March is national Crowd Funding Month

As you think about different ways to fund your project or business, you cannot help but think of crowd funding as a source. Most people have never even heard of crowd funding. Those who have may be confused about it. It’s worth taking the time to know about it. It’s good to have enough information so that crowd funding is an option for you.

Creating a project is not hard, however creating practical rewards might be. You need to think about those who are supporting your effort. What would they want? What would they need? What would be so remarkable that they would tell others about it? Some people will give just to support your cause. Most people think about what’s in it for me? They want something novel or unique. I have one client who is a musician. The most popular reward he gave was a song that included the givers name. Who wouldn’t want their own song in an mp3 by their favorite artist? Most of the people had purchased his last CD. They were already fans and were delighted to get this perk. Then he had a whole new set of people who wanted that mp3 for a gift. No matter how many people he gave it to, it was still unique to that person. My client assured me that this special mp3 did not involve writing a new song each time and it was something that he could easily do for anyone who asked for it. This reward was a huge homerun. If you can find a unique reward like this, you will get more than enough support for your project.

When is the best time to do your own crowd fund? Now! People are getting their tax refund and have some extra cash on hand. Also, it’s before the summer. In the summer, employment numbers change. Some seasonal workers like teacher are out of work and then you add youth workers who are out of school and looking for a job.
Unless your project is a fun activity or you have a strong base to work with, the summer can be tricky.

Make a decision this month to get your crowd fund happening!

How Realtors Got Hot (Again)

Listen to this article here!

Have you noticed that Realtors are hot again? Maybe you didn’t

I see all the media requests for interviews and I have been seeing more and more about real estate and real estate agents ( and yes I know a REALTOR and a real estate agent are different, so no emails about that please).

Magazines, TV Shows, radio shows all want to talk to realtors. Property values are going up. There was actually a SALE in my neighborhood. Those agents sent big letters letting me know they made sale. They acted like they had not eaten in a week and were now able to buy food!

My point is, if you are a real estate agent, there is something going on in your industry. I know because of all the media inquiries and magazines run 4-6 months ahead. Do yourself a favor and ride the wave of attention this time. Learn how to take advantage of media opportunities and even make your own. Otherwise it’s going to be those same three guys you always see on TV talking about real estate and they will be the same guys making all the money because of public perception.

Grab your 10 week PR Challenge CD and be ready for this new season of attention.

“I stay ready so I don’t have to get ready”- Will Smith

You say you want to make more money. Are you ready?

Continue here to order your 10 Week PR Challenge

Celebrity Apprentice: Adam Carolla

You can Listen to the audio of this article here!

This week it was all about cars. When picking teams everyone thought Michael Andretti was the clear leader for the men’s team due to branding of his name with cars. He deferred to Adam Carolla who “knew a lot about cars”. Debbie Gibson took leadership of the women’s team. I think she was tired of not being noticed.

The task was all about presenting the car and answering questions. Nothing special really happened. Half the men’s team was unhappy with the level of comedy Carolla wanted and Lou F. was pissed because he was once again under utilized. The ladies were divided into the cool van and the rest. The rest knew they were the unwanted and contributed like they were. The women won the task Debbie tried to make up to Teresa afterwards.

Carolla took his lumps like a man but cost the men additional team members. Trump fired Carolla and Michael Andretti because Andretti did not step up. It makes me think that there are tasks that are specially tailored for each celebrity. If the teams make the right choices, they can win the task.

The lesson this week was branding. You have to meet people where they are with your product and branding. If you name is #1 in a certain category, you want to make sure you shine and stand out. Andretti was boring. He said he the car was perfect but sounded so bored that no one believed for a moment that he would ever be caught dead in that car.

Both teams also learned that if they try to circumvent the rules, Trump would punish them.

Leave your thoughts about branding below!

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