Many people turn to a home business in an effort to be able to spend more time with their family while earning an income. While it is never easy to be a full-time working parent outside the home, it can be just as hard, if not harder, to be a full-time working parent from home.
When your family sees you at home, they may automatically feel that you are at their service. One child may need a ride somewhere, another child wants you to find something they are looking for, and your spouse wants you to run to the store and buy something for dinner. On top of all of that, you have clients expecting you to complete various projects for them, as well.
You may want to hold a family meeting and explain how important it is to your family that you have time set aside for your business. It doesn’t matter if you leave the house and work from an office, or if you work from the kitchen table, work is work. Your family wouldn’t come to an office outside the home and ask you to do all those miscellaneous tasks, working from home should be no different.
Of course, you will want to set aside time for your family, just as you would for your clients. Working from home will allow you to have a flexible schedule and that gives you the opportunity to attend school functions and other activities.
While it can be easy to procrastinate and not get your work done, it can be just as easy to over schedule yourself and spend too much time working. Your family needs to have some quality time with you; and you will need their support, too. Starting a new home business can be draining. It will be a lot easier with the support of your family.
You can also ask your family to help you with the household chores. Set up a schedule where everyone pitches in with various tasks. Depending on the age of your children, they may be able to help with things such as emptying the garbage, vacuuming, doing laundry, preparing their own lunches for school, or even preparing dinner for the family. If you have a spouse, make sure that they are involved, too.
Another option is to ask a young teenager in the neighborhood to come over and “entertain” your children while you work for a few hours. A younger teen without a lot of prior babysitting experience will charge less than an older teen. Since you will be in the house, you can take over in case of an emergency. Your young sitter can play with the kids, read stories to them, etc – and you can have three or four hours of uninterrupted work time.
Balancing work and family will never be easy, but with practice – and patience; it can be done.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Audio Whats the Big Deal?
If you have been surfing the internet lately, you will have noticed that audio has become the trend among website owners. The audio may take the shape of a welcome greeting, an audio blog or a podcast, or all three combined.
The types of audio you find may be different, but there is no stopping it. Audio is changing the face, and the sound, of the internet. If you are wondering what the fuss is all about, the following are some reasons why audio has received so much popularity.
First and foremost, it is something new. Savvy website owners want to attract as much traffic to their site as possible, and adding the “next big thing” is a way to draw in that traffic. Not to mention that adding audio is simple and easy to do, and there aren’t too many up front costs.
Adding audio to a website adds a bit of variety as well. When a website owner adds too many pictures or graphics, a site can look busy and actually deter traffic. When a website owner adds audio to their site, it gives their visitors something new to listen to and keeps them coming back for updates.
You have probably felt the difference between shopping online and shopping in a brick and mortar store. When you shop in a store located in your local neighborhood, you are more than likely greeted warmly and someone usually thanks you for coming on upon leaving the store. However, when you shop online, you may feel that the experience is a bit cold and non-personal.
Adding a welcome greeting to your website adds a nice personal touch. Your visitors will hear the sound of your voice and will see you as a real person, not a nameless, faceless website.
In addition to helping the customer feel welcome and appreciated, audio messages help to create trust between you and the customer. The more the customer sees you as a real person, someone just like them, the more they will trust you. They will feel that they know you, and will want to do business with you. They will also be more likely to recommend your services to other people.
Excitement feeds excitement, and if you keep your audio messages upbeat, positive, and friendly, your customers will feel that and become more energized their selves. This can be a great motivator and can help you increase your sales.
If you have a fence-sitter, someone who is contemplating a purchase, and they play one of your audios where you sound alive and full of energy, and you are explaining why your product or service is so great and you give them the reasons that it will make their life better, that could induce the fence-sitter to get off the fence and buy your product.
We have gone over the reasons why audio can help you bring in more traffic, help you find repeat visitors, keep your visitors on your site longer, build trust, and motivate people into buying your product. As you can see, audio is a big deal and it is something you should definitely consider adding to your site.
The types of audio you find may be different, but there is no stopping it. Audio is changing the face, and the sound, of the internet. If you are wondering what the fuss is all about, the following are some reasons why audio has received so much popularity.
First and foremost, it is something new. Savvy website owners want to attract as much traffic to their site as possible, and adding the “next big thing” is a way to draw in that traffic. Not to mention that adding audio is simple and easy to do, and there aren’t too many up front costs.
Adding audio to a website adds a bit of variety as well. When a website owner adds too many pictures or graphics, a site can look busy and actually deter traffic. When a website owner adds audio to their site, it gives their visitors something new to listen to and keeps them coming back for updates.
You have probably felt the difference between shopping online and shopping in a brick and mortar store. When you shop in a store located in your local neighborhood, you are more than likely greeted warmly and someone usually thanks you for coming on upon leaving the store. However, when you shop online, you may feel that the experience is a bit cold and non-personal.
Adding a welcome greeting to your website adds a nice personal touch. Your visitors will hear the sound of your voice and will see you as a real person, not a nameless, faceless website.
In addition to helping the customer feel welcome and appreciated, audio messages help to create trust between you and the customer. The more the customer sees you as a real person, someone just like them, the more they will trust you. They will feel that they know you, and will want to do business with you. They will also be more likely to recommend your services to other people.
Excitement feeds excitement, and if you keep your audio messages upbeat, positive, and friendly, your customers will feel that and become more energized their selves. This can be a great motivator and can help you increase your sales.
If you have a fence-sitter, someone who is contemplating a purchase, and they play one of your audios where you sound alive and full of energy, and you are explaining why your product or service is so great and you give them the reasons that it will make their life better, that could induce the fence-sitter to get off the fence and buy your product.
We have gone over the reasons why audio can help you bring in more traffic, help you find repeat visitors, keep your visitors on your site longer, build trust, and motivate people into buying your product. As you can see, audio is a big deal and it is something you should definitely consider adding to your site.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Newbie Know How: Article Marketing
Article marketing is an important part of Internet marketing. When done correctly it can help a business owner establish, among other things, expertise in their field, and high search engine rankings.
Wikipedia defines article marketing as "a type of advertising through which a business writes short articles related to its respective industry." But as an online business owner, what do you do with those articles once you have written them?
You can publish them on your website, send them to your mailing lists, and submit them to article directories for others to publish on their sites as well. Each article contains a resource box or author biography (bio) at the end that tells about the writer and usually links to a website so the reader can find more information on the article topic.
When you post your articles to article directories online, you are giving others permission to reprint them as they are, including the resource box, on their site. This will give you more incoming links to your site, therefore helping to raise your site's page rank with the search engines.
If you plan to grow your website traffic numbers, article marketing is one of the tasks you should absolutely implement in your business. You can write the articles yourself or have them written for you by ghostwriters. A ghostwriter is someone who writes for you, but you claim the written material as your own. The ghostwriter has no claim to the article what-so-ever.
But, what do you write about? Here are just a few suggestions for article topics.
How-To Articles
People come to the Internet for information and many times it's to find out how to do something. Find something that fits into your business and tell others how to do it in the form of an article.
Statistical Articles
People love having data to back up information. Find statistics that support what you have to share.
Product and/or Service Reviews
Most people will not buy a product based on just what the product says on the box or web site. Write reviews about products and services you've used remembering to give the good and bad points about the product.
Wikipedia defines article marketing as "a type of advertising through which a business writes short articles related to its respective industry." But as an online business owner, what do you do with those articles once you have written them?
You can publish them on your website, send them to your mailing lists, and submit them to article directories for others to publish on their sites as well. Each article contains a resource box or author biography (bio) at the end that tells about the writer and usually links to a website so the reader can find more information on the article topic.
When you post your articles to article directories online, you are giving others permission to reprint them as they are, including the resource box, on their site. This will give you more incoming links to your site, therefore helping to raise your site's page rank with the search engines.
If you plan to grow your website traffic numbers, article marketing is one of the tasks you should absolutely implement in your business. You can write the articles yourself or have them written for you by ghostwriters. A ghostwriter is someone who writes for you, but you claim the written material as your own. The ghostwriter has no claim to the article what-so-ever.
But, what do you write about? Here are just a few suggestions for article topics.
How-To Articles
People come to the Internet for information and many times it's to find out how to do something. Find something that fits into your business and tell others how to do it in the form of an article.
Statistical Articles
People love having data to back up information. Find statistics that support what you have to share.
Product and/or Service Reviews
Most people will not buy a product based on just what the product says on the box or web site. Write reviews about products and services you've used remembering to give the good and bad points about the product.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Analyze Yourself
As a business owner, you are both the boss and the employee. Some people can thrive in this type of situation and achieve more than they could in a traditional work environment. For other people, this situation can spell disaster. That is why it is important to analyze yourself several times a year to make sure you are staying on track.
Are you focused on your business? This alone can throw your business into high gear or create a standstill. It can be easy to lose focus when you work at home, as there will always be other things competing for your attention. It is okay to let the laundry wait for a few hours while you work on your business. Your laundry can’t pay your bills, but those few hours you put into your business could reap you many financial rewards.
Not only is focusing on business tasks important, but it is important to be focused within your business. It is easy to get sidetracked with new business ventures and other offers. It can be hard to spread your time and energy over too many projects. It is easier to manage a select few projects that are tightly woven within your target market.
Are you being productive? At the end of the day, do you ever feel like you worked all day but accomplished nothing? Take a look at the tasks you are working on, and whether they are actually important to your success. If you find yourself getting sidetracked by surfing the web, chatting in forums, or reading blogs, try to schedule time for those activities after your “real work” is done.
On the other hand, if you feel your time is being sucked away by answering email, updating your website, or collecting research for an upcoming information product you are working on, try outsourcing those tasks to a virtual assistant. This will help you free up some time to work on business tasks that need more attention.
Are you reaching your goals? If you find that you are constantly missing your goal deadlines, you may want to take the time to revamp your goals. Create an action plan that will be easy to follow and help you get to your end result.
Would I hire myself? This is a tough question to ask yourself, but it is very important. It may sound silly, but perhaps you could write out a job description and give yourself an interview. Are you the type of employee you would want to hire?
If you answered “no” to the above question, take some time to write out the areas within yourself that you would like to improve. This can be a hard exercise to complete, but once you have analyzed yourself, you’ll be on your way to becoming a better business owner and having a better business.
Are you focused on your business? This alone can throw your business into high gear or create a standstill. It can be easy to lose focus when you work at home, as there will always be other things competing for your attention. It is okay to let the laundry wait for a few hours while you work on your business. Your laundry can’t pay your bills, but those few hours you put into your business could reap you many financial rewards.
Not only is focusing on business tasks important, but it is important to be focused within your business. It is easy to get sidetracked with new business ventures and other offers. It can be hard to spread your time and energy over too many projects. It is easier to manage a select few projects that are tightly woven within your target market.
Are you being productive? At the end of the day, do you ever feel like you worked all day but accomplished nothing? Take a look at the tasks you are working on, and whether they are actually important to your success. If you find yourself getting sidetracked by surfing the web, chatting in forums, or reading blogs, try to schedule time for those activities after your “real work” is done.
On the other hand, if you feel your time is being sucked away by answering email, updating your website, or collecting research for an upcoming information product you are working on, try outsourcing those tasks to a virtual assistant. This will help you free up some time to work on business tasks that need more attention.
Are you reaching your goals? If you find that you are constantly missing your goal deadlines, you may want to take the time to revamp your goals. Create an action plan that will be easy to follow and help you get to your end result.
Would I hire myself? This is a tough question to ask yourself, but it is very important. It may sound silly, but perhaps you could write out a job description and give yourself an interview. Are you the type of employee you would want to hire?
If you answered “no” to the above question, take some time to write out the areas within yourself that you would like to improve. This can be a hard exercise to complete, but once you have analyzed yourself, you’ll be on your way to becoming a better business owner and having a better business.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
5 Proven Offline Methods to Build Your Online Empire
Offline Advertising and Promotion. 5 Proven Offline Methods to Build Your Online Empire
Offline advertising can be your company’s best friend, if it’s done correctly. In fact, despite the influence of the internet in our daily lives, offline advertising still accounts for the majority of marketing expenditures for most businesses today.
What is the difference between offline advertising and online advertising?
Simple, offline advertising accounts for all advertising methods that are conducted offline. From classified advertisements to fancy direct mail campaigns, if it’s not on the internet, it’s offline.
The benefits of offline advertising are many. While offline advertising generally costs more per targeted prospect than online advertising, offline advertising presents you, as a business owner, the ability to reach a more specific target market.
Offline advertising also enables you to broaden your market to those that may not generally use the internet for research or shopping.
Because everyone learns and remembers differently, offline advertising enables you to reach your prospect multiple times via multiple methods, thereby ingraining your company message and benefits to them.
For example, if you ensure that the same demographic receives your email newsletter, a postcard direct mail piece and reads about your business in their favorite association or trade magazine, you’ve reach them in three different ways and are virtually guaranteed to be first in their minds when they need your product or service.
On the contrary, if you only reach your target demographic via email newsletters, then they may not consider your product or service unless they are online and in immediate need of your products or services.
Offline Advertising Defined.
Advertising, offline or online, is a paid attempt to sell your products or services to your target market. It is a paid attempt to urge a purchase or other course of action.
Advertising should: Tell your prospects that you exist
Tell your prospects what you sell or provide
Tell people how to contact you
Tell people the benefits they receive from purchasing
5 Proven Offline Advertising Methods and How to Make them Work for You.
1. Direct Mail or Direct Response Advertising.
Direct response advertising is perhaps the number one tool that many companies use to increase awareness and purchases. Why? When it’s done correctly, direct response works wonderfully. However, when it is done wrong it can be a costly lesson.
What is Direct Response Advertising? Take a look at your mailbox today and examine its contents. You’re likely to see a significant amount of direct response mail or what we fondly call, junk mail. Postcards, brochures, and sales letters all designed to inform us about a company, their products and services, and the benefit that you’ll receive from purchasing.
Unfortunately, much of this direct mail ends up in the garbage so you must go into the campaign understanding that. An acceptable response rate for a direct mail campaign is 3 to 4 percent conversion rate, meaning that if you sent your letter to 100 people 3-4 of them would make a purchase from your letter.
The key to great conversion rates lies in incorporating several factors. Your direct mail piece needs to have:
* Attention getting device. This is usually a well crafted headline.
* Interest. It needs to address their interests. You’d likely be wasting your money and time if you sent a NASCAR mailing list a postcard about your gardening supplies company.
* Desire. If you have your prospect’s attention and interests, now you need to create a desire for your product or service. Highlighting the benefits your reader will receive rather than the features you offer will go a long way towards generating desire.
* Action. No direct mail piece will work, or generate sales, if you neglect to have a call to action. What do you want your reader to do? Do you want them to call you? Do you want them to visit your website for a free report or consultation? Do you want them to make a purchase?
You have to tell your readers what you want them to do or they won’t do it. This is why you often see “ACT NOW” or “BUY NOW” “CALL NOW” at the end of advertisements and direct mail pieces. It’s a call to action.
2. Magazine and Newspaper Advertising
There are three types of advertisements that work exceptionally well and will generate the most Return on Investment.
They are:
* Open Letter
* Classic Direct Response
* Advertorial
Open letter advertising looks and reads like a letter. It generally begins with “Dear Reader,” or “Dear Pet Lover,” “Dear Working Mom.” You address the letter to the demographic you’re targeting.
You then proceed to write a letter, a persuasive letter, to your prospects. Your letter will address your reason for writing, what your products or services are about, what you can do for your reader, and how they can act to receive the benefits of your product or service.
You should still incorporate the Attention, Interest, Desire, Action strategy, or AIDA. Use your headline as the attention getting device. For example, this headline taken from Bottom Line Personal, “What never…ever to eat on an airplane!”
Classic Direct Response reads like a typical sales letter. It offers a call to action as well as proof of why your product or service works using testimonials and statistics to back your claims. You can also use a coupon as a call to action at the end.
Advertorials are advertisement editorials. They are advertisements that look like articles and they work simply because, like the other two forms of advertising we’ve discussed, they attract attention. They look different than the standard advertisement. Advertorials work particularly well because readers perceive them to be true articles even though it reads “Paid Advertisement” at the bottom or top of the page.
The key to all three forms of advertising are to have compelling headlines and a call to action. Don’t’ forget to use emotions to build your reader’s interest. You’ll also improve your conversion rate if you include proof, guarantees, and testimonials to give credibility to your claims.
3. Yellow Pages and Beyond. How to use Your Yellow Pages for Maximum Results.
The yellow pages are generally an afterthought for many businesses; however you’re shorting yourself if you forget this inexpensive advertising tool.
In addition to being seen by anyone specifically looking for your service, adding an advertisement in the yellow pages means that you’ll also be added to your local search listing online. It’s a win win situation. Here are 7 tips to making your yellow pages ad stand out from your competition:
* Be different. Take a look at the other advertisements in your category and make sure that yours doesn’t look the same. For example, if you’re a gardening supply company then a headline that reads “GROW ANYTHING ANYWHERE” will stand out above the other headlines.
* Focus on benefits. Like the above headline, your advertisement should contain benefits to your prospects. Because you pay by the letter, if you can include your benefit in your headline then you’re ahead of the game.
* Use a border. It may cost a little extra but a border sets your ad apart, literally, from the other ads.
* Offer something for free. Free is a powerful word that inspires action. Whether you offer a free consultation or a free product, prospects looking for your product or service are more likely to contact the company that is willing to give them something just for calling.
* Be specific. If you’re a freelance writer, then it is much better to say that you specialize in marketing copy or specialize in crafting copy for the alternative health industry than to simply say that you write copy.
* Don’t forget to include your contact information—all of it. Phone, website, email address and even your mailing address. Give them every opportunity to contact you.
* Don’t use photos or colors, they distract and studies show that they don’t offer any return on investment.
4. Classified ads, do they really work?
Classified ads can work if you use them to offer a small ticket item or to generate a sales lead. The key is to place your ad in the same paper consistently for at least three months and to make sure that they’re well written.
Here are 8 tips to write a classified ad:
* Write an entire paragraph selling your product or service then go back and ruthlessly cut all extra words.
* Use a powerful headline.
* Offer your key benefit immediately
* Don’t forget your call to action
* Use dashes-because they lead the eye-to the next word or phrase and-speed up reading.
* Use a symbol to make them stand out from the other classified ads
* Use a border
* Use power words like “New,” “Free,” “How to,” “Easy,” etc…to compel people to read.
5. Write articles for relevant associations and magazines.
Just like writing articles for online publications, writing articles for print publications is a great way to generate interest in your business, and sales. Many organizations and associations have newsletters. Contact organizations that are relevant to your industry, even if it is your local chamber of commerce, and offer to write an article for their publication.
Just like there are relevant industry organizations, there is a magazine or print newsletter designed to address just about every interest or topic. Contact the editors of these newsletters and magazines and offer to write an article for the publication.
Don’t forget to make sure that your contact information and a small biography are included at the bottom of each article.
Before you contact anyone you should:
* Have a good understanding of the market the newsletter or magazine reaches
* Be knowledgeable about the topics they discuss
* Understand the writing style used in the publication
* Have at least one suggestion for an article topic
* Be ready to sell yourself and why you should be the one to write the article
Beyond “Advertising” what you can do to promote your business and make more sales.
1. Always carry business cards and be ready and willing to hand them out when you meet a potential client. It can be in the grocery store line, at the local scout picnic, or even at the pool. You never know when you could meet a potential client and saying “I’m sorry, I don’t have my card,” just doesn’t work.
2. Be proactive about speaking engagements! Similar to publishing an article in association newsletters, many organizations are looking for speakers to present on relevant topics. Any opportunity to put yourself in front of large numbers of prospective clients or customers is a great opportunity. Likewise, speaking engagements often lead to other publicity tools like press releases to announce your speaking engagement. As the word grows about you and your business, you may even find yourself speaking with your local radio hosts or on your local news.
3. While not advertising, Press Releases are a good way to alert the media about anything new that happens with your business. Take care to write a good release that identifies a problem and then shows how your product or service solves a problem. Answer the question, “What’s in it for the reader?” Remember that journalists report the news so you need to make your press release newsworthy. Answer the questions, Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
FAQs about Advertising
How do I find out about where to advertise and promote my products and services?
Visit your local library for Standard Rate and Data Books. You can also find a directory of publications for details on various publications and means for advertising. Study your prospects. What do they read, watch, or listen to? That is where you should advertise.
How much should I spend on advertising and promotion?
The answer to that question depends on how much you can afford. The most common tool to calculate the financial benefits to advertising is to calculate your cost per thousand and your return on investment. Cost per thousand or CMP is how much does it cost you to reach 1000 people? Statistics on a publications circulation can generally be found within the publication. If not, give them a quick call.
Return on investment or ROI is calculated by your Profit minus your investment divided by your investment.
Who does the finished layout of my ad?
The graphic design and layout can be one of the projects that you outsource, along with writing the ad if you don’t like to write. Or you can do design your ad yourself. Additionally, some publications offer design services.
What if my campaign fails?
Change your ad! Change the headline. Change where you run the ad. Change your offer. Ask any advertising expert what the most important aspect of any marketing campaign is and what do you think they’ll answer? Testing. It’s the foundation of any successful advertising campaign. Remember though; if your ad is working well…don’t change it! Some successful ads run for 40 years without any changes and they consistently bring in sales.
Quick Advertisement and Promotion Checklist:
> Does your advertisement attract and engage the people that are most likely to purchase you product or service?
> Is your headline compelling?
> Does your ad hold the interest of your reader? Does it appeal to their needs, hopes, dreams, and emotions?
> Do you promise benefits to your readers? Do you explain exactly what will happen to them, how their lives will be changed, if they purchase your product or service?
> Does your ad create desire for your product?
> Does your advertisement prove the value of your product or service? How are you different and better than your competition?
> Do you establish credibility?
> Do you have a call to action?
> Do you make it easy to act?
Offline advertising and promotion can be an overwhelming concept. The best advice is to take it slow and not jump into using all advertising tools at once. Learn one, master it, and then incorporate another medium. For example, begin with a yellow pages ad. Once you are confident that your yellow pages ad meets your goals, then move on to designing a postcard mailing or full page magazine advertisement.
If you try to advertise everywhere all at once, without learning the ropes first, you can make many costly and unprofitable mistakes. That being said, once you get the hang of advertising, you can easily convert a full page advertorial into a long copy sales letter. You can use the same material and modify it to fit the publication and the advertising medium.
Congratulations on the growth of your business and best of luck in your offline advertising and promotion ventures!
Offline advertising can be your company’s best friend, if it’s done correctly. In fact, despite the influence of the internet in our daily lives, offline advertising still accounts for the majority of marketing expenditures for most businesses today.
What is the difference between offline advertising and online advertising?
Simple, offline advertising accounts for all advertising methods that are conducted offline. From classified advertisements to fancy direct mail campaigns, if it’s not on the internet, it’s offline.
The benefits of offline advertising are many. While offline advertising generally costs more per targeted prospect than online advertising, offline advertising presents you, as a business owner, the ability to reach a more specific target market.
Offline advertising also enables you to broaden your market to those that may not generally use the internet for research or shopping.
Because everyone learns and remembers differently, offline advertising enables you to reach your prospect multiple times via multiple methods, thereby ingraining your company message and benefits to them.
For example, if you ensure that the same demographic receives your email newsletter, a postcard direct mail piece and reads about your business in their favorite association or trade magazine, you’ve reach them in three different ways and are virtually guaranteed to be first in their minds when they need your product or service.
On the contrary, if you only reach your target demographic via email newsletters, then they may not consider your product or service unless they are online and in immediate need of your products or services.
Offline Advertising Defined.
Advertising, offline or online, is a paid attempt to sell your products or services to your target market. It is a paid attempt to urge a purchase or other course of action.
Advertising should: Tell your prospects that you exist
Tell your prospects what you sell or provide
Tell people how to contact you
Tell people the benefits they receive from purchasing
5 Proven Offline Advertising Methods and How to Make them Work for You.
1. Direct Mail or Direct Response Advertising.
Direct response advertising is perhaps the number one tool that many companies use to increase awareness and purchases. Why? When it’s done correctly, direct response works wonderfully. However, when it is done wrong it can be a costly lesson.
What is Direct Response Advertising? Take a look at your mailbox today and examine its contents. You’re likely to see a significant amount of direct response mail or what we fondly call, junk mail. Postcards, brochures, and sales letters all designed to inform us about a company, their products and services, and the benefit that you’ll receive from purchasing.
Unfortunately, much of this direct mail ends up in the garbage so you must go into the campaign understanding that. An acceptable response rate for a direct mail campaign is 3 to 4 percent conversion rate, meaning that if you sent your letter to 100 people 3-4 of them would make a purchase from your letter.
The key to great conversion rates lies in incorporating several factors. Your direct mail piece needs to have:
* Attention getting device. This is usually a well crafted headline.
* Interest. It needs to address their interests. You’d likely be wasting your money and time if you sent a NASCAR mailing list a postcard about your gardening supplies company.
* Desire. If you have your prospect’s attention and interests, now you need to create a desire for your product or service. Highlighting the benefits your reader will receive rather than the features you offer will go a long way towards generating desire.
* Action. No direct mail piece will work, or generate sales, if you neglect to have a call to action. What do you want your reader to do? Do you want them to call you? Do you want them to visit your website for a free report or consultation? Do you want them to make a purchase?
You have to tell your readers what you want them to do or they won’t do it. This is why you often see “ACT NOW” or “BUY NOW” “CALL NOW” at the end of advertisements and direct mail pieces. It’s a call to action.
2. Magazine and Newspaper Advertising
There are three types of advertisements that work exceptionally well and will generate the most Return on Investment.
They are:
* Open Letter
* Classic Direct Response
* Advertorial
Open letter advertising looks and reads like a letter. It generally begins with “Dear Reader,” or “Dear Pet Lover,” “Dear Working Mom.” You address the letter to the demographic you’re targeting.
You then proceed to write a letter, a persuasive letter, to your prospects. Your letter will address your reason for writing, what your products or services are about, what you can do for your reader, and how they can act to receive the benefits of your product or service.
You should still incorporate the Attention, Interest, Desire, Action strategy, or AIDA. Use your headline as the attention getting device. For example, this headline taken from Bottom Line Personal, “What never…ever to eat on an airplane!”
Classic Direct Response reads like a typical sales letter. It offers a call to action as well as proof of why your product or service works using testimonials and statistics to back your claims. You can also use a coupon as a call to action at the end.
Advertorials are advertisement editorials. They are advertisements that look like articles and they work simply because, like the other two forms of advertising we’ve discussed, they attract attention. They look different than the standard advertisement. Advertorials work particularly well because readers perceive them to be true articles even though it reads “Paid Advertisement” at the bottom or top of the page.
The key to all three forms of advertising are to have compelling headlines and a call to action. Don’t’ forget to use emotions to build your reader’s interest. You’ll also improve your conversion rate if you include proof, guarantees, and testimonials to give credibility to your claims.
3. Yellow Pages and Beyond. How to use Your Yellow Pages for Maximum Results.
The yellow pages are generally an afterthought for many businesses; however you’re shorting yourself if you forget this inexpensive advertising tool.
In addition to being seen by anyone specifically looking for your service, adding an advertisement in the yellow pages means that you’ll also be added to your local search listing online. It’s a win win situation. Here are 7 tips to making your yellow pages ad stand out from your competition:
* Be different. Take a look at the other advertisements in your category and make sure that yours doesn’t look the same. For example, if you’re a gardening supply company then a headline that reads “GROW ANYTHING ANYWHERE” will stand out above the other headlines.
* Focus on benefits. Like the above headline, your advertisement should contain benefits to your prospects. Because you pay by the letter, if you can include your benefit in your headline then you’re ahead of the game.
* Use a border. It may cost a little extra but a border sets your ad apart, literally, from the other ads.
* Offer something for free. Free is a powerful word that inspires action. Whether you offer a free consultation or a free product, prospects looking for your product or service are more likely to contact the company that is willing to give them something just for calling.
* Be specific. If you’re a freelance writer, then it is much better to say that you specialize in marketing copy or specialize in crafting copy for the alternative health industry than to simply say that you write copy.
* Don’t forget to include your contact information—all of it. Phone, website, email address and even your mailing address. Give them every opportunity to contact you.
* Don’t use photos or colors, they distract and studies show that they don’t offer any return on investment.
4. Classified ads, do they really work?
Classified ads can work if you use them to offer a small ticket item or to generate a sales lead. The key is to place your ad in the same paper consistently for at least three months and to make sure that they’re well written.
Here are 8 tips to write a classified ad:
* Write an entire paragraph selling your product or service then go back and ruthlessly cut all extra words.
* Use a powerful headline.
* Offer your key benefit immediately
* Don’t forget your call to action
* Use dashes-because they lead the eye-to the next word or phrase and-speed up reading.
* Use a symbol to make them stand out from the other classified ads
* Use a border
* Use power words like “New,” “Free,” “How to,” “Easy,” etc…to compel people to read.
5. Write articles for relevant associations and magazines.
Just like writing articles for online publications, writing articles for print publications is a great way to generate interest in your business, and sales. Many organizations and associations have newsletters. Contact organizations that are relevant to your industry, even if it is your local chamber of commerce, and offer to write an article for their publication.
Just like there are relevant industry organizations, there is a magazine or print newsletter designed to address just about every interest or topic. Contact the editors of these newsletters and magazines and offer to write an article for the publication.
Don’t forget to make sure that your contact information and a small biography are included at the bottom of each article.
Before you contact anyone you should:
* Have a good understanding of the market the newsletter or magazine reaches
* Be knowledgeable about the topics they discuss
* Understand the writing style used in the publication
* Have at least one suggestion for an article topic
* Be ready to sell yourself and why you should be the one to write the article
Beyond “Advertising” what you can do to promote your business and make more sales.
1. Always carry business cards and be ready and willing to hand them out when you meet a potential client. It can be in the grocery store line, at the local scout picnic, or even at the pool. You never know when you could meet a potential client and saying “I’m sorry, I don’t have my card,” just doesn’t work.
2. Be proactive about speaking engagements! Similar to publishing an article in association newsletters, many organizations are looking for speakers to present on relevant topics. Any opportunity to put yourself in front of large numbers of prospective clients or customers is a great opportunity. Likewise, speaking engagements often lead to other publicity tools like press releases to announce your speaking engagement. As the word grows about you and your business, you may even find yourself speaking with your local radio hosts or on your local news.
3. While not advertising, Press Releases are a good way to alert the media about anything new that happens with your business. Take care to write a good release that identifies a problem and then shows how your product or service solves a problem. Answer the question, “What’s in it for the reader?” Remember that journalists report the news so you need to make your press release newsworthy. Answer the questions, Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
FAQs about Advertising
How do I find out about where to advertise and promote my products and services?
Visit your local library for Standard Rate and Data Books. You can also find a directory of publications for details on various publications and means for advertising. Study your prospects. What do they read, watch, or listen to? That is where you should advertise.
How much should I spend on advertising and promotion?
The answer to that question depends on how much you can afford. The most common tool to calculate the financial benefits to advertising is to calculate your cost per thousand and your return on investment. Cost per thousand or CMP is how much does it cost you to reach 1000 people? Statistics on a publications circulation can generally be found within the publication. If not, give them a quick call.
Return on investment or ROI is calculated by your Profit minus your investment divided by your investment.
Who does the finished layout of my ad?
The graphic design and layout can be one of the projects that you outsource, along with writing the ad if you don’t like to write. Or you can do design your ad yourself. Additionally, some publications offer design services.
What if my campaign fails?
Change your ad! Change the headline. Change where you run the ad. Change your offer. Ask any advertising expert what the most important aspect of any marketing campaign is and what do you think they’ll answer? Testing. It’s the foundation of any successful advertising campaign. Remember though; if your ad is working well…don’t change it! Some successful ads run for 40 years without any changes and they consistently bring in sales.
Quick Advertisement and Promotion Checklist:
> Does your advertisement attract and engage the people that are most likely to purchase you product or service?
> Is your headline compelling?
> Does your ad hold the interest of your reader? Does it appeal to their needs, hopes, dreams, and emotions?
> Do you promise benefits to your readers? Do you explain exactly what will happen to them, how their lives will be changed, if they purchase your product or service?
> Does your ad create desire for your product?
> Does your advertisement prove the value of your product or service? How are you different and better than your competition?
> Do you establish credibility?
> Do you have a call to action?
> Do you make it easy to act?
Offline advertising and promotion can be an overwhelming concept. The best advice is to take it slow and not jump into using all advertising tools at once. Learn one, master it, and then incorporate another medium. For example, begin with a yellow pages ad. Once you are confident that your yellow pages ad meets your goals, then move on to designing a postcard mailing or full page magazine advertisement.
If you try to advertise everywhere all at once, without learning the ropes first, you can make many costly and unprofitable mistakes. That being said, once you get the hang of advertising, you can easily convert a full page advertorial into a long copy sales letter. You can use the same material and modify it to fit the publication and the advertising medium.
Congratulations on the growth of your business and best of luck in your offline advertising and promotion ventures!
Friday, September 5, 2008
Base Your Promotions Around Holidays, Special Events
If you are looking for a way to increase your sales, grab your calendar and plan a sale around the next holiday or an upcoming special event. Planning sales around holidays and special events not only gives you a reason to contact your customers, they can also give you new ideas on how to promote your items.
Start out by taking some time and thinking about the product or service you have to offer and how they can fit into holidays or special events. If you happen to sell cosmetics, you can offer special makeovers for prom, brides-to-be, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, etc. If you sell scrapbook supplies, hold a sale slightly before or after each holiday. Most people will take lots of pictures on the actual holiday and will want to start scrapbooking on their new photos.
If you sell kitchen products, you can create a special for someone having a bridal shower, and you can certainly hold a sale just before Thanksgiving. If you happen to sell books, toys, or other products centered around children, you can hold a sale right before school gets out as well as right before school starts.
If you sell informational products, you can still take advantage of holidays and special events to increase your sales. If you sell an informational product that teaches people how to start their own business, you may want to hold a sale in September, as that is when children go back to school and stay-at-home parents can concentrate on starting a new venture. January can also be a great month to offer a promotion, as people are realizing how much money they spent on holiday gifts and are looking for a way to pay off their credit cards.
You can also offer specials on services you provide. Feel free to get creative and have fun with the process. For example, if you are an event planner, offer a special during the summer for planning family reunions or graduation parties. Another idea would be to offer a discount all-year to parents who hire you to plan their child’s first birthday.
You can also join forces with other home business owners and offer combined deals. Going back to the example of selling informational products that teach people how to start a home business, you could take your “New Year’s new-business” promotion a step further and partner with a web designer. Your package could include information on starting an online business and a “starter” website.
If you use your imagination, you can find a way to build a promotion around your products and services that fits any holiday. If you need help thinking up ideas, just look at the commercials or circulars for your local stores, as they will be using these types of promotions to lure their own customers.
Start out by taking some time and thinking about the product or service you have to offer and how they can fit into holidays or special events. If you happen to sell cosmetics, you can offer special makeovers for prom, brides-to-be, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, etc. If you sell scrapbook supplies, hold a sale slightly before or after each holiday. Most people will take lots of pictures on the actual holiday and will want to start scrapbooking on their new photos.
If you sell kitchen products, you can create a special for someone having a bridal shower, and you can certainly hold a sale just before Thanksgiving. If you happen to sell books, toys, or other products centered around children, you can hold a sale right before school gets out as well as right before school starts.
If you sell informational products, you can still take advantage of holidays and special events to increase your sales. If you sell an informational product that teaches people how to start their own business, you may want to hold a sale in September, as that is when children go back to school and stay-at-home parents can concentrate on starting a new venture. January can also be a great month to offer a promotion, as people are realizing how much money they spent on holiday gifts and are looking for a way to pay off their credit cards.
You can also offer specials on services you provide. Feel free to get creative and have fun with the process. For example, if you are an event planner, offer a special during the summer for planning family reunions or graduation parties. Another idea would be to offer a discount all-year to parents who hire you to plan their child’s first birthday.
You can also join forces with other home business owners and offer combined deals. Going back to the example of selling informational products that teach people how to start a home business, you could take your “New Year’s new-business” promotion a step further and partner with a web designer. Your package could include information on starting an online business and a “starter” website.
If you use your imagination, you can find a way to build a promotion around your products and services that fits any holiday. If you need help thinking up ideas, just look at the commercials or circulars for your local stores, as they will be using these types of promotions to lure their own customers.
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