The Clean and Green Club

And I promised to tell you how I’m spreading my ideavirus: business benefits by fixing hunger, poverty, war, catastrophic climate change, etc. Since we all have different strengths, what works for you may be different. Still, I think it will help you to use me as an example of how you can market to your strengths; these are some of mine.

Three income-producing, credibility-building methods harness my strongest skills:

Speaking: I do talks and interviews, to in-person and remote audiences.

• Use a strong title (my two most popular are “Making Green Sexy” and “’Impossible’ is a Dare”)
• Know your audience; target your talk
• Be animated and interesting
• Adjust your material to your time. I’ve done 3-minute interviews to 3-hour workshops, and I’ve outlined a 3-day retreat.
• Have good visuals for in-person or on-camera
• NEVER cram hundreds of words onto a slide—and never read your slides verbatim

Examples: Full and partial presentations at https://goingbeyondsustainability.com/speaking/ . Podcasts at https://thecleanandgreenclub.com/recent-interviews-guest-articles/

Note: Earn commissions by finding paid speaking gigs for me.

Writing: I’ve written 100-character Tweets; my latest book is 300+ pages. I’ve done social media posts, blog posts, newsletter articles, guest articles in publications with larger readership, letters to the editor…any way to get the message out.

• Keep focused (consider an outline—as a guideline, not a leash)
• Write a little below your audience’s educational level—simple enough to read quickly, but advanced enough to keep them interested and learning (this will vary with every publication)
• Don’t try to jam in the entire story into a 500-word article. Link to more details and sources. If you’re covering many angles, that’s an article series (like this one), or maybe a book.
• Proofread—and consider having an outside editor review it (I can help with that, BTW)

Examples:

At https://goingbeyondsustainability.com/freebies/ , you’ll find a sampler containing several parts of Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World, “From Save the Mountain to Saving the World” (a condensed, coherent look at many of my key points), and Painless Green, an ebook with 111 easy and mostly no-cost or very inexpensive ways to save water and energy.

Consulting: Working individually or with small groups, I enable change by showing what’s possible: how a company can repurpose/remarket existing products/services, harness existing capacities to create something new, streamline procedures, reduce waste, etc. This builds my brand as a “practical visionary” and “Transformpreneur”™—AND injects successes into the business world.

• Ask many questions and LISTEN! Don’t force a solution based on incomplete knowledge.
• Think about both the 30- and 30,000-foot views
• Test, small-scale; debug before rolling out

Examples:

I’ve helped an inventor of cell-phone sized solar lamps find new markets…recommended the owner of a green conference center harness its legendary history…described how a pizzeria owner could increase business while creating jobs and skills for youth…told a software developer how to expand nationally and internationally…created a partnership between a Hollywood filmmaker and my client who had lived his story…

Your mix might be different, of course. Special events, videos, in-store demonstrations, lobbying, running for office…

Don’t just be different. CELEBRATE that difference and build a brand around it. That’s the key message of this book, and one that should resonate with many social entrepreneurs. In Tyreman’s view, the less boring you are—the more you stand out—and the faster you’ll build a strong brand.

Will you be ridiculed? Probably, but so what. Those who laugh or shake their fists at you are not your target market (pp. 28-29), so don’t let them get your goat. Define a super-clear purpose, attract those who align with it, and ignore those who are repelled. I love his encounter with a stuffy banker, clearly uncomfortable with Tyreman’s unconventional workspace (p.83):

• “Will you ever forget this room?”
• “Never,” he replied sternly.
• “That is why you should give us the loan—because you will never forget this room,” I explained. “We understand differentiation.”
• Within two weeks, we had a $1.5 million line of credit.

That authenticity is key, not only to you and your employees. One insight he has that I haven’t seen elsewhere is that your brand integrity and brand promise let your customers be authentic (p. 62). Thus, if other factors are equal, customers will choose the authentic experience (p. 147), especially if it’s integrated into every aspect of dealing with your company, from voicemail (pp. 199-200) on up. He has a great term for the total experience: “business ergonomics” (p. 193). And he spends four pages near the end of the book (pp. 202-205) on five rules to make sure that experience motivates the customer to want more. My favorite: “Rule 3: Your Mother Doesn’t Have to Like It.”

Much of the book, including numerous exercises, is dedicated to finding your three words, identifying the brand promise, and figuring out the “playground” where you meet your niche market. The 15 questions on pages 137-138 are a great tool even if you’re looking much more conventionally at branding.

If you go through his process, you’ll have an exactly three-word catchphrase to describe your purpose (p.72)—via your personality, attitude, and values (p. 108). The famous punk rock band whose first word is three letters and begins with S (naming them would send this newsletter straight to spam-hell) recruited Johnny Rotten by seeking a “rude, obnoxious anarchist” (p. 91). He suggests 3 words for Apple: “Imagination. Design. Innovation.” For Aston Martin: “Power. Beauty. Soul.” (p. 93)

I mostly agree with his approach, except if your purpose is doing harm. Unfortunately, I can name many companies, public figures, and interest groups who seem to use Tyreman’s tricks to achieve bad ends. I’m assuming, as a reader of my newsletter, that you have integrity, that your purpose is something that improves people and planet. But I did feel it was important to note that his approach can be misused.

How can you profit by putting the VALUE in your VALUES? Shel Horowitz shows how to MONETIZE your organization’s commitment to fixing problems like hunger, poverty, war, and catastrophic climate change. Shel consults individually and in groups, gives presentations, and writes books and articles including Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World (endorsed by Jack Canfield, Seth Godin and others).