The Most Vital Ingredient to Your Business Success

How to Avoid Start-up Failure

As a father of energetic kids I can remember when they each wanted to try sports for the first time. I wanted to find a good coach that would teach the fundamentals, encourage high effort and highlight the small often overlooked positives as they started out the uphill battle of learning something completely foreign to them. I wanted them to be coached by someone who knew what they were teaching and loved the sport they coached.

I certainly wouldn't use a coach who wanted to teach my child because they want to be the most popular coach or just because of the money they would make but because they were rewarded internally when a young kid "got it", started to experience self-driven success and became passionate about the game.

When it came to the fundamentals, skills and techniques, I wanted them to be taught right the first time because relearning can crush a beginners spirit, snuffing out the fire to excel at something they could be great at while causing them to feel that everyone who was taught correctly is actually better than them because they don't have what it takes. Nothing is more gut wrenching than to see any child have to needlessly experience such emotional sabotage.

Starting a new online business is exactly the same. Watching so many experience that same demoralizing "emotional sabotage" is one of the main reasons I decided to write and give away my eBooks. I've preached this before but I can't say it enough: with an increasing number of so called instructors peddling programs or products touting their ability to teach something that they in fact do not practice so that you can experience success that they themselves have not attained, navigating this minefield has never been more critical.

I wouldn't let my son learn basketball from a coach that taught him to punch a kid in the face in order to get a rebound, or to only shoot three pointers when he can't even make a layup and refuses to show him how. I say that knowing full well that there are a myriad of new entrepreneurs desiring success that are trying to obtain that success by taking some of the same kind of business advice. I've seen more aspiring entrepreneurs than I can count be so desperate to follow someone else's map to reach financial freedom and make money online that they sacrifice the very attributes that would have otherwise made them successful.

There is a debilitating cycle among new online marketers that creates a financial dream eating black hole. You see someone marketing a product or business opportunity that knows how to sell its industry "secrets" by exploiting your needs and wants. You then justify the investment, go all out following the directions with full energy high effort before engaging the intellect you possess to stop and say, "will this truly meet my needs?" and "is what they are saying designed purely to sell me?" or "do the deliverables make good business sense?".

After making a largely emotional decision, you throw all the effort and perseverance you have into it, only to be let down. As you begin to explore hope to restore your faith in your dream and your abilities you find another product that is marketed in the same way. So desperate to be sold you justify why this sales pitch is different and get on the same ride which again leaves you with your effort tank empty having adopted a bankrupt view of your abilities.

Becoming convinced that you were foolish to ever dream the dreams you had, you adjust your expectations back down to becoming content with a 9-5 job. This cycle is why there is such a high attrition rate for online marketers. The good news for you is that knowing this is the case empowers you to break the cycle.

If you are new to Internet or affiliate marketing or haven't experienced the type of success you feel reflect your effort as a result of inaccurate instruction or poor coaching, I urge you to be very deliberate with whom you take instruction from moving forward. It doesn't have to be Learn2earnitnow. There are outstanding sources of coaching, training and insight to spotlight your path to success but you have to search diligently, know what to look for and not be swayed into making a purely emotional decision.

Commit yourself to not making a knee-jerk reaction based purely on results they "claim" they have obtained. These can be easily misrepresented or falsified. Here is a good mental checklist that can help you through this process.

• Are the results over-sensationalized in the marketing?

• Can you relate to the message being conveyed?

• Does the individual deliver convincing credibility regarding:

- Personal & professional integrity

- Passion for teaching/coaching/instructing (rather than just money)

- Share your values

- Convey a true "give first" philosophy

• In their writing and video production do they:

- Portray themselves as unprofessional in video and in print?

- Do they display multiple grammatical errors?

- Is there attention given to detail that you'd expect from a leader?

• Do you desire to achieve their level of success through the methods that they've attained them?

If these questions are answered to your satisfaction then most price-points are not as much of an issue. You will find that they are only an issue when there is a lack of trust or credibility involved in which case any investment would be considered too much until the questions and concerns listed above are answered to your satisfaction.

If you've been emotionally sabotaged and felt punched in the stomach, do not let it defeat you. Commit moving forward to be discerning whose instruction you choose to follow, build a strong business foundation and be patient. Commit to stay out of your comfort zone, take inventory of your strengths, bring value and continuously learn so you can become an expert in the business you're in.

Your Coach & Fan

R. Patrick Daugherty
The Biz Coach

http://learn2earnitnow.biz
http://thebizcoachblog.com

Mr. Daugherty is known for having a passion for coaching business executives and entrepreneurs in the art of identifying, attracting and retaining top talent while effectively communicating, mentoring and coaching them to reach their personal and professional goals. Over his 15 year career he has been fortunate enough to have consulted and coached leaders in a wide range of industries from international technology firms and large insurance conglomerates to numerous staffing & recruiting firms as well as state & local policy makers and grass roots organizations. He is now utilizing that wealth of experience to help entrepreneurs of small and home-based business. Patrick is married to his beautiful wife Diane and live with their three children in central Pennsylvania.

Building a Web Business Isn't Hard!

When people search for all the different money making tips on the internet, they're searching for a quick fix. That's why you see guys spouting about how they made $10K in a day etc etc. This is because people want to be able to do the same. The sad reality is that this just doesn't happen.

It can only happen if you've spent a long time building a decent web business.... and it still might not even happen then. The fact of the matter is that if you actually want to make good money from the internet you will need to build your own website. Other things do make you money, like trading forex or selling on eBay, but they're never going to make you the big money you're dreaming about.

Lucky for all of you though, building your own website isn't hard at all. And I really mean that. I'm no expert but I've still managed to come up with some very nice sites. On my website I go through the whole process of building a website and getting it online. With all of the software that's available these days, it's actually the easiest part of creating a web business.

The hard part won't come until you have to get people to actually visit your site. I call the hard part, but it's still not actually difficult. It's just hard to get through because you have to patient. One thing you'll learn about a web business is that everything starts incredibly slowly and you can easily lose motivation, but if you can make it through that part you'll be earning in no time. Thats when things get easy and you start selling products about how you made $10K in a day.

My best advice is to just ignore all the products that go on about ludicrous amounts of money and just stick the basics. There is no "get rich quick scheme" but if you start slow and build something with good content and good foundations the money will start to snowball. Persevere!

How often do you wish you could work for a couple of minutes a day and earn thousands each month? You can make money online and take control of your life.

A Guide in Purchasing Customized Mousepads

The mousepad can be recognized as one of the most handy computer accessories. Custom printed mousepads are even more convenient because apart from its fundamental function, it can also be used as a advertising tool. You may stamp your company name or logo and instantaneously turn it as a part of your advertising campaign.

It was Jack Kelley who conceptualized the first form of a mousepad which was utilized by Douglas Engelbart in'68 during his public presentation of the mouse. During that time it took the form of a console with a keyboard. After a year Jack Kelley conceived the first official mousepad. The rest, as they term, is history. People currently are enjoying the profits of this wonderful computer accessory.

Once customized mousepads are printed with your company name you may confer them to your clients and customers to make your company and publicity message known to them. Since they will be employing them hand in hand with a computer and a mouse, they will always have your logo and advertising message right under their fingertips! You may even confer it to your employees as recognition for a job well done. It may be employed even outside the office. anybody who uses a computer would always have a need for customized mousepads. This makes mousepads the perfect giveaway, they are going to be used and valued!

Here are other benefits of logo imprinted mousepads:

1. Optimum Stamping Space - Promotional mousepads have a wide surface area that can be utilized for your stamping needs. You can take up the whole space if you'd like or maybe just a fraction of it. It's all up to your choice.

2. Chic, Funky Designs - There are numerous eye-catching designs to select from. You may alter it according to your company's preference

3. Additional Features - Some branded mousepads are equipped with extra, practical accessories like a built-in calculator or pen or wrist rest. You save money and time from having to buy these items individually.

4. Lightweight and Convenient - Customized mousepads are very handy so your customers won't have a difficult time carrying it with them in case they just came from your trade show. They can just keep it inside their bags or briefcases.

5. Made to Last - They are tough, high grade goods. You can be guaranteed that your customers will be able to take pleasure in them for a long time.

Before you go ahead and buy your own promotional mousepads, here are some things you have to keep in mind first:

1. Mousepad Price - Scout for the best deals and see which ones suit your budget. You don't want to go over your budget too much. Try to work with the resource plan you have.

2. Type of Mousepad - Promotional mousepads vary in their surface texture. Look around and survey which pads can be generally used by most people. Make sure that the ones you pick are user friendly so more of your customers will benefit from them.

3. Style and Color - Remember that you want to leave a good impression on your customers. Choose a design and color that will best balance your company name and logo. See to it that the final design is attractive to the eye

4. Check the Size - There are a lot of mousepads out there which contrast in sizes. Select the one which is most appropriate for most types of people. Make sure that it's not too big or not too small. You don't want to overwhelm or undervalue your customers.

5. Reflective Area - Be wary of mousepads with shiny surfaces. The newer generation of visual mice can get a bad reading on some of these and make the curser zoom off the screen. The last thing you want is your customer disillusioned in the item you picked.

Sarah Kendra Calister is a marketing expert who writes articles about Custom Logo Mouse Pads and Promotional Products.

How to Succeed With Local Printable Coupons

Small businesses are looking for cheap advertising, and the Internet has seen nearly a 1000% increase in searches for "printable coupons" over the last three years. Consumer searches for "printable coupons" have by far outpaced previously popular searches like "online deals", creating unprecedented opportunity for local businesses to take back a large fraction of the consumer market share that has been lost to online shopping (source: dealyp.com).

To stay competitive, small businesses need to be found when potential customers begin their search for local deals online. To take advantage of this trend toward online local bargain hunting, brick & mortar shops can keep their edge by utilizing freely available online local printable coupon publishers.

There are a few key differences between printable coupon sites and traditional coupon mailers that the small business will need to consider before getting started:

1. Online coupon publishers tend to focus on coupon quality. They rank the best deals and put the most popular ones more visibly in front of the local consumer. Thus, as a small business owner, it's often in your interest more so than ever before to create an outstanding coupon, which will be given more exposure based on its merit.

2. Keywords matter a lot more for printable coupons. more on keyword usage will be explained below.

3. Printable coupons won't be delivered directly to consumers. This is a con since you can no longer blast consumers with any deal, but a pro since you have the opportunity for free merit-based exposure. Since your business does not have to subsidize the cost of printing tens of thousands of coupons to reach the local market, it can achieve reach through quality and relevance.

As a coupon publisher, the small business's main objective is to attract new customers. When your business creates an printable online coupon, the title and keywords are crucial not only toward ranking well on the coupon search engine, but on general search engines as well. While some of your traffic will come directly from the local coupon publisher on which you list your coupon, potentially a majority of traffic will originate from the major search engines like Google and Yahoo. To ensure a successful printable local coupon across all these search engines, choose keywords relevant to your coupon, but also try to anticipate your target audience's search query. If your potential customers don't know your brand, then you would have much more success by targeting their searches for printable local coupons by category. So, for example, if you are an auto repair shop called "Wreckin Bob's", and are offering printable coupons, then your title might include the phrase "Auto Repair" instead of your name, since searches won't be relevant to your name unless the consumer already knows of your existence.

Finally, regularity and frequency still hold weight in the online coupon world as much as they did offline. If your businesses regularly issues online printable coupons, then local consumers should begin to anticipate your next round of printable coupons and come back for more.

Brian Bien is a co-founder of SaveNextDoor.com, a local printable coupons search site for small businesses looking for free local coupon advertising. Brian can be reached at brian@savenextdoor.com.

Using Graphics to Enhance One's Business Card

It's not rocket science, and you don't need to have a doctorate degree in graphic arts to design custom business cards that will grab attention, as well as be able to utilize them for a long time. You just need a few tips and simple techniques to make your business card printing a successful marketing tool that generates leads for your business.

Here is useful information to help you create effective custom business cards all the time:

What's your objective?
It's always the first step to have when creating any marketing tool for any business - how will your business card printing be used? What do you intend to do with your business card? Where will you distribute your cards? When will you distribute them? And most importantly, who will you hand them out to?

Whether your purpose is to generate new prospects minus the personal contact; or you're printing business cards to give to already existing customers and colleagues - the bottom line is to determine your objective of creating these cards. What do you want to accomplish? When you have your purpose, it will be easier for you to fit your design according to the results you want to have. It will therefore help you determine what logos, pictures and graphics you need to choose in order to get the response you want from your business card printing.

The Non-Text Elements
The next step now is to determine what photos, clip art, logo and backgrounds you will use to complement your design. Bear in mind that it's not only the text or words that make up the whole of your business cards. You also need to consider the 'non-text elements' such as your logo or additional pictures. You have to make decisions on how you can make all these elements work to get you the response you want according to the limited space made available.

Here then are additional tips to consider when using non-text elements in your custom business cards:

Use your photos to build trust. - Pictures of yourself in your business cards can help you build trust as it provides your recipients a means to get to know you in a non-threatening way. Your picture tells them that there's an actual person behind the business, and that they can rely on that person to provide them what they need. Pictures are also very helpful especially if your business needs a lot of trust and confidentiality.

Use pictures for name and face recognition. - This is particularly helpful when you made the initial contact via phone or an email. Sending your target clients a business card with your photo especially before you meet him or her in person can make it easier for your new contact to find you. It's a thoughtful gesture as far as your new contact is concerned; and it goes a long a way in making it easier for them to recognize your face among the crowd.

Use graphics to add life to your business card. - Photos and graphic arts add life to your otherwise boring and plain business card printing. Don't just stop with your photo to design your business card; use other artwork or graphic backgrounds to enhance your layout. The bottom line is to make your custom business cards stand out. It would be easier for your target audience to filter you out from all the business cards they get everyday if you make yourself distinct from the rest.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit Business Card Printing and Custom Business Cards

Charen Smith writes articles about Internet Marketing. She has an extensive knowledge and experience when it comes to business strategies, techniques and business solutions.

Promotional Products Help a Successful Promotion

Giving away promotional products is a great way to help make any marketing promotion a great success. With the economy on the downside, any incentive that drives product sales is certainly worth the investment. One of the best ways to rework your marketing strategies is to think about promotional items to help bring recognition to your company.

Whether you are attending a convention, trade show, special event, health fair or meeting, giving away a promotional item like a mug for instance (with company logo) is a great way to keep your company is someone's face so to speak. Smart gift items will be appreciated and the more a recipient uses them, the more your company's brand will be remembered.

Select the promotional gift you distribute depending on the where it is being distributed and who the recipients will be. For example, if your company is manning a stand at a health fair, pens, caps and t-shirts with your company logo affixed is a smart investment. If you are sponsoring a golf tournament, golf tees, shirts or umbrellas are always greatly appreciated. If the event is centered on children, book bags, teddy bears or sport's thermoses are popular items to advertise your company's name and logo.

No matter what promotional item you decide to purchase to help make a particular promotion successful, make sure that the product is carefully selected and tastefully reflects the image you want your company to portray. Don't buy the cheapest items on the market, because that will reflect poorly on the image of your company. Also keep in mind that any promotional product should complement the entire media and advertising package that your company owns. Presenting a well put together plan that is enhanced by a small token of appreciation always helps to increase and enhance the company's advertising efforts. If the product is well-liked and effective, the marketing expense should be covered in the long run by a successful promotional campaign.

To find a distributor of promotional products in the UK visit the bpma sourcing site. All British promotional merchandise Association members must supply trade references and a suitable financial history before they can join. During their membership, they must adhere to a strict code of conduct ensuring that their practices are legal, decent and honest.) Look out for their logo displayed on their website or stationary. If you are still unsure you can log onto the British promotional merchandise association website. http://www.bpma-sourcing.co.uk

Should You Advertise?

Advertising is one of those things that just about every small business owner considers at some point. After all, that's how big companies promote their businesses, right? So, shouldn't you be doing it as well?

Well, while advertising has its place in promotion, it has a number of drawbacks which means it's often not the best method for small business owners. Let's have a look at some of these.

Firstly, advertising is great for generating awareness of your business. It tells everyone who you are and what you do and people will notice you and realise that you're around. However, while it's great for building awareness, it's not too good at getting customers. Only 1-2% of people seeing, listening or watching adverts actually buy directly from the advert.

Secondly, advertising needs to be repeated often in order for it to stand any chance of being effective. You need to be repeating it at least three times: let's face it you might see the advert and mean to do something about it, but not get around to it. And if you need to repeat it, this can become effective.

Which brings me to my third point, advertising is a pretty expensive way of doing marketing - the average cost of an advert in your local paper (and I'm talking about a small advert here) is around £150+VAT. If you need to repeat your ad at least three times, that's £450+VAT before you even start. And if you do radio or television advertising, the costs can end up being astronomical.

With all these drawbacks, my preference isn't to advertise, but to concentrate on free or low-cost methods of marketing that have the same impact. After all, if advertising is better for awareness than getting customers, believe me there are at least 50 different ways I can think of, just off the top of my head that will create the same result, but cost nothing to do.

Having said that, there are some good deals around at the moment if you negotiate and are not afraid of walking away if you can't reach the price you're prepared to pay. And there are quite a few places where it's very cheap to advertise and might well be worth exploring. For instance, church magazines tend to be very cheap to do as do adverts in post offices or supermarkets.

Advertising in the yellow pages is also free and is a must for all small businesses - remember yellow pages is where people go if they know your name but can't remember your contact details. Don't be tempted to pay for an advert until you know it works. If you get business from a free advert, you'll definitely get business from a paid advert in there. Test it first.

If you'd like a copy of my 50 free ways to promote your business which is now a 14 page factsheet, please feel free to contact me on helen.dowling@exceptionalthinking.co.uk

Creative Advertising Ideas and Techniques That Work Like Gangbusters

In this article, you'll discover 3 creative advertising ideas and techniques that work like gangbusters. Although the advertising industry is competitive in nature, it is also one of the most versatile and stimulating to be around.

I've even heard that to be in advertising is to be paid to play around with ideas. From nothing, you have to create something. And even people who are not familiar with the industry agree that there are a lot of creative advertising ideas and techniques out there.

Some of the best ideas hold remarkable recall. These can be timeless, classic, funny or just plain memorable. Here are some of the creative advertising ideas and techniques that have proven themselves to be winners, over and over again.

1) Keeping It Real.

People like seeing "real" people and "real" situations. They make the product that you're advertising more relatable.

For example, if you're trying to sell a dishwasher detergent, you can compose a "real" situation of a housewife washing the dishes. Stay away from overused copies that make your talents sound fake. Be as real as possible. If you want to portray a suburban household, be sure you know what a suburban household really looks and feels like.

2) Create A Character.

One of the most effective creative advertising ideas and techniques is introducing a character to the audience. This character will serve as your product's representation, so make sure you create someone who represents your desired values or characteristics.

Like the technique above, having a character helps people relate to your product. It makes all forms of ads more interesting too. In most situations, the character is used repeatedly in different ad materials. The character usually grows with each instance as well, depending on the story you have set out for it.

3) Introduce A Problem.

A lot of creative advertising ideas and techniques involve introducing a problem. However, make sure that whatever that problem is, your product can solve it.

This kind of technique has been working for advertisers for many years now. Don't be afraid to experiment with it though. You may start out with a problem; but how you present that problem and how you determine the solution is another story altogether. This is where you can get really creative.

There are plenty of creative ideas and techniques out there for you to discover. These are just some of the ideas you can work with in the future. But don't just stick to these methods. Who knows? You just might come up with something so creative that your style would outshine the ones discussed in this article.

Want to know the easiest and most effective ways to make money? Get your secret backdoor passes (for FREE) to 5 "Elite Moneymaking Clubs" that will teach you powerful secrets to explode your income, in no time flat! Visit http://www.expertpersuader.com/money now to get your free memberships.

How Poster Printing Matters in Your Advertising Campaign

Some people are already asking if poster printing is still practical in today's world of digital media. In fact, you might say that a lot of people are now favoring more digital and interactive media.

Slowly, they are slowly ignoring traditional advertising media. However, I am here to tell you that posters still matters in your advertising campaign. In fact if you look at movie, campaign and even shopping posters, the traditional medium is still alive, even thriving.

Poster printing is alive for various reasons, and if you do not know these reasons yet, and then let me tell you about four of them. So, read on and learn how such traditional ways still matters in your advertising campaign.

* Complete demographic coverage - For one, these materials offer almost complete demographic coverage for a target audience. Everyone can freely see it as long as it is posted on a high visibility public area. You do not have to worry if they are young or old, rich or poor, with or without a computer. As long as they are at a place where your poster is up, they will see and hopefully understand your poster. They basically cover the "blind spot" of digital media advertising, getting you a more holistic coverage of all your potential customers.

* High visibility - Also, they still offer what they have been offering for more than one hundred years, and that is high visibility. As long as you print and distribute them in the proper way, you can reach a huge chunk of the mass market. If they are almost everywhere, people will see, read and understand what they are about within moments. It can be as effective as or even more effective than newspaper advertisements, fliers and brochures.

* Tangible marketing tool - Custom posters also offer something important that digital advertising media cannot, and that is a tangible marketing tool. All digital media requires some sort of power source for them to "exist". Cut that off temporarily and they will technically in fact disappear. Moreover, it costs money for them to exist since you do need some power to display them. On the other hand, posters are just there always. No batteries needed. It is just a continuing advertisement that you can play with and hold every time.

* Integral part of an extensive marketing campaign - Finally, in any kind of marketing campaign, especially if you plan on an aggressive and extensive approach, color posters should and will always will be part of that plan. It is almost standard practice in all major companies. Only the designs become more hi-tech but the tradition of poster printing remains. Therefore, if you are wise, you will use them too in your own campaign. Almost all good companies are expected to do so.

Good. I hope that makes you realize that traditional advertising media are indeed important even in today's digitally enhanced advertising. So do not be afraid to print posters if you like and see the benefits it provides.

Katie Marcus writes about the color posters or poster printing technologies used by businesses for their marketing and advertising campaigns.

Promotional Gifts Can Be Used in Varied Ways!

Well, it's the right time to look for some of the best and effective marketing strategies as the competition among businesses is increasing day by day. Surviving in this fiercely competitive market is really tough and businesses are now opting for different marketing strategies to achieve new targets. In this regard promotional gifts can offer you great platform on which you can start visualizing the growth of your business sector. These days, many businesses are opting for promotional items and they are integrating this stuff with their marketing strategies to make it more compelling. On the other hand your boss may be looking for something unique to add for the marketing standards of the company! Well, you can suggest him for the promotional items, as these products are proven to be the most compelling stuff that can be added with your marketing standards.

All you need to convince the boss about such products and the best way is that speaking his language and he will understand the thing easily! There are several ways for how to use promotional gifts for your business improvements and here you will look for few of them.

• Promotional gifts are the great way to get brand recognition from the market. Brand recognition is what getting more necessary for business and without it you cannot make your products or services successful in the market. A branded gift or the slogan of your company on an attractive product can bring the brand recognition for your business. And that is what exactly promotional items can achieve for you

• Promotional gifts are the best way to get the right kind of impression about your company from a potential customer. Select something stylish and attractive and print the name of your company on it. The customers are surely going to remember it when its time for business.

• When you package your message as helpful you can look for double or triple of your trade show. It's always better to give out promotion items before you opt for the trade show. You will surely get double traffic. This is a good way to achieve more contacts hence the sales rate will improve significantly.

• Promotional gifts are also coming for corporate sectors. These are the best products to gain customer loyalty. If you are selling your product through a network created by distributors then promotional items are going to cement your business relationship with the distributors. This is also going to ensure that your company will gain preferential billing when it's all about making the sale.

• Promotional gifts can be used as thank you gifts for your esteemed customers. This is a good way to retain customers and also a great way to explain your customers that you value their relationship.

Paula D. Jones is the webmaster of http://funprintables.coolestwebtips.com where she provides a huge selection of high quality printables for ALL ages & ALL occasions for FREE. Come take a look...

Buying Advertising - Go For the Value, Not the Deal

Buy Value - Not Price!

I want to talk about value in advertising...because I just cannot understand why some businesses buy what they buy when they're trying to attract more customers. I have met with so many businesses who buy advertising based on three principles:

• I want it cheap
• I want to spread by money around to several media
• I want to market to everybody

Technically speaking, there's nothing wrong with any of the three by themselves if you know what you're doing and you have a really big ad budget. BUT....don't you love those Buts?....it typically does not work.

More than anything, you want the best advertising media VALUE in your market . In some areas, it could be coupons or a niche magazine. But most often, it's one of two media - cable TV or the internet. Why?

They are the only two media sources overall that are actually growing and are actually changing as the future changes. Most businesses though don't understand either of them all that well. The Old School Business owner LOVES the newspaper, or any print for that matter. Here's what I'll say to that...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Not only are newspapers a really poor value....they are swiftly on the decline as far as usage and cost an astronomical amount for the targets you hit! Let me illustrate -

You buy a 1/2 page ad in your newspaper and it costs $2,000. It goes out to maybe 50,000 households. You don't know which section your ad will be in because most papers won't tell you. Once the papers are delivered, read, and recycled, your ad is gone. IN ONE DAY - IT'S GONE!

You take that $2,000 and put it in cable TV on Fox News, CNN, ESPN....ok toss in a little Food Channel, and you get 200 commercials over a few weeks. Not one day. They have staying power and will most likely reach about 10 times the audience with sight, sound, motion, and emotion.

So What Defines Value?

Value is very simple - how much does it cost me to reach each person in my Primary Demographic Target audience? Your PDT is that group of people where most of your business comes from - that one group you cannot do without - or else! If you are trying to reach women 35-54, it's a guess whether or not the newspaper will do that for you. However, you KNOW the Food Network, HGTV, Bravo, and Lifetime zero in on that target. That's Value because you get so much more advertising dollar for dollar AND your target is hit over and over. The definition of advertising is: "The number of times you can hit your primary target over the head when they are in buying mode".

Let's go back to the three points - Cheap, Spread Your Money Around, and Target Everybody.

My dad always said, You buy cheap - you get cheap. That's often true...unless you know a little secret that I'll reveal in my member lessons. Honestly, you can go into a cable TV or radio station and get really "cheap" advertising. You just have to know a few tricks of the trade. Most business owners just try and get the price down, and that can really hurt your chances of running in good programming.

Spreading your money around is great if you have a whole lot of it and don't mind flushing some down the toilet. But here's the secret - do a media mix that makes sense. And one that makes sense has two ingredients - Reach and Frequency. You can "reach" your target audience on any budget and you can do it "a lot of times" if you are in the right medium. If your media doesn't do this, cancel it!

If you want to target everybody....I can honestly say to you that you need professional help marketing your business. It's not that you don't WANT everybody, you can NOT spend your hard earned money trying to TARGET everybody. You absolutely have a PDT - Primary Demographic Target. We'll spend some time later defining that more....but take some time and find out who you really need to go after. Who's the Bread & Butter Client? That's where you need to spend your energy....others will come too, but go for the Bread and go for the Butter and we'll talk later about how to get more on your sandwich than just butter!

Have a great week and have fun!

© Tim Orwig 2009 - Tradezone Marketing

Tim Orwig is a marketing and advertising coach, specializing in helping local businesses attract and keep more customers. Using his unique methods, his clients saturate and dominate their local markets and eliminate the competition at every customer contact point. Having spent several years in the marketing and advertising fields, his insider knowledge to leverage local advertising has helped hundreds of clients thrive in any economy.

You may contact Tim at Tim@DominateYourTradezone.com, http://www.Twitter.com/TimOrwig, or visit his website at http://www.DominateYourTradezone.com, where you can register for free weekly advertising tips or have your TV, print, or radio ad reviewed for free.

Do Ads That Use Cliches Or Humor Work?

Do cliches, humor or corny ad slogans work? Here are some examples of what I am talking about: "The Summer Sales are Really Starting to Heat up!" or "Check out our Vacuums, they Really Suck!" We see and hear these all the time, whether it's TV, Radio, Print or Internet ads.

You would think our instinct is to roll our eyes and maybe let out a chuckle and move on right? The answer surprisingly is no, we may indeed roll our eyes, we may even chuckle out loud, but we do not skip the ad! As a matter of fact, not only do we check out the ad it usually sticks with us for the day we even tell at least a few of our friends and co-workers about it. This is exactly what we want from our ad and if we are clever enough to ensure our brand is related in some positive way, they will remember your company.

What was the last commercial you remember with serious, dramatic or worrying content? If you can come up with an ad that contains even the slightest bit of humor it will usually sell for you. I believe, we find it easier to see things with humor involved especially during a recession and there is a different variety of humor from slapstick to sarcasm that will make people laugh or smile. Let's face it most of us will groan at a bad joke but we will remember it.

Now I would not base an entire ad campaign on humorous or cliched ads, however, now don't laugh, I would definitely include at least one humor ad in my campaign! There is no real downside as funny will sell and if the ad doesn't generate sales it may set up a sale for the next time they see another one of your ads.

He enjoys working full time for Adlandpro an Online Advertising Company. Helping others promote, advertise and market their online business! He has worked in several areas of marketing and promotion which include all forms of advertising (TV, Radio, Print and Internet) He has also attended various North American Trade Shows (Canada/U.S.A.) representing companies in both promotions and sales. http://www.adlandpro.com

How Much Should Small Businesses Spend On Advertising During Recession?

There are several factors to consider when determining your annual marketing budget:

First, the amount of money you spend on marketing should be directly related to the growth stage of your business. Is your business still in its infancy, or is your business mature and well-known? The stage of your business certainly impacts how much money you need to spend to promote it. What industry does your business operate in? Different industries require varying marketing investments to remain competitive. On that note, what are your competitors doing? It's important to maintain a level playing field at the very least.

Marketing experts generally advise, on average, that NEW BUSINESSES spend 10% on advertising and marketing the first year. After the first year , ad budgets should be around 5% of gross sales, on average. The 5% figure should be maintained indefinitely, even in good times. In slow, recessionary times as we're in now, advertising should be maintained, if not increased, according to experts. Many make the mistake of cutting back on advertising when business is slow, only to further in the hole. Recessions are actually a good time to advertise when competition is NOT advertising, thus, resulting in a stronger share of the market. In a recent survey, over 50% of small business advertisers said they plan to spend the same or more on the following: ONLINE ADVERTISING (including Coupons) - 69%, DIRECT MAIL (including Coupons) - 51%

Second, you need to plan what new products, services or enhancements you'll introduce to your small business in the upcoming year. Naturally, if you're launching a new product, you'll need to invest enough in the marketing of that product to raise awareness and recognition of it.

Third, you need to determine what business goals you have set. If you want to grow your business by a certain amount within the next year, you need to invest enough money in promotional efforts to help you get there.

Bottom-line, you should invest 5%-10% of your gross sales into your marketing budget. Make a plan and stick to it. Set aside a bit of your budget for opportunities that might arise throughout the year. Most importantly, use your marketing budget. It might sound like a great idea to hold onto that money during these slow times but just the opposite is true. Advertising can and will bring in that missing business and set you apart from your competition, which is NOT advertising.

For More Information on the recently -surveyed TOP 2 ADVERTISING MEDIA for SMALL BUSINESS:

http://www.YellowPagesCoupons.net ONLINE ADVERTISING
http://www.CouponCountry.com DIRECT MAIL MARKETING

Make an Impression That Sticks With Business Card Magnets

In the world of business, whether you are a mega corporation or a mom & pop venture, advertising is important. Fifty years ago, a colored, embossed business card with gold trim was a status symbol, similar to today's expensive signature cars. That merit card meant you were the very best in the business because you could afford the expense to manufacture the sales tool.

Recipients of these business cards, automatically put the businessman or businesswoman on a pedestal, as the best in their field of expertise. How else could they afford such an expensive card, if they weren't top-notched? And can you believe this, they handed me their deluxe business card! This made the receiver of the card feel special and flattered to know a "celebrity".

To produce those cards, compared to today's printing industry, was expensive, few could afford it, and extremely time consuming, which are more reasons why business cards were so coveted. You were somebody, if you had a collection of business cards. Those cards were hoarded, flaunted, and kept in leather-bound books.

Times have changed, and the archaic business cards are decaying in the local landfill. Once they touted greatness, now they are a dime-a-dozen, and anyone can get instant, professional results, on their home computer and printer. The cards are cheap, and everyone knows it. They are hurled into a waste container, without a second thought.

So why would you magnetize your business card? If they aren't cost effective, aren't you spending money fruitlessly? If I were an office manager, I would take my magnetized cards and place them on a metal surface, filing cabinet drawer or the metal back of the workstation, near my phone, making an easy access to the phone number. I don't like digging through an alphabetized circular wheel or rummaging through the phone book.

If I didn't have the capability, of putting important phone number's on speed dial, my hands-on, visible, "cheat sheet" would be a great stand-by. This enables more productivity. If I need a plumber, I have one at my fingertips. If I need a pest control company, I'm dialing. Magnetic business cards, perpetually and permanently advertise business services, providing you deliver good services! Most magnetic business cards are not filed under G, for garbage. Others who visit the workstation may ask about the magnetic card; if they need a service or are looking to purchase goods. The magnet could also hold up other important papers, like carryout lunch menus!

As an individual, I find it very handy to keep magnetic business cards on the side of my refrigerator. Again, it is a convenient and faster way to call to get an appointment for service or to purchase goods. Pulling out the phone book or finding my personal address/phone book is cumbersome and time consuming. Putting the business on speed dial is an option, but those numbers are generally reserved for family and friends. The magnet business card could also generate questions, if guests should see it. In addition, it could be used to hang up a child's drawing on the refrigerator or a quick call for Friday night pizza!

If you've enjoyed all the information you read here about using business card magnets, you can find out more here business card magnets.

3 Critical Ingredients of an Internet Business Plan That Guarantees Success

With the large amount of information that is easily accessible, your task of creating an internet business plan will only take a few hours today. Before the internet came into existence, people had to spend several days collecting information about the business, studying competition and gathering other details. Let us now consider some of the critical ingredients for this task.

1. Study similar or existing business
The best way to start your internet marketing business plan is by studying a similar business or an existing business in the same category. This will give you the major inputs required and also provide an overview of what contributed to the success of the existing business. Importantly, look at the page ranks of competitors, the keywords, how they have achieved the page ranks and in general take a peek into their activities.

2. Focus on the purpose
A plan for an online business is normally created to solicit support from sponsors or investors. Another objective of the plan is to help the entrepreneur engage in effective and thorough analysis. Both the purposes should be clearly and squarely addressed. Additionally you should also concentrate on issues typical to the internet. These will include demographics, tracking, payment systems etc.

3. Discuss the risks
Projecting a very promising picture in your internet business plan is easy. But an entrepreneur should be fully aware of the risks involved. Internet business has typical risks that are not similar to offline businesses. Hackers, computer viruses, technology challenges etc. should be discussed at great length for the entrepreneur and all other concerned to take stock and make an informed decision.

Would you like to learn more about starting an Internet business? I just completed a brand new free guide. Download my brand new free guide here: Internet Business

Banner Advertisements - How Can They Help Your Website?

How can you increase the effectiveness of your site? Banner advertising may be a viable solution. Even though some say banner advertising is a thing of the past, it still has a place which can help your bottom line.

Placing a banner ad on your website may help you to make more money in the long run. It has advantages over other methods of monetizing your website such as pay per click or classified ads. This form of advertising will allow you to generate a monthly income no matter how much your advertiser makes in sales.

In order to get the most from banner advertising you must get your site popularity to a level that is attracting as many visitors as possible. Your advertisers will begin to see your site in a more favorable manner as it progresses up the search engine rankings.

A high ranking site will get you more attention from advertisers and viewers. You'll make more money because the advertisers will want to be on you site. This is more favorable than affiliate marketing because it allows you to generate an income that is not dependent on the number of units you sell.

Once you get to a certain level of popularity you will see more merchants wanting to place more ads on your site. You could rent special spots on your site or charge different rates for different spots on you website.

Once established you can plan on collecting the advertising fees you agreed upon ahead of time. Think about your site as a storefront in which you rent space to other clients.

Jack Ryan is an accomplished internet marketer and webmaster. He has taught others to be profitable on the internet for over 10 years.

For a free report - 5 Keys to Making Money Online - visit:

Cash At Home

Plant Nursery Sale Brochures

Marketing promos for mark down prices for plants can be challenging. In the daily grind of a five day work week, most people barely have any time to notice ads or promo materials along the way, unless they're directly in front of them during the commute to the office. If there isn't much of a budget for high impact marketing tools such as billboards or large signage, another affordable, cost-effective marketing tool can be the use of brochure printing. Plant nursery owners can target a specific market area. This can mean surrounding neighborhoods, offices, schools, parks, or town halls. Plant nursery business owners can choose to print brochures and place them inside mailboxes of the chosen target area. Below are some ideas to consider when designing a marketing brochure for a plant nursery sale:

• The more attractive, the better-Chances are, this isn't the only brochure that potential customers will see. It's advisable to create a unique concept or an eye-catching design for this brochure. The best images to use are the plants themselves. Brochures can act as a mini catalog of the plants on sale. Brochure printing today can be easily and conveniently done through online printing services. Business owners can choose from a standard set of design templates. Customers can also choose standard sizes and folds. Customers can now also choose to have front and back full color printing, full color printing in front with a black back or full color front with a blank back. Business owners also have the option to upload a customized designs or size.

• Choose to print useful information-It's effective to print not only the essentials such as plant name and price. Other useful information can include design ideas or plant uses for a specific type of plant. Design ideas would mean using them as ornamentals, as climbers, as bedding plants. Plant specifications are also helpful including plant spacing, water requirements, quantities available, flower color or species variations.

Visit BrochuresPrintingOnline.com and UPrinting.com for more information on brochure printing and print brochures

Why Now is the Best Time Ever to Start an Online Business

Have you noticed that things aren't going so well in the World Economy at the moment?

I personally don't watch the news too often - it's usually negative, sensationalist and consistently focuses on all the things which are going wrong in the World without focusing much on the solutions or the positive things which are happening all around us.

However, it is a fact that in these uncertain economic times, many people have already lost their jobs, and a huge amount more will in the coming months. Many self employed people in the creative industries and others are really struggling to make ends meet. Even those still in good jobs are questioning their future. Many people are realising for the first time, that job security is an absolute myth - there is no such thing!

At this very moment, there is a vast amount of people looking for other options. They are looking for alternative ways to make a living and take control of their own finances, rather than have a boss, the economy or the government control their life for them.

So where are they looking? Well everywhere and anywhere, but more than anywhere else, they are searching the internet. The internet is the number one research tool for finding information on anything today.

I assume you may be realising what this means for internet marketers and online business people?! You guessed it, it means now is the best time ever to make huge profits!

"The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes." - Benjamin Disraeli

Now is a wonderful time for people involved in internet businesses! We are capitalising on the fantastic fact and opportunity, that more people than ever before are hungry for successful online money making business systems.

My main online business system, is perfectly set up for all those out there who are completely green when it comes to doing business online and internet marketing. This is great news, as so many of your prospects will be complete beginners.

The business system I use, is essentially a business-in-a-box, which also contains the most comprehensive training and educational resource of any online business. It's not a get rich quick scheme, it's a genuine business opportunity... it does have everything you need to get set up and into profit in the shortest time possible. After the initial set up in the beginning, most of the work is automated, which means that your time is leveraged and allows you much bigger profits for less time commitment. It's therefore also suited to those who want to do it on a part time basis.

"To become financially secure, a person needs to mind their own business" - Robert Kiyosaki

There literally has never been a better time to do this. Take advantage of the waves and waves of new people looking for an online opportunities.

Every single day more and more people go online and search for ways to make money. The sooner you get your online business up and running, the sooner you can start to make big profits - many who have the amazing system I use, are making more in a month than the average annual wage in the UK or the US. Some are making over 7 figures a year!

"Get in the game....Whatever you've been waiting for, forget it. Begin now from wherever you are with whatever you've got....Go for it!" - T. Harv Eker

Wishing you Great Success,
Graeme Stuart

Graeme Stuart is a top internet marketer and financial freedom mentor. To learn more about his most effective online wealth strategy and to receive a free online marketing course, go to YourSuccessNetBiz.com

Internet Marketing Tips - The Basics of an Effective Plan

Creating a website and putting it on the internet is not a guarantee that anyone will see it. Using Internet marketing tactics you can quickly boost your business. You will need to put certain techniques in place to ensure that you drive traffic to your website so that people can find what you have to offer. The internet has changed the way people do business all over the world. There are many opportunities to buy and sell services as well as products.

Some facts to help you understand how big the opportunities are, include the fact that as many as 88 percent of Americans will surf the net at one point or another. Secondly, search engines are responsible for driving eighty percent of all traffic on the internet to your website. Thirdly, about eighty percent of consumers will research a product or service on the internet before they buy it.

One of the tactics you can use to market your business is blogging. You can blog on a topic that is relevant to what you are selling and publish it on the internet. Search engines are finding this very important and attaching more importance to them than domain based sites. The blog will assist in getting your site ranked highly on the net. One of the best ways to drive traffic to your blog and website is to ensure that you provide good quality content.

Another thing to do in order to achieve high ranking with search engines is to make sure that the content on your website is updated often. To get over the crisis of having new content on the website, you can create articles and put them on the site regularly. These can also be bought from open article submission sites or have someone write them for you. A skilled professional will have taken the time to write the article meaning that the information will be valuable, which is what you need. The price will depend on the quality of the work provided. Content rich articles with a keyword concentration that are suitable are among the most effective ways to market on the internet.

Do you want to see exactly how it's done? I have just uploaded a new free video that you can watch.

Watch it free here: Internet Marketing Course

Do you want to learn how to use articles like this to drive targeted traffic to your site?

Click here ==> Article Marketing Guide

This year's Dubai Shopping Festival to see investment of Dh75m

Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) - the region's biggest shopping and entertainment event - begins today with various activities and events taking place in malls and other venues across the emirate.
Running till February 15, this year's edition of the festival will see an investment of Dh75 million, Laila Suhail, chief executive of the festival, told Gulf News.
In 2008, during the 32 days of DSF, consumer expenditure reached Dh10 billion and visitor numbers hit 3.2 million.
"This year's DSF came during a challenging time with the financial crisis, and the conflict in Gaza. DSF is coming in a season where everyone is looking forward and we are trying to maximize its impact for the retail sector," Suhail said.
DSF 2009 is backed by the strong participation of 40 shopping malls and over 6000 retail outlets that are offering discounts on various brands.
The theme for this year's DSF, "Celebrate the Festivities," highlights the event as a period where visitors can enjoy the best of four seasons in a year.
Apart from renowned international entertainment acts and high discounts, shoppers stand the chance to win prizes worth millions of dirhams through raffles of luxury cars and cash.
Signature Events for the opening day of DSF 2009 include the DSF Desert Camp by Watani, Dubai Carnivals, and Carpet Oasis.
The DSF Desert Camp by Watani will be held at Warqa'a 4, while the Dubai Carnivals will feature around 300 performers on January 15 at Al Seef Street. Carpet Oasis, a collection of carpets and rugs from around the world, will begin at the Airport Expo Dubai.
The 32-day long extravaganza will bring a total of 150 events, with new events such as The Chinese Circus, and festivities at new venues such as The Walk, Jumeirah Beach Residences and Jumeirah Beach Road.
The offers during this shopping festival, in addition to the retail promotions, include discounted hotel rates of up to 60 per cent.
Also, Emirates airline, a key sponsor, will provide 15 per cent discount on ticket prices.
"All the sectors are working together on this," said Suhail.


Source: Gulf News