How Small Business, Sole Proprietors, and Entrepreneurs Are Apples and Oranges
By Tim Berry
This post starts a new category for this blog, named — for lack of a better name — “Politics Big Biz Small Biz.” It’s based on the assumption that politicians and big businesses want votes and money from an extremely diverse collection of people they call small business. Who are in fact some small business... Read More »
The Power of One Simple Question
By Tim Berry
I like this. If you want real customer feedback, keep it simple. My friend Stephen Lahey, of Small Business Talent, understand email, and who he’s talking to, when he asks his small business owner clients one simple question: “When you think of me and our working relationship, what are the five adjectives that first come... Read More »
The Irony: Complaining about Linkbait with Linkbait
By Tim Berry
Here’s an irony: Mashable’s thoughtful post titled Stop Linkbait Before It Ruins Content Marketing is surrounded by linkbait. And what’s there on the right, in the sidebar? An ad, then “what’s hot,” one about an injured kitten and the other about Justin Bieber. Both of which are, well, linkbait. Right? The post, by Sam Slaughter, starts like... Read More »
You Aren’t What Others Think You Are … But Your Business Is
By Tim Berry
Do you like ironies, paradox, and contradictions? I do. And I like this one a lot. And, better yet, it helps me work through some of the marketing angles for my business. You can’t define yourself by what others think “To thine own self be true” was Polonius’ last piece of advice to his son... Read More »
What Really Happens With Idea Adoption
By Tim Berry
Seth Godin has a good post today on idea adoption. He calls it you’re not a slot, you choose a slot. It’s an important point: Individuals choose a slot based on what sort of leadership or risk or followership behavior makes them happy right now. Early adopters and nerds like to go first. But some people... Read More »
Seductive Sales Copy: So Easy to Say, So Hard to Do
By Tim Berry
I just read How To Write Seductive Sales Copy Like Apple on Kissmetrics. Good stuff. See, I’m doing it. But, oh, yeah, it’s really hard. And it seems so easy when you look at it. Post author Henneke Duistermaat gives great examples, taken straight from Apple copy. Inspiring, but hard to do. For example: One big idea. Short,... Read More »
Every Business — Yours Included — Really Needs a Market-Defining Story. Really.
By Tim Berry
Good market descriptions are rare. I write that as entrepreneur, consultant, and angel investor. I read more than business 100 plans, and watch 3-4 dozen business pitches, every year. Most of the market definitions I see are useless. So I really appreciate a good one. So I’m offering some tips on how to define a market... Read More »
Can You Guess Small Business Owners’ Main Concern?
By Tim Berry
What keeps small business owners up at night? It seems so obvious. It’s the first guess anybody dealing with them would make. But here’s a survey that — to the extent any survey does — proves it. Thanks to Marketing Profs I found Constant Contact’s (the email marketing company) Small Business Pulse survey for 2012.... Read More »
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