May 2008
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Today, more than ever, it is crucial that your ad copy explodes the reader’s curiosity. Are you interested in simple yet powerful ways to improve your ad copy so your readers will rush to action? Invoking a reader’s call to action can be communicated in various effective ways. Great ad copy is more than simply plain conversation; it takes special style. The words must be ordered in such a way that they unlock the reader’s mind and walk right in.
Think about your ad copy for a moment. Does it inspire and thrust you into a blind rush to action? If not, take a giant step into increased profits today by enhancing your ad copy with the following tips.
CALL TO ACTION
To some, this might seem like an obvious step in crafting great ad copy. However, it is left out time and time again. Readers need to be told what you want them to do. Consider the following two examples:
Ad One: We guarantee you will lose up to 50 pounds safely with our new diet pill!
Ad Two: Take our new diet pill today and lose up to 50 pounds safely–guaranteed!
You probably noticed that Ad Two has a stronger pull to action. Ad One represents a common advertising line seen today. There is no call to action in this line. It hopes you will come to the conclusion that you need to take their pill. Ad Two is not only telling you the same information but also commanding that you take the pill and do so now.
WEAK PURSUASION
Weak persuasion attempts in your ad copy will completely destroy any chance for action you had. Many times ad copy can make calls to action that are too subtle. When this happens, the whole attempt is out the window. Let’s take a peak at a couple examples:
Ad Copy One:
Our new patented technology will assist you in promoting your website to its fullest potential. Order your copy of XYZ today!
Ad Copy Two:
Our new patented technology will assist you in promoting your website to its fullest potential. You’ll wonder how you ever managed without it. Order your copy of XYZ right now!
Ad Copy One, while having a call to action, has a somewhat weak closing. It left the door wide open for the reader to ponder the action, which normally means no closure. Ad Copy Two adds a power line before the closing attempt that gives the reader the feeling of doing too much work and the thought that this tool is a requirement. Additionally, I changed “today?with “right now?to strengthen the added line. Let us look at some other persuading calls to the reader.
You’ll receive all these benefits:
You’ll be glad you did.
Supply is limited.
Your gift/donation/etc is tax-deductible.
We know you’ll agree that ?
You simply can’t lose.
Don’t wait another minute.
Reserve your copy today.
There are many more but this should give you an idea on how to make stronger persuading suggestions to your readers.
SINGLE WORDS
Perhaps the best way to improve your ad copy is by replacing simple common words with more descriptive ones. It is important that your ad copy reads well so don’t just rapid fire in alternative words. Following are some common examples of words you might use and some excellent replacements.
Word: Good
Example: Our product is good.
Replacements Include:
Highest quality
The greatest
Outstanding
Top-of-the-line
Top-notch
Sets the standard
The best in the business
Superior
Our product is top-of-the-line.
Phrase: Saves Money, Value Priced, etc.
Example: Our product is cheap.
Replacements Include:
Tremendous savings
Pays for itself
Inexpensive
Thrifty
Low cost
Your money’s worth
Economical
Affordable
Cost-efficient
Our product pays for itself.
Word: Money Making
Example: Our product will make you money.
Replacements Include:
Make money the easy way.
Double your earnings.
Keeps on selling.
Money in the bank.
The opportunity of a lifetime.
High Yields
Make a bundle.
Generates overnight profits.
With our product you will make money the easy way.
With a little crafting you can turn ordinary ad copy into a goldmine. Read through your ad copy many times to find the holes. Every word written down or spoken to a potential customer must make a statement. Competition on the business gridiron is brutal and you simply can not afford to drop the ball when it comes to ad copy. For more helpful tips, please visit Internet Business Entrepreneur.
?005 Jason Andrew Martin LLC
Jason A. Martin has been conducting business on the Internet for 11 years. He is a free-lance writer on many topics and is currently working on obtaining a degree in Journalism and Law.
His official blog can be viewed at: Jason A. Martin
Post-Katrina Role Of Property Insurers Threaten Consumers NationwidePrediction is very hard, especially when its about the future. Yogi BerraGiven the focus on the recent one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by the media and government officials and its label as the most costly catastrophic disaster in United States history, there has been little focus on the nationwide impact the property and […]
When and How Do I Track My Advertising?Each and every time it runs!That’s the easy answer. After all, it’s your money and your business at stake. You should be learning from every campaign. Here are some basic questions:(1) How many customers did you reach?(2) Why did they pick your business?(3) What was in the ad that made them call or […]
Business Ethics: Would You Buy From You?You can never find yourself until you face the truth. Pearl BaileyAT the beginning of the twentieth-first century, it seemed that business ethics had become an oxymoron, that integrity was for suckers and that profit was the singular force driving business.Then, as mega-corporations collapsed and scandalized companies fell, we witnessed the fragile framework of […]
Writing Effective AdvertsAdvertising ?Who Needs It? - Who doesnt!Most people who read information about business or advertising are doing so because they are trying to make some kind of positive change in their life. Perhaps get a job, make money, and increase their customer base ?whatever. Thats the central purpose of a classified ad. […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on accounting.
Last Monday I met with a new client ?a representative of a local university. She was a very cheerful lady but had no marketing background, and was completely in the dark about what promo item to choose. At the top of her list were custom magnets ?she wanted refrigerator magnets with her university logo, and she wanted the enrollment and inquiry trunk line imprinted, too.
I could see where she was coming from. Magnets are, after all, among the cheapest promo items, and at roughly $0.56 each, they fall right within her budget. But when I asked her what exactly she wishes to accomplish with these magnets, she answered, to promote ourselves to high school seniors so that they would consider us for college.
RED ALERT. The common mistake people make when choosing promo items is choosing in terms of price. The cheapest is not always the most effective. In this case, for example, the magnets will only stay in the student refrigerators at home (if it even makes it there), where they can sit idle with no promotional leverage. These magnets will fail miserably at spreading the word among other students.
It took me a while to determine the best policy with her, but eventually I ended up talking get into buying rulers and pens instead.
For few more cents, she could really promote the school. Students can use their pens and rulers in class and tell their friends, This school is where I’m going to for college.
Now that is efficient promotion for less than $1 each.
Nick Friedel is the PR manager with rushIMPRINT, Internet’s fastest provider of custom corporate business gifts and promotional items. Since it was established, rushIMPRINT has provided millions of unique, creative and highly customized promotional products to businesses across the USA and Canada, grown in value by over 1000% and occupied high search engine rankings for all major industry keywords.
Writing Effective AdvertsAdvertising ?Who Needs It? - Who doesnt!Most people who read information about business or advertising are doing so because they are trying to make some kind of positive change in their life. Perhaps get a job, make money, and increase their customer base ?whatever. Thats the central purpose of a classified ad. […]
Local Classifieds Convert BestWith internet taking over the whole business transactions, the focus of advertising re-shifts to the power of words. Local classifieds used to have a stigma as being read by only people in the lower income strata. The runaway success of real estate classifieds in real estate magazines, auto classifieds in auto classifieds section of newspapers […]
You Are WrongIt appears that most gurus if you want to call them that represent themselves as experts. In several statements that Ive read, they refer to other marketers as making mistakes. Yet, when they make the same mistakes, they call it testing.I read a quote one time about a child learning to walk. […]
When and How Do I Track My Advertising?Each and every time it runs!That’s the easy answer. After all, it’s your money and your business at stake. You should be learning from every campaign. Here are some basic questions:(1) How many customers did you reach?(2) Why did they pick your business?(3) What was in the ad that made them call or […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on accounting.
Mobile detailers have all types of customers, many of whom are self-employed. We know that these customers love their automobiles as most Americans and therefore love the services we provide. So much so that they will refer us new customers and tout our services. But they are willing to do much more if you ask them. Like referrals you get more when you simply ask. Let me give you another couple of ideas.
Have you ever seen a sign in the window of a business that says UPS YES/NO. Well, how about “Reflections Auto Detailing?(A Logo) with a slider for YES or NO. And on the other side a matchbox car glued to the slider handle. How about a sign that says; “No Soliciting Except For Reflections Auto Detailing?or a half sheet of paper that says; “Reflections Auto Detail Country? Your very best customers will let you put them up and it’s great advertising.
Counter Displays
Little brochure packs on counters work great especially in:
Travel Agencies
Fishing Stores
Tire Shops
Equestrian Accessory Stores
Jenny Craig
Weight Watchers
Hair Salons
Dry Cleaners
Sandwich Shops
Golf Course Prop Shops
If the owner is over fifty and also a small businessperson who enjoys your energy and drive, they will usually be receptive to this idea. If they are a young hussler, they’ll probably want you to pay to put a brochure pack on their counter top. If that is the case, then you should joke about doubling the price of their car wash or detail job, they’ll then laugh and let you put one up. Fair is fair. If they help you, you help them. Think about some other grass roots marketing techniques for you auto detailing business.
“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; www.WorldThinkTank.net/
Post-Katrina Role Of Property Insurers Threaten Consumers NationwidePrediction is very hard, especially when its about the future. Yogi BerraGiven the focus on the recent one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by the media and government officials and its label as the most costly catastrophic disaster in United States history, there has been little focus on the nationwide impact the property and […]
When and How Do I Track My Advertising?Each and every time it runs!That’s the easy answer. After all, it’s your money and your business at stake. You should be learning from every campaign. Here are some basic questions:(1) How many customers did you reach?(2) Why did they pick your business?(3) What was in the ad that made them call or […]
Writing Effective AdvertsAdvertising ?Who Needs It? - Who doesnt!Most people who read information about business or advertising are doing so because they are trying to make some kind of positive change in their life. Perhaps get a job, make money, and increase their customer base ?whatever. Thats the central purpose of a classified ad. […]
You Are WrongIt appears that most gurus if you want to call them that represent themselves as experts. In several statements that Ive read, they refer to other marketers as making mistakes. Yet, when they make the same mistakes, they call it testing.I read a quote one time about a child learning to walk. […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on accounting.
When you first start a business you need to be as prepared as if you were starting a new job! You need to know the ins and outs of your new business.
Before you can start advertising your business you need to know everything there is to know about your company should you be in direct sales.
Have you tried out the products? Believe it or not there are people who will join a direct sales company and have never tried their products how are you going to convince people to purchase the products if you yourself have never tried them. A personal testimony is always better!
The cost to join, is there a refund if someone signs up and does not want to continue on, do you lose money if some quits that you have brought on board, what are the advertising rules for this company both online and offline etc.
The best way to do this is to talk to your upline, get in on any classes or phone presentations that your company may offer. Take notes go over the notes daily to refresh your mind on what your company offers not only to customers but to business builders. Do some research if you sell natural cosmetics or aromatherapy find articles that will support what your company sells, if you are a writer write about why natural cosmetics or aromatherapy etc etc is better for the person the negatives of having chemicals on someone’s skin or in someone’s home as in cleaning products etc (do not use your company products etc in the article use the resource at the bottom of the article to place your name, company name and other contact information)
Make a note of what it costs for a website through the company.
Join any yahoo groups or presentations your company may have to keep learning how to better promote your new business.
Make a list of questions to ask your upline and be sure to check in with them when you have a problem.
You need to be excited about your company! In order to be excited you need to learn everything there is to learn about your company. Discounts you can offer, the reason the product or service is so wonderful~you will need to think like a customer when you are writing out ads.
What would you want to see in an ad? Who is your niche market? Who do you plan to target with your ads? What is your advertising budget in the beginning and how much out of your profit do you plan on re-investing back into advertising? What is the main topic in your marketing niche? How you can help them? ETC.
This week I would like you to get a 3 ring notebook and some dividers, add sections for you to brainstorm your ads before you start advertising.
Write down how much you have to spend a month in advertising, then make a section of sites that you see that are offering advertising.
You will need to write down the page rank (google), how much it costs to advertise on this site, what type of advertising they offer. Are you going to be getting your advertising dollars worth? How many visitors are going to the site? What is the Alexa rating? You can find out any website Alexa rating by going to http://www.alexa.com and typing in a websites address.
Keep this filed away for future reference!
Do you know the owner have you met them through networking on groups? (More about networking next Monday July 25th)
Once you have this all written down, I would like you to post a few free ads! Take a look at chapters 2 and 3 for free places to post your ads. There is over 200 links in the Step by Step Marketing Guide that you can post your ads for free, some require a link back others do not please be sure to read their rules before posting.
Save the layout of the ads in a word folder on your computer for future reference, you will be able to tweak them later on as you start getting more comfortable with writing your own ads. It does take practice to write ads I know I still once in awhile have to go back and tweak my ads because they are too long, or they do not get to the point!
When advertising on the internet people need something to catch their eyes! Be sure your subject line will catch their attention, the best way to do this WOULD THIS SUBJECT LINE CATCH YOUR EYE?
When you first start out a business you will be very busy posting all over~! Especially since you will be on a limited advertising budget.
I remember when Michaele McMillan and I started The Perfect Image website we both posted all over the place, free ad links, in forums (not ads but participated and tried to help others out but had our business information in our signature line) some days we were posting 4-6 hours a day! But in the end it was well worth it! We now can post a few times a week and pay for good advertising.
Starting out is going to be hard, it is with any business!
Don’t forget to get business cards, flyers made (you can do this with a basic Printmaster program or have someone else make up your flyers for you) You are going to have to focus not only on online advertising but offline advertising as well. Those reps who do both are more successful then ones who only do one or the other.
There are many sites that offer promotional items for businesses take a look around at what other home based businesses offer and see if your budget allows you to add a new promotional item a month, be different! Try to stand out!
Offline advertising you can post flyers or leave match mint books all over the place like at libraries, daycares, think of where your target market is and place your advertising in those places.
Rebecca White has been marketing online for over 3 years. During the 3 years she has used e-books and software products that she has purchased to help her become the well known WAHM internet marketing expert that she is today. She started out on the internet not knowing how to build a website, not knowing how to market online. Once she started teaching herself from e-books and online seminars she was able to offer what she learned to others. Rebecca just opened up a new online digital e-book and software store that offers resell rights on over 200+ e-books or software titles that she has personally used to help grow her businesses. All are priced to be affordable for any budget. Business, Home Improvement, Life Style Improvement and more can be found at http://www.experts4wahms.com
Business Ethics: Would You Buy From You?You can never find yourself until you face the truth. Pearl BaileyAT the beginning of the twentieth-first century, it seemed that business ethics had become an oxymoron, that integrity was for suckers and that profit was the singular force driving business.Then, as mega-corporations collapsed and scandalized companies fell, we witnessed the fragile framework of […]
You Are WrongIt appears that most gurus if you want to call them that represent themselves as experts. In several statements that Ive read, they refer to other marketers as making mistakes. Yet, when they make the same mistakes, they call it testing.I read a quote one time about a child learning to walk. […]
God Bless The Refrigerator Magnet!Ah, my very favorite promotional product of all, the refrigerator magnet. They are my favorite, because they are so extremely inexpensive, and extremely effective in getting your company name seen in countless locations.They dont make the greatest commission for a salesman of advertising specialties, but I cant stop myself from recommending these little beauties […]
Writing Effective AdvertsAdvertising ?Who Needs It? - Who doesnt!Most people who read information about business or advertising are doing so because they are trying to make some kind of positive change in their life. Perhaps get a job, make money, and increase their customer base ?whatever. Thats the central purpose of a classified ad. […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on accounting.
My wife and I wondered across the high school parking lot next to our home this afternoon and watched a girl’s soccer game. We heard shouts like:
“That a girl, Cindy!
“Go!
“Watch out!
“Move your…”
If there was a verb in a sentence, it was an action verb.
Most sentences had no more than 3 words.
I thought, we’re out here with a bunch of copywriters!
We know that we should not use passive verbs in our ads and promotion copy. Well, watch out for the helping verbs too. They will instantly turn a steel spike into that proverbial wet noodle.
If you don’t remember the 23 helping verbs, here they are as I memorized them about sixty years ago:
be is was were,
am are been being,
have has had,
do does did,
will would,
shall should,
can could,
may might must.
There is a place for these critters if you are studying Spanish verb conjugations. But there is not much room for them in copywriting.
Take a look at these examples:
Have you been tired of getting really bad headaches?
Are you sick and tired of headaches?
Sick of head splitting headaches?
The last one brought up my grammar checker because it doesn’t have a well-defined verb. It claims this is a fragment. It gave me this advice: consider revising.
If you are writing good copy, your grammar checker should be telling you that you should go back to grade school.
The first example has two helping verbs. The second has one helping verb. The last one has no helping verb despite the fact that my grammar checker tells me it needs a helping verb.
Tough!
The last example has punch to it. The answer, “YES?is demanded to the question. It has your attention and you hope like crazy that you are being offered a solution to a serious problem.
Having said that, what do you think the answer to the first two questions would be? It could be, “Well, yes. I had one a couple of weeks ago. I went to the drugstore and bought some ?. blah, blah, blah. Oh, I’ve got to get the telephone.?/p>
Try this one (Forgive me. I live in Idaho.) :
You mustn’t miss out on what could be the big breakthrough in milk production!
Did you hear about our big milk production breakthrough?
Bossy is ready to give more milk. Are you?
Increase Milk Production–Now!
The only exciting thing about the first sentence is the exclamation point.
The second one will bring a response like, “I haven’t read the Farm News this week because I got more plowin?to do.?/p>
The third sentence will be a joke to farmers so it may get some attention, but not because of the breakthrough.
The last sentence spells one thing to a dairy farmer, MONEY! You’ve got his attention with no thanks to helping verbs.
Helping verbs are like adverbs and adjectives; they dilute the power of your writing.
Take Mark Twian’s advice and don’t use them unless you must!
Darn, I used a helping verb!
CopyrightJohn Taylor Jones, Ph.D. 2005
John T. Jones, Ph.D. is a retired engineering R&D executive from a Fortune 500 marketing oriented company. He is an author of detective and western novels as well as engineering books. Details are at http://www.tjbooks.com. His main ecommerce site is http://www.bookfindhelp.com.
Business Ethics: Lesson Plans, Knowledge Management, Ethics and Capitalism CollideRecently I read of a new website where teachers can post and sell their lesson plans to recover the time that they had spent in developing these plans. On the surface, this sounds reasonable and why would anyone object to teachers making a little more money through such a capitalist venture and leveraging their […]
The Only Bad Advertising Is No Advertising - Or Is It?Depending on whom you ask, you will get told many truths?about advertising. The question I have for you today is this ?Is the only bad advertising, no advertising??/p>Before we begin, it might help us to agree on what advertising is, so heres one definition:Advertising is the non-personal communication of an individuals paid persuasive information regarding […]
You Are WrongIt appears that most gurus if you want to call them that represent themselves as experts. In several statements that Ive read, they refer to other marketers as making mistakes. Yet, when they make the same mistakes, they call it testing.I read a quote one time about a child learning to walk. […]
God Bless The Refrigerator Magnet!Ah, my very favorite promotional product of all, the refrigerator magnet. They are my favorite, because they are so extremely inexpensive, and extremely effective in getting your company name seen in countless locations.They dont make the greatest commission for a salesman of advertising specialties, but I cant stop myself from recommending these little beauties […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on accounting.
You certainly must know that Many Big Marketers consider COPYWRITING to be the most important skill you need to be earning online.
There’s a lot of good copywriting around. But even in good copywriting there are some manerism that in my opinion don’t help to achieve the desired result. No doubt the most over-used in copywriting is the Exclamation Mark. As a result of this over-use it’s become a very ineffective means of expression. But nevertheless, it still appears everywhere, often in pairs or big flocks. Conveying practically no longer any real emotions. I don’t mean that the feelings that the copywriter expresses are not true - whether it is or not is no the point here. The important thing is that the READER, seeing those expression marks, doesn’t feel anything "extra". Nothing over what he/she would feel if there was no exclamation marks.
While exclamation marks in a book or a newspaper may be needed for stressing something you are saying, making it more violent, "louder", on the Web you have other options. On a webpage or in HTML email you can for example stress a word using bolder, bigger characters in a different color. And it will generally work much better.
Yes, in a plain text emails you can’t use colors and bold characters. But there is another unpleasant aspect of too much exclamations: they tend to trigger those bitchy "spam-filters". While failing to arise much excitement in the reader.
I’m not saying that exclamation marks are not to be used at all. I simply see much to many of them, and they usually don’t achieve the result they were intended for. Not with me in any case, and I doubt if they do with you.
OK, that was mostly "against". But I also have got a positive suggestion for you. In fact it will be the main topic of this article…
Relatively little used today, which makes it very noticable and powerful. What it is? It’s the ellipsis. Three little dots ending a sentence. Or rather - suspending it only, leaving the reader aware that something is to follow, and that something for some reason is letting the reader wait. Arousing that readers curiosity, waking his/hers impatience… Isn’t that what most copywriters want most of the time?
OK, it’s not quite as loved by sentimental shool-girls of the old as the exclamation mark. But let’s make a small experiment. What’s the title of the present article? It’s "The Power of…". Power of what? you say. Somebody who has just seen that title can’t possibly know that… Perhaps that title is just awful and could be easily made much better.. How? By using exclamation marks of course! 
Seriously - please take a look at each of these suggested versions of the title, one after another:
1. The Power of…
2. The Power of SuperWidget
3. The Power of SuperWidget!!!
Sincerely, which of those titles best incites you to read on in order to see what’s it all about? I’m sure you will agree that no number of exclamation marks can compete with the psychological trick of the number 1.
Let’s take a look at another example. This time we want to convey the feeling of suddeness and shock. Which version does this the best?
1. And then KABOOM! It happened!
2. And then… KABOOM! It happened!
3. And then - KABOOM! It happened!
My bet is on number 2: softly, slowly… and THEN! (By the way, you can notice here that this is NOT a crusade against exclamation marks.)
Elipisis is all suspence, uncertainty, hesitation… Yes, but here I hope to have shown how it can for example enhance the exact opposite - the violent feeling of a sudden KABOOM!
An rather interesting thing about elipsis, in realation with the Internet and marketing, is that it can’t easily "transcribed" into visual elements, such as: colors, size and shape of the characters etc. In any case, much less easily than exlamation marks. Which is one more reason why you should consider using it more in your copywriting.
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Piotr Obminski is an Internet marketer living in Poland.
He’s open for interesting JV proposals. His sites include:
softpromo.com
new-shakira-posters.com
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When and How Do I Track My Advertising?Each and every time it runs!That’s the easy answer. After all, it’s your money and your business at stake. You should be learning from every campaign. Here are some basic questions:(1) How many customers did you reach?(2) Why did they pick your business?(3) What was in the ad that made them call or […]
Advanced Tips for Advertising OnlineAdvertising online is really important for the online business. It is also very effective. You can use different types of online advertising methods to get the desired result.Place all your online advertisements in a website that has the maximum visitors a day. This is important because more visitors will ensure that you get good numbers […]
Business Ethics: Lesson Plans, Knowledge Management, Ethics and Capitalism CollideRecently I read of a new website where teachers can post and sell their lesson plans to recover the time that they had spent in developing these plans. On the surface, this sounds reasonable and why would anyone object to teachers making a little more money through such a capitalist venture and leveraging their […]
Local Classifieds Convert BestWith internet taking over the whole business transactions, the focus of advertising re-shifts to the power of words. Local classifieds used to have a stigma as being read by only people in the lower income strata. The runaway success of real estate classifieds in real estate magazines, auto classifieds in auto classifieds section of newspapers […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on accounting.
Here’s some easy ways to create signage that will attract, not annoy customers (and local government agencies that regulate signage):
1. Since movement always attracts attention, any banner, sign set of a pole that
might move with the wind or electrically-turned sign will stand out from the static
messages around it.
2. A retailer could become known for catchy sayings, advice, or questions (that are
answered in the next day or week’s sign message). Messages may or may not be
directly related to the store’s products or services ?but they should appeal to the
store’s kind of clients. For example, a beauty salon may have hair-related sayings ?
or simple quotes on beauty ?and wit.
3. For 24-hour involvement, consider videoing local notables (from mayor to sports
columnist) and attention-getting people (cute kids, beautiful adults, etc.) using or
discussing your product/service.
Creating a continuous feed video loop of the short vignettes and put the video in a
TV monitor inside the store for viewing ?and/or another on a stand in the window,
facing out with the sound piped out from above peoples?heads (where vandals
cannot damage the site where the sound is sent outside. That way passersby can
watch.
We are all voyeurs. We like to eavesdrop or see each other in action, especially in
fun, odd, inspiring, humorous or other human situations. So-called “reality TV?has
proved that.
4. Do a variation of the Burma-Shave signs of America’s past where people driving
through long stretches of boring desert or other unchanging landscapes. The
sequence of signs had progressive rhyming lines to pull people into the message.
A set of stores on a block could co-create a continuing set of signs, with messages
about their stores in a continuing theme. Each side of the signs, set out
perpendicular to their storefronts, could be read, sequence, by the passersby in
their car or on foot, depending on the sign placement.
Adapt your selling to make prospects comfortable in these less-certain times What
kinds of online and on-location marketing will attract more shoppers, spending and
buzz in this New Normal world?
Consider consumers desire for comfort, security and personal recognition ?and
exactly how you will serve those largely unspoken needs:
1. “Time-Starved Culture?/p>
Both bricks and mortar and ‘only online?stores could offer the opportunity for
shoppers to fill out a shopping list online of their gift recipients?names and mailing
addresses . . .
2. “Need to be Known in a Relationship-Diminished World?/p>
. . . Then enable the customer to write a personal message to each of her/his
intended gift recipients . . .
3. “Worried About Money?/p>
. . .then offer, upfront, a “special savings?if your customer spends at least a certain
level of money on the gift list (thus encouraging great per-customer spending, with
less labor and marketing costs for the retailer)
4. “Seeking Value?/p>
. . or, rather than offer a “special savings? cross-promote with another retailer who
also reaches the same kind of customer and agree to give one of your gifts to their
biggest spending customers (coming to your store to pick up the gift) in exchange
for your cross-promoting partner to give a gift of the same value to your biggest
spenders.
Thus the SmartPartnering retailers gain access to each others?most lucrative kind of
customer in a credible and cost-effective manner, while offering their customers an
enticing reason to spend more.
Kare Anderson is the author of LikeABILITY (see Grand Store at
http://www.SayitBetter.com), Make Yourself Memorable and SmartPartnering. A popular
speaker on SmartPartnering and on how to be more frequently-quoted to become
your kind of customers’ top- of-mind choice, she also publishes the SayitBetter
newsletter, with 32,000 subscribers in 28 countries.
Advanced Tips for Advertising OnlineAdvertising online is really important for the online business. It is also very effective. You can use different types of online advertising methods to get the desired result.Place all your online advertisements in a website that has the maximum visitors a day. This is important because more visitors will ensure that you get good numbers […]
You Are WrongIt appears that most gurus if you want to call them that represent themselves as experts. In several statements that Ive read, they refer to other marketers as making mistakes. Yet, when they make the same mistakes, they call it testing.I read a quote one time about a child learning to walk. […]
God Bless The Refrigerator Magnet!Ah, my very favorite promotional product of all, the refrigerator magnet. They are my favorite, because they are so extremely inexpensive, and extremely effective in getting your company name seen in countless locations.They dont make the greatest commission for a salesman of advertising specialties, but I cant stop myself from recommending these little beauties […]
Local Classifieds Convert BestWith internet taking over the whole business transactions, the focus of advertising re-shifts to the power of words. Local classifieds used to have a stigma as being read by only people in the lower income strata. The runaway success of real estate classifieds in real estate magazines, auto classifieds in auto classifieds section of newspapers […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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In the sign industry we commonly refer to the material that the sign is made out of as the substrate. Examples include, wood, vinyl banners, aluminum, coroplast, etc. But what many customers do not realize is that they can purchase vinyl lettering or vinyl decals and apply them directly to typical substrates themselves. Translation ?saving money by buying blank substrates inexpensively at local hardware stores such as Home Depot and Lowes and avoiding the prices sign companies need to charge to apply the material. Although you do pay tax by buying locally on the substrate, you can save tax on the vinyl by ordering over the internet.
What are vinyl letters and/or vinyl decals? They are letters (or images) that come prespaced according to customer specifications as words, phrases, or sentences on pre masking tape. The lettering is self adhesive and by removing the paper backing, they can be applied directly to almost any substrate, car, boat, truck, windows, snowmobiles, jet skis, vans, store fronts, etc. Make sure the surface is extremely clean and free of dust or lint. Once the lettering or decal has been aligned, simply rub over the masking covering the vinyl and then remove it. The result will be perfectly spaced lettering or a decal designed as ordered with a professional look. Most sign companies will allow you to purchase multiple lines of vinyl lettering with the spacing between the lines defined by you. You can also usually obtain a combination of vinyl lettering and images on one decal.
Another tack you may wish to consider is to have the entire sign printed on vinyl made to fit the substrate you prepurchased (with a small bleed of additional vinyl to wrap around the sides). We must caution you that this is a bit more tricky to apply than vinyl lettering, but problems can be overcome with care and some suggestions. When applying the vinyl to the substrate, remove the paper backing about two inches at a time, align, and then press or roll it on the surface. We recommend a roller for the application (roller applicator). Once the first part is properly aligned and applied, remove another two inches of the backing and proceed in this manner with the rest of the sign. Another trick is to moisten the substrate so you can move the vinyl if you accidentally align it improperly when first applied. The water prevents it from adhering permanently for a few seconds.
When you apply vinyl, it is inevitable that you will run into the “bubble?problem. Tiny bubbles of captured air will form under the vinyl. Usually these can be worked out with the roller but in some circumstances, they will remain. A blow dryer (not too hot) can be used to heat the vinyl up so that the air can be rolled out easier. Under some circumstances if the bubble is large, the vinyl can be heated and the bubble punctured with a pin (careful here ?only a tiny hole is needed). Be careful not to heat the vinyl too much because it can permanently deform it.
Recently, a new product has been introduced which enables the vinyl to be adjusted if it is pressed on but incorrectly aligned. The adhesive does not seal permanently for a few hours after it is applied. The material is a bit more expensive but well worth it if you are inexperienced. Don’t feel bad. I know many sign companies that are now going to the easy stick vinyl to avoid large overhead costs caused by mistakes with the old permanent seal vinyl.
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
Business Ethics: Lesson Plans, Knowledge Management, Ethics and Capitalism CollideRecently I read of a new website where teachers can post and sell their lesson plans to recover the time that they had spent in developing these plans. On the surface, this sounds reasonable and why would anyone object to teachers making a little more money through such a capitalist venture and leveraging their […]
Advanced Tips for Advertising OnlineAdvertising online is really important for the online business. It is also very effective. You can use different types of online advertising methods to get the desired result.Place all your online advertisements in a website that has the maximum visitors a day. This is important because more visitors will ensure that you get good numbers […]
You Are WrongIt appears that most gurus if you want to call them that represent themselves as experts. In several statements that Ive read, they refer to other marketers as making mistakes. Yet, when they make the same mistakes, they call it testing.I read a quote one time about a child learning to walk. […]
God Bless The Refrigerator Magnet!Ah, my very favorite promotional product of all, the refrigerator magnet. They are my favorite, because they are so extremely inexpensive, and extremely effective in getting your company name seen in countless locations.They dont make the greatest commission for a salesman of advertising specialties, but I cant stop myself from recommending these little beauties […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on accounting.
Touring is a bands greatest opportunity for success. But, touring can be very expensive. Getting your tour, band or event sponsored is critical to your success. Sponsorship can off-set production, travel, promotion and virtually any of your expense. The right sponsor can also significantly augment your advertising, publicity and promotions. But, getting sponsorship participation can take a lot of effort and commitment on your part. You will need to prove to potential sponsors that your opportunity will deliver a good return on investment for them.
The following is a step by step procedure we have used at Multimediary Entertainment Marketing to secure hundreds of thousands of sponsorship dollars for numerous tours, events, artists, television programming and feature films. We have done this for several major record labels and both signed and unsigned artists. Now we want to share our knowledge experience so you can do this on your own.
Create an Introduction Letter
The first step in securing sponsorship dollars is to craft a professional introduction letter highlighting the features and benefits of the opportunity you are offering. Some of these features and benefits might include inclusion in advertising, product sampling, banner display and more. After you have given a brief overview of the opportunity close the letter by asking their permission to send them a more detailed presentation. The introduction letter is the most critical part of the sponsorship success equation. If well crafted, it will get your foot in the door.
Demographic Analysis
Understanding your audience is critical. Potential sponsors will want to know who you are reaching. The best way of gathering this information is right at you finger tips. Call radio stations you think should be playing your music. Ask for an account executive and ask this person to fax you their Tapscan, Scarborough or Prism demographic and qualitative information. In all likelihood you will now be armed with a detailed overview of what your audience looks like and can match this up with potential sponsors. You will also have a great hit list of companies to start hitting.
Creating Your Sponsorship Presentation
No that you have your introduction letter and demographic profiles you are ready to begin creating your presentation. The presentation will seal the deal with sponsors only if it contains all the information they will need to make an educated decision on your opportunity. The presentation must contain the following elements:
1. A Two to three paragraph overview of your opportunity
2. A detailed overview of tour routing, markets and venues
3. An overview of what type of public relations and media
support you expect to have and how the sponsor will be included
4. Your audience and demographic profile
5. Tour partnership deliverables or what the sponsor will receive for their investment
6. The total investment you are looking for from your sponsor and the return a sponsor can expect
Now that you have all of the pieces of the puzzle you are ready to go out and shake the trees for sponsorship dollars. With effort and consistency you will land a sponsor. Always deliver on what you promise to retain your sponsors year after year. Under deliver and they will promptly kick you to the curb. Our philosophy is to always under promise and over deliver. With this philosophy you will be assured ongoing solid sponsorship participation for years to come.
Multimediary Entertainment Marketing can get your tour, band or event on the right track by providing you with the following:
?An Introduction letter that garners results
?An accurate Demographic Analysis extrapolated of 5 major markets
?Sponsorship Value Analysis to determine the worth of your opportunity
?Sponsorship presentation in Word and PowerPoint
?Press Release creation announcing sponsorship opportunity
?Press Release distributed to all major markets announcing your opportunity
?We will also include your opportunity in the Multimediary Entertainment Marketing Newsletter which goes out to over 1500 Corporate Brand Managers monthly
?Professional Sponsorship Contract/Agreement you can use to seal the deal
?One-hour Professional Consultation to ensure you’re going in the right direction
For details and pricing please visit our website at: http://www.multimediary.com/sponsorship.html
About Multimediary Entertainment Marketing and Thom King
Multimediary was founded by Thom King in late 2001. Multimediary has worked with Virgin Records, Capital Records, and Universal, Warner Brothers, Lions Gate Films and several other major and independent record labels and entertainment production companies. Multimediary has also worked with several consumer brands including: Lifestyles Condoms, Miller Beer, Red Bull, Monster Energy Drink, Dr. Martins, Snapple, Honda Motor Company, British Petroleum, Adidas and more.
King started his career in the broadcast industry where he most recently worked as Regional Vice President of Sales for a division of Clear Channel Worldwide. King was instrumental in helping Clear Channel capitalized on unique opportunities by converging radio, outdoor, venue, and interactive assets into fully integrated campaigns. King parlayed his over 20 years of cutting edge marketing experience to form Multimediary.
Business Ethics: Would You Buy From You?You can never find yourself until you face the truth. Pearl BaileyAT the beginning of the twentieth-first century, it seemed that business ethics had become an oxymoron, that integrity was for suckers and that profit was the singular force driving business.Then, as mega-corporations collapsed and scandalized companies fell, we witnessed the fragile framework of […]
You Are WrongIt appears that most gurus if you want to call them that represent themselves as experts. In several statements that Ive read, they refer to other marketers as making mistakes. Yet, when they make the same mistakes, they call it testing.I read a quote one time about a child learning to walk. […]
God Bless The Refrigerator Magnet!Ah, my very favorite promotional product of all, the refrigerator magnet. They are my favorite, because they are so extremely inexpensive, and extremely effective in getting your company name seen in countless locations.They dont make the greatest commission for a salesman of advertising specialties, but I cant stop myself from recommending these little beauties […]
Writing Effective AdvertsAdvertising ?Who Needs It? - Who doesnt!Most people who read information about business or advertising are doing so because they are trying to make some kind of positive change in their life. Perhaps get a job, make money, and increase their customer base ?whatever. Thats the central purpose of a classified ad. […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
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Philadelphia retailer and US Postmaster General, John Wanamaker, once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”
If you’re spending $10,000 a month on advertising $5,000 is going straight down the tubes. That wastes $60,000 of your hard earned cash every year. Money you could spend on better, more focused marketing.
Imagine if you could work out which half works and spend only on that half. The good news is you can. All will become clear in a little while.
In the meantime let me explain how advertising works.
Broadly there are two types of advertising. One is Branding and Positioning (BAP) and the other is Direct Response (DR) advertising.
Branding and Position concentrates on getting the company’s name, or service or product continually at the forefront of its customer’s minds. As you can imagine this needs continual advertising activity and can cost megabucks. Companies doing this type of advertising include Coca-Cola, British Airways, Nike and MacDonald’s.
These are all major companies and everyone already knows their name and what they stand for.
Why do they do it?
The simple answer is that they’re in a highly competitive market. They want to retain their large market share by ensuring that the most recent ad a prospect remembers is for their service or product. So when they’re thirsty it’s a Coke. If they’re hungry it’s a Big Mac if they want to fly they choose the World’s favourite airline.
Picture the mountains of money that go towards that aim. But picture too the accountants horror ?they don’t know which campaign makes a profit.
Profit is the one thing that tells you if your campaign is working. If you know your ad makes more revenue than it costs to create, run and service you’d keep running it wouldn’t you?
Unfortunately Branding and Positioning (BAP) advertising can’t be evaluated. You just don’t know whether it’s worth doing or not. How do you know which advert finally persuaded your prospect to do business with you.
Interestingly Bill Bernbach one of the founders of modern advertising said that, “Advertising doesn’t create a product advantage. It can only convey it.”
So why bother doing BAP advertising?
Probably because advertising agencies are happy to use BAP advertising for almost any company. Any slowdown in sales can’t be attributed to their adverts. Any increase is claimed to prove the advert is working.
In reality you don’t have a clue.
Former Canadian policeman turned fabulously paid copywriter John E. Kennedy coined the phrase, “advertising is salesmanship in print?
Would you tell a salesman to go see a prospect and to strip customer oriented benefits from their presentation? Also would you tell them not to ask for the order? You’d be laughed at and if you insisted you’d probably go out of business and certainly lose your salesmen.
BAP advertising does exactly that to your customer.
In contrast Direct Response (DR) advertising is able to directly relate a specific advert to an increase in sales. Or alternatively highlight a problem ad that needs fixing.
This type of advertising seeks to inform the prospect as to how your product or service improves their life, rights a wrong or smoothes a problem. Additionally, DR advertising almost always asks for a response. Either to call in to buy immediately (unusual), to get a free sample, free report, free voucher, free experience or other intermediary step before buying the target product.
Imagine the calls, letters and emails you can get from advertising that encourage your prospects to take action to contact your company immediately. You get to see whether the campaign is working. That means you can step in and tweak it if it’s not.
But it also allows you to test different aspects of your advert to try and increase response further. So for instance you could run two adverts with the headline changed on one, or a different offer on one or a free-phone number against a geographic number.
You can see how every single word and picture in your advert performs. Doesn’t that just feel better? You’ve control over your spend and the customers who are bought for your advertising dollar.
There are many people who would agree that DR advertising is the right way to advertise. But they still don’t do it.
Why?
Usually the reason is simply one of ego. Direct Response adverts don’t tend to be pretty or to win the Cannes Advertising Lions awards. If you’re the head of the company or you’re the director of sales imagine how tempting it is top run ads that might win awards?/p>
You already have sales coming in. Running a BAP advert will still get sales coming in. And you might win that Lion at the Cannes awards for best advertising.
You’re fooling yourself if you think it’s for any other reason. Because almost without exception Direct Response adverts will pull more sales than BAP adverts.
Yet many advertisers don’t realise it. They’re convinced that an advert has to look “professional?to sell. WRONG!
Do you want more sales?
If you do, and I’m sure you do use the following steps:
Step 1: Learn how your products relate to your users. Which emotions, feelings and beliefs does it generate or speak to?
Step 2: Assess the best way to convey that to your ultimate user.
Step 3: Do the newspapers/magazines/radio/tv channels you’ve chosen to advertise in get read by your preferred prospects?
Step 4: Check and test each ad with a single entry in your chosen media. (Do not run ad series until you’ve tested the pulling power)
Step 5: Buy the smallest display ad possible. Then each time it makes money buy the next size up until it starts to lose money. Then go back to the last one that made money - the optimum size.
Step 6: Continually run split tests to find the best pulling direct response for your product
Step 7: Use some of your advertising saved to buy other means of marketing
Jim Symcox, also known as the Marketing Magician has worked as a consultant since the mid 1980’s. He is a marketing coach, copywriter and the author of “How to Leap Ahead Of Your Competitors”.
web: http://www.acornservice.com
blog: http://www.blogspot.acornservice.com
tel: 0161 278 1919
Writing Effective AdvertsAdvertising ?Who Needs It? - Who doesnt!Most people who read information about business or advertising are doing so because they are trying to make some kind of positive change in their life. Perhaps get a job, make money, and increase their customer base ?whatever. Thats the central purpose of a classified ad. […]
God Bless The Refrigerator Magnet!Ah, my very favorite promotional product of all, the refrigerator magnet. They are my favorite, because they are so extremely inexpensive, and extremely effective in getting your company name seen in countless locations.They dont make the greatest commission for a salesman of advertising specialties, but I cant stop myself from recommending these little beauties […]
Business Ethics: Lesson Plans, Knowledge Management, Ethics and Capitalism CollideRecently I read of a new website where teachers can post and sell their lesson plans to recover the time that they had spent in developing these plans. On the surface, this sounds reasonable and why would anyone object to teachers making a little more money through such a capitalist venture and leveraging their […]
When and How Do I Track My Advertising?Each and every time it runs!That’s the easy answer. After all, it’s your money and your business at stake. You should be learning from every campaign. Here are some basic questions:(1) How many customers did you reach?(2) Why did they pick your business?(3) What was in the ad that made them call or […]
Written by info on May 8th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on accounting.
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