Today’s interview is with Drew DeMasters, a Marketing
Consultant and Non-Fiction Author of “Landlord Marketing Secrets.” I’ve had the
privilege of working with Drew and can tell you honestly that he is an
extraordinary marketer and genuinely great guy. That doesn’t mean he gets
softball questions.
Hi Drew! Welcome to
the blog. You’ve been working as a marketing guru as the main focus of your
career. What do you like best about it? Least?
Thanks, Kerry! Great to catch
up with you again.
The thing I love about marketing is that every business out there needs
help with it and the successes I’ve experienced with some companies really,
truly do translate for others as well!
And I think that’s because good marketing is about understanding
consumer behavior and making real connections with people. No matter whether it’s a Super Bowl
commercial, a new store grand opening celebration or a YouTube video that goes
viral to millions of views . . .
the reason why any type of advertising or promotion ‘works’ boils down
to whether it really connects to people.
So, helping businesses understand and connect with their customers better
really excites me.
As for what I like least? Well,
when I see good businesses with well-meaning, sincere people get caught up in
internal politics and turf-battles, it leaves me sad and wondering ‘why can’t
we all just get along?’ You know
that the business owners and founders never wanted it to be that way but the
egos and insecurity of people a bit further down the chain can actually hold a
business back from achieving great things and reaching its goals. I’ve seen it so many times, and that’s definitely
the worst in my view.
When we were working
together, I remember you writing your book during lunch breaks. What inspired you
to take on such a lofty goal while working full-time and what kept you going?
That’s funny you remember that!
Yes, I was a regular at that McDonald’s in Venice for a couple years! I had thought casually of writing a
book for a few years before I actually started it, and I think what inspired me
finally to the point of actually putting pen to paper (as they say) was really
two things.
One, I had experienced a number of successes doing marketing for
clients on the agency side and really getting excited from seeing them enjoy
the high of those ‘ah-ha moments’.
Those successes proved in my mind that I what I was doing was not a
fluke, but something really powerful that could help a lot of other businesses
too.
And two, that individual landlords and property managers maybe more
than any other type of business owner really need help with how they market
themselves, their properties and how they provide service to their
residents. As a rental property
owner myself, I saw this huge need and opportunity to help a lot of investment
property owners succeed more than ever in their rentals.
The book is 240 pages, so it did take me many months of writing during
lunch breaks and on weekends. My
wife was amazingly patient with me and actually did the cover art that brings
the book to life in its final published form.
What has been the
biggest challenge of being an author--writing or promoting? What has been your
most successful method of generating book sales?
Oh definitely promoting the book.
It’s a completely different kind of marketing than I’ve ever done before
so I’ve really learned a lot through this process. But since I love the business of marketing, it’s not been
hard, laborious work so much as just a steady, evolving challenge. A challenge I’ve helped many of my own clients
overcome . . . how to find and connect with new customers!
The three most successful methods of book sales I’ve seen so far are –
1) Public
speaking and presentations at tradeshows and conferences
2) Article
marketing
3) Radio
interviews
And wow, radio was a wildly new frontier for me. For my first interview, I was as
nervous as I’ve ever been in my life.
Sweaty palms, dry mouth, couldn’t sleep the night before, etc. Way over-stressing it. But the best thing I’ve learned with
radio interviews is that it’s just a conversation between two people, not to a
cast of thousands. So, now I just
focus on sharing an important message that can help people. And low and behold, listeners do connect
with you.
Recently, your
company eliminated your job (stupid heads). Do you find yourself living
funemployed (vs. unemployed) and what are some of the activities that you’re
engaging in?
Oh, funemployed for sure. I
loved the company but had ended up in a role that wasn’t a fit for me at all so
I couldn’t wait to leave. And I
consider myself very lucky that in 14 years of experience, I’ve only had one
bad boss. So yes, I’ve really
enjoyed the time so far. Spending
a lot more time with my kids. School
activities. Finally took the
Warner Brothers Studio Tour with my wife that I’d wanted to go on for 10
years. Took the kids to
Disneyland. Occasional walks,
brunch and biking on the beach. Doing
more writing, speaking engagements and being able to help other businesses find
and keep new customers. That’s my
passion.
For your readers Kerry, I would say this … don’t let yourself be
defined by your job. Be defined by
your personality, your skills, experiences and who you are as a person, but not
by your 9-to-5 job. Time is the
most precious resource anyone of us has, so we really have to use it doing
something meaningful that you feel makes a difference. Famously, that was Steve Jobs’ philosophy
and one I choose to live by as well.
Clearly marketing is your passion since
your book is centered around it as well. Will you continue with corporate
marketing, focusing more on landlords or both? Are you working on another book?
I’m going to continue helping landlords in various ways and am creating
some new products to help them market themselves. Other industries that I’m particularly interested in are law
firms, independent insurance agents and mid-sized retail businesses. So, I may eventually write some
marketing guides for each of them and setup a couple of new websites targeted
to those niches.
Thanks, Drew for
sharing your story with us. Anyone needing effective and affordable marketing
consulting, please contact Drew at ddemasters@landlordmarketingsecrets.com. If you’d like to buy Drew’s book or learn more about his landlord
marketing tips, visit www.landlordmarketingsecrets.com