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Advertising Words That Give You A Better Response

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When it comes to advertising your business you need to use a series of action words that will motivate and inspire people to do something about the information that they read. What does your click through rate look like right now? Are you getting a lot of customers to respond? Do you have quality landing pages that the customers will use in order to help them understand your products and services? How are you advertising and is the information you use relevant to the customers at all? You need to really look at the words that you are using if you would like to get the best return on your investment from the customers. Let's look at some of the ways in which you can focus on getting your customers to respond to the information that you are putting out there.

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Keeping It Simple With Advertising

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How many times do you find yourself grueling your marketing team to come up with innovative promotions or to make your company different from others? While you want to be different and to gain the right type of exposure for your company, you have to watch out for yourself. Sometimes people place too much pressure on themselves and it ends up costing them too much money and just really makes it harder for them to market effectively. Advertising is not a cheap investment and you need to be able to focus on staying under budget with your ads while still gaining the exposure that you need to success.

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Distributing Effective Press Releases

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A great way to raise awareness about your organization is through the use of press releases. Using a press release you will be able to generate more publicity about your company as you can have your company name and information featured in news stories and a number of other things. The more media attention you can get, the easier it will be for you to branch out to a new audience and to finally bring in some new customers that you have been searching for. A press editor is someone that you need to get to know quite well. They are going to help in giving your company the attention that you are looking for. Press editors are looking for press releases that contain news, not just a marketing ploy to try and increase your website presence or build a new customer list.

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Writing a great ad

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When creating a good ad, you should take your idea or product, and write a sentence for each of the following areas. Then, use the information you created to create a basis for your ad content. A great ad will address each of these five areas, and do so in a fun or exciting way.

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SMS Advertising

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SMS advertising is a great emerging advertising option where marketers can send out content that consumers can subscribe to via SMS. This might include stuff like news alerts, sports, scores, and horoscopes. It can also include basic advertising, but should always provide value of some kind to the consumer.

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Mobile in-game ads

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Marketers might find that in-game ads are a great way to reach mobile customers. Many mobile games are sold, and short ads with-in the game can help get your brand in front of consumers. The mobile gaming industry is still evolving, as the mobile industry as a whole is still in the evolutionary stages. Keeping this in mind will help you create a campaign that works best. Basically, the way in-game ads work is that when a player passes a certain level, completes a move, or has a natural break in play, an ad will appear. This ad can be pursued through the mobile device, or skipped. The user determines which by either clicking the ad (usually), or by clicking a button that says “skip” or “resume play”. Consider your audience and if they are participants in mobile gaming, if so, mobile in-game ads might be the right marketing approach for you.

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Advertising A New Business

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The day has finally come and you are getting ready to open the doors to your new business. If you have invested a great deal of time, money, sweat, and tears into your goal to become your own boss you do not want to blow it when you open the doors to your business. Small business owners often work harder than others because they have so many job roles that they need to do. You have to prepare yourself for the role and to know that you have the motivation, drive, and stamina in order to run your own business. How will people be able to find your business? If you want to get people to know about your business you need to be able to learn how to effectively advertise it. Advertising is one of the most important things you will do when you open the doors to your business and expect to see a line of customers outside of it. Here are some tips that can help you in advertising a new business and really getting attention from your customers.

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Mobile banners

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Pros:
A mobile banner campaign can be built around the post-click experience of the banner. The user does not need to be driven to a mobile site. This is a huge benefit as many users are still hesitant to use mobile devices for browsing too much due to slow upload times, media rich pages taking forever to load, and pages being difficult to navigate with small keyboards, etc. A mobile banner eliminates a lot of these issues for the consumer.

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Advertising A Small Business

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As a small business owner you have many different challenges to face. One of the big challenges you may face is dealing with advertising costs. Advertising your small business can be difficult as you need to be able to find ways to let your customers know about the business without paying a ton of money to do so. There are a lot of great marketing opportunities out there that you can turn to in order to advertise correctly.

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Mobile banner best practices

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Mobile banners are a great way to reach and engage mobile customers, but offer a few difficulties as well. Like any form of marketing, understanding its uses, it drawbacks and benefits, will allow you to create a marketing campaign that benefits your company as well as your customers. The following is a look at mobile banner best practices, which will help you to use mobile banners in your mobile marketing to their fullest potential.

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Mobile advertising and promotional campaigns

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If you are looking for a low cost way to reach a lot of prospects, be sure to not overlook mobile advertising. More and more people are using their mobile phones and other mobile devices to access the internet, and search for information than ever before. You can utilize the mobile phone platform to reach prospective customers, and provide them with succinct messages about your products, services, or company. Here is what you should know about mobile advertising and promotional campaigns:

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Cheap advertising for small business

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Advertising your business will not only make the community and consumers aware of your business, but your business will earn a larger profit.The more profit your business is making, the better your business will do and exceed all your expectations.There are many different ways that you can advertise your business.To start, all you need is creative advertising ideas that will be inexpensive for your business.As you begin, look at your community and consumers; how can you reach them without dipping to far into your business pocket book?

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How can you advertise your business for free?

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As you likely know, it is important to find ways to advertise and market your business. What are you currently doing in order to advertise your business? Are you looking for ways to cut costs on advertising and marketing? If you feel that you are losing too much money and you are not getting the return you need and deserve, there are some different styles of marketing you can try in order to get your message out there but to save money while doing so.

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Advertising ideas that will save you money

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When you are working with advertising there are a number of things to keep in mind like your budget along with the type of information you want to send out to your customers. Advertising is a great way to educate people about your company but it has to be done in the right way in order to get the message out there. What are some of the best ways to advertise? How about advertising as a cost effective solution for the company? Here are some tips on how you can save money on your advertising costs and still get the message out there.

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How can you increase your website traffic?

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Are you looking for new ways to boost your website traffic? If you would like to build your online traffic and start getting new customers to your site you need to look at the things that can make or break a site. Since the internet is driven by online users and their buying patterns and other things, it is important that you focus on creating better landing pages and having a solid website. This way you will get people to come to your website and you can sell your product online or generate leads.

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Does Facebook advertising work and how?

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With Facebook continuing to grow and add more members, it is easy to see that businesses are getting into the mix of social media. All types of customers can be found on Facebook and the social media giant also has a huge Facebook advertising program. What makes Facebook so valuable is how the customers will share their personal information. This allows the business owners to have access to a lot of information that can be used for marketing and product development. With over 600 million potential customers on Facebook, it is a valuable commodity to your customers.

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Start generating a buzz

press34607811.jpgWhat's one of the best ways to generate a buzz about your company, products, and services? Using your network and existing customers, you can easily generate a buzz in your market by leaking information to them and encouraging them to spread the word.

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Pay per click roadblocks

ladyspresentation26239036.jpgAre you trying to reach out to your customers in a new way? Many companies turn to online marketing methods to attract new customers and to boost their sales. Pay-per-click marketing is a popular way to attract new customers. However, if you aren't doing pay-per-click marketing campaigns correctly, you could be wasting a lot of money. Pay-per-click marketing can get expensive as you need to select a number of keywords and you will be charged each time a customer clicks on the link. What happens if you have people clicking on the link and then going right back to the search engines? You are just wasting money when people don't respond to the click. This is a major pay-per-click roadblock you will run into from time to time when you are creating an online marketing strategy. Here are the pay-per-click roadblocks you may run into and what you need to do about them:

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Helpful ways to set your company apart for reporters

womanpondering16341449.jpgReporters literally have thousands of new press releases that come through the fax machines daily. How can you make sure your press release is newsworthy and will obtain the media attention you are seeking? Since you have a lot of companies to compete against, not just those in your particular industry, you will need to write press releases that will set your company apart from all of the various other press releases they are getting. What do you need to do in order to make your press release stand out from the rest and inspire the media member to write a story? Here are the things you need to do in order to set your company apart for reporters:

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Great ways to make business headlines

thumbup30905047.jpgMarketing your business is not an easy process and no matter how many years you have been in business, you will always need to look for new ways to capture the attention of your customers. Getting the media to pay attention to your company is one of the best ways to market your company. How can you get the media to pay attention to your company and make sure you are making business headlines? There are several things you need to do in order to boost your publicity and to become an influential company in your industry.

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Getting the most out of advertising campaigns for your dollar

buisnessmeeting26238539.jpgAre you seeking the attention of your niche market? It seems that in today's world the consumers have all the control and it can take you months in order to acquire the leverage you need with your niche market in order to generate the publicity and sales you need. This article will teach you how to get the most out of your advertising campaign for your dollar.

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Essential advertising tips you need to use

broker19160449.jpgWhat happens when you notice your sales are not as strong as they used to be? Do you start cutting costs or do you focus on other ways to generate awareness for your company? While you may want to start cutting costs on things like your office supplies, the one place you need to avoid cost cutting is with your marketing and advertising budget. We all know the phrase, "you need to spend money to make money." This is extremely true when it comes to marketing and advertising. If you aren't getting information out there, people will not know your company exists and they won't be able to provide you with sales to keep your cash flow strong. Here are essential advertising tips you need to know in order to stay in business:

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Using video for marketing

laptopwithwebcamera45381702.jpgVideos can be a powerful marketing tool when used the right way, and when designed to market your products or service.People love multi-media, and will stop to watch a video if it is worth watching. Because of this, you can use the internet, and sites like YouTube to successfully market your products and services. The following are three things that you need to keep in mind when using video for marketing:

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Stand out above the crowd, be seen

manpullingofftie10054185.jpgWhen you own a business, you can stand by and hope your advertising campaign works, or you can get out there and make sure your potential customers not only know you exist, but can't ignore you. If you want to make your marketing successful, and worth the time and money you put into it, you can't just put out a sign and hope for the best. You have to do something to draw attention to your business, and make sure you are impossible to miss.

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Offer high quality base products with great upgrade options

clip71731932.jpgIf you want to market your products, you have to have products worth marketing. One of the things you need to do is give potential customers a taste of your offerings, and allow them to upgrade. If you want people to buy a lot, you have to start by getting them to buy a little. If they like the little things that they buy, they are far more likely to buy more. If you sell software, for example, offer them the free trial version, or a template, and then make it easy for them to upgrade to a "pro" version.If they like the trial version, find that they enjoy it, etc. they will be okay with shelling out a little bit of cash to upgrade to a full blown version.

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Network

cables19108619.jpgSocial media and networking is huge, but it all started with a simple idea, that idea is tell your friends. It is important that when you develop your marketing strategy that you do not discount the power of networking, or telling your friends. You never know when one of your friends will run into one of their friends, who will then become your next big client.

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It is special, tell your friends

portfolio60516071.jpgOne of the great things about offering products to clients is that you can make them special, and do something different from your competitors. In doing so, you can gain word of mouth marketing, which is an extremely effective type. A simply illustration of this can be found in the example of the child's summer lemonade stand. What is going to get you to stop? What something "special" would attract your attention? How about hand squeezed? Or, sugar free? Or with a sprig of mint? The point is, you are not confined to one option, but you should do whatever it takes to make your product or offering unique, special, or just a little different from your competition. Your clients and customers will notice, and this will result in them coming back for more, and telling their friends.

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Give it free, and get something in return

checkbox63308153.jpgAn old but good marketing strategy is to give something away for free to perspective customers. If you give people something for free they will feel obligated to return the favor. What does this mean? It means that if you help someone out, it creates a natural desire to return the favor. It doesn't mean you have to give your products away for free, it means give a sampling, a bit of information, a teaser, or something else to help you gain the customer's trust and hook them.

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Advertise your popularity

womanoncellphone23007547.jpgPeople are always more likely to follow the crowd than take a big risk. If you are popular, let people know. If potential customers see that other people like you, they will too. If you want to be successful with your marketing, it helps to make your popularity known. Just as you are more likely to leave a tip in a tip jar if you see other money in it, your potential customers are more likely to interact, comment, and click through purchase things if they see others doing it.

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Public relations and marketing

ladyoncellphone30335335.jpgMarketing is centered on getting attention for the company and boosting customer sales. When marketing and public relations combine, a business is suddenly opened to a whole world of customers that can help the business sink or swim. When you combine public relations and marketing, you are no longer focused on just selling a product to your customers, you are not concerned on educating the public on what your company does. You want people to know more about the foundations of your company, as this will help to inspire them to continue being a customer and spread the word to their friends.

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Keeping up with marketing activities

maninwheelchairwithcoworkers23110444.jpgOne of the most important things any marketer can do for their business is to keep up with marketing activities. You need to find out what your customers are responding to and what your competitors are doing if you want to continue being successful with marketing.

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Easy strategies to boost your company's publicity

businessnegoations19314770.jpgWhat business doesn't want to get some publicity? Why would you turn down the chance to boost your sales through smart marketing that uses all the information sources available? What can you do to make sure people know about your products? Here are some tips to help you get started:

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Boosting good communication to keep your customers

ladywithheadsetsmiling30342942.jpgGood communication within your business can help you with customer retention and it can cut down on lost productivity costs. Communication is essential to running an effective business. There are numerous companies that spend too much time trying to attract new customers that they neglect to find ways to keep their current customers. One way you can enhance customer retention is to boost your communication skills within the organization.

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Using surveys on MySpace to market your business

womanatcomputersmiling19167076.jpgWhile surveys in general are pretty much the same, you ask questions and fill in the answers; you can customize any survey to fit your need. Some websites offer free surveys for MySpace, all you have to do is fill in the answers to the questions, generate the code and copy and paste it into your MySpace profile. Other websites offer you the opportunity to create your own survey, either by choosing from a list of questions or by creating your own questions. As a business majority of the pre-made surveys will not be appropriate for your profile, so if you have an IT department you can have them write the code needed for your survey or you can find a website that offers you to create your own survey questions.

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The Role of Marketing in Product Development

missingpuzzlepiece19378437.jpgProfitability is every businesses aim. The more profit a business can manage to garner, the better the business is. One way to improve the profitability of your business is by producing new products for purchase which in turn opens new markets or gives more value to current customers. However, a new product isn't always a profitable product. You want to make sure there is a need for the product you want to develop before you actually put out the money and take the time to develop it. This is where your marketing team comes into play.

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The First Step to Marketing

ladyoncellphone33269406.jpgA marketing campaign can be a waste of money and time for those involved if the decision makers behind the campaign don't have current or viable research to tell them how to market their product. If you are new to the marketing front, you need to know who you are selling to, their buying habits, the best place/time/way to present what you have to offer to them, and what your competitors are doing. A marketing campaign needs to be new and fresh, but it also needs to be strategically planned on thorough research in order for it to be successful.

There are three areas that you will want to research: customers, competition, and environment. There are also two types of information regarding each of the research areas: primary information and secondary information.

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The Effective Campaign

mansmiling30396607.jpgEvery small business owner wants to grow their business. It's a fact of life that the more customers you have, the more money you make. One of the best ways to grow your business is through marketing. The result of an effective marketing campaign is growth in your customer base and greater purchasing from your current consumers. So what are the basic things you need to know to make your small business marketing campaign big results?

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Search engine optimization

laptops30842603.jpgSearch engine optimization or SEO is the process of improving the amount of traffic that is driven to your website from search engines. Search engine optimization works on driving quality traffic to your website through natural results, meaning the results from the search engine are not bought paid by your company to improve your ranking in the search engine. Companies want to appear earlier in the search engine results list because the earlier their website appears the more people they will get visiting their website from the search engine. Search engine optimization does not just focus on one kind of search, instead they target many different kinds of searches, including image, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines because they all work together to give a website presence on the internet.

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Radio advertising

electricalwires65287126.jpgGetting the word out about your business is essential to your success and people really have to know who you are in order for your business to grow and flourish.Everyone knows that marketing and advertising is one of the most important endeavors in the effort to increase business and people are constantly finding new ways to promote their business.One option that has been around for a long time that could be a good option for your business is radio advertising.

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Promotion and publicity campaigns

groupofmenatlunch30338711.jpgPublicity is defined as "the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject."The subjects of publicity include people (for example, politicians, and performing artists), goods, and services.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion.The other elements of the promotional mix are advertising, sales promotion, and personal selling.Promotion is used as a marketing tool mainly in the introduction of a new product or new features of an existing product.The purpose of promoting a product is to get the public excited about how your product can improve their life.

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Print advertising rules

manoncellphone30334009.jpgWhen it comes to print advertising, you do not want to waste time and money by missing your mark.You want your ads to hit home and ring a bell with as many buyers and potential buyers as possible.When it comes to print ads, first impressions are all that you have, so make sure that you follow these print advertising rules so that you can do just that:

Use catchy headlines

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Outbound marketing: promotions and advertising

graph16220798.jpgAfter a marketing team conducts their marketing research, does some analyzing of their competitors, and prices their products, they are ready for outbound marketing. One of the very important aspects of outbound marketing is promotions and advertising. This article talks more about what promotions and advertising are and how a marketing team should go about promoting and advertising their company's goods and services.

What are promotions and advertising?

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Is your marketing plan on the right track?

recession19085238.jpgYou have spent all this time and effort on a marketing strategy and have implemented that strategy to the best of your ability, so how do you know if your marketing plan is on the right track?How do you know if your marketing strategy is really working? (Or if it is other factors that are affecting the rate of sales in your business?)What about the times when marketing success cannot be seen in numbers and sales?Evaluating the success of your marketing plan and determining whether a change in direction is needed, is better described as a combination of both actual number of sales and the inclusion of factors that may not be as readily apparent.

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First Impressions

arguingcoworkers23282211.jpgYour business card can be one of the simplest and inexpensive marketing tools you have, if you look at it as one rather than a necessity or business luxury. Business owners, small and large, often miss the point of a business card as a marketing tool and leave important elements out. Here is a simple breakdown of elements your business card should include and what they say about you.

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Creating memorable ads

accountant37004036.jpgThe best ads are the ones that you can remember long after they have finished.Getting remembered is one of the keys to doing more business.Many businesses are comfortable with the progress they make, but almost all businesses are constantly looking for ways to retain current customers and gain new ones.Making memorable ads can really differentiate you from the competition and give you an edge in the market.

Many business owners make the mistake of trying to appeal to everyone at the same time with the same information.But the truth of the matter is that you can't appeal to everyone, so you need to choose a segment of people you want to reach the most and then make your message fit their needs and expectations.While many people may think that making good advertising is a simple thing to do, there is a lot more that happens behind the scenes than most realize.

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Attracting positive attention to your business

broker19160449.jpgWhether you are trying to repair the negative effects of some bad press or you simply want to spread the word that you have a business worth patronizing, you are not without options when it comes to attracting positive attention to your business.There are three things that just about any major company does to shine a more positive light on their business and attract new customers.The first of these three things is to simply make yourself known.When trying to attract new customers you must let people know you exist.You must get their attention and interest. If people do not know where you are, what you are selling and what youthey will not be able to buy from you.The next key step to attracting positive attention to your business is to do everything that you can to make the customer feel comfortable doing business with you.The people who buy from you want to feel like spending their money at your establishment is a wise thing to do.They should have no reason to doubt making a purchase.

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Outbound marketing

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Outbound marketing is where most companies spend their time. Outbound marketing refers to gaining the attention of customers through focusing on the products or the needs of the company. Outbound marketing uses advertising, product promotions, public relations, customer service, and sales. Combing all of these efforts will improve your companies revenue stream and it will help to strengthen your brand.

When it comes to outbound marketing, several companies will get anxious to have an immediate increase in sales and they neglect the importance of market research. Without proper market research, it will be difficult to know if you are marketing to the right audience.

In order to become successful with outbound marketing, it is important to address what type of attention you need. Are you looking for attention for the products or for the company? Typically press releases are used when you need to attract attention to the company and print or online ads are used to attract attention to the products.

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How advertising relates to marketing

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For many years people have been debating marketing and advertising and claiming that they are the same thing. While they both focus on gaining attention and awareness for the company, they are quite different from one another. This article will explore how advertising and marketing related to one another.

Starting with marketing, companies use it to increase the revenue of the company. Typically marketing focuses more on building customer relationships versus promoting the products. Marketing efforts are used at conferences, fairs, events, in the store, through surveys, and online. With social media sites gaining more popularity, more businesses are capitalizing on the opportunity to build relationships with their customers.

On social media sites, you can show your customers that you are more than just a company; you can show them you are made up of actual people that care about their customers and their needs. Use social media sites to increase your company's image through participation in discussion boards, blogs, and other areas where people gather to talk about your company or your industry.

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Discounts and coupons

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Any new business that starts out has numerous challenges and obstacles to face. One of the worst challenges is trying to break into the market and let people know you exist. At first some people may be excited about your company, but this quickly fades as the company gets older and your marketing efforts decrease. Think back to all the promotional products you sent out when you opened your business and look for ways to start getting people interested in your company with discounts and coupons.

Reward the customers that actually look at your web site. A lot of businesses have begun adding coupons to their web site for the customers that look there. This is a great way to boost your online traffic and it can help to increase your customer loyalty. The company, Beech Nut actually offers discounts and coupons on their web sites for parents that purchase their baby food.

Once you purchase a set number of baby jars, you simply mail in the UPC's a lot with the online coupon and they will mail you back coupons and cash. This is a great way to reward your customers without actually marketing to them.

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What is the difference between marketing, advertising, and promoting?

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Not many people are aware of the difference in the terms marketing, advertising, and promoting. The reason for this is that the difference between the three terms is not very big, so it is easy for people to use them interchangeably, which makes it harder to convince people that there is a difference. Regardless of how small the difference is it is still important to know that there is a difference, although their main objective is the same.

You need to know and understand the difference in these terms in order to use them properly for your business. Here is a closer look at each of the terms, which will allow you to see the subtle differences so you can use them properly for your business.

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Never limit your marketing to strictly advertisements

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The first thing that people think of when developing a marketing plan for their business is advertisements. Advertisements are a great way to market your business, but they should not be the only form of marketing that you use. If you want to properly market your business, you are going to need to take advantage of a variety of marketing techniques. Using large variety of marketing techniques is also a great way to for your business to reach the largest group of potential customers.

Here are some more marketing ideas that you can try, in addition to advertisements.

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Yellow page advertising

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The power of printed media campaigns has gone through its ups and downs. Some companies swear by it while others prefer to use online marketing to support their business. One area that may have been overlooked by your company is yellow page advertising.

Grab the recent copy of the yellow pages and take a look at the different types of ads in there. Yellow page advertising can be a variety of different types of ads from photos to logos and text; yellow page advertising is still an effective way to reach your target audience.

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Newspaper advertising

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Newspapers are still one of the best ways to promote your business. For several businesses, newspaper advertising is the only effective print marketing strategy out there. Depending upon the type of business you run, the newspapers may be your only way to let customers know you are out there. Newspapers are the ideal solution for marketing to a local and even national audience. Most cities have a local newspaper and generally everyone will flip through it and many of them will see your ad.

Newspaper marketing is a great tool because you have the option to reach a broad audience. Over 50 percent of adults read the newspaper each day. When individuals are seeking certain products or services, they usually look to their local newspaper for information. Newspapers provide you with the ideal targeted marketing campaign because the newspapers are typically themed, so you can place your ad in the appropriate section.

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How to look like an expert to get on radio or tv

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You have learned that one of the best ways to get on a radio or television talk show is to create some sort of working relationship with the people who are going to get you on. However, you are not sure how to start this relationship. One of the best ways to get the relationship going is to offer yourself as an expert, and let them use your expertise on their show. So, how do you look like an expert?

You want to make sure that your initial offer of expertise is well planned, and well executed, as it can make a huge difference in whether or not they use you, and whether or not they come back to you.

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How staying out of desperate mode, or suck up mode is going to get you on the air

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Too many people have issues with getting on radio or television because they start getting into desperate mode. They feel like they do not have much chance for getting on the show, so instead of being cool and collected, they start sucking up and ruin their credibility.

So, you have to be cool, not desperate. So, how can you be cool and stay out of desperate mode? Well, first you have to have knowledge. For example, knowledge such as knowing not to call during the newscast, or not calling an hour before the newscast. These are the kind of things that will make the television or radio show annoyed. If you call around a deadline or close to a newscast, you are going to get someone who is grumpy and on edge. So, be cool, and do not call during these times.

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How radio and television differ from print media outlets when it comes to getting on them

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You may know everything you need to know about getting in a print publication, but that does not mean you know what it takes to get on radio and television talk shows. Over the next ten days, you are going to learn what you need to do to get on a radio or television talk show. However, first you need to know the differences between print media outlets and radio and television.

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Best way to pitch to a tv or radio program

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To get your pitch heard you have to pitch it the right way.

If you want to pitch to a tv or radio program and have your pitch heard, you have to start by knowing what ways of pitching aren't going to work. For television never pitch via email. It is not going to get looked at because reporters are way too busy. They are constantly on the move, and they are not about to sit down and check their email.

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What is pay per click (PPC) advertising?

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Pay per click (or PPC advertising) is a method of advertising based loosely on an auction type system. In order to understand it fully, you need to understand a little bit about search engines.

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Radio advertising strategies

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A good business person is always looking for ways to market their product or service. When a business stops trying to do this it means that they are either dying or stagnating. Without ongoing marketing work and strategies it is impossible to grow a business. If you find that you are struggling to get your business more customers consider some sort of new advertising strategy. One thing that many of my business associates have been doing is running radio ads. I had thought that the radio was a thing of the past when the internet came around. However, if you think about it, many people still listen to the radio. While at work or driving it can be nice to have a radio going in the background. Many people suggest that there is something nice about the variety of music you get on the radio-it can be a nice surprise to hear an old song when you don't expect it. So how can you use the radio to build your business? If you are unfamiliar with the territory you need to learn a few things about advertising strategies for the radio.

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Product promotions, the tips and tricks of the trade

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If your company has products that they need to sell then they are going to need to learn a little bit about product promotions. Basically product promotions are a marketing technique but this technique focuses on the actual product than on the company or anything else. Promoting a product is part of marketing because you are trying to bring attention to the product that you are selling. And like all other aspects of marketing product promotions have certain tips and tricks that make it work easier.

Here are some tips and tricks that you should keep in mind when it comes to promoting your company's product.

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Tips for making your cross promotion grab more customer's attention

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Cross promotion is a form of advertising that can increase your customer base dramatically. It involves two or more parties, and together you work to promote each other's products or services.

Whether you recognize it or not, you see cross promotion on a daily basis. In commercials, for example, credit card companies are cross promoting when they feature their cards being used in certain retail stores. Or, airlines and beverage companies cross promote by the airline only providing a certain brand of drink, like Pepsi products. Companies that claim to be "proud sponsors of the Olympic Games" are also cross promoting.

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How to write an effective yellow pages ad.

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So you want eyes popping and people paying attention to your effective yellow pages ad? Want to catch the most fish? Short and sweet here is what you do.

Literally short and sweet is the way to make an effective yellow pages ad.
You will want to put the most valuable information written in the shortest amount of space. Add a little humor and some catchy words and there you go.

Have I got your attention? Who am I writing to? What do I want? I caught the fish!

There are the basics to your ad that will need to be filled in. The name of your company, phone number, address, hours of operation and Internet information are the main fill in. But, that is not what we are talking about.

There are strong words that catch an eye just due to human nature. Some great examples of power words are money, free, time, choice, gift, help, happiness and stress. Many of us are busy fast-paced people and look for the something that will help us work faster or more efficient. Things that will help us enjoy life or increase the quality of life we have. Using words to catch attention of the consumer will increase the effectiveness of your yellow pages ad.

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Tips on choosing an advertising agency

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When you own a business one of the greatest concerns that weigh on your mind is how to get your product or service out on the market.If you have an advertising department in your business they'll take care of that.But if not, the task is left to you or another employee (who may be less qualified than yourself to accomplish this important goal). However, this is another option to advertise your product or service.But what if you're not very creative or don't know the best strategies for advertising?And, what if you have tried for months and months to market your product or service, but to no avail?You've been receiving little profit for all your long, hard, frustrating hours of work.

Let's face it.
The time has come for you to choose an advertising agency.But do not despair!Choosing a good advertising agency doesn't have to be a painful process.It can, in fact, be quite simple.You just need to look for a few key characteristics and qualities before you go ahead and make the decision to choose a particular agency.Hopefully this article will help you through the process, making it a little less painful and a little more enjoyable.

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The importance of repetition in advertising

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Advertising is a big fish. The scope of advertising is large, from newspapers, to email, newsletters, billboards, and fliers, you have a ton of different ways to advertise your product or service. Advertising is super important as in most cases that is what in the force behind the sales. Advertising generates sales.plain and simple.

Repetition is an important part of advertising. Repetition is an important part of advertising. Why? Because, it is through repetition that you establish your credibility, establish brand familiarity, become the first thought when a need for your type of product or service arises, etc.

The importance of repetition is advertising is huge. It is an area of advertising you do not want to miss the boat on, so let's take a closer look at how repetition can do the things stated above.

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Marketing with printed post cards.

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Each type of marketing has its purpose and success. Though, different forms of marketing and advertising can vary in cost to a business. One of the most cost effectual and people reaching means in marketing is with printed post cards.

These post cards can be catchy, informative, cute, clever or short and to the point.
As long as the consumer is enticed to read the information the post card has done its job. If the printed post cards are interesting the consumer will likely at least glance at what it says.

The average plain envelope with advertising in it is often tossed away with out even being opened. A printed post card has the benefit of having the information right there. Most of us will spare a second to look at the information on the back of a post card.

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How to create memorable advertising messages

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Using creativity in your advertising messages is going to be the best way to make that message both lasting and memorable.

As with all business entering the market or releasing a new product, you must do market research. This research must first include knowing your competitors. What angles of the product are they currently focusing their attention on? What areas of advertising are they find success in? What needs of the consumers are they not meeting? And for advertising purposes, how well do their advertisements hook the consumers in?

How can your business be different from your competitors? If your competitors are currently rallying around one area of the market and focusing on that, than you need to target another area that makes your business stand out. For example, if all car companies that are selling sports utility vehicles are focusing on the power and speed of their brand of car, then you need to focus on the comfort and design of yours. Your consumers will apply the power of an SUV to your SUV simply though the other advertisements they see, but when they think of comfort, and of style, you want you company to be singled out.

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How to create great television advertising

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Do you wonder why some television advertising is great and others are horrible?The answer is that some people focus too much on the message and not enough on the presentation.This article will go through the elements of great television advertising.You will be able to watch a great commercial and see the different elements that will be discussed below.

Step 1:Wake them up!
You need to slam into the audience at a million miles an hour.There is not need for an introduction.You hit hard because they are only putting up with the commercial until their show comes back on.If you don't hit them hard enough to keep their attention, then they will spend that time flipping channels.

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How to create an advertising budget

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An advertising budget is a big deal. You will get more results with good advertising than you ever will paying the salary of one sales man. So, let's jus say for fun your average sales person makes $60K a year. If you take that $60K and use it for advertising, your results will be higher.

This does not mean you can eliminate sales people, in fact on the contrary. The better your advertising budget the more sales people you will need. Why? Because your advertising will get people ready to buy your product, and you will want those sales people out selling it to the people who want it.

Ok, so how do you determine your advertising budget? Well, first let's look at home most people determine their advertising budget. Usually people decide their advertising budget one of four ways:

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Advertising promotional items - how to choose the best supplier

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Many companies wonder how to pick a promotional advertising supplier company.When you want to purchase promotional products such as logo apparel or corporate gifts, you have a lot of options.There are several thousand distributors that sell promotional products in the United States.Each of them sells very similar products.

How can you tell which supplier will give you the best price, service and products?This article will provide you with some guidelines to help you discriminate between suppliers.

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The difference between Marketing, PR and Advertising

investmentagent16485586.jpg Marketing, PR and advertising all go hand-in-hand, but many people aren't sure of what the difference is between the 3. We often see advertising all over, on billboards, on television, and on the internet. Quite often you hear about the 4 "P's" of marketing; price, promotion, place, and products. Marketing does entail the 4 "P's", but its main focus is on finding customers. Public Relations (PR) can be applied to every aspect of marketing. PR creates the knowledge and understanding of the product or service that is being promoted. To gain a better understanding, we will look at the differences between marketing, PR and advertising in more detail.

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Requirements of good advertising

moneytree23274927.jpg Advertising is the way that companies let you know about them and their products.So you have to make sure that as a representative of the company, you are producing the best advertisements possible for the company so that it will be profitable.

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Using your logo or status to market a new product

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Have you established your status in the market? Do people see your logo and immediately connect that with a product? If not, you have some serious work to do. Visual elements are a major part of your company's identity in the market. Having a good logo isn't the only way to market a new product. You need to have a good reputation or status in the market. Think of some of the most successful companies out there in the market and how long it took for them to gain their status.

Many companies believe in partnering with other companies who have an established reputation in the market. This is a great idea for smaller companies because it shows that this respectable company believes in them and they should too. A couple years ago, Nike and Apple teamed up to produce an Ipod Shoe. This was a wonderful invention for both companies. It not only increased the profitability of both companies, but they used their logos and status to market a new product.

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Using a blog to market your product

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The modern blog is at something that has caught on like wildfire rather recently on the Internet. In just a few years, the number of blogs numbers in the tens of millions and continues to grow at an astonishing rate. As a result, it only makes sense that your company should join in on this phenomenon and be using a blog to market your product.

A blog (the word is shortened version of "web log") is a little different from a regular website. One difference is that they are simple to set up (there are pre-made templates on a variety of sits), free, and easy to update. The term "web log" perfectly describes what a blog's purpose is - it's basically an online journal where you keep track of whatever you want, day by day.Just log into your blog, say what you want, click post, and you're done. No wonder people are making, reading, and using blogs more often than ever.

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Marketing versus advertising, what is the difference?

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Many people do not know the difference between marketing and advertising. Both processes are essential to the growth of a company. Having marketing and advertising work hand in hand will be substantial to increasing revenue. Many people do not know what the difference is between marketing versus advertising. While they share similar aspects and work together to benefit the company, they are two different strategies.

Marketing vs Advertising
How is marketing different from advertising? Advertising is a single component of marketing. Advertising is the piece of marketing that involves spreading the word about your business and products. Advertising is considered the most expensive piece of marketing. It includes ad placement, direct mail pieces, television, radio and internet advertising. Marketing is different from advertising because it is a process. Marketing is considered a campaign that is designed to create awareness of products, services and brands. Marketing believes in building relationships with customers and strengthening their overall customer satisfaction.

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Marketing to businesses versus people

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What is the difference between marketing to businesses versus people? Some people believe it is the same strategy because businesses are run by people. Technically, that is true, but marketing to a business is very different from marketing to people.

A person buying a product for themselves versus for their company is a different strategy. Companies don't buy Ipods, they buy computers. Both marketing strategies follow the same opening path; identify the customer and why they would want to hear from you.

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Marketing to a teenage girl, what to consider

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It seems like it should be pretty easy to market to teenage girls. Their likes, dislikes, trends, and interests are already marketed like crazy, so one would think it'd be easy to just slip in and find a niche in the teen market. Not so. Instead, marketing to a teenage girl needs to be done in certain ways and it's important to know what to consider.

Teenagers, both boys and girls, are very aware that they are being marketed to constantly. They just need to turn on the television, open a magazine, or even go to school. Schools themselves are open to companies marketing to kids at school - how many soda machines are in the cafeterias and common rooms in a typical junior high and high school? Just that one example can give an idea of how bombarded teens are by companies' marketing tactics.

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Marketing to a middle aged man, what to consider

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Knowing how to market to the middle-aged man is important to any business. The baby boomers (who are currently the middle-aged) make up the largest demographic out there and the better a company can market to them, the higher their profit and popularity will be. When marketing to a middle-aged man there are few important things to consider.

One of the things to keep in mind is the middle-aged man's life experience.They've seen a lot of progress in their lifetimes - from the growing popularity of television, the various social movements and changes, and the advent of the computer. Because of their life experience, they have a lot to offer, since they've seen such a broad spectrum of growth and invention.

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Marketing During the Holidays

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Marketing during the holidays is both good and bad. Depending upon what you are selling, it can be easy or frustrating. Many companies believe that during the holidays people are over-extending their budgets, are cranky, and over-shopped. While this may be true, some people have an openness and willingness to try new things. So how can you use the holidays as a time to market? We will explore some options below.

Seasonal
What about your business is seasonal? What would your customers want to purchase during the holidays? Any service or product can be tied to the holidays one way or another. Get a team of people together and think hard about why your products are marketable during the holidays. How about the "gift that keeps on giving" idea? Come up with a referral bonus or extra discount during a particular week if they spend so much money. And little promotion you do will go a long way, especially if the customer thinks they are saving money.

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How to get your customers in the door

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Introduction

With so many people vying for our hard earned money, it is easy as a consumer to shy away from the new and simply stick to the products and services that we are loyal to.This mindset is exactly what marketers are trying to break through in order to introduce the consumers of their target markets to the latest and greatest products that their company can offer.But getting your customers in the door can many times prove to be the most difficult task in sales. It is your job as a member of the marketing team to come up with a way of interesting potential, current and former customers in what you have to offer to the point that they seek you out and come to visit your establishment.

Instructions

The likelihood of seeing a sale through to completion is greatly enhanced once you have been able to convince your customer that it would be worth their while to walk through the doors of your establishment.All of the hard work happens before you are able to see your customer face to face and relieve them of their spending money.It is that hard work of getting your customers in the door that will be discussed in the following steps:

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How SEO is key to marketing

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It is hard to own any business now without at least some knowledge of the internet.And for some businesses, having a presence on the internet is vital to their overall success rate and customer acquisition and retention.Websites are the business wave of the future that you need to be working on establishing now.It is not enough to simply have a website anymore, you must drive potential customers to that website in order to maintain a sales advantage.SEO is a key factor in that marketing goal of attracting possible buyers.SEO or Search Engine Optimization is, in short, a process used to improve the traffic to a website by using search engines and links from different pages.

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Fliers, mailers, and print marketing

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Fliers, mailers, and print marketing are one of the biggest tools use by businesses to spread the word about their company and their products. You probably have "junk mail" in your mailbox everyday that is actually a marketing piece. Companies allot millions of dollars to printing fliers and sending mailers to reach new clients. They are increasing brand awareness of their company by doing so. Even if you throw away the mailer, you probably noticed who it was from and while you may not be interested in contacting the company for a sale or service, you may in the future. The goal of this type of marketing is to plant a bug in consumers and get them to buy their products.

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Defining your target market

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One of the biggest basics of your marketing plan must be deciding who will be your target market.Determining who will be interested in purchasing your product or service will be the key as to whether your business is profitable or whether your product dies quietly on the shelf.History is full of products that possessed a high degree of quality and usefulness but due to poor target marketing never realized the full potential profit they were capable of. Thus in designing a marketing plan it is not enough to simply determine how many of your dollars will be allocated toward marketing or how those dollars will be used.It is imperative that you first determine who will be your target market.So if you are a business owner trying to determine who you will market your product or services to here are some tips on defining your target market.

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Creating a slogan for your business

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A good slogan can be a great asset to your business because it will help people remember what your business is all about. Though it does take a little work and some revision, anyone can create a catchy slogan.Here are some guidelines for creating a slogan for your business:

  1. Ask yourself some questions Before you try to write your slogan, there are a few things to keep in mind. Who is your audience? What do you want them to remember? Knowing your audience will really help you focus when you're writing your slogan. Would they appreciate a humorous slogan? Or would a heartfelt, sentimental slogan be better?Keep in mind what kind of impression you want to leave - this will keep you going in the right direction. Also remember what kind of benefit your business offers. Keeping this in mind will help you figure out how to market your product or service better.
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    Using print advertising for marketing, cost versus benefits

    Spending on advertising is huge.It is estimated that worldwide companies spend over $400 billion dollars advertising each year. Most companies large or small,rely on marketing to create customer interest.For some business, little advertising may be done.Instead money is spent on other promotions such as personal selling through a sales team.For others, advertising may consist of an occasional advertisement in the local newspaper.Before you begin any marketing campaign you should find out an essential fact about your advertising and promoting efforts.Are my efforts for this marketing campaign worth the time and the money involved?Your cost can be measured monetarily, while your benefits can be an immediate return or long term benefit.Below is a list of ways to do print advertising and the costs and benefits of each.

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    Print advertising basics

    When it comes to advertising everybody knows that you can have electronic advertisements and print advertisements and pretty much everybody understands the difference between two. And since most of you are aware of the differences between the two types of advertisements than you are also aware of the fact that the same concepts do not apply to print advertising as electronic advertising and vice versa. In both types of advertising there are some concepts that are the same, but even though some concepts are the same in both forms of advertising you still need to keep some things in mind about print advertising. The main thing that you need to keep in mind is the basics in print advertising because without understanding the basics you will not be able to effectively use print advertisements.

    Here are some of the basics that you are going to need to know about print advertisements.

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    Tips for writing a press ad

    re are six tips for writing press ads. A snazzy, eye-popping press ad is not that hard. The main thing is that you want to create a reason for the consumer to read. You are not going to try to sell something. If there is an abundance of spam in order to make a sale, you will lose the readers attention.

    Here are five tips that will make it easier to get the attention of your reader by creating an informative and attractive press ad.

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    How to choose your headline for a marketing ad?

    How to choose your headline for a marketing ad? This is a good, and important question when it comes to marketing. The reason is that a consumer will give the information they read a split second to catch their attention. If you are not the one who has a snazzy eye catching headline, your ad will likely be missed.

    There are some things you can do in order to choose a better headline for your marketing ad. Try a few of these ideas to see if they help you in your adventures of marketing.

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    Tips for maximizing publicity

    Here are five tips for maximizing publicity. If you want to maximize your publicity, then it will be important to get with the flow of the publicity waves. This happens at certain times of the year, with certain types of products and so on.

    There are other important factors that go along with timing, which can make a huge difference in the way your publicity is taken in by the public. Here are some other tips to look at when you are working with the publicity for your business.

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    Tips for advertising on the radio

    Here are some great tips for advertising on the radio. When you advertise you need to be the one that the consumer listens to. So how do you do that? Well, there are some key things that you can do, to make sure that your advertising is heard. Here is how.

    Start with making sure that your advertising sounds good. There are several ways to make radio advertising. There are several packages that you can pickup for the different options for creating and airing your radio commercial. However, if that advertisement does not sound good, people will turn you off.

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    Tips for advertising in print

    Here are some great tips for advertising in print. These tips are summed up in a few words: simple, clean, accurate and interesting.

    If you make sure that you follow these tips all of your advertising will be worth every penny you put into it. Here are those tips.

    1. Short and simple. The simpler the information is, the easier the consumer will be able to get right to the point. This is important because with all the advertising that goes out to the public, they will not want to read an autobiography. Short paragraphs, short sentences, and short words. Get the information out there in a way that is easy, fast, and to the point. Not only is this better for reading, but short will save you money. Advertising is one of the most expensive parts of your business budget.
    2. Use good information. The information you are sending out there in your advertising needs to be true, feasible, and real. There needs to be no lies, no stretches of the truth, and definitely no tricks. The public will learn about these types of print and will stop looking at your advertising all together.

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    Costs of radio advertising


    What is the cost of radio advertising? This is an important question when you are trying to budget for your marketing plan. If you want to get the most for your advertising money, you will need to find the best prices for the most public recognition.

    In order to know the if the cost of radio advertising will be beneficial to your company, you should compare the cost of say $5000 for the cost of radio advertising, and the advertisement will bring you $6000 in sales, than you will have had a reasonable return

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    Pros and cons of radio advertising

    Let's consider some of the pros and cons of radio advertising.

    Pro:

    Radio advertising is more affordable than TV advertising, more affordable even than some magazine and newspaper advertising. We're not going to get on a major show, obviously, and not have to pay the right price for it. But overall, radio advertising is an economical choice for a company to make, even on very popular radio stations.

    Con:

    More and more people

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    How to create the right image for your business

    Ah, image. That ever-important, ever-mysterious, ever-changing, ever-confusing thing. How does one go about creating the right image for one's business? Why should one "create" an image for one's business? It smacks of insincerity. Well, in some ways it does, and in some ways it doesn't. Are you insincere where a suit and tie to a job interview? Of course not. You want to show proper respect for the people you are asking a privilege of. Similarly, you are asking your customers for the privilege of their respect, trust, hard-earned dollars, and loyalty. You want to dress just right, as it were.
    When it comes to a business image, however, a crisp suit and tie isn't always the right answer. Sometimes it's exactly the wrong answer. When wondering how to create the right image for your business, then, you've first got to know what you're selling and who you're trying to sell it to.

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    How to create a strong visual identity for your company

    Establishing a strong visual identity for your company is a crucial part of getting your name out. A visual identity is one of the first things people will think of when they hear your name - think of Nike's Swoosh, Ralph Lauren's polo pony, and Mac's apple.

    Your strongest visual identity will most likely come in the form of a logo. However, everything you put out portrays your company's image. From brochures to letterhead to business cards, your company's product should have a visual appeal to it.

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    How to better use your ad space

    If you have designed a website for your business you probably have some extra space on your website for various ads. Many companies use this ad space to generate more income for their business. They do this buy selling their ad space to other businesses that will benefit from promoting their products on your website; this is one of the trickiest parts to selling ad space. You can either sell the space yourself or you can hire another company to do it for you. But if you do choose to sell your ad space to other companies you should follow some simple guidelines.

    Guideline one:
    Always give your content more prominence on your website, basically you should have more space dedicated to your product or services then you do to ad space. The content on your website should be clear and concise and preferably in the middle of the page without any ad interruptions.

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    5 items to include in a mail shot

    A mail shot or mailshot is a way to market to your potential customers by sending out unsolicited items of mail to a large number of people at one time, such as unsolicited letters, advertisements, or brochures. Mail shots can be sent either through the postal service or via email.Mail shot uses mail merge, target lists or a distribution list to reach large amounts of potential customers.Also, using targeted mailing lists to reach your audience is the most effective way of sending out a mail shot since it may encourage a higher response rate.

    There are companies that you can hire to put together a mail shot for you, or you can do it yourself.The key component of a mail shot is a sales letter.Whether you are sending a brochure, a product sample, a leaflet, a catalog, or any other kind of marketing piece, you should always include a sales letter.A sales letter is meant to introduce yourself, provide contact information and highlight the main benefits of your product or service.It should also let the recipient know how to respond, for example order by phone or by filling out an enclosed order form.

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    Website promotions

    Why have a website if no one knows about it? Website promotions can help that change. Website promotions are an answer to a variety of companies out there that want to get their name out and get there products notices. It is a marketing scheme that is a cost effective way to get a good search engine ranking.

    There are companies out there that will take the time to set up web promotions for a web site, so the owner of the website does not have to do any of the work. It is usually comes with a monthly cost, or per click cost, or something along those lines.A lot of the companies that offer to do website promotions sell them in a package deal. Be careful when researching these companies to find out exactly what is included. Some have screaming good deals that are too good to be true. For instance a company that is offering 20,000 searches for the "small price of $55.00". Don't be sucked into this. Most of the websites that these businesses have to offer are low traffic areas and are not going to produce the traffic you want. Look for the companies that will let one sign up for free and do a trial run and see the results, before paying the amount to have someone else do the website promotions. This way one will know what the company has to offer before spending money on something that might not pan out to be what one is looking for.

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    Using blogs for product promotion

    A question to ask ones self before promoting a product is, does using blogs really help one with product promotion? One might ask what does blog stand for or what is a blog? Blog is short for web log, and is a personal journal or diary that someone keeps online that is available on the web for the public to read and respond to. Some say that the most effective way to make money is to use blogs for product promotion. Using a blog as a tool for product promotion could be a positive thing or a negative thing depending on the audience's attitudes towards the product and how they convey it in the blog.

    For example using blogs for product promotion can be a positive way to go in the fact that it will help if someone is doing a search engine looking for one thing and it might bring up a product being promoted due to something some one put in a blog. Another positive thing about a blog is it is updated everyday, so it is always current. If a company has timely information such as a product promotion that you want to share with your clients, a blog would work great. Blogs are easy to use and do not take the time and effort to maintain like a whole website would be to maintain.

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    Using an advertising agency

    When using an advertising agency there are a lot of things to consider. First how do you choose an advertising agency, how much is too much to pay for an advertising agency and what kind of services does an advertising agency have to offer? These are all questions people might ask when looking at different advertising agencies.

    Using an advertising agency can be a great thing. Advertising agency will take care of a lot of things you wouldn't even think of considering. You just need to shop around before picking the best one. Be sure to get references from the advertising agency you are thinking about using. Make sure they have a good reputation and will give you what you are expecting. As far as price goes there are a lot of agencies and a lot of different prices. See what packages they have to offer and what is included before comparing prices.

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    Layout for newspaper ads

    First let's go over some things that make you do a double take at a newspaper ad. The double take is not the newspaper ad itself usually. It is usually the layout of the newspaper ad that does it. It could be the color layout of the newspaper ads, or the picture layout for the newspaper ads. It could be a variety of things. The point is the layout of the newspaper ad made you take a look, not skim over it.

    You can always hire some one to do the layout for your newspaper ads. You can even try to find a free lancer to do a layout for your newspaper ads; this might be a little cheaper than hiring a company, or you could even consider hiring a graphic design student, but before you consider any of these options make sure to review their prior work to make sure they're what you are looking for. Or better yet you can take on the task yourself. You might want to learn your way around Adobe Illustrator, or other graphic design programs and also Microsoft Word or other word processing programs. These programs will help you once you are ready to do the layout for your newspaper ads.

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    How to place a television ad for most effectiveness

    There are different ways to place television ads and get the most effectiveness out of them.

    You need to make a name for yourself. Where better to start than to place a television ad. The first thing you need to do is decide what market you want to target. This will help you know what products would communicate best to your audience.

    Making sure your product can be explained very quickly is a key player when you want to place a television ad for most effectiveness. You need to make sure that in 10 to 120 seconds will give you enough time to get your point a crossed about your product and what it is used for. This will help get leads and help boost sales.

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    How to make your black and white ad stand out

    If you were to look over a black and white ad and a colored ad side by side they would probably have a lot of the same attributes. For example they would both probably have some kind of business name or logo on the ad. They would probably both list what they were trying to sell. But the black and white ad might stand out more than the colored ad does.

    Color does not always get the point a crossed sometimes color is too loud and just adds disturbance to an ad more than anything. There is just something about black and white ads that sometimes stand out more than colored ads. It may be the fact that the actual ad is black and white. Think about it black and white ads are classics. Black and white ads have been around since newspapers and magazines were first printed. That is all there was in the beginning.

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    How to get free television advertisements

    There are a couple of different ways to get free television advertising. For instance there are some states that will offer free television advertising to people that will donate prizes or sponsor certain events. The way they do this is when ever a television advertisement comes on the television promoting the event your company is sponsoring or donating prizes to your logo or business name appears at the end or during the television advertisement.

    Another option to consider is to try to get picked up by the news to have them perform a piece on one of your products or on your business itself. You can do this by thinking of something unique that your business or one of your products has to offer that your competition does not. If you are able to find this it is a powerful tool. For example, say there is a woman trying to promote a cookbook. There are many cookbooks out there to choose from. To get recognized she would have to figure out a way to make her cook book different than her competition's. Say her cookbook had a menu for every day of the week and underneath the menus for the week it tells you how to make everything on the menu. There are not a lot of cookbooks out there that have this feature. She could take this to the news and this would show them how she was different than the rest of her competition and they may be more willing to do a free television interview. This in return would give her cookbook free television advertising.

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    Attracting clients using newspaper ads

    There are many different ways to attract clients by using newspaper ads. Some statistics say that newspaper ads attract more attention than regular television commercials. Attracting clients using newspaper ads has been around for over 25 years. The question is, are there different types of newspaper ads that attract more people than others? The answer is yes there is.

    If you have a lot of money to spend on finding ways to attract clients using newspaper ads and you don't want to take the time to do it yourself, you could hire to have a newspaper ad to attract clients done professionally. There are companies out there that will write a newspaper ad to attract clients for you. But if your company isn't ready to spend money on hiring some one else to find the ways to attract clients using newspaper ads, you can do it yourself. Here are some tips to help you get started.

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    The power of public speaking in marketing your services

    If there's anything a good businessperson should be thinking about more or less all the time, it's marketing. How should you market your product? What should you say about it? How should you say it? Your marketing approach is basically the way you present yourself to the world. Funny to say, but people can read a lot about your overall approach to life in your marketing style. Politics, art, education, the environment-all these important things can subtly come up in your marketing approach without you even knowing it. So why not take advantage of this natural tendency, and know it going in? Those who plan, those who are careful, those who leave no stone unturned in their question for excellence-they usually achieve their desires.
    One important tool in your marketing toolbox is public speaking. Public speaking is a very powerful tool indeed. Have you ever been entranced by a speaker-whether in church, at a seminar, in a classroom, or at a political rally- I mean really, really entranced? You hung on their every word? Even the imperfections of their face or body or manner became interesting, important, vivid. And suddenly their message mattered to you-even if it was something you generally weren't concerned about. Most people have, at one time or another, had this experience with an excellent public speaker. When you look at this phenomenon closely, you began to realize how truly revolutionary public speaking could be when it comes to marketing.

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    How to pitch from the platform

    Live speaking can be an electrifying experience. If you've ever sat before a really talented public speaker, you'll know what I mean. The right public speaker can make the most boring subject seem interesting. The right public speaker can sell you something you never thought you'd buy. The right public speaker can change your mind about politics and religion. The right public speaker sometimes has almost unlimited power over his audience. Think about moments in history where the right speech at the right time rallied a tired nation just when it was about to fall; think about those moments where the right speech at the right time changed the course of world history.
    You might be asking,"How does this apply to sales?" It's true that your product, idea, or service is most likely not going to revolutionize the world. It's not going to stop hunger, cure cancer, or change a senator's mind. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't advertise it as passionately and intelligently as you can!

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    How to create an advertising budget

    An advertising budget is a big deal. You will get more results with good advertising than you ever will paying the salary of one sales man. So, let's jus say for fun your average sales person makes $60K a year. If you take that $60K and use it for advertising, your results will be higher.

    This does not mean you can eliminate sales people, in fact on the contrary. The better your advertising budget the more sales people you will need. Why? Because your advertising will get people ready to buy your product, and you will want those sales people out selling it to the people who want it.

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    How to become a vendor for Wal-Mart

    Becoming a vendor at Wal-Mart is a big step in getting your product out to the public. Many people shop at Wal-Mart, so learn how to become a vendor there and enjoy the benefits of being a vendor in one of the largest stores in the U.S.

    So how do you become a vendor for Wal-Mart?:

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    Advertising promotional items - how to choose the best supplier

    Many companies wonder how to pick a promotional advertising supplier company.When you want to purchase promotional products such as logo apparel or corporate gifts, you have a lot of options.There are several thousand distributors that sell promotional products in the United States.Each of them sells very similar products.

    How can you tell which supplier will give you the best price, service and products?This article will provide you with some guidelines to help you discriminate between suppliers.

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    How to write an effective yellow pages ad.

    So you want eyes popping and people paying attention to your effective yellow pages ad? Want to catch the most fish? Short and sweet here is what you do.

    Literally short and sweet is the way to make an effective yellow pages ad. You will want to put the most valuable information written in the shortest amount of space. Add a little humor and some catchy words and there you go.

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    How to create great television advertising

    Do you wonder why some television advertising is great and others are horrible?The answer is that some people focus too much on the message and not enough on the presentation.This article will go through the elements of great television advertising.You will be able to watch a great commercial and see the different elements that will be discussed below.

    Step 1:Wake them up!
    You need to slam into the audience at a million miles an hour.There is not need for an introduction.You hit hard because they are only putting up with the commercial until their show comes back on.If you don't hit them hard enough to keep their attention, then they will spend that time flipping channels.

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    How to get listed in the 800 number directory:

    If you are running a small business there are many things you can do to help your business grow. One thing that some small businesses do is get themselves listed in the 800 number directory. This can be a great way to help your business to receive more publicity and thus get more business. It can bring more traffic to you because you become available.

    It is important to get listed in the 800 number directory because it will direct people towards you that are actually interested in your business. You will most likely get all serious calls from people who find your name in the 800 number directory. This is because the people who get your number from the 800 number directory had to actually look you up. If they are looking you up, they are definitely interested. So, this is a positive, and profitable thing to do. Being listed in an 800 number directory would help to filter some of those people who aren't as interested in what you have to offer, out so that you would get more serious calls and fewer wasted calls. So, how do you get listed in the 800 number directory?

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    Promotional ideas for your small business.

    Starting and keeping a small business running is costly enough. The most successful small businesses work out cost efficient, consumer reaching, small business promotional strategies. These promotional strategies are cost effective, usually staying within the tight budget of the small business. Reach the highest amount of the consumers and, can be used over a long period of time.

    Some basic promotional ideas that a small business can do are: fliers, vehicles, press, newsletters, free samples, contests, and speaking engagements. Most of these take time, but the overall success will occur for each contact or touch you have with your customer.

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    The importance of repetition in advertising

    Advertising is a big fish. The scope of advertising is large, from newspapers, to email, newletters, billboards, and flyers, you have a ton of different ways to advertise your product or service. Advertising is super important as in most cases that is what in the force behind the sales. Advertising generates sales…plain and simple.

    Repetition is an important part of advertising. Repetition is an important part of advertising. Why? Because, it is through repetition that you establish your credibility, establish brand familiarity, become the first thought when a need for your type of product or service arises, etc.

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    Tips on choosing an advertising agency

    When you own a business one of the greatest concerns that weigh on your mind is how to get your product or service out on the market.If you have an advertising department in your business they'll take care of that.But if not, the task is left to you or another employee (who may be less qualified than yourself to accomplish this important goal). However, this is another option to advertise your product or service.But what if you're not very creative or don't know the best strategies for advertising?And, what if you have tried for months and months to market your product or service, but to no avail?You've been receiving little profit for all your long, hard, frustrating hours of work.

    Let's face it.The time has come for you to choose an advertising agency.But do not despair!Choosing a good advertising agency doesn't have to be a painful process.It can, in fact, be quite simple.You just need to look for a few key characteristics and qualities before you go ahead and make the decision to choose a particular agency.Hopefully this article will help you through the process, making it a little less painful and a little more enjoyable.

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    Postcard printers comparison chart.

    There are many options available for postcard printers. The biggest thing is to understanding your small or large business need.Ask yourself, how often and how many postcards you will be printing. What quality of postcards are you looking for?

    There are many directories, tables and charts available for the consumer looking to evaluate the best postcard printer. Here is a sample of a basic postcard printer comparison chart.

    Price (New) Speed Paper Type Connection Type
    Sony UPDR 150 $1545 after $200. Mail in rebate 4x6 - :8s 5x7-10 s Glossy USB

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    How to use loyalty programs to build your business

    Creating the right loyalty program to build your business is very important. This will be the difference in keeping and gaining loyal customers. Increased costs in obtaining new customers make the attraction to maintaining current customers all that more imperative.

    The thing is there are simple steps that can bring about the best loyalty program for your company. The loyalty program to build your business can be essential in the competitive market of products and services playing field.

    Competition is fierce now days. Price often drives the consumer's decisions. Consumers can pick and choose with about any product or service there is offered. This varies anywhere from pizza to cars.

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    How to choose and exhibit trade show supplier.

    Trade shows represent a powerful opportunity to generate leads, drive sales, promote new ideas, and show off your existing products. Choosing the right exhibit trade show supplier is an imperative part of having an unbeaten tradeshow.

    Also, the participation in a tradeshow allows you the opportunity to get to know the market, your competitors and your consumers. You will also be about to check out current trends, make key contacts, and strengthen current relationships.

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    What are 5 keys to improve website usability?

    A usable website is a two way relationship between you and your customer: your website must have enough information to keep youhappy, and must be one where the customer can easily understand what they are looking at and find what they want quickly. Are you receiving a heavy flow of traffic to your website, but finding that traffic is exciting rather quickly? If so than your relationship probably needs a little work (and unfortunately a dozen roses and a box of chocolates probably won't do the trick). Following are five ways to improve your business, customer, website relationship.

    Step 1: Use simple language. Whether you are informational or product based - don't talk above anyone (except maybe those young ones who aren't reading yet). Use common and daily words and phrases that everyone can understand. Do you have a health or other product that requires the use of some "big:" words? Then use those words, but explain them in simpler terms afterward so that you don't ward off potential customers because they can't understand what you're talking about.Remembering to use simple language is much like learning to communicate in any relationship, to really have success you have to focus on the other person.

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    Cause marketing: does it make sense for your business?

    Cause marketing is simply a business or organization that donates a portion of its proceeds to a specific charity group. These business advertise their product letting consumers know how much of the profits will be donated to charity groups.

    Are you asking if cause marketing would make sense for your business, as a lot of businesses have? There does seem to be some negative connotations in applying cause marketing, and that is why business have held back in the past, but most likely it would and there are a few reasons why.

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    What's Your Business Model?

    When starting a business one very important questions you're going to want to ask right at first, is, "How are we going to bring in money?"It is important to carry a product, it is important to advertise a product, but if you don't know the value of what you are offering the consumer nor have you decided how to market and deliver your product, you are unlikely to be successful in selling your product for long.

    Even a child who opens a lemonade stand (though they may not know it) has a business model. The example of a child at a lemonade stand would be a, "Cutting out the Middle Man," business model. Meaning the child, the manufacture, sells directly to its consumer, rather than using a distributor, or sales agent. By thus cutting out the middle man the child can reduce the price of the lemonade making it more affordable (which generally makes it more desirable) to the consumer.

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    How to create memorable advertising messages:

    Using creativity in your advertising messages is going to be the best way to make that message both lasting and memorable.

    As with all business entering the market or releasing a new product, you must do market research. This research must first include knowing your competitors. What angles of the product are they currently focusing their attention on? What areas of advertising are they find success in? What needs of the consumers are they not meeting? And for advertising purposes, how well do their advertisements hook the consumers in?

    How can your business be different from your competitors? If your competitors are currently rallying around one area of the market and focusing on that, than you need to target another area that makes your business stand out. For example, if all car companies that are selling sports utility vehicles are focusing on the power and speed of their brand of car, then you need to focus on the comfort and design of yours. Your consumers will apply the power of an SUV to your SUV simply though the other advertisements they see, but when they think of comfort, and of style, you want you company to be singled out.

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    How to not waste money on pay per click advertising

    How to not waste money on pay per click advertising:

    Pay Per click advertising are the advertisements that pop up on your screen, or on the sides of web pages, and sides of search engines when you are searching for a specific topic or product. Companies pay to have their business advertised so as to bring new and constant traffic to their web sites. You as a company looking into pay per click advertising, have two ways you can budget your money.

    The first way is to decide how much you are willing to pay per click on your advertisement. You do not pay the search engine or web page that is sponsoring your advertisement unless your site is clicked on. The kicker is that the more you pay the higher in rank your advertisements will be to the search engine in comparison to your competitors. For instance if you are willing to pay ten cents per click, when you have a competitor who is willing to pay a dollar per click, well then it's not going to be hard for the search engine company to decide who's ad to place up first.

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    How To Make Your Advertising Work!

    Many believe that when it comes to advertising, it's a necessary evil.

    At least that's how some businesses approach it. Some view it as simply a tool to showcase price and product while others see it as a way to counter their competitor's ads. Know what? They're all wrong.

    Here's what you should be thinking about when putting together an advertising campaign:

    1) Who am I trying to reach?
    2) What medium will be the most effective to reach them?
    3) How much is it going to cost?
    4) What will my message be?

    Hard to believe: Some of my client's advertising approach prior to working with them was basically, "I have this amount of money to spend so how much can I buy with it?" This was usually followed by a call to their favorite radio station, or to a television station carrying their favorite program and asking for rates.

    Granted there are many, many choices when contemplating where to place your ad dollars and it can be very confusing given all the choices that are out there. Especially for example, when you call radio stations and every account executive tells you that their station is number one. That's why it helps to have experienced people on your side who can help you choose the best media mix for your ad dollars. Of course it make sense at this point to put in a plug for my agency, but if you want to get a better understanding of what is involved, refer to the four questions above. For example, "Who am I trying to reach?" means who is your target customer? Every retail or service oriented business has a target customer base and once you've established yours it will help in narrowing the list of possible media choices.

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    How to Save Money by Making Your Own Sign

    In the sign industry we commonly refer to the material that the sign is made out of as the substrate. Examples include, wood, vinyl banners, aluminum, coroplast, etc. But what many customers do not realize is that they can purchase vinyl lettering or vinyl decals and apply them directly to typical substrates themselves. Translation - saving money by buying blank substrates inexpensively at local hardware stores such as Home Depot and Lowes and avoiding the prices sign companies need to charge to apply the material. Although you do pay tax by buying locally on the substrate, you can save tax on the vinyl by ordering over the internet.

    What are vinyl letters and/or vinyl decals? They are letters (or images) that come prespaced according to customer specifications as words, phrases, or sentences on pre masking tape. The lettering is self adhesive and by removing the paper backing, they can be applied directly to almost any substrate, car, boat, truck, windows, snowmobiles, jet skis, vans, store fronts, etc. Make sure the surface is extremely clean and free of dust or lint. Once the lettering or decal has been aligned, simply rub over the masking covering the vinyl and then remove it. The result will be perfectly spaced lettering or a decal designed as ordered with a professional look. Most sign companies will allow you to purchase multiple lines of vinyl lettering with the spacing between the lines defined by you. You can also usually obtain a combination of vinyl lettering and images on one decal.

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    Understanding The Basics Of Advertising

    I get the L.A. Times delivered to my door every day, but I don't read it for the articles. It is a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper, but the articles just don't interest me. Unlike most people, I read the paper for the advertisements because there is a lot to learn from them.

    Over 90% of the ads run in the Los Angeles Times are horrible! Most of the ads I see are either ego-driven, have no headline, have no call to action, don't appeal to what the buyer is truly looking for or needs help with, or they're trying to be clever for clever-sake, and fail miserably.

    When writing copy, I live by this premise:


    "The purpose of advertising is to sell something."

    Advertising is like an investment that you hope to get a great return on. However, most people treat it like they're playing Roulette in Vegas and bet all their money "on black."

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    13 Facts About Newspaper Advertising

    Advertising in the paper works for many people in business. The astute merchant understands the newspaper's weaknesses and works to avoid them whenever possible.

    Here are 13 facts you should know.

    1 Despite declining circulation figures and increasing ad rates, newspapers still reach large audiences, daily.

    2 Newspapers are considered the PRIMARY advertising medium by 99.4% of all retailers. Newspapers have been there in every step of the typical store owner's life from the very beginning. Newspapers covered his birth, his high school graduation, his engagement, his marriage, the death of his parents and everything else.

    3 Many, if not most, retailers, lay out their own ads. It is said that over the years, merchants have come to believe the only way to get it right is to do it themselves. This thinking has given rise to the new breed of newspaper salesperson. No training, just a list of customers and the daily question "Gotchyur ad ready yet?"

    4 There is no proof full page or double-truck ads are more effective than half page ads. The savings can be spent on a concurrent radio campaign or billboards.

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    Don't Let Your Business Cards End Up in the Trash

    Business cards are such wonderfully creative little marketing products. Most of them, unfortunately, end up in the nearest trash basket. Nobody wants to be bombarded with a big sales pitch. If you meet someone and within two minutes you are promoting your own business or stretching out that business card, your card will more than likely end up in the trash.

    Fact is, people do business with people that they feel comfortable with and with whom they feel that they can trust. Start by making the other person you are talking with feel important by asking questions about them. If you are talking to a business owner, ask them for their business card (they may respond later by asking for yours)and make them feel important by showing true, genuine interest in their service or product. If they ask you about your business, instead of saying "I'm a stockbroker", you might say instead, "I help people create financial success". This will leave a far more positive and appealing impression of what you do. Then, once again direct the subject back to them. They will remember the good feeling they had with you.

    Next, take their business card and write a nice thank you note letting them know that you enjoyed meeting them. A preprinted card with your picture and business name is a good reminder of who you are. Again, don't make a sales pitch. Personalize your envelope with a big stamp and handwritten lettering. All of this extra effort creates true networking which is far more profitable than throwing thousands of business cards in the trash.

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    8 Low Cost Ways To Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business

    We all are looking for ways to market our businesses cost effectively. I have come up with 8 ways to do just that all low cost to free. In fact most of these methods can be done from the comfort of your own home.

    That's right you don't even have to leave home. What could be better, your clients are coming to you and you don't even realize it. Okay lets get started, each of these methods I'm sure you have either heard about or are already doing most if not all. They are not new, nor are they some sort of secret.

    1. If you work outside of the home as many of us do as well as running a home business, you can post your business cards or flyers on your company bulletin board where company news is displayed. You should check with your Human Resources department first before tacking your information on the board, most HR Departments require you to check with them first.

    2. Are you involved in any Fund Raisers school Fund Raiser in particular are the best way to market your business. Before handing out the order you have collected put together a flyer or business card pack that explains briefly what you do, how you can be reached. Make sure you have a packet tacked, stapled or placed in a bag on each order.

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    Advertising Made Easy (Secrets to Getting Better Results)

    Advertising Pay Big Dividends?

    McGraw Hill once commissioned an extensive study to determine what marketing weapons make a company famous in it's market or community.

    The study went on to show that advertising created more product, service, or brand awareness than all other marketing weapons combined.

    The fact is, we know that Coke is "The Real Thing" because Coke advertises, not because it has good salespeople or does great direct mail.

    Advertising stays in front of your prospects when you can't be there.While a handful of salespeople can only be in front of perhaps a hundred or so prospects per month, advertising can reach thousands of potential buyers each and every month, week, or day.

    Studies also show that advertising inspires confidence from your current clients.When current clients see your ad, it reinforces their belief in you.

    It makes them feel like they made the right decision to be your client.But advertising can also waste money if you don't use it properly.

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    Be Patient? Nah, Let's Kill Something

    There's the old joke about the two buzzards sitting in a tree overlooking a highway. One responds to the other, "Be patient? I'm hungry. Let's kill something." Just like that buzzard, it is not in the nature of most marketers to be patient for business to grow. They want to go out and "kill something," too.

    The trouble is that most marketers go after new business the wrong way. They want to "take down" the new piece of business using all the tools of the trade from advertising and direct mail to cold calling and event marketing. This is an expensive way to drum up business. Your existing clients are just waiting to tell you about people they know who could use your services, and then help sell you in to these people they refer. Not only is this more cost effective, it practically guarantees the prospects will share the same characteristics of your best customers.

    "OK, Harry," you're asking, "but how do I do it?"

    The first rule of getting referrals: ask. When should you ask? Let's review.

    - After your customer has purchased something from you is a great time to ask. The new customer is pumped up about your offering and you can harness that energy by asking for names of others who could beneft from doing business with you.

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    Present for Success

    Tomorrow's the day and you're dreading it. You're scheduled to give a presentation to the senior management team about the new program you're proposing. You're excited and enthusiastic about the program but nervous and anxious about the presentation.You don't know how you'll manage to sleep tonight. These thoughts keep running through your mind; What if I stumble? What if I talk too fast? What if they get bored? What if they ask questions and my mind goes blank?

    Do any of these sound familiar? If you answered yes, don't worry! Try some of these simple strategies for your next presentation to help you build confidence and credibility with your audiences.

    Developing your presentation

    Change the paradigm: Think from your listeners' perspective If you can change your focus from "What do I want to communicate?"To "What does the audience need to hear and understand", you can be a more relevant and engaging presenter. By focusing on your listeners' needs, rather than on yourself, you can relax and let that focus guide you through the development and delivery of your presentation.

    Here are the essential questions that will help you stay on track.
    Who is your audience?
    What is most important to them?
    What is their current level of knowledge on your topic?
    What do they want or need to know about this topic?

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    Contextual Advertising: Is it Right for You?

    If online advertising had fads, contextual ads would be the latest "in thing." Also known as "content targeting," they seem to be "popping up" (no pun intended) all over the Web. From news sites to privately owned websites, everyone and his brother seems to be dipping his "toe in the water."

    So what is contextual advertising and why should you care? I thought you'd never ask. You know how when you read a magazine, the pages are littered with ads? Context ads do the same thing, but with a twist. It's a way of distributing Pay Per Click search results across the Net.

    Here's how it works: the text of a web page is scanned for "keywords" or a theme, then ads are shown that are related to the page's content. A website's content is matched up with the advertisers' keywords. For example,if I were reading a page about dogs. there would be pet related ads, usually contained in the right hand side or sometimes the top and bottom of the pages.

    Unlike ads that are shown on Search Engine results pages, these ads are dynamic and allow you to reach people in a different mode other then search. Some call this more of a "shopping mode." Whatever you want to call it, context ads are distributed through millions of partner sites across the Internet.

    Continue reading "Contextual Advertising: Is it Right for You?"

    Grab Your Share of Untold Amounts of Advertising Dollars

    If you advertise in anyway, the following information could show you how to find and utilize untold advertising dollars you may not be aware of.

    In the mid 80's I was an account executive for a radio station located in Santa Rosa, California. During that time I became very familiar with what is referred to as co-op advertising.

    Co-op advertising is a great source of advertising dollars. And there is so much of it available to people, yet most people know very little, if anything, about co-op dollars.

    Interestingly, I was one of the only reps at the station who made sure my clients knew about this benefit. The reason was simple, there was more work involved in getting my clients set up, and yet, there was financial gain for both my client and myself by taking time to help them stretch their marketing dollars.

    Co-oping is where you put in money for advertising and the manufacturer of a product you sell also puts in money. Often it is as much as 50% of the campaign. It is a great way to stretch your advertising campaign and to beef up your campaign.

    Unfortunately, even though the money is available if conditions are right, many people either aren't aware of this or if they are they think it's too much work to meet the criteria. Granted, in some cases it is, but often utilizing co-op money is a great way to stretch your marketing budget.

    Continue reading "Grab Your Share of Untold Amounts of Advertising Dollars"

    You Must Understand the Buying Habits of Your Consumers

    No business can survive the long run without some form of consistent advertising. As a result, most business owners will eventually consider using advertising to promote their business.

    The toughest part of the advertising equation is in determining where and how to spend your advertising dollars. If you do it wrong, you could plunk down your entire advertising budget and receive absolutely no return on your investment. But, if you do it right, your advertising could continue to bring a nice return
    for years to come.


    HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT ADVERTISING DECISIONS

    In order to make good decisions concerning how to spend your advertising budget, you must first have a good understanding of the different types of advertising and promotion available and what can be expected to be achieved by each.

    You must understand which markets the different media's can reach.
    You must understand the demographics of the media's consumers.
    You must understand the buying habits of the consumers reached through the media.

    Continue reading "You Must Understand the Buying Habits of Your Consumers"

    Get Maximum Profit from your Advertising

    Tips to ensure your ad dollars go further

    Most small businesses operate with very small advertising budgets. It is critical to the success of any business to ensure that their advertising dollars deliver as much value as possible to the bottom line. Here are some steps that you can take to make sure you get the most bang for your advertising buck:

    Target your Advertising - Ideally, every ad that you place would be seen only by potential customers for your business. In reality, you won't find very many advertising opportunities that deliver such a utopian business proposition. The real key is to locate advertising opportunities that will target your potential customers as closely as possible. When evaluating every advertising offer, ask yourself "How closely will this hit my target audience? Could I do better?". If you are advertising your new website that offers a new vitamin supplement for dogs, advertising on a pet website would not be as advantageous as a dog related website. A website on the topic of dog food and nutrition would be even more targeted, as almost 100% of the visitors to that site would have some interest in dog food and nutrition That's exactly the audience you are looking for.

    Continue reading "Get Maximum Profit from your Advertising"

    What is the Most Effective Way to Advertise?

    Bob from Ottawa wrote to ask, "What is the most effective way to advertise locally at a friendly price. Thinking of postcards..."

    Bob has an unusual business. He paints murals on the walls of children's bedrooms. While his occupation is unique, his question about the best way to spend advertising dollars is not. I regularly get the same query from realtors, executive recruiters, and other service professionals and small business owners. Whether you've got $500 or $15,000 dollars allocated for advertising, how should you spend it to attract new clients and customers?

    The fact is this is not the right question - or, at least, not the first one to ask. Most people spend more time deliberating on where to spend their marketing dollars than they do on the key elements of a successful advertising campaign. The result is that many people tell me, "I've tried advertising and it doesn't work."

    Use the following steps to make advertising work for you and to build a campaign that generates more money than you spend.

    Continue reading "What is the Most Effective Way to Advertise?"

    Some Advertising Is Doomed To Fail

    When people are concerned about the lack of response to their advertising, usually they complain about one of two things. They either say, "I put it in all the popular ezines but nobody responded" or "I followed all the copywriting 'rules' but didn't even get one sale." This dilemma is normally due to one common problem. There is one thing most people don't think about that dooms their advertising to failure.

    Advertising is a process, not an event. Basically this means four things.

    (1) Your copy has to be fabulous.
    (2) Your placement has to be right on target.
    (3) Your timing has to be impeccable.
    (4) You must repeat your ads regularly.

    The one thing that most people don't consider that dooms their ads to failure is that all four elements in the process must be in place.

    Let's go through them individually to get some clarification and ensure your ads get the response they should.

    Continue reading "Some Advertising Is Doomed To Fail"

    The SKINNY on Radio Advertising

    From meager beginnings in 1920, radio has grown with us to be a major player in advertising. The radio industry says they get about 8 percent of all advertising bucks. Not bad when you consider the many ways to hawk your service or product

    They get their fair share because radio works. With over twelve THOUSAND radio stations in the country, the music and news they broadcast is everywhere.

    Radio is the mobile medium. Few cars have TV's up front, and few drivers can read the New York Times while driving (safely). The advertising on radio targets you passively. You don't have to be looking at it or reading it to get the message.

    Radio's strength is drive time. The times of the day when most people are in their cars driving to and from work. You can sound like a pro when you call em AMD and PMD.

    Continue reading "The SKINNY on Radio Advertising"

    Do You Make These Dumb Marketing Mistakes? (I Have Made Some of Them Myself!)

    Most businesses have what I called a "sales prevention department."

    It's not part of anyone's business plan and no one starts their SP department intentionally, but we all have one. It's the "department" that sends out the messages that prevent people from spending their money with you.

    My personal favorite is a classic and one that you see all the time in front of grocery stores at bus stops...

    "No Change Here"

    Imagine you're walking down the street in a new neighborhood and you see a sign that says:

    "No Change Here"

    The message is clear: we're not very friendly here. And your reaction to that message will be just as clear: "I don't want to go in there."

    Continue reading "Do You Make These Dumb Marketing Mistakes? (I Have Made Some of Them Myself!)"

    How to Use Advertising to Drum Up New Business

    When you are starting out in a new home business and no one knows who you are, one of the greatest challenges you will face is how to drum up new business.

    If there were not people in your community or marketplace that you knew who needed your products or services, you probably would not have started your business to begin with. But, once you have talked to those who you personally knew who needed your what you offer, then your next task is to find others who will help keep your doors open.

    Many people know that they must turn to advertising at some point in the future, but they hope that day will be long down the road. For some, this utopian concept will come to fruition. But for the rest of us in the real world, we must come up with creative solutions for meeting our home business advertising needs while working within our budget.

    Continue reading "How to Use Advertising to Drum Up New Business"

    The Toughest Part of the Advertising Equation

    No business can survive the long run without some form of consistent advertising. As a result, most business owners will eventually consider using advertising to promote their business.

    The toughest part of the advertising equation is in determining where and how to spend your advertising dollars. If you do it wrong, you could plunk down your entire advertising budget and receive absolutely no return on your investment. But, if you do it right, your advertising could continue to bring a nice return for years to come.


    HOW DO I MAKE THE RIGHT ADVERTISING DECISIONS

    In order to make good decisions concerning how to spend your advertising budget, you must first have a good understanding of the different types of advertising and promotion available and what can be expected to be achieved by each.

    Continue reading "The Toughest Part of the Advertising Equation"

    7 Tips for Better Ads

    The content of advertising is basically the same no matter what the media. It is good and it works, or it is bad. Some TV ads are so clever people tend to remember the cleverness and forget the product.

    Here are seven tips to help you create better ads. Better ads for Newspaper, Radio, Billboards, Cable, Yellow Pages, anything with your name on it.


    1 It's Not About YOU.
    Sell the benefits. The benefits of coming to your store or doing business with you is what the customer wants, They say "What's In It For Me?" Your mug shot on a 40 foot billboard can't answer that question.

    2 Be Consistent Pick a theme and stick with it, in all your print, radio and TV ads. Pick a look and stick with it. Every ad builds on your brand, don't change the concept because YOU are getting tired of it. The exposure level with potential customers is much less than with you.

    Continue reading "7 Tips for Better Ads"

    Do Your Radio Ads Work?

    Most small businesses don't have a high powered advertising agency to produce selling radio commercials for them and end up with something akin to a high school play, or with the business owner reading tired copy.

    The radio salesperson knows that by suggesting the owner be the star, visions of Dave from Wendys or that guy with the talking dog who says "roll that beautiful bean footage" come to mind.

    Worse, most businesses don't have a plan to coordinate all advertising to the same message. The newspaper ad says one thing, yellow pages another and the radio commercial is off in its own world.

    The radio ad person should know all about your campaign and image before leaving with the order. You should be promised a "proof" of your radio ad before it goes on the air. There should be at least two commercials, better four, selling the benefits.

    Continue reading "Do Your Radio Ads Work?"

    Why Should I Buy your Book?

    How would you like to have countless people clamoring for your books and willing to visit your Web site to buy them?

    Most entrepreneurs wait until their Web site is designed before they think about marketing their products on it. What a shame!

    Maybe you've said, "My book is about." You mention the features such as tips in a book or your story. Your story may be too long and bore your prospective readers. What they want is a quick billboard visual of your book--your 30-60 second "tell and sell."

    Without your "30 Second Tell and Sell" that strongly states the main benefit, audience, and what makes your product unique, you will bore your visitor and lose that attention you need to entice him or her to take out their wallets and pay you on the spot.

    Continue reading "Why Should I Buy your Book?"

    7 Tips for Better Ads

    The content of advertising is basically the same no matter what the media. It is good and it works, or it is bad. Some TV ads are so clever people tend to remember the cleverness and forget the product.

    Here are seven tips to help you create better ads. Better ads for Newspaper, Radio, Billboards, Cable, Yellow Pages, anything with your name on it.


    1 It's Not About YOU. Sell the benefits. The benefits of coming to your store or doing business with you is what the customer wants, They say "What's In It For Me?" Your mug shot on a 40 foot billboard can't answer that question.

    Continue reading "7 Tips for Better Ads"

    Important Lessons in the Land of Advertising

    When you are starting out in a new home business and no one knows who you are, one of the greatest challenges you will face is how to drum up new business.

    If there were not people in your community or marketplace that you knew who needed your products or services, you probably would not have started your business to begin with. But, once you have talked to those who you personally knew who needed your what you offer, then your next task is to find others who will help keep your doors open.

    Many people know that they must turn to advertising at some point in the future, but they hope that day will be long down the road. For some, this utopian concept will come to fruition. But for the rest of us in the real world, we must come up with creative solutions for meeting our home business advertising needs while working within our budget.

    Continue reading "Important Lessons in the Land of Advertising"

    Marketing Slogans are the Best Way to Get More Clients

    Don't beg for clients, help them find you first!

    Want more clients? Forget cold calling and expensive direct marketing pieces. The secret is mastering the art of self introduction.

    Of course, like everything else, there are tricks involved.

    The first one requires that you consider yourself a "product" and introduce yourself with a catchy slogan.

    Continue reading "Marketing Slogans are the Best Way to Get More Clients"

    Advertising Secrets From The Pros - Repetitive Advertising

    Advertising isn't a one-shot game.The more often people see your ads, (to a point), the more likely they are to respond to your offer.


    I don't know why it is, but some would-be entrepreneurs think one- or two-shot advertising is going to land them in the Internet Money Makers Hall of Fame.

    If that were true, we'd ALL have a plaque hanging there!

    Advertising is a numbers game. You win by staying in the game, not bailing out when you don't get the immediate responses expected from that great Ad you just sent out.

    Frustrating and time-consuming? Yes, of course, but either you're serious about what you're doing or you're just 'talking the talk'.

    Continue reading "Advertising Secrets From The Pros - Repetitive Advertising"
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