Animoto Videos...Professional Videos 30 bucks a year?

I just wanted to let you all in on the secret to creating incredible, Hollywood style videos. It's called animoto, and it is brain dead easy to use. Videos 30 seconds or less are free. Royalty free music PROVIDED! Or you can create as many videos as you want for 30 bucks a year. You can even download in DVD high quality rendered format for $5 a video. They have an affiliate program if you want to generate some referral fees. Just go try it...you will be hooked too!
Check out the video I made in my previous post...It ROCKS!
Click on this banner to sign up for free.


God Bless!
JRsuperstar
JohnRiding.com

Follow Up Made Easy!

Demo free at www.JohnRiding.com

From the Heart!

I know this is a blog about marketing and I hope to tie it all together in the end so please bear with my story.
Recently I was thinking about a man who played a significant role in my life. My father died from lymphoma when I was 20 years old. At that time the world seems so scary and unsure. Even though I was a young adult just finding my way I wondered who was going to show me how to be "a man". I had become a Christian about 2 years earlier and was growing in my faith...then blam ...I lose a man that was my idol, my hero and my best friend. Shaken, rattled and in a fog I was lost. But God...being who he is, was not surprised by this tragedy in my life. Even though I didn't understand, He took care of me. Coincidentally (yeah sure) I started attending a church in our town that my friends were going to. I joined the college group that was led by a man named Tim Kahn. Tim is a very successful business owner and entrepreneur. Tim and his family really adopted me as a son. Over the next 20+ years I have learned so much about God, integrity, trust, unconditional love, honor and character that I carried into business and personally from this man. God has indeed provided all my needs. Maybe not in the way that I would have chosen, but He is God and He knows better than me what I need.
I sent a greeting card to Tim the other day. It was just a simple note to express how grateful I was to have been the adopted son. It wasn't long or profound but it was heartfelt and expressed my thoughts. As you spend quality time around those you love and care about. As you build relationships with people around you both professionally and personally and as you work hard to provide the lifestyle that you desire for your family, don't forget to express true heartfelt gratitude, appreciation and love to those who have been significant in your life. Start today! None of us knows the hour that we are going to be taken out of this world. I never got to say the things I should have to my real dad, but I will not let another day pass without making sure the people in my life now know how I feel about them. Tim wrote back and said this... "I have been proud to have you as an "adopted" son over all these years...God always shows up to help us through our trials and lifts us to joys we never anticipated. You are certainly one of those joys. God Bless, Tim."
My professional advice for today is this... Forget marketing for the moment. If this post has caused you to think of someone who needs to hear from you ... then go now and do something about it. It may be hard or out of character for you...so what! Get over it. You will be eternally grateful that you did.
I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment.

John Riding aka JRsuperstar
RenegadeMarketers.com

Branding YOU!

Just a note about branding. This is my quick 2 cents worth...not a long dissertation on Branding.
Some call it "ego" some call it "arrogance"... I Simply call it Branding.
People want to work with someone who is an expert in their field. So how do you become an expert in your field. You already are!!!. Whatever product or service you sell...You probably know more about it than your clients. Just look for ways to "inject yourself into your promotions. Start by thinking outside of your comfort zone. I have a friend name David Frey. You probably have heard of him... He is a Marketing Genius. (Dave if you are reading this don't get a fat head) But Dave really truly knows how to brand himself. He IS an internet "Guru" He has written many books, newsletters, ezines and done countless marketing videos and seminars. He is probably best known for the Book he wrote called "The Small Business Marketing Bible". If you look at any of Dave's stuff...His face is plastered all over everything. It gives people the feeling that they know him and that he is well know figure that they can trust.
For those just starting out...start small. Get a good "Star Shot" of yourself. Next flier or promotion...add your picture with your title. If you are in sales for XYZ company then give yourself a different title. Don't just say "I'm in sales". Puff out your chest...Be proud of what you do and say... "I'm a widget specialist for XYZ company specializing in new client acquisition and training". Position yourself as an expert in that field. Remember...compared to what your clients know about what you do...YOU ARE THE EXPERT ...and they are looking to you for help and advice. It's mostly perception. If you look, act and talk like the expert ... you will get treated like the expert. Don't be pompous and arrogant just tell them what you know and close the deal.
Never give up, Never Surrender.
God Bless,
JRsuperstar

JUST SAY THANK YOU...THAT'S IT?

Recently, Senior Market Advisor Magazine Interviewed the "2007 Advisor of the Year" Craig Randall.

SMA asked him: " How do you generate referrals?"

CR: “Once you build your client base up to a large number, then the referrals start coming in. We get referrals by NOT asking for them, but by thanking people for them. I’ve tried every referral system in the world, I’m sure there’s some great ones out there, but none of them seem to work real well for me. As soon as I stopped asking for them and started thanking people for the referrals that we’re getting, all of a sudden we started getting a ton more referrals. It just builds on itself."


Obviously the way to generate more referrals is to be someone who is appreciative of his or her clients. It's one thing to be appreciative...but quite another to SHOW that appreciation. When was the last time you did something special for your clients? Maybe this year you can make it a habit to show your gratitude for those who "butter your bread"

Remember these words... Appreciation wins out over self promotion every time!

Never give up, Never surrender.
JRsuperstar

GIVERS GAIN AGAIN & AGAIN

Want to know a surefire way to meet a lot of people and gain their instant respect (ok not so instant...it takes a few weeks) ...Here is a great way to make yourself known and to help you get to widen your sphere of influence.
Make sure you take your camera to a networking event. Take a picture with someone at the event that you like...either you like their business, their personality or whatever. Someone that you may have "clicked" with. Now make sure that you get business cards from 4 or 5 others at least that were at the event...I'm using a networking event as an example but it could have been anything...even your kids soccer game. Now when you get back home make a real greeting card (not email, too impersonal) to send a card to the 5 new people you met. (I use SendOutCards) Let them know that it was either good meeting them or seeing them again. On the other side of the flap inside the card put the picture of you and the one person you picked to spotlight. Introduce them, telling the name of their company and what they do...a short bio. You have now just promoted someone else's business to 5 new people you just met. Make sure you send a note to the spotlighted person letting them know that you shared their info with some colleagues. Now at the next event, take a picture with a different person with an entirely different business. Get 5 new names and do the same thing again only this time you send the card to the new 5 and the previous 5 promoting this new guys business. You can do this as many times as you like. Soon you will be the person that everyone knows or wants to know because you will be hopefully promoting them soon. The more you promote others, the more people will want to, and feel obligated to promote you... It's called the Law of reciprocity. People want to give back to those people that they feel have given to them. Hope this helps.
God Bless
John Riding
SendOutCards.com
renegademarketers.com

Giving to Give??? or to Get??? What's the diff?

Giving to give...means WHAT? It actually means that you are giving out of the goodness of your heart. No strings attached. Nothing expected in return. It's about you doing something out of appreciation for someone. But I want to talk about Giving to Get.
What we really should be about is ....GIVING... That's it... just giving... Give good service, give good advice, give good follow up, give respect. In fact replace the word good with GREAT and you will have a very successful career wherever you go! Make yourself so valuable to your company that they will beg you to stay because they can't see themselves without your great customer relationship skills. The "Getting" comes from the giving. People will be naturally attracted to you because you treat them right. Because you care. Because you step up and say..."You are important, How can I BE OF SERVICE TO YOU! That is what makes you attractive and makes them want to work with you and YES...even buy from you. They will also rave about you to their friends, neighbors and colleagues. Stop selling products...I learned this from my personal coach & mentor Dani Johnson. She works with people, training them how to be relational and how to genuinely care about the prospects they encounter. She says that "your product really isn't your product, Your product is people". Find their needs, goals and desires and then help them find the solution with what you have to offer. This is key to developing a relationship based clientèle. Giving to Get, Sowing and Reaping, Sales and closing. This is the new era in sales...which is really the old way of doing business...Trust based Marketing.

Never give up, Never Surrender.
John Riding