Sean Branagan Talks About Marketing
Posted by Mitch on May 29, 2008
I went to a presentation here in the Syracuse area today for a series called “Talking Business: A Conversation With…” Basically it’s a monthly interview series with local business people who’ve done well. They’re interviewed by a moderator, then questions are allowed to be asked by the audience.
Today’s presenter was a gentleman named J. Sean Branagan, president of a company called Communigration, which is a PR & marketing firm for technology companies.
I love going to things like this, but especially today I enjoyed it because he talked about his concepts of marketing for small businesses. This is what he does, but those small businesses have very expensive and specific technology, which of course means he’s competing against fewer people for very big dollars, and he has to find ways of standing out from the crowd while still addressing the potential clients needs.
He talked about his process for coming up with the right message to get across. He starts out by writing a 50 word statement of some kind. Then he whittles that down to 25 words. Next he whittles it down to 10 words, and finally he shoots for 3 or 4 words that fully capture just what a company does. His thought is that if you can come up with a way to tell people what you can do for them with a super short statement, and are ready to back it up with more information once you’ve hooked them, then you’ll succeed where other businesses that do what you do fail.
It makes a lot of sense, especially if you pay attention to TV commercials. Nike’s “Just Do It” is probably one of the best known 3-word phrases in the world today. “Coke Adds Life” was one of my favorites from way back in the day. One of our local community colleges has the phrase “We Build Futures” that’s very popular. Remember State Farm Insurance, “Like A Good Neighbor”? And even Mazda’s “Zoom Zoom” stands out; you know what the commercial is about as soon as you hear that, even if you never hear the name of the product.
Can this same model work with an online business? Unfortunately, no one thought to ask this question, including me, while he was up there. I tend to believe that branding of some fashion is imperative to helping one establish an identity of some sort, though. Google’s first page is unique with only their name; so is Yahoo’s. YouTube might have been as popular a site if it had been called “Upload Your Movies”, but it might have been overlooked also. Trying to find a way to capture the eyes and attention of a visitor to your site just may help them stay for a little while, and if it does, you’ll have the opportunity to make money in some fashion, and that’s never a bad thing.
It was a wonderful presentation, and it got me thinking more and more about what I can possibly do to make my sites visually more interesting, as well as finding something more to captivate their eyes. I’m Just Sharing,… heck, I still like that!
FreeCreditReport.com Really Works
Posted by Mitch on May 27, 2008
Different kind of post today. I’m hawking FreeCreditReport.com because they really work. How do I know this? I’m a member, of course.
Here’s my story. I went to this site last September and signed up to get my free credit reports, just like the commercial stated. Then I went ahead and signed up for the monthly credit alert. This followed my wife and I being turned down for a line of credit at the bank where our mortgage is.
Then I started noticing different agencies looking at my report. I knew this because FCR (that’s what I’m calling them for now) sent me alerts each time there was an inquiry. Next thing you know, I started getting phone calls and letters from collection agencies, even though I knew I didn’t owe anybody. So, I finally took a good look at the report. I noticed that there were two derogatory reports on there, and I knew I had paid at least one of those for sure. I thought I’d paid the other one, but I wasn’t sure.
The one I was able to take care of fairly quickly, as I had something proving that the account had been settled years ago. The other one, in my heart I knew I’d settled it, but I wasn’t sure I could prove it. Credit agencies are wild, though. They don’t wait too long to decide to get to the escalation process. What’s also funny is that multiple agencies will be going after the same amount; I believe that’s fraudulent, but so be it.
Then I got a break. I found a letter that showed that I had set up the agreement to pay back an outstanding debt. I remembered the phone call and I remembered the guy, and I had his name on the letter outlining the agreement. Now I was set. I contacted Experian through FCR, and I also contacted the company that I’d paid this account to, back in 2004, of all things. Like the other company, they had never reported it as being satisfied, and, of course, now I know why we got turned down. Sheesh!
Now, here’s the upswing. Just by sending my request through FCR that I was disputing the derogatory statement, my credit score jumped up 60 points. I now have the letter proving that, indeed, the account is satisfied, though the weasels didn’t back date it because they said they didn’t have full access to records that old (yet we’re supposed to have everything if they happened to contact us, right?), so the letter is dated fairly recently. My credit score should jump up a bit more, as this will mean I have nothing bad on my report. Course, it would be great if their letter showed that it was taken care of four years ago, but hey, we take what we can get.
So, it’s been worth it for me to have FreeCreditReport.com following the activity on my account, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them. Of course, you don’t have to pay anything if it’s your first inquiry, or if the last time you checked was more than a year ago. Per federal law, we all get one free credit report a year. But these guys have done well for me; and there you go.
Meme - Passion Quilt
Posted by Mitch on May 13, 2008
Today I’m Going To Have Fun
I really do believe in the power of self motivation, but I also believe it’s hard to do on a consistent basis. The above is a mantra I created for myself some years ago, which I originally had taped to my computer. Once I changed my office around that didn’t work anymore, so my wife put it in a black frame, then put it on the wall next to my desk at eye level, so it’s the first thing I see every time I get ready to sit down at my desk. Why not create something for yourself like it.
This “passion quilt” thing seems to go way back, as people post a picture, title it, then send it on to 5 other folks while also giving the person that sent it to them some props. I figured I’d play along; I can be a good sport,… sometimes. 
- Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
- Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry (as I’m doing here.
- Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.
So, now I have to tag 5 people; hmmm, I think I’ll go with:
Josh Shear
Ivo Jackson
Sue Tosto
Kristen Andrews
Krystal Thomas
And there we go!
Laws Of Attraction Booster
Posted by Mitch on May 2, 2008
I probably haven’t talked about it here, but I purchased the movie The Secret when it first came out, way before most people knew about it. Since that time I’ve purchased the book on CD for my wife and listened to that, subscribed to their newsletter, and try to watch other videos and the like as it concerns the Laws of Attraction.
It never hurts to have a boost, though, which is why I’m happy to mention this book, The Secret Behind The Secret by Dr. Eric Amidi, which takes it further and gives tips on ways to use the principles from the movie in your life.
There’s some pretty good stuff in the book, but here’s some things that most people really need to open their minds up for better things:
• The 3 Hidden Forces in you - Make them work together to make things happen like miracles.
• 3 Habits you must adopt to change your luck starting tomorrow.
• 12 Things you must know before applying The Secret.
• 4 Major blocks to manifestations – How to blast them away for good.
So, there you go. Take a look at the book and maybe the principles of the law of attraction will help you on your way to being the best you can be; I know I feel better.
It’s Spring And I Did My Cleaning Already
Posted by Mitch on Mar 24, 2008
It’s officially spring, but here in central New York it’s actually been colder the last couple of days than it was the final days of winter.
My major project before spring actually hit was to get my entire office straightened out. It took me four days, but I finally got it all just the way I wanted it to be. Just to share a little bit, this is what my desk looked like after it was totally clean:
Yeah, my desk needs some physical work, because I’ve had it for a very long time, but otherwise I felt really good about my workspace, the entire office, once I was done. I still want bigger in my long range dreams, but for the moment, I’ve been able to keep my room clean for the past two weeks; proud of myself.
Every once in awhile, though, I look at where my office supplies and papers are and wish I could always change up to the latest and greatest bit of storage. Great storage helps make your home office usable and enjoyable. I have some nice stuff, but there’s always something else that I’d like. Below is one of those things I’d love to have; it comes in three sizes, and this is actually the smallest, and therefore the least expensive. Still, I’d love to have it myself.
Bill Gates No Longer The World’s Richest Man
Posted by Mitch on Mar 7, 2008
As the headline says, Bill Gates is no longer the world’s richest man; do you think he’s crying any? Not only is he not number one, he’s actually fallen to number three behind Warren Buffett (isn’t the stock market supposed to be in flux?) and Carlos Slim Helu (who?), whose company provides web services to at least 16 countries.
Gates would possibly still be the richest man if Microsoft hadn’t tried to take over Yahoo, which made stocks in both companies drop. Still, at $58 billion dollars, and knowing that he’s switched into philanthropic mode rather than mogul mode, Gates is still living large, and that’s what I aspire to do. Of course, it doesn’t help that we’re around the same age and I’ve started later,… just makes it a goal I have to achieve in a shorter period of time. But I’m motivated, and that’s why I need to market more.
So, what do you think about what’s below?
Turn The World Around - Harry Belafonte
Posted by Mitch on Jan 30, 2008
I love almost anything Muppets. I’ll admit that I didn’t get into the Fraggles, but if Kermit and his buddies were involved, it was all good.
Of course, like most things, we all have our favorite stuff, and one thing that stands out in my mind was an awesome performance by Harry Belafonte that closed out one show, called Turn The World Around. It was such an amazing performance that not only did they continue playing the song throughout the closing credits, which never happened in any other show, but Harry Belafonte performed the song at Jim Henson’s funeral. Now that’s a powerful song.
So, I post it here for your enjoyment and inspiration; if you can’t feel anything from this one, you have no emotions.
Motivation Or Inspiration
Posted by Mitch on Jan 22, 2008
Every once in awhile, we all need a little bit of motivating or inspiring for one reason or another. There are places all over the internet to read a little bit of something about it. Here are 5 links to something about motivation or inspiration that I’d like to share:
So You’re Depressed; Now What?
And there you go. Now, get motivated and happy!
I'm Just Sharing is a blog about sharing my thoughts about internet marketing and other things. Read, enjoy, and buy! :-)
