Tag: advertising
Be Imaginative
Whatís the easiest way to kill a great ad campaign before it even begins? Take it too seriously. Advertising is not rocket science. You shouldnít need a degree in the physical sciences to create or understand an ad.
And you should never, ever, under any circumstances, kill an ad because it is not literal enough. On the contrary, if you find your ads are too literal, you should destroy them all and start fresh.
Are Volkswagens flawed pieces of junk? No, but an ad with the headline ìLemonî gets your attention, doesnít it? It makes you want to read the story, which goes on to explain how the particular car shown in the ad would never be driven because VW cares so much it weeds out the lemons so you never get a bad car. Think what an opportunity would have been missed if the folks at Volkswagen had taken that headline too literally.
Think about it from this angle. Why do people read an ad or watch a commercial? The majority do so because they find them entertaining and informative. If your ads are all information and no entertainment, youíve wasted your budget.
This is not to say that an ad should be created purely for entertainment purposes. Again, a great ad is both entertaining and informative. The entertainment value should be derived from a feature of your product or brand. In other words, what youíre selling should be the star of the show. Sounds simple enough, but it is often hard to strike the right balance. Thatís what makes advertising so fun.
How much information does your audience really need? What kind of story will they find entertaining? These are questions that should be asked and answered early on so that when you finally are presented with an ad or a campaign, you can judge the work according to these preordained guidelines.
A good campaign will reach your target audience and talk to them on a personal level. This has a valuable effect on your sales and reputation. A great advertising campaign will do more than that. It will create a buzz outside of your target audience.
Apple Computerís ì1984î commercial ran only once. But it is still one of the most talked about commercials because it was rebroadcast on every major news show and written about in every major newspaper for weeks and months. And none of this cost Apple anything more than a single TV buy.
Itís worth noting that Appleís Super Bowl commercial helped make the company a household name and created unbelievable demand for the new Macintosh computer-yet the ad never showed the product or explained any details about it.
BMWís Mini Cooper was one of the first cars to be introduced in the United States with no TV advertising. Blasphemy! Instead, they bolted the Minis to the roofs of SUVs and drove them around major cities. They created tongue-in-cheek billboards, interactive print ads and great guerrilla promotions. Most importantly, they created a waiting list of customers who couldnít wait to get a Mini.
Companies that think bigger become bigger. Itís a self-fulfilling cycle. If you just think like a local operation, you might miss the opportunity to expand regionally, nationally, or even internationally. Your advertising campaign should reflect the direction of your companyóeven if youíre not yet there.
Challenge yourself and your agency to think bigger
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The Power Behind E-books
I can remember the excitement of buying my first downloadable-book. It was back in the late 1990ís and although I cannot remember the title of the e-book I do recall that the seller lived in Georgia, USA and within ten minutes of buying it I was printing it out in rural Wiltshire in the West of England.
Since those early days I must have purchased hundreds of such books. I have had everything from 300+ page manuals right down to 2 or 3 page ‘reports’. But the trouble is that over half of them end up either part or totally unread.
I believe that for most people there are two basic problems with e-books., they are not easy to read on screen and if you print them out this can take time and be expensive on ink.
Despite all the dire predictions profits of doom I believe the future for e-books and information products in general is very good. However, writers must understand the requirements of their readers. To be honest if a subject needs more than 100 pages to get its message across perhaps a downloadable file is not the best way to provide the information.
eBay is a great example, there are hundreds if not thousands of e-books on the subject ranging in price from a few cents up to some costing hundreds of dollars, The average price for a ‘How to Make Money on eBay’ type book seems to be around $67 but go to Amazon or Barns and Nobel and you will find print books with far more information for around $20. So why do we pay more for less?
The answer is ‘immediacy’. We want it and we want it now.
And if the reader wants the e-book now, he or she also wants the information straight away. What they do not want to is to have to wade through hundreds of pages to find what they are looking for. In other words the ideal e-book should contain the basic facts or methods with as little padding as possible. Ideally a person should be able to read the contents of an e-book at one sitting And in my opinion the ideal length for an e-book is around 30 pages but anywhere between 20 and forty is fine. For most subjects the important points can be included within that page range.
The advantage for the author is that it is a lot easier to write a 40-page book than one with 200 pages. There is also a greater chance of the reader actually clicking on your affiliate or other links within your book if he or she actually reads it all. If the writer feels that it will take 200 pages to cover the subject why not cut it down to 5 or 6 smaller e-books selling at say $15 each.
The current trend of pile it high sell it cheap is driving many people out of the information market and some might say that is not a bad thing. But there will always be a market for value for money and easily digestible information products on subjects of interest to the customer. So if you are a writer please cut the padding, just give me the facts, just the facts.
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Learn why over 80% of all e-Books that come with reproduction rights are worthless.
If you’re an entrepreneur looking for a product to sell, I bet you’ve considered buying an E-Book with reproduction rights, or maybe even a set of E-Books with reproduction rights.
For those of you not familiar with what an E-Book is, an E-Book is simply an electronic book (E-Book) that is transferred to you within an electronic file and you read it directly from your computer. The concept is great, and there are many great E-Books out there, however there are also many useless E-Books out there as well.
If you were to look at 10 advertisements offering E-Books with reproduction rights, it is very likely that most (probably 8 or more) of these offers have products that are either:
1) Severely out-of-date. In this popular scenario, the vendor will typically sell you an informational product that has been floating around the Internet for far too long. As a result, the information is typically out-of-date and worthless. Another common practice is to attach a new enticing title to old content and try to sell it as new material.
2) Hidden advertisements with very little actual content. This scenario is also very popular and is beginning to appear much more often. Here the vendor sells a new (or what looks to be new) informational product. There is usually a flashy title that seems like it would have a high degree of marketability. However, once you read through the content, you notice that the information is simply an advertisement directing you to other money making offers.
The typical marketing ploy that you will find associated with E-Books promises to sell you a collection of the hottest-selling E-Books with full reproduction rights that allow you to reproduce (copy) and resell the product. The term “reproduction rights” sounds very valuable to a beginning entrepreneur. The mere thought of having a ready-made product which you do not have to continuously purchase is very enticing. However, in many situations, this is just a ploy to get you to purchase the product. Why would you want reproduction and resale rights to out-dated material, or a big book of advertisements?
The real goal in Internet marketing is to make your customers happy. Why? First, it’s the ethical thing to do, and second, because happy customers are repeat customers. To be successful in Internet marketing, you really need to have repeat customers that value your service and trust the quality of the products you offer. So don’t promote anything that you don’t have confidence in – make your customers happy and they will continue to buy from you, which will make you happy!
How Can You Find the “Good” E-Books?
Study the market and product carefully when buying E-Books (or any info course) for informational or resale purposes. If you’re thinking about buying a particular E-Book, try going to Google and typing in the name of the E-Book, along with the author name and the word “forum”. Then run your search.
Here’s an example of what you could type into Google for your search:
“John’s Excellent Car Tips” “John Smith” forum
You can also try these additional search strings:
“ever tried” or “ever used” or “anyone tried” or “anyone used”
Google will then return listings that match the above criteria. Many of these listings will be forums (one of your search words). These forums typically contain real users (not advertisers) discussing the product. This is great way to get unbiased feedback of a particular product. If the product is offering resell rights, you’ll typically find the users discussing that as well. You can also use one of the additional search strings (like “ever tried”) listed above. This will increase your chances of finding a forum question that is asking if anyone “ever tried” the product.
Keep in mind, there are some awesome E-Book publishers out there. In fact, I buy E-Books on all sorts of marketing topics on a weekly basis – and I have been doing so for years. If I don’t know the author, I will use the same technique described above to research the author/product. However, you can run into someone that doesn’t have much exposure but still has a great product, so you may not find out much about them in your research. But it is still very valuable to know that there isn’t any negative information about them floating around the net.
Remember, E-Books can be some of the best learning tools if the information is up-to-date, accurate and useful. And there are many of these types of E-Books out there; you just need to do a little research to find them. Once you find an E-Book that has proved to be useful to you, inquire with the other on an arrangement to allow you to sell the E-Book to others. The author may very well have an affiliate program where you can advertise their E-Book and make a percentage of the profit on each sale.
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Why should you protect your eBook?
With so many people beginning to realize the value in writing and creating an eBook, there comes along another kind of personÖthe eBook pirate! They, too, see the value behind eBooks and the income potential, but they also know that most eBook writers have one fatal flaw.
They don’t protect their eBooks from theft!
Imagine you are walking around town pulling a small wagon. This is no ordinary wagon, but it is a wagon filled with gold coins! Everyone notices you and wants to talk to you, take their picture with you, and so on. Most people just marvel at your boldness to walk around like you do. You had to work hard to get all these coins and you want to show them to everyone.
Well, every so often, when you don’t realize it, someone takes a handful of coins. It’s only a little at a time, so you barely even notice, and even when you do, you don’t think much of it because there’s still so much more left.
At the end of the day, to your dismay, you look back and see that only a few coins are left!! You’ve been getting ripped off all day long and, now, what you had worked so hard for is gone! To make matters worse, you see lots of other people with their own wagons, pulling along their gold coins!
This is what happens when you don’t protect your eBook. Did you know that when you write an eBook it is your copyrighted property and no one can take it legally? But people do it all the time. If you just publish your eBook in a MS Word file or even a PDF file, you are like the poor fellow and his wagon of gold. People can take info from these files and turn around and pretend it belongs to them!
Now, what if this wagon-puller had an attack dog with him that prevented people from stealing his gold? Do you think anyone in their right mind would take any? Well, a few might try, but they’d soon realize that there is no point. The pain outweighs the gain.
The same goes for eBooks. Find a way to protect your eBooks and you’ll stop getting ripped off by eBook thieves!
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Why Market ebooks?
Why market ebooks? The internet is awash with all kinds of ebooks. Ebooks about cooking, Ebooks about cleaning,child rearing, golf, cars,prescription drugs and anything else you can think of. Some are long. Hundreds of pages. Some are short. Ten pages or even less.
With all these ebooks out there surely everything has been written about every topic right?
Of course not. Even if another ebook has the same information yours does no one else has your perspective, your style, your voice. Whatever you write about, your ebook will be uniquely yours.
Only you know what you think and feel about a topic. Only you can put it together in your own special way. Your ebook is personal. It’s your take on whatever.
So why not publish a traditional paper book. Well you can. If you choose a topic the publisher is looking for. If you can muster up the minimum number of chapters the publisher requires. If you can find a publisher who thinks your writing will sell. The world of traditional publishing is not for the faint of heart or the person who thinks they might want to be a writer.
Well what about self publishing. A good choice. If you don’t mind paying for editing. Then paying for printing. Then buying a minimum number of you own book. All this is before you even start marketing.
I don’t want to give you the idea that I’m against other publishing methods. In fact, if you have written the great american novel or a great guide on how to do whatever, that meets publisher guidelines then go for it. However, if you are just the averge Joe or Jane who has some home spun wisdom to share with the world an ebook is the way to go.
The internet provides a quick, easy and cheap way to get your book out there. Your book itself. Not simply word about your book. With an ebook, after purchasing software, your only expense is marketing. No printing fees. No editing fees.
You control the length of your ebook, the layout, it’s all you. The ultimate form of self expression. Plus, you don’t have to convince a publisher how great your idea is. You are in total control. You have the first and last say on everything. Every authors dream. Your vision undiluted.
Any topic you can think of, politics, love, email marketing, why the original Star Trek is the best…anything.
So what are you waiting for. Do the research, write your ebook and market it to the world.
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Why Should You Write An eBook
The fact is that this is the perfect time to write an ebook. What the publishing industry needs are people who can tap into the world as it is today – innovative thinkers who can make the leap into the new millennium and figure out how to solve old problems in a new way. Ebook’s are a new and powerful tool for original thinkers with fresh ideas to disseminate information to the millions of people who are struggling to figure out how to do a plethora of different things.
Let’s say you already have a brilliant idea, and the knowledge to back it up that will enable you to write an exceptional ebook. You may be sitting at your computer staring at a blank screen wondering, “Why?î Why should I go through all the trouble of writing my ebook when it’s so impossible to get anything published these days?
Well, let me assure you that publishing an ebook is entirely different than publishing a book in print. Let’s look at the specifics of how the print and cyber publishing industry differ, and the many reasons why you should take the plunge and get your fingers tapping across those keyboards!
Submitting a print book to conventional publishing houses or to agents is similar to wearing a hair shirt 24/7. No matter how good your book actually is, or how many critique services and mentor writers have told you that “you’ve got what it takes,” your submitted manuscript keeps coming back to you as if it is a boomerang instead of a valuable mine of information.
Perhaps, in desperation, you’ve checked out self-publishing and found out just how expensive a venture it can be. Most “vanity presses” require minimal print runs of at least 500 copies, and even that amount will cost you thousands of dollars. Some presses’ minimal run starts at 1,000 to 2,000 copies. And that’s just for the printing and binding. Add in distribution, shipping, and promotional costs and – well, you do the math. Even if you wanted to go this route, you may not have that kind of money to risk.
Let’s say you already have an Internet business with a quality website and a quality product. An ebook is one of the most powerful ways to promote your business while educating people with the knowledge you already possess as a business owner of a specific product or service.
For example, let’s say that you’ve spent the last twenty-five years growing and training bonsai trees, and now you’re ready to share your knowledge and experience. An ebook is the perfect way to reach the largest audience of bonsai enthusiasts.
Ebook’s will not only promote your business – they will help you make a name for yourself and your company, and establish you as an expert in your field. You may even find that you have enough to say to warrant a series of ebook’s. Specific businesses are complicated and often require the different aspects to be divided in order for the reader to get the full story.
Perhaps your goals are more finely tuned in terms of the ebook scene. You may want to build a whole business around writing and publishing ebook’s. Essentially, you want to start an e-business. You are thinking of setting up a website to promote and market your ebook’s. Maybe you’re even thinking of producing an ezine.
One of the most prevalent reasons people read ebook’s is to find information about how to turn their Internet businesses into a profit-making machine. And these people are looking to the writers of ebook’s to provide them with new ideas and strategies because writers of ebook’s are usually people who understand the new cyberspace world we now live in. Ebook writers are experts in Internet marketing campaigns and the strategies of promoting and distributing ebook’s. The cyberspace community needs its ebook’s to be successful so that more and more ebook’s will be written.
You may want to create affiliate programs that will also market your ebook. Affiliates can be people or businesses worldwide that will all be working to sell your ebook’s. Think about this? Do you see a formula for success here?
Figure out what your subject matter is, and then narrow it down. Your goal is to aim for specificity. Research what’s out there already, and try to find a void that your ebook might fill.
What about an ebook about a wedding cake business? Or an ebook about caring for elderly pets? How about the fine points of collecting ancient pottery?
You don’t have to have three masters degrees to write about your subject. People need advice that is easy to read and easily understood. Parents need advice for dealing with their teenagers. College students need to learn good study skills – quickly. The possibilities are endless.
After you’ve written your ebook
Getting your ebook out is going to be your focus once you’ve finished writing it, just as it is with print books. People will hesitate to buy any book from an author they’ve never heard of. Wouldn’t you?
The answer is simple: give it away! You will see profits in the form of promoting your own business and getting your name out. You will find affiliates who will ask you to place their links within your ebook, and these affiliates will in turn go out and make your name known. Almost every single famous ebook author has started out this way.
Another powerful tool to attract people to your ebook is to make it interactive. Invent something for them to do within the book rather than just producing pages that contain static text. Let your readers fill out questionnaires, forms, even crossword puzzles geared to testing their knowledge on a particular subject. Have your readers hit a link that will allow them to recommend your book to their friends and associates. Or include an actual order form so at the end of their reading journey, they can eagerly buy your product.
When people interact with books, they become a part of the world of that book. The fact is just as true for books in print as it is for ebook’s.
That’s why ebook’s are so essential. Not only do they provide a forum for people to learn and make sense of their own thoughts, but they can also serve to promote your business at the same time.
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