Did you know that Benjamin Franklin never said “A penny saved is a penny earned?”
As popular as the saying is, it doesn’t really make sense (or its meaning is not as clear as it could be). Here’s what Franklin actually said:
“A penny saved is twopence dear.”
Translated, if you save your money you can double it (or a penny saved is two pennies earned). Ahhh… sound investment advice! So maybe Ben can help you out in other business matters, even when it comes to marketing on the Internet.
Here are seven wise things that Benjamin Franklin had to say that you can apply in today’s interactive marketing environment:
1. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”
The key to online marketing is content, and the ability to write well provides any professional or business owner with an unfair advantage over others, both in terms of social media audiences and with search engines. Video and podcasting are also ways to effectively communicate, as long as you have something compelling to say.
On the other hand, simply doing or providing something remarkable allows other media-empowered people to do the writing and spread the word for you. Either way, the lightening-fast viral nature of the Internet allows for unprecedented exposure—but only if you offer truly unique value.
2. “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”
The days of telling people what you have to offer are mostly over, and without a doubt dead as a doornail online. Educational marketing via valuable content is the rule of the web, and social media has given us the ability to fully heed Franklin’s prescient advice.
Educational marketing has morphed into conversational marketing, and the nimble and responsive business will see great advantages by involving prospects and existing customers in a dialogue that is beneficial to everyone involved. You lose control of the message (as if control was ever anything other than an illusion), but anyone who thinks you can talk “at” people online and succeed is deluded.
3. “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin was a true Renaissance man, and as a polymath accomplished much in the fields of business, politics and science. In these days of hyper-specialization, it’s ironic that the broader your knowledge base, the better your odds of not only providing remarkable products and service, but also of devising innovative ways to reach out to your target audience.
Another quote from Franklin illustrates the importance of constant learning: “If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him.” Invest constantly in keeping up with the latest online marketing developments and techniques, but more importantly, broaden your general knowledge base so as to have more ammunition to drawn upon when faced with new challenges.
4. “Drive thy business or it will drive thee.”
The price of success can be truly expensive. You work your tail off to develop business through innovative online marketing techniques, only to be buried with work and growing pains when you succeed. And what’s the first thing you slack off on when you get busy? That’s right, the production of the very content that got you the business in the first place.
In the very short term, you won’t feel it, but if you’re trying to grow a real business and avoid the feat or famine cycles that are inherent when engaging in marketing only when hungry, the content should never stop. If you’re looking to grow, make sure you bring on people that can do the things you shouldn’t be. You might be surprised to find that your marketing is the last thing you should hand over to someone else.
5. “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
One of the most dangerous things about marketing online is the allure of the possibilities. Yes, it’s entirely possible that you can write something that spreads like wildfire across the ‘net. And yes, it’s possible that your every prospective customer could find you and jump on board. The problem is that’s not likely to just happen.
The truth is, marketing your business online is much like anything else—you work at it consistently and get better as you go along. As Wood Allen said, “90% of success is showing up,” and luck come to those who work hard.
6. “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain and most fools do.”
I think one of the toughest things for successful offline business people to deal with online is the wide-open nature of social media communication. Everyone has an opinion, whether qualified or not, and the least qualified are shockingly eager to share. Plus, there are always the naysayers who will take the time to complain that what you offer or say cannot possibly work for them, regardless of any evidence to the contrary.
The people who succeed in attracting attention online, and converting that attention into cash, are those who take action, try things out, observe, and try again. The Internet is a medium that allows for unprecedented levels of tracking, testing, and low-cost experimentation, so idle opinions and complaints are even less warranted than at any other time in history.
7. “Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended.”
Reputation has been paramount to business success since well before horse-and-buggy days, and now news of bad business will spread faster than any other message you might want to communicate. If you’re tempted to put one over on people in the interest of short-term gain, you’d better be ready to close up shop and go do something else.
This does not mean that you should try to please everyone. Quite to the contrary, you have to fanatically please the people that matter to your business goals, and never sacrifice their interests to please those that ultimately don’t matter. Also, be wary of the inevitably opportunity for flame wars and stepping into unrelated controversy. You’re not going to change anyone’s mind, and they’re not going to change yours, so why bother? Stick to speaking to people who want to listen, and concentrate on speaking well.
Enjoy this post? Please vote for it at Digg. Thanks!
Subscribe to Copyblogger for more free content.
Add Copyblogger to your Technorati favorites.
Bookmark and Promote!
Related Articles
Thesis Theme for WordPress
Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. The stunning design and innovative options panel make Thesis perfect for beginners and professionals alike. Find out more below:
44 comments... add one
#1 Shane → 04.16.07 at 10:29 am
Another well crafted post, B (point 7 being the most crucial for success)
Rock on
Shane
#2 Sneaker Attack : #236 → 04.16.07 at 10:33 am
[...] Today on Copyblogger I read that Benjamin Franklin once said “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing“. [...]
#3 Alex → 04.16.07 at 11:23 am
Excellent collection of Franklin quotes. They couldn’t be any truer today.
Number 3 is kind of tricky. There is a cutoff between quantity of general knowledge gained and application of that knowledge. The same is true for the refinement and distillation of specific learnings.
Education should never stop but should almost always be accompanied by action.
#4 James → 04.16.07 at 12:16 pm
Great job adapting those quotes to online business.
I think I could learn a lot from studying him. I think it is a good thing to realize how young he was when he represented the country in France (12 or 13?).
#5 Mike → 04.16.07 at 12:33 pm
Wow ! You continue to amaze and drive me.
I’ll keep fightin’ as long as you keep teachin’, O’ Mighty One.
The truth of the matter is, as #2 points out, out of the 5 corporate blogs we guide, one outshines the others because the CEO takes the time to involve himself in the whole process.
#6 Jamie → 04.16.07 at 12:41 pm
Another great post. How many times do we need to learn that the key to good writing is content. Aviod what we used to call the Ally Sheedy complex, “just because people are listening doesn’t meen that you have something to say.”
Well done.
#7 Michael Graham Richard → 04.16.07 at 5:28 pm
Have you been reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Franklin too? I’m about half-way through and so far it’s very good.
Good post.
#8 Howtobewebsmart → 04.16.07 at 6:23 pm
I really feel this post. We have having problems marketing our new product. Here, we have a created a free firefox extension which helps the consumer bargains hop. But we don’t know how to get it out there - to really get people to use it.
Old Ben knew what he was talking about.
#9 [chrisbrogan.com] » Ben Franklin Blogging Tips → 04.16.07 at 6:47 pm
[...] writes up 7 tips in The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online, using quotes from Franklin as the pointers we might [...]
#10 The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online at Backhand Media → 04.16.07 at 7:13 pm
[...] read more | digg story [...]
#11 Easterangel → 04.16.07 at 7:41 pm
This is one great post! Benjamin Franklin is still relevant even in this tech heavy times.
This is a classic and my choice for my “Post of the Day” for my “Post Awards blog.
http://postawards.blogspot.com
#12 gordon → 04.16.07 at 9:20 pm
#1 is very important and everyone obsessed with SEO always forgets it. do it well and people will come. do it half assed and nobody will love you.
#13 Brett Evans → 04.16.07 at 10:04 pm
#3 Investing in knowledge
RSS subscriptions have changed our way of gaining knowledge at an incredible rate. Trying to stay above and beyond your readers takes great original content. No matter how much knowledge someone has, original content always puts a new perspective on old ideas.
Great post!
#14 josephtbradley.com » Blog Archive » A Penny Saved is twopence dear → 04.16.07 at 10:10 pm
[...] has a list of great tips for marketing your business [...]
#15 The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online | Copyblogger « The other side of the firewall → 04.16.07 at 11:39 pm
[...] April 16, 2007 at 11:38 pm · Filed under Business The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online [...]
#16 The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online « News Coctail → 04.17.07 at 1:40 am
[...] Guide to Marketing Your Business Online Filed under: Uncategorized — recar @ 6:36 am The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online Did you know that Benjamin Franklin never said “A penny saved is a penny earned?” He did say a [...]
#17 paul merrill → 04.17.07 at 3:14 am
I must admit that these kind of comments:
[…] has a list of great tips for marketing your business […]
aren’t very helpful to people like me (or like you?).
#18 Joanna Young → 04.17.07 at 3:55 am
Thanks - great content and great model of how to write a post!
Joanna
#19 Brian → 04.17.07 at 8:47 am Copyblogger
Paul, that’s a trackback notification from another post that has linked to this one. You’d need to click on the title to read the entire “comment” on another blog.
#20 bee → 04.17.07 at 9:04 am
so brian,
i’m referring now to your
“1. Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” quote.
and ask you:
- how do you assess if a post is a good post?
#21 Deb → 04.17.07 at 2:56 pm
I love how you took great quotes and related them to today. Quotes #1 and #2 are my favorites.
#22 Trip Hop Clan » Blog Archive » Ben Franklin and his online wisdom → 04.17.07 at 4:45 pm
[...] The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online - Copyblogger Did you know that Benjamin Franklin never said “A penny saved is a penny earned?” [...]
#23 Quoting Benji « Ponte la peluka → 04.17.07 at 5:00 pm
[...] de la influencia de Franklin, tres días después, CopyBlogger titula (algo así como) “Tips de Benjamin Franklin para publicitar online tu negocio“. A la pruebas me remito, y lo mejor del caso es que la reinterpretación de las citas no [...]
#24 links for 2007-04-18 « Simply… A User → 04.17.07 at 7:43 pm
[...] The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online | Copyblogger (tags: ** quotes benjaminfranklin article blogs business advice) [...]
#25 Stuart Baker → 04.17.07 at 10:11 pm
Some timeless wisdom here. As they say, the truth does not go out of style.
Thanks for a rich post.
Stuart Baker
http://www.consciouscooperation.com
#26 Terinea Tech Tips → 04.18.07 at 10:20 am
how many other greats advice be applied to modern day business?
#27 Terinea Tech Tips » Marketing Your Small Businesses Online → 04.18.07 at 10:21 am
[...] http://www.copyblogger.com/the-benjamin-franklin-guide-to-marketing-your-business-online/ [...]
#28 JDsBlog » Blog Archive » Tech Roadmap v. II → 04.18.07 at 1:06 pm
[...] The Ben Franklin guide to marketing online. [...]
#29 Jonathan-C. Phillips → 04.18.07 at 4:39 pm
In depth, meaningful and informative, loved reading this post! “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” so true! This is the kind of post that makes me wanna write more and get better! Point #1 is also extremely important.
Take care
#30 C Y Lack → 04.18.07 at 11:48 pm
I think point 5 sums up everything about online marketing. Good piece of advice!
http://www.articlesjoy.com/online-marketing/
#31 "links for 2007-04-19" by Bob Plankers, The Lone Sysadmin → 04.19.07 at 1:17 am
[...] The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online | Copyblogger [...]
#32 Friday Weed Time - 4/20/07 » TheMadHat → 04.20.07 at 11:31 am
[...] old guys” tips on whatever like PT Barnum, Ogilvy, Hemingway and this week we’ve got Benjamin Franklin the Online Marketer. Great series Brian, keep it up. How about Rambo’s guide to Adsense [...]
#33 Online Marketing Advice–From Benjamin Franklin?!? | The Best Online Earning Strategies → 04.23.07 at 3:09 pm
[...] Those are four of the seven remarkable quotes by my hero Benjamin Franklin that CopyBlogger Brian Clark transforms into valuable online marketing advice in his excellent article, The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online. [...]
#34 Bridget Hughes → 04.24.07 at 6:36 am
Fantastic post. All round I have found this blog useful. As a marketing consultant I often have an interesting time explaining to clients how personal involvement with the promotion of their business is far more effective than sitting back and leaving it to me.
The new age of a much more social style of business is something that many traditional business people need to adapt to.
#35 Offbeat News » The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online → 04.25.07 at 4:31 am
[...] He did say a bunch of other stuff that, believe it or not, can help you grow your business online.read more | digg story Digg [...]
#36 Motorcycle Guy → 04.27.07 at 2:32 pm
This is a really good post. Franklin was a very quoteable man.
#37 Janice → 05.06.07 at 3:16 am
Hi Brian,
This is a Great post.
It’s amazing how these sound advice can still be applied in today’s world. I especially like Point #3.
Look at Bob Proctor.. in a recent interview, he mentioned that he received Wallace Wattles’s book The Science of Geting Rich and started to study it in 1968, and since then he never stopped studying it for over 40 years. Only now, then he decides he’s going to teach it.
This perfectly corresponds to Benjamin Franklin’s “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
#38 jossypeter → 06.11.07 at 9:04 am
great Ben lived his words both ways; do things worth writing , write things worth reading ; may his tribe increase.
#39 Bank of Green - Advertising » Advertising - Web marketing Agency - Sophia-Antipolis → 06.16.07 at 7:14 am
[...] The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online …One of the most dangerous things about marketing online is the allure of the possibilities. Yes, it [...]
#40 Deanna Knauth → 09.28.07 at 5:06 pm
Ben Franklin is my hero and I love that you used him for this article. He is a great inspiration!
#41 WARNING: Weak content, overgeneralizations may lead to misconceptions about cancer | Battling For Health: Battling Cancer → 10.29.07 at 8:45 am
[...] physicians and scientists don’t often spend the time marketing their big ideas a la Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Edison, it’s often up to science writers, journalists, and bloggers to interpret [...]
#42 Digg Top OffBeat News of all times » The Benjamin Franklin Guide to Marketing Your Business Online → 11.06.07 at 10:20 am
[...] read more | digg story [...]
#43 Mantelli → 01.15.08 at 6:32 pm
You know, I’m not sure all of your other tips are by Franklin either. Can you provide citations? The language on some of them doesn’t sound quite accurate for the eighteenth century.
#44 What’s a sun-dial in the shade? | Coaching Wizardry → 07.24.08 at 6:41 pm
[...] the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin this week. It started with a great piece by Brian Clark at Copyblogger analysing the relevance of Franklin’s pithy sayings for modern day marketing needs. For [...]
Leave a Comment