Page 139 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

“What’s the first step?”
One of the speakers gave a list of four or five ideas, and then at the end he

said, “Oh, when you plan to write a book, you should also think about what you
have to say.”

Jonathan and I looked at each other with the same thought: “Uh, isn’t that the
first step?”

Getting the message out about your business is like writing a book: Before
you do anything else, think about what you have to say. What’s the message?
Why is it important now, and why will people want to know about it?

The Strategic Giving Marketing Plan

Freely give, freely receive: It works. The more you focus your business on
providing a valuable service and helping people, the more your business will
grow. A number of the subjects of our case studies discussed how giving (often
described in different ways but with the same meaning) has been a core value of
their business. One of the best descriptions came from Megan Hunt, the Omaha
dressmaker we met in Chapters 1 and 3:

My marketing plan could be called strategic giving. When I launch a new
line of dresses each year, I contact two or three influential bloggers and
create a custom dress for them, which always brings in tons of new
customers when they write about it. But most importantly, I turn my
attention toward my clients. Often, I upgrade someone’s shipping to
overnight for free, or double someone’s order, or include a copy of my
favorite book with a handwritten note. I like to package my products for
shipping like a gift to my best friend. This strategy has been a huge
contributor to fast growth and popularity in my industry.

John Morefield, an unemployed architect during a time when jobs were
scarce, set up shop in a Seattle farmer’s market with a sign that read “5-Cent
Architecture Advice.” In exchange for a nickel, he would give advice on any
problem that homeowners, real estate agents, or anyone else brought to him. The
5-cent advice was effectively a lead-generation program that might lead to