You've probably heard the slogan, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." It may be a sales pitch, but in the world of advertising and promotion, it's right on the nose. Believe it or not, a bad title or headline will turn your prospects away quicker than bad breath. When you're trying to promote a business, product, or yourself, you need people to stick around long enough to hear your sales pitch, right? Well, a bad article title or sales letter headline will turn people of More..

Stop Searching - Joint Ventures are the Solution to Doubling Your Business

First, define the end user (or ideal client) of your product. Many times when I ask people who their ideal client is they will tell me "oh everyone can use my product!". Actually the only two things that EVERYONE uses are air and water, SO narrow your focus - really key into WHO your customers are. What are their age, gender, hobbies, interests, etc. By refining your focus you can better serve your customer and become "THE" supplier of choice in your market. Once you have identified your key cu More..

Four Simple Ways to Cut Your Trade Show Marketing Budget in Half

Many times when a trade show is planned for there isn't someone who watches the budget and tracks where the money goes. But, if you do want to know where your trade show marketing dollar goes and want to do better, this article is for you. You should track each expense and when you show is over hold a quick review to discover how much you spent. You might be surprised at how things add up. Here are four simple ways to make your trade show marketing budget count. If you can reduce your show spe More..

Unique Marketing Ideas That Generate Cash!

First of all - keep in touch with your customers! One of the best ways to do this is with a newsletter. Today it's easier than ever to have a newsletter - use email. If you don't have your customer's email addresses already, start asking for them when they pay for something at the cash register. Give them an incentive for signing up for your free newsletter - maybe a free gift or a small discount or even a prize draw they can be entered into. Use your newsletter to let customers know about sale More..

Where to Look for New Donors for Your Fundraising Letter Appeals

Have you ever studied your best donors and wished you could clone them all? Maybe you can, with a bit of creative thinking. 1. Friends of current supporters The first place to look is friends, family and colleagues of your current supporters. The odds are good that your most generous and faithful donors have friends or co-workers or family members who will want to support your cause as well. One of the most popular ways of acquiring new donors like this is through a Friend-Get-a-Friend progra More..

Limited Time Only (Shh! Its A Secret)

Under normal circumstances, you'd shout it from the rooftops. After all, when you have something urgent to say, you want others to know about it, right? But when it comes to "limited time only" offers, lately I've noticed a disturbing trend. Copywriters seem to actually be hiding the phrase! Let me give you some examples. I received a fabulous email from a ladies clothing site at which I like to shop. It was for 50% off my entire purchase of anything on their site (clearance items or regular pr More..

A Business In One Sentence

Marketing expert and author, Geoffrey Moore, has a useful fill-in-the-blank method for creating a theme and positioning statement for your business. I prefer to use his same system for creating clarity for myself in what I'm selling, creating an elevator or introduction speech, and also material for my website, brochures and business card. Using this same method for each niche I have also keeps me focused and on target for where I am going and what comes first. I know it will do the same for yo More..

Massage Therapists Can Now Make More Money

As a massage therapist, your income is usually limited by your stamina and the amount of hours there are in a day. Have you considered that there is a way to make extra income that is literally "no sweat off your back?" Adding retail products to your massage business could provide you with the additional income you would like, by doing something that you already do . . . sharing healthy suggestions with your clients. Essential oils, flower essences, vitamins, and natural supplements are a few c More..

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 1

In the following 'special report,' I will reveal some very powerful marketing strategies and psychological motivators that can easily help you make more profits from your business, no matter what business you're in. Be sure to read it thoroughly, and take notes as needed so that you can take maximum advantage of the information being covered. Here's how it all began? One day, I noticed an interesting marketing concept. So, I sent my subscribers an interesting question. Here's what I sent to t More..

12 Lessons I Picked Up from Attending Seminars

So you just dropped a tidy sum to attend a seminar or some other three-day event. Now it's over and you're exhausted. Your client work is backed up. You have a fistful of business cards to connect with. And your family would like some face time. Time to get back into the swing of life, right? Wrong. I go to A LOT of seminars. Rubbing shoulders with my colleagues, talking over dinner and debating our hottest industry issues at a live event is honestly one of my secret weapons to success. Here's More..

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 2

NB: You can read part one here: http://EzineArticles.com/?id=58690 Could buying popcorn in a theatre be a 'conditioned' response? Could it be that people are 'trained' to believe that movies and popcorn go 'hand in hand' - and that one without the other is...."incomplete?" And, therefore, price is just not an issue at all? What a powerful place to be as a marketer, wouldn't you agree? Of course, there are some customers who fall in the above group yet still aren't completely happy with the ex More..

The Secret to Adding Credibility to Your Business - Testimonials!

You may not realize it, but you already have a gold mine of endorsements waiting to be created. Everyone who is serious about building a business and creating credibility uses this idea. What is it? Testimonials from your satisfied clients. Whether you are just starting out or have been in business for years, testimonials are a proven way to communicate the value your business delivers. Think about it, don't you want to know what other people think about a product/service before you buy? I do! More..

The Day I Learned to Start Saying No

It was the fall of 1998 when I had just started my first business as a marketing communications writer. Most of my clients hired me for newsletters, brochures, and sales materials, but I would get the occasional request for something different. At the time I was too naive to consider saying "no" to any project that didn't fit me perfectly. A perfect example of this was when a colleague named Chip asked if I could write a short script for a customer service training video. "Wow," I said. "Video! More..

Lessons From a Six Year Old

My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. Two weeks ago she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Last week she knew that she wanted to be an Olympic swimmer. This week she knows that she wants to be a professional singer. Emily's not indecisive. In fact, she's a natural born marketer. Here's why: ? Emily Has A Laser Focus. Regardless of which career is the career of the week, Emily is behind it 100%. She's all teacher, then all swimmer, then all singer More..

Marketing, Lead Generation, and Research: A 3-in-1 Solution

I Hate Cold Calls Long before I started my business, I realized that I wasn't good at telephone sales and that I would need to generate leads in another way. I developed a sure-fire way to generate those leads, interest in me, and my business, through the use of telephone market research. There are many benefits of doing market research including the ability to learn more about my target market's behaviours and opinions, honing messages and presentations based on real, first hand responses, as More..

Sales Resistance on the Rise

Have you noticed it? More and more marketing campaigns are going over the top. They're trying bolder, more in-your-face tactics. And consumers DON'T like it. There's a growing resistance toward advertising. According to a recent study by Yankelovich Partners (a marketing company) 60% of consumers have a much more negative opinion of marketing and advertising than they did a few years ago. 65% already feel overwhelmed with too many marketing messages. And 61% feel the volume is out of control. More..

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 4

Let's continue to discuss the various marketing principles that are involved in "popcorn marketing": 4. Engaging the "Senses" You may already know that people usually buy for 'emotional' reasons more than 'intellectual' reasons. You can try to sell to a person by appealing to his intellect i.e. by providing dry facts. Or, you can sell to him by stirring up / appealing to his emotions, i.e. by offering him a 'taste' of what the future will be like when he has your product in his hands. The latt More..

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 3

To read the beginning of this special report, you can read part two here: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=58712 Let's continue to discuss the various marketing principles that are involved in "popcorn marketing": 2. Utilizing (and Creating) the Right 'Frame of Mind' Having popcorn on it's own may not mean much to people, but having it while enjoying a movie is something entirely different. It's this 'frame of mind' that cinemas are taking advantage of by providing the popcorn when you really wan More..

Top 7 Tips for New Businesses

The marketing decisions you make for your new business are the most important part of making your business a success. Marketing is about building a strong presence, name recognition and credibility through various methods. Here are 7 things you can do to get a new business off the ground. All of the time and money you invest in getting your business off the ground is wasted if you don't make the additional efforts and expenditures to market effectively. Marketing is the process and procedures t More..

Private Practice Marketing: A Soaking Wet Marketing Marvel

Last week I took our two boys on an all guy vacation to the Nickelodeon Family Suites Hotel in Orlando. It's the only one of it's kind in the world, with two separate mini-water parks on site, with a mall in the middle. We had a blast, and I may never be completely dry again! One of the features that really intrigued me was the 400 gallon bucket that was on top of one of the multiple water slides (picture a giant jungle gym with multiple water slides). Water poured into the bucket and each tim More..

Do this One Thing and Beat 85% of Your Competition!

Maybe you don't want to work that hard, or maybe you have been burned by consultants so you are not inclined to listen to one. Or maybe you already have a measure of success and don't think you need to do anything more. No matter what positon you are in, if you Do This One Thing you will beat 85% of your competition every day of the year. If you are in the 15% category already, please email me with a sentence or two confirming how well this works for you. What we are about to discuss applies to More..

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 5

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth?: Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 5 Let's continue to discuss the various marketing principles that are involved in "popcorn marketing": 6. Exclusivity During the few hours that you're in the theatre, they have the market cornered by being the only ones to sell popcorn. They virtually eliminate the competition by not allowing outside food or drinks into the theatre. Being the only game it town offering a product in demand - with More..

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 6

How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth?: Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - The Final Part Additional Lessons from Popcorn Marketing I'm assuming that the movie theatres have tested their price point and figured out what the highest price is that they can charge and get away with - the highest price the market will be willing to pay. And, that's what they charge for their popcorn. I believe that's a mistake. Here's a better way of doing it: Test your price point. Find out w More..

What You Need in Your Marketing Calendar

Marketing calendars are used by many businesses to help keep sales pipelines full of new prospective customers. Small businesses may just keep a simple calendar with handwritten items on the dates that marketing efforts need to be completed. These items might include attending a trade show, sending out an email campaign, or placing a buy for a magazine advertisement. Larger corporations typically have a more detailed marketing calendar planned out a year in advance. Regardless of the size of the More..

The Death of Product Packaging as We Know It.

It used to be you that if you had a great product you put it in a package and voila! . . .someone would come along and buy it. That is not the case any more. The package not only has to protect the product and allow for its tracking, it has to sell it too. Most importantly, the package has to capture someone's attention in less than three seconds. Consider the last time you went shopping. Were there any newproducts that jumped at you off the shelves? With smart packaging there is an embedded ch More..

51 Ways to Say Thank-you in a Fundraising Letter for a Non-for-Profit (Includes Examples & Samples)

One of the hardest jobs in fundraising is crafting original thank-you letters. You want to be thankful. But you also want to be fiscally responsible. You cannot afford to write a unique thank-you letter for each of the thousands of donations you receive each year. Here are some ideas for keeping your appreciation original. 1. In response to your recent gift to MSF, I join with the people of Afghanistan in saying shÃƒÂºker, thank you, for your generosity. 2. We are so grateful to you for your r More..

Fundraising Renewal Letters: Four Goals to Strive For With Each One You Write

In the fundraising profession, appeal letters that you mail to existing donors are called renewal letters. They are designed to solicit a gift, but, more important than that, they aim to persuade your current donors to renew their support of your organization. Donors renew their support with their cash, of course, but they also renew it with their commitment-with their hearts and minds. And that's why renewal letters are so vital. They help you maintain your broad base of support year after year More..

First Steps to Developing a Marketing Plan

Direct Mail . . . Newspaper . . . Radio . . . Online. There are countless places to spend each advertising dollar. The hard part is determining the most effective medium for your business. It is not a matter of "One Size Fits All." The response rate for each media type will vary depending on the product or service you offer, your target market, and the characteristics of the community that you are marketing in. Even in the same industry, what works in one place may not work in another. There ar More..

Marketing to a Critical Mass

In "Developing a Marketing Plan", we covered the first steps to developing a marketing plan and tracking where your customers are coming from. The thing that I noticed when I did this for my own business was that the majority of new clients could be attributed to more than one source. For example, a current customer gave them my name (#2 in the trust diagram), the person then visited my website (#5), viewed my portfolio (#4), and then made the decision to contact me. This ties in to the rule o More..

Marketing Tips: Free First

When people think about promoting their business, the first thought that comes to mind is, "What is is going to cost?" While marketing and advertising should be part of any well-considered budget, there are a number of opportunities to market your business for free that are often overlooked. Clubs & Organizations Most clubs and organizations have some sort of membership directory, either online or in print, sometimes both. Make sure that your business information is complete and accurate. Orga More..

Embracing The Future - Marketing Yourself, Your Business And Your

Introduction Many businesses and organisations have a perception that marketing means promotions and advertising. They think being good at marketing is producing a glossy brochure and having an ad on the local radio or television. But marketing is much more than slick promotions and expensive pamphlets. It is about a process and having a clear strategy. It is also about structuring every aspect of your business to include a marketing function. It is also about understanding marketing strategie More..

The 7 Areas of Marketing Waste - Are You Committing These Marketing Sins?

If you want to reduce waste and grow your business it can be useful to know where to look. Marketing waste is usually most apparent in these 7 key areas: 1. Activity (over production) 2. People (over capacity) 3. Processes (over complication) 4. Waiting (poor communication) 5. Excessive Communication Costs 6. Trial and Error 7. Excessive Lead Costs 1. Activity (over production) Too many people doing too many different things. Thousands of brochures produced with no clear plan how to get More..

Teaming Up Marketing and Sales

The Pitchers: Sales Let's say you have a new baseball team in town and it's almost time for the first game of the season. Your sales force is ready to sell a variety of package deals for the season. However, there's a major stumbling block as they prepare to approach potential buyers. No one knows about the package deals or even the date of the first game. No one tipped the local sports writer or the local TV news of the upcoming grand opening game. What happened to the marketing department? T More..

Why Do You Need to be in the SERPS?

Why does your business need to be in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS)? Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing both have the same goal, which is to help visitors find your website. Ten years ago there was probably nobody searching online for your product or service. Five years ago, there may have been a couple of dozen people looking for it in any given week or month. Today, in 2005, you can be sure that there are many people actively seeking your products or services each More..

Target Marketing: The Bell Curve

Finally, Something You Learned In Math Class Makes Sense In Real Life. Okay, here's the day you've been waiting for since 9th grade: today's the day you're going to find out what some of that funky stuff you learned in math class has to do with anything. Believe it or not, there is a mathematical model - the bell curve - that explains how you should target your market. But first, we need to define some terms and dispel some traditional sales and marketing myths. Target marketing means a seller More..

Becoming The Obvious Choice In A Sea Of Competition

Differentiation, niche marketing, and positioning. These and other related business buzzwords have no doubt crossed every business owner and marketing director's ears in recent years. But what do these words really mean to you in your business? Usually they mean that a business will attempt to sell a product or service that is somehow different than the competition's to a certain, specific target market. In theory, this is a great idea. If you could just reach that one segment of the market wit More..

How to Win a Price War

Any economics student can tell you that price is a matter of supply and demand. The market will bear a certain price point and settle into equilibrium. This is not very helpful when trying to determine the price for a new product. Price is a very confusing area of marketing for many people. The reason is probably because price is one of the most misused and abused marketing tools. Traditionally, there are three ways to set the price for a product: ? Competitive Parity- Charging the same price o More..

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