Today our focus is on the basic human need for peace of mind and permanence. And that need is expressed through the branding and marketing of the legendary Café du Monde, “the original French Quarter coffee stand since 1862.”

Everything about Café du Monde speaks of history and tradition.

They’ve been around for over 150 years serving the same coffee and the same beignets. They’re proud of their heritage and people come because they know exactly what to expect.

In a world of rapid change, we find peace of mind in institutions that give us the permanence and stability that we don’t have in our lives. There’s something oddly comforting about sitting in Café du Monde sipping a café au lait, knowing that millions of people have done the same thing before me and millions more will do the same thing after me.

Café du Monde evokes that nostalgia for the past, for simpler times and for days gone by. If you visit their website, the second button right after HOME is HISTORY.

And this kind of emotional appeal to peace of mind and permanence is most common in established luxury brands that provide non-essential services – things like restaurants, clothing, and alcohol.

This kind of emotional appeal can also work for older, more established businesses that have gotten results for their clients year after year.

If you have a more conservative or risk-adverse audience, then this emotional need can be a powerful marketing angle for you.

Read More…

Tweet

This post is about strategic planning — but not the boring kind, not the boardroom kind, and not the kind you do on January 1st and then forget about the rest of the year.

But the idiosyncratic process I use to periodically rip my business apart and put it back together again.

I do this at least once a year, and every time I do it my business DOUBLES.

Click through to the post where I give you my 5-step process for creating the business you see in your mind’s eye, the process that will help you take your vision from inspiration into real income and a real business.

Read More…

Tweet

It’s Day 19 of the 30 Day Video Challenge and I find myself expressing thoughts and sharing sides of myself that I wouldn’t normally show publicly….

But here we go.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about home and what I want in a home… Murray and I spent the last two years together traveling the world and we’ve been completely location-independent since October 2012. We made this choice partly because we love to travel and partly because Murray has to spend as much time out of the country as he can spend in the country…

So over the last 7 months we’ve lived in Thailand, Bali, Los Angeles, Phoenix and New Orleans.

Come August we’re getting married… and we won’t have any restrictions on being in the country or out of the country…

And that’s let us think about finally having a home base together… somewhere to launch from…

And we’re trying to figure out where we want that place to be. What’s meaningful to us — everything from sun to food to people…

So I thought I’d put it out there and see where you live and why you choose it… get some thoughts and inspiration as we figure out, “Where to next?”

Read More…

Tweet

After one of my students asked me “When choosing what topics to blog about, do you consider what your peers are blogging about or what inspires you?,” I typed “what to blog about” into the Google Keyword tool and discovered that over 20 million people/month are searching for this phrase in the United States alone…

Blogging has become a part of doing business and even a part of living in the year 2013.

But so many people get hung up on what to say, so they stop before they’ve really gotten started.

There’s nothing worse than staring at a blank screen. And nothing more fulfilling than firing up your computer and having that blog post flow right out of you because you know exactly what to write about — or exactly what to say when you push record on that video camera.

In this video, I let you know the 3 key considerations for figuring out that content marketing strategy:

1. What you want to become known for
2. What topics relate to the products and services you’re offering
3. What your target audience wants to know and may even be searching for.

Read More…

Tweet

In this video, I focus on how to create 3-point lighting using lamps and light sources you already have laying around the house.

3-point lighting is THE standard when it comes to lighting for video, photography and other visual media. It’s a super simple, no fuss, tried-and-true solution that always looks good.

I shot this video on the road and i didn’t have access to my fancy softboxes and umbrella lights, so I simply used the lamps I found in our house rental plus our overhead lights. It really can be that easy. You don’t have to buy anything to make this solution work for you.

Read More…

Tweet

In this video, I answer your question: “I’m struggling with making 2-3 minute videos. One question I have is, how to talk in a video — e.g. ad libbing, working off a script or notes — how do you remember what you’re saying and what to say next and what you already said??”

In other words, how do you structure content on video?

It’s super easy to hit record, start mumbling and lose your audience immediately if you don’t think through what you want to say before you begin.

The easiest formula I know for quickly creating short video content is to simply identify the main topic or point you want to make in your video, then brainstorm 3-5 supporting points, and a call to action.

If you open your video powerfully by letting your audience know exactly what to expect and why they should keep watching (i.e. your main point), then address your points in order, then summarize what you taught them, and leave them with some kind of call to action (to get started, to leave a comment, to subscribe to your channel) — you’ve got the makings of a great video.

Read More…

Tweet

It was the weirdest thing.

The day I worked up the courage to step in front of the camera, my business changed.

All of a sudden — I felt different to my tribe. They could connect with me, look into my eyes, and feel what kind of person I really was.

They started engaging with me and buying from at levels I couldn’t imagine before.

And when I sent out an invitation last month inviting them to join me in a 30 Day Video Challenge, they responded in droves.

This one simple invitation got 464 likes and 69 tweets without any advertising. And, best of all, 297 people joined our Facebook group and committed doing the Challenge with me.

At that moment, I realized without a shadow of a doubt that Video is the Future of Marketing.

I believe in this so much that I’ve gathered the top 10 Superheroes of Video Marketing for a FREE 10-Day Summit starting May 13.

If learning the tricks to driving traffic, forming relationships, and making serious bucks in your business with video is something you’re interested in, then claim your free pass here:

http://www.videosuperherosummit.com/

Read More…

Tweet

It takes 30 days to form a new habit — whether that’s exercise, meditation or making videos…

The 30 Day Video Challenge is all about getting comfortable in front of the camera and turning video marketing into a habit in your business. So you feel confident enough to record yourself anytime and anywhere — whether you’re launching a new product or simply want to share an idea or message.

Success Magazine editor, Darren Hardy, wrote a book called “The Compound Book” which is all about the power of forming habits and making conscious decisions…. in this book, Darren shows how the small actions and decisions you make on a daily basis add up to huge results.

Simply by changing how you spend 15 minutes a day will add up to over 90 hours a year. Instead of watching TV or surfing Facebook or flipping through the pages of your favorite guilty pleasure magazine, what if you spent that time watching training videos or reading books related to your industry?

In this video, I talk about the systems and habits I’ve put in place in my business to keep me moving forward regardless of how I’m feeling.

Read More…

Tweet