Good Advertising Tips

Corporate Gift Ideas Impression Is Everything

2009-07-17T00:25:00.000-07:00

Whether you've been charged with finding the items your company will give away during the holidays or you need to locate just the right gift for a special client, make no mistake, the job is a big one. Should you be required to find gifts appropriate for a number of different people, all of different faiths or beliefs, the prospect can be even more so daunting. Finding the right corporate gift is bigger than making a gesture, too, it needs to be classy and leave an impression on those who receive it. With the gravity of what a gift can mean for your company, it's a good idea to consider your client base before rushing out and buying the first gift baskets that strike your fancy. If there is a great deal of diversity involved, you may want to first set a spending limit per client and then choose individually within that range. Or, at the very least, select a few different standards gifts and send the one that is appropriate for each different client. A Christmas gift box might not be appreciated by your Jewish clients and non-drinkers may frown on a wine selection. Once an approach has been set, it's time to start looking at corporate gifts. There are a number of great ideas available and many provide the option to have the company's logo emblazoned on the box, card or even within the gift itself. Whenever possible, it's a good idea to go this route otherwise the impression left could be too self-promoting. No one really wants to wear a T-shirt with your company name on it, but they might appreciate a chocolate box with your logo on the top. Keeping in mind these ideas may not be good for every client, here are some different ideas on what can be sent to say "thank you for your business:" * Flowers. This is a timeless classic that really helps brighten up a client's office, but remember the impression will be a short one. Flowers don't last forever. These are appropriate, however, if you know the client has a particular passion for a certain kind of flower. * Chocolates. Chocolate boxes and chocolate gift baskets from gourmet makers work well for just about any client. Although the chocolates inside may be eaten up quickly, specialty wood boxes with logo name plates can have some serious staying power. * Fruit, cheese or preserve baskets. These also are appropriate for just about everyone. The staying power isn't always that great though. * Wines. These can be great selections for clients you know well enough to know they'll appreciate it. Since not everyone drinks and not everyone appreciates wine, it's a good idea to reserve alcoholic gifts for those you know will enjoy them. * Gift cards. Whether for a night out or a specialty store, these will be used up, but the client's likely to remember where the item came from. Choosing corporate gifts can be tough, but if you apply a little common sense and try to put some thought into what each client receives, the gifts can say thank you while also reminding customers of your products and services.

Do You need a sexy company logo or would a stinker be more effective

2009-07-15T23:57:00.000-07:00

The debate over how much of a companys large reserves of spending power should be spent with greedy, oafish design agencies rages on and is not about to be resolved in this trite article, however we can suggest some alteatives to the usual company logo ideas and perhaps for once bad could be the new good...or something.

A company logo should make you stop and think...
How many times have you heard your design manager or someone from the marketing/advertising department going on about the need for a clever logo or a design that 'thinks outside the box'? In marketing terms this is met by much consteation by people with any sense of reality and nodding agreement from the rest of the clueless saps who pass off as the workforce these days. Thinking outside the box in this day and age is what all your competitors are doing. To move with the times we either have to think 'over' the box or get on a retro trip and think yourself back inside the box, now that everyone has gone outside to think.

A company logo should stick in your minds eye
Continuing with our theme of going back to basics in terms of logo design. The trend that is emerging and proving highly profitably in certain quarters is the 'so bad its good' theme. Easyjet, Pot Noodle, Tango, Spam... I'm thinking off the top of my head here but allthese brands once languished in obscurity and given a little bit of a trashy makeover have seen sales rocket. The same can be said for the previously unheard of Cillit Bang cleaning brand - design so off putting it makes you want to punch yourself in the face and with the most ridiculous name imaginable but hey whats happening, it's stuck in shoppers minds and bingo like groaning zombies they've bought the product without actually realising what it is and why they've just paid for it.

When good logos tu bad or how to undesign a logo
Built in obsolesence plays a big part in todays quick tuaround world. In a similar way to consumable products like mobile phones and cd players having built in components that only last a year or so before needing to be replaced by the latest model, cheeky graphic designers and logo designers have started to build in 'dated' fonts and styles that will make the company logo you spent 10,000 dollars on and proved a big hit at the time, look like a piece of bumfluff this time next year. Solution: Design it to be as bad as possible in the first instance and the vague whims of the fashion cognescenti shall sooner rather than later pronounce it a hit - meaning big time pay off for you. So there you have it in a nutshell, don't listen to your head when it says you are committing an atrocious mistake in combining stripes and polkadot pattes with some electric blue neon fonts, listen to your greedy heart and think of those filthy bank notes that will soon be piled up in your bank vault..

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Mindtap Graphic Design Resources is your single point entry into the UK creative industries. A unique site where you can access information on UK graphic design, logo design, brochure design, catalog design, flyer design and web design

Buying Radio Read This and Don t Waste Your Money

2009-07-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

Pay close attention and make it work the best for you.

No doubt you've listened to, and then quickly deleted, messages from account execs from your local radio stations. Maybe you've even entertained them in your office. Hopefully you didn't have to sanitize your phone or office afterwards.

Well, radio can be great way to gaer awareness cheaply... ahem, inexpensively... if you do it right. Remember... 97.823% of all radio ads S-U-C-K. That leaves you to carry the banner for great radio advertising. And when you do, you will get noticed. Believe me, you will get noticed.

Why do so many radio ads suck? Between the screaming car ads, nasally voiced business owners who should never get anywhere near a microphone reading their own ads, and the next "tukey" business opportunity, they are all dressed in their plaid suits and resorting to hucksterism. They want your money and they want it now.

They forget one thing. Well, actually a lot of things, but the main thing they forget that people are not tuning in for their ad. Listeners want Rush, Rome, Al, Laura, music, sports, news, or whatever. People aren't saying, "Gee, I gotta hear great heating and air conditioning ads today!"

Your ad is interrupting what they listen for. By nature, you are already behind the eight ball before you start in radio. But there is hope.

First off, do NOT let a radio station employee write your ad.

If your exec isn't a writer (you may luck out in that some radio execs are copywriters in training looking for an agency gig) and you don't speak up, your ad will probably get written by either: the station producer- who may have already written 4 or 5 other ads that same DAY,who doesn't have enough time to fully attend to your needs, and thereby wasting your money; OR a disc jockey (strange term- they don't spin wax anymore, Daddy-O) whose annoyed he or she has to write an ad, or who's not a talented writer to begin with, also wasting your money; OR by an inte, secretary, or other employee - who may relish the opportunity, but may not have the chops yet, or is being pressured to write something "quick and dirty" so it can produced and on the air -- also thereby wasting your money.

You have creative control and the ultimate yay or nay, so feel free to choose your writer. Hint and Shameless Plug : There is a link here to direct you to an excellent radio writer. It's http://www.brandedbetter.com.

Now, when it comes down to concepting and reviewing scripts, remember this: Radio is called Theater of the Mind for good reason. Use it to your advantage. Recall your disadvantage before starting.

Cleveess will grab attention. But... it must be on strategy to be effective. Give your writer ONE benefit to express. How does that benefit resonate with the target audience? Don't think if you have a "mundane" or "boring" product or service, there's no cleveess to be had. Give a good writer enough information, and they will find it.

A few of the BEST radio ads I've ever heard was for a soil conditioner. Yup. A soil conditioner. Two voices. One performed by the writer. The other performed by midlevel (read... talented, and nonunion) voice talent. Writer as The Hick Farmer. Nonunion Talent as the Smart Farmer.

Hick Farmer: "Hey, nay-bor...Whatzzat on yer roof?"

Smart Farmer: (obviously) "It's a satellite dish."

Hick Farmer: "Whazzit fer...? Talkin' to the Martians?"

You can almost hear the slack jaw in your head. And it makes you want to hear more. That's your goal for radio.

Another ad for the same product was even better.

Smart Farmer: "Hey, neighbor... Why so glum?"

Hick Farmer: "Aw... the weeds, the bugs, the disease... my crops are about ruined... I've had an awful year. The wife has been pickin' her tooth for leftovers."

Now, I'm not a farmer. I never heard of conditioning soil. But, you can bet I understood what it did after these ads. And did I mention I was wondrously entertained when receiving this information?

To be fair, these ads were produced by an ad agency with a good sized budget. The campaign also won some ad awards and some industry awards. The point is-- a good ad isn't loud, repetitive, trite, condescending, or tries to jam as many words possible into the time frame. In fact, silence works to your advantage. Silence in radio (or even TV) is like white space on a print ad. It tastefully surrounds the content for maximum effectiveness, drawing the eye (in this case, ear) in to read (hear) the copy.

Voices are important, too. Ever listen to the radio and hear the same voice all over the ads? That's usually Mr. or Ms. Producer-- the person who makes sure the ad gets made. That's why they don't have time to write a good one for you. Many freelance writers, myself included, know something about voices and casting, and can probably get you the best talent for your dollar. Some writers can even voice their own copy. And think twice, no... three times about voicing it yourself. Better make that four times.

Oh, and if you're wondering what length of ad to buy? In most cases, go for the :60. For just a few dollars more, you get twice the time to play with. If you are spending money on radio, use ALL the resources available to you to create the best possible ad. And that usually entails going outside the radio station walls to get it. ~~

John is a freelance commercial writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He publishes a free monthly e-zine focusing on branding, advertising, and marketing from his website http://www.brandedbetter.com. Speaking with both agency and in- house experience, he knows the most valuable asset of a businees is its brand.

Are You a One Punch Advertiser Take It From a Boxer There s a Better Way to Reach Customers

2009-07-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge guy, in fact I am about 5'8", 175 lbs. In addition to designing business brands that help companies build more confidence and credibility, I am a boxer. Much to my family's chagrin, particularly my Dad who ponied up the money for my braces when I was young. Thankfully, I still have all of my teeth and faculties, and I'd like to share what boxing has taught me about advertising more effectively.

It wasn't until I read something in Permission Marketing, by Seth Godin that I saw a strong similarity between boxing and promoting my business. My goal as a boxer is to knock the other guy out so he/she can't fight anymore - that's how I win. In marketing and advertising for my business, my goal is to reach and attract new prospects and clients.

The similarity lays within the different strategies both marketers and boxers can use to accomplish their goal. Boxer behemoths like Mike Tyson and George Foreman can go for the one-punch knock out to accomplish their goals (knocking someone's teeth out), just as IBM, Monster.com and Ford can run one Superbowl advertisement and attract a load of new prospects. Most of us, including me, don't have the size or muscle of Mike Tyson or Ford, so we might consider another approach.

If you are looking for the best approach in either boxing or advertising, the key to success (unless you're Mike Tyson or IBM) is frequency. Take me for example: I am not very big and neither is my business, so neither of us has the resources to make a one-punch knockout count.

Spending all of my resources (either time, money or energy) on one roll of the dice isn't a good idea. I don't have the weight or the muscle for that to work, and if you own a small business, you probably don't either. But that's okay, just because we're not huge doesn't me we can still accomplish our goals; we just have to use a different strategy.

In advertising, the one-punch knock out used to work so much better, there was less competition, less products to choose from and people didn't have so many distractions. Things are different now, and even if someone sees your ad there's a fair chance they might not pay attention to it. So it makes sense not to evaluate or invest all of your money into one ad, that's where persistence and frequency come in.

Did you know that your prospects need to see your ad at least 3 times for it to sink in? I know, it's insane, but research has proven it time and time again. And if you've ever watched boxing, how often does someone go down in the first 3 punches? It almost never happens.

So you want to avoid what most business owners make the mistake in doing in that they run one advertisement and then pull the plug on campaign. Remember the boxing analogy, one-punch knockouts rarely happen. It'll take persistence and frequency to get your prospect's attention and to get him or her to take action, but if you keep at it, you'll succeed.

Keep on punching!

About Jeremy:

I help small businesses build more confidence and credibility into their business brand. Through marketing and design initiatives, I help you feel better about your company. Making you feel good about your business gives you more confidence and less anxiety when you are networking, promoting or selling your business.

If you have are a business owner who isn't comfortable or confident in your business image, or you're just not as proud of your business as you'd like to be. Call me today at 480.391.0704 or email me at comments@candographics.com, I'd love to send you a free insider's bulletin and talk with you about your specific situation.

You'll also want sign up for the "Can-Do Confidence Builder" at http://www.candographics.com. Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your investment and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Lea more about me and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com

Fax Broadcast Services Get Your Message to Millions

2009-07-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

If your company is one of those innovative businesses that has taken advantage of new fax broadcasting technologies to get your message out, you've probably come to realize that the fax broadcasting services industry is ever-changing and new developments are coming out all the time.

It's pretty much a full-time job just to manage a fax broadcast database of any size, not to mention keeping the related fax broadcasting software updated and operational.

If you've gotten frustrated with the overhead and manpower required to manage your entire fax broadcasting operation inteally, it's time to lighten your load by considering some outsourcing, and the possible use of an outside fax broadcasting service. Not only can this free you and your people up, but it will leverage your time and allow you to reach more people, quicker and with less money per fax.

Tips for Selecting the Best Fax Broadcast Services

In selecting the outside fax broadcast services that are right for your company, remember – technology is everything in the fax broadcast industry. Fax broadcast services won't save you time unless they're convenient to use and require little involvement by your own personnel.

When shopping for fax broadcast services, you'll want to ask a ton of questions about the software and systems used by each fax broadcast service that you interview.

How flexible are their systems?

Do you get a lot of options and tailoring, or are you pretty much stuck with the system they have, even if it doesn't meet your exact needs?

Really good fax broadcasting services have state-of-the-art fax systems that can do things like integrate faxing, email and direct mail. The better systems also allow you to control and tailor your various fax broadcasts from your own PC at your own office.

This allows you access and control of your fax broadcasts when it's convenient for you, and reduces the time it takes to communicate instructions from your office to your fax broadcast service provider.

Take some time, shop around, and ask a lot of questions. This will be time well spent, and you'll be very pleased when you end up with a fax broadcast service that's easy to use and gets your fax broadcasts out quickly and by the specifications that you yourself can control from your own computer.

You'll be tickled pink with the staff time that will be freed up, and your new fax broadcasting capabilities will make you glad that you chose to investigate the use of fax broadcast services for your own company.

Chris Bradley is V.P. of 3 Cent Fax Broadcast.com, where they help business save money and increase profits with their do it all fax service, where they do all the work and you can concentrate on your business. To lea more about their money and time saving service by clicking here ... fax broadcasting services.

Don t Blame the Messenger

2009-07-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

I recently had a call from a fellow in Scotland and taking into account the time difference, it was about 2PM there. He called to complain that the ad he placed with us two weeks ago, hadn't produced any leads. While he was venting, I looked up the ad he had submitted. He was in an affiliate program, and they provide a personalized web site, which not only gives information about the program, but also tracks the leads. He didn't include the web site in his ad, and his only method of contact was by email. The ad he originally submitted was full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, which we had cleaned up prior to posting. As he slurred his way through the conversation, I realized that he probably had a very long liquid lunch, and when I tried to explain what he needed to do, he called me a "con artist" and hung up. Now is this to be expected if you provide web space, or run an ezine which allows advertising? Not usually, but as in real life, there are people like this on the web. Ad space in an ezine or on a web site, is just that - space, and the web has no magic. If you write a bad ad, you will not get responses. The same ad in a print publication, such as a newspaper or magazine, would yield the same results. You can't blame the messenger, in this case the space provider, if your ad doesn't produce. Many people have fantastic results with this type of advertising, and they all have a few things in common. They are selling a quality product at a reasonable price, and have taken the time to develop a good ad. They also realize that the only purpose of the ad is to get someone to request more information. They all have a web site that gives complete details, and where they make the actual sale. Just having a quality product or program at a reasonable price is not the only thing you need. You must advertise it in an intelligent manner. The ad you place is referred to as the "tease". If this is done properly, it gets you to the next step in the sales process, and that is the "education" stage. People want information about the product or service they are about to buy. When people get to your web site, or ask for further information, it is because they are interested. This is the case where "more is better". The more information you can give them, the greater the chances you have of making a sale. A very common mistake is to confuse the "tease" with the "education stage". If the web site gives little or no information, it is in effect just another "tease". You can't expect people to buy if you do this. You must provide solid information on how they will benefit from your offer. Others mix up the "education" stage with the "tease", and try to give too much information in their ad. Neither approach will produce good results. The final stage in this process is referred to as the "close", or the "call for action". This is where you give the person a reason for becoming your customer. This can take various forms, but every good ad campaign has one. All of these elements from the "tease" to the "close" must be in place if you hope to be successful in your inteet marketing. Miss anyone one of them and you will join the ranks of the "also rans". If your ad doesn't produce, examine each of the three stages to see if it would get you to buy. Have a disinterested person look at your sales effort. Sometimes you might get so close to the process, you can't honestly evaluate what you're trying to accomplish. You must of course get ad space that is reasonably targeted to your potential market. The ad for your product should appear in places that your target market will visit. Don't forget that it might take 5 to 7 exposures to your ad before someone bites. Don't be discouraged if immediate results are not forthcoming. Above all, don't blame the messenger - that is simply a copout. They did their part by making the space available and disseminating it to their subscribers - did you do yours?

Careers In The Advertising Business Internet Marketing Style

2009-07-14T01:12:00.000-07:00

So you are interested in seeking a job with an advertising business Inteet marketing firm? The first step would be to gain enough knowledge in marketing theory and practical applications. A four-year college degree is helpful but those without a college degree can still land a job with a top firm if they have enough real-world experience. You must have a genuine love for advertising to be successful. Often the initial salaries are small and job tuover is high. But with a strong determination, you can succeed in the advertising business Inteet marketing field. When entering the advertising business Inteet marketing arena, try to become as familiar with successful clients as possible. Leaing how successful firms have succeeded in business will give you an idea on how to be successful yourself. Also, if you do a good job working with a dominant firm, they may direct you into your next step in the advertising world. Lea what clients need and want from an advertising firm and seek to fulfill their needs. A second step toward a career in the advertising business Inteet marketing world is making bold moves. Don't be afraid to experiment a little after you have established yourself. Your superiors will recognize innovation. Look for great advertising program and try to figure out how they work and why. Apply the knowledge in projects you are involved with. Always be willing to improve your work and clients will see your efforts. Another important thing to remember when leaing about the advertising business Inteet marketing industry is to keep the client first. Visualize his perspective in all your work. By keeping the client first, you will gain their respect and their advertising business for a long time. Gaining loyalty is a major asset in the advertising world. If you choose to someday join another firm, often times your clients will move with you.

Economical Use of Banner Ads On Your Web Site

2009-07-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ever go to a site and there were a dozen or so banners and it took forever for the page to load? If you are selling your own product or service or selling for affiliate programs that you belong to, you probably have banner ads available. Most affiliate programs will have a good selection of promotional tools for you to use when you sign up. Banners are usually one of the tools that you are given. If you are trying to develop multiple income streams you probably are associated with a number of affiliate programs like we are. Some can be for products, some for services and some may be network marketing type programs. Plus as I mentioned earlier, you may also have your own products/services too. No matter what the type of program or product you are offering, the one thing that you want to do is get exposure for them so you get sales or member sign ups. For purposes of this discussion let's say you are associated with eight such programs or products. So here you have eight different banners you want to get prospects to click on to increase your income stream. What do you do? Do you place eight different banners on your web page? I wouldn't! First it doesn't look very professional to have a page cluttered up with eight to ten different banners. Secondly, it will probably make your page load very slowly and you will then create what I call "click aways", when someone is waiting for your page to load and it takes so long that they just click another link to another site. What's the solution? Get yourself a rotating banner script. You can get it free and it really isn't that hard to set up. What is a rotating banner script? The one we use is a cgi based script which allows you to load as many banners into it as you want to rotate and place a short one line of html code on your page. Each time a new visitor goes to your page a new banner comes up automatically. If you want to see one in action, go to one of our pages at: http://www.homebizlink.com/newslt.htm The banner on the top of the page is on a rotating script. Let the banner load and then hit your browser "refresh" button and you will see another banner come up in its place. Repeat it as many times as you want, and it will randomly select a new banner from the twelve or so we have loaded into the script. One other neat thing about this is that you can have the banners rotate on as many pages as you want and you only need to set the script up once on your site. We have it on about 20 pages of our site. All it takes is to put that one short line of code on the html page you want the banners to appear on. The more pages you have it on, the more exposure you get. If someone surfs six pages of your site and your happen to have the banner script on those pages, there is a good chance they will see six different banners. So where do you get it? While there are a number of the scripts available both for free and for a fee, we got ours for free from Cliff's Perl Scripts site. Just go to his site at: http://www.shavenferret.com/scripts and look for "Cliff's Banner Rotator Version 2.51". There was a link to it right on the first page the last time we were there. Then just download the files (there's only 3 small ones), follow the easy directions and upload it to your site. It is a great way to get exposure for the multiple activities that you might be involved in. You can put 2, 5, 8 or 12 like we have. You could even put different banners from the same program (we have two from the same program in the rotation). Be creative! You could even sell space on a rotating script! Take a look at it and see if you might be able to use it to your advantage and create a more economical use of your web real estate.

Dime n Ring Only Ten Dollars

2009-07-13T02:36:00.000-07:00

My mother used to tell me  ..To always tell the truth.  Of course, I kind of thought  ..That all the rest would, too.  The items that I ordered  ..From fast-talking radio ads  Led me to believe that  ..Perhaps I had been had.  The lesson to be leaed is  ..That ads should make you wary.  One claim you can be sure of  ..Is to trust in no truth fairies.

Did you ever buy something advertised on TV or in a magazine and was disappointed with the quality or the performance of the product? While it is impossible to change the way some companies advertise their products, here are a few clues that will wa you away from being cheated.

Over-the-counter medications are prime examples of the old caival pitch. If words like 'sometimes', helpful', bigger', or 'more effective' are used, then you know that without a comparative study and the percentages to go with them, these modifiers serve only to put a positive spin on the product. When a medication is helpful, does that mean one per cent of the time or ninety percent of the time? How often is sometimes and bigger than what? Products touted as 'amazing' or 'fantastic' get your adrenaline going, but don't let it get to your wallet. Personal recommendations are purely anecdotal and have nothing to do with a comparative blind study. Adjectives like 'incomparable', 'incredible' and 'unbelievable' often mean exactly what they say.

Infomercials touting the benefits of their own herbal concoction are safe in the fact that these dried plants and effusions will in no way harm anyone. Every mysterious ill that people worry about will find their way in this special concoction. The free bottle is usually followed by interminable payments that resist removal..

Skin products are rampant with false claims and mythical properties. In science class, we leaed that the human skin is practically impervious to anything you put on it except for some acids or strong alkali. A simple softening hand lotion is all you'll ever need and then only in unusual circumstances. Hair shampoo is another catch-all for superlatives. A bar of hand soap in soft water will wash your hair fifty times for eighty cents and do a great job.

I once ordered three 'Multi-fruit trees' from a magazine ad. The picture showed apples , pears, cherries and peaches growing from the same tree! I paid my $5.95 and received three dried out sticks wrapped in sphagnum moss. Not even Darwin himself could resurrect these specimens. Other similar items found their place in the attic, like FM transmitters (Fool your friends with your voice on the radio!), instant breast enhancers, fifteen watt bulbs that last forever, and an all-purpose stain remover that supposedly helps remove (almost) any stain.

So don't be taken in by the seemingly wonderful qualities of 'bargain' products. Rely on scientific studies, consumer reports and trial and error. If that doesn't work, ask your mother.

Retired portrait photographer. Any comments?

Don t Use Your Print Ad on Radio

2009-07-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you but I don't drive down the road with a pencil and paper on the seat.

Why then should you waste valuable advertising seconds on the radio by telling me your phone number?

Spend 20 minutes with local radio and you will hear more phone numbers than in most Yellow Pages.

Most radio ads are second thoughts. "Here take my ad in the paper and make something".

Trouble is, most radio people don't know squat about making a good ad so they take everything from the print ad and squeeze it in, including the phone number.

And who designed the print ad in the first place? The business owner, who wants a big bang for his buck, so he put it all in there, lines carried, years in business. Probably even a pic of the building, or worse, the owner's mug shot.

Telephone numbers, photos of the owners, grandiose statements that have nothing to do with good advertising.

The only time telephone numbers work in a radio ad is when the whole ad is built around getting the listener to remember the number. An excellent example comes from the Holiday Inn Hotel people. Their ad screams one 800 HOLIDAY. Great for remembering (a pain to dial).

They sell product when people call the number. Unless you can close the order on the phone and have a mnemonic to remember the number, don't waste seconds repeating your number on the air.

The only time your pic should be in the paper is when you give the Humane Society a truck load of dog food. The only time your voice should be on the radio is in a news sound byte from the dog shelter.

Benefits get the customer to your door, or on the phone. Offer to solve their problem and they will come to you. Help them remember your name and they will find you in the phone book. Help them remember your location and they will come thru the door.

"In the phone book under Veck, as in wreck" "Downtown, across from McDonald's" "On the highway, look for the giant Q in the sky"

Make your print ad all about benefits and use your radio ad to reinforce it and help them remember you and how to find you.

For more about advertising, get my article "What Does Your Business Cards Say?" MailTo:BizCardSay@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel, All Rights Reserved BIG Mike is a Business Consultant and Professional Speaker. His BIG Ideas Group helps business grow with promotions, special reports, mastermind groups and seminars. http://BigIdeasGroup.com

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Effective Promotions Through Local Classified Sites

2009-07-12T00:31:00.000-07:00

Today's online marketplace is extremely competitive. People want to market their products and services with the most cost effective manner possible. Some will market the old fashion way by placing ads in local newspapers while others will aggressively market on the Inteet for less money.

There are many online resources for marketing but the most attractive marketing medium is free online classifieds. The reason for this is obvious. It doesn't get much better than free. Thousands of people promote products and services everyday via online classified sites. Since classified sites are free users often do not bother to take the time to construct quality ads that sell. If your going to promote your product or service shouldn't it be done so you can get a reaction? The answers is yes!

The goal is to get a reaction. Those who place free classified ads should pay attention to detail. Describe your product or service by painting a clear and concise picture. If you answer all questions before they are asked it will save you a lot of time. If you opt not to specify details the prospective buyer might find a better advertisement.

Before writing up the classified ad you should look around at other ads to see how others with similar advertisements construct their ads. A good ad will be concise. It will be descriptive and it will be an eye catcher. When creating an ad for a product you should always try to include a picture to show what you are selling. A picture can sell better than a few lines of text. This doesn't mean writing isn't important because the two ad components (picture & text) compliment each other. Make sure to poof the layout and grammar of your classified ad before submission.

Visit PlugStar and take advantage of quality marketing.

Andrew Hillman owns and operates PlugStar - Americas Community Classified Site. Providing quality free classifieds for all local communities within the United States. Promote Services, Items for sale, real estate, jobs and community events.

Ezine Advertising Strategy Exposed

2009-07-11T08:32:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, Electronic Magazine (Ezine) advertising is the greatest, untapped source of online advertising available today. The reason: Ezine Advertising (EA) matches your product or idea to people with similar interests. Example: who better to sell your health product to than a large group of people subscribed to a health newsletter? Or, you could pitch a business opportunity to a group already subscribed to another ezine about MLM and Biz Ops! The idea of EA is fairly simple - but to make yours a success, you have to first determine which ezines or newsletters produce results, and which ones to avoid. After a year and a half of EA, I've created a formula that produces increasing profit because I've leaed how to avoid poor performing ezines and rip offs, while revealing the gems. Strategy for Profit I used to get ripped off about once for every 2 or 3 ezines I advertised in. They either took my money without running my ad (and ignored my subsequent emails), or my proven ads did too poorly for the money I paid. The reasons ranged from abandoned ezines with working payment links, unethical newsletter owners, to a lot of ignorance and impatience on my part. If you follow my proven strategy, you'll discover the best sources of ezines to advertise in - no matter who your target group is. And, you should see positive results every time. This article outlines the steps to making your EA a successful retu on investment (ROI). Writing Your Ad I won't go into details about ad writing, but if your ad is poorly written or untested, you should start with the cheapest ezines first. If you're really unsure of your writing abilities, I further suggest hiring a professional to write your ad for you. Because you can run your ad as many times as you want, your investment in a professional will more than pay for itself in the end. Target your advertising If you leap into EA without first researching your target group, you'll end up wasting a lot of time and money. Plus, you probably miss some of the best ezines available. To determine who your prospect is, take the time to list the possible keywords that directly relate to your product and do keyword searches for ezines, newsletters, and ezine directories. For example, if you sell herbs, a good keyword search would include: herbs, health, nutrition, supplements, etc. Avoid Co-ops While doing your ezine research, you will probably stumble upon the offer to use Co-op (bulk) advertising as the means for your EA. To be blunt, you should never pay to use Co-ops for your EA because they are too difficult to track and usually contain untargeted ezines. Worse still, you'd find that most never run your ad. Subscribe Now that you've found your ezine target group, you'll want to know whether the ezines you found are a good option (i.e. profitable) for your EA. I've found the best strategy for making this determination is to subscribe to the targeted ezines. To keep the subscriptions readily available for further research, I recommend creating a separate folder to store your subscription data. And because you'll need to subscribe to quite a few ezines, I also suggest creating separate email accounts dedicated to your ezine subscriptions. Double Opt-In Subscriptions In the process of subscribing, you'll quickly determine possible ezines to avoid. When you subscribe and get a notice that you must confirm your subscription, the ezine is referred to as "double opt-in". Double opt-in ezines indicates a better quality of subscribers with a lower risk of bulk email addresses. For you and me, this means better ad responses (yeah!). Solo Ads Within the first week of your new ezine subscription, you should see solo ads from other advertisers. If not, the ezine may be too new, or worse, no one is advertising because of poor results. Worse yet, the ezine took the advertiser's money and failed to run the ad. On the other hand, if you see two or more solo ads a day, their list is probably bued out due to over advertising. You're looking for no more than one ad a day, or a minimum of one ad a week. Keep watching! Subject Line Does the ezine put the advertiser's subject line in the subject of the email or do they just say something like "Solo ad from xyz ezine"? Your subject line is the most important part of your ad and definitely should be in the subject of the email.No subject line equals no response. Advertiser Response Repeat (or regular) advertisers in an ezine is a very good sign that the subscribers are responsive. To further test responsiveness, I recommend looking through the ezine's online archives (if available). Archives are previous email publications that the publisher has posted to their website for visitors to view. The archive search is not only quick and easy, but archives can also provide an extra trickle of visitors when your ad gets archived. Testimonial Page After passing the above steps, see if your prospective ezine has a testimonial page. If the ezine has gotten this far, chances are it will. Waiting Period Another indicator of responsive subscribers is the waiting period to run an ad in the chosen ezine. If the waiting period is a month or more, this indicates a very popular ezine with responsive readers. You've uncovered a real gem! Web Forms I've found that the better ezines have web forms that get your ad to the publisher's inbox and usually send auto confirmation of receipt. If there is no web form, try emailing the publisher a question first, like when the next ad run date is. No response may indicate a poor choice in the ezine, or your email was filtered or blocked as spam. Wait at least 2 days and try emailing again using a different email account. If your emails still don't get through, neither will your ad. (Ironically, your payment always go through). Trust me, if they fail to communicate, save your money and time and move on. Free Classifieds If the ezine offers free classifieds, this is another good place to run your ad. Since classifieds usually don't produce responses, any activity from your ad here would further indicate an active readership. Ad Tracking Never advertise without using an ad tracker. You can purchase one or better, use one of the many available online for free. Ad trackers give you a url that you use in place of your website address. The new url gives you important information like how many visitors you had, where they came from, and some list the number of sales per visitor. This tracking information is crucial to the direction of your ad campaign because you'll lea of the need to change your ad and/or the sales page. More importantly, you'll know for certain whether the ezine produced enough visitors for the advertising price you paid. Run Your Ad Twice If your ad produced a great response, wait a week or two and run the ad again in the same ezine. I've found you'll probably get as good if not better results the second time around. I would advise against running the ad a third time in a row because most of your prospects will be found in the first two runs. Rotating Ads Once your ad has been tested and you have a base of 5-10 solid, performing ezines, start rotating your ad between your ezines. For optimal results, make sure 2-3 months have passed before running your ad in the same publication. Keep building your base and watch your profits grow!

Free well almost Advertising and Lead Generation

2009-07-11T01:48:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me today, while driving along a road that I travel quite regularly that a lot of home business people are missing out on great low cost and almost free advertising. Why did I come to this realization while driving down that road that I've driven down time and time again? Because I read the same sign that I read each and every time I drive that road - "Ron Bus Equipment Rentals Open Mon-Sat". There is a multitude of inexpensive ways to advertise and generate leads for your business! Id you're not taking advantage of this stuff - your competitor probably is! Don't spend ALL your money on purchasing leads and taking ads out in papers. These are definitely viable and productive means to generate business. However, they are not the only way to do so.

Post inexpensive signs along the roadside. Attach these to lamp posts or staple them to a stake and stick them in the ground. The best places to do so are at intersections - anywhere where traffic has to stop or at the very least, slow down. If you'd like to get fancy, you can purchase some treated foam poster board from your local office supply store and some vinyl lettering. These are weather resistant, inexpensive and will last for some time.

Put a raffle box at your local convenience store. Cover a tissue box with wrapping paper. Print out a short blurb about your business along with a description of what you're raffling. Cut it out and tape it to the front of the tissue box. Print out numerous entries for people to complete (name, telephone, email address). Finally, tie a piece of string to a pencil and tape the string to the bottom of the tissue box. Pop in daily to extract your leads and draw one of the names at the end of the month!

If you're hosting a garage/lawn sale, include your brochures at the table where people will pay you for their purchases.

For Halloween, make up goodie bags and insert a business card into each goodie bag. The parents will get the card when they check the kids' treats!

Flyers - For the most effective and least expensive flyers, get yourself a Sharpie marker and on a white piece of paper, tell people in two sentences or less why they should contact you. Note your name, telephone number and website address at the bottom. Go to your local office supply store and purchase some eye catching neon paper (you can usually find this on the clearance rack) and make photocopies of your flyers. Hand deliver them throughout your neighborhood.

Offer a discount or special gift to your current customers/clients for referring others to you.

If recruiting is part of your business, the next time you're at your local mall (or any store you frequent, for that matter), ask to speak with the manager. Let he or she know that you're looking for some people that would like to make X amount of dollars, working part time and you would like the names of five of his or her best sales people that stop in. You may get a bonus and have the manager ask about your opportunity, as well!

If you work outside the home as well, take samples to your workplace for your co-workers to try. Tell them what you're doing and how much money you're making. Ask them if they know someone who'd be interested in doing the same and if they'd know someone who would enjoy your products. Don't ask them to sign up - ask for a referral. That way, they don't feel like they're being put on the spot. And you may get two for the price of one!

Send samples to your childrens' teachers, day car workers, babysitters, etc as a thank you gift. Make sure to enclose your business card!

Email signatures. These can be easily set up! Attach your signature to the end of each email, including your name, website address, and a tag line.

Stamps. You can purchase customizable stamps at your local office supply store. Use it on all of your outgoing mail: Name, address, website address, tag line.

Include a business card with all of your bill payments (if you're not doing them all online). You never know if that person who's opening the mail, is sick and tired of that job and is looking for something else!

Well, that should get you started and keep you busy for a little while. I'll be sure to post more of these tips as time goes on. So, keep your eyes peeled!

Business Ideas 5 Uncommon Ways To Generate More Online Business

2009-07-10T04:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, it is not an obvious business idea that will make you more money.

It may be what is not so obvious, which most people never think of that may make you money.

I will now tell you a few of these business ideas.

Use them well and succeed.

1. Ask people to find a hidden link in your ad copy. If they find the hidden link tell them they will get a prize or freebie by clicking on it. This will increase the chance that they will buy your product or service because they will read your whole ad copy.

2. Start a members only web site. Tell visitors what's in your members only site and what it costs to get access. Offer them a free membership, if, in exchange they link to your web site, post your banner on their home page or agree to advertise your web site in their e-zine for a set period of time. Usually they will agree to the free advertising to save money. This is a powerful way to get free advertising.

3. Want a popular discussion board? This technique is based on the number of postings made by any one person. You could give away a free product or service to any person that posts ten or more messages on your discussion in a month. It could be a free e-book, report, e-mail consulting etc. Just keep track of everyone's postings each month. This could also work for e-mail discussion lists.

4. Give your visitors an instant article directory. Tell your visitors they can instantly add a free article directory to their web site by linking to yours. Just place your ad or banner ad on top of the article directory for your main product or service. All those links can add up to a large amount of traffic for your web site.

5. There a millions of web sites on the inteet. Instead of marketing your web site as a web site. Market it as a free web book. Design your web site with a title page, table of contents, chapters, etc. Just place your ad or banner for your product or service on the top of each web page.

May these business ideas help you to make a lot of money.

Warmly,

I-key Benney, CEO

I-key, a Millionaire CEO from New York City is the creator of "Mscsrrr: Millionaire Secret Cash System", (home based business) which has helped thousands of ordinary people from all over the world to attain financial security and shining success during the past 2 yrs.

Mscsrrr Millionaire Cash System helps you to generate $1,500+/Week for life, from home or office, part time or full time. No large investment or hassles. Win $1000-$2000 free "cash"…

Five Characteristics of Highly Successful Advertising

2009-07-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever spent a small fortune on advertising that generated disappointment rather than sales?

Many small business owners have been down the road of flat advertising results and are at a loss when it comes to developing new ideas to improve the response to their ads.

Whether you run ads in your local newspaper, your industry's top periodical or on-line, you need your investment in advertising to pay for itself, and then some, in order to justify its cost.

If your ads aren't generating the interest you want in your products and services they may be suffering from one of the five common mistakes small business owners and professional service providers make when developing and delivering their advertising.

Here is a list of five qualities common to successful small business advertising campaigns.

Zero in on Your Best Prospects

Many small business owners make the mistake of thinking bigger is better when they choose a medium in which to run their ads and opt to spend their advertising dollars to reach a larger but less focused market.

For example, if your company specializes in helping law firms reduce the cost of long, ongoing cases and you choose to run a series of full page ads in the New York Times instead of the New York Law Joual you will likely be disappointed by the response to your campaign. Despite reaching the considerably larger audience of the New York Times your would be missing the focused attention of the legal minded readership of the New York Law Joual.

Be sure to zero in on your market. You will increase the likelihood that the readers who see your ad will actually have a need for your service.

Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd

Unless your business sells a product or service that is completely unique and faces no competition your ads need to set your products or services apart from the crowd of your competitors.

If you are the owner of a pet supply company and your ads simply say, "We Sell Pet Supplies" they will be passed over along with every other bland advertisement for Fido's food.

On the other hand, your ads will stand out and attract much more attention to your shop if you state that you sell, "King Sized Bones and Bowls for the Royalty in Your Family."

By focusing your ads on the owners of large breed dogs you distinguish yourself from the crowd of pet shops that simply sell pet supplies and make it clear to the owners of large dogs that you sell what they need.

Be sure the copy of your ads has the effect of making what you offer unique. Your highly targeted prospects will reward you by noticing the difference in your ads and buying from you.

Demonstrate Value

Another property of a highly effective advertisement is that it demonstrates the value your products and services provide. By demonstrating value in your advertisements you give your prospects a clear idea of the benefits you provide and a clear reason to buy from you. Demonstrating value can also help you set yourself apart from you competitors.

How can you change your ads to demonstrate the value you provide? What special offers can you make to set yourself apart from the pack?

Focus on client problems

Consumers buy products and services because they fill a need or solve a problem. If your ad copy does not address your prospects' problems they will never know that you provide the solution they need.

If you are recovering from knee surgery and need to work with a physical therapist to regain your full range of motion, would you be more likely to choose a therapist who advertises his new and mode equipment or the one who advertises that she will have your knee working and feeling like new again in just three weeks?

Be sure to focus your ads on your clients' problems. You will win more business as more and more prospects come to see you as the solution to their problem.

Require Action

The final aspect of a highly effective ad is a call to action. If you've done your job up until this point, your prospect has read your ad. If your ad does not finish the job and inspire your prospect to contact you for more information or visit your store or your web site, it is not worth the money you spent to have it published.

Don't assume that your prospects know what they should do next. You need to tell them to be sure they know.

If you've gotten their attention, demonstrated your value and shown them that you are the solution to their problem, don't waste your good work by neglecting to instruct them to take the next step and contact you.

If all this seems like a lot to accomplish in one advertisement, you need not worry. A well-written marketing message will take care of most of the details of writing a highly effective ad.

Do you have a marketing message you can use to consistently deliver effective ads and position your business as the solution to your client's problems? You should.

The author, Jeremy Cohen, helps small business owners and professional service providers attract more clients, grow their business and be more successful with his marketing and web site enhancement coaching service and his marketing guides. Get his free guide: Jumpstart Marketing: More Profits, Clients and Success at: http://www.bettermarketingresults.com/marketing-services/asp

Free Traffic Source

2009-07-09T03:57:00.000-07:00

Free Targeted Traffic Source Report Doing business successfully online is all about one thing. It's not about how good your website looks, there are over a billion web page today who will find yours. Gone are the days when if you built it they would come. It's not about how profitable your product is, or how useful that item you are selling is. Successful online businesses have one thing in common. Real and large amounts of targeted traffic. Even the ugliest website with targeted traffic I guarantee you is making sales. The big problem facing the small net entrepreneur is costs. The best traffic sources are from the search engines. 1)Either your website is first in it's respective search term. 2)You pay to list your website in the advertising section of the respective S.E'S Getting your website in the first position is a task so tedious that this is just not an option to many people. Paying for traffic can be expensive. The one way that people can get targeted traffic is from online forums and discussion groups. Try these two exercises. Goto google.com and type in Forums you will get a huge amount of results. Next type in roach forums, pink elephant forums. The point is if you can think of it there is probably a forum about it. It is a little known fact that the fastest way to become recognized as an expert in your field is to contribute helpful and valuable posts on a regular basis in the forums that your target market hangs out in. Now the way to go is to join as many forums in your target market group as you can and then constantly participate in posting messages. Most forums allow you to put your advert in your post signature. Some forums even have an advertising section where by you can place your message in intervals that are determined by the forum administrator. The reason forums are so powerful in getting your website traffic is that real people goto these forums every single day looking for information etc. Now comes the problem. After 1 month of joining and posting to forums you could be a member of 100's of forums. Managing all those forums and posts will prove to be a problem. The solution. Russell Brunson's forum fortunes. Automate Your Forum Message Posting and Replies With Forum Fortunes. This award winning one of kind software lets you manage your forum postings so that you will quickly be recognised as an expert in your particular field. Take a look at this award winning software http://beam.to/kigo NB Remember whatever you are selling from curios to cars, real estate to holidays your target market congregates every day searching for your product on forums. http://beam.to/kigo

Custom Banners

2009-07-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

If you can't find a banner that meets your needs, and can custom design your own. You can customize your banner and distinguish yourself from hundreds of banners seen everyday. You can then submit your specification to a banner production company; they will produce it for you.

Make your design simple – the simpler the design, the easier it is to read. People glance at banners as they are passing or driving by. They will not take in minute details, so the less said the better. If you're advertising for a road race, give the facts like name, date and location. Also include a number or location to go to for more information. Attractive designs with direct to the point or edgy captions work best. Consult a graphic designer or ad copywriter for advice on this point.

Captions or any words printed on your banner should be in large fonts, and a combination of contrasting colors will work well. The key is to outline the letters with white to separate the colors. If you have at least a sentence to print use a banner that is a horizontal, rectangular shape. This will allow you to maximize the surface of the banner. Drop banners, or those placed vertically are usually for one-product advertisements, with very short captions. Squares are also used for the same purpose. Again, stick to simplicity. A professional artist can help you transform your bright idea into a life-sized banner. To save time and fees, be as specific and detailed as possible with your directions.

Banners provides detailed information on Banners, Custom Banners, Church Banners, Vinyl Banners and more. Banners is affiliated with Neon Signs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Josh_Riverside

Captions that PULL your customers TO you

2009-07-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of so and so? Do you continually waste time and money trying to so and so? Then try our amazing so and so! We guarantee so and so or your money back. Plus if you purchase so and so now we will offer you so and so FREE! "I was continuously wasting my money with products that didn't work for me. But after trying so and so I am amazed by so and so- J.Smith". Are you MARY SCOTT getting the results YOU want? Then become a so and so now and discover the secrets of so and so! You too can ea $9999 a week with this so and so program on so and so! Any of the above 'so and so' catchphrases sound familiar to you? I have just listed 9 to 10 types of captions that will give your ad that extra uumph for luring your customers TO you! These captions are the key to making your ad/product act as a powerful magnet, giving it a strong pulling power that will help your advertising work. They are captions with the: 1. Problem solving style, 2. Direct Target style, 3. Guarantee offer style, 4. Testimonial style, 5. Free and value-added offer style, 6. Personalised style, 7. Benefits offered style, or, 8. How-To style. You can use the problem solving style by adding captions that ask readers questions and then giving them solutions. Ask questions that will generate the answers 'YES' from your readers, such as "Are you suffering from backaches?" and "Are you tired of looking for someone who will rub your back for you?" and then tell them how your product will solve these problems. This way, you can easily capture the attention of your target market. It acts on the frustrations that the reader may be experiencing at that time and proceeds to offer a solution to solve it. This is a powerful approach to capture the attention and interest of your prospects. The direct target style is another effective way getting to your prospects. Captions are specifically designed to target a particular market. When using this style, specifically mention who you are directing the ad/product to. For example, if your target market is small businesses, direct your caption like this: "Small Business Owners, lea how to market your business online with step-by-step instructions". The guarantees offer style is perhaps the most frequently used tool. Placing a guarantee offer, such as "Results in 30 days or your money back guarantee!" with your product makes readers feel more secure knowing that they can always get their investments back. Many readers resist purchasing something because of the risk of losing their money spent on a product that does not work for them. People LOVE guarantees! This is a benefit that is attractive to them. Speaking of risks, testimonials by your existing customers can be a powerful tool in washing away the doubts that your prospects may have. Testimonials give a shot of credibility to your product and they take away that hesitation in dealing with an unknown business. Testimonials are more compelling when coming from celebrities, well-known people, and people admired by your prospects. Free, discounted and/or value-added products/services included in your caption will give readers that extra incentive to purchase your product. This style attracts people because they can see a saving and they will continue reading the rest of the ad. Perfect for those of you having limited offers and sales. Tell your readers in no uncertain terms what's in it for THEM. For example, "Order within 10 days and we will also send you the so and so report valued at $49.95 for FREE!", or, "Purchase 1000 email addresses and get the next 1000 for half the price". You can also use yet another powerful way to get attention from your reader with the personalised style. Here, your caption uses your target's name. This style is particularly effective with e-mail advertising and direct mailing. Place the person's name in the caption like so: "Jane Smith, Here's How You Can Tu A $25 Classified Into a $10,000 investment retu". Readers will always look for WHAT'S IN IT FOR THEM. That is why the benefits offered style is a strong tool for pulling your customers TO you. Tell readers how THEY can benefit from your product. For example, "Join our Affiliate Program for FREE AND You Will Discover the Secrets to Successful Online Marketing AND Ea Income Just By Referring People to our Web Site". And then of course there's the how-to style. This type of caption speaks for itself. It is especially useful if your product is one that teaches or offers knowledge of a particular field. This method is powerful because most people are very curious and want to lea all sorts of things… especially when it involves moneymaking and establishing skills that are particularly useful to them. An example of the how-to caption is "Discover How You Can Ea $500 or More While You Sleep With Little or No Investment." As an endnote, when designing your caption/headline, take your time and write down as many captions as possible and ask other people for opinions and which works for them best. Choose a caption that is suitable to your target market and your product and test your ad with different captions to see which caption gets you the most pulling power. Use as many words as it takes to reach your target audience but be clear and straight to the point. Most importantly, design your caption to attract readers' interest by promising benefits. Remember… readers are drawn and aroused by What's In It For Them! Good Luck!

Click Fraud Threatening the Internet Economy

2009-07-05T23:29:00.000-07:00

One of the most popular forms of Inteet advertising is pay-per-click (PPC). Merchants place ads with search engines like Google or MSN and the ad appears whenever someone enters a relevant search. If the ad is clicked the merchant pays a fee – anywhere from 5 cents to $100. It's a fabulous idea – ad campaigns targeted at your most likely customers. It's such a fabulous idea that Google, the king of PPC, grossed $1.24 billion in the first 3 months of this year – most of it from advertising revenue. Watch out, though. There's trouble in PPC land. The flip side to PPC is a phenomenon called "click fraud" or "click spam." There are two types of click fraud. The first type occurs when someone maliciously clicks on your PPC ad to drive up your advertising costs. It could be a competitor or a disgruntled former employee. The second type of fraud involves clicking on affiliate ads to generate income. Affiliate ads are placed on third party web sites and each time someone clicks on an affiliate ad the web site owner receives a commission. Industry observers believe that affiliate click fraud is the biggest problem of the two. Either way, the result is the same – advertising budget depletion with little gain for the merchant. Either type of click fraud can be accomplished with the use of automated "robots" or by hiring an army of workers. The India Times reported in 2004 that a "growing number of housewives, college graduates, and even working professionals across metropolitan cities are rushing to click paid Inteet ads to make $100 to $200 per month." How serious is the problem? It's hard to judge exactly, but click fraud is commonly estimated at 20% to 35% of all PPC ad campaigns. A recently launched lawsuit alleges that Google is aware of the magnitude of click fraud and does not do enough to alert advertisers of the problem. The class action suit launched by Click Defence says that "Google has an inherent conflict of interest in preventing click fraud since it derives the same amount of income from each fraudulent click as it does from each legitimate click." The $10 million lawsuit quotes Google Chief Financial Officer George Reyes as saying that click fraud is "the biggest threat to the Inteet economy." Click Defense is a Colorado company specializing in click fraud detection. They claim that they themselves became a victim of click fraud when they advertised with Google's Adwords program this year. They are seeking damages for breach of contract, negligence, unjust enrichment, and unfair business practices. A Google spokesman said that the case is unmerited and that Google will defend itself "vigorously."

Extranets for Advertising Agencies

2009-07-05T00:45:00.000-07:00

Ideally, clients and agencies have aligned interests, and they usually do. Today there are real challenges to that important alignment, forcing clients and agencies to look for new and better ways to collaborate. Enter easy-to-use, web based extr anets. What is an extranet? Specifically, an extranet is a private web site that provides a secure environment for a select group of users to share documents and information. Although it is accessed through a web browser, such as Inteet Explorer, it differs from a public web site in that it can be used only by an audience that has permission to access it through the use of IDs and passwords. Agencies use extranets as a client service tool to share documents with clients and vendors, to organize projects, and to archive previous work for direct client access. There is no limit on the size of files that can be posted, allowing agencies to share text documents, graphics, audio, video, message boards, and data. Often, extranets are used to replace email as a means to communicate within and across work groups. Unlike email, all communication is secure and any size document can be exchanged. Plus, an extranet provides a system for filing all the documents into project-related folders as part of the exchange process. An extranet increases agency efficiency and makes a client's life easier by saving time and frustration. An extranet facilitates faster and easier access to materials. Essentially, it is a web-based filing cabinet shared by the agency and its client. Controlled by the agency, it puts both current projects and past work within easy reach at any time, resulting in significant time savings for both you and your client. It provides instant client feedback and a permanent record of all comments and activity. Input and decisions are fully documented, and the work-flow moves faster in a more informed environment. In addition to supporting day-to-day client service, extranets can be used in a variety of ways. Agencies with retail clients use them to service retail locations throughout the country, or to support clients with multiple offices that need a single source for the agency's work. Choosing an extranet As with all ad agency software, when choosing an extranet there are a variety of choices, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you examine the alteatives: Does it support the way you work now? If you have to change the way you work, it's possible that your staff will be reluctant to use it. The extranet design should allow you to move forward without upsetting the way you and your clients currently work together. Will your staff and client want to use it? The more complex the extranet, the less it will be used. Consider carefully the features that you really need, and choose an extranet that offers only those features. That will assure that it's easy to lea, and easy to use. Does it have the tools your agency needs? Make sure that the extranet supports all the applications used in agency/client collaboration. For instance, assure that it will stream audio and video. And look for tools that allow you to create folder structures that mimic your current approach to communicating, filing work, etc. Today, clients have less and less time. Projects are moving faster and faster, and there is less administrative support available to both client and agency. An extranet addresses these issues directly, and offers the advantage of having all pertinent information available 24/7 from literally anyplace on the globe, within a highly secure environment. Ultimately, the case for an extranet is driven by everyone's desire to be more efficient and effective, with less frustration and aggravation.

Convention Advertising Infinite Possibilities

2009-07-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

You know what sucks? Really hoping to aspire to something and wanting to be that thing, yet making absolutely no headway in your attempts. Its broken dreams, its lost understanding of oneself, its exactly the kind of thing that pushes someone into being an "associate" for silly operations like Amway. Unfortunately that is exactly where I am in my life.

What I want to be, yet have thusfar mustered total failure, is a convention guy. I want to go to conventions. I have my first choices, but would settle for just about any kind. I feel as certain that either the Democratic National Convetion or the Republican version would off someone unprecedented opportunities to party. I had a big phase in my first year in college where I salivated at the thought of rocking a Kiss convention. But, the original convention that tempted my wildest dreams was a Star Trek Convention. I can't even imagine how insane the after parties would be.

It is this personal historical fact that prevents me from completely trashing online business, advertising and networking conventions. Although, most of these guys are probably pretty depressing to be around for 52 weeks of the year, I just have a feeling they'd be ready for anything come convention week. Unlike a Start Trek convention where the people you'd be watching the sun come up with would probably inherently real cool people, where you're laughing with them; the online advertisers could most certainly supply ample amounts of material to laugh at. Really, I have no preference if I'm laughing with someone or at them, so long as I'm laughing. Plus, when you have s group of people that are so tightly wound and are on their string form day to day, when you open the flood gates, I bet there's a burst of pressure that could wipe a medium sized city right off the map…and that's the kind of party I'm looking for.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Tony Mirabales has written extensively for the web. His websites include Ganar Dinero and Ganar Dinero Extra

Free Items Offered on the Net Helps Sell Product and Helps Promote our Web Site

2009-07-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

The net is a free market at is best. Our inteet users all love free stuff. So we try to give them what they want. Free items. This is a lesson that I leaed many years ago. I always try to offer a customer something that is free. Customers remember the free item more than items that they buy. Of all the different types of adds that I have run over the years, its the free offers that people cut out and save. After all think about ccoupons that people save. They don't collect product adds they will collect coupons. That is why I like to always advertise my free items. I even plan days around free give aways. When customers are at nursery I will even make up a free offer on the spot many times such as when I ask the customer, " Do you know what day it is? Do you know its free LILac day? Let me show you a Lilac that is free today". I will then give them a lilac and say such things as every landscape needs at least one lilac. I can them show them all the different lilacs that we have and promote many different lilacs. I never give away a teaser. I make the free plant a quality gift of real value. This is what is remembered by customers. This is a copy of my most recent email newsletter. This was an overwhelming success. We had an estimated 600% weekly sales gain by using this newsletter add. *********************************************************** January 2006 The Early Bird Gets the Worm---Don't Delay Free Tree Day Jan. 28th is a Free Higan Weeping Cherry Tree Day Greetings! January 28, 2006 is free Weeping Higan Cherry Tree Day.....All members of our email club can receive a free Higan Weeping Cherry when you bring your pickup to our 5275 West Swamp Rd. Fountainville Pa. location. These trees are 10-12' tall and in 24" baskets. These trees must be picked up on the 28th, before 5pm. sorry, no rain checks. There is a limit of one per family and you must have been a member on or before January 27, 2006 of our email club. Sincerely, Bill Hirst Free Tree Day Jan. 28th, 2006 is Free Tree Day 5275 W. Swamp Rd. Fountainville, Pennsylvania 18923 January 28, 2006 8:00AM-5:00PM Reasons to Come to this Event We are selling 150 acres of our nursery and we must liquidate many trees and plants. Some of of plants are in quantities that would supply us for many years of sales. But we can't move that number of trees. Thus they will be either sold at a discount, destroyed, or given away. I like the last option. Thus if you bring your pickup to the farm today, Saturday the 28th, we will give away 1 free Higan Weeping cherry to each email newsletter subscriber to Highland Hill Farm that picks up the tree by 5PM. Sorry you must be have be signed up by Jan. 27th, to qualify. There are no rain checks. These trees are in 24 and 28 inch baskets and are app. 10-14' tall. We will help load them in your pickup. We have a total of 75 trees ready to give away while the supply lasts. All other trees and plants are 20% off today. Driving Directions to the Farm Highland Hill Farm 5275 W. Swamp Rd. Rt. 313 Fountainville, Pennsylvania 18923 myhirst@yahoo.com http://www.seedlingsrus.com We will have other free tree offerings each month. So keep in touch. ************************************************************** Within 15 minutes of this email being sent people started to arrive to make selections. We would have had no customers on this day. Yet we sold enough other stock to make this offering possible. We gave away 52 trees and this was even covered by the press showing up and giving us exposure in local papers.

Don t Waste Your Time Searching for Opportunities Read This

2009-07-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

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An EZ Fast Growing Hardy Tree The Arborvitae

2009-07-02T19:02:00.000-07:00

Whenever someone asks me for suggestions on EZ to plant trees and shrubs for the Yardley Pa. area, I always begin with Arborvitae. Arborvitae are commonly used evergreen shrubs or trees useful in urban areas where low maintenance and durability is needed. Many varieties with forms such as being globed in shape, columnar, or narrow pyramidal, tend to be near buildings, doors, and walkways. Other forms which are larger are used for screens and buffers that are planted in rows. The form of arborvitae is small, medium, or large depending on the variety. Some reach 50', others only 3'. Most prefer full sun to partial sun. Planting in dense shade conditions should be avoided. A moist , well drained, loamy soil in full sunlight are ideal conditions for growing healthy arborvitae. These plants will tolerate rocky, clay, urban conditions of heat drought and pollution. The most important pest we have is bag worms which must be controlled to prevent complete defoliation. Some varieties have multiple leaders which also prove to be a detraction for the plant. Pruning out multiple leaders in some varieties is a simple remedy. Our most popular Arborvitae is the Emerald Green arborvitae. Many people prefer to spell them Arbor Vitae . It is a bright light green color and narrow in shape. It makes a distinctive and impressive natural fence. It is easy to grow ,plant, and keep in shape. The Hetz Midget arborvitae is a dwarf globe variety. This is a good choice for along walkways and gardens. This is a tough plant that is easy to install and not going to cost a lot. It will maintain its color in the winter and will withstand snow loads well. We carry these plants in 2 and 3 gal. pots. The prices on these dwarfs vary from $15 to $30 depending on size and quantity ordered. Another small arborvitae that we grow in pots is the Rheingold arborvitae. This is a small globe shaped plant that has a golden green cast to it in the summer and a bronze winter color. We also have the American Arborvitae known as "Tiny Tim".This arborvitae grows in zone 2 - 7. Its is a needled evergreen in the Cupressaceae Family. It will grow in height from a half a foot to 1 foot tall. Its spread will be about 1 to 1.5 feet. This is a plant that requires little work. Selecting quality arborvitae for the home landscape : When you get to the nursery or garden center where you will buy your arborvitae, pick out the healthiest, most robust plants that have no evidence of disease or insect damage. The potting medium should be moist, but not wet, and the roots should well dispersed in the medium. Arborvitae that have roots growing from the drainage holes or circling the top of the pot are less desirable. Many people choose to buy arbs from a mail order company, which is perfectly acceptable. However, realize that most woody plants purchased from mail order catalogs will be shipped dormant and bare root, that is, without any soil attached to the root system. Such plants may be smaller in size because of the expense of shipping. It is important to plant such material immediately upon arrival. Generally it is best to purchase one-year-old material from mail order companies since this material is more vigorous and will transplant better. The larger material that is offered is often composed of the less vigorous plants held over from previous years. Most large sized arbs are balled and burlaped. Don't buy any arbs bare rooted over 3' tall. Any plant larger should be balled and burlaped. We have thousands of arbs and always have hundreds ready for you to pickup. From 2' to 15' we have inventory balled and burlaped. Don't worry about driving long distances to get to us. We are easy to get to near Phila., on a major road, Rt. 313 in Fountainville Pa.. We want to move our stock and will make sure that you go home a happy camper. If you are coming from a long distance, we will give away free inventory that is surplus to our needs. One of our fields is being converted into ball and soccer fields and work will begin Nov. 25 2005. Stock in this field will go cheap. We will stay open til the last dog dies or we sell out. I think we have more stock than what we possibly can sell. You can see our web sites at: HTTP://www.seedlingsrus.com HTTP://www.highlandhillfarm.com HTTP://www.zone5trees.com

Creating Remarkable Poster Prints through 4 Color Poster Printing

2009-07-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

Moreover the striking, brilliant and vivid colors are the reason why we are attracted to the posters that we see.

Posters had been a very beneficial marketing tool because it had paved to deliver an effective message that conveyed customer's attention. It had been widely used for acquiring customer's attention. Having them hanged with color prints had effectively grabbed customer's attention and it had resulted to end up gaining more customers and boosting up companies sales.

With the appealing and attractive colors that we see, we are yet daunted and persuaded to be attentive to what is being presented. Primarily the poster itself can initiate a good communication but an added color feature can be a best way of conveying more attention.

Are we aware of what printing applications are applied to it? Well with the services that commercial printers are providing colored poster prints are developed through the 4 color poster printing process. Mainly this printing process applied is an effective way of generating full color poster prints.

The 4 color poster printing had paved to change the color printing revolution. This process had worked out to deliver easy and fast printing jobs and thus developing unique out put of professional quality and satisfactory result. Generally the process involves the utilization of the four standard color inks which are known as C-M-Y-K (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). This colors when are being added creates a well detailed, vibrant and crisp color prints that make audience tu their heads.

Pertaining to the inks applied, commercial printing services provides wide selection of exceptional quality durable inks that protects the poster prints from image dilapidation and protecting the designs from the flaws of changing weather. The various inks offered can impose precise color pictures and excellent images for the marketing material.

Mainly creating a remarkable poster prints through 4 color poster printing can now be highly achieved. For, there are lost of commercial printers that are well equipped with the materials and equipments that can run the processes.

Since you are aiming to deliver an effective marketing campaign tool for your promotion you have to be watchful with the printer you are about to render your services. Because as a business that pays for the job you have the right to get what is due you. And for the company they must also comply to provide an excellent service and as well as provide customer the satisfaction they need.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Please visit Poster Printing USA site at www.posterprintingusa.com/FourColorPosterPrinting.html for comments and inquiries regarding this article.

Dramatic Advertising That Sells

2009-07-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Think about the last car purchase you made... Did you watch closely for advertisements that explained all of the features before you bought the car? Probably not. In fact, studies show that most of us notice the ads AFTER we have purchased our new car.

Let's face it... consumers are emotionally driven. They make purchases for the feeling they get, and then look for the logical benefits to justify the purchase. That's why we notice all of those ads after the fact!

Wise marketers make good use of this insightful knowledge. Good advertisements get the benefits in front of the customers so vividly that they experience the benefits before they even buy the product. Once they see themselve enjoying it, they've just "gotta have it!"

1 Make It Picture Perfect
Forget about your product or service for a minute and focus on the consumer. What will he enjoy when he has dug out his money and taken home your product? Put yourself in his shoes, and then describe the experience in vividly dramatic detail.

What does it feel like to be a stay-at-home mom and still be able to make money? Describe the freedom, the confidence, the things she'll be able to afford. Tell the story in bright words that compel the reader to enter and experience it for themselves.

You've caught them... hook line and sinker once they've experienced those feelings. Chances are they've dreamed about them, and now the know they can fulfill the dream through your product or service.

2. Throw In The Logic They'll Need to Justify Themselves Later.
You've probably met up with the "after the sale jitters." You make the purchase, enjoy it for a day or two and then it hits home... you've got a payment to make and start wondering if you've made the right choice.

Sure, your customers will second guess themselves after they make the purchase too... that's why you need to supply the logic for the sale upfront - even though you know they buy for emotional satisfaction.

Let them know that it's a special, reduced price... if they buy it now. That'll make them feel better about not waiting.

Tell them about other customers who are "glad they did" to make them feel like they aren't alone. Others thought it was the thing to do too so it must have been.

Hey, the customer who enjoys the product, and can feel good about the purchase is one satisfied customer who'll do business with you again. Take care to set your advertising campaign up for success.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care? Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can lea more about Allyn Cutts at www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Easte Time Tuesdays and Thursdays. Submitted with Article Distributor.

Dramatic Advertising That Sells

Let's face it... consumers are emotionally driven. They make purchases for the feeling they get, and then look for the logical benefits to justify the purchase. That's why we notice all of those ads after the fact!

Wise marketers make good use of this insightful knowledge. Good advertisements get the benefits in front of the customers so vividly that they experience the benefits before they even buy the product. Once they see themselve enjoying it, they've just "gotta have it!"

1. Make It Picture Perfect

Forget about your product or service for a minute and focus on the consumer. What will he enjoy when he has dug out his money and taken home your product? Put yourself in his shoes, and then describe the experience in vividly dramatic detail.

What does it feel like to be a stay-at-home mom and still be able to make money? Describe the freedom, the confidence, the things she'll be able to afford. Tell the story in bright words that compel the reader to enter and experience it for themselves.

You've caught them... hook line and sinker once they've experienced those feelings. Chances are they've dreamed about them, and now the know they can fulfill the dream through your product or service.

2. Throw In The Logic They'll Need to Justify Themselves Later

You've probably met up with the "after the sale jitters." You make the purchase, enjoy it for a day or two and then it hits home... you've got a payment to make and start wondering if you've made the right choice.

Sure, your customers will second guess themselves after they make the purchase too... that's why you need to supply the logic for the sale upfront - even though you know they buy for emotional satisfaction.

Let them know that it's a special, reduced price... if they buy it now. That'll make them feel better about not waiting.

Tell them about other customers who are "glad they did" to make them feel like they aren't alone. Others thought it was the thing to do too so it must have been.

Hey, the customer who enjoys the product, and can feel good about the purchase is one satisfied customer who'll do business with you again. Take care to set your advertising campaign up for success.

Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care?

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can lea more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Easte Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Consistency is key

2009-06-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

One of the things that stops many small business owners or managers from starting to advertise is that they feel that they can't commit to running the ad that they would like to run on a regular basis. This idea is both a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. Let's look at the good side for a minute. This school of thought is good because it keeps the business owner or manager from investing in a large ad and then stopping because they didn't see results right away. Usually when that happens they are left with the impression that advertising doesn't work and then refuse to try it again. The most effective approach is to start with a smaller ad that you can commit to run at least twice a month, then as it delivers results you can increase the size, add color, or both. Remember, people are bombarded each day with numerous advertising messages so you should usually not expect to see measurable results until you've run your ad a few times.

Can You Control Your Customer s Mind

2009-06-30T04:09:00.000-07:00

Republishing Guidelines * You may republsih this article with the author's bylines. * An email to mafoor@mafoor.com is appreciated if you do. * You may make slight changes to avoid spa'm blockers. * Words: 878 Lines: 146 * Email: mafoor@mafoor.com SMS: +94 777 763682 Can You Control Your Customer's Mind? Is it possible to control your customer's 'buying' decision? Let me start off with an example. Say many people selling bags in one place and John wants a bag. John buys the bag with the most attractive packaging. What influenced his decision? The packaging. This bag had something better. So in a different view, this bag influenced the 'buying decision' of John. This is just a simple example to get you familiar with the concept. Almost all of the mode marketing campaigns are designed to be effective from the customer's point of view. They all try to control the customer's feelings. You must follow the trend or you'll be a loser. Just brainstorm / think what can influence the decision to buy 'your product'. You can come up with a lot. Call each of them a strategy and jot them down in a paper. I will discuss 3 generic strategies that can be used with any business and how to apply them, so it will give you some idea as what to think of and how to apply them. 1. Curiosity 2. Because / Reason Why 3. Greed Curiosity ----------- What is it? Curiosity can be defined as "the desire to know the unexplored" in simple terms. People want to know things that many others don't know. They like to discover the 'secrets' that only some people know. The desire to know is a compelling force in marketing, so we have: * Secrets of the Diet Industry Uncovered * What Time Share Companies Don't Want You To Know * Msteries of A Youthful Appearance Revealed * The Hidden Keys of Car Buying People don't want * How to Diet Successfully or * A Guide to Buying Cars for example. First set of titles surely outshines the second set of titles because the former takes advantage of curiosity. You must design your advertising in a way that arouses curiosity. Getting to see the powerful of curiosity? (When compared the two sets above) Because / Reason Why ---------------------------- Telling people a valid reason for your action is another great influencer in human behavior. People will trust you if you can offer a reason for what you are doing. Say you offer a 50% discount on your digital cameras for the last 10 days in this month. People are too smart today and start to think it's probably because you want to get rid of your defective products or because its 2 days before the expiry date (in case of food items). Wouldn't you and I think the same way when we see a similar message? Give them a true believable reason. For example, let's say you have a slow time of the year and you want to increase your business during this period. Make a special, limited time offer. Offer to throw in an extra free bonus or a special discount simply because it's your "slow time" and you need to pay your staff anyway. Don't you think people will believe it? If you can give a solid reason for a particular action, people will have no doubts about what you say - there is simply very little room for doubt. Greed ------- People are greedy. I'm not talking about food but 'greedy' in a marketing perspective. Everybody feels from "what's in it for me" syndrome. They really want to know how your product can benefit them. Notice that, the "customer's will buy benefits and not products". Confused? You'll see what I mean in a minute. Analyze the following list of benefits written about a digital camera. * Can store over 200 photos * Supports every color you can see * Manual included so you can start even if you have no previous experience This will certainly open the eyes of a person who has an idea of bu'ying a camera one day. This is in complete contrast to the following, where the 'product' is described. * Has a memory of 6000k * Supports 16-bit colors * 60-page manual included Customers don't want a memory of 6000k, but they want to store 200 photos. Get it? You must clearly tell the customer how will they benefit by bu'ying your produc't. You can then describe the prod'uct itself, when they are looking for more information. To make this point clearer, understand that, "Customer's will bu'y benefits and 'not' the features." Okay.. Whats the difference between features and benefits? Features describe the product itself - what it has. Benefits describe the advantages a customer gets by bu'ying the product. The first list above is a benefits list and the second is a features list. Benefits will drive customers to explore more information about the product. This is when you should give them the features and describe the product itself. To summarize, get customers into looking for more info by telling them the benefits and then describe the prod'uct. This will assure the best results. I laid out just 3 powerful strategies here. There are many more 'explored' and 'unexplored' tactics, and hope you can discover a few too. Please let me know if you do. I hope this information was helpful to you and wish you good luck and success in your future mark'eting efforts.

Advertising Strategies Alternatives to Print Alternatives Within Print

2009-06-29T08:33:00.000-07:00

Is print advertising headed for extinction? No way, but I am seeing more and more companies pulling dollars from their print advertising budgets and moving them into other alteatives. The reason? To brand their product or service more effectively by balancing their ad campaigns and reaching their targeted demographic audiences from different angles. And even within the print medium, the playing field appears to be changing. Newspaper and Yellow Pages advertising has suffered a blow from the growth of the inteet. Googling, Yahoo-ing and online news sources are pulling from their numbers. With inteet research more easily available, more advertisers are targeting their prospective customers with direct mail campaigns which gives them the ability to pinpoint the demographic they are trying to reach by age, gender, income and location.

The inteet is a growing alteative. Google Ads and Yahoo Sponsored Search "Pay Per Click" advertising is grabbing a growing share of ad budgets. This new medium gives you the ability purchase a keyword and only pay for it if someone clicks on your website. The way it works in a nutshell is, when someone does a search using your keyword, your website url and a three line promotional ad appears on the right side of the search results page. It can be as inexpensive as a nickel per click and you can limit what you spend per day, so that Google/Yahoo shuts off your ad campaign for the rest of that day when your budget "limit" is reached.

Outdoor advertising and signs on buses and transit systems is often in the mix of successful advertising budgets.

Radio utilizes the magic of music and imagination to reach an audience in a lasting way. Of course this is one of my favorites because music, jingles and ad production are what I do. But all bias aside, radio is a way to reach a broader audience with the ability to drive home a message.

One lesser know alteative within radio broadcast advertising is the traffic or weather sponsorship. This is a ten second (or less) message that is read within the traffic report: i.e. "Today's traffic is brought to you by ________ ". Metro Networks, the Westwood One company created the traffic sponsorship industry years ago by putting a fleet of planes and "news" copters in the air to monitor traffic in the largest US cities. Instead if selling their services to the radio stations, Metro made a trade for advertising "air" time. So most of the flying traffic reporters that you think work for your local radio & TV stations are really Metro Networks employees who have cut a deal with the local stations. The local stations also sell traffic and weather sponsorships but they are usually not during the report, they come before or after it. So if you hear two traffic sponsorships for the same report, it probably means one was a Metro sponsorship and the other was a station sold sponsorship.

Television advertising is a traditional advertising medium we all know well but the advent of cable television has changed the face of the industry. With cable advertising, you can now reach a more targeted demographic, very similar to direct mail, by age, gender, income & location and it can be done on a smaller budget. *If you decide to go in this direction, or in the direction of radio advertising check out my site and drop me a line. I will be happy to go into detail about branding alteatives to help you get maximum effectiveness from your campaign.

With all these advertising options, it's best not to put all your eggs in one basket if you have the budget. The most successful advertisers use a balance of advertising mediums to reach their audience creatively and consistently.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email: barry@soundad.com.

Hope this helps... Good luck with your campaign!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barry_Volk

Buying Radio Time Read This and Don t Waste Your Money

2009-06-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

Buying radio? First off, let me say, I'm not knocking it. But read on and see how to use it to your best advantage. If you've been in a direct-to-consumer business for even 6 months, or are listed in the phone book, you've probably been pitched to by a radio station. No doubt you've listened to, and then quickly deleted, messages from account execs from stations from all formats. Maybe you've even entertained them in your office. Hopefully you didn't have to sanitize your phone or office afterwards. Well, radio can be great way to gaer awareness cheaply... ahem, inexpensively... if you do it right. But, remember... 97.823% of all radio ads S-U-C-K. That leaves you to carry the banner for great radio advertising. And when you do, you will get noticed. Believe me, you will get noticed. Why do so many radio ads suck? Between the screaming car ads, and nasally voiced business owners who should never get anywhere near a microphone reading their own ads, and the next "tukey" business opportunity, they are all dressed in their plaid suits and resorting to hucksterism. They want your money and they want it now. They forget one thing. Well, actually a lot of things, but the main thing they forget that people are not tuning in for their ad. Listeners want Rush, Rome, Al, Laura, music, sports, news, or whatever. People aren't saying, "Gee, I gotta hear great heating and air conditioning ads today!" Your ad is interrupting what they listen for. By nature, you are already behind the eight ball before you start in radio. But there is hope. First off, do NOT let a radio station employee write your ad. If your exec isn't a writer (you may luck out in that some radio execs are copywriters in training looking for an agency gig) and you don't insist, your ad will probably get written by either: The Station Producer- who may have already written 4 or 5 other ads that same DAY, who doesn't have enough time to fully attend to your needs, and thereby wasting your money; OR a Disc Jockey (strange term- they don't spin wax anymore, Daddy-O) whose annoyed he or she has to write an ad, or who's not a talented writer to begin with, also wasting your money; OR by The Inte, Secretary, or Other Employee - who may relish the opportunity, but may not have the writing chops yet, or is being pressured to write something "quick and dirty" so it can produced and on the air -- also thereby wasting your money. You have creative control and the ultimate yay or nay, so feel free to choose your writer. Hint and Shameless Plug: entering http://www.brandedbetter.com in your browser window will direct you to an excellent radio writer. Now, when it comes down to concepting and reviewing scripts, remember this: Radio is called Theater of the Mind for good reason. Use it to your advantage. Recall your disadvantage before starting. Cleveess will grab attention. But... it must be on strategy to be effective. Give your writer ONE benefit to express. How does that benefit resonate with the target audience? Even if you have a "mundane" or "boring" product or service, there IS cleveess to be had. Give a good writer enough information, and they will find it. A few of the BEST radio ads I've ever heard was for a soil conditioner. Yup. A soil conditioner. Two voices. One performed by the writer. The other performed by mid-level (read... talented, and non-union) voice talent. Writer as The Hick Farmer. Non-Union Talent as the Smart Farmer. Hick Farmer: Hey, nay-bor...Whatzzat on yer roof? Smart Farmer: (obviously) It's a satellite dish. Hick Farmer: Whazzit fer...? Talkin' to the Martians? You can almost hear the slack jaw in your head. And it makes you want to hear more. That's your goal for radio. Another ad for the same product was even better. Smart Farmer: Hey, neighbor... Why so glum? Hick Farmer: Aw... the weeds, the bugs, the disease... my crops are about ruined... I've had an awful year. The wife has been pickin' her tooth for leftovers. Now, I'm not a farmer. I never heard of conditioning soil. But, you can bet I understood what it did after these ads. And did I mention I was wondrously entertained when receiving this information? While I can only hint at the hilarity of this ad series, one thing to make sure of is that you progress through to your benefit without losing the audience. Tough, but a good writer can do it. And, notice that word... 'series.' If you have a good concept, it may be worth your while to think in terms of multiple executions rather than just one. To be fair, these ads were produced by an ad agency with a good sized budget. The campaign also won some ad awards and some industry awards. The point is-- a good ad isn't loud, repetitive, trite, condescending, or tries to jam as many words possible into the time frame. In fact, silence works to your advantage. Silence in radio (or even TV) is like white space on a print ad. It tastefully surrounds the content for maximum effectiveness, drawing the eye (or in this case, ear) in to read (hear) copy. Voices are important, too. Ever listen to the radio and hear the same voice all over the ads? That's usually Mr. or Ms. Producer-- the person who makes sure the ad gets made. That's why they don't have time to write a good one for you. Many freelance writers, me included, know something about voices and casting, and can probably get you the best talent for your dollar. Some writers can even voice their own copy. Yes, it'll cost more, but at least you can differentiate. And think twice, no, three times, before reading it yourself. Oh, and if you're wondering what length of ad to buy? In most cases, go for the :60. For just a few dollars more, you get twice the time to play with. If you are spending money on radio, use ALL the resources available to you to create the best possible ad. And that usually entails going outside the radio station walls to get it. If you do it well enough, you may even get a little backlash. Remember what I said before about being noticed? In addition to increased traffic, calls, and sales, you may get an increase in complaints. But it's not all bad news. Breakthrough advertising breaks some rules, and smaller minded people will complain. Never pull the plug on an ad because of ONE or TWO complaints. These people simply don't get it, and probably wouldn't make good customers for you. Either that, or they just really like bad advertising. Good... Day!

Advertising that won t cost you a Dime Oh and it works too

2009-06-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

We all know that businesses must advertise to attract customers and make sales. It's a basic trade principle that has been in existence for centuries. The problem with a great many advertising opportunities though is that they require money up front from the advertiser. When there's no guarantee that the advertising media chosen will produce the desired results, it really is more a leap of faith than anything else! Of course, there are alteative 'free advertising' avenues that can be pursued. But again, these may not produce results, either because they are ineffective (hence they are free) or because they are saturated by ads from the other one million and one businesses using the service. So, what is the solution? The Shared Advertising Concept The solution, as it tus out, is really quite simple! Find companies with whom you can 'exchange' advertising. A prime example of this shared advertising concept in action can be found on the Inteet. Companies that have a shared economic interest - i.e. their products or services, although different, appeal to the same target audience - arrange to place advertising on each others web sites. By doing so, both companies benefit from free advertising to a highly targeted audience. Finding companies who are interested in pursuing this idea is pretty easy too. Joint venture search companies specialize in bringing together businesses that want to work together like this. To kick-start the process all you need do is register your interest with a joint venture facilitator, such as www.jvbase.com and let them match your company up with other parties who are interested in exchanging advertising space for free. It's a solution that works and one that is guaranteed to boost your sales inquiries too!

Five Common Online Advertising Mistakes

2009-06-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

In a fast paced world in which we live in, marketing your website effectively can make or break your business. Marketing online is much different than in the 'real world' as there are so many more websites competing for the same visitor. You are now marketing globally instead of locally. So, how do you go about grabbing people's attention and have them visit your site? Sadly, many online business owners often advertise in ways that actually frustrate the entire advertising process. The same mistakes are being make over and over again. It's not their fault though. These mistakes are very easy to do. Mostly because they are not automated. So many people want to take the quickest, easiest, and least time intensive ways of operating an online business. Unfortunately, that's why so many people are forced to give up. Are you making any of these mistakes? Thinking online advertising is unimportant. Advertising your website might sound like that's a no-brainer, but many people just don't think that this is the most important part of their business. I work with people all the time who have never done much advertising because they didn't think they had to. They thought the search engines would do everything. One of the reasons there isn't much emphasis on advertising is because a lot of people have a misconception that it has to be expensive. Effective and profitable advertising can be done cheaply. Not targeting an audience Online marketers want to reach everyone. The goal has been to get as many people to your site as you possibly can. If you can get thousands of people to your site, then some of them will probably buy from you. And effective marketing strategy is to target. There's a saying that says if you aim at nothing chances are that's exactly what you'll get. Targeting is a narrow focus towards an audience of people who has the greatest chance of doing what you want. When you narrow your focus to a very specific type of buyer your conversion rates will skyrocket. You'll see a lot more profits and a lot less spent out in advertising. Not being watchful of the needs of your audience People's needs will change over time. If your product is for a weight gain product, keep watch over the newest products and what is working the best at the time. This is the product people will be looking for. If your advertising is tailored to inform people you have this product, they will buy from you. If you are an affiliate for golfing products, then keep an eye out for what is the hottest trend in golf at the time. Are people looking for how to lengthen their drive or are more people looking for information on their short game. Always be watching the needs of your audience and then create your advertising accordingly. Not connecting your business communication to visitor's needs Is your website outdated? Do you still have the same information on it? When people go to your site are your articles, autoresponder courses, ebooks, and other informational products updated to reflect your visitor's needs? Most importantly is your ezine always connected to the needs of your visitors? Not following up on a regular basis No matter what you do in your advertising campaign. If you fail to follow up on any sales, any ezine sign ups, any correspondence... your marketing will be very ineffective. Simply for the fact that you have to spend advertising dollars to reach that person again. If you dedicate time to following up with people you have another avenue to build a relationship with each and every visitor. This is a very powerful advertising strategy that is sadly under-used. Take a look at your advertising campaign. Are you making any of these mistakes? Can you see areas where you can improve upon? Are you trying to take the easy way out? Your business is directly linked to your advertising effectiveness. Make it your priority today to concentrate on your advertising more and you'll see an increase in profits and a longer lasting business.

Free How To Get Hoards of Targeted Visitors to Your Site Starting Today For Free

2009-06-26T00:34:00.000-07:00

Free! How To Get Hoards of Targeted Visitors to Your Site Starting Today For Free! Discover the Secret New System That Top Inteet Marketers Are Using Now! By Mark Meyers (c) 2004. All rights reserved. http://www.Inteet-Income-Advisor.com I'll bet you know that there are a lot of ways to get "Targeted" visitors to our site(s) right! The problem is that these methods can be pricey and/or they could be a lot of work. :( Take article writing for example: It's free, and it will give you and your site good exposure. but it can take awhile to come up with a good article. And then you have to find article directories or eZines that will publish it. So it's not exactly free, because your time is worth something right? Now don't get me wrong, writing articles is one of the best long term traffic generation strategies, but you won't always get traffic right away! And that's what I want to tell you about today... How To Get Hoards of Targeted Visitors to Your Site Starting Today For Free! Now let me ask you a question... How many web pages do you visit in a day? Ten? 30? 100? more? How would you like to use that activity and leverage it to have someone lea about your product, service or opporunity? Think about that for a second... You keep doing exactly what you are doing now, and more and more people will lea about your site. Does that interest you? There is a breakthough new advertizing system that installs a simple toolbar into your web browser (MS Inteet Explorer only at this point). The toolbar basically does two things: 1. Adds to a counter each time you visit a web page. 2. Displays a simple text ad. And that's it! I assure you it doesn't track which web page you visited, it isn't spyware or adware. But here is the really nice thing: Your text ad will be at the very top (the best position?) of thousands of people's web browser each and every day, and it doesn't cost you a single cent. People will only click on the link when the ad message is interesting to them, so these are people who are interested in what you are offering (read "Targeted") coming to your site. Is that exciting? Some top inteet marketers like Mark Joyner, Mike Filsaime and Tellman Knudson to name just a few, are using this to explode their lists and sales right now! As with anything that is successful, there will soon be copycat programs, but this is the first. I am updating my results every few days and you can read about it here: http://www.Inteet-Income-Advisor.com/Super-Free-Ad-System.html I hope this helps you build your inteet business, Have a super day! Mark Meyers

Blog Blaster Advertising

2009-06-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

"How would you like to have your ad on 2 Million Websites ?" I'm not pulling your leg! Discover the new way of advertising on the Inteet! This Tool is one of the hottest - if not the hottest - marketing tools available! http://toya0327.blogboost.hop.clickbank.net Discover the power of the Blog Blaster! Brandnew software revolutionizes the power of online advertising -never seen before!- BRAND NEW FOR OCTOBER 2005! How would you like 2 Million Sites linking to your ad ? Hi, my name is Sebastian Foss. Are you like me? Frustrated by the lack of traffic coming to your Site ? After all, how many times a day are you BOMBARDED with some lame "get-traffic" scheme on the Inteet? Well, I've got great news for you. One day I had an idea. An amazing idea actually. Weblog or blog population is exploding around the world, resembling the growth of e-mail users in the 1990s. Post your ads where people read them! - What if you could place your ad on all these sites ? Right, that would mean you would have millions of sites linking to your ad - and my idea actually works. I have developed a software that automatically places your ad on millions of blogs. You will receive thousands of targeted hits to your website as Blog Blaster places your ad on blogs that match your ad's category. This method has never been released to the public before. Very few, if anyone has implemented this. http://toya0327.blogboost.hop.clickbank.net Features of Blog Blaster -Blog Blaster automatically posts your ad to more than 2 Million Websites! -Be among the first to use this brandnew method of online advertising and dominate the web with your ads! -Blog Blaster will automatically create thousands of links to your website - which will rank your website in a top 10 position! -Receive hundreds of targeted hits to your website every day from the links in the blogs! -Post your ads where people read them! -The software is not complicated - it's as easy as 1,2 - 3 -No matter if you are a professional advertiser or new to online advertising - -Blog Blaster is suitable for everyone. -You can use Blog Blaster for as many ads as you like - no limitations! -You do NOT have to pay monthly fees to use Blog Blaster - pay once and use it forever! -Your ads stay visible for a long time - daily submissions are not required! -I personally guarantee that if the software does not increase your website's traffic you will receive a full refund! There is absolutely NO RISK! -Advertising using Blog Blaster is 100% SPAM FREE advertising! You will never be accused of spamming. -24/7 Support for our customers! You will even receive my personal email address so I can assist you. Be among the first to use this brandnew method of online advertising and dominate the web with your ads! http://toya0327.blogboost.hop.clickbank.net

Banner Stand Industry

2009-06-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

The worldwide banner stand industry is booming. Both indoors and out door banners are in great demand especially in the advertising world. A well-executed banner arranged in an attractive and interesting way, whether in a trade show exhibit, museum display, stage setting or retail store, is a sure way to drive the message home to the target audience.

Exhibit builders look for two criteria while sourcing banner displays- creativity and value addition. For example, a pole banner stand is sturdy, simple and easy to install. Installation can take about 5 minutes. Other than set up time, another valuable addition is flexibility to hide exhibition space such as graphics and literature that has to be stored. Some banner stands come with telescopic components allowing for compact packing and shipping. A variety of mount options include heavy duty, tripod and tubular are available according to the creativity of the user.

Graphics are another element of banner stands. Some companies have five colors; high-resolution printing that produces 1100 dots per inch on fabric. By using dye sublimation printing, this process provides a wider color spectrum for reproducing graphics. The adjunct industry of outdoor graphic printers is also booming thanks to the spiraling demand for outdoor banner stands.

The banner stand industry is faced with the realities of today's market conditions. For one, technology is changing fast. There is cut throat competition in the banner stand industry, so minor details and advanced innovations is key to leading the way the market regarding minor details and innovations. Innovation is key to big bucks in this effervescent market.

Banner Stands provides detailed information about banner stands, retractable banner stands, roll up banner stands, banner stand exhibits and more. Banner Stands is the sister site of Promotional Advertising Specialties.

Advertising Specialties

2009-06-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

Advertising Specialties play a significant role in improving a company's brand recognition. There might be other strategies that companies adopt to get a competitive edge over other companies; however, Advertising Specialties play a major role in seeing that a company scales great heights.

The list of Advertising Specialties available is extensive, ranging from apparel to tote bags, bubble pens, umbrellas, clocks, coasters, coloring books, new-year diaries, indexes, calendars, pens, flat lights, key rings, magnets, medals, mouse pads, coffee mugs, pen pots, ribbons, rulers, caps, stickers and much more. The list is endless. All these items could be personalized with your company, club, association or school logo, either by having them engraved, embossed with gold foil, or screen-printed, which is the most common method adopted for personalizing Advertising Specialties. Advertising Specialties play a vital role in building customer awareness.

The American market has a number of manufacturers who supply a varied range of Advertising Specialties. The American market being very competitive, the right Advertising Specialties could create a great impact on the customer. Advertising Specialties build credibility, find more prospects for the company and increase repeat business. They can be used at company events, trade shows, and fundraisers, they can be used to promote employee goodwill, and they give the sponsor a firm foothold in the market.

Corporate Advertising Specialties make a lasting impact with the target audience, will last a long time, and help build their clients' trust. No matter what set of advertising specialties you choose to employ, make sure the message is consistent. That way, your brand will gain the most exposure.

Advertising Specialties provides detailed information on advertising specialties , advertising specialty companies, advertising specialty distributors, advertising specialty manufacturers and more. Advertising Specialties is affiliated with Full Service Advertising Agencies.

Advertising Secrets

2009-06-23T07:29:00.001-07:00

When I first got into the online advertising business, I was looking for the magical combination that would put my website into the top search engine rankings, catapult me to the forefront of the minds or individuals looking to buy my product, and generally make me rich beyond my wildest dreams!

After succeeding in the business for this long, I'm able to look back on my old self with this kind of thinking and shake my head.

If you're reading this article and you've come this far, you're probably looking for the magic answer yourself. You've probably read a few dozen or a few hundred articles just like this about pay-per-click advertising, maximizing retu on investment, keyword stuffing, black-hat seo tactics, text-link banner exchanges, and the list goes on.

Well, I'm here to tell you that I have the one be all end all answer and I'm sharing it with the world!

The truth is that there is no magic secret to online advertising. No one method will generate the largest amount of income/exposure for every website or business imaginable - it's all a matter of trial and error, time and talent.

That's a pretty weak answer, I know. It would have been much cooler for me to tell you that buying tiny classified ads in your local paper was the key to success and riches. Well, I'm sorry. For the few of you that have been down this road before and are starting to get it, you'll hear a ring of truth in my words. The sooner you stop looking for a quick fix to make your message stick, the better.

For what it's worth, these are my thoughts.

1) The inteet has only been alive for a few short years, and in that time it has changed dramatically many times over. Remember in 1995 when everyone first discovered the cool little animated envelope .gif that you would click on to send them email? Where was your online bill-pay, instant messaging, and dynamically generated page content then? And only a few short years later you can see how far we've come and use that as a measure for how far we can go.

The point is that the inteet, like other forms of media, is a rapidly evolving monster. What works for online advertisers today might be completely ineffectual only a few months from now. That's why the best advertisers are constantly researching and creating their own unique marketing strategies. The trick is to find out what works for you, and to make sure that you revisit it from time to time to tune it up as the market changes.

2) You Have to Spend Money to Make Money. It's a tired line, but it's that way because everyone says it. Don't be afraid to add fuel to your advertising fire and take it to another level. Try investing (note that I said investing and not spending) five, ten, or fifty thousand dollars in advertising. If you don't jump out a window the first time you do it, you may walk away with a big smile and a little pocket money!

The hard part about investing a big chunk of money is coming up with it in the first place. If you already have $50,000 laying around for advertising and are just looking for a place to put it, give me a call. If you're not that lucky, try looking at the Small Business Administration for ideas on how to get a small business loan.

If you don't want to go farther than your mailbox, examine some of those credit checks your bank keeps sending you in the mail. A lot of people take advantage of their fairly reasonable interest rates to fund projects.

3) Presentation is Key. You'll find that excellent writing skills and good marketing go hand in hand. As you improve on one, the other is bound to follow. Knowing how to write, and how to write well will give you an extraordinary advantage of the majority of individuals vying for your customers' attention. I don't know about you, but I get a lot of spam for people wanting to sell me their "good, cheap, A+ #1 $$$ rolex watch, discount Viagra, H0t s1utz, etc."

Needless to say, I have never purchased anything from them and most likely, neither have you. If you have, please drop me a line and let me know how it worked out. I'm always wondering how many of those are a scam.

The emails and circulars that I do purchase from come from GoDaddy, buy.com, Google and a host of other professional companies that take a few minutes to ea my trust with good punctuation, grammar, and quality content.

If you don't have a talent for writing (and you know who you are) you have two choices:

Get better - easier said than done. Like most things, writing is one part talent and nine parts hard work. Take some classes, do peer editing suggestions, or send it to me look over (first ten-thousand submissions only).

Or, get someone else to do it - leaving more time for you at the helm. I like this option not only because it's a time saver for me, but also because the work generally comes out better than anything I could have done. This article is an excellent example. I provided a detailed outline, some good anecdotes, and the strategies above and the copywriters at danifer.com did the rest. I made a deal with them to write the article for $149 and we share the syndication rights. Not bad for half an hour's work.

If you can't afford to hire a pro, be courteous to yourself and your audience by simply re-reading your work, running a spell check, and letting your wife/husband/friend/co-worker look it over. You'd be surprised at how many things invisible to you will stand out to a fresh set of eyes.

OK. That's all I've got for now. Stay tuned at howtoadvertise.net for more advice on how to get started with online advertising. Please remember though that how far you go is up to you. There is no substitute for your own work and effort in succeeding in this business.

Good Luck!

Keeton

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Keeton Harrington is the self-made entrepreneur responsible for howtoadvertise.net , a free collection of online marketing strategies and tips. The original publication of this article can be found at www.howtoadvertise.net/advertising_secrets.php

Critique of Adverting Impressions on the Human Mind

2009-06-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Some self-proclaimed marketing gurus say that each person in the United States of America is exposed to over 3,000 varying and different messages every day. And if you are driving around the city each sign is competing for your eye-ball.

While you read the newspaper each add also competes for your brains visual imagery capacity. Indeed these stats seem appropriate and realistic, yet your mind often does not allow even a slice of its attention to what you consider junk.

So, when marketing folks talk about over kill in the information age your mind is not necessarily even looking, in fact you would be surprised how much your mind blocks out and it does not matter if it is in a phone book, radio, billboard, side of a bus, newspaper or brochure on a counter top.

When you study how the brain works and why it works the way it does you will begin to understand that it is not just the headlines, which sell or help you achieve a favorable impression. Much has to do with how that headline is placed, colors used, etc. and then and only then does what the headline says even matter.

Some marketing gurus, marketing book writers and self-proclaimed marketing specialists want you to believe you either need to lea how to write better copy or hire them as consultants. The truth is most of these folks are old school straddlers of the fence in a changing paradigm of the new click happy, fast paced world, where human block out junk and their eye-ball and brains move fast.

It might be better to study the aspects of the human mind and visualization of the brain. And thus perhaps we need a few less know-it-all marketing specialists and you need to read a few more MRI white papers from the top Universities on what the brain is scanning for and why. Consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow

Art Advertising and promotion

2009-06-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

There are many companies out there selling art and listings. The biggest without doubt, is Ebay! The problem with Ebay is that listings are for set periods only and you may need to pay again to re-list your items if you are unfortunate to get a sale. With Ebay there is no set fee either. There is a new company, www.thebronzecollector.com/index.htm (thebronzecollector.com)just launched last month November giving art sellers and promotors the opportunity to list their art at a flat rate until the product is sold, no matter how long it takes to sell they will keep it advertised. Companies can also advertise their business and artist can promote their exhibiions. They have five broad categories: Asian Art, European Art, African Art, The Americas and Tribal Masks where you can list your items. Registered companies are allowed display of their company email address beside their listings and details of payment requirement, however, in the interest of fraud prevention non-registered companies and individual products are paid in their paypal account and held until goods are delivered which is an excellent system. You may visit them at www.thebronzecollector.com/index.htm where you can view their 'Advertise With Us' page for further details. N. Peart

Advertising Through Moms

2009-06-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

Moms have a very powerful influence on what their families eat, drink, wear, do, and buy. Moms are not only the driving force behind their families, but also the economy.

Moms Have The Power!

Moms have the power to start a trend or "nip it in the bud". Moms want a reasonably priced, high quality, safe, and reliable product. Do you have such a product?

What Are You Sitting There For?:

Tap into this market! Advertise to moms in your church, at your child's school, little league games, reading groups, moms clubs, or the gym. The possibilities are endless because, in case you haven't noticed, Moms are everywhere!

Don't Be A Pusher!

Moms have brains! They can smell a "dead rat a mile away". You don't have to "push" your product if your product truly is what you claim it to be. Gently offer them the information and let them make an educated decision. Don't over hype or under sell either. Don't use fear tactics or "deal of a life time" approaches. Granted these may work on some moms, but most are pretty aware of "corporate" brainwashing.

Moms promoting Each Other:

In the Cyber world of today there is an ever-growing community of Moms who are supporting each other by promoting one another. Ever heard of "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? This is exactly what thousands of work at home moms are doing each and every day.

By promoting each other they are doing one of several things:
1. Getting free advertising for their site/business/opportunity
2. Building business and personal relationships
3. Branding their business name
4. Supporting work at home families
5. Reaching out to the community
6. Sharing the wahm/wahd Message
7. Offering discounts and freebies to new and retuing customers (which by the way saves Moms money)

How Do I Get Involved?:

You can join this growing movement by visiting a number of networking sites. Some I have listed in the resource section. You'll need to print off some business cards—Vista Print has an excellent deal--, develop an advertising campaign, track your advertising campaign with a coupon code and then Make Your Packs!

1. Ziplocks/Baggies/Envelopes
2. Cards,coupons,samples,brochures *tip samples and coupons are the best bet
4. Distribute the packets to local merchants, with your orders, at school functions, etc..
5. Exchange with other moms so they can advertise for you..

Resources

Mom Packs – The original "moms promoting moms" group.
http://mompacks.com

Jessies Goodies – Yahoo Group http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/JessiesGoodieBags/

Advertising Moms Perks Packs- http://www.advertisingmoms.com/perkpackflyers.html

Karma Kards – http://www.allnaturalme.com

Sara Duggan lives with her family in Califoia. She enjoys crocheting and writing in her spare time. For more articles and family activities visit Mommie-Care News or sign up for her newsletter at http://mommie-care.com

Covert Advertising Psychology through Confirmation Bias

2009-06-21T00:43:00.000-07:00

Title: Covert Advertising Psychology through Confirmation Bias Length: 698 words (body); 65 cpl Author: Dorian Greer Email: editor(at)seducingthebuyer.com Category: Marketing / Advertising / Psychology Copyright 2005 Web Address: http://www.SeducingTheBuyer.com Blog Address: http://www.SeducingTheBuyer.com/MT/ Permission to publish this article is granted. Include: Live Links; Author Source & Copyright. May NOT be used in conjunction with unsolicited email. ---- Article ---- Covert Advertising Psychology through Confirmation Bias by Dorian Greer Confirmation bias is a tool of choice for covert influence. It's agreeable, it's easy to use, and can motivate the smartest of people to believe in the weirdest of things. WARNING: This article gives an example of confirmation bias used to make otherwise intelligent people believe impossible things. The example chosen is based on pervasiveness, to make the point obvious, but some might be offended. Publishers beware - the example MAY adversely affect some of your audience. What is Confirmation Bias? Source: http://skepdic.com/confirmbias.html "Confirmation bias refers to a type of selective thinking whereby one tends to notice and to look for what confirms one's beliefs, and to ignore, not look for, or undervalue the relevance of what contradicts one's beliefs." This simple yet profound definition is why prejudice won't die, why smart people believe weird things, and why facts seldom (if ever) change a strong belief. Reinforcing the Factually Untrue The feedback loop created by selective thinking is classic hypnotic methodology. Confirmation bias is thus a way of "pacing one's self" into a state of hypnotic belief. When used in advertising, confirmation bias is the pacing of choice, for raw hypnotic influence. To wit: The more one absorbs information that agrees with what they already believe, contrary evidence holds less and less value. This is why a person can be "talked" into a hypnotic belief system that is contrary to the real world. Try these examples by answering each question TRUTHFULLY: 1. Does Santa Clause really exist, (led by flying reindeer)? 2. Is our moon made of Swiss cheese? 3. Can snakes talk? 4. Have you ever witnessed magic flying carpets, or a real genie? 5. Do horses fly (Pegasus)? Now notice that none of these have any factual basis as being true. But they all exist in fantasy, make-believe worlds. The trick in the hypnotic process is to confuse the believer into merging the make-believe with the real. And this can be done through confirmation bias! Example: Mass Hypnosis through Confirmation Bias In the list of make-believe stories above, can you recognize where the situation from item #3 comes from? It's from the story of Adam of Eve. This alone makes this article controversial, but I needed an obvious example. There are probably millions in the United States alone that, every Sunday, have impossible stories reinforced to the point where they become merged with real life, to become literally indistinguishable from reality by the believer. It is pure hypnosis through confirmation bias that causes a seemingly logical, rational, person to accept and believe something that they know cannot be true. Even children understand that snakes can't talk, and yet... Many believers would rather admit that talking snakes are not possible while STILL maintaining the belief, than change the belief! Want proof? Ask any devout Christian if snakes can talk, and they will likely tell you that "back then, it might have been possible, because...", and then everything else that follows will be just as pure fantasy as the story itself! THIS is the power of confirmation bias when it is continually reinforced. People will violently oppose the truth, even when faced with unequivocal fact. (But note: the confirmation data need not be true either; it just needs social ratification!) An Equal Opportunity Deceiver It should be noted that confirmation bias is a constant enemy we all share. It's a common problem we experience in science, in religion, in advertising, and in everyday perceptions. Eugene Schwartz, in Breakthrough Advertising; page 131, states: "If you can channel the tremendous force of his belief - either in content or direction - behind only one claim, no matter how small, then that one fully-believed claim will sell more goods than all the half-questioned promises your competitors can write for all the rest of their days. This channeling of belief is so powerful that, if properly directed, it will even support otherwise-absurd claims." Notice The Last Sentence Even smart people can be led to believe stupid things with the right pacing of belief by utilizing the technique of confirmation bias. (It's true in psychology; it's true in religion; it's true in hypnosis; it's true in advertising.) Would you like to know more about covert influence? Continue to Here: "Seducing The Buyer" http://www.SeducingTheBuyer.com/MT/ Copyright 2005 Dorian Greer, Editor - Seducing The Buyer.

Buy American

2009-06-20T02:07:00.000-07:00

Americans need to support each other! That's what Dave Seek, of Kodiak Cutting Tools, announced at a luncheon last week in Williamson, NY. Kodiak markets metal cutting tools on the inteet at www.kodiakcuttingtools.com. With more and more jobs being shifted overseas, we are positioning ourselves for failure. We have seen an increase in our web-based business over the past couple years as Americans are beginning to catch on, Seek commented. They are looking for American solutions. Kodiak takes extreme pride in offering the finest carbide end mills, drill bits, npt pipe taps, aircraft drill bits and roughing end mills at very competitive prices. We stock over 8000 items in our warehouse. For more information visit them at www.kodiakcuttingtools.com Kodiak Cutting Tools, LLC located in Williamson, NY recently introduced a new line of aluminum cutting end mills. These tools are made from sub-micro grain carbide and are available in regular and long lengths. Additionally, they can be ordered uncoated or with a high performance zirconium coating. Kodiak markets American made tooling on the inteet and has been serving customers for over 2 years. They offer a full line of metal cutting tools such as...end mills, drill bits, threadmills, micro end mills, hand taps, NPT Pipe taps, S&D drill bits, and center drills. For more information visit them at www.kodiakcuttingtools.com

Cooperative Advertising

2009-06-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Advertising is expensive. As a result, successful businesses are looking for more and more ways to save money on their marketing packages. Co-operative advertising is taking on many shapes and faces. It can be online or offline. It can be in multi-piece packages or multi-message single page flyers or fillers. The concept of co-operative advertising is not new. It is a great way to stretch your advertising dollar and to reach additional pockets of your target market. When multiple people pool their advertising dollar they can reach more people. Its like the choice between sending 1000 color brochures or 10,000 black and white ones. Your message may be watered down a bit by the additional material but it also has the potential to reach so many more people. The power of co-operative advertising is the opportunity to reach so many more people. Every advertiser participating broadcasts their message to their primary markets. And your advertising message gets to piggy back along for the ride. Speaking of piggies, one of the most interesting co-operative advertising efforts, The Mom Pack, was founded by piggy bank artist Lynn Korff of http://www.korfforiginals.com Lynn has spearheaded a group of work at home moms who share co-operative advertising distribution. At http://www.mompack.com work at home mothers send their samples, business cards, flyers and fillers to one another. When each participant ships an order or attends a craft fair, festival, or event they hand out packets (MomPacks) of information from other members. MomPack has evolved quite a bit from its beginnings. The site bosts a membership directory, text links, contest listings, and resources for moms who run home based businesses. http://www.MomPack.com has become a great way for women to network and co-operatively advertise to people who already shop from work at home moms. Shopping With Women is also a great way for advertisers to co-operatively get your marketing message in front of targeted groups of people. When someone needs a booklet to distribute at their event, they request it from http://www.ShoppingWithWomen.com and then advertisers purchase spots in the upcoming booklet. These booklets are going to specific groups, organizations, and locations so that they offer advertisers inexpensive yet targeted advertising opportunities. Shopping With Women is unique in that its advertising opportunities are ever changing. Bookmark their upcoming events page and check back often for ways that you can reach very targeted markets in a co-operative advertising venue. Another brand new advertising co-operative, and really neat women's group is located online at http://www.mywoman2woman.com These ladies are producing joint mailings and catalogs that you can participate in. There are also many ways that you can develop your own co-operative advertising efforts. If you participate in home party sales, you might wish to coordinate with several other people representing different home party plan companies. You could each supply a few items to be used in your own show displays and keep business cards handy for any guests who are interested in your co-op's products. You know that your samples will be seen by people who already attend, host, and shop at home parties. You might want to get co-ops together for booths at craft fairs, business opportunity seminars, or demonstration meetings. You can share the cost of the booth and share the leads obtained. This is especially helpful with multiple day events as no one has to man the event around the clock. With multi day events, you can even put together a co-op of people representing the same company. Another co-operative advertising effort that has grown steadily over the years is the WAHMfest events. These are held nationwide throughout the year and target women who are considering starting a work at home business. Visit them online at http://www.wahmfest.org. You can participate in currently scheduled events or sign up to host an event of your own. This is an especially effective co-op because many people are participating who reach varied segments of a geographic population. Since all participants help to promote the event, you are likely to reach people you would not otherwise come into contact with in your own hometown. A finaly way that I would like to suggest co-operative advertising initiatives isn't really my idea at all. It is a part of the efforts of Shopping With Women. But the concept can be spun and utilized in many different venues. Have 15-30 people come together and print tote bags, book bags, shopping bags, or even three ring binders for a specific event or venue. Examples could be Christmas Shows or Festivals, Church Sponsored Events, Training Seminars, Open Houses, etc. Each participant pays the same amount towards the printing of the bag or binder. Ads are printed on the final product for each participant. Then the bags or binders are given away for free at the open house, show, party, or farmers market. These are just sample ideas. But it is a great way to be sure that event attendees take home something with your marketing message. Advertising co-op participants might also include samples, coupons, flyers, or business cards in all the printed bags. Co-operative advertising is a good way to stretch your advertising budget and reach more people with your marketing message. Always be on the look out for people that you can participate in advertising co-ops with. You'll get a bigger bang for your advertising dollar and continue to build your network of influence.

Customer Preferences in Online Advertising Part 1 of 3

2009-06-19T05:54:00.000-07:00

Online consumers have given some very explicit information regarding their preferences when it comes to advertising. According to research conducted by Jupiter (www.jup.com), a worldwide authority on Inteet commerce, there are several things online business people need to be aware of in order to increase their advertising effectiveness. I have created this 3-part series of articles as a commentary relating to the results of Jupiter's study entitled, "Inside the Mind of the Online Consumer". It will help you understand what the information means to you. Taking heed to the recommendations Jupiter reveals will most certainly improve your advertising response rate. Customers Use the Inteet for Information Forty-eight (48) percent of consumers online use the Inteet primarily as a utility device, not an entertainment device. This means they are using the Inteet as a tool, not a toy. Because of that fact, consumers are primarily looking for information, not games. This is not a new revelation. However, how this fact relates to advertising is new. Customers Want Information-Based Ads According to the customers in Jupiter's survey, they respond to advertising that compliments their online activities. Forty (40) percent said they respond more readily to online ads that are informative rather than entertaining. This would include new product developments, benefits-oriented ads and those focusing on service issues. Notice that one of the categories listed is "product benefits". This is where the majority of online advertisers fall to pieces. It is simply imperative that online advertising copy be filled with benefits. Online consumers are looking to answer the question, "What's in it for me" over and over again. They are seeking information and the advertising you give them should fill that need. How to Build An Information-Oriented Ad So now that we've leaed that customers are ready and waiting for us to provide them with information- based advertising… how do we do it? Does that automatically mean you have to go with long copy? No, not at all. According to Jupiter, "Advertisers that are marketing high-consideration products, which require a more informed purchase process, should focus more exclusively on consumers' online information needs. Advertisers that are marketing low-consideration products - for which consumers require little information in order to complete a purchase - have more leeway to take a less informative and more entertaining approach to their advertising." It's just as I've stated for years. Let your target market lead your decision to use long or short copy. Those seeking information on affiliate programs, MLM programs, high-investment products or services, etc. are going to be seeking more information than someone in search of a new bathrobe. For more detail in this area, visit http://www.ktamarketing.com/articles_longcopy.html. Here are some suggestions you can use to help build a successful information-type ad: 1.Include statistics - When you make a sales claim, back it up with information, including statistics. You might say, "Our saucepans have a non-stick coating that's guaranteed for life. In actual, in-home testing, food did not stick to our saucepans 98.3% of the time." 2.Include targeted benefits - You must include targeted benefits to make your message hit its mark. Let's take the saucepan example a bit further. "Our saucepans have a non-stick coating that's guaranteed for life. In actual, in-home testing, food did not stick to our saucepans 98.3% of the time. You get omelets that come out of the pan whole. You get sautéed chicken that makes a beautiful presentation on the plate. You get less waste, less but food and more healthy cooking because you use no oil." Now those are benefits any chef would think are important. 3.Provide content on your site that backs up your claims - As you surf the Web take note of information that supports your advertising claims. Surveys, research, reports, testimonials, etc. can all provide valuable information that could move a customer from the point-of-decision to the point- of-purchase. 4.Submit articles - Customers looking for information are much more likely to respond to a URL listed in an article than a bold-faced advertisement. Because articles provide information in a non-threatening way, they work along the same level as endorsements and referrals. Write articles relating to your area of expertise and submit them to article archive sites and Ezine publishers. 5.Offer a free report - Give away information free with a purchase or subscription to your newsletter. Since information is what surfers are looking to receive, it will work as a big incentive. Next in the series will be a focus on ads that are avoided and shunned by online customers… and how to be sure yours isn't one of them!

Fundraisers

2009-06-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Helping others is very rewarding for you, your business and your workers, associates and clients, as you see those you help reap benefits while eaing some recognition for your company efforts in the process. Plus check out the words from inspirational pro Zig Ziglar, "If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want." Here are tips to help with your own fundraiser marketing campaigns. 1. FLYERS - Create flyers for bulletin boards of the organization involved in the fundraising and for local area stores, shopping centers, community centers and other places. On the flyer, make sure to include complete contact information with your website, email address and a phone number. To save on full color printing, print with standard black ink on colored paper. Along the bottom of the flyer, have tear out tabs with your website link and phone number on them so that people can tear them and off and take them home. Tip: pull off the first tab to get the motion in action. Otherwise, passers-by will think your flyer is too pretty to tear and won't take any strips home for following up. 2. COORDINATE - Make sure the group or organization you are helping takes part, too. Have them cross promote, linking your fundraiser web page to their own website. Create a special email message for them to send to co- workers, their own clients and other contacts. And help by submitting a newsletter article about the fundraiser to their company newsletter. Speak often with the person coordinating the fundraiser within the organization to develop and follow through with your joint marketing plans. 2. PRESS RELEASE - Announce your fundraiser to local media; print, radio and television. Have digital photos on hand to supplement and plenty of information for follow up in a media kit - online is great for quick reference and handy downloads. Include a link to your media kit in your press release. It helps to have someone available for speaking opportunities. Radio and television hosts may want to interview someone about the event. If you have an open house or kick-off event, invite the media, too. Have media kits on hand to distribute (in print and on CDs, if possible). So reach out and help others with fundraiser marketing. Helping others is a great way to help yourself, in the process. And do remember to include your website and email address on all of your marketing tools.

Close more prospects in one week than most do in 1 Year

2009-06-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

I Hate Cold Calls Long before I started my business, I realized that I wasn't good at telephone sales and that I would need to generate leads in another way. I developed a sure-fire way to generate those leads, interest in me, and my business, through the use of telephone market research. There are many benefits of doing market research including the ability to lea more about my target market's behaviors and opinions, honing messages and presentations based on real, first hand responses, as well as, to test out new messages or theories prior to wide release. As a website developer and consultant, my large market is businesses and my main target group is small business owners. In order to contact these owners I would need access to their contact information. For my target market, I found a regional business development directory to be very complete including names, addresses, phone numbers and website information. Some of the information was a little out of date but it was going to be far better than just cold calling to reach "The Owner or Manager" and get successfully past the front desk person etc. For other Business-to-Business companies I might suggest the local Chamber of Commerce or Business Association. Contact lists may be purchased or leased from outside sources, however, that is beyond the scope of this article. For a client of mine, who is in the property care and landscaping industry, I was able to suggest hitting the phone book in the areas he wanted to generate business in and call every twentieth or thirtieth name in the book. The only criteria his respondent had to meet, was that they are a homeowner or property owner. In his case, my client is located in a small town and most respondents would be homeowners. If he were in a major city I would recommend that he be calling property management companies and target areas of the city with a high concentration of houses. Most cities still have their phone books broken down by community or borough. Developing the Survey The first step in this process was to develop the survey. To do that you first need to determine the subject of the survey. This should also relate directly to the message you wish to communicate to the lead. For my company I wanted to find out one of two things: if the respondent had a website; what were the circumstances, experiences and opinions of having it, or if the respondent didn't have a website; the circumstances and reasons for not. Tuning in the Respondent As you can see, these questions relate to only one specific service - websites. This allows the respondent to easily understand what subject area you are talking about so that when you switch to providing your message they are already thinking about that subject. In my case, the respondent could easily tell that I was asking questions about websites, they probably figure that my business has something to do with websites. Keep Questions Open Ended The survey questions should be as open ended as possible. This is not scientific, as it cannot be quantified in small sample sizes, but it is the best way to avoid leading the respondent to a perceived answer. They may feel that you are looking for a particular response. This can happen when you use a scaled response survey such as ratings of 1 to 5 or 1 to 7. In my own personal experience this type of survey is best left to academics. In most cases you are looking for opinions and experiences of an individual. Ask questions like, "Could you explain how you felt about the experience when you last purchased a car?" Keep Things Brief There should be no more than 10 to 15 questions on the survey. The fewer questions and the more open ended the better the dialogue with the respondent and the more valuable the information. The Wrap Up At the end of the survey when I ask if they are interested in more information about my company and services they already have an idea of what to expect and are more likely to be open to hear and receive my message because there is no surprise and I was not beating them over the head with message. I merely made them think about their website or lack thereof. Script = Professionalism Once you have developed your survey you should write a script. I know - I can hear your sighs now - you don't want to sound like a robot or just another telemarketer but the use of a script will ensure that you sound like a professional. The danger with a script is that it might not be conversational or may not consider the person on the other end of the phone. To avoid sounding robotic and like you are reading a script you should read it aloud to yourself. If you are unsure about how it sounds try it out on someone in your home or office. The worst thing you can do is to call up someone and start in with, "Uuuhhmmm, could I speak to - uuuhhmmm?" Your script should include a brief introduction. In my case my introduction went like this, "Hello, Mr. Adams. My name is Jay Gilmore. The reason I am calling is that I am doing some market research for my business services company in your area and I wanted to get some feedback from fellow business owners, like yourself." Note that I didn't mention the name of my company. This shows the respondent that I am a person calling to talk to another person - people like to talk to people and not businesses. Removing the Common Objection The next words that come off the script are very important, "I am not going to try to sell you anything, and I just want to ask a few questions to help in planning my business." This has worked every single time to break through the, "I'm not going to listen to a sales pitch" instinct that so many business owners and consumers have developed over the years. Ask for Their Time Now that I have broken through their resistance I am able to request permission and their time to do the survey. Be respectful of the respondent's time by making sure that the survey may be completed in less than five minutes. Tell them how long it will take - and be honest. It is not very professional to lie or mislead people about the time you are asking them for. Once the survey is complete you should conclude by thanking the respondent for assisting you with your research. The Marketing Starts Now - Actually it Already Started The marketing part is next. In closing you should briefly introduce your company and the service being marketed. An example would be, " Thank you Mr. Adams for all your help. I would like to let you know that my business, Joe's Flowers is a local flower shop that specializes in arrangements and designs from North American plants and flowers. Would you be interested in receiving more information about our services and our company?" After answering questions in your survey about flowers and their buying habits they are probably ready to find more information about your company and its products or services. Get their mailing address and / or email address and any other information you require to send them the information you want. What to Send Sending the information about your business can make or break this relationship. You have already gotten willing permission to send information to the respondent - now you have to send them something that will lead them to choose to buy your product or service or refer a friend or colleague. The contents of the information package - be it electronic or print- should be a letter of introduction and thanks for the participation in the survey and some free and useful information that they will relate to regarding your product or services. This information package is a first step to an ongoing relationship that will allow you to nurture goodwill and relationships with people who are actually interested in your business. The respondents will be expecting some form of marketing message but don't overdo it. Pushing too hard to close a sale at this stage will not work with this piece. This is not a direct mail promotion so don't treat it as such. That being, said don't hesitate to place importance and urgency on the message. Use benefit oriented copy to entice readers to take some form of action. Follow-up Will Make the Sale - Well Some Anyway As you bring the respondents closer to your business's products and or services by providing valuable information and examples of how it can better their lives many will choose to buy your products and services. Give Up The Cold Call You have now just read a great way to expose you business to new markets, new people, lea more about those markets and people, and get your message out - all with nothing more than a telephone and a list of phone numbers. What is best is that you were able to get people to willingly accept your message without the anxiety and resistance of a sales cold call.

Custom LED Display

2009-06-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

Custom LED Display, as the name specifies, facilitate control anything with any message that you can think of, from hours of operation to daily specials. These are used by almost all industries like factory, banks, airports, universities, libraries, and many others.

Custom LED displays are based on LED technology which gives it a mode sleek and thus the improved performance. This innovative technology enables the production of affordable giant displays.

LED's are solid-state devices with no moving parts and by producing little heat and being energy efficient, our current LED sign designs are at least five times more efficient than their incandescent counterparts.

These are designed to be lightweight and easily mountable. Moreover these are durable and reliable as they are made to be impact resistant. Custom Led displays can be designed according to the need of the user and considering all above aspects so that they can be maintained easily. Of course the maintenance helps improve the life of any electronic equipment, measures are taken into consideration while production, so that the cost of maintenance reduces at a great extent.

The customer can be provided with any specified LED colour and design package, with samples delivered, from initial approach, in less than four weeks, whether the product is rotary encoder for a state-of-the-art digital sound deck or a meter for a milling machine.

Custom LED displays are mounted on the wall or hanged from any ceiling for broadcasting information that sight from any distance. Moreover the brightness of these custom LED displays help sight from any distance very clearly.

About The Author

Paula Jones

Jayex Technology Limited, based in London specialise in advanced information display systems. Established in 1978 we have pioneered the development of the LED display market and now have over 18,000 customers worldwide. We offer, probably the largest range of models from small single line signs to big screen Megavision screens that can display live video and action replay in stadia.

jayex.co.uk

Banner Ads How To Quadruple Clickthroughs Using Proven Techniques

2009-06-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

It's a fact… Businesses right now are wasting thousands of dollars on ineffective advertising. In fact, a large majority of business owners are satisfied when they place a banner ad and double their investment. Are you in this category? Do you pull mediocre results from every banner ad you place? Want to start placing ads that pull 4, 10, even 20 times the amount you invested? Of course you do! Here's how to create devastatingly powerful banner ads that get people clicking! First, you need to walk a mile in your prospects shoes. What tus them on? What key words will stop them dead in their tracks? Understanding who your ad is talking to is the first step. Your second step is understanding the dreams and desires of your products audience. Ask yourself some questions: Are they motivated by money? Do they want to do something better? What's the emotional reason your target prospect would be interested in your product? For instance, a home business offer would go after prospects interested in money, right? But there are other underlying benefits that speak to your targeted audience too. Maybe they want freedom from a time clock? Maybe they hate answering to a boss? For instance, if you wanted to target a niche market of RV owners for your business opportunity, you might write a banner headline like "RVers! You Can Travel The Country, And Get Paid Very Well To Do It"! The headline above addresses two powerful motivators for someone that owns an RV. First, money, a universal motivator. And second, traveling in their RV. This creates excitement for an RV enthusiast reading the headline and lures them into the copy. Second, a banner ad works better when it appears interactive. Create buttons on your banner that the reader can click. Perhaps a survey where the user clicks radio buttons to reply. Or, something that looks like a drop down menu that the user clicks. Third, as in any form of effective advertising, you need to create a sense of urgency. Banner ads need to pull the reader away from the website they're already viewing. So, aside from an offer that speaks directly to them, you need to give them a reason to stop searching the site they're on and choose to visit the site your banner points to. "Click Now" works, but an even more effective urgency creator would be "limited supplies" or "special discount for the first 100 visits"! Fourth, make sure your banner design is simple. Key words should stand out. Graphics should be light, and only used to capture attention. Use color schemes that compliment one another and draw the eye. Using these ideas in your own banner ads can dramatically increase clickthroughs. By applying them to your own banner marketing you can set your own personal records for clickthroughs and profits.

Artist Marketing Selling Your Art on Ebay

2009-06-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

Artist Marketing - Selling Your Art on Ebay As an artist, you've probably already realized that the "creative" end of your profession is handled. It's the "marketing" of your work that is the challenge! In a previous article, I covered some of the key points of traditional Artist Marketing through participating in Art Shows and Festivals. This article will cover one online approach to marketing your work -- Selling on Ebay. As a venue for selling Art, ebay is a much debated issue. Some artists say that ebay devalues an artist's work and that one should never sell their work on ebay. This is certainly a valid opinion -- a large percentage of ebay buyers are looking for bargains. That being said, here is another way to look at it: selling work on ebay to obtain exposure and advertising of one's work, along with making sales. Let's face it, there is no way to get around the fact that MILLIONS of people visit ebay everyday with the express intent of SHOPPING. It is unlikely that any other online site for marketing artwork will generate that volume of traffic. A few years ago, before many artists entered the ebay marketplace, competition was light and making money on ebay a bit easier. Presently, ebay has grown to the point where jumping in and making a living selling your art exclusively on ebay would be challenging at best. If you can approach ebay as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy, as opposed to "putting all of your eggs in one basket," the ebay experience can be quite valuable. As far as selling prices go, yes, often times ebay prices are below other markets. If this bothers you, stop now -- ebay may be a waste of your time. However, if you don't mind having some pieces sell for less than average, the ebay experience can simply mean well spent Advertising Dollars in addition to income. And what about those customers who paid full price for your work? Business is business. Your response, should they ask, can be that you dedicate a limited number of pieces to auction for advertising purposes. (Countless artists have donated their work to fundraisers, with zero input on the final selling price.) If you are going to "protect" the value of your work, you have to market it... The actual "how to" of listing items on ebay is quite simple, though time consuming. There is no need for a "how to lesson" here, as every aspect of the ebay selling process is explained through onsite links to additional information. Any questions you have about fees, guidleines, etc. can be found right on ebay with a little patience. The "philosophy" of the approach is up to you. I will suggest some guidelines for making ebay part of your over all marketing plan: If you already have your own website, or plan to start one, great. Ebay can be used as a method for getting people to your main site. While you can't advertise your website on an auction page, you can mention your site in the "About Me" section of your Seller Preferences. Also, you can mention your site in correspondence email to anyone who contacts you through ebay or wins one of your listed items. Ebay is quite particular about Sellers advertising other websites (ebay would of course prefer that all business transact through them!) so make sure to exercise care and only respond to those who contact you first. (See the ebay User Agreement for details.) If you don't maintain your own website, or even if you do, you may want to consider opening an ebay store. It's relatively inexpensive, with basic stores starting at $15.95/month, you can list as many items as you like in the store. Listing fees for store items are far less than listing fees for auction items. Of course, there is a catch -- only auction items show up at the top of a search when folks go looking for items to buy. So, your store items will seldom be found by the average shopper. However, you can advertise your store on your ebay auction pages. So one approach is to continually keep several items up for auction, and loudly declare that you have many more available in your ebay store (active links to your store help!) Also, you will find that after items have been in your store for a period of time, they may be indexed on Google and Froogle! Given the intense competition for site ranking on Google, an ebay store is a great way to get your work out there to be seen. It probably goes without saying that you will need to post a picture of your artwork, and that image quality is very important. Try to avoid sitting your painting or sculpture on the sofa and just snapping a picture. Well displayed and well lit images will help a great deal. Also, you will need to consider how you plan to ship the item before listing it. Ebay will require you to enter shipping options and pricing that you plan to offer to the winning bidder. You will also need to decide if you are willing to ship inteationally or to US-only destinations. A final note on listing your items, whether at auction or in an ebay store: remember to chose quality KEYWORDS! This is most important in the Title line of your item. Put yourself in the buyer's shoes. Few people are probably looking for "Look at this very pretty view of flowers in a vase." A much better title, littered with popular search words, might be: "Floral Painting, Still Life, Art Print, Limited Edition." Ebay provides a list of popular "Keywords" to assist in your homework. One great way to prepare yourself for entering the ebay market is to BUY something on ebay! In this case, try buying a piece of art. This will give you experience from the Shoppers perspective on searching, bidding and winning an item. You can use your likes and dislikes of your experience to create a plan all your own!

diamond jewelry india diamond jewelry manufacturer

2009-06-16T06:11:00.001-07:00

Everything you wanted to know about diamonds and the global diamond business, industry, and trade. Djewels is a complete on-line shopping portal that provides information on the exploration activities of Diamond Industry. The site allows users free access to information about new discoveries, exploration projects, corporate financing, and acquisitions and provides complete market information. Our site http://www.djewels.org sells fine quality and ideal cut diamonds, diamond jewelry including engagement rings, ring settings, diamond and fashion earrings, pendants and bracelets. Djewels, the company who is pioneered in using latest techniques, implementing newer ideas, cost & manpower management was originally founded in 1985, and started wholesale readymade Jewellery business, under the brand name of Djewels. Having more than 19 year's family experience in Diamonds, Color stones and Gold Jewellery business, the company has set so many new quality standards. With 19 years of experience, the Djewels is specialized in the manufacturing of good quality Diamonds & Diamond Jewellery. The founder of Djewels Pvt. Ltd., is a well known and highly respectable in the Diamond industry worldwide, he is also a qualified / certified gemologist. Djewels offers bouquets of very special services to all customers. Honesty, Accuracy, Hospitality, perfect price and above all Customer satisfaction. Djewels on-line shopping literally takes you behind the scenes of the worldwide diamond business - to the diamond bourses and the cutting centers including a map of Indian diamond calendar of events and conferences; jewelry trade shows, dealers information about polished manufacturers and exporters; the history of diamonds, and more. If you have any queries Please contact feel free our website: http://www.djewels.org/forum.asp Thanks (Swapan Kumar)

Free classifieds Using them to promote your stuff online

2009-06-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

Classified advertising is a form of advertising that is particularly common in newspapers and other periodicals. A classified is usually textually based and can consist of as little as the type of item being sold, and a contact number to call for more information. It can also have much more detail, such as name to contact, address to contact or visit, a detailed description of the product or products. There are generally no pictures or other graphics within the advertisement, although sometimes a logo may be used. Classified advertising is generally grouped within the publication under headings classifying the product or service being offered, for example: Accounting, Automobiles, Clothing, Farm Produce, For Sale, For Rent, etc. Classified advertising is different from display advertising that often contains graphics or other art work and which is more typically distributed throughout a publication adjacent to editorial content. The free classifieds are part of free classified advertising. The free classified advertising is the advertising free of cost. In recent times classified advertising or classified ads are not merely confined to print media, rather expanded to inteet network. The free classifieds and free classified advertising have become hot online catchwords. Craigslist was one of the first online classified sites. The free Inteet classified advertising is rapidly growing trend of recent times. There are numerous companies and websites that offer the free online classified ads. These websites receives free classifieds ads and advertise them free of cost. There are also country specific classified online sites like usfreeads.com for United States. There are a number of agencies throughout the world that have made a business out of the classified advertising industry. For example: Wide Area Classifieds has created their own classified networks in which businesses and individuals can place ads in hundreds of different papers across the country. According to market researcher Classified Intelligence, in 2003, the market for classified ads in the United States was $15.9 billion (newspapers), $14.1 billion (online). The worldwide market for classified ads in 2003 was estimated at over $100 billion. Free Classifieds Using Them to Promote Your Stuff Online

Classified advertising is generally grouped within the publication under headings classifying the product or service being offered, for example: Accounting, Automobiles, Clothing, Farm Produce, For Sale, For Rent, etc. Classified advertising is different from display advertising that often contains graphics or other art work and which is more typically distributed throughout a publication adjacent to editorial content.

The free classifieds are part of free classified advertising. The free classified advertising is the advertising free of cost.

In recent times classified advertising or classified ads are not merely confined to print media, rather expanded to inteet network. The free classifieds and free classified advertising have become hot online catchwords. Craigslist was one of the first online classified sites.

The free Inteet classified advertising is rapidly growing trend of recent times. There are numerous companies and websites that offer the free online classified ads. These websites receives free classifieds ads and advertise them free of cost.

There are also country specific classified online sites like usfreeads.com for United States. There are a number of agencies throughout the world that have made a business out of the classified advertising industry. For example: Wide Area Classifieds has created their own classified networks in which businesses and individuals can place ads in hundreds of different papers across the country.

According to market researcher Classified Intelligence, in 2003, the market for classified ads in the United States was $15.9 billion (newspapers), $14.1 billion (online). The worldwide market for classified ads in 2003 was estimated at over $100 billion.

About Author: The Author owns a website on free classifieds. The website provides a quick and easy way to promote / sell your business and products. You can even post and find Special Offers on lingerie.

Free Movie Downloads

2009-06-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

Download all your favorite movies. No download fees! Click here for more information http://hwalts.moviecity.hop.clickbank.net

Creating an Advertising Plan

2009-06-15T00:43:00.000-07:00

Pick up your palette and slap that paint on the canvas……We are about to prepare a masterpiece! Creating an advertising plan is a mix of analytical preparation and creative conceptualization. Who are you trying to reach? What do you want to say to them? How, when and where are you going to reach them? In preparing the guideline or framework for your advertising plan you need to concentrate on defining your target market. You want to look at their age, location, marital status, income, and life stage. Strap down your easel and get ready to develop, is time to begin the creative process and strategy. We want to concentrate on appealing to the needs or wants of the consumers or target base. We need to focus on where people are going to first see our product/service to make an immediate lasting impact. Remember it is all about getting noticed, we need to create ads that resonate on the minds and hearts of our viewing audience. There are numerous forms of advertising media we can use, such as; direct mail, public relations promotions, display advertising, directories, brochures/flyers, door to door leaflets, transit ads, inteet, TV, radio, Cinema, exhibitions, and trade shows. In its simplest form, your creative strategy needs to answer these three things: What benefit are you promising and what's your selling proposition? Who are you making it to? Why should they believe you? There are two modes that our customers shopping habits can be classified as, transactional and relational. Transactional customers focus on today's transaction and they fear paying more than they should have. They are very research oriented and they enjoy comparing and negotiating. At the same time these costumers are great for word-of-mouth advertising. Relational customers think of today as a beginning to all the transactions to follow. Timing is an important aspect when placing advertising. If you place an ad too soon, people may forget about your event. If you place an ad too late, people may already have plans or purchased another product. For a seasonal plan, you may want to begin running a campaign early enough to catch the people who plan and continue running your ad in order to catch the last-minute trip crowd. When developing your plan you need to concentrate on the timing of your advertising. We refer to this as the purchase frequency –that is, the more frequently the product is purchased, the less repetition is required. Companies need to consider the rate at which your advertisement is forgotten, or the speed at which buyers forget the brand if advertising is not seen nor heard. Most approaches to advertising are divided into two timing schedules; continuous and flight schedules. The law of "3" has long applied to visual and audio advertising. That is, if a target customer can read your message 3 times in a short period of time, or hear your ad 3 times, it will increase the chances of them remembering the product. When developing slogans, phrases, or any words that we will use in ads we need to use evocative words. Words that evoke a reaction from the viewer, remove them from their current thoughts, and place them on your message. The most important part of developing an advertising campaign is to be consistent. If the product/service can be recognized in numerous areas of placement through a consistent message delivery, it will become a part of the consumers buying habits. When deciding which type of firm to use in implementing your advertising plan you should look at the options. A full service agency does research, selects and purchases media, and develops ad copies and produces artwork. A limited-service agency specializes in one aspect of the creative process and they can provide a range of services depending on the company needs. Your last option is visiting a business incubation professional who can help you develop a plan utilizing a mix of limited services and consulting based on in-house resources you can use to do it yourself. If you utilize all the tools that have been mentioned in the article you will be able to develop and implement a great guideline for your advertising plan. © Copyright 2004-05 by www.motivatedentrepreneur.com

FREE FLASH animated banner ad for all new clients with any purchase click here

2009-06-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings, ProBannerAds.com is offering ONE FREE FLASH animated banner advertisement OR animated GIF banner for your online business with any other banner or graphics purchase. Our clients include Inteet.com, Charles Schwab, Conseco Direct, Gambling.com and many other successful websites across the Web. View our vast portfolio of highly successful banner advertisements, animated graphics, html email designs, FLASH animations and headers by clicking: http://www.probannerads.com/portfolio.htm To receive this amazing offer, simply email your contact information to "pro@probannerads.com" or you can manually send this information to us by using our submission form at: http://www.probannerads.com/submitinfo.htm Our company designs high-end creatives, advertising banners, pop-ups, html email campaigns, logos, illustration, web design, animation and all varieties of advertisement on the Inteet today. We also offer fully customized graphics, animation and flash designs to help get your site noticed. Tuaround time is usually less than three days and our pricing structure is below the industry standard for superior quality creative designs that get results. We have formed many strategic alliances and offer our creative design skills through various sites and networks to increase our reach. Our most recent partnership with 'InfluenceOne' has been wildly successful, and is enabling us to offer our expetise and experience at these unbelievable prices. We bring an elite technology to the online advertising world. Please stop by our website and see for yourself. With our most recent breakthrough, you can now have a banner ad advertisement (created by 'ProBannerAds') that lets your new customer click on your banner ad and enter their phone number directly into a field built into the banner. The Phone number is then immediately sent to your call center where you can have one of your operators/sales staff or automated system retu the call! 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Check it out at the following web address: http://www.probannerads.com/onecall.htm To discuss any type of partnership/affiliation possibilities, please do not hesitate to call. Feel free to contact me, Sam Feuer, directly with all inquiries at (718) 840-2826. I look forward to working with your company! Thank you, Sam Feuer ProBannerAds.com marketing@probannerads.com (718)840-2826

Create Your Dynamic Elevator Speech

2009-06-14T03:24:00.000-07:00

So, what's an elevator speech, and how do you get one?

What Is It?

An elevator speech is a short (15-30 second, 150 word) sound bite that succinctly and memorably introduces you. It spotlights your uniqueness. It focuses on the benefits you provide. And it is delivered effortlessly.

Elevator speeches are intended to prepare you for very brief, chance encounters in an elevator. But elevator speeches are not just for elevators! You should use it whenever you want to introduce yourself to a new contact. That could be in the supermarket, waiting in line at an ATM or when you get your moing latte.

So, who better than you to describe with passion, precision and persuasiveness what you do? A great elevator speech makes a lasting first impression, showcases your professionalism and allows you to position yourself.

And if you want to network successfully, you need an elevator speech!

How to Prepare an Elevator Speech, or What's My Line?

Now for a short course in preparing your elevator speech, or unique selling proposition.

First, and most important, think in terms of the benefits your clients or customers derive from your services. Trust me, no one is going to be riveted if you say:

"Hi, my name is Stanley Manly, and I'm a public relations executive with twenty years of experience."

Or:

"Hi, I'm Sally Hopeful, and I'm an executive recruiter.

Two big yawns.

What's In It for Me?

Do you recall that old radio station, WII-FM: What's In It For Me?!

If you remember that people are always more interested in how you can help them, you're on the right track. Keep that top of mind when composing your speech.

Here's how to improve the two examples mentioned above:

"Hi, my name is Stanley Manly, and I help inventors tell the world about their inventions."

"Hi, I'm Sally Hopeful. I partner with companies that need to find talented people to help their business growth and become more profitable."

Now, you've got my attention!

Let's use my elevator speech before and after as an example:

Here's my before version (and I wondered why people looked at me with a frozen smile!):

"Hi, I'm Dale Kurow, and I'm a career and executive coach. I hold a Master's Degree in Career Counseling and have been trained by a master level coach. (Who cares!) I've been an HR director for a multinational cosmetic company, run a PR agency and taught college-level business courses. (So what!) I believe that coaching can be the catalyst to change your life. (Are you asleep yet?)

See how that was all about me, me, me?

Now for the revised version:

"Hi, I'm Dale Kurow, and I help people become more successful at their work. For example, I've helped a client change jobs with a 40% salary increase, I've helped a client develop the skills to deal with a difficult boss, and I've helped a manager devise new ways to keep her staff motivated."

Here are a few more examples:

I know an Avon representative who says:

"I help women look beautiful."

Or a business coach that says:

"I help you get more clients than you know what to do with."

And here's my favorite, one that is used by an IRS agent:

"I'm a govement fund-raiser."

Action Steps

So, here's what you need to do to craft your elevator speech.

First, write down the "deliverables" -- the services or features that you provide. Then, think in terms of the benefits that your clients or employer could derive from these services. You could use several successful client outcomes, as I did.

Once you've got that written, create an opening sentence that will grab the listener's attention, as our Avon representative did above. The best openers leave the listener wanting more information. And you do not have to include your title, especially if you think it has a negative connotation (an IRS agent, for example).

Finally, your elevator speech must roll off your tongue with ease. Practice your speech in front of the mirror and with friends. Record it on your answering machine, and listen to it. Do you sound confident? Sincere? Is it engaging? Tweak accordingly. Then, take it on the road.

Dale Kurow, M.S., is an author and a career and executive coach in NYC. Dale works with clients across the U.S. and inteationally, helping them to become better managers, figure out their next career moves and thrive despite office politics. Visit Dale's web site at http://www.dalekurow.com/newsletter to sign-up for her free monthly ezine "Career Essentials," chocked full of useful career tips and strategies you can use immediately.

Cable TV Advertising Mobile Detailing Customers

2009-06-13T03:53:00.000-07:00

If you own a mobile detailing business or mobile car wash company you should have the local cable company as one of your clients. You may even find your self with some free publicity. Cable companies are great companies to secure fleet wash contracts with. They also have other things that can be advantageous to you such as:

Local News

Community Bulletin Boards

Very Targeted Audiences

Employees To Wash Cars For

Satellite Antennas To Wash

Large Customer Base

Fleets of Trucks

Local cable stations are always looking for news. They try to get a jump on the moing newspapers. You may as well be part of local news since you are definitely part of the community. If you know of an event you will be participating in, alert the cable company and allow them to interview you when they arrive. You can introduce them to the director or main organizer. They will also want to interview you because you have been helpful and because they have limited time and limited battery power in their portable equipment. They must get back to the editing room.

Each story will be between two to eight minute segments on the evening news. If the average story is five minutes and the local evening news is from eight to nine and from ten to eleven, then each one-hour show needs thirty minutes of airtime; that is six stories (five minutes each). The rest is commercials. Most local news reporters don't make much money. Instead they use their job as a steppingstone to make it as the next Dan Rather or Connie Chung. Lots of people want their job and they continually have to prove themselves. So be patient. Sometimes they are late and they frequently make mistakes. These reporters need to get the story straight the first time. It saves on editing time and they are always behind deadline and low on batteries.

Whenever you are interviewed, always try to be wearing a company shirt or flex for the camera (just kidding). However, it is very important to have the mobile detailing rig in the background. Think about how you can combine customer synergies with free publicity and advertising in your business.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Do I Need Raised Letter or Full Color Business Cards

2009-06-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

If you've been searching around for business cards that will best represent the image you want to portray for your business, then you've no doubt encountered many options. The Big Two, as I like to think of them, are "Raised Letter" and "Full Color." What are the differences in raised letter and full color business cards? What are the price differences? What looks best for how I want to represent my business? These are all questions I hear on a daily basis. 1. The difference between Raised Letter and Full Color printing is in how the ink is applied to the card stock. Thermography is the type of printing that produces ink that stands up off the page slightly. When you run your fingers across the surface, you can feel the printing on the stock. Each color that is printed has a separate plate, and the cards have to be run through the press for each color chosen. These types of cards have a very elegant and refined look about them, especially if the colors and stocks chosen are complimentary. There are hundreds of varieties of stocks and inks to choose from. Full Color printing is much like printing from your ink jet printer at home. All the inks are printed on the page at the same time, and combined to create hues, shades--photo images. So, one run through and the cards are printed. These cards have been traditionally used by real estate agents, insurance agents and the like. But now, with this type of printing becoming more affordable and available, anyone can choose this option. These designs most of the time seem jazzier, sharper, more upbeat. 2. The cost difference is an oddity. Spot printing (the process of laying the colors on one at a time, as in Raised Letter cards), can be much cheaper--if only one color or black is chosen. White plate (65 lb stocks) will be cheaper than a cordwain or linen. But, if you start adding more colors (equals more time through the press) then you'll start racking up the cost. If your colors touch each other (called registration--the printer must make sure the cards run through correctly) then you'll tack on some extra expense there. If you have a full color logo, the least expensive way to go would be with full color (process printing). But, you generally have to get a minimum of 1000. You can get 250 from some places, but you'll pay about the same price. It's the setup fee from the printer that is the biggest expense. Printing them is the cheap part, which is why the more you get, the better the price. 3. To choose the look that's right for you, I would think first about the image you are projecting for your company. Are you a doctor? You probably would rather have a classier linen stock with black and gold inks. Same for lawyers and other professionals. A handsome bordeaux (burgundy) on grey fiber stock would speak volumes about your professionalism. The raised letter would add to the expensive feel. There is really no need to add more than 1 color and black in printing raised letter cards. If that's the way you're heading, then you probably have a flashier business image and would need full color cards. A doctor or lawyer is usually using cards to provide clients with contact information, not get more business. Full color is proven to get a 30% better response rate than regular printing, but this is only a bonus if your business aims to use the business cards to get more business. If you sell a product, using full color cards would be a brilliant idea--you can have a photo of it right on the cards. If you're in a service industry like real estate, you'll want your prospects to remember your face. Add your professionally taken photo to your cards. If you're trying to express a concept of what you can do for customers, then finding the right stock photo image can speak thousands of words with just one image! In reality, cost usually dictates the biggest part of your decision making process. However, I would caution you to consider your IMAGE first. You might find that if you choose the card that has the best representation of your image, the cost ends up being less than if you choose the wrong one. Do I Need Raised Letter or Full Color Business Cards

What are the differences in raised letter and full color business cards? What are the price differences? What looks best for how I want to represent my business? These are all questions I hear on a daily basis.

1. The difference between Raised Letter and Full Color printing is in how the ink is applied to the card stock. Thermography is the type of printing that produces ink that stands up off the page slightly. When you run your fingers across the surface, you can feel the printing on the stock. Each color that is printed has a separate plate, and the cards have to be run through the press for each color chosen. These types of cards have a very elegant and refined look about them, especially if the colors and stocks chosen are complimentary. There are hundreds of varieties of stocks and inks to choose from.

Full Color printing is much like printing from your ink jet printer at home. All the inks are printed on the page at the same time, and combined to create hues, shades--photo images. So, one run through and the cards are printed. These cards have been traditionally used by real estate agents, insurance agents and the like. But now, with this type of printing becoming more affordable and available, anyone can choose this option. These designs most of the time seem jazzier, sharper, more upbeat.

2. The cost difference is an oddity. Spot printing (the process of laying the colors on one at a time, as in Raised Letter cards), can be much cheaper--if only one color or black is chosen. White plate (65 lb stocks) will be cheaper than a cordwain or linen. But, if you start adding more colors (equals more time through the press) then you'll start racking up the cost. If your colors touch each other (called registration--the printer must make sure the cards run through correctly) then you'll tack on some extra expense there.

If you have a full color logo, the least expensive way to go would be with full color (process printing). But, you generally have to get a minimum of 1000. You can get 250 from some places, but you'll pay about the same price. It's the setup fee from the printer that is the biggest expense. Printing them is the cheap part, which is why the more you get, the better the price.

3. To choose the look that's right for you, I would think first about the image you are projecting for your company. Are you a doctor? You probably would rather have a classier linen stock with black and gold inks. Same for lawyers and other professionals. A handsome bordeaux (burgundy) on grey fiber stock would speak volumes about your professionalism. The raised letter would add to the expensive feel. There is really no need to add more than 1 color and black in printing raised letter cards. If that's the way you're heading, then you probably have a flashier business image and would need full color cards. A doctor or lawyer is usually using cards to provide clients with contact information, not get more business.

Full color is proven to get a 30% better response rate than regular printing, but this is only a bonus if your business aims to use the business cards to get more business. If you sell a product, using full color cards would be a brilliant idea--you can have a photo of it right on the cards. If you're in a service industry like real estate, you'll want your prospects to remember your face. Add your professionally taken photo to your cards. If you're trying to express a concept of what you can do for customers, then finding the right stock photo image can speak thousands of words with just one image!

In reality, cost usually dictates the biggest part of your decision making process. However, I would caution you to consider your IMAGE first. You might find that if you choose the card that has the best representation of your image, the cost ends up being less than if you choose the wrong one.

About The Author

Business card designer, Mitoné Cooke, specializes in full color business card designs at her website http://drbusinesscards.com. You can also give her a call at 1-800-431-3407 to order raised letter cards! Mitoné can be reached by email at moi@mitone.com. Sign up for the free e-newsletter about Business Card Marketing by sending a blank email to bizcardmarketing@getresponse.com.

Freightage com announces lower prices on advertising services

2009-06-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

freightage.com announces lower prices on advertising services. The online service provides various types of advertising that can be used by transportation and logistics companies to promote their business, products and services. Freightage.com now guarantees increase in traffic and interest. The team of freightage.com has developed two types of plans for the transportation and logistics companies that want to advertise with the current leader of these types of services. The Market Focus Plan provides a 3,000 - 5,000 page views per month. A significant feature are the Random Text Banner, the Random IMG Banner, the Category Banner and the Targeted Directory which will be placed on the freightage.com web site and which will provide the high-numbered viewers of the site with useful and complete information about the business being promoted. This extremely beneficial service will cost the transportation and logistics companies only $29.99 a month. The other developed advertising plan is called Business Standard. For the insignificant amount of $19,99 a month small or newly established companies can promote their transportation and logistics business using the provided by freightage.com 1 Random Text Banner and 1 Random IMG Banner. This will naturally provide 2,000 - 4,000 page views a month. freightage.com is currently one of the leaders in the transportation and logistics business. It controls a great part of the inteet-generated business by providing a vast amount of services like freight, shipping, tracking and trucking. It also provides information on freight companies, freightage rates, carriers, motor shipping companies, trucking industry, transport, tracing companies and many others.

Corporate Gifts imprint to impress

2009-06-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

Most of us have received something imprinted with a corporate logo. Corporate gifts can consist of anything that can be imprinted, embossed, screened or embroidered with a corporate logo. In some cases, flowers, liquor, or food items can also be considered. Items can range from inexpensive key rings or pocketknives, to Italian leather briefcases and Movado clocks. It can be something of little value or very expensive merchandise. It always has some sort of logo or message imprinted on it or on the packaging.

A gift of obvious value will always leave a good impression. Brand name merchandise is well received because people recognize it's worth. They know the merchandise by the reputation of the product. Clever items will also leave a lasting impression. No one can resist an item that makes them laugh or smile. Something useful, especially if it pertains to their occupation or profession is always welcome. Fine merchandise that is well made is another way to make a long lasting impression.

Obviously, an item imprinted with a corporate logo is a great way to introduce a new product. It can be tied in with national advertising. Logos can be printed in any shape or color, and this serves to reinforce the product name. The product can be in the shape or color of the new item you are introducing, and can contain advertising copy. The merchandise can be sent to potential clients, or given away with the purchase of another product. It's also a great way to say "thank you" at a launch party or dinner. Not only can the gift be imprinted with advertising information, but also the packaging. The gift box can be screened with information, and the gift bag can also be printed with a logo or product information. When this is done tastefully, it leaves a lasting impression and is very well received.

Imprinted corporate gifts are a good way to reward employees or clients. Besides the logo imprinted on the gift, the occasion can be engraved. Many companies give out 5, 10, 15, and 20-year gifts to employees. It's a wonderful way to acknowledge that the person is appreciated. It also calls attention to the entire staff that the employee has been rewarded.

Corporate gifts are a great way to celebrate the holidays or say "Happy New Year" to clients and potential clients or customers. Everyone likes to know that they are appreciated. A gift that will remain in their possession is a constant reminder and will keep your name, your product name, and your sentiments in front of them.

Many items can be individually personalized as well as printed with a logo or a corporate expression. Often, the item is printed with a motivational message that the company has been using in their advertising. However, most people cannot resist their own initials or name. It shows a lot of thought and effort went in to a gift when it's monogrammed with the recipient's own imprint. People cannot help but be impressed when it is made especially for them. Initials or name does not take away from the advertising message you are giving. It just shows that you took the extra time and effort to make the product especially for them. A gift packaged beautifully is irresistible and elegant wrapping is sure to please.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Maxine Greco has worked in the luggage and travel industry over 35 years. She is currently at Village Luggage & Gifts.

Corporate Identity

2009-06-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

This article is about the importance of good Corporate Identity, and it's more than just your sales team and the people who answer your telephones that portrays the image of your business. When not in direct contact with your firm, your customers or potential customers use the impression that they already have in their heads of your company. When we remember something we use images to categorize in our heads what we are trying to remember, when it's a company we remember things about it by thinking about the corporate identity (usually the Logo and colours used). In conclusion it is usually your corporate look that customers think of when they think of your business. The first impression of your company for a customer will probably be your logo, which they will use to make assumptions about your business. If your an entertainment or events company and your logo is dull boring and been done before then thats the exact impression that they will have of your services. If your an IT company and your logo is sharp swift and technical, thats the exact first impression that your customer will have of you and your business. - You know what they say, first impressions do last! On the same note Corporate Identities are remembered. Your Corporate Identity is also an important attraction mechanism for your company, therefore it must look good and be aesthetically pleasing to the customer as well as having a conceptual meaning behind it in accordance with what products and/or services your business provides. Your logo must be an easy object for the eyes to pick up and for the brain to remember, this is because if your competitors logo is much easier to remember the client will remember it first! You'll loose that customer, and many more. We at Divus Design know how important Corporate Identity is and our designs reflect that knowledge. At Divus Design Studio we serve our clients with creative and conceptual designs that work well and look good! We design from scratch every time making your corporate identity, logo, brochures or advertisements one of a kind, and that is important in a competitive market, more so than most would believe. Most of the time when buying a product or service the decision is made subconsciously by the creative side of our brains. Our eyes pick up the easiest shapes and objects to recognize and the most aesthetically pleasing images talk to us the best. Make your Corporate Identity number one when it comes to strategically marketing your business. Divus Design is a graphic design business located in South East Sydney Australia offering creative services including logo design, corporate identity, website design, promotional design, brochure design, business stationery, print design & print management and all general graphic design services. At Divus Design we have few rules and bounderies to our work, however we always structure our creative thinking around these four words: - - CLEAN - SIMPLE - FRESH - CONCEPTUAL - Come and visit our website at www.divusdesign.com.au or contact us directly at info@divusdesign.com.au - Mobile 0407 894 561. Regards, Van Freytag.

Creating an Effective Advertising Campaign

2009-06-11T05:27:00.000-07:00

Talk to almost any advertising agency, or Fortune 500 company exec about advertising and promotion, and you will almost certainly hear the buzz words "fragmented advertising" and "consumer-centric campaigns" and long discussions about the many pitfalls and difficulties of creating effective advertising campaigns today.

What is fragmentation exactly? It's the increase in the number of available methods for getting your message to your audience.

One of the main difficulties faced by any entrepreneur is that advertising has changed and evolved over the last few years. It now includes visual, audio and electronic media.

In fact, if you do a Google search for advertising, you may feel overwhelmed by all the options available to you now -- if you just look at the options for your Website you'll find popups, popovers, audio messages, flash video, RSS, even animated "sales people" that can be programmed to appear right on your Website and interact with your customers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg!

So is traditional advertising -- which includes billboards, radio, television, newspaper and magazine -- dead?

Not by a long shot. According to one top advertising mogul, traditional advertising methods are still around because they still work.

The trick is to figure out who your target market is, what they want, and how they look for that information.

Mark Twain said, "Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising."

If you know customers, you can spend your advertising dollars on the mediums they use to look for answers.

If your customers are senior citizens who are not online, then focus the majority of your advertising dollars on the newspapers, magazines, television, and radio that they are reading, watching or listening to.

If your target market are working parents, you need to know how, when and where they get their information. Is it on the Inteet? What radio stations do they listen to? What magazines are they reading? Do they watch television? When? Why?

So what are your best options for creating an effective advertising campaign?

Here are some simple steps:

1. Know your audience. What do they want? Where do they shop? What do they read? How old are they? Where do they hang out? Do they need your product or services? Can they afford your product or services?

2. Know your competition. Be prepared to do a little detective work. What are your three main competitors doing to advertise? Where are they advertising? How often? What types of advertising methods are they using? How long have they been running? Are you reaching the same audience? Is your message different?

Look at what they're doing right, and figure out creative ways that you can make your advertising just a little bit better, or differentiate yourself from the crowd.

3. Next take a look at what the "big dogs" in your field are doing, and see if you can adapt some of their methods to your target audience and your budget.

4. Know your message. What exactly are you trying to say? What do your customers want to hear? Why should they buy from you, and not someone else? Make every word count.

Chances are, your customers are much more tech-savvy than they were five years ago, or even one year ago. The Inteet has made unbelievable amounts of information accessible, but it also has contributed to the "information overload" consumers complain of.

Another side effect of the Inteet is that your customers have probably become used to getting "instant gratification" when they are looking for information, products or services. They want it, and they want it now. Are you giving your customers what they want, when they want it?

If you want to have an effective advertising campaign, don't try to be everything to everyone. Think of your advertising as a conversation between you and your one "ideal" customer.
Remember, if you're giving your customers what they want, they don't perceive your ads as a nuisance, they see them as a service.

Traditional advertising is not dead and you can use it to your advantage if you pay attention to who your customers are, and what they want.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Hans Hasselfors is a successful business entrepreneur and inteet marketing consultant. Get the net working for you. Join a community of like-minded authors and publishers and make your living online. Become a member of our article directory. www.SubmitYourNewArticle.com

Business card design tips

2009-06-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

A business card is often the single most important item you have to attract a new client or business partner. Getting a small piece of cardboard to represent you and your company philosophy is often challenging - lea how to do it in this article: Often, your business card is the only item left with a potential client or business partner. After a conference, meeting or display of your products, you are likely to meet dozens of people and leave your business card with them. It is essential that the business card design is complex and complete. This means that your logo, name, title and address (including contact details such as phone, fax, e-mail and web site) should all be present. When you are having your business card designed, aim for an image and a "feel" that best represents you and your company. Do not go for a flashy business card design if you are working in the financial field as this might give a feeling of sloppiness and insecurity to your clients. Adapt the business card design to your clients It is not important that you like your business card - but it is very important that your business partners and clients like it. Of course, you should always aim to get a business card design that you become attached to, a fact that will give you even more confidence. One useful trick is to print out a few dozen business cards and give them out to potential prospects and conduct an "on the spot" interview about them. Gather their opinions and make any necessary changes to improve your business card design. Business card printing If a professional graphic design company created your business card, you can rest assured that they also followed all the necessary guidelines to make the business card printing process a good one. This means that the business card designer saved the files in a format suitable for print (such as a TIF or EPS) and left a bleed area sometimes required by printers. Many advertising and creation agencies also offer business card printing, either with their own printers or by using a dedicated printer's services to do it. Quite often, a graphic design company will offer you a package for your card: both the design and the business card printing. Costs of business card printing Because there are many design and print packages and a variety of prices for business card printing, we will not stop to analyze actual costs. However, the general rules are as follows: · Black and white business card printing is the cheapest, but do try to print on high quality paper, or the business cards will look unprofessional. · Using 2-3 colors (plus white and black) can produce good visual results and is also cheap. · Full color business card printing is more expensive, but can also produce some great visual results. · The larger your order, the cheaper you get with the individual business card printing cost. More information on logo design, business card creation, graphic design tips and other useful resources can be accessed on our website: http://www.platinum-first.com More links here: Printing Your Business Card Free Business Credit Cards Graphic Design Explained Brochure Design Logo Design Web site Design

Free Article Submission Sites Are Your Gateway to Targeted Traffic

2009-06-10T00:57:00.000-07:00

There are hundreds of "free article submission" sites that will gladly accept your articles written to provide readers with useful information. As long as these articles are not thinly disguised sales letters, but provide solid content, these sites will accept them for publication, copyright free. In tu, they will then make those articles available for reading--and for publication--for anyone else browsing their article archives. Ezine publishers hungering for good, quality information to provide to their subscribers will include some of these articles in their own publications. Soon, your articles are making their way across the Inteet. ...And at the end of each article (and as a stipulation for free publication), is your resource box, a brief description of you--and a link back to your web site! Soon, you are getting targeted traffic from visitors who have read your article, found information about you in the resource box, and clicked on your web site link provided there. Don't underestimate the value of those links from your articles back to your web site. It's a well known fact that the biggest search engine on the Inteet (Google) uses link backs to increase search rankings as it indexes web pages. The more links you have back to your web site, the higher your web page rises in the search rankings! It's really quite difficult to get there any other way, unless you want to pay for sponsored advertisements! But why would you pay for an ad--when you've already invested enough money in your business as it is, and when there is a FREE way to get all of the traffic that you need? BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM... In order for you to really benefit from article posting, you've got to get your article published in as many of these sites as possible. Five or even ten sites just won't do it. You want hundreds and even thousands of visitors to flood your web site! The only way to increase the number of visitors is to increase the number of sites that you post to. Unfortunately, posting to hundreds of article submission sites by hand WILL take you hours! Each article has its own site with its own forms to fill out. Imagine writing an article, and then spending a whole week trying to get it posted to over a hundred article submission sites. The tedium of this kind of manual labor may make you think twice about writing (and posting) your next article. Unfortunately, there are some article submission service and software available in the market. All of them can save you lots of time and energy. Usually, article submission service is more expensive. Because of that, more and more users choose to use automation software to post their articles automatically to hundreds of article sites and mail lists. We will provide some unbiased 3rd party reviews of different automation software. Stay tune for our next message.

Evening gowns dresses beaded cocktail prom satin party wear

2009-06-09T19:31:00.000-07:00

Compliment your invitation with onlygowns.com adding more enjoyment to your party colors. Colors available would match to your crust color. Adding a personal touch such as special verse or a love and intimacy will make your selection and the dresses both unique. There are many collections on our site that make our site glamorous and that offer different assortment for the different people. The links below offer a few sample: Evening gowns Evening dresses cocktail & prom satin party wear. Make a grand entrance in the world of evening gown of your dreams. Beautiful and romantic evening gowns make sure you stand out from the rest. Dare to make a sexy and exotic statement, and be enticed by their new collection of ethnic-inspired evening gowns in vibrant colors and luxurious fabrics.

Billboards A Good Marketing Medium for Your Business

2009-06-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

I love billboards. It's one of my favorite marketing services. Whenever I drive downtown in a new city, while my wife might be admiring the stores, architecture and people, I'm looking at every billboard. So already I know that I'm not the typical target for billboards. Most people don't go out of their way to read every word on billboards - in fact many find them to be eyesores and only see them when they are actively looking for a product. Knowing my love of billboards, one might think that I advocate using billboards in most any small business marketing plan. Even though I do appreciate good billboard creative, I can still look apart from my own bias and realize that billboards have their place in small business marketing. >From my own experience and from the billboards that I see everyday, I think that billboards are utilized as a marketing tool for many businesses that should never have considered the marketing medium in the first place. Billboards are a unique medium because they are one of a few marketing mediums that target traffic. So it stands to reason that the businesses that advertise on the billboards should target people on the highways. Therefore, the most effective billboard campaigns are those that advertise hotels, restaurants and gas stations, since travelers are actively seeking those services. But what about billboards for branding purposes? I think that it is rarely effective. To some extent, a sensational billboard in the middle of downtown Manhattan that promotes a brand is certainly effective - as it is costly. However a billboard that promotes a brand of shoes in the middle of the country misses the mark. It's like advertising diapers in Sports Illustrated. Sure, many men that read it are fathers with babies, but that's not what is top of mind when they are reading about football. I also don't think that billboards are designed to generate calls to action. I've advertised an 800 number on billboards in several different locations. The results that we received from the billboards were generally lackluster. We did sell a few products from billboard marketing, but not enough to justify the expense. The reasons are plentiful why billboards don't lead to direct sales (except for hotels, restaurants and gas stations). First, drivers and passengers will rarely pull out a pen and write down a number or website address they saw on a billboard. Secondly, the average billboard gets perhaps two to three seconds to make an impression. Most drivers aren't going to be engaged to read the billboard and immediately persuaded to take action while handling a car at 65mph. If your small business wants to pursue billboard advertising, you'll need to research the expense of the medium. Billboard advertising can be very costly for premium downtown or interstate real estate, but it can also be affordable if you play your cards right. One way to save money is to sign a contract for remnant space. Remnant space is billboard space that is left vacant until another advertiser's contract begins. You can get this space much less expensive and many times you can get prime locations. In summary, billboards are a great medium if you are giving directions or if you have a hotel, restaurant or gas station that is off of the highway. Otherwise, they may not be best small business marketing choice. If you do want to try billboard marketing, I would start small with one or two and make sure that you have a dedicated 800 number or website so you can monitor the activity that the billboard generates.

Free Satellite TV System with Dish Network

2009-06-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

You can get up to 4 receivers installed in 4 rooms! - - No Equipment To Buy. - - Up to 256 channels! - - Cheaper than cable. - - Includes 100 hour Digital Video Recorders ($499 value each!) - - LIFETIME WARRANTY ON ALL EQUIPMENT - ***Want HDTV? Get it here for FREE.*** You pay nothing for HDTV Receivers! ($399 value each) You have been selected! You can receive FREE INSTALLATION of a Dish Network Satellite TV System! There is no equipment to buy. You can get FREE Professional Installation in up to four rooms from Dish Network! This offer even includes FREE Personal Digital Video Recorders. (Retail value $499 each if you had to buy them!) Click here to get your FREE INSTALLATION of a Dish Network satellite TV System before this promotion expires. http://www.dish-on-my-tv.com When you sign up online to receive your FREE Professional Installation from Dish Network, you'll get MORE CHANNELS, over 256 channels available, with CD QUALITY sound and picture for LESS MONEY than most people pay for their cable TV. Sign up online now for programming as low as $31.99 per month AND you'll get: FREE Professional Installation in as many as four rooms (installation is available in up to six rooms!) Up to FOUR receivers (4) for watching separate programming on each TV in different rooms Over 256 CHANNELS available of CD quality sound and picture PROGRAMMING LESS EXPENSIVE than cable TV in most markets Includes Personal Digital Video Recorders for 100 hours of tapeless recording of all your favorite shows! ($499 retail value each if you had to buy them!) Claim your FREE Professional Installation in up to Four Rooms Now! This is a limited-time promotion so hurry! Click here for online ordering with real-time confirmation of your order! http://www.dish-on-my-tv.com * This offer is for new Dish Network residential subscribers only. Previous and existing customers are not eligible. Offer limited to homes within the continental United States and Hawaii. Not available in Alaska, or Puerto Rico. Sorry, no foreign service is available. (c) 2005 VMC Satellite, Inc.

Creating Brochures That Produces Action

2009-06-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

An effective advertisement can prompt action at first glance. A business owner must keep in mind that in creating his advertisement the marketing material should easily persuade a prospect to make an action. Action, spirit, life – whatever you call it – must be in the marketing material to be able to catch dollars. Advertising is a reflex of the business world. And the business world is full of action – it is a warfare for dollars and cents and for advertising to accurately mirror business, should have a lot of action on it.

Creating brochures that get action need not be difficult. The first thing that you should consider in designing your brochure is its purpose. Is the brochure for advertisement? Is it a detailed product description? What kind of customers will be receiving your brochure? Keep in mind that brochures are created to attract a prospect's attention. Just like an advertisement, brochures demands for attention and plays on the emotion of the prospect. It has strong visuals and a distinct call to action. The brochure that you will create should build interest and create desire for your products and services. It should be able to encourage customers to follow through by calling, retuing a coupon or coming for a visit to your store.

Certainly, a brochure can attract attention and give detailed information. But oftentimes business owners have a hard time creating a brochure that accomplishes both. A detailed product information brochure will not encourage a prospect to call. Likewise, a lightweight sales brochure will not satisfy a call for more information. Thus, when creating a brochure it is important to define your objective clearly and use the brochure design to accomplish your goal. Remember that if you are sending the wrong brochure, you are just wasting your money and you are not enticing your customer to make some action.

Professional and effective advertising means creating marketing materials that achieve the highest possible retu of investment. As much as the illustrations and the color of the brochure can entice a prospect to read through the whole brochure, the content should be given much attention as it will be the one that will actually market your business to the readers. The content of your brochure will change depending on the objectives you set. But just the same, the content should be honest, clear and compelling.

Oftentimes, action complements with quick reasoning. A paragraph or sentence full of logic is full of action for the strength of the logic is like a rope that grasps the mind at the first word and carries it along to the end. Without a doubt, it is hard to swing action in an advertisement unless you are familiar with your potential customers. Hence, this means work – plenty of work. If you want action from your readers, then as an advertiser you should supply it.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

For comments and suggestions kindly visit Digital Brochure Printing

Do Your Ads Add To Your Bottom Line

2009-06-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Creating ads that present your product or service to other businesses is much the same as creating ads for consumers. The difference, of course, is that you're selling to a tightly defined niche market as opposed to a wide swath of the public. But the basics are the same because you're trying to persuade another human being to take a closer look at what you're selling. Here are ten tips to help you create an ad that makes your audience stop, look, and take action. 1. Define what you're selling before you sit down to make an ad. 2. Know who you're selling to -- keep that person in mind as you write your ad. 3. Come up with a clear statement of your product's or service's benefit. Keep that in mind, too. 4. Write as if you're one-on-one with the reader. Think of ads you connected with. They spoke to you. 5. Stay away from ego statements unless you're skilled enough to be humble or humorous. "With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good." 6. Make sure there's a strong connection between your headline and main visual. Picture a sleepy guy crawling out of bed, and the words "Time to make the donuts." 7. Choose your ad environment carefully. Your better mousetrap may not be appreciated in Gourmet magazine. 8. Study competitive ads and make sure that yours is different. Work hard to make it stand out. 9. Solicit comments. Track results. Change your approach if there seems to be a problem. 10. Above all, be sure your product or service lives up to your claims. After all, satisfied customers and clients create your best advertising.

Advertising Won t Work Here

2009-06-07T05:44:00.000-07:00

A radio station saleswoman, hair pulled back, suit well tailored, portfolio carried with a PDA peeking out, walks in and greets the store owner with a firm handshake, and announces that she wants to talk about his advertising. She is polite and on his side. The shopkeep says there is no point. Advertising doesn't work. He tried it. It failed. We don't do ads here. She is sympathetic and points out the ways in which advertising does work. He is steadfast. He tried and failed. No more advertising here. End of story. The saleswoman, in an attempt to show the store owner another perspective, agrees to give him a free commercial. It will cost him nothing. He's intrigued. The word free holds some intrigue, sometimes. The spot will begin running tomorrow moing and will make the following offer: Everything in the store, Free. All service calls, Free. The businessman protests immediately. He'll be ruined. Hundreds, if not thousands of people will flock to his store and pick it clean. The radio lady wonders how this can be, because they have clearly established that advertising doesn't work. After some discussion, it is agreed that advertising does work, but the message has to be just right and delivered to the right audience at the right time.

Drive traffic to your website by posting your articles

2009-06-06T06:09:00.000-07:00

=================================================== With well over a billion web pages worldwide, there is only one sure way to get a web surfer's attention. It's not banner ads, popup windows or any number of gee-whiz marketing gizmos. It's content--pure, solid, usable information that will make visitors come to you again and again. The Inteet is driven by information, and the fact is, people are more conceed with information than they are with how fancy your site is. That's what makes article submission the number 1 way to drive targeted traffic your site. There are hundreds of "free article submission" sites that will gladly accept your articles written to provide readers with useful information (Here is a list of hundreds of article sites and mail lists: Article Post Robot, Post Your Articles Automatically! ). As long as these articles are not thinly disguised sales letters, but provide solid content, these sites will accept them for publication, copyright free. In tu, they will then make those articles available for reading--and for publication--for anyone else browsing their article archives. Ezine publishers hungering for good, quality information to provide to their subscribers will include some of these articles in their own publications. Soon, your articles are making their way across the Inteet. And at the end of each article (and as a stipulation for free publication), is your resource box, a brief description of you--and a link back to your web site! Soon, you are getting targeted traffic from visitors who have read your article, found information about you in the resource box, and clicked on your web site link provided there. It doesn't take long for the famed "viral effect" of marketing to take place, and you've got traffic coming from all over! ===================================================

Banner Advertising How To Make It Work

2009-06-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

When it comes to banner advertising, the same rules don't apply to everyone. If you want to make your advertising work, it's more than just having an attractive banner. For example, are you trying to develop awareness of your brand, attract prospective customers to your site, or actually make sales? Is banner advertising for you? Ask yourselves these questions before making any rash decisions. But whatever you are trying to achieve with banner advertising, there are few key rules to getting it right. Don't lose sight of your objectives If building awareness is your objective for banner advertising, then make sure that the series of campaigns you develop will follow this trend. Eventually, building awareness and brand will result in traffic to your site and perhaps even produce some sales, but don't get the messages mixed up. Look before you leap when it comes to planning real estate Because banner advertising isn't simply about having eye-catching designs, where you place your advertisements is crucial. Before you design your banners, evaluate the web sites you will be placing them on. Is there too much information on the page? Will your banner clash with the site's own banners? Is the content competing with the content of your banner? Avoiding issues like these will set you on the path to success. Tailor your banner advertising to your target audience With the Inteet, remember that the experience your audience has will vary. Therefore, design your banner to work with different browsers as well as with different connections like dial-up and broadband. Also, make sure you've researched your audience, so, for example, if your audience is made up of novices on the Inteet, don't use a Flash based banner. Keep diligent watch over the performance of your banner Keeping on top of how often your banner was served and the impact it has had to your web site traffic is key to present and future campaign plans. Make sure you are getting accurate results from the suppliers, because hits or clicks on your banner can sometimes suffer due to browser caching and proxy server caching. Caching simply means images and banners are stored locally so that users don't have to call them from remote locations. Once you've analysed the data, make sure you use it effectively to make improvements or do more research.

Does Your Brochure Pass the Test Or is It Headed for the Trash Part Two

2009-06-05T03:15:00.000-07:00

In part one of this article we discussed the importance of the look or appearance of your brochure.

The look or image that your brochure conveys is vastly important. In fact, the appearance will determine how most people form their initial impression of your company. But, the message on your brochure is just as important. Ultimately you need to say something of value in your brochure if you want it to move people closer to the sale. Here are a few tips to keep in mind to ensure that your brochure has the right message.

1. Speak in Terms of Your Prospects Interests. There's an old saying that all people are tuned in to the same radio station – WIIFM, which means "What's In It For Me?" That is the question that all people will be asking on a conscious or subconscious level as they read your brochure. Only talk in terms of your prospects wants and interests.

2. Focus on Benefits, not Just Features. Features are the technical aspects of your product – i.e. power sunroof. Benefits are the enjoyment or satisfaction your customer will get from that feature. Remember that people buy the benefit that your product will bring them not the features. For example people don't want to buy a treadmill; they just want to loose weight and look great. They don't want to buy a washing machine; they want clean clothes with no effort and so on. Don't stop at features; make sure you mention all of the benefits that you offer.

3. Brand Your Logo and USP. This falls under image and message. Make sure you put your logo and your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) together. You want to reinforce the fact that your company is different and better than the competition.

4. Have Some Kind of Offer. To get the most out of your brochure have some kind of offer. Offer a discount, a free report, a sample, a free trial, or whatever makes sense for your business. Having some kind of offer will increase the chances that your brochure will generate sales.

Following these 4 tips will greatly increase the likelihood that your brochure will be noticed, and read, and, hopefully it will aid in making a sale. If you don't follow these 4 tips, then you brochure is probably headed for the trash.

Brett Curry is a Marketing Consultant and Marketing Director for Brochures.com. Brochures.com is the home of top quality, full color brochures, business cards, postcards and more at up to 70% off of retail. http://www.brochures.com marketing@brochures.com

Cross Cultural Advertising

2009-06-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

"Culture is a like dropping an Alka-seltzer into a glass – you don't see it, but somehow it does something," Hans Magnus Enzensberger.

Culture affects everything we do. This applies to all areas of human life from personal relationships to conducting business abroad. When interacting within our native cultures, culture acts as a framework of understanding. However, when interacting with different cultures this framework no longer applies due to cross cultural differences.

Cross cultural communication aims to help minimise the negative impact of cross cultural differences through building common frameworks for people of different cultures to interact within. In business, cross cultural solutions are applied in areas such as HR, team building, foreign trade, negotiations and website design.

Cross cultural communication solutions are also critical to effective cross cultural advertising. Services and products are usually designed and marketed at a domestic audience. When a product is then marketed at an inteational audience the same domestic advertising campaign abroad will in most cases be ineffective.

The essence of advertising is convincing people that a product is meant for them. By purchasing it, they will receive some benefit, whether it be lifestyle, status, convenience or financial. However, when an advertising campaign is taken abroad different values and perceptions as to what enhances status or gives convenience exist. These differences make the original advertising campaign defunct.

It is therefore critical to any cross cultural advertising campaign that an understanding of a particular culture is acquired. By way of highlighting areas of cross cultural differences in advertising a few examples shall be examined.

Language in Cross Cultural Advertising

It may seem somewhat obvious to state that language is key to effective cross cultural advertising. However, the fact that companies persistently fail to check linguistic implications of company or product names and slogans demonstrates that such issues are not being properly addressed.

The advertising world is littered with examples of linguistic cross cultural blunders. Of the more comical was Ford's introduction of the 'Pinto' in Brazil. After seeing sales fail, they soon realised that this was due to the fact that Brazilians did not want to be seen driving a car meaning 'tiny male genitals'.

Language must also be analysed for its cultural suitability. For example, the slogan employed by the computer games manufacturer, EA Sports, "Challenge Everything" raises grumbles of disapproval in religious or hierarchical societies where harmonious relationships are maintained through the values of respect and non-confrontation.

It is imperative therefore that language be examined carefully in any cross cultural advertising campaign

Communication Style in Cross Cultural Advertising

Understanding the way in which other cultures communicate allows the advertising campaign to speak to the potential customer in a way they understand and appreciate. For example, communication styles can be explicit or implicit. An explicit communicator (e.g. USA) assumes the listener is unaware of background information or related issues to the topic of discussion and therefore provides it themselves. Implicit communicators (e.g. Japan) assume the listener is well informed on the subject and minimises information relayed on the premise that the listener will understand from implication. An explicit communicator would find an implicit communication style vague, whereas an implicit communicator would find an explicit communication style exaggerated.

Colours, Numbers and Images in Cross Cultural Advertising

Even the simplest and most taken for granted aspects of advertising need to be inspected under a cross cultural microscope. Colours, numbers, symbols and images do not all translate well across cultures.

In some cultures there are lucky colours, such as red in China and unlucky colours, such as black in Japan. Some colours have certain significance; green is considered a special colour in Islam and some colours have tribal associations in parts of Africa.

Many hotels in the USA or UK do not have a room 13 or a 13th floor. Similarly, Nippon Airways in Japan do not have the seat numbers 4 or 9. If there are numbers with negative connotations abroad, presenting or packaging products in those numbers when advertising should be avoided.

Images are also culturally sensitive. Whereas it is common to see pictures of women in bikinis on advertising posters on the streets of London, such images would cause outrage in the Middle East.

Cultural Values in Cross Cultural Advertising

When advertising abroad, the cultural values underpinning the society must be analysed carefully. Is there a religion that is practised by the majority of the people? Is the society collectivist or individualist? Is it family orientated? Is it hierarchical? Is there a dominant political or economic ideology? All of these will impact an advertising campaign if left unexamined.

For example, advertising that focuses on individual success, independence and stressing the word "I" would be received negatively in countries where teamwork is considered a positive quality. Rebelliousness or lack of respect for authority should always be avoided in family orientated or hierarchical societies.

By way of conclusion, we can see that the principles of advertising run through to cross cultural advertising too. That is – know your market, what is attractive to them and what their aspirations are. Cross cultural advertising is simply about using common sense and analysing how the different elements of an advertising campaign are impacted by culture and modifying them to best speak to the target audience.

Neil Payne is Managing Director of Kwintessential. Visit their site at: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cross-cultural/cross-cultural-awareness.html

CityCrybs com Offers Free New York Apartment Advertising for 7 Days

2009-06-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

New York, NY February 16, 2005 -- CityCrybs™, New York's fastest growing marketplace for New York apartment rentals and sales, is now offering a free 7 day trial for a limited time only, with no obligation! Rent or Sell your New York apartment within 7 days and it's free. Advertising Real Estate with New York's favorite marketplace is quick, easy and effective. In real time, landlords, agents and brokers can post and manage property listings with up to 5 photographs and 1 floor plan. Your ads are posted instantly! CityCrybs™ offers multiple levels of advertising for homeowners to licensed real estate companies. Disenfranchised with the status quo, CityCrybs™ has created a site that benefits both the realtor and the consumer. Its innovative approach centers on creating a community that realtors, sellers, buyers, and renters can trust. Each member of this community can expect quality assistance in their individual needs as well as an innovative and streamlined approach to solving all their housing needs. CityCrybs features apartment rentals and sales listings in New York City, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Suffolk County, Nassau County, Westchester, and Staten Island. Founded in January 2004, CityCrybs is a leading New York marketplace for apartment rentals and sales. CityCrybs connects property seekers with leading realtors and services. Crybs advanced marketing technologies increase your exposure to the local and global markets and provide a unique easy to use platform which can be used in support of or instead of a website. CityCrybs is not a brokerage, and does not collect a commission. For Today, the CityCrybs community includes thousands of registered members. CityCrybs is quickly becoming the most popular online housing resource in New York. CONTACT INFORMATION Gea Elikazarashvilli www.citycrybs.com info@citycrybs.com

Effective Postcard can Drag you to Success

2009-06-03T20:20:00.001-07:00

You probably wanna ask how simple postcards can make your business endeavor spicy and full of zest. Well, you may not be aware of it but postcards nowadays are among the most proficient and easy to use marketing tools. Aside from the fact that they catch instant attention because they are impossible to ignore, postcards also save money. They cost less than other marketing tools however, they can generate immediate sales. This is the reason why we should never forget the call to action in order to result to sales.

Postcards are perfect for both small and huge mailings. You can use postcards for your whole mailing list or to only a few or specific products and services. Postcards printing and mailing come in a wide variety of options. With regards to printing, there are different designs and sizes available. They are now allowing personalization or customization to give their customers a chance to create their own design and to enliven their very concepts in their choice of postcards. In fact, they are also preparing it in a quick yet efficient manner. In mailing, printing companies are assuring a fast tuaround to keep the confidence of customers.

To give you a hint on how to make postcards customizations, here are some valuable tips and tricks:

1. Plan ahead of time. The key to a successful marketing endeavor is a good planning strategy. Thus, prior to your postcard design, be sure that you have conceptualized and planned on every detail even the minutest of the details.

2. A bang on the design. Your design must have impact to catch everyoneÂ's attention. To boot, you can use Publisher New Publication Wizards to have a stunning design that will surely capture the interest of its readers.

3. Edit to the bone. Postcards can only accommodate few words. Therefore, you must remove unnecessary words for easy reading and for the words to fit the space intended for the texts. Focus on large graphics or pictures instead of texts to catch readerÂ's attention in a spur of the moment.

4. Be consistent with your primary goal. The message, color, typeface and graphics must reflect the primary goal of your business. All these stuffs must go hand in hand in order to achieve the common end.

5. Be wise in choosing your print and mailing options. There are a lot of printing options. You can use two-color printing if you want a budget-friendly design. You can also opt for full color postcard printing, if you want a more colorful and vibrant postcards. Further, to explore more colors, you can use six-color printing and other printing options available for your printing needs. Mailing is also flexible nowadays. Your postcards can now be delivered at your choice depending on its quantity and printing technique used.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Please visit Postcard Printing Company site at www.rushpostcardprinting.com/post-card-printing-and-mailing.html for comments and inquiries regarding this article.

Discover How to Choose Your Advertising Promotional Pen Today

2009-06-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

Choose from the GOpromos great selection of advertising pens below. Choose your advertising promotional pens today. We will help you choose the best advertising promotional pens for your company. From economy ballpoint pens to exclusive pen sets, you can choose the best advertising promotional pens for your advertising needs.

Preview your design on advertising promotional pens before you make a decision. (Black, red and green ink is also available) Smooth contoured rubber grip and a fashionable mode design make Kira the perfect advertising pen. The pen's designer Rod Dyer, has been honored by many of the top awards presented in the fields of advertising and design. Interested in advertising pens and pens that have special artwork or unique/clever design.

More information on advertiding pen by career in advertising creates the need for career in adverticing. Tim has spent his whole working life connected with the advertising industry through an illustrious career in television, research and publicity. This ranks only behind television and newsprint in terms of advertising dollars spent. Choose from the GOpromos great selection of advertising pens below. - Vast selection of promotional products and advertising specialty products including mugs, pens, pencils, mouse pads, travel mugs, engraving, trophies, and plaques.

Also includes info on pen repair, pen company advertising and displays. We will help you choose the best advertising promotional pens for your company. worked as a freelance in the advertising industry, drawing, paintingpreferred media were watercolour, pen and ink and oil. 1234 PENS imprints high quality advertising pens, with the lowest price guaranteed! Standby Advertising space scheduled to run within a guaranteed window of time for a substantial discount off the open rate.

Florida corrections officials also have considered measures that would prevent inmates from advertising for pen pals online or in other media. (Black, red and green ink is also available) Smooth contoured rubber grip and a fashionable mode design make Kira the perfect advertising pen. In one week, gross sales of the pens exceeded the gross cost of the three-month advertising campaign. Our website sells advertising pen. An advertising pen with your corporate brand logo and colors is an affordable business tool.

Several authors have suggested that dependence on drug advertising endangers the independence of medical jouals [38] and have advocated other sources of revenue [20]. Interested in advertising pens and pens that have special artwork or unique/clever design. National Pen is an award-winning leader in the advertising specialties industrymore. Sports celebrities and film stars don't spend big advertising bucks to keep their names before the public. The pen's designer Rod Dyer, has been honored by many of the top awards presented in the fields of advertising and design. For those of you with the power of the pen, advertising allows you to write exciting campaigns for nationally recognized brands.

An engraved laser pen or pointer is perfect for promotional advertising; convention booth premiums; or corporate holiday gift giving. Blotters printed with advertising messages were popular promotional giveaways during the fountain pen era, and are now avidly sought by collectors. The balance will be used for catalog costs and initial advertising expenses. Actually, the cheapest option is to provide ugly "freebie" pens that are given out as advertising. Pass out cheap custom pens for a quick advertising medium. He won't accept free textbooks or stethoscopes, or even pens advertising brand-name drugs. Super popular advertising pen with a futuristic aerodynamic shape.

shopping centers or annual classified advertising expenditures, make sure this site is your first stop. Preview your design on advertising promotional pens before you make a decision. It enables you to view exactly how the finished advertising promotional pens will look - before you buy. From economy ballpoint pens to exclusive pen sets, you can choose the best advertising promotional pens for your advertising needs. Branders.com is the Inteet's largest source for promotional items and advertising promotional pens. http://www.advertising-inteet-online.com/advertising-pen/

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Wirat Muenpan is the webmaster of the How to Choose Your Advertising Pen Promotional Today - Quickly and Easily! www.advertising-inteet-online.com/advertising-pen/

Easiest way of making money online

2009-06-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

Autusurfing program may be one of the easiest ways of making money online. You joining an autosurf program, you surf certain number of the website per day, and you get paid for that. Because the surfing is automatic, just like watching TV, so that make it different compare to the normal way of click the button to surf the net. Advertiser will put their advertisement just like the normal TV, but at a much cheaper rate. So in this case, both advertiser and consumer will be benefited. How the consumer to ea the money through viewing the advertisement? Let's take the program called studiotraffic as an example, each people join the program has an account level, for example $10 start as a free member, and the pay out is 1% of the account level for a day's autosurf. So if you autosurf for 1 day, studiotraffic will pay you $0.10, and autosurf 30 days for a month, you will ea $3 for that month. Member can choose to upgrade their account level up to $20,000, so they can ea maximum to $6,000 per month. Advertiser can customize the advertisement based on the different account level, the higher the account level, the more people will ea. Autosurf industry is still in its early stage, most of the program are only a few month old, a lot of them are not very stable, so people join the program may encounter losing money when the program stop and people can not get back their money they put in. So choose the good program to join will make a big difference. There are few areas which people should be careful about when choosing an good autosurf program: How long the program has been in the market? This should be the longer the better. How much is the payout rate? This is difficult to compare, but it should not be too high, because it will make the program too risky and not stable. What is the member's feedback? This is the most important factors people need to study. If the program has a forum, people can check the forum and see what the existing member say about the program. What the people outside the program say about the program? Do some homework on the inteet, and you can find out more about the program. The most important thing is to start small, do not take loan or put in the money you can not afford to lose. After all these research and study, people should join and try it. It may be the next big thing on the net. We don't want to miss it.

Demand and Supply and Marketing

2009-06-02T05:53:00.000-07:00

Supply and Demand and Marketing Darrin F. Coe, MA 11/30/04 According to Dough McCormick, Chariman and CEO of iVillage, Inc, "Technologists focus on supply but they don't understand advertising is focused on demand. Just because we have an available ad doesn't mean we have to sell it." What in the world does that mean? It means not every product online is going to sell. Online retailers and marketers are not going to succeed just because they are online. Marketing is about understanding the demand of the consumer and meeting it or creating demand for a product. This means online business people must take the time to understand the consumer. They need to develop an understanding of the consumer's thinking, motivation, and needs. Just because you develop a website and slap up some product graphics and have a checkout process using paypal does not mean you'll be selling and rolling in money. Is there a demand for your product or service? If there is how does your product or service fulfill that demand? If there is not a demand can one be created through advertising and marketing? For some products or services you'll not be able to create demand and people won't buy simply because you provide a supply. So what's the practical application of focusing on demand instead of supply? 1. Take the time to research your demographics 2. Consider streamlining your websites to include interactive elements that help develop an understanding of what your visitor desires. 3. You may need to develop a different marketing campaign based on whether there is a strong demand or weak demand for what you are offering. 4. Demand can be created via a long term process of education/awareness, then branding, then interest, then trial, then demand. 5. In a demand mindset you'll need to be more strategic, combining a campaign of both rational information with desire oriented emotionalness Remember, just because you supply it does not mean there is a demand for it. Take the time to study your idealized market and idealized customer profile then search them out to ascertain what their demand level is for your product or service. This will help you develop your marketing strategy. Be prepared for a long-term commitment.

Advertising Rules Proposed for Business Opportunities in the General Media

2009-06-02T00:29:00.000-07:00

There are new rules being proposed for Business Opportunities (Biz Ops), which advertise in the General Media, such as Infomercials, Websites, Radio, Cable or Pod Caste. Have you ever heard some of the business opportunity advertisements out there? Make $10,000 per month stuffing envelopes part-time from your own home?

And you are thinking yah right? Sure I am going to make 10K monthly working a few hours a day in my under ware? Well The Federal Trade Commission agrees, so they have proposed a new set of rules to gove business opportunity advertising in the general media and here is their proposed rule.

Proposed section 437.4(b): General media claims

"Proposed section 437.4(b) would address the making of eaings claims in the general media.197 Specifically, a seller can make an eaings claim in the general media provided the seller:

(1) Has a reasonable basis for the claim at the time the claim is made;

(2) Has written material that substantiates the claim at the time the claim is made;

(3) States in immediate conjunction with the claim the beginning and ending date when the represented eaings were achieved and the number and percentage of those who have achieved the presented eaings in the given time period.

200 These requirements are necessary to prevent deceptive and misleading eaings representations in advertisements, as well as to enable a prospect to assess the typicality of any advertised eaings claim."

If you are a seller or specialist in the Business Opportunity sector you may wish to comment on this proposed set of rules by the Federal Trade Commission. If you are in the advertising industry, heads up to you also, as you may wish to perhaps ask some questions when your hear outrageous claims from your clients. Consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Defining the Traffic Exchange Industry

2009-06-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

I was attempting to explain what a Traffic Exchange is to one of my colleagues the other day because we were talking about books. I told him that I had recently written an audio e-book about the Traffic Exchange Industry. Of course he said "what's that?" Whammo, just like that I had his interest and was preparing to educate a new convert. My associates who is a smart guy informed me that Traffic Exchange does not exist in the dictionary, that point got me thinking. After our conversation and my webucation of a new Traffic Exchange advocate I cracked open my trusty Webster's dictionary, I also did a search online of course. Do you know what I found out? He was right. The closest thing to Traffic Exchange in the dictionary online or off was "traffic engineering" which is not really close to what we are talking about. How can an industry exist when it is not even defined? No matter if you are a Traffic Exchange enthusiast, owner Or just an occasional exchanger (surfer). I plea to you to get behind me in defining what we do. Here is my proposed definition of Traffic Exchange: a medium of exchanging a website view on the inteet with some one else. Also, here is my proposed definition of Traffic Exchange Industry: the business of exchanging website views online from one person to another. Send me your thoughts on this most Important issue at: Mark@ExchangeSecretsRevealed.com Copyright © 2005 Mark Brown

Declare It And Then List It

2009-06-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

There are two principals that are effective in getting attention as well as delivering credibility for your advertising claims.

First - is the concept of the declarative statement. This is declaring that you are saying is truth, assuming that it is. In this, there is no room for ambiguity, for argument or doubt- it is so! An example of this would be: "all people want income security", or, "you will sleep better if your assets are protected", or, "maintenance is always less expensive than repair." These, when declared as truth, set a standard base of possible acceptance of them as a principal, not to be questioned, that prepares them for your next statement. The declarative statement must make sense or else the subsequent statement will be questioned as well. To say "Texans don't like foreign made cars" is contrary to actual commonly accepted facts and risks your credibility for any other claims of why they should do business with you. People continue to do business with people they trust or otherwise approve.

Second - is the concept of making a numbered list of choices, again, declaring that this is the complete list of options, and, making your product the obvious choice for any rational person. A declared list removes any potential lingering questions of whether any choices are not covered, and, in effect, forces them to make a choice, at least in their mind, as to which is the best choice. The next job, after declaring and listing, is to deliver the irresistible and/or risk free offer to get them to act, now.

Eg.- "There are 3 things you need to know before you buy red shoes! One of them can save you time, grief and money. Don't make a decision before you see these 3 important points on our web site!"

Daniel Wadleigh is a nationally published marketing consultant and has programs for start-up and existing businesses including effective web sites, e-mail/database, other non-inteet ways to drive them to your website, and low cost ways to get more new customers.

Go to: http://www.more-new-customers.com to get free copy of "Marketing to Men vs. Women- the 8 different responses" and a Free copy of "Market Research- 7 Questions to Ask to Start-up and 7 to Ask to Improve Any Business."

Data Workers Needed Urgent

2009-05-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

Would you like to ea good money, sitting in front of your computer at home, then give this a try, data workers needed urgently, click on to this link for more and quick response http://palmer1.dataproz.hop.clickbank.net

Eight Simple Ways To Use Promotional Products Online

2009-05-31T06:53:00.000-07:00

With the increase competition on the Inteet, it can be hard to find ways to make your company seem different from everyone else. One thing I believe Inteet marketers are failing to utilize correctly is promotional products. Promotion products are every day items that are printed with your company logo, slogan, web site address, or any other message you want to promote. The first thing that comes to most people's minds are printed t-shirts… but there are many other items you can use to make your company stand out from the crowd. The following are eight simple ways you can use promotional products on the Inteet. Promote Your Company's Website This is the first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think of how they should use promotional products. But some people over look this. Every item you choose to promote your business should include your web site address on it. Find Promotional Items That Fit Your Niche You can always find certain items that will compliment your type of business - items that you know your customers will use often! For Example: If you sell bicycles, it would be a good idea to include a free water bottle that has your logo on it every time someone purchases a bicycle. If you have an online drug store, you could give away pill organizers with your sites name and web address printed on them. Free Contests and Drawings A great way to get more people to sign up for your newsletter is to hold monthly, weekly, or daily contest drawings. The winner of the drawing would receive a promotional product with your URL on it. Since everyone loves to win stuff, more people would be willing to give you their email address. And if you make the product something that relates to your business, the people who sign up are more likely to be targeted. Motivate Customer to Buy More You can use promotional products to entice your customers to buy more products than they normally would have. How? By bundling multiple products a long with a promotional item. For example, instead of your customer buying 1 ebook, you also offer them a package deal of two ebooks and a free promotional item. The promotional product can even be something related to the products you're bundling it with. If you're selling weight loss information, why not use a "step counter as a bonus? If you're selling cookbooks, offer an apron. There are hundreds of products that you can put your logo on… find one that compliments your products! Reward Your Best Affiliates Consider thanking your top affiliates by giving them a promotional product. This shows them that you truly appreciate the fact that they promote your products. You can send gifts to your affiliate partners when they reach a certain goal, or you can give gifts to your top affiliates during the holidays. By rewarding your affiliates, you build a stronger relationship with them. They will thank you by continuing to promote your business. Thank Your Loyal Customers Just like thanking your top affiliates, you should also consider thanking loyal customers. You can express gratitude to customers that repeatedly by your products, customers who buy your high-ticket items, or both! Promotional items remind your clients that the relationship you share with them is important to you. Create a Competitive Advantage Because of increased competition, it's getting tougher than ever to compete online. You can use promotional items as a way to show your customers that you are different than your competitors. Instead of appearing as "just another company", you can demonstrate that you are unique. When someone receives a promotional item from you they are more likely to remember you over your competition. Promote a New Product If you are launching a new product, you can capture your audience attention and publicize it by using promotional items. At the very least, you should send a promotional item to your top customers when a new product comes out. You might also want to consider sending items to your top affiliates too if you have a new product they can promote for you. My goal is to get you to think of new ways to use promotional products. I hope you will implement some of the ideas I have laid out here and also brain storm different ways to use them. If used correctly, these little trinkets can help you say ahead of your competitors!

Avoid these advertising mistakes at all costs

2009-05-30T04:33:00.000-07:00

People have taken a number of approaches trying to do their own advertising ranging from silly all the way to insulting. These people choose there approach for various reasons. Some were ignorant about advertising and marketing while others were acting on incorrect information - usually in the form of cliches such as "sex sells." If you're in doubt, I can assure you that unless your business is in Nevada, sex does not sell. If you're going to handle your own advertising, here are a few things to avoid:

Pictures that have nothing to do with your product or service - If your company is in the carpet cleaning business there is no reason to have a picture of a baby. No one is going to say "What a cute baby, I think I want this company to clean my carpets." The same goes for pictures of sexy people (male or female) in provocative poses and little clothing.

Cheesy headlines - I actually saw an ad with a headline that said "We might be able to afford a bigger ad if you'd buy something from us." Yes, this will probably get someone's attention, but do you want to be remembered as the company that is having financial problems?

Illegible fonts - Most people will not take the time to decipher your ad when it is written in brush script, in which case, even the most persuasive copy is rendered useless. You want to use simple, clean fonts for headlines and body copy. Save the artistic fonts for accents and things of that nature.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Jeremy L. Knauff is the founder & CEO of Wildfire Marketing Group, a full service Marketing Firm specializing in helping small companies compete with larger companies.

Advertising Strategy

2009-05-29T04:55:00.000-07:00

1) Customer Base - Under the assumption that you are an existing business and have repeat business from the same customers:

A) you want to ensure that they stay loyal in each opportunity to buy from somebody;

B) you want to offer them additional products/services.

"A" is best done with mailings, e-mailings and telemarketing (or all) to this prized, expensively acquired select market. You need to show your continued "added value" over the competitors as well as your "special treatment" of the customer base. When somebody buys a business and pays extra for "goodwill", that is supposedly represented by loyalty due to that special treatment of customers. Make sure that you inform them that the same condition still exists. Telemarketing follow-up, if practical, to your customer base is a way to ensure loyalty and to sell "after-market" products/services.

Still, face-to-face remains the best method to sell anything! It's cheaper and more effective than letters or phone calls. If your business puts you at their place, develop additional products/services to offer. It's about 1/5 the cost of getting new customers. This is the most important single effort that your company will make! It's called "locking the back door" before the cows get out! This also means that any additional increase in sales is just that, an increase, not replacing lost market share. If the customers come to your place, point-of-purchase displays or flyers for the taking are an inexpensive way to promote additional products/services. Again, if you are paying extra for retail space, maximize the income potential. Have you ever bought something on impulse, off a rack, while standing in line? Some of the most productive retail space is set aside for impulse buying, especially for a captive audience (those waiting to check out). I worked in a department store in my youth. I'd likely be restocking a table when the loudspeaker would announce, "attention, ladies - there is a 1/2 off sale in linens." I would have to dive out of the way to avoid the stampede.

2. Yellow Pages - For almost any business, I can give a rational argument for anything from no ad to 1/3 of a page ad. I know of service companies that are not in the yellow pages at all that grow at a rate of 20% per year. These companies mail and phone exclusively, and include good offerings face-to-face. Also, a full-page ad is very expensive. As long as you can get noticed, it's the message, and not the size. Make your yellow page ad an ad, not a "me-too" announcement. Every piece of information that is displayed to the public must be your best ad, be it a business card, truck, flyer or incoming phone call. If you want to think that you need yellow page exposure, make it your best shot using your best 'Value added" message. I know also of service companies that are for sale and not likely to be purchased because of $18,000 per month yellow page expenses. For $18,000 a month, I can do a lot of direct, controlled marketing that can be changed, cancelled or increased at a moment's notice. There are also competitive service companies that you couldn't buy that are not in the yellow pages. If you use yellow pages, make it roar to the point that the only rational response is, "I'd be nuts not to call this company."

3. Location - If you offer retail products and you are in a decent traffic location, you are paying extra for that high traffic. Look at it as marketing costs. So, make the most of your opportunities to be noticed by a lot of people. Use "headline grabber" type statements on signs to attract them into your den or to your web site. The message, "SALE", only has impact if they are predisposed to buy your product. Don't wait for them to accidentally stumble into your store. Put your most exotic, mysterious and irresistibly provocative benefits and products in the window. The front of the store's main role in life is to get them into the store. Contractors pay as much as $85 for a new customer. Look at it as the caival barker - you must inspire them to enter.

Banner Stand Manufacturers

2009-05-28T23:29:00.000-07:00

Banner stands are the best way to show case products and attract attention of potential customers. It is a recent phenomenon that has become quite a rage. Now every shop, restaurant, trade show and exhibition is teeming with these attractive, eye-catching decorations called banner stands. Manufacturing banner stands is also a sunrise industry because of the popularity and potential growth of the product. Technology and creativity are evolving newer products and better quality in less time.

Some of the leading brand names and makers of banners stands world wide are Nomadic Displays, Nimlok, Octanorm, Discount Displays.com, Apple rock, Accura imaging, IMEX display, Alco Cutaways, Art-tech productions, Exhibit works, Display wizard, Redcliffe imaging and Magicpak.

Some overseas manufactures include Ask4plastic made by Ym-Display from China. Also Alibaba.com lists a number of overseas manufactures from the Far East like Admax Exhibition system from Shanghai, Dingyi display equipment limited (China) and Infotech.M.ltd from Korea.

A typical range of products from these manufacturers shows great versatility and style. At Display Wizard, there are a range of vinyl banner stands to suit every budget and taste. Their banner stands include scrolling banners, rollup banners, traditional banners, Cigogne tensioned cable fabric banners and flexible fabric banners.

Redcliffe Imaging has a wide range of beautiful and useful banner stand models. Starting with the cartridge banner graphic replace system (that allows quick changes of graphics), to the advanced double sided roller banner stand, called The Banner Up stand, which is a retractable banner stand model, of which there are all kinds. There is even an Omega Velcro fabric stand. There is a sophisticated range of roll up stands named Quick Screen-3 Banner Stand. Roll up banner stands come in a model called Excalibur (single or double sided with tension rolling system) and sidewinder (single or double sided roller with sleek satin anodized casing and pole set).

Another model is by Magical. It consists of position extruded aluminum housing. Smartstand is another rollup brand that has a variety of models.

Free Publicity With Dogs Cats and Rats

2009-05-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a fascinating idea.. Having noticed that there always seemed to be many stray cats and dogs in his neighborhood, it occurred to a clever pet shop owner that he could use cheap animal collars and attach an advertising message to those potential 24 hour, walking "billboards". He also dressed them up with animal "shirts" that had his web site address printed all over them.

After unleashing about 30 four legged "salesmen" into his unsuspecting neighborhood, he struck advertising gold when his local TV and radio stations noticed the unusual "phenomenon" of "uniformed" animals. This got him thousands of dollars worth of mass media advertising almost totally free.

Imagine the media coverage you could get if this idea was used on a bigger scale, perhaps trying to break a Guinness World Record!

For More Unusual Web Traffic Generation Ideas, Visit http://www.hugevoice.com or send blank email to: mailto:subscribe@hugevoice.com

Please feel free to use this article in your website, ezine or e- book. I ask,though, that you reproduce it in its entirety and without alteration, including the resouce information above.

About The Author

Terence is the editor of Hugevoice Bulletins, an ezine dedicated to discovering unusual, alteative ways to generate web traffic. For more surprising web promotion ideas, visit Hugevoice.com or send an email to subscribe@hugevoice.com

Crazy Ads Maybe You re Just Out of The Demo

2009-05-27T08:42:00.001-07:00

My father called me to complain, again. He's 82 and he's angry. "Son, I know you're in advertising and all that", he usually starts off, "but the ads I see today I wouldn't give you two cents for. They're stupid and they don't even tell you what they're selling!"

I explained it to him as best as I could. "Dad, it's OK, you're just out of the demo." "I'm out of the what?" "The demographics Dad, The key target audience for who they're trying to reach." "Well then who in the heck are they trying to reach?" He yells. "Must be boneheads cause those ads make no sense to any sane person."

Whether it's a beer commercial trying too hard to be funny, or like a recent FedEX commercial where Burt Reynolds sparred with a grizzly bear, I gotta admit that sometimes, Dad is right. I've been in the ad business for quite awhile now and know that in today's world, it takes a lot to get a business noticed. However I can't help laughing to myself when watching these ads, imagining the initial pitch to the client.

Secretary: Boss, those ad agency guys are here. Boss: What? Are they on the calendar? (disgusted) Oh all right, send them in. Young ad guy #1: Hello sir, and how are you today? Wow! That tie is whacked! Boss: It's what? Never mind. What have you got for our new ad campaign? Young ad guy #2: Oh this is so cool! Check out these story boards. Boss: (looks at the story boards puzzled, eyebrows creased in confusion). Young ad guy #1: OK there's no voice over at all! You just see a guy waking up in bed. Next, he rolls over and he realizes that he's in bed with the Burger King! Boss: He's what?? Young ad guy #2: Yeah! And then the Burger King, who's really this actor wearing the Burger King costume and a big plastic face with a frozen smile, reaches around and produces a Double Breakfast Crosandwich and hands it to the man who takes a big bite of it. Boss: (Now his eyebrows look like one unibrow as his cheeks glow red.) Young ad guy #1: Then they both share a laugh, pat each other on the back, and we fade to logo! Is that wild or what? It's going to generate huge numbers man! Boss: (Stunned then angry) I thought I told you guys to quit putting crack in the water dispenser!

See the problem facing advertisers today is the pressure to relate to the 18-34, 25-44 demos they so desperately need to reach, so they try anything they think will accomplish this and as a result, many people out of those key demos, don't get it. However, it dawned on me after my most recent birthday that sadly, I too have joined those ranks. So now when I watch an ad that even from my experienced perspective seems to make no sense at all, I just remind myself it's nothing personal. I'm just out of the demo.

Hal Eisenberg is an award winning copywriter, voice over talent and producer, as well as owner of The Eisenberg Agency, a full service advertising agency specializing in creative ads that get results. You can visit his web site http://www.eisenbergagency.com. Contact Hal at halacious@eisenbergagency.com.

Earn 80 000 in two months see how I did it

2009-05-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

No selling, no hardwork , just type ads for these compenies and they will pay you. Every two weeks with out fail.Get paid $10-$50+ for typing simple online ads , full instructions givin. Pay me to type.

Electronic Score Boards

2009-05-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Wide range of electronic Key venues around the globe has tued to Electronic score boards that not only look breathtaking from every angle and distance, but provide consistently reliable performance year in and year out.

Different type of sports including athletics, track cycling, running events, street cycling and mountain bike, swimming, synchronized swimming, diving as well as inline skating, water polo, ball spots, motor sports, alpine skiing, cross country and biathlon are some of the areas where Electronic score boards perfect fits solutions for. Adopting the current technologies these boards provides high brightness flat panel screens and is an added advantage.

Electronics Scoreboards offers good sound and effective lights, which totally change the effect of the game. In football, basketball, hockey, volleyball where the time is so important and it is displayed continuously on the scoreboards reducing with every seconds. Then leave the game with the realistic sound of the buzzer as time ends!

Now let the board does the work for you. At the present, there is no time to keep counting everything in your head while you are playing. When you always keep counting the score in your mind then how can you concentrate your mind in the game? That is not your job. Let the board to do instead of you.

Some Electronic Scoreboards features a powerful ho system (in automatic mode), which is used to signal the start and end of a game, and the start and end of an intermission period. Such systems have manual 'override' facility, enabling the ho to be used at any time during a game for fouls, emergencies, etc.

Electronic Scoreboards use high brightness LEDs for maximum visibility and definition with a full-color spectrum, increased brightness and a great choice of designs.

In LED technology, display modules comprising red, green and blue LEDs make up each pixel. Each module can have between three or four LEDs in it (one red, one green and one blue) or dozens of them and typically range from 4mm to 4cm (about 0.2in to 1.5in). To build a scoreboard using LED technology, thousands of these LED modules are integrated in a rectangular grid. The size of the screen depends on the size of the LED modules.

Excellent technology, outstanding visual clarity, easy set up and use are the aspects which attracts most sports events to install which the event is being executed.

A pioneer in the world of Electronic signs, Jayex Technology specializes in developing customized visual display solutions for the sports along having scoreboards available in the store. Specializing in solution for all sports venues, Jayex Technology are suppliers of solutions for scoring, sports timing, message display information centres and clocks/time systems.

Electronic score boards display systems are housed in smart, lightweight, wall-mounted enclosure built using polypropylene panels on an extruded aluminium frame.

About The Author

Paula Jones

jayex.co.uk

Did You Come to Think of Advertising Inflatables

2009-05-26T01:29:00.000-07:00

People advertise in many different ways to attract specific audience. Some of them use TV and radio broadcasts, some- newspapers, others- billboards and neon lights. But advertising inflatables are gaining up speed in the business world. Advertising using inflatables can be cheaper than any other way to show to the world. Many small firms with thin advertising budget prefer using advertising inflatables, as they are inexpensive and quite affordable...and, what is more, they WORK! The basic advantage of using advertising inflatables is that ALL PEOPLE will see your advertisement. People passing by and people in their cars may like your advertising balloon and eventually get interested in your firm or in the service that you offer. So, you had better try it. In addition, you had better try with the most attractive advertising balloon that you come to think of. Before starting to advertise using inflatables, you should consider the appearance of your advertising balloon. How big should it be? Where should you put it? Should it emit light or be unlit? How about its colour? And the shape? What kind of artwork to put on the balloon? After you have answered these questions about the design of the advertising inflatable, it is time to start searching for the most suitable one. If you have specific requirements, your advertising inflatable can be custom-made for you. Remember, it is important to be as detailed as possible, so that your advertising balloon really becomes a symbol of your business. Here are the answers to some specific questions about advertising inflatables so that you can decide upon what kind of cold air inflatable you want. 1) How can the advertising inflatable be displayed? They are inflated with a cold air fan. The fan needs to be on as long as the inflatable is displayed. 2) Where should advertising inflatables be displayed? Virtually in every place where people are walking to see them: in supermarkets, on the streets, on beaches, on rooftops, on cartops, in parks and so on. 3) What are the maintenance costs? They are considerably small. There is a negligible amount of electricity used by the cold air blowers per day. 4) Which materials are advertising inflatables made from? They are made from a nylon fabric, coated in long-lasting silicon. This material is extremely resistant to bad weather conditions. 5) Anyway, if they damage, how do we repair them? Advertising inflatables can be displayed even if minor punctures or cuts are detected on the surface. If the damages are extensive, factory repair services are available at low prices. 6) What do we get except the advertising inflatable itself? As extra accessories, you can find an electric blower, tie-down ropes, tarpaulin sheet and repairing material in a carry bag. 7) How long do advertising inflatables last? That basically depends on you and on the maintenance that you offer to your advertising balloon. If you strictly follow the rules in the manual, you may extend the life of your inflatables to the utmost. 8) Can the advertising inflatables be raised in the sky? Hoisting the inflatables is not an option as they are made for a steady base to stand on. You cannot hoist them either by inflating them with helium gas. For more information click Advertising Inflatables

Do You Know The Common Direct Marketing Measurements

2009-05-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

John Wanamaker, a 19th century entrepreneur, once famously made the statement, "I know that half of my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half." Fortunately for today's marketers, there are scientific ways to determine which half is wasted, and which half is not, through the use of common direct marketing measurements. Advertising is, and has always been, part art and part science. With direct marketing, the science part takes center stage as there are common direct marketing measurements that can be utilized to verify the results of the advertising. With the increased popularity of direct marketing, the success of advertising can be measured through a variety of common direct marketing methods such as cost per acquisition, cost per piece, and response rate. Before continuing in describing these common direct marketing measurements in detail, it is beneficial to review one of the direct marketing tools needed to determine the success of the mailing. The most important direct marketing tool is the response mechanism. This is how you can gauge the success, or lack of success, of a direct mail campaign. This is the mechanism by which the prospect will use to respond - it may be a postcard to request more information, an 800 number to call, or a website address to place an order. You can than utilize this response to determine the success of the direct mailing. The first of the most common direct marketing measurements is the cost per acquisition. The cost per acquisition can be determined by taking the total cost of the mailing and dividing it by the number of responses. For example, let's say the total cost of a mailing is $2,000 and 20 people respond. The cost per acquisition is $100. This is an important tool to find out if the cost to obtain a new customer is in line with the profits that you will receive. The second of the most common direct marketing measurements is the cost per piece. To find the cost per piece, you would take the total cost of the mailing and divide it by the total number of pieces sent. For example, if the total cost of the mailing was $4,500 and you sent 2000 direct mail pieces, the cost per piece would be $2.25. This is an important figure to keep in mind, because by lowering the cost per piece (as long as the number of responses stays the same), you can lower the cost per acquisition. The third of the most common direct marketing measurements is the response rate. The response rate can be calculated by taking the number of people that responded and dividing it by the number of people that were sent the direct mail package. For example, if 2000 people were mailed a direct mail package and 20 people responded, the response rate would be 1%. This is an important tool that you can utilize to forecast the success of future mailings. By using all three of these common direct marketing measurements, you can finally determine which half of your marketing is working, and which half is not.

Does Your Advertising Make You the Obvious Choice to Do Business With

2009-05-24T06:20:00.000-07:00

There is a concept in business that we marketers call the confidence gap. The confidence gap is defined as a potential customers inability to determine whether the products or services of a given company are any better, different, or worse than the competition's. The confidence gap exists in every imaginable industry and in most cases the gap is growing wider all of the time. Case in point: go to the yellow pages and look under the roofing section (or any section for that matter) and see for yourself if, plus or minus 10%, every ad says basically the same thing. "Dependability, service, 80 years of experience….blah, blah, blah." Going by the yellow pages alone it's almost impossible to tell who will really offer the best service, the best overall value, and exactly what you need as a customer. It would be helpful if some ads said, "We stink, we won't deliver on our promises, we'll quote you one price and then charge you another," but they don't. Every company good or bad is essentially saying the same thing. As consumers we know that not all companies are equal – but how can we tell? Hence, the confidence gap. But, this problem is not isolated to the yellow pages. Take any medium – TV, radio, print, or brochures and compare what competitive companies are doing. You'll see very quickly that there is almost no significant differentiation. Oh, sure, one company may have a red ad and another a blue ad. One company may have a catchy jingle and the other may not, but it's still hard to tell which company is actually better or even which company gives greater promise of being the best choice. One area of marketing that is atrocious for most businesses is their brochure. Most brochures are loaded with clichés, wo out phrases, and platitudes that don't mean anything. Like "dependability, quality, and service." Any company on the planet could make a claim like that and you would still have no clue if there business was any good or not. So what about your brochure? Does it make you the obvious choice to do business with, or does it just widen the confidence gap? Here is a quick 4-pronged test to give your brochure (or your other advertising) to see if it has the potential of singling your company out as THE go-to company. 1.Does your brochure clearly communicate your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? Most companies don't have a clearly defined USP. Your USP is what makes you different, better, and unique from your competition. Here are a few famous examples: "When it absolutely positively HAS to be there oveight." Of course your know that to be FedEx. The success of this Fortune 500 company was built largely on the strength of this USP that they could absolutely deliver oveight. Here's another one – "Hot pizza delivered fresh to your door in 30 minutes or less or it's FREE." Dominoes pizza, right? You see how they didn't claim to be the best tasting, the cheapest (or the most expensive); they were the fastest…guaranteed. So what is your USP? Are you the fastest in your industry? Do you offer a level of service and expertise that your competitors can't touch? Does your product do what other products can't? If so, SAY IT! And communicate it clearly. Your USP should be the focal point for your brochure. 2.Are you showing or telling? I'm from Missouri the "Show-me" state. I guess we are a group of "we'll believe it when we see it" types. But I don't think this attitude is limited to Missouri, every consumer everywhere would rather see that your product or service will deliver rather than just hearing you talk about it. So how can you effectively SHOW how your product or service works in the confines of a brochure? There are several ways: 1. Testimonials. Good ones show exactly how your product or services have impacted a real person's life. 2. Charts, graphs, and comparison. If you can save people money create an easy to read chart or graph that shows how much you'll save them. If you outperform the competition show that in a comparison of some type. Show you product in use if possible. Showing is always more powerful and more persuasive than telling… 3.Are you speaking the customer's language or your own? Most brochures read more like a brag report or like the CEO patting him or herself on the back rather than offering valuable info to the prospect. Your brochure should be focused on your customer and his or her needs – not just your company. Yes, you want to show that you have won awards and what not, but you have to go beyond just mentioning your accomplishments and show how you can enrich your customer's lives. 4.Are your speaking in specific or general terms? People are leery of generalities, but more trusting of specifics. If you say you will save people "a ton of money" that is significantly less powerful than saying that on average your customers save 25% or $100 when they start using your product or service. If you say you are the fastest – quantify how much faster you are and tell your customer why it should be important to them. Specifics are rich with meaning and are powerful…generalities are worthless. Anyone can say that they are the best. Only a few companies can give the proper specifics to prove it. Here's your assignment: take your brochure or ads and compare it to your competition's brochures or ads. Now, try to imagine what your reaction would be if you had no previous knowledge of you company, your competitor's companies, or your industry. Would any of the brochures cause you to say "wow – I would be a fool not to do business with THAT company?" My guess is that none will even come close. If your brochure is under performing then go to work on the four things mentioned above. Don't let your brochure widen the confidence gap – span that gap. That's where the money is…on the other side of the confidence gap.

Free Advertising opportunities

2009-05-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

There is an endless amount of free Advertising opportunities out in Cyberspace. You work hard getting traffic to your web-site and not getting results. A good Inteet promotion can save you thousands of dollars and years of work in your path to success. Inteet usage is grooving at an incredible rate. More and more users go online every and each day. And how are those users finding what they are looking for? They would typically use key phrases. I encourage you to go through the following success secrets before you even start to promote your site. Examine your site and make a list identifying the key phrases a potential client would use when searching for the information. select several of the most specific keywords phrases that best describe your website. Place these keyword phrases, separated with a comma, in your keyword meta tags between the heading tags of your HTML. Write a descriptive sentence about your website packed with your keywords for your description meta tag. Write your page title, which contains your most important key words and phrases. here your web-site title< itle> Make certain that a title for your web-page is descriptive and includes your key words and phrases. It could be nice if you place your key words and phrases within the image tag using the alt tag. In addition to placing your key words and phrases in your meta tags and image tags you can also use the comment tags. Comment tags can be used throughout your page providing another great way to place your key words and phrases. They won't be visible on your page, just in the HTML.  This bit of HTML code helps the help search engines and directories properly classified and indexed your page. You need to place key words and phrases within the first 250 words of your page. Search engines look there to determine the content of your site. Tell your visitors EXACTLY what is that you provide. Write a detailed, clear and easily understandable sentences about your product or service. Heading tags are very important to a Web page. Put a heading tag at the very top of your page, if at all possible, and use your important keyword phrase in that heading tag. <H1> tag is a heading tag. <H1 ALIGN="center"><FONT FACE="Arial">here your web-site key phrases </FONT></H1> Add your prompt to hyperlinks: <p title="Here is description of your hyperlink"> Example: <p title="Placing your ad in an established Ezine, or having it mailed for you by a list manager, can be a highly effective way to grow your ad network quickly. Adland Digest A Free subscribed Discussion List of 26,000 subscribers on web marketing and promotion supported by AdlandPro World's Classifieds."> Add your Text in Status line of browser: <body .... onLoad="window.defaultStatus='Here is title of your page'"> I hope this information will be of help to you. Great Applet Code for web-site, where you could use your key phrases: <Param Name="Text" Value="Here are your key phrases"> Example: <Applet Code="trans.class" Width="120" Height="60" Align="baseline"> <Param Name="Align" Value="Center"> <Param Name="BgColor" Value="efefef"> <Param Name="Delay" Value="12"> <Param Name="Text0" Value="Get Linked from thousands of Classifieds"> <Param Name="Text1" Value="Get paid for your traffic"> <Param Name="Text2" Value="Ea 20 % - 25 % commission"> <Param Name="Textcolor" Value="#000080"> </Applet> Let today be the beginning of drawing new traffic to your website, brought to you by careful directory listing in the proper category and making your website start to work for you. Listing to the correct directory in the proper category is very important. When you are ready to submit your pages to Classified ADs sites, You can visit my business site where could to place your links to 1 000 000 + Free classified directories, for free. Get you site listed in as many as possible. http://pskov.freeyellow.com/ads.htm The more links you have pointing to your web site, the more traffic you'll receive. It is now so easy to advertise for free to millions of potential viewers. Create a strong marketing presence on the Inteet! All the best, Natalie. <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Cadillac Advertising on a Volkswagon Budget</h1> <p>2009-05-23T01:56:00.000-07:00</p> When it comes to being successful on or off the inteet, it's all in the Advertising! We've all seen this hold true with so many products. If you can capture a large audience with a simple idea or a New and Improved product, you can amass an enormous response in a very short period of time. The never-ending quest to acquire this exposure on an affordable scale is what we all seek to find. Advertising in itself is a business to be dissected. Where is the best place to advertise, what is the most cost efficient means of advertising, who has the most exposure? All of these questions create a constant struggle for manufacturers of every imaginable product. Cost effective advertising can be like buying watermelon seeds and planting them in Alaska. If you don't know where your market is located, you could be wasting your time and money. To know where your market resides is the first step at determining where to advertise. It will save you much stress in researching your market before you spend good money on any advertising. Most products are focused on one area of interest. Recognize your area of interest as a main point, then consider these sub-points; customer age range, customer location, densely populated areas, is your product seasonal, can you follow-up with customer questions, can you provide testimonials, if you'd never seen this product before what would be your initial reaction, can you handle a sudden influx of customers if your product takes off like a rocket, is your product considered to be a disposable product. Advertising is all about excitable subjects. Sure, you feel excited about what product or service you wish to expose to the public domain, but your next step is to make every lending ear and eye to be just ask excited as you want them to be. In order to accomplish this your product must do one very important thing, improve the consumer's current state of mind. Advertising is nothing more than a mental exercise meant to excite or make aware. Does your product provide this or does your advertising? In some cases both will provide this and in other products or services only the advertising will stimulate the excitement. Your product or service may be designed to replace or improve on a function that already exists. It's important to take the time to narrow your advertising focus in order to make the most of your advertising dollars. Advertising online can be more challenging than by traditional means because there is so much free advertising space available, if only you knew where to spend your time placing ads that will produce results. In an effort to answer this question, you can easily answer this yourself, by the mere reading of this article, you are your own witness to the best method to expose, promote, and explain your product or service to the best audience in the world. Articles are written, shared, and promoted in endless publications around the world. As a printer for more than 30 years, the writer of this article has seen more response to articles that are 100% free to produce, than any other means known to attract interest to products and services on a shoestring budget. Think of the Gold Rush of 1849, who made the most money as a whole, other than the few miners who were fortunate enough to strike a find? It was the advertisers and the providers of supplies. Advertising fuels the desire to know more and to know firsthand about the subject being discussed. If you would like to know more about what you need, to be easily successful with your advertising or products, I encourage you to spend a few minutes reading and acting on some very powerful tools available on our website. <b>http://wealthsmith.com</b> The ideas and tools available have proven to be far more valuable than digging in an abandoned gold mine. <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Business Card Alternatives That Build Business</h1> <p>2009-05-21T22:51:00.000-07:00</p> <p>As an entrepreneur and business owner I am always on the prowl for creative and effective ways to capture the attention of potential customers. During a long flight from Seattle to Columbus Ohio I was seated next to an executive from a large marketing firm with whom I'd managed to strike up a conversation. Her questions and responsive interest indicated to me that she was genuinely interested in the services I offered so I handed her my finest business card which she tucked into her pant pocket while gather her luggage from the over head compartment; as she did this I suddenly thought of all the paper wads I had found in the bottom of the washer that had been business cards I really wanted to save. So I decided to scientifically measure the value of this age old marketing / networking tool. Here are the results:</p><p>Over 600 people interviewed <br>Subjects sampled more than 29 states <br>(a very scientifically substantial and relevant sampling)</p><p>40% said they discard cards received because of no value.</p><p>So what happens to the other 60% of cards we hand out?</p><p>40% said they usually lose or misplace business cards.</p><p>10% said that most cards are difficult to spot in piles, files or organizers so they tu to resources like yellow pages.</p><p>Less than 5% said they have secured services from a business card.</p><p>Let's sort through the data. By the way if you search the web you will find studies that conclude the business card is your most vital business investment. So, who's right and who's wrong? Actually no one is entirely wrong. Business cards have their place and uses. What research and experience tell me is that business cards are a great value when used well and in a timely fashion.</p><p>Business cards are seldom a good front-end marketing tool. This is true because most of them are discarded, lost or avoided due to obscurity. The exception to this rule is the creatively valuable business card.</p><p>Some examples of creative business cards include: calendar cards, magnet cards, coupon cards, info. Cards, etcetera. I will never forget the first business card I had ever actually kept and used; it had been handed to me by the owner of a print shop, on the back was a years calendar, so I placed it in my wallet and referenced it often for nearly a year before I was asked to lead a project at work that involved securing printing services, you know who I called first. Another example was a magnet card I picked up just because I thought it would be nice to secure notes to the front of my file cabinet; several months later I needed to buy tires for my car and the first call I made was the tire shop on that magnet. Another card I held onto for months was one that had some interesting facts and statistics that I thought I could reference in the future. The bottom line is, be creative and come up with a reason your potential customers should hold onto your card.</p><p>Business cards make great back-end marketing tools. Once you have you foot in the door they can and should be used frequently to ensure the customer knows how to contact you. I include a card with all correspondence. At the front end and back-end it is important to make sure your business card stands out.</p><p>Precautions and Tips <br>•Avoid depending on the business card to get the potential customer to contact you. <br>•Ask for the potential customer to give you their contact information in exchange for yours. <br>•Make notes that will be helpful for the potential customer on the back of the card. <br>•A photo of yourself is a nice personalizing touch. <br>•Follow up with card recipients within five days if they've never done business with you, ten if they have. <br>•Include a card with every correspondence. <br>•Personalize the business card by writing on the card what you can offer in your own handwriting.</p><p>The same precautions and tips may apply to the business card alteatives I'll suggest next. If business cards aren't all they're cracked up to be what are the alteatives? There are actually many, and here we'll explore just three that I have found are powerful.</p><p><b>Promotional Items</B></p><p>Instead of carrying business cards consider carrying a book of promotional checks. I like to ask this sales question, "If I could give you a blank check that you could fill in the -in the amount of- blank with any amount and cash it with guaranteed payment would you be interested in hearing more?" I then give them a check from my "special" checkbook that contains my contact information, a hand written expiration date, unique authorization code (the check number) and states that it is valid for a FREE 30 minute coaching session with me via telephone. They tend to generate second hand leads because the person I give it to finds it so interesting that they talk about it to others and they then contact me as well. You can order your checks from Current checks. Obviously you will not want any account information on the check. You will want your contact information and Key selling information or services on the check. You may also consider ordering look-alike checkbooks from a printer; unfortunately they may lack authenticity and resulting novelty as well as the unique check numbers.</p><p><b>Brochures & Booklets</b></p><p>Brochures and booklets are a great alteative to cards because they provide valuable information that encourages the receiver to keep it or better yet pass it on after retrieving your contact information. Brochures can offer research information, tips, innovative ideas, interesting facts or even fictional writing. Because brochures are relatively inexpensive you can distribute them liberally.</p><p>The most important rule to follow is, make sure your brochures are content rich. Put time and effort into brochure design to make them stimulating and attractive. You may consider having several different brochures to ensure you have a brochure that will best meet the potential customer's need.</p><p>Consider including coupons, special offers and free gifts that must be claimed by an expiration date. You may also consider providing space where you can add handwritten notes to customize the piece for the customer.</p><div style="float: right; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: white; background-color: white"></div><p>Charles Carpenter, affectionately known as "Bill" by friends, has inspired and empowered audiences to reach peak performance and dreams for more than a decade. He is known for being a "straight forward" communicator who shares practical ideas that help listeners overcome the most difficult challenges of life and business.</p><p>Charles serves his clients and customers through keynotes, seminars, literature and personal career and life coaching. His clients include small non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 & 1000 companies. He has taught Project Management, Leadership, Management Skills, Communication and Conflict Management at the University level for more than four years.</p><p>Charles' wit and wisdom has been published in numerous periodicals, books and multimedia resources. His works include university curriculum, magazine articles and two best selling books: "Core Success Joual" and "Real World Project Management".</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Buying the Right Office Furniture</h1> <p>2009-05-21T19:30:00.000-07:00</p> Buying new office fuiture for your business or home office can sometimes be a guessing game. The first thing that you need to do is decide exactly what you need and how that is going to fit into your budget. If you have computers you'll have to determine if you're going to need computer desks as well as other office equipment. If you're on a limited budget one of the simplest ways that you can update your office space is to just buy a new office chair and a new desk. You'll be able to get more functionality out of the new desks that are available today, which will immediately give you more room and space for organizing your office. If you have employees that you need to buy for you may want to see if you can get a bulk deal from manufacturers. Many times, if you're buying two or more pieces of fuiture you can get a discounted price. Most offices are lacking in space so don't go overboard and buy too much fuiture for the amount of space that you have. Sometimes it's better to go up in space than buy another desk or table. Use shelves to add organizational space above existing desks. You don't want to create the potential for having your office look too cluttered. A cluttered office can quickly become an environment where you have little incentive to work. Try to stick to fuiture that is more functional than it may be appealing to the eye. Your goal is improve the usage that you get out of your office and not to decorate a designer office. This doesn't mean that you have to buy basement bargain fuiture but you should be paying more attention to function than beauty when it comes to your office fuiture. Take your time before you make your final decision by bringing home some brochures to look at and see if what you want fits into your budget. <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Five Steps to Successful Print Advertising</h1> <p>2009-05-20T18:22:00.000-07:00</p> <b>1. Clearly identify who you want to reach</b> Whatever product or service you advertise, identify the ideal customer as specifically as you can. The nature of your product or service may define this group for you. For example, if you sell dentures that cost extra for colour-matching to individuals' natural teeth, then you should consider advertising to wealthy individuals who value natural-looking teeth. Your advertising should appeal to their image-consciousness. By clearly identifying your target market, you can increase the response to your ads. <b>2. Find a publication that your target market reads</b> Ideally, you will find a publication whose reader profile perfectly corresponds with your customer profile. Moreover, many of your established and prospective customers read it regularly, and none of your direct competitors advertise in it; its frequency provides good exposure, and its ad rates entail an acceptable level of risk. <b>3. Treat your ad as a teaser</b> Advertising can perform a variety of functions - from increasing name recognition to evoking specific actions within a specific time. In any case, successful print ads communicate just enough to entice their audience. An insurance broker, for example, might entice a specific group to call for information. A law firm might entice its target group - possibly law-school grads- to visit its table at a career fair. A consulting agency might entice prospective clients to book a free needs analysis. Know them and your creative hook should come to you like plain sense. <b>4. Make a commitment and stick to it</b> Consistency is critical in print advertising. Most successful advertisers buy ad space in blocks of time that begin at six months. Many advertise constantly for years. For print advertising to work, you need patience and perseverance - especially in the first few weeks. If steady advertising just isn't a fit, then buy big advertising - a higher risk. Many do both and adapt their ads as times change. Whatever your case, make a commitment. <b>5. Get professional help</b> To take good care of your teeth, consult a dentist. To handle your legal issues properly, consult a lawyer. To communicate effectively with your target market, talk to a marketing-communications consultant. Call for a free needs analysis. <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Five easy ways to add punch to your words</h1> <p>2009-05-20T03:22:00.000-07:00</p> *Article Use Guidelines* Use in opt-in publications, or on Web sites, but please include the resource box. If you could send a copy to me at email address: mailto:ab@digital-e.biz , I appreciate it. Many thanks. ** Summary: Writing is hard, even for writers. These five techniques will make your writing chores easier, and your writing livelier. Total words: 800 Category: Small Business Five easy ways to add punch to your words Copyright (c) 2002 by Angela Booth Writing is hard, even for writers. These five techniques will make your writing chores easier, and your writing livelier. It's time to write something important, and your palms sweat. You force yourself to write, while gritting your teeth and hating every moment of the process. Your palms sweat some more. And your head aches, because you realize that your words have all the life of roadkill. Why is it that the more important the writing task, the more lifeless your words? Maybe it's performance anxiety. You tense up, instead of letting the words flow. Try these five easy ways to add punch to your words: 1. Get conversational, and write fast When you're writing, imagine you're talking to someone. Just having a quiet chat. You want to tell them about whatever it is you're writing about. To make this easier, write in the form of a letter: "Dear Joanne Let me tell you about..." Write quickly, exactly as you'd speak. Don't worry about grammar, spelling and typos. Just blurt out whatever you have to say. Force yourself to do this by setting a time limit. Set a timer for five minutes. Tap out (or write, if you're using pen and paper) any kind of gibberish at all for five minutes. Tuing off your monitor helps, because it stops you seeing the words and going back to correct typos. 2. Get specific Want to write waffle? Generalize. Like in this sentence from a real estate agent's ad for a house: "You are certain to be impressed by the space in this three bedroom family home." I looked at the photo of the house, and wrote: "Shaded by palms and eucalypts and surrounded by a well- maintained garden, this three bedroom, honey-gold brick mini- mansion offers your family space to play and grow. " Not Shakespeare, but the words describe this house specifically. 3. Get sensuous Be a reporter. Use your senses. What can you see, hear, smell, touch and taste? When you report what's happening, your reader is right there with you. Let's say you're writing a letter to your bank, whining about the latest foul-up with your account. "Unfortunately I was climbing my front steps when I opened my card statement, and I was so surprised I tripped. The bruise on my shin's blossomed from red to blue to dark-blue, and I'm gulping painkillers every four hours. You need to put waing labels on your envelopes." Not hard to write, and not boring either. You're just telling what happened. 4. Get enthusiastic What you're feeling comes through in your words, always. So, to liven up your words, you have to be interested in what you're writing about. This can be hard, but luckily enthusiasm is transferable. For example, let's say that you're writing a presentation for your latest product. You don't like the product, you can't imagine that anyone will ever like it, much less pay money for it. In that frame of mind, guess how the presentation will sound? OK, close your eyes and imagine your favourite pastime, let's say it's swimming. You're doing lazy laps in the pool, the sun is shining, you've got the whole day to yourself, maybe a movie later... Hold that feeling! Keep the feeling, and dive into writing the presentation. (Try this, I swear it works.) 5. Tell the reader what to do Always tell the reader what you want him to do. If you're writing an ad, don't forget to give the address of the store, or give a phone number. You'd be amazed at how much advertising is happily inserted into everything from newspapers and Web sites to the Yellow Pages without giving basic contact information. If you're writing a letter, or an e-mail message, do the same thing. You may think that what you want the reader to do is obvious, and it may be, but give the instruction anyway. Try these five techniques, and please send me a message (sun818_98@yahoo.com) to tell me about your results. If you've got other techniques that work for you, tell me about those too. I'm always looking for ways to make writing easier. If I use your technique in a future article, I'll happily give you credit. ***Resource box: if using, please include*** *** WRITERS! *** Lea how to transform your talent into a flourishing business by subscribing to Creative Small Biz, the free weekly ezine for creatives. http://www.digital-e.biz/ **END** <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> <article> <h1>Books Bibles and Fast Talkers</h1> <p>2009-05-19T20:29:00.000-07:00</p> <p>Every community has 'em. Fast talkers who roll into town with a clever idea to sell to people in business.</p><p>Many times the ideas are clever and cute but you should weigh the ups and downs of every offer before you dig out the checkbook. Most of these in-town-for-a-day people want their cash up front.</p><p>Some of the common flim-flams are:</p><p>Coupon Books</p><p>They offer to put you in a giant coupon book to be sold for the needy charity or Lions Club. Books are sold on the phone for $29 and delivered by the Boy Scouts. Watch out for errors and missing expirations once the operation has moved to another town.</p><p>Telephone Book Covers</p><p>They wrap around the book and the callers see your ad every time they reach for the book. Might be OK if you own the wrecker service, locksmith or funeral home, but run the other way if you have a grocery, Mickey Dees, or bank.</p><p>City Maps</p><p>Your ad goes somewhere around the edge of the map. You might get pitched by several companies. Some look better than others, most are very pricey. Pick up maps like these when you see them and decide if you'd do business with anyone on the map because of the ad. Distribution is the selling point. Placement is the bug-a-boo. What if your ad is on the back and the reader only looks at the front? Don't be fooled by the promise of radio ads proclaiming free maps and mentioning your name.</p><p>Bibles for Newlyweds</p><p>I wish I had thought of this one 30 years ago. I would be clipping coupons instead of writing about it.</p><p>The fast talker promises to send a Bible to all newlyweds in the county (the names and addresses of the happy couples are public record at the courthouse). Four to six sales at about $500 each and they mail a one dollar Bible 4th class, a peel and stick label stuck inside with the name of the "sponsors" in inkjet color.</p><p>They can easily sell a town a day at 3 large and make one trip a quarter to visit the courthouse for names. Work it for two months on a route and eat cake the other 10. A great moneymaker for the Bible people, a dud for advertising effectiveness. But like kids in school and American Flags, this emotion sells well in every community.</p><p>There are hundreds of advertising "opportunities" out there. Your job as a business owner is to separate the effective from the cute and clever.</p><p>For more about advertising, get my article "Your Billboard is Showing" MailTo:Billboards@BigIdeasGroup.com</p><div style="float: left; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border-width: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: white; background-color: white"></div><p>©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com</p><p>Subscribe to "BIG Mike's BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer"></div> </article> </main></body></html>