February 2008
You are currently browsing the articles from Advertise My Business written in the month of February 2008.
People say it all the time: “This advertising costs too much!” They practically go into cardiac arrest when they see how much the advertising for certain media in certain markets is going to cost them. It is pretty easy to get sticker shock when you see that a sixty-second radio commercial on a popular Los Angeles station could cost you a thousand bucks. Each. Or when you realize that all the “Dot.com” businesses in Silicon Valley have made radio spots on top stations in the San Francisco market cost as much as $2,500. A Minute. Or when you realize that a newspaper ad in your city barely bigger than a Hershey Bar will cost a couple thousand dollars. It’s easy to automatically think that’s a lot of money. Now here’s the important question for you, the advertiser: Does the ad actually cost too much?
So what’s the answer? The savvy advertiser will tell you that the cost of the ad is not the issue. What’s important is the return that the ad will bring. if you were charged even as much as $40,000 for a sixty-second radio commercial that generated enough sales to make you a profit of $50,000, then would the $40,000 be A LOT? The answer is NO! Of course not! You’d be a fool not to beg, borrow, or steal the $40,000 so you could make the $50,000 profit! Try getting that kind of return in the stock market!
How do you think that these big companies can afford to spend a million and a half dollars for a thirty second TV commercial during the Super Bowl? The know that an enormous amount of people will see it–enough to make the return on investment a good deal.
The point is simple; you’ve got to figure out how much money an ad will make you before you draw a conclusion of whether or not it costs too much. So how do you do that? It’s actually pretty easy. Here’s a simple process for determining the Return on Investment, or ROI, of an ad. First, you’ve got to know how much profit you make on each sale. For instance, if you buy it for $50 and sell it for $100, your gross profit is $50. Step two is to figure out what your closing ratio is. If, on average, you close one sale for every four people who inquire, that’s a 25% closing ratio. If 9 out of 10 end up buying, then your closing ratio would be 90%. This is simple math.
Now, figure out what your break-even is. Do this by taking cost of the advertisement and divide it by the amount of gross profit per sale. Remember, we already figured out what your gross profit is a second ago. So how much do the ads costs? If the ads cost $1,000 and your average gross profit is $50, that means you’ve got to make 20 sales to make back the $1,000–that’s your break-even point–in this example, it’s 20 sales. Fourth and last, figure out the number of leads you need to generate from the ad if you are to break even. To do this, you’ve got to know your closing ratio, which we just figured out also. Let’s say it’s 25%, or in other words, you close one out of four people who inquire. So if you close 25%, and you need 20 sales to break even, that indicates that your $1,000 worth of advertising needs to generate 80 leads to break even.
Now I know that all sounds kind of complicated, but it’s actually pretty simple. We just calculated in the example that if the $1,000 ads can generate 80 leads, you would break even. That’s a return on investment of 0. I’m not saying that your goal is to break even. I realize that you are in business to make a profit. But let’s start with breaking even; that’s the bare minimum you can accept when running an ad. At least you didn’t come up with a NEGATIVE return on investment!
So let’s say your goal was to double your money? What would have to happen to your numbers? That’s right, you’d have to double your lead flow, or in this case, generate 160 leads instead of just 80. That means that if you generated 160 leads, you would generate a profit of $1,000–again, on $1,000 spent. In other words, you’ve doubled your money. Your return on investment is 100%. That’s pretty easy to follow, isn’t it? By way of review, what we’re trying to do is calculate your return on investment for your advertising. Here are the four steps again. Think about your numbers in your business.
What’s your gross profit per sale?
What’s your closing ratio?
What’s your break even…in terms of number of sales needed?
How many leads does your ad need to generate for enough sales to break even?
What’s your return on investment on any given number of leads that you generate?
Now realize something important here. What we’ve just done in this exercise is figure out how many leads you need to generate to break even on the cost of the advertisement, and then calculated the ROI for how many ever leads your ads end up generating. That’s a good piece of information to have, but now I want to take it a step further. Let’s figure out what’s known as the Lifetime Value of a Customer. What if your average customer brings you a $50 gross profit per sale like in the example we just went through? Is that the only time that customer will ever buy anything from you? How many times does that average customer come back in the course of a month, or a year?
If your average customer shops with you one time a month and makes you $50 of gross profit every time, that customer is now worth $600 a year–in profit. And if you know that your average customer stays with you for 3 years, now that $50 a month client is worth a tidy $1800. So now how much would you be willing to spend to accrue that client? What if those were your average numbers, $50 a month for 3 years. Then in the example earlier, remember where we broke even with 80 leads and just 20 sales? Now those 20 customers would be worth an astounding $36,000 over the next three years. And it only cost you a thousand dollars worth of advertising. Now your break-even looks a lot better doesn’t it! If you could accrue a $36,000 annuity every time you ran a thousand dollars’ worth of ads, you should mortgage your house and spend as much money as possible on advertising!
Now, a couple of words of advice when figuring your return on investment for advertising. First, always estimate your numbers conservatively–or in other words, on the low side. Always figure on getting a lower number of leads than you’re hoping for and expecting. Always count on a lower closing ratio than you’re used to. If you calculate your numbers using conservative figures, then you’ll do fine if your results are actually lower than projections…and in the event that you do as well as you had initially hoped, you’ll just make more money than you expected.
Let me give you a real-life example to better illustrate ROI. There is a company who was promoting seminars where they would attempt to sell a service that cost $8,000. When they were starting to do advertising to promote these seminars, the question of how much budget should they allot came up. They wanted to start filling seminars with about a week after starting advertising, so they decided that fax broadcasting would be the best way for them to quickly get the message out about the seminars. Faxing can be done for as little as 7?per page in some major metropolitan areas, so they came back and said they thought they would want to send out about 25,000 faxes a week for the 5 weeks they would be doing seminars. When asked how many sales were they planning on generating, they said because of a unique financing plan that allowed them to sell their package on a low monthly payment basis, they thought they could sell at least 100 packages in that 5 week time period.
Well, 100 packages is a lot, and they were told that they would have to do at least 100,000 faxes a week for the 5-week period to get the number of leads required to sell that many packages. The man got his calculator out and did some quick math and realized that he had to spend $35,000! 7?times 100,000 faxes times 5 weeks! That number–$35,000–sounded so huge, it caught him off guard. His idea was to spend just under 2 grand a week, or a total of less than $9,000. Big difference. That’s called “sticker shock.”
So what he did was figure out the ROI, according to the steps previously explained. Again, first, figure out your gross profit per sale. His was about $3,250. Second, figure out the closing ratio. He thought his would be about 20%. So then, how many sales would he need to break even on a $35,000 advertising expenditure? Well, 35 thousand divided by $3,250 gross profit per sale is about 11 sales. Just 11 sales to break even. So if his closing ratio was just 10%, he’d have to generate about 110 leads to break even. 110 leads on 500,000 faxes?
Easily attainable. The last thing to do would be to figure out how many leads he’d have to get to reach his goal. His goal is 100 sales, and his closing ratio is 10%. That means he’d have to generate about 1,000 leads. On 500,000 faxes sent out, that’s like a two-one-thousandths of a percent response. That is very reasonable. He’d generate a total gross profit on the deal of $325,000…and if you subtract out the $35,000 advertising cost, that’s still a healthy gross profit. His attitude toward the $35 thousand changed instantly.
Well, do you see how that works now? Just run through your numbers and you’ll know how much money is a lot of money when it comes to advertising.
Rich Harshaw is the founder of the Monopolize Your Marketplace system and CEO of Y2Marketing Business Marketing Strategies
Advertising Made Easy, and Cost EffectiveAdvertising made easy, and your wallet will love it too!In today’s market, anyone in business knows that advertising is the backbone to the success, and without it, you are “dead in the water”. Even with the greatest product on the planet, a product that you know everyone needs and wants. Without advertising, it’s just […]
Generate Millions of Advertising Impressions and Drive Your Business Forward!What does your vehicle say about your business? You drive to work, commute through traffic, stop at the shop for refreshments, park up outside your business, take care of deliveries and run some errands during the day, finally, you drive home in the evening. How many people did you pass or meet today? All potential […]
Banner Stand ExhibitsBanner Stands are a high impact, inexpensive and attractive medium of advertisement. They are usually found at exhibitions, trade shows, retail stores ?just about anywhere the potential customer can be attracted by high wattage graphics.The attractive thing about banner stands is that they are portable, flexible and easy to set up. There are different kinds […]
Promote yourself on radio for freeUnless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I’m aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. It may surprise you, though, when I […]
Advertising InsertsOne of the best and easiest ways to advertise without having to worry about shelf life of those who would most likely use your services or buy the products from your small business is to use inserts in your local newspaper. A marketing piece might also be to insert our flyers in the daily newspaper. […]
Written by info on February 29th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
No Teletrack Payday Loans
Graphic Design refers to a specialized area of the Visual Arts.
Generally, Graphic Design is considered to be for commercial, advertising or educational purposes. It involves the enhancing of a product, service or information by designing a pleasing visual or set of visuals.
Traditionally, Graphic Design has included both the creative
preparation and execution of materials in the areas of: Logo Design, Corporate
Identity, Brochure Design, Photo Retouching, Charts/Graphs/Diagrams, and other
printed materials. Graphic Design can also include the preparation of 35mm Slide
Presentations, Television Advertisements, Multi-Media Presentations, and other
Visual Aids.
Today, the term Graphic Design also includes the rapidly
expanded Web Design market. While a Graphic Designer may certainly specialize in
one area, it is common to find designers with applicable knowledge is more than
one discipline. A Graphic Designer may be expected to design entire websites, edit
photos for both print and web use, and design printed materials which also have
web applications.
Most of us are surrounded by Graphic Design work daily without
even realizing it. Many of the web sites you visit involve the efforts of a Graphic
Designer. Advertising Agencies employ many Graphic Designers to prepare the ads
you see on television. And here are some more signs of Graphic Designers on the
scene: the signage you see in front of businesses; the menu at last night’s
restaurant; the morning newspaper; the brochures at the doctor’s office; all those
greeting cards at the store; and yes (unfortunately!) — all that junk mail you
receive.
In the past, a Graphic Designer could rely on predominately right-
brain tendencies of being a “Creative” type. These days, a Graphic Designer needs to
have a “balanced brain” in order to be successful. In the last two decades,
knowledge of computers and increasingly powerful graphic software programs has
become a requirement to accomplish the work of a Graphic Designer. One must not
only be “Creative,” but also possess the “Logic” skills to pilot numerous software
programs, trouble shoot computing issues, etc.
Graphic Design is a highly rewarding career. Not only does it
challenge an individual mentally, it also offers the opportunity to network with a
wide variety of professionals in numerous fields. Graphic Design is also a great Work
At Home opportunity. Once one is established (education, contacts, etc.), a Home
Office can be the perfect option. Incomes vary and are dependant on a number of
factors, including: area(s) of expertise, years of experience, business contacts, etc.
Artist and Graphic Designer Kelli Swan specializes in black and white Pencil
Drawings and Graphic Design Services. Her websites are:
PencilPlace.com (Animal Lover Art and Gifts);
AnimalLoverGiftPlace.com (Animal Lover Gifts);
KelliSwan.com (Kellis art, new book, journals and gifts)
Banner Stand ExhibitsBanner Stands are a high impact, inexpensive and attractive medium of advertisement. They are usually found at exhibitions, trade shows, retail stores ?just about anywhere the potential customer can be attracted by high wattage graphics.The attractive thing about banner stands is that they are portable, flexible and easy to set up. There are different kinds […]
Advertising InsertsOne of the best and easiest ways to advertise without having to worry about shelf life of those who would most likely use your services or buy the products from your small business is to use inserts in your local newspaper. A marketing piece might also be to insert our flyers in the daily newspaper. […]
Building Business With Free Online Classified AdsOne time sellers and long term sellers can cash in on the advantages of free online classifieds. Despite the service is given to you free of cost, free online classifieds ad websites offer great service in helping you sell your products.Free online classifieds websites generally are of two kinds ?some have an option for upgrading […]
50 Surefire Business Card TipsBusiness cards are one of the most powerful and inexpensive marketing tools you can use. Here are 50 surefire tips to make the most out of your business cards:Your business card must communicate more than just your contact information. Make sure that your card includes a tag line that explains what you or […]
Why Should You Use Google Ads on Your Website?If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasnt sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links […]
Written by info on February 29th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
No Teletrack Payday Loans
Ensure everyone in your company sings from the same sheet of music when it comes to communicating a consistent brand message.
Imagine one of your customers calling six different people in your company. The customer asks why they should consider purchasing your product. What do you think these six people would say? Would their explanation be consistent?
Thats where brand messaging comes into play. In the audio book, Sound Advice on Brand Marketing,?author Tom Miller says brands need to speak with a single unified voice in every communication with customers and prospects.
Brand messaging is a formalized document that captures the most important points about your brand,?says Miller. It is then used to create all of the various brand communications, such as ads, press releases, web sites, literature, and so forth.?/p>
The best place to begin the brand messaging process is with the elevator pitch. Think about getting on an elevator with a senior executive from a great prospect company. He asks you to tell him why your product or service is so special and better than all the others are. Youve got 30-seconds. Go!?/p>
Distilling your brand message into a short, memorable description or value proposition sets the stage for the rest of the brand messaging to flow in a logical, informative fashion. It may take a little hard work now, but it pays big dividends in the future,?says Miller. Not only is your message consistent, you should also realize major time savings in developing communications pieces. The heavy lifting from a messaging perspective has already been done.?/p>
Tom Miller offers brand marketing advice each week in the free audio newsletter from Whats Working in Biz ? http://www.whatsworking.biz/full_story.asp?ArtID=92 ?and is president of the branding firm, Miller Brooks.
About The Author
Richard Cunningham is a principal of Whats Working in Biz, http://www.whatsworking.biz, a publisher of business audiobooks and online audio programs on marketing, sales, and small business strategies.
Advertising-The Best Marketing TipThe best marketing tip you will ever hear is to advertise your product or business. In fact, any marketing tip you hear or see will be related to some form of advertising. In this article, we will go over several marketing tips and the reason you should use them.One great marketing tip is […]
Banner Stand ExhibitsBanner Stands are a high impact, inexpensive and attractive medium of advertisement. They are usually found at exhibitions, trade shows, retail stores ?just about anywhere the potential customer can be attracted by high wattage graphics.The attractive thing about banner stands is that they are portable, flexible and easy to set up. There are different kinds […]
Advertising InsertsOne of the best and easiest ways to advertise without having to worry about shelf life of those who would most likely use your services or buy the products from your small business is to use inserts in your local newspaper. A marketing piece might also be to insert our flyers in the daily newspaper. […]
Why Should You Use Google Ads on Your Website?If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasnt sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links […]
Promote yourself on radio for freeUnless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I’m aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. It may surprise you, though, when I […]
Written by info on February 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
I caught myself wracking my brain over what kind of article I should write
for newspapers that would be useful to business people. It struck me
that I was making a solid effort to get into the mind of my target market. It also struck me that this is the biggest mistake most business owners
make when designing their own ads. They start listing off their services
and are ready to stick their logo front and center before even putting a
thought to what their customers really care about.
The first step in creating any advertising, be it a direct mail piece or an
email, always has to be to think about what your customer wants. What
do they desire? What do they need? Can you solve a problem for them?
People all want to know, “what’s in it for me?”
This isn’t a new concept and I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but when I
look at newspaper ads and listen to the radio, it’s evident that few heed
this priceless advice. My guess is, it’s because it’s difficult to do. Difficult,
but not impossible. So before you go ahead and spend another grand
on your next pamphlet or print ad, use these tips on how to write great
advertising.
Eye Catching Headlines
Headlines are found in an opening sentence of a sales letter, the
subject line in an email, the title of your web pages and in your ads.
Since the headline gets one or two seconds, now is your only chance to
grab some attention. Grab em, and grab em good. Headlines have the
following characteristics.
- arouse curiosity.
- promise answers to a questions or solutions to a problem.
- show benefits to your potential customer.
- promise to reveal a secret or information thats hard to find.
- create emotional appeal.
- they have to force you to stop what youre doing and read on.
Common headline tricks:
How To, as in - How to Beat your Competitor Every time.
Ask a question - Are You Looking for a Computer At Half the Cost?
Wlsh lt was flrmer?
Make a Promise - We can help you make your creditors go away.
Make a Bold Statement - Attention Worn out Moms!
The easiest headline tricks are the How To’s and the Questions. No
matter what will work best for you, you have to know who your customer
is in order for it to work.
The Rest of your Ad
Make Promise - Most of the time your promise is in your headline. The
next portion of your ad has to be to explain what you mean. If you asked
them if they’re looking for a computer at half the price, you have to tell
them how you can do it.
Prove it - You’ve made the promise, now prove to them why you’re the
one to fulfill it. Tell them why they should trust you. If you told the you can
make their creditors go away, tell them how. Provide testimonials or
case studies. Maybe you’ve got before and after shots. Give them a
money back guarantee. Prove to them that they can trust you.
Ask for Action - Spell it out for them. Tell them exactly what you want
them to do. Remember, your advertising doesn’t do the selling for you.
You and your staff do the selling. If you want them to call and make an
appointment, tell them that’s what you want them to do. If you want them
to buy your widgets online, tell them to visit your site. Ads that don’t
request action don’t bring you more customers.
You now have two choices. Continue to advertise as you do, retaining
little to no response, or, you can employ these proven advertising
methods and begin to see your advertising as an investment, rather than
an expense. No matter what you do, you have to think about who your
ideal customer is first. If you put them first, they’ll appreciate it.
Linda Laforge-Koebel is an advertising professional dedicated to the
business success of her clients. To find more resources or to sign up for
the Business Booster newsletter visit her at: http://www.CreativeEngineer.com or contact her by email at: linda@creativeengineer.com
Generate Millions of Advertising Impressions and Drive Your Business Forward!What does your vehicle say about your business? You drive to work, commute through traffic, stop at the shop for refreshments, park up outside your business, take care of deliveries and run some errands during the day, finally, you drive home in the evening. How many people did you pass or meet today? All potential […]
Building Business With Free Online Classified AdsOne time sellers and long term sellers can cash in on the advantages of free online classifieds. Despite the service is given to you free of cost, free online classifieds ad websites offer great service in helping you sell your products.Free online classifieds websites generally are of two kinds ?some have an option for upgrading […]
Advertising Made Easy, and Cost EffectiveAdvertising made easy, and your wallet will love it too!In today’s market, anyone in business knows that advertising is the backbone to the success, and without it, you are “dead in the water”. Even with the greatest product on the planet, a product that you know everyone needs and wants. Without advertising, it’s just […]
Why Should You Use Google Ads on Your Website?If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasnt sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links […]
50 Surefire Business Card TipsBusiness cards are one of the most powerful and inexpensive marketing tools you can use. Here are 50 surefire tips to make the most out of your business cards:Your business card must communicate more than just your contact information. Make sure that your card includes a tag line that explains what you or […]
Written by info on February 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
Have you ever taken part in that debate? The one where someone tries to prove that some product in their home was purchased for purely logical reasons, with no emotion involved?
They never can win. Even a kleenex becomes emotional when you can’t find one. The same applies to choosing which brand to buy of all the choices available for most products. You choose the brand that makes you feel the best, even if it means choosing a specific brand of canned peas because once upon a time your Mother told you that to serve less meant feeding your family sub standard meals.
How does that apply to you as a marketer… or as an individual selling a used car or the snowsuit your child outgrew?
It means your first job is to show people how good they’ll feel when they buy what you offer. Never mind the features, go first for the feelings. The features come later, as logical proof that they’ve made the right choice.
You might start your snowsuit ad with a verbal picture of a child staying warm and dry. The used car might be a big gas guzzler… but focus on how good it will feel when everyone can stretch out their legs… and how convenient it will be to take everyone in the same car on your next outing. Or…it might be a sporty little job that makes you feel like a kid as you zip down the freeway.
If you offer a cleaning service, talk first about how your customers will be free to pursue work or hobbies and still come home to a fresh-smelling, sparkling clean house where they can relax and enjoy the evening. Then go in to how you use environmentally friendly cleaners, remember to clean every little corner, and don’t mind walking the dog while you’re there.
Whatever you offer, remember that emotions create the desire and logic backs it up. You need both, but if all you offer is logic, it will be a tough sale. It isn’t always easy. Sometimes you have to uncover hidden benefits that appeal to emotions people don’t necessarily want to talk about.
Those are emotions such as pride, as in: “I have a cleaner house than my best friend. (And that means I’m a better wife.)” “My car is much cooler than my brother’s. (And that means I’m going to get the girls.)” “My children are warmer… meaning I’m a better Mom or Dad. (And that means my own Mom is going to approve of me at last.)”
Dig deep, find those benefits before you start to write, and tap into the emotions that cause your customers to buy.
Happy writing!
Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter with many more tips to share. Visit her at marte-cliff.com and sign up for a free monthly advertising ezine. Marte also offers a no-obligation critique of your present advertising.
Promote yourself on radio for freeUnless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I’m aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. It may surprise you, though, when I […]
Advertising Made Easy, and Cost EffectiveAdvertising made easy, and your wallet will love it too!In today’s market, anyone in business knows that advertising is the backbone to the success, and without it, you are “dead in the water”. Even with the greatest product on the planet, a product that you know everyone needs and wants. Without advertising, it’s just […]
Banner Stand ExhibitsBanner Stands are a high impact, inexpensive and attractive medium of advertisement. They are usually found at exhibitions, trade shows, retail stores ?just about anywhere the potential customer can be attracted by high wattage graphics.The attractive thing about banner stands is that they are portable, flexible and easy to set up. There are different kinds […]
Generate Millions of Advertising Impressions and Drive Your Business Forward!What does your vehicle say about your business? You drive to work, commute through traffic, stop at the shop for refreshments, park up outside your business, take care of deliveries and run some errands during the day, finally, you drive home in the evening. How many people did you pass or meet today? All potential […]
Why Should You Use Google Ads on Your Website?If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasnt sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links […]
Written by info on February 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
Digital printing has revolutionized the sign industry. Current printers can reproduce an image at 1440 dpi (dots per inch) at virtually any size. But they are worthless if the original image is of low resolution. We define resolution using pixels. A pixel is commonly thought of as the smallest individual unit of an image (tiny dots if you will). If the pixel content is low, the image will look fuzzy. Anyone that has blown up a picture in a popular program like Adobe Photoshop has experienced the pixilation of an image. The most common way to express the resolution of an image is via two integers: the first is the number of pixel columns or width and the second is the number of pixel rows or height. Another common way to express resolution is by giving the total number of pixels in the image (usually expressed as megapixels). It is determined by simply multiplying the pixel columns by the pixel rows.
Most typical file formats such as bmp, jpeg, png, etc. will give the physical image size. This is done through DPI. For raster images (those images in rectangular pixel format), DPI means the number of pixels printed within one inch horizontally and vertically. For example, if you have an image expressed at 600 by 300 (or 1.8 megapixels) and you want to print at 300 dpi, the image would need to be printed within two inches by 1 inch (you divide 600 x 300 by 300 dpi) ?a very small image to get the needed resolution. The bigger you print the same image, obviously, the lower the amount of dots per inch. A 20 by 10 inch print of the same image would be only 30 dpi. Try to imagine how bad the quality would be if you had only 30 dots for every inch.
We commonly have customers uploading 600 x 300 jpeg images of the family dog, say, and ask us to put it on a vinyl banner 4 by 2 feet, for example. We refuse to print a sign with less than 300 dpi, because we know our customers will not be happy wth the quality. If we enlarged this image to fit the sign, we would get a sign with 12.5 dpi (only about 12 dots per inch).
We need to help educate so you will know that we are not trying to aggravate or, worse yet, price gauge when we ask for a better quality image. Believe me, we only do this so the customer will be happy with the final product. I always feel bad when I have to disturb a customer. I understand the buyers position. They want quick results with minimal effort. But customers have to take a proactive role, because once and a while, a sign company will go ahead and print a borderline or low quality image. We wont do that ?we insist on quality ?which sometimes makes the customer think we lack some mysterious technology that our competition has. There have been those frustrating times when a customer will tell me they know of a local sign company that will print their sign with the image as is. And then they hang up miffed.
If we cannot get a higher quality image we need to convert the file to vector format. This format allows us to enlarge the image without loss in resolution. In fact, we have a full time graphic person that can do this rather quickly in some cases. We usually try to do it gratis for our customers, but sometimes we have to charge them. It is awkward because the customer does not always understand. Some even suspect we are attempting to add on frivolous charges. We want them to understand why!
But I also have to caution customers. Some sign companies will charge high prices for art work. Converting a diagram or clip art to vector format can be very cheap ?about $10. But poor quality photographs require the artist to reproduce the file as a graphic drawing in detail. It takes time and most companies will understandably try to recoup their costs. But you should not be charged more than about $30 an hour and photographs rarely take more than 2 or 3 hours to convert.
To learn more about Magnetic signs and other types of signs please visit http://designasign.blogspot.com. To purchase Magnetis, Vinyl and just about every type of sign imaginable visit http://www.designasign.biz
Building Business With Free Online Classified AdsOne time sellers and long term sellers can cash in on the advantages of free online classifieds. Despite the service is given to you free of cost, free online classifieds ad websites offer great service in helping you sell your products.Free online classifieds websites generally are of two kinds ?some have an option for upgrading […]
Where Should you Spend your Advertising Dollars?One of the most common questions people ask me is: Where should I spend my advertising dollars?? Their experience can typically be summed up as follows:I recently opened my business as an interior designer. I was so excited. But now ?two months later ?Im getting frustrated. I believe that my services […]
Advertising InsertsOne of the best and easiest ways to advertise without having to worry about shelf life of those who would most likely use your services or buy the products from your small business is to use inserts in your local newspaper. A marketing piece might also be to insert our flyers in the daily newspaper. […]
Generate Millions of Advertising Impressions and Drive Your Business Forward!What does your vehicle say about your business? You drive to work, commute through traffic, stop at the shop for refreshments, park up outside your business, take care of deliveries and run some errands during the day, finally, you drive home in the evening. How many people did you pass or meet today? All potential […]
Why Should You Use Google Ads on Your Website?If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasnt sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links […]
Written by info on February 25th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
Are you running classified ads regularly? You should. They’re a powerful way to promote your business inexpensively.
Online, you can place ads in ezines and on Web sites, and offline, run them in your local paper and in trade magazines.
If you’ve tried a classified or two to promote your business and were disappointed with the results, remember that a one-shot deal won’t work.
You need to run your ads repeatedly. For months, not weeks. Run one classified a week in a newspaper, or one a month in magazine read by your target audience —for at least four months.
The humble classified ad is the magic bullet of advertising. And like a bullet, it needs to be precisely aimed.
=> Step One: Pick your bait
Somehow you’ve got to pack the copywriter’s AIDA formula of an successful ad: Attract, Interest, Desire, and Action, into 30 words.
You attract interest, arouse desire and get the reader to take action, with an appealing bait.
Start by listing everything you can think of to say about your product or service. Don’t limit yourself. Don’t just cover all the features you usually cover. Write down *everything* you can think of. You should have a long list.
Let’s say you’re selling a German Shepherd puppy. You can include: color, age, sex, the pedigree, temperament, conformation, and vaccination history. Don’t confine yourself to only these points however.
Add that he’ll sit and drop on command, walks on a lead, loves the cat, and is greedy. The more attributes you list about your puppy, the more likely it is that you’ll hit on a unique combination of words which will make your ad stand out.
In your 30-word ad, you can’t cover everything, so you’ll tailor your ad to your ideal buyer, by mentioning only those things which will appeal to that ideal buyer.
This pre-screens your buyers for you. It doesn’t matter what you’re advertising either, whether it’s a car, a lawn mowing service, a job, or a business.
When you’ve listed everything, pick four or five things you think would appeal to your ideal buyer.
=> Step Two: Write the headline
Your classified ad won’t really have a headline, but the first line functions as a headline. It should stop the reader cold, and it must be part of your sales message.
Remember that in newspapers, classifieds run in categories with headed columns, so don’t repeat words like “For Sale”.
=> Step Three: Write the body copy
You can’t be too creative in a basic classified. Give the facts. You can add descriptive words like “charming”, “classic”, and “elegant” to spice up the copy. Use punctuation rather than linking words like “and”.
Get enthusiastic about what you’re selling. This enthusiasm will come across in the ad. Imagine yourself the buyer: using the item, applying for the job, or buying from the business.
This enthusiasm is vital when you’re selling. If for some reason you’re having a bad morning, put the ad away for a few hours until you can achieve genuine enthusiasm
If you’re writing an ad for someone else, and you don’t feel excited, it’s usually because you don’t know enough about what you’re selling. Do a little more research.
=> Step Four: Get the response
Don’t forget to add the phone number, the address if required, or the online URL.
The response is usually placed last in a classified. However, you can make your ad stand out by giving the phone number or the URL, and then making one final selling point: “Three only”, “free quotes”, or “results guaranteed”.
=> Step Five: Write several versions
Write at least four versions of the ad. Then go and do something else. When you come back, you’ll have more perspective so you can pick the best one.
Here’s a successful technique: if you have so many selling points that the ad runs long, split it and run two ads.
=> Step Six: Test your ad
Testing is a must for a business ad. Often changing the first line, or rearranging your selling points will double or triple the pulling power of an ad.
How do you test? The basic process is to run the ad, and record the response. Ask the people who responded what drew their attention to the ad.
Keep changing the ad slightly, and recording the response each time you run it. The ad you settle on for longterm use is the ad which pulled the most responses.
Author of many books, including Making the Internet Work for Your Business,
copywriter and journalist Angela Booth also writes copy for businesses large and
small, and consults on search engine marketing. Angela has written copy for
companies in many industries, ranging from technology and real estate to the
jewellery trade. Her clients include major corporations like hp (Hewlett Packard),
WestPac Bank, and Acer Computer. For copywriting services and marketing
advice contact Angela at angelabooth.com
Advertising-The Best Marketing TipThe best marketing tip you will ever hear is to advertise your product or business. In fact, any marketing tip you hear or see will be related to some form of advertising. In this article, we will go over several marketing tips and the reason you should use them.One great marketing tip is […]
Building Business With Free Online Classified AdsOne time sellers and long term sellers can cash in on the advantages of free online classifieds. Despite the service is given to you free of cost, free online classifieds ad websites offer great service in helping you sell your products.Free online classifieds websites generally are of two kinds ?some have an option for upgrading […]
Promote yourself on radio for freeUnless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I’m aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. It may surprise you, though, when I […]
Advertising InsertsOne of the best and easiest ways to advertise without having to worry about shelf life of those who would most likely use your services or buy the products from your small business is to use inserts in your local newspaper. A marketing piece might also be to insert our flyers in the daily newspaper. […]
50 Surefire Business Card TipsBusiness cards are one of the most powerful and inexpensive marketing tools you can use. Here are 50 surefire tips to make the most out of your business cards:Your business card must communicate more than just your contact information. Make sure that your card includes a tag line that explains what you or […]
Written by info on February 24th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
Do you know about the distinction - and it’s a useful one - between communication that tries to reinforce and communication that tries to get change?
If you follow politics you’ll already be familiar with this idea: Incumbents send messages that reinforce existing voter behavior, while challengers call for changes.
Any thoughtful marketing communication (and political communication is marketing communication) will be strongly influenced by this distinction, which affects not only the content, but also the presentation, and perhaps even the medium.
For example, suppose you own a bookstore and every couple of months you send a newsletter to all residences within a two mile radius.
Now, if you have good market share and you’re profitable, you won’t want to rock the boat. You’ll want to reinforce existing behaviors (which include buying at your store).
On the other hand, if you just opened a new bookstore and need to take market share from other bookstores, then you want change existing book buying behavior.
Another example: Suppose your employee safety program has worked well for the past year and you want to maintain the practices that led to this longest-ever period without an accident. Your communication would reinforce. On the other hand, if the safety record was unacceptable, you would try to get change through your communication.
In a change situation, we want to upset the status quo, to challenge existing beliefs and ways of doing things. That means the words and style could be somewhat inflammatory.
We can do this by making bold claims or allegations: Just listen to, or look at, advertising claims like these: “If you shop at Joe’s Bookstore, you may be paying too much!” or, “Drive a bit further and save a lot more at Jane’s Bookstore!”
Change also might be hurried by painting negative scenarios , as in “Unless we get more efficient, senior management will outsource the whole department.”
Tactically, change usually demands more communication, as in more often and more words or pages. As you can imagine, it takes more communication to drive change than to stay on the same course.
There are also tactics we can use to reinforce existing beliefs or actions.
To maintain the status quo we can stress a service record, as in, “Serving you with quality and service for 25 years.” or “Your performance has been very good over the past year, Betty. Keep up the good work.”
Reinforcement does not automatically rule out change; however, it emphasizes incremental and gradual change rather than major and abrupt change.
You can also appeal to shared values or experiences to reinforce. Nothing commits us to staying the course like emotional cues that link good times to the status quo. For example, consider the power of an advertising slogan that begins, “Remember when….” It connects a powerful, positive emotion with a product or service. By extension, the product or service offers an opportunity to relive that good time.
In summary, make a distinction in your communication between reinforcing and changing. Decide which way you want to go, and then choose the appropriate strategies, tactics, and tools.
Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at:
http://www.communication-newsletter.com
Banner Stand ExhibitsBanner Stands are a high impact, inexpensive and attractive medium of advertisement. They are usually found at exhibitions, trade shows, retail stores ?just about anywhere the potential customer can be attracted by high wattage graphics.The attractive thing about banner stands is that they are portable, flexible and easy to set up. There are different kinds […]
Advertising-The Best Marketing TipThe best marketing tip you will ever hear is to advertise your product or business. In fact, any marketing tip you hear or see will be related to some form of advertising. In this article, we will go over several marketing tips and the reason you should use them.One great marketing tip is […]
Promote yourself on radio for freeUnless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I’m aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. It may surprise you, though, when I […]
Why Should You Use Google Ads on Your Website?If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasnt sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links […]
Building Business With Free Online Classified AdsOne time sellers and long term sellers can cash in on the advantages of free online classifieds. Despite the service is given to you free of cost, free online classifieds ad websites offer great service in helping you sell your products.Free online classifieds websites generally are of two kinds ?some have an option for upgrading […]
Written by info on February 24th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
On a growing business, there can always be a need for advertisement, full color printing can be a viable option to get the best color reproduction possible. But with a little disadvantage of full color printing to be a little more expensive compared to its digital counterpart, there are also ways to get them at cheaper prices.
Full color printing has been very widely used for a long time now. Along these times, often there are printers that put expensive price tags on printing projects with this type of printing. But There are also some workaround on this matter. This can all be affected when you select the right printer for the job. This idea also covers all types of print projects such as full color poster prints, brochure prints, flyer prints, post card prints, and other full color printed materials.
The issue here is that there is usually a marginal difference when choosing the right printer. These different prices may give you the opportunity to select the best out of the bunch, it can all depend on how credible the printer is.
1. Also, a print shop can have an individual method of doing their production. Their capabilities can vary, this is very evident on the equipment they are using. You may feel cheated if you knew that your printing project doesnt have the capability, instead they send other projects off to another printer. These can have a variable quality on your prints as they will no longer come out to according to your preferences.
2. Another issue is that printing is also considered to be a perishable commodity. They can be comparable to food which can be perishable, if the print house is not producing a project within some time, they arent making any money. This can lead to your project to be more expensive due to being idle.
3. On the real target, the key to get full color printing at cheap costs is to select high volume printers which can give your discounts. A good 5,000 business cards in full color with added extra coating can just cost to as low as 99 USD. Another example is a 10,000 four by six flyers wont cost you more than 350 USD, and if you are a little lucky, they might give you extra coatings and other free enhancements.
4. High volume printers, there can be some cost-cutting ideas which you can benefit from. An example are flyers, they can give you a lot of discounts if you include their advertisement within. This can lessen the costs dramatically. You can easily bag 5,000 flyers for below 100 USD.
There are a lot of ways to get better prices on your full color printing needs. Study a local printer or an online printer especially on their deals on your custom printing needs. You can easily compare deals on the internet to get the better view and convenience, just a little research and comparison can give you rewarding results even within the comfort of your desktop.
As to know the best possible printer, full color printing can be cheaper if you know the trade secrets and how they produce your project. There is simply no reason to pay more for full color printing when other high-volume printers can do the production at a fraction of the cost.
This article aims to provide readers information on how full color printing works. For a more detailed information on this service please look up on to full color printing wholesale
50 Surefire Business Card TipsBusiness cards are one of the most powerful and inexpensive marketing tools you can use. Here are 50 surefire tips to make the most out of your business cards:Your business card must communicate more than just your contact information. Make sure that your card includes a tag line that explains what you or […]
Building Business With Free Online Classified AdsOne time sellers and long term sellers can cash in on the advantages of free online classifieds. Despite the service is given to you free of cost, free online classifieds ad websites offer great service in helping you sell your products.Free online classifieds websites generally are of two kinds ?some have an option for upgrading […]
Generate Millions of Advertising Impressions and Drive Your Business Forward!What does your vehicle say about your business? You drive to work, commute through traffic, stop at the shop for refreshments, park up outside your business, take care of deliveries and run some errands during the day, finally, you drive home in the evening. How many people did you pass or meet today? All potential […]
Why Should You Use Google Ads on Your Website?If you are interested in earning income from your website, should you consider using the Google AdSense program to place targeted ads on your web pages? When I first considered this idea, I wasnt sure if it was right for me. You see, I have a number of websites that promote affiliate links […]
Advertising Made Easy, and Cost EffectiveAdvertising made easy, and your wallet will love it too!In today’s market, anyone in business knows that advertising is the backbone to the success, and without it, you are “dead in the water”. Even with the greatest product on the planet, a product that you know everyone needs and wants. Without advertising, it’s just […]
Written by info on February 24th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
This story is about a plumber, and while that might not sound relevant to you, if you’ve ever advertised your business, if you’re currently advertising your business or if you plan to advertise your business - you need to read this.
Jim and Rebekah Ypma own Sonoran Desert Plumbing (SDP), about a year ago they asked me to design an advertisement that would help to separate them from the competition. SDP did not have a brand image or any way to separate them from the rest of the field, consequently, prospects didn’t pay them much attention and they had to compete on price more than they would like; that’s where we came in.
Plumbers love to advertise in the yellow pages, so there’s a tremendous amount of competition, that’s the bad news; the good news is that 95% are under leveraged, boring and ineffective ads that most people are inclined to ignore.
Take a moment to look at the plumbing section in the yellow pages, what do you see? You see questions like, “Do you need a plumber” or the obligatory plumber’s van in the ad. Well, these two ideas fail the “Well, that’s obvious” Test, which all marketers/designers should know; if the idea or information you are placing in the ad is obvious, take it out.
For example, “Do you need a plumber?” Well, I am in the plumbing section, there’s a good chance that I do. And you might guess that a plumber might drive a van over a semi truck or an Infiniti FX 35. Make sure that the content in your ad address your prospect’s pain, problem and wants, if what you are thinking of putting in there doesn’t, you need to get rid of it.
So what’s the solution? In order for this ad to be effective, we had to find out how people and why people selected one plumber over another, and finally, we wanted to get to the root of why people chose to work with Sonoran Desert Plumbing.
After talking with Jim and Rebekah, we determined it was Jim, his friendly demeanor, boyish looks and yes, his smile that made people feel at ease. It turns out that prospect’s are apprehensive about having a stranger they don’t trust in their house - imagine that!
Despite some initial reluctance to break away from the crowd, Jim agreed to have us photograph him and feature him, and his smile in the ad.
Well, the ad worked, it really worked!
In fact, here is the reaction I received:
“Thank you so much for all of your hard work on our logo & ad! You did a fabulous job! The ad was a home run, we love it! I feel we hit the nail on the head with adding his picture to the ad, people are noticing it, talking about it, and calling! It feels good to have professionals in the artwork and design field comment on what a great ad it is too! We are very proud of it.”
What can this case study teach you about how to invest in an effective ad?
Work with a designer who is business and marketing savvy, if you want results from your investment, this is the only way to go.
Don’t follow the crowd unless you want to blend in with them.
Remember that people don’t talk or pay attention to businesses that are just like all the others
Find out why clients really do business with you and use this as a part of your marketing message
Hone your marketing strategy around the real value and benefits clients receive from you.
Tell new prospects about the experiences your clients have had with you.
As a final note, I’d like to thank Jim and Rebekah Ypma for allowing us to feature their story. You can find out more about them at www.sonorandesertplumbing.com
Thanks Jim and Rebekah.
Jeremy Tuber runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. He is an atypical designer with a passion for marketing as well as design. Jeremy infuses solid marketing expertise into design projects that he guarantees to bring satisfaction and results. Clients often remark that he brings a terrific enthusiasm and a can do?attitude to each project. In 1st quarter 2006, he will introduce his first book aimed at helping aspiring artists run a more profitable and more enjoyable design business called, Being a Starving Artist Sucks?
Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com
Advertising Made Easy, and Cost EffectiveAdvertising made easy, and your wallet will love it too!In today’s market, anyone in business knows that advertising is the backbone to the success, and without it, you are “dead in the water”. Even with the greatest product on the planet, a product that you know everyone needs and wants. Without advertising, it’s just […]
Advertising-The Best Marketing TipThe best marketing tip you will ever hear is to advertise your product or business. In fact, any marketing tip you hear or see will be related to some form of advertising. In this article, we will go over several marketing tips and the reason you should use them.One great marketing tip is […]
Building Business With Free Online Classified AdsOne time sellers and long term sellers can cash in on the advantages of free online classifieds. Despite the service is given to you free of cost, free online classifieds ad websites offer great service in helping you sell your products.Free online classifieds websites generally are of two kinds ?some have an option for upgrading […]
Banner Stand ExhibitsBanner Stands are a high impact, inexpensive and attractive medium of advertisement. They are usually found at exhibitions, trade shows, retail stores ?just about anywhere the potential customer can be attracted by high wattage graphics.The attractive thing about banner stands is that they are portable, flexible and easy to set up. There are different kinds […]
50 Surefire Business Card TipsBusiness cards are one of the most powerful and inexpensive marketing tools you can use. Here are 50 surefire tips to make the most out of your business cards:Your business card must communicate more than just your contact information. Make sure that your card includes a tag line that explains what you or […]
Written by info on February 23rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Advertise My Business.
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