innovation in marketing

Want to recruit your next Rock Star employee? You're going to have to steal him.

2013-06-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

There is a misconception out there that there are tons of unemployed people with oodles of talent just waiting to be found by an employer. This notion is FALSE. Maybe you've found that out the hard way. You've ran ads, you've posted the position on your website, you've asked your friends and associates for help and what do you get? A handful of semi-relevant applications. The interviews typically go worse. You find out pretty quick that they either they don't really want the job or they don't possess the skills and abilities to do the job. So you get discouraged, throw your hands in the air and just hire the next person that walks in with a pulse. Two months later you are doing it all over because they didn't work out. Seriously, what did you expect to happen?

Why it doesn't work
Good people, people with actual talent, people worth hiring . . . ARE EMPLOYED. They are the people that kept their job during the recession. When times got really tough for companies and they had to cut back to skeleton crews, these are the people they couldn't live without. So chances are they are not applying for your job. They are not looking at your ads. You need to go to them.

How to steal your next BEST employee
In every business there are competitors. You know who yours are. Who's their Rock Star? What about parallel fields? Maybe not direct competitors but companies with people whose skills are easily transferable to the ones you are looking for. Once you've identified some Rock Stars you are going to have to get your hands dirty.

Right now you are thinking, "I can't do that. They are happy where they are. They wouldn't consider leaving their company." Tell your inner voice to shut up. It is misinformed. EVERYONE is on the market. That target of yours isn't going to tell you that he is unhappy where he is. He's not going to tell you he hates his boss, hates his company, needs to make more money, feels stifled and unappreciated. He won't tell you that because he is a professional. And you won't know until you ask.

Here's your checklist . . .

Connect with him on Linkedin. This is a great way for you to say that you're impressed with his skills and experience. He's also likely to check out your profile and your company's page.
Invite him to lunch. Everybody has to eat. Rarely will someone turn down a free lunch. If he does turn you down, you know he's not interested.
After you build some rapport, put your cards on the table. Tell him you are interested in recruiting him. Tell him why. What exactly does he possess that you want for your company?
Be ready to talk compensation. Remember, you are stealing this guy away from his current employer. You need to be ready to offer him 10 to 25% more than what he is making now. It has to be enough that when he gives his notice his current company can't easily just match it to keep him.
Be ready to talk benefits. Chances are he's racked up some vacation time with his current employer. He may not like the idea of cancelling his family vacation and starting his vacation hour accrual from scratch. Also, be prepared to match contributions to his 401k plan. Many companies stopped doing this during the recession and it could be a great bargaining chip. Start thinking of special perks that only you can provide. Company retreats, special training, transportation, a sign-on bonus, even a Costco membership could be the thing that really makes them consider joining your team.
Be ready to be flexible. Maybe they want to telecommute. Maybe they want to work a little less than full time. Keep an open mind. Even if they want something that you can't totally accommodate, can you meet them halfway?
Schedule a tour of your operation and go from there.

Stealing a Rock Star from the competition not only strengthens your team, it weakens your competition. After reading this you may come to realize that your company just isn't prepared to hire a Rock Star. You aren't going to woo them away from the competition with $45k a year. Maybe you have to deal with mediocre employees and high turnover. Maybe that's why the competition is eating your lunch.

Stop begging for the sale with Inbound Marketing

2013-02-15T14:08:00.000-08:00

Traditional marketing is outbound marketing. Meaning that in one way or another, you are going out into the world through advertising and trying to capture revenue. This is hard, and if done incorrectly can be very expensive. But there is another form of marketing that few companies take advantage of. It's called Inbound Marketing.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Imagine if you could get to know your customers like you get to know your friends. You don't meet on sales call. You meet with a no-pressure conversation. Before they are even your customers they begin to know how you think. They start looking at you as a resource. They start sharing your thoughts with others. Soon they are not only customers but also fans and promoters. That's how inbound marketing works. It's accomplished through blog posts and e-books and newsletters. It's more than just generating leads. It's about nurturing those leads until they are your best customers.

Inbound marketing doesn't replace traditional marketing. But it can supercharge your customer base.

If you'd like to learn more about Inbound Marketing and how to make it work for your company click here.

10 ways to get FREE ADVERTISING

2012-10-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

Starting a small business comes with a lot of expenses. We all know we need to budget for advertising but sometimes the money just isn't there. If this sounds like you, check out our list of Ten Ways to Advertise for FREE*!

Newspaper Press Release. Many newspapers will include an announcement of new or changing businesses. Call the newsroom and ask what the proceedure is. You will likely have to fill out a standard form. Make sure that your announcement is "newsworthy." Nobody cares if it's your third year anniversary. When people start rolling in because of the article, be sure you set aside some of that newly aqcuired cash for some newspaper advertising.
Google Places. Businesses can register/claim their place of business on Google Maps. This is a great way to show up in search results for free. Make sure you include your address and correct phone number.
Email List. A cardboard box, a stack of cards to fill out and an offer for a drawing of something free is all it takes to start building an email database of your current customers. Then start emailing them on a regular basis announcing sales and specials. Tip: put all the addresses in the BCC field. People don't want everyone to have their email address. Another Tip: have an option for people to unsubscribe to your mailings.
Your Readerboard. This sounds like a no brainer but it is unbelievable how many businesses have a readerboard outside their store with nothing on it. What is worse is when the sign doesn't change all year long. You've already bought the board - USE IT DAILY.
Facebook Business Fan Page. It costs nothing to set up a Fan Page on Facebook for your business. Once people "like" it, your posts show up in their newsfeed. You can use this like your email list. What is better is that the people who "like" your page and your posts can share that with their facebook friends. When you get a little cash you might try a Facebook ad campaign.
Foursquare. Although not as widely used as Facebook, Foursquare is all about checking in, becoming a regular (mayor), and sharing Tips about your business. Claim your Foursquare business page and you'll get a sticker to put up encouraging visiters to check in. You can also offer specials for checking in.
Co-op Advertising. If you sell a major brand in your store, chances are that brand has an account set up for you to spend on advertising that brand. Some of these programs will pay 100% of the print advertising in your local newspaper. Ask your local newspaper advertising rep to find out for you.
Pinterest. The fastest growing social network all about a virtual "pinboard" of stuff people want. Pin your products and watch people start following your "pins."
Deal Sites. If you are willing to give a great deal these sites can bring you new customers. Most will share 50% or more of the purchase price of what is sold with you. WARNING: If they don't cut you a check at the end of the deal - WALK AWAY! Also, find out exactly how your deal will be advertised. Some are simply just put online but others will come with print advertising. The best part is that even if your deal doesn't sell you still get a ton of exposure with no bill at the end of the month.
Your Blog. Hey, you are the expert at what you do. Why don't you act like it? Start a free blog and write about the stuff you know. Don't be too "salesy" and make it interesting. Think of the main questions people ask you about your industry and write about those.

*Ok what is the asterist about? Although these ten ways cost no money, they do take time. Your time is valuable. Sometimes it is better to hire an expert and focus on your real job.

Like what I have to say? Please share my posts on Facebook and Linkedin, Pin it on Pinterest and +1 it on Google plus!

Sign Spinner loses message

2012-10-15T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here in Roseburg we have a man who makes his living yelling at cars and pointing at people. He dances and spins a sign and yells WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I have to admit, I love it. I always honk. If my kids are in the car they scream for the "funny man."

From an advertising perspective, I can see the draw. This guy will definitely get more attention than a billboard. You are more likely to see him than you are to hear a radio commercial. Plus all that honking is great feedback and engagement, right? Well, sort of. If you are the sign spinner, it is great advertising for more sign spinning work. However, if you are a business, you are missing something important.

Today I was stuck at a red light for several minutes. I had a completely unobstructed view of our local sign spinner. He performed as always. Unfortunately, as hard as I tried, I could NOT read the sign he was spinning. He never stopped spinning it. Wasted marketing money.

At one point I was told that he charges $25 per hour with a two hour minimum. Who knows how many cars drive by and see him in an hour? But you could take those dollars and use them in targeted and measurable advertising.

Make no mistake, I have to respect a guy who has the kind of energy and stamina to do what he does. I will still honk every time I see him. But Toby, show us the sign once in a while!

Pandora killed Radio Advertising

2012-10-01T10:22:00.001-07:00

Recently I had a new stereo installed in my car. The motor in my radio antenna is broken and I thought I would look into getting that fixed too. The stereo guy replied, "Why bother? You have a smart phone. Just download the Pandora app and play it through your bluetooth." I took his advice and I have never been more pleased with what plays through my stereo. No longer do I have to sift through stations just to finally settle for something I don't hate. Instead, Pandora learns what I like and plays songs similar. If I don't like a song, I push a button and Pandora nukes it forever and plays me something else. Best part . . . I only hear a commercial every so often. Often times the commercial is customized for me too.

All this is bad news for radio advertising. Local radio stations have been the bottom shelf cheap choice for advertisers for years. Ineffective - yes, but cheap. Radio is ineffective for advertising because there are so many stations on the dial, so much fragmentation of when people listen, and people are so used to just changing the channel when commercials come on. But Pandora is likely to be the final death blow. Now you can get free internet radio, customized to play all your favorite music and bring you new music you are likely to love, and you never have to change the channel again.

What does this mean for local businesses who want to spend their advertising dollars? Well, if you want to make a donation to your local radio station then you could still buy cheap, ineffective advertising. If you actually want a return on your investment, steer clear of radio advertising.

Get people in your store with Foursquare

2012-09-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Social media is a great tool for businesses to use to interact with their customers. But sometimes the steps between people "liking" your page and actually showing up to buy your products and services can be a hard to navigate.

That's where Foursquare comes in. Foursquare is a social media app for your smart phone that is designed to get people to "check in" to places they are visiting and comment to their friends about their experience. Friends compete for points, badges and mayorships. Yes, you can be the Mayor of Starbucks!

But how do business owners use this to their advantage? The first step is to claim your business page. Once that is done you have access to stats and tracking. You also receive a branded sticker for your business encouraging people to check in. Then you can start running check in specials for first timers, heavy users and mayor only deals.

Try it out! Need some help managing and implementing your social strategy? click here

Use Pinterest for your business

2012-09-27T15:18:00.002-07:00

Everyone is talking about Pinterest. By everyone I mean women aged 18-44 who have kids. But hey, that's a great demographic to target. These are the people who make BUYING decisions! So how do you use Pinterest for your business?

Set up a Pinterest account.
Find the stuff you sell online.
Pin that stuff.
Pin other stuff that goes along with your company culture.
Have fun.

That's it. Really! 80% of pins are repins so ask your fans to follow you. They will repin your stuff. People will click on the pin and go to your webpage and know how to buy your stuff.

So what if the stuff you sell is mainly geared toward men? Pin it anyway. Right now 20% of the 10.4 million Pinterest users are men. That's over 2 million guys! So pin manly stuff like survival gear and truck parts and reach those guys that no one else is even trying for.

Only time will tell just how valuable Pinterest will be for businesses, but the fact is that it is growing faster than Facebook and Twitter. So don't ignore it. People want to see your PINS!

follow me on Pinterest!

How to set up a Facebook ad campaign

2012-09-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Social Media has become a powerful tool that businesses can use to build a following for their products and services. Unfortunately though, most businesses use this tool more like a hobby. It's important to have a strategy, but no strategy works without "likes". A good way to gain "likes" to your page is to run a facebook ad campaign.

How do you do that?

Open your business facebook page (not your personal profile).
At the top right corner under the tab for Build Audience, click "create an ad"
start making choices about your ad. When it prompts "People will see..." I recommend choosing stories about friends liking your page. People are more likely to like what their friends like.
Start choosing your audience. You want to hink about the kinds of people who might buy from you. Minimum age, location, that kind of thing. However, if you narrow your audience too much you won't have enough people to serve ads to. Pay attention to the audience on the right hand side of the screen.
decide your budget and how to be charged. I recommend a pay per click model. Decide what you want to pay per click and your ad length.

Try it out and see how it works. Some businesses will do better than others. People are more likely to like restaurants and gyms verses lawyers and doctors offices. But play around with it and try multiple ads and if it is all too much for you to handle . . . call me.

Is your company dying from within?

2012-09-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

Every business is trying to promote innovation but sometimes you find that not everyone within a company is playing for the same team. Most companies are divided up into departments. Each department has goals within their department. At the end of the day all these goals should gel together to make revenue. Each part should cooperate as a unified body. All too often you find that some departments would like to work independently and often times against the overall goal of making money. This attitude is a cancer. It will kill your company. It deserves your attention RIGHT NOW.

So what do you do if you find that one or more departments are slowing, stalling, or all out stopping innovation that leads to revenue?

Identify the problem.
Don't be afraid to call a meeting and talk about the problem. If you try to accommodate the people who are cutting a whole in your company's pocket you are only going to end up losing money.
Remind everyone that the overall goal is to increase revenue. NOT to make jobs easier.
A leader needs to say (without hesitation) that the project is moving forward. Now how are we going to make this happen? The process should not be about problems, but rather SOLUTIONS.
If Negative Nancy is standing in the way of making money, she needs to be replaced.

Great Ideas will be killed if you don't protect them from naysayers and problem seekers. However, a company that has a culture that fosters new innovation and positive teamwork will outperform its competitors and will grab up the majority of market share.

Starting a business? Here's your checklist.

2012-08-30T14:37:00.003-07:00

Whether you've started a multilevel coorporation or a from-home side business, there are some things you'll need right away to start promoting your business and get some cash flowing. Here's a quick checklist.

Website. Believe it or not this isn't the most important thing but most of your clients/consumers expect you to have one.

Facebook Business Fan Page. This is not a personal profile but a page set up for your business. Branded for your business. People "like" your page. They don't "friend" your business.

Youtube Channel. This is a great place to show some instructional videos or post some fun videos that promote your business. Have fun with this. Nobody likes dry "buy my product" videos.

Google +. Yeah, I know that nobody really uses Google Plus, but Google does. The more you use it, the more you show up in search results.

Blog. Write about what you do, how you do it and why everyone should buy it. GO!

Linkedin. Great place to find employees or people who need your services.

Google Places. Register your business and get your business on the map. Literally.

Business Cards. We live in the digital age, but a business card is still the standard for first impressions.

Advertising Campaign. This could take many forms. If you want to make good decisions on this, read more of my posts.

Did I miss something? Post your comment!

Take Advantage of Word of Mouth Advertising

2012-08-28T10:41:00.002-07:00

You've heard a thousand times before that "word of mouth" advertising is the best you can get. To a certain extent that is true. Your customers love you and they tell their friends. But really, how many friends are they telling? One or two. Maybe, if you are lucky, they will say something nice on Facebook or post a nice review on Yelp. Too bad you couldn't get them to tell every one of your potential customers. Oh wait, YOU CAN!

Here's how . . .

Find your fans. If people are telling you how awesome your products and services are, take an interest. Develope a relationship.
Ask if they wouldn't mind talking about what they like about your product or service.
Get a camcorder or even a smartphone and video them talking. Just let them say what they want to say. No script!
edit that video with Windows Movie Maker or another free video editor.
Post that video on your Youtube channel.
send that video to your advertising guy and get it on your area's most viewed website. Have the video built into other advertising and get it out to the community.
embed that video on your business website.
Post that video on your business facebook page.
Start looking for more customers willing to talk.
Rinse and repeat.

If you follow these steps you'll be turning a go-nowhere word-of-mouth customer into an incredibly powerful tool that can be used for years.

Vanity Advertising is dumb

2012-07-23T15:48:00.001-07:00

So you've saved up your hard earned money and you want to invest in advertising. But really, you've always wanted to be on TV. So you spend thousands of dollars developing a commercial. Lights, camera, action! You are now a star! Too bad nobody saw your ad. You've just wasted your money on Vanity Advertising.

A business owner told my colleague all about a "great new website" that you can go to and find local businesses. Each business gets their own directory page and people can go there to buy local. Only $50 per month and they "support local businesses." My colleague asked how do they get people to go to the site, how do they find the business, and what is in it for the consumer. No real answers. Vanity Advertising.

A client of mine just told me about a radio station in the mall with really low rates. Thirty spots, thirty seconds each for $150. Problem is you can't hear the station outside the mall. Vanity Advertising.

John Wanamaker once said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half."

The truth is that there are a lot of ways that you can lose money on advertising. Effective advertising will pay for itself and bring you a lot more in new business.

How do you know what to avoid? When do you walk away? Here's some clues . . .

They can't give you an exact number of how many people will see your ad.
They talk and talk about how great their company is.
They charge you upfront for "consulting and production."
The consumer has to go through multiple steps to ever find your ad.
You don't know anybody who actually regularly uses that media.

Great advertising can mean the difference between having a thriving successful business or a money-pit. Be smart about your advertising. Ask questions. If it feels shady or you don't understand how it will bring you more business, WALK AWAY.

Got a question if you'd be wasting your money? Leave a comment and I will reply.

Social Media Strategy for Smart People

2012-07-02T10:10:00.001-07:00

Congratulations! You've just set up a facebook fan page for your business. Now just let everyone know about it and of course you'll have hundreds and thousands of "likes" any day now. Yeah right.

Don't feel bad if you were this naive . . . you and just about every small business went through the exact same thing. The problem was that they didn't have a strategy.

Here's a quick gut check . . .

Do you post regularly?
Are all your posts some sale you have going on?
Is an unpaid intern in charge of your social media presence?
Is your little brother, teenage daughter, or second cousin in charge of your social media presence?
Do you only post the dates that your business will be closed?
Do you sometimes mix up your personal and business facebook page?

If you do not have a solid social media strategy you are just wasting time and opportunity. Social media should be a place to build excitement about your brand and give people a sense of ownership of your products. You are growing fans. Those fans should grow more fans.

Here is what you need to do.

Get all the key players in one room to discuss some real world goals for your social media. This should be the head decision maker, the general manager, sales manager, and the webmaster . . . to start.
Assign one person to post. Every day. NO MORE than once per day. If you blast your fans with five posts every day you are going to lose fans.
Get a good mix of different types of posts. Not every post needs to be a sales pitch. In fact, tread lightly.
The person who posts needs to have goals attached to their paycheck. Unless they are invested in it, they won't take it seriously.
Revisit your strategy and goals in a meeting once every two months.

This is just a starting point. It is meant to get you thinking. If you determine that you don't want to put the man-hours and effort into your social strategy, do yourself a favor and hire a professional. Like Me.

how to dump a loser on Linkedin

2012-06-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

So you you have a professional connection on Linkedin with someone that you find out is not as upstanding as you thought he was. You no longer want to be associated with him and you certainly don't want him to have access to your Linkedin contacts. How do you dump that loser?

logon to Linkedin.
click on the contact tab in the menu bar and select connections.
in the upper right corner click "remove connections"
find the loser, check his box, click "remove connections"
breathe easier.

Now that you've dumped him from your connections, you'll want to hide any recommendations he's given you and revoke any recommendations you given him. Your professional reputation is important. If you find out that a connection has a shady past or involved in criminal activity, it's best to dump that loser.

How to make Yelp work for your business

2012-06-22T09:10:00.001-07:00

Imagine your employee comes in to work and says "Boss, I found a really nasty review about us online." You ask for more information and find out that it is something you want to address right away. Then your employee says, "But Boss, this review was posted two years ago." Now you are wondering if this is why business has sluffed off.

People view a review online from a stranger just as seriously as an opinion from a friend. That means you need to take seriously what people are saying about your business online. They could be hurting or helping your reputation.

Here's some steps you can take today.

Do a Google search on your business name. See if there are any reviews.
Go straight to Yelp and other review sites to see what people are saying.
Make sure that you and all your employees always practice awesome customer service.
Put up materials at the register and other areas prompting customers to give you good reviews online.
Mark your calendar to do all this once a week.

There are literally hundreds of different review sites, blogs and personal facebook pages out there that may be talking about you. You need to have a solid strategy in place to manage your online reputation. If you would like a tool that pulls all this information together please contact me.

Make Search Engine Marketing Work for You

2012-06-18T17:26:00.003-07:00

Imagine you suddenly need a plumber. A pipe has burst and your basement is filling up with water. Do you dig out the phone book and try to find a qualified plumber or do Google "best plumber in my town" or "emergency plumbing 24 hour" from your smart-phone?

While many people still use the phone book, today many people are using the smart phone instead.

So what do you do if you are the plumber that isn't showing up on that first page? Or maybe you are on that page but everyone is calling your competitor?

You need to make Search Engine Marketing work for you!

Search Engine Marketing (or SEM) refers to paid advertising on search engine lists like Google, Yahoo and Bing. These ads look very similar to the "organic" listings but the are always on the top (some are at the right side) and usually have a shaded background of some kind. The pricing of these are based on a pay-per-click model. That means that the business owner is literally paying a specified amount ($5-$45) each time that person clicks on the ad. If done right, this can be extremely effective and have a very attractive return on investment.

While the majority of search activity occurs on Google, you don't want to just give up on those people using Yahoo and Bing as their primary search engine. So I suggest including all three in your plan. Because you paying per click, it doesn't really matter where your customers come from as long as they are getting to you.

First you need to set a budget. Ask yourself, "How many new customers can I handle?" Multiply that by your pay per click rate. For instance, say you want 40 new customers per month and can handle the extra load. If you are paying $5 per click your budget is $200 per month.

Now that you have a budget set, work on your offer. Remember that you are competing with all those other search results. You need to be the one giving the best offer. If your competitor is offering 15% off, you need to beat that with 20% off. On a regular basis evaluate how your offer stacks up in the results. Test different offers to see what really works.

You'll also want to consider what happens when people click the ad. Do they go to a big, heavy text, multiple tabs, not-optimized-for mobile website? That is bad. They are likely to go back to the search results and pick someone else that is easier to navigate. What you should link to is a one page website called a micro site that is specific to your offer. Make it simple. Here is what we do and why we are different. Here is our special offer. Call or email us here.

Now you want to track. The micro site can be paired with a trackable phone number and email that tallies up all the results so you can see that your investment is making returns.

Avoid this mistake . . .

Too often people sign up for Google adwords and spent countless hours and lots of money without getting the results the want. You can avoid that mistake by hiring an expert to manage your Search Engine Marketing. If you like the strategy laid out in this post and would like me to make search engine marketing work for you click here to contact me.

why SEM kicks SEO's butt!

2012-06-18T17:26:00.002-07:00

There are a lot of unscrupulous characters out there selling SEO. And they are giving SEM a bad name. First let's tell you what they both are . . .

SEM = Search Engine Marketing. These are paid text advertisements at the top of the first page of search results.

SEO = Search Engine Optimization. This refers to the efforts used to increase the rank of "organic" results of a website within a search engine.

Search Engine Marketing guarantees that your business ends up where you want it. The advertiser pays a set fee each time someone clicks on the ad. If done right, this is an extremely cost effective way to gain new customers. The ads are designed to attract people who are ready to buy, not just someone looking for research information.

Why SEO sucks . . .

Since the nineties there has always been these people who prey on small business owners telling them that they will magically make their website wind up on page one, like forever. You pay them and hope they fulfill their promises. They tell you that they are putting secret underlying code under everything that tricks Google's spiders into thinking that you rank higher that other sites. For instance, say you are a new soft drink company, Jenky Cola. You are relatively unknown. So you hire one of these guys to code the words Coca~Cola under all your pictures and text. The spiders think you're a website for Coke and ranks you higher. Sometimes it works . . . until it doesn't. The problem is that search engines don't want to be tricked. So Google and other search engines are constantly working against these shady methods. Why does Google care? Because they make money on paid search!

So what if you are a business owner and you want to stand out online? Click here!

you know you like me. click here and make it official!

How to Advertise Part Two - Effective Print Ad Design

2012-06-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

When it comes to print advertising you really only have seconds to grab the attention of the reader. If the elements of your ad are in the wrong order the reader will find it hard to comprehend what the actual message of the ad is. They move on to something more interesting and you lost an opportunity to make a sale. Here are some simple ad design rules to follow to make sure you are not wasting that space you are paying for.

Top of ad. Centered or aligned left.
This is where your headline should go. This is the attention grabber. The core need that the reader should respond to. This is where you give them a reason to keep reading your ad. This should stand out over everything else in your ad. Make sure nothing else in the ad competes too heavily for attention. Don't make the mistake of putting your business name or logo here. The reader doesn't care. They will skip your ad.

Mid-Level under headline. Centered or aligned left.
Your art should go here. A compelling photo works over an illustration. Pictures of people are the best thing to use. Pictures of women and babies are even better. This is not a place for your logo. If you are selling a service, feel free to use this space for a picture of yourself. People want to see your face to determine if you are trustworthy. Get a professional photo. Don't use a snapshot.

Mid-Level right of or beneath art.
Body of ad copy. This builds on the message that began with the headline. You should include the details of your offer and why the consumer should choose to do business with you. This could also be a good place to include a testimonial from a happy customer.

Bottom of the Ad.
The last thing they read should be your business name, logo, and how to contact you. Address, phone, website should be included here. Now that they have a reason to buy from you it is OK to put your name out there.

Why do these rules work? Because we have been trained read from left to right and from top to bottom. So follow these rules in your ad design will make your ad flow naturally and will have a higher likelihood of keeping the reader engaged.

Other tips include adding color, having plenty of room for white-space around all the elements of the ad, and making the ad as big as your budget will allow.

Advertising that doesn't work is expensive, but effective advertising will pay for itself. Don't waste your money on a poorly designed ad!

How to Make Your Business Stand Out Online

2012-06-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

Whether you like it or not, we live in a digital age. Right now people are searching online for your products and services. Are they finding you? Is all the information correct? Do you even exist online? Here's a quick way to find out.

Step one: Open up three more windows in your browser and go to Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Step two: Type in the Search Bars the main product or service you sell. What do you see? Is your business viewable on the first page? Where? How many times?

Step three: Think like your customer. Would you choose you over the other businesses on the page? Do you think that more people are likely to click on your business if they are looking to buy or just looking for research information?

Step four: Type in the Search Bars other keywords people may use to find your services. Finally, type in your actual business name. By now you should have noticed strengths and weaknesses about your online presence.

Now that you've determined some problem areas, make sure that you have . . .

A company website (not a Yellow Pages Directory site)

A business facebook page. This is different than your personal page. You want fans who "like" you, not friends.

A Linkedin Business Profile. (Also make sure all your employees have Linkedin profiles)

A google+ page. Google search likes these.

A twiiter feed.

Are you claiming your business on Yelp and other review sites?

An industry blog page. This is a great way to boost your online presence.

A YouTube channel. You can demonstrate your products and feature video tesimonials of happy customers.

Now that you are on all these platforms make sure that they are all integrated with each other. This goes beyond just using the same colors and branding images. (Which of course you should do) It means that website links to your blog. That your blog posts are pushed out to your social media. That your social media links to great reviews on Yelp. That your Yelp profile links to your YouTube channel. That your YouTube channel links back to your website. The more links in the spiderweb the better.

The point is - YOU NEED A STRATEGY. "If you build it they will come" is not a strategy.

If you want to be on the first pages of search engines; if you need to get people to see you online and actually buy your stuff; if you need help deleloping a social media strategy; if you want help managing the hundreds of review sites out there, click here to email me.

How to Advertise Part One - "What's in it for me?"

2012-06-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

All too often small businesses fall flat on their advertising because of one mistake. They might do everything else right. They may find a media with great reach, targeting their core consumer audience. They may choose the best possible time to reach those people. They may choose attractive imaging and colors that really stand out. Thousands of people may see their advertisment. But because of one mistake the campaign does not bring results. What did they do wrong?

It is all about the offer!

They forgot to give the consumer a reason to buy their product or service. Remember, the average person is innundated with thousands of marketing messages every day. They will only act on the ones that are most appealing to them. Think of it from the consumer's perspective. The are asking, "What's in it for me?" Within a short period of time they may see an advertisement for your industry from you and many of your competitors. They will only act on the very best perceived offer.

For instance, say you are selling hot tubs. In your county their are ten other stores selling hot tubs. If everyone is advertising, how does the person out their who wants a hot tub decide where to buy one from? Take a look at these offers . . .

Huge Sale! 10% off everything
Free Delivery (within city limits)
We Sell Hot Tubs
Year End Clearance. This tub $599

If you like offer number 3, you might as well be throwing your money in the trash. It doesn't give the consumer a reason to buy a hot tub from you instead of your competitor.

Number 2 sounds good. Hot tubs are heavy and having someone else bring it to you is great. Unfortunately, all your competitors offer that too.

Number 1 happens a lot. 10% off may seem like a big deal to the store but it is vague and abstract to the consumer. They are not sure what is in it for them.

Number 4 really is the best offer. What is in it for the consumer? They can get a hot tub for $599. A great bargain even if it is last year's model. Once the consumer gets to the store they might like a different hot tub and spend more. The point is, you got them at the store.

So next time you are planning your campaign don't forget how important a strong call to action is. You may want to write down four or five and choose the best. You could ask your friends what would make them buy from you if they didn't know you. Whatever you do, don't waste your money on a weak offer.

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How to Plan a Successful Insert Campaign

2012-06-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Inserts are a great way to give your advertising a big boost. You'll be combining the power of the publications reach and trust with a beautiful full color glossy pull out that will last much longer than the daily paper. But there are some things you need to consider when planning an insert campaign.

Who do you want to reach? By utitlizing specific zones you can reach specific geographical areas that are desirable and avoid the areas that don't make sense for your business. Remember that most newspapers also have non-subscriber publications that include inserts. If you want to reach every household within a certain area it may be wise to include these publications as well.

Design and printing - You should decide whether you will want to outsource the design and printing to a separate company or leave this work to the publication you are using. Ask to see examples of similar inserts to determine the talent and quality of work done. Many times when you are dealing directly with a newspaper the design is included as part of the order at no additional cost. If you are hiring a separate company you will have to pay extra for that service. Also, the newspaper will often be able to offer a lower price for printing. Another thing to consider, if anything goes wrong the newspaper will likely be able to refund or reprint. For example, there was a company who had a time sensitive insert going out and the company had the inserts shipped to a publication that I worked for. They arrived and were inserted and went out to the public. They later realized that the phone number and address were not on the insert. They had to eat that loss. Had they purchased the printing through the newspaper The error would have been caught by proof-readers and corrected. If it still was missed the newspaper would have re-run the whole campaign at no charge. Newspaper frequently make mistakes, but they have a long history of fixing those mistakes for free.

When laying out an insert make it easy for people to buy from you. Have a clear call to action. Offer incentives like coupons and savings. This will encourage your customers to bring the insert to the store with them. This way you can track the results.

Finally, you should consider frequency. If you start sending out inserts on a regular basis people will grow to expect them. If they expect them they will be more likely to act on them. Whether it is weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly, you need to have a plan in place. Also, commiting to a certain number of placements per year will get you a better rate.

Inserts can be a great move for your marketing. A sales flyer could be just the thing to bring your business to the next level.

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Newspapers are not dead, yet anyway.

2012-05-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

There is a dirty little lie out there that newspapers are a dying media. This little half-truth is usually spread by competitors to distract consumers and advertisers from the signs of their own industry's terminal cancer. It is usually stated without any data or factual support. So what is the real truth?

The idea that newspapers were in big trouble really got traction a few years back when several of the big city papers folded or were bought out by their competitors. People said it was a sign of the times. That everyone would rather read their news on computer screens. That the demise of these publishing giants signaled the death of a whole industry. So that was 2009. What now?

While the large metro papers took the biggest hit, smaller markets retained much of their circulation. Of course some decline was an inevetible effect of the economic downturn. But really, no more than any other form of media.

People still love their community newspapers. They want to know what is going on down the street or at their kids' and grandkids' schools. They want that thickly rolled and banded Sunday edition on their doorstep. They still like to pull out all the brightly color paper inserts and see what is on sale. People love that stuff. The internet hasn't destroyed that, it has only made it better. Now people can go to their local newspaper website on their tablets and on their smartphones.

Advertising in newspapers is growing with the economy. Why? Business owners have been forced by the economy to take a hard look at what really works. For some businesses that means traditional print.

Common Sense

Advertising in a local newspaper means that you know you are reaching people who have paid to get your message delivered to their door. Some are actively searching for advertising while others look at it just because it is next to the article they are reading. If a newspapers circulation is 13,000 homes, there is a very good chance that one or more persons in each of those homes will view your ad.

Other forms of advertising can be a bit more tricky. Take television for example. Some businesses spend thousands of dollars producing a really cool commercial. Then they purchase airtime. When does the ad get shown? Is it during primetime? Not likely. Big national ads are more likely to grab up those time slots. How many people in the area get that channel? If they majority of the community are using rabbit ears then they are probably getting the channel. But do they get the channel if they subscribe to cable, Dish, or Directv? Many others are dropping those methods altogether and using internet on-demand services. Even if the channel is available, what is stopping them from using their DVR to skip your ad? Pretty fragmented audience . . . and a very risky investment.

What about radio? I have a radio in my car. It has lots of stations. I listen to two or three on a weekly basis. I listen to the radio from 8:15 to 8:30 in the morning and from 5:30 to 5:45 in the afternoon. If you want to reach me with your ad you have a whopping 30 minutes a day if I am not listening to a CD, my ipod, Pandora or satellite radio. Or I could be on the phone. Other people have longer commutes but you get the point. Pretty fragmented audience . . . and a very risky investment.

Are Billboards a good way to go? They could be if you only want to reach they people traveling in that area. Sometimes I see billboards that look pretty nice. Wish I could remember the phone number or the website or even the business name. Too bad I only had two seconds to read it.

Still has a pulse

Small community newspapers are relatively safe from demise, but they must adapt in order to survive. The publication I work at has been in business for 145 years and will likely to be around for a long time. The day is coming when everyone will get their local news via a digital method. It will likely be a form of your local newspaper, hopefully staffed by the same educated journalists.

Where they tend to fail is breaking and developing news. Many papers are stuck in the antiquated mindset of "print first" journalism. For instance, say there is a shoot-out in town. Maybe even just down the street from the newspapers office. You might think that it would be beneficial for a reporter to cover that story and post updates on the newspapers website, facebook and twitter feed. A "print first" publication will wait to release the story until the next scheduled printing of the physical paper. In the digital era, it seems ridiculous to be held back by traditional deadlines. Especially to the reader.

Think about the last time you saw multiple fire trucks, police and ambulances barreling down the street with their sirens sounding. You likely pulled out your smartphone and searched for what was going on. If news outlets fail to see this opportunity they are losing engagement and making themselves less relevant to the end user. If local news doesn't cover breaking news, they are simply just reviewing the news after it becomes stale.

If local papers can solve this problem, they will certainly still have a place in our communities.

how to negotiate a deal at a yard sale

2012-05-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

I love Garage Sales. It's so nice to drive the neighborhood and see what people are getting rid of. Over the years I have snagged up some great buys on used stuff. Last year I bought a kayak for $20, stored it in my garage for a few months (until I realized I wasn't going to go kayaking) and then sold it in the classifieds for $120. I've stolen $300 backpacks for $28, patio sets for $20, and wood smokers for $7. It's kind of a hobby of mine.

Don't get me wrong - those are not the actual prices on the Sharpie pen stickers. I negotiate. You can do if you follow some simple guidelines. Here's how to do . . .

Walk the whole sale over without looking too interested in anything. If something really catches your eye just pick it up and carry it for awhile while you look around. When you are ready to buy something check your emotions. Tell yourself, "I don't really need this but I will buy it if I get a great price." First ask a few questions about the item. Ask if it works, how long they have had it, did they buy it new or used. Then throw out your price. Choose a figure somewhere between what they are asking and half that value. Don't say "will you take $x.xx?". Instead say "I would go $x on this." Then shut up and wait. Give them time to think. At that point they have three options.

If they say "Yes" - Woo hoo! You win!

If they offer another price - decide whether or not you like the price they offer. They will most likely offer a price halfway between their original price and your price. So if they first wanted $50, you offered $30, they will probably come back with $40 or $45.

If it's $40 you might just take it. Especially if you know the item was already priced fairly. If you think there is still room, offer $35. At that point you can buy the item anywhere from $35 and $40. They played the game and you had some fun.

Don't accept $45. They are jerks for only knocking off five bucks. Offer $35. They will either accept or say $40. If they say $40 you need to say $37. They should have said $40 in the first place and that mistake will cost them $3.

If they say "no" - walk away. Every once in awhile you will come across a person that thinks that they are selling gold. They will tell you that the prices on the stickers are the prices. In that case, put everything down and leave. It doesn't matter what the prices are - leave!

Negotiating at a yard sale may seem awkward and make you feel uncomfortable but there are some things you need to remember.

You hold all the power. They put up the signs saying that they wanted to get rid of this stuff. If nobody buys it, they will have to drag it all back in. They really don't want to do that. Tip - end of the day is a great time to get a deal.
Never go to an antique or a craft sale. Total waste of time.
If something doesn't have a price tag, ask what they would take for it and proceed. Don't forget to see if you can buy the table that all those little chotchkies are on.
Go to clean neighborhoods. Not bad neighborhoods and certainly not rich neighborhoods. Bad neighborhoods will have junk and rich neoghborhoods will have overpriced junk.
Bring cash. Nobody wants your check.
Bring your smart phone. Before dropping a significant amount of money on anything, do a quick internet search on it. That "priceless" antique could be worth a lot less than you think.

Have fun and be nice to your neighbors. They could be coming to your yard sale next weekend!

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Steal the Page without Buying it.

2012-04-30T11:04:00.002-07:00

When it comes to print there really is nothing more effective than owning the whole page. Especially in color! You don't have to compete with anyone else on the page for the readers attention. But buying an entire page of advertising can be out of reach for some advertisers. So if your heart is set on a big, bright, knock the door down with new customers ad but can't really swing the initial cost what do you do? Do you go with broadcast and hope a fragmented, fast-forward happy audience actually watches your commercial? Do you buy a billboard and hope that the people driving by are your potential customers and actually look up and read as they drive by. Or do you get a radio spot and hope that people are listening to that particular station at that particular time instead of streaming music from their ipods or pandora?

I have a better plan. Steal the page. Let me explain.

The typical newspaper is 6 columns wide by 21.5 inches tall. They price you pay is based on the columns times the inches times the rate. So a full page is 129 column inches mulitiplied by the rate. But what if you could own the page for less? There is no law against buying an ad that is 5 columns wide by 18 inches tall. That ad is only 90 column inches which makes a big difference when it comes to price.

Best part - you still OWN the page. It is extremely unlikely that another ad will be placed on that page. More likely, the second half of an article from the front page will wrap around your ad. Bringing readers right to your page.

I suggested this to a client some time ago and he was skeptical but decided to give it a shot. By the time the ad ran Osama Bin Laden was killed and it was a front page story. To finish the article you had to read around his big, bright, knock the door down ad. The results were fantastic! Every one of our readers noticed his ad and many acted on it.

So if you just can't quite buy the page Steal it!

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