I’m going to just lay it out there — I’m a marketing info junkie. I know — I KNOW — I should know better. But it’s the nature of my business to follow the best of the best; read and learn from them and share that with you. But, what can I tell you sometimes, even the most resistant of us get enchanted by their siren song of promises that their program, software or system is going to transform my life and my business.
Today, I wanted to give you a list of some of the marketing gurus I follow, their messaging and what makes their offers so appealing. Hopefully, you’ll learn how to put some sizzle in your sale without selling your soul.
Suzanne Evans
I’ve just returned from her “Be the Change Event” for 2014 and boy is my brain tired. Suzanne is a master of messaging design and architecture. She’s been on the Inc 500 at least twice and has (and is continuing) to grow her client and fan base with no signs of stopping.
Why she’s successful:
- She has an opinion — a strong one. Her mission is to help coaches and consultants turn their passion into a profitable business and she is merciless in that commitment. This comes through in everything she does, everything she says and everything she teaches. The proof is in the results — and she has hundreds of 6-figure coaches to show for it. Her style isn’t for everyone; it’s bold and confronting. But she gets the job done, if you are strong enough to listen and do what she and her coaches say.
- She embraces herself — the good and the bad. On her site she says “I’m fat, I’m gay and I swear a lot” — this is who she is. If you don’t like that, you are not her ideal client. A point of view and honest loving of your warts is magnetic.
- Nothing is a mistake – Everything is by design. Every detail of Suzanne’s message is by design. There are no mistakes in her delivery — even when it looks like a mistake – it’s not. Suzanne knows her ideal clients, their hopes, their dreams and their hot buttons and she uses it in her marketing.
Frank Kern
You just have to love a guy who looks like he’s not even trying. It lulls you into thinking he isn’t working and that you won’t have to work either to achieve the kind of success he’s gained. Frank is the ultimate millionaire “dude” who has turned his ability to learn and implement marketing strategies quickly into millions. Oh, and let’s not forget that his copywriting style is legendary. No matter what the business — he makes messaging appear effortless.
Why he’s successful:
- Appears approachable — like your best buddy. Frank, too, knows his audience of younger men who are brash and bold (or at least aspire to be). He’s selling the lifestyle dream to these guys (although girls like him too). He takes the time to mingle with his audience and get to know what makes them tick — then he turns it around and writes it to you in such a way that you feel like you’re the “only one”.
- Focuses on metrics. Nothing happens with Frank that isn’t measured and tweaked to perfection — it just looks spontaneous. He tries, he fails, he tweaks and moves on. Frank doesn’t take anything personally — after all — he’s a “dude” remember.
- He isn’t hung up on traditional “credibility” builders. Yes. Frank is a super-smart marketer. But even he will tell you that he’s not an academic and that he learns from others. In fact, he even takes concepts he’s seen others use and makes them his own. NOTICE – I didn’t say swipe or steal, I said “Makes them his own” – he consumes, learns and synthesizes marketing strategies others use and adapts them for his own use and his audience.
Andy Jenkings and Mike Filsame
I’m lumping these two masters together for a reason. Each one, on his own has been super successful, but together, they’ve combined their strengths and talents and leveraged their community to millions. Currently they are partnering on a —program called “Marketing Genesis”.
Why they are successful:
- They work the “schtick” angle. Think of a schtick as a theme — and these guys work it. My favorite is how they call their community “Boss” — yes, it’s manly, but I think a lot of their followers are guys. Another schtick they’ve chosen together is the world of marketing with video. They’ve identified the niche of video marketing inside the world of information marketing. Niche in a niche wrapped up in a schtick.
- Included technology in their offer. Used to be that software was squarely in the domain of tech guys. But today’s info marketers have combined their resources and leveraged their community and smarts to create technologies that support their marketing and messaging platform. These guys created WebinarJam – a webinar platform that runs off of Google Hangouts.
- Give away the goodies. OK, so almost all of these guys do this. But I had to put it somewhere and I’ve decided to put it here – mainly because, as a marketer, I found their free content to be excellent and thorough. I mean you really CAN do this without buying their stuff. But the brilliance of it is — you will buy their stuff because they aren’t just selling programs, they are selling community, platform and tools. More than just info.
There are so many, many more I can name — but I’m going to leave the rest of that job to YOU — which marketing gurus do you follow, what is it that makes them so deliciously deadly that you just can’t resist?
