Category Archives: Marketing

Encore! 8 Ways To Make Your Business Stand Out From the Crowd.

In today’s marketplace you’ve got to do more than offer excellent service and product. That’s a given. To separate your small business from all the others offering a similar service you’ve got to be unique and memorable. How do you do that?…Read more.

Encore! The #1Thing You Can Do to Jump Start Your Marketing.

Marketing strategies assume one size fits all. We’re told that we must network, build referrals, provide items of interest to the media, write newsletters, blog, give presentations, and so on.

News Flash! It doesn’t matter if we know what we’re supposed to do if we don’t like doing it. And not tending to marketing tasks that we’re told are critical can make us feel inept. This can quickly spiral into doing nothing at all…Read more.

Encore! Being Relaxed Makes People Spend More Freely.

The  recent issue of  the Journal of Marketing Research  examined the correlation between relaxation and consumer spending. It turns out that all things being equal consumers are more willing to pay higher prices if they feel relaxed…Read more.

Encore! 3 Keys to Creating Trust with Potential Clients.

A key factor in whether potential clients will hire us as personal historians is trust. But how to build trust in an introductory meeting?…Read more.

Encore! Would You Hire Yourself?

Every time we meet potential clients, we have to prove ourselves.  They’re sizing us up and assessing whether we’re the right fit for them.  Here’s a cheeky question. Would you hire yourself?…Read more.

Encore! The Best Advice Ever for a Personal Historian.

If I were able to go back to when I began as a personal historian, what’s the best advice I could give myself? Here’s what I’d say…Read more.

Encore! Are Your Clients Extremely Satisfied With Your Service?

I was in my neighborhood bank today and as I was coming out, I noticed a sign that read We hope your experience with us today was extremely satisfying. I thought it a bit odd. Most of my banking is pretty perfunctory. As long as the ATM doesn’t screw up, I’m pretty delighted. But the sign got me thinking. What would make your personal history service extremely satisfying for clients? Here’s what I think… Read more.

Encore! Attention Introverts! You Can Market Successfully.

A previous article of mine, The Introvert’s 12 Step Plan for Painless Networking, hit a responsive chord among my fellow introverts. This got me thinking that marketing for introverts was a natural follow-up… Read more.

Encore! How to Start and Run a Personal History Business.

I’ve just finished Jennifer Campbell’s recent book  Start and Run a Personal History Business published by Self-Counsel Press. If you’re thinking of making personal histories a business, you owe it to yourself to get this book. Jennifer knows her stuff. She’s been a professional personal historian since 2002 and prior to that had a 25 year career as an editor, writer, and interviewer… Read more.

Encore! How Much Should You Charge for a Speaking Engagement?

One of the questions  I get asked when someone has been invited to give a presentation on personal histories is “How much should I charge?”

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer or formula, but there are some useful guidelines. A colleague of mine and fellow Association of Personal Historians member is Pattie Whitehouse. She has some good suggestions which I’ve summarized below…Read more.