Another relatively easy way that you can market your eBay auction listings to the general public is by posting on a number of message boards, besides eBay.
There are a number of message boards that allow internet users, just like you, to post information on items that they have available for sale, both on and off of eBay. Providing a link, as well as short description of some of the items that you are looking to sell is a great way to increase your eBay exposure and up your chances of making a sale.
When taking this internet marketing approach, it is important that you only advertise your eBay listings in areas designated for doing so. Spamming is not permitted on many online message boards and it may actually get you a bad reputation.
Speaking of using online message boards, there are a number of online message boards or forums that allow members to have signatures. Signatures are where many people leave their name or a favorite quote of theirs, but some message boards allow members to use it as space to promote their products or businesses.
Before posting a link to your eBay auctions, you are advised to examine the online message board’s policy concerning signature advertising. Should it be allowed, you are advised to take advantage of this free internet marketing. You will want to post a link to your eBay sales page, but be sure to mention that eBay is where all clickers will be going.
Another easy that you can promote your eBay items, particularly if you have multiple items for sale, is by putting a “please checkout my other eBay auctions,” message at the end of each of your eBay listings. As with all of the other above mentioned internet marketing tactics, this is easy and free to do.
4.7.11
How to Market Your Auctions on eBay - Part 01
Are you an eBay seller? If you are, your goal is likely to make as much money as you can by selling products that you no longer need or want on eBay.
Unfortunately, there are now thousands, if not millions, of individuals who are interested in doing the same thing. For you, this often means a steady increase in competition. However, even with competition, you should still be able to make a profit when using eBay, but you may need a little bit of help. That help could from marketing.
When many of us think of internet marketing, we often automatically think of online retail stores or online websites. Although you are not running your own online retail store, you are trying to make a profit online; therefore, you are, in a way, like a retailer.
Just having your for sale items listed on eBay is enough to get your eBay items exposure, but you may want to think about taking it a step farther. There are a number of different ways that you can go about marketing your for sale eBay items, without having to spend a dime.
Perhaps, one of the best ways to go about marketing your eBay items is by joining the eBay community, otherwise known as the online message boards. When you talk with other eBay community members your screen name used is also your eBay name. In the eBay community forum, every time that you start a new message or respond to an existing one your name is left, with a link to your main eBay webpage.
That is the age that outlines all of the items that you currently have available for sale. Many eBay community members click other member’s pages just out of curiosity, but it not uncommon for someone to find something that catches their eye. Simply starting a few conversations with other eBay community members, even just occasionally, may help to up your eBay exposure.
Unfortunately, there are now thousands, if not millions, of individuals who are interested in doing the same thing. For you, this often means a steady increase in competition. However, even with competition, you should still be able to make a profit when using eBay, but you may need a little bit of help. That help could from marketing.
When many of us think of internet marketing, we often automatically think of online retail stores or online websites. Although you are not running your own online retail store, you are trying to make a profit online; therefore, you are, in a way, like a retailer.
Just having your for sale items listed on eBay is enough to get your eBay items exposure, but you may want to think about taking it a step farther. There are a number of different ways that you can go about marketing your for sale eBay items, without having to spend a dime.
Perhaps, one of the best ways to go about marketing your eBay items is by joining the eBay community, otherwise known as the online message boards. When you talk with other eBay community members your screen name used is also your eBay name. In the eBay community forum, every time that you start a new message or respond to an existing one your name is left, with a link to your main eBay webpage.
That is the age that outlines all of the items that you currently have available for sale. Many eBay community members click other member’s pages just out of curiosity, but it not uncommon for someone to find something that catches their eye. Simply starting a few conversations with other eBay community members, even just occasionally, may help to up your eBay exposure.
How to Put Law & Order into Marketing Your Legal Practice
Whether you’re frustrated with past marketing efforts that have been expensive, time-consuming, and haven’t paid off…or you think you can’t afford to take a sophisticated, results-driven approach to business development like the big firms do, guess again.
While your firm may not have its own in-house marketing expert on staff or the generous marketing budgets that the larger firms enjoy, you can systematically and affordably attract more clients than you ever thought possible. It just takes a thoughtful strategy that leverages the laws of marketing, and an ordered approach to stay on track.
Laws of Marketing First and foremost, marketing is NOT about brochures, websites, advertising or cold calls. These things may or may not be tools that make sense for your firm, once you’ve leveraged the laws of marketing. There are two basic laws of marketing1 that must be mastered by professional service providers who want to stop wasting time and money on ineffective marketing efforts. They are:
1. Build your base (carefully craft your message)
2. Reach out to your market (build and nurture relationships) Here’s a quick look at what each of these laws requires…
Build Your Base.
This law means spending thoughtful time defining your firm’s niche, developing language that grabs your prospects’ attention, articulating what makes your firm stand out from other firms offering the same services, demonstrating your value, and illustrating your firm’s authority to deliver better than all other choices. Unfortunately, 90% of professional service firms ignore the law of “build your base” and rush to communicate about their firm without a carefully articulated message. This leaves your target audience unconvinced or, at best, confused about how your firm can serve them better than all others vying for their attention. Invest a little time in building your firm’s base, and you’ll be ahead of most of your competitors.
Reach Out to Your Market.
This law involves developing and implementing a system of strategies to build and sustain relationships with your target market and current clients. They are executed both offline and online. They are done systematically and repeatedly. They work in synergy to create an unstoppable buzz and attraction to your firm that takes on a desirable life of its own, once you’ve put them in place. These strategies include things like networking, direct outreach (personal or mass mail), PR, articles and speaking, keep-in-touch systems, using technology to attract, develop, and retain relationships; tapping centers of influence, developing joint ventures, launching a client relationship strategy, using a customer creation system, pursuing a relationship selling strategy, introducing a win-win fee strategy, and developing next-level strategies for current clients.
Orderly Conduct.
This is the hard part for most law firms...making marketing happen is a function of carving out the time from precious billable hours - not an easy task! However, you can do it, especially if you take a disciplined and orderly approach to staying on track. This means you have to… Get focused. Schedule a meeting with key decision-makers in your firm to discuss making a commitment to marketing. You don’t have to make any major decisions at this first meeting, except determine how much time you can commit weekly to your firm’s marketing efforts. Start small (2 hours per person) and put it in your schedules. Then schedule your next marketing meeting to discuss the results of your homework, the attached Are You Ready for a TurningPointe? marketing assessment! Get organized. Use the results of the marketing assessment to stimulate discussion about where to start.
At this point, if you’ve not done market strategy and planning before, call in an expert. It’ll save you lots of time in the end, since you’ll START with a strategic marketing plan that makes sense for your firm and is realistic to implement. Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:
• Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.
• Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.
• Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).
• Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for how to overcome them.
• Plan for how to make marketing a reward, not a punishment. Build in rewards for people who take time from billable hours to market. Stay on track. At a minimum, guard one hour every week for a status check on your marketing plan – even if you’re a solo practitioner, that means making an appointment with yourself! The mere act of focused thinking or discussion about marketing every week will make an enormous difference in your ability to attract more clients.
Once you have a smart plan in place that’s realistic (see Get Organized, above), all you have to do is focus on taking one step at a time, then another, and another. Each small marketing task builds momentum and before you know it, you’ve implemented a major goal. The key is to keep moving…or if you stop, get restarted. It also helps to have “accountability” to an outside party, who keeps you on track through regular telephone and in-person coaching sessions.
The Defense Rests So your practice has a stellar track record of client victories, you do good work that you care about, and you know your contribution makes a positive difference in the lives of your clients. What if you could reach more clients than you ever thought possible with all that you offer? Apply the laws of marketing through an ordered plan of action that keeps you on track, and you will.
While your firm may not have its own in-house marketing expert on staff or the generous marketing budgets that the larger firms enjoy, you can systematically and affordably attract more clients than you ever thought possible. It just takes a thoughtful strategy that leverages the laws of marketing, and an ordered approach to stay on track.
Laws of Marketing First and foremost, marketing is NOT about brochures, websites, advertising or cold calls. These things may or may not be tools that make sense for your firm, once you’ve leveraged the laws of marketing. There are two basic laws of marketing1 that must be mastered by professional service providers who want to stop wasting time and money on ineffective marketing efforts. They are:
1. Build your base (carefully craft your message)
2. Reach out to your market (build and nurture relationships) Here’s a quick look at what each of these laws requires…
Build Your Base.
This law means spending thoughtful time defining your firm’s niche, developing language that grabs your prospects’ attention, articulating what makes your firm stand out from other firms offering the same services, demonstrating your value, and illustrating your firm’s authority to deliver better than all other choices. Unfortunately, 90% of professional service firms ignore the law of “build your base” and rush to communicate about their firm without a carefully articulated message. This leaves your target audience unconvinced or, at best, confused about how your firm can serve them better than all others vying for their attention. Invest a little time in building your firm’s base, and you’ll be ahead of most of your competitors.
Reach Out to Your Market.
This law involves developing and implementing a system of strategies to build and sustain relationships with your target market and current clients. They are executed both offline and online. They are done systematically and repeatedly. They work in synergy to create an unstoppable buzz and attraction to your firm that takes on a desirable life of its own, once you’ve put them in place. These strategies include things like networking, direct outreach (personal or mass mail), PR, articles and speaking, keep-in-touch systems, using technology to attract, develop, and retain relationships; tapping centers of influence, developing joint ventures, launching a client relationship strategy, using a customer creation system, pursuing a relationship selling strategy, introducing a win-win fee strategy, and developing next-level strategies for current clients.
Orderly Conduct.
This is the hard part for most law firms...making marketing happen is a function of carving out the time from precious billable hours - not an easy task! However, you can do it, especially if you take a disciplined and orderly approach to staying on track. This means you have to… Get focused. Schedule a meeting with key decision-makers in your firm to discuss making a commitment to marketing. You don’t have to make any major decisions at this first meeting, except determine how much time you can commit weekly to your firm’s marketing efforts. Start small (2 hours per person) and put it in your schedules. Then schedule your next marketing meeting to discuss the results of your homework, the attached Are You Ready for a TurningPointe? marketing assessment! Get organized. Use the results of the marketing assessment to stimulate discussion about where to start.
At this point, if you’ve not done market strategy and planning before, call in an expert. It’ll save you lots of time in the end, since you’ll START with a strategic marketing plan that makes sense for your firm and is realistic to implement. Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:
• Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.
• Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.
• Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).
• Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for how to overcome them.
• Plan for how to make marketing a reward, not a punishment. Build in rewards for people who take time from billable hours to market. Stay on track. At a minimum, guard one hour every week for a status check on your marketing plan – even if you’re a solo practitioner, that means making an appointment with yourself! The mere act of focused thinking or discussion about marketing every week will make an enormous difference in your ability to attract more clients.
Once you have a smart plan in place that’s realistic (see Get Organized, above), all you have to do is focus on taking one step at a time, then another, and another. Each small marketing task builds momentum and before you know it, you’ve implemented a major goal. The key is to keep moving…or if you stop, get restarted. It also helps to have “accountability” to an outside party, who keeps you on track through regular telephone and in-person coaching sessions.
The Defense Rests So your practice has a stellar track record of client victories, you do good work that you care about, and you know your contribution makes a positive difference in the lives of your clients. What if you could reach more clients than you ever thought possible with all that you offer? Apply the laws of marketing through an ordered plan of action that keeps you on track, and you will.
How to Up-Sell Change
Unless you're willing to wait for a crisis (that usually means someone gets fired), start thinking about "up-selling" change. "Up-selling" change means to persuade your employees that making a personal commitment to the change will reap them personal benefits. Similar to up-selling your customers by informing and sharing the value-add to your products or services, you need to demonstrate the value-add of your change initiative. Just like any business problem, you start by making the business case for change. Except in this situation, your employees become your target market.
So, you better have a good answer to the "WIIFM" test - What's In It For Me? Even if you don't know the answer now, don't let that stop you. The best place to start looking for answers to that question is your employees. Go to them and get them involved in your thinking. The act of asking and listening not only engages them, but informs them as well. When people feel partially informed, not part of the "in the know" group, uncertain of what is really happening, and have no clear answer to "what's in it for me?" you are guaranteed to face stiff resistance to change.
The act of engaging employees early on in the change process will accelerate acceptance and learning at a pace most managers would be thrilled to achieve. Weave people into your change plans - their buy-in, their reactions, their learning curve, their commitment (or lack of) to adopting the change. Don't bother to "up-sell" change without first administering the "WIIFM" test. The test is really rather simple. First, do a quick check of your team's vital signs. Walk around and randomly ask people questions like "So, what do you think of the changes we've been talking about?" "How do you think it will impact your job?" "Think you'll be able to adapt quickly to the new system?"
You'll be surprised (and maybe pleased) with the feedback you get. If your employees can articulate a positive connection to their daily job performance, then you've passed the test. On the other hand, if you get answers that vary widely across the board, or responses like "what change are you talking about?" "I hope it's not like last time" or "we're so burnt out now, I don't think we can handle another change," you have some serious remedial change management work to do. If you pass the "WIIFM" test, then your communications have "connected-the-dots" for your team in ways they can understand and absorb into their daily job functions. If you hear resistance to the change, you need to go back and literally reconnect-the-dots for your employees so that they can clearly understand how the change directly or indirectly will impact their job.
You can never over-communicate during a change initiative. Continuous, repeated, and rapid information exchange and knowledge sharing are key to successful adoption of change. If you're sick of talking about it, you've probably converted your true believers but have only reached 25% of your people. Talk it up some more and keep "up-selling" the change. The art and science of dealing with the people side of the change equation is Change Management. As a practice, it draws from a multitude of social science disciplines to effectively bring people, technology, and ideas together at the same time.
So, you better have a good answer to the "WIIFM" test - What's In It For Me? Even if you don't know the answer now, don't let that stop you. The best place to start looking for answers to that question is your employees. Go to them and get them involved in your thinking. The act of asking and listening not only engages them, but informs them as well. When people feel partially informed, not part of the "in the know" group, uncertain of what is really happening, and have no clear answer to "what's in it for me?" you are guaranteed to face stiff resistance to change.
The act of engaging employees early on in the change process will accelerate acceptance and learning at a pace most managers would be thrilled to achieve. Weave people into your change plans - their buy-in, their reactions, their learning curve, their commitment (or lack of) to adopting the change. Don't bother to "up-sell" change without first administering the "WIIFM" test. The test is really rather simple. First, do a quick check of your team's vital signs. Walk around and randomly ask people questions like "So, what do you think of the changes we've been talking about?" "How do you think it will impact your job?" "Think you'll be able to adapt quickly to the new system?"
You'll be surprised (and maybe pleased) with the feedback you get. If your employees can articulate a positive connection to their daily job performance, then you've passed the test. On the other hand, if you get answers that vary widely across the board, or responses like "what change are you talking about?" "I hope it's not like last time" or "we're so burnt out now, I don't think we can handle another change," you have some serious remedial change management work to do. If you pass the "WIIFM" test, then your communications have "connected-the-dots" for your team in ways they can understand and absorb into their daily job functions. If you hear resistance to the change, you need to go back and literally reconnect-the-dots for your employees so that they can clearly understand how the change directly or indirectly will impact their job.
You can never over-communicate during a change initiative. Continuous, repeated, and rapid information exchange and knowledge sharing are key to successful adoption of change. If you're sick of talking about it, you've probably converted your true believers but have only reached 25% of your people. Talk it up some more and keep "up-selling" the change. The art and science of dealing with the people side of the change equation is Change Management. As a practice, it draws from a multitude of social science disciplines to effectively bring people, technology, and ideas together at the same time.
How To Price For Optimum Profit - 5 Steps
One of the greatest problems that businesses face is getting the pricing strategy right. This article explores the three key factors; all companies need to consider when getting this vital element on target. Missing only one of the three can have disastrous consequences. As with everything, it does not take rocket science to get this right, however one slip, could seriously damage your bottom line. The three factors, equally weighted are as follows:
The value that your customers put on your product and service Will you make a profit? What your competitors charge for the same or equivalent So how do we define customer value? Value is what a purchaser gets when they make use of your product or service. It is the figure that they put on, their new capabilities. Ones that you have delivered to him through ownership of what you sell. Value is not always quantified in monetary terms. A golfer may go to a professional, get three lessons, and knock 10 off their handicap – so what is that worth to them?
If they had previously spent €5,000 on lessons and still been awful, it could be worth an awful lot. The most important consideration is that the buyer must feel that they got “good value” from their purchase. However this good value must not be sold at a loss! Given, you are in business to make a profit, it is important that you do not sell everything at a loss. It is fine to have loss leaders and indeed, offer freebies, to encourage new clients, or to reward loyal customers.
However you business must be profitable, or else you will not have one. To understand whether you are making profit from a product or group of products, you should factor in all fixed and variable costs. Then look at how many you will sell, and ensure it is worth your while selling at that price. But what if it’s good for you and your customer, but your competitor is cheaper! First and foremost, check that what they are selling is identical to what you are selling. If it is, all you will do is create a market that your competitor will clean up on.
The good news is that in 99.99% of cases, your products or services are not identical. This is where creating your unique value proposition is vital. This needs to distinguish you as being the best solution in your chosen target market or niche. It is important also to realize that the best solution may also not be the cheapest. Let’s go back to the golf pro. He charges €60 a lesson for his services; his competitor charges €30 a lesson.
But if what you want is rapid improvement, and this guy has testimonials to prove what he has done, by spending €180 with him, to get 10 shots off your round of golf, could save you thousands, that you could have spent with the €30 guy. The bottom line is that your pricing must take into account the three key considerations; providing the better value than your competitors, at a profitable price. If you need help with your pricing strategy, give us a call, we would be delighted to help.
The value that your customers put on your product and service Will you make a profit? What your competitors charge for the same or equivalent So how do we define customer value? Value is what a purchaser gets when they make use of your product or service. It is the figure that they put on, their new capabilities. Ones that you have delivered to him through ownership of what you sell. Value is not always quantified in monetary terms. A golfer may go to a professional, get three lessons, and knock 10 off their handicap – so what is that worth to them?
If they had previously spent €5,000 on lessons and still been awful, it could be worth an awful lot. The most important consideration is that the buyer must feel that they got “good value” from their purchase. However this good value must not be sold at a loss! Given, you are in business to make a profit, it is important that you do not sell everything at a loss. It is fine to have loss leaders and indeed, offer freebies, to encourage new clients, or to reward loyal customers.
However you business must be profitable, or else you will not have one. To understand whether you are making profit from a product or group of products, you should factor in all fixed and variable costs. Then look at how many you will sell, and ensure it is worth your while selling at that price. But what if it’s good for you and your customer, but your competitor is cheaper! First and foremost, check that what they are selling is identical to what you are selling. If it is, all you will do is create a market that your competitor will clean up on.
The good news is that in 99.99% of cases, your products or services are not identical. This is where creating your unique value proposition is vital. This needs to distinguish you as being the best solution in your chosen target market or niche. It is important also to realize that the best solution may also not be the cheapest. Let’s go back to the golf pro. He charges €60 a lesson for his services; his competitor charges €30 a lesson.
But if what you want is rapid improvement, and this guy has testimonials to prove what he has done, by spending €180 with him, to get 10 shots off your round of golf, could save you thousands, that you could have spent with the €30 guy. The bottom line is that your pricing must take into account the three key considerations; providing the better value than your competitors, at a profitable price. If you need help with your pricing strategy, give us a call, we would be delighted to help.
How to Take Your Law Firm to the Next Level
If you can confidently answer "yes!" to the following metrics, then you’re ready to take your practice to the next level:
• Is your firm’s mission perfectly aligned with your market?
• Do your marketing efforts create exactly the relationship your customers most want and need?
• Are your services well packaged, presented with a What’s In It For Me? punch, and priced at various levels?
• Do you know exactly where and how to promote your firm’s services?
• Does your marketing system routinely and predictably create the kinds of new customers your business requires?
What happens next in many successful firms, however, is not good news. Instead of sticking with what’s created success in the first place, the focus shifts away from a marketing mindset. Instead of being an essential lens through which people in your firm view their role, marketing as an every-day focus fades from importance.
After all, why continue to invest the time and resources on marketing when you’ve got more business than you can handle now anyway? And shouldn’t you spend time on what’s now important, like internal operations, serving current clients, and other more urgent priorities? The answer is an emphatic NO! Not only will you erode all the hard work you’ve invested get to where you are, but it will be much harder (and expensive!) to turn your now larger and more complex ship around, once you lose that marketing mindset.
The truth is, that once your firm gets more successful and, by definition, more complex, your energy and focus turn naturally more inward. As your business grows, it takes on a life of its own in the form of meetings, policies, training, politics, and reports. The larger your firm gets, the more energy is directed inward – it simply takes more planning, management, and systems to keep things running smoothly. So how do you keep your firm from being consumed with internally focused activities? By developing and executing a strategy to… Keep your firm’s mission alive, real, and relevant in the marketplace.
Think of your firm’s mission as the “magnetic north” in your compass. For everything you do, constantly ask, “what difference does this make in the lives of our customers?” If it makes no difference (or the wrong difference), then why are you putting resources into it? Build this line of questioning into decisions you make and resources you allocate. Create and maintain laser-like internal alignment with your external mission in the marketplace. Everyone’s job should have a direct connection to serving the customer. That means tying rewards and consequences to how everyone at your firm contributes to building client relationships. Even if someone has no direct client contact, they’re supporting someone who does.
Connect the dots between what they do and what it means to the client. Create new customers for old packages. Chances are, you haven’t saturated your current target market. Don’t let the basics that got you to your current level of success fade away. And what about new target markets? What successful services do you have that you could offer to another segment? Create new services for old customers. Do a little research…ask people on your “front line” what they think your customers need. Ask your customers directly or hire an outside firm to ask for you. Find out why you won and lost business. You’ll be surprised, inspired, and motivated by what you learn.
Create new packages for old services. Take what you know or do and put it into a new format or offering. You can create workshops, CDs, e-books, mini-books, on-line content, workbooks, checklists, and more out of just about any professional content you know or work with. Think beyond just charging an hourly fee for your services. “Productize” what you know by offering people helpful tools they can use. Ensure you and your leadership team are role models for the rest of your firm on how to create lasting relationships.
What behaviors, words, standards, and approaches create lasting relationships with both clients and employees? Make sure your senior team walks the talk and, if they don’t, fix the problem. If you can’t model how to create lasting relationships at the top, others are less inclined to do it well. Deliver on your firm’s brand promise through solid practice management. The mark of a true professional is when your firm’s own act is together. It’s not enough to be experts in your field, backed by the credentials and experience that are important to your target clients.
You must also engage in continuous learning about your profession, your clients’ industries, and how to professionally manage your firm. Your firm’s leadership must act as a role model for how you want to be perceived in the marketplace. Are these high standards to set for your firm? Absolutely. But then again, you’ve already proven you do the basics well. Resting on your laurels will only go so far. Sooner than you think, loosing your focus on marketing will put you back to square one, scrambling for clients and worried about cash flow. Except this time, the stakes are higher, your profile in the marketplace is higher, and you have a lot more to lose. So why go there?
Take your firm to the next level, and be confident you won’t have to look back! References Putman, A. Marketing Your Services. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.
• Is your firm’s mission perfectly aligned with your market?
• Do your marketing efforts create exactly the relationship your customers most want and need?
• Are your services well packaged, presented with a What’s In It For Me? punch, and priced at various levels?
• Do you know exactly where and how to promote your firm’s services?
• Does your marketing system routinely and predictably create the kinds of new customers your business requires?
What happens next in many successful firms, however, is not good news. Instead of sticking with what’s created success in the first place, the focus shifts away from a marketing mindset. Instead of being an essential lens through which people in your firm view their role, marketing as an every-day focus fades from importance.
After all, why continue to invest the time and resources on marketing when you’ve got more business than you can handle now anyway? And shouldn’t you spend time on what’s now important, like internal operations, serving current clients, and other more urgent priorities? The answer is an emphatic NO! Not only will you erode all the hard work you’ve invested get to where you are, but it will be much harder (and expensive!) to turn your now larger and more complex ship around, once you lose that marketing mindset.
The truth is, that once your firm gets more successful and, by definition, more complex, your energy and focus turn naturally more inward. As your business grows, it takes on a life of its own in the form of meetings, policies, training, politics, and reports. The larger your firm gets, the more energy is directed inward – it simply takes more planning, management, and systems to keep things running smoothly. So how do you keep your firm from being consumed with internally focused activities? By developing and executing a strategy to… Keep your firm’s mission alive, real, and relevant in the marketplace.
Think of your firm’s mission as the “magnetic north” in your compass. For everything you do, constantly ask, “what difference does this make in the lives of our customers?” If it makes no difference (or the wrong difference), then why are you putting resources into it? Build this line of questioning into decisions you make and resources you allocate. Create and maintain laser-like internal alignment with your external mission in the marketplace. Everyone’s job should have a direct connection to serving the customer. That means tying rewards and consequences to how everyone at your firm contributes to building client relationships. Even if someone has no direct client contact, they’re supporting someone who does.
Connect the dots between what they do and what it means to the client. Create new customers for old packages. Chances are, you haven’t saturated your current target market. Don’t let the basics that got you to your current level of success fade away. And what about new target markets? What successful services do you have that you could offer to another segment? Create new services for old customers. Do a little research…ask people on your “front line” what they think your customers need. Ask your customers directly or hire an outside firm to ask for you. Find out why you won and lost business. You’ll be surprised, inspired, and motivated by what you learn.
Create new packages for old services. Take what you know or do and put it into a new format or offering. You can create workshops, CDs, e-books, mini-books, on-line content, workbooks, checklists, and more out of just about any professional content you know or work with. Think beyond just charging an hourly fee for your services. “Productize” what you know by offering people helpful tools they can use. Ensure you and your leadership team are role models for the rest of your firm on how to create lasting relationships.
What behaviors, words, standards, and approaches create lasting relationships with both clients and employees? Make sure your senior team walks the talk and, if they don’t, fix the problem. If you can’t model how to create lasting relationships at the top, others are less inclined to do it well. Deliver on your firm’s brand promise through solid practice management. The mark of a true professional is when your firm’s own act is together. It’s not enough to be experts in your field, backed by the credentials and experience that are important to your target clients.
You must also engage in continuous learning about your profession, your clients’ industries, and how to professionally manage your firm. Your firm’s leadership must act as a role model for how you want to be perceived in the marketplace. Are these high standards to set for your firm? Absolutely. But then again, you’ve already proven you do the basics well. Resting on your laurels will only go so far. Sooner than you think, loosing your focus on marketing will put you back to square one, scrambling for clients and worried about cash flow. Except this time, the stakes are higher, your profile in the marketplace is higher, and you have a lot more to lose. So why go there?
Take your firm to the next level, and be confident you won’t have to look back! References Putman, A. Marketing Your Services. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.
How To Stand Out at Your Next Trade Show: Engage All The Senses
In the hyper competitive world of trade shows trying to stand out from the crowd can be quite challenging. It seems that everyone has a nice display, great graphics, brochures and the typical ball point pen or koozie with logo which makes it difficult to be different. Below are a few strategies that can be used to create that unique experience and leave lasting impressions. At a typical trade show your eyes and ears are pretty much being taken care of, but what about the sense of smell, touch and taste? Here are a few strategies that can help engage all the other senses.
Smell - Smells can create quite an emotional response in most individuals. In fact, you probably have a fond memory attached to the smell of your grandmothers freshly baked cookies or the smell of wood in your fathers workshop. For example, every time I smell gasoline I think of working at my grandfathers gas station as a child in the summer. ScentAir, based in Charlotte, NC, offers scent delivery systems that are normally used in retail, medical and entertainment venues but can easily be adapted for the trade show floor.
The company offers over 1000 scents and can even custom create a branded scent just for your company. Touch - Touch is how we learn as children and is also a valuable learning tool as adults. Put products in clients hands, let them try them out. Try not to see what your sell as museum pieces that no one can use. A more subtle approach in engaging touch is through your feet. The only thing I hate about walking the show floor or working at a show is how my feet feel afterwards. By the end of the day I find myself looking for soft carpets to walk on so why not take advantage of this dilemma.
The Comfort Channel offers quite a variety of foot massagers and many of them are quite portable. Invite prospects in for a nice foot massage while discussing how you might be able to help further their business. You can also help your prospect to remember you on the way home. For most trade show attendees the way to and from the show is via plane. Instead of the typical pen promotional item why not give away branded inflatable neck pillows. They are quite affordable and can be found at ePromos.
Taste - Taste can be quite a challenge as we most often taste things by eating. Some shows will enable you to give out food and others won't so make sure to refer to you exhibitor manual. You can purchase branded food items with you company name and or logo. Most commonly seen at shows is mints, but there are plenty of other options like candies, nuts, even wine. Another strategy with Taste is to send out food after the show.
A great example of this would be to send a pizza to a hot prospect for lunch with a slice missing. In place of that slice would be a piece of paper saying that your companies solution is the missing piece of the puzzle. In the end your goal at any show is to stand out, get noticed and walk away with as many potential leads and business opportunities as possible. The above solutions are only a part of the puzzle but one that is most often overlooked.
Smell - Smells can create quite an emotional response in most individuals. In fact, you probably have a fond memory attached to the smell of your grandmothers freshly baked cookies or the smell of wood in your fathers workshop. For example, every time I smell gasoline I think of working at my grandfathers gas station as a child in the summer. ScentAir, based in Charlotte, NC, offers scent delivery systems that are normally used in retail, medical and entertainment venues but can easily be adapted for the trade show floor.
The company offers over 1000 scents and can even custom create a branded scent just for your company. Touch - Touch is how we learn as children and is also a valuable learning tool as adults. Put products in clients hands, let them try them out. Try not to see what your sell as museum pieces that no one can use. A more subtle approach in engaging touch is through your feet. The only thing I hate about walking the show floor or working at a show is how my feet feel afterwards. By the end of the day I find myself looking for soft carpets to walk on so why not take advantage of this dilemma.
The Comfort Channel offers quite a variety of foot massagers and many of them are quite portable. Invite prospects in for a nice foot massage while discussing how you might be able to help further their business. You can also help your prospect to remember you on the way home. For most trade show attendees the way to and from the show is via plane. Instead of the typical pen promotional item why not give away branded inflatable neck pillows. They are quite affordable and can be found at ePromos.
Taste - Taste can be quite a challenge as we most often taste things by eating. Some shows will enable you to give out food and others won't so make sure to refer to you exhibitor manual. You can purchase branded food items with you company name and or logo. Most commonly seen at shows is mints, but there are plenty of other options like candies, nuts, even wine. Another strategy with Taste is to send out food after the show.
A great example of this would be to send a pizza to a hot prospect for lunch with a slice missing. In place of that slice would be a piece of paper saying that your companies solution is the missing piece of the puzzle. In the end your goal at any show is to stand out, get noticed and walk away with as many potential leads and business opportunities as possible. The above solutions are only a part of the puzzle but one that is most often overlooked.
How To Seek Out Your Competitors
The best way to seek out your competitors is to try and buy whatever product or service it is you’re planning to sell. Enter the market as a customer, and find out what options you would have.
Where to Look.
It might be tempting to just use a search engine and go by the results that turns up, but you have to remember that plenty of business still takes place outside the Internet. You should also make sure that you pay attention to more traditional methods of advertising, such as the yellow pages, or your local newspaper. It’s worth cutting out and keeping any ads you find, as they can be good to refer to when it’s time to start your own marketing.
Do What They Do, But Differently.
Notice that I said ‘differently’, not necessarily ‘better’. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to improve on established businesses if you’re doing the exact same thing as they are – they have years of experience, after all. What you’re trying to do is distinguish yourself in the marketplace, so that people who are looking for something specific in your chosen industry will come to you. There are a number of tried-and-true ways of altering existing products to make them succeed in the market.
The Price-Quality Line.
You may find other businesses that only offer a very high-quality service, and accordingly charge a premium price – or you might find ones that only offer heavily-discounted rubbish. Consider taking their products to the opposite end of the market. If you can offer a product of only slightly worse quality at half the price, then people will jump at it – and, likewise, there are always people willing to pay the most to get the best.
Provide a Service.
It is perfectly possible to sell products of the exact same physical quality while providing a better service – to the customer, quality and service are almost the same thing. There are companies out there who can sell computer software that their customers could get almost for free, simply because the customers like to have the support services that they get with their purchase. Likewise, if service is all you do, then it should be pretty simple to provide a more attentive and personal service than your competitors. ‘One-on-one business’ gives you a great opportunity to become friendly with your customers, and that’s often worth its weight in gold to them.
Make it Simpler.
Many businesses offer great products, but they’re pitching them to very technical customers. If you’re an expert in your field, you will very often find that you can build a great business simply by selling the same thing as your competitors, but going to some trouble to explain and market it to a wider section of the public. Anytime you start using some new technology, the chances are that someone along the way had to work out how to make it simpler. Few new technologies or inventions come pre-packaged for consumer use.
Change the Design.
Make it smaller, or change the colour, or make it easier to open and fix. There are all sorts of ways to subtly redesign a product and give it all sorts of bells and whistles that customers will really appreciate. You might even be able to buy products, modify them, and then sell them on.
Build Alliances.
Despite what the word might lead you to think, you don’t always have to be competitive with your competitors. You might find that they have extra work sometimes that they wouldn’t mind sending over to you, or you might find that they’re willing to give you advice on starting up (if not for free, then perhaps for nothing more than the cost of a few drinks!). Of course, you shouldn’t go giving away all your secrets or giving them any other advantage, but that doesn’t mean that you should keep away.
Pay special attention to any problems that they say they’ve had, or anything they do that seems to sell especially well. Believe it or not, your competitors can be your best allies in this home business game, especially if they’re home businesses themselves – over time, your competitors might even become your friends.
Where to Look.
It might be tempting to just use a search engine and go by the results that turns up, but you have to remember that plenty of business still takes place outside the Internet. You should also make sure that you pay attention to more traditional methods of advertising, such as the yellow pages, or your local newspaper. It’s worth cutting out and keeping any ads you find, as they can be good to refer to when it’s time to start your own marketing.
Do What They Do, But Differently.
Notice that I said ‘differently’, not necessarily ‘better’. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to improve on established businesses if you’re doing the exact same thing as they are – they have years of experience, after all. What you’re trying to do is distinguish yourself in the marketplace, so that people who are looking for something specific in your chosen industry will come to you. There are a number of tried-and-true ways of altering existing products to make them succeed in the market.
The Price-Quality Line.
You may find other businesses that only offer a very high-quality service, and accordingly charge a premium price – or you might find ones that only offer heavily-discounted rubbish. Consider taking their products to the opposite end of the market. If you can offer a product of only slightly worse quality at half the price, then people will jump at it – and, likewise, there are always people willing to pay the most to get the best.
Provide a Service.
It is perfectly possible to sell products of the exact same physical quality while providing a better service – to the customer, quality and service are almost the same thing. There are companies out there who can sell computer software that their customers could get almost for free, simply because the customers like to have the support services that they get with their purchase. Likewise, if service is all you do, then it should be pretty simple to provide a more attentive and personal service than your competitors. ‘One-on-one business’ gives you a great opportunity to become friendly with your customers, and that’s often worth its weight in gold to them.
Make it Simpler.
Many businesses offer great products, but they’re pitching them to very technical customers. If you’re an expert in your field, you will very often find that you can build a great business simply by selling the same thing as your competitors, but going to some trouble to explain and market it to a wider section of the public. Anytime you start using some new technology, the chances are that someone along the way had to work out how to make it simpler. Few new technologies or inventions come pre-packaged for consumer use.
Change the Design.
Make it smaller, or change the colour, or make it easier to open and fix. There are all sorts of ways to subtly redesign a product and give it all sorts of bells and whistles that customers will really appreciate. You might even be able to buy products, modify them, and then sell them on.
Build Alliances.
Despite what the word might lead you to think, you don’t always have to be competitive with your competitors. You might find that they have extra work sometimes that they wouldn’t mind sending over to you, or you might find that they’re willing to give you advice on starting up (if not for free, then perhaps for nothing more than the cost of a few drinks!). Of course, you shouldn’t go giving away all your secrets or giving them any other advantage, but that doesn’t mean that you should keep away.
Pay special attention to any problems that they say they’ve had, or anything they do that seems to sell especially well. Believe it or not, your competitors can be your best allies in this home business game, especially if they’re home businesses themselves – over time, your competitors might even become your friends.
How to Pick a Winning Product Topic
Your best topic is always a subject you have passion for, knowledge about and experience with. Your personal life experiences have taught you a unique set of lessons. Determine what you know that others might find valuable. Of course, you can make a sales web Site that focuses on almost any subject you want but you will have a better chance of success, especially if this is your first site, if you choose a subject you have some experience with. Your product is the information you have that other people will find valuable. Personal experience is the best source of real knowledge. If you consistently draw on your experiences to produce your content you will create information that other people will find useful and will be willing to pay for. Plus it makes the process much more fun to write about things you understand and love. The best place to start is by brainstorming a list of topics. Get a pad and pen. What are you passionate about? Write it down. What do you love to talk about? What do you read about? What specialized knowledge do you have from your job? Any hobbies? Start writing. Get everything down. Don’t censure anything, just write it down. List the 10 biggest problems you can think of in your home, workplace or community. What do you enjoy doing with your spare time? Ask your friends and family what they think you’re good at and knowledgeable about. You might be surprised at the things they see that you’ve missed. Spend a solid thirty minutes on this brainstorming session. At first the ideas will come quickly. But then, after you’ve already written down the obvious ones, you’ll start to have to really think about it. This is when the real power of this exercise happens. You see, the subconscious mind is a powerful thing. The trick is it takes a constant and persistent demand from your conscious mind to get its attention. But once you do, your subconscious will take up the effort for you and begin to supply answers to your question as it comes up with them. By spending a full thirty minutes intensely focused on brainstorming topics for your sales web Site topic you communicate this demand to your subconscious mind. For the next week your subconscious mind will provide very creative topics for you in a sporadic and seemingly random way. You’ll be driving to work, taking a shower or eating dinner and suddenly you’ll get a great idea for a sales web Site topic. This technique can be used for almost any question or dilemma. Just remember the power is in the results your subconscious mind produces in the days after doing the exercise. And that won’t happen if you don’t focus intensely on brainstorming topics for a full 30 minutes. It takes this long to be sure your subconscious mind gets your message. If you want to supercharge this process do it several times in a row. Your subconscious mind also responds to repetitive messages. Do the exercise three times in one day. Space out your sessions by a few hours each. Starting with your first session carry a pad and pen or a micro recorder with you for the next week to be sure that you capture every single idea that comes to you. This whole thing has more power if you commit to yourself that you won't make ANY judgment of topic ideas for the first week. Just collect the ideas as they come to you. Make as big a list as you can. The more choices you have the better your odds of finding one that will be both profitable and enjoyable. Once you have your list you have the basis for your business. You should select the 10 topics that you are most excited about. Think long term. Will you be excited about writing about your topic next year? With your list of ten topics in hand you're ready to start testing keywords and markets. Eliminate those topics that do not have enough demand then rank those that remain. Pick your favorite and start with that topic for your first site. Keep the others for later web site topics.
How To Set The Just Right Tone For Your Promotional Marketing Material
Here is a helpful exercise on how to research and prepare promotional marketing materials to bring the right people to your business. When I do this exercise with my marketing students, we always have a lively conversation that not only sparks solutions but also leaves participants feeling enthused, inspired, even excited about showing up in the marketplace. The themes we explore and the fun we have doing this exercise are so central to an authentic approach to small business marketing that I have decided to highlight them in this article.
First, let us stipulate that somewhere in the world there are prospective clients or customers who will fit you and your work "just right." (If this does not feel true for you yet, then you have work to do. Perhaps you need training, practice, or mentoring before you can attract "just right" customers. Or perhaps, like I did with my art business, you are trying to make an avocation into a vocation. For now, let us assume that you are in the right business with the right skills.)
Second, let us assume that "just right" clients are those who get great value from working with you just the way you are. These are clients who share enough of your standards and values that it is easy to develop mutual respect, appreciation, and benefit. With these two assumptions in mind, here are some unconventional yet highly productive questions to help focus the image, tone, and message that will attract clients who fit "just right." Answer them quickly to tap into your creative subconscious.
There will be plenty of time later for thinking about the answers and deciding when and how to use them in sharing your gifts with the world.
1. If your work were a color, what color would it be?
2. What shape would it be?
3. How big would it be?
4. What texture would it have?
5. If you pressed it with your finger, what would happen?
6. If your work were a popular song, what song would it be?
7. Who would be singing?
8. How loud?
9. If your work were an historic personage, who would it be?
10. If your work were going to a party, what would it wear?
11. If your work had a typical mood, what would it be?
12. If your work were a plant, what kind of plant would it be?
13. In what environment would it thrive?
14. If your work were an animal, would it be domestic or wild? How big?
15. If your work were a meal, what kind of meal would it be? (Fast food? Haute cuisine? Mac and cheese?)
What is the point of questions like these? Simply this: Answering them can reveal aspects of your personality that inform and augment the work you do. By surfacing these unique associations, you will be unearthing imagery and attitudes you can use to set the tone for your marketing so that it is easy for your "just right" clients to differentiate you from other people doing similar work. Try this exercise - it could be the start of something beautiful.
First, let us stipulate that somewhere in the world there are prospective clients or customers who will fit you and your work "just right." (If this does not feel true for you yet, then you have work to do. Perhaps you need training, practice, or mentoring before you can attract "just right" customers. Or perhaps, like I did with my art business, you are trying to make an avocation into a vocation. For now, let us assume that you are in the right business with the right skills.)
Second, let us assume that "just right" clients are those who get great value from working with you just the way you are. These are clients who share enough of your standards and values that it is easy to develop mutual respect, appreciation, and benefit. With these two assumptions in mind, here are some unconventional yet highly productive questions to help focus the image, tone, and message that will attract clients who fit "just right." Answer them quickly to tap into your creative subconscious.
There will be plenty of time later for thinking about the answers and deciding when and how to use them in sharing your gifts with the world.
1. If your work were a color, what color would it be?
2. What shape would it be?
3. How big would it be?
4. What texture would it have?
5. If you pressed it with your finger, what would happen?
6. If your work were a popular song, what song would it be?
7. Who would be singing?
8. How loud?
9. If your work were an historic personage, who would it be?
10. If your work were going to a party, what would it wear?
11. If your work had a typical mood, what would it be?
12. If your work were a plant, what kind of plant would it be?
13. In what environment would it thrive?
14. If your work were an animal, would it be domestic or wild? How big?
15. If your work were a meal, what kind of meal would it be? (Fast food? Haute cuisine? Mac and cheese?)
What is the point of questions like these? Simply this: Answering them can reveal aspects of your personality that inform and augment the work you do. By surfacing these unique associations, you will be unearthing imagery and attitudes you can use to set the tone for your marketing so that it is easy for your "just right" clients to differentiate you from other people doing similar work. Try this exercise - it could be the start of something beautiful.
How To Test Your Sales Copy
You’ve got a website and it’s selling some copies of your product. You want to sell more, but how do you properly test the changes you make in order for you to know how you are improving your sales? Internet Marketers talk a lot about testing your sales copy and your website, but very few talk in detail about the methodology of this testing. It is very easy to get confused and undo the changes that were increasing sales!
I remember when I was at school in my chemistry class performing experiments to blow things up, make acids to eat through the table and stain my lab coat and being taught how to properly test an experiment. What is interesting, is this is probably the most valuable lesson I got from the chemistry class (apart from the effect certain metals have when exposed to water). It is certainly the lesson that applies the most to my life now.
My chemistry teacher was an interesting man, he didn’t tolerate people who didn’t listen or didn’t want to learn but he was a passionate man when it came to chemistry. His fingers were stained from handling chemicals and he took an almost perverse pleasure in gassing the class or waking them up with a sudden explosion. Then one day when he had given us a series of experiments to perform, he taught us about testing. When performing an experiment there are often many things you want to change in order to perform the experiment properly.
The trouble is, as an impatient teenager waiting for lunchtime you are tempted to make all the changes at once. “No lad,” the teacher told us, “You can’t make all the changes at once. If you do that, how are you going to know which change to the experiment caused it to work?” Of course, this concept hadn’t occurred to any of us, we were all just interested in lunch. He leaned back in his chair into his reminiscent pose, “In order to properly perform this experiment you need to make a single change at a time and then measure the results.
Then, and only then, will you know which change performs the best and gives you the desired results. Sure you can make all the changes all at once, but what if you undo the change that works?” These very words came back to me when I started my Internet Marketing career some years ago. If I am making changes to my websites or sales copy to monitor the conversion rate then I need to make a single change at a time, drive a sufficient amount of traffic to it, and then analyse the results. If the conversion rate has increased, then I keep the change.
If it has decreased, then I discard the change. By performing my website testing this way you will know exactly which changes best affect your conversion rates (and profits) and be able to stack them on top of each other to gain the highest possible conversion rate for your site.
I remember when I was at school in my chemistry class performing experiments to blow things up, make acids to eat through the table and stain my lab coat and being taught how to properly test an experiment. What is interesting, is this is probably the most valuable lesson I got from the chemistry class (apart from the effect certain metals have when exposed to water). It is certainly the lesson that applies the most to my life now.
My chemistry teacher was an interesting man, he didn’t tolerate people who didn’t listen or didn’t want to learn but he was a passionate man when it came to chemistry. His fingers were stained from handling chemicals and he took an almost perverse pleasure in gassing the class or waking them up with a sudden explosion. Then one day when he had given us a series of experiments to perform, he taught us about testing. When performing an experiment there are often many things you want to change in order to perform the experiment properly.
The trouble is, as an impatient teenager waiting for lunchtime you are tempted to make all the changes at once. “No lad,” the teacher told us, “You can’t make all the changes at once. If you do that, how are you going to know which change to the experiment caused it to work?” Of course, this concept hadn’t occurred to any of us, we were all just interested in lunch. He leaned back in his chair into his reminiscent pose, “In order to properly perform this experiment you need to make a single change at a time and then measure the results.
Then, and only then, will you know which change performs the best and gives you the desired results. Sure you can make all the changes all at once, but what if you undo the change that works?” These very words came back to me when I started my Internet Marketing career some years ago. If I am making changes to my websites or sales copy to monitor the conversion rate then I need to make a single change at a time, drive a sufficient amount of traffic to it, and then analyse the results. If the conversion rate has increased, then I keep the change.
If it has decreased, then I discard the change. By performing my website testing this way you will know exactly which changes best affect your conversion rates (and profits) and be able to stack them on top of each other to gain the highest possible conversion rate for your site.
How To Promote Your Affiliate Marketing Programs
Affiliate marketing can be a great way to make some residual income online. If you use your affiliate marketing properly, you can actually make a fair amount of money. But you have to market your affiliate programs and utilize the Internet to its fullest potential, otherwise your affiliate marketing will be a bigger waste of time than raking leaves in the fall. Here are some tips to help you take advantage of the Internet when you’re affiliate marketing.
START AFFILIATE MARKETING WITH YOUR OWN WEBSITE
The obvious starting place for an affiliate marketing campaign is your own personal website. Whether this is a blog, an online portfolio or an online business, affiliate marketing can make your site a bit more profitable. As long as you have some site traffic, affiliate marketing can work on just about any kind of site that you have. When you’re choosing affiliate programs for your site, do your best to make sure that they correlate to your content, or try to skew the link names so that they do, and make sure that the links that relate most closely to your content appear first. The object is to make sure that people go to the links, so make them as enticing as possible.
FIND MESSAGE BOARDS FOR YOUR AFFILIATE MARKETING
If you can, find message boards to post your affiliate marketing links on that, again, relate in some way to the link. If you can, include links both at the end of message board posts and in the content. Gear your posts to the link, so that they seem like a natural extension of your topic. Before you start posting on all kinds of message boards though, make sure that the board allows affiliate programs in posts. If they don’t, then your post will be deleted, and if you break these rules often enough, you might be blocked from posting again on that or other message boards, especially if you are operating in a specific niche. Not only that, but people are less likely to click on links on a message board that frowns on affiliate marketing.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE POWER OF CHAT ROOMS
Chat rooms are a great way to get in touch with a number of people who already spend a lot of time on the Internet. Many chat rooms allow you to create a guest user profile or a one time only user. You can go in and promote your affiliate programs and convince people to visit the links in real time. This gives you the benefit of being able to respond to any questions or hesitations people might have immediately. You can really act as a salesperson, much more so than if you were to simply paste an affiliate program on a website somewhere.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PYRAMID STRUCTURE OF SOME AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Many affiliate programs will give you partial profits of people that you sign up to become affiliate marketers. This can often be more profitable than using your own actual links, if you’re good at getting in touch with people. If you dedicate most of your affiliate marketing time to finding other marketers, then you can establish an organization that functions without a lot of input from you, leaving you time to grow your base instead of trying to find places to post your links. Of course, you should not neglect to work on your tier of the organization, both to make sure that you get some income from yourself, and out of respect for the person who brought you into the organization.
START AFFILIATE MARKETING WITH YOUR OWN WEBSITE
The obvious starting place for an affiliate marketing campaign is your own personal website. Whether this is a blog, an online portfolio or an online business, affiliate marketing can make your site a bit more profitable. As long as you have some site traffic, affiliate marketing can work on just about any kind of site that you have. When you’re choosing affiliate programs for your site, do your best to make sure that they correlate to your content, or try to skew the link names so that they do, and make sure that the links that relate most closely to your content appear first. The object is to make sure that people go to the links, so make them as enticing as possible.
FIND MESSAGE BOARDS FOR YOUR AFFILIATE MARKETING
If you can, find message boards to post your affiliate marketing links on that, again, relate in some way to the link. If you can, include links both at the end of message board posts and in the content. Gear your posts to the link, so that they seem like a natural extension of your topic. Before you start posting on all kinds of message boards though, make sure that the board allows affiliate programs in posts. If they don’t, then your post will be deleted, and if you break these rules often enough, you might be blocked from posting again on that or other message boards, especially if you are operating in a specific niche. Not only that, but people are less likely to click on links on a message board that frowns on affiliate marketing.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE POWER OF CHAT ROOMS
Chat rooms are a great way to get in touch with a number of people who already spend a lot of time on the Internet. Many chat rooms allow you to create a guest user profile or a one time only user. You can go in and promote your affiliate programs and convince people to visit the links in real time. This gives you the benefit of being able to respond to any questions or hesitations people might have immediately. You can really act as a salesperson, much more so than if you were to simply paste an affiliate program on a website somewhere.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE PYRAMID STRUCTURE OF SOME AFFILIATE PROGRAMS
Many affiliate programs will give you partial profits of people that you sign up to become affiliate marketers. This can often be more profitable than using your own actual links, if you’re good at getting in touch with people. If you dedicate most of your affiliate marketing time to finding other marketers, then you can establish an organization that functions without a lot of input from you, leaving you time to grow your base instead of trying to find places to post your links. Of course, you should not neglect to work on your tier of the organization, both to make sure that you get some income from yourself, and out of respect for the person who brought you into the organization.
How To Promote Your Computer Repair Business
More and more people use computers everyday and need professional help when problems occur. Providing those services can be a profitable business, but how can you stand out from the crowd? - Be professional. You will sometime be unable to save their data or their broken motherboard, but you can explain why while keeping it simple. And there are few software problems you cannot solve at all, so do not admit failure unless necessary (repairs that would cost more than the computer's value for example). You will gain a reputation as an expert, not to mention people will come to view you as honest, which can be invaluable if you have a serious problems one day.
- Always have business cards on you. You never know when you could end in a discussion about computer, giving you a perfect opportunity to sell your services. You can also leave cards on community boards and the like.
- Likewise, make sure your customers have an easy way to find you and call you back. Put stickers with your contact information on all computers you fix, or at the very least, give your business cards to all your customers.
- Don't underestimate your personal network. Your family and friends will most likely be happy to help you promote your business. After that, the news will spread to friend of your friends, who will be quick to recommend you if you do a good job fixing their computer.
- Do something special for your customers, a little extra they cannot get anywhere else. Most people will install Antivirus and firewalls, but you can go the extra mile and add useful open source or freeware software like Open Office to your standard installation routine. Games, especially cards and board games, can be a pretty effective bonus for no additional cost, except a few minutes of your time to install.
- Make yourself visible to potential customers! Classified ads in the local newspaper, or a few flyers left on the counter of a friendly shopkeeper can go a long way. You can also add special offers to your flyers or for people who mention your ad to make them more attractive. As you can see, you can do a lot of things to improve your image and promote your business. Just use your imagination, and you can surely find an original way to promote your services and grow your business. But never forget, your customers are your greatest asset, treat them well!
- Always have business cards on you. You never know when you could end in a discussion about computer, giving you a perfect opportunity to sell your services. You can also leave cards on community boards and the like.
- Likewise, make sure your customers have an easy way to find you and call you back. Put stickers with your contact information on all computers you fix, or at the very least, give your business cards to all your customers.
- Don't underestimate your personal network. Your family and friends will most likely be happy to help you promote your business. After that, the news will spread to friend of your friends, who will be quick to recommend you if you do a good job fixing their computer.
- Do something special for your customers, a little extra they cannot get anywhere else. Most people will install Antivirus and firewalls, but you can go the extra mile and add useful open source or freeware software like Open Office to your standard installation routine. Games, especially cards and board games, can be a pretty effective bonus for no additional cost, except a few minutes of your time to install.
- Make yourself visible to potential customers! Classified ads in the local newspaper, or a few flyers left on the counter of a friendly shopkeeper can go a long way. You can also add special offers to your flyers or for people who mention your ad to make them more attractive. As you can see, you can do a lot of things to improve your image and promote your business. Just use your imagination, and you can surely find an original way to promote your services and grow your business. But never forget, your customers are your greatest asset, treat them well!
How To Turn Your Traffic Into Greatest Profit
The following paragraphs summarize the work of traffic experts who are completely familiar with all the aspects of traffic. Heed their advice to avoid any traffic surprises. Do you have a website which pulls in large number of visitors everyday? You can actually benefit yourself with the traffic and earn a great, residual income if you give a little more effort. Here are some of the greatest ways you can convert those traffic into mountainous cash:
1. Sell a product/service Of course, to earn money you need to sell a product or service to your visitors. It is the best way to profit from your own product. Usually, an e-book or software works the best – they can be downloaded right away, no shipping included, no handling to be done. You earn 100% of the profits without any investment to be taken before that. Other than that, selling your own product allows you to set your own price.
2. Opt-In list It is very crucial that you try to convert every visitor of yours to a subscriber of your mailing list. The most important asset that an Internet marketer has is his or her list of subscribers. They define whether you will go far in the online business venture. With an opt-in list, there are tons and tons of ways you can profit greater in the future. You can make previous customers purchase again from you, making them your repeating customers – that is of course, if they are in your mailing list and you can urge them to buy again. Building a closer relationship with your own subscriber will be the best thing you can do. By having your subscribers ‘trust’ you, you can endorse many other useful products to your subscribers and the chances that they will buy from you will be high – because they trust you.
3. Viral marketing You can provide a free product or bonus to be listed on your site to be downloaded by your visitors. Usually it’ll be an e-book where people can read from and learn useful information. In this bonus, you include give away rights and urge readers to give it away to anyone they want to. This way, you increase your own publicity and branding. In the future, you will receive great benefits as when you are known, people will trust you more and this profits you. Between a product – let’s say a tooth brush from a beggar and a doctor, who will you prefer to purchase from? Unless the beggar offers something special, it is hardly that you will purchase the tooth brush from him. How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.
4. Pay-per-click In this case, you don’t pay for every click but earn instead. There are many advertising programs that give you a percentage of the bidding on a certain keyword. The famous ones are Google Adsense, Chitika, Yahoo Publisher Network and Kontera. When people click on the ads shown from either of these advertising programs, you will earn a small portion of money. Nevertheless, if you have high traffic to your site – these programs alone can generate your residual income.
5. Offer an advertising space Usually websites which brings in very high traffic will sell a small portion of space on their web page. You can charge a minimum of $300 for advertising someone’s ad a single month on advertising fee if your web page is pulling more than 2000 visitors a day. Other than that, you can also create exit pop-ups that advertise other websites as well. By doing this, you don’t clutter your website with too many ads and you can earn a better reputation from your visitors.
6. Affiliate marketing If you don’t have your own product for sale, you can sell other’s products instead and receive a commission on every sale. With affiliate marketing, you have an unlimited source of products to sell and you don’t need to go through any problems after your sales. No customer service, you don’t need to issue any refunds, just let the owner do everything else for you after each sale. If you have a mailing list, you can endorse many other products and earn very great profits from your subscribers.
7. Pay-per-lead Instead of earning money from every click your visitors clicked on, you are paid if you get your visitors to subscribe into other’s mailing list. Nevertheless, it is not necessary that you just get visitors to become other’s subscribers. There are a lot of bigger companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi which holds survey every few months. By referring your visitors to them in order to complete a survey, you can also earn great profits from it.
Applied correctly, you can make a huge fortune on the Internet and build a steady online business – taking over the place of your day job. Take some time to put effort in either of these strategies, because it can make your day bright. When word gets around about your command of traffic facts, others who need to know about traffic will start to actively seek you out.
1. Sell a product/service Of course, to earn money you need to sell a product or service to your visitors. It is the best way to profit from your own product. Usually, an e-book or software works the best – they can be downloaded right away, no shipping included, no handling to be done. You earn 100% of the profits without any investment to be taken before that. Other than that, selling your own product allows you to set your own price.
2. Opt-In list It is very crucial that you try to convert every visitor of yours to a subscriber of your mailing list. The most important asset that an Internet marketer has is his or her list of subscribers. They define whether you will go far in the online business venture. With an opt-in list, there are tons and tons of ways you can profit greater in the future. You can make previous customers purchase again from you, making them your repeating customers – that is of course, if they are in your mailing list and you can urge them to buy again. Building a closer relationship with your own subscriber will be the best thing you can do. By having your subscribers ‘trust’ you, you can endorse many other useful products to your subscribers and the chances that they will buy from you will be high – because they trust you.
3. Viral marketing You can provide a free product or bonus to be listed on your site to be downloaded by your visitors. Usually it’ll be an e-book where people can read from and learn useful information. In this bonus, you include give away rights and urge readers to give it away to anyone they want to. This way, you increase your own publicity and branding. In the future, you will receive great benefits as when you are known, people will trust you more and this profits you. Between a product – let’s say a tooth brush from a beggar and a doctor, who will you prefer to purchase from? Unless the beggar offers something special, it is hardly that you will purchase the tooth brush from him. How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.
4. Pay-per-click In this case, you don’t pay for every click but earn instead. There are many advertising programs that give you a percentage of the bidding on a certain keyword. The famous ones are Google Adsense, Chitika, Yahoo Publisher Network and Kontera. When people click on the ads shown from either of these advertising programs, you will earn a small portion of money. Nevertheless, if you have high traffic to your site – these programs alone can generate your residual income.
5. Offer an advertising space Usually websites which brings in very high traffic will sell a small portion of space on their web page. You can charge a minimum of $300 for advertising someone’s ad a single month on advertising fee if your web page is pulling more than 2000 visitors a day. Other than that, you can also create exit pop-ups that advertise other websites as well. By doing this, you don’t clutter your website with too many ads and you can earn a better reputation from your visitors.
6. Affiliate marketing If you don’t have your own product for sale, you can sell other’s products instead and receive a commission on every sale. With affiliate marketing, you have an unlimited source of products to sell and you don’t need to go through any problems after your sales. No customer service, you don’t need to issue any refunds, just let the owner do everything else for you after each sale. If you have a mailing list, you can endorse many other products and earn very great profits from your subscribers.
7. Pay-per-lead Instead of earning money from every click your visitors clicked on, you are paid if you get your visitors to subscribe into other’s mailing list. Nevertheless, it is not necessary that you just get visitors to become other’s subscribers. There are a lot of bigger companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi which holds survey every few months. By referring your visitors to them in order to complete a survey, you can also earn great profits from it.
Applied correctly, you can make a huge fortune on the Internet and build a steady online business – taking over the place of your day job. Take some time to put effort in either of these strategies, because it can make your day bright. When word gets around about your command of traffic facts, others who need to know about traffic will start to actively seek you out.
How To Promote Your Home Based Business On A Shoestring Budget
Getting customers is the key to success in any business. There are many ways to promote your home based business - the only way to know which ones are best for your business is to test. Here are some tips for getting customers without spending a fortune!
1. Tell everyone you know that you are starting a business AND ask them to tell everyone they know. Word of mouth is a great way to promote your business, especially if your business is local. And best of all, it's FREE!
2. Join your local chamber of commerce (especially if most of your customers will come from your local area). Networking won't get you customers over night, but you never know where you'll find business - and where you'll find others to help promote your business. Plus, you'll also get access to a variety of services, discounts, etc.
3. Advertise in your local newspaper. Many local newspapers have sections for new businesses, and this is a great and cost-effective way to reach customers in your area!
4. Post flyers and hand out business cards whenever possible.
5. Advertise in national magazines and newspaper your customers read. Trade magazines are a great way to target your advertising - and reach the exact people who need and want what your business offers. Even a small classified ad can generate a large return.
6. Create a website. Whether your business is local or national, putting your business online is a must these days. Even if you don't sell anything that can be bought online, you can provide valuable information to prospective customers through the Internet.
7. Promote your website in all of your literature - business cards, stationary, emails, etc.
8. Learn how to "optimize" your website to get free traffic on search engines such as Google and Yahoo. You can select specific terms that customers use in your industry, and you can promote your business world-wide - or just in your city.
9. Use Pay-Per-Click advertising on Google and Yahoo. You can select the terms your customers use to find information they are looking for, and pay each time they click on one of your ads. You can set the amount you pay for each click, test your ads quickly, and gain visibility quickly in the search engines (getting high rankings for free does take some time).
10. Advertise in print and email newsletters your customers read and websites your customers visit. This is another great way to get your business in front of the right people, without spending a fortune. Offer free information (course, newsletter, how-to booklet on your industry, buyer's guide, etc.) to increase the response rate.
11. Write articles and submit to magazines, newsletters, and websites to share your knowledge and make yourself an expert in your field. Establishing credibility and gaining visibility will make people want to do business with you!
12. Create a follow-up plan to stay in contact with people who respond to all of your ads. The more you can keep your business in front of potential customers, the more likely they will be able to find you when they are ready to buy what you offer!
1. Tell everyone you know that you are starting a business AND ask them to tell everyone they know. Word of mouth is a great way to promote your business, especially if your business is local. And best of all, it's FREE!
2. Join your local chamber of commerce (especially if most of your customers will come from your local area). Networking won't get you customers over night, but you never know where you'll find business - and where you'll find others to help promote your business. Plus, you'll also get access to a variety of services, discounts, etc.
3. Advertise in your local newspaper. Many local newspapers have sections for new businesses, and this is a great and cost-effective way to reach customers in your area!
4. Post flyers and hand out business cards whenever possible.
5. Advertise in national magazines and newspaper your customers read. Trade magazines are a great way to target your advertising - and reach the exact people who need and want what your business offers. Even a small classified ad can generate a large return.
6. Create a website. Whether your business is local or national, putting your business online is a must these days. Even if you don't sell anything that can be bought online, you can provide valuable information to prospective customers through the Internet.
7. Promote your website in all of your literature - business cards, stationary, emails, etc.
8. Learn how to "optimize" your website to get free traffic on search engines such as Google and Yahoo. You can select specific terms that customers use in your industry, and you can promote your business world-wide - or just in your city.
9. Use Pay-Per-Click advertising on Google and Yahoo. You can select the terms your customers use to find information they are looking for, and pay each time they click on one of your ads. You can set the amount you pay for each click, test your ads quickly, and gain visibility quickly in the search engines (getting high rankings for free does take some time).
10. Advertise in print and email newsletters your customers read and websites your customers visit. This is another great way to get your business in front of the right people, without spending a fortune. Offer free information (course, newsletter, how-to booklet on your industry, buyer's guide, etc.) to increase the response rate.
11. Write articles and submit to magazines, newsletters, and websites to share your knowledge and make yourself an expert in your field. Establishing credibility and gaining visibility will make people want to do business with you!
12. Create a follow-up plan to stay in contact with people who respond to all of your ads. The more you can keep your business in front of potential customers, the more likely they will be able to find you when they are ready to buy what you offer!
How to Use Dynamic Prices to Increase Sales
You can edit, create or even delete unlimited dynamic process and run them through any server. You can also get orders through Paypal.com or through Checkout.com. Plus, the product will be delivered instantly right to your customer's "doorstep" because immediately after the payment, they will be able to get the product.
After purchasing the product, a confirmation email is sent to the client or customer. You will also have the option to display or show the URL of the ?Thank You? page online. In addition, a built-in referral system is automated. You can deactivate or activate it in each and every dynamic price you assign.
In addition, your customers can refer and recommend it to their associates and friends. A two-tier program is also offered. What?s more is that your associates and affiliates can either use a link to promote and advertise your site or can group and set your dynamic prices into their pages.
You can also edit the information anytime you like. You can activate or deactivate your affiliates as well as edit or modify their records and documents. However, one must pay their affiliates manually and individually. With Dynamic Pricing Generator, you can browse and search for the records of all of your sales as well as the commissions of your associates and partners.
Autoresponders can be included or added to input your customers and affiliates. With this, you can fully edit or change any page you want. In other words, it is completely template driven. And you can change the language of the script by just editing a file. As a guarantee, you will be given 30 days to test and assess the script yourself. However, if you are not satisfied with the Dynamic Pricing Generator, a refund ticket can instantly get your money back, no more and no less. See how simple yet effective that is?
If you want your sales to increase, you should find ways and strategies to improve your market and manage your sales wisely. Special Offer Manager will run and manage the records and documents for you. And not only that, it will also supervise their expiration dates and do the work for you without more ado. What could be more amazing than that? Its use will instantly have a good effect.
Moreover, it adds your clients and customers to your newssheet or to the autoresponder programs you have defined. Special Offer Manager is the product that is suited for people who want to work hands free and with little effort. If you are saving your time and effort for yourself, this is the best solution for you. And if you are irritated by your hectic and busy schedule, this is the ideal thing you should have as your accomplice.
Others who have tried it say that it is a grand product that makes things simple, yet so effective. It is the product that makes real special offers that definitely comply with those immediate deadlines and elicits satisfactory responses from your customers. This will absolutely boost your sales and you will be surprised of the immediate responses you will get from your clients and affiliates. Today, people are sometimes so tired and preoccupied with so many things that they do not want to go to the store or mall to shop. They prefer going online and adding products and goods to their carts.
So, having this product is a great opportunity for attracting and drawing customers. One should have this tool that will magnetize and invite visitors to your web page and purchase the product right away. And it is good that the Dynamic Pricing Generator exists to aid you in your marketing and business needs.
After purchasing the product, a confirmation email is sent to the client or customer. You will also have the option to display or show the URL of the ?Thank You? page online. In addition, a built-in referral system is automated. You can deactivate or activate it in each and every dynamic price you assign.
In addition, your customers can refer and recommend it to their associates and friends. A two-tier program is also offered. What?s more is that your associates and affiliates can either use a link to promote and advertise your site or can group and set your dynamic prices into their pages.
You can also edit the information anytime you like. You can activate or deactivate your affiliates as well as edit or modify their records and documents. However, one must pay their affiliates manually and individually. With Dynamic Pricing Generator, you can browse and search for the records of all of your sales as well as the commissions of your associates and partners.
Autoresponders can be included or added to input your customers and affiliates. With this, you can fully edit or change any page you want. In other words, it is completely template driven. And you can change the language of the script by just editing a file. As a guarantee, you will be given 30 days to test and assess the script yourself. However, if you are not satisfied with the Dynamic Pricing Generator, a refund ticket can instantly get your money back, no more and no less. See how simple yet effective that is?
If you want your sales to increase, you should find ways and strategies to improve your market and manage your sales wisely. Special Offer Manager will run and manage the records and documents for you. And not only that, it will also supervise their expiration dates and do the work for you without more ado. What could be more amazing than that? Its use will instantly have a good effect.
Moreover, it adds your clients and customers to your newssheet or to the autoresponder programs you have defined. Special Offer Manager is the product that is suited for people who want to work hands free and with little effort. If you are saving your time and effort for yourself, this is the best solution for you. And if you are irritated by your hectic and busy schedule, this is the ideal thing you should have as your accomplice.
Others who have tried it say that it is a grand product that makes things simple, yet so effective. It is the product that makes real special offers that definitely comply with those immediate deadlines and elicits satisfactory responses from your customers. This will absolutely boost your sales and you will be surprised of the immediate responses you will get from your clients and affiliates. Today, people are sometimes so tired and preoccupied with so many things that they do not want to go to the store or mall to shop. They prefer going online and adding products and goods to their carts.
So, having this product is a great opportunity for attracting and drawing customers. One should have this tool that will magnetize and invite visitors to your web page and purchase the product right away. And it is good that the Dynamic Pricing Generator exists to aid you in your marketing and business needs.
How to Promote Sales
Begin your enterprise by cleaning out your own attic, closets and basement or garage. Talk with your relatives and friends; tell them what you're doing, and ask for donations (or at least consignments) of unwanted items. It's here that you'll get your first experience in negotiating, and you'll usually get enthusiastic cooperation.
You'll find people explaining that they really don't have a use for a specific item, don't want to keep on storing it, but for sentimental or other reasons, they have just hung on to it. Once you have a little bit of experience, you'll be able to advertise in the newspaper that you purchase garage sale items, or take them on consignment for a percentage of the final sale price.
Its best that the wife or woman of the house handles the garage sale itself - that is, let a woman be the one who greets the potential customers, shows them around, and generally engages them in conversation. If it's a woman staging the garage sale, then arrangements should be made for a second one to 'mind the store' while she's out digging up more items for display and sale, If you are running a really big sale, a second or third per son can be very useful in selling, and just generally keeping an eye on things.
The advertising angle is really quite simple, and shouldn't cost you very much, either. Check area newspapers, and select the one that carries the most ads for garage sales. You shouldn't concern yourself too much with competition from other ads. People who go to garage sales either go to all of them they can locate, or else only to those within a 3-to-5 mile radius of their homes.
You should run a small classified ad in the newspaper of your choice for about three days in advance, and up through the day of your sale. Once you're operating on a full-time, every-day-of-the-week schedule, you'll want to change your ad schedule and the style of your advertising. But in getting started, stay with small classified ads simply announcing the fact that you're holding a garage sale, emphasizing that you've got everything from A to Z - something of interest to everyone. Such an ad might read:
Big Garage Sale! Hundreds of interesting items. Through Saturday, July 16th. (address)
To get ideas on how to write your ad, check your newspapers for a week or two. Cut out all the garage sale ads you can find. Paste them up onto a piece of paper - then with a bit of critical analysis, you will be able to write a good ad of your own from identifying the good and bad features of the ads you've collected. Keep in mind that the bigger and better your sale, the bigger and better you're 'getting started' ads should be.
Always remember that in order to increase your profits in any business, you must increase rather than decrease your advertising. At the bottom line, you'll find that the greatest single reason for a garage sale failing to turn a profit is the lack of promotion and advertising used to publicize it.
You should also have an old-fashioned "sandwich board" type sign to display in front of your house when your garage sale is open for business. The purpose of course, is to call attention to the fact that you're holding a garage sale and are open for business. This will pull in your neighbours, if you haven't already informed them, and attract people driving by. Sandwich boards are also sometimes set out at key traffic intersections not far from the site of the garage sale. These will attract attention, and point the way. However, check your local ordinances to be sure that this sort of advertising is permitted.
Another 'sign idea' practiced by a few really sharp operators, is the old 'Burma Shave' type roadside pointers. Here, you simply make up a few cute sayings (verse or one-liners), write them on pieces of cardboard, tack them onto the power poles at about 200 yard intervals on the thoroughfare leading to your garage sale, and you're sure to create a lot of traffic for yourself. People are amused by, and drawn to people who do something a little different, unusual and creative in promoting a sale of any kind.
You'll find people explaining that they really don't have a use for a specific item, don't want to keep on storing it, but for sentimental or other reasons, they have just hung on to it. Once you have a little bit of experience, you'll be able to advertise in the newspaper that you purchase garage sale items, or take them on consignment for a percentage of the final sale price.
Its best that the wife or woman of the house handles the garage sale itself - that is, let a woman be the one who greets the potential customers, shows them around, and generally engages them in conversation. If it's a woman staging the garage sale, then arrangements should be made for a second one to 'mind the store' while she's out digging up more items for display and sale, If you are running a really big sale, a second or third per son can be very useful in selling, and just generally keeping an eye on things.
The advertising angle is really quite simple, and shouldn't cost you very much, either. Check area newspapers, and select the one that carries the most ads for garage sales. You shouldn't concern yourself too much with competition from other ads. People who go to garage sales either go to all of them they can locate, or else only to those within a 3-to-5 mile radius of their homes.
You should run a small classified ad in the newspaper of your choice for about three days in advance, and up through the day of your sale. Once you're operating on a full-time, every-day-of-the-week schedule, you'll want to change your ad schedule and the style of your advertising. But in getting started, stay with small classified ads simply announcing the fact that you're holding a garage sale, emphasizing that you've got everything from A to Z - something of interest to everyone. Such an ad might read:
Big Garage Sale! Hundreds of interesting items. Through Saturday, July 16th. (address)
To get ideas on how to write your ad, check your newspapers for a week or two. Cut out all the garage sale ads you can find. Paste them up onto a piece of paper - then with a bit of critical analysis, you will be able to write a good ad of your own from identifying the good and bad features of the ads you've collected. Keep in mind that the bigger and better your sale, the bigger and better you're 'getting started' ads should be.
Always remember that in order to increase your profits in any business, you must increase rather than decrease your advertising. At the bottom line, you'll find that the greatest single reason for a garage sale failing to turn a profit is the lack of promotion and advertising used to publicize it.
You should also have an old-fashioned "sandwich board" type sign to display in front of your house when your garage sale is open for business. The purpose of course, is to call attention to the fact that you're holding a garage sale and are open for business. This will pull in your neighbours, if you haven't already informed them, and attract people driving by. Sandwich boards are also sometimes set out at key traffic intersections not far from the site of the garage sale. These will attract attention, and point the way. However, check your local ordinances to be sure that this sort of advertising is permitted.
Another 'sign idea' practiced by a few really sharp operators, is the old 'Burma Shave' type roadside pointers. Here, you simply make up a few cute sayings (verse or one-liners), write them on pieces of cardboard, tack them onto the power poles at about 200 yard intervals on the thoroughfare leading to your garage sale, and you're sure to create a lot of traffic for yourself. People are amused by, and drawn to people who do something a little different, unusual and creative in promoting a sale of any kind.
How To Think Like A Publicist To Achieve Like A Star
Have you picked out your Oscar's night outfit? I have. You should. Have you thought about what you will say when you accept your award? I have. You should. At least in your mind, that wonderful playground for imagination. The very place we are going to venture today for great publicity ideas. Razzle, dazzle, sparkle, and shine. Isn't this how we think all those stars get to the Oscars in the first place?
However, it's less glitter, and more planning that creates the reality. First comes the dream, then the work, then usually a host of disappointments to test the resolve, then a series of small successes, and then....publicity. It is a fairly predictable road, but often as business people we forget to plan our own personal Oscar's night. We also miss the key ingredient, publicity. Marketing is what gets you in front of your target market to make the sale.
Publicity is the spot light that shines on you and solidifies you with mass appeal as the popular expert in your field. You drive marketing to your buyers. Publicity drives the masses of buyers to you. When your focus has been marketing it's a little tricky to change your paradigm to publicity. However, the important difference between marketing and publicity is your target audience. You are no longer pitching to buyers of your product or service, now your audience is the media. This means editors and producers. These important people are looking for one thing, the story.
A unique story. Something inspirational, motivational, newsworthy, or educational. Period. Nothing else will do. In order to be successful in the media you have to think like a publicist and find your unique story. If you don't have a story, it's time to create one. What is unique about you or your business? Sometimes it's an attitude. Like the employer that regularly asked her employees what they didn't like about their jobs and then proceeded to shift responsibilities. It may be an event, like a charitable event that raises money for starving children but serves beans and rice at the gala event to demonstrate how it feels to be poor. It may be your wit, your way of thinking, what you care most about, or how you integrate your values into your business.
Only, you can find it, but trust me it's there. Begin to explore your own unique angles and media curves by keeping notes on your thoughts and attitudes. Scribble, color, or paint it out, it really doesn't matter as long as you begin to devote time to exploring your "story". Not your ad, not your price, not your product, but your story. Once you've angled into your own unique media offerings, find the appropriate avenues to make your pitch.
Take care though; the media should always be treated with good will and respect. Do not, I repeat, do not go for the hard sell. This is not the time. If you must, save the hard sell for marketing, or better yet, chuck it all together. Do not wheedle, whine, or beg the media. Make your pitch, respect their time, and their decision then work toward building long-term relationships. In the end, you'll have the kind of names in your pocket to begin dropping at parties, and you will be a star! A star with the mind of a publicist.
However, it's less glitter, and more planning that creates the reality. First comes the dream, then the work, then usually a host of disappointments to test the resolve, then a series of small successes, and then....publicity. It is a fairly predictable road, but often as business people we forget to plan our own personal Oscar's night. We also miss the key ingredient, publicity. Marketing is what gets you in front of your target market to make the sale.
Publicity is the spot light that shines on you and solidifies you with mass appeal as the popular expert in your field. You drive marketing to your buyers. Publicity drives the masses of buyers to you. When your focus has been marketing it's a little tricky to change your paradigm to publicity. However, the important difference between marketing and publicity is your target audience. You are no longer pitching to buyers of your product or service, now your audience is the media. This means editors and producers. These important people are looking for one thing, the story.
A unique story. Something inspirational, motivational, newsworthy, or educational. Period. Nothing else will do. In order to be successful in the media you have to think like a publicist and find your unique story. If you don't have a story, it's time to create one. What is unique about you or your business? Sometimes it's an attitude. Like the employer that regularly asked her employees what they didn't like about their jobs and then proceeded to shift responsibilities. It may be an event, like a charitable event that raises money for starving children but serves beans and rice at the gala event to demonstrate how it feels to be poor. It may be your wit, your way of thinking, what you care most about, or how you integrate your values into your business.
Only, you can find it, but trust me it's there. Begin to explore your own unique angles and media curves by keeping notes on your thoughts and attitudes. Scribble, color, or paint it out, it really doesn't matter as long as you begin to devote time to exploring your "story". Not your ad, not your price, not your product, but your story. Once you've angled into your own unique media offerings, find the appropriate avenues to make your pitch.
Take care though; the media should always be treated with good will and respect. Do not, I repeat, do not go for the hard sell. This is not the time. If you must, save the hard sell for marketing, or better yet, chuck it all together. Do not wheedle, whine, or beg the media. Make your pitch, respect their time, and their decision then work toward building long-term relationships. In the end, you'll have the kind of names in your pocket to begin dropping at parties, and you will be a star! A star with the mind of a publicist.
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