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| Thursday, October 25, 2007 |
| 7 No Cost and Low Cost Tips to Market Your Business |
7 No Cost and Low Cost Tips to Market Your Business
by Kathleen Gage
Marketing a business can be fun, exciting and creative. It can also be very frustrating and expensive if one doesn’t know what outcome they are looking for or how to evaluate cost effective methods of marketing.
Over the years people have come to know me for my unique ability to develop low cost and no cost strategies to market and promote a business, product or service. Strategies that have realized incredible returns.
Some of my successes have included:
- Before my last book was published I pre-sold over $8,000 in books
- Over 250 people registered for a recent seminar in less than 2 weeks and the cost to promote was under $25
- One company used my strategies for a career expo and made over $180,000 in consulting fees
- One speaker sold over $23,000 in product sales back of the room at a two hour seminar with strategies outlined in my program
I don’t share this to impress anyone, rather to impress upon you when using the right strategies for your market, you can realize some incredible results.
People have also come to know me as someone who is a stickler when it comes to putting systems in place. My marketing successes are a direct result of the systems I have implemented.
With a bit of forethought, planning and desire, you can successfully market your business in a very effective manner. Below are seven proven strategies sure to increase visibility, leads and sales.
1. Business Cards
Business cards are often one of the most underutilized tools in one’s marketing.
Use the front and back of your business card to gain full benefit. Depending on your market you can put some very valuable information on the back such as a sports schedule, emergency numbers, or special dates people want to remember.
Keep some in your wallet, your automobile, on your desk, and some at home. Be sure to carry them with you wherever you go and be willing to hand them out as opportunity presents itself.
Creatively distribute your card. When you eat out you can leave one with the tip.
If you borrow a library book, use one as a book mark. Hand them to clerks in stores who may know other people who could use your product or service.
When someone gives you their business card be sure to enter their information in your database. Send them a short note or email within 48 hours of meeting them to keep your name fresh in their mind.
2. Send a picture
A great way to keep your name fresh in a customer’s mind is to send them a picture of when they purchased a product or service from you.
Put a picture of a buyer’s auto purchase in a beautiful calendar. Likely, the proud owner of the vehicle will display the calendar for the next 365 days.
For specialty gift shops, when a customer makes a substantial purchase, have a picture taken with the shop owner. Frame the picture and send it to the customer.
Chances are very good the picture will be displayed proudly for friends and family to see.
A dentist who specializes in smile makeovers can easily arrange to have a professional makeup artist and photographer capture the patient’s beautiful new smile. No doubt the patient will be more than happy to show others their new look.
3. Associations
Associations particular to your market are a great resource for marketing. There are associations specific to virtually any industry, job type or business. A quick web search will likely show you how much is available.
A major opportunity within many organizations is the chance to network. Additionally, to make presentations. Along with presentations come publications.
Often, when you do a presentation, you will get a mention in the association newsletter, their Ezine and/or on their website.
In many cases, when an organization has a newsletter or Ezine, they welcome the presenter writing a press announcement for them. It saves them time and often assures you have a better chance of the information making it into the publication.
They may also welcome you writing an article for their publication or website.
This lends itself to pre-presentation visibility. Additionally, you will position yourself as an expert and increase credibility.
Most organizations have the following opportunities that can help you to gain visibility and do some very effective marketing:
-Newsletters
-Internet listings
-Links to you website
-Discounted advertising rates
-Networking opportunities
-Business referral services
-Special recognition events
-Education seminars
-Business and membership directories
In many cases you will need to be a member of the association to take advantage of the multiple marketing opportunities. In other cases membership is not necessary.
4. Committee Involvement
Committee involvement is a great way to give back to the association or community while building visibility for you and your business. In some cases, you may even want to get involved in a committee where you have little experience or knowledge. This will give you an opportunity to stretch yourself and meet and network with individuals you may not have otherwise had the chance to meet.
5. Contests and drawings
Contests are a favorite for many businesses such as restaurants or those that have high foot traffic. Contests are a great way to build your database quickly.
You are generating very hot leads when you have a contest with people who have already frequented your place of business. The key though is to do back -end marketing. Far too many businesses hold contests, get lots of names and do nothing with them. In this case, it is a complete waste of time to hold a contest.
You can advertise a contest to gain new foot traffic in your place of business.
Trade show booths are a great place to hold a contest. Pre-show marketing helps to generate traffic at your booth. Invite people to stop by booth # _____ (whatever your booth is) to enter to win. Creative contests can also generate free publicity.
6. Cross-promoting
Join with other companies who have products or services that compliment yours and promote each other. Let’s say you have a massage business. You could partner with a candle company to sell their candles to your massage clients. They can give out coupons for your massage business. Or the candle company can partner with a gift basket company. Cross-promoting is only limited by your imagination.
This can considerably cut down the cost of business promotion and allow each business to use promotion techniques that might be too expensive to implement alone.
7. Bonuses
Secure special offers from various businesses who want to share a similar market as you. When a customer buys a minimum amount they receive a bonus packet with the various offers from the other vendors. This is a win/win all the way around. The other vendors gain visibility, you have something extra to offer you customers and the customers get incredible value for their purchase.
Be aware of who you cross-promote and joint venture with. You want someone who will be equally committed to a campaign.
About the author:
Kathleen Gage is a business advisor specializing in marketing and promotions for small and home based businesses. She is a keynote speaker and the author of -101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door - and - 101 No Cost and Low Cost Tips to Market and Promote a Product, Service or Business. To access her FREE report, Learn How One Salt Lake City Consultant made Over $100,000 from One Idea, visit http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.comLabels: No Cost Tips |
posted by Beebee @ 11:03 PM  |
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| Monday, October 1, 2007 |
| Google Adsense |
Google Adsense
by: Phil Wiley
here's an all about Google letter. It didn't start out that way, but when my fingers got typing that's what flowed out of them.
My brain could have had something to do with it too. But not a lot. It's still quite muddled from being ill.
Hope you find this stuff below useful.
1. Google Adsense stuff
I've heard that Google have been getting tough on Adsense sites recently, investigating sites displaying Adsense and removing ones which don't meet the criteria.
You see, what's happening is that people are getting approved for one site, then adding the code to other sites they own.
That's fine by Google as long as the new sites have nothing wrong with them/don't break Google's small print.
Well some of that small print is mighty small and two friends have written to me this week to say their sites have been banned in the past 7 days.
Why?
Well both for the same reason. They both put a lot of work into building new content sites and put the Adsense ads up on almost every page.
But it was obvious that the sites had no purpose other than displaying the Adsense code.
They didn't try to get subscribers to their ezines, they didn't promote affiliate programs, etc.
All they did was have good quality targeted content + Adsense.
Now you might think there's nothing wrong with building a site like that, but Google just doesn't like it when it comes to Adsense.
One friend sent me the letter Google sent him. Here's part of what Google had to say:
"Ads may not be placed on pages published specifically for the purpose of showing ads, whether or not the page content is relevant."
______________________________________
Ok, so seeing that having quality content isn't enough, what can you do to make sure your own Adsense sites don't fall foul of the rules?
______________________________________
Well what you have to do is give your sites an extra purpose.
Here are a few ways of doing that:
# also display some affiliate links on the pages, and include an affiliate graphic or two.
# perhaps run a news ticker. You can get good ones from a number of sources, but one of the best is http://www.moreover.com which
has newsfeeds covering a huge variety of niches.
# link to authority sites on the subject, even though they're probably not linking back to you.
# start an ezine and have a subscribe box displayed prominently on each page.
# if your site is about online business/marketing give away a free ebook or two. But make sure they're quality one's you can customize with your affiliate links so that you stand a chance
of profiting from them.
# have a poll running on your site. I use a good one from One Minute Poll
If I were you I'd do all of them.
2. Google Adwords Traffic:
One way of GUARANTEEING plenty of visitors from Google is by buying Adwords.
If you do it right you can make a fabulous income. If you do it wrong, you'll be well out of pocket.
Recommended Adwords Resources ->
Chris Carpenter's GoogleCash ebook, which details how Chris makes a living from Adwords. An excellent resource.
I'm a big user of Google Adwords to promote my many mini sites. And it's now made easier because of the help I get from using GoogleCash and AdWords Analyzer. Read the page listed below to
follow this strategy (it works).
http://www.ozemedia.com/google-adwords.htm
3. Google and blogging...
Google is still ranking frequently updated Blogs very high. And having your own blog (and keeping it to the theme of your main site) could be a great way of getting more traffic.
To learn how to do it well I'd like to recommend you read James Maduk's Blogging Secrets which is a really good multimedia ebook. Very tasty.
Like his excellent Google course "How to Get Ranked #1 On Google" it's a combination of Audio / Video / Whiteboard Training and Screen Captures. (plus you get 4 Hours of bonus audio
interviews from his private E-learning sessions.
If you're thinking of blogging for profit you need to read this first.
4. More Google Stuff...
Your commercially oriented sites probably took a rankings kick in the guts in the last Google update.
Don't worry, you're not alone. This site lets you enter the main keywords for your site and see how many other sites with the same keyword phrase have dropped in rankings.
Not really useful, but interesting.
http://www.scroogle.org/
More useful - in fact a MUST READ if you're at all interested in learning more about how and why Google's latest update is affecting your sites - is a detailed online report "A Statistical and Experimental Analysis of Google's Florida Update" written by Leslie Rohde who developed that marvelous ranking software Optilink.
There's no charge to read it, though Leslie could easily have packaged it up into a "special report" and sold it.
When you've done with reading it though, I seriously suggest taking a look at Optilink.
Leslie is one of the most knowledgeable search engine people around, and the Optilink software works a treat.
_______________________
Looks like an Adsense competitor is on the way early in 2004 http://www.quigo.com/adsonar.htm
Overtures efforts in this field are in beta, with some major sites already running content matched Overture advertising, (and rumors that it's going to be opened up to all of us) and Commission Junction have got a contextual advertising/content matching solution in the works - though unlike Adsense it's very unlikely
to offer pay per click.
You can get more on Overture's Content Match here and while you're there you might want to consider advertising on them. I've had an account there for years now and get tons of traffic to my mini sites. A friend of mine, Paul Manuel, wrote a free report
detailing how he makes a great living from his Overture advertising. you can get it here.
Ok, one last Google thing: Trackmeat.
It's no cost software that saves you logging into Adsense 50 times a day to check how your commissions are doing.
Once you install it and click "Go" it minimizes right away, and your AdSense income will update down in the taskbar and system tray at intervals set by you.
It also works for Commission Junction.
(note: I haven't used this software, so I'm not recommending it, just informing you that it exists)
About the author:
Phil Wiley is the author of the best selling book Mini Site Profits http://www.minisiteprofits.com and writes the free weekly Letter from Phil at http://www.ozemedia.comLabels: Google Adsense |
| posted by Beebee @ 10:19 PM |
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