I like to review books I read. You can see all of them here. If you’d like me to review you book, contact me.

Marketing Outrageously: How to Increase Your Revenue by Staggering Amounts! is one of the best marketing, wait, it IS the best marketing book I’ve ever read. I could go on and on… Well, just watch the video.

Are Cuban cigars as valuable and “good” if they are no longer hard to get and illegal?

Is a VISA black card as “exclusive” if over 3 million people have the opportunity to get one?

The answer is no to both.

Scarcity is a powerful marketing tactic. Do you use it effectively? You should.

Look around, it’s used all over. How about those TV ads that say they only have 100 items left in stock? Or the online marketer (myself included) who can only hold a few spots left for the special training class.

The fact of the matter is, scarcity is one of the principals that work very well in marketing/sales. It’s a trigger (one of them) that causes consumers to react.

I’ll ask you again? Do you use scarcity? If so, tell us about how you use it in the comments.

The Perfection of Marketing puts you in the room with James Connor, a leading brand expert to hear the exact advice he’s given to over 200 CEOs on the most efficient methods to build their brand and increase marketing ROI. Culminating from 12 years of work, these best practices are battle tested for small and midsized businesses. This practical guide gives you the detailed playbook run by The James Group, a brand strategy and full-service advertising agency in New York City, which has made more money for 95% of their clients. Skillfully written in narrative style, this book is a must have for any CEO who wants to grow a company through marketing. With a summary and key questions at the end of each chapter, The Perfection of Marketing provides a clear path to marketing success.

The Perfection of Marketing

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the psychology of the typical American citizen in this poor economy and trying times. Why? Because I’m a marketing and sales person and it’s my job to understand why people buy things. Plus, it fascinates me.

Why “Shock Jocks” Aren’t Selling Anymore…
You remember Howard Stern right? He quickly became irrelevant when he moved to Sirius satellite radio. Out of sight, out of mind, right? It makes sense. Less listeners = less relevance to the mainstream of which read newspapers, watch television, etc…

But if Howard were to come back today on “free” radio or podcasts… would he be as popular? I argue the answer to that is no. The days of the “shock jock” are gone. For one, there’s too much noise out there in smaller silo’s for him to compete in. And two, it’s clear to me that American’s (all I can speak for) have moved beyond “being shocked” and entered into a different state of media awareness. In other words… I think the Internet made us smart enough to know that shock jocks (or similar types of people) are boring anymore.

When I said The A-list was dead, I believe that applied to people like Howard Stern too.

Look at what Gary Vaynerchuk did to Howard Stern. Gary is dead-on right. Howard Stern is frightened to death about the state of things nowadays. We don’t need him anymore. Watch video below.

Why Snuggies Are Selling?…
You’ve seen the Snuggie right? It’s that half blanker/half backwards robe you put on and lay on your couch in? It’s becoming a huge seller and spurring many creative spoofs and marketing/community campaigns.

But why is it selling? Why are American’s dishing out $19.95 for this product?

I think of a Snuggie as a cocoon. A kind of warm, safe, item that gives me comfort. I can put it on and sit on my couch and watch television and forget about the problems of the world. In today’s economic crisis, that makes sense, no?

What’s the Point Jim?
The point of all this is to understand why people buy, and why they don’t. And more importantly, for you to understand how to position your product/service into the current times as the emotional level of buyers changes over time.

That’s really what selling is all about. Emotion. That’s why we buy at the core level. That’s what excellent marketing invokes in you to make a purchase.

Today I chatted with associate Marty Fahncke, who is a consultant and electronic marketing expert who I’ve known for a few years. We talk about the “web biz” and Marty provides some excellent tips and strategies he uses to be successful for himself and his clients.

One really neat thing is that Marty has been working with famous artist Thomas Kinkade to help him sell his works online.

Our discussion revolves around retail online sales and why people buy or don’t buy. We also talk about how to use social media channels to promote a brand for sales. Lastly, we discuss Twitter some more and how we both use it.

With over 18 years of experience in sales & marketing, Marty has been involved in campaigns responsible for nearly $1 BILLION in revenue. With experience in direct sales, sales management, marketing, product acquisition, infomercials, e-commerce, and international marketing, you are assured of receiving high quality, professional services that will grow your business.

Just got back from vacation in the sun and surf! Wow, look at my non-tan. Hey, I used 50 spf. I don’t like getting burned. Anyway, while I was on vacation I grabbed the USA Today every day and well, it got me thinking about a theory that’s called consistency of quality.

Watch the video for my full explanation, but you get the point already? Brands like the USA Today continue to produce high-quality content, over, and over, and over, and over…

It makes you trust them, and crave them. It makes you comfortable with them. And most importantly, it keeps you buying them. $$$

So do you believe in the power of “FREE”? You should. Free works. All the cliches are true. If you give, you get. Don’t believe it? Here’s a video for you to watch. Tell me free doesn’t pay.

Since launching my free resource site at OnlineVideoToolkit.com…

I’ve been asked to write a book from a major publisher (paid)

Invited to speak at a mastermind event (paid)

Been interviewed to be featured in a major marketing publication that sends out to 400k+ of my peers (was released today, Marketing Sherpa)

Closed several consulting gigs where I help people figure out how to do online videos for ROI

Helped thousands of people figure out how to begin to make web videos

And some other stuff too

ALL because of me being an expert in a niche and giving away this toolkit free. Watch this video.

Click To Play

That was in the last 7 weeks since launch, and more good things are happening every day. You tell me free doesn’t pay.

What can you give away free? Think about it. Free works. Try it.

Quite simply… Obama’s marketing team is kicking McCain’s marketing team’s arse. Don’t think so? Please point me to some huge wins by McCain’s marketing gurus. Now, I’m not getting political here. I’m talking about marketing. Politics is about marketing. Hint of proof: When was the last time one of these candidates talked about some real issues? They don’t.

Why? Because nobody wants to hear about boring issues really. You give the audience what they want to hear. That’s how you market successfully. So Obama’s team strikes yet another blow by announcing the party nomination is going to be an “open event“. Watch the video below where I explain why this is so smart.

A LOT can be learned from watching how smart politician market themselves. Keep your eyes open.

I call it Hero Marketing. When you’re trying to sell to an executive, you have to realize one major thing. That executive makes his/her purchasing decisions on whether or not they’re going to get fired or not. It’s true. Ever hear the old line “Nobody ever got fired for hiring IBM?”. It’s true.

To make sales as a marketer in this arena you have to make your prospect feel like they are going to be hero. That’s the only way you’re going to ensure you get the business, especially if you’re a smaller or up and coming brand in your industry.

You should start a podcast. Why? Because your competitors are starting to do it, and frankly… it’s pretty easy and fun to do. There’s no excuses really.

Look around… Are you going to be the person who waited to do it and be behind the curve a year from now, or will you be the visionary in your industry? The team that “was doing it way before everyone else”. If you don’t believe that audio/video is going to be a HUGE part of the future of th web… well then, don’t start one. You get what I’m saying I hope!

Come back here after starting one, in 6 months, and tell me I was wrong, and I’ll give you $50. Deal?