Richard speaks to John Jantsch, author, speaker and expert in marketing and the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing System.
An Interview with John Jantsch
Richard spoke to John Jantsch just after his keynote presentation on the second day of the inaugural Youpreneur Summit event in London. They talked about all aspects of marketing and John’s books.
Who is John Jantsch?
John Jantsch is an author, speaker and expert in marketing and has been sharing his knowledge for over 15 years. His ‘Duct Tape Marketing System’ offers a ‘simple, effective, and affordable small business marketing system’ which has helped thousands of companies around the world.
As well as offering a range of ‘done for you’ marketing packages, there is also a self-study system with a course, Facebook group and mentoring support. John’s book ‘Duct Tape Marketing’ is considered one of the foremost texts on the subject.
Why Everyone Struggles with Marketing
People start a business because they’re good at something, such as IT. There’s a fear around marketing because it’s viewed as something strange that requires help from an expert to get right. John says that although there are strategies and tactics that can help, the key is to be strategic. Have a plan and work through it, rather than trying something new every week. View marketing as a system.
How to Get Started with Marketing
A good way to get started is to look for someone in a related industry to you, who’s good at marketing but isn’t a competitor. Is there a way you can access the community they’ve built to offer something that they don’t have? Can you educate their followers for referrals?
The other key is to build valuable relationships which will be mutually beneficial. However, John says it’s important not to get rid of a connection if they don’t send you referrals straight away.
Instead, create strategic relationships with the mindset of: ‘will this help my clients?’ If the other person is struggling with something and you can introduce a trusted partner or client, the relationship you have with that client becomes more valuable and gives you a win with them.
Where to Start with Social Media
People put themselves under pressure to be like everyone else and use all the platforms available, but it’s not necessary. John’s key advice is to start with your existing clients and find ways to communicate with and serve them better.
For instance, you could create a Facebook group for IT people addressing specific software and technology questions. When you create value, it makes the time you spend on social media more worthwhile, and better than posting randomly to only a handful of people.
It’s also important to enjoy using social media and to choose platforms that you like. Pick something that will be a good use of your time and go as deep as possible with the platform to make the most of it.
How Blogs Have Evolved
Having blogged for 15 years, John believes that things have progressed and doesn’t call it blogging anymore, instead, he calls it ‘content management software’. People don’t visit sites for a blog, they go to find the answer to a question or some specific information, so you want to make it as easy as possible for them to do that. Call it your ‘education centre’ or your ‘resource centre’ instead.
John’s personal focus is on blogging less frequently and focusing on the depth of the content output now. He is putting together ‘content packages’, a long article, video and Q&A on a theme, with links to existing content as well.
Mentioned in This Episode
- Ducttape Marketing
- Book: Duct Tape Marketing Revised and Updated: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide
- Book: The Commitment Engine: Making Work Worth It
- Book: The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself
- Book: Duct Tape Selling: Think Like a Marketer-Sell Like a Superstar
- Missinglettr
- TripIt
Interview Transcript
TubbTalk 28 with John Jantsch and Richard Tubb
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Richard Tubb is one of the best-known experts within the global IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) community. He launched and sold his own MSP business before creating a leading MSP media and consultancy practice. Richard helps IT business owner’s take back control by freeing up their time and building a business that can run without them. He’s the author of the book “The IT Business Owner’s Survival Guide” and writer of the award-winning blog www.tubblog.co.uk
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