Share of voice

So, a term I learned a few years back is "share of voice." The closest thing I can think of to compare it to is market share. If there are 10 apartment buildings in your town, and you own 1 of them, your market share is 10%. Most of us get that concept.

But what is your share of voice? That's different entirely. Share of voice is a measure of all your marketing efforts, relative to everything else going on in the market at the same time.

Think of a big Thanksgiving dinner with all of your family sitting, eating, and clanging dishes around the table. Conversations are taking place in front of you, on both sides of you, and all the way at the other of the end of the table. Everybody is talking at once, including Uncle Larry.

But then he gets into one of his war stories, his voice getting louder and louder as it goes. Soon, other conversations are dying down as people can't ignore him any more. But Uncle Larry is on a tear, seemingly oblivious that he now has most of the dinner table as spectators.

When many conversations are happening, everyone has a small share of voice - including Uncle Larry. But as others resume eating, and he gets louder, his share of voice becomes too much to ignore. He then dominates the entire dinner conversation.

As landlords and business owners, we need to be like Uncle Larry. With only a small share of your market, many of your marketing efforts may be like leaves in the wind. And it's hard to get noticed, let alone influence anybody to buy. Just open up an Apartment Guide magazine - hundreds of competitors all clamoring for attention: same features, same look, same everything. This is no way to market yourself.

And the irony is that the smaller your market share, the greater your share of voice must be to breakthrough and grab the attention of your target audience. Conversely if you're the big player in your industry, you may be able to spend less putting your message and offer out there because everybody already knows about you.

Think of new ways you can increase your own share of voice in your market and see the results start to pay off like never before!

Just ask

Here's something I'm learning lately. If you want something, ask for it. If your logic is sound, chances are good you will get it.

These days, I'm submitting the manuscript of my new book to CEOs, company founders, and national experts on landlording and project management. And I have yet to be rejected. Every single person I've asked so far is happy (some even eager) to give a testimonial or review of the book.

Now, I fully expect this streak to end. Maybe even with the next person I ask, but here's one thing I'm sure of - chances are good as long as I put in simple terms why I've written the book and how it will help landlords turn their businesses around. As many of my testimonials are landlords themselves, it's really encouraging to me to see an early appetite for the material. Particularly by some of the giants in the industry.

Also, it's proof of something I learned in a writing class once: the only one who can sell my book is me. No one else can do it for me. This is even true of asking for testimonials and reviews.

So here's what I'm happy to announce:

Scheduled release for 1st run of 2,000 copies is August 31st, 2010.
The selling price will be $19.95 (plus $3 shipping and handling for delivery).
It will only be available on my landing page being built at http://www.landlordmarketingsecrets.com/
With every purchase, I will be offering my FREE report "10 Tips Every Landlord Must Know."

That's the state of the union. It feels like I'm at the 24th mile marker of a marathon run; it's exciting to see this journey transition to a whole new phase.

A phase where I prove again that I can create the best multi-channel marketing strategy that ever existed. I've done it dozens of time for clients, but this time it's personal. My own money's on the line. And there's hardly anything more motivating than that!