Recession opportunities - full speed ahead

Picture by Greg Cryns (me) - I took this picture last week when we visited the Chicago area. This is the first McDonald's after Ray Kroc bought it from the McDonald's brothers in California. I used to ride my bike to this restaurant and marvel at the wrapped hamburgers.

What does "recession" mean? The dictionary says it is "a contraction phase of the business cycle, or "a period of reduced economic activity."

Ok. I can handle that and so can you.

In fact, I get a strong feeling that we internet marketers are in the right place at the right time. My Adsense income spiked up yesterday. I strongly recommend that you to investigate alternative ways to make money if you are selling products that people can do without (luxury items). People will always need insurance, food and health services and good, solid information. They do not necessarily need a new television or cell phone.

If you are not using Adsense to create income then give me a call. My phone: 805-226-8354. I am happy to spend some time with you discussing Adsense and other internet marketing opportunities.

Other opportunities include coaching, basic services (VA, article writing), IT skills, website creation.

Here is a very nice article by Marcia Yudkin. My respect for Marcia is very high. I've watched her business evolve over the years.

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Four Tactics for Drumming Up Business During a Recession

by Marcia Yudkin

Recession? Hah!

That’s the attitude you’ll have when you know how to bring
new customers in, despite all your competitors wailing
about being dead in the water. People and companies have
not completely stopped spending. They’re just much more
selective and risk-averse in what they buy.

If you use these four smart recession-fighting strategies,
you’ll emerge from the recession just fine.

Four Recession-Be-Darned Marketing Tactics

1. Have a risk-free introductory offer. For example,
1AutomationWiz.com, the online shopping cart I use, offers
a free 30-day trial. You sign up, set up the cart and can
use it for real transactions without having to pay until
the 30th day. (By then, you’re hooked!) As a variation on
this theme, Changing Course initially charges just $13.55
shipping on its $297 Fast Track Your Dream program. They
ship the materials, then begin charging the program fee on
day 30. The buyer can ship everything back before day 30,
then not be charged. For a non-monthly service, you can get
the customer’s credit card information or check up front,
but promise not to charge the card or to return the check
if the customer isn’t happy.

2. Develop and sell information products. Information
products offer a low-risk, low-commitment way for new
customers to get to know, then trust a vendor company. You
can sell them to do-it-yourselfers who might not spring for
full service as well as to regular customers who want to
learn about a new topic area. Not only do the information
products provide an additional stream of revenue during the
recession, they will continue to do so after the economy
picks up again (as it inevitably will) with no additional
work. To get products ready for sale within weeks, start
small, as with short downloadable reports or audio
recordings of expert interviews.

3. Catch their pulse. What do your customers need most
right now? Put your ear to the ground. Listen in on your
target market’s complaints, questions and wishes where they
hang out on email discussion lists and web-based forums.
Based on what you hear, add a new product or service or
twist an existing one so it clearly connects with their
concerns. Let’s say that on the financial forums you see
more questions than usual from couples nearing retirement
or parents with more than one child in college. You could
quickly create seminars, reports or telephone hotline hours
specifically for those groups.

4. Pursue publicity. Getting media coverage can be as quick
as picking up the phone and calling the news desk of your
metropolitan newspaper or TV station to explain why you’re
the local angle to today’s big story. Invest a little time
to understand what constitutes newsworthiness in the eyes
of the media, and pitch your company or yourself in pitch
letters and press releases. During a recession, you may
have a better shot at earning 15 priceless minutes of fame
because competitors may have scaled back on the retainer
for their PR firm. Find a cost-effective compromise between
writing your own releases and hiring someone to do it for
you by Googling “press release makeover service.”

Close your ears to those running around complaining that
the sky is falling, and instead get to work implementing
these recession-smart strategies. You’ll look back on the
era of gloom and doom with a smile on your face and a nice
fat bankroll in your pocket.

Master marketer Marcia Yudkin, author of 6 Steps to Free
Publicity and 10 other books, has been selling information
in one form or another since 1981. This article is
excerpted from her report, “33 Keys to Thriving During a
Recession,” which is available as a free download from
www.yudkin.com/recess.htm .

Greg Cryns

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