Lemonade Stand Marketing: Marketing Strategies For Local Businesses

By Mike Antoni on Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010 | No Comments

Yesterday, while walking to the gym by my house I saw an interesting site. 2 small kids (maybe 8 years old) were sitting on the corner of my street with a lemonade stand.

I found it amusing. I remember doing stuff like that when I was a kid. Actually, I sold poems that I wrote and printed out. You could say I was an “Information Marketer” even back then. But here’s where this story gets good.

These kids weren’t selling any lemonade. I mean, nobody was stopping. Cars sped by not even thinking about stopping. To be honest, it was really hard to see these little kids and their tiny lemonade stand. I felt bad for them.

As I got closer to the kids, I heard what sounded like yelling. As I approached, I could hear it clearly now. Both kids were yelling as every car drove past.

“LEMONADE! 50 CENTS! LEMONDADE! 50 CENTS!

I laughed to myself and continued walking on. I found if funny that these little kids were trying so hard to sell lemonade and as a marketer I couldn’t believe their method. Then again, they are just kids.

They were screaming their lungs out as I passed, so of course I had to stop and buy a cup from them. I didn’t drink it, but I didn’t let them see that part.

But here’s what I found so amazing.

The Secret Of Marketing: Don’t Scream And Wait Around For A Customer

These kids were doing what they could to make a sale. They had heart and they really fought. But I can safely say they MAYBE sold 2 or 3 glasses that day. $1.50 isn’t such a bad day for a kid, right? But, that’s when it hit me.

Almost every single local business is doing the same exact thing. Maybe not screaming at passing cars, but with their marketing. Most business owners don’t even advertise. They rely on word of mouth. They HOPE that someone will see their store, and stop in. The ones that do run ads are doing a little better, but most of the time their ads aren’t effective. What’s worse, they don’t know which ads work and which ones don’t.

So, if you own a local business or an internet business (or are thinking about it) then don’t be a kid trying to sell lemonade. Screaming and hoping that someone will stop is ok when you’re 8, but you’re full grown, you need a lot more than hope.

You need to create a plan of action. Don’t be afraid to market to get new customers. And more importantly, continue to market to current customers. Repeat sales are where the profits are. Don’t forget that.

So, get out there and start selling. And if you see a couple kids selling a glass of lemonade, buy a cup.

My Blog Stats 3 Months After Starting This Site

By Mike Antoni on Monday, August 9th, 2010 | 9 Comments

I started this blog back on May 9th, 2010. Since starting it I’ve had 3045 unique visitors. I’ve made thousands of dollars off the blog. . My blog is officially 3 months old today, so I thought it would be a good chance to take a look at my blog and see what things I should keep doing and what things I should change.

I’ve been focusing on sending SOME traffic to this site, but I should say that I have a TON more traffic tricks up my sleeve but I haven’t been using them. This blog has been a sort of test into using only free traffic tactics to see what I can do without spending a dime or a lot of time. Here’s what I’ve done so far in marketing this site.

1) EzineArticles.com

I installed a plugin from Ezinearticles that let’s me submit each blog as an article directly to ezinearticles right from my blog interface. It makes it super easy and you don’t have to deal with going to EzineArticles and doing all that.

On a scale from 1-10, I would give this a rating of 7.

In total, I’ve submitted 13 Articles to EzineArticles.com. This has resulted in 822 page views thus far. My best performing article is one I knew would perform well. It’s called how to make money fast. That article alone accounted for 446 of the 822 views. This is because in the “make money online” internet marketing niche the target market is really out for 3 things:

1) How can I make money online?

2) How can I do it super fast?

3) How can I do it without that much work?

By knowing my target market, I wrote an article I knew would appeal to them. If this blog were my main income source (it’s not), I would write more about this topic because it’s now proven itself.

When it comes to actual results from these ezinearticles page views becoming visits to my site, here’s how it looks:

882 page views – 62 clicks. That’s an overall clickthrough rate of 7%. Not great. I would love for that to be more. This means I need to look back through my article bylines and see which ones are performing the best and use those.

As a result of my article being on EzineArticles my articles have been used in ezine publications 18 times. That’s more traffic, more backlinks, and more exposure. Overall, this has probably been my best traffic source.

2) Forum Marketing

I have been posting regularly in the Warrior Forum. It’s a place where a lot of internet marketers hang out. I’ve had decent results from it. I don’t have exact stats on it, but from what I’ve been watching I’ve probably had about 150 unique visitors from there. It’s not that bad, because I post on there anyway so it’s truly easy.

Also, these people are way more likely to buy my products because they are always in search of new marketing ideas, traffic strategies, or tools to help them in their business. I rank this a 6/10 stars because of the low amount of traffic. But if I posted more on there, I’d get more traffic.

One strategy I do there is to make sure I’m talking in the threads that get a lot of play. I still post in threads that are small, but it doesn’t hurt to stop in a thread that is getting thousands of views.

3) Videos on Youtube.com

Here’s one that I pretty much quit on. I was taking my articles, reading them, and adding the audio to a quick presentation slide. I didn’t track all the clicks from this effort, but I made a total of 221 views off 4 videos.

Looking at it again, this is probably something I should have kept up with. It just didn’t “feel” like it was worth it at the time. I may go back now and add some more videos and keep a close eye on my tracking to see how many visits I get to my blog off it.

My rating here is 5/10 because of the time to make the videos.

4) Facebook Fan Page

Social networking is of course all the rage and I like it. But I’m still not 100% sold on the results of it. I’ve been skeptical of sites like twitter and facebook for direct response style marketing for a while now. I actually taught Twitter at a marketing conference way back in 2007. I may have been one of the first to do that.

But, what I do see the value in, is having a decent amount of fans or followers. Since creating my facebook fan page, I’ve got a total of 121 fans. I haven’t run any ads or anything like that. It’s just been word of mouth and me inviting my facebook friends. When I hit 200 fans, I may turn on some ads and see what happens from there.

Whenever I update my fan page, I can count on 2-3 visitors to show up here to read my latest blog post. Again, these numbers will grow when I expand the number of fans. Apart from traffic, I don’t see a lot more benefit to this besides branding myself. That’s what I use it for. It looks good when people check in on me and see that I have 121 fans.

It’s sort of social proof these days. It’s worth having, even IF there aren’t a ton of sales backing it up. It’s good to have friends either way.

My rating on this is 5/10.

5) Twitter Marketing

I don’t go on Twitter. I set it up to automatically update whenever I update my facebook page. Not my fan page, but my personal facebook. Everytime I update my personal facebook page, I get a follower of two on Twitter.

My experience from Twitter so far has been more of a marketer meet marketer experience. So many marketers are on there trying to “get rich with twitter” that they are sort of feeding on themselves. Most everyone who adds me on twitter has tens of thousands of people they are following and they are just trying to grow their twitter follower list.

I’m sure I could do a lot more with Twitter, but it just hasn’t been my thing.

Rating: 4/10

Funny, as I wrote this, an email just came in with someone who just followed me. Here’s their stats:

4715 followers
1400 tweets
following 4455 people

You can see that no “real” person should be following 4,445 people.

6) Social Bookmarking

This is one that I’ve been a little disappointed in. I expected a lot more traffic from this avenue. I actually bought a program called Bookmarking Demon which costs a decent amount. I think around $97 or so.

It works great, but the issue I’ve seen is not getting much traffic from it. The good news is that it’s giving me a lot of backlinks. After 3 months, I have 243 backlinks pointing to my domain. That’s a decent amount. However, it’s not been enough for me to rank yet for much in the search engines.

I usually stumble my best posts and that results in an immediate surge of about 3-5 visitors. Again, not much, but it can all add up. Right now, my social bookmarking efforts have seemed very manual and very slow. I thought that some of my content would have produced a little better response from people.

The reality is that content is king, but when you have a new blog, sometimes it’s hard to get that content in front of the right people. I’m going to step up my bookmarking efforts though and really make sure I go after some keywords for SEO purposes. I think longterm, my efforts will pay off. At the 6 month point, I expect google to finally trust my site and show me some love.

rating: 3/10 for traffic, 10/10 for backlinks

7) Blog Commenting

Almost forgot this one. This one has actually done well for me. It creates traffic and backlinks at the same time. Whenever I leave a comment on someone else’s blog I can almost always count on 5 visitors from that site. It’s like clockwork. If there was one method I would tell people to focus on, that would be it.

I really think you could see great results over time.

One trick I do is instead of putting my name in the name field, I put my keyword. Some bloggers hate this, so look around and see what’s been approved previously before you do this.

rating: 8/10

Conclusion so far:

So far I’ve been averaging 1,000 unique visitors per month. I’ve added 91 people to my email list directly from this blog. That’s about 1 person a day on average. It’s right on par with the 10% optin rate I’ve seen most blogs get.

I have seen a rise lately though because I added a hover ad that displays an offer to opt-in. With Aweber.com, this is something you can do really easily.

With the stats I have now, I am planning on rolling out some paid ads in the coming weeks. Including some banners that point to certain areas of my blog. I’m also (finally) creating a new squeeze page and a new system.

That has been the ultimate point of this experiment. What kind of results can I get without spending a lot of time (and no money) on a blog where I write down ideas and thoughts about internet marketing. Well, now I know.

I also put my blog right up there with the whole “branding” idea. Having a blog helps my brand. It shows that I’m an expert. When I do consulting with other businesses, it helps them to see some of what I’m doing and thinking. And you can’t put a price tag on that. And, as I already said, soon enough I’ll fall into the good graces of google and the traffic floodgates will open wide.

If you’re up to it, share some of your traffic experiments and results.

UPDATE: You can see part 2 to this post where I answer questions from this blog post. Click here – Blog Stats and Results

Tips For Time Managment

By Mike Antoni on Thursday, May 20th, 2010 | 6 Comments

In this article I want to give you some tips for time management. Now, I’m not a person who LOVES dealing with time management. As a matter of fact, I’m not even what you would call a very “organized” person. So why should you listen to me? Because I was able to discover one secret time management strategy that helped send my business and results through the stratosphere.

Listen closely, because I think this tip is gonna do you a lot of good. The first reality I want you to accept is that we all have the same amount of time in the day. Each of us has 24 hours. That’s it. And no matter how hard we try, we can’t invent more time. The good news is we can make more money, and that in turn lets us get more out of life because we can use other people’s time.

Now here’s my first time management tip:

1) If you don’t have a purpose for your time, someone else will

Simply put, you have to bring order to your time or your boss, your spouse, or a “time stealer” will take your time right from under you. And this goes hand in hand with telling people NO. If you’ve struggled with that, let me ask you this. Have you ever had someone ask you for help with something (like moving furniture – ugh!) and you quickly said no because you would be at work during that time.

That worked because you had a LEGITIMATE reason why you couldn’t be there. You were working. You had a PURPOSE for your time. Of all the time management tips, that might be the most important one in this article.

2) If you are short on time, buy someone elses.

Sadly, many people fall into the first category we talked about. They don’t make good use of their time and they have no purpose for their time. But the flip side is that these people are in a position for you to come in and pay them for their time. I do this a lot with friends or family who aren’t doing anything. I will pay them a few bucks to do tasks that I just don’t have time to do. Or tasks that aren’t worth my time.

This may sound harsh, but it’s reality. If you are a business person and you spend 3-4 hours a month working on your yard, you might not be spending your time right. Unless you ENJOY working on your yard. Hey, some people do. But the real key here is to spend your time wisely and outsource the menial, do the mental.

Let me quote that again:

Outsource the menial, do the mental!

If you follow these simple tips for time management you can go a long way towards achieving the kind of success you crave. And before this article ends, I’ll throw in one more time management tip that I like to use. It has to do with “list making”.

3. Create a list of the top 6 six goals you want to accomplish each day. I call it my “Super Six”:

This doesn’t mean write down 6 impossible goals like stopping world hunger and bringing peace. I’m talking about 6 real “things” you need to accomplish that day. Not easy things you can just scratch off in 10 minutes, but real honest to goodness goals you are trying to get done. They should be work related.

As a matter of fact, you can make a different list for every area of your life if you’d like. (relationships, work, spiritual, etc). But here’s the real key here for this to work. Don’t worry if you don’t finish all 6 goals. That’s ok. Actually that’s probably good because you gave yourself some pretty tough assignments.

So, whatever you didn’t finish the day before, go ahead and move that to the top of your list for the next day. This will keep you focused on the goals at hand. Here’s why this is important. Have you ever had that time of day when you’re staring at your computer thinking that you should be doing something, but you just can’t remember or you’re not sure?

I have, plenty of times. That’s when I just open my Super Six and see what’s on the list. I never lose track of what I’m doing and I easily break down larger projects into bite sized manageable ones. It’s easy to do. As far as keeping track of my Super Six, here’s what I do. I create a text file on my computer and save it as “SuperSix.txt”.

Then I write down the following:

Super Six For Wednesday May 19, 2010 (whatever date it is goes here along with the day)

1) Record Audio For Sales Project
2) Write Blog Post/Submit Article/Submit Video/Update Fan Page
3) Setup A Blog To House The Training Material (get theme from *****)
4) Send out reminder/invite emails to list
5) Call ***** to discuss working with a new vendor
6) Comletely Outline my ******** Marketing System

Then I leave a section for notes below that. I just save “Notes:” and add in stuff as I think of it. This is a big one because by the end of the day I usually can create my Super Six for the next day. This is the most invaluable time management tip I think I’ve ever shared with anyone. This is how I accomplish more in a day than most people get done in a week.

I hope you enjoyed my article and I sincerely hope these tips for time management will serve you well in your business and in your life. Remember, it’s not just about the quantity of what we get done, it’s also about the quality. So always make sure to focus on getting it right instead of just getting it done.

Tips for Time Management Video:

How To Set Goals

By Mike Antoni on Sunday, May 9th, 2010 | 7 Comments

In this article I’m going to tell you EXACTLY
how to structure your goals and goal charts.
This won’t be a long article because I’m going
to be straight forward with you. This is a sure
fire, no BS way of setting goals that actually
works. I’ve seen it work in my own life, and
learned it from my Millionaire Mentor. So
get ready, you’re about to learn for FREE
what most people pay $2000+ for when
they go to “goal setting” conferences
and the like. Here we go!

1. Decide what you want to be, do, or have.

Place no limits on your mind. Anything you can think of, write it down. Cars,
Jets, Helicopters, Boats are all things you may want. You may want to be a
Husband, a Wife, a Mother, a Father, a millionaire, a world class athlete.
Maybe you want to travel the world. Where do you want to go? What
countries would you visit and for how long? Spend a good 20-30
minutes on this, and exhaust your creative mind. When you have a
bout 10 for each category (Be, Do, Have) you can stop. You can
always add more later!

2. Pick 3 from each of the category that most appeal to you.

Here’s an example:

BE – Millionaire, Writer, Public Speaker

DO – Travel, Write a Screenplay, Speak to a group of 25,000

HAVE – BMW, Helicopter, Boat

The more you know about what you want the better. I haven’t
gone into detail here but you’ll want to. What kind of boat,
what kind of car? What color?

3. Create an Image showing your Dreams.

Use magazines to find images of how you want to look in the future, the car you’ll be
driving, the boat you want, the books you want to write, etc. Make a collage of all the
images and post them where you’ll see them everyday. A friend of mine actually
searched for images online and made a collage which he now uses as his desktop
background. Do what works!!

4. Create Deadlines for your Dreams.

Notice that up to this point I haven’t used the term “goals”. I’ve used the
words dreams or wants because until you set a WRITTEN DEADLINE to
accomplish your dreams by, you don’t have goals. Remember that goals
are dreams with a deadline! When setting deadlines I find it’s best to set
goals for 4 different times.

3 Months

6 Months

1 Year

2 Year

So, if you want to write a book, how soon do you want it done? Carry
out the process through those 4 categories. Here’s the example:

3 Months – Find book idea, begin rough draft

6 Months – Working on draft, writing everyday

1 Year – 1st Draft done, edit and prepare for submission

2 Year – Find a Publisher and get published!

Follow this pattern for all your goals, and don’t be afraid to make
changes. Your goals are just as alive as you (they are an extension
of you) and can change at any time. The great part of setting your
goals with the 3 6 1 2 format is that you always stay focused on a
short term goal. When you reach your first short term goal of 3
months, your 6 month goal is now your 3 month goal. When you
reach your 6 month goal, you’re 1 year goal becomes your new 6
month goal. When you reach your 1 year goal, you’re original 2 year
goal is now 1 year away. The process continues on that way, so you
never have to look to far ahead.

5. Create a Statement of your Goals you read to yourself (out loud) everyday.

This is my favorite pastime. I attribute most of what has happened
to me over the last few months to this one single activity. If you do
nothing else then this, you will still see results. Here’s how it works.
Take a notebook and begin writing an “I am” statement. List all your
goals as if they have already happened for you. Mine begins like this:
“I am a thin, healthy, vibrant, and successful man…” I then go into
each area of my life and write down my goals as if they have already
happened. “I am a dynamic, effective, and sought after speaker…”
“I am a published author with a NY Times Bestseller…” Make sure
you load your statement with lots of adjectives. Doing this will
help you see, hear, and feel the goals when you read your statement.
Make it so descriptive that you become immersed in the experience.

I read my statement each morning and each night before bed. This
forces my subconscious mind to figure out ways to make my goals
happen. This “force” is one of the greatest powers on earth. Just last
night I was thinking about a problem I was having in one of my
companies. As I lay in bed, almost asleep I set up and subconsciously
(haha) said aloud the answer to my problem. I didn’t think it, I didn’t
plan it, it just happened. When I told my business partner the idea,
he was blown away and called me a genius! But the real genius happens
when you write down your goals with a deadline because this puts your
mind to work on finding the best way to make what you read a reality.

Why does this happen? Humans have something I called an Incongruence
Complex. Basically, it’s near impossible for people to believe two different
ideas about the same topic. If you believe you’re fat, you’re going to act
like a fat person. If you believe you’re thin, you’ll act thin and make
the appropriate choices. When you spend every morning and every
night saying that you’re thin, wealthy, healthy, etc. you end up forcing
yourself into an incongruity. You can’t be fat and say you’re thin. One of
the two has to change. So either you’ll quit reading your statement or you’ll
lose the weight. You can’t stay too long doing both.

Try it out! Commit to yourself that you’ll read your statement EVERYDAY
for 40 days. 40 days and 40 nights (very biblical huh) you’ll read aloud your
goals and think of ways to make them a reality. I guarantee if you do this for
40 days you’ll find yourself moving closer to those goals than you ever thought possible.

6. Commit to removing negative thoughts.

As soon as you begin doing this your old self will begin attacking. Negative thoughts
will fill your mind at a rapid rate. DO NOT fall for this. This is a trap! If you find
yourself thinking things like “this’ll never work”, “reading my goals is stupid”,
“why am I doing this?”, and other similar thoughts quickly stop the thought and
mentally erase it. It will happen, trust me. You are in a war and your mind is
the land being fought over. Your logic and emotion play a hard battle, so you
must use your logic to overcome the doubt you’ll feel emotionally.

It takes just as much energy to have faith as it does to have doubt. As a matter
of fact, both faith and doubt are 5 letter words. I call them the 5 letters that
change a man’s life. Faith is hope, opportunity, chance, life, determination,
change, belief, etc. Doubt is fear, loss, rejection, control, etc. Choose faith
right now and systematically destroy doubt. This will ensure you success.

7. Start Today!
There’s no time like the present to get started, so if you’ve read this far,
I’ll take that as a sign that you’re ready to begin. Get out that paper and a
notepad and get started! Write it down in your own words with your own
hands, it will help strengthen neural pathways. What are you still reading for? Go do it!!!!

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