Today is Blog Action Day. An important opportunity for bloggers of all sizes to influence the thoughts and actions of the mass and media. Collis, Cyan, and their team have done a phenomenal job organizing this event and having it recognized worldwide.

We were one of the …

There are plenty of guides, books, articles, and directions as to formulas for effective advertising. Donald Gunn narrowed it down to 12 back in 1978, Suzanne Pope, 11 or so over at Ihaveanidea. I want take 4 directions that may or may not be labeled exactly as to the two lists I mentioned, and give examples of how you can use them, whether that be in networking, marketing, or face-to-face with your customers.

Stories

It’s not a matter of writing stories, but creating them. FedEx is known for their fly through a blizzard to ensure their package arrived on time story; a timeless classic in every b-school. A more recent one got to me and is an even better example from a customer’s perspective:

While they say “no risk, no reward”, I’d like to change that a bit for the purpose of this article. How bout, “some risk, no immediate reward”?

In almost every industry, service providers work on a per project, per milestone, or per hour basis. The tasks are determined before the assignment begins, by yourself and your client. An amount and method of payment is agreed upon. And you begin your process, whether that be creative, financial, manufacturing, etc…

That model appears to be going through a process of evolution in the creative world and migrating across numerous markets. The new approach takes from the entrepreneurial notion of banking on equity. If you’re a sole proprietor, the entire equity of your business is in your hands. Your actions determine your earnings (or losses) and your lifestyle is molded by the outcome of those actions (no sales, no rent).