Tag: advertising

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Entrepreneurs

Cinnamon Rolls, Breast Cancer and Your Business — How Doing Good Can Grow Your Business

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It can make good marketing sense to partner with a nonprofit or cause.

Consider what my marathon friends did when they were raising money to participate in the 3-Day Walk (you walk 60 miles in 3 days to promote breast cancer awareness and raise money for research). They approached a local restaurant called Backburner, which was famous for their cinnamon rolls. For a week, every time someone bought a cinnamon roll, they donated $1 to my friends for their walk.

I personally hadn’t heard of the restaurant, but when I found this out, my husband and I went and had breakfast there (complete with a cinnamon roll of course!).

So this turned into a win-win for everyone. My friends won because they were able to get donations for their walk. Susan G Komen won because they got more money to donate to research. The restaurant won because they got additional promotion and good will, helping out a good cause. And I won because I got to eat a yummy breakfast and discover a new restaurant. (We’re ignoring the calories I consumed there.)

More than ever before, consumers are socially-minded. In many cases, they want to know the businesses they patronize are also socially- minded. Connecting your business to a good cause is about more than just making yourself “feel good”; it can also make good business sense. 

So what are some ways to start? (Other than writing a check.) Well, here are a few ideas you can use:

1. Jenn August did a whole telesummit around giving money to various causes. You could do the same.

2. If a summit is too much work, just do one teleclass, charge a low fee, and let people know proceeds will also help support your cause.

3. Have a sale and let people know a percentage of proceeds are going to support a nonprofit.

4. Offer to give a product of yours for free if people donate. Or, put together a special teleclass only for people who donate. (I would put a time frame around this if you do – for instance, allow 48 hours or a few days to donate.)

5. Put links to your favorite nonprofits in your newsletter or on your website. (But don’t make it so prominent you encourage people to click away from your site and not support YOU.)

6. Give away your time. If you’re a service professional and you find your client pipeline has slowed down or dried up, donating your time to a nonprofit can be a good way to jump-start your business. The exposure can help you find new clients, and you can make it known you support their cause. (And don’t forget to get a testimonial.) Now, be careful with this strategy. I’ve used it myself, but make sure you don’t go too crazy donating your time or you could end up getting really stressed- out when you client work picks up again.

But whatever you do, make sure this is coming from the heart. People can sense if you’re not being sincere, so make sure you truly do believe in the cause, if you’re going to publically help support it.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

7 Time Tested Tips for Making Your Advertising Work

Article Contributed by Troy White

The entire marketing and advertising business is backed on testing. If you are not testing different marketing methods, different advertisements, different media, etc., then you will never know what works and what doesn’t. It’s not exactly rocket science what I just said – but the fact of the matter is that less than 5% of businesses test anything.

So if it is so simple – why aren’t more people doing it?

Laziness, time constraints and lack of knowledge are the most common reasons I hear. I can’t help you with the first 2 – but I will share with you a number of marketing ideas you can test. Try one – measure the results, then test another. You are looking for the most powerful marketing method that you can continue to run for months/years to come.

(1) Tell a story – one of the best ways to pull your readers into your marketing and get them to buy. The Wall Street Journal runs a one-page story talking about Two Young Men – both from the same upbringing and neighborhood – how one went on to accomplish great things and the other went about life with dismal results. This incredible story has been running for decades now and in that time it has generated billions of dollars in subscription sales.

(2) Use clichés like “sick as a dog” – people can relate to them and there is a comfort feeling around them. As well, most people talk in clichés – so you must write like you talk. But a word of caution, do not over use them.

(3) Never write any marketing pieces if you do not believe in what it is you are selling or trying to accomplish – it will be very obvious to the person reading it that you don’t believe it.

(4) Don’t try and be cute or sophisticated. Be sincere, educational and passionate in your writing. Do whatever it takes to get into a peak emotional state before you start writing – be it music, exercise lots of coffee – whatever floats your boat.

(5) Write to a grade 7 reading level. This can be easily checked in Microsoft Word – go to “Tools at top – then – Options: then Spelling and Grammar: check the box that says Show Readability Stats. Every time you do a spell check form now on it will tell you what grade level your writing is at. This is your lowest common denominator and a guideline you must use in all your business correspondence and advertising – unless you know without a doubt that 100% of your market is at a Ph.D. level.

6) Pretend you are sitting around a fire with one of your best friends. You know that they have some possible interest in what you are selling. But they are skeptical at the best of times. What would you say to them to get them to try it out? How would you say it to them? This is exactly what your ads need to read like.

(7) Always use real postage stamps on your envelopes – never metered mail. Make it look as personalized as possible – not like it came straight from a machine.

There are 7 simple ways to get better results in your marketing and advertising; but they are useless if you don’t try them. Try one this week and see what happens. And please let me know how it goes.

About the Author
Troy White is a top marketing coach, consultant & direct response copywriter based in Calgary, Canada. He has a powerful approach to growing small businesses and entrepreneurial run ventures on a budget. His FREE Cash Flow Surges newsletter shares tons of great strategies and he blogs at http://www.smallbusinesscopywriter.com

He also publishes the incredibly powerful Cash Flow Calendar system that gives you daily, weekly and monthly marketing ideas to promote your business and stand out from the crowd. To get your free tips for growing your business, you can register at http://www.cashflowcalendars.com

Or you can take his business mastery course in marketing and advertising at http://www.thebusinessmasterycourse.com

Categories
Entrepreneurship

Become Your Own Boss For Less Than $10K

As 81 million American baby boomers begin to move into their retirement years, they are redefining what retirement means. For many, it doesn’t mean they’ve stopped working, but rather that they are exercising more choice over how they work. According to a 2009 survey, some 75 percent of people who chose to engage in some form of work found the work satisfying, and in four out of five cases, they were able to find white collar jobs for what are known as “encore careers.”
Picking the perfect second act for your career can involve trying a field that’s always interested you, helping out with a cause that you believe in, or getting a chance to run your own business.
If it’s running your own business that appeals to you, chances are you don’t want to sink a large chunk of your retirement savings into a new venture at this point. Therefore, the key is getting started with minimal investment up front. This is very possible these days, depending on how you set up your business, and what type of business you choose to go into.
Getting Started with a Shoestring Budget
To start a business with relatively little up front capital, the key is to minimize fixed costs. Variable costs–expenses of the pay-as-you-go variety–are preferable because they allow you to ramp up or scale back investment depending on how the business is going.
Here are some key tools for keeping fixed costs to a minimum:
• E-commerce Solutions. Who needs a business location when you have the Internet? The ultimate low-overhead storefront, the Internet gives you access to a world of potential customers. Utilizing e-commerce solutions is much cheaper than having a physical place of business where you receive customers. For example, it allows you to avoid the many expenses of having a retail outlet, such as rent, utilities, staffing, and insurance.
• Outsourcing Back Office Infrastructure. Rather than building a complete organization from scratch, try to outsource anything that isn’t central to the unique value proposition of your business. For example, functions such as customer support, credit card processing and human resources are only needed occasionally or periodically. Therefore, it makes more sense to utilize outsourced call center services for telemarketing or customer support or HR outsourcing for human resource activities than to try to staff it internally.
• Use Online, Social Media Strategies to Promote Your Business. Developing a full scale online social media strategy can seem overwhelming at first. But you can implement simple things by hiring interns to do the leg work such as starting a blog or using Twitter, and tracking different programs making adjustments along the way.
Low-Cost Entrepreneurial Business Ideas
If the above are some techniques for structuring a business with minimum up front investment, what are some lines of business which lend themselves to getting started with minimal capital?
One rule of thumb is that services generally require less investment than manufacturers or retailers, though with e-commerce some re-sellers can operate cheaply if they have tight supply lines and add value in the process. Focusing on services, the following are some examples of businesses that might be right for the current environment, and can be started on a shoestring.
• Business consulting. If many retiring boomers are going to be starting their own businesses, why not use your business experience to help show them how to do it?
• Green consulting. People are striving to become more energy-efficient, for economic and environmental reasons. If you have expertise in this area, consulting with businesses and homeowners on how to reduce their consumption is a natural.
• Public relations. If you have media and promotional experience, you could be in demand with the new wave of entrepreneurs starting their own businesses. In particular, bringing knowledge of modern promotional techniques such as social media strategies could be valuable to these new businesses.
• Employment counseling. Between a weak economy and an aging population, there are many people facing a career crossroads these days. Helping them find the right niche can be a good way to make use of any personnel experience you have.
• Online Lead Generation. Sales Lead Generation is growing by leaps and bounds as far as start up industries are concerned. This is a very special industry that affords flexibility and freedom that is unparalleled. And, there is even a significant demand for highly specialized lead generation consultants to help companies generate qualified sales leads in this market.
Running your own business may not have been your parents’ idea of retirement, but things are very different today. If you have the entrepreneurial itch, starting a venture might just give you the satisfaction and extra income to make your “golden years” more than just an expression.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Six Ways To Make Your Marketing Count

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According to the National Center for Policy Analysis there are nearly 17 million home-based businesses in the U.S. today. As the number of business rise, it becomes increasingly more difficult to effectively market a small business. And when the small business is run by mom with a minuscule advertising the budget, the challenge becomes even tougher. As moms trying to make our way in this billion dollar industry, how do we best focus our marketing efforts?

Do Your Homework
The best way to get good results from your marketing efforts is to research the sites you’re considering. Look for websites that are aimed at your target market, that have premium ad placements and that are willing to share their traffic statistics, number of subscribers, etc.

Be Bold
Statistics show that the bigger the ad, the higher the response. Double Click, a digital marketing firm, did a study in 2006 that showed a “strong correlation between the size of ads and their clickthrough performance.” So, whenever possible, choose a banner size larger than the standard 468 x 60. It may be pricier, but the results should be worth the extra expense.

Think fresh
Try to find innovative ways to reach your market. Consider trying a rich media campaign that includes a video advertisement, banners formatted in Flash, and other interactive ads. By finding new ways to present your business or product, you’ll catch the eye of viewers who might not normally have noticed your advertisement.

Be personal
The potential customers who view your ads want you to connect with them. They want to know how your product or service will make a difference in their lives. Write your ad copy in such a way that it brings the viewers need for your product to their attention.
Another way to make your advertising more personal is to use images – especially real-life photographs. You can find royalty free photos

Be Unique
Make your ad stand out by creating something different and unique – something that represents your company well. Diana Ennen, a publicist and president of VirtualWordPublishing.com states, “With so much competition out there today, it’s important to make your ad stand out and speak directly to your target audience. No one knows your business and clients better than you, so create the ad that tells everyone why they should buy from you.”

Repeat
The number of times a potential customer views your advertisement has a direct link to their perception of your product/brand. Look for websites with a high volume of traffic and don’t be afraid to ask for any traffic statistics or click-thru statistics that they can provide.

Finding effective ways to market your business can seem overwhelming. By following these simple tips, you can get the best possible results for your advertising efforts. Remember that your customers form opinions about your products based on the information you provide, so make sure that your ads are the best they can be.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Marketing in Your Local Community

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For most small businesses, all marketing is local marketing — as it should be. But even if your company is regional or national in scope, it’s a good idea to “go local” to select, targeted communities.
The keys to effective community marketing can be summed up with three guidelines:
1. Get local: target your marketing efforts down to the neighborhood level
2. Get involved: participate in the community to generate visibility and good will
3. Get personal: as much as possible, market on a one-to-one, face-to-face basis
Here are some tips and techniques to get you started:
Use local city-specific Web sites and local portals
City and town Web sites, as well as local versions of major portals, are growing in number and popularity. Maintain a presence on local sites by providing content — or by advertising. In addition to local versions of AOL’s Cityguide, community-oriented Web sites like Yelp.com and Judysbook.com (which has the added advantage of covering suburbs and small towns in addition to major cities) are becoming more common.
Use local search engines and directories
Make sure you’re listed with local search engines and city-specific directories. Local.com and CitySearch are two such search engines. A newer, but more “hyper-local” site is Backfence.com.
Set your Google ad to appear locally
If you operate a local business and advertise on Google, you can target local customers only.
Google lets you set ads to appear only to people in a particular city, state or region. In the AdWords section, click on “For local businesses” under “How it works.”
Get involved in your community
Volunteer, serve on local boards, participate in your local Chamber of Commerce and work for local charities as a way to grow your grassroots marketing efforts. You may find that your neighbors become your customers. For volunteer opportunities, visit idealist.org, The United Way, or Rotary International.
Support community events
Take your community involvement one step further by supporting community events. Sponsor a Little League team, participate in parades, town days or other local events. Small business associations such as SCORE offer tips for establishing a strong presence in your local community. Suggestions include starting a local newsletter or creating a local advisory board made up of customers. John Jantsch’s “Duct Tape Marketing” blog’s “In your own backyard” section is insightful as well.
Make the most of local media and publicity opportunities
Generate awareness for your business locally by writing op-eds in the local newspaper, getting booked on local radio talk shows, and advertising in the good, old-fashioned Yellow Pages. Online community Craigslist continues to be a great local resource. For help getting booked on radio talk shows and otherwise generating local publicity, seek out the services of a good local public relations consultant by searching the directory of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
Other local marketing options to keep in mind…
• Explore cause-related marketing opportunities to generate good will for your company.
• Consider taping a TV show on your local public access station — it’s usually free.
• Give your Web site or blog a local focus or start a local blog.
• Develop a customer advisory board to get input from local customers.
• Create alliances with non-competing businesses — you promote me, I’ll promote you.
LouBortonePhoto.jpgLou Bortone is an award-winning writer and video producer with over 20 years experience in marketing, branding and promotion. As an online video expert, Lou helps entrepreneurs create video for the web at www.TheOnlineVideoGuy.com. In addition, Lou works as a freelance writer and professional ghostwriter, with a ghostwriting site at www.GhostwriteForYou.com and a blog at www.GhostwriteGuru.com.