Remember the Wisk commercial in my last blog?  Here’s another vintage commercial:

I bet you didn’t even know you needed Space Food Sticks until you saw that!  LOL!

Out with the old . . . in with the new.   Download your free copy of The Hartman Report now.

I just spent some time with my friend and colleague Jill Lublin, the famous publicity expert.  I’m so thrilled that she came to my hometown, Vancouver BC — rarely do experts come here!  If you haven’t taken her one day seminar, you should.  You can find out more about her and her seminar at: www.JillLublin.com.
In the meantime, I learned some cool tools.  Here’s a hot tip I wanted to share with you…

Wow!  Who says Monday’s are boring?   This is so exciting!

Today is FINALLY the day I can REVEAL the proud winners of the Private JV Club Contest.

Here’s the story:

A few months ago, I asked several of my famous friends to participate in a joint venture contest to help unknowns get a big break.  Many agreed and the JV Club Contest was born.  After 6 weeks of coaching JV Members on how to write a proposal Continue Reading

Lol!  How often do we imprison ourselves with our old way of thinking?  It’s a new era of business — the cut-throat, competitive business model is out, and an attitude of cooperation and customer service is in.

Learn more. Download your FREE copy of The Hartman Report now.

“Are you ready to become the big fish in a small pond?” asks Scott Gerber of Entrepreneur Magazine. “From aquatic sporting goods for dogs to Michelle Obama-inspired fashion websites, niche products and services have the potential to generate big bucks if they capture the hearts, minds and wallets of a dedicated consumer base.”

As you know, I’m a huge believer in setting aside that “get the numbers -beat the competition” approach to business.   As our population ages — people aged forty and older now make up the largest adult population in North America — more and more entrepreneurs are looking for opportunities that are not only profitable, but meaningful.  This often leads to niche businesses — businesses that are tailored to specific markets that are often overlooked by the large franchises.

Mr. Gerber’s article, “Five Steps to Building a Successful Niche Business,” gives a terrific example of how the internet has changed the world, creating endless possibilities for entrepreneurs who are following their passion instead of the dollars.  He mentioned Google as an example of how niche businesses can find tremendous success by providing a simple service — a search engine ranked by backlinks — and doing it well.

So how can you profit by serving your specific niche?  Mr. Gerber says:

• Create a Simple Service. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, choose a specific market that has a specific, unmet need and meet that need.
• Become the leading expert of your niche.
• Be Specific, Distinctive and Relevant.
• Copy, Past and Repeat. Keep hammering that message home.

It’s a new era in business.  Consumers have lost interest in corporations that treat them as numbers or a prize to be won.  If you know what your customers want and set about delivering it with a customer service attitude, they will be drawn to you.  If you approach other entrepreneurs with an eye toward finding win-win ideas, you’ll both grow your business.  Thanks to the internet, you can do both of these in a way that hasn’t been possible before.

If you still wonder whether putting people above profit will dampen your success, remember Google’s declared Code of Conduct:  “Don’t be evil.”  The Google prospectus notes:  “We believe strongly that in the long term, we will be better served — as shareholders and in all other ways — by a company that does good things for the world even if we forgo some short term gains.”

Empower yourself and grow your business by learning more about the changing landscape of business.  Download your FREE copy of The Hartman Report now.

In the U.S. in July, employers cut 250,000 jobs and retailers saw a decline in sales for the eleventh straight month.    Wall Street is withering in the economic drought, and optimism for recovery anytime soon is low.  If you’re thinking about starting a small business right now, you might be thinking twice.  If you’ve already started your business, you might be listening to all the bleak predictions on the business news and wondering if you’re doomed before you even get started.

Does your business stand a chance?    Continue Reading

I just read a terrific post from David Riklan of Self-Growth on the effectiveness of email advertising.  He addresses the question:  “Does email newsletter advertising really work?” His answer  is a firm, “That depends!”  Some products — health products, financial services, and help for relationships and self-improvement — tend to fare better than others with online marketing. Continue Reading

Sorry - the computer fairy's probably not going to stop by today - but wouldn't it be nice?

I just read a great post from Marc Goldman on the importance of having a great affiliate system set-up for your Joint Venture partners.

I know there are a lot of entrepreneurs out there who really don’t like having to pay attention to these ‘technical’ details in their online advertising techniques and partnerships – I think sometimes we all kind of just hope that the IT fairy will come down and take care of it all for us – or that if problems arise, they’ll just go away!

But there are some things that you just can’t leave to the good will of your partners, clients, and customers – and money is one of them. Continue Reading

Gone Are the Days of the Faceless Corporation

According to a Yale psychology department study, there are ten words you should be using in your advertising techniques to get the most powerful responses:

New, Save, Safety, Proven, Love, Discover, Guarantee, Health, Results, and You (which was listed as the most powerful above all!)

As a marketer, knowing these types of things always interests me, but as one who’s interested in the ‘heart’ of business, I’m just fascinated as the feelings behind why these words are so powerful in advertising.

It can be all too easy for any marketer to fall into the trap of making it ‘about me’. I think a lot of that is simply ingrained in us from the older days of advertising – the lack mentality and desperation to say ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ where the one who shows the most glitter gets ahead.

It can be very difficult to trust your marketing on the strength of who you are and the foundation of quality that you provide when you’re living on the fear that someone else may get ahead!

But think about it – if you can provide something unique and novel, your product or service is going to shout ‘NEW’ and ‘DISCOVER’ louder than any of your copy will. If you can offer testimonials and give your honest word to stand behind your product or service, ‘PROVEN’, ‘RESULTS’, ‘SAFETY’ and ‘GUARANTEE’ are spoken out for you.

If your true desire is to make honest money with something you know your audience can afford and pay happily, they’re going to know that they’re SAVING, and while not everything has to do with HEALTH, any product or service you create that contributes to overall balance is going to have an affect there too.

LOVE, of course, can literally show through everything you do – and the more you love what you’re doing and who you’re doing it for, the greater the power of that word will pervade throughout every aspect of your business.

And YOU, of course – your client or customer – they’ll know right away if it’s all about them or not as soon as they stumble across your marketing efforts!

Does this mean you should never use these words in your copy or advertising techniques, simply letting your product or service speak for itself? Continue Reading

The Times Are Changing

I’ve been loving seeing all your comments for my publishing house names – keep them rolling in by adding your comment right here! (Remember, the winner gets a shot at a big time publishing contract (we’re talking the works – distribution through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Kindle and major bookstores) for you or someone you know.

While I was at the book expo in New York I spent a lot of time with my publisher, Morgan James – putting together some exciting stuff that I’ll be announcing soon – a very big deal that will be great for everyone on my list!

While I was there I learned a lot about traditional publishing – and it appears that the publishing world is being transformed just as much as the marketing world is these days. It’s pretty clear to me that the model for publishing is going to change – illustrated even more deeply by some news I heard while I was there… Continue Reading