Chitika

Monday, January 31, 2011

Top Three Reasons To Join The Plug in Profit Site


The decision on which Internet business to join is an important one. One could easily allow you to become financially independent, while another could just be a waste of time. One of the best is gaining more popularity and new members everyday. The following are the top three reasons to join the plug in profit site
Quick and Easy to Get Started: One of the most common reasons to join the plug in profit site is that it is both quick and easy to get started. Newcomers to Internet marketing will find this particular business a lot less stressful than others, as everything is laid out for you to become successful. While it can take some time to actually reach the level of success you desire, the fact is, most people are able to have their own business up and running within a twenty-four hour period.
Opportunity For Residual Earnings: This business actually offers five different affiliate programs and each one creates an opportunity for residual income. Residual income is actually money that is earned time and time again from just one sale. In other words, if you sell someone a product and they must keep replenishing it, you continue to make money off the orders they make. It may sound too good to be true, but this company lives up to its reputation as a potential high-income business.
Great Support System: Of course, one of the main reasons that so many individuals join and stay with the business is that it offers such a great support system. First of all, you are provided with all of the essential Internet tools you need to make your new business a success, including a professional website of your own. The tools you receive will allow you to customize your own website and help you to start promoting it as quickly as possible. Not only that, you will also find a great network of marketers who are willing to help you every step of the way. Unfortunately, there are many business opportunities that will claim they have a great support network and it isn’t until the member has joined that they realize is was a false claim. This particular business stands by its word.
These are just a few reasons to join the plug in profit site. Truthfully, if you were to ask a hundred members why you should join, they may just give you a hundred different answers. Anyone who is looking for a great business to get started of their own will find this business may just suit their needs perfectly.


About the Author:
Mark Barton is the owner of http://www.ForManna.com and reviews popular home business ideas and opportunities. Mark’s most popular home business recommendation is the Plug-In Profit Site where you can get your own money-making website setup in 24 hours!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Effective Postcard can Drag you to Success

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 turnaround 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 everyone’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 reader’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.

Effective Forms Advertising Internet Web Site

I have detailed below the most cost effective forms of internet marketing to advertising your business using your company website.  HTPcompany.com  provides marketing, Internet advertising, search engine optimization and sales consulting for businesses, web site promotion and lead generation.
Brought to you

  In this day and age, a lot of things have changed from how they used to be, which can be new and exciting for most.

  Effective internet marketing requires a mix of the right advertising army and approaches to get your web site thoroughly entrenched on the internet!  Providing army for web site design, hosting, online shopping, databases, flash, streaming video, web site maintenance, search engine optimization, community internet advertising, and more.

  Consider the Internet the Cnext step to every ad Web sites serve as a ordinary consumer destination for all outgoing advertising communications.  deem the Internet the "next step" to every ad Web sites serve as a ordinary consumer destination for all outgoing advertising communications.  A sphere name is the Internet address you will use when advertising your web site.

  Paypopup.com is a four year old online advertising complex which consists thousands of specialized websites in providing unique intention internet traffic.  You will be surfing Auto Hits for authentic free internet advertising and visitors to your website all automatically lacking clicking.

  We have just reached the tip of the iceberg, as the remainder of this article will help to further your understanding of this complex subject.

  The mass of websites on the Internet do not have the monetary resources to launch a million dollar advertising campaign.  You only have to pay for your internet advertising when you hear potential buyers to your website.  Companies are running to recover on their internet advertising expenses and constantly inform their website to keep up with the competition.

  The next time someone asks you about this topic, you can give a little smile and provide them an informative answer.
http://www.advertising-internet-online.com/advertising-internet-site-web/

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Effective Classifieds Advertising Tips

Classified advertising is a relatively inexpensive way to promote your product or service, so it's a great option to consider for small businesses. However, if you're not careful, you can waste a lot of time and money on ineffective classified ads.

There are several factors to keep in mind when writing classified ads. If you keep these factors in mind, you can run an effective classifieds campaign.

1 – What are you selling?
Before you decide to run classified ads, you should determine if your product is well suited to classified advertising. In other words, are the people reading the classified ads likely to be looking for your product? For example, if you sell used cars, classified ads might be a great way for you to go, because people do read classified ads when they are looking for a car. On the other hand, you probably won't sell many Ferrari's with classifieds.

2 – Where are you running your ad?
How many people will read your ad? Who are these people? Are they young or old? Rich or poor? Are they likely to be interested in your product or service.

3 – Writing Your Ad
When you write your ad, remember what you are trying to do:

A. Catch the reader's attention, so they will read your ad (that is the job of your headline)
B. Convince the reader that you have something they might be interested in (that is the job of your ad body)

Get the reader to contact you or otherwise respond to your ad (you should have an clear idea of what you want the reader to do – call you, visit your website, etc.)

5 – Test, test, test
Once you start a classified advertising campaign, you should rigorously test your ads and methods to perfect them. This is one of the most important parts of any advertising project – removing what doesn't work, and improving what does work.

Happy advertising!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Effective Brochure Design

Many marketing companies would be more than happy to assist in creating a brochure design that is professional and have a lovely look to them. However before going to one of these companies or even considering them one must consider what it is the brochure design is supposed to accomplish.

If the main goal of the brochure design is to gain new customers it should be sharp and catchy. Make it something that the customer will notice and not want to toss in the garbage. Also give them reasons as to why they want to do business with you. Keep in mind that you are always in competition and that you will want to win the most customers possible. New customers need to know why you are so wonderful and why it is a better financial investment for them to give their money to you.

Alternatively if the main goal of the brochure design is to get customers that have already done business with you to come back then you are going to need to gear your brochure towards them. Snappy catchy pictures are not necessarily needed in this case. Here they already know who you are and will take a moment to see what you have to say. The best approach for the speech of the brochure is to keep it at a friendship level. They know you and have already spent some money with you. The goal here is to keep them spending their money with you. To do this talk to them like they are an old friend. Let them know that their business with you was greatly appreciated and that you would love to see them again.

Never underestimate the use of incentives given in a brochure design. Bargain shoppers are going to come flocking in to new businesses or return to old companies that they had once used all because they have a coupon in their hand. They love a good bargain and if you give them a good bargain they will love you. Also the average not so bargain crazed customer is going to come to you over the competition that doesn’t give an incentive. Think in the mind of the shopper. For example if a shopper is likely to save $20 on an incentive that you offered on something through your brochure design then that is $20 more likely that they will spend on other or more products.

Keep these points in mind when creating the perfect brochure design and you too will have an effective brochure that will bring in more business.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Effective Advertising Pointers

Businesses often become known today through effective marketing. The marketing may be in the form of a regular news item or half column society news in the Sunday newspaper. The marketing may be in the form of a heart to heart talk with Mr. Brown on his prominent local television show. These are all advertising. Businesses cannot get away from the force of advertising. If they want to make their products known in the marketplace they have to use some form of advertisement. Advertising is being more and more known as a reasonable and desirable business force.

Let’s say you own a department store. The advertising manager of the store is like the managing editor of a daily newspaper with his group of reporters regularly bringing fresh matter to his desk and the different department heads acts as the reporters.

Take it on a Thursday or Friday, when the big Sunday advertisements are in process of construction, the scene is remarkably lively, and the man at the head of the advertising department has plenty occasions to exercise his ready cleverness and level-headedness. He must have very clear-cut and definite ideas as to what's what, and no matter what influence may be brought to bear upon him by the different managers the advertising manager must have a stamina to select what he considers the best and arrange the same as he thinks wise, while at the same time he must have sufficient tact and skill to do these things without hurting the feelings of buyers—who, after all, are the real powers in the department store.

The advertising manager soon knows the buyers. Of course, the manager has a pretty accurate knowledge of the products. He knows what the other stores are advertising. And he sees to it that the prices that go into print do not run higher than competing figures. Thus, every advertising manager should constantly study his market – which marketing material is best or which language is best – he should not shoot too high or too low. Likewise, his brain must constantly be devising new ideas and sales method to attract the public.

In choosing the right marketing material to use, the manager should consider their audience, their product and their budget. A good ad is very important but if its cost and design does not complement the product you might as well receive poor sales. For this reason, it is important to carefully consider how to design the material, what to include in it and how to print it. There are a lot of affordable printing techniques today. The method that you will choose will depend on the material that you will produce. Thus, carefully weigh your options.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Earn Extra Income Opportunity – Jump On The Advertising Campaign

With millions of blogs and web sites online, many people still miss out on the great online home business opportunity that it provides.

Advertising on the web has exploded over the last few years. People have begun to realize how many people surf the web, and how some well placed ads can help generate more income for them and give them the perfect earn extra income opportunity and the ability to work at home.

You can take advantage of this and make money online easily. All you need to have is a web site. You can get one for free and just add your own content. Anything that will interest people will do. Write your own articles on politics or any subject that interests you and it will be sure to interest like minded people.

You can also use this idea on your business web site. Next you need to find some ads. Google ads are great, and Yahoo has recently come out with their own ads too. They are free to ad to your web site and every time someone clicks on your ad, you will be paid money. How’s that for an earn extra income opportunity.

There are also several different click as you go ads available on the internet. Make sure you read what they’re offering you, and choose the one that will benefit you the most.

You can also advertise ad space on your web site. Some people might be willing to pay you some money monthly or yearly for ad space on your site. This is a great way to make money online and if successful this can provide the perfect internet based home business.

If you have one web site with google ads, the income may not seem very impressive at first, but multiply that income by several web sites, and suddenly you’re making some pretty decent extra money. And to top it all off, you get to work at home on something you enjoy.

Good deal, huh?

All you have to do now is work on your web site to develop your own internet based home business. It really is that easy and an excellent earn extra income opportunity.

Driving New Cars For Free: Is There A Catch?

Advertisers have seized upon a new way to get the word out about their products: slap their ads on your vehicle. Actually, this isn’t an entirely new way to promote products as it has been in the experimental stages for years in limited markets. Now, however, the practice has become so widespread that companies around the globe are doing it. Soon, many cars in Mexico and France along with vehicles on the streets of California, Florida, and elsewhere will be sporting ads pitching a variety of products. In some cases the advertisers will pay you a monthly rental fee to place ads on the car you already own, while in other cases you could find yourself behind the wheel of a brand new car.

When I first heard about this concept, I thought: what’s the catch? While every program is different and there are probably scammers mixed in with the legit companies, for the most part these “ads on wheels” or “rolling billboard” programs are on the up and up. You’ll have to check with the individual program for contractual details, but this is what I have found out about what some of them are offering:

Drivers must be of legal age, generally age 18 or above.

Drivers must reside in targeted countries with the U.S., Canada, France, the Philippines, Mexico, Japan, and Britain as being popular locations.

Drivers must do what they do best: drive, a lot! Yes, no letting your wheels stay put; you’ll be expected to put some serious miles on your car, especially around town where everyone can see and look at your ride.

In some cases, you can use your own car and get a monthly check. In other cases, you will be given a car for a certain period of time. In the latter situation, you may be responsible for gas, maintenance, and insurance, so make certain that what you get from the “rolling ads” is worth it to you.

So, who are some of the advertisers? Without specifying names, I have seen vehicles for a certain gecko insurance company, another for a big box retailer of consumer electronics equipment, while still another one for a local restaurant with it’s “can’t miss” repainted PT Cruiser. In addition, there are many other advertisers who see the value and uniqueness of the program and are joining in.

Yes, there are exaggerated claims of how much you could make each month or what type of car you might be getting. Sure, a Viper with ads would be cool, but can you afford the gas and the $3000 car insurance bill? Probably not. Therefore, do some “due diligence” to find out the plan that is right for you.

Rolling billboards are a novelty, one that many drivers will want in order to gain access to a new set of wheels or a repaint of their current ride. Still, for a lucky few, these types of programs will certainly help their cars get noticed. When the bill is being picked up by someone else, it could be a fun if not lucrative way to get around town.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Dramatic Advertising That Sells

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.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Double Vision: Looking Back At A Commercial Icon

While many iconic images have been created as part of successful advertising campaigns, some icons have histories as exciting as the products they endorse. For example, did you know that the Doublemint Twins first appeared as only illustrations? They debuted in print advertising for the famous gum in 1939 to communicate its double benefits: a "double wrapped" wax-coated paper seal and a "double peppermint" distillation process used to produce a sweeter, smoother taste. These illustrated twins became the brand's signature and were drawn in ever-changing matching hats for car card and poster advertisements.

It wasn't until 1960 that the first live twins appeared in television commercials. They sang a catchy theme song that encouraged gum chewers to "double their pleasure" and "double their fun." New sets of twins were cast for commercials throughout the 1970s to 1990s and most recently reintroduced in 2005, as Wrigley continued to offer fun variations on the double theme.

Now there's another kind of twins associated with the 90-plus-year-old trademark minty taste: Doublemint Twins mints. Like the namesake gum, these mints offer "double good, double fun" but with a blend of two flavors in a single mint.

New television commercials build upon the brand's heritage of the campaign and the unique jingle but with an unexpected twist as viewers are introduced to a new set of twins-two very different people that are dressed alike as twins.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Don't Get Caught With Google Adsense Click Fraud

Many web site owners are getting their Google Adsense account terminated when they have done nothing wrong to deserve the punishment. Considering the money that they are getting from Adsense, they would certainly want to get back into it, and no wonder as the money that can be made over time is huge!

It is that same consideration why the Google Adsense click fraud is thought of and why many people are getting into it.

Click fraud is the act of clicking on ads for the purpose of costing the advertiser money. It is simply the same as paying out cash for false leads. Many people website owners are aware of this fraud and are sharing the same sentiment that this is the one big problem that Adsense is facing.

How do you prevent being involved in this fraud?

Majority of web hosts are offering access logs. Once this is offered to you, it is necessary that you hand it over to Google as well. This allows them to look for any suspicious activity on your site. Problems like this are very serious and giving it to them is saying that you would want to help them in any way you can in solving the problem.

It can also help if you have a click monitoring software. If you do not have one yet, you should try and get one. There is absolutely no major factor preventing you from having one because most of this software is free.

As usual, all the information you have received should be turned over to Google. This is showing Google that you too are fighting against click frauds and that you are not a part of it.

Study your server logs and watch for any activity that seems suspicious. Report anything that you may find odd, may it big or small thing.

You may want to consider disabling ads for your own IP address and local geographic area. This will certainly prevent accidents and will not make Google mistake another user as you. You can do through an htaccess file. This will avoid Google mistaking as clicking on your own ads and be kicked out because of it.

Keep your Adsense off on pop ups and pop unders. Your ads should not be displayed on content sites that promote illegal activity or tampering of the legal rights of other people or business, these include content that is considered adult and of a gambling nature.  If you think that you may be breaking this rule, immediately remove your content or Adsense from the web page.

Be truthful and confess up to Google about times when you might have clicked on your own as, whether accidentally or intentionally. Or the times when you have done something that is against the Terms of Service that they are implementing. Be honest about anything that you may have done that is wrong. Confessing is way better than Google learning about it eventually. It would mean eventual termination and no getting back what you have worked so hard for.

Do not tell your family or friends about Adsense on your website. Chances are they may start clicking on them to help you make money without you knowing it. They may be doing more harm to you than help by trying it in the first place.

If ever someone you know chanced upon your Adsense, ensure they understand that they cannot click on your ads under any circumstances. It would be wise to brief them on important things about Adsense and what not to do with them.

Most pay per click networks have different measures in hand to protect website owners against click frauds. Other search engines can track more than 50 data points, IP address, browser’s information, user’s session info and pattern recognition. They also have “systems” available that detects fraud. Not to mention the specialized teams monitoring how things are going and helping advertisers stop click frauds.

Google offers suggestion on how to avoid click fraud. Using “negative keywords” can be used to keep your Adsense showing on products and services that are in no way related to yours.  Consider adding tracking URLs to your links so you can track the traffic coming from Google.

Do not be caught in the Google click fraud. Be aware and be wary.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

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

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 alternatives 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 consternation 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 turn bad or how to undesign a logo
Built in obsolesence plays a big part in todays quick turnaround 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 patterns 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..

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Do you need a logo for your company?

A logo may be a small thing but if you make it memorable in a customer's mind, it is you that will stick in their mind when they're looking for your product / service and not your competitors, so how do you ensure you get the right one for your company?

We believe that there are four main questions you must ask yourself when considering design, in order to ensure you get the right logo for you?

Is the logo design you're considering distinctive enough?
Is it right for your company?
Is the message your logo is trying to portray clear?
Is it too “funky”? - Will it be outdated by next year?

After you have decided on the basic design, you now need to cosnider colour. Why? Because whilst it is nice to have a colourful logo, it is important to remember one thing, if it doesn’t look good in black and white then there is no point in having it. You may be thinking you don’t want it in black and white and you probably won’t the majority of the time, but think about the times you need to fax or photocopy something with your logo on. If people can’t see your logo they aren’t going to think too highly of you.

Alongside it is important to think where you want this logo. If the logo is only going to be seen on the internet you have more freedom with colours and effects such as bevelled edges and drop shadows, however once you want it put on paper, then the issue arises, firstly of whether it is reproducible on paper and secondly if it is how much it will cost.

How do you ensure it is suitable for printing? The best way to ensure this is make sure you get a designer who will provides you with a CMYK version and / or a spot / Pantone colour version. CMYK means that the design is broken down into four standard colours - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, Pantone is where the design is broken down into three colours or less. Both of these will allow the design to be achievable in many different media types, but Pantone will always be more consistent.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Do Click Exchanges Really Work?

Yes and No!
First you have to ask yourself: What do I want the click exchange to do for me?
If you want to promote a product or website directly by placing your URL on the click exchange and then surfing like mad to get your site shown once for every two that you see, then the answer is NO!

When you are surfing what are you thinking? Maybe “that’s 20 another 10, and then I’ll get my site seen 10 times for free” etc, what do you think everyone else is thinking? The same!

So let’s look at this logically: Who’s surfing click exchanges? Answer: Other internet marketers that are trying to get more free visitors to their sites in order to sell them a product or concept. Right?

When you’re surfing what do you want?
Answer: More free advertising. Right?
So wouldn’t it make sense to offer other marketers more free advertising and customers? Of course it would!

How can we do that? Simply create a webpage on your site that is super lightweight (loads quickly) looks like a bonus or reward page from the exchange you are using, it should have some traffic lights or stop signs etc.

Only have a few words such as CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE WON!  To receive your free report that tells you how to get MORE FREE ADVERTISING and BUILD YOUR LIST! Enter your details here:

It sounds cliché I know, but it’s ethical and you do give them a valuable prize.

That’s all there is to it, that person is automatically emailed a free gift as the first email from your auto responder that is set up just for this purpose. (More on auto responders and free gifts in other articles)

You now have an internet marketer on your mailing list and it isn’t spam.

I’ve found that this works for me; why not give it a go!

Discovery Helps You Advertising Online Site Web

On online advertising spending has already overtaken cinema, pay TV and outdoor media and is expected to overtake radio and magazines in 2006.  Spending on general online advertising such as banners grew 51 per cent compared with a year earlier.  spending on online advertising will total around $16 billion in 2006, accounting for more than five percent of total advertising spending for the first time ever.  By year's end, online spending will hit $1.8 billion, garnering a 15.7 percent share of the $11.4 billion real estate advertising market.  We're tracking strong growth in local paid search advertising, as well as online real estate, automotive and recruitment spending.

  Professional web analytics software to track your web site, unique visitors, visitor behavior, search engines and online commerce and advertising campaigns.  The two most successful techniques for enhancing your online image are: search engine optimization, and pay per click advertising campaigns.  The most known tools to marketers in the mid 2000s are currently tools grouped into 2 fields: online advertising and search engine optimization.  The legitimate side of online advertising includes search engine advertising, advertising networks and opt-in e-mail advertising.  A useful appendix lists projections for local online advertising, including breakouts for paid search, for 211 individual markets.

  A strategy session will provide you with ideas and an action plan for maximizing the benefits of online advertising for your business.  Whether print or online, your advertising will effectively reach expatriates, business professionals, educated locals, and fun-loving travellers

 all with money to spend!  All about online advertising for business.  If you thought about advertising your defense contracting business online, then there truly is no time like the present.  CyanWeb know how to attract targeted clients to your business using online advertising.

  Paypopup.com is a four year old online advertising network which consists thousands of specialized websites in providing unique target internet traffic.  Investigate the cost of your online internet advertising with the ready-reckoner, below.  NON-COMPLIANCE The FTC periodically joins with other law enforcement agencies to monitor the Internet for  potentially false or deceptive online advertising claims.  Now that the technology world has recovered and the internet has matured, online advertising is again garnering attention.

  Most online advertising studies have focused on how successful ads are at driving traffic to the advertiser, using simple metrics such as clickthrough rates.  Many of the general principles of advertising law apply to online ads, but new issues arise almost as fast as technology develops.  Logos are NOT included in line ads or online advertising.  Enter contextual ads Even before the dot com burst, online advertising venues came to realize that click-through rates of standard banner ads were abysmal.
http://www.advertising-internet-online.com/advertising-online-site-web/

Discover the most essential elements of a good brochure design

Brochures are powerful advertising tools that help in persuading consumers to purchase their requirements form a certain store. However, their power is increased only when they are created uniquely and accurately to represent you in the market. The creation of a brochure design is a collective process among the competent writers, designers and printers. It is with these people’s expertise that an effective brochure is created.

The basic element of a good brochure design is obviously deciding on the matter to be included in the brochure! Choose meaningful and right colors and photos for the brochures. Make sure that the matter in the brochure is readable, for if not, the whole objective of the brochure is lost!

Focus on the needs of the customers of your services, and thus, your brochure. They want to know what exactly it is in them from the brochure. They need to improve their bottom line and to make their lives easier. Don’t just tell them about the benefits of your services; use the brochure to show them!  Nothing proves to be more convincing than a good demonstration in the brochure! Value information, which is, useful information for the client is another essential element of a good brochure design. So add value information in the brochure and see the increase in the strength of your demonstration!

Don’t make the font of your brochure too wordy as the better brochures are always seen to have a brief headline, with a meaty body. Keep the headline simple, but striking, as this is a great element in the making of a good brochure design. Whatever the matter you place in the brochure, provide your prospects with just enough information so that they tend to crave for more information. To accomplish this, you have to lightly touch the main topics to get people excited to inquire about more information! Leave contact information in the brochure through which the customer can reach you to get to know more about your business, and thus become a part of it! If possible, add testimonials to your brochure as this increases your credibility. Use the person’s full name, company name and ask them for their permission! Adding the word ‘free’ in the brochure by saying ‘buy one, get one free’; free parking; free delivery, etc. This thus makes the reader curious to read the brochure and to try out your services!

Quality printing is yet another element of brochure design worth mentioning. Use the latest and most reliable printing equipment to help you get professional printed brochures. Using an old printer only produces unprofessional-looking prints, which prove to be of no profit to you! Use all these elements to create a good brochure design, which your client is sure to keep; thereby placing your name in front of them every day of the week! You then build a trusted relationship with your client; to establish yourself as an expert in your field, through your good brochure design!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Discover How to Choose Your Advertising Promotional Pen Today

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 modern 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 modern 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 journals [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 Internet's largest source for promotional items and advertising promotional pens.  http://www.advertising-internet-online.com/advertising-pen/

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Direct Marketing

Still, today, with all the internet advancements, direct marketing is one of

the most effctive ways to promote your business. 

Direct marketing gives you massive amounts of personal exposure to a large

amount of people that would take you days to reach, were you to address each

manually.  And, one of the major advantages are you are sending your offers

to those who have agreed to receive them.  With one simple submission.

With direct marketing you are constantly reaching new prospects on a daily

basis, giving yet another advantage to promoting your business. 

There is no need to download any software, or import email addresses.  You

send your ad Spam Free Direct From The Server from an online interface.  And,

depending what direct marketing campaign you are on, can reach millions.

Direct Marketing still is one of the most inexpensive, most effective ways to

promote your business. 

Many clubs have posting every day, or other day.  At We-r-cashingin you can

post hourly.  For a very minimal price of $4.99  for a lifetime. 

Unbelievable to be able to contact millions each day, with new prospects

added everyday, and not pay more than five dollars for a lifetime!

Not only one of the best forms of advertising, one of the most affordable.

To receive more information on the We-r-cashingin package please visit http://

we-r-cashingin.com/blaster/main.cgi?251295835.

Direct Mail Advertising: How I made $47,325 in 30 days by mailing 2,200 letters

How do you create a direct mail advertising campaign that gets results? 

The following tips on creating a direct mail advertising campaign have been street-tested and will bring you huge returns in a short period of time. 

In Fact, these tips enabled me to generate over $47,000 in mortgage commissions in less than 30 days!  Keep reading and I will share 3 key elements to creating an effective direct mail advertising campaign:


Key Element #1:  The prospect list - Mail to a targeted list of prospects

Here are a couple of ways to find targeted prospect mailing lists in your niche:

Look in your industry trade publications.  I found great list providers for my direct mail advertising campaigns in the back of Mortgage Originator Magazine – A popular mortgage industry publication.

Or, search Google.com for:  your industry + “mailing lists”.  For example, I am a mortgage lender so my search would be: mortgage + “mailing lists” in Google.com.

By the way, when purchasing a prospect list for your direct mail advertising, be sure to get some kind of personal information about your prospect to use in your campaign.

Here is an example of personal information I use in my direct mail advertising campaigns:

•  The prospect’s current mortgage company
•  The prospect’s original loan amount


Key Element #2: The Envelope – How to get your letter opened

The envelope must entice your prospects into opening and reading the enclosed letter.

Here are some ideas for getting your envelope opened:

1. Insert a personalized “RE:” line above your prospect’s name in a window envelope. 

I found that the original lender’s name works well in my campaigns:

RE: ABC Mortgage
John Doe
123 N Main St.
City, State Zip
---Bar Code---


2. Use this text with your return address in the upper left corner of the envelope:

Administrative Office
1234 South Broadway Pkwy.
City, State Zip

Confidential Information

Personal and Confidential


 Key Element #3: The direct mail advertising mail piece – Get your desired result

The purpose of your direct mail advertising mail piece is to get your prospect to take a desired action.  For me, that action is picking up the phone and calling me for a loan.

Here are some tips to help you get your desired result from your direct mail advertising mail piece:

1. Personalize the mail piece

If possible disclose small pieces of personal information about your prospect to get their attention and build rapport.

Here are some examples of personalized text I use in my direct mail advertising campaigns:

“Based on your original loan with ABC Mortgage in the amount of $250,000 your new payment would be $924.05.”

“Based on our calculations, this loan program may save you $32,841 in interest charges over the next 5 years and $197,046 over the life of your mortgage!”


2. Include a few “bio lines” under your signature.  Tell them a little bit about who you are. 

Here are the “bio lines” I use:

To your financial success,

My Signature
Hartley W. Pinn, Jr

Senior Mortgage Planner
10 Years Mortgage Experience
Licensed Financial Planner
Married with 3 children


3.  Offer a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in your mail piece

If you don’t currently have a unique selling proposition for your direct mail advertising campaign – Find one.  What makes you different from your competitors?  What makes you better?  Why should a prospect use you over a competitor?  Answer these questions and you will have your unique selling proposition.

Here are some sample USP lines that work well in my direct mail advertising campaigns:

“No House Payment Until April 2006!!!  Imagine what you could do by skipping your February and March house payments.”

“Additionally, we specialize in loan programs with No Points.  We can pay this customary closing cost because we are paid directly from the new lender.”


4. The call to action

Ask them to take your desired action:

“Call now and ask for me personally so we can discuss your individual needs and goals.” 

“Be sure to visit www.YourWebsite.com to view this Free Video:  “How to Get Paid For Refinancing”.  Discover how to use your mortgage loan as a tool to secure your financial future.  It’s the most informative site on the web!!”


Well, that’s it!  I wish you all the best with your next direct mail advertising campaign.  The only thing left for you to decide is how much money you would like to make over the next 30 days?  Mail more letters and you will generate more sales!

Differentiate Yourself And Attract More Attention, Sales, and Profits

Differentiate and you stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Present your uniqueness and emphasize your rare attributes in your sales copy and promotions and you'll capture the imagination and interest of those you want to reach.

In a world of copycats, it pays to be an original. It’s usually the creator of a new concept who gets the most mileage from it. Innovative entrepreneurs often become market leaders while competitors keep doing things the same old way – until change is forced upon them. Differentiate or die.

Challenging the way things have always been done can lead to creative new options that reward you with a windfall of profits.

Differentiate your business and you attract attention. It’s new, different – even revolutionary – and it’s the kind of thing that generates excitement and creates a stir in the market. After all, few new customers would be drawn to you -- if you were doing the exact same thing, the exact same way as everyone else.

Consider this question... “What Could You Do To Differentiate Yourself, Your Business, Or Your Product In A Way Prospects and Customers Would Appreciate?” Another thought to ponder is this... “What Traditions Could You Break That Would Capture Attention And Interest?”

Putting an effective new spin on your business should be done with the needs and desires or your customers and prospects in mind. Differentiate from their point of view.

What changes can you implement that would make customers say “Wow!”?

Think in terms of what people want. Essentially, they want to be served better, faster and with more convenience. They want to be entertained. They want to solve problems with less effort. They want instant gratification. They want respect and to be treated as VIP's (which customers are, of course). They want to do business with companies that care about them, their environment, and the world at large. Differentiate in a way that appeals to these desires.

Look at every facet of your business and compare the way you do things to the way competitor does. Are you operating in a similar manner? How might you do things differently? What changes could you make in that area that your customers would truly appreciate and value?

Differentiate and you gain a huge advantage.

Re-invent your business operations and marketing materials as though you were the customer. Design everything from the customer’s point of view. Take “tradition” and turn it upside down. Recast your business. Make it more user-friendly and benefit-oriented. Blaze a new trail... even if it means re-inventing your entire industry.

Let’s look at a few simple examples.

Many retail stores have their cash registers right up front – near the entrance. Couldn’t that prime real estate be better used to display enticing new merchandise and lure in more customers? PJ’s Pet Centres does this well. They’ve cleverly placed a large cage of adorable puppies right outside the front entrance. Few people can walk by without a short visit... and many of those are drawn inside the store.

Some entrepreneurial-minded restauranteurs do the same thing with their kitchens. Patrons find it interesting and entertaining to watch the chef expertly prepare a multitude of culinary delights. At the same time, most competing kitchens are at the back of the restaurant and out of the way, so no one ever sees inside.

East Side Mario’s has done something unique to differentiate itself. They know that desserts are among the most profitable items any restaurant can offer. So they don’t employ the traditional dessert tray or standard menu. Instead, they present beautiful color slides of their delicious, mouth-watering creations in a View Master. A View Master is a small plastic toy -- about the size of a camera – that you hold to your eyes and click to change the image shown. Who can resist viewing each one of their specialties? It’s a fun, novel way to unveil delicious treats. Everyone gets a chuckle out of it the first time around and I’d be willing to bet that more people buy dessert because of it.

Take a close look at your business and industry. What is considered “standard practice”? How might business be done differently? How could you change things in a way that creates interest, desire, curiosity, and more sales?

In a world of apples, it pays to be an orange.

More resources at www.makeyoursalessoar.com

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Deciphering Marketing Lingo for Small Business Owners

Maybe you've heard these different marketing terms, maybe you haven't. Either way, let me help to clarify the difference between them, because you should have all three if you want to market successfully. And knowing what they are may be your first step to accomplishing all three for your business.

Unique Selling Proposition

A unique selling proposition, sometimes referred to as a USP, is the one thing that is unique and valuable about your business, product or service? And it must be unique and valuable to your prospects or ideal clients, not just to you.

It may be an inherent attribute of your product or service (it's the only blue widget available and blue is the color your ideal customers prefer) or it may be something you create. I created the USP for my business, 10stepmarketing.

There are many marketing training programs and educational products available. But there were none I could find that taught small business owners how to create and implement their own marketing plan using a simple, step-by-step, question-and-answer method.

So I created my marketing training program (name and all) to fill this void in the marketplace. And it became my "created" USP. It didn't exist when I first started training 5 years ago — I created it and built my business around it.

Your USP is an idea or a concept. It is not the exact words you feature in your marketing. You will however use it to write and create your marketing messages.

Single Message

This is what you say about your business, product or service when you market. It is the one key idea or message you include in all of your marketing. It may be very closely related to your USP, but it may not be exactly the same.

You will determine your single message AFTER you determine your USP. Additionally, look at your single message as the one thing you could tell your prospects to change their mindset about your product or service, from what they currently think to what you WANT them to think.

It is usually written in the form of a short statement or sentence. Its job is to take your prospects from what they think now to what you want them to think. Most likely you will NOT feature your single message in your marketing materials exactly as you have written it in your marketing plan.

The idea will be communicated, but you will very likely use different words in your actual marketing materials. For 10stepmarketing, my single message is "If you can answer 10 questions, you can successfully market your business." (In my case, I turned my single message into a tagline because it was succinct, it communicated exactly what I wanted, and frankly, it just WORKED!)

Tagline

Your tagline is an actual line of marketing copy you write to sum up what you do, or what you want your prospects to know about your product or service, or a key benefit they will reap if they purchase. You will draw on your USP and your Single Message to help you craft your tagline.

This is the only one of all three (USP, Single Message, Tagline) your prospects will see exactly as you have written it in your marketing plan. As stated above, my tagline for 10stepmarketing came directly from my single message. This is not usually the case, but it just happened to work out that way.

You may have the same situation. Your USP or your Single Message may be so spot-on you choose to use it as your tagline. As long as your tagline communicates a customer-focused message that's great.

Always ask yourself the question "What's so great about that?" when you are thinking of putting a tagline or any other message or copy in front of your prospects. If "what's so great" is obvious, your copy or tagline is probably already very customer-focused.

If you can further drill down to a more specific customer benefit when asking this question, then you are still in business-owner "feature-land" and you will want to keep asking "What's so great about that?" until you can't drill down any further.

(C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa

Monday, January 10, 2011

Customer Acquisition Specialists and Performance Based Marketing

TheMediaCrew is a leading performance-based marketing company with enabling technology that connects marketers to consumers through a comprehensive set of email marketing and online media services. Their expertise resides in online marketing, customer acquisition, email delivery, lead generation, banner advertising and affiliate marketing. The mission of this company is to help individuals or companies  to conduct a successful marketing campaigns reaching responsive customers, using the power of contextual marketing.

Is a world leader in performance based marketing specializing in verified opt-in email marketing and online advertising solutions. TheMediaCrew, founded in 1999, has evolved as a leading full service online advertising agency. They also power premier online affiliate marketing networks and provides full service lead generation, banner advertising, agency specializing in customer retention and performance based marketing.

Coregistration leads and co-registration services have been a well kept secret for too long. They use also contextual advertising which is in many ways the latest online advertising technological advance and allows a company to place advertisements in major websites and portals that are carrying relevant content for their product or service.

They created a proven formula to help grow businesses. Harnessing cutting edge technologies, proven online marketing solutions, personalized customer service, and complete campaign customization including email marketing or lead generation in order to help create the right online marketing campaign for you.

Through superior technology and unmatched customer service, they  participate in the growth of their clients businesses and help them ensure the satisfaction of their customers. Backed by an unwavering commitment to client success hundreds of companies have chosen TheMediaCrew.com to help build revenue streams, consumer confidence, long-term trust and loyalty.

Dedicated and experienced professionals are committed to the success of clients online marketing campaigns. They jump into your business to understand your needs and goals. They offer several scalable online marketing solutions which will give your business the highest possible ROI.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Custom Air Force Ones

The Custom Air Force Ones from the very day they were launched in the market, met with great acceptance of the crowd because they were fantastically designed and they were incredibly comfortable. The ‘air technology’ is nothing but highly pressurized air trapped under the sole of the shoe to give the foot perfect buoyancy and never-before-felt comfort.

The Custom Air Force Ones were received so well by the public that in 1986 Nike based on the tremendous boost in its sales, crossed for the first time a turnover of $1 billion. From then on everything is history. Nike has since brought out many models based on the air cushion and with it grew into a larger than life company.  Between 1990 and 2000, in the short span of ten years, Nike opens more than 14 Niketown stores which actually further establish its name on the global market.

But let us come back to our Custom Air Force Ones (www.urbanhotlist.com) – the shoes that revolutionized forever the idea of a sports shoe in people’s mind. The sneaker can be classy looking as well as comfortable – the idea and the feasibility of the adjectives came to the forefront only with the Air Jordans.  Among all the Air One sneakers, reports show that the Nike Air Jordan I has today the highest number of replicas in the market. And if we believe that copying is the best form of flattery – then these sneakers by any standards are Number 1.

Another pair of Custom Air Force Ones that swept the market off its feet is the Air Jordan III, which as a marked difference showed a visible air sole as its main attraction. This sneaker model was designed by Tinker Hatfield who designed the Air Jordan IV, V and VI also and which creating  great waves in the sneakers’ market.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Crucial Considerations about Marketing Postcards

Postcards come in different kinds. The first one is called view postcards. This type of postcard offers reference to historic landmarks, buildings, towns, streets. View postcards have been existent since the onset of postcards.

Next, we have historical postcards. These postcards commemorate historical events, politics and social problems such as war, wrecks, floods, epidemic, conflagrations and other worth remembering events from the past.

Another type is the greeting card. This type of postcard is the center of attraction during the holidays. Come Christmas day, Thanks Giving day, New Year’s day, Valentines day, Graduation day and all the red dates in our lives, greetings postcard will come to liven up the special day.

Fourth, we have photographic postcards. These postcards are made up of real pictures of women, lovers, children, landscapes, seascapes, still life and the likes. Photographic postcards have been popular at the time photomatage was made available. This popularity continues up to the present time.

Photomatage technique allows photos to be changed or transformed into artsy masterpieces.

Lastly, we have promotional postcards. This type of postcard is popular to savvy businessmen and marketers. They are used to publicize and promote new products or services. One factor that made it a sure hit is personalization. Personalization allows incorporation of company logos, company pictures and unique and business stingers. By this, the postcards appear more personal, thus warmer and more effective in conveying a marketing message.

It is necessary to know the types of postcards so that whenever you decide to market them or in case you are assigned a postcard printing project, you know exactly the concept.

Another crucial consideration is the materials to be used. Paper, ink and printer must be of good quality in order for your output to be high quality as well.

Finally, you have to consider the commercial printer to trust to. It will be better if you choose a printer with create-a-postcard printing services.

Now, you are ready for the next postcard printing task.

Creative Outdoor Ads

They are big, bold and beautiful. Billboards have been around for quite a while. In almost all places nowadays you can find billboards of just about every product there is in the market. No matter how you see it, billboard advertising is on the rise. Compared to other forms of advertising, billboards are a more affordable way of getting your message across to the public. If newspaper advertising lasts only for a day and a television advertisement last for only about forty seconds, billboard adverting last 24/7.

Billboards can connect easily with potential markets because more people are mobile nowadays - referring to the increasing number of commuters and more time spent outside of the house. Advances in technology have also made billboards more cost effective. Advances in digital printing have also allowed billboards to be printed cheaply and quickly on canvas. Lately, billboards have been getting pocket-friendly as well.

But before you get your creative juices flowing and before you plunge into the exciting world of billboard advertising there things you need to understand. First, don’t expect the billboard to contain a lot of information. This is not just possible. The number one rule in billboard advertising is simplicity. This rule simply means that you need to use only a few words to get your message across. But this doesn’t mean that you can no longer make complex, intelligent and intriguing statements. You still can but in the simplest way you can.

Say three balls are thrown to you at the same time. Chances are you will not catch all these balls let alone catch one. Throwing three balls at the same time is like throwing several ideas and message to your audience at the same time. If you throw one idea at a time chances are most of your readers will grasp it and walk away with the message. But if you throw two ideas at the same time only few will be able to get your message. So pay attention to the golden rule and keep your billboard simple. The price for disregarding the rule is wastage of thousands of dollars but the reward can lead to huge fame and fortune.  

In billboard advertising it is also important to know your market. It pays to be aware of what your customers need and where most of your customers are to be able to strategically and effectively place your billboard. If billboards are put up in the wrong place and at the wrong crowd you might as well forget your chance of getting a lot of customers.

Money is indeed being made in billboard advertising, lots of it in fact, although trying to keep track of just how much the outdoor-advertising industry is collecting in can be tricky, since there is no system for measuring the budgets and revenues of those connected with it. But the opportunity is there. Businesses just have to make an effort and take advantage of it.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Creative And Affordable Way For Small Businesses To Attract New Customers

One of the biggest challenges that any small business faces is finding creative ways to attract new customers. Without the marketing clout of a Fortune 500 brand, it's hard to get the word out about a product or service. Yet, with so much competition in the marketplace, a business can't afford not to.

The most effective marketing campaigns include a combination of different media. The more places a potential customer sees a brand or message-from TV, radio, newspapers and online-the more likely they'll remember it. However, small businesses tend to rely primarily on local print and Yellow Pages advertising because they believe TV advertising is out of their reach.

Now there are new companies using technology to make TV advertising easy and affordable. One such company is Spot Runner, a unique new ad agency that has dramatically lowered the cost and complexity to develop an ad campaign. By putting the entire process online, the agency can provide a complete TV ad campaign for as little as $500 a month.

Creating the campaign takes just a few days. Clients start by logging on to Spot Runner's Web site and selecting an ad from a library of thousands of professionally produced ads. The agency personalizes the ad with the business' specific information and then, using its proprietary technology, creates a customized media plan. Clients can advertise on any broadcast and cable channel available, such as CNN, ESPN and Lifetime. Once the client approves the ad and the media plan, the agency gets it on air.

"We're a small boutique firm and TV advertising allows us to compete on an equal footing with the larger firms in town," said Ryan Lapidus, founder of the Lapidus & Lapidus law firm. "To see our ad on TV, side by side with Fortune 500 companies on major channels, is really exciting."

Spot Runner offers these five important tips to creating an effective marketing campaign:

1. Understand your audience and the messages that will resonate with them. A campaign geared towards homeowners is very different than one geared to teens.

2. Pick a campaign to fit your objectives. A campaign to raise brand awareness will require a different strategy than one to promote a new product or sale.

3. Choose an ad that reflects your company's brand values and image.

4. Make it easy to understand. People are thinking of other things when they see your ad. Don't make them think. Make them act.

5. Invest in your company's growth through a sustained marketing campaign. Advertising works over the long term by increasing awareness of your company among new customers and serving as a reminder to your existing customers.

Whether you're a professional, a retailer or a service provider, television advertising can fit into your budget and be an essential part of your marketing activities.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Creating Remarkable Poster Prints through 4 Color Poster Printing

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 turn 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.

Creating Brochures That Produces Action

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, returning 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 return 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.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Creating an Effective Advertising Campaign

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 Internet? 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 Internet has made unbelievable amounts of information accessible, but it also has contributed to the "information overload" consumers complain of.

Another side effect of the Internet 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.

Creating a Buzz on a Budget

When starting a new business most people are trying not to overspend. So one of the places they cut back on is in advertising which is actually very important when starting a new venture. We all can't afford a 30 second spot during the super Bowl but there are a lot of things that we can do that won't cost us a lot.


If you have a vehicle of some sort, whether a car, truck, or van, why not use it as a travelling billboard? You can start with magnetic signs, they are very inexpensive and if you do a lot of driving then a lot of people will see your signs. Now if you have a very nice car and your worried about the finish then what about plastic letters adhered to your window(s)? This can be very effective and very low in cost but you gotta think about this, when people stop for traffic lights, railroad crossings or just for a stop sign their eyes will scout the area. This is a very common thing that almost everybody does. Did you ever stop at a railroad crossing and see these signs that are stuck in the ground with advertising for a mortgage company? They're not being put there because they don't work.

in fact I know of several companies that are selling the service of putting up these signs for small businesses. Again with window lettering you need to use good ad copy have the domain saveupto90percent.com and I had this on my back window of my car. It aroused curiosities when people saw this that they came to my website just to see what they would save up to 90% on. With any advertising you don't want to give them everything, you want them to have questions in their mind so that they will visit your site, your store, or call you to have these questions answered. It's like when leaving a message on an answering machine. If you say to much then why would these people call you back?

When I had a retail computer store I wanted to build a mailing list of possible customer's so I started a raffle. When someone first filled out an entry they got a mousepad with my banner on it. These cost me less than a dollar each which I figured that meant that  I had a dollar into each customer. The raffle was for a $1,000 shopping spree in my store and i collected entries for a year before I held the raffle. i then had the winner, which was an eleven year old boy, announced on the local radio. This kid's name was andy and he is responsible for so many referrals. The $1,000 shopping spree maybe only cost me about $400 but I did so much new business because of this promotion.

Business cards, another low cost advertising mechanism. don't just put your name and phone on them put your website if you have one, your email address, and a one line description of what your business does. Now the next thing that needs to be done with your business cards is a visit to your local book store. if you are a Real estate agent or a mortgage broker then go to the section where all the real estate books are and put one of you cards in the bindings of each of the books. somebody who wants more info on buying a house or obtaining a mortgage is going to go to the bookstore and start looking at all the books on this subject. then they will see your business card. If you sell to small businesses then put your biz cards in the section where people go for books on business.

another area is the magazine section. besides your local book store's what about in your local grocery store/ Do you have a store that sells gift's, what about the local airport, bus terminals, doctors office's?  the ideas are endless but you have to figure that somebody will be reading these publication's and they might see your business card.

Regarding radio advertising, did you ever consider AM radio?  I used to pay less than 45 per spot for sixt second spots. it was a news talk radio station that also played CNN headline news. People driving in traffic, listening to AM radio were all hearing my commercials. when doing radio advertising it is still expensive if you target certain shows but what i did was called blanket advertising. i would buy a certain number of spots per 24 hour period.

what about advertising at your local movie theater? In between movies, while you are waiting for the next movie, you see advertisments on the screen. These cost maybe a few hundred dollars but a lot of people were seeing them. In Nashville, TN. you could advertise in bathrooms. You have to figure that men using the urinals had nothing to look at but the tile wall in front of them. In Nashville their was a company that sold signs, billboards, in the stalls and above the urinals. it was very effective. i discovered this method when i was at a good restaurant and had to use the Men's room.

All the local Chinese restaurants and pizza places hire people to hang flyers on all the doors in a certain area. What about having these people hang your flyers at the same time? If your business doesn't compete with the local pizza or Chinese restaurants a lot of them will do this for you at a very minimal, if any, charge.

If you have a website and don't want to spend the money for advertising then make sure your site has good content. Articles about specific topics, Search engines love these sites and you will still get great ranking's. it may take a little longer than paying a company to promote your site but it does work. Look at my NosugarCoating site. The first page has a ranking of 4 but yet I never had the money to spend on Search Engine sumbmission service's or any other type of promotion.

Crazy about Packaging

“It’s the same old tissue, honey, it doesn’t make a difference, ok? It’s still going to work the same way”, my exasperated husband hissed into my ear as I grabbed cartons after cartons of some ‘designer’ tissue. DESIGNER TISSUE! Hah, can you even hear me say that? I can’t believe I actually wrote ‘designer tissue’. So, yes, for a graphic designer and writer who knows all about the kind of effort one puts into packaging and branding products, I sure fell for it. All the hoopla. The shenanigans. The ‘suck ‘em in with good copy and fab color combo’. Hey, I am still a consumer, remember that. I am entitled to fall for nice packaging, I have a prevailing right to be human.

But they are so pretty…the packaging. I swear!

They have the ‘nature lover’ packaging, the ‘fruity’ packaging, the ‘woman on the go’ packaging, and then they have the ‘kids’ packaging. I grabbed 4 of each design packages and made a run for the counter with them with my screaming kids and exasperated husband running after me in slow motion. It was definitely a ‘die-hard’ moment. You know, when the hero is running away from a bunch of wild bad men with machine guns, and they’re shooting at your feet or something…and there’s an explosion behind you…and everything happens in ssslllloooowwwww mmmmooooottttttiiiioooonnnnn.

Well, in this case, I was running for checkout with boxes of tissue paper with fancy packaging designs on them. If I didn’t like the packaging designs so much, I would find it comical enough. But I am dead serious. In fact, I loved the packaging designs so much, after using up all the tissues in the boxes, I would cut out the designs and place it into my ‘must keep for reference’ clear folder. I don’t keep a lot of stuff in there because I am pretty selective about the designs that I like, but these packaging designs made the cut. They definitely did.

You see, this is the kind of thing that happens when you put some effort into making your packaging design. Yeah, we all have this in the back of our heads…. “Hey, it’s PACKAGING! It’s what’s INSIDE that count. They’re going to THROW the PACKAGING away. So, why spend so much money on the packaging?” Maybe you’re also thinking that the money should go towards developing better quality products…for faster shipment options…or maybe the money should go towards spending potential clients to expensive dinners in Italian restaurants. It’s your call, really.

But this is what I have to tell you, as a graphic designer and consumer. The more effort you put into designing your packaging, more customers will stop and take a look at your packaging or what’s inside the packaging. Now, does it make sense for me to say now that when they stop and take notice of your packaging, your chance of getting them to buy your product increases? Exactly.

You see, the role of packaging is to grab the consumer’s attention. And without an electrifying packaging, consumers are going to walk past the heaps and heaps of other competitor products…and yours…without even knowing you’re there! Your product is sitting there on a shelf, for goodness sake, and the only weapon you have is to have a nice packaging. Once they stop and take a look, you’ve won the first round.

Think about it!

Corporate Gifts - imprint to impress!

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.

Co-op Advertising: A Win/Win Proposition

An easy way for a small business to expand its marketing budget is through cooperative advertising. Cooperative advertising, or as sometimes abbreviated Co-op, is when a producer of goods, for use by service providers or for resale, reimburses the advertising business in part or in full for advertising expenditures that involves its products. These programs are widely available because quite simply they save the producers of goods money. Bottom line is that local advertising rates available to the advertising business are at least 20% lower than national advertising rates. Therefore, the benefit for the producers of goods is increased brand recognition within that market at the lower local advertising rates, enhanced reseller relations, and much more.

However, cooperative advertising programs are an integral part of the producers own strategic marketing plan and for this reason they may not only vary from producer to producer but from product to product. Also, because these programs are an integral part of the producers strategic marketing plan, stringent rules and regulations are often placed on cooperative advertising dollars. These rules and regulations may cover media channels chosen, product placement, ad positioning and size, and much more. Additionally, there may be a separate set of guidelines that the advertising business must follow for financial reimbursement of advertising expenditures.

Because of the perceived complexity of cooperative advertising; businesses may feel intimated by the rules and regulations, not ask about cooperative advertising opportunities, or for help. A business owner or manager should ask every vendor that supplies the business with goods about what cooperative programs are available to the business and how the business can take advantage of these programs. Once the advertising business has established its cooperative advertising programs with its vendors all necessary information should be shared with the representatives of the chosen media channels to ensure proper execution of the advertising to meet the producer’s rules and regulations.

Cooperative advertising is a win/win proposition for the producer and advertising business. These programs allow producers to increase brand recognition in the market at the much lower local advertising rates and allow the advertising business to increase its marketing budget at no additional cost to the business. All small businesses should actively pursue these valuable cooperative advertising opportunities.

Cool Advertising Balloons For Your Marketing

I really am a throw back.  In this day and age of Washington Concensus minded, self-persevering valued folks, I’m just an old fashioned egalitarian.  This doesn’t mean that I think we should all sew up some Mao-style unisex suits and eat from cans labeled in black in white.  It just means that I don’t think that the playing field is level and it needs to be and then measures need to be enacted to maintain equal opportunity.  Well it means some other things too, but that’s neither her nor there for this little chat.  In the end, my support for equality comes down to equal opportunity and respect.  And that’s how I try to approach people today.

I feel that everyone has something positive to share with me and the world and I try to approach all in this manner until proven otherwise.  I have spent time with some wonderfully intelligent and caring wealthy people and I certainly have ample experiences of sharing time with those less fortunate that have taught me much about life with their wisdom, patience and sense of humor.

This is why I like balloons.  I feel like their the egalitarian activist in the world of toys and advertising.  So many other toys and advertising gimmicks typically associate themselves with one segment of society or another.  This is not the case with balloons. 

Although balloons boast an incredibly low and anachronistic price, both rich and poor kids want them at their party.  Middle school kids still let off balloons to carry messages of goodwill to its unknown recipient.  Even Colombian mules count on balloons as an integral part of their import/export businesses.

So, if you truly believe in equality, put your money where your mouth is and drop socially stratifying toys like PlayStation or Homies and get yourself some balloons.  Let’s play and advertise in solidarity.  Land, Liberty, Balloons!