Written by Andrew Anderson
Co-Founder of LaunchBox Pro

Warning: I use a bit of stern language and one or two expletives for emphasis and I am not using a teleprompter or script and I speak to you as an adult business person.  So, if you are easily offended, do not watch. But if you are serious about making more money online, easier, faster, and less expensively, then watch this video now.

In this video, I will introduce you to some of what makes LaunchBox Pro such a game changer.  I share how you can take advantage of the most powerful, yet easy to use, online business building platform to help you make more money, save time, and build a bigger, better business, both online and off. Check it out and then leave me some comments. We want to know what you want and need to make your online business better, and make your work easier.

And here is a link to the Google Map feature that I talk about in the video.

Cheers,

Written by Andrew Anderson
Co-Founder of LaunchBox Pro

Coke Got It! YEAAAAA. Coke finally got it and changed their website design. Just to preface this post, this is not a slam against Coke by any means. It is just something that can happen to any of us, but Coke did provide a great lesson on how not to do things on your Website and they also show us how you can beat the big companies in almost any niche. So what happened next?

After half a dozen emails, and a bunch of blog posts,they finally got the message.  I am not sure it was because I contacted the nice people at Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway, because I contacted the PR department at Coke or what, but they did finally change it.  They are also going to lose their Darwin Dodo Website Design Award that I gave to them last month as well.  It is a good thing. I am glad that they finally got their Website fixed.

There are some great lessons to learn from this story. Watch the video and you see what I am talking about.

They went from this…

to this…

Don’t you think it looks better?

Think about how you can use the lessons that Coke.com gave us to improve your business. Also, please leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Cheers,

Written by Craig Allan Teich
Co-Founder of Profit Platform Pro

Why Does Having More Fun Often Lead to Making More Money?

I hope you enjoyed Bob’s video. Is it, like most of GoDaddy’s marketing, a bit juvenile and silly?
Yes, but what’s wrong with that?

One of the qualities I admire about Bob is that he is fun.
He likes to have fun. His companies are fun. His marketing is fun.
And you know what, this may come as a shocker, but most people in the world like fun.

Infusing fun into your business, both as an attribute of the culture and as part of your brand identity, will pay-off in many ways. It will make you a happier person, which makes you a better leader. It will make your team happy, which translates into greater productivity, higher employee retention, and improved ability to attract talented new employees.

And as a marketing tool, fun attracts new customers while keeping current clients spending money with you instead of your competition. A fun company, which is a brand identity built by way of fun marketing like that of GoDaddy, is like the cool club or group in high school. Everyone wants to be a part of it. Why? Because it’s FUN! (Yeah, I know, it’s now rocket science.)

Fun Strategies for Building a Successful & Profitable Brand

As my partners and the entire Profit Platform Pro team near our launch, more and more thought is being given to our brand identity. When I first conceived of the Profit Platform Pro concept, I wrote down on a single sheet of paper all the words that I wanted to be associated with our products and services, as well as the overall brand identity. Some of those words and phrases which remain as our most important guides are:
Easy, Powerful, Inexpensive, Professional, Help people make money, All-in-one-solution, Fast, Accessible, Great customer service by real people, Great tool with phenomenal training, Game changer, Beautiful, Powerful and easy Customization, and Fun.

That original piece of paper is still taped to the wall near my computer. I refer to it often when considering our product development, and also when we are developing our initial marketing and brand building campaigns.

Why Playing It Safe Often Turns Play Into Work

During discussions with my partners about our marketing and brand identity strategy, my wilder ideas often elicit some push-back. That happened recently when I introduced my idea for two superhero characters as our potential mascots. I expected the hesitation. (However, I was pleasantly surprised when only one, not both, of my co-founding partners tried to squash the idea, the other seeing the potential right away.)

We all have a tendency to play it safe, especially when it comes to business. We’ve all grown up in an environment that stresses how business is serious. “If you want your business to be taken seriously, then your business must be conservative and professional,” is the conventional wisdom, but what a bunch of hooey that is.

Here’s the naked truth:

If you want your business to fade into the background and have zero competitive advantage, then play it safe, be conservative, and do what everyone else is doing. But if you want your business to standout, excel, be remembered, and grab market share like a hungry beast, then get wild, get fun, get creative, get different, get sexy, get bold, and then get rich.

Some of the most successful businesses with the most valuable brand identities have been created around a fun, irreverent, and often controversial culture. Companies which come to mind immediately include Virgin, Playboy, Google, Yahoo!, and GoDaddy (of course). Even boring insurance companies like Aflac and Geico have enhanced their business and brand identity by using humor, fun and some silly mascots.

And maybe most importantly, fun companies are fun to create and fun to work for, which makes work a lot less like work, and a lot more like play, and that’s good.

The Bottom Line

If you want your business to stand out from the crowd in a positive way that translates into more sales and higher customer loyalty, one of the most effective ways is to infuse your company, your marketing, and your brand identity with fun, humor and sex appeal.

And a little outrageous but harmless controversy never hurts, as Bob Parsons and GoDaddy have proven so well.

So get creative, be brave, and success will be yours. Good luck.

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I’d love to hear your comments on this subject, which is near and dear to my business heart. And if you can site some examples of companies who have used these strategies effectively, even better.

Cheers, Craig
Catch me on Twitter . . . @CraigTeich