Yay! Course! We’re doing a course! A not-very-expensive course that’s going to be super crazy fun. I love it.

So, after much ado — OK, a little bit of ado — here’s what’s going on.

Lots and lots of people wanted to be in Self-Promotion For Wimps after it was done. The problem was, it was, uh, done. So we couldn’t really do that. And lots of other people wanted to get the Marketing School book, but it WASN’T done. Naturally, this was a conundrum. And because the IttyBiz team is made up of some of the best and brightest people in the Western world, we solved the conundrum.

Let’s make a course. About marketing! And then we could release the Marketing School book right after, but the people who took the course could get it for free! Hurray! Love and cookies and businesses that don’t suck can be had by all.

So. Course details. I have three consults this afternoon and absolutely zero time to write sexy sales copy, so I’ll just tell it like it is.

The Low-Down on Marketing 101

Lesson One: Figuring Out What Makes You AWESOME

Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition, for the newbies out there — hi newbies!!) is what makes you different and better and awesome. It’s also what makes all the people with the money pick YOU instead of your dirty, filthy competition.

Tragically, your potential buyers don’t already know that your competition lists puppy kicking and candy stealing as primary recreational pursuits. If they knew that they’d all be paying you already, but they don’t, so you have to give them another reason. Your USP is that reason.

Lesson Two: Who’s Supposed To BUY This Stuff Anyway?

Once you figure out exactly what it is about you that kicks ass, you need to find the perfect person to buy it. (Obviously, by “person”, we mean people. Lots and lots and lots of people.) Finding the perfect people — your big fat raving fans — is pretty easy when you know what to look for. Most people just don’t know what to look for.

They say stuff like, “Um. I’m a web designer. I’m looking for people who need websites.” Or, “I make baby clothes. I’m looking for parents.” Nope. Your target demographic is a much more complex and intimate beast than that, and we’re gonna help you find it.

Lesson Three: What Do I SAY To These People?

Imagine figuring out exactly what makes your business the best thing since bread — sliced or otherwise — and finding a crapload of people who are shivering with excitement about the prospect of sending you money. Now imagine exactly the right words you’ll say to make them give you not only their Visas, but their panties as well.

Not easy, huh? Yeah, that’s where a lot of otherwise stellar IttyBiz’s fall down. This is the day you’re going to learn exactly what to say to all these nice people who want to buy your stuff.

Lesson Four: Sneaky, Sneaky Tricks

This is the money call. This is where you learn a bunch of ass-kickingly awesome ways to get people to come on over and start spending money.

Now don’t get me wrong. There are LOTS of ways to get people to come on over and start spending money. You’ve probably heard of most of them. But there’s that nagging issue of, um, finance. If you’re one of the 9,997 people reading this blog without a trust fund, the money thing is, you know, a thing. This is the class where you learn sneaky, sneaky, cheap, cheap, cheap tricks to get the people in the door.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before we get to the frequently asked questions, I’d like to mention how crazy it drives me when people list frequently asked questions that are not, in fact, frequently asked. They’re not frequently asked because NOBODY HAS HEARD OF THIS COURSE UNTIL NOW!

When is it?

Each Wednesday from February 11th until March 4th. Each class starts at 7:00 pm GMT which is 2:00 pm in New York and 11:00 am in Los Angeles. Classes are one hour for the important stuff and half an hour afterwards for just shooting the shit and asking questions.

What’s the format?

Each class is going to have the first half hour devoted to general yumminess and then we’re going to make two IttyBiz’s as case studies — one product based and one service based. Then the shooting the shit which, let’s face it, is probably going to be the funnest part.

What if I can’t make it?

That’s cool. There’s going to be recordings.

Can I ask questions?

Dude, totally. You think I’m just going to lecture you for an hour?

Do I get cool stuff, too?

Hello!? Of course you do. You get Marketing School for free. (It’s going on sale in February for $49.) You get a funky learning environment where you can chat with your classmates and make fun of my accent. And you get the recordings afterwards because you’ll want to listen to them as you meditate in the bath.

What does this whole shindig cost me?

If you sign up to participate in the course, it’s $94 USD. If you buy it as a download later, it’s double that.

Huh? Double?

Yeah, double. Because I need actual participants in the course to give me fodder. You ask questions and you’re helping create the case study IttyBiz’s and you’re buying now instead of later. So you get it cheap. Buy it later and you’re just sitting on the couch listening, so you pay more.

But what if I don’t want to ask questions and contribute?

I won’t tell. But you should probably do ten Hail Mary’s anyway, just in case.

If you want in, click here to get to the Marketing 101 page. Scroll down to the bottom (the copy right now is the same as it is here, so you won’t be reading anything new) and buy, buy, buy!