Advertise to Succeed

If you have started a business you know how important it is to get customers and have those customers come back and recommend your service or product to others. Advertising does not have to be something that takes up a lot of time or money. There are plenty of inexpensive or free ways to get the word out about your business.

One thing that you may not think about when planning your advertising campaign is that having your name out there is just as important as having your businesses name out there. I have learned more and more about this recently and realized how much sense it made. You want people to be able to see or hear your name and remember who you are and what you do or what you have to offer.

For example, using forums as a method of advertising can be a great way to get your name out in front of potential customers. Use your real name as your username and every time you post or reply to other posts your name is included. If you have meaningful and helpful information to offer, people will remember who you are.

When you make a post on your blog or write articles that you submit to article directories make sure you include a blurb at the end that includes your name and what you have to offer. Pretty soon people may even start searching for your name. They may remember your name but not your business so it will be very easy for them to find you when they do a search. All the blog and forum posts will come up in that search and voila, there you are.

Video marketing is becoming more and more popular also. What makes this a wonderful form of advertising is that not only do people see or hear your name they also see your face. It is always easier to remember someone when they can see what they look like. They put a face to the name and suddenly your popularity goes up a notch.

In order for people to see that video depends on other advertising you do also. Blogging and forum posting have been covered, so what else can you do to get yourself and your business out there for others to see? Placing ads in ezines, newspapers and classified sites may be a good way to accomplish this.

Writing articles and submitting them to article directories is a very powerful way to get recognized. Writing informative and helpful information that people can use will help build your reputation and business. Find the most popular directories and submit your article. Make sure you include some Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in your article so people can find it easily. Use keywords that pertain to your article and include them in the title and body of the article.

If you have some money to spend on advertising you may want to consider PPC. Be cautious when choosing your keywords as it can be expensive for the more popular ones. I, myself, find PPC somewhat scary so I have avoided it so far. I ran a small campaign but since I really did not know what I was doing and I did not have a big enough budget, it was not something that would work for me at this point. Some have great success with it though so do not rule it out completely.

There are so many forms of advertising, you just have to find the ones that work for you and that you enjoy and success will follow. Just get your name out there and people will find you eventually. Steady promoting and building up your name recognition will help your business and yourself become a household name.

Tara Martindale specializes in helping people find the best work at home business opportunities available. Visit Tara's Work at Home Business Opportunities site for details. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tara_Martindale

Local Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

When it comes to the art of marketing many people seem to know random tips and have opinions about it but the people who really knows what works and what are the steps to take a small business from zero to success are not going to hand over all of their years of hard work to just any newbie or competitor who enters a similar market.

Today's business world is quite complex and competitive markets seem to get tighter by the day, as a small business owner you need strategies, organization, creativity and you need to make a lot of "friends" as you develop your marketing plan. The first step is to always have some sort of flow chart which can be made from putting random ideas on a piece of paper, you can write down your budget, your options, costs and target markets you want to reach within your local community. Whether you are in a big or small town within the UK or anywhere in the world for that matter, knowing your potential customers and competitors should be one of the highest priorities.

If you are in business, you should have realized by now that your product is not "unique", if it was you'd be monopolizing the niche you are in but since this is not the case you need to come up with a way to spin your marketing campaign to make your product sound and look unique to your prospects. You can offer a special guarantee, a trial, samples, free merchandise, discounts or any other kind of "incentive" which is going to add value to your product or service setting you apart from the competition.

After developing a good marketing idea and positive spin for your business products and services you need find a medium to advertise what you have to offer, this is where your networking skills will come in handy, many people love the "business card" approach but if it not done correctly you will be throwing away your fancy piece of paper. The number one mistake is to pay someone to distribute your cards on the streets or placing them on phone booths, etc. This practice will only degrade the look of your business and will drive people to your competitors who might be advertising through more professional mediums.

Always advertise to your target audience, for instance, it would be futile to advertise Real Estate deals on a high school football field, why? simply because the ones who will be looking at those ads will be teenagers who still have a lot of work to do before buying a house of their own, so consider places where your average customer would be exposed to your advertising

Another good way to get the word out is to use the web. As a smart business owner is your responsibility to learn new ways to advertise to your clients cheaply and effectively. Major search engines such as Google and Yahoo are excellent for this type of advertising since they are able to deliver "geo-targeted" visitors according to their "IP addresses" this only means that if you are operating in Whales, you will be able to target potential customers using these "geo-targeting" capabilities. Also if you advertise online try to avoid advertising through mailing lists unless the people you send emails to have opted to get your newsletter.

Today's business world is complex and competitive so when it comes to marketing your business you must always think outside the box.

TheBestOf.co.uk provides useful marketing resources for small businesses within the UK. Get all the tools you need to develop a successful marketing strategy, visit us at http://www.thebestof.co.uk/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ivan_A_Cuxeva

Postcards Printing - The Essentials on Save the Date Cards for Winning Events

Make sure your guests are available for your event. The last thing you want to find out too late is that the invitation you send out didn't arrive on time as planned. With postcard printing, you can send the postcards on the dot to get your guest to mark out their calendars.

Invitations sometimes take a long time coming. It has to wait the last minute to be sure last minute changes in venue or design are taken into consideration. As an event organizer, you know how important it is to make everything perfect. But even if perfection takes a long time to accomplish, you can have the peace of mind that your red letter day is in full attendance.

Events Organizing and Postcards

1. Your pre-invites are more than just save-the-date cards. They are teasers. They seduce and intrigue your guests. They are motivating enough to turn down other invitations that may come along the way.

2. Postcards with full color pictures and illustrations are the perfect crystal ball to show the event to come. It should already reflect the mood and the motif of your event. Apart from informing your guest about the date, it should build up the excitement for your event.

3. Make sure your guests have plenty of time to respond or confirm for your RSVP invitations. This will allow you to truly gauge the size of your party.

4. Other than this, postcards should also be sent at the right time to have sufficient room for the event to get buzzing around. Word-of-mouth, after all, can spread like wild fire and get the momentum going.

Designing the Postcard

Aside from the previous pieces of advice, you should note that postcards are very flexible material that can adjust to your specification. You can choose cards that shout fun! Fun! Fun! Or go you can go for the more subtle cards that speak a quiet sophistication.

Nevertheless, these design tips would help you better get an overview of what or how postcards can perform for your events.

• These cards come in five standard sizes of: 4.25x6, 5x7, 5.5x8.5, 6x9, and 6x11. If you want to go bigger or smaller, but it comes with additional cost. You can have extremely large cards printed for big impact or the smaller ones for a more standard look.

• You can have these cards printed in full color front and blank back, or have both sides colored for flexibility. Full color printing is fairly inexpensive. You can have a have as much as five hundred pieces printed for under $50, depending on the size and stock among others.

• To make your cards extra special, you can choose the paper finish. The semi-gloss is the default finish which is smooth and polished. It is great for most cards. You can choose to print your cards with matte-finish of high-gloss. Matte is great for subtle formal looking card.

It pays to be an early bird. Get those save the date cards printed ASAP and send out your cards a month early to create and build up the buzz. Contact your postcard printing specialist now.

To find more related topics on designs, processes and postcard printing services jobs please feel free to visit Postcard Printing Full Color: Postcard Design - My Postcard Printing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=M._Cadavicio

How To Survive On The Internet? - Funded Proposal - Don't Ever Pay For Crappy Leads Again

By Stian Jensen

The lie goes like this:

"Buy my system and set up a website and the money will pour in!"

What a pile of crap. Complete POOP.

Don't you think if it was that easy more people would be making 7 figures online?

You MUST have a system that builds trust with people first. You teach them some SKILLS (GIVE, GIVE, GIVE)...You put some money in their pocket and THEN you market to them some more.

Let me ask you a question:

If you had UNLIMITED customers or prospects for your business....

... and it didn’t cost you ANYTHING to produce them....

...do you think you chances of survival would improve?

Of course they would!

The fact is...many successful companies use what’s called a “Funded Proposal” to accomplish this very thing.

How does it work?

The process is very simple.

Your prospect first purchases a low cost product or service from your business.

The profit from this purchase is used to cover the cost of marketing to that prospect.

This prospect has essentially paid for itself.

At this point we have made no money, we have simply “broken even” while creating a relationship with someone who is interested in our product or service.

We then offer this same customer MORE products or services that will ADD VALUE to his/her original purchase.

The profits from these additional sales we get to keep....as the cost of marketing has already been covered by his original purchase.

Remember - all we are doing is offering additional value to our existing customer base!

Learn all about it here: http://www.djetm.ws

Best regards
Stian Jensen

Only Morons Pays For Leads. I Get Targeted Ones For Free: http://www.djetm.ws

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stian_Jensen

Advertising 2.0

In Using Club Flyers

Opening up a club just around the corner? Trying to find a way to advertise your grand opening within you community? Club flyers are the best way to do just that. With its typical size of no bigger than A5 or about 6x8 inches, and usually printed on card, this is the cheapest but also a highly effective way to attract attention.

Flyers can be handed out on the street, given away at events or posted on bulletin boards. These are free forms of communication for people who wants to engage people but does not have much money to spend on advertising.

A cost-effective way of promoting the events of your club would be guaranteed by the use of flyers. It is lightweight, easy to handout and can be produced massively.

But in order to serve its purpose, you should take time to consider how you want your flyer to look like. It would take up a couple of your precious hours but it would definitely be worthwhile.

In determining what your flyer would look like, you would need to choose what color you would want to use. You can choose from a variety of colors to represent what you want to put inside your club flyer. Just remember however how many copies you wanted to print out and if your budget allows that color of paper for that many copies.

Then try to come up with a very noticeable headline. This would help you capture your reader"s attention. Use few but very powerful words. And then decide if you are still going to use pictures or images. Use images that would help you convey your message as well.

After you have settled with the design that you want for your flyer, you now have to decide whether you would be printing those copies that you need on your own or look for a reputable flyer printing company that can give you the best price for printing your flyers in multiple copies.

If you do decide to print the flyers on your own, you get to save money and you would be able to give your personal touch as well to every printed copy that you were able to make. However, printing it on your own would require a lot of time and energy and tons of patience.

Having a reputable printing company handle printing your flyers could cost you money but can save you on time and trouble. And they would also be able to produce the exact same copy every time.

The printing company that would be handling your flyers should be able to produce every copy that you need in high quality. They should be using modern equipments that can print your flyer in less time but with lesser mistakes as well.

Autor: Carla San Gaspar

Tips on your Club Flyers and Club Cards Flyers printing can be found on Post Card Printing

Added: March 27, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-In Using Club Flyers-48202.html

Investing on Your Business Cards

Business cards are given after meeting a potential client to better know the nature of a business and a note on how to contact you. The usual size for a business card would be 2 x 3.5 and can be printed in gloss, with a softer gloss, UV with ultimate shine and matte with a smooth dull finish.

Maximize the use of your business cards by using it as a promotional tool as well. Besides putting your name and your contact information in it, why don"t you use some of that space to write as well all the products or services you are offering?

Your business card would be the one working for you even after you have met with your potential customer. This is the reason why you should not think twice about investing in business cards printing.

Pay attention on the design for your business card and on the quality of paper you would be using in it. The impression that you have built on the meeting with your potential client might be reversed if you are to give out a home-made customized business card.

Don"t give the impression that your products or services are also second rate by saving on having a professional business cards printing company doing the work for you. You can elevate the impression that you created more by handing out professionally designed and printed business cards.

Try to save yourself the inconvenience of having the business card that you spent money on be thrown into the trash by making it as professional as you can. Determine the kind of color that you want to represent you. Colors can make an impression as well. But too much color can be too distracting.

The design on your business card should match the image that you place there as well. If the image that you placed on your business card looks out of place, you may want to rethink about it.

Don"t cram all the information that you want on your business card. Leave a little that you can share for yourself in person with your potential customer. A white space will make it easier to absorb the message.

First impression is the most important thing that you can have in expanding your business. You only have one chance of making it great. Invest on business cards printing to make good use of the money that you spent.

Autor: Carla San Gaspar

This article aims to provide the reader comprehensive ideas and tips on how to properly craft a Business Card and how Business Card Printing works. For additional information regarding business cards please visit U Printing - Full Color Business Card Printing Company

Added: March 27, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-Investing on Your Business ~.html

Adsense Gets An Upgrade

By Eric Hartwell

Many people will have heard of, or actually use, Adsense. It is an efficient way to advertise and to generate income from targeted traffic. Google has had problems with its ad scheme is recent years, with its program Google Adsense. The program lets advertisers pay Google in exchange for Google allowing website owners to place the code on web pages. It is a money triangle between advertiser, webmaster, and the middle man Google.

Recently, however, there have been troubles with the system. Advertisers have been complaining that traffic they paid for is fraudulent- meaning that the people clicking the ads didn’t do so because they were interested, but because they had motive to credit the webmaster’s Adsense account with another click.

Now, Google has apparently found the answer. They have reportedly put a new system into testing- pay per action ads, instead of the general pay per click. The system will pay webmasters only when an action is taken. For instance, if the visitor to the website clicks the ad and registers on the website, this could be such an action needed to credit the webmaster with money. It is expected that webmasters will make much less money, unless advertisers are willing to shell out a few extra dollars for the program.

The system is likely to be integrated lightly, as to not upset the faithful webmasters and advertisers, and those who prefer the pay per click scheme. Either way, Google is looking into all of its options to keep everyone happy- something it will most likely learn to be quite a task.

Eric Hartwell oversees "The World's Best Homepage" intended to be a user-generated resource where YOUR opinion counts. Anybody can contribute and all are welcomed. Visit us to read, comment upon or share opinions on advertising and business and visit our associated site articles for free

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eric_Hartwell

The Death Of Adsense?

PPC search engines: In search of quality traffic? Here it is.

Solid targeting, flawless click-fraud detection, exclusive traffic sources, and good customer service! All this and more from our Pay-per-Click services! - www.ppc.abcsearch.com

"Over the next five years, we estimate the paid search industry will grow at a 37-percent CAGR [compound annual growth rate] to more than $33 billion in 2010, and Google is expected to capture the lion's share of that revenue and grow faster than the market as a whole," Rashtchy wrote in a Google research note.

There is so much to search engines than just Google.

The top PPC search engines:

Google AdWords
Overture
ePilot
SearchFeed
7Search
ABCSearch.com
Search123
FindWhat
Kanoodle
PageSeeker
Enhance Interactive
Any company or organization needing to generate cost-effective leads or sales online finds PPC search engines as a way to generate the traffic. Hitting the bull"s eye in paid search is a daunting task and doing this right is the underlying challenge for both big and small PPC search players alike. Many marketers say that nothing matches the control, measurability, and ROI they get from paid search marketing campaigns. There are a few PPC search engines ruling while others take a back seat. What"s the difference? It mainly attributes to the quality of clicks from PPC than quantity. The "click to conversion" traffic is what really counts.
What is it to search engines?
PPC Advertising is the sole revenue model for all top search engines and is the advertisers" key to targeted visibility and great ROI. They have a steady flow of income for partners or affiliates and have the best model for focused search strategy which translates to quicker results. On the whole, paid search now accounts for 50% of all online advertising spending.
Market Share of Searches: August 2006

The chart below shows the percentage of searches done by US web surfers in August 2006 that were performed at a particular web site or a network of web sites:


What is PPC with www.ppc.abcsearch.com?

With industry leading quality control, ppc.abcsearch deals with over a thousand direct advertisers and a thousand distribution partners that syndicate or partner to. The company comes across around 15,000,000 queries a day on its network. The search marketplace is constantly changing and progressing. More and more issues are witnessed with click fraud in paid search and the key to overcoming this is by identifying and blocking the fraud with state-of-the-art technology, which ppc.abcsearch.com is currently implementing. This is precisely where their patent-pending click detection solution "ClickShield" comes in. It captures the sources of traffic and helps understand that this traffic is valid or not. User behavior patterns, monitoring Ips, search to click measures, etc are well monitored. Its mechanism completely eliminates the clicks an advertiser really shouldn"t be paying for.


It taked trusted partnerships to deliver quality leads to advertisers. Ppc.abcsearch.com"s credible partnerships foster the best targeting and visibility to your brand. Example: blogsearch.com represents the current panacea among the net surfers of the blog craze. This means the very potential traffic from the field is to be of quality. Likewise, partners represent sometimes a certain sect of focused target audience or a variety of related audience who could be your immediate prospect. The result - high quality traffic.

PPC: Wise doubts

Understanding how much priority to place on paid search
The budget
Key campaign settings: budget settings, ad rotation, geo-targeting, and more
The sector search seasonality, trends in purchase behavior
Bid Strategy - bidding to ROI, to establish position, competitive jockeying and bid management, etc.
Combating Click Fraud: Main sources of click fraud and seek the leading tactics for discovering and eliminating
Landing Page Testing, Site Architecture, and Conversion Rates. The best practice of conversion rates from a click to a sale
Contextual Advertising: What to Avoid. Knowing contextual ad programs, and settings to control, measure, or opt out of bad traffic, etc.


PPC.ABCSearch.com: The Credentials
The PPC.ABCSearch.com advertising program allows advertisers to list their websites as search results across their network of smaller search engines and strategic partnerships. Advertisers choose keywords that are relevant to their websites while selecting the precise amount they wish to pay for each click on their listings by a consumer.
Site listings on ABCSearch are ranked and determined according to the highest bidders. Signing up for the PPC.ABCSearch.com advertising program does not guarantee that any or all of the search terms submitted will be accepted by ABCSearch.com or that such search terms will generate any traffic to Advertiser's site. ABCSearch.com reserves the right to reject and/or remove any search terms submitted by Advertisers.
Clickshield: The unique click fraud detector
In 2006 at least $500 million in pay-per-click online advertising expenditure was wasted through click fraud.
By 2008, Click fraud is estimated to grow to $1.6 billion, an increase of over 45%.
Corrupt affiliates of ad networks account for 85% of all click fraud.
What is ClickShield?
ClickShield was developed to aid Pay-per-click search providers to end the threat of click fraud.
It is important to us that your advertising dollars go towards converting traffic, instead of being wasted on fruitless clicks. By monitoring network traffic patterns, we block the traffic that we know you should not be paying for. Period.
ClickShield optimizes all ABCSearch network search traffic automatically, ensuring all clicks are free of fraudulent symptoms. each click gets scrubbed against natural user behavior patterns among other proprietary statistical methods. All you have to do is...well...nothing!
Click fraud has been a part of the PPC advertising scene since the earliest days of the Internet. The simplest type of click fraud happens when a publisher accepts PPC ads on his site, then clicks on them himself or has others do the dirty work. This can be one of the hardest types of "insincere clicks" to spot, especially if it"s kept to low levels. It isn"t always, though.
Therein lies one of the biggest hurdles in the battle to eliminate - or at least effectively deal with - click fraud. The companies that manage PPC advertising - Google, Overture and other search engine companies - have a clear conflict of interest in resolving disputed clicks. This conflict sometimes even extends to the terminology used to refer to fraudulent clicks in either community. Google, for instance, collects from advertisers for 'actual clicks' and pays publishers for 'valid clicks'. That's led to speculation that Google may be collecting from advertisers for some clicks for which they don't pay publishers.
If quality leads is your aim, then quality search engines have the answer!

Autor: Micheal Turner

Micheal Turner writes for PPC.ABCSearch.com

Added: March 23, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-PPC search engines In sear~.html

Ready - Set - SELL! Preparing Your Home to Sell in a Buyers Market

Sluggish. Slow. Decreasing. Those are words that are being applied to the recent housing sales markets. If you"re planning to sell, the news is nowhere near as bad as the doomsayers are making it sound. The problem is that there are so many people trying to sell their homes right now. The number of choices on the market encourages buyers to be choosy and to hold out for the perfect home at the best price. Any Realtor will tell you, though, that homes are selling - and when they sell, it"s because the prospective buyer fell in love at first sight.

The homes that sell are those that "wow" buyers from the curb and woo them all the way through to the back yard. So how do you turn your hearth into a new buyer"s heart throb? The same way that you"d attract a new beau - freshen up, put on a little makeup and sport the most attractive outfit you can find.

Five Steps to Wow Them at the Curb.
Curb appeal is the real estate equivalent of sex appeal. That first view of your house may not break a sale - but it can definitely make it.

1. Get rid of clutter in the yard. Don"t kid yourself that the bikes and Big Wheels tell buyers a home is well-loved and family-friendly. Stow the stuff - the kids" toys, the gas grill, the rake leaning against the porch - and not in the garage. You"ll want that to look nice and clean, too.

2. Make any cosmetic repairs that the house needs. Clogged gutters? Hanging drainpipe? Shutter off kilter? Spend a weekend doing all those little things you"ve been saying you"ll do for the last three years.

3. Freshen up your house"s face. If you can, give it a new coat of paint. If your house is sided, this is the time to rent a power washer and give it a good hose down. Don"t forget to wash the windows and hang pretty window treatments inside, too. While you"re at it, make sure that mini-blinds are all at the same level in the windows facing the street. You"d be surprised what a difference, symmetry makes.

4. Mow the lawn, trim the shrubs, get the tree guy out to lop off those overhanging branches. Fix cracks in the driveway, dig up the moss in between the paving stones. The keyword is manicure - everything should look very, very well taken care of.

5. Wrap it up with a bow. You can"t exactly put a ribbon in your house"s hair, but you can do the next best thing. Flowers offer instant appeal. Hit your local garden shop for a few flats of colorful, in bloom annuals and put in a flower beds along the walkway, or encircle a palm with a bed of impatiens.

Five Steps to Woo Them All the Way.
Give the inside of your house the same attention that you did the outside. Here"s how to turn attraction into love.

1. Get rid of clutter. Take down family photos, remove those report cards from the front of the fridge, tuck away the cherished collection of knick knacks. When you"re done, you should have clean counters, clean tables and clean shelves.

2. Clean. Clean. Clean. The key word is spotless. Scrub down walls, wash windows, get rid of the gray fingerprints around doorknobs and light switches. Clean your grout especially in the bathrooms. Shampoo carpets. Added bonus - you"ll have to do far less deodorizing.

3. Pare down furniture to the essentials. Sofa, chair and tables in the living room. Bed, dresser and lamps in the bedroom. Engaging the services of a professional home stager is a very worthwhile investment.

4. If your budget allows for it, go for one or more of these high-ROI home improvements.
-Repaint your kitchen and bathroom walls. Choose a warm neutral color.
-Replace worn carpets.
-Update your kitchen.
-Update your bathroom.

5. Try a few psychological tricks. Hang a mirror on the wall opposite your front door. Invest in fresh flower arrangements - but be sure to keep them fresh. Wilted flowers are NOT inviting. Play classical music - softly - when the house is being shown. And a favorite quick-pretty-up trick - toss a clean damp towel and fresh scented dryer sheet in the dryer about half an hour before a showing. Clean laundry smell is even more appealing than chocolate chip cookies or apple pie baking in the oven.

Autor: Calum MacKenzie

Calum and Kathy MacKenzie are experienced and professional Tampa, Florida real estate agents who specialize in helping families relocate to the Tampa area. They've lived and worked in New Tampa for eleven years, and their extensive knowledge of New Tampa real estate can help make relocation easy.

Added: March 22, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-Ready - Set - SELL! Prepar~.html

Designing Yellow Page Ads For A Living Doesn't Make You A Professional!

By John Morana

There are hundreds of people on payrolls who crank out Yellow Page ads for a living. But assembly-lining ads simply turns a designer into a seasoned hack. Being held accountable for results is the experience that counts.

You see, Yellow Page ads are a form of direct response advertising. Meaning people either respond to the ad by picking up the phone, or the ad is a failure - there’s no chalking up poor response to “creating awareness” or “building the brand.” And in direct response ads, small subtleties often create vastly different response rates. Changing two or so words or replacing a graphic element can often double – or, if you do it wrong, halve – your response rate!

This is why the design of your Yellow Page ad is more important than its size or the use of color. And why design-by-numbers, or by template, can be fatal. What works depends on context: your market, your competitors’ ads, your business itself, etc. And if the subtleties of your Yellow Page ad are wrong, you’ll be stuck with a year’s worth of wasted advertising dollars.

Has your ad design “professional” been held accountable for making telephones ring? For how long? Without five year’s experience, you might as well write the guy a check for design school. ‘Cause your ad dollars will only be financing his education in what doesn’t work.

And the same thing goes for his “help.” A lot of so called Yellow Page advertising professionals routinely outsource the design of your Yellow Page ad to "general" freelancers. But expertise in manipulating the subtleties can’t be outsourced. Without an in depth knowledge of your specific situation, any one element in this kind of “assembly line” production could contribute to producing a low-response ad. If your next Yellow Page ad isn't going to be developed from "start-to-finish" by a true Yellow Page ad design professional, look elsewhere.

John Morana is president of MaxEffect Yellow Page Ad Design. Make no mistake, your next Yellow Page ad will be developed (start-to-finish) by a top-flight Yellow Page ad design master with over 30 years experience. Isn't it about time you made your phones jump like fish out of water? Call 800-726-7006 for a FREE ad evaluation or visit http://www.max-effect.com to view samples and client testimonials.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Morana

The A to Z Guide to Getting Website Traffic

The Internet And Small Business Collaboration - Increasing Revenue Growth

By Michelle Hill

The Internet brings many opportunities and advantages to small businesses but these firms are not grasping the concept of how and why to use the Internet to increase sales. Many small businesses use word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied customers, which generally reaps local revenue. In most cases, due to limited revenue generation, prices of products and services from small businesses are higher compared to larger competition. This in turn can further decrease sales due to customers looking for products that fit within their budgets. Small businesses such as consignment shops, shoe stores, and consumer product firms are failing to see the potential in using the Web for advertising their existence and selling their products and services.

There is a large consumer base that prefers receiving information via the Internet and will most likely be exposed to a firm due to a website or affiliate link than a phone book. Such customers most likely does not even own a phone book or yellow pages because the Internet in an online directory itself that provides much more than just a phone number and an address for a business but detailed information that leads to more company awareness. When individuals are too busy to travel to malls and other shopping centers for products, they turn to the Internet for advertisement information and to potential buy products as to less the constraints on their free time that can be garnered from traveling to stores, physically searching for products, and waiting in longs lines. Small businesses that do not have store websites are missing out on potential sales because they are not factoring in the manner in which many consumer purchases products and services or at least become familiar with local business through information presented on websites that can satisfy their needs.

Most small business owners tend to stay away from advertising and selling online to keep the mom and pop feel and their uniqueness but these owners are not understanding the demographics and purchasing trends of their existing and potential customers. Today’s society warrants more time to accomplish multiple tasks and the Internet provides such a luxury for very busy individuals. Small business owners not exercising the advantages of their own online presence will continuously be upstaged by the larger competition that are accessible 24 hours 7 days a week for information sharing or purchasing. Many of these small business owners that are not using the Internet are older and do not feel the need to learn such technology or find it frustrating but there are ways around this such as hiring someone to create the website and manage its functionality. The biggest advantage of using the Internet is to increase awareness of one’s business so that sales can increase as well and if there is the option to buy online, these firms will see revenue generation from two models of business: the traditional and e-Commerce structures.

The following are some strategies for small business owners to examine to determine if a web presence is the correct tactic for them:

1. Research statistics of a website’s influence on increased purchases due to additional advertising that reaches numerous individuals

2. Determine who their customers are from those that buy within the store or who they want their customers to be based on their products or services to indicate if these individuals use the Internet for information gathering and purchasing

3. Ascertain the cost effectiveness of owning a website by conducing a cost/benefit analysis between how much the website and its maintenance will cost compared to the potential increase in revenue generation

4. Evaluate the competition’s web site to evaluate their strategies for delivering information and selling techniques and examine how to benchmark themselves against these firms

As small businesses determine the best methods to increase their operations, the Internet should not be discounted. This vehicle can translate into higher traffic for physical stores if websites are information based and into higher sales if the website has a purchasing function. When businesses are first established, there is the notion that the owner would want to be prosperous and have longevity. Small business owners need to utilize all applicable methods to bring awareness to their stores, especially in a society that is immersed in technological tools to make their purchasing experience much more rewarding. Business owners must stay abreast of the trends in their industries to fully have access to the techniques that will generate prosperity and steady expansion. The Internet is such a tool that will assist in the continued existence and growth of any firm that choose to use its structure for advancement and competitive advantages.

Copyright © 2007 Michelle Hill

Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you do not edit the article in any way and give author name credit and follow all of the EzineArticles terms of service for Publishers.

Michelle T. Hill is a business instructor and Doctorate of Business Administration student at the University of Phoenix focusing on studying issues relative to women and business and writing articles pertaining to marketing, advertising, and business relationships and development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michelle_Hill

Long Yahoo, Short Google: Why I Think This Contrarian Idea Will Work

A Brief History Of Postcard Marketing

By Michael Reid

The first postcards

The first postcards really weren’t postcards as we know them at all. The idea came from envelopes that featured printed pictures. The first card sent post in the United States was privately printed and copyrighted in 1861. It certainly didn’t have anything to do with postcard marketing. Indeed, many postcards first evolved as sort of greeting cards. It wasn’t until 1870 when the first postcard as we would recognize it, was printed. And it was more of a historical issue for the Franco-German War. But marketing is a powerful force, and it only took three years for postcard marketing to get its start.

The dawn of postcard marketing

Postcard marketing got its official start in 1872, when a postcard advertisement appeared in Great Britain. These first advertisement postcards appeared in black and white, or with only one color. It wasn’t until 1889 that a multi-colored postcard was printed. And even then, because of the expense involved, postcard marketing did not embrace multi-colored postcards.

Early hindrances to postcard marketing

Postcard marketing did not take off immediately in the United States. It took a while to develop because early postal regulations made it difficult to create attractive advertisements on postcards. Happily, nearly all of the obstacles to cost-efficient postcard marketing have been overcome. Some of the hindrances to postcard marketing included:

The expense of quality color printing

Could only print the message on one side of the postcard (the side with the picture or illustration)

An undivided back for addressing only

Cost the same as mailing a letter

Required a long and prohibitive identification phrase on the back

Changes that encouraged postcard marketing

As countries in Europe changed the regulations and design of postcards, the United Stated gradually followed suit. And this is when postcard marketing began truly developing into the inexpensive and effective advertising medium that it is today. A divided back that allowed for a message as well as an address, and no longer requiring the identification phrase helped create more room for a sales message. And, the postal service decided that privately printed postcards could be sent for less postage, making them more cost efficient. And don’t forget about technological advances! The changes to the quality of paper used and the decrease in price for multi-colored postcards combined to make postcard marketing one of the most cost-efficient advertising methods available.

What postcard marketing offers businesses today

Today, postcard marketing has evolved into an efficient form of advertising that allows for inexpensive production and mailing. It is possible to create attractive postcards for very little (http://www.designsnprint.com offers them for as little as $170 for 5,000 postcards), including full color cards that grab attention. Postcards can be strategically included in both offline and online marketing campaigns to boost quality business leads and increase sales. High quality graphics, photos and lettering can be included in postcard marketing, and postcards offer other advantages as well:

Small size makes it easy to carry

Postcards are easy for recipients to pass along to family and friends

Convenient reminders of your business

Perfect for informing customers of your Web address, and encouraging them to visit your business Web site for more information

Postcards look more friendly than more in-your-face advertisements

For the last century postcard marketing has become more cost-efficient. Now anyone can take advantage of one of the most effective advertising mediums around.

Michael Reid – marketing/promotions Small Business Promotions, Inc http://www.designsnprint.com

you can redistribute this article freely but you must keep my contact information including my website address.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Reid

Adsense Alternatives

Benefits on Using Catalogs

Catalogs can translate to a large increase in the market of any business. A customer is usually aware of only a portion of his distributor"s products and catalogs are the best way in getting him informed of all the other available items. This can be given to customers on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.

Catalogs can encourage customers to purchase items they don"t usually need. Images that catch attention and brief description of the uses of the products and their benefits can urge the customer to purchase the product. Catalogs can create the need for the customer by encouraging them to purchase a product they don"t really need.

A lot of people who are living fast paced life like married consumers, middle-age individuals and educated people rely on catalogs to shop. They use catalogs in looking for something that they need and then use the phone or the web to purchase. Catalog shoppers are usually more comfortable with modern technology and invest more on stocks and bonds.

Pages of colorful materials coupled with enticing descriptions of the products inside would attract a reader to purchase the product even without a need. With the benefit of increase in sales, what company would not want to use a catalog as a tool for advertising?

This is the reason why businesses should invest time and money as well in catalog printing services. The benefit that they can avail from a finely produced catalog would help them boost their sales and gain more customers as well.

Most catalog printing companies already have modern catalog printing machines that will give businesses the kind of printing results that they need. A lot of catalog printing companies also have online printing quotes and catalog prices for every catalog printing service needed from them.

A lot of software has been developed as well to every catalog design that a business might need. Businesses can use programs such as Word, Quark, Illustrator, Photoshop, Publisher and more to create catalogs that would better represent them.

Consistent quality with every output is a necessity in producing an effective catalog. The use of glossy paper and four-color printing would produce the wanted quality in each product.

Professional skills and prompt service should also define the catalog printing company that would be handling your business catalog. These are necessary to create progressive innovation together with expert printing standards to meet every demanding personal and corporate needs of any business.

Autor: Billie Ray

As a kid, I have always loved books. I could not even remember when a day would pass without even just skimming through a book. And as soon as I can purchase one on my own, I never fail to check a bookstore for any interesting finds.

Added: March 18, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-Benefits on Using Catalogs-~.html

How to Advertise in a Magazine

By Sage Dean

So you would like the public to know of your company and services and/or products? A magazine advertisement is an excellent way to get noticed, but it is not so easy. This marketing strategy takes some effort and planning on your part in order to fully take advantage of the medium.

Which Magazine?

Magazines can be an excellent source of advertising, but you have to know which one. Besides choosing a magazine with readers that will be intrigued by your products and/or services, you most likely want to choose a magazine with a large readership. Determining the level of readership for the magazine should be one of the first aspects looked into, but sometimes the reports of readership can be misleading.

A magazine may tell you that over 100,000 people will be exposed to your ad. That sounds great but the magazine only prints about 60,000 copies. You have to consider that a decent proportion of the magazines they produce are going to dealers and newsstands meaning that a good number of magazines may never be opened at all. Also, publishers may conduct surveys to gain a sense of readership that could be misleading to the advertiser. For instance, a publisher may ask an office subscriber how many people work in the office, so the publisher will count all of the people working in that office as readers (though they may not be so). Publishers do the same with single subscriptions delivered to a library.

There is a huge difference between readership figures and distribution figures, and to their own benefit, publishers will do their best to blur the difference to advertisers. An advertiser has to get a sense of how often a potential reader will generate a potential sale. You want to get a number of paid subscribers instead of distribution numbers because paid subscribers are most likely going to be your target market and the ones that are more likely to read the magazine all the way through (looking at the advertiser’s spread).

Media Kits

When contacting a magazine about possible advertising, ask them to send you a media kit. The media kit will contain useful information and will provide you with a better outlook about the company. The kits include: - Sample issue of the magazine
- A rate card which explains the advertising rates, allowable discounts, positioning, etc.
- Advertising specifications
- Circulation information

The media kit will give you a better view of the readership and the benefit of placing your ads with the magazine. Some information may show intricate numbers into demographics and the socioeconomic status of readers.

Newsletters

Advertising in newsletters is another excellent source of advertising. Most people who subscribe to them will read the entire newsletter through and therefore will definitely see the advertisements. Prices vary greatly for running ads in newsletters usually depending on the popularity of the newsletter. Some publishers will charge a very high amount for running an ad, but your ad may be the only one in the newsletter. Other publishers will charge less money because advertisements on the newsletter are in abundance.

Keeping Tabs on Sales

When making a sale in relation to your service or product, it is important to find the reason for the consumer’s interest. If their road to you was paved by ads in a certain magazine, then you know that it is beneficial to your company to continue advertising through that avenue. A company that is experiencing success may not think about ‘where’ the attention is coming from, but keeping track of advertising should be of high importance regardless of success rates. For instance, some companies may find that a great amount of revenue is generated through word-of-mouth. This is great for the business because then they can not spend so many extra dollars on advertising through billboards, newspapers, magazines, etc.

It is always good business to assess how well your conversion rate is doing in relation to dollars spent advertising and sales made. Most likely, you will want to do this at least twice a year (if not more). Figure out how much you are spending on each thoroughfare of advertising and if it is worth it to continue on with the process. For instance, if a lot of revenue is not generated from advertising with a magazine, consider either lowering the frequency of your ads, decreasing the size of the ads, or not advertising in the magazine at all.

Ad Size

Ad sizes differ and the prices differ as well. It is suggested to start small and see how well the ad is attracting consumers. A well worded and graphically intriguing ad will always be better than a dull but big ad. A good idea would be to look at the other advertisements in the magazine and see what the majority is doing. You may want your ads to ‘stand out’ from other ads, so you may choose to go bigger or smaller to mark a sense of differentiation. This is something you will either want to assess for yourself or by getting some advice from a third party. You do not want to seek the consultation of the magazine because they will obviously tell you to go with the bigger size which will mean more money for them.

Ad Placement

Just as size matters, placement matters as well. Your ad’s effectiveness may be contingent on it being in the front, middle, or back of the magazine. This is another reason to get a familiarity with the magazine before placing ads within it. If the magazine is in the habit of putting their most intriguing (cover) articles in the middle of the magazine, then it would be logical to assume that most readers will be perusing through that portion of the magazine and will most likely see the ads placed there as well.

Unfortunately a lot of magazines usually call the shots as far as placement goes; or, if an advertiser wants to have more of a say, it means they will have to pay more money. Regardless of the size of your ad, it may be good to see if you can get it juxtaposed to text. A lot of readers grow anxious when confronted with a block of text and their eyes naturally begin to wander for some other stimulation. A lot of publishers will block advertisements together. This creates a break from text, but most likely readers will not look at every single ad on a page full of ads. Usually, a really enticing headline or out-of-the-ordinary coloring will make an ad standout. This idea will work great in the midst of the magazine, but will not be necessary in other sections. If the magazine usually runs ads in the back and readers know this, they will already go to the back to make a possible purchase anyway. In this scenario a solid advertisement will serve you well, but it doesn’t have to be as overt because the consumer is already looking to make a purchase (they are looking for you instead of vice versa).

Rates

Depending on the popularity of the magazine, rates will vary. The good thing is though most rates may be standard, they are not set in stone and exceptions do apply. For instance, if you are a first time advertiser the publisher may offer you a discount to make a good first impression or to assuage any anxiety in spending money with them to begin with. The frequency of your ads and the size of each will play a part in how much money you will spend with the magazine. If you make a long-term commitment with them (say over the next couple of years) you will most likely get a discounted rate as opposed to an advertiser that is fickle in their nature with working with them.

Folio is the magazine source for the magazine industry. We are a multi-channel, multidimensional information source, using print, online and face-to-face delivery to bring actionable information to the publishing community and encourage a richer dialogue between buyers and sellers.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sage_Dean

Targeting Online Advertising

Newsletter as A Marketing Tool

By Billie Ray Briones

Trying to think of a way to promote that new product or service that your company recently introduced? Why not try to use a promotional newsletter? Sure a lot of businesses already use it. But it is still a great marketing tool for that new product or service you want everyone to know. You just have to think of a new way on how to introduce that product to your prospective customers and loyal customers.

A promotional or marketing newsletter is used by businesses who wants to promote a product or service they just introduced. Newsletters are typically sent by mail or are placed inside the store where customers can just pick up a copy.

Newsletters normally use grids, content and photos for design. Newsletter design cannot survive without these three. A good content plus a colorful grid and a striking photo would help present the newsletter in an effective package.

A large nameplate showing the name of the company, a body text using catchy phrases and a prominent headline would be just enough for a simple marketing newsletter.

However, the key to an efficient newsletter design would be consistency. You should not try every available font that you can use for a single newsletter. And avoid placing every photo you have available and unnecessary clip arts on your newsletter. You may be able to find a better use for that space like a clip and return questionnaire or a calendar of events.

Avoid turning your newsletter however in a great big ad for your business. Your newsletter should also include information of interest to the one reading it whether they buy your product or avail of your services. Also involve your customers on your newsletter by letting them contribute to the newsletter experiences they might want to share on using your products and availing your services.

Newsletters can be printed on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually basis. This is why in looking for a printing company that will be handling your newsletter printing you should already choose the best in the business because you may need their services more than once.

Choosing a printing company that will handle your newsletter printing would be very important in order to have an effective newsletter. They will be the one in charge already of the output, the one that you’re customers are going to read. The printing company should be able to reflect in your printed newsletter everything that you want to appear in it.

So remember that the key to a successful newsletter is to keep it neat and simple yet elegant.

Please visit Los Angeles Printing Service for more information on Newsletter Printing and other Printing Services

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Billie_Ray_Briones

Tactical PPC advertising in action

Bluetooth Technology And The Future Of Advertising

By Richard Jamison

Nearly all new cellular phones and mobile devices come equipped with Bluetooth technology. It is the common wireless communication platform, shared by all new mobile devices. Data transmission via Bluetooth is relatively fast and does not charge the sender or recipient, making it an attractive method for the delivery of promotional content by retailers.

As consumers make the transition to newer and more functional mobile devices, they become more visible to Bluetooth-based advertising devices, and thus more accessible to marketers. With this newfound accessibility, marketers are now faced with the challenge of engaging consumers without alarming them or creating a sense of intrusion.

The most notable change that advertisers must make is that they now must barter with their clientele, exchanging content for their attention. Although this may seem to be a compromise for advertisers, it is actually giving them the opportunity to distinguish themselves from competitors by offering their customers something in exchange for their exclusive attention. Content that many consumers are currently buying, such as ringtones or wallpapers, can now be freely offered by retailers to entice potential customers. Content that is provided by retailers via Bluetooth can also be repeatable, meaning that it can be something that consumers may choose to observe multiple times. The repeatability that mobile devices allow for is very powerful, because repetition of content is brand reinforcement.

Bluetooth marketing is a revolutionary approach, because it is personal, substantive, cost-efficient, and effective. It is personal because the mobile device is the central hub for personal communication by phone, email, text message, etc. It is substantive because it offers content that is valuable to consumers. It is cost-efficient because data transfer and content are free; and the Bluetooth advertising devices are reprogrammable. And finally, it is effective because the content can be repeatable. Bluetooth technology is the key in molding the future of advertising to fit an elusive, tech-savvy generation that no longer notices subtle forms of advertising.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Jamison

Car Magnets is medium of promotion that can hit your target audience

Advertising and promotion has become an essential part to survive in the business world. It is quite obvious that marketing will enable people to know about all the information on products and services that they have to tell. There are a lot many mediums that are available in the market that can be used for this purpose. Some of them are newspapers, banners, posters, car magnets, pamphlets and many others. Out of the list of all these forms of promotion, car magnets are being considered as one of the best forms. It is because car magnets can be put on any vehicle and wherever the vehicle goes, people will surely get to see and read your message.

If you have particular concern about your country or some sports team or likewise things, then you can exhibit it with the help of car magnets. Personal attachments can be shared with the public and that too with the aid of car magnets. Well, if you have devotion for your country, then why not show it. Apart from patriotism, you can also use football or bat shaped car magnet to show your special consideration for that particular field of sports. An advantage of using car magnets is that they can be placed on the metallic part of your car and won"t even damage its surface. What more can you can ask for?

These days, every business is based on proper promotion and marketing. It is this reason that more and more business professionals are bending towards such promotional mediums that help them in taking their message to the targeted audience. And car magnets are quite helpful in this regard. It is because the more people watch the message on car magnets; the more publicity will take place. This is what every business organization aims at. They can also be used for fund raising issues, so that charity causes can also be promoted.

Normally, car magnets stand for your opinions, ideas and fondness for something that is associated with you. Ever since few years, usage of car magnets have increased to a vast extent, as they are very helpful in creating alertness among masses and enables them to take initiative in making valuable contributions towards that cause. After all, there are abundant amount of people that have special concern for charities. Along with so many advantages of car magnets, they can also be used to notify people about newest discounts on that have come up on some products. Such things can be done by companies to draw the attention of various customers.

As you select the car magnets to your own choice, they look spectacular on your car. In fact, they also add to the appearance of your car. If you are not able to get car magnets that represent your thoughts or ideas of presenting things, then you can get them custom made. The benefit of custom made car magnets is that you can give a way to your imagination and make them look even more attractive and appealing. You will also be deciding over what is to be written as a message on those car magnets. In other words, you will be completely responsible for whatever will be read and seen by the viewers.

Autor: chris broad

Chris Broad has a special liking for a variety of posters.Collecting different kinds of posters is his hobby.He works for Posters Signs and is very dedicated towards his work.If you want to know more about Banners,Large posters,Custom banners and Poster accessories,Banner stands visit www.postersigns.com

Added: March 16, 2007
Source: http://articlebin.com/view-Car Magnets is medium of pr~.html

The Secret of Determining if Your Advertising is Profitable

By Peter Geisheker

As a marketing consultant and owner of a marketing firm, a big mistake I see businesses make is they do not take into consideration the value of repeat sales when they review if their advertising is profitable.

When determining if your advertising is profitable, you need to look at advertising as a long-term investment, just like buying stocks, real estate, or mutual funds. When evaluating your advertising you need to take into consideration repeat sales from each new customer your advertising produces. Nearly all businesses earn the majority of their sales and profits on repeat sales, NOT first time sales. Understanding this concept is one of the secrets to building a successful business.

For example, let’s say you run a small quarter page ad in your local shopper coupon magazine. This small ad costs you $300. From that single ad you attract three new customers who each buy $50 worth of your merchandise. From that information you would think that you had a loss of $100 on that ad because you paid $300 for it but you only generated $150 in sales. But let’s look at the long-term effect of those three new customers.

Let’s say that each of those three new customers purchases an additional $250 of merchandise from you over the next 11-months. When you take that into consideration, your $300 ad has now generated $900 in sales. And, what if each of those three customers purchases an additional $300 of merchandise from you the following year? Now, your original $300 ad has generated $1,800 in sales over a 24-month period. To put that into perspective, if you bought $300 worth of mutual funds and in 2-years your $300 investment was worth $1,800, you would be jumping for joy! That is why you need to view the profitability of your advertising on a long-term scale, not on a short-term 1-2 month scale. Advertising is an investment to generate long-term customers and repeat sales. Your focus as a business owner must always be on generating faithful long-term customers, NOT one-time sales.

Let’s broaden the picture even more. Let’s say one of your three new customers loved your merchandise so much that she told two of her friends about you, and her two friends each becomes a long-term customer of your business. And, what if those two friends each buys a few hundred dollars worth of merchandise from you over the next couple of years? Do you now see the tremendous long-term value of that $300 ad you placed?

Now that you have a better understanding of advertising as an investment, it is vitally important that you track the source of every new customer (i.e., did they find you in the yellow pages, direct mail, radio, Internet, etc.). Whenever you talk to a new customer you must ask the customer, “How did you hear about us?” Then, you need to track the source of that customer in a spreadsheet or a CRM system and track how many sales that customer makes over time. This is the only way you can truly determine if an advertising strategy is working. Yes, this takes time but it is worth it. And, a good CRM software application can make this tracking very easy.

In summary, before you throw in the towel on your advertising strategies because they are not immediately generating a profit, you must first understand that value of a new customer over time. Stop looking at advertising as a short term expense and start viewing advertising as what it really is, a long-term investment to the success of your business.

Peter Geisheker is the CEO of The Geisheker Group Marketing Firm. Peter develops and implements strategic marketing programs for small and medium-size businesses. For a free marketing plan ebook, please visit http://www.geisheker.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Geisheker

How To Avoid The 3 Most Common Affiliate Mistakes

Superbowl Advertising - Entertainment, Not Business-Worthy

By Ravi Arapurakal

The Superbowl is no longer merely the sporting event it used to be. It has gradually, over the years, and especially the four decades of its existence, become the definitive cultural event of our age, at least in this country, the United States. This event has got so thoroughly hyped over these decades, that anticipation, not only of the actual game, but anticipation of the pre-game show, and the half-time show, and the advertising have begun to claim as much interest as the actual sporting event itself.

Let us first look at the sporting event itself, the American football game finals. Unlike baseball and basketball, the other premier American sports, where not only the final outcome, but several layers of match-ups leading up to the final are all decided by the best result of not one, but seven matches! It is a single game. The teams that are playing may have played before, and one might have won handily in earlier skirmishes, but this may have no bearing on the outcome on this stage.

There are few games where contingential factors play a greater role, where actual skill can be trumped by sheer psychological pressure, injuries, wind, moisture, temperature, familiarity with the stadium, the relatively unpredictable bounce and wobbles of the peculiarly shaped ball, the psychological states of players, all can conspire to give the prize to the less talented or the less capable team.

And yet this single event, perhaps because it is only a single event, has become, not only the premier sporting event of this country, it has become the premier media event in the country, shown in hundreds of countries, and a unique showcase of American popular culture. And this pre-eminence has given the event a glow that makes players, coaches, performers, advertisers, agencies, and organizers, perhaps feel more self-important that the event actually deserves. Just think of it, this single event accounts for almost nine billion dollars of spending!

Having said that, Superbowl XLI has now come and gone, providing the entertainment that people were paying for, with money, emotional involvement, and attention. Superbowl XLI advertising has also come and gone, but we can be sure that most of it did NOT fulfill the purpose for which companies were paying heavily for it, increasing market-share for their respective products.

I noticed 53 commercials altogether, seven 60” spots, 45 30” spots, and one 15” second spot. So many of them were funny, some were even hilarious, but most of them were so busy entertaining, that they forgot to identify their brand properly, and what was most shocking was that almost all of them failed to provide any reason to switch from a competitive brand.

This isn’t funny. The cost of each second of these spots was about $80 thousand. This means that the average 30” second spot cost the advertiser about $2.4 million. And of course the 60” spots cost them almost $5 million. And this doesn’t even include the cost of producing these special Superbowl commercials, which could cost another cool $1 million.

I could not help getting the feeling that Superbowl advertising is less about business than an ego trip for the Advertising people at the advertisers and at their ad agencies, each addressing not the prospect, but their peers and competitors in the advertising industry, so that they get some bragging time within the community.

That depressing notion was followed by and even more horrifying thought – that the people who made and approved these commercials were so jaded in a culture of entertainment, that they had forgotten the purpose of advertising investments, and were blindly developing and producing advertising that was draining their financial resources so wantonly, as though they were keeping the faucet running.

In the following articles, I will focus more closely on the companies who spent the most money advertising at this Superbowl, and speak in greater detail about the content of their advertising.

But for now, I must use the overview I got from a big-picture analysis of all the commercials featured in this Superbowl, to make some observations about the US advertising industry in general.

The companies and agencies that developed and approved all this Superbowl advertising seem to have lost sight of the purpose for which they are making, and are being allowed to make, these enormous investments in advertising. Business is the most accountable function in our world today. There are shareholders who have made investments in these companies based on the expectation that these companies will accomplish better results than their competitors with lower investments.

Their Boards of Directors are accountable to their shareholders to ensure that the management they select to run these companies will likewise be responsible and accountable. Indeed, this is precisely why the compensation of top management has itself been going through the roof, because these top managements are expected to deliver significant increments in profits on a sustainable basis, year in and year out, year after year.

In the midst of all this accountability, how can these advertisers spend so much so irresponsibly? How can they even consider airing commercials that cannot be reasonably expected to effect conversions of their competitors’ customers to their own brands? How can they even imagine paying such stratospheric rates demanded by this peak media event of the year? Could it be that the advertising profession, and it practitioners, don’t really understand the relationship of their function to the bottom lines of their respective companies?

I have long feared this, but the advertising at this Superbowl has demonstrated, beyond any doubt, that there is little if any consideration of accountability going into the decision-making processes that led to the selection of these commercials, and even less to the approval of these media rates for airing them. Our advertising industry is still infatuated with the appearance of ‘cleverness’ in advertising, instead of being concerned and focused upon the likelihood of effecting conversion, which must be the primary reason for advertising investments of this order of magnitude.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ravi_Arapurakal Vizu Answers: Monetize Your Blog Without Sending Visitors Away

Custom Banners are attractive means for promotion

Since time immemorial, advertising has been one means that is being used to reach out to a wide group of audience. We all know the fact that promotion and advertisement are means that has to be adopted for promoting anything, be it a product, service, goods or any cause that you may feel strongly about. Custom banners are banner which can be customized and made in exactly the way you wish it to be made. Remember if you want to be successful, you must make extensive efforts to promote that. There are different means that can be used for the purpose of promotion and it is up to you to find out what the best means can be for your business.

Many innovations have been introduced in the field of advertising and this has made the whole process costly too. So, the idea is to promote your goods and do the thing in such a way that it does not cost you too much. You have to take care of your budget also. Banners are a simple means for promotion and the results have been found to be very effective in most cases. Well if you are able to get the desired results without spending too much, you will surely like to make use of custom banners to promote the goods which you are selling. Remember your business can be a success or failure depending on the type of promotion that you will use for the product or the cause.

Some of the different means that you can use for the purpose of advertisement and promotion can be done through the print and electronic media. To choose the one method which will be appropriate for your business is your prerogative. So think carefully before you adopt any method for the publicity of the cause you are supporting or the good that you are selling. To make custom banners for promotion purposes, you can hire the services of the several companies that make posters and banners as per customer needs. You just have to sit with their professionals and tell them how you would like your custom banners to be made.

Professionals who work on custom banners have the knowledge, skill and expertise to make and deign different types of custom banners. They can make custom banners in different shape, size and design and also incorporate the logo of your company or product. You can use some beautiful and attractive pictures and strong punch lines in your custom banners. Put the banners at proper places where your target audience will be able to see it as it should be. Well if you are targeting the young people, there is simply no use of putting up your custom banner in a place that is not frequented by these youths.

It is not only for business purpose that you can make use of custom banners. You can make adequate use of this for personal work as well. If you want to put up a garage sale and want to tell the people in your locality about this, you can use custom banners. You can also gather support for a cause that you are fighting for by using custom banners.

Autor: chris broad

Chris Broad has a special liking for a variety of posters.Collecting different kinds of posters is his hobby.He works for Posters Signs and is very dedicated towards his work.If you want to know more about Banners,Large posters,Custom banners and Poster accessories,Banner stands visit www.postersigns.com

Added: March 13, 2007
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Why Women Shop

By Kelly Honeybrook

I recently read a book titled “Why Women Shop” by Minahan and Beverland. An appropriate topic as companies and businesses race to snag the female market. It is common knowledge that women are a formidable force in purchasing products not only for themselves, but also on behalf of their family. The old worn stereotype of the naïve and gullible female shopper just doesn’t wash anymore.

I think women have always been knowledgeable and astute shoppers. Today, however, women are independent shoppers, making decision on major purchases without a male insight (except for the sales assistant of course). Women are the major decision makers when it comes to running the home. They decide if they get a gardener, cleaner, or nanny to make their home run more smoothly or mothers decide on what tutor, school or music teacher their children need. Yet why do advertisers still miss the mark?

There is a very recent television commercial from a major car dealer. The advertisement is aimed at the female market and two young females can be seen shopping for a car. One girl chooses a car by selecting it off the rack, as she would if she was selecting some piece of clothing. She takes her ‘car’ to the change room and emerges later driving her car of choice. She finally asks the salesman if the car comes in the colour red. Is this just cute or degrading?

The book, “Why Women Shop”, interestingly divided the female market into 5 types of shoppers. Can you see yourself here?

• The Lone Browser – she can wander around for hours, soaking up the latest trends
• Ms Grab and Go – time poor, quick and targeted in her purchasing
• The Retail Therapy Seeker – seeking company and purchases to fulfil her inner needs (or just needs to take time out from the kids, I think!)
• The Girl’s Day Out shopper – shops in packs, is happy and relaxed, wears sensible shoes and carries numerous bags
• The Hunter – alert, serious and focused on finding a bargain

While this goes some way to providing descriptors for the varying female market, there is still some need to address the generational and lifestyle differences of female shoppers. We are all persuaded differently and have different experiences depending our expectations and needs at the time. If there was an easy answer to the question of why women shop, or why anyone shops, then the art of attracting customers would be simple.

By Kelly Honeybrook - Director - Home Buddies - Find local services for parents & homeowners. Find a Nanny, Landscaper, Handyman, Cleaner, Plumber, Electrician and more - Authorised background checking service.

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Ways to Achieve Printing Quotes Online

By Carla San Gaspar

Mostly, we often encounter many promotional materials on our way. They are either distributed by the hand or delivered via mail. This advertising materials like the postcards and business cards are said to be businesses frontline of their service. It is a simple way of expanding their company without the need to talk personally with their clients or do a house to house campaign.

Moreover, we too can never deny the fact that online services had helped us much with our daily lives. For, we can immediately get what we want without any hassles. Like for instance if we are after printing our own business cards and postcards we could easily get the specs that we want by simply browsing the net and rendering online services.

In terms of purchasing or ordering the materials there are ways on how to achieve printing quotes online.

1. Through the assistance of customer service representatives – most representatives of a commercial printer are well trained to provide you with features that you can have for your material. After you have rendered your services online this customer service will be friend you and give you several pointers on how to easily deal with your print jobs. They could also explain briefly the printing costs that you will need upon the duration of the printing.

•Upon talking and gathering great ideas from the customer service they will hand you out a printing quote. This quote contains all the specific details that you need for your printing jobs.

•In addition with the submission of your quotes your customer representative will check on it to see whether you were able to provide the details. Soon as your quotes were completed your project will now then be processed.

2. Getting quotes online – this is the most practical way of acquiring printing quotes. With just a click of your mouse you could easily get your printing specs and acquire the printing cost of your print jobs.

•Mostly online printing companies do have the product order pages. This page has an instant pricing feature that will give you a price quote on the product after you had made the selections.

•With the printing quotes online you are free to choose what specs you would want to apply for your materials. Through the printing quote you are able to specify the following:

1. Quantity

2. Color

3. Size

4. Stock and

5. Add notes

With what we get through online services is really very advantageous in our part. We need not to spend more time looking for a local print shop rather with just a click of a mouse there you get what you want.

Moreover, with the lots online printing services providing printing quotes online go for the ones that can give what you are asking of.

For more Printing Guides such as Invitation Printing or Folded Postcard you may log on to Postcard Printing

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carla_San_Gaspar

How to Get Celebrity Testimonials

By Mayra Calvani

Getting celebrity testimonials or endorsements is an effective way to boost sales, add publicity and credibility to your book, and attract attention from booksellers and libraries. As a small press author, I don’t think I would have any trouble getting reviews from Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly or Library Journal if printed on the front cover of my vampire novel were a testimonial by Anne Rice. Yeah, I know… dare to dream. Well, I actually checked on her website for her contact info, and although there’s a way to get in touch with her (that’s not to say she’ll answer my message), she makes it plainly clear that she won’t read other author’s manuscripts. With famous authors, this seems to be the rule.

Mid-level authors with big publishers have more luck because the publishers themselves (or at least their publicists) take care of this job. But how can small press authors get testimonials from celebrities when it’s so difficult to make contact, and when celebrities are too busy to read other’s works?

One way is through conferences and associations. By attending conferences in your book’s genre, you’re able to make connections and meet other authors, including famous ones. Even if you don’t meet famous ones, you might meet people who actually know them and could put a word for you. If you’re shy to socialize, just pretend you’re not yourself for the duration of the conference. This might sound silly, but the other day I read an interview where they asked the successful CEO of a famous company what her secret was, and she said, “I just pretend I’m Jennifer Lopez.”

Another way to get testimonials is by doing a search on the internet. Just type: “celebrity contacts.” Remember many celebrities have websites with their contact info.

You may also check www.ContactAnyCelebrity.com. This is a database with over 54,000 celebrities. Remember to choose people who are recognizable in your field.

Another resource is www.ParaPublishing.com (Doc. 609).

I’d recommend first querying before actually sending an ARC or draft of your book. Making contact by snail mail is more effective because of the problems with spam, though follow-up emails are fine.

When querying, remember the following:

* Make it easy for the celebrity to answer you. Always include a S.A.SE.
* Send a personal letter explaining what the book is about. Include all relevant information about the book—publisher, ISBN, publication date, etc.
* If you already have reviews or other endorsements (even by unknown authors), include them. Also mention any awards won.
* The more personal, the better. A handwritten post-it or note will get attention.
* Tell the celebrity how much you admire their work, and how honoured you’d feel if he or she gave you a testimonial. Many celebrities will feel flattered.
* Remind the celebrity how giving you a testimonial would actually give him or her free publicity.

If you haven’t heard from the person in two weeks, send a follow up letter. If he declines to read your book, thank him anyway. He might not read your book now, but he might do it next time. Once he agrees to look at your book, send him an ARC or draft. Some writers include an easy-to-fill out form to make it easy for the celebrity. Of course, never forget the S.A.S.E. If you don’t hear from him in three weeks, send a follow-up letter. The secret is to be persistent, but always polite.

And remember, you’ll never know the possibilities until you try!

Mayra Calvani is an author and book reviewer. Visit her website and subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, The Fountain Pen at http://www.mayracalvani.com .

©2006. Mayra Calvani / All Rights Reserved

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