* robfrankel   Yes, there WILL be a Free Clinic today, Monday, November 23, 2009. Even though it's the Thanksgiving holiday this week in the USA.
* robfrankel   It will begin at the top of the hour as indicated in the top right hand corner of your browser. At that time, I'll be here for a full 60 minutes, waiting for anyone who cares to drop by, helping with business and branding issues.
At no charge.
* robfrankel   Just like every Monday since the mid 1990's!
* robfrankel   We'll begin in just a few minutes....
- ari   Sounds great
- ari   Should I login in with my full name or it doesn't matter?
* robfrankel   Doesn't matter Ari.
- ari   ok, let me know when I can officially begin :-)
* robfrankel   Some people us their real names. Other make them up. As long as the story is interesting, nobody seems to mind much!
* robfrankel   Okay, just topping off my coffee, and we'll begin. Lots of people show up throughout the hour....
* robfrankel   Alrighty then, the Free Clinic is open. I'll be here for the next 60 minutes, helping anyone who drops by with their biz or branding issues. Sometimes we get a lot of people, sometimes just a few. Doesn't matter.
* robfrankel   Ari, any time you want to jump in, fire away!
- ari   OK. takes a minute to type
- ari   Basically I do SEO/Link building, do it well, have some decent clients, known by some people in the industry, but I am trying to understand how to create a new brand that is associated with high value and brands me as the expert
- ari   I'm of the mind that it's better that your client comes to you, not you cold call the client..
* robfrankel   Do you have a URL and a site yourself that I can look at?
* robfrankel   Well, let's talk about that, too. I have some interesting case studies on that...
- ari   sure
my blog is http://www.ariozick.com
* robfrankel   Going to http://www.ariozick.com ....
- ari   and very ugly corporate site is http://www.wiredrhino.com
- ari   see I started out (and still do) by running sites for myself, but I'm diversifying into client work, and up till now most work is word of mouth
* robfrankel   Okay, we have a few issues to take up here....
- ari   this should be fun:-)
* robfrankel   Let's start with the good news: I applaud your notion that "the client comes to you". It's the right attitude to have....HOWEVER: You ever heard of Secret Weapon Syndrome?
- ari   No..
* robfrankel   Well, you will now:
Secret Weapon Syndrome is the peculiar- but very real - behavior of clients. When they stumble on to you and realize how good you are, they choose NOT to tell anyone else about you, for fear you'll either (A) go to their competition and/or (B) raise your rates when you get more clients.
- ari   ah so I am familiar with it just not that particular way of calling it that
* robfrankel   My business (and I suspect yours) is susceptible to SWS. Which means it's highly UNLIKLEY that client will refer business to you/me. Which means your business will improve vastly if you institute a "cold call" program.
* robfrankel   I can tell you from personal experience that this one move completely changed my business and revenue performance.
- ari   right but the numbers we're talking about our pretty high - like I'm looking to work
- ari   ok.. right but the numbers we're talking about our pretty high - like I'm looking to work
- ari   right but the numbers we're talking about our pretty high - like I'm looking to work
* robfrankel   Ari, I went from waiting for the phone to ring to six figure projects based on one e-mail...
- ari   like I'm looking to work with bigger e-commerce sites, so cold calling them, espcially in the SEO industry, might not work
* robfrankel   It absolutely will work. You just have to know how to pitch them. And you have to do it efficiently.
- ari   I'm listening
- ari   "How to Send Unsolicited E-Mail and NOT be a Spammer
- ari   "?
* robfrankel   Another issue is that you have a blog, not a web site. Which means the clients have to search around for your business proposition. Especially prospects of yours are happier with quick information. Put it right out there for them to buy or they'll NEVER get around to it. You're expecting too much from them.
* robfrankel   Yeah, Ari. That's one of my most effective e-books.
* robfrankel   One of the BIG MYTHS I see circulating is that a blog is enough. It isn't, by a long shot.
* robfrankel   Your prospects want a solution and they want it yesterday!
- ari   OK.. the reason I started the blog was to slowly become an expert
* robfrankel   Finally, keep your client biases private. The crack about Baidu will turn off more prospects than it will amuse. It telegraphs that you MAY be difficult to work with. If you prefer not working with a prospect, there are a million ways to turn down the business....
- ari   because from what I understand, in the SEO World, people find firms at big search conferences
- ari   How to Send Unsolicited E-Mail and NOT be a Spammer
- ari   Like they mob the speakers and the publishers of the big blogs (Aaron from SEOBook, for example, or the SEOMoz people)
* robfrankel   GOOD NEWS: "10 Truths that other Gurus don't want you to know..." is GREAT. THAT's the kind of message that resonates with prospects because by the time they get to you, they probably think they're getting screwed by the last person they used.
* robfrankel   GOOD NEWS: "10 Truths that other Gurus don't want you to know..." is GREAT. THAT's the kind of message that resonates with prospects because by the time they get to you, they probably think they're getting screwed by the last person they used.
* robfrankel   The only thing missing there is the issue that affects THEM:
"How those other guys' mistakes are COSTING YOU MONEY."
* robfrankel   Everything ties into business and $$$$. Don't forget that.
- ari   got it
* robfrankel   Aaron was actually a client of mine.... :D
- ari   I know, how do you think I found you?
* robfrankel   Ari, remember a couple of things about your own brand. First, you got into the biz because you know you can do it better. So tell people that. Only make the argument stronger:
"Everyone else is doing it wrong, here's the right way. " Then show proof.
* robfrankel   Your basic instincts are good, though.
* robfrankel   Another issue is identity. You have too many. Figure out your brand strategy, then create an identity that communicates that brand strategy. Otherwise, people get confused.
* ari   meaning
* robfrankel   You simply MUST remember that prospects require you to do everything. Teaching them, educating, figuring it out for them. Forget them "coming to their own conclusions". They won't. You have to spell it out for them.
* robfrankel   Are you Ari Ozick? SEO Contrarian? White Rhino?
* robfrankel   Confusing.
* ari   I can't be all 3? Wired Rhino is a company, SEO Contrarian is a blog, Ari Ozick is me
* robfrankel   Which one are you promoting?
* ari   Yah I see the question and the issues.. I want to promote me and my company
* robfrankel   Okay, just remember that if there's ANY way to get confused, they'll get confused. I promise you.
* ari   ok... so which do you think I should promote
* robfrankel   It may sound difficult because you want to offer a lot, but the main thing to do is to LEAD WITH ONE aspect of your brand. You can always sell in the other stuff later, AFTER they buy into the primary offering.
* robfrankel   That's your choice: Which generates the most revenue the fastest? Which do you enjoy the most?
* ari   Revenue right now = my name, enjoy also is my name/contrarian
* robfrankel   MOST of the time you're best off using your name. Or at least a name. Ari O is good. Ari Ozick is fine. One more thing:
* robfrankel   You may find -- as I have -- that NOBODY goes hunting for your name. They go hunting for what you DO. I get most of my passive leads from people searching for "branding expert".
* robfrankel   However, once they find me and know me, they talk about Rob Frankel.
* robfrankel   So I have multiple domains that lead to robfrankel.com
* robfrankel   Nobody on the planet wakes up one morning and decides they need to look for another Rob Frankel....
* ari   right, but I have no interest wasting the time and resources to rank for SEO related terms
* robfrankel   Promote the business you're interested in doing.
Once you sign those prospects and they're convinced of your success, you can sell them on to other services.
* robfrankel   So figure out your brand strategy first - including the priorities of what you're selling first. THEN you can get on to the tactics of raising awareness, etc.
* fldoc   Hi Rob
* robfrankel   Hi Doc!
* ari   got it rob
* ari   howdy doc
* fldoc   May I ask a question about building a branded community?
* robfrankel   Ari, the contrarian is cool, but has to be handled deftly. On the one hand, it shows you're not afraid to be different. On the other, it may telelgraph "disagreeing just to disagree". Not a serious issue, but people DO bring their own baggage to these thing.
I use Contrarian a lot
* fldoc   Hey Ari
* robfrankel   Sure. Jump in.
* fldoc   When do you determine it is the right time to begin really focusing your efforts to build one? or do you need to make this a focus from the get go?
* robfrankel   Branded Community -- a true one, not just a bunch of eye balls -- requires enough critical mass to carry momentum. That means you need enough users to keep activity somewhat constant.
* robfrankel   Generally, this means you need - at the very least - several hundred if you're starting up and several thousand if you have an existing-but-inactive user base.
* fldoc   So do I build users through sales of products and services over time, alone, or is there another tactic that you would suggest
* robfrankel   For existing retail brands, I suggest at least five figures worth of users.
* fldoc   Obviously, my desire is to get as much traction as I can in the shortest period of time and grow significantly from there
* robfrankel   I like to use FrankelBiz, because that's where my customers go to find more and get more. Everything from this free chat to books and stuff is here. This is also where they can interact with each other via the FrankelBiz list.
* robfrankel   FLDoc, I'd leave it off your list for now. You're way better off collecting visitors and then inviting them into a Branded Community at a later date, when you have more traction.
* fldoc   But Frankel Biz is something you added later, not in the beginning, right?
* fldoc   After you had established a "following"?
* robfrankel   Don't forget that even on a discussion list of thousands, usually only 2% do any public interacting.
* robfrankel   Do the math. That means 2 of every thousand will publicly participate -- Branded Community from i-legions does more, because we install a manager, but that's roughly the numbers.
* robfrankel   I didn't create FrankelBiz until I knew I could attract about a thousand people. I did that ages ago, when I was writing for Andy Bourland on Clickz. He wouldn't pay me anything so I left my regular column and started my own community.
* fldoc   What is your best strategy for collecting visitors as you mentioned above?
* ari   looks like he's gone - what do you do fldoc
* fldoc   Seems that way
* fldoc   Not sure what happened
* robfrankel   Hmm. may have gotten kicked off the server.
* fldoc   Ahh..the leader returns - yeah!
* robfrankel   Arrgh
* ari   rob - do you think it's worth it brandingyourself as an expert?
* fldoc   Ari, I am preparing to launch a biz to help women be competitive in business
* robfrankel   Ari, you don't have to use that exact term, but it does help. Remember, there are tons of hacks that bill themselves as experts because there's nobody there to call them out.
* robfrankel   TEN MINUTE WARNING
* robfrankel   Here's another way to look at it:
YOU may not want to call yourself an expert, but this isn't for you. It's for THEM. What are THEY looking for?
* robfrankel   IN my book, Ari, I point out how "the brand isn't for you. It's for them. You already know everything about you. THEY DON'T."
* robfrankel   So you want to balance the message: The brand strategy points out why you should be perceived as"the only solution to their problems". But the execution has to relay that message in a way that hits THEIR buttons.
* robfrankel   People tend to confuse strategy with execution. And that's on top of not knowing how brand strategy truly works.
* ari   got it
* robfrankel   First get your brand strategy down. THEN work on creative ways of expressing it. THEN explore means of gaining awareness for that expression.
* robfrankel   Most people jump on a stupid name and then promote awareness, then wonder why the phone doesn't ring. BIG mistake.
* fldoc   That was the direction I was going, sadly
* robfrankel   TWO MINUTES Still time....
* fldoc   I am so glad to have found out about you - learning a lot!
* ari   got it - need to make an order at the Frankel store:-)
* robfrankel   Plenty to choose from!
* robfrankel   Thanks for the session. This will be read by a lot of people who scan the archives.
* robfrankel   Okay, big day for me today, so I have to run, but the room stays open for another 15 minutes in case you'd like to schmooze. Have a great week. I'll see you online!
* fldoc   Thanks, Rob