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Get Paid For Being Cool

by James Foster
9 replies
Hey Offliners - long time no talk

Thought I'd share with you all an idea I had that will get you paid, just for being cool and giving away free information.

Not only will can you be handsomely compensated for talking, but because people will be coming to you through one of their most TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCES - it's going to be an obvious decision for businesses to start working with you. Hello new clients!

Did I mention you won't even have to leave your house or office to do this? And that it can easily bring in $10,000 a month?

This will work with just about any offline service you're selling, but for this example I'll keep it simple and stick with SEO.

Here's what you're going to do...

1) Get a list every Chamber of Commerce you can find. (That's the trusted local source I mentioned.)

2) Create your webinar giving away EVERYTHING you know about SEO... and make it very simple, regular business owners don't know what backlinks are.

3) Start contacting Big Businesses... I'm talking Best Buy, Verizon, Xerox, etc (any large company who target small businesses). And I don't mean your local store - I mean corporate headquarters.

Believe it or not, they WILL take your call about this...

You might have to start with the PR person (they're always the easiest to get a hold of) and work your way up the ladder to the VP of Marketing or the person in charge of Sponsorships (sometimes their title is VP of Sponsorships).

And here's the idea you're going to pitch them:

Start off a WIIFM (What's In It For Me) statement that puts you and the corporate person on the same page... Something like:

"I see from your ad in ____ (or your commercial on some business channel) you're trying to reach small businesses! I am too, and I've got a way we can both reach them. It will require no work on your part." (Big Business loves to get benefits without having to put in any of their own human resources.)

Then what you're going to pitch to the business is your webinar about SEO.

You explain on the title page of your webinar (first slide) it will say " Big Company Presents...." (Your webinar).

Then on every page of the webinar, in the corner you'll have a small version of their logo. (If you can think of other ways to mention the Big Business include them here.)

You explain to them that you'll be presenting this webinar for free too dozens (if not hundreds) of chambers of commerce across the country; starting specifically with the biggest areas like NYC, Boston, Chicago, etc... and most of those groups will likely be able to put 300 - 600 small business owners and decision makers on your webinar.

At this point the lights will start going off in the VP's mind!

These big corporate guys get branding. They understand affinity. And they know why it's beneficial for them to be seen as doing something nice and good for their target audience... Because it will come back to them in SALES.

Why else do you think they donate gobs of money to SCORE and other small business related non-profits?

Or why they pay obscene amounts to have a sticker on a car that just goes in circles (NASCAR)?

Because each of those represent a different target market and they know when people see it - they get mind share in that person. And the more a person sees their brand, the more they'll think to shop there!

4) Contact each Chamer of Commerce and say - you're (insert your name here) and you're working with (Some big company) to put on FREE webinars for small business owners.

You explain you'll be teaching how small businesses can bring in more customers through SEO and you'll be giving a step by step presentation on how to do it... If they're still stand-offish at this point, explain there be no pitch at the end and remind them it's free. All the Chamber has to do is email their members and have them sign up on your webinar registration page.

5) Give the presentation to the Chambers you book and at the end, instead of having a pitch for your services, you simply say " If you've got any more questions about this you can contact me at...."

Done and done!

Get it? I know that was short but I hope it's got your mind working.

You're being a cool expert who gives away great information.

The audience learns a lot for free and now can call you if they need additional consulting.

And the Big Business who was smart enough to work with you gets TONS of affinity and goodwill with a target market who spends.

It's win-win-win.

But now I'm sure you're wondering about the bottomline.... how much can you charge a big business to be the sponsor of the webinar?

That's totally dependant on your negotiating skills but if you do 2 webinars a week at 1 hour each $10,000 a month doesn't seam unreasonable.

In fact, what I would do, is get some info from large Chambers of Commerce. They all have packets they give out to entice new members... Those packets will tell you things like the average size of the companies in their Chamber. The average sales volume of those companies. How many decision makers attend Chamber meetings.... That's all leverage you can present to the Big Business as reason why they should give you a LARGE "sponsorship".

It's not about how much it costs you to put on these webinars (and a lot of companies will say "Sure, you put it on, we'll pay your expenses"). It's about the marketing value they're getting.

Don't forget. Big Businesses will pay $15,000 just for lanyards that get worn at 300 person events. They do it because they know the marketing value is there.

OK, that's the quick and dirty version of this plan...I hope you see the potential in it.

Admittedly, it's just an idea, and I'm so busy in my business I won't be doing this anytime soon.

I hope this gives you some ideas of what's possible in the sponsorship world. (If you want to learn more check out Brendan Buchard - his stuff is amazing.)

But I especially hope someone actually does this! I've been a part of a few different sponsorship deals, and they're surprisingly easy to do... it's just most people don't have the balls to actually do it.
#cool #paid
  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    Sounds like this is just an idea but let me play devil's advocate here.

    1. Branding: Companies care a great deal about branding as you mention. This is why they will not lend you their name. Honestly no matter how you pitch this from a corp prospective they are leading you their brand. You can WIIFM all you want but the benefit for you is huge while it is small for them.

    2. Protecting their brand: They always want to protect how their brand is used so unless they know you and know your company fits with their brand they will not risk you messing up their brand. If you have ever worked in a frnachise environment you will know how crazy these companies are about even the local resturants not messing up their brand. Everything has to be approved and this is with business partners. How do you think they will handle a random stranger?

    3. Liability: By branding your event they could be held liable for something you say or do. You make a racist joke? Someone thinks you harassed them? You and your company are small beans. Yeah they will sue you but they will sue the sponsor company as well and depending on how it is billed they could actually be found liable. The legal dept will never let this fly so even if you get past the PR and marketing guys once legal gets wind of it the deal will be dead.

    But let's say that somehow after all this above you get approved what would a deal like this look like?
    1. You will likely be paying for the brand usage. Basically they will rightfully see you get more value from it. Expect a percentage deal in all likelihood.
    2. Expect a huge legal contract. You will need to hire a lawyer for this.

    Now let me tell you how to leverage this another way. A way that works.
    1. Read the 4 hour work week. This is all from Tim's book.
    2. Offer a free seminar to local colleges
    3. Offer a free seminar to the kind of companies that you wanted.
    4. Now you can mention that you have given seminars to such fortune 500 companies as .......

    See how it works? You are not using the brand in a way that they can really stop you. But you have built credibility using them just the same.

    As for your original idea I'd love to hear if anyone can pull it off. But most of my management career was working for some of these large companies and i know how crazy they protect their branding.

    Also lanyards do not cost $50 a piece they get those things for a buck or less each. And they buy them for multiple events. Yes there is a cost involved with the people they send to these events but trust me they look into the ROI and when it isn't their they drop out.

    Blockbuster and Hollywood video both back in the 90's used to host their own trade shows in Vegas. They stopped in the late 90's or ealy 00's because the return on investment isn't there. I have friends who were with these companies at this time and on average they likely brought back lanyards and other stuff worth $50 to $200. Plus of course the cost of the hotels and meals.

    One of the current vendors for the company I work for takes us all out to the factory for a few days. 2 events of 3 days a piece for a total of about 500 people and that event costs them about $500,000 if I remember what the head of marketing there told me.

    The event has a huge cost but they saw a great ROI after the first event years ago so they continue to do it yearly.
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    • Profile picture of the author James Foster
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post


      1. Branding: Companies care a great deal about branding as you mention. This is why they will not lend you their name. Honestly no matter how you pitch this from a corp prospective they are leading you their brand. You can WIIFM all you want but the benefit for you is huge while it is small for them.
      I disagree. The benefit to them is not small at all. Maybe in the short term, it is... which seams to be what you're talking about... but these companies think in terms of lifetime customer value.

      Say Verizon was your sponsor, and there were small businesses on your webinar with 50-80 employees. They don't need a lot of those businesses to sign up for company plans to make paying you worth their wild.

      Also, you're providing them with a new way to reach their audience. Ads in magazines and TV commercials will only get them so far, and they know that. So if you can provide them with a way to reach their audience in a unique manner without using any of their resources (or than money) to do it... that's a huge benefit to them.

      2. Protecting their brand: They always want to protect how their brand is used so unless they know you and know your company fits with their brand they will not risk you messing up their brand. If you have ever worked in a frnachise environment you will know how crazy these companies are about even the local resturants not messing up their brand. Everything has to be approved and this is with business partners. How do you think they will handle a random stranger?
      In one respect you are probably right... Franchises are probably not the type of business you want to work with.

      On the other hand, think about all the events,conferences, and "summits" businesses do sponsor and pay BIG BUCKS to have their name on the banner at the head of the stage.

      The only reassurance those companies have that a speaker doesn't get up there and say something offensive is a written contract with the event organizer. Surely you can write up a similar contract can't you?

      3. Liability: By branding your event they could be held liable for something you say or do. You make a racist joke? Someone thinks you harassed them? You and your company are small beans. Yeah they will sue you but they will sue the sponsor company as well and depending on how it is billed they could actually be found liable. The legal dept will never let this fly so even if you get past the PR and marketing guys once legal gets wind of it the deal will be dead.
      Also lanyards do not cost $50 a piece they get those things for a buck or less each.
      Correct. They are dirt cheap. Like I said in the OP ... it's not about the cost, it's about the marketing value you're providing.

      Blockbuster and Hollywood video both back in the 90's used to host their own trade shows in Vegas. They stopped in the late 90's or ealy 00's because the return on investment isn't there.
      Right. Those companies went broke because movies became really cheap to own, and then the internet came along with streaming and pirating and finished them off.... not sure what that has to do with the OP.

      ... If you don't think this idea will work. That's fine. Don't do it.

      But coming along and bashing it when you've never done a sponsorship deal.... That's a jerk move.

      So let the people interested in this, talk about it and try it. The people who don't like it, like you, can move along.
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      • Profile picture of the author CreativeFlair
        Originally Posted by James Foster View Post

        I disagree. The benefit to them is not small at all. Maybe in the short term, it is... which seams to be what you're talking about... but these companies think in terms of lifetime customer value.

        Say Verizon was your sponsor, and there were small businesses on your webinar with 50-80 employees. They don't need a lot of those businesses to sign up for company plans to make paying you worth their wild.
        It all boils down to the company culture. Apple would never in a million years touch this kind of thing with a bargepole. They wouldn't even let their certified resellers do it. On the other hand, get a friendly, approachable company and you will have more of a chance.

        Originally Posted by James Foster View Post

        Also, you're providing them with a new way to reach their audience. Ads in magazines and TV commercials will only get them so far, and they know that. So if you can provide them with a way to reach their audience in a unique manner without using any of their resources (or than money) to do it... that's a huge benefit to them.
        Big companies aren't stupid. This idea is nothing new. But like you say, it's the resource factor that's important. If it's all done for them and they don't have to deal with the red tape or sign off a million things and have fifty meetings about it, it's likely to look more appealing.
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        • Profile picture of the author James Foster
          Originally Posted by CreativeFlair View Post

          Apple would never in a million years touch this kind of thing with a bargepole. They wouldn't even let their certified resellers do it.
          Apple might not be interested in this particular project idea... but Apple has and does sponsor events.

          Big companies aren't stupid. This idea is nothing new.
          Exactly! It's not new... didn't mean to make it sound like I had a revolutionary idea... but I hope it helps people understand that big business does do this kind of stuff all the time.
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      • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
        Originally Posted by James Foster View Post

        I disagree. The benefit to them is not small at all. Maybe in the short term, it is... which seams to be what you're talking about... but these companies think in terms of lifetime customer value.

        Say Verizon was your sponsor, and there were small businesses on your webinar with 50-80 employees. They don't need a lot of those businesses to sign up for company plans to make paying you worth their wild.

        Also, you're providing them with a new way to reach their audience. Ads in magazines and TV commercials will only get them so far, and they know that. So if you can provide them with a way to reach their audience in a unique manner without using any of their resources (or than money) to do it... that's a huge benefit to them.
        My point was that for branding reasons big companies will be very uneasy about lending their name to your seminar. Yes companies of all sizes do sponsorships. And yes you may be able to find a company that will do this. But using verizon as an example. Just having Verizon presents and a few logos is not worth $10,000(the number you gave as an example). You might be able to sell them on sending a rep there and letting them have an active sales roll but from a branding stand point your seminar will not add a lot of value for them. We could get into a huge discussion on branding and how often you have to get in front of their eyes and all that jazz but in the end I am just give you advice based on what I know from my management career in the corporate world. Big brands care about their brands a lot and they are unlikely to lend their name to an unknown. Let alone pay you to sponsor or even co-brand(the sales rep idea i spoke about).

        Medium and local companies on the other hand may be very open to this though I am not sure how much they would be willing to pay. But in my opinion the big brands will say no. Because they want to control their brand and what their brand is associated with so closely.

        Originally Posted by James Foster View Post

        In one respect you are probably right... Franchises are probably not the type of business you want to work with.

        On the other hand, think about all the events,conferences, and "summits" businesses do sponsor and pay BIG BUCKS to have their name on the banner at the head of the stage.

        The only reassurance those companies have that a speaker doesn't get up there and say something offensive is a written contract with the event organizer. Surely you can write up a similar contract can't you?
        Yes as I said above and agree with these companies sponsor a lot of large events. The key is these events are large and from "known" properties. A seminar from a small company is a whole different animal.

        And yes they will have an airtight contract. They would likely insist on their lawyer being the one to write it up. But if you and your company are unknown it doesn't matter if sub-paragraph 7b mentions the presenters code of conduct. Yeah they have a contract with you and yes if they get sueed they can sue your company and all that jazz. They even have umbrella policies to cover their damages. In the end none of the protections matter because they don't want it to happen in the first place. They don't wanna see you on youtube saying something stupid with a banner that says Verizon presents. Sponsorship is a risk for any brand. You never know when Tiger Woods' wife is going to take a club to his car over affairs. But with Tiger the risk vs reward made sense because he was a known quaity with a great Q value. They will treat an unknown differently. This was my point.

        Originally Posted by James Foster View Post

        Correct. They are dirt cheap. Like I said in the OP ... it's not about the cost, it's about the marketing value you're providing.
        I agree 100% it is all about the value.

        Originally Posted by James Foster View Post

        Right. Those companies went broke because movies became really cheap to own, and then the internet came along with streaming and pirating and finished them off.... not sure what that has to do with the OP.
        This was me pointing out that I didn't believe you meant $50k just for lanyard but the whole event and talking about companies that did similar. It was a tangent. And if you are ever interested I can tell you 100% why Blockbuster failed. It all boils down to the term "day and date" and "revenue share". Blockbuster didn't think DVD would catch on so wouldn't make a revenue share deal so DVD became day and date which killed the rental market. But before I go more tangent I will stop.

        Originally Posted by James Foster View Post

        ... If you don't think this idea will work. That's fine. Don't do it.

        But coming along and bashing it when you've never done a sponsorship deal.... That's a jerk move.

        So let the people interested in this, talk about it and try it. The people who don't like it, like you, can move along.
        I didn't "bash" it I gave you an opinion and told you I was playing devil's advocate. My opinion is based on experience within retail and resturant corporate world. Also it includes second hand experience was serveral people in the same industries in a varity of positions including a resturant industry lobbyist.

        My honest opinion is that a sponsorship deal with a large brand is unlikely while you are an "unknown". Even know people like Tony Robbins or Tim Ferris would have trouble getting branding from a lot of these major brands because they have to believe you and your company fit the image the brand has. Athletes and sports and big events do this easily but small companies, events, and known people who are not celebs/major athletes do not.

        If you have seen my post here you will know I always give my opinion and try to back up my opinion especially if it is negative or a devils advocate post like my original reply was.

        If you believe this will work and clearly you do I would love to hear how it goes. I said that in my original reply.

        Your idea of sponsorship of seminars is a great idea. I've seen it suggested here and other places multiple times but normally in the context of getting a local company to sponsor for free or low cost(they pay the venue or similar). Basically they get the free/low cost marketing and you the credibility that their name lends. And I 100% believe this works.

        I just do not personally believe it is able to be scaled up in the fashion you brought up. Big brands are not willing to sponsor unknowns. And I do not believe you can show them $10,000 of value even if you meant $10,000 a year and you plan to do seminars weekly or better.

        I am giving honest feedback. I am a big believer in time is money. So I offer my devil's advocate opinion in that vain.

        You hint that you have done sponsorships before so perhaps you have the connections at one or more of these companies to make this work. In which case I wish you all the best and I look forward to hearing who you got to sponsor your seminars.

        EDIT: I will put this out there. If you pull this off I will be calling up my aunt. She used to be a major executive for Max Factor around the time P&G bought them. And she worked the Target account for years before that so she might be able to get my foot in the door with one of those companies. Target might even be in your backyard since you are in MN. John Deere would be my biggest backdoor Corp and I am trying to think if I know anyone on the PR/Marketing team there or have someone in my network that does. So if you can pull this off I will be the first to admit I will follow your lead and attempt it via my network as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author globalpro
    I like the idea of the webinar, but tend to agree with Aaron about the big corporations. Not saying it won't work. Would be interested to hear results if you do give it a whirl.

    As a side note, I could see where this might work by having a webinar for a local area and getting some local businesses to sponsor it with their info listed. An example would be like Hulu, that always has a 'this program brought to you by' listing as the program starts.

    Something I am going to put some thought into.

    Thanks,

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    Start out smaller, hone your message and seminar skills. And get paid to do it.

    Look up your local community continuing education programs, often they run spring, summer, fall, winter holding a variety of 1-20 session classes on all kinds of things. They are held often in city hall, highschools, in the evenings and weekends. People PAY to attend these. Then obviously, most of them would hire you to help them implement various IM, mobile etc..

    "Did you know businesses get millions of new customers from Facebook? FB is not just for your kids!" "How to get 200 new customers for your business using a smart phone in the next 30 days!" What business owner wouldn't be intrigued to show up and pay you 20 bucks to sell THEM?

    I like the big thinking of the OP but large companies are very protective of their brand. The very large companies have huge internal staffs and are unlikely to contract this stuff out, unless you have big outside credibility already.

    Why not start out at a local branch of the big company. Mgt at locations have leeway and local marketing budgets. If it works well, they can start spreading the word and eventually you get the credibility and the managers run you up the corporate flagpole eventually.

    The angle might be hooking up with the Chamber of Commerce first, getting their blessing for free seminars, then parlaying that credibility of the CoC to a large company.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Foster
    Originally Posted by NewParadigm View Post

    I like the big thinking of the OP but large companies are very protective of their brand. The very large companies have huge internal staffs and are unlikely to contract this stuff out, unless you have big outside credibility already.
    Thanks for the reply NewParadigm.

    You have some good info for people in it.

    But I would have to disagree with this quote above. Many many big companies are moving to an open innovation stand point because they are realizing they can't do everything themselves.... Even if they have the best employees, they still won't come up with all the possibilities that are out there. That's why they need people like you and me.
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  • Profile picture of the author rugman
    Going local could actually be great - along with all the big name Staples type stores we have a smaller family owned stationery store - they might be willing to do it. I am sure they would love to get people away from Staples and some of the other big names. may not pay you 10K but a decent amount.
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