March 23, 2018 – In my 30+ years of tracking various businesses and entrepreneurs, I’ve come to realize one common trait among them: the value of NOT putting all your eggs in one basket – that is, diversification. The organizations and individuals that have multiple products and services, at different price points for different customer groups, and sell these products via a wide array of methods that complement each other, usually do very well indeed.
Examples of Diversification
Book Authors… Motivational speakers and personal coaches… The top speakers and coaches in the nation, the elite ones that make $1+ million per year, have lots of content and products. They leverage their speeches (paid or unpaid) into spin-off workshops, seminars, retreats, masterminds, online courses, consulting and other gigs. In addition, most all have a book they wrote (in print and e-book formats) DVDs and CDs, etc.. They have a staff of coaches working for them so they can scale their business. They partner with other speakers and cross-promote to each others’ email lists. This is what makes Tony Robins, Deepak Chopra, and other experts their big incomes, separating themselves from the majority of speakers that earn far less.
Information sellers… Publishers, like us at Marketdata, write multiple industry reports covering many industries. We issue Press releases, create webinars, teleseminars, white papers, short reports, podcasts, online courses, paid teleconferences, do custom research projects and consulting, etc.
Consultants… Consultants who are experts in their field not only do consulting jobs, but may have a book for sale, do paid speeches, and create online courses.
Multiple Income Streams… There’s been a lot of talk lately about developing passive income streams as a hedge against unemployment and downturns. Good advice. If you can have a steady salary at your regular job and supplement it with some income from a website that generates advertising or affiliate income, dividends on stocks, a side gig as a personal coach or consultant, give a few paid speeches, sell some information reports, rent out your email list, drive for Uber, all the better. Many of these online activities can be automated- set it and let it run, earning money 24/7, 365.
Investors… As advised by most reputable financial firms, one should not invest in just one or two companies, but have a mix of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index funds, etc., to avoid getting wiped out when that hot pick of yours goes belly up. Words of wisdom.
Examples of Distribution
OK, so you have all these great products, services and content you’ve developed. So how do you get it out to the world and to prospective buyers? Well, again, don’t have just ONE sales or advertising method. Use a combination of all of these below. Yes, it takes time, but it’s worth it in the end. Many methods are free or low cost.
- Your website
- national Press Releases you distribute via wire services.
- Blog posts
- Facebook & LinkedIn accounts: personal and business
- Direct mail of fliers and brochures to your target audience
- Your email newsletter, email blasts
- Paid cost per click ads on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Bing
- Instagram account
- Your YouTube channel featuring your videos
- Joint venture partners and resellers – people with blogs or websites complementing your expertise, people who will sell your products for a commission.
- Telemarketing
- Giving free speeches in your local community, to obtain leads.
- Ads in newspapers, newsletters and trade journals. (Some ads can be obtained via barter at no charge by swapping your report or services for ad space. This works well with trade associations. We at Marketdata have used barter ads for 30 years.)
- Attend trade shows in your field, make connections.
- Local networking groups and business clubs.
- Announcements in the local newspaper of your presentation, seminar, workshop, or book signing.
Remember the old “marketing rule of 7”? That is, people must see your message in 7 different ways before they can know and trust you, and buy from you. Let’s update that. Today, there are a lot more than 7 methods.
With more ads and content on the Internet than ever, there’s a lot more clutter to cut through and to get noticed. You have to diversify your marketing efforts as much as you diversify your product offerings.
Note: To view ongoing business posts by Marketdata’s President and Research Director, John LaRosa, and to learn about our various market & industry reports, and to obtain free Press Releases, visit marketdataenterprises.com, or email: john@marketdataenterprises.com.