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This is the second in a series about Nido Qubein and his book, Stairway to Success.

After writing the first post about Nido Qubein and one of his books, I thought I would take a minute and explain why I am even talking about this to begin with, and why here on a marketing blog.

Boiled down and condensed, Nido Qubein says we are our greatest marketing tool. There is nothing in the world that can replace what each of us knows on any given subject or topic. If you were to put me in a room full of sports enthusiasts, I would be pretty lost. I wouldn’t feel the need to run and hide, but I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the stats, players, teams, so on and so on. But, if you were to put me in a room with economists and monetary theorists I could hold my own.

The greatest thing we as individuals can do is find the things we can do and love and develop those talents to be the best they can be. I didn’t take any marketing classes in high school or college. I didn’t learn theory on marketing and how to persuade people to buy things. I instead picked up some books and started reading from some of the best marketers around. I started following blogs, learned about web marketing and permission based marketing.

What I came to realize is that if I had taken some of those classes and had been taught those more “traditional marketing techniques,” that experience probably would have skewed my perception on marketing. Instead of reading about people in turkey costumes being targets of water balloons, you would be reading about proper banner sizes for your store and approachable vs. unapproachable color combinations.

The main message Nido Qubein is hitting hard at in his book is that each of us has a choice. That choice is the ability to determine our future, our success, our wealth and much more. According to William Jennings Bryan, “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

Creating a Vision

“Many people go through life unaware that this creative power lies within them. Yet we all have it. You can create the future you want. It’s all a matter of forming a vision, committing yourself to that vision and acting in harmony with the vision.” - Nido Qubein

Here we come back to having that choice again in how we are going to be 2 or 3 years from now. First we have to choose what our life, business, physique or emotional status is going to be. Then you break down those goals into smaller, more manageable pieces. When all of this is done with the commitment of the head and heart it is much more likely to stick around than your last New Year’s resolution.

Crossing your own Rubicon

“Crossing the Rubicon” is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. It refers to Caesar’s 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. -Wikipedia

I am not saying that you have to start war with anything, but I think the point Nido is trying to make is there needs to be a catalyst. It’s like an alcoholic making the commitment of sobriety after hitting rock bottom, or a morbidly obese person starting recovery after being told life will be cut short otherwise. The event has to be significant and memorable to the effect of when things are tough you can look back to where you have come from since then as a source of encouragement. For me this was when I quit my traditional day job around Christmas of 2007 (almost been a year, WOW!).

I made the choice back then that I would no longer let others determine my fate, but I would pursue the things I enjoyed and learn those things to the best of my ability. I can tell you it was worth every bit of it and I would never take back that choice. I did have my doubts from time to time and ups and downs like anything else, but this is true anywhere and under any circumstance.

To be continued…

You can find the first in the Nido Qubein series part 1 here and part 3 shortly.

This is a guest post by Lindsay Stordahl. Lindsay is the author of That Mutt a Dog Blog and the owner of Run That Mutt a dog running service out of Fargo, ND. She also happens to be my girlfriend. I hope you enjoy.

I work with dogs almost every day, and I see several others in passing. It’s so common for dogs to be out of control that most people expect dogs to bark, jump, pull and never sit still. I really notice when a dog is calm, responsive and under control. I’m trying to make a point to compliment these dog owners on their dogs because they are rare. And trust me, these dogs aren’t naturally well behaved, their owners have worked with them. I can tell a lot about a person by looking at his or her dog.

But along with “rude” dogs, lately I’ve noticed the same with people. I’m talking about professionals who work in customer service and do not deal well with people. I wish I had kept track of all the managers, bankers, customer service representatives and receptionists who were impolite, impatient and uninterested in me as a customer in the last two weeks. I don’t see why it’s so hard to be polite to an average customer. After all, I am probably paying them for their service.

I realize the majority of people hate their jobs nowadays, but you’d think employers would set higher standards for their employees and really be on top of how the customers are treated. After all, nothing sells a product or service better than word of mouth from satisfied clients. Treating customers and potential customers well is probably still the best marketing tool out there.

It’s so rare to deal with a customer service representative who genuinely cares about me that when it does happen, I really remember that person and their business. I’ve been making a point to genuinely thank them and of course continue using what they have to offer.

I try to show appreciation for readers of my blog by offering the best information I can, visiting and commenting on all of their blogs, giving opportunities for feedback and giving away free stuff. I know I could do more.

If you are a blogger, think about what it feels like when you contribute genuinely decent comments to someone’s post and then you never hear from him or her. That person didn’t even bother to acknowledge your comment. Are you going to visit that blog again? Maybe, but you might think twice before leaving another comment. What about the blogger who does acknowledge your comment?

Remember to keep your customers in mind. After all, where would you be without them? Have you had a recent bad expierence with someone in customer relations? Have you gone out of your way to make someone known lately?

These are the responses to the first Ask Josh round of questions. I opened up the floor for people to ask whatever they felt like asking. I don’t think there will be any perfect answers, but you asked for my opinion, so I’m giving it ;). Here we go:

BigPappa asks: What it the air speed velocity of an unladen African Swallow? There has been significant discussion but I don’t remember an answer being reached.

Josh: 10 meters per second. Thank you for providing the answer in a follow-up comment http://www.style.org/unladenswallow/.

Sherry asks: Just a question, are you wearing the hat always?

Josh: Sort answer is Yes, I usually wear a hat.

chris asks: I’m tossing up whether to personalize my blog about employment issues, or leave as an anonymous site (which it currently is). So I wanted to ask what difference it makes, marketing wise, on having a personal ‘this is me’ blog vs. an anonymous blog.

Josh: I would personalize the blog. Personalizing helps to enable discussion and communication from visitors. When a site or page is anonymous, it is perceived as a static website. The element of a real-life human being behind the helm goes a long way. People like to relate to a real person.

What type of ‘low cost’ ways can I compete with likes of Monster.com on marketing? Or should I not try?

Josh: From what I can tell looking from at your site, the best angle to go about helping people with their resumes would be to personally ensure success with your service. I like the testimonials and think there should be more of them throughout the blog. If you can guarantee and deliver the promise of the best personal resume service out there, people will naturally talk about it. The lowest cost way to promote your service is to make it the best service possible. As demand grows, so can your pricing structure. Maybe throw in a simple resume editing service or a two-tied slow / fast service.

Metroknow asks: Hey there Josh, my apologies if you’ve answered this before, but I was curious about your thoughts on the benefits of Entrecard. I still use it a little, but I have felt that the time trade off to build credits is not worth the return (very few clickthroughs, for example). What are your thoughts on Entrecard?

Josh: Personally, I see value in Entrecard (EC) or else I would have removed it from my blog. I think you can get out what you put into it at the cost of time. I rarely drop Entrecards anymore because I do not have the time. I do keep EC because I do get a trickle of visitors, comments and subscribers from it. I don’t recommend spending time dropping cards. Spend that 20-40 minutes a day building better content, making comments, building links to your blog and whatever it takes to increase your exposure. Dropping cards on people so they will drop cards back won’t help increase your readership or make more money. But putting the widget into your blog and leaving it there doesn’t cost a thing.

Susie Kleiner asks: As an “unconventional marketer” what are your thoughts on exhibiting at trade shows? With many companies cutting back their marketing budgets, do you feel this is area will be affected or do you foresee people continuing to push product/service through trade show marketing?

Josh: I think trade shows are invaluable simply because of the networking factor. I do believe these shows will and are taking a big hit right now with current economic circumstances. I believe people will start to get more creative with how they market at trade shows. Just this year there were numerous non-tech businesses at the Blog World Expo in Las Vegas. They went there because they knew that is where the talkers are. Believe it or not, bloggers talked about them, go figure.

A new marketing idea that some are starting to run are free workshops. Free workshops aren’t new. But running them for the sole purpose of helping others in order to get them to use your services is a new idea. What if people started opening up free courses on starting a business blog? Do you think businesses would show up? Do you think they might solicit your services after realizing it is something they need but don’t have the capacity to see through? I think so.

Matt Urdan asks: What’s the best way to monetize your blog without it becoming overrun with ad banners with designs you can’t control?

Josh: Use your blog to promote yourself and establish yourself as an authority on a subject. Unless you are receiving 300+ unique visitors a day, I wouldn’t mess with ads. They will only dilute your message. Selling unadvertised paid reviews or links can be another way to monetize your blog. I think having something people want and using your blog to promote that is the best way to monetize it.

You can create a thousand different sites that will produce good income all on their own. If your blog is your flagship site, I would leave it alone and use it as a funnel to recommend products or services to others occasionally but more as a free and open resource tool. The better idea would be if the products or services you recommend were your own.

Matt Richling asks: I see at the bottom of your blog, on the right side, you have some quick monthly goals. I was wondering what some of your more long term goals for the blog are? Or maybe your vision for where you see your blog in the future!?

I started posting goals on my blog about the second month into blogging. I thought they would be a great way to track progress and forward movement. I don’t give them too much thought anymore, just kind of fun to have. I don’t blog because of money. I blog because I like to network and share my passion for marketing in lighthearted, open discussions.

I would like to see this site develop into a community where more than one person posts frequently about the subject at hand. I want people to come, visit and walk away with something of value for free. As this site grows and more people visit it, I hope they get more and more value. I used to think that being an A-list blogger was the way to be and how to make money online. I now know it is better to network and give from your blog than to take. Anything I make from the blog I put back into the blog. I make money through different means online.

So to answer your question in numbers:

• RSS goal for the next year: 3,000+
• Newsletter subscribers for the next year 1,500+
• Frequent posters 3+

If you didn’t get your question is this time, thats ok. I am sure I have have another soon. I had a lot of fun answering these questions and hope that they showed you a little bit more about myself and other readers on the Unconventional Marketing Blog.

This reminds me of the Shock and Awe campaign of the second Gulf War. Did that actually succeed or fail? I am not really sure. But anyway, it does truly shock me at how quickly we could transform a whole country with a few high-powered explosives. In the marketing world, that shock and awe would be a keynote speech by Steve Jobs of Apple.

Apple seems to have the ability to keep the lid on upcoming projects so well that when projects are launched, people are blown away by what is unveiled (pardon the pun).

But is it sustainable to keep shocking the same audience over and over again? Or do they come to expect it and grow numb to the antics.

Ultimately, I think that being original and interesting is far better. Yesterday, I wrote a post about something that I discombobulated with. Discombobulated is a word I always look forward to using in a sentence. That post was probably a lot more interesting to read than the normal mumble jumble I usually publish.

Could it be that I have been going against my own advice and writing to the middle ground, the boring area? Did I start writing to the middle where the majority is, and not to the fridge that I so often recommend? Why on earth would I do THIS!? Mediocrity is to blame. It took over, and the blog became dull. Maybe it was never exciting to begin with. AHA! Insert theme music from 2001 Space Odyssey here.

So with that in mind. I will try my best not to run a shock and awe campaign but to write the way I would for myself. I hope you all can be entertained and learn something at the same time. Because marketing should be fun, where else can you tell a story and get paid this well?

I got a comment recently from Jacqueline who mentioned that she had no problem marketing other people’s products and services but lacked in marketing her own. Since I am actually planning on talking about this subject with local business owners, I figured I might as well start practicing here.

Personal or business blog.

Blogs are a huge tool in marketing you or your product. People are waking up to this fact every day. The last I heard, and I am sure it’s higher now, 175,000 new blogs are started every day. That is a huge number, but when compared to the 2-3 billion people using the Internet, it is a drop in the bucket.

A blog is a tool as much as it is a platform for you to share with others. The best part about a blog is the way you can share your thoughts, experiences, business ideas and products. 10 years ago when you had a product idea you would send out questionnaires or fliers to ask what people’s needs were and what they wanted in a product. Now you can pretty much Google whatever you are looking for and find a forum, message board, Yahoo answers or videos talking about your subject. In a matter of a few minutes you can get a good pulse of what people’s needs and wants are. With a blog, you could add a poll or ask for responses to get your answer.

Just like the winner always writes the history books, so does a blogger. You can present yourself however you want, including being completely anonymous. I would highly recommend being a real person that others can relate to as the preferred method of communicating. You can always paint the picture however you want when it comes to you or your business, but down the road someone might call you out on it if you are not truthful.

A place to connect to others.
One of the best ways to market your product is to generate leads and sales without having to pay for advertising. This is done a lot easier online and especially in the blogosphere. Frequently, I offer to give back to my readers because I appreciate when they link to my blog and tell others about me without being asked. This is why I will in return post links, give free things away, subscribe to others RSS, answer question or anything else I can make time for (I wish I could do more).

There is a big sense of reciprocity online and among fellow bloggers that says, “I will scratch your back if you scratch mine.” This is of course equal to the amount of time and effort you put into your online persona. All of this connectivity and networking comes to play when you develop a product or idea you would like to share (sell) with others.

Steve Pavlina’s blog was the first blog I ever read. I learned a lot from his blog on personal development that eventually lead me to quit my job and start my own business. Recently, he wrote a book and it is set to release next month. He offered to give everyone a free copy of his new book a month ahead of time in return for a review. Steve is not asking people to sugar coat the book but to be truthful and honest in their assessments. You can even include your own Amazon affiliate link, possibly profiting from a free book that very few people have read. I signed up and am waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail. I volunteered to review his book because I believe it will have some great content that I can share with others. I will also gladly post the review here, because I have received a lot of value from his posts and feel it is the least I can do. Talk about a great marketing idea. Steve is probably going to spend $0 on marketing simply because he connected with his audience and added value to their lives.

Establish trust.

As you begin and maintain your relationship online and off line, you build a level of trust that is in essence like a line of credit. Your patrons and visitors subconsciously extend you a line of personal credit on the assumption you will continue doing what you have established. Everything we do as a friend, employee, consumer, producer and individual is based on assumptions, (thank you Bill for the explanation).

We all make assumptions that a product will be on time, that we can get gas at the gas station, that when a friend tells us something we can count on it. Assumptions are what lead and build up trust. Sometimes we assume too much and we learn the hard way or visa versa. As you build your trust and network, people will assume that you will do what you say and say what you do (that is if you are doing it right). When I place an ad on my site for a product or share with you a new service I launch, I assume you have enough trust in me to at least check that product out. You on the other hand assume that I won’t screw you by presenting a product as something it is not.

Like jugglers on a tightrope, things can go wrong in a hurry with trust and assumptions. The key is to be open and truthful. In the end, that will carry you through even when you make mistakes. The one think I have learned the most about working online is when a mistake is made it is far, FAR, better to admit fault and make amends than to try and lie or sugar coat something (everyone makes mistakes, we are all human). When it is all said and done, things are quickly forgotten when addressed properly.

Instill confidence.

You are on the mission to instill confidence in yourself and others. When the proper level of confidence is reached, you have opened a door to reap what you sow. It is not to be said that at that point it is ok to take advantage of people, but you can successfully sell services and products under the assumption you are doing it openly. There is no set rule of where that line of confidence is, only that there is a point where enough exchange has gone on to prove yourself to others.

The best comparison I know would be the business of White’s Boots. For years this company has stood behind their product 110%. At anytime you can go in and get your boot resoled for practically no cost and know it will last another 5-10 years. I know some retired people that have had the same boots since they were in their teens. You know what? I can promise you that they have told their friends and family about their love for those boots and the service that stands behind them.

Be their solution.

Because of the nature of a blog, people are able to open the doors of communication like never before. You can Google blogs by CEO’s and see that many of the heads of huge international companies are taking up blogging. If you come across one of those blogs and feel like sharing your thoughts about a product or service, you can. You don’t have to contend with any security guards or annoying secretary (not that all are annoying). You could go to the comment section and leave your thoughts knowing that someone important will probably read it.

If that important person is you, what a great opportunity to allow the rivers of word of mouth marketing to flow. Let’s say my confidence in a product was shaken. If I shared my disappointment with the CEO of that company, and in turn the CEO offered to remedy that experience, I would probably use that product for life knowing that they really did care about me. After all, the end user is the bottom line in business.

I hope that this gave a loose sense of ways to market yourself online. There is no cut and clear path to determine what successful online marketing is, it depends on what you want. All said and done, blogging is a great way to market yourself personally and a great tool to give, share and better those you would like to work for.