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30 Years Into Six – The Journey Continues

It’s a long time coming.  But it’s finally here. Book number two 30 Years Into Six – “ A Marketers Journey Through The Small Business Jungle. Now available on Amazon, the 30yearsIntoSix.com website or Create Space.30 Years Into Six book by Author & Content Producer Dave Krygier - 30YearsIntoSix.com

What started this journey and changed the course of my life was a crushed hand with a broken finger on December 30, 2009. This is where God intervened and got my attention.

When I started this new journey I was searching and looking to reconnect in the online world. My experience one the years had all been in small business with occasionally dealing with large corporations. The corporate world never suited me, yet I spent 10 years as a contractor to an international company.

I created and started writing here on the Click and Mortar blog in February and slowly but surely the words started to flow onto the screen. In June of 2010 I came across Sean Mize, an Internet marketer who had specialized in articles for traffic, info products and coaching. Info products and coaching were intriguing since they enabled me to work virtually and on whenever I wanted to. Over the course of the next couple of years I learned so much from him including how to write articles, sales letters and all the components to building info products and coaching classes.

Later in 2010 I ran across Ken McCarthy of the System Seminar and attended his last big System meeting in early April 2011. This was an eye opener and game changer.

Over the years I have absorbed it all, took it all in, studied constantly, and began to test, research, and document on my blog and published articles. BTW – I still study, research and test to this day.

Combined with my experiences in the early years of the late 1980’s and 1990’s along with later years in the early to mid 2000’s, the content for the 30 Years Into Six book was flowing, even though I hadn’t decided to publish a written book yet.

My first book “Secrets of The Tiny Store,” written about 12 years of experience during the pre-Internet and early Internet years was published in 2014 as a digital e-book.

The 30years Into Six book was actually published in early 2016 as a digital ebook and then just recently we published the printed version available through Amazon and not the 30YearsIntoSix.com website.

I hope you enjoy the book and as always you can reach out to me here or on my production company website at DMK Productions.

Local Marketing and the Future of Your Small Business

I recently attended a conference that was focused on all things that had to do with Local Marketing and the web as we know it right now, and what’s to come in the near future. It was three days of speakers, videos and PowerPoint presentations along with lots of networking. Which was worth the trip alone…hint, hint, hint.

Of all the topics that were presented, three hit home with me and today I am going to share with you one of those three. It was titled ‘Local Social’ and it is what local marketers will either embrace or be left in a ghost town.

Local marketing and the ability to utilize the web have come light years in the last ten years. I wonder what it would have been like at The Tiny Store to have such awesome tools  and avenues to develop and grow business? We’ll never know or maybe we will…

Web two point oh is now evolving to another level and engaging the searcher like never before. You probably already know this but I’m going to dig in and cover it anyway.

Search engines are starting to embrace the patterns and behaviors of us humans, aka the searcher. Combine this with the social media element and you have a very interesting chemistry that brings forth a new way of doing business.

This also brings even more to the surface as we become inundated with more and more information.

Thus the ‘Local Social’ comes into play and as we meld the search engine with social sites and other citation/review sites. Now it’s a little more complex than that but hopefully you get the picture.

It’s a new day for the offline small business that relies on the local folk for their livelihood!

So if you run and operate a small business that relies on the surrounding local community, then listen up and pay attention for a few more minutes, because this is serious stuff!

1. If you desire to attract and capture new searchers and visitors – you need to develop as many positive testimonials and citations (reviews) as possible.

2. You need to make sure you are listed on ALL of the local directories.

3. You must take action now and not delay another day!

Why you ask?

Because the race is on and the small business owner does the work and works the plan will be the one who rises to the top and dominates in his or her local marketplace. Yes, that’s the way it’s going to be moving forward. But now the small business can go head to head with the big national box and can stay out in front and win!

Guerilla tactics are us! (Thank you Jay Conrad Levinson)

Now there is more to these steps, if you are curious to find out – check in at SBM and see if the “Local Social Plan” for Small Business Owners is still available. Depending on when you read this, it may or may not be still on the market.

So waste not any time my faithful reader. Take action now and go make it happen.

Stay tuned and plugged in,

Dave Krygier
Publisher

The Tale of Two Marketing Camps

Ever seen the movie ‘Daddy Daycamp’? It’s the story about two Dad’s who take the leap and get thrust into a summer day camp, only to find out that their competitor across the lake is going to give them a run for their money.

This leads me to today’s topic of marketing and the two camps – Smarketing and Farketing.

Why two camps? Because in small business I’ve generally found that most businesses fall into one camp or the other.  It’s a strange dilemma and one I’ve seen from time to time in certain small businesses that I’ve come across.

Why is it that some small business owners continue down the same path or stay in the same camp, with the same old broken ways of doing things, yet they complain and suffer but won’t change?

Let’s look at the two camps and do a little comparison. There are those that work in what I refer to as Smarketing and there’s the other group that sits over in camp Farketing.

SMARKETING is all about innovating, creating and producing marketing, advertising and promotions that break the barrier. Or at least makes the leap across the canyon.

It’s the owner that sees the possibilities and takes a step outside the box to go where he or she hasn’t gone before.

It’s the owner, partner or manager that says, “We can do things different and have a positive impact on our prospects and customers.”

This camp is constantly staying ahead of the curve and really fun to work with.

When you visit Camp SMARKETING you’ll most likely experience one or all of the following traits:

1. These campers think outside the box.

2. They like to go where no one else has gone before.

3. They’re not afraid to take it up a notch and do some serious testing to see what works and what doesn’t.

4. These campers are most likely very profitable and are seeing ROI.

Compare this with ole’ Camp FARKETING where these folks stick with the old marketing that just looks worn out and should be left in the musty basement, tucked away and never to be seen again.

The marketing at this camp is dull and regurgitated from years past saying, “We have been here and done this before but would like to show you again!”

It’s the same ole, same ole, sell, sell, sell – pitch, pitch, pitch. Blah, Blah, Blah!

These campers think that their way of doing things is just fine, yet their businesses tend to stagnate, suffer and sit idle. He or she scratches the old head and wondering why it ain’t working like it used to? Why are the same old ads, headlines and gimmicks just not bringing the business their way as in years past?

Then one night the campers hear the cheers and music coming from Camp SMARKETING and a few of the Farketers decide to venture over and see what all the hubbub is about.

They arrive to see their competitors, some known and others unknown, sharing strategies and tactics that just seem unreal and far out there.

And then something happens that the ole’ Farketers didn’t anticipate. A few of their group become curious enough that they decided to pull up stakes and camp out at Camp Smarketing to see what they could learn and implement in their business.

Something had opened their minds and now they were ready to venture out.

The great news for these campers is that they can now begin on a journey that will bring change, but more so they’ll begin to see improvements in their businesses, if they pay attention, listen and then take action.

So there you have it – the two camps. Which one are you in? Or are you just getting started and need to decide which one you’ll be staying at?

I hope you choose the camp that “Thinks Outside the Box” and if you do then consider connecting with The SmallBiz Mechanic and he’ll make sure your properly outfitted for the adventure.

To your success,

Dave Krygier

 

Tales of Click – Marketing Beyond Alaska

Back in the beginning or what I refer to as the early years of the web, we experienced a huge influx of business, partly because of being early adopters.

This journey we talk about and share was somewhat adventurous and brings to the forefront that one of the main reasons we ventured onto the web was the simple fact of being able to market to our prospects and existing clients in the State of Alaska.

Up until this point the farthest reach we had was Alaska and had yet to penetrate all the tiny markets in this huge region.

With this transition also brought the reality that it would take a few years for many of these communities to come online and be able to find us on the web.

Technology was slow, sluggish and very frustrating at times. On two occasions a tech spent half a day working to get my Mac connected to the ISP. Now a days we connect automatically or in less than minute.

In one city we moved to they had to send three service techs out to install and setup a 115k ISDN modem. I later learned that we were the first residential customer to receive this ‘fast connection’.

This was a time of adventure and I will readily admit, it was just that and more. DoubleClick was charging rates for banner ads that were up in the stratosphere. Google was just birthed but in its infancy, and pay-per-click was still a child.

And we were still maintaining top positions on all the search engines. Being early adopters we built and built and built, to the point that our site had over 250 pages of content on it.

We went through three webmasters, which I’m sure is a small number compared to what many businesses had to deal with. One thing was for sure…we knew we had the cat by the tail and weren’t going to let go. The wild ride was just beginning and continued for six more years.

For more on how the pioneers ventured through the land of clicks, modems, html and email, go to Secrets of the Tiny Store and find out the rest of the story.

To your success,

Dave Krygier
Publisher

Tales of Click – In the Beginning

In the summer of 1995 my wife and I attended a street fair held in a little known city located east of Seattle. It was an annual event and one I normally didn’t even bother to put in the calendar.

But this year would be life changing, because of a man and his computer on the side- walk.

As we strolled through the booths and exhibits we came across this gentleman who was demonstrating how businesses could show their products and services on what he called the World Wide Web.

This was very intriguing to us as we were marketing to Alaska and maybe, just maybe, we could use what he was talking about to develop more business in this region.

Little did I know how much this man and his demonstration would change our world and the course of our businesses forever.

This introduction to the land of clicks, modems, and html was the beginning of our journey on the Internet.

What began as a simple way to market to Alaskans turned into a feverish race to stay on top of the search engines at that time. Search Engines like Web Crawler, Lycos, Excite, Infoseek, and Yahoo!

I imagine it could be compared to the early days of computer technology coming on the scene during the 1950’s.

Anyway you look at it, we had a hold of a tiger and boy was it a wild ride that kept me on my toes, on the phone and typing emails like a man with his hair on fire.

Those were the days and the beginnings of click for the little known company located just north of the Big M and Big B.

There’s more to come as we continue with the Tales of Click. Much, much more…

Do you want to learn how this tiny store flourished and grew leaps and bounds?               Go to:  www.secretsofthetinystore.com

Band-Aid Marketing

When it comes to small business marketing you might be surprised how many business owners implement what I refer to as ‘band-aid marketing’ and yet they wonder why sales are lack luster and traffic is ho-hum.

This all goes back to the ole’ strengths and weaknesses talk. Check out my previous articles on this subject if you are curious.

So it comes down to this…

Most small business owners I’ve encountered over the years are not strong marketers.

At best they are mediocre to average, with most below average. They might be great at selling and maybe one other area of their business but marketing is the weak point that constantly rears its head.

I have found that their lack of understanding in this critical area tends to be a sore subject or one that you just don’t bring up, unless you want an argument to follow.

Note: If you are the rare individual who is good to great at marketing, this article is obviously not about you, so bear with me.

So as I dig into this topic today, here’s a story from yesteryear:

I once had a string of clients who were all what I call Band-Aid Marketers.

It was a time when I was working in a very narrow niche and each one of these small business owners needed help generating business.

One understood that to reach his audience he had to advertise in the right mediums and with the right messages. So he did and his results were solid.

Two other owners were sales guys who could talk a good talk, but had not a clue how to market or merchandise.

These two were covered with band-aids and didn’t even know it! All they wanted to do was sell and sell they did.

So both owners allowed us to produce jingles and radio commercials for a short run on local radio stations. This was their way of testing us to see if we could pull off what we proposed.

The ads pulled and generated sales, but after the short run was completed, they decided to go it alone, without our help. After all, they had the jingle and radio package to work with, along with our strategy and ideas, right?

They figured they could do it better and cheaper!

When it came to marketing they weren’t going to admit their lack of understanding.

So they put on one more band-aid, trudged forward, struggled, and one owner even went out of business.

The other owner still doesn’t have a website that I could find and it’s been almost ten years!

Band-aid marketing. Get the picture? I sure hope so.

When it comes down to it, you either like marketing or you don’t.

If marketing isn’t your thing, then hire it out to seasoned professionals and let them do what they do best. You work in your strengths and areas you enjoy.

If your strength area is marketing, then study, research and grow, so you can improve upon what is working.

If you are a solo-preneur and need to do it all…make it a goal to outsource and hire qualified people to do the tasks and work that you least enjoy.

This way you can be more productive, happier and have a business that is headed in the right direction.

Band-aid marketing will cost you time, money and probably quite a few headaches. Take it from me, it’s not worth it and you’ll end up with a whole lot of cuts and bruises that you could have avoided in the first place.

BTW- if you want to learn how we rocked the search engines for 6 years straight, stumped the competition and kept our vendors guessing, check out secretsofthetinystore.com .

Dave Krygier
Publisher