Watching Ken Burns' documentary about Mark Twain the other night, it struck me how much Clemens went through before he ever became the Mark Twain beloved by America and the world for a century and a half. Clemens was a riverboat captain, a miner, a reporter (who lost his job as a reporter) and someone who changed jobs frequently. It was fascinating watching this, wondering how he ever survived at times, but knowing in the end how successful he would become.
When just starting to seriously make his name, he went to Hawaii on a writing assignment. But the point at which he went from just a developing writer to a celebrity - - and someone who made a lot of money - - was when he started to speak, on stage, about his observations.
And do you know what made his first, critical, nerve-racking presentation a financial success? Do you know how he attracted attention to his presentation, and what exactly propelled him along the path of his great career as America's famous, beloved humorist?
Mark Twain advertised.
Yes, he spent $100 to rent a hall, and $150 to buy a large ad in the San Francisco newspaper (an ad he wrote himself).
Many successful PIs like to relate how they get tons of business from referrals, and that's wonderful, and something all PIs should work on. Most PIs also shy away from advertising, thinking it won't work, it's too expensive, it's not for their profession, etc., etc.
I would ask, if advertising was good enough for Mark Twain, why isn't it good enough for you?
You can study and study and study the field of advertising and never stop learning about what you can do. But that does not mean you have to be a seasoned expert of many years before ever doing any advertising. Addressing the need to get a functional understanding of writing and managing your own ads, I created a short course on advertising for private investigators, a course which was actually approved for CEU credits for PIs in the state of Texas.
Since advertising can work, and because there is no better time than the present for you to take action to increase your business, I will make this course available to you for your own personal study for just $15 (I'll even include the test questions that will enable you to better assess your understanding of this issue.) You can find out how to order it from me at my website,
http://www.letbobhelp.homestead.com/.
On an unrelated note, if you find this blog full of the helpful and free marketing information it is intended to provide and you would like to say thank you, I invite you to help me put an end to Alzheimer's disease by supporting my participation in Memory Walk on October 3. Your donation will support research, education and counseling activities. You can donate at http://www.toledomemorywalk2010.kintera.org/mackowiak.
Monday, September 27, 2010
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