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| Shel Horowitz’s Clean and Green Marketing Tip,
July 2014
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This Month’s Tip: Grab Unexpected, Out-of-Genre Media Opportunities
I wrote to Dear Abby this month—not to solve a problem, but to grab publicity.So why does a marketing and publishing consultant and copywriter specializing in green business think he can benefit from writing to Dear Abby?
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Because Abby handed me an opportunity on a silver platter.
Someone identifying herself as “Reader in the Southwest” complained that a friend’s self-published book was so badly done and full of typos that she couldn’t even finish it, but the friend was eager to get her to post a rave review on Amazon.com. And Abby told her, among other things, “Find SOMETHING you liked about the book and mention that on the Amazon page. You could call it a ‘page turner’ because you had to turn from Page 1 to Page 2, didn’t you?” (Read the full question and Abby’s response—as well as 358 reader comments as of five days after publication—at https://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2014/7/5/0/friend-has-hard-time-finding-a#disqus_thread)
I still make a fair piece of my living as a book shepherd/publishing consultant, and when I saw this response in my morning paper, I immediately put down the paper and dashed off this letter, which I submitted through the Dear Abby website and posted as a comment on that day’s column:
Dear Abby,
Your advice to “Reader in the Southwest” was 30 years out of date. These days, most self-published books are printed only to fill orders; the author of the badly done book is not sitting on inventory. You ask Reader to lie and call it a page-turner—which does harm to the author (misleading), the reviewer (trashing his/her reputation), and anyone who buys the book (misleading into a purchase). It would be far better to say, “I love that you’ve gotten your book done. But I have to tell you, it could reach a much wider audience if you went back and fixed all the grammar errors. It’s always hard to proofread your own work, and you might not realize what a negative impression it makes right now.”
Abby, I’m a book shepherd who helps writers become published authors, and I’ve had similar conversation with many of my clients. They’re always glad they took my advice once their beautiful books are out in the world.
—Shel Horowitz in Hadley, Mass.
At best, this will run in hundreds of newspapers around the country and the world—at no cost to me. At worst, it will only be seen by those who go to the website and scroll to the second comment page (it did generate one positve response there)—and perhaps by those who are searching Dear Abby or Google for advice on dealing with a friend’s terrible book. I felt that my letter might be blocked if I put in a web link—but by including my real name and city, I’ve made it possible for any prospective clients to find me.
It took me only about fifteen minutes to write this letter. I frequently spend that much time on a HARO (HelpAReporter.com) media pitch. Again, you don’t know if you’ll actually get media, but if you do, the results can be spectacular. Over the years, I’ve been quoted multiple times each in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur magazine, and even Woman’s Day (among many others). This kind of national publicity has been a major credibility builder for me, and was even instrumental in keeping my Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shel_Horowitz) when it was challenged as too promotional.
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| Friends/Colleagues who Want to Help |
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Freebie Session with My Own Business Coach
My business coach, Oshana Himot, writes:“I am offering complementary business coaching sessions for entrepreneurs and others who desire to expand their business. Sharing, as you know many people in a growth phase who can benefit from mentoring.”
I have found working with her quite transformative in my own
business. Contact: oshanaben@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I do not earn a commission or benefit financially from
this. Doing it because I’m thrilled with what we’ve accomplished
together and would like to share that good karma.
The two new brands around Business For a Better World and Making Green Sexy would not have happened without her.
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Save the Dates: October 3-5
Jay Conrad Levinson, the original Guerrilla Marketing man and my coauthor for Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green, passed away last October. His widow, Jeannie Levinson, daughter Amy Levinson, and another of his many co-authors, Loral Langemeier (Guerrilla Wealth) are marking the year since his death with a fantastic conference featuring many of the superstars with whom Jay collaborated in his life. This will be a very affordable event (the figure of $199 has been tossed around, though it’s not firm) that will be the catalyst for relaunching the brand in the post-Jay era. I am hoping to speak. |
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| THIS Saturday, July 19th, 2014, 1:30 to 2:30 pm, Workshop Tent #2, “Making Green Sexy,” SolarFest, Tinmouth, VT, USA, July 18-20: www.solarfest.org. |
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Webinar for Green America’s Green Business Network DETAILS TK |
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Thursday, September 11, 6 pm ET/3 pm PT: Webinar, “Selling Your Self-Published Book to a Bigger Publisher,” Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. Details & Register Here https://tinyurl.com/onlz3hw
Remember: You can earn a generous commission if you book Shel into a paid speaking engagement.
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Connect with Shel on Social Media |
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About Shel & This Newsletter
As a marketing consultant and copywriter… award-winning author of eight books… international speaker, blogger, syndicated columnist — Shel Horowitz shows how green and ethical businesses can actually be *more* profitable than your less-green competitors. His most recent book is category bestseller Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet. Shel also helps authors/ publishers, small businesses, and organizations to market effectively, and turns unpublished writers into well-published authors.
He was inducted into the National Environmental Hall of Fame in 2011.
Shel Horowitz’s consulting firm, Green And Profitable, is the first business ever to earn Green America’s rigorous Gold Certification as a leading green company
He began publishing his monthly newsletter all the way back in 1997, making it one of the oldest marketing e-zines (it’s changed names a few times along the way).
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| “As always, some of the links in this newsletter earn commissions—because I believe in the products and services enough to promote them (I get asked to endorse lots of other programs I don’t share with you, because I don’t find them worthy).” |
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| Another Recommended Book—The Trader Joe’s Adventure |
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The Trader Joe’s Adventure: Turning a Unique Approach to Business into a Retail and Cultural Phenomenon, by Len Lewis (Dearborn, 2005)
As a subscriber to my newsletter, you’re well aware that I advocate consumer-centric, ethical business practices as a business success strategy: it’s not just the right thing to do, it’s also very good for business.
Trader Joe’s, the very popular supermarket chain emphasizing its own private-label gourmet and natural products, eliminated GMO foods in its own brands all the way back in 2001—over a decade before Whole Foods agreed to label GMO products on its shelves. It was an early endorser of Fair Trade products (though to this day, there are plenty of non-Fair Trade products right next to some of the Fair Trade ones, particularly in chocolate, where the Fair Trade label probably makes the most difference). In 2003, it was one of the first 30 companies to win an award from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The following year, Rainforest Action Network saluted the company for changing its bag purchasing to avoid paper made by a company known for cutting old-growth forests. It sells 100%-recycled paper products at very attractive price points.
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So Trader Joe’s scores pretty well on social screens.
But that’s only part of its success formula. As of a decade ago, when this book was written, it was doing twice the typical supermarket sales per square foot, and was expecting to raise that as it started entering into and expanding in affluent, educated urban markets like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston.
Some of the other major keys to its success include:
- A workforce that’s well-treated, collaborative, and among the best-compensated in the entire supermarket industry—and whose managers are not only willing to get down and dirty and pitch in wherever needed—sweeping floors, running registers, etc.—but also genuinely welcome input from line employees. New hires are actually told, “If you’re not having fun within 30 days, quit.”
- Workers who are trained to be customer-centric, have lots of information on the products, and happily interact with customers (gently upselling when it feels appropriate).
- A unique and constantly changing product mix. For many items, there simply is no other place to buy them. As of when this book was written, the store was introducing about 25 new products per week, and removing about as many. So shopping becomes, in Lewis’s words, “a treasure hunt.”
- Near-zero use of traditional advertising, relying instead on word-of-mouth and a magalog-style catalog distributed by direct mail (to shoppers who request it) and in stores.
- A contrarian approach to most industry practices: Unlike most supermarkets, he company favors small-footprint stores with limited selection, often in second- or third-tier locations with inadequate parking. It does not try to be a one-stop shop but instead a boutique destination experience. Unlike most gourmet shops, Trader Joe’s focuses on multiple niches: ready-to-eat frozen foods, gourmet, organic and natural, wine and cheese. And the store gets by with fewer workers per square foot, but pays them better and treats them better. It doesn’t do “loyalty programs” (encouraging frequent shopping, e.g., buy 10, get one free, rebates, airline points).
Many years ago, I actually wrote to Trader Joe’s and mentioned that the Whole Foods in my own town was doing really well, and it might be a good site for a new store. I didn’t get a response, but a few years later, TJ’s arrived (and was instantly successful). The store’s location is across the street from the mall that contains the Whole Foods, and many shoppers combine trips to both of these destination stores. It turns out I’m not the only one. Lewis cites actual organized campaigns by residents to bring the company into various cities—something I doubt any other supermarket chain experiences, ever.
On the very last page of the main text, Lewis shares eight research findings from the Organic Consumers Association about the impact of social responsibility on shopping patterns. No matter what kind of business you run, take heed that you are not only socially responsible, but that your customers and prospects know it. Among the highlights:
- 92 percent felt more positively toward companies that back social causes
- 91 percent are prepared to switch if their current vendor is not a good corporate citizen
- 85 percent would tell their family and friends
- 87 percent are more likely to remember companies when they learn about their social responsibility initiatives
While the book is very repetitive and somewhat dated, it still carries important lessons for business owners in today’s world. So far, Trader Joe’s has managed to stay true to its roots while expanding rapidly, and being enormously profitable.
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