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Zipline to Success: Fast-Track Marketing Strategies to Accelerate Your Sales & Profits
Winner of the "Best Business Book" award at the San Francisco Book Fair! Transform your marketing outcomes from so-so to spectacular! Does this describe you? As a business owner, manager or entrepreneur, you’re being yanked every which way by day-to-day business. You worry about the bottom line because sales aren’t where you feel they should be. Everyone says, “Do more marketing!” But where do you focus? Social media? Online ads? Radio? Print? And how do you know if you’re spending money wisely? The proven Zipline to Success system has helped hundreds of companies zip over roadblocks, avoid costly mistakes that could kill their business, and accelerate their success. Discover smart, practical, easy-to-use strategies and insider tips that show you how to fast-track your marketing, measure outcomes, and quickly course correct when your buyers shift gears. Learn how • Use practical shortcuts to boost sales & profits • Turn competitors into your “best friends” • Achieve a genuine competitive edge • Market on a shoestring budget • Speak your customer’s language • Use pricing as a marketing tool • Zip over the “digital divide” • Avoid the 3 Bs of marketing Zipline to Success is all about speed, practical solutions, measurable results, and transforming how companies do their marketing. Discover how this book can help you grow your business. BONUS! Readers of this book gain free access to valuable marketing resources, articles, and digital media tutorials to help your business soar to new heights!
253 pages, Paperback
Published October 13, 2016
About the author
Claudia Newcorn
6 books2 followersAward-winning author Claudia Newcorn's passion for writing started early in life with poems and short stories. A world traveler, she has been influenced by a diverse range of cultures and experiences.
Today, in addition to authoring four award-winning books, she is a professional freelance writer, marketing consultant and speaker. Her published short stories include “A Cat’s Gift of Faith,” in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul."
To learn more about her fantasy books, visit www.CNewcornFantasy.com. To learn more about her business book, Zipline to Success, visit www.ZiplineToSuccess.com.
Claudia lives in California. She collects antique fairy tale books, attempts to garden (she likes to say she has a "black thumb" and plants flee at the sight of her), takes courses in holistic wellness, and is passionate about biking, hiking, animals, and the environment.
Today, in addition to authoring four award-winning books, she is a professional freelance writer, marketing consultant and speaker. Her published short stories include “A Cat’s Gift of Faith,” in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul."
To learn more about her fantasy books, visit www.CNewcornFantasy.com. To learn more about her business book, Zipline to Success, visit www.ZiplineToSuccess.com.
Claudia lives in California. She collects antique fairy tale books, attempts to garden (she likes to say she has a "black thumb" and plants flee at the sight of her), takes courses in holistic wellness, and is passionate about biking, hiking, animals, and the environment.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 17, 2019
A fun and informative read for small business owners. Claudia shares some great information from her days in corporate marketing and makes it easily applicable to smaller businesses and even nonprofits. I'm interested in some of the strategies for starting a personal coaching business. Very helpful with humor strewn around and I'm glad to have read this and taken some great pointers away. Also, to have the great opportunity to work with Claudia directly!
"I've often seen the argument put forward that people don't know what they want. I don't think that's accurate. While they may not be able to specifically articulate what they want, there are threads that tie what they wish or would like to have together, and those can be woven into a solution. Your job is to ferret out those threads and weave them into a product or service concept that people will want. It may mean you adapt or evolve an existing product or service, or develop something entirely new." pg. 12
"Another way of looking at what your product or service does for pepple is by identifying what problem(s) it solves, or is going to solve, for them. People usually buy because they have a problem, need, or want that they hope to resolve." pg. 56
"A common mistake many companies make is writing copy that lists features and does not include benefits. . . Really powerful copy is problem-solution driven, structured around the well-defined wants and needs of the buyer." pg. 64
"1. Be something your buyer is willing to pay because they think it's worth it. The right price can create value in a buyer's mind. It's often referred to as 'perceived value': what they perceive it as being worth. . . Everything that's included makes the product or service seem worth more than its actual price. By bundling multiple elements under a single price point, depending on the perceived value of those elements, buyers feel they're getting a great deal for their money. This is often known as 'bundled' pricing." pg. 92
"The real way you should be looking at marketing is 'outside in'--from your customer's viewpoint. This is where the WIFME (what's in it for me) we discussed in Chapter 5 comes into play. You have to speak their language, and what they want to know is how does your product or service benefit them and resolve their problems?
The fundamental truth about marketing is it's all about the customer. How you communicate with them builds up the customer life cycle of Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer. First they hear about you, next they research and learn to like and trust what your company and your products or services are about, ideally they make the decision to try, and buy. If they're satisfied, they become repeat purchasers, and tell others. This is even more true when it comes to digital marketing, which is largely relationships based." pg. 101
"2. Delegate the small stuff--recognize the value of your time. Yes, you're busy. But are you maximizing the value of your time?
Ask yourself, what is the value of your time per hour? For sure you're in the double or triple digits, maybe more! If your hourly rate is $100, why are you doing $10/hour work? Yes, you may feel like you're getting stuff done, but are you working smart? Are you focusing on the revenue-generating activities the company really needs you to be working on? It ties back to the 80/20 Rule: are you spending time on the activities of greatest value?" pg. 112
"If you're willing to put in a little extra effort, you can boost the outcome of the testimonial requests by using what I call the Zipline Problem-Solution survey method. In the survey, three questions should be, 'What problem or challenge were you facing before you decided to call XYZ company?', 'Why did you choose XYZ company?', and 'How did we help solve your problem?'
The responses enable you to write a stronger testimonial, then send it back for the client's approval. I can tell you that 9/10 times, they're delighted, and thank you for making them sound so good. They may tweak it a bit, but now you've got a powerful problem-solution testimonial that will really stand out.
Always request written permission to use the testimonials, and keep the records on file; the approval can be via email or with the person signing the survey. This is especially important with people at a company providing a testimonial; they may leave and you always want to be able to prove you had tangible approval to use that statement." pg. 120
"[T]here's a vast amount of data on who is using the different forms of social media, and it's constantly evolving. Do an Internet search for the most current audience demographic profile on each digital media option you're considering." pg. 178
"5. Is it easy to find the benefits? Visitors want to learn as much as possible about how your product or service will make a positive impact on their life. Focus not just on its features, but on its benefits and how it solves their problems or satisfies their wants.
Helpful hint: If your product or service is one that comes with a lot of possible questions from prospects, include an FAQ tab on the navigation bar." pg. 180
"Search engines crawl websites about once every two weeks, looking for fresh content and updates, which is why blogs, articles, and adding testimonials can be so useful. The more dormant your website is--say, you haven't done anything in the past several months (or years)--the lower its SEO potential. Google Analytics has a companion tool called Search Console that gives website owners access to lots of data about how Google Search is interacting with their site." pg. 181
"It's all about content: There's TMI on the Internet (too much information). And since you're going to be adding to it, make sure your content isn't just gas, but something of value from the buyer or prospect's perspective.
Practice EIAI. Educate, inform, amuse, inspire... There's a variety of ways to come up with topics, even short blurbs, that will keep you top of mind. Try creating Top 10 lists, helpful tips, or best practices in your industry. Don't feel you need to restrict content solely to your business or profession; sometimes the unexpected and unusual is a good way to 'startle' your readers and get them re-engaged.
Content can be repurposed. Don't just post and forget. Look at ways to turn a series of blog posts or articles into an e-book. Or refresh as new data or ideas come along. Or convert it into a webinar, vieo, tutorial, podcast, or teleseminar." pg. 194
"Because your company has set strategic business goals, a postmortem reaches beyond measuring marketing outreach efforts to the whole marketing strategy and plan. A comprehensive evaluation of each of the marketing plan's steps and outcomes is a vital part of the performance review process. Was a new product or service launched as planned? Did the revamped customer service strategy increase the number of repeat customers? Did increasing distribution to a wider geographic area deliver projected sales outcomes?
In my corporate days, we had to take all these performance evaluation steps, and then prove to our managers why we would, or would not, recommend repeating a marketing effort, ad campaign, or promotion. By using this data, it was about facts, not just our opinions." pg. 215
"I've often seen the argument put forward that people don't know what they want. I don't think that's accurate. While they may not be able to specifically articulate what they want, there are threads that tie what they wish or would like to have together, and those can be woven into a solution. Your job is to ferret out those threads and weave them into a product or service concept that people will want. It may mean you adapt or evolve an existing product or service, or develop something entirely new." pg. 12
"Another way of looking at what your product or service does for pepple is by identifying what problem(s) it solves, or is going to solve, for them. People usually buy because they have a problem, need, or want that they hope to resolve." pg. 56
"A common mistake many companies make is writing copy that lists features and does not include benefits. . . Really powerful copy is problem-solution driven, structured around the well-defined wants and needs of the buyer." pg. 64
"1. Be something your buyer is willing to pay because they think it's worth it. The right price can create value in a buyer's mind. It's often referred to as 'perceived value': what they perceive it as being worth. . . Everything that's included makes the product or service seem worth more than its actual price. By bundling multiple elements under a single price point, depending on the perceived value of those elements, buyers feel they're getting a great deal for their money. This is often known as 'bundled' pricing." pg. 92
"The real way you should be looking at marketing is 'outside in'--from your customer's viewpoint. This is where the WIFME (what's in it for me) we discussed in Chapter 5 comes into play. You have to speak their language, and what they want to know is how does your product or service benefit them and resolve their problems?
The fundamental truth about marketing is it's all about the customer. How you communicate with them builds up the customer life cycle of Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer. First they hear about you, next they research and learn to like and trust what your company and your products or services are about, ideally they make the decision to try, and buy. If they're satisfied, they become repeat purchasers, and tell others. This is even more true when it comes to digital marketing, which is largely relationships based." pg. 101
"2. Delegate the small stuff--recognize the value of your time. Yes, you're busy. But are you maximizing the value of your time?
Ask yourself, what is the value of your time per hour? For sure you're in the double or triple digits, maybe more! If your hourly rate is $100, why are you doing $10/hour work? Yes, you may feel like you're getting stuff done, but are you working smart? Are you focusing on the revenue-generating activities the company really needs you to be working on? It ties back to the 80/20 Rule: are you spending time on the activities of greatest value?" pg. 112
"If you're willing to put in a little extra effort, you can boost the outcome of the testimonial requests by using what I call the Zipline Problem-Solution survey method. In the survey, three questions should be, 'What problem or challenge were you facing before you decided to call XYZ company?', 'Why did you choose XYZ company?', and 'How did we help solve your problem?'
The responses enable you to write a stronger testimonial, then send it back for the client's approval. I can tell you that 9/10 times, they're delighted, and thank you for making them sound so good. They may tweak it a bit, but now you've got a powerful problem-solution testimonial that will really stand out.
Always request written permission to use the testimonials, and keep the records on file; the approval can be via email or with the person signing the survey. This is especially important with people at a company providing a testimonial; they may leave and you always want to be able to prove you had tangible approval to use that statement." pg. 120
"[T]here's a vast amount of data on who is using the different forms of social media, and it's constantly evolving. Do an Internet search for the most current audience demographic profile on each digital media option you're considering." pg. 178
"5. Is it easy to find the benefits? Visitors want to learn as much as possible about how your product or service will make a positive impact on their life. Focus not just on its features, but on its benefits and how it solves their problems or satisfies their wants.
Helpful hint: If your product or service is one that comes with a lot of possible questions from prospects, include an FAQ tab on the navigation bar." pg. 180
"Search engines crawl websites about once every two weeks, looking for fresh content and updates, which is why blogs, articles, and adding testimonials can be so useful. The more dormant your website is--say, you haven't done anything in the past several months (or years)--the lower its SEO potential. Google Analytics has a companion tool called Search Console that gives website owners access to lots of data about how Google Search is interacting with their site." pg. 181
"It's all about content: There's TMI on the Internet (too much information). And since you're going to be adding to it, make sure your content isn't just gas, but something of value from the buyer or prospect's perspective.
Practice EIAI. Educate, inform, amuse, inspire... There's a variety of ways to come up with topics, even short blurbs, that will keep you top of mind. Try creating Top 10 lists, helpful tips, or best practices in your industry. Don't feel you need to restrict content solely to your business or profession; sometimes the unexpected and unusual is a good way to 'startle' your readers and get them re-engaged.
Content can be repurposed. Don't just post and forget. Look at ways to turn a series of blog posts or articles into an e-book. Or refresh as new data or ideas come along. Or convert it into a webinar, vieo, tutorial, podcast, or teleseminar." pg. 194
"Because your company has set strategic business goals, a postmortem reaches beyond measuring marketing outreach efforts to the whole marketing strategy and plan. A comprehensive evaluation of each of the marketing plan's steps and outcomes is a vital part of the performance review process. Was a new product or service launched as planned? Did the revamped customer service strategy increase the number of repeat customers? Did increasing distribution to a wider geographic area deliver projected sales outcomes?
In my corporate days, we had to take all these performance evaluation steps, and then prove to our managers why we would, or would not, recommend repeating a marketing effort, ad campaign, or promotion. By using this data, it was about facts, not just our opinions." pg. 215
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 14, 2017
Reviewed by Sheri Hoyte for Reader Views (12/17)
“Zipline to Success: Fast-Track Marketing Strategies to Accelerate Your Sales & Profits” by Claudia Newcorn is the perfect book for small businesses, providing practical information on how to grow your business and make more money without a substantial marketing budget.
For many a small business owner or manager, the topic can be enough to completely overwhelm, often leaving one wondering where they can spare the time needed to learn detailed, complicated methods, let alone the time to incorporate them into an already over-scheduled day. The better question would be to ask, “How can you not take the time?”
“Zipline to Success” will help. There are several things that drew me to this book, the title being the first feature to lure me in. “Zipline to Success” suggests a fast-track to success that I could easily relate to, by likening the marketing communications experience to the popular outdoor aerial activity. By navigating viable methods to avoid hitting trees using your zipline equipment, the author lays out simple (but not easy) steps to achieve your goals.
“Zipline to Success” is not an unmanageable volume to read; instead it provides concise clear guidance in easy to understand language that you won’t need a PhD to decipher. The author notes that while everything contained in this book is relevant to your business, certain concepts are essential. These concepts are highlighted as Zipline Essentials and there are 27 of them interspersed throughout the book.
You will definitely want to take notes or use a highlighter pen while reading as there is a wealth of information contained in each of the 7 parts of this book. But worry not – the layout of the information is yet another feature invaluable to your success. At the end of each part the author provides Zipline Highlights – bullet points to sum up the information. As well, there is a convenient summary of all the Zipline Essentials in the final pages of the book, and readers also have access to bonus marketing resources and tutorials.
The real examples, success driven strategies, and clear guidance makes “Zipline to Success: Fast-Track Marketing Strategies to Accelerate Your Sales & Profits” by Claudia Newcorn a must-read for all small business owners, managers and entrepreneurs.
“Zipline to Success: Fast-Track Marketing Strategies to Accelerate Your Sales & Profits” by Claudia Newcorn is the perfect book for small businesses, providing practical information on how to grow your business and make more money without a substantial marketing budget.
For many a small business owner or manager, the topic can be enough to completely overwhelm, often leaving one wondering where they can spare the time needed to learn detailed, complicated methods, let alone the time to incorporate them into an already over-scheduled day. The better question would be to ask, “How can you not take the time?”
“Zipline to Success” will help. There are several things that drew me to this book, the title being the first feature to lure me in. “Zipline to Success” suggests a fast-track to success that I could easily relate to, by likening the marketing communications experience to the popular outdoor aerial activity. By navigating viable methods to avoid hitting trees using your zipline equipment, the author lays out simple (but not easy) steps to achieve your goals.
“Zipline to Success” is not an unmanageable volume to read; instead it provides concise clear guidance in easy to understand language that you won’t need a PhD to decipher. The author notes that while everything contained in this book is relevant to your business, certain concepts are essential. These concepts are highlighted as Zipline Essentials and there are 27 of them interspersed throughout the book.
You will definitely want to take notes or use a highlighter pen while reading as there is a wealth of information contained in each of the 7 parts of this book. But worry not – the layout of the information is yet another feature invaluable to your success. At the end of each part the author provides Zipline Highlights – bullet points to sum up the information. As well, there is a convenient summary of all the Zipline Essentials in the final pages of the book, and readers also have access to bonus marketing resources and tutorials.
The real examples, success driven strategies, and clear guidance makes “Zipline to Success: Fast-Track Marketing Strategies to Accelerate Your Sales & Profits” by Claudia Newcorn a must-read for all small business owners, managers and entrepreneurs.
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November 15, 2017I like how it's giving the small business owners more confidence and how it's telling me a lot about the business industry .
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