Author: Wael Badawy
Advertising Ideas To Get Your Mind Bubbling
There are a couple of truths that seem to apply to many small businesses, especially ones that are also newly established. One of them is that budgets do not allow for all ideas to be implemented. Another is that advertising is necessary. A quick look over these two statements will result in a belief that they are contradictory factors of a business if they are both true. That is unfortunately a misconception held by many new business owners. As we all know the majority of new business to not make it past their second year in business.
One of the factors that can assist in the difficulties of establishing a new, small business is the belief that important money to sustain the business cannot be spent on advertising. The allocation of money to advertising usually has a very low priority in a small businesses budget. This is a mistake, advertising is necessary, but there are a number of ways that it can be done in a cost effective manner.
First on a businesses list should be the largest yellow pages ad they are able to afford. Although the phone book is an old form of advertising with the importance that the internet is taking on, this is still one of the first things potential clients do when looking for a business or product.
Other print advertising ideas can be done with newspaper advertising. Local papers can get your geographic region narrowed in on. This is especially important given that the majority of small business clients come from a 3 to 5 mile radius. Also, papers can be good because they frequently have specialized advertising sections, which will be read by just the people you want. Local business groups also create special advertising sections that can be a great advertising idea and cost effective too.
Other ideas might look into specialized magazine advertising, using vehicle graphics and using the billing and other mailing necessities you have to further promote upcoming events and specials. There are a lot of ways out there that offer advertising idea possibilities, but the one thing that must be adhered to is that you must do something.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
Advertising Gold – Extreme Benefits Extraction For E-Authors
Once a cherished project such as your first ebook or ecourse has been completed, we need to turn our attention to the marketing of your project.
Here’s where things sometimes turn somewhat difficult if the author and the marketeer are one and the same person, and here’s where we have to be cautious and take the right steps in the right order, so we might stay on track.
In order to write ANY form of marketing material for your ebook or course, you need to be completely FAMILIAR with all the benefits of your product.
Now it seems obvious that the author, of all people, SHOULD be familiar with the benefits but there is such a thing as over-familiarity, as well as having been immersed in the project for a long time and thus not seeing the proverbial forest for the trees any longer.
I was assisting just such an ebook author and absolute AUTHORITY on writing their major sales page the other day, and I was astonished that they couldn’t answer certain basic questions I put to them, such as:
“How many chapters are there in your book?”
“How many pages does your book have?”
“How many illustrations?”
“How many words?”
“What’s the ISBN?”
The answer was always something along the lines of, “Ahm … I guess I could look it up …”
Oooh!
These are the kind of “technical details” that are handled in a publishing house by “other people” – but of course, in web publishing they need to be known EXACTLY by the author, because these things comprise the “technical specifications” of the product and a prospective purchaser might well enquire or need to know up front before they make their buying decision.
But that’s just an example and in a way, it is the tip of the iceberg.
What became very apparent was that the author in question had missed out on the first step of ANY marketing analysis.
This important step, which is the core topic of this article, is ESSENTIAL to be able to write any form of advertising copy, to target the correct audiences with the correct approach and to market the product, full stop.
This first step is called “the benefits extraction”.
*** How To Do The Benefits Extraction ***
You need a printed out copy of your book or course, PLENTY of empty pieces of paper, a big pot of coffee and then, you take off your author’s hat and instead, you put on your marketing hat and go through the text, ONE PARAGRAPH AT A TIME, and “extract” ALL the benefits that could possibly accrue for the reader/user/learner AND all they come into contact with *if they follow the advice and procedures outlined* exactly.
There is a HUGE range of potential benefits that can and will be found in this process, and even before we get into the text and content itself, there’s also benefits such as:
Good sized print – easy to read for older people, avoid headaches!
Good use of white space – easy on the eye, relaxing reading
Well structured – information flow is logical, and thus easy to understand and learn
Fully indexed – things are easy to find, you can quickly get to what you need to know.
Helpful diagrams and illustrations – pictures say more than a thousand words …
… and so on.
Once you get into the content, you will notice that sometimes, a single sentence or paragraph hides a MAJOR benefit, such as:
“The SINGLE little known SECRET to all your marketing problems!” (Page 23)
Take your time and keep backing up and asking yourself over and over again, “What BENEFITS will the reader/user get from this?”
Immediately, short term, long term?
Don’t stop with things like,
“Reader will learn how to use the snarkometer …”
That’s not a benefit.
A benefit is what happens WHEN you use a snarkometer as its creator designed it to be used – so the benefit might be:
“Reader will be able to capture even well hidden, rare and elusive snarks.”
From there, you can go on to further future benefits, such as:
“Reader will become famous and rich from his snark sales.”
That’s the point, after all!
*** Sorting Out Your Benefits ***
If you do this properly, you will find HUNDREDS of benefits, big and small, and for all sorts of different applications, situations and people, and from all sorts of different angles, in ANY decent ebook or ecourse.
You will have them all written down, as they come, with the referencing page numbers on your many sheets of paper.
Now it’s time to sort them out.
Firstly, go through your list and find the MAJOR benefits that would make the best HEADLINES and major bonus lists.
As soon as you’ve got those, your advertising and marketing falls into place because now you know WHAT IT IS THAT YOU ARE SELLING!
“Deep down”, of course you knew that all along but it’s extraordinary how “deep down” this stuff often is and how hard one has to dig to get it out of the authors to bring it to the surface!
Pick out the top ten benefits and transfer them to a new sheet of paper.
Now, pick the next 20 or so which will become benefits in lists on pitch pages, or will be laid end-to-end in classifieds and sales letters.
Finally, take all the rest and sort them out in any way you want.
You might find that a particular market emerges that you hadn’t thought about before with their OWN benefits list that is quite separate from the general main benefits, and where you can then market your product accordingly.
You might well find material amongst those benefits that you can use to write articles or engage in customer “education” – explain how and why these benefits arise in separate articles so they get to appreciate what you do and how VALUABLE your product really is.
You will find ideas, headlines, tag lines, and pure advertising GOLD COPY in this benefits extraction and analysis.
And once you are done, NOW you are ready to write REAL advertisements of all kinds – and you’ll find that now you ACTUALLY KNOW what your product is from the marketer’s standpoint, you’ll also be able to SELL IT TO OTHERS.
Oh, and one more thing.
A benefits extraction is also possibly one of THE most motivational and exciting things any author or creator can do for THEMSELVES.
Yup, it’s all true. It really is THAT good, and it REALLY has all those benefits!
It’ll do the world for your self confidence AND for YOUR ability to start shouting about the amazing benefits of YOUR amazing product from the rooftops – and that in turn, leads to a whole lot more sales, more money in the bank, more joy and freedom and love all around!
So if you have not yet done your word-by-word extreme benefits extraction, go for it NOW.
It is absolutely THE FIRST STEP to ALL future marketing.
Good luck and surprise blessings,
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
Advertising – Are You Wasting Your Money?
Anybody who has a product to sell, an idea to promote or a service to offer relies on advertising to get the attention they require.
There are so many forms of advertising that finding the correct medium can sometimes be a daunting task.
Depending on the type of business, or the reason for your need for promotion you may find it easier to seek some professional advice.
Firstly you need to decide who your target market is, whether it is men or woman, older generation, younger generation, companies etc.
Secondly you need to ascertain whether your market is local, national or global. This is important, as leaflet dropping in your local supermarket car park is fine if your product or service is a local one, but if your services can be offered world wide or nationally, then you are seriously losing out on the largest percentage of your market.
Once you know who you are planning to target, and where they are, you can begin to research the how, which are the options you have available.
There is an absolute ton of free information on the internet, and if you are reading this, you must have access to it!
If you have a low budget, try doing the advertising yourself, you can knock up some great leaflets from your own pc, (providing your market is local).
Making a website has become a lot easier over the years, and if you shop around you can get some great prices on hosting packages and domain names. Try downloading a free html editor, preferably with a wysiwyg platform, (what you see is what you get), there is a wealth of information on the internet to guide you through making a simple website.
If you have a bigger budget, then consulting with one of the many advertising companies is an option. These people can advise you, and come up with some fantastic ideas, but be sure to shop around and not just go with the first company you come across. Prices will vary, and their expertise will vary also, so itís an idea to ask to see some references, or some of their projects with other clients that they have worked on.
Done correctly, and with proper research, advertising will reap rewards. It is after all one of the most important factors in any business. So I personally, would always recommend that you give this area the attention it deserves!
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
Employers – 10 Questions to ask a Recruitment Agency
If you are an Employer looking for permanent staff, using agencies can be an efficient and cost effective method of recruitment. Do your homework carefully and you can concentrate on what you do best, running your business.
Here are some example questions to ask
How will they charge? – Most agencies these days supply permanent staff on a contingency basis. This is where, you only pay the agency if you select and recruit one of their candidates. The popular term for this is ìNo placement no feeî.
What will they charge? – You need to make sure you understand how much using an agency will cost you. This is normally expressed as a percentage of first year salary. This will depend on a number of factors such as industry, location, level of role etc, but fees can often be between 10% and 30%. You might at first consider this to be rather a lot of money but just think how much its worth to you getting the right candidate with the minimum of fuss.
Is there a rebate structure? – Make sure that you agree to some form of rebate structure. Like it or not, some candidates will start a job and decide that its not for them and leave after a short time. You need to make sure that if this happens you can reclaim some of the fees paid to Recruitment Agency. This is normally done via a rebate structure. A typical example of this would be
If they leave within 4 weeks 80% of fees paid are refunded
If they leave within 8 weeks 50% of fees paid are refunded
If they leave within 12 weeks 20% of fees paid are refunded
However these scales vary between agencies. It is also becoming more common in competitive areas to see 100% refunds if the candidate leaves within 12 weeks.
What is their CV policy? – You need to make sure that they are going to make things easier for you and not just send through dozens of CVís that they have on their books, just on the off chance. Most reputable agencies will have a definite policy on this and be able to give you an idea of the number and quality of CVís in advance.
Any Client testimonials? – This is to help you ensure that you are dealing with the right agency. You donít want to have to spend a lot of time explaining to them what your company does or how they do it etc etc. The best way to avoid this is make sure that they have satisfied clients in similar business to your own. This will also give you an idea of how experienced the agencies and their consultants are in your business area.
How many agencies should I appoint? – It is a good idea to have a small number of agencies working for you as long as they are all on a contingency basis. This way you maximise your exposure to potential candidates while not spending all your working day dealing with agencies. A good idea is to start with 3 to 5 of them & see how it works out. You can always add more if you need to later.
What about a specialist agency? – Where possible you should consider industry specific agencies this if possible. Although they may charge more in fees this may be offset by the fact that they will probably be able to advise you more knowledgably about the type of candidates available, market salary rates etc.
Are there any trade bodies? – A number of agencies are members of the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation), which represents the industry within the UK. You should try to confirm that they are members and that they conform to their code of conduct.
Will they do Candidate referencing? – You should check to confirm that the agency you plan to use both will confirm the identity of the candidates they send you but also if required can take up their references on your behalf.
And finally
Any other useful facilities?
Do you have an interview suite? – very useful facility as it means that you can interview prospective candidates at their offices.
Do you offer Psychometric testing / ability testing?
Can you provide salary survey information? – This enables you to offer the candidates a realistic salary
Remember, recruitment agencies can charge you quite a lot of money so make sure that they are working for you!
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
dvertise to millions -#6- Multiple marketing techniques.
Introduction:
This is a series of articles about marketing and advertising. There are different ways you can reach an audience of millions of individuals all around the world. I show you on this series how to implement profitable strategies in your marketing career.
It has been said that “what matters is not what you sell but how you promote it.” So, the secret to success lays within your marketing techniques. That’s why it is very important for business owners to develop skills which allow them to increase the sales of their products.
One of the most important skills you must have is the ability to reach a lot of people quickly. To do this you need to realize how powerful media is an how it can drastically increase your revenues.
– Newspaper ads –
Americans read their newspapers a lot, that’s a fact. Check the statistics and you will realize that the newspaper have always being a good place to advertise. Depending on the kind of products or services that you sell you could use the American’s newspapers to generate new sources of income for your business.
It doesn’t matter whether you live in the USA or not. For example if you own an international e-business this could bring you good profits. I think this is another way you can diversify your marketing strategies.
There is a website called Nationwide Newspapers https://www.nationwideadvertising.com/, which allow you to post your ad in thousands and even millions of papers all around the country for a low fee. Imagine how much publicity you can get from that! You choose your budget and everything. They have different advertising packages to suit different business needs.
Whatever you choose to market, always use powerful phrases in your messages. The most effective ads are brief but they have the ability to act upon the feelings of the readers. Motivate them, intrigue them, make them feel the heat. Always remember that short phrases with a strong emotional impact are the most effective ones.
– Highway billboards –
If you want to advertise outdoor some companies may help you with this project like for example https://www.billboard-ads.com/. Keep in mind that this is an expensive type of advertisement. To rent an ad space on a well populated area will usually cost you a few thousand dollars per month.
On the other hand, I think the best choice you have is to buy a piece of land in or near a mayor highway and set everything up by yourself. Learn about the laws and regulations in your specific state. Probably the most important agency you will have to contact is your state Department of Transportation.
Visit https://www.tdot.state.tn.us/links.htm to find your state agency. They can give you specific information about this subject. Basically you will have to fill out an application where you affirm that you own the land where the billboard will be placed and you will pay an annual fee which may range from $100 to $500 depending on the state you live. To have someone design and create the ad for you will cost you $1,000 to $3,000. That’s a one time fee you will pay.
How much publicity can you get from this? A lot! But it all depends on your ad’s location. If your ad is next to a highway with a high traffic volume, let’s say that on average 45,000 different drivers travels through said highway everyday, then there will be more than a million individuals watching it every month.
That’s a lot, but to be honest with you, this kind of advertisement works better for local businesses like nearby restaurants or real estate Companies than for other kinds of businesses. Also transnational corporations with a large advertising budget, which would like to build reputation would want to have many billboard ads across the nation.
Small business owners usually prefer to market their products using other less expensive techniques. Anyway, I included this information here because I thought some of you would like to read about it. After all this is another way you can reach a vast amount of individuals in an everyday basis.
– TV Commercials –
To advertise on television will have a powerful impact on your business revenues. Different factors will determine how much this marketing strategy will cost you. For example the price vary depending on the channels you choose, how often you will advertise, etc.
There are some Companies which can help you reach your clients easily. I think the two most popular are https://www.nationaltvspots.com/ and https://www.metromarkcorp.com/. In National TV Spots some marketing packages start as low as $26 for a 30 seconds spot. This is other way to diversify your marketing techniques.
– Magazine Ads –
You can advertise on magazines and save up to 80% off the regular price. There is a company called Media Bids – https://www.mediabids.com, which allow you to meet other marketers as well as to choose among different marketing packages available. The service is free. You only pay for an ad if you choose to make a purchase.
As you can see, these techniques can increase your exposure and help you get more clients. You can read about other effective marketing techniques from my other articles on this series.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
Advertising: Laying Your Cards on the Table
Successful marketing is not really measured in how many customers you were able to sell today. To be really able to say that you have a great marketing strategy is to be able to know that your customers were happy and satisfied with their purchase and that they were able to get their moneyís worth.
There was a time in history when advertising was overstated. This was during the time when advertising was still new and only few people were aware of it. All business owners have to do is make up some claims and hopefully many people will be attracted to buy their products. But today, this strategy doesnít work anymore. People are much wiser these days when buying products and availing of services. They know that when a certain marketing material is exaggerated it has hidden flaws and faults. Competition is also stiff that is why business owners would rather put sincere advertising in their materials than risk losing their customers and their business.
So when businesses need to promote something these days they make sure that it contains good content, design and of course honest advertising. Customers are fussier these days. They make sure that they get their dollarís worth for whatever product they buy. So letís say you want to advertise your new products through posters. It is important to not only put a lot of attention to the design but to the content as well. What you put in your poster will reflect not only your business and product but who you really are. If you are able to convey a sincere and professional impression to your target customers then they might continue buying your products and even refer you to their friends and colleagues.
In addition to honesty in your contents, you can also add humor to it. People never fail to recognize a good laugh when they see one. It is always pleasing for people to read funny and lighthearted materials. Consequently, they would never look at your poster as an advertisement; rather they would be encouraged to see what is it that you have to offer.
Remember that your business image is priceless so you have to maintain and preserve it at all times. And keep in mind that the success of your business will most likely depend on how you project your image to your prospects. So be very careful in what you write in your advertisements. Write and edit them with utmost regard for honesty, bluntness and common sense.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
You have Successfully Subscribed!