But let’s challenge that model.

I believe there are two more P’s of Marketing  that are more important that the original 4…Purpose and Passion.

Why?  Because product, price, place and promotion can be duplicated.   The only real points of marketing differentiation are Purpose and Passion.   Both visceral, intangible and powerful.  And, they can not be duplicated.

• Purpose: Answers the question why…it gives meaning to and provides direction for every action.  It is one of the first questions you must answer when setting strategic direction for your business. Little hint: When you ask why, your first answer will probably not be the best answer. So, keep brainstorming.

• Passion: This is where the juice is…it is intense, emotional excitement about your business.   Passion provides focus and energy to stay on course even when you face challenges.  Not sure where your passion lies?  What do you do that makes you lose your sense of time?  What do you think and talk about all the time?

You may be surprised by your  purpose and passion.  But I can assure that the easiest way to build a profitable business is to align your purpose and passion with your area of expertise.  You will be unstoppable.

Now, before you go, comment and share, OK?

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.

Social media or traditional media – the debate rages on.

Meanwhile, many marketers and public relations professionals are shying away from  traditional TV, newspapers and radio.  But there is evidence that publicity via traditional media still has the power to create action.

A brief case review:  Nancy Zieman, host of Sewing with Nancy, interviewed Rachel O”Neill, the founder of Little Dresses for Africa. Each time the interview airs, sewers throughout the country jump into action making pillow case dresses for orphaned girls in Africa.  Blogs throughout the sewing world light up as more sewers become aware of the mission.  Further proof – A quick Google search reveals hundreds of comments and a growing web of connected blogs supporting Little Dresses for Africa.  Over and over, the Sewing with Nancy TV segment is sited mentioned as the reason for participation. Now, that is a publicist’s dream.

According to Rachel O’Neill, founder of Little Dress for Africa,  “Sewing with Nancy has been an amazing opportunity for Little Dresses for Africa, to get the word out all across the country.  We have been amazed with the response.  You can tell from my inbox just when and where it airs as the responses are almost immediate.  They were wonderful to us and very professional.  I have been delighted with not only the response but the high quality of talent of the people responding.  It has really been a blessing to our organization and has really moved us to the next level.”

I am no exception.  Because sewing is a hobby of mine, the interview inspired me to use my ever-growing fabric stash to make dresses for the project. I am on my seventh dress and counting…

Having spent time in several African countries, I know, first hand, how much these dresses will mean to the girls who receive them.  If you would like to support a cause that can truly change lives, consider supporting Little Dresses for Africa. You don’t even have to sew; there are other ways to get involved.

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.

However, many entrepreneurs and small business owners do not know how to build a stand-out, influential  personal brand. While there are many different strategies that can be implemented, perhaps, the easiest and least discussed is branding by association.

“What is branding by association?”

It is the process of positioning yourself by developing supportive relationships with well-known, highly successful experts and brands.  The really good news is that you do not have to personally know the expert to begin using this strategy.  But you do have to have the “add value and give first” mentality to make this work.

Following are five steps you can take to begin implementing your own branding by association strategy:

1. Select 5 to 7 branded experts who are selling to your ideal community.
2. Choose 3 to 5 of those experts with which you would like to be closely associated.
3. Identify opportunities where you can routinely provide helpful information to their community.   This can be as simple as commenting on their blog with insightful information.
4. Identify ways to promote them and their products to your community.  For example, re-tweet their comments, link to their blog from your blog, review their products and become one of their affiliates.
5. Last, set up a system to make these interactions part of your daily activities.

Once, you put these steps into action and begin to see results, you will find it easier to approach the expert to begin developing a personal relationship.

Many entrepreneurs believe that when they are successful, they will be able to have what ever they want, do whatever they want and be whatever they want.

Well, let’s turn that upside down.

• BE…Starting today, be whatever or whoever you want to be.  But first, you must know who or what you want to be.   Your vision must be clear and should encompass your personal and professional life. Spend some time brainstorming.  Then just be who you are meant to be.

• DO…Next, what would you do if your already were who or what you want to be?  How would you act?  What would you do?  Who would you connect with?  Begin doing that, today!

• HAVE…Last, once you start being who you want to be and doing what you want to do, the things you most want to have will become part of your life.

I can hear you thinking…this is way too simple.    It is simple but it is also complex.  Focusing first on being will shift your mindset so that your greatest expectations can be met without resistance.

Comment and share, OK?

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.

1. What business are you in? To answer this question, you must know what you are going to do and what you are going to sell.
2. To whom are you going to sell? In answering this question, you must identify your ideal consumer and market niche.  Be as specific as possible.
3. How do you beat, avoid or crush the competition? Now, this one will get your juices flowing.

While these questions seem very simple, the first answer you come up with will rarely be the best answer.

It may take hours, days or even weeks to really answer these questions.  And, as your business grows, you must ask these questions again and again to keep you business on track.

This exercise is the underpinning for your entire business blueprint process.

Strategic Blueprinting Tip: Do not try to do this process alone.  Engage a team to brainstorm with you.

Now before you go, I invite you to subscribe to this blog through the RSS in the box on the right side of this screen.

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.

Strategic blueprinting vs strategic planning.

Do your eyes glaze over when you hear strategic planning? Do you envision a 190 page document sitting on a shelf collecting dust?

This is the vision many people have of the strategic planning process.

However, we all need to plan – remember the saying “If you do no plan, you plan to fail,” – who said that? If you know, leave a comment below so I can give proper credit.

Meanwhile, strategy is simply setting direction.  And, there is no reason for you to create a huge document just to say you did it.  A better way to go is to create a strategic blueprint for your business that can be a short, visual document designed as a snapshot of how and where you want your business to grow. The more visual and concise, the better.  A free tool you may want to download to use during your strategic blueprinting process is the brain.

Hey, strategic blueprinting is not just for business.  It can be for a project, a program or anything else that you want to build, implement or accomplish.

Before you go, comment and share your thoughts about strategic blueprinting.

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.

A perfect example occurred right after a killer whale killed its trainer at Sea World in Orlando, today.

Almost immediately, CNN lined up a spokesperson to interview about why a killer whale would kill its trainer.  News stories were distributed throughout online media.  Sea World was a trending topic on Twitter – much of it negative.  Facebook was lit up with speculation.  And, there were numerous eye-witness accounts filling the news hole.

All the while, Sea World, missing from the social media front, was preparing for a news conference during which Jim Solomon of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office provided details from a fire and rescue perspective.   His most interesting comment “There is no indication of foul play.”  What was he thinking?

Dan Brown, President of Sea World Orlando, issued a short statement with little detail – not even the trainer’s name.   When pressed, he managed to close the conference with promises for forth coming information.   However, before parting, Dan, who was visibly shaken by the incident, closed his comments with “We have lost a member of our family.”  That was an honest, transparent response.

Immediately following the news conference, CNN interviewed Billy Hurley from Georgia Aquarium about what he thought happened.  Bill, who has credentials a mile long, did a masterful interview – stuck to his points, did not speculate and gave straightforward answers even when Rick Sanchez repeatedly asked him about conflicting reports of the incident.

If you have not worked in the trenches during a crisis, you have no idea how challenging and stressful it can be.   Businesses seldom have immediate or complete answers.   Rather, they are forced into responding on multiple fronts while protecting their business and employees.

For a number of years, I worked  with Sea World as a public relations and crisis management consultant.  It is from that experience that I know how devastating this situation is for Sea World employees and their families.  My thoughts go to the family of the trainer as well as the rest of the Sea World family.

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.

That’s right, ALL of his small reports at the site will be removed and will no longer be available for purchase after that date.

In case you have not heard by now, Jimmy D. Brown is systematically “retiring” (IE Removing them from the web and no longer selling them) ALL OF HIS OFFERS…all of his reports, membership sites, ebooks, coaching programs, software programs, etc.

He’s beginning with all of his SR Zone reports.  These short, meaty, low-cost reports are a gold mine of quality content for internet marketers.

Here’s a list of the small reports that are available…

1. Homepreneur Habits: How To Run A Successful Home Business (See recommendation below)
2. How To Get Free Traffic To Your Website With Ezine Articles
3. How To Get F.R.E.E. Traffic with PLR Reports
4. 8 Irresistible Ways To Get Super Affiliates To Enlist In Your Sales Army
5. How to Improve Your Information W.R.I.T.I.N.G.
6. Piggyback Launches: 3 Surefire Ways To Get A Steady Stream Of Free Traffic For Any New Product
7. The Upsell Report: How To Get Customers To Spend More Money

It is sad to see Jimmy shut down this site, but he’s giving us all a few days to snap up copies of these gems before he pulls the plug.

**BEST PART**

The REALLY good news is this:  as part of this “goodbye”, Jimmy is discounting the price of EVERY SR Zone report to only $10 each!  This price reduction may not show up on the site but does show up in the shopping cart.

This 33% price reduction makes these reports affordable for everyone, even  those on a strict budget.  Why not order a copy of  each of them.

I *STRONGLY* recommend you grab a copy of “Homepreneur Habits”.  It’s a 65-page “operations manual”.  In it, Jimmy takes you “behind the scenes” to look at how he runs his own business, complete with photographs of his home office. He tells you what software programs he uses, tools and equipment he uses and even a schedule of tasks he performs.  At only $10, it’s a no-brainer!  EVERY internet marketer should have a copy!

To read through a complete description of each report, click and visit the SR Zone site by clicking the link below:

Also, if you want to read all about WHY Jimmy is retiring ALL of his offers, he has posted all of the details here on his blog …when you read why he is doing this, you will appreciate what he is doing even more.

REMEMBER, you only have a limited time to order any of the small reports that you are interested in.  On February 26, at 10pm the site will be shut down.

Join me with good wishes to Jimmy as he pursues his life mission.

Disclaimer:  This email message contains affiliate links that  provide a small compensation to me should you make a purchase.

Presented by Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.

How do your do that? You find out what your prospects and customers want, you answer their questions, and you solve their problems.  Sound too good to be true?

Drum roll please…the critical success element is…strategic marketing.  You must do whatever marketing is necessary to let people know about your business, products or services.  In the process,  you will provide a reason to buy from you rather than your competitor.

Did you just think “yeah, right,”?  Well, think about this for a minute:  How many successful  hair stylists are there?  How many personal trainers? How many dog groomers?  How many social media consultants?  Get my drift?

Good news: If you are good at what you do, you are passionate about what you do, you have everything you need to succeed.  You just have to strategically out-market your competition.  And, that may just mean you have to put in a little more effort than the next guy.

If you liked this post, subscribe in the RSS feed to get the latest update.   Thanks,

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.

Impeccable is defined as flawless, without error or defect…So what is impeccable communication?

Simple put:  say what you mean; mean what you say.  Sounds easy doesn’t it?

However, it takes attention to your language to be flawless, to actually say what you mean, especially in a world where slang and grammar shortcuts are commonplace.  My best advice is to train yourself to think before you speak or write.  Your words effect your circle of influence – use them strategically.

My friend and colleague, Peter Faur wrote an interesting post this week about the misuse of words on his blog, The Right Point.  The comments made me laugh and made me think about how important it is to be impeccable in all communications.

Leave a comment before you go…thanks.

Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.