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So you’ve tried direct mail, advertising, you’ve got a web site, maybe you’ve even tried networking as a marketing strategy. These and many other marketing strategies are all good and if performed properly will most likely bring you favorable results. A word to the wise here though, some of them can run you a fortune in marketing costs. And in my experience, cost has a lot less bearing on effectiveness than one would like to believe. Now being a fan of Jay Conrad Levinson and his concept of “Guerrilla Marketing”, I am always on the lookout for innovative and inexpensive ways to market. And what I have for you here certainly fits that bill.

I believe Napoleon Hill in his 1930’s classic book “Think and Grow Rich” was the first person to coin the phrase “Master Mind” and he defined it as: “Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”

Hmmm So basically it’s building a team that leverages their collective brains and brawn to help one another get what they want.

So let’s not beat around the bush here. Are you ready for the secret marketing strategy? Well here goes It’s quite simple really there is strength in numbers. Two minds are exponentially more capable than one mind alone. In this equation, one plus one does not equal two, it more closely resembles eleven. We’re talking about leverage here. The secret is simply to gain leverage by creating your own mastermind. Not just any mastermind though; One that specifically focuses on marketing - a “Marketing Mastermind” so to speak.

So my proposal to you is to take that exact concept of a mastermind as Napoleon Hill defined it, and niche it to focus primarily on marketing.

So real quick what should this mastermind look like? My suggestion would be 4 to 8 members from different, non-competing industries, meeting weekly to discuss how they can help each other market their respective businesses - Plain and simple.

Now it’s not my intention here to educate you in any detail on how to set up and effectively participate in a mastermind group, as there are plenty of resources out there already that can do that for you, it is simply to share with you what’s possible by leveraging this concept to support your marketing efforts.

Personally, I see this strategy as a phenomenal way for organizations, especially smaller ones with little spending money for marketing, to use the power of leverage to broaden their capability and effectiveness.

While the benefits of doing this could be endless, let me just share with you five of my favorites:
1. Plain and simple, it keeps you in the conversation of marketing.
2. It can provide you with unbiased feedback, brainstorming, and marketing advice based on experiences of what has worked, or hasn’t worked for your mastermind teammates.
3. You will significantly expand your reach and go beyond who you know and tap into who your teammates know. Now depending on what the group agrees to, you may gain access to the client list and/or mailing list of the other members. Additionally, you can explore the possibilities of joint marketing initiatives and joint venture arrangements where multiple parties share in the results.
4. You’ll be held accountable to get done what you say you will get done. This alone inspires people into action and action ultimately leads to results.
5. The list can go on and on and on however, best of all, masterminding is free!

So need I say more? I sincerely hope you’ll take this strategy on and try it on for a while. What do you got to lose? - It’s free. Remember, there’s power in numbers so build your “Marketing Mastermind” and reap the rewards today!

© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle — All Rights Reserved.

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, “The Motivational Marketer,” is creator of the acclaimed ‘Pumped Up Networking’ system geared to explode your business through professional relationships. To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the ‘Marketing Minute’ - a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit http://www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

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Marketing message x Credibility x Visibility = Marketing Success

These three variables, when working positively together, create success. Period. But determining how to get those variables to work together is the trick.

Your marketing message isn’t a static entity. It can have a high or low impact on your customers. There are numerous factors at work. Often times, it’s your message that needs tweaking. Fortunately, making changes to your message is easy and very cost-effective. For instance: you may already have a website. Simply changing the headline on the home page can make a big difference.

Improving your credibility is a little more elusive. Genuine credibility is earned over time through word-of-mouth, actual customer experience and subjective judgment. However, good writing and design in your marketing materials can do wonders for establishing and maintaining credibility. It reiterates that you are a quality company through the subtle statement of the quality of your communications.

Lastly, visibility is how many people will see your message. Fact is you could have a great message and credibility, but if few people see you or know you, what good is it?

It’s highly important to have all three variables working positively for you at the same time. If you’re doing well on two and badly on one, your marketing efforts are spinning their wheels.

To determine if your marketing is currently running well, take this test:

Marketing message: Do people understand it right away? Does it evoke a “that’s for me” response? Can your clients and others explain your marketing message? Is your message on every single piece of marketing from website to business card? Score (1-10) _____

Credibility: Is your work consistently satisfying to your clients? Do you get word-of-mouth business? Is your website chocked full of useful information on you and your services? Is your brand image and marketing literature professional looking? Total Score (1-10) _____

Visibility: Are you an active networker? Do you have regular meetings with your main contacts? Do you speak at professional associations and conferences? Do write articles to be published online and off regularly? Do you have a regular newsletter or email newsletter? Total Score (1-10) _____

Now multiply your answers. That’s your marketing success score.

Your marketing success score is an easy gauge to determine where you are.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru a leading Corporate Branding and Branding Research firm in Boston, MA.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation.

This Article may be freely copied as long as it is not modified and this resource box accompanies the article, together with working hyperlinks.

Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Franklin Sports and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

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If you use promotional products you probably already know the power of giving away freebies. You may use them to thank current customers, or to give incentives to potential customers.

When most people think about promotional products, they tend to think pens, keychains, t-shirts, mugs, caps, etc.

Did you know there are products that put pens, mugs and keychains to shame? They can cost less and bring measurable profits. Sometimes, these profit-producing promotional items may even be free.

How can this be?

Instead of ordinary promotional products, think “infopromotional products”. An infopromotional product is an information product that you use as a promotional item.

What can you use as a infopromotional item? You can give away

-tips sheets
-articles
-special reports
-audios
-videos
-books
-ebooks
-teleseminars

Now you could spend time creating your own information product - but I’m not suggesting that. That takes time and money.

Consider joint venturing with an expert whose advice your customers would find valuable. The expert can give you a special educational item that you give to your customers. Let’s say it’s a tips sheet. At the end of the tips sheet, there’s an offer for the expert’s books, tape set or seminars. The customer can only get the special offer by mentioning your name or special code.

Where can you find experts? You can find them in your city or search for them online. Think about what your customers might appreciate and look for experts in those fields.

Are your customers business owners? Search for marketing gurus, cost-cutting consulants, automation experts.

Are your customers homeowners? Search for home improvement experts and real estate experts.

Are your customers concerned about health? Look for fitness and self-improvement experts.

How much will your infopromtional product cost? If it is a physical product, your joint venture partner may pay for some or all of the cost. Why? Because it’s a marketing expense for him. The expert’s company is reaching a highly targetted market - your customers. That can be a good thing for your joint venture partner, you and your customers. You’ll see why in a moment.

If your giveaway is delivered online, such as an online video, you may be able to get it for free. So now, you have a high-perceived value item to give to your customers at low or no cost to you.

Let’s not stop there. This article is about turning an EXPENSE into a PROFIT CENTER. Here’s how:

The key is that your joint venture partner has an offer and a tracking mechanism so you get paid for your referrals. If your customers are online, tracking is as easy as using a affiliate code. Now your customer gets to sample your joint venture partner’s expertise in the infopromotional product and get a special deal, your partner may get new customers and you get a fee for each of your referrals, all because you gave a gift to your customers.

Try infopromotional products and you may never give away another pen again.

Resource: Internet Marketer Raynay Valles specializes in joint venture marketing strategies. Find out more about using joint venture infopromotional products, visit http://www.raynayvalles.com/jointventures or email her at rvalles at raynayvalles.com

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