A Great Logo Is A Marketing Must-Have. But Is It Affordable For Small Business?

And is having a logo really that important? My answer to both of these questions is an emphatic YES!

A logo is a graphic or visual representation of your brand. Your brand is your business, product or service and what it stands for. It's whatever you are out in the marketplace selling.

Why do small businesses need a logo?

Why can't they just market using their company name? Logos are expensive, right? Can a small business owner really afford to get a logo? Or at least a good logo? Lots of questions. Some I'm sure you've pondered yourself at one time or another.

I believe ALL businesses should have a logo

You need a graphic element that captures the essence of your business and communicates an idea to your prospects and customers. A mark that can lead the look and feel of all of your marketing materials.

You only have a split second to grab someone's attention

You need to make the most of that time. A good logo mark can communicate a message or intrigue a prospect to want to find out more.

Before you decide you can't afford a good logo

Let me assure you that is absolutely NOT the case. Look, I've been in the ad agency business for 20 years. During that time I've worked with some of the most talented graphic artists and designers in the business. But even I did not turn to them when I needed a logo for my small business. Why? I couldn't. They were simply too expensive for my small business budget. So what did I do? I found a great alternative that's inexpensive, fast and good.

LogoWorks

For $300 to $500 you'll get a variety of logo designs to choose from and you'll have them within just a few days. Plus you'll get several rounds of revisions to make sure you are completely happy with your final mark.

What I like most about Logoworks

They require you to complete a creative direction worksheet that ensures their designs are strategically on target with your brand. This is KEY if you want your logo to be a good representation of your business. If anyone offers to design a logo for you without some form of creative brief or direction worksheet, don't do it!

If you don't have a logo, or if yours is in need of an overhaul Check out LogoWorks by visiting http://www.10stepmarketing/greatlogo.htm

(C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa

A Good Autoresponder

How many free autoresponders have you tried? Really how many? And how many emails did you get through using them? How do you know? How many people opened your followup message?

My point here is that if you have no clue for the answers above you probably are not operating a followup campaign successfully. These are crucial element that must be explored when you are choosing an autoresponder.

Some good steps to take to ensure you are getting what you need out of a autoresponder include... Compare your autoresponder with those of top marketers, chances are they are using the best in the business. You can't go wrong with this step!

Other observations you might make are related to spam filters. Have you ever gotten an e-mail and seen something like this..."F`R`E`E"  Yes this is a good way to beat the spam filters as they won't read Free they will read something totally different. However it can be time consuming going through your article and finding which words are "Danger" words. This can go along way in your marketing efforts. So make sure you find an autoresponder that has a spam rating feature... these features will automatically show you where in your article your "Danger" words are.

Another crucial element of e-mail marketing are your statistics. How many e-mails are being opened can tell you if your subject line is any good or if you did a good job branding your name. If you know your e-mail statistics you are one step in the right direction in optimizing your potential sales. Finding an autoresponder that shows in depth analysis with your followups are also key.

What should a followup contain? Good question... My personally experience suggests directing your subscribers to a full article located on the web. There are some good reasons for this. You can create an excitement teaser in the followup e-mail and beg your article to be read on the web. There is also the chance that since you have an article archive on the web many subscribers will often read more than just your original article. Your subscriber might not be interested in one article but they may find what they are looking for browsing through your previous articles.

Broadcasting! So your subscribers are finished receiving their original followup series... now what? Find an auto responder that allows you to broadcast an update or an offer to the entire subscriber list. Don't let your subscribers go to waste, this feature is a must!

Remember not to bore your hard earned subscribers. Present them with a problem and offer them a solution! Its that easy...

Find my recommended autoresponder on my marketing blog!

A Fold that’s worth a Thousand Gain

How much are you charged for an online ad? How much will you be paying for an advertisement space in a magazine or newspaper? Advertising and marketing can be a very extravagant business. Every second, space and word is paid accordingly.

If you have invested a large sum in your ads and promotions, how sure are you that you will get it back more than you expect it to be? How will you profit from it?

Some businessmen are having qualm about spending high on ads and promotions. This is because they are not sure that they will profit from it. Some perceive it as just throwing away of money. This may not be a serious bother to multinationals or big corporations and business. Nonetheless, to the point of starting entrepreneurs, spending high may mean ‘make or break’ endeavor or worst may result to future bankruptcy.

When talking about your business, everything matters – even the minutest details. One detail that must not be overlooked is effective communication. Therefore, promotions and advertisements are indispensable.

If you are this point worrying about expenses, worry no more. There are affordable alternatives in connection with marketing your business. Tiny pieces of paper can do you a great favor. Brochures for one are effective marketing materials.

Brochure may come in a fold or several of them. These folds can give you the edge in the marketing world. In fact, they may return as several folds of bucks. Imagine, you are hitting two birds at the same time. Brochures printing are affordable plus the aftermath of its distribution can be financially rewarding to business enthusiasts.

Brochures printing can be had in an easy and practicable manner. In fact, you can transact online. Brochures printing companies are rampant. All you have to do is select the best – the printer with outstanding reputation and credibility can do your printing job superbly.

Your friend’s personal recommendation is a good recommendation. You can also rely on reviews and goodwill. Just be sure that your printer will bring life to your folds of communication.

A Catering Directory Helps You Find Local Caterers

Catering is one service where you are likely to prefer a local supplier. Very few persons would want to bring a caterer from some other country and risk a party disaster. Corporate parties might go for specialized and reputed catering organizations headquartered elsewhere. Even they might often find it necessary to go for local caterers when time is short.

Catering directories generally focus on the final consumers, listing vendors by food categories such as beverages, chocolate fountain, fruit, juice, etc; and by supplier categories like food vendors, caterers, mobile vendors, party organizers, restaurants, party shops, etc. There might also be sections on Health & Safety and Catering Tips.

Another catering directory might arrange vendors by such categories as caterers, event venues, entertainment, photography, transportation, wedding, event planners, florists, etc.

All are likely to provide the option to narrow down the lists to locations you select, such as a city or area.

Some might collect information such as number of guests, event type, services required (such as food, servers, liquor, chocolate fountain, decorations, tables/chairs, tents, etc), date and time, location and so on, and give you a quote based on your requirements.

Caterers might even help you select a menu depending on your budget per person or an event venue or other related matters. Services offered could include sit-in, food station and buffet type serving options, and also clean-ups, drop offs, beverages only service, etc.

<b>Detailed Catering Directory Categories</b>

A brief look at some detailed catering directory categories would help you understand what you could expect. A selection is listed below:
<ul>
<li>Corporate catering</li>
<li>Personal Chefs</li>
<li>Banquet Halls</li>
<li>Yachts/Boats</li>
<li>DJs</li>
<li>Live Music/Bands</li>
<li>Videographers</li>
<li>Limousines</li>
<li>Wedding Planners</li>
<li>Wedding Financing</li>
<li>Equipment Hire</li>
</ul>

<b>Catering Directories Are Not Only for Party Hosts</b>

Another kind of catering directory focuses on the requirements of caterers by listing suppliers of catering requirements. The following sample list provides a look at the kind of requirements caterers typically have:
<ul>
<li>Refrigeration: Chilled display cabinets, Ice makers,...</li>
<li>Beverages: Coffee Equipment, Beverage Jugs,...</li>
<li>Bar supplies: Spirit measures, Bottle openers, Blenders,...</li>
<li>Cookware: Pots & Pans, Cooks Knives, Chefs Clothing,...</li>
<li>Tableware: Cutlery, Napkins, Tablemats,...</li>
<li>Furniture: Bar stools, Tables, Outdoor furniture,...</li>
<li>Kitchen planning: Assessing requirements, design, advice,...</li>
</ul>

<b>Regional Directories</b>

You can find catering services providers near you either through regional directories, such as Chicago Caterer directories, or through national directories that lists caterers by cities and areas. Local catering can be arranged quickly and is ideal when you are short of time. For domestic parties, local catering would be the better option in most cases.

A local catering directory like a Chicago catering directory might list such local resources as banquet halls, buffet services, corporate party organizers, and so on.

<b>Conclusion</b>

Catering directories generally focus on the consumers of catering services, listing different types of caterers by their services or locations. Thus, you could find a wedding organizer in or near your town, or a restaurant that offers Chinese dishes in city you plan to visit.

Other catering directories focus on the caterers, helping them find cookware, tableware, furniture, refrigeration equipment, and so on. Some might offer kitchen planning and design services and other kinds of consultancy services.

This article looked at the kinds of information you could expect to find in a catering directory.

A 56.8% Increase in Sales After 9/11

2002 wasn't a good year for many restaurants.  The September 11th attack on the Twin Towers really hurt sales.

But rather than make excuses, Jeff Mohler of the Marblehead Grille and Chowder House in Easton, PA  decided to take the offensive.  He began focusing on Neighborhood Marketing part way through the first quarter of the year.  2nd quarter results showed a 24.4% increase over the previous year (after all discounts), and Third Quarter results showed continued growth with 36.2%. But Jeff was finding it very difficult to find time to manage his marketing as his volume increased. In the 3rd quarter, Jeff installed and began using an automated marketing software program.

In Q4 Jeff showed a 59.3% increase over October of the previous year. The final result: Business was up 32% for the year, thanks to Neighborhood marketing and software that allowed Jeff to manage his new marketing.

RESTAURANT MARKETING RESULTS JOURNAL - Since January 1, 2002   

HISTORY 2001:
Prior to the tragedy on September 11, things were coasting along nicely in 2001 on target for a 5%+ increase. Because of the impact of 9/11,the year ended with only a 1.4% sales increase.

JANUARY 2002:    
I decided to take the plunge into Direct Response. I found a bucket of three year old Entry Blanks from our 3rd Anniversary Contest in March 1999, called out about 150 January birthdays, designed and sent a card offering a "FREE One-pound Lobster Dinner" to those 150 people. We also began handing out guest Information Forms (GIFs) to gather data from our guests. By the end of the month we had redeemed 28 cards bringing in 90 guests, created $ 2,335.25 in sales, gathered info totaling 1800 new people for our database and posted a sales decrease of 4.5%, for January.

FEBRUARY & MARCH 2002:      
Things began to improve slowly and by the end of the 1st Quarter we had worked our way back to a 4.4% sales increase with the database surpassing 5,000 people's birthdays and anniversaries.    

APRIL - JUNE 2002:      
The 2nd Quarter really became the convincing time for me as we sent out 600, 900 and 1,000 Birthday cards, redeemed nearly 1,000 (close to 40%) and generated $48,000 in sales after discounts, a 24.4% increase. We also added Anniversary Cards to our mailing beginning in June with about 500 cards being mailed for the month, 182 redeemed and created over $7,500 in added sales. The guest-per- card number was lower than birthdays. I guess people invite friends to help celebrate birthdays but do the anniversary thing mainly as couples.

JULY- SEPTEMBER 2002:      
Data management became more complicated as we passed 12,000 entries. Excel and Mail Merge were handling the work and spitting out labels. The cards, now numbering about 300 a week had to be labeled, stamped with the expiration date and a stamp - a lot of work, but worth it. I had read about various software programs and ordered a (software) package..... It arrived in mid-July as we were in the throes of Little League Championship baseball, spending almost three weeks on the road.         

The neat things about the restaurant marketing software are: 1) printing the address, birth date and expiration date all on the cards at once (you can actually do the postage at the same time also, but I haven't gone that far), plus 2) the ability to log redemptions and track customer usage. I felt this to be extremely helpful as we move forward and want to do more sophisticated tracking and developing of specific Guest Lists.

The 3rd Quarter boomed and mainly in my absence¡­which felt good. A 56.8% sales increase moved us to 27.3% after three quarters. I was ecstatic and slowly being convinced this Direct Response was good stuff - controllable, measurable and profitable.        

OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2002:      
The 4th Quarter caused some marketing creativity in the sense that we did not want too many people redeeming cards in December, typically our biggest sales month of the year. We stopped mailing cards from December 8 - 26, but still ended the month up 24.4%, a nice number but a big drop from October and November. We ended the year up 31%.

100% conversion rate on your website visitors

Major television networks have been in control of what you watch, when you watch it and how often you watch the programs that interest you. With the social boom caused by web 2.0 including social networks and online movies and video, major television networks can no longer confine your mind to their broadcasts for entertainment.

Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail) hit the nail right on the head... In his book, he predicted that television's viewing audience will spend more time on the Internet than watching TV. This former viewing audience will entertain themselves by going to websites they are interested in (to do whatever is more interesting to them than watching TV). Chris predicted that people will spend their time more involved in their personal "long tail" interests.

This trend is bad news for the television networks!

The Internet offers television’s former viewing audience better entertainment because they can do, see and hear what they want and when they want. The big television networks no longer have a monopoly on the public’s entertainment and mind share.

To make matters worse... with the advent of DVR (digital video recorders) less and less people are watching television commercials (the lifeblood of the major TV networks). The average person with Internet access is spending 4 times longer online than watching TV. The effectiveness of television advertising is dwindling exponentially and to make matters worse, 90% of DVR owners are fast forwarding through television commercials!

The truth is, people hate commercials. We all know that sigh when you're intensely involved in your favourite TV show just to be distracted by 2 minutes of commercials. Most people have learned to ignore commercials, even if they are watching them!

All the big brand advertisers that you see on television are well aware of the fact that their advertising dollars are not as well invested in television ads as they once were. These major brands, including the BIG 8 in advertising, have been looking to the Internet as an alternate form of advertising for quite some time now.

For the first time in history thousands of people are going to share in revenue that was formerly paid to major television networks. Millions of dollars are going to be paid on a residual basis to a "core group" of marketing partners... No hype intended or implied!
PPP is a way for advertisers (Like Harley Davidson or Taco Bell) to serve a 5 second audio advertisement to website visitors. It is a way for advertisers to target their 5 second audio ad to specific interests, demographics and geographic locations.

Big TV's ad revenue is dwindling because PPP offers advertisers a more cost effective advertising solution that has been providing positive Return on Investment (ROI) for over 2 years. PPP offers advertisers a way to reach their target audience and is the only form of media whose impressions and ad placements are verified by an independent 3rd party.
PPP is not new, it has been running for 2 ½ years, has over 66,000 advertisers and over 550,000 websites that serve PPP ads to their visitors.

The 550,000+ websites that currently serve these ads are responsible for 43 million streams (impressions) of advertisers' 5 second audio ads on a monthly basis.

66 Ways To Promote Your product or Services

Some guru sells his program because he has 60 ways of marketing.  One Dentist was asked about his marketing he said he had 100 ways and use them all. Well I came up with 66 so far. I will work on more sometime after tax season or you can email me with ones I might have missed.


The true is you can’t use them all. Some are too costly for many of us. Some won’t work. Try as many as you like and find the ones that work and work them till they stop working or you stop working, whichever comes first.

Here they are:

1.    Direct to Consumers
2.    Party plan
3.    Rack Jobbers
4.    Wholesalers
5.    Mail Order House
6.    Resident Buyers
7.    Fairs and Exposition
8.    Chain Stores
9.    Discount Stores
10.    Lease Departments
11.    Supermarkets
12.    Free Publicity
13.    Sales People
14.    Franchising
15.    Co Party
16.    U.S. Government
17.    Direct Mail
18.    Co-op Mailing
19.    Trade shows
20.    Advertising Specialties
21.    PX’s
22.    Premiums
23.    Classifieds:
24.    In Papers
25.    In Magazine
26.    On the net
27.    In Special papers
28.    Articles
29.    Ezine
30.    Emails
31.    Sig files
32.    Radio
33.    Television
34.    Seminars (paid to You)
35.    Bill Boards
36.    Flyers
37.    Brochures
38.    Seminars you give free
39.    Telephone
40.    Referrals
41.    E.books
42.    Free Search Engines
43.    Paid Search Engines
44.    Post cards
45.    Yellow Page ad
46.    Cross Selling with others
47.    Joint Ventures
48.    Telemarketing
49.    Take out Boxes with ads on
50.    Posters
51.    Booth at Mails or stand at mall
52.    Man or Women with sign about your business
53.    Window Display
54.    Outside Signs
55.    Articles for directories on the net
56.    Free downloads with ads about your business products or services
57.    Free Recording
58.    Free Video
59.    Free CD
60.    Free Report
61.    Free Samples
62.    Special Events
63.    Contests and Sweepstakes
64.    Column in a Newspaper
65.    Editorial writing by you
66.    Free Phone Messages

Let me know at Joetrevis@aol.com  if you would like me to explain any of these in a report that your interest in.  It will be at least 2 pages with a lot of information.

20 Power Marketing™ Tips

Use these powerful yet simple tips from the national best-seller, "Secrets of Power Marketing: Promote Brand You" - the first guide to personal marketing for non-marketers.

  Create and grant an annual award.

  Send hand written congratulations and thank you notes.

  Send greeting cards for some occasion other than Christmas.

  Send postcards when you travel and even when you are at home.

  Give a good book to special clients. Always sign it with a positive message.

  Build relationships with the media before you need them.

  Associate with winners - attend awards functions.

  Build and maintain a database of clients, prospects, and key influencers.

  Earn certifications and win awards from your associations - and tell everyone.

  Ask happy customers to write testimonial letters for you.

  Recruit your suppliers as marketing agents. They work for free.

  Join and be active in your chamber of commerce.

  Write tips sheets for your customers.

  Write and send articles to magazines and newspapers.

  Send a news release to the media every three months.

  Do something crazy and newsworthy at least once a year.

  Send photocopies of your news coverage to your clients.

  Build and maintain an informative and interesting web site.

  Sponsor a cause, event, charity or community group.

  Volunteer for your association, charity or community group.

17 Important Points To Consider Before You Hire A Law Marketing Consultant

As we fast approach the new year, many firms are preparing to launch their 2006 marketing efforts. If you're thinking about hiring a marketing specialist, make sure you consider these 17 key points.

1. Objective Advice. Consultants who are paid fees are more likely to give you unbiased advice than consultants who earn commissions based on the amount of money you spend. If the consultant profits from ad agency commissions, he has an inherent conflict of interest because the more you spend, the more he makes.

2. Experience. Marketing is so specialized and complex that I recommend you hire someone who has provided marketing services for a minimum of 15 years. But, don't assume that because the person has been in business 15 years, he has the knowledge, skill, judgment and experience you need. Make sure you thoroughly interview all consultants you are considering.

3. Workload. Does the law marketing professional do the work for you? Or does the marketing person serve as a coach and simply tell you what you should be doing?

4. Service. Do you feel that the consultant wants to provide you with the help you need to make your program succeed? Or do you get the impression that he is looking for bigger fish to fry and that you're just a small fish in the ocean?

5. Access. Is the consultant hidden behind a wall of secretaries, account executives and administrative assistants? Or is he readily available to you by phone, fax, and e-mail?

6. Stability. Has the consultant been providing marketing services for some years? Or is he new to marketing -- or new to lawyer marketing -- and just waiting for the opportunity to move on to something else?

7. Marketing Focus. Is the consultant a full-time marketing professional? Or does he offer advice in other disciplines, such as management, human resources, training or finance?

8. Authority. Does the consultant have enough experience that he is a recognized authority in his field? Or is he still a relative unknown?

9. Size and Efficiency. Does the consultant have a large staff and/or a penthouse office that his clients pay for? Or when you write a check, are you paying for his high level of knowledge, skill, judgment and experience?

10. Markups. Does this consultant mark up outside services he hires on your behalf, such as graphic artists, printers, photographers, web site technicians, and so forth? Or does this consultant provide those services to you at cost?

11. Travel. Does the consultant travel around the country from one client to next, running up airline bills? Or does the consultant keep costs down by working efficiently with you by telephone, fax and e-mail?

12. Coverage. Does the consultant have a competent marketing specialist who covers for him when he travels? Or are you relegated to an account executive or administrative assistant who takes messages and tries to relay them to the consultant while he is on the road.

13. Attention. Does the consultant have so many clients he can't provide you with the personal care and attention you deserve? Or does he limit his services to a few select clients who receive the best he has to offer?

14. Work. Does the consultant himself perform the work on your behalf? Or does the consultant delegate your work to a junior associate?

15. Marketing Specialization. Is the consultant a marketing professional who works only with one type of marketing? Or does he try to be a "jack of all trades" so he can provide whatever marketing services you want to buy?

16. Writing Skills. In marketing, nothing is more important than for your consultant to have superior writing skills. And don't expect the consultant's writing to follow the rules of what you and I learned in school because marketing writing is different from academic writing. To sample your consultant's writing style, read published articles and marketing materials that your consultant wrote. You'll know right away whether they come across as warm and friendly -- or if the writing seems cold and impersonal. The way the consultant writes for himself will be similar to the way he writes for you. So make sure the consultant you choose has a writing style you admire.

17. Testimonials. Does the marketing consultant have comments from other lawyers you can review? The consultant you're considering should provide you with at least 30 or 40 testimonials from other lawyers. If he provides only a few, you may be reading comments from his in-laws.

16 Tips For Offline Marketing

1. Answering Machine - This one is easy for offline marketing, just be sure to include your URL, dot.com in your answering machine messages!

2. Address Labels  - Again easy all your outgoing mail for everything use your address labels for more offline marketing of your business and website!

3. Business Cards – Definitely use them, get in the habit of carrying them with you and pass them out “It Works”, you can even get you cards done on cd-roms!

4. Company vehicles - We all see vehicles with company names and telephone numbers on them driving our streets and motorways. This is a great idea as it gives potential customers the chance while out and about to learn about the company and also learn about how to contact them should they need the service or product they offer at some stage in the future. I often wonder why more websites aren't promoted in this way by simply adding the company website URL also, you definitely should do this as part of your Offline Marketing!

5.  Flyers – Post flyers on free local bulletin boards (grocery stores, discount chain stores, shopping malls, laundromats, dry cleaners, etc.) print a flyer on bright yellow paper detailing your web address and your company. BE SURE to include your email address, URL as well as your telephone number! Tack the flyer to bulletin boards all over your town. Keep a supply in your car for handy offline marketing!

6.  Freebies & Giveaways - This method is a personal favorite of mine. It involves purchasing and distributing items such as pencils, pens, t-shirts, mugs, mouse pads, calendars, key-chains, bumper stickers, refrigerator magnets and the like. All these items will have your URL, Logo, or Email address located somewhere on them helping to market offline and attract people to your website.

7.  Christmas Cards – Use your Christmas cards to all your customers also for offline marketing with all your info URL, email and phone numbers!

8.  Checks & Coupons – Again use all your information when using coupons and have your company checks printed with this information!

9. Web decals - are a new, inexpensive and fun way to use offline marketing and attract attention to your website. People absolutely love them, and they are very simple to use. Web decals are made of high quality vinyl and printed with state of the art digital equipment. Display your website address and more in bold white or black & white letters. People stick them everywhere. In your car windows, store, office and home windows, any place with glass!

10. Word of Mouth - easiest and a very viral form of offline marketing, your happy customers and friends just pass it on!

11. Fax cover sheets - (many people forget this one for offline marketing!)

12. Personal brochures - about you and your company!

13. Printed Material - Print your URL (Web site address) everywhere you print your business name. Including business cards, fliers, signage, ads, product tags, labels, craft show directories (in shows you may be attending) and anywhere else your business name is printed!

14. Newspapers, classifieds and related magazines - The print media which includes newspapers, journals and magazines is another avenue where your can have your URL exposed for everyone to see. It's best first to start advertising your products, services and URL in local newspapers and then if successful continue onto regional and national publications. If you can't afford the common graphical advertisement as seen throughout newspapers and journals related to your industry don't worry as most of these publications have classified ad sections. Classified ads allow you to reach a targeted audience very cheaply with a simple short message and of course your URL is included in there somewhere too again a great source of offline marketing for your business!

15. Press releases - Press releases using them for offline marketing and promotion. Press releases or news releases as they're sometimes known are newsworthy stories about your business that you send to various sections of the media. These sections of the media must be related to your industry for you to have any chance of success. Newsworthy stories are stories which readers of the media publications you submit to might be interested in.

If the journalist reads it and likes it he or she may publish it or some of its contents in his or her publication, if this happens you're on to a winner because the public in general are much more responsive to a news story than a plain old hyped up advertisement. This could mean they'll enquire about or even purchase your products or services.

Using press releases for offline marketing of your website uses the same principals, if it's newsworthy release it. Newsworthy events for websites include website launches, website re launches and new online services among other items. Also don’t forget online press releases!

16. I. ID-It Plates - These Elegant mini-Billboards promote YOU 365 days a year, enhance the appearance of your vehicles, last for years and most important, give you literally Millions of Impressions  and affordable offline marketing over their lifetime.

Conclusion - Even if your business only exits in the virtual world you must realize ALL your customers live and always will live in the physical world and therefore can be reached much better from the physical world. The moral of the story is never ever forget about the offline marketing and promotion of your website. Your success or failure could depend on it!

15 Tips to increase your Adwords profits

1. Create a list with all possible keywords that fit to your product, service or business field. The more the better. So you will get also a lot of keywords which you must pay for only the minimal commandment of 5 cents.

2. Benefit from misspelling in order to find keywords which your competitors did not think of. For example if you have a emergency service , do not only bid for "emergency" but also for "imergency", "imergensy" or "immergency".

3. The first position on Googles search result page achieves usually most clicks. However this is also the most expensive position. Give it a try if the second to fourth display position gives you more visitors and more customers for less money.

4. The position of the Adwords-ad is determined not only by the maximum click price that you are ready to spend. Google evaluates also the relevancy of the displayed ad in order to position the Adwords-ads. The more clicks your ad receives, the higher it gets listed.

5. The headline in the Adwords-ad must catch the viewers attention. If you implement the keyword in the header line, you receive considerably more clicks onto your ad.

6. In the ad-text mention one or two reasons, why the internet user should click on it. Which problem solves your product or service? Do you offer a product at a cheaper price or do you ship without the dispatch charges?

7. Avoid price wars at which a competitor and you attempt to outdo the click price for a keyword continuously mutually. You only see to it that the click price fires into the sky. It is better to find search-terms which consist of several words and which are more precise.

8. Google AdWords offers keyword-options which you should absolutely study. If properly set up you can make sure that your AdWords-ad appears only for example if the internet-user has exclusively entered your term and no further.

9. Use "excluding keywords". Those ones are keywords for which your ad is supposed not to appear. In this way you do not have to pay for clicks, when somebody is searching for free stuff or only for a pamphlet.

10. Construct for every keyword and for everyone of your AdWords ads an own landing-page. There you can offer especially that which the internet-user searched for.

11. An own landing-page beside has also the advantage that you can measure exactly how many customers a specific Keyword and a specific ad brought in. You can optimize your displays continuously in this way and increase the purchase rate.

12. Update your AdWords-ads at specific events or holidays, for example to the New Year, Valentine, Easter or Christmas.

13. If you mention the price for a product or a service in the AdWords ad, then you can exclude in front the free- and all-free-searcher from clicking your ad.

14. Be conservatively in the selections of the countries and the languages' in which your AdWords ads are supposed to appear. If your product or your service turn only to customers speaking in a German manner, you should tune "Germany" and "Austria" as countries. With corresponding success you can try out also further countries, for example Switzerland, and areas close to the border. This method can also be applied to any other language.

15. The Google ads are also displayed on partner sites of Google, for example at Focus.de or T-Online.de. If your AdWords ad costs too much and/or goes for too little profit, then interrupt the option that lets announce your ad also on the partner sites of Google. Test wisely. Not all ads run well on the partner sites.


Here you got 15 powerful methods to increase your Adwords profits. All you have to do is to take action and apply them NOW!

Happy earnings!

15 Effective Niche Marketing Strategies.

This article was written to reply numerous of the most regularly asked questions on this topic. I wish you find out all of this knowledge helpful.

1. Making More cash - Most individuals desire to make more money. They want to keep off not being able to buy all their needs and wants. You could object product niches for employment, home businesses, networking marketing, affiliate programs, employment advancement, etc.

2. Increasing Profits And Sales - Most businesses want to increase their profits and sales. You could goal product niches about marketing, copywriting, advertising, cutting costs, publicity tips, etc.

3. Making fair Investments - Most individuals want to get high returns on their investments. You could object product niches about investing in the stock market, bonds, futures trading, etc.

4. Getting A elevate - Employees want to avoid being on a low pay scales at their place of effort and losing their job. You could aim product niches about communicating at work such as asking for a raise, promotions at work, etc.

5. Getting A Promotion - Most employees want to succeed and offer their employer their best. You could target product niches about moving up the ladder at work, career advancement, above or underachieving at work with the consequences of each, etc.

6. Working From house - Many individuals would somewhat work at home. You could target product niches about home business start-up, home business opportunities, affiliate programs, network marketing, etc.

7. Working Less - Most individuals want to work less but smarter. You could target product niches about businesses that require little or no work, automated income streams, part-time jobs that pay the same as 40 hour a week jobs, etc.

8. Eliminating Debt - Most individuals want to manage or eliminate their debts. You could target product niches about money control, debt consolidation, stopping debt collectors from calling, etc.

9. Having outstanding Credit - individuals want to maintain excellent credit. You could target product niches about improving their credit reports, financial management, how to increase their credit rating, etc.

10. Finding A Bargain - Most people like to find bargains. You could target product niches about being thrifty, negotiating lower prices, where to find fair bargains, etc.

12. Retiring Early - Most people want to retire beforehand or at least have money for their retirement. You could target product niches about planning for early retirement, investing for the long designation, goal setting, etc.

13. Being Educated - Many want to new their education. You could target product niches about college grants, college ratings, college loans, college living, etc.

14. Save Money - Most people want to save money. You could target product niches about starting a budget, lower bills, stretching their money further, shopping smarter, etc.

15. Being Successful - Most people want to be successful. You could target product niches about advancing and reaching goals, motivational techniques, getting into the right mind set, etc.

I hope you have gotten some acceptable ideas from this article and that you are able to use them.

12 Ways To Use E-learning For Customer Acquisition And Retention, Part 2

Customer Retention Uses of Web-based Learning Management Systems (LMSs)

8) Around-the-clock, 24-7 tech support. A web-based LMS used to deliver training and product support is able to provide 24-7 customer support, with courses on installation procedures and other types of important information. Top-notch customer support will therefore improve customer loyalty.

9) Map the perception of your company's product and services on your customer's mind. A web-based learning management system used to deliver training and product support works to reinforce the positive perception of your products and/or service's and the company's perception in your market.

10) Research, test, and introduce new products, add-ons, and services. A web-based learning management system can be used to introduce new products and services to your customer base. Use the system reports to tweak your product introduction campaigns to quickly build product saturation amongst your existing customer base.

11) Sell and market additional products, add-ons, and services to your existing customer base. As mentioned in item (7) above, a web-based LMS has features and functionality that can be used to sell and market your products to your current customers. The built-in online survey, E-mail messaging, system messaging, and web conferencing tool give sales and marketing professionals many options for promoting their products and services.

12) Insure a continuous loop of communication with your customers to build loyalty. A web-based LMS can be used to build a never-ending stream of dialog between you and your customers. According to the Cluetrain Manifesto by Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls and David Weinberger, and Seth Godin's Permission Marketing, markets are conversations. A web-based learning management system is an efficient, cost-effective mechanism in which to maintain a dialog with your customers on many levels through different online mechanisms.

Why is this important?

In customer acquisition sales and marketing in a business-to-business context, more and varied touches of the prospect are needed in order to close the sale. Depending upon the complexity of the product and the sales situation in a business-to-business context, a prospect needs a minimum of six touches or even more per stakeholder to come to a close.

When deployed as part of your tactical customer acquisition strategy, a web-based learning management system is a potent and inexpensive way to generate many different types of touches for each of the stakeholders in the business-to-business sales process. This system used in conjunction with web marketing, direct mail, telemarketing, and other techniques will shorten your company's sales cycle and help to close more sales.

In customer retention sales and marketing in a business-to-business context, they have already purchased your products and services. Your product or service is being used to solve one or a combination of their business challenges. Many times they are more inclined to come back to you again to see if you have another product/service that can help them solve another business problem.

Customer retention sales and marketing should facilitate customers buying additional products and services. A web-based learning management system used in business-to-business, value-added, manufacturing, and technology industries can become an important conduit between your company's products and services and your customers.

12 Ways To Use E-learning For Customer Acquisition And Retention, Part 1

Customer acquisition and customer retention are important issues for any company today. A simple definition of "customer acquisition" is the process of acquiring or obtaining new customers, and/or converting prospects to customers. "Customer retention" is the process of keeping, sustaining, and/or growing the relationship your customers have with your company and its products and services.

These activities become more involved for business-to-business, value-added, manufacturing, and technology companies that create and distribute complex products and services that require training and specific product knowledge in order to use the product or service effectively. Using e-learning, i.e., a learning management system to deliver web-based training and support for complex products and services has several advantages.

Customer Acquisition Uses of Web-Based Learning Management Systems (LMSs)

1) Educate your prospects on your products and services. One advantage of using a e-learning to deliver product training and support is that the web-based LMS becomes an effective way in which to educate a prospect on your products and services. Sales cycles for complex products and services can take from three to eighteen months or more to make the sale. In business-to-business selling situations, several people at many different levels need to evaluate the product and must be educated on your company's wares before they can come to a decision.

2) Customize your approach to each of the different stakeholders involved in the sale process. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will have a different set of concerns about your products and services than Chief Information Officer (CIO). The user interface layout and content of the web-based learning management system can be customized to each of the specific stakeholders' needs. A web-based learning management system can contain several courses, training modules, or repositories of information specifically designed to meet the needs and address the concerns of all the various stakeholders in the decision making process.

Most of the decision makers involved in business-to-business purchases are busy, executive-level managers. Since the information is web-based, they can access it and do a training module at their convenience.

3) Establish a knowledge base for salespeople, resellers, and partners. A web-based LMS used to deliver training and product support is a great resource and knowledge base for your sales team, resellers, and partners. It can provide a backup for sales people, resellers, and partners that might not have the same level of understanding of your products your field engineers. Your sales executives, resellers, and partners will feel more confident about offering your products and services with a good library of training courses and helps available 24-7 on the web.

4) Ramp up your new salespeople more quickly and keep them on the road. An e-learning system can be used to train your sales force on your company's products and services. New sales people are able to ramp up more rapidly and start to sell your products and services in less time. With this system, they do not have to lose time off the road to be updated on the latest features and functionality.

5) Track your prospects as they move through the sales process. Web-based LMSs can track and provide data about your prospects as they move through the stages of the sales process. With a custom reports feature, the LMS allows the sales or marketing manager to go directly to the web to pull the latest reports on all prospect activity.

6) Harvest other types of information from your market to help your company close business more quickly. In addition to the data collected on your prospects, a web-based learning management system can be used to monitor your sales force or other users' activities. The sales or marketing manager can access web-based reports to see what products the sales force is actually working to sell and deploy. This data can be used for research and development, to plan product initiatives, to obtain insight on repositioning, and other tactical and strategic initiatives.

7) Promote your products and services to prospects using the features in the web-based learning management system. Once a prospect's information has been loaded into the LMS, you can use the features and functionality of the system to promote your products and services. For example, a built-in, online survey tool allows you to send surveys to your prospects with the data being recorded in the learning management system. E-mail messaging capabilities in a web-based LMS allow you to send e-mail marketing campaigns your prospects. Sales and marketing people can use the learning management system to conduct "webinars" using its integrated web conferencing technology. The web conference can then be archived and used in the future. Creative marketers can develop promotions using the testing feature with the information returning to the LMS database.

12 Steps To Success In Creating Life-Changing Income

12 Steps To Success In Creating Life-Changing Income e-Course Over 22 Hours Of PC Video Also Included!


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12 Handy Tips for Generating Leads through Cold-Calling

Cold calling can be a great way to generate quality leads. You get to speak to the gatekeepers and stakeholders, and you get a great insight into their requirements and influences.

But cold calling is an art-form. It can be daunting, it’s always a lot of work, and you always need to make a good impression. So you need to do it right. Following are some tips which will help you do just that.

1) Record everything

Always write down all details of every phone call. Write down any names and titles you learn. Not just the name of the person you’re trying to contact. The receptionist's name can be vital to remember as they're often gatekeepers. Write down when you called, and when you said you'd call back.

2) Use a database or spreadsheet to record everything

You’ll never manage by hand, and Excel spreadsheets aren’t user friendly in the long term. If you’re prepared to invest in a real CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool, that’s a great idea. If not, you there is a cheaper alternative. I created my own database using Microsoft Access. Visit http://www.divinewrite.com/downloads/contacts and jobs.mdb to download a 208KB working copy for FREE. You’ll need Microsoft Access 2000 to run it. I’m no database expert, so it’s not a work of art. It’ll certainly get you started though. (TIP: When using the database, press Ctrl + ; to enter today’s date.)

3) Always call back when you said you would

Don’t let them down. They may not even remember that you committed to calling back. But if they do, and you don’t meet your commitment, you’ll lose valuable credibility and respect. And wherever possible, work to their schedule. You're here to help them, not make things harder.

TIP FOR COPYWRITERS: If you’re an advertising copywriter or website copywriter, ask to speak to the Marketing Manager (or if the person who answers the phone says they don't have a marketing manager, ask for "the person who looks after your advertising & website" - all businesses have that person - it's generally one of the owners).

4) Always try to get on with the gatekeepers

Receptionists and personal assistants have great influence, and quite often do more of the real work and decision making than the person you’re trying to contact! Make friends with them and you’ve got a foot in the door. (But don’t waste their time or crawl – they get a lot of that!)

5) Keep it short ‘n sweet

When you do get to speak with someone, keep it short 'n sweet unless they want to talk a lot. The purpose of the phone call is to get their attention, let them know you're there, get their name and contact details, and assess whether they have any requirement for your services. (TIP FOR COPYWRITERS: If you’re an advertising copywriter or website copywriter, you might have called about brochure writing and then find out they need web writing.)

6) DON’T HARD SELL!!!

Don’t pressure people or make it hard for them to get off the phone. Tell them what you do and that you'd like to send them an email with a link to your website with samples and testimonials (or with an attachment containing samples), then leave them to it.

7) Follow up with an email

If you have permission, always send a follow-up email – and do so immediately. Be specific in your subject line. (TIP FOR COPYWRITERS: If you’re an advertising copywriter or website copywriter, use the words "advertising copywriting" or “website copywriting” in the subject. Most people don't get many emails with this in the subject line, so it'll be distinctive and probably won’t be snuffed by their spam filter if they have one.) Address the email to them (e.g. "Hi Joe"), keep the email short 'n sweet. Include only the essential info, make it easy to read and conversational, and bold the important words or phrases as they'll probably only skim it. Include a link to your website, reference the day and date you talked on the phone (and thank them for that time), mention any names you learnt (e.g. receptionist's name, especially if the receptionist gave you an email address but you didn't actually get to speak to the decision maker), tell them that you'd like to follow up in a few weeks (assuming the conversation indicated that this would be a good idea).

8) Follow up with another call

If the lead looks promising, make sure you follow up. And when you do, always mention the day and date of the original call, as well as the fact that you sent an email. Give a quick summary of who you are and what you do, and say that you're just calling to make sure they got the email. Most of the time, you’ll find the lead will talk to you about your services, if only to remind themselves of what you do!

9) Don’t expect to make too many calls

On a really good day, I've made 80 cold calls. Most days, though, you should be very pleased to average around 40. You’ll spend a lot of time playing telephone tag.

10) Don’t leave message

Unless you absolutely have to (or you’ve just about given up on the lead), don’t leave messages. Most people have trouble returning phone calls from people they know and like; returning phone calls from someone who’s trying to sell them something isn’t high on their list of priorities.

11) Don’t expect to qualify too many leads

Depending on your business, if you get one good lead a day, you're probably doing very well.

12) Don’t expect immediate conversion

Unfortunately, most leads take a long time to come to fruition (up to 2 years). So you have to be prepared to be patient.

Good luck and happy calling!

11 Reasons to Submit This Article to an Ezine

What's an article anyway, and why would I want to submit one to an ezine? That was a two-fold question and will require two answers.

An ezine article is usually composed of approximately 500 words on a single subject that would be of interest to your target market. At the end of the article, you should include a "resource box." This box should provide such things as your name, the name of your company, your web site address, email address, and a small blurb about your product/service.

Writing an article is not hard work. All it requires is some research and note taking. Use any of multiple sources to find information about the topic that you choose to write about. Then write your article in your own words using the notes that you took during your research. It's not difficult and it's something that you learned to do early in school (grade school probably). Write in a conversational tone. Write like you are talking to your best friend.

Now, I'll answer the second question. The reasons to submit this article to an ezine are varied, but not difficult to understand. They all boost your bottom line.

1. The submission of the article will help identify your business (web site) in the Internet marketplace. This is normally called "branding."

2. Article submission provides publicity, virtually free.

3. Someone may like your writing style and hire you to write articles or ebooks for them.

4. The published article will drive traffic to your web site.

5. If the publisher of the ezine that you submit your article to maintains an archive, your article may be read many months later. Traffic may still be driven to your site this way.

6. People will come to know you as an expert on your subject.

7. You might get your article published in free ebooks that are distributed all over the web. This will drive more traffic to your web site.

8. This will help you become a trusted vendor of information.

9. If you allow anyone to publish your article or email it to a friend, you will gain further exposure for free.

10. Webmasters may read your article and display it on their web site. You get additional free exposure.

11. If you send out an ezine, you could offer to swap articles with other ezine publishers for free. This provides more publicity without expense.

So, there are quite a few benefits that you could receive from publishing small articles like this one. If that isn't enough reasons for publishing your own articles, I don't know what else you'd need. Don't forget to provide enough valuable information. The more knowledge you supply, the more valuable you become. Provide real value and you will always have people clamoring for more.

10 ways women restaurant owners and managers are using unconventional restaurant marketing and advertising to skyrocket profits

Many women restaurant owners and managers have learned how to drive a starving crowd to their restaurants on a shoe string budget.

On the other hand, many men restaurant owners and managers seem more likely to stick with the status quo and many keep using conventional marketing techniques even while they continue to lose money.

The problem with conventional restaurant marketing techniques is that they are getting more and more expensive while they are proving to be less and less effective.

Maybe a psychologists can explain why women are taking the lead of using unconventional restaurant techniques in the restaurant business. This seems odd because we know that men are usually more willing to take risks.

Never-the less, women seem to be the more aggressive gender when it comes to restaurant marketing.

Here are some of the many unconventional marketing techniques women are now using:

1. Women are using far less radio, TV and print advertising.

2. They are doing a much better job of capturing customer data such as names, addresses, birthdays, anniversaries and most important email addresses.

3. Women are doing a lot of direct mail promotions and they are doing even more email promotions to their customer data base.

4. They are taking advantage of the power of press releases. Maybe they are more successful in this area because a great press release must strike an emotional button in the reader and we all know that women excel when it comes to tuning into emotions.

5. Women know what their "Unique Selling Proposition" or "USP" is and they can clearly explain it in one to three sentences. They don't try to be all things to all people when it comes to marketing their restaurant.

6. They know the demographic of their customers. They do a better job of learning what it is that their customers like and dislike.

7. Women do a much better job of negotiating and with these skills, they are able to buy advertising for 10% to 50% on the dollar. After all, every dollar saved on advertising and marketing (as long as the advertising brings in the same amount of business) goes straight to the bottom line as profit.

8. They seem to write headlines that bring in two to 10 times more business for the same ad. They probably do this because they are able to do a better job of putting powerful emotion into their headlines.

9. Women are using the power of the Internet to bring in customers and save up to 90% of the typical cost of bringing in a new or repeat customer.

10. Finally, women do a better job of tracking marketing campaigns than men do. This fact alone provides them with the proof they need to drop conventional marketing techniques that are not working and expand the use of unconventional restaurant techniques that are working.

This information is from Jerry Minchey, editor of Marketing Your Restaurant.

###

10 Ways To Ensure Your Flyer Avoids The Bin

Flyers are an excellent marketing tool to promote a club night or event. They are commonly used for student promotions throughout the country.

You want your flyers to travel all over town, only you'd    probably prefer it wasn't in the dustcart or stuck to the bottom of someone's shoe. What steps can you take to avoid this?

Here's a few hints and tricks to help your flyers avoid the trash:

1. Don't miss the boat before you start. Double-check local
Fresher's week and 2005/06 term dates with your local universities, as they vary nationwide.

2. Make sure there's a reason for students to keep your  flyers. Can you include a drinks' promotion, discount or special offer in the copy?

3. Always include the key facts. Students need to know what,
when, why, how and where. List all relevant info, such as prices, times, dates, venue or address, contact details and your url.

4. Always double check your spelling and grammar before you
go to print.

5. It may sound obvious but do a spot check on the reliability
of your delivery agents. You've got a great deal on print, don't blow it with distribution.

6. Remember to leave your flyers in the places where your target student hangs out, read Meet the students for some helpful placement ideas.

7. Strong visuals or topical humour help students to remember
your promotion. They may even stick your flyer on their bedroom wall; beats the Simon Cowell poster their mum bought them for Christmas.

8. Ask a few local students their opinion of your sample flyer
designs to see which one has the most market appeal.

9. Want to increase sales and profit? Handing out the flyer
yourself can maximise your budget. Your personal enthusiasm and a friendly face can work wonders.

10. Er, try not to stand near a bin.

10 Ways to Distribute Your Brochures

Copyright 2006 business-cards.com

Your business brochure is a ferociously powerful advertising and marketing tool. It pays to produce it tastefully. The biggest is not always the best and use it wisely if you wish to see your business grow. However, the best-produced brochure on the planet is going to be useless unless it is distributed effectively. So what is the key to effective distribution?

The first step often is direct mailing. You post out the leaflet to a mass of people usually using a mailing list you have purchased. Mass mailings are very inefficient and if you get more than 1% response you are doing well. This can be an expensive way of doing business.

Second, you could hire people to distribute the brochures in shopping mall parking lots. This can be even more wasteful than a mailing, with many of the leaflets tossed aside. The ensuing mess will probably irritate more people than it attracts.

Third, you could get your publication out to the masses by using a local newspaper whereby your brochures are placed in the journal and delivered to subscribers. This has a similar effect to advertising and probably has a comparable response rate.

Fourth, place the pamphlets in plastic holders and have them readily available to those who visit your site of work. Shame on you if you have not done this already.

Fifth, have the printed matter at hand in places where people have to wait in line for a service such as in the post office. Those waiting have nothing better to do than read your message and this could be useful publicity. The Post Office has already thought of this and will charge you accordingly.

Sixth, dentists’ and doctors’ waiting rooms have a similar trapped audience who might take the time to read what you have to say. Generally, the medical profession will probably only allow material that is somehow pertinent to their line of work. However, this one is worth a try.

Number seven – distribute your promotion material widely at trade shows and exhibitions. Assuming the show is relevant to your line of business, there is a good likelihood that this would be a great source for prospects.

Eighth. Place your brochure on your website so that prospects can instantly download it after supplying their contact information. This is a great way too of building up a valuable prospect list so that you can market to them over and over.

Ninth. Use the brochure in place of a business card. True a brochure is a lot bigger than a card and might get thrown away, but here is a challenge. Why not design something that contains your principal message in a smaller format?

Tenth: Surely you have a database of all your clients past and present? This is the seam of gold for your enterprise, so mail out a current brochure to all of them. If you have done a good job in the past you may be agreeably surprised by the response.

10 Tips To Build Better Sites For You Or Your Customers - part 1

1 - Easiest to guess: idea. A good idea is almost 100% success. If You think best graphics or best animations are the keys You are wrong. People come to You because You've got the information they want or they search. Think of it: build an another site with the same content or build a site with a new content? Don't You want to be first? Don't want to give something new to potential customers? Even don't You want to earn some money for Your time and informations or products? Find Your niche and be the one in it. Let the people come to You.

2 - First look - very important. If I enter a site which has dark colors I'm out and never get back. OK, I return only if that site sells or promotes some kind of dark movie or horror books etc. i like or search for. But dark background isn't good idea for ordinary sites. People doesn't want to look at black sites because they pushes off. People want to look at bright sites with cool colors but not aggressive to them.

3 - Animations - irritate or not? Yes. Another important element. I like sites with flash animations but not too aggressive and not in full screen mode hiding the rest of site. I prefer small amount of animations. They should be tiny and integral parts of site. Also they must have a "skip" button to pass intro and get to proper site. Of course animations can be huge but only if they have some photos of products You sell or promote. Interactive catalog is good but flying dog chasing motocat isn't good if You don't sell pet accessories...

4 - Navigation - where's my hotel? People don't want search for anything else they looking for. Where's navigation bar? Where's site-map? Where's the coolest window cleaner I'm looking for? How can I buy it? Hello?! Damn... and never get back to You. The answer for that is simple: give him/her a search-box, FAQ, instructions "how to find", "how to buy", "how to search" etc. Think that the customers don't want to think about what, where, how etc. and You have to give them an answer to their hands. Maybe this is rude to say: "everybody are idiots" but that's a fact: they are lazy and don't want to search more they are have to...

5 - Functionality - how big is a cart? Every site must be functional. Several links and no FAQ? I'm out. Be Your first customer who's entering Your site. What do You see? Do You know everything what, where, how? What do You do if cart is full? What if You didn't find what You looking for? Is there a wishlist? Or mail-contact? Or online service? Think of it. Maybe You find there are many things to change, maybe not. Be a YourSite.com beta tester today to avoid mistakes and build better functionality.

10 Steps to Getting Paid for Your Marketing Materials

How many times have you heard the same sound bites come out of your mouth to your clients, prospects, and audiences, almost boring yourself to tears in the process? Imagine generating money directly from those sound bites, from those pearls of wisdom that effortlessly trip off your tongue. Yes, it is completely possible, and here’s how to do it.

1.    Capture those tidbits of information as soon as they come to mind. Jot them down in a notebook or get them into a Word document. They can be in a raw format, with just enough information to jog your thinking about what you mean. There will be time to refine them later.

2.    Let a couple weeks go by, allowing most of the information to surface in your thoughts. It rarely happens by declaring two hours on a Thursday afternoon to sit at your computer to think of it all.

3.    Refine and organize the tips. Divide them into categories and edit the text. Use a writing style similar to what you are reading here.

4.    Be sure to include your contact details so readers can easily reach you. Add a brief section about your background so people will know your qualifications for presenting the information.

5.    Hire a graphic designer to make the words look good on the page. Your completed product will be a tips booklet measuring about 3 ½ inches by 8 ½ inches when printed. The designer will create their part of the finished product as a PDF file.

6.    Send the PDF file from your graphic designer to a printing company. Do an initial print run of 1,000 copies.

7.    Think about who can benefit from using your booklet to promote their own product, service, or cause. Send them a sample of your booklet and a cover letter describing some of the ways they can increase their sales or further their cause by using your booklet as a promotional tool.

8.    Consider corporations, associations, publications, and any other group that seems appropriate for the topic of your booklet. Reach out to as many of them as you can, on whatever budget of time and money you have available to you.

9.    Realize that every time one of the large-quantity buyers sends out your booklet to promote their own product, service, or cause, they are also marketing your business. Your contact information in the booklet allows the reader to reach you directly.

10.    Enjoy the expansion of your customer base and your checking account. You are now reaching a larger audience than you are likely to do single-handedly, thanks to the large-quantity buyers of your booklet. And you have been paid by your buyers to reach those new people.

Those sound bites you have been saying for years are now reaching far beyond your current clients, helping your buyers, their clients, and your own business. It doesn’t get a lot better than getting paid for your marketing materials.

© 2005, Paulette Ensign

10 Quick Tips For Creating A profitable List

Building and maintaining a high quality list of subscribers is vital to any marketers success. Let’s go over some of the most important steps you need to take to ensure you build a profitable list:

1)First, make sure you put up a good landing page. It should be well-designed and professional looking. If you don’t have any design skills then hire someone to do this for you.

2)Next, put a web form on your landing page and offer your customers the opportunity to opt-in to your mailing list. Give something away free to encourage them to opt in.

3)Make sure any freebies you give away are of the highest quality, because the subscribers on your list will judge the worthiness of your products and services based on the freebies they get.

4)Include a lot of professionally written content and interesting information for your visitors. Your customers will want to read interesting things and want to look for more than just a sales pitch. Content sites are a great way to build trust and loyalty. You can build a content site jam-packed with articles and helpful information, then link to your sales page from your content site.

5)Make sure you keep your customer’s information private. If you tell your customer’s you will not share his or her personal information, then don’t share it with anyone. You will ruin your reputation, and word spreads fast on the Internet.

6)Take some time to try the product you offer yourself. Make sure it is something you consider worthy of buying. If you are selling a book you wrote, make sure it has mass appeal and will benefit the target audience you plan to market it to.

7)Provide top-notch customer service. This is THE number one way to stay ahead of the game. If your customers are happy and you resolve their questions and complaints immediately, then you will win their loyalty and trust.

8)Reward customers that refer others to you. This is a simple way to build trust and loyalty.

9)Respond to your customer’s complaints or inquiries immediately, with the goal in mind always being to satisfy your customer.

10)Remain truthful and honest in all you do. A customer will sniff out a scam faster than a dog will a bone. Don’t lie, don’t trick and don’t steal. Be honest and be who you are, and you will do well working on the Web and building your opt-in list.

10 Offline Tightwad Marketing Strategies to Help You Get More Clients

Copyright 2006 Donna Gunter

Several years ago, in response to client requests for no-cost or low-cost marketing techniques, I coined the term "tightwad marketing".  My definition of tightwad marketing is the art of doing more with less, or using your creativity instead of your checkbook to get the word out about your business.

Even though the saying, “If you build it they will come” worked for Kevin Costner’s character in the movie, “Field of Dreams”, life doesn't often imitate art. Usually the first thing that pops into someone’s mind when they think about marketing is, “I've got to place an ad.” Place a few ads and soon your marketing budget has totally dried up. Statistics say that someone must see your ad six times in the same publication before thinking of using your business. If it’s a weekly or monthly publication, that could be six weeks to six months down the road, and you can't afford to wait that long!

In order for the public to find your field of dreams, here are ten inexpensive ways to get started:

1. Define your USP--­your Unique Selling Proposition--­and use it in everything that you do.  Make sure your customer knows what it is that you do that is unique to you and your business.  Don't make them struggle to answer the question of why they should do business with you instead of your competitor.

2. Create joint ventures with other businesses that complement yours.  For example, if you’re a real estate agent, team up with a cleaning service, an interior decorator, and a personal chef to offer a nice packaged deal to a new home buyer.

3. Stress the benefits of what you do, not the product or service.  There’s a great story that’s passed around about the world’s most successful insurance salesman, who, when asked what he did for a living, responded, “I buy life assurance.”  Most people responded, “What do you mean?” to which he replied, “I buy life assurance for my clients at the best possible price.  Would you like me to buy some for you?”   Make your potential customer think, “I've got to get that!”

4.  Become newsworthy!  Send out media releases to announce a new service or product or sponsorship of a charity event.  Create an event or a special day.  Link what you do to an existing trend or news event.  Talk about your personal story in the business, i.e. if you went broke and bounded back, started to create one product and ended up with another, etc.  Issue an award or give something away.  Conduct a survey and report the results.  Write a letter to the editor.

5.  Talk to your customers.  Call 5 previous customers and find out what they liked and didn't like about their dealings with you, and how you might better serve them in the future. Have them write testimonials that you can use.  Ask and reward them for referrals.

6.  Love what you do and become a model of what you’re selling. If you don't absolutely love what you do and feel passionate about it, your customers are going to see right through you and not be convinced to buy what you are offering. For example, if you’re a car mechanic and your shop sits on a parking lot full of clunkers that don't run, why would anyone hire you to repair their car? Or, if you’re a landscaper and your lawn is full of weeds and crabgrass, who wants to hire you to beautify their yard? If you don't truly feel passionate about your business and become a living model of that business to everyone you meet, then find another business!

7.  Network, network, network!  Join organizations, such as Chambers of Commerce, professional groups, civic groups, etc. and any type of organization to which your target market might belong.  Attend community events like business open-houses or neighborhood picnics. Sales master Joe Girard lives by his “Law of 250”, which states that everyone knows about 250 people well enough to invite to their wedding or to be in attendance at their funeral.  Lesson:  Perhaps the person you’re speaking with isn’t interested in what you offer, but there’s a good chance s/he knows someone who is­250 of them!

8.  Use attention-getting devices -- make yourself visible.  Always have business cards on hand to distribute.  Have a t-shirt personalized with your business name and wear it when you run errands.  Wear an outfit or uniform that shows the world who you are.  UPS has taken their identity as seen in their brown trucks and uniforms and embraced it with the tag line in their current commercials, "What can brown do for you?"

9. Talk and teach.  Approach local organizations about being a guest speaker at their next meeting.  Give a workshop that is open to public and is low-cost/no-cost for participants and discuss a particular aspect of your business, or demonstrate what you do.  Offer them valuable information, but leave them hungry for more.  For example, a financial planner might offer a free seminar called, “Planning for Retirement as a Thirty-something” or a bank loan officer might offer a workshop in conjunction with a real estate agency called, “Everything a First-Time Homebuyer Needs to Know But is Too Scared to Ask.”  Or, work with your local college or recreation department and get paid to teach what you know.

10.    Implement 5 a day.  Make a list of all the creative ways you can market your business, and implement 5 of them per day.

Remember, in Tightwad Marketing, you’re limited only by your imagination!

10 myths about entering international markets

Here are 10 misconceptions by companies about entering overseas markets.
1         If we make a better mousetrap, they will buy it.
The question here is, do you think that factor alone is the necessary and sufficient condition to sell overseas? If it was always about quality, then why doesn't everyone always buy the best product?
2          English is the universal language, so we can simply sell in English.
This speaks to several issues: Does everyone in the client organization speak, read and write English? Remember, decisions often are made on a consensus basis, and your marketing materials may travel quite a bit within the clients' firms and sit on many desks.
3        Our labor cost is too high to market our product overseas.
This myth can be refuted with one statistic: Fifty-five percent of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place>Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s trade surplus with the <st1:country-region><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> comes from industries where their labor cost is higher than ours. If labor cost was the deciding factor, then how on earth could <st1:country-region><st1:place>Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> possibly sell anything abroad?
4             Our price is too high for overseas markets.
Are you intending to compete only on price? Many commodities (oil, wheat, cement, corn) are price-sensitive, but the vast majority of international successes aren't.
5             Our skilled marketers can take on overseas markets.
If we define marketing as awareness, understanding and belief, we need to ask:
Do my marketing people know how to make overseas markets aware of the product? Do they know how to explain the products, attributes and benefits in terms that make sense to the locals?
6        Our in-house foreign nationals can sell to overseas markets.
In one example, a U.S.-based CEO told me his Chinese wife could negotiate with the Chinese government for market entry. My questions were: Is she a skilled negotiator? Does she understand the sales process? Does she have the motivation and energy to break into this difficult market?
7        Our local partners will handle all of the marketing.
This idea of relinquishing market control while enjoying great success is rare. Most of the time, overseas partners will look toward the parent to help stimulate demand, deal with problems as they occur, get to know the distribution channels, offer subject matter expertise and show that the parent company has indeed invested in the market.
8        The customer expressed all of the buying signs, and even said "yes" to our proposal.
Many firms overseas conduct their market research by posing as buyers. They conduct competitive intelligence the same way. Your banker will tell you that the sale is complete only when the money has been deposited into the bank.
9        We don't need to invest a lot; our Web site gives us a presence.
Actually, your Web site gives you a brochure, but no real place where businesses and consumers can get support, touch and feel your product, get to know your company and its staff, deal with returns, make product modifications and enable co-marketing agreements.
10     If it worked here (in the <st1:country-region><st1:place>United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>), it will work there.
This speaks to local ethnocentrism. Success at home also can be a hindrance to overseas success. Arrogance and impatience are often byproducts of domestic success. Market conditions, buying conditions, business practices, negotiation tactics and product specifications all differ by market.
So, how do you choose a market?
With hundreds of variables to deal with, there is finally help. The Market Access Toolkit will help. The Market access toolkit is a collection of articles, spreadsheets, screening mechanisms, white papers, booklets and audio products, complied by experts in international market entry.
It contains episodes from our radio show: “how to lose your shirt abroad.”
And with a money back guarantee, what do you have to lose?
Use the market access toolkit to analyze and choose the correct market, and the correct way to enter it.
www.marketaccesstoolkit.com

10 Marketing Tips For Entrepreneurs

Nothing happens in business until a sale is made. Marketing is simply about getting new customers and keeping them. If you’re not doing something everyday to market and promote your business, your competitors are. Here are ten easy-to-implement tips to effectively market and grow your business:

1. Partner with large email database list owners and offer to cross promote each oher. The list owner will advertise your event, product, or service to their email database and you’ll offer to do the same to your list.

2. Create your own blog which is an online journal with frequently updated posts to entertain and excite existing and potential customers. It’s more personal and immediate then a website and keeps people engaged and hopefully coming back for more. You can even create one for free at http://www.blogger.com.

3. If you want to increase word-of-mouth fast, do something beyond normal industry expectations. For example, Mr. Lube offers fast and affordable tune-up service to customers right on the spot, without having to leave the car, while offering coffee, cappuccino, and a fresh newspaper.

4. Always ask happy clients for endorsements or testimonials and put them on your website and other marketing collateral. They’re worth their weight in gold. Try to get some recognizable names in your community for additional cachet.

5. Put a special offer or product advertorial on every invoice and statement you send out. Likewise, you can also negotiate a deal with another company to advertise your product or service on all their invoices for a percentage of revenues from placed orders.

6. Make your business cards stand out and be natural keepers. Offer important information on the back such as emergency phone numbers, a map, or special dates to remember. Have a slogan that offers a powerful benefit statement to your prospective customer.

7. Offer special bonus packages with your product or service offering. Get corporate sponsors to give away products as part of the bonus package in exchange for free exposure.

8. Align your business with a cause or charity. Give back to your community. Customers appreciate doing business with companies that are bettering their communities and the environment and being good corporate citizens.

9. Find an angle that makes your work controversial. The banning of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, reviewed as "trashy and vicious," was a blessing in disguise. Twain made a poster advertising the ban, which significantly increased sales.

10. Post frequently in online message boards/forums relevant to your business or expertise. Include your signature and offer tips and valuable advice. Eventually you will begin gaining word-of-mouth exposure as a leader in your field. Posting messages with your company information also helps to increase your search engine rankings and drive traffic to your site.

[Excerpted from Sharif Khan’s new ebooklet: "101 Ways to Market Your Business," http://tinyurl.com/m2nsf ].

10 Killer Ways To Make Your Online Testimonials More Believable

1. PICTURES

Ask people if they would e-mail a picture with their testimonial. If they don't have one scanned you could have them send their picture by mail and you could scan it. This technique will give your testimonials more credibility.

2. ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES

Most online testimonials you see have text signatures. You could have people mail their written signature, scan it, and upload it with their testimonial. People will feel the testimonial is more official.

3. ONLINE AUDIO

You could record people's testimonials with a mini tape recorder over the phone, on your answering machine, or voice mail. Then you could convert the recording into a online audio file and upload it to your web site. You can find more information about converting audio recording's by typing "real audio" at a search engine.

4. POSTCARDS

Have people mail you their testimonial on a postcard, scan it and upload it to your web site. This will give people proof that the testimonial isn't fake because it will have a post mark on it.

5. PROFILES

Ask people to include a profile of themselves with their testimonial. You could just have them answer some questions like age, occupation, hobbies, favorite quote, etc. This will make your testimonials more entertaining to read.

6. HAND WRITTEN LETTERS

This is similar to the "electronic signature" tip. Scan and upload the entire written testimonial or letter to your web site. This will give your testimonials a feel of realism.

7. RECORDINGS

You could record peoples testimonials over the phone with a mini tape recorder. Then, take the recording and record it to an answering machine or voice mail system. Under each one, include a phone number they can call to hear the actual testimonial.

8. E-MAIL MESSAGES

When you get e-mail testimonials, publish the entire e-mail message instead of just the contents. It will be more believable because it will include the date, time, subject, who it's from and who it's to.

9. CONTACT INFORMATION

When you get testimonials from people, ask them if you could include their contact information under the testimonial. This will allow potential customers to ask your current customers questions about your product or service before they buy. Usually, they will trust them more than you.

10. ONLINE VIDEO

If some of the people who give you testimonials have a camcorder, ask them to record their testimonial on video and send it to you. Then you could convert the video to an online video file and upload it to your site. You can find more information about converting audio recording's by typing "real video" at a search engine.

10 Incredible Ways To Sell Your Products Now

1. Make your reader visualize they have already bought your product in your ad. Tell them what results they have gotten and how it makes them feel. They'll already become emotionally attached before they buy.

2. Turn your ad into an article. It could be a story, or how-to article. This will lead them into your ad without them knowing it's an ad. They'll already be interested when they get to your sales pitch.

3. Make sure you show your reader that they are getting a bargain. Tell them the usual price you sell your product for is $99. Then tell them if they order today they can buy it for $69.95.

4. Direct your ad headline to your target audience. Your readers will feel important and belong to a select group of people who buy your product. For example; "Attention! Accountants, Discover A New Way To Increase Your Client Base!"

5. Tell your reader how fast they can receive your product or service in your ad. Their buying decision may be based on how fast they can receive your product. They may need it by a certain deadline.

6. Use bullets to highlight your product or services benefits. Benefits are the key to selling anything, make them standout in your ad. You can use dots, dashes, or circles to highlight them.

7. Give a money back guarantee that surpasses a normal one. Instead of the normal timed guarantee, give them extra back. Tell them they can keep the free bonus or give them double their money back.

8. Tell your reader they'll receive surprise bonuses. This'll raise your reader's curiosity and make them want to buy so they can find out what the surprise bonuses are.

9. Let your reader know this specific package will not be offered again. You must create urgency so people buy now. You may always sell the same product but not with the same bonuses or price.

10. Give them a couple tips in your ad that will help them with their problem. This will give your business credibility and gain your readers trust to buy your products or services.

10 Income Streams You Can Add to Your Business (And Increase Your Bottom Line)

In a nutshell, multiple streams of income means your business has more than one way to make money. For instance, you sell products and you sell services. Those are different streams of incomes. But that's just the beginning. Below are 10 ideas of different income sources you can use to increase your business's bottom line:

1. Sell a variety of services. Or you can bundle your services into packages depending on what your typical client is looking for. But be careful about this one. Don't spread yourself too thin. You want to offer a few different services or a choice of packages but you don't want too many options because it's very difficult to market yourself effectively.

2. Sell your own products. These can be information products (books, home study courses, CDs, special reports, etc.) or they can be physical products. You can also group similar products into product lines. Then you can upsell, downsell or cross-sell products to different customers on your list.

3. Sell other people's products (or services). Here's where you become an affiliate. Basically how it works is once you're approved to be an affiliate, you get your own link. Anytime someone uses that link and buys a product, you can a percentage of the sale. That percentage can be anywhere from 10 percent (mostly for services) to more than 50 percent.

Which leads me to my next tip:

4. Put together your own affiliate program. Now you can get other people to market your products and services, and the only time you pay them is when they actually sell something! How cool is that!

5. Create a teleclass, seminar, workshop or other event. This can be a one-time deal or a series of classes. (But if you do this, make sure you record it so you can sell those later.) The nice thing about this tip is it's a good blend. You can reach groups of people at one time while at the same time providing a personal touch.

6. License one of your programs or services. This is a neat idea if it works in your business. (For instance, a coach could license tools or a program to other coaches.) I don't know much about this one, but Suzanne Falter-Barnes sells a program that can teach you how to do it. 

7. Create a paid membership site. Not only will you be getting regular income each month, but you'll also building your customer base -- people who are interested in purchasing your products and services. It's much easier to sell to people who are already customers than to find new ones. Plus people like being a part of a community, and becoming a member of something is a good way to do it.

8. Start a continuity program. This is similar to a membership site where you charge a monthly fee for a product or service. Maybe you create a paid newsletter subscription or you offer monthly coaching calls or you interview successful people. Whatever it is, it's something people find valuable enough to pay you a small, but regular, monthly fee.

9. Sell ads on your web site or e-zine or whatever. This one is probably not going to make you rich, but it could turn into a nice little income stream depending on how many people are looking at your e-zine or web site.

10. Use Adsense. This is when you allow Google to place its pay-per-click ads on your web site or blog. In return, every time someone clicks on one of those ads, Google will pay you a percentage. Pretty nifty program, huh? Anyhow, I do think this is one you have to be a little careful with. Most of the time I don't think people clicking away from your web site is a good thing (especially since they'll be going to one of your competitors). But there are times when this is very appropriate. For instance, maybe you've developed a web site or blog around a hobby. Or maybe you build a web site or blog for the express reason of selling Adsense. Once it's set up, you just ca^sh the checks.

Creativity Exercise -- Find time to create multiple income streams

Probably the hardest part of creating multiple income streams is finding the time, especially when your primary business is service-based. So, now that you know how important it is, how are you going to find the time to start doing it?

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

* Hire a virtual assistant (VA) or bookkeeper to take care of some tasks you have no business doing anyway.
* Create systems in your business so you can complete business tasks faster and more efficiently.
* Raise your prices so you can take on fewer clients and make more money.
* Dedicate a Saturday or Sunday to working on your business. (Be careful with this one as you could very quickly end up burning yourself out.)

Get a pen and paper and do some brainstorming to see how you can find more time to start creating more income streams.