Almost everyone who dreams of starting their own business is familiar with the fact that they should create a business plan. However, often that’s where many people stop. When you created your business plan, what did you do with it? You actually have the base for the next step, which is creating your marketing plan. Without the plan of how you are going to market your business, the business plan is just an empty jumble of words speaking of dreams and desires. The marketing plan takes those dreams and creates a strategy for how to make those dreams come true.

There are several different suggestions on how to put a marketing plan together, but all plans have at least seven or eight steps. These steps include preparing a mission statement, describing the services provided, identify and understand the competition, spell out the marketing objectives and strategies, create the action plan, and create a monitoring strategy in order to determine what works and what doesn’t.

Prepare a mission statement

The mission statement should clearly and succinctly describe the nature of your business, services offered, and markets served in just a few sentences. A mission statement is a statement of who you are and what you stand for. It answers the question of why you are in business. Although there are many, many different theories on what makes a good mission statement, here is a site of various examples; http://www.csuchico.edu/mgmt/strategy/module1/sld015.htm

List your ideal client

I cannot emphasize this enough. You have to know who your ideal client is, and what their issues are, extremely finitely in order to speak to them. You have to visually be able to see them in front of you and know what makes them tick. Be very specific in identifying your ideal client. Include age, sex, income, education, occupation, geographic region, lifestyle, attitudes, purchasing characteristics, etc. What are their values, what do they like to do. Really get clear who this person is.

Describe your services

Imagine everything you want to do, either currently or in the future. It’s ok if you haven’t done it before: If it’s a dream that you provide in-home cooking demonstrations, include that in your list. You will later determine how to make it happen. Include all details of what you offer, where and for how much. Determine what your prices must be to cover your costs. Don’t leave anything out even if you’re not sure it’s something you want to do this year.

Who is your competition?

In order to know how to position yourself from your competition, you must know who your competition is. Do some research and determine what your competition offers, how they promote, what they charge for services, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Don’t rush through this section. Make phone calls, check the internet, and ask people you know. Feel free to call the people you find and ask questions. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, ask a family member or friend to do it.

Marketing objectives and strategies

Marketing objectives will indicate targets to be achieved across several marketing decision areas. Examples could include such things as what products/services you wish to offer, who you plan to offer them to, how you plan to make your services known, your promotional objectives, etc. Objectives should be clear, measurable, and have a stated time frame for achievement. Objectives included should include both marketing objectives and financial objectives.

Get very specific with your objectives, such as how many clients will you have by what date, how much revenue you will bring in by what date, and exactly where these new clients will come from. Who will you include your marketing to? For financial objectives, you need to be clear about what growth percentage you expect and how you will achieve that growth.

Marketing strategy

This is your game plan to achieve your marketing objectives. You are now getting into the nitty-gritty. This is where it’s time to play and play big! The marketing strategy should include information about your product, your price, how you will promote or create awareness of your product or services, and how you will distribute that information.

Examples of basic marketing strategies include networking, brochures, ads in newspapers, various programs or presentations, press releases, to just name a few. Some may cost you a great deal, but there are many marketing strategies that cost you very little or just your time. Gauge what your time is worth and how busy you are to determine how much of these strategies you will do on your own. You will further determine this by the next step, however.

When a strategy works, repeat it. If it fails, and you did it right, drop it. Learning to develop strategies that work for your particular situation and personality will take time and practice.

Create the action plan

Once the objectives and strategies have been developed, put together an action plan describing the steps that need to be taken in detail. This is your actual game plan for how you will accomplish all that you have written about in your business plan and previously in the marketing plan. It will include what the specific objective is, exactly what and when the steps will be taken, what results you expect to see, the marketing tactics you will employ and so on. This will be your template for your marketing calendar that you will create in the following step to creating your business.

Monitor results

By monitoring results, you can determine which of your strategies are working and which are not. Identify strategies that generate increased business. This involves tracking and evaluating clients’ responses to each marketing strategy. Conduct regular surveys in order to find out what clients like and don’t like.

Client comments are invaluable for creating or enhancing your market literature. With permission, these comments can be used as testimonials.

Creating a marketing plan is not something enough people take the time to work on. I have found this to be the hardest part for anyone in small business and have had to spend many hours, myself, struggling over some of these answers. I can’t emphasize how important it is to do this work, however. Skipping this step can mean the difference between success or failure. Many people who start a small business are aware of creating a business plan, and stop at the stage of the small market plan topics listed in the business plan. However, the business plan is just the first step. The marketing plan is not the final step, either! This document is the template for creating your marketing calendar that will set your projects in motion for the year. You are creating your future with the marketing plan, and then watching that future become reality with your marketing calendar.

Marjorie Geiser is a registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and life coach. Marjorie has been the owner of a successful small business, MEG Fitness, since 1996, and now helps other health professionals start up their own private practice. To learn more about the services Margie offers, go to her website at http://www.marjoriegeiser.com or email her at margie@megfit.com.

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They say advertising is excessive: it interrupts TV series, preceding movie shows and dominating music award ceremonies. Some even lament that advertising not only occupies the media, but is also present everywhere else; the latest music editor softwares could be seen at bus shelters, and online VoIP products pictured in public telephone booths. It is irrelevant and disruptive.

If you agree with my last sentence above, continue reading. You might decide to change your mind.

First of all, I don’t think advertisers occupy the media. As a matter of fact, it is the media that courts companies, maybe except for over-popular shows. TV stations need funds to run your favorite programs, and radio broadcasts have to pay for the Music on Demand. It boils down to us consumers: we demand, and the media provides, at a price of course.

Ah, you might now argue that it is the advertisers who flock to the media and pay for available ad space. True! But how many time slots are so coveted over? Shows like the Super Bowl Football are rare. Other less endowed channels, in fact, have some hard time securing long-term ad contracts to be financially sufficient. It is thus fair to conclude that advertisers and the media, and us, are in a multilateral relationship.

Besides its commercial relevance, there is more to this misunderstood industry that we often miss out on, like how advertisements might effect cultural understanding, especially in this globalizing world of business. HSBC features newspaper ads of cultural differences across countries. FedEx has their TV ads filmed in Japan, showing the way Japanese people live and work. And I actually learned from a MasterCard ad that in India, people release white doves for luck. Interesting, isn’t it?

In addition, informative ads feed useful information to our preoccupied minds. Public service messages could be conveyed effectively through ad-works on air. And people get to know the latest products available on market during review hours. I mean, it would be a pity if we work so hard to produce all these commodities just to, in the end, know nothing of them. And because we work so hard, we could hardly afford to find out about what’s going on ourselves. Informative ads keep our society functioning as it is meant to.

But most of all, advertisers are creative (e-mails are not advertisements; they are spam). The appealing advertisements that crack you up or hook your eyes for the hundredth time take much more than the 30 seconds of airtime. Creativity, and the resulted attention, increases sales, and the advertising environment is so competitive nowadays it truly stimulates the human edge of creativity and nurtures it to flourish. Advertising signifies the human drive to succeed.

To me, what makes modern advertising desirable, besides bridging cultural gap, informing the populace or generating new ideas, is that it empowers every individual possible. It no longer takes an established firm to put up an ad. Any one anywhere can promote their ideas, products and even themselves through the thriving medium of the internet. 15-year-olds can now economically design and effect ads to promote their companies (yes, don’t look down on these young entrepreneurs). Any one could adopt different voices using voice changer softwares, and edit audio as well as video ads with the many music editor softwares and video editor softwares available. Because advertising could so omnipotently enable far-reaching creativity of expressions, it is relevant to our human society that values progressing thoughts and selective reception of ideas.

The staunchest critics of advertising might ask, what would be the future of advertising, now when people are able to get rid of the commercials. MythTV offers a plug-in that automatically filters out commercials during recording, whereas video editor softwares allow you to freely cut out unwanted ads from pre-recorded clips. Yes, people are actually paying to be free of advertisements.

But hey, think again! Advertising is not that inconsiderate. Have you ever listened to radio broadcasts so excessively loaded with audio commercials it’s impossible to follow? And advertising might be excessive and disruptive, but I suppose only to a minority few. In fact, like I have said, informative ads are actually desirable. Don’t you or your children feel excluded if you are not aware of the new iPod, or the latest music editor gadgets?

Trust the media. They are doing their work. Isn’t Google putting into place keyword-related ads to better suit your preference? Trust the authority, too. They approve all circulating ads, or at least those we often see. And most of all, trust the advertisers. We are mutually dependent; we need them for our TV shows, and they need our money votes.

Josh Nowell is a Media Morpher writer keen on advertising trends. He could be contacted at media@audio4fun.com

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I enjoyed some much needed rest, relaxation and time away from my business over the past few weeks and once again I found myself inspired and full of insights. That alone is a great argument for taking frequent breaks or vacations. Something many solo-professionals and entrepreneurs DON’T make the time for. I can relate … my office is in my home and I love my work. And, because I never seem to have a shortage of new ideas, there is always plenty of work to be done.

But as I look back over the past year, I can see that many times I have been working too hard. Almost forcing success to happen. Even though I know better. When I sit back and ALLOW success to come to me, the path is much easier.

So what does this have to do with marketing results?

Well, for the most part, I think many people are simply trying too hard. When instead, they could answer a few questions, create a plan, put that plan into action, and then let the results be their guide. Instead, what most of us do is try something without giving it too much forethought, and when it doesn’t result in an instant home run, we give up and move on and try something else.

Following are some steps you can take to get better results from your marketing more quickly so you can get that new business up and running, or take your existing business to the next level with the least amount of struggle.

1) Decide what you want to achieve.

Call it goal setting or visioning or whatever you want. The bottom-line is if you don’t know specifically what results you want to achieve, you’re going to struggle and get frustrated.

Deciding what you want, and writing it down has a way of grounding all of your actions. It helps you determine what to do to get there. Yes, it’s simple, but it’s still THE most effective way to create success.

2) Determine how much you are willing to spend on marketing.

The other day a client emailed me uncertain whether she should pay to post a press release online to promote an upcoming teleclass.

My response to her was two-fold: First, I asked her if it supports her goals for the year. If she pays to post this press release, will the potential results move her closer to achieving her overall goals?

Second, does the cost fit within her overall marketing budget for the year? If the answer to both questions is “yes” then she should pay to post the press release online. If the answer to either question is “no” then she should reconsider. Yes, it’s that simple.

3) Identify your most probable clients.

When you know WHO you are trying to reach, it’s pretty easy to determine whether or not you should be using certain marketing avenues. You decide what to do by how likely that marketing activity is to reach your ideal clients.

Not sure which magazines to advertise in? Find out who the magazines reach. Contact the advertising sales department and request a media kit. Carefully review the circulation data. If it reaches primarily your ideal clients, and it’s within your marketing budget, advertise. If not, don’t.

4) Identify marketing avenues that will put your message in front of them.

Clients frequently ask me “what’s the best way to market an __________ business? (fill in whatever kind of business you want). While there are some general rules, there is no hard and fast answer.

You must identify all the possible ways you can reach your ideal clients. Then pick the ones that best reach them at the lowest cost. Choose as many marketing avenues as your budget will allow. And, be sure to do each of them consistently over a minimum of 3-6 months (one-shot marketing rarely works). If you’re wondering if you should market online using pay-per-click ads or article marketing, ask yourself, is my product or service something my ideal clients search for online? If so, online marketing makes sense.

However, as one of my clients recently lamented, she spent an entire year spending a lot of time, energy and money on Internet marketing, only to realize that her audience doesn’t use the Internet to find her type of services. No wonder she wasn’t getting the results she wanted.

Know your product or service. Know how your ideal clients search for information on it, and be sure your marketing is THERE. If you are unsure, do some informal research. Call and talk to past clients. Do a quick survey. Knowing this information helps you make marketing choices that will get the quickest results, and will keep you from wasting money on marketing that is destined to fail.

5) Select the marketing avenues that best reach your audience and that are within your budget.

For any given audience, product or service, there are a variety of ways to market, at a variety of price-points. Your job as a business owner is to select a mix of marketing activities that will reach your ideal clients repeatedly over time, within the budget you have available.

The first year I launched my company, I spent very little on marketing, because I simply didn’t have the budget. So I focused on public relations, article marketing, email marketing and relationship marketing, which for the most part only required my time. Because back then I had more time than money.

I went from zero web presence to tens of thousands of references and links to my online business in less than a year. I also received national media exposure. All through consistent, concentrated free marketing efforts.

Now that I have more budget and less time, I utilize marketing avenues like paid press release postings and pay-per-click advertising. Yes, they cost, but they also generate broader, quicker results.

Both strategies yield great results as long as I implement them with focused, consistent efforts.

6) Put your marketing to the test.

By far, the quickest path to success is through testing. If you are currently doing marketing and you are not tracking your results, you could be wasting valuable time and money. When you choose marketing avenues that you can test, you know immediately whether or not they are working. And you can constantly fine-tune them to make them work even harder.

For example, when I introduce a new product, I test it for at least a month to determine if there really is a market for it (does anyone buy?).

I test to determine the best price (you may be surprised that sometimes a higher sales price generates more sales). I test my marketing, including headlines, copy, graphics, offers, bonuses, etc. And only when I know what gets results, do I roll it out. If something doesn’t sell well, I don’t spend any more time or energy on it. I use what I’ve learned and move on to test a new idea.

If you feel like you’re hitting your head against the wall to get anyone to buy your product or service, it’s time to re-evaluate what you are selling and how you are marketing it. Test all elements and if it still doesn’t sell, move on!

7) Fine-tune based on your results.

When you test, you are able to constantly improve your results. If something doesn’t work, try something else. Test different marketing strategies against each other to see which ones works best for your product or service and your audience.

For example, when I run pay-per-click ads, I always run two ads at one time. I test different copy to see what generates the highest number of clicks and sales.

And I retire the least-performing ads each week and replace them with new ads. In this way, I am constantly improving my results. And when you fine-tune every week, you can increase your results very quickly.

Keep doing what works.

If you find something that works, keep doing it. Remember that you will tire of it faster than your audience will. Continue to track your results and stick with it until your results start to diminish. And when that happens, move quickly to test something else.

There is no glory in going down with a sinking ship!

9) Stop doing what isn’t working.

We can’t always know what is going to work. Sometimes we try things and we are confident they will work, and then they don’t. Sometimes we don’t even understand why.

Often, our pride prevents us from admitting that it just didn’t fly. Push your pride aside … don’t take it personally … and move on. The quicker you stop wasting time on what isn’t working, the sooner you can begin testing new products, services, and marketing to find out what will work.

10) Don’t over-think any of this – trust your gut and follow your instincts!

When all is said and done, pay attention to that little voice inside. Sometimes, we want something to work so badly, that we look for all the rationale reasons and research to justify it. When if we had just listened to that little voice we would have moved on long ago.

Don’t take your business personally. Know when to stick and when to quit . Give things time to work, but when your gut says its time to give up, don’t delay. Move on and you’ll expedite your path to success!

© Copyright 2009 Debbie LaChusa

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Everyone needs to be advertised. No matter what type of business you are running and wherever you may be based in, you would still need to have yourself advertised if you want to build a solid client base from which you derive your earnings. Advertisement is responsible for getting you the necessary clients that will make or break the success of your business endeavors.

Construction businesses are not an exception. Construction businesses need clients badly. Without clients, there won’t be anyone that will avail of a contractor’s business to create their buildings and other structures. There are big fishes available for construction contractors. These businesses have to reach out to these “fishes” before they can make use of them to earn money, though.

That is where commercial advertising comes in. Investing in these advertisements give construction businesses the edge they need to make it through the very competitive world of modern business. Commercial advertising can be done in many ways, and these include:

TV Commercials. TV commercials are useful for capturing the attention of a certain demographic group. This is because TV is a widely used instrument both for entertainment and for information. People watch TV most of the time, especially to catch the latest news. TV ads, when inserted at the right time, can be very effective.

Newspaper Advertising. Newspapers are unappreciated venues for advertising. Just because newspaper ads run on small spaces – depending on how much the advertiser is willing to pay the newspaper for running their ads – they can still attract the eyes of those that read newspapers from time to time. Just like television ads, newspaper ads can do several wonders to your business if placed in the right place at the right day.

Outdoor Advertising. Next to television ads, outdoor advertising is one of those effective modes of advertisement that is available for everyone. One advantage of outdoor advertisements is constant exposure. Unlike TV and newspaper ads, outdoor advertisements like billboards and banners can be seen the whole time without any specific time restrictions. Who’d want to take down billboards and banners every hour to replace it with another advert? No one would want to do that, obviously. As long as you position your outdoor advertisements strategically, you can be sure that it can attract the attention of anyone, no matter how old or what their profession can be.

Out of all three, outdoor advertising is the most recommended as well as the preferred mode of advertising for any business in this world. You can see now effective outdoor advertisements really are. They are like untiring salesmen; they knock on doors all the time, and no one can refuse them. Even those that are not interested in your product can see these advertisements each time they go to work, to drive the kids to school, or simply pass by your advertisements. There’s no denying what a billboard or a banner can do; you just need to be able to take advantage of that for the sake of promoting your business.

Do you need help for commercial advertising Australia? Visit Adphence for more information.

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Successful marketers play the marketing game to win. Struggling marketers play the marketing game trying not to lose.

Marketing is really just a game. And successful small business marketers play the game to win. Now that doesn’t mean they are necessarily the best marketers. It’s just that they are typically more clear in their purpose and intent in marketing their business.

Struggling small businesses play the marketing game just hoping not to lose.

• They don’t want to lose money.
• They don’t want to lose credibility with clients and potential clients.
• They apparently don’t want to lose precious time because they don’t use it for proactive marketing.

Playing a game not to lose is an entirely different mindset than playing a game to win. But, it’s exactly the attitude and mindset that way too many small businesses take into their marketing. Because they’re not experts at marketing, they tend to just dabble in marketing when they desperately need new business and hope it doesn’t cost them too much.

The primary concern of struggling small business marketers is just trying to survive the rough times and until things turn around. You end up just trying to do enough to get a few more clients and then just praying that the current slow down will end soon.

Because struggling small business marketers are just trying not to lose, they also fall prey to “just trying to keep up with the Jones.” You’ll know this is happening to you when your approach to marketing is watching what your competitors are doing and then just trying to do them one better.

Be careful. It often ends up being the blind following the blind. Because you see them spending time, money and effort on some tactic you assume it must be working. So naturally, you need to spend some time, money and effort as well just to keep up. What you don’t know is that they’re also a struggling small business marketer that is just trying not to lose.

What is your marketing mindset? What is your purpose and intent when it comes to marketing your business? Are you playing the marketing game to win or simply trying not to lose?

Successful small business marketers win because they think, and therefore act differently than struggling marketers. It is not because they are more creative, smarter, or better at what they do for a living. They expect to win and intend for their marketing to result in a flow of high-quality prospects. The good news is that you can choose to think, and therefore act differently to start playing the game to win.

So what is it that makes successful small businesses winners at the game of marketing? Let me offer a few suggestions:

* Successful marketers are great students of the game. They understand the rules and how to apply the proven principles of marketing in their business. They are always paying attention to what works and what doesn’t work as well as looking for little ways to improve their game.

Think about professional athletes such as Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. There’s no doubt that these guys are tremendous athletes. But, what put them at the top of their games is that they are huge students of their game. It’s not just the hours and hours of practicing, but also the commitment to studying and learning that creates a winner.

* Struggling small businesses resist learning about the game of marketing. They don’t invest the time or effort to learn what it is they don’t know to better market their business. They’re content to tell themselves and others that “I’m just not good at marketing.”

* Successful marketers are clear about the purpose and intent of all their marketing efforts. You’ve certainly heard the popular sentiment of beginning with the end in mind. As it pertains to marketing, that means being clear on what your most desired outcome is for any effort.

When you’re clear about what outcome or result you want to produce, you’re more likely to get it. It might be getting your target audience to request more information or to add subscribers to your email newsletter list. Knowing what you are trying to get helps you better define the steps it takes to make it happen.

* Struggling marketers tend to develop marketing without any sort of clearly defined most desired result. Too many small businesses vaguely define their desired outcome as creating more name recognition or letting people know what services they provide. How do you possibly measure something like that?

* Successful small business marketers believe in the value of preparation. Effective small business marketing is about 90% preparation and about 10% application. Successful small business marketers understand that, and that is a big reason they win more often.

* Far too often, struggling marketers rush into doing things without adequately planning and preparing. They mistake activity for forward progress, but it is actually all the activity without thinking and planning that holds them back.

While planning and preparing is important, you don’t want to get paralyzed by the planning process. Successful marketers do make a commitment to planning, but they aren’t afraid to make things ‘good enough’ and then put it out there. Because they understand that marketing is a game, they’re willing to risk failing every now and again in order to win in the long run.

Here’s the bottom line: If your goal is to not lose, then don’t expect to win at the game of marketing consistently. But, if your goal is to win and to win consistently, then chance are you won’t have to worry about losing things like your time, money, credibility, or integrity.

Marketing is just a big game, so play the game to win!

About the Author:

Kevin Dervin is focused on helping small businesses and self-employed professionals who are tired of struggling to attract more great clients consistently! Find more FREE articles and resources at http://www.MarketingActionClub.com

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The word of mouth begins and ends with people, in fact your customers. Your customers will talk good or bad. But, you definitely want the talk to be good and your satisfied customers generate a good talk. So, what all you can do to have the good talk flowing? Let’s explore the factors.

Factors Catalyzing Positive Word Of Mouth Marketing

The word of mouth plan: Whatever plan you adopt for generating a word of mouth, should be well drafted. It is very important to pilot test your plan so that in case it is against your business interest, it may be dropped then and there without it reaching your customers at large.

Transparency: Your business motive, your products, and your customer service all have to be honest and genuine. Because its credibility works in the word of mouth marketing. Have a transparent business attitude with your customers. Honor them. After all, they are the force for keeping you in business.

Incentives: When announcing any referral scheme, be very transparent in your approach and lay down the rules and regulations clearly. You must not resort to any hidden move. Any undeclared condition will disgust your customers. They may go away never to come back.

Accountability: You should have proper system of controlling. Every person involved at your end in the word of mouth marketing should have a specific role to play and he or she will be accountable for any deviations from his or her expected roles.

Involve customers: Involve your customers in your business by seeking their advice in designing your products and services. Customers can also guide you in elevating the quality of your products and services in line with the needs and desires of the target markets. Enlighten your customers about your forthcoming products and services, the utilization of your offerings, maintenance, annual maintenance contract, etc.

Endorsements: Nothing works like positive endorsement from your customers. If you hear customers talking favorably about your offerings, you may use these testimonials in your advertisements. Of course, after the customer’s permission and maintain the testimonial document for any future reference.

Distribution channel: Your distribution channel plays a crucial role in building your reputation. Enlighten and encourage your channel to talk about you in good light. They are actually potential influence vis-à-vis a purchase decision by a customer.

Building a word of mouth is a serious and not-so-easy exercise. Every minute detail about your business is to be taken care of. Even a slightly wrong move may cost you fortunes. So, be right, serve right, price it right and your customers will talk right about you.

If you’re a DIY-er, you’ll need a good air compressor. Read air compressor reviews on our site to find a great compressor.

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Years ago I learned a simple yet powerful marketing secret: You must become so convinced of the benefits of your product or service that you feel you’d be unjustly depriving people by not doing everything in your power to get the word out.

I was infected by this attitude from Jay Abraham. Jay has an absolutely brilliant way of thinking about marketing. For example, if you’re an accountant, and you’re skilled at saving people money on their taxes, Jay might ask how much you save your average client. Say it’s $500 per year. And then Jay would ask how much you charge. Say it’s $200. Then Jay might take you through a conversation like this:

Jay: So it’s costing people a net $300 per year not to do business with you.

You: Yes, that’s fair to say.

Jay: How long does your typical client stay with you?

You: About three years.

Jay: So that’s a total of $900 then. People are effectively being charged $900 not to work with you, $900 they would have otherwise been able to keep.

You: Alright.

Jay: So if you meet someone and don’t tell them about your service, you’ve just cost them $900.

You: Hmmm…

Jay: You have a duty then to share this knowledge; to do otherwise would be irresponsible.

You: That’s a strange way to think about it.

Jay: What’s strange about it? If you have the ability to save people $900, then you’re costing everyone $900 they could have saved whenever you don’t tell someone about your service. Don’t you have a moral obligation to save people this $900 if you can do it? Wouldn’t it be unethical not to do it?

You: How is it unethical?

Jay: You’re cheating people out of $900 you could have saved them. All you had to do was speak up – or at least try. What might that $900 mean to certain people? You’d be costing people a great deal of additional enjoyment, education, retirement income, vacations, etc. I consider that kind of negligent behavior unethical. Don’t you?

You: I just never thought about it that way before.

Jay: Start thinking about it that way then.

In other words, if the product or service you provide is truly of benefit to others, then marketing becomes a duty. Not spreading the word is irresponsible and unethical.

Of course, the opposite is also true. If you have a product or service with no real benefit, then to actively market it would be irresponsible as well. If deep down you have doubts as to whether what you’re providing is of real value, you’ll probably sabotage yourself in your marketing efforts. I see this all the time among small business owners — they often don’t believe enough in their products to aggressively market them. So they hold back and fill their days with non-marketing activities instead. Doing too much marketing makes them feel uncomfortable.

I’m not advocating trying to fool yourself into believing in your product/service when you don’t. I’m suggesting you consult your conscience to see what you already believe. If you run your own business and don’t market it very well (a common situation), is it possible you don’t really believe in the benefits you provide? Or if you feel you’re ready for a better job but don’t go out and apply for one, could it be that you secretly feel the potential employer would be better off hiring someone else?

How well do you market yourself in other areas? Do you hold back from pursuing new friendships or relationships because you don’t believe enough in the benefits that others would experience from your companionship? What would happen if you truly believed in the benefits you can provide?

When you find your conscience is holding you back from effective marketing, don’t try to squash that inner voice. Listen to it. Hear what it has to say. Are your products just wasting people’s time? Are your services pointless? Would an employer be better off hiring someone other than you? Would a friend be better off without you in their life?

Your conscience can point you in the direction of greater internal congruence, allowing you to market yourself very naturally and eagerly. Sometimes this involves recognizing the genuine benefit that’s already there, such as with the accountant example at the beginning of this article. But other times it requires changing the offering to create a new benefit that really matters to you.

When I started StevePavlina.com, I had to remember this powerful lesson: marketing must align with conscience. I can tell I’m congruent in this area when I’m eager to do marketing work instead of wanting to put it off. If I feel a desire to procrastinate on marketing, I know something is wrong. So I run through one of those imaginary Jay Abraham conversations in my mind to see where I stand. What is the real benefit I’m providing? How can I quantify it? What will I be costing people if I don’t market to them? Why do I have an ethical duty to market this information?

Be careful not to confuse this with vanity, which is self-directed. This type of motivation is directed outward. It’s not about telling yourself how great you are. It’s recognizing what you can do for others that really, truly benefits them. If I think about myself being a great writer or speaker, that isn’t going to help my marketing. In fact, it will likely hurt me by injecting too much ego into the message. But if I think about what real benefit I can offer someone, that is very motivating. My understanding of this benefit must be rooted in the facts, not on a fictionalized exaggeration. Recognize and acknowledge the real, down-to-earth benefits and what they can actually do for people. And if the benefits are too weak to give you the feeling that marketing is an ethical duty, then stop your practice of junk marketing, and listen to what your conscience has been trying to tell you all along.

What kind of product or service do you feel you really should be marketing and selling? What skills do you need to develop that would make you an intelligent choice for your preferred employer to hire? What do you need to change in yourself to make it genuinely beneficial for others to befriend you?

By creating and acknowledging the real benefit that you actually believe in, you accomplish two things. First, your feeling of certainty will move you to action. You’ll become driven to market yourself, your product, or your service because that’s the right thing to do. Secondly, you’ll actually be providing something of value that genuinely helps others. And together these two results will create a positive feedback loop where the more aggressively you market and sell, the more people you help, and the more certain you become that you’re doing the right thing.

Acknowledge the real benefit you provide. Don’t fall into the ego trap by exaggerating your impact, but don’t minimize or deny the positive benefits either. Find the truth of the situation. Is your conscience congruently committed to the belief that you’re marketing something of real value, or have you been lying to yourself? And if it’s the latter, how can you correct it?

When your marketing message is congruent with your conscience, your motivation for promotion won’t be restrained by hesitation. When you believe that marketing is simply the right thing to do, you’ll do it eagerly, not for your own gratification but because you know you’re genuinely helping people.

Copyright © Steve Pavlina

Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People
http://www.stevepavlina.com
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog (blog)
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles (articles)

Steve is intensely growth-oriented. He trained in martial arts, ran the L.A. Marathon, and graduated from college in three semesters with two degrees. He can juggle, count cards at blackjack, and make damn good guacamole. Steve is also a polyphasic sleeper, sleeping just 2-3 hours per day and only 20 minutes at a time. So chances are good that he’s awake right now.

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Choosing the right type of advertisement is finding the advertisement that gains the highest rate of exposure. Exposure is critical for everyone. Exposure equals sales and higher profits. To the business minded professional, this is “must” if they want to continue to stay in business and keep a strong financially sound company.

In the business world, advertising is a large expenditure. Usually the type of advertisement based upon the financial budget. Many choose the least expensive advertising without thinking of the exposure of the advertising. Inexpensive advertising limits high exposure. Price does not always mean it is the best deal. The quest is to find advertisement with high exposure for a reasonable fee.

There are various ways to advertise. The typical forms of advertisement are newspapers or magazines. Unless these items are purchased, the exposure is quite limited. The exposure of these items based on circulation and demands of subscribers. Not everyone reads the newspaper or the magazine where the advertisement is placed. Due to the ease of internet and on-line readers, the subscriptions have been drastically lowered over the years. Thus, advertising by newspapers or magazines is not as beneficial or profitable.

Billboards are another form of advertisement, yet the cost outweighs the actual benefit of the message being portrayed. The cost of billboard adverting is expensive. The exposure is limited to the area of the billboard. With the limited amount of exposure, the advertising on billboards is also not beneficial or profitable.

Ads placed on taxicabs or the sides of buses are another form of advertisement. This also is limited to the areas of the vehicles. Limiting the exposure of the advertisements gets lost due to the selected region of travel.

So what is the other option to obtain maximum exposure?

Aerial banner advertising.

Aerial banner advertising is a very advantageous. The aerial banner advertising has higher exposure than billboards, magazines, newspapers, buses, or taxicabs. It allows for a greater exposure to the information presented to the public. Based on the region selected, the exposure can reach vast numbers. This option is more profitable based primarily on the simple fact of exposure.

The areas of chosen for the aerial banner advertisement to be displayed is selected by the individuals or business purchasing the service. The regions chosen can then be selected to achieve higher amounts of exposure. This option for advertising means more profits and higher yields based on the public awareness of the products or services available. Since exposure is the key factor in advertising, this is very crucial.

The cost for aerial banner advertisement is based on numerous factors. The costs are affordable as well as reasonable. Based on the amount of exposure, the costs of this means of advertising are well worth the investment. The cost of using aerial advertising, as well as the exposure, means it is far best the option used by serious minded people who want the most exposure for the best value.

To anyone who wants the best value for the advertising dollar, aerial banner advertising the only option.
Arnold Aerial Advertising is one of the many companies that provide such services. Located in New York, Arnold Aerial Advertising provides nationwide service with affordable rates.

Michael Arnold is the Director of Arnold Aerial Advertising Inc.
http://www.arnoldaerial.com/

They conduct all forms of Aerial Advertising: NASCAR, Indy Car, Spring Break, Concerts, Conventions, Rush Hour Traffic, Football, Baseball, State Fairs, all Beaches, Parades, Cruise Lines, etc. and produce the custom banners as well.

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Wondering if your marketing message is dancing in the
spotlight right in front of your target market or is busy
cowering by the punch table nowhere near your customer
base? Take this quiz and find out.

1. Overall, you would describe your marketing as:

A. Going strong. You consistently get lots of good leads and
sales from your marketing efforts.

B. Getting better. You’re seeing some positive results, but
you’re always looking for ways to improve.

C. Flat. Your sales are neither growing nor shrinking.

D. Don’t ask.

E. You don’t do much marketing. Or any marketing for that
matter. Customers pretty much find you.

2. Your last marketing campaign was:

A. A huge success. It exceeded your expectations.

B. No complaints. You’re pleased with your results.

C. Not sure. You didn’t notice much change with your sales.

D. A waste of good money.

E. You can’t remember your last campaign. In fact, you don’t
think you’ve ever had one.

3. At the last Chamber of Commerce meeting, you bumped
into a woman who you felt would be your ideal customer.
Her response after you introduce yourself is:

A. “I’m so glad I ran into you. I’ve been meaning to talk to you
in more detail about how your business can help me out.”

B. “Oh, I think I remember hearing about you. Tell me more
about what you do.”

C. “Sorry. What did you say you do again?”

D. “Who are you?”

E. “Excuse me. I need to refill my drink.”

4. While working out at your health club, you find yourself
exercising next to your sister’s new boyfriend. Even though
you know he has no interest in your business, he starts
quizzing you about what you do. After you tell him, he says:

A. “Oh, that’s interesting.” And changes the subject.

B. “Yes, I think I’ve heard about your business.” And
changes the subject.

C. “Yes, I think I saw one of your ads in the paper last week.”
And changes the subject.

D. “Oh course. I’ve been seeing your ads all over the place.”
And changes the subject.

E. Changes the subject.

5. You run into one of your customers at a restaurant. He’s
sitting with a large group of people, but still jumps up to
greet you. When he turns to introduce you to the rest of the
group, he:

A. Describes your business perfectly.

B. Gets it mostly right.

C. Manages to describe one aspect okay, although he got a
couple major points wrong.

D. Described someone else’s business. At least that’s what
you think he was doing. He certainly wasn’t talking about
your business.

E. Didn’t quite get your business’ name right. For that
matter, he didn’t pronounce your name correctly either.

6. You feel like you’re getting your money’s and/or time’s
worth from your marketing efforts:

A. Most definitely.

B. Definitely.

C. Not sure.

D. Don’t want to talk about it.

E. You’re getting a great return — after all, you spend hardly
any time or money marketing so ANY return is huge.

7. Overall, how would you rate your marketing in terms of
meeting your overall business’ goals?

A. Exactly on track.

B. Doing pretty good. For the most part, your marketing is
helping you meet your business’ goals.

C. You’re still in business so you guess something must be
working. Although you’re not exactly sure what.

D. Business isn’t so hot.

E. What goals?

Scoring:

Mostly As. Your marketing message is definitely the life of
the party. It’s getting in front of your target market and your
target market is responding to it. Better yet, you aren’t
wasting your efforts reaching people who have no interest in
what your business does. Great job.

The only caution I would offer is to not allow yourself to be
lulled into a false sense of security. Things change. Markets
shift. Don’t allow your current success to blind you to a new
competitor or a new product or a changing marketing
landscape. History is littered with companies who allowed
themselves to lose market share or even be toppled by a
shift in the marketplace.

Mostly Bs. Your marketing message may not be the star, but
it’s certainly turning heads. While you could be getting more
from your marketing efforts, you’ve definitely accomplished
much. Your target market is both getting the message and
acting on it. You’re seeing a slow and steady growth in your
business.

While everyone would love to the next “overnight” success,
truthfully that’s not terribly realistic. Marketing is about slow
and steady growth – and even an occasional setback. While
huge marketing success is great as a goal, you should be
very pleased with what you’ve accomplished.

Mostly Cs. Your marketing message has about half of its
dance card filled. Your business is flat. Probably as flat as
your marketing. Your business is certainly not growing and
may even be slowly declining.

While there’s nothing wrong with holding the status quo, this
is still a precarious place to be. If you’re not careful, you
could find your business sliding into the “business is not so
good” category.

I would suggest taking a hard look at your marketing
message. Maybe you’re not reaching your target market at
all. Maybe you’re wasting your marketing efforts by getting
your message in front of people who will never buy your
products or services. Or maybe you are finding your target
market, but your marketing message isn’t persuading them
to do business with you. Maybe the marketplace or your
target market is changing. Or maybe it’s a combination of
things.

Mostly Ds. Your marketing message is hiding in the
bathroom and has been there for awhile. This is not a good
place to be, but you already know this. If it isn’t too late, I
would suggest a complete revamp of your entire marketing
plan. Maybe your target market isn’t right. Maybe you have
too much competition. Maybe you’re competing on price
(never a wise selling point). Maybe you’re not differentiating
yourself enough from your competition. Maybe you’re not
explaining your product correctly. Or maybe it’s something
even deeper, a major problem with your product or
business.

But don’t lose heart! It’s still very possible to turn things
around. Remember, all successful people suffered
setbacks (and downright failures) at some point in their
careers. You can make a comeback.

Mostly Es. Your marketing message is still outside looking
for a place to park. Many service-based, single-person
businesses find themselves in this category – for instance
consultants, coaches, graphic designers and (ahem)
copywriters. You never really take the time to put together a
marketing plan or market yourself in any orderly manner.
When work falls into your lap, you happily snatch it up. When
it doesn’t, you find yourself wringing your hands a lot.

Yes, I too was in this category. When I first started my
business, I didn’t write down my goals and promoting
myself was haphazard at best. Believe it or not, I was
actually pretty successful for several years using this model.
I was lucky. I had good, loyal clients who I could count on for
repeat projects.

However, even with good clients, you still end up with the
“feast or famine” business model. Does this sound
familiar? Work starts raining from the heavens, so you hole
yourself in your office and focus on, what else? Getting the
work done. And you’re so busy with paying work, you stop
promoting yourself. When you finish the work, you pick up
your head, look around and discover there’s nothing new
waiting for you. So you rush out, start networking and
contacting people and pretty soon the work is raining down
again. And you stop promoting yourself because you’re busy
and…you get the picture.

In this model, you aren’t really growing your business. You
don’t have time. You’re either doing billable work or looking
for billable work. Even if you use outside help during the
busy times, the busy times don’t last so you can’t build your
business.

Speaking from someone who’s been there, I would strongly,
strongly urge you to take a hard look at your business, your
goals and your marketing model. A regular, sustained
marketing campaign can lead to regular, sustained work.
Your cash flow will even out, and you can start outsourcing
certain tasks on a regular basis so you can start growing
your business.

(A note on Question 4 in case you thought I had the answers
reversed. The point of this question is to find out if you’ve
picked marketing vehicles that are reaching your target
market or if your marketing is so scattered it’s reaching
people who have no interest in purchasing your products
and services. Don’t waste your time and money driving just
anyone to your business – target people who have the
interest and the means to purchase your products and
services.)

Michele Pariza Wacek is the author of “Got Ideas? Unleash Your Creativity and Make More Money.” She offers two free e-zines that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at TheArtistSoul.com.

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I get a ton of emails asking me about newspaper advertising. First and foremost, most people ask me if the growth and popularity of the Internet and other forms of “new” media have made newspapers obsolete as an effective advertising medium. To that I say, no way! Newspapers are alive and well, and as powerful as ever! If they weren’t, advertisers (of all shapes and sizes) wouldn’t continue to throw billions of dollars at them! Newspapers – local and national – will always be there. They’re not going anywhere, no matter how big the Internet gets or how many forms of “new media” are introduced. They’ve stood the test of time – through radio, TV and the Internet — and they’ll always be a great place to advertise, provided your target market is within the newspaper’s demographic. Next, people are always asking me for advice on newspaper advertising. They want to know the best newspapers to advertise in, the best times to advertise, the best size ads to use, what colors work best, what to say, how to say it, etc. For those people, I’ve put together this list of my 14 best newspaper advertising “secrets.” Of course, these aren’t really “secrets” – this advice has been around for years. Unlike the Internet and other forms of “new media” which seem to change every day (creating a constant need for bigger and better marketing strategies), newspaper advertising hasn’t changed much in the past 25 years, meaning the tips and techniques that follow have proven themselves to work over and over again. Time-tested and proven – the best kind of advice!

Tip #1: Consistency is key in newspaper advertising. Whether you’re interested in community, local or national newspaper advertising, always think in terms of using it consistently no less than once a week.

Tip #2: Certain days work better than others for certain types of advertising. Generally, the best day to run a newspaper ad is Sunday. That’s when most people spend the most time reading the paper. Let’s take a look at the other days:

• Monday is good if your audience is primarily men all weekend sports are usually summarized on Monday.
• Tuesday and Sunday are great days for classified ads, especially financial or business related classified ads.
• Wednesday and Thursday are good days if those are the food or health days in your paper, and yours is a food or health related offering.
• Friday is a good day if your business picks up on the weekends restaurants, bars, nightclubs, some retailers, concert venues, farmer’s markets.
• Saturday is good because fewer advertisers use the Saturday edition, thinking it’s a bad day for readership. This means less competition for your prospects attention and money

Tip #3: Positioning your ad. To gain maximum exposure, request that your ad run in the main news section of the paper, as far forward as possible. Traditionally, you were told to always ask for a right-hand page, but recent studies have shown it doesn’t really make a difference. Half the people read the newspaper front to back, the other half, back to front. You should, however, request that your ad be positioned above the fold.

Tip #4: Dominating a page, without paying for it. To dominate a page in the newspaper, which is usually 8 columns wide by twenty-two inches high, design an ad that is five columns wide and twelve or more inches high. This is proven to have the same affect as a full-page ad, at a much lower cost.

Tip #5: Use color. You should also inquire about adding one color. The use of just one color, any color, can dramatically increase your “net exposure” (that’s what I call the number of people who actually read your ad) and nearly double your response rate.

Tip #6: Whatever you do, don t let the newspaper people design your ad for you. Have your ad professionally designed, otherwise it will look like every other ad in the paper. (I once worked in a newspaper ad department, believe me, I know!) Be sure the designer has experience in newspaper ads, too. You want your ad to reproduce properly, which means it may need a certain line-screen. Also, stay away from reverse-type white type against a black background. Keep your type clear; your headline bold.

Tip #7: Make your ad newsworthy. People read newspapers to get the news, so try to make your ad as newsworthy as possible. If your ad is small, give it a distinctive border so it creates a visual identity for your ads.

Tip #8: You’re paying for that space - use it! Be sure to give your prospects enough information to buy what you’re selling. And don’t fall into the trap of revering white space because it looks good. You’re paying for every square inch of that ad – use it. Your ads should win sales, not design awards.

Tip #9: Test, test, test! If you’re just getting started in newspaper advertising, don’t settle on just one newspaper. Test your ad in the various newspapers available to your market to figure out which one works best. Once you’ve figured out which newspapers are read (the most) by your prospects, stick with them.

Tip #10: Don’t expect it to work overnight. CARDINAL RULE: Don’t expect newspaper advertising to work instantly! (This takes us back to Tip #1: Consistency is key.) Unless you make a time-sensitive offer such as a free gift for stopping by before a certain date, or offer a discount coupon with an expiration date, don’t expect a stampede of customers through your door the day you run your ad. It won’t happen. Never does.

Tip #11: Use “tracking devices” to measure ad performance. A “tracking device” is any element you can include in your advertising that makes it easier to measure that ad’s effectiveness. Adding a number code or color code to your coupons is a good example of a “tracking device.” This will make them easier to track if you’re using more than one newspaper or advertising on different days. You want to know which coupons came from where, when, and how many. That way, you’ll know which newspapers work the best for you, and on which days, and even which headlines work best for those papers on those days. Get it?

Tip #12: The “big” newspapers aren’t as expensive as you think. If you’re not happy with your local newspaper, or you’d like to hit a larger audience than just your town, look into advertising in the regional editions of USA Today, The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, if your prospects read them. These regional editions, while more expensive to advertise in that your local newspaper, are much less expensive to advertise in than the national editions. (If you’re a local or regional business, you should NEVER advertise in the national edition. I don’t care what the ad rep tells you, don’t waste your money.)

Tip #13: The first thing people will see in your ad is your headline. This should entice the reader into wanting to learn more. I always INSIST that a headline make a meaningful or fascinating statement of benefit – or an outright offer – to the reader. For instance, “Get Your Tax Refund Today!” or “Professional Tax Preparation Only $10″ are much better headlines than “Bob Jones Tax Service.” That’s pretty obvious, I know, but I can’t tell you how many people put the name of their business or product or service or worse yet, some totally worthless copy, in place of a headline and then hide the meaningful, fascinating stuff in the copy. It’s the biggest mistake in advertising! Put your main benefit or offer in the headline (and/or subheading) so even those who don’t read the entire ad will get the main point.

Tip #14: Next, people will see the visual, any subheadings, and then your name. Adding a visual can TRIPLE the “net exposure” of your ad. More people will notice it if it has a photo or image, which means more, in turn, will RESPOND to it. A photo of yourself will add instant credibility. A product image is better than a logo. Even better is an image of your product or service being used. Let people see it in action. Let them see how good it looks, how good it fits or how good it works. Let them see the smile on the face of a person using it.

Even in this super-high-tech day and age, any businesses still rely on newspaper advertising as their primary marketing tool. The key to success with it is to know the “tricks of the trade” I just revealed to you and to stick with it long enough for it to work its magic. (Read: Consistency is key.) The advertising graveyard is full of failed businesses that gave up on newspaper advertising before it had a chance to prove it’s effectiveness. If you’ve made up your mind to do it, whatever you do, DO IT, and don’t give up on it until it works. It will!

Phil Autelitano is a professional copywriter and marketing consultant who’s been helping businesses save money, increase sales, and maximize profits — online and off — for over 15 years. He’s been called “America’s Busiest Copywriter” and “The Greatest Copywriter You Never Heard Of.” He’s also a bestselling author and award-winning online instructor. Visit his official website and sign-up for his free weekly newsletter “The Clicking Point” at: www.PhilAutelitano.com [http://www.philautelitano.com]

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