Advertising Mistakes You Can Avoid

I stumbled upon this stimulating, thought-provoking, and extremely valuable booklet that every advertiser/marketer should read.

Why is most advertising copy lame?

How to write a compelling headline like the pros?

How to tell a story and incite ACTION?

Most importantly, Jeff Paul and Jim Fleck, stress not to be afraid to be different. Apple is different. Southwest Airlines is different. Geico is different.

Many sprint away from being ‘different’ like Carl Lewis, but ‘standing out’ will bring you satisfied customers again and again.

Legendary marketing expert Gary Halbert sums it up nicely:

“When I was young, I was worried about what others thought about me. I was worried they would be thinking the wrong things about me.

As I got older, and got into a few transgressions, I was worried that people were thinking the right things about me.

Then, as I gained wisdom as the years went by…I realized that no one was thinking about me at all.”

Read this OUTSTANDING piece of work here:

http://instantprofits.com/bonuses/bonus1.pdf

Until next time, (daring you to be different)

Dan Naden

Naden’s Corner

Guy Kawasaki’s Ten Entrepreneurial Secrets

Are you an entrepreneur who is trying to establish and differentiate your business?

Or maybe you are a corporate executive looking to grow your business and cultivate motivated, successful employees?

In either scenario, you should drop everything NOW and read this fabulous article from Guy Kawasaki, author, consultant, and venture capitalist.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2258

Significant keys:
· Powerpoint: No more than 10 slides when making your pitch to VCs.

· Niche: Kawasaki has a unique approach to finding your personal value or your business’ value.

· Mission statements are dead: He says: “Define yourself by what you want to mean to consumers.”

This is good reading.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

Naden's Corner

Photo Source: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

Panera Bread: Escape from Grease Burgers

The family and I recently had a pleasant experience at Panera Bread. Easily forgotten compared to Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, and Quiznos, Panera Bread could easily establish itself with a healthy, hearty menus of sandwiches, salads, and soups.

This chain, established in 1993 as the former Au Bon Pain Co., sits itself apart from the litany of ‘fast-food’ joints in the following ways:
· Healthy: a 2008 Health magazine study named Panera Bread America’s healthy fast food restaurant.
· Convenient: There are only a couple of Panera Bread location in my market (Austin, Texas), but there are over 1,266 throughout the US and Canada. A big win: Free Wi-fi makes Panera more of a hang-out place compared to like-minded competitors.
· Store layout: At the location I visited, the majority of the seating is purposely ‘away’ from the order, pick-up and drink stations. The usual commotion around those activities are a restaurant is pleasantly irrelevant at Panera Bread.

One area of concern: Despite the nice atmosphere and tasty food, I thought the portion size could have been a bit more generous.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Until next time,

Dan Naden
Naden's Corner