Author Archive | Lawrence

There’s a ferocious killer that halts success more than anything else. This one success killer has ended the hopes and dreams of countless entrepreneurs. No, it’s not the lack of a great idea, inadequate funding or not knowing how to pull it all off. So… What is it?…

It’s waiting to get started. Waiting for the perfect moment. Waiting until everything is just right. Waiting for permission from the marketing Gods to begin building your business.

Waiting has killed more businesses and deprived more entrepreneurs of their fortunes than anything else.

Which is why I propose this: Start now, BEFORE you are ready.

When you come up with a new idea, do you feel like you need to get everything just right before you can get started? Most people do – but the problem is you’ll never get everything just right. You will always find something else that needs doing before you can begin, and so you will never start. Or eventually, one day months from now, you will finally get started only to realize you’ve run out of steam and no longer have an enthusiasm for your venture. It’s too late.

So why not start now? When you wait you get sidetracked and distracted. You listen to feedback from people who tell you it’s a bad idea. You talk yourself out of it. Sometimes you just forget about it completely, and there’s another opportunity lost forever.

Worse still, when you wait someone else can get the jump on you. Realize this – every time you have a great idea, there are other people in the world having that same idea. Do you want to be the first, or do you want to be an “also ran?” Take action and you’ll be a prosperous leader instead of a follower begging for crumbs.

Be impatient. Figure out how to get your idea out there sooner rather than later, even if you’re not ready. Are you writing a book? Give away the first chapters or the first version and ask for feedback. Gather email addresses to let people know when the book is ready. Launch the first version as an inexpensive Kindle book, get more feedback and re-release it as a hardcover. You could have waited until you thought it was perfect and released as a hardcover to start with, but you would have missed out on the buzz you created and the feedback you received to make it even better.

If you wait to start, you’ll go through the entire process of writing and perfecting and publishing the book before you even know if there is a market for it, before you know how it will be received and whether or not people will buy it. By waiting you could spend the next year of your life on a project that yields nothing but frustration. Had you started marketing it immediately, you could have course corrected along the way to create a product the market truly wanted.

No matter what you’re doing, you can start right now. Even the act of starting gives you a momentum that can carry you through to the end. Take the book – with all the feedback you receive along the way, you’ll write a book people love, so now you can start a coaching program based on the book. Should you wait until you get the coaching program just right? No! Start now and perfect it as you go.

One more benefit of starting now – enthusiasm. When are you the most enthusiastic: When you first think of an idea, or 6 months later? When you’ve already experienced some success, or when that idea has been sitting on a shelf? By starting today you immediately make progress and get feedback, thus building your enthusiasm even further. When you work in a vacuum getting ready to start, you lose enthusiasm.

All the greats start now, whether that means writing the business plan now, writing the first chapter now, setting up the website now, getting feedback from social media now, etc.

Whatever your new idea is, start now and in 30 days you will be well on your way to seeing your idea not only begin to come to fruition, but also succeed in dramatic fashion.

Michael was working his Internet information business 60+ hours per week and making good money, but he had no time to enjoy it. The moment he launched a new product he was already knee deep in his next one. He had no sense of direction, only of acting and reacting on little more than impulse and gut instinct. And his gut was now telling him he couldn’t keep this up much longer.

Isabelle was doing virtual training and consulting. A 40 hour week seemed like a vacation since many of her weeks were close to 80 hours. She would even get up at 3 in the morning to coach people in other time zones. It was a constant race to try to keep up, and her health was starting to fail.

Many marketers can relate all too well to Michael and Isabelle. Take a look back over the previous month and ask yourself this question: Are you spending so much time working IN your business that you have no time to work ON your business?

If you’re racing from creating one product to the next, doing one product launch after the next, setting up the next JV and the next website and so forth, you’re probably doing okay financially. Not great, but okay. You’re constantly chasing that next big thing that will earn you enough to give you some breathing room. Even then, you won’t get to lounge long before it’s time to do it all again.

But for right now if you keep going, the money will continue to come in. If you stop, the money will soon stop. Am I right?

In other words, you are your business. You’ve essentially built a job for yourself and that’s not bad. But do you know what’s better? Building a BUSINESS for yourself.

You have some great ideas on the back burner that you KNOW will earn you serious income, but right now you’re so busy working in your business – treating your business like a job – that you can’t possibly start on those ideas. You don’t have the time and you certainly don’t have the energy.

But what if you could work less and earn more, while continuing to provide great value to your customers and clients? What if you could take a step back and start working ON your business for a change? And what if, in the process, you freed up a major portion of your time to pursue activities you love?

It is possible, and here’s how: First, take stock of what you’re doing right now in your day-to-day activities that drain your time and energy. These are things that need to be done, but you’re not that crazy about doing them.

Second, list the things you spend time on that don’t generate income.

Third, list the things you do that take a great amount of time but do generate income.

Fourth – and this applies only if you provide services – what services do you supply one-on-one that could be done for a much larger audience? For example, a coach might work one-on-one, but that same coach could also work with a group.

Fifth, make a list of the things you do within your business that you LOVE doing. Hopefully these are things that also make income.

Now then, your fifth list is what we call your “genius.” These are (hopefully) the things you were born to do. You’re good at them and you love doing them. You’re not going to touch this list, unless it’s to increase the time you spend on these activities.

However, the other three or four lists are about to be torn apart. Go back through these lists and for each item, decide if you’re going to ditch it or delegate it. If it’s not necessary to earn income, then obviously you’re going to ditch it. If it’s important for your business’ income but you don’t like doing it, you’re going to delegate it. Guaranteed there are plenty of people out there who will be better at these tasks than you who will be thrilled for the work. Outsource to someplace like the Philippines to find excellent workers who can perform within your budget.

Now search for ways to leverage your already existing content. For example, if you’ve written ebooks or courses on a topic, can you turn that content into a home study course or webinar series? If you coach one-on-one, can you use the same coaching materials to coach an entire group at once?

Look for ways to take your current content assets and use them for higher and more profitable purposes. If you work with brick and mortar businesses, stop seeing them one-on-one and start giving group trainings to show them what they need done to bring their businesses into the world of search and social media. While talking to 20 business owners one-on-one could take you an entire week, you can talk to twice that number in one afternoon in a classroom setting. Plus you don’t have to worry about closing – those who are interested will be eager to hire you before it’s too late and you’re booked solid.

Bottom Line: Delegate those things that aren’t your genius and leverage your assets so you get far more done in far less time.

You’ll earn more – perhaps exponentially more – and you’ll have more time to enjoy it.

And as a BIG added bonus, when the day comes to sell your business you’ll get a much better price for it, because your business will be far more profitable and not nearly so labor intensive for the new owner.

There is an expression that accurately illustrates the strategy of far too many marketers: “Throw it against the wall and see if it sticks.”

They are continually trying this and that, hopping from one social media venue to another, one method to another, with no real strategy or idea of what they are doing. The result is they enjoy only sporadic success at best, and usually failure.

If this sounds like you, I challenge you to create a marketing strategy for yourself right now. Sit down with pen and paper and write – on one page – your strategy for marketing your product or service. You might not know what the best strategy is, but that’s not even important at this point. Just get something down and then begin following it consistently and persistently.

For example, what method(s) are you going to use to get new prospects? How, where and when are you going to use these methods? What is the first action you want a prospect to take, or what is the first thing you do for that prospect? How do you follow up? And so forth.

When you see something is working, adjust your strategy to do more of that. If something isn’t working, remove it from your strategy. But ALWAYS keep a one page record of your current working strategy and stick to it. When you make a change, make a new page and keep it at your desk or work area.

In my experience having this one page marketing strategy will do a great deal to focus your efforts and reduce your frustration of endlessly spinning your wheels and getting no where. Put it into practice and see how fast you can grow by staying deeply FOCUSED.

You already know that a buyer is generally worth ten times more than a prospect who signs up for a free product. Here’s the best way to continually build a list of buyers without having to buy solo ads or place advertising.

Create a simple product that solves one pressing problem in your niche. This might be a video, audio or ebook – it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that it delivers on exactly what it promises.

Create a simple sales page for the product and price it in the $7 to $12 range, depending on prices in your market. This should be an impulse buy for customers, not something they have to think long and hard about.

Use a program such as Rapid Action Profits or JVZoo to manage affiliates and pay 100% commissions. That’s right, you’re going to pay 100% instant commissions to affiliates because you want to give them maximum incentive to send you traffic. Right now you’re looking to build a list of buyers, and by offering 100% commissions your affiliates are going to be happy to send them to you.

Advertise your affiliate program to your list and via social media.

If you like, add an upsell to the offer that pays you. This way you’ll not only be building a list of buyers – you’ll also be making profit from the start.

Market products to your list to make money, and market your affiliate program to your list to continue to bring in more affiliates. Also, advertise your affiliate program inside the product itself. Some of your best affiliates will first be your customers.

Rinse and repeat. Optimally you want 5 to 10 fairly new products that pay 100% instant commissions to affiliates so that your affiliates always have something they can promote.

Continue to build and nurture your list of affiliates – these are equally important as your customers. Give your affiliates your products for free as you create each one, so they can see what they’ll be offering their customers and continue to use social media to find new affiliates.

This strategy can be launched easily and scaled consistently to develop a 6 or 7 figure business online. You wouldn’t be the first and you won’t be the last to follow this model to build a thriving online business.

There’s a common theory that you’ve got to warm up your list for a few days, or even a few weeks before you try to sell them anything. But if someone came to your website looking for answers and opted into your list – then they are a hot prospect right NOW.

That’s why you should go ahead and make them an offer within the first 7 days. In fact, make them 2 or 3 offers.
Yes, you still need to provide some great content, whether it’s telling captivating stories or giving them hot tips. But at the end of each email be sure to make them an offer they can’t refuse. You may be surprised how many of your prospects become customers in that first week. And as you know, once they buy from you they are far more likely to buy again and again, as long as you continue to make them happy.
But we’re not done yet. In addition to making them offers via email in the first week, you also want to make them an offer IMMEDIATELY.
Let’s say they sign up to get your free report on 10 ways to banish acne. If you’re using single opt-in, they’re now on your list. So instead of sending them to a page that tells them to check their email for their free report, send them to a sales page that tells them the free report will be sent to their email shortly, and in the meantime to checkout the one time fantastic offer you have for them.
Depending on your offer, there’s no reason why you can’t convert 10% or far more of these prospects into IMMEDIATE buyers with this simple technique. And best of all, it’s something you set up once and then you can forget about it, earning yourself a nice little additional income while you continue to grow your list.

No matter how hard you try to prevent it, sooner or later you’ll have prospects land on your 404 error page. When they do, they have a choice – try to find what they were looking for or give up. Care to guess what happens more often? They leave in frustration.

So instead of the usual “Whoops! We’re sorry but what you’re looking for has moved” page, consider customizing your error pages to get these people to do something.

For example, you could give them an option to opt into your list with an offer that is different than your landing page. This can be highly effective. For example…

“Congrats! You just found our secret page where we give away ___. Just tell us where to send it and it’s yours.”

Or you might make them an offer they can’t refuse, such as a great deal on one of your most popular products, or a combination offer for a super low price. Like this…

“Oops! You just landed on our error page, but we’re going to make it up to you. Here’s $xx.xx off of our super hot selling ___.”

For one reason or another, if you have your own website online long enough, you’re going to start getting a stream of people who land on a page of your website that does not exist, and leads them to a 404 error. Plan in advance for this hidden opportunity and you can turn some of strayed visitors into subscribers and customers.

I get a lot of questions about how to build a business online. Here’a some of the top questions and answers to help you get your own online business started and profitable.

Q. I keep hearing that I’ve got to get people to know me, like me and trust me before they’ll buy from me, but how do I do that?

A. You’ve got two choices, and I recommend you do both. First, position yourself as an expert in your field. If you’re not an expert, surround yourself with experts by interviewing them, letting them guest post to your blog and working with them. Second, be generous. Give away great content that instills confidence in your abilities and expertise that builds your reputation. Offer free tele-classes or podcasts, guest post on popular blogs with info-packed posts, and author a book or report.

The better your free content is, the more people will trust you and your content. As an added bonus they’ll also be more likely to share your content with others, thereby helping you to build your reputation and your following.

Q. Is there a way to reach a wider audience while simultaneously delivering more value to my current customers?

A. You might consider lining up some partnerships or joint ventures in your niche. First, make a list of the areas your customers are interested in. You’re not looking for direct competition here, but rather complimentary sub-niches. For example, if you teach how to do Forex with a certain method, your customers will likely be interested in how to trade on Forex with other methods, and even how to invest in other areas besides the Forex market.

Once you make your list of areas, choose an expert in each that you’d like to partner with. Go online to get their contact information and then approach them with a win-win-win reason of why they should partner with you. They should benefit, you should benefit and of course your customers need to benefit as well.

Do something together that you can offer to both your customers and your partner’s customers, whether it’s a free webinar with an offer at the end, or creating a series of videos together, or even creating a new membership with a free introductory period. This will add value to your customers and theirs, as well as expanding your reach to a wider audience.

Q. I’m just a newbie in my niche – how do I approach the “big dogs” and get their attention so they’ll partner with me?

A. Two words – help them. Comment on their posts, share their stuff through social media, ask if you can re-post their work to your blog, etc. Find a way to be of service to them so that you can get on their radar and start building a relationship for the long haul.

Note that the bigger the person you’re targeting (IE: The larger their following and the greater their influence in your market) the longer it’s going to take to attract their attention as someone they might want to work with. It’s recommended that you begin by targeting more accessible people and work your way up to the giants of your industry.

Also, consider writing a book, devoting one chapter to each “big dog” you are targeting. In this manner you can make friends with these players, and some of them will actually end up promoting your book to their audience.

Q. I keep hearing that I need to “have a story” to share with prospects. What does this mean?

A. In a marketing context, ‘your story’ is what led to you doing what you do today. For example, someone who teaches basketball techniques may have been a lousy basketball player themselves until they learned and mastered certain fundamentals and techniques that caused them to become an all star player. In a nutshell, that’s their story. Of course they’re going to want to embellish with details, such as how rotten they felt when they got laughed at for missing the easiest of shots.

The purpose of having your own story and sharing it with your readers is to make a connection. Someone having trouble making the junior varsity basketball team wants to know you went through some of the same trials and tribulations they are experiencing. This bonds them to you and causes them to be far more receptive to your message. Remember, “birds of a feather flock together.” Once they realize you’ve been through the same struggles they’re currently going through, and that you not only persevered but overcame, they’ll want to know exactly how you did it.

Q. But isn’t that manipulating them?

A. Not at all. You are showing that you have indeed walked in their shoes, experienced their problems and found a solution that works.

I heard a story once that illustrates this beautifully. Imagine you’re in a foreign country and you don’t speak the language. For days you’ve been struggling to understand and be understood. Then all of a sudden someone says hello to you in your language, and asks how you are. How would you react? No doubt you’d rush up to that person and start talking, feeling that you finally are making a connection with someone. Imagine the relief you would feel, finally being able to communicate, to understand and most of all to be understood.

Telling your story does the same thing – it creates a bonding connection that let’s the prospect know that you understand what they’re going through because you’ve experienced the same problems they have.

Q. If I want to create a product or success system based upon my own personal experiences, how do I go about that?

A. If you’ve become really successful at something, you have a ready-made product you can sell to others who want to master that same skill. Here’s how to get it into product form: Recall where you were at the beginning of your success. What was the first thing you did? The second? Write down everything that you did and put it into step-by-step form.

Now you’ve got the ___ number of steps to accomplishing ___. Name it something appropriate, get the domain for that name and start marketing it. You could do it as an ebook or audio/video course, or you could offer it as a series of webinars or even one-on-one coaching. Each step will represent one chapter in your book, or one webinar, or one coaching session.

HOT TIP: You can use this exact same process to partner with anyone who’s mastered a skill others want to learn. Interview them extensively to discover exactly how they reached their success and then create the product based on the interviews. Split the profits with the expert and rinse and repeat with more experts or the same expert and different topics.

Q. I have a friend and fellow marketer who’s continually writing posts for other people’s blogs. I think she’s foolish because she’s giving away her valuable info on other blogs instead of using it on her own to boost her standing in the search engines. She says it’s worth it because she’s getting new prospects through her guest posts. Who’s right?

A. You both are correct, to a degree. While it’s true that placing her best content on her own blog may help to get her site ranking in the search engines, SEO is always a gamble. On the other hand, guest posting on popular blogs practically guarantees exposure to new prospects as well as new alliances with the blog owners.

When your friend guest posts, she’s hopefully targeting blogs that already receive plenty of traffic interested in her particular niche. This will help her to gain exposure to new audiences and get her endorsed by leaders in her field (the blog owners).

Q. I’ve contacted blog owners about being a guest blogger for them, but because I’m new in the niche I don’t get much response. What can I do?

A. Begin by posting repeatedly in their comments section. Join in the conversation, add relevant comments, ask good questions and answer other people’s questions. Hyperlink your name to your website to get new visitors (this is automatic when you fill out the comment form – just be sure to fill out the website URL box as well as your name, and your name will become a hyperlink to your URL.)

Use a catchy, memorable photo on all of your posts. Register your email address along with your photo at: en.gravatar.com

By taking part in the community, the blog owner will likely notice you and will be far more receptive next time you offer to do a blog post. In addition, visitors to the blog will also begin to recognize you and visit your blog as well.

Q. I write a newsletter, but lately I get the feeling that no one is reading it. What am I doing wrong?

A. You may need to get back in touch with your market to find out what it is they want to know. Go to forums and watch social media to find out what they’re talking about and especially what they’re asking. Ideally you should he answering their questions and helping to solve their problems, because when you do that they will read every word of your newsletter.

Q. I HATE writing headlines and subject lines, and I don’t like using headline templates. Any ideas?

A. Interestingly enough, your best headline is often buried inside your copy or your email. You already know all the best selling points about your product, how best to present it, who your target market is, and how to craft the best call to action. So forget the headline, write your copy or email, and then go back and reread what you just wrote. Often times you’ll find your jewel of a headline right there inside your copy, just waiting for you to pluck it out and place it at the top.

Picture this. A stern looking executive stares out at you from the page in the magazine…

The body of the ad reads:
“I don’t know who you are.”
“I don’t know your company.”
“I don’t know your company’s product.”
“I don’t know what your company stands for.”
“I don’t know your company’s customers.”
“I don’t know your company’s record.”
“I don’t know your company’s reputation.”
“Now, what was it you wanted to sell me?”

That ad first ran in Businessweek Magazine in 1958. As far as I know, the ad still runs. The photo has been updated several times and the copy has been translated into German, Italian, French, Russian and Chinese. But the words never change because they are as true today as they were 55 years ago.

In fact, here’s a live version of both the 1958 ad and the same ad if it were to incorporate the Internet and social media:

The message is clear, universal and timeless: If your prospective customers don’t know you, then you’ve got some tough work ahead of you to get the sale.

And by the way if you happen to sell marketing services, I’ve just handed you the perfect sales tool on a platter.

Imagine you create a proposal for ABC Business down the street to handle all of their online marketing. You make a fantastic presentation showing how you’ll update their website, get it SEO friendly, use social media, advertising and press releases and so forth to bring business in the door. It’s your usual offer and it’s dynamite.

At the end of your brilliant presentation your potential client stammers a bit and then finally says to you, “I don’t get it. Why do I need to spend so much money on marketing and advertising? Wouldn’t I be better off spending the money on my sales force knocking on doors and making phone calls?”

To which you say, “Let me show you something.” And you show them this advertisement and wait and see what happens next. Don’t say a word, just smile gently and patiently wait while they read it once, twice, maybe even three times before they speak. Odds are their very next words will be, “Okay, I get it now.”

But what about you? Do your prospects know who you are and what your brand stands for? If not, consider starting a blog. Blogging is one of the best ways to get your name out there and to show people exactly who you are, what your product is, who your customers are, your record and reputation – all of it.

If you already have a brand but not a blog, then build your blog around your brand. If you don’t have either, then brand your blog. Either way, use social media to drive traffic back to your blog where your prospective customers can get to know you and your business, and you’ll never be faced by the stern guy in the chair again demanding to know who you are and what you’re trying to sell to them.

But it all starts at the beginning – letting your prospect know that you are indeed the one who can help them before you ever begin to ask for the sale.

Don’t be alarmed, but right now I want to shake you by the shoulders and slap you silly… Because I suspect you’re fast asleep at the wheel of life.

Well I have news for you, and I’m sure you’ve heard it before but maybe, just maybe this is the time when you finally sit up and take notice and start making some real changes in your life, because…

Life Is Too @#$Z&% Short!

Remember when you were a child and you believed life just goes on and on and on?

And now here it is, barely a few minutes later (or so it seems) and you discover that a major chunk of your life is now forever gone.

What the heck happened to it??? Did you blow it like someone blowing money on the horses? Or did you make the most of every moment?

There are millions of people who struggle just to make it through the day. They’re in jobs they hate, lives they don’t like doing things that hold no interest for them. And yet the clock ticks for them as it does for the rare person who is completely happy and content doing what they love to do.

Doberman Dan wrote something that fascinated me. I don’t know where he got these numbers, but they’re enough to shake awake anyone slumbering through life:

You’ve got 78 years on this earth, statistically speaking.

You spend 1/3 of that time sleeping so that leaves you with 49 and 11 months of “awake” years.

Subtract hours in school and that leaves you with 46 years and 4 months of your life remaining.

Subtract 91,000 hours on a job and you’ve got 35 years and 11 months remaining.

Subtract time driving, running errands, brushing your teeth, etc., and you’re now down to 32 years and two months.

Subtract eating, drinking, shopping, etc., and you’ve got 25 years and 10 months left.

Subtract chores and you’re down to 20 years and 1 month.

Subtract taking care of children and family, along with watching TV, playing video games and wasting time on the Internet and you’re now down to 9 years and 6 months of your life remaining.

78 years on this planet (if you’re lucky) and only 9 of them are yours.

See what I mean? Life is too @#$Z&% short.

Life is too short to let fear rule. Open your mind, arms and heart to new things and people. Take a chance, push through fear, let go of guilt, break down your goals to achievable steps and get moving TODAY.

Life is too short to be unhealthy. Get moving and get active and stop eating crap food, especially if you want to make it to 78+ and enjoy the journey.

Life is too short to be full of regrets, just as it’s too short to dream about your ‘glory days.’ You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.

Life is too short to be a slob. If you’re disorganized then you’re wasting time looking for things and wasting more time not doing the things you want to be doing.

Life is too short to be negative. Yes, occasionally negativity seeps in. But when negativity rears its ugly head you’ve got to beat it back with everything you’ve got, and never under any circumstance do you invite it in or ask it to make itself at home.

Life is too short to deal with or even think about rotten people. Are you worried about what that nasty person said about you? Why????? Life is too short to stress yourself with people who don’t even deserve to be an issue in your life.

Life is too short to keep up with the neighbors. Do you care how many new cars or televisions they have? I can’t think of anything more irrelevant than what the neighbor blew money on today.

Life is too short to be in a job you hate. If you’ve never had a job you hated, all the words in the world couldn’t explain this to you. But for the other 95% of people who know what I’m talking about, no explanation is necessary.

Life is too short to be poor. Yes, you might start out poor and that certainly isn’t your fault. But there comes a time when your finances are exactly what you make of them. There is nothing noble about being poor – it’s like having a ball and chain around your throat that stops you from living the life you want and instead wraps you in layers of stress and anxiety. If you don’t have the money you want, then get busy and make it. And yes, I do believe Internet Marketing is still hands down and bar none the best way a person can go from poverty to wealth in a relatively short amount of time (2 to 10 years.)

You and I and every single person we love is terminal – it’s just a matter of time. And every day we have a little bit less of that.

I’ll let the quote master Mark Twain have the last words…

“Life is short, Break the rules.
Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY.
Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably.
And never regret ANYTHING
That makes you smile.”
– Mark Twain

Why do some brands succeed beyond all reasonable expectation, while other brands that are just as good or even better wind up failing within a few months? How is it that an Oprah becomes an icon, while dozens of other talk show hosts quickly fall into oblivion? Why do brands like Nike inspire fierce loyalty while other brands struggle to get attention?

In the book Primal Branding, Patrick Hanlon explains his theory for “Creating zealots for your brand, your company and your future.” He explains how the powerful brands become that way by carefully (and sometimes accidentally) creating a community of believers by employing seven different marketing tactics. All seven of these components are found behind every super-successful brand, product, service, personality, social cause, religion or movement.

Imagine if your product inspired the same level of loyalty that Apple, Disney and Starbucks receive from their customers. Now imagine you can actually engineer that loyalty right into your brand – it makes your head spin a bit, doesn’t it?

According to Patrick, these are the 7 key ingredients that you or your product, service or brand must have to inspire zealous loyalty.

The Creation Story – This is the back story that sets the stage. Think of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak working out of a garage building the first personal computer, Jeff Bezos writing Amazon’s business plan in the backseat of his car, or pharmacist Dr. John Pemberton concocting Coca-Cola.

You need a back story for your product, service or business. This might be how you got the idea, your struggle to solve a problem, your inspiration, etc. Storytelling is as old as language itself and touches people on a very deep, primal level. Do you want to foster a real, unifying connection on a subconscious level with your prospect? Then you need a story.

The Creed – This is what you believe in, your core principle, your mission statement. A creed differentiates and motivates. According to Sidney Pollack, “It’s the spine that supports the entire enterprise.” See if you can recognize these creeds:

“It’s the real thing”
“Save the whales”
“All men are created equal”
“Just do it”

So what’s your creed? Invest some time to get this right. And if you have more than one product and the products are wildly different, know that you’ll want a different creed for each one. For example, you won’t have the same creed for an info product on traffic generation as an info product on building your abs.

The Icons – These are best defined as a quick concentration of meaning. This could be a logo like the Nike swoosh, the smell of Cinnabons in the mall, a country’s flag, a national anthem, Alice Cooper’s eye make-up, Kiss’s face make-up, the Budweiser Clydesdales, Disney’s castle as well as Disney’s 2 black mouse ears, McDonald’s arches, the 2 notes Law and Order plays just before the show appears, the opening music to any television show or the 5 signature notes of Intel.

Choose your icon carefully, and then use it in all of your marketing. Update it when needed, being careful not to lose it in the process. It should always be instantly recognizable and tightly tied to your brand.

The Rituals – This is how our customers interact with your product and service, and how you interact with them. This one is a little harder to define and illustrate. We have rituals for everything we do on a frequent basis, including brushing our teeth, doing laundry, driving our car and checking our email. The key here is to focus on improving the experience the customer has with your product or brand. How can you raise the experience to a higher level? How can you make it more enjoyable, or even something they look forward to? How can you take the stress out and put the fun in?

What can you do to make the ritual of discovering, buying and using your product more enjoyable – so enjoyable, in fact, that people will talk about you and your product?

The Pagans, or Nonbelievers – These are best defined as “those other guys.” Us against them. Apple vs P.C. and Internet Explorer vs Firefox vs Chrome. One political party vs their opposition. One sports team vs their rival. Nothing unites a group faster than having a common ‘enemy.’ 7up declared itself the “un-cola.” Taco Bell tells you to “think outside the bun.”

Defining your pagans is important in defining who you are. Do you teach methods of getting free traffic? Then paid traffic methods are your pagans. Do you show people how to eat only clean, healthy foods? Then pseudo foods, pseudo food manufacturers and people who eat pseudo foods are your pagans.

The Sacred Words – Words specific and exclusive to your own product, service or brand. Walt Disney has ‘Mickey Mouse,’ ‘Goofy’ and ‘Donald Duck.’ Starbucks has a ‘grande.’ Dr. Seuss invented an entire world of sacred words. Apple has “think different.” Texters have their own sacred language. Information product creators and authors create their own terms to define what they’re teaching. By creating your own sacred words, your fans and followers are on the inside of the secret circle with their own language. It’s a cohesive, insider’s-only knowledge that brings a group together.

Think of a young couple in love – they develop their own language that is indecipherable to anyone else, and in this way they become 2 against the world. You can replicate this with your own sacred words, so don’t be afraid to get creative – your customers will love you for it.

The Leader – This person is the catalyst, the risk taker, the visionary, the iconoclast who set out against all odds to achieve something. Think Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Oprah, Gandhi, Richard Branson, Nelson Mandela and others who have led movements, companies and causes.

The leader could be the founder or it could be someone who takes their place functionally or symbolically. This means if you don’t want to be the leader, you can choose someone else, like a spokesperson for your brand.

Does all of this sound like too much work just to sell a product? Perhaps it is if you’re thinking small. If your goal is to sell a few hundred copies of something and move on, then you don’t need these 7 steps. But if you want to create something that takes on a life of its own and grows exponentially, then adhering to every one of these 7 pieces of the Primal Code is essential.

We talk about making a video or an idea or a product go viral. How does that happen? Is it an accident, or is it because that product or idea meets every one of these 7 criteria? Spend some time looking at the famous people and especially popular brands, and see if they don’t use all 7 of these in their marketing.

Look at it this way – if you could create a brand that grows like a religion, wouldn’t you want to? Imagine the people you can help, the alliances you can forge, and the profits you can make.