By: Tina Schweiger
A brand is much more than a logo. It is the roadmap your business uses to define relationships with all stakeholders in a business—from customers to vendors to investors and employees. It helps direct the graphic designer, advertising agency, marketing firm, and PR firm to spread your message with consistency and begin the process of building relationships.
At a very simple level, “branding” is about finding THE RIGHT IDEA, and then GETTING THE IDEA RIGHT.
A carefully considered and designed brand strategy will create value for all stakeholders.
To get the strategic positioning of a brand just right, a thorough discovery is required. A good brand consultant will strive to understand your company: its vision, products, personality and vibe — the intangibles are just as useful to us as the logistics of the business plan when it comes to developing a brand.
The main components of brand strategy include:
Research
Since a brand is about your relationships with all of your key stakeholders, it makes sense to talk to them. The research phase of branding is an in-depth study of how your stakeholders’ define their relationship with you. Through this research, a message can be crafted that speaks directly to the concerns of your stakeholders.
Message Development
Finding the right language to express the unique qualities of your brand helps to create compelling and meaningful consumer experiences. The process of developing architecture around language creates a guiding document that helps keep all brand stakeholders, and especially your customers, “on-message.”
Strategic Planning
A plan for integrating your brand is sometimes referred to as a “Brand Map.” This document identifies all points of contact your business has with it’s stakeholders and defines the best way to reach out to them with your messaging.
Brand Integration
Integration of your brand into every aspect of your business helps all key stakeholders learn to speak about your business the same way you understand it.
About The Author-- The author of this article, Tina Schweiger, is the President, Spoonbend (www.spoonbend.com), Inc a full service Austin Advertising and Austin Marketing Agency. Spoonbend specializes in branding in Austin, Logo design Austin, Austin Marketing, Austin web design, graphic design Austin, etc.
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The Anatomy of a Marketing Plan
By: Kaitlyn Miller
There are several important facets which must be considered in every marketing plan. Many small business owners place a few banner ads, do a little brochure printing and call it a day. An effective marketing plan has several more steps than that approach. Failure to address your plan comprehensively will prevent your sales from jumping to the next level.
The very first step is to come up with your company's philosophy and mission. All else springs from this. The values expressed in your core mission statement convey to all your future advertising efforts. Your mission statement should be concise and to the point. It should then be reinforced internally using all methods from signs to company newsletter printing.
Within your mission statement must be an expression of your company's values and ethics. Trust is an integral part of any brand. Consumer trust arises from ethical and honest corporate cultures. The mission statement should instill and pound home these values. The best product will flounder in the marketplace should consumers not have confidence and trust in the company purveying it.
A good marketing plan needs to be tailored to a niche audience. This is especially the case for a small business. A substantial budget is needed to engage in an effective mass marketing campaign. When a small company attempts one with a small budget the result is most often a diluted campaign producing weak sales. An underserved niche provides for perfect selling grounds for smaller businesses.
Once you have identified your niche it is then important to connect with them. Many avenues exist for these communications. Brochure printing is quite economical and well suited to connecting with a niche audience. There are also obviously many choices online to enhance your advertising regimen. It is important to never let up. Effective branding requires constant reinforcement.
Concrete goals need to be set as to sales targets. A team works most effectively with a common objective. Without goals it is not possible to quantify whether a campaign is successful or not. Strong reporting and analysis tools need to be employed to be able to track the ROI attained from various routes. You might see one advertising avenue has far greater payback than others. Company newsletter printing can include both tangible and intangible goals and associated productivity to make the entire staff feel a part of the team.
There is an old saying that failure to plan translates to a plan for failure. Make sure your company has a comprehensive coherent plan. Use company newsletter printing to convey it to all staff. Create concrete goals and gear your plan to do what is necessary to hit them. Never let up reinforcing your brand. A good marketing plan will translate to a very happy P&L.
Digital Signs Are Not TV
Author: James Barry
Treat your in-store narrowcasting network like TV and you've got a recipe for disaster. Your investment in all that shiny new equipment will go for naught as customers who are already used to your ads tune them out. Or worse, your customers could feel overwhelmed by the advertising noise and become disenchanted with your store. And we all know that an unhappy customer is unlikely to be a repeat customer.
How Narrowcasting and TV DifferDigital signage is entirely different from TV. To understand why, according to a Digital Signage Today guide, you need to understand a person's approach to each medium.
We all have a clear idea of the TV viewer's mindset. Seeking relaxation after a long day, that person is prepared to sit passively in front of the box and be entertained or, at the very least, distracted from the minutiae of his or her daily grind. On the other hand, shoppers in a store are often looking for specific items. They want to get in, get their stuff and get home.
A digital signage system that merely runs TV ads will offer little of value to customers. It will not stop them in their tracks. It will not inform them of new products or promotions. And it will not enhance the shopping experience.
Digital signage is, by its very nature, a more dynamic medium than television. It is designed to impart information in short, sharp bursts of video, text, still images and animation. It has the power to target messages to consumers, to surprise them, and to influence their purchases. It would be a shame to waste all of that potential by running generic TV ads, wouldn't it?
Bells and WhistlesOf all of the components in a narrowcasting network, it is the digital advertising software behind it that is the real source of its power. This software is capable of many great feats, but the ability to combine media and customize content is among its most important features.
As applications go, digital advertising software is actually fairly intelligent. Or at least the more advanced systems are. Basic software may not have all of the important bells and whistles you need, so a thorough investigation of the digital advertising software you are considering is necessary before you put any money down.
"Smart" digital advertising software can handle a full range of media and should be able to incorporate your existing media assets. If you have a library full of JPEGS or animated sequences, the software you use for your digital signs should be able to seamlessly add those elements to your playlist.
The software should also be able to mix things up. An endless stream of still images, no matter how beautiful, will not hold shoppers' attention for any meaningful amount of time. Nor will a constant bombardment of animation or a running stream of video. In fact, the onset of motion is far more effective at getting attention than constant motion. With the right digital advertising software you can create a richly integrated presentation of still and moving images that will make people stop and look.
One way the software is able to mix media is with the use of tags and day-parting technology. Tags ensure that each media asset is labeled so the software can "intelligently" add the right piece into the playlist when needed. Day-parting enables stores to split their narrowcast by time of day, automatically playing messages that are most appropriate for each of the timeslots they have defined.
And Another ThingDigital signage is unlike TV in another significant way - it is more effective. Tired of poor ROI from traditional media, advertisers are turning to other media, including out-of-home (OOH) advertising.
By creating targeted multimedia content and streamlining the selection of the media used in playlists, digital advertising software makes it easier to customize messages to specific niche markets. It has also helped narrowcasting networks become the fastest-growing segment in the out-of-home advertising market.
The Why and How of Email Marketing
Author : Gabriel Adams
Why is email marketing a good choice to help grow your business? Are there any downsides you should be aware of? Let's take a look and help you decide whether email marketing is right for you.
Let's face it: without advertising and marketing a business is just one big expense. Even word of mouth is a form of marketing. But no company, even a small business, can truly survive on word of mouth alone.
With that said, you have a few options on how to get the word out. Prior to the 21st century, the standard forms of marketing and advertising generally consisted of the following options: radio, television, print and other. Let's look at each of these first, and then consider the advantages and disadvantages of email marketing, versus these other traditional formats.
Radio advertising can be a bit pricey, depending on what kind of schedule you purchase. The time of day, the ratings and number of listeners on the station, and even the time of year can affect the budget you'll need in order to run a successful radio campaign.
While many radio stations will allow you to run short schedules with a very basic message, the likelihood of limited radio advertising being effective in helping your business see significant growth is slim to none. You may be able to generate a response to a single sale on a one-time basis, but a short or limited radio schedule could put you in a position to not break even.
Television advertising is thought to be more effective than radio because of the visual aspect. However, television stations know this and may charge more. You could run into the same problems as you may with radio, budget-wise.
Print advertising generally refers to newspaper ads, but also includes magazines and so on. While print tends to be more affordable, modern trends show that more people are online doing their reading, and less people are reading physical print anymore.
The "other" category of marketing and advertising includes a variety of promotional tools. This can include direct mail, promotional items (such as pens, cups, t-shirts, and hats), etc.
Email marketing has a few advantages you won't find with any of the conventional marketing tools. First of all, the number of impressions you can achieve for the same amount of money exceeds all other forms of advertising. This is because your audience is only limited to your list of email addresses.
The question becomes whether or not people truly respond to email marketing, or if they just regard all advertising via email as junk mail, also known as "spam." Your gut may tell you that people don't read email advertising, but you'll be surprised at the truth about this.
First of all, while people may disregard a large percentage of the business email they receive, they do not disregard all of it. If the email is from a trusted source and contains information relevant to their lifestyle, they may very well read and respond to the messages.
It becomes important, with that fact in mind, to establish rapport with your potential buyers, and to choose your target demographic carefully. An email marketing specialist can help you determine exactly who your target audience is, based on factors like age, gender, annual household income, location, and other factors.
Now that your email marketing campaign is 'targeted,' its success is much more likely. However, only a marketing specialist has the knowledge needed to then create a message that will turn those impressions into a point of sale. Proper marketing is said to be a combination of the ideal medium and an effective message: 'the medium and the message' are key!
The verdict is that email marketing has many advantages over other forms of advertising, including budget. However, it is important that email marketing is done appropriately. If you do not consult an email marketing specialist, you could end up blocked by entire internet service providers' servers, or worse, sued!
If you do choose email marketing, be sure to do so through a company that specializes in targeted marketing and advertising, which has aggregated the data needed to create a successful campaign to help grow your business. In fact, this is true with all forms of media marketing.
How to Market Your Coffee Shop Before and After Your Opening Day
Author: Tracey Beaney
So, you have done all the hard work preparing to open your coffeehouse. You chosen your suppliers, fitted out your shop and hired your staff. So that's everything taken care of, and now you can begin to relax.
Well, almost! There's the small matter of advertising to take into account.
For your coffeehouse opening to be a success, make no mistake about it: you will need to advertise.
One of the best, most effective ways to advertise your business is to seek some free publicity.
Really make an event of your launch and invite a local celebrity to come along. Create a news story, then issue a press release and send it to your local media.
Local media love local stories, so be creative! Come up with something that the journalists at your local media outlets will love.
It's also a good idea to try advertising on your local radio stations. As a general rule, set aside 1% of your budget for advertising if you can. Radio advertising can be quite economical. Just call your local station for an advertising fee schedule and see what they can do for you.
Local advertising companies with experience in restaurant and hospitality launches can also be great resources for you. Just make sure you convey your budget to them, so they can determine if they can work with you. Also be sure to get them to itemize everything they can do for you - and at what cost. You need to know what you will be getting.
Launches are exciting, so make sure you get really creative and have lots of fun when planning yours!
The launch is what you make it.
And then, perhaps you can begin to relax and drink the coffee?
Think again!
Marketing your business isn't just something you do at launch time. It's something you need to do continuously.
You need to be in the minds of your customers and prospective customers, so they get their coffee, tea and cake from you - not your competitors.
So - you need an ongoing approach to your marketing and advertising.
When it comes to marketing your business, you really can be as creative as you like! Here are just a few ideas to get those creative juices running:
• Create a website so people can find you online
• Provide printed brochures so your customers can take away and pass onto friends
• Provide children's lunch boxes complete with food and treats to keep mums returning
• Now and then, offer special promotions. Perhaps two coffees for the price of 1 at times of the day when you are normally not so busy.
• Perhaps consider offering a wi-fi service to attract business people or college students to your coffeehouse.
What you can do is really only limited to your imagination, so start brainstorming today!
It's amazing how one simple - yet creative idea - can get people into your coffeehouse and returning.
Most importantly, always keep up your marketing efforts! Marketing is an ongoing thing and the more marketing methods you use, the better.
5 Keys For Successful MLM Lead Capture Pages
5 Keys For Successful MLM Lead Capture Pages
by: Jon Roussel
An mlm lead capture page is a web page that, when the visitor "lands" on it, she is asked to opt-in to some type of list in order to proceed further. On some mlm lead capture pages, your only options are to opt-in or leave.
by: Jon Roussel
An mlm lead capture page is a web page that, when the visitor "lands" on it, she is asked to opt-in to some type of list in order to proceed further. On some mlm lead capture pages, your only options are to opt-in or leave.
Internet marketers make list building their top priority. When you effectivelycollect the email address, along with permission to follow-up,then you will get other opportunities to make the sale later.
An mlm lead capture page, generally, has some attractive bullets on it, and does a thorough job of explaining what the reader will be able to access after she enters her data. The enticing offer on the mlm lead capture page, should have the visitor salivating to get at what's behind that "door," is essential.
The mlm lead capture page can be hosted anywhere but it needs to have at least one thing on it to be effective... a way to capture a person's email address.
If you set up an incentive-laden mlm lead capture web page (by incentive I mean a contest or freebie for providing their email address) that has a short tag line about your product or service combined with a 2 line form consisting of name and email address you have a simple yet incredibly powerful marketing tool.
Your only real job becomes promoting your mlm lead capture pages. One critical toll is an autoresponder system that once set up requires little or no maintenance on your part.
Now when a person sees your incentive laden lead capture page on a they can quickly scan your opportunity and provide a minimum of information (nobody likes filling in forms, especially when they only have 15 seconds to decide on your offer).
Freebies work well, free downloads, contests, giveaways. People like free stuff and this gives you a nice way to build up credibility with your customer.
To take this a step further you can track your campaigns by replacing the URL for your product with an Ad tracking URL.
Make sure you set up a different ad tracking URL for each lead capture page or email message and you can truly see how well each of your campaigns are performing in real time.
Once you gather the guests' data you have the ability to create an online business relationship with them.
Once a visitor enters the form on your mlm lead capture page it should be made clear that you will be including them in an email record where they may get priceless data and resources. Email lists work effectively when used accurately because they provide the reader the repetition of viewing your business name, which can produce a great brand name for you. You may easily do this by providing your list users with good resources, helpful data, and even concessions and sales just for them making for effective mlm lead capture pages.
Using Free Advertising
Using Free Advertising
by: Nancy Kraska
I have written a couple of articles about Advertising, and what a real headache it can be. Lately I have been asked how I earn a profit using only free advertising. So I thought I should share some of my insights with others who are still struggling financially online.
FORUMS
ARTICLE WRITING
by: Nancy Kraska
I have written a couple of articles about Advertising, and what a real headache it can be. Lately I have been asked how I earn a profit using only free advertising. So I thought I should share some of my insights with others who are still struggling financially online.
First of all I want to point out that if you have the resources to do Pay Per Click, by all means do so. This is the best way to get clients to your website. But as the old saying goes “Do not put all your eggs in one basket”.
Free advertising is an excellent way to get “your feet wet” with online marketing. Just don’t expect huge success right away. There are a lot of people out there using this form of advertising. You have to keep on top of it every day, every hour. On some advertising sites, the ads rotate faster than you can put them on the site. If you can afford it, purchase a good program for submitting your ads on a rotation. These are especially helpful if you don’t have hours to spend in front of the computer.
FORUMS
The use of online forums is growing daily. These are a good source of information, and a great spot to advertise your products. The people on forums are there because they believe in online marketing. They are a captured audience. When you are on forums, make sure you follow their rules. You cannot go on most forums and just start advertising on every thread, this gets very annoying for everyone involved and will in some cases get you banned from the forum. So be sure and read the rules before you post. Also ask questions, answer questions, and always make sure your website address is in your signature. You will meet some great people and get ideas for advertising on most every forum you join. It is a wonderful source for free advertising.
ARTICLE WRITING
Who knew when you were taking high school grammar, that one-day you would actually put some of what you learned to use. I certainly never thought of it, to me it was just a requirement to graduate and move on with my life. I hated this particular course: but I am digressing.
Articles are a main stay of any online business. If you look up any topic on the Internet, you will find someone who has put his or her thoughts on “paper” and published it worldwide. The Internet has become a writers dream. You can write about anything and everything. There is no limitation; only your imagination. Write some useful articles about your business. Write some articles about your products.
I recently wrote an article about Data Entry, which is one of the products I sell, I received several hits to my website from that one article.
Publish your articles on any and all ezines. Again, there are programs available that will do this for you, but you can do it on your own. Make a list of different article websites and publish. Some article websites want only original material, so with one article change the title and opening sentence, just change things around in the article so that the same wording is not on every site. Most article sites, however, will publish the same articles; it is only a few that require you to do this.
FREE ADVERTISING SITES
Remember with any free advertising site, yours is not the only ad for online business. There will be quite a few. Make your ad unique; offer something the others aren’t offering. In one short sentence you have to capture the audience attention. Why should they buy from you and not your competitor? You have a very short time to get people to look at your website, and hopefully purchase.
With these types of free advertising sites, you have to keep on top of where your ad located on the site.. Daily I check each of my ads on each site I have put an ad on to see where it is placed. If it is off the first page, I resubmit my ad.
Make sure when using free advertising sites that you are putting your ads in the correct category. On some sites you can use Business Opportunities, Work At Home, Jobs, Employment. If the ad sites let you, use all these categories to advertise your business. That brings you total for the one site up to at least 4 ads at one time.
Now that you have the basics of how I use free advertising, you are probably wondering how I found over 200 forums, ezines, and free advertising sites.
It is really simple.
#1 Go to every search engine and type in Free Advertising Sites, ezines, and business forums bookmark every site. Go to the next search engine and look for ones that were not in the first search engine and so forth.
#2 Once you have done your search, go to your bookmarks and make separate folders for forums, advertising sites, and ezines, and separate what you have saved.
Another good source for finding new sites are forums. As I said before people on forums are very generous in sharing ideas. They are also a great source for finding other advertising sites.
In closing I would like to point out that free advertising takes time, patience, and tenacity. The more you advertise the more your site will get picked up in the search engines for ranking.
About The Author
Nancy Kraska has been involved with internet marketing since September, 2004. For more information visit her directory of Work At Home Ideas and Opportunities at Home Work For You http://www.hmewrk4u.com/
Nancy Kraska has been involved with internet marketing since September, 2004. For more information visit her directory of Work At Home Ideas and Opportunities at Home Work For You http://www.hmewrk4u.com/
Dentist Marketing On-Line: How To Get On Top In The Business
By: Ed O' Keefe
In on-line dentist marketing, all that matters is the development and growth of your dental website. By development and growth, it means getting more and more traffic into your own dentist marketing website and at the same time getting more and more dental patients as well. You need to know the stuff that can help you "beef-up" your own website! Aside from this, everything else is just details in dentist marketing.
The Formula For Success!
I have come up with a simple yet special formula to have you on a winning side. If you want to make your life easier and enjoy seeing more and more patients from your on-line dentist marketing, then this formula is for you: T + C = Cash.
T is for "Traffic"!
T stands for "Traffic". So what does the word traffic mean in dentist marketing? It means the rate on how many people are coming in to your web page everyday as they use the Internet. But take note that I did not use the word "hits", instead, I made use of the word "people". These are passionate and enthusiastic people who are seeking out the dental professional that they would like to conduct business with. This is the reason why your web page should be presented in a way that it gives and satisfies what they want. Your web page must communicate with them in a way that it makes it easy for them to choose you as their own dentist! Then we go to the second part of the equation....
C is for "Conversion"!
C stands for "Conversion". What does "conversion" mean? It means that the people visiting your website becomes your patient. So you "convert" people from being visitors to becoming your patients. In on-line dentist marketing, this is what you would really want, right? You need to know how to structure your own website to get people to enter their name and information, then they call your office and officially become your patient! If you can't get people to be your patient through your website, then what you have is a website just sitting out there gathering nothing but Cyber Dust! Expounding more on the conversion stuff, let's say you are currently getting 100 visitors a month, and you are only getting three new patients from those visits (considered as a 3% conversion ratio). This rate can be improved. If each patient is worth $900 (within a 6 month period), then you are adding $2700 in cash to your practice (take note this does not include the referrals yet!) So, we start by improving your traffic and get it up to over 300 visitors a month. Then we boost your conversion to around 5%. Immediately, you go from getting 3 new patients a month to now getting 15 new patients a month! Let's say your average new patient value stays the same ( at $900). So, $900 x 15 new patients = $13,500. Isn't that great? And an increase of $10,800 a month ( that is the difference between getting 15 new patients and 3 new patients a month: $13,500 - $2,700 = $10,800). Multiply that increase by twelve months, and it will give you an amazing $129,600! Not bad, right?
So again, in order to become highly successful in the business of on-line dentist marketing, just remember the equation: T+C=Cash. Find ways to build and improve your web page in a manner that it would increase the people visiting your own site, and convert these visitors into your own patients!
Log on to our website, www.dentistprofits.com and get a free CD and Book titled, "The Underground Secrets Of Attracting High Quality New Patients Who Pay, Stay, & Refer!".
In on-line dentist marketing, all that matters is the development and growth of your dental website. By development and growth, it means getting more and more traffic into your own dentist marketing website and at the same time getting more and more dental patients as well. You need to know the stuff that can help you "beef-up" your own website! Aside from this, everything else is just details in dentist marketing.
The Formula For Success!
I have come up with a simple yet special formula to have you on a winning side. If you want to make your life easier and enjoy seeing more and more patients from your on-line dentist marketing, then this formula is for you: T + C = Cash.
T is for "Traffic"!
T stands for "Traffic". So what does the word traffic mean in dentist marketing? It means the rate on how many people are coming in to your web page everyday as they use the Internet. But take note that I did not use the word "hits", instead, I made use of the word "people". These are passionate and enthusiastic people who are seeking out the dental professional that they would like to conduct business with. This is the reason why your web page should be presented in a way that it gives and satisfies what they want. Your web page must communicate with them in a way that it makes it easy for them to choose you as their own dentist! Then we go to the second part of the equation....
C is for "Conversion"!
C stands for "Conversion". What does "conversion" mean? It means that the people visiting your website becomes your patient. So you "convert" people from being visitors to becoming your patients. In on-line dentist marketing, this is what you would really want, right? You need to know how to structure your own website to get people to enter their name and information, then they call your office and officially become your patient! If you can't get people to be your patient through your website, then what you have is a website just sitting out there gathering nothing but Cyber Dust! Expounding more on the conversion stuff, let's say you are currently getting 100 visitors a month, and you are only getting three new patients from those visits (considered as a 3% conversion ratio). This rate can be improved. If each patient is worth $900 (within a 6 month period), then you are adding $2700 in cash to your practice (take note this does not include the referrals yet!) So, we start by improving your traffic and get it up to over 300 visitors a month. Then we boost your conversion to around 5%. Immediately, you go from getting 3 new patients a month to now getting 15 new patients a month! Let's say your average new patient value stays the same ( at $900). So, $900 x 15 new patients = $13,500. Isn't that great? And an increase of $10,800 a month ( that is the difference between getting 15 new patients and 3 new patients a month: $13,500 - $2,700 = $10,800). Multiply that increase by twelve months, and it will give you an amazing $129,600! Not bad, right?
So again, in order to become highly successful in the business of on-line dentist marketing, just remember the equation: T+C=Cash. Find ways to build and improve your web page in a manner that it would increase the people visiting your own site, and convert these visitors into your own patients!
Log on to our website, www.dentistprofits.com and get a free CD and Book titled, "The Underground Secrets Of Attracting High Quality New Patients Who Pay, Stay, & Refer!".
Finding Your Advertising Style
By: Lynne Saarte
As a business owner, you likely have a love-hate relationship with advertising. While you certainly recognize its importance in growing your business, you would likely rather spend your time and money focusing on the aspects of your business that you enjoy much more, such as interacting with your clients. One way to make advertising less of a chore and more enjoyable for you as a business owner is to find your advertising style.
Change the way you approach advertising
Think of your advertising efforts as a sales job. You are trying to "sell" those who view your ads on your product or service. All good salespeople know that finding their unique sales style is essential to success, and this is no different in the world of advertising.
Devise a strategy
So how do you find your advertising style? First, you need to take some time to watch those who have succeeded. Figure out what type of advertising you are going to be doing, such as poster printing, brochure printing, or radio advertising, and then take the time to look at the ads of other businesses. What about those ads seems to work? What seems to not work? Collect as much information as you can about the ads of others.
Once you have your information, pick and choose what you like. Some advertising strategies that are quite effective will not be a good fit for you or your business. Discard those things that will not work, and hang on to those things that do work. Soon you will have an advertising strategy that will fit your personality and your business.
Put it to work
Now that you have your advertising style in mind, it is time to create your ad. You have knowledge about your style and what does and does not work in the world of advertising. Use that knowledge to help you create a winning ad.
Do not be afraid to ask for help
Remember, we never stop learning. A wise man once said the only brain that is not learning is one that is dead. After creating your first advertising campaign, continue collecting information about effective ads. Keep a file of the ideas you receive, and refer to it when the time comes to create a new ad campaign. Always be willing to tweak your existing ads so that they fit your style better and are more effective marketing tools.
Do you know someone who is an effective business owner or salesperson? Do not be afraid to ask them questions. Find out what they did that worked, and add that to your list of potential ideas for future advertising campaigns. Of course, you will want to return the favor by answering questions to other young business owners when your business starts to experience great success.
Remember, your style is not going to copy someone else exactly. You will take the traits and strategies used by successful business owners and find those that work for you. You will then create your own unique advertising style that is not a carbon copy of another business owner. After all, you and your business are unique, so your ads should be unique as well.
As a business owner, you likely have a love-hate relationship with advertising. While you certainly recognize its importance in growing your business, you would likely rather spend your time and money focusing on the aspects of your business that you enjoy much more, such as interacting with your clients. One way to make advertising less of a chore and more enjoyable for you as a business owner is to find your advertising style.
Change the way you approach advertising
Think of your advertising efforts as a sales job. You are trying to "sell" those who view your ads on your product or service. All good salespeople know that finding their unique sales style is essential to success, and this is no different in the world of advertising.
Devise a strategy
So how do you find your advertising style? First, you need to take some time to watch those who have succeeded. Figure out what type of advertising you are going to be doing, such as poster printing, brochure printing, or radio advertising, and then take the time to look at the ads of other businesses. What about those ads seems to work? What seems to not work? Collect as much information as you can about the ads of others.
Once you have your information, pick and choose what you like. Some advertising strategies that are quite effective will not be a good fit for you or your business. Discard those things that will not work, and hang on to those things that do work. Soon you will have an advertising strategy that will fit your personality and your business.
Put it to work
Now that you have your advertising style in mind, it is time to create your ad. You have knowledge about your style and what does and does not work in the world of advertising. Use that knowledge to help you create a winning ad.
Do not be afraid to ask for help
Remember, we never stop learning. A wise man once said the only brain that is not learning is one that is dead. After creating your first advertising campaign, continue collecting information about effective ads. Keep a file of the ideas you receive, and refer to it when the time comes to create a new ad campaign. Always be willing to tweak your existing ads so that they fit your style better and are more effective marketing tools.
Do you know someone who is an effective business owner or salesperson? Do not be afraid to ask them questions. Find out what they did that worked, and add that to your list of potential ideas for future advertising campaigns. Of course, you will want to return the favor by answering questions to other young business owners when your business starts to experience great success.
Remember, your style is not going to copy someone else exactly. You will take the traits and strategies used by successful business owners and find those that work for you. You will then create your own unique advertising style that is not a carbon copy of another business owner. After all, you and your business are unique, so your ads should be unique as well.
What To Look For When Buying Email Leads
What To Look For When Buying Email Leads
by: Alex Edevane
by: Alex Edevane
If you are still trying to build up your own opt-in list but need to start marketing your products then you may look at buying leads. Buying leads however can become very costly and in some cases may not be worth the return on investment so what do you look for when buying leads?
1. How Were Your Leads Collected?
The first thing you should know when you look at buying leads is how these leads were collected. The best way is if leads were collected by means of a double opt-in system. Do not buy leads that were simply drawn from the internet without the lead’s consent as you will probably be accused of spamming if you use these leads.
2. How Fresh Are the Leads?
Another consideration to look at when buying leads is how fresh they are – how recently were they collected and how many times have they been sold? Leads that are old or that have been sold to many other buyers will probably not be worth the investment you spend in buying them.
3. Are These Leads Targeted?
Targeting is important for the success of your internet marketing business so before buying leads consider how targeted these leads are. If you find leads that are targeted to the group of people you are trying to reach you will have a lot greater success than simply buying leads that are not targeted.
4. How Often Do They Clean These Lists?
You do not want to buy leads that no longer work and so it is important to know how often the leads you are buying get cleaned up and how gaps in the lead list are filled.
5. Do They Have Testimonials and What Are These Like?
Does the company you are looking at buying leads from have testimonials on their web page? What do these testimonials have to say about the company and the results they are getting from the leads they bought? If a lead company does not have testimonials then be very cautious about doing business with it.
6. Seek Referrals First
If you know of other website owners who are also buying leads and have had some success with their leads then ask them to suggest a lead company to you. If you know and trust someone then they will be more likely to be honest with you about what works and what doesn’t.
7. Find out What Advertising Methods They Use to Get Leads
This may be similar to the first point but before buying leads find out what advertising methods the lead company used to get their leads. If they are using advertising methods that appeal to your target market then you will be more likely to have success with the leads that they provide. Also consider how effective their advertising methods are – if the people they are advertising to are just interested in getting something for free then you will probably not make any money from them. If they are using spam methods to get leads then you could find yourself in serious trouble.
In conclusion, when buying leads there are a number of important factors that you should consider – how were the leads collected and how did the company advertise to get these leads? How fresh are the leads? Is the list you buying clean and how were the gaps filled? Is the list targeted? Can you get referrals and testimonials for the lead company? Although it is always best to create your own double opt-in lists, if you are just starting out then you may find success with buying leads if you find a good lead company to buy from.
Strategies to Get Your Membership Site Noticed Fast
Strategies to Get Your Membership Site Noticed Fast
by: Jeremy Gislason
by: Jeremy Gislason
If you want to make money with your membership site, you have to get it noticed. The faster the word gets out, the faster you’ll begin making money. Here are five strategies to get you noticed faster than a streaker at a soccer game.
Provide Free Information. This is a superior strategy to get folks to your web site, however you have a fine line to walk. Too much free info and there’s no benefit to joining your site. Not enough and you don’t give potential members enough of a complimentary preview.
Of course, if you don’t offer quality information then you’ll lose potential members anyway. So make sure that the information you offer is fantastic. You want your free information to be so good that visitors pass it along to others.
Give folks a peek inside with a free trial membership. Trial memberships hook readers! Not only do they instill confidence, once customers get an inside look at all that you have to offer they will want to sign up immediately. Consider also, making certain items on your website available only to ‘permanent subscribers.’ This type of feature works as a tease. Of course, don’t overdo it. You want trial members to be able to access a lot of your site.
Viral Marketing Miracles. Give free reports and even ebooks to affiliates to give away. This report will include the affiliate’s unique ID and any sales made through that report will be credited to the affiliate. It’s a great way to get people to spread the word about your membership site.
Remember that if you want to drive traffic to your site, the ebooks and reports that you give away MUST be excellent.
Article Marketing Mania. Article directories are a wonderful way to drive traffic to your membership site. They help to establish your credibility and they give potential subscribers a peek inside the offerings at your site. Also use article marketing to help build a top notch opt-in list. Always include a link back to your website or sales page.
Fabulous Forums, blogs, and chat rooms. Forums, chat rooms, and blog posts are a good way to get the word out quickly about your membership site. Most forums, chat rooms, and even blogs will allow you to place a link back to your website in your signature link. Consider that many of the people you speak to in these venues may not be ready to purchase but they will be a good resource in the future – if you collect their information.
BIG IMPACT - It Is All In The Paper
Big Impact? It Is All In The Paper
by: Lynne Saarte
Before you start your design for your catalogs, one of the most important decisions you have to make is the paper stock you’re going to use. With any luck, you’ll be able to select the best kind that would really make a big impact to your target clients.
On the other hand, if you’re not sure what to use for your catalog printing, then this article can help you to find the most appropriate paper for your catalogs.
Regardless of the size, color, or even the finishing of your print materials, the kind of paper you’re going to choose should depend on the kind of catalog printing piece you’re making.
However, for the sake of understanding the different paper stocks that can be utilized for your catalogs, let’s see and compare what other kind of paper can be used for other marketing collaterals.
Book Paper –
Except for newsprint and Bristol, book paper is also very suitable for catalog printing, or any other printing job in general. Especially for offset printing, book paper can be applied with different finishes, including coated or uncoated.
This type of paper is almost ideal for most printing jobs not only because it is more opaque than the bond paper, but also that book paper can be printed on both sides. It can also manage any folds you apply to it, which makes it more durable than any other kind.
Usually with 25 x 38 inches and basis weights ranging from 22 to 150 lbs, book paper is preferred for offset printing precisely because it’s very resistant when it comes to water and picking.
Cover Paper –
This is usually the heavy, stiff paper that is used on book covers, file and presentation folders, greeting cards, business cards, or any other kind of cards. Hence, it’s also called card stock.
With a basic size of 20 x 26 inches, some of the cover paper may have matching book paper that can have the same color and finishing.
Bristol Paper –
Similar to cover paper, Bristol paper is also a heavyweight. It’s made thick by putting one layer over another, until you achieve the thickness you need. You can also laminate papers together to create your desired width.
Bristol paper is commonly used for catalog covers, file folders, tags, tickets, and paperback books. Sometimes, wedding invitations can also be made from Bristol paper.
Newsprint –
This is the most inexpensive paper with a basic 24 x 26 inches of size. What makes it cheap is that newsprint are generally created ground wood pulp. This is much cheaper than using chemical pulp.
What’s more, newsprint has shorter yeas to live and is cheap to produce in bulk. Nevertheless, it can withstand the printing process.
To make sure that you’re getting the most appropriate paper choice for your catalogs, discuss with your catalog printer your paper needs. Your printer can even suggest a few suppliers who not only can provide you the kind of paper that you need, but most importantly, the saving you’ll have on your overall costs.
by: Lynne Saarte
Before you start your design for your catalogs, one of the most important decisions you have to make is the paper stock you’re going to use. With any luck, you’ll be able to select the best kind that would really make a big impact to your target clients.
On the other hand, if you’re not sure what to use for your catalog printing, then this article can help you to find the most appropriate paper for your catalogs.
Regardless of the size, color, or even the finishing of your print materials, the kind of paper you’re going to choose should depend on the kind of catalog printing piece you’re making.
However, for the sake of understanding the different paper stocks that can be utilized for your catalogs, let’s see and compare what other kind of paper can be used for other marketing collaterals.
Book Paper –
Except for newsprint and Bristol, book paper is also very suitable for catalog printing, or any other printing job in general. Especially for offset printing, book paper can be applied with different finishes, including coated or uncoated.
This type of paper is almost ideal for most printing jobs not only because it is more opaque than the bond paper, but also that book paper can be printed on both sides. It can also manage any folds you apply to it, which makes it more durable than any other kind.
Usually with 25 x 38 inches and basis weights ranging from 22 to 150 lbs, book paper is preferred for offset printing precisely because it’s very resistant when it comes to water and picking.
Cover Paper –
This is usually the heavy, stiff paper that is used on book covers, file and presentation folders, greeting cards, business cards, or any other kind of cards. Hence, it’s also called card stock.
With a basic size of 20 x 26 inches, some of the cover paper may have matching book paper that can have the same color and finishing.
Bristol Paper –
Similar to cover paper, Bristol paper is also a heavyweight. It’s made thick by putting one layer over another, until you achieve the thickness you need. You can also laminate papers together to create your desired width.
Bristol paper is commonly used for catalog covers, file folders, tags, tickets, and paperback books. Sometimes, wedding invitations can also be made from Bristol paper.
Newsprint –
This is the most inexpensive paper with a basic 24 x 26 inches of size. What makes it cheap is that newsprint are generally created ground wood pulp. This is much cheaper than using chemical pulp.
What’s more, newsprint has shorter yeas to live and is cheap to produce in bulk. Nevertheless, it can withstand the printing process.
To make sure that you’re getting the most appropriate paper choice for your catalogs, discuss with your catalog printer your paper needs. Your printer can even suggest a few suppliers who not only can provide you the kind of paper that you need, but most importantly, the saving you’ll have on your overall costs.
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