Appendix One
P.U.M.P. Marketing FAQs
Q: Will you explain what social proof means?
A: Social proof is when a customer might ask “Can I phone other customers that purchased this? Can I talk to other people who have worked with you before?”
They want social proof. When you are flying over a city and you’re coming in for a landing, for example outside of L.A., you see a lot of houses with a pool. That is social proof—keeping up with the Jones’s. It is the same in the buying process. People will do what others do.
Q: Do I have to create everything such as articles and e-books, by myself?
A: You don’t have to do the work. You can find something that’s pre-existing and very easily create something related to your product or service that educates the customer. You can find an expert in the area and interview them. An e-book can be made from the transcription of the interview.
Q: I want things to be “perfect” before I get started. What is your advice?
A: Commit to progress, not perfection. Choose one thing. It always sounds simple when you say these things. But it’s just like, “I’m going to write that email today, that one email. I’ll go to bed happy tonight if I get that one email written.”
Sometimes it is the slightest thing. But it’s just like a log jam in the river in the old days where they used to put logs in the river; one log can jam everything up. You really want to release that log jam.
Q: How do you balance between not overstocking and having a ready supply chain?
A: There is no simple answer to the question. The answer is it depends. Generally most people don’t track well enough to know. One answer is to find a manufacturer who has supply and demand and meets your flexible requirements.
The other thing you can do flexibility wise is have different pricing structures and offer discounts to people who are willing to wait. Not everyone wants it overnight.
Q: How do I go about getting the copy out of my computer and into an e-book?
A: There are people online who you can get to do that kind of work at www.Elance.com or www.RentACoder.com or there is software you can get that is e-book authoring software.
Q: Where do you get a list to send your press release?
A: A service like www.PRWeb.com has a list. They have a free service. The difference between the free service and the paid service is the number of places they send it. Almost all press releases today are sent digitally.
Q: If you interview an expert and you’re making an e-book, do you need permission from this person to be quoting them?
A: Yes. But generally speaking, especially academics, they’re born to share. They’re born to serve the world. You get a Release signed. Generally the release says, “We can do whatever we want with this content once we record it.”