Lessons from a recent Maui marketing campaign
Posted 01-26-2009 at 10:17 PM by jeromek
I've been doing a marketing project on Maui for past the past few weeks. Want to share what I've learned
The campaign is for a health improvement program; we're selling a service, a program.
Marketing included:
A website built using Weebly, following The Recognized Expert's videos on how to do that. Thanks, Bob and Josh of TRE; training is remarkable.
Site has a blog, which I called Amazing Health, because I never call a blog a blog.
I posted on TRE's website my website for review, and got good feedback, and improved the website from that feedback. Another great freebie from TRE.
(Site is: kahuluichip.org)
Did flyers, posted them, had available at events, etc.
Did business cards with the program dates and other info.
E-mailed some public service announcements to radio stations.
Bought a display ad in Jan. 28 Health & Fitness section of The Maui News. Bigger than a business card, cost $229.
Along with ad, sent The News an article about program, and photo. Editor said if there was room, they could run the article.
E-mailed The News a press release and photo about our program.
E-mailed The Maui Bulletin a Calendar listing that they've run for three weeks, up to start of our program.
Paid for Calendar listing in The Maui Weekly for two weeks, cost $41.60.
E-mailed previous participants of this program news of the upcoming event, urging them to tell others they know about it.
Presented a series of free information sessions about the program, 7 of them. Included speaking before an audience, presenting a 10-minute video about program, questions and answers, opportunity to sign up for those who wanted.
A sincere, talented woman spoke face-to-face and on the phone to people, and she sent most of the people to the information sessions.
These last two items, put together, are what worked.
By "put together" I mean the people who showed up for the info sessions got there because the woman talked to them and urged them to be there.
And the people who have signed up for the program have all signed up at those info sessions.
These outcomes tell me that few things are as powerful, as persuasive as one human being talking. One-on-one or one person speaking before an audience. Public speaking.
These are how we got real results, that is, people paying their money to enroll in our program, in this particular marketing campaign, for this service.
Up till now, 3 or 4 weeks into the campaign, no one has said they heard about our program thru the website, the flyers, the ads, the calendar listings, the radio PSAs, the press release, the articles or any of the other marketing I did.
I am not saying that a website or any other type of marketing does not work, cannot work. Or anything that TRE or that any marketing experts teach doesn't work. They may or may not. There are endless variables, angles.
Notice that TRE and other marketing experts recommend public speaking as a powerful marketing tool.
That is certainly what I found out. Also how exciting it is to give one presentation over and over – you get good at it. I learned so much, had a lot of fun, and am a much better speaker for it.
The results we got from this campaign has to be seen in the context of many things. Marketing a health improvement program that costs more than a few bucks is quite different from marketing a movie, or a music concert. I'm sure marketing those things isn't a bed of roses, but there are aspects that are a lot easier than promoting a health improvement program.
I think you get the drift of this by now, and can connect a lot of dots I'll leave out.
In this type of campaign, for this service, on this island, a website can be a great electronic bulletin board. To drive people to that bulletin board, by the many powerful ways that TRE teaches – by article marketing, video posts, blogging, podcasts, being on radio, public speaking and all the rest – is at least a full time job, if not much more than that.
I gave my effort over five, maybe six weeks. That won't do, or won't do very powerfully. I had heard that advice from Jenny Hamby, a seminar expert who advises planning six months out for a really effective campaign to get people to your event. I ignored her advice and that was a mistake. Six months may be too long for a Maui event, but less than two months out is just too short.
But I learned a ton and nothing more invaluable than I had a powerful secret all along: few things are quite as powerful as public speaking.
A couple of other important things I learned I'll post in another blog on the same marketing campaign.
The campaign is for a health improvement program; we're selling a service, a program.
Marketing included:
A website built using Weebly, following The Recognized Expert's videos on how to do that. Thanks, Bob and Josh of TRE; training is remarkable.
Site has a blog, which I called Amazing Health, because I never call a blog a blog.
I posted on TRE's website my website for review, and got good feedback, and improved the website from that feedback. Another great freebie from TRE.
(Site is: kahuluichip.org)
Did flyers, posted them, had available at events, etc.
Did business cards with the program dates and other info.
E-mailed some public service announcements to radio stations.
Bought a display ad in Jan. 28 Health & Fitness section of The Maui News. Bigger than a business card, cost $229.
Along with ad, sent The News an article about program, and photo. Editor said if there was room, they could run the article.
E-mailed The News a press release and photo about our program.
E-mailed The Maui Bulletin a Calendar listing that they've run for three weeks, up to start of our program.
Paid for Calendar listing in The Maui Weekly for two weeks, cost $41.60.
E-mailed previous participants of this program news of the upcoming event, urging them to tell others they know about it.
Presented a series of free information sessions about the program, 7 of them. Included speaking before an audience, presenting a 10-minute video about program, questions and answers, opportunity to sign up for those who wanted.
A sincere, talented woman spoke face-to-face and on the phone to people, and she sent most of the people to the information sessions.
These last two items, put together, are what worked.
By "put together" I mean the people who showed up for the info sessions got there because the woman talked to them and urged them to be there.
And the people who have signed up for the program have all signed up at those info sessions.
These outcomes tell me that few things are as powerful, as persuasive as one human being talking. One-on-one or one person speaking before an audience. Public speaking.
These are how we got real results, that is, people paying their money to enroll in our program, in this particular marketing campaign, for this service.
Up till now, 3 or 4 weeks into the campaign, no one has said they heard about our program thru the website, the flyers, the ads, the calendar listings, the radio PSAs, the press release, the articles or any of the other marketing I did.
I am not saying that a website or any other type of marketing does not work, cannot work. Or anything that TRE or that any marketing experts teach doesn't work. They may or may not. There are endless variables, angles.
Notice that TRE and other marketing experts recommend public speaking as a powerful marketing tool.
That is certainly what I found out. Also how exciting it is to give one presentation over and over – you get good at it. I learned so much, had a lot of fun, and am a much better speaker for it.
The results we got from this campaign has to be seen in the context of many things. Marketing a health improvement program that costs more than a few bucks is quite different from marketing a movie, or a music concert. I'm sure marketing those things isn't a bed of roses, but there are aspects that are a lot easier than promoting a health improvement program.
I think you get the drift of this by now, and can connect a lot of dots I'll leave out.
In this type of campaign, for this service, on this island, a website can be a great electronic bulletin board. To drive people to that bulletin board, by the many powerful ways that TRE teaches – by article marketing, video posts, blogging, podcasts, being on radio, public speaking and all the rest – is at least a full time job, if not much more than that.
I gave my effort over five, maybe six weeks. That won't do, or won't do very powerfully. I had heard that advice from Jenny Hamby, a seminar expert who advises planning six months out for a really effective campaign to get people to your event. I ignored her advice and that was a mistake. Six months may be too long for a Maui event, but less than two months out is just too short.
But I learned a ton and nothing more invaluable than I had a powerful secret all along: few things are quite as powerful as public speaking.
A couple of other important things I learned I'll post in another blog on the same marketing campaign.
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