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Un-Marketing
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| Aug 13, 2007 3:31 am |
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re: Your most profitable marketing efforts? |
Maria Marsala
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My best has been speaking. However, I spoke way too much in the beginning for free to any group that asked w/o asking for "my fee" in advertising, membership and services.
Now I'm a heck of a lot more specific when I speak for free. I actually have a proposal that I send them, with things they can do to "pay me". And I turn down free speaking engagements where the group isn't able to provide me with at least 25 biz owners or exec, do PR locally, or who won't let me sell things on a table.;) Because if they won't let me do those things, they just won't have clients who appreciate all I can help them with. I just run from all the freebie seekers out there.
It's speaking for a few reasons.
1) I teach classes I enjoy teaching for little pay in return for my bio, website and picture in their publication that reaches 100K people. And people have come up to me at meetings or events "knowing me" because they read my bio or saw me in their catalog. Additionally, I am able to attend any class they offer, for free. Since I'm a lifelong learner, they don't make much off of me ;)
2) I teach when I speak, I give participants a template to complete or assessment AND a good take away with my information. I also invite them to email me for additional templates. I've learned that they save them for years.
3) When I speak for free or paid, I request that I'm able to do a soft sell for 5 minutes or so at the end of the event, usually 1/2 price on my CDs and a deal on a service. I get clients, short term or long term that way and ezine subscribers. (besides referrals, this is, to me the quickest way to gain new clients, because unlike on the web, these folks have met me and really have a good idea of how I operate)
4) Since mid-year 2006, I've been paid to speak at companies, retreats, conferences. Just came back from Las Vegas where I taught an all day business and marketing plan class. Expenses paid.
And whenever I speak for free at a virtual seminar, (with one recent exception, as I'm doing a speaking gig for the Business and Professional Women/USA in September, I am provided with email addresses and names of particpants for me to send an invitation to join my ezine. (For this event, I'll be able to do a soft sell and send them to my website. I'll also have a link from their site to mine.)
Hopes that helps!
Maria Marsala
Business Operations Therapist
http://www.ElevatingYourBusiness.com Private Reply to Maria Marsala (new win) |
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