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