need to also zero in on the WHY, and the HOW. It’s a congruent story.

Here’s what you need, a loyal audience that loves what, why, and how you do what you do.

This brings our attention squarely on 3 fundamental questions brands will need to become decidedly more focused on. The Purpose, The Vision, and The Mission.

The Why, What, How.

3 Dimensional Brands mean things to people. They have an emotional connection with their audience, products and services are proactively built FOR and around a congruent customer experience, and most important of all they illicit that all important factor, brand loyalty.

The 3 Dimensional Brand.

Why exactly you are doing what you are doing, and why you are driven and committed to your purpose and living your mission.

What your actual job is, and actually what it takes to be successful doing what you love in 2013 and beyond.

How to actually do that.

3 dimensional Brands = Attention, and Impact.

Meaning and connection are what count today. As Modern Content Creators that means that you’re now in control. You have the power to discover, shape, design, and drive your unique message and purpose anywhere you want to take it, with virtually nothing more than you already have in this moment.

MODERN Content Creators Communicate In Technicolor!

The 3 dimensional brand not only pertains to the complete 3 dimensions of your business… but it also pertains to the communication of your content, of your message, in a 3 dimensional format… I.E. In technicolor! On and offline, there is ALL kinds of ways to sell a product or service.

But, unless you are trying to compete on price, by relying on being the low cost leader in your market, then it’s important to understand the completely game-changing shift that has taken place in the world of commerce at a global level.

In the new economy, what Seth Godin would call the connection economy, the key to building a successful brand is to create meaningful value and relationships with your audience and within your marketplace.

Sparing an indulgent dissertation on the catalysts for it’s development, the new economy belongs to those who understand that their brand IS a story, and their job is to express and communicate it congruently through everything they create, say, and do.

We aren’t 50 pixel avatars that “may or may not be” who we say we are…

We aren’t sterile, generic, voices that drift off into the expansive sea of noise…

As Expert/Artist/Personal Brands, WE are the MODERN Content Creators.

We are the storytellers, the thought leaders, the teachers, the voices for our deepest values, the global perspectives on OUR topics, causes, beliefs…

We are the ones who inspire, heal, motivate, transform lives and businesses, and on a greater level than has ever been even CLOSE to practical-ever before in history.

I know we say, hear, read this in some form rather frequently thus it doesn’t strike us on the level of absolute incredible-it truly is, so you cannot be reminded of it enough.

This means everything. Words couldn’t begin to accurately describe the power of the opportunity we have at our fingertips. The future is now. The world has changed and business has changed forever.

As Modern Content Creators WE are at the forefront of the 3 Dimensional Brand. We lead the way to the life, the careers, the uncompromising equation of freedom and fulfillment doing what we love, illuminating our audiences, and making a dent in the universe at the same time.

This is the promised land. This is what creatives have been dreaming about since, forever.

I hate to sound dramatic, Im no motivational speaker, I used to be a grunt, an infantryman…

But I’ve always been a content creator, and I’ve progressed along with the web since the turn of the century. I am simply awestruck with the magnitude of the opportunity that exists right now, and am continually seeing that illusive barrier that separates modern content creators from embracing it-is hard to put into words.

Are you ready for more in depth training content? I have created CONTENT ACADEMY: the audience development, content marketing, and traffic transformation course which you can sign up for here, once you are ready and have completed this multipart training series.

Follow me on twitter @JamieLeger

Be Your Best,

Jamie

One of the primary problems with all the advice out there-is that theres no included instructions for how to implement it. Up until this point I’ve largely laid out the foundation and the story of-how content and the SEO industry evolved into the content marketing process.

By now you should have a fundamental grasp on the concepts, the tools, the SEO factors and i’ve hopefully kept you engaged throughout the journey. You should also begin to see how the whole picture we’re painting, the entire purpose of all of this is to step up your game and put the power in your hands to connect and communicate in TECHNICOLOR!

The future, or the “next big thing” is already here… It’s not about something new, it’s about really learning how to use the tools to build a fully matured THREE DIMENSIONAL 3D Brand experience!

You are CREATORS, you are MULTIMEDIA STORY-TELLERS, and your “JOB” is to create content that transforms your audience.

It is your CONTENT, your positioning, (UVP) your promotion, and your performance analysis that is going to produce profits and build your platform.

This series is the training that will teach you how to build a MODERN Content Strategy to get the most out of your high value content.

I have created CONTENT ACADEMY, the BOOTCAMP course for CREATORS Academy! which you can sign up for below, once you are ready and have completed this multipart training series.

So again, I’ve dedicated my life to this and am proud to serve you with the most relevant, targeted, world class content to connect all the dots, eliminate overwhelm, and equip you with the tools to go illuminate the planet!

I not only teach, coach, consult, train clients and students on this stuff, I ACTUALLY USE it myself… too.

God bless all the bloggers who blog about blogging for other bloggers who blog about blogging… But you need the practical, tactical, tested techniques that are specific to YOUR particular business model.

SO. With that out of the way, let’s get on with it.

Jamie, all this stuff sounds good so far, but what about some practical tips and methods for how to actually CREATE high value content?

Great question… Oddly enough thats exactly what we’re going to dive into today!

There are YEARS of ground level techniques-and some of my BEST “secrets” disclosed in this fluff-free lesson.

Would you expect any less?

In fact, from here on out it’s all practical, focused, actionable training and exercises that you’ll want to implement immediately.

Today, I’m going to teach you how to create high value content – with A.D.D. in mind. After you’ve learned all the techniques here, you will without a doubt NEVER struggle to come up with ways, or FORMATS to create and produce content that gets results ever again.

Always Work Your Way Backwards

As we’ve discussed, your strategies and goals will lead you to the point of actually creating content, and this leads us to what and how to create it so that it is effective, and works us back up the chain to realizing our goals.

Aside from the Business Development, Market Research, Keyword Research and advanced Competitive Research, it is paramount to realize that the most effective and valuable use of your time as an expert, artist, or passionate content creator is HABITUALLY creating COMPLETE pieces of content every day.

You just gotta build the right habits.

So important. So simple. Extremely difficult…

But It is through developing this ability, which can only come through routinely doing it, that you will learn how to master the art of communicating value and solutions to your prospects and customers.

Whether it’s a blog, podcast, newsletter, video, email… This is single handedly the most effective use of your time throughout the program and beyond.

This means, that you are going to be building into HABIT throughout this course the HABIT of creating a COMPLETE, fully fleshed out concept and/or piece of content, EVERY single DAY.

The other “less tangible“ focal point of this HABIT is that you are WRITING to a SINGULAR person, and communicating so CLEARLY, in THEIR language, what their problem is, or what they are feeling, or what the story you are communicating is-better than they could even describe it themselves. Then you are delivering the answer or solution or message that HELPS THEM get to where they want to go, get the result THEY want, feel the feeling they want.

You can use all of your insight and perspective to do this, and at times this is going to be HIGHLY valuable, but the FOCUS is on training yourself to speak TO THEM, about THEM, and GIVING THEM the solution in THEIR language.

Doing this everyday, will without a doubt soon make you the most prolific, respected, and effective creator in your market. Hands down.

It will also make you a world class copywriter, and make you highly paid and highly in demand as you will be on the pulse of what your market actually wants and is looking for, and now you’ll be able to easily serve your audience with the exact content they want.

Audience Directed Delivery (A.D.D.)

Audience directed delivery or A.D.D. simply means that you are accounting for the practical engagement and story telling formats that are going to be best for both the kind of content you are creating, and the needs of your audience.

It requires you to think through the process and examine the content you are creating through the LENS of your audience. This is simple, yet it is profound. Write this concept down. Remember to create content with A.D.D. in mind.

Do you have a reason for the fact that you are only doing talking head interview videos?

Is that the best way to deliver the specific content every single time?

Would the information you presented in a text article be more effectively consumed through a more visual format such as an infographic or a slideshow?

Create your content with A.D.D. in mind, and your audience will love you for it.

How To Create High Value Content

High value = valuable to other people.

Valuable Content = Connecting a problem, fear, or frustration with a solution. Communicating valuable solutions or stories through your content.

It doesn’t really matter if it’s a training program, a book, a blog, a standup routine, an album, a seminar, or a painting…

It’s a balance between your content, the art you make, and your audience… Ya know?

Their is typically a way to not have to compromise in order to find the right balance, but it often requires some flexibility in how you think about and approach doing that.

It doesn’t need to be complicated, it just needs to be valued by them, for any reason-as long as it’s some reason, really…

But the key thing to remember is that you have to focus on the EXPERIENCE or the SOLUTION for THEM.

That’s where the connection happens, and that’s how things start and take off.

1. MODERN Content Creators are Multimedia Story Tellers.

You are utilizing the tools, the communication formats, and the distribution channels to best deliver your message and content to those you’ve created it for.

Try to visually imagine yourself as a content wizard… A caped beacon of wisdom and insight wielding a crystal ball that pushes the stories and content and message “from on high” down to it’s intended audience on a burst of light that morphs from a brilliant beaming ball into the most effectively capsulated experience to consume and utilize that packet of content.

Are you getting the picture!?

Be creative AND practical, use your imagination.

2. Use the Content Marketing Process. (Like we’ve been talking about)

Most experts write about what people should do, most storytellers tell the stories that THEY want to tell… Which is fine, some of the time, in some cases, but MODERN content creators are actively listening, paying attention to their audience and customers, participating and communicating through an interactive dialog to find out what kind of content to create, what kind of stories to tell, or what they like about the content they already create. (As long as they demonstrate that they are valuing it)

Again, i’m not going to tell you it’s super easy, but it’s not that complicated-you CAN do this.

3. The 4 Learning Styles:

There are four WAYs that an individual prefers to be taught, the learning styles may differ from person to person, as well depending upon the content you are delivering… So in order to best meet the needs of your audience try to include all FOUR of these learning styles into your approach and communication formats.

What – is it that you are delivering to them?
Why – is it valuable or important to them?
How – is it done.
What If – you took the information and did something with it, what results could someone get?

4. Content Creation Types and Top Techniques: Your Content Creation Starter-Kit:

You can read, write, sing, speak, or perform your content.

The formats as well as the marketing vehicles you choose, should be artistically and consciously selected from your arsenal to most effectively deliver the message and communicate the content to your audience.

Whether that’s through a status update, an email, an article, a book, a video, a podcast, presentation, infographic, report, e-course, or comprehensive training program…

You need to get familiar with these tools and you need to test which tools and techniques work best for you and your audience.

Regardless of format and channel, here are some universal and proven templates that you can use to NEVER run out of ideas for creating content… EVER again.

The easiest & fastest way to create high value content:

Probably the most effective one, for a lot of reasons…

Think about questions, objections, sales, and follow up. These are so valuable because they can be utilized in so many valuable ways. To position you, to generate traffic, leads, subscribers, and sales, by very quickly creating high value content.

PLUS you can leverage the heck out of these unique and informative pieces of content…

• One Problem, One Solution, One Sitting

Pretty self-explanatory right? This is the standard q&a format and is something you can ALWAYS sit down and do. This is a great one to practice regularly and it’s an extremely easy way to create highly valuable content very quickly.

The reason why this is powerful is because this is how human beings think. They have a problem, or they are seeking a solution, and this all starts with forming the right question.

The next natural path is of course – to seek an answer.

The great thing about being the person that has that answer, is that you are positioning yourself as an authority and automatically build a credible connection, because you have already helped them out at least ONCE. For free.

It is GREAT when you are the one with the answer/best answer to someone’s question. Try to do that.

Having these FAQ’s gives you something you can LEVERAGE the heck out of them to create highly valuable and attractive content to your audience by creating a full article on each one, creating a video out of it, and then syndicating all of it. Repurposing, etc.

Answers can be pre-written and outlined and repurposed for all kinds of traffic, sales, and client getting uses.

Build up a list of questions and answers by hand, and then even break these articles down into headlines and Short “status-update” Style Descriptions.

Forums, yahoo answers, linked in answers, social bookmarking = short desciption/review + title and link-
same for most news feed sites, as well as in the search engines… hint hint. google alerts to find more!

*AND you DON’T have to wait for a question… you can pose the question and then answer them in forums.

Now, here’s the EASIEST WAY TO CREATE HIGH Value Content that keeps you busy for the next couple of weeks.

10 F.A.Q’s – Create 10 FREQUENTLY asked questions.

10 S.A.Q’s – Create 10 SHOULD ask questions… Or the questions that if your audience knew what the right question to ask was, what would it be.

10 B.A.P’s – Create answers to your markets top 10 Big-Ass-Problems.

Here are some other extremely popular and proven techniques and templates…

• Articles & Blog Posts

Primary on site content that we want RANKED and FOUND in the SERPS.

• Tutorials & How To’s

these are the step by step with pictures
tutorials are easy to find
tutorials are easy to write, read, and get a lot of button pushes…
can be videos, screencas articles, slideshows, audio, podcast,

• Lists

top 10 things that…
7 amazing…
8 little known…
lists are really easy and work well.
“Curated resource list” as link bait (top 10 italian cooking recipes) you regularly promote.

• Polls and surveys

• Weekly, monthly, annual “EVENT”

Final Tips

READ FICTION

This is a powerful way to develop your vocab, sentence structure, and storytelling abilities.
First person experience vs. third person retelling and reporting. Conversational stories. Etc.

1-2 anchor text links – in the resource box (keyword link to specific page, and 1 link on homepage or contact page for “more articles,” for ezinearticles for example) but dont try to abuse this.

Write 5-10 different resource box variations.

Final Questions for You To Answer

What are the topics and categories you are going to be writing about?

Do you need to be Topic Bridging? Expand your thinking and range of topics and interests that may be able to connect to certain audiences.

What can you do that and what content can you produce that is uniquely valuable?

Where are your listening posts? Try to a structured monitoring process for listening to the conversations that are going on. I.E. Google Alerts, and Twitter.

Be Your Best,

Jamie

Follow me on twitter

Circle me on Google+

—-

For those of you who want to get their Phd in Content Creation and Content Marketing, great news… I have created CONTENT ACADEMY, the BOOTCAMP course for CREATORS Academy! which you can sign up for below, once you are ready and have completed this multipart training series.

Sign up for free, here. 

No, it’s not my podcast… Sorry to disappoint, however mine will be coming out to a earbud near you later this year.

Although much of the focus of the content is high level, and around the future for big brands and marketing, I want you to read between the lines a bit and recognize some very key insights…

They are talking about YOU.

BIG BRANDS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LEARNING from the originators, the storytellers, the CREATORS.

In this episode you will see why it all starts with the CONTENT.

It’s why you need to realize that you are the goldminers and creators of value.

It’s up to YOU to lead in the NEW Economy!

This is not just hyperbole, nor am I trying to project something on to you like some of the “motivational guru’s…”

This is a clear illustration of the fact that the WHOLE WORLD changed… Dramatically, for ever.

Traditional Advertising evolved into content marketing, into HUMAN CONNECTION and TRUE VALUE CREATION…

O ya… That thing YOU are best at!

NOT marketers who’ve abused the tools and communication channels… But MODERN Content Creators… YOU!

Again, it’s not MY podcast but there is some VALUABLE insights and inspiration that you’ll get from this piece of content. Please share your thoughts with me and tell me what you’ve learned, or what AHA’s you had.

Go and Get Your REAL DOSE OF INSPIRATION.

Be Your BEST,

Jamie

In this lesson you will learn: How to research, analyze, and classify your competitors in terms of SEO strategy, and their business’ USP.

1) First we’ll look at how to determine your competitors via keywords and SERPS

2) Second, you’ll learn how to research, assess and reverse engineer your competitors SEO

3) Third, you’ll learn how to analyze the offering, content, and understand the USP

4) and finally, you’ll learn how to classify and label your competitors for future reference and potential coordination.

The intent of Competitive Research is to identify competition, the SEO and page authority for the leading web-pages, analysis of their business offering and content quality, and then focusing on-how, as a business, we’d position ourselves in front of our market so that we’d outrank them, establish a unique selling proposition and cater to a certain market segment, rather than looking like a generic“me-too” site which are so abundant online…

Whereas market research is much broader strokes, competitive research is where we really zoom the lens in on our key competitors, and gather much more specific data.

This week we are going to be narrowing down our market research a little further, by defining, classifying and analyzing some of our competitors with a bit more thorough research methods.

-Research is where we are collecting and charting SEO data to reverse engineer strategy and level of difficulty to compete for.

Research, = SERP pagerank + backlinks, home page rank + backlinks, keywords in title/url/on page + pages on site = authority of listing and indication of how stiff the competition is for top 3. (Do this for top 3.)

-Analyze is where we are assessing other factors to deeper understand their business, model,  the content quality, and other “less statistical” data.

Analyze, = What is their offer, do they get social media, does it meet the needs of what someone searching with those words is looking for? in what ways could you do better/improve upon? (Do this for top 3.)

-Classify is where we are labeling and categorizing the type of competitor for future reference and potential collaboration.

Classify = direct competitor, partial competitor, potential partner. (Do this for top 3.)

Competitors in terms of search results, are the people who rank. we only have to check out the links for everyone on page 1 and 2… and no further.

Really though, the top 3 are who we’re most concerned with, so in this exercise that’s where we are going to focus.

So how do we determine who those competitors are?

In short, Keyword phrases, and Search Engine Results Pages. (aka SERPS)

You see, if we can identify the top keyword phrases that people who are looking for your product and services type into the search engines, then we can identify which keywords to target, as well as who is already ranking, or showing up on top. Thus, our search engine competitors.

This week, you are going to identify two keyword phrases, ideally relevant ones you’d like to “rank for,” and then learn how to analyze the top three competitors for each keyword phrase.

What it really takes to earn the spot in the SERPs we want-is something you will learn more extensively when we cover SEO, the keyword research lesson, and will be something you no doubt understand by the time you graduate; but at THIS time we are only concerned with the 4 points we are focusing on as we outlined in the beginning of the lesson. Just stick with the plan, and you won’t be confused or get overwhelmed with complexity.

Just store in your memory that to compete online for competitive keywords you need to have 3 main things, Solid On page Optimization, Links, and Pagerank.

Briefly, what does it take to win in the SERPS?

More links, more traffic, more authority…

It usually takes more anchor text to win

Larger sites tend to win

Possibly more authority/pagerank

In many sites the #1 listing has an overwhelming edge (for now)

If you see sitelinks then it is going to be a dogfight – approach with stealth

Remember, there are right ways, and wrong ways to do this stuff, but just DO the research FIRST, and trust that there is a PLAN.

Advanced Competitive Research Online

Again, to do competitive research, there are two things you need to know how to do well:

A) First, determine what (keywords/ranking position) you are competing for? Thus, who are your competitors…?

and

B) Second, how to research, analyze, and classify your competitors.

Within Part B, their are two sides to understanding our competitors:

1. The SEO research and analysis

2. The Businesses USP and Content Analysis

Knowing these two things, we can THEN understand how to classify them as competitors.

—–

{—–> First, to make sure we are on the same page, do you understand both terms- SERPS, and Keywords? If not, explain.}

Now, let’s talk about Pagerank, and the importance of links.

—Explain how Pagerank works, and the importance of having lots of links pointing to your site and individual pages. Understand that each PAGE is ranked.. PAGES are ranked… The web is all just pages and links.

—-Explain authority and rankings.

—-Explain the concept of a Link Profile. The biggest factor for ranking is links, also known as backlinks.

——

1) So, how do we determine keywords we are trying to rank for? Well there is a full lesson dedicated to keyword research because it is so ultra-critical to SEO results, but since we are really just introducing you to keyword research, we should be able to identify two prime keywords with a few simple questions… REMEMBER. We are focusing on COMPETITIVE RESEARCH to analyze the competing businesses, using the SERPS; we are NOT focusing on in-depth SEO or KEYWORD Research.

The keywords are not of importance here, rather, the process for analysis of the top three resulting businesses and web pages. HOWEVER, it only makes practical sense to choose niche-relevant keywords that you may potentially compete for.

So here is the first exercise.

Take out a sheet of paper, or open up a blank document on your computer, and write down 10 keywords and phrases that would be used to describe or look for your products and services.

Now, read them to me.

{From there, we will determine what are the primary two phrases.}

Now, put a little check mark, or draw a circle around the two you’ve selected, and save that for later.

——–

 2) Here is What You Will Be Researching: 

Instructions: Chart the following data using the SEO quake toolbar, and opensiteexplorer.org

SEO Analysis: Links, Pages, Pagerank, Keywords in title and in body text

The 3 main factors to determine how difficult it will be to rank are – Links, Pagerank, and Indexed Pages.

Keyword: Exact match search volume

Pagerank – SEOquake toolbar

#pages in site (yahoo)

#of internal links to page (yahoo)

#of external links to page (yahoo)

#of external links to site (yahoo)

#of domains linking (majestic SEO)

*All of this can be done with the browser extension you installed, (for pagerank) and a site called open site explorer. opensiteexplorer.org

*To Determine Exact match search volume (type in adwords keyword tool external in google, then click on link to the tool. Type in keyword and check the box in the top left that says “exact match”)

———

3) Here is what you will be Analyzing:

What is the page type: sales/landing/blog/home page

Content Quality: poor/fair/good/great

Additional Questions: Is there online presence comprehensive?

Social media (Do they get it? Check to see if they are utilizing social media, and if they are doing it well, follow/like them. Do they have social buttons on their site? are they on facebook, twitter, youtube, google+?)

What stands out good/or bad?

What is the USP of your competitors, can you identify any key strategies for why they are successful in achieving top rankings?

4)  Let’s go over the classification categories…

Classification: Direct competitor, Partial Competitor, Potential Partner

One of our key objectives in doing our competitor research is to determine our Competition vs. coopetition.

To determine who is and who is not competing we can break down the competition with 3 classifications…

Direct Competitors – same market, same SERPs, same/competing offer

Partial Competitors – same market, some SERPs, some competing offers

Potential Partners – same market, some SERPs, different offers

——-

Getting Competitors Links:

Run backlink tool and sort by pagerank

Go through each link one by one (find out where link is on the page, anchor text?)

-this will show you their strategy

Try and get as many links as you can

———-

The biggest thing about learning how to do market research and competitive research, once you understand how specific algorythyms work, how each data set is researched, and what they mean, IS THE INTUITIVE INSIGHT you’ll begin to develop over time and continued practice.

Trends and patterns start to emerge and you will develop instinct.

Once you know the tools, and what to look for, if you continue to engrain these thought processes through continuously looking out for and analyzing certain things, you’ll instantly be able to notice what areas of a site you need to research, and be able to “take the temperature” of any site and online business VERY VERY quickly.

THIS is what we are shooting for. This is how online professionals know so much. THEY SEE AND DIGEST SOOOO MUCH. ALL THE TIME.

It’s kind of like a full time poker player who plays online all day. They play several games silmultaneuously and see thousands of hands a day… The connections from seeing so many scenarios, gives a tremendous insight and deeper level of understanding for patterns and their intuitive development.

I’m by no means saying you need to be spending all day doing research and analyzing websites, but when you have a question, or you go to ANY website, it will only behoove you to LOOK AND BE AWARE of what you see. Ask questions, explore, and practice this…  You’ll gain tremendous insight, and a certain advantage over your competition.

Mission Notes:

So what we did first is created a list of the top 10 words/phrases/questions that people would use to search for your upcoming/existing product or service.

Then we narrowed that down to 2.

Next, you will be doing competitive research for the top 3 results in the SERPs = 6 websites/pages/link profiles.

Create an excel spreadsheet, document with columns, or just answer the questions for each of the 6 competitors you will be researching, analyzing, and classifying.

——

 In Conclusion:

What you should end up with by the end of this week…

20-30+ identified players in your market. You now have a perspective on your marketplace.

A list of competitors and competitive analysis, you now know how to research and you know the process of what it will take to get the rankings for any SERP/keyword you want to target.

A list of potential partners that you’ll contact later as Potential JV/promo partners.

——-

Tools: 

Yahoo backlink search is free (SearchStatus) or SEO quake

Open site explorer.org

Software tools

-backlink research  www.advancedlinkmanager.com/download.html

-rank tracker    www.advancedwebranking.com

P.S.

If you need some help with direction, focusing, or have some questions, you’ve still got your phone call, and i’m here to help support you.

We can have a loose conversation about it. The trick is to learn from someone who knows what they are talking about and wants to help.

I am giving away the farm here, and I don’t need the business… So if you got questions, or need a little more guidance, we can chat directly, I’m here to help. 734.417.0227

Be Your Best,

Jamie

Follow me on Twitter

Circle me on Google+

You have to know WHERE they are active and HOW to communicate with them effectively.

Almost every client and student i’ve ever had has been either slightly unsure of, or completely clueless about how to do market research properly, as well as understanding the REASONS they should do it in the first place.

In this lesson you are going to learn: How to map out a picture of your market to gain tremendous insight, gain the advantage of awareness, and identify key websites and businesses online that you can work with to catapult your brand exposure, audience development, and online growth.

Whether you are an established brand, or a passionate content creator, market research is important because you want to know who’s out there, what they’re doing, and then use that data for all kinds of purposes.

From reaching out to others in your space or niche, starting relationships with other people who are also doing cool stuff, to learning where your audience spends most of their time, figuring out what questions and solutions they are seeking answers to, how they are behaving, what they are interested in, etc.

Market Research is high leverage stuff, and crazy-important to know how to do.

So many people and businesses miss the power of this.

You’re not going to be one of those people.

The great news is that everything is here, nicely consolidated, and easily found if we know how and where to look… We can gather intel and analysis to our hearts content…

Let’s first look at the costly mistakes many of our peers have made, and will continue to make.

Market Research Mistakes

• ASSumptions – This is going to work out! I can just FEEL it……!

• Lack of data collection altogether – This is too much work, all this stuff… Who needs it?

• Incomplete or irrelevant research procedures – But i checked out a keyword using the google adwords keyword tool? What more do you want from me?

• Not testing on a small level before scaling – Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here! Test first, scale later!

• Trying to force demand and reinvent the wheel – THIS is the product YOU MUST buy, because I know that you need it!!! You gotta find people who are ready to give you money first.

• Focused on wrong metrics – Well, there must be a market because… There’s a huge amount of traffic for people searching that keyword!??

• No monetization strategy – Not focused on an endgame that will pay-off for the time and effort you’ll invest.

All of these are no go’s. Guys. No excuses. Gotta do your homework.

Alright. Let’s move on!

=================================

Effective Market Research Online

=============================

No other form of market research can really compare to online market research because there is so much freely available data.

Market research is where we are going to start to identify key players, customers, communities, potential JV partners, research buying patterns, etc. It is the foundation that will help us gain a perspective, and obtain valuable consumer insight to begin to establish our brand and UVP.

Before we dive into more specific and detailed competitive research, let’s look at our market from a bird’s eye view.

Now, understand that you’re not going to construct the whole picture in one day… Over time you will gain a more comprehensive and focused perspective, we’re just going to start by doing the most important stuff first, so don’t get overwhelmed or freaked out.

Most of the stuff you are going to be doing… even the basics, is a lot better than most of your competitors are doing… So keep that in mind.

Incremental, progressive steps is how you’ll win… Just follow the plan, and follow through with the work.

So this week we are going to start mapping out the marketplace.

What are you looking for?

• Is there a Market?

• What is the Industry?

• Who are your Competitors?

• What Communities exist, and why?

• Who are your Customers?

• Who are your Prospects?

• Who are the Influencers/Guru’s/Experts?

How are you going to keep track of, and organize all this stuff?

Bookmarks and Tags

You are going to simply search in the search engines for sites relative to your product, service, or offering… You are going to learn how to assess each site, label/categorize it effectively, and then save it – to construct a market profile consisting of the following…

Websites/Content: What is this website all about, and what do you need to tag/remember about them? (i.e. competitor, content, feed, forum, industry, market, news, profile, prospect, question, publication.)

People: who is this person and what do you need to remember about them? (i.e. blogger, competitor, industry, market, JV partner, writer.)

You want to label a site that is descriptive and so that you or someone else can come back later and take action on… You are building a profile of your market. Which gives you a perspective… But more importantly, you are building the habit of doing this. So that you will do this from now on. For every site you go to.

For example… 

Authoritative content site, active forum attached, potential JV partner, high page rank.

The Goal is not for you to “follow my system,” the goal is for you to LEARN how to do this, and find a method that works for you to identify and begin to build a perspective on your market. Think long-term, just take little steps and allow relationships the time to develop. Just be proactive, and it’ll pay off later.

You are tagging and categorizing them by anything that is helpful for you to remember. Over time you will know what is relevant, and what you’ll want to tag sites with.

This is less about what classification of competitor they may be, (i.e. direct, partial, or potential collaborator) which we’ll be focusing on in competitive research, and more about gaining as much insight and perspective on your marketplace as possible.

Start by searching google for main authority sites, (and don’t forget youtube either) on your topic by searching for big, competitive (shorter) keywords/terms, such as “dog training,“ for example, and then go check out some of the sites that it links to, and just SURF your way as you follow your train of thought and get to know who’s out there, and what they’re doing.

Research Books/Programs/Podcasts:

Check amazon for published books, programs. Follow back to author’s site, or use name and search on google for what comes up.

Search itunes for podcasts.

Research Blogs:

You can search for relevant blogs through google blog search.

blogsearch.google.com

find blogs-check blogroll, for people using exact keywords… tag them and tag the people for further research/to build a relationship with.

Bloggers can give links easily, may want guest posts/content.

Research Forums:

find forums (keyword) forums

jump over to quantcast.com

research sites, find similar/related sites

use google trends (trends.google.com)

find other sites that people who visited one site are going to, and check them out.

Research Writers: FInd and tag other writers in market by searching for keywords.

find where their content gets published. get their name and author links in the about box and google search on where they are showing up around the web.

ezinearticles.com

goarticles.com

buzzle.com

hubpages.com

squidoo.com

Todays mission may-not so surprisingly be an exercise in applying what you’ve just learned.

Makes sense don’t it!?

So go through this one, make sure you understand and implement it, and then be on the look out for the next lesson where we’ll be going into deeper levels of competitive research, as well as some of the little tweaks you can make to your website that can have a MASSIVE impact.

It’s a short one full of actionable tips and a lot of experienced improvements you’d generally pay someone a lot of money to do for you, or tell you over the phone. Cheers!

———————————————————————————-

Mission Brief

It’s important to understand that it is my job to get you results… Now, i’m going to be bringing this up any time i think it’s necessary, so you might as well get used to it.

Anyway, the name of the game here, with success online, as i’m sure you’ve found in other areas of your life, is commitment and follow through.

You don’t have to be doing 10 hours a day on this stuff, but you need to be doing something substantial every single day. This is a real investment, and the more tuned in and present you are with me through this, the better your future will be… and YOUR TRIBE will thank you later.

This is ALL the stuff you need to know. Nothing you don’t.

You should be able to cruise through this mission in two nights.

=============================================

Your mission for this week, is as follows:

• Install SEOquake browser extension. (type in SEOquake into google and follow directions to install into your internet browser.. i.e. Chrome, Firefox, Internet explorer, Safari, etc.)

• Create a ”new bookmarks folder“ in your browser tab, and name it “My Market.” Search, Identify, bookmark and tag 10-20 players in your market. (Objective = understand the offerings, your marketplace, and potential JV (joint venture) opportunities/promo partners, and form habit of doing this for every site you come across from now on.)

• Identify 3-5 potential guest blogs, 1-3 forums/communities, and 3-5 industry hubs (any place that you could possibly publish your content on that would be beneficial to you)

• Create promo partner list of 10-30 (companies, experts, affiliates, non-profits)

• Sign up to newsletter and email lists

And, as usual, if and when you generate questions or problems you cannot solve on your own, write them down, and i can answer them via email, or next session.

——————————————————————————————-

——>The purpose of the browser extension is to display a bar of useful data across the top of each web page you visit, and across the bottom of the search engine results page. This will show you a few things like page rank in the far left, the age of the page, and a few other statistics. The point is for you to start to see and correlate the trends of the sites and pages with high page rank, and those without any rank. It is also important to understand that the ones with higher page rank, are generally more valuable for you to partner with, write a guest blog for, etc.

You will start to understand more about this, and will inevitably become curious enough to ask more questions and form deeper understandings.

—-> Guest blogs are sites that allow other people to submit and publish content on their site. It is one of the best things you can do online to gain more exposure, build high quality Links, and develop high value relationships with key players and bloggers in your niche. It is beneficial to the site owner of course because they get free content to share with their audience, and most of the time, as long as it’s relevant and of high value to their visitors, they love it.

It is VERY SMART for us to be identifying them now, because it will save you time, and will give you the opportunity to subscribe via email and rss to some of the best ones and see the kinds of content they publish, and how often.

—–>Promo partners are other experts and businesses who have a similar audience you want to reach, and could strategically work with to compliment/promote each other to increase exposure and build a list, and then joint venture with for future product launches and offerings. Having a big, healthy list of potential promo partners, is INVALUABLE. These are critical to the success of your list building and your product launch campaigns. IDENTIFY ALL POTENTIAL PROMO PARTNERS DURING MARKET RESEARCH, NOW, AND FOREVER.

Use quantcast.com to gather more in depth research data like traffic volume and audience statistics.

*If in Doubt… Refer to This:

There is nothing crazy or overwhelming involved here. Just step-by-step actions. Overwhelm is a personal choice… Do not ALLOW yourself to be overwhelmed. Everything you need to know and do is right here on this page.

P.S.

If you need some help with direction, focusing, or have some questions, you’ve still got your phone call, and i’m here to help support you.

We can have a loose conversation about it. The trick is to learn from someone who knows what they are talking about and who’s here to help.

Click here to book a time to talk.

Be Your Best,

Jamie

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