Controversy Sells

Yes, there is no doubt about it- where there is controversy - people pay attention!  Just look at the news, for example.  People tune in when there is something going on that will arouse a reaction in them- especially something where everyone is taking sides or there is mass outrage.

The oil spill has everyone wanting to put in their two cents as to what needs to be done, who dropped the ball,  what the right solution is, or who to blame, etc.  The only ones not getting into the fracas are probably the ones who know they were responsible for the problem!

Obviously there will be marketers out there - Goal- make some money off the problems.  There are probably oil spill t-shirts, caps, cups, souvenirs etc.  I'm sure someone could take a tiny bottle (you've seen them with teeny corks) and put some of the beach sludge in them.  People could (and would) probably wear them to show their support for the cleanup- you know- "I picked up my share of sludge" .....   Makes me think "If you make it- they will buy it!" 

I don't subscribe to making money off of other's misery - and there is no doubt that there is much suffering both economic and health wise going on in that region.  So why do some people do it?  What are your feelings on this behavior?

Marketing Your Small Business - 1

I took a short hiatus from my small jewelry business the past month, to give myself time to evaluate if what I have been doing has been effective or not.  Many times we get so caught up in the frantic drive to have our business be successful that we forget why we started the business in the first place.  Sometimes it is necessary to step back and take a hard look at what we are spending our time on and whether or not that is really what we want to be doing.

If I evaluate what it takes to be successful in marketing my business I quickly see that it is really easy to be drawn up by the opportunities that the  internet offers for getting exposure and drawing views.  With twitter, facebook, blogging, seo optimization, etc. it is easy to get so busy keeping up with them all, finding the newest and best sites to join, posting in forums etc. to spend hours each day that we tell ourselves are "productive".  It gets daunting trying to figure out which ones really are! It seems like there is a huge community of internet sellers - targeting other internet sellers as their customers - because who else is at all these places?  I plan to do a series on this blog about marketing opportunities and would love to have your input as to what you think your best venues have been.  Which ways are you finding bring about the best results for your business?