Custom Printing

Writen by Mic Pedretti

The ability to stand out from the crowd, gain recognition, and be known is an essential one in many facets of life. It seems as though everywhere we look sets of standardized template designs pervade our very existence. Everything from flyers, brochures, letterheads, logos, T-shirts, websites, and many more eye catching gimmicks seems to come from one of many similar sources. Uniqueness seems to be an antiquated concept. However the ability to have a design completely custom tailored to the fit the exact needs and specifications of any given purpose, for a business, or even for a musical group, are vital to generating exposure.

Eye catching printed material, or even printed apparel, such as screen printed T-shirt designs with a company logo is a great way to gain exposure from the masses. However, the publications and apparel designs must bring something to the table which will draw attention. A plain, boring, standardized concept will turn heads the other direction. A new and creative conceptual design brings forward the possibility for maximum exposure. Passersby will stop dead in their tracks to gawk at the material and keep the company and/or band name in mind. Such simple conceptual designs are not only thought up by professionals. In fact, an average person can easily create a work of great attention grabbing beauty when put to it. The possibilities are limitless for where and how exposure through custom printing can occur. Everything from custom websites, custom T-shirts, custom letterheads, custom brochures, custom flyers, and even custom logos (just to name a few) can be created and mass produced. With web hosting for only pennies a day, the internet has become the new vehicle for exposure.

With billions of websites, and millions more being added each day, the internet has become the worldwide marketplace for the free exchange of ideas and concepts. With web hosting services for just pennies a day, and a great wealth of tools for graphics and web design work, creating a custom logo, and/or website is well within the scope. With a wealth of design techniques, and limitless possibilities for graphics and presentation, the internet is the best places to create a custom publication of any sort. In conjunction with a strong campaign to attract the attention of the less technologically savvy, success is at the fingertips of the daring entrepreneur who decides to break away from the humdrum and overused designs.

Custom prints can be created at varieties of locations, from you local office supply store(s), to your own living room. The conceptual design is best left to professionals for reproduction. A few suggestions might be Office Depot, Staples, or Kinko's to start. Many different companies can help create a custom and attractive website as well. Although this is something that can be done from one's own living room, some of the technical and backend aspects are much better left to certified professionals. Clearly the possibilities are limitless when it comes to custom printing, simply begging the question, "Why doesn't everyone do this?"

Our Printing Directory is dedicated to the printing industry. Find more information and other printing topics on our Custom Printing resource page.

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10 Things Every Successful Yellow Page Ad Needs

Writen by Jeffrey Hauser

I should probably begin with my qualifications that allows me to proclaim what an ad requires. I was a Yellow Page rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. I've been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can tell you it most probably needs improvement in the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading. So, with that said, let me enumerate the top ten, in no particular order. Does your ad have:

1. A focus: What's the purpose of the ad?
2. A benefit: Why should I buy?
3. A way to fill a need: How can you solve my problem?
4. Easy-to-read text: Does it have nice, bold type?
5. A picture that supports the theme or shows a good outcome: i.e. happy people. Do you have at least one of these in your current ad? You should. It needs focus, consumer benefits, must fill a need, be easily read and show a positive outcome, if there is room for a picture. Of course it has to be placed properly, in the appropriate heading and the proper book, such as in either the area or Metro directory. There are five more things is should contain, so here they are:
6. A description of the product or service: What are you really selling?
7. Your uniqueness: What sets you apart from the other guys?
8. Understandable location info: Do you have a map or directions?
9. Contact data: Do you have a website, fax, e-mail?
10. ????

The last one is a secret. Actually, there are so many more it would take a book to list them all. If you would like to explore all the possibilities, head for a website that tells it like it is. At poweradbook.com you'll learn what a former YP consultant has to say about every aspect of YP advertising. It's all in his book. Hey, it's a lot cheaper than hiring a private consultant and a lot less painful. It's worth a look if you want to save money on your next YP campaign, while discovering the insider's guide to effective YP advertising.

Jeffrey Hauser's latest book is, "Inside the Yellow Pages," which can be viewed at http://www.poweradbook.com He was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com, a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.

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Radio Advertising Commandments Part 2

Writen by Noah Salzman

In my last article, we left off at Radio Commandment number 4 Thou Shalt Pick The Right Music Bed

If you're going to produce a radio spot that has the most bang for the buck, you have to make sure that every word "sits" comfortably on the music bed (background music). You can record the announcer first and try to match the music, but it's a lot smoother when you pick the right music from the get-go.

What I typically do is run a few different tracks as I read the spot over in my head. What I'm looking for is a music bed that flows and a matching cadence in the read.

I want to make sure that if I'm pitching a limited time colossal sale that the music is exciting with a strong beat and essential music "posts" (where certain words get pushed by a musical punch or stop).

When I find the sound that I'm looking for, I then begin to re-write the spot making sure that I take advantage of the various musical modulations, punches and "holes" (silence) where each key word is as impactful as possible.

Believe me, when a well written spot is married to a great music bed, the fireworks happen and listeners not only hear it - they feel it!

That being said, let me state that some of the best commercials I've ever been a part of, have had no music bed at all!

In these cases, the power came entirely from the announcer who was able to take every cherry-picked word and make it his own.

The best "cold voice" (spots without music) radio commercials were the ones that had the least amount of words, the greatest amount of meaning and the strongest emotion.

Now you might think that male announcers dominate the airwaves and you may be right. But there are female voices that do incredible work.

Which brings me to Radio Commandment number 5. Thou Shalt Pick The Right Talent For Your Radio Commercial

While great copywriting may be the key to a successful radio campaign, it is the announcer, who opens the door!

There are many great sounding announcers in the marketplace, but sadly few, who understand the importance of verbal foreplay. The innate ability to roll passionate words around effortlessly, bumping and grinding each syllable into a heated and euphoric grab for your attention - and money.

It is these wordweavers who you should seek out.

How do you find these voices? A good place to start is on the internet. Just key in "voice over talent" and you'll find plenty of demos to audition. How will you know who's good? Simply listen. If they move you - take their name, email and find out what they are offering. In some cases, you may be fortunate to find someone who is also an accomplished copywriter.

A question I often get asked is whether a male announcer is better than a female announcer.

I think alot depends on what you are selling. For example, I'd be hard-pressed to use a male voice if I'm selling menstrual pads. I'd also find it less convincing if a female voice were selling shop tools.

Interestingly, I think women can get away with selling more products than men- however, I believe men seem to have a more commanding and convincing presence.

Which brings me to Radio Commandment number 6 Thou Shalt Believe In Your Product

Nothing irks me more than radio spots that hammer away at listeners with zero conviction. Spot after spot of useless unconvincing dribble to buy this, call here, shop there and the most redundant and pathetic of them all...quality, service & price!

Is there any business out there that isn't about quality, service & price? DUH. Well...hmm, maybe banks. Let's face it. Everybody in their right mind wants the best quality and service at the lowest imaginable price. Enough already!

The fact of the matter is, that your radio spot should evoke those sentiments without having to spell it out.

Remember - it is a classy spot that says quality for you.

Relating how you make sure to always do a little bit more for a customer, says you're into service.

And letting your listener know the difference between the regular price and the sale price while throwing in some added-value offer certainly says there won't be any objections to the prices.

In other words, you can't sound believable if you're echoing the same redundant information as everybody else. Believability happens when truth prevails.

You can sell $2. t-shirts and pretend they're great, or you could say something like "...and we're stuck here with these posh, really high-end 100% baby-soft cotton t-shirts that have these, like, minor flaws because of some imperfect dye run that no one would really notice anyway, and heh, for $2. you absolutely can't go wrong, so come by before you feel sorry....that you didn't..."- blah blah...

The matter of fact, conversational & up front tone, brings you into the announcer's "I'm your friend, listen to me - I'm offering you advice" space. And it works.

It is believable. It is real. It is reliable & convincing.

And that means you've just gained another excited customer.

This brings me to Radio Commandment number 7 Thou Shalt Use Radio To Make Friends & Build Trust

Creating a relationship with your listener is a long term commitment and important for sales today & tomorrow. But making friends on radio will take more than a serious up front spot. Spots can and should at times, be humorous. As long as there is a sense of imparting truth.

In fact, humour is a wonderful tool because it entertains and radio is in the entertainment business. Yes, I know that talk radio is very serious and not entertaining, but that is what is only on the surface.

But getting back to using humor. It's a great way to grab someone's attention, win someone over and invariably, make a friend and a potential customer. But it can also work against you.

In fact, the most successful award-winning radio commercials that have used humor have left many people scratching their heads trying to remember the advertiser. A case of "that was so funny that I didn't get what product they were selling."

What went wrong? Simple. The product name was not intrinsically linked to the punch line or plot line.

The least you ever want a listener to walk away with, is the product name or company name and have it relate to the good feeling that they're feeling. One day that listener may need to decide between your product or service and another. The one they'll go for is the one that will "feel good" to them and is offered with the feeling of a trusted friend.

People definitely have a relationship with the radio station of their preference. It starts with the morning announcers who talk to you in your very private bathroom as you dry up from a shower or shave & strutt naked to the morning music.

They tell you all kinds of information over breakfast. Some even gets in and gets stored in your subconscious. And they guide you safely through traffic to your morning destination. The alert you to impending storms, washouts and the like.

This happens every working day & even weekends - 365 DAYS A YEAR! Is it a wonder that over time, radio is the best media key to unlock a listener's inhibitions and build up a place of trust in their lives?

Talk about trust. Listeners are not the only ones you want to win over.

In my next article, I'll discuss Radio Commandment number 8.

Thou Shalt Use Radio To Build Strong Business Alliances.

______________________________________________________________________________________ About The Author: Noah Salzman runs a full service Ad Agency ( http://www.noasound.com ) where for over 25 years, he has advised clients how to effectively market their products and services. Other Marketing sites include: http://www.top10internetgurus.com

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What Colors Make Your Services Most Attractive

Writen by Catherine Franz

This information is based on the principles of Laws of Attraction, Law of Allowing and Law of Deliberate Creation. And the Universal Laws of Energy (like attract likes) proven by Quantum Physics.

What colors attract people to you?

Visual presentation and appeal, whether in your marketing materials or what you wear, can turn on or turn off what people you attract. It does not matter if it's on paper matter, the Internet, like a web site, or in a presentation.

If you do any kind of speaking, writing, or design type of work, this article is for you.

I'm not just talking about visual color, I'm also talking to you about audio and writing or language color. Each affect our relationships -- friends, family, prospects, clients or customers.

It is a fact that companies with large budgets spend billions on color market research -- usually in product or packaging development.

Solopreneurs pockets aren't as deep, thus, they need to use the results of the research of the deep pocket-ers.

Colors tell someone if you are approachable. In the same way they will affect whether someone will continue clicking through your web site.

Colors will determine if someone will start reading your article in a magazine or posted on your web site. Color also helps to keep people involved on your web site (it's not just about the content) and how long they stay.

Colors also influences how people will respond and behave. A black background on your web site now represents s*x-type of web sites. It is important that if that isn't your focus that you don't use a black background.

Let's take a few minutes and play with this concept. The next time you go into a fast-food restaurant, look closely at the colors. Do they decorate with vivid reds and oranges because they encourage diners to eat and leave quickly like many of the fast food establishments. That is exactly the response they want.

Different cultures have different attitudes and preferences thus; they will have another color reaction. In China, "white" symbolizes death and in Brazil, it is the color purple. People from warm countries respond favorably to warm colors; people from colder climates prefer the cooler colors.

In America, green is associated with jealousy or money. Here are some color references for America.

Red......excitement, strength, sex, passion, speed, danger.

Blue.....(most popular) trust, reliability, belonging, coolness.

Yellow...warmth, sunshine, cheer, happiness.

Orange...playfulness, warmth, vibrant.

Green....nature, fresh, cool, growth, abundance.

Purple...royal, spirituality, dignity.

Pink.....soft, sweet, nurture, security.

White....pure, virginal, clean, youthful, mild.

Black....sophistication, elegant, seductive, mystery, sexual.

Gold.....prestige, expensive, elite.

Silver...prestige, cold, scientific.

This also means that color affect shopping habits. Red- orange, black and royal blue attracts impulse buyers. Pink, teal, light blue and navy attract smart budget Shopper. Pink, rose and sky blue attract conformists.

A great exercise to experience this -- visit large company web sites that have spent the funds on this type of research.

Try McDonalds (http://www.mcdonalds.com -- bright red) or Wendy's (http://www.wendys.com -- brownish red). Jaguar (http://www.jaguar.com -- black for sophistication, green cool, and silver for prestige). It matches perfectly with their market -- high income-ers with a view on sophisticated.

If you are a service professional, how might you put colors to use for you?

First, make sure you have the right target market. Young children materials contain large amounts of bright primary colors. These colors will attract the child yet the parents or grandparents open the wallet. This means that for the children you would use the primary colors and for the marketing material being read by the grand/parents you would use reds, blues, pinks and yellows for trust, reliability, security, and playful.

If you a web site and you choose the colors because they are your favorite, then you choose it could have chosen it for the wrong target market -- unless, of course, you are the only one or people just like you are the only ones you want buying. Pick your colors for your market. This is anything you want to attract in America.

Catherine Franz, is a syndicated columnist, author, radio talk show host on marketing, International speaker, and master business coach.

http://www.abundancecenter.com
http://www.LetsTalkMarketingShow.com

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Advertising

Writen by Lucy Bartlett

Commercial promotion of services, ideas, companies and goods is known as advertising, which plays a very prominent role in business. Advertising is carried out through various media.

"Word of mouth" used to be the common form of advertising in ancient times. During the fifteenth and sixteenth century, when the printing industry was properly developed, handbills were included as a medium of advertising. In England, during the seventeenth century, newspapers started carrying advertisement for products.

The medicines for diseased Europe and the increasing numbers of affordable books were the two products extensively advertised during this period. The content regulation for advertisements came into vogue due the problem of "quacks" using the new marketing method. For more info visit www.advertisingresourceonline.info

During the nineteenth century, classified advertisements become very popular in the United States. They filled the pages of newspapers promoting various goods. The success of this method lead into another form of advertisement known as catalogues. The first advertisement agency was established in Philadelphia during 1843.

Tempting the consumers with advertisements, which carried their messages with shine using modern and scientific approach, came into effect in 1960s. The advent of cable television and MTV in the 1980s and 90s, saw the introduction of music videos to promote goods using consumer tunes. Subsequent developments lead to exclusive channels such as Home shopping network and Shop TV exclusively for advertisements.

The "dot com" in 1990s saw another new channel for advertisement in the form of Internet. This was further fine tuned by search engines such as Google, which revolutinised the business by using unobtrusive advertisements, which are relevant to the context of the text displayed in the screen. To highlight and promote non-commercial issues such as energy conservation, AIDs, ideology, religion and deforestation are carried out through public service advertising.

Media for commercial advertisements include billboards, wall paintings, flyers, television, film and radio advertisements, skywriting, popups and banners in web pages, newspapers, and bus stop bunches.

Placing a product in television serials, films and sports arenas are known as covert advertisements.

The TV networks charge a very high rate for commercial prime time advertisement since it is considered as one of the most effective formats of advertisement for mass-marketing products.

Another recent phenomenon is advertisements sent through emails. Spam is a new word coined for unsolicited bulk email advertising. How effective this form of advertisement is left to every email users guess because most of these emails are detected by the service providers as junk and stored separately. With different claims made in different contexts, the impact of advertising is a subject for debate.

Lucy Bartlett is a proud contributing author. Find more articles here. For more info visit Advertising or SEO

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Logo Pens

Writen by Ross Bainbridge

A pen is much more than a writing instrument. Even an individual who relies on a computer to do most of his writing work, needs a pen for simple everyday situations, such as signing a check or autograph. Few are the people who leave the house without a pen tucked in the pocket or in their schoolbag, handbag or briefcase. The pen is an almost indispensable and universal tool.

Smart businessmen have realized that giving away pens as a promotional tool is an economical and effective way to build brand awareness. A pen engraved with a company logo creates instant recall, and it can safely be said that a person will use that pen at least once a day. Chances are that others will also use the pen during the day, increasing the visibility of the logo multifold.

Smaller businesses that do not have substantial advertising and promotion budgets are finding logo pens an ideal way to not only create brand awareness, but also to motivate staff or thank customers. Handing out logo pens is like putting hundreds of miniature billboards into motion – and at a very small percentage of the cost.

Some companies send out promotional pens along with direct mailers, and studies have shown that response rates have increased substantially as a result. The reasoning seems to be that a person is more likely to open a bulky package than a regular letter that he can easily detect as direct mail, and more often than not, toss into the bin. Finding an unexpected gift in the package, they will go on to use it, even if only for a while.

Several reputed companies in the U.S. have been successfully engraving corporate logos on pens for decades. They undertake orders for as few as 50 pens to as many as thousands, and often charge affordable wholesale rates. An incredible range of pens is available in the market and customers can choose the one that fits their budget best.

Personalized promotional pens are a great way to get your message across to a large number of people. Put your logo on a pen and you never know where you might come across someone using it!

Pens provides detailed information on Pens, Ballpoint Pens, Fountain Pens, Logo Pens and more. Pens is affiliated with Fountain Pen Refills.

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What Is Most Important Copy Or Pic

Writen by Patrick Quinn

When, some little time ago now, I first descended upon the advertising scene, we were a good deal more concerned than most people seem to be today about the nature of the business we found ourselves in. We were always holding debates – in the saloon bar of the Coach & Horses in New Bond Street, to be tiresomely precise – about the meaning of advertising, the significance of advertising, and the past, present and future of advertising. And an unconscionably serious lot we no doubt were. Not to mention drunk.

Among the hardy perennials of our debates was the relevance of sex in advertising, and also the question of whether the copy element in ads was more important than the visual or vice versa.

Of course, these were the days when it was possible for agency personnel to slope off round the pub during working hours and nobody on the management side of things turned so much as a hair at our absence. Just so long as the work got done on time, nobody gave so much as a tinker's cuss whether you were doing it in the office or down at the dog track. These days, agencies are a little more sanguine in their approach to creative people; and I recently heard of a designer being sacked on the spot for turning up at a client meeting wearing jeans – and I kid you not.

But back to our hardy perennials. The 'sex in advertising' question was a hotly debated topic, mainly because the copywriters and designers in my milieu were always anxious to attend the relevant photo-shoots, and not because sex was liable to help sell anything. Thus, we were constantly coming up with speculative ad campaigns that featured semi-clad females so that we might catch a glimpse of a naked thigh or better. Few of these concepts saw the light of day, but it was always worth a try.

As to the copy versus pic argument, this has still not been resolved to this day. Then, as now, I was on the side of the angels, holding that around 80 per cent of ads could, at a pinch, do without illustrations, whereas only about 2 per cent could do without words. (In regard to the other 18 per cent, you can make your own arrangements.)

Such an argument, as you'd expect, was met with widespread alarm by the designers, who saw that I was presaging their redundancy. Then as now, they would do everything they could to give their illustrations the prominence they thought they deserved. This usually resulted in a design in which the pic took up four-fifths of the ad, while the copy was relegated to eight-point solid and rendered practically illegible.

My attitude, obviously, was simply a debating stance – true though it undoubtedly is. I am not suggesting for a moment that 8 out of 10 ads should be wholly typographical. But if you take a dispassionate look around you, you might agree with me that a whole lot of ads (and brochures and websites, too, come to that) carry pictures for pictures' sake; and that in quite a few cases the pictures, far from helping the transmission of a message, actually hinder it.

The biggest offenders in this respect are what might be describes as semi-industrial ads. Just leaf through a trade mag (or brochure or website) and you'll see irrelevance in illustration well carried out. You'll see, for instance, pictures of the factory or, as they call it these days, the production operation. You'll see pics of two obvious male models in white coats staring idiotically at a computer screen or a blueprint. And you'll see pics of two obvious male models, plus a female model, in white coats staring idiotically at a computer screen. The female is included in the latter pic because the designer had originally planned for her to be shot with her clothes off.

Here's what I think. With today's wonderful digital photography opportunities, with an instant replay of whatever has been shot, one might hope that illustrations in ads, brochures and websites might be made more relevant. They might actually show the product in action – demonstration is, after all, the soul of advertising. But, no, we still get pics which have nothing whatsoever to do with the product or its benefits.

I don't mind admitting that there can be few people in the whole wide world who know less about photography than I do. What I do know, however, is that promotional material is far better off without an illustration if that illustration does not augment the sales message. So, in this respect, copy is more important than illustration.

Mind you, there is a lot of copy around that doesn't augment the sales message either. But that's another story.

About The Author

Patrick Quinn is an award winning copywriter with 40 years' experience of the advertising business in London, Miami, Dublin and Edinburgh.

He publishes a FREE online monthly newsletter, AdBriefing, designed for those who have a very real interest in producing good advertising. Subscriptions are available at: http://www.adbriefing.com

j.p@markethillpublishing.co.uk

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Advertising A Mobile Oil Change Business

Writen by Lance Winslow

What is the best way to advertise a mobile oil change business if you want to get 80 percent of your customers to come from corporate parking lots and fleets of vehicles and only 20 percent of your customers to come from residential services.

Sure, direct mail will work for the residential part of your business but if it is only 20 percent of your market mix then how will you advertise to get to do oil changes on all the fleets in your community and how will you reach all of the corporations in the area so that they will allow you on their property to change the oil for employees while they work?

There are a couple of things you can do which have worked good for our company; Oil Change Guys.com and those include putting a flyer insert into the Chamber of Commerce newsletter, which is a bright color and a half sheet of paper with your phone number in bold at the top. Another way to get to the corporations is to contact a human resource director and ask if there is an employee newsletter that you can advertise in.

If there is not they may invite you in to explain the services you provide and therefore you get in to talk to the decision maker. If there is an employee newsletter it will be some of the best money you ever spend to advertise in it. Please consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

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Cable Tv Advertising Mobile Detailing Customers

Writen by Lance Winslow

If you own a mobile detailing business or mobile car wash company you should have the local cable company as one of your clients. You may even find your self with some free publicity. Cable companies are great companies to secure fleet wash contracts with. They also have other things that can be advantageous to you such as:

Local News

Community Bulletin Boards

Very Targeted Audiences

Employees To Wash Cars For

Satellite Antennas To Wash

Large Customer Base

Fleets of Trucks

Local cable stations are always looking for news. They try to get a jump on the morning newspapers. You may as well be part of local news since you are definitely part of the community. If you know of an event you will be participating in, alert the cable company and allow them to interview you when they arrive. You can introduce them to the director or main organizer. They will also want to interview you because you have been helpful and because they have limited time and limited battery power in their portable equipment. They must get back to the editing room.

Each story will be between two to eight minute segments on the evening news. If the average story is five minutes and the local evening news is from eight to nine and from ten to eleven, then each one-hour show needs thirty minutes of airtime; that is six stories (five minutes each). The rest is commercials. Most local news reporters don't make much money. Instead they use their job as a steppingstone to make it as the next Dan Rather or Connie Chung. Lots of people want their job and they continually have to prove themselves. So be patient. Sometimes they are late and they frequently make mistakes. These reporters need to get the story straight the first time. It saves on editing time and they are always behind deadline and low on batteries.

Whenever you are interviewed, always try to be wearing a company shirt or flex for the camera (just kidding). However, it is very important to have the mobile detailing rig in the background. Think about how you can combine customer synergies with free publicity and advertising in your business.

Lance Winslow

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Making Sure You Order Customized Silicone Bracelets With Confidence

Writen by Chris Angeles

So, your school has this event wherein you will be needing rubber silicone bracelets for tickets. And you need them ASAP. Who do you call?

There are a lot of manufacturers of rubber silicone bracelets out there but how will you know if these companies are 100% legitimate. Of course you contact them and let them know what you need but in the end you find out that the company who says that they will produce the rubber silicone wristbands is fraudulent.

First thing you should look for in a rubber silicone bracelet manufacturer is the way they talk to you. Most of the time, fake rubber silicone bracelet manufacturers use wrong grammar. They also forget to capitalize the letters of the first word after the end of the previous sentence.

Second thing you should realize is if they are always forcing you to pay for the rubber silicone wristbands even if you haven't confirmed the design yet. Just an advise, don't pay for anything that you haven't confirmed yet. There are a lot of cases like this.

Lastly, you would know whether a company is legitimate or not when it comes to the way they talk to you. A legitimate rubber silicone bracelet company will give you a great service. They will also produce the bracelets according to your specifications. If you encounter a company that deals with you professionally, rest- assured that the rubber silicone bracelet company you are talking to is 100% legitimate.

So don't be fooled by fraudulent rubber silicone bracelet companies. Be sure that they use the correct grammar, and they don't force you to pay for the rubber silicone bracelets. Lastly, the company should be professional when it comes to communicating with you, the customer who wants the rubber silicone bracelets.

Chris Angeles is the owner and founder of http://www.kulayful.com, a company that specializes in creating Custom Silicone Bracelets, which are customizable from the Message, to the Logos, to the Color. http://www.kulayful.com offers one of the lowest prices in the market, without lowering the quality of the bracelet. We have seen all those other low-quality bracelets before, and we are fed up with them as they are disgusting. We absolutely guarantee 100% satisfaction to all our customers. Free set-up molds! Free shipping! Also a Free custom artwork sketch even before you even decide to order from us! We can also be reached at sales@kulayful.com.

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5 Tips For Hot Yellow Pages Ads

Writen by Mike McDaniel

Yellow Pages advertising is one of the most popular forms of advertising in the country today. Almost every home in America (96.9%) and business has at least one copy of "the book".

Almost three out of five (58%) of all adults say they check the Yellow Pages for a phone number and/or address at least once per week, with 77% using the book monthly.

While the Yellow Pages are an excellent reference tool, they fare less well when considered as an advertising medium. People use the Yellow Pages to look for a familiar name. If your other advertising works, then fining you in the Yellow Pages should be a snap.

Remember, once the book is published, you can't change your ad until the next publish date.

Here BIG Mike's 5 Tips to make your Yellow Pages Ad HOT.

1 - Sell the benefits

Put a headline on your ad pushing benefits. Explain how the benefits will help your prospect fulfill their needs.

2 - Forget extra cost color

The only thing color has been proven to do in Yellow Pages advertising is increase the price you pay for the ad.

3 - Ask for the order

Writing "Call us now at xxx xxxx" will get more responses than if you simply listed you phone number.

4 - Write like you talk

Inject your personality into everything you write. No-one wants to read boring and stuffy legal-ease. Use short sentences and words. Use simple language Use the word 'you'.

5 - Avoid Bragging

Don't boast "biggest and best". It turns people off, even if it is true. Being number one won't sell any product for you.

Remember, the Yellow Pages is generally a reference tool. People look for a name they recognize (or can't remember) or for a name given by a friend. Your ad should help them remember. The only other use of the Yellow Pages is to look for an emergency services. That's why you see lots of tow truck ads and no ads from Sears. Design your ad accordingly

For more about advertising, get my article "Do Your Radio Ads Work?" MailTo:RadioAds@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike's BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

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How Can Forum Signature Advertising Work For Me

Writen by Andrew Jehje

Millions of people log on to forums everyday to post and read messages. After seeing numbers like these, it's not hard to realize the potential of Forum Advertising. It can potentially be a big weapon in the battlefield of internet marketing. This kind of advertising can be leveraged with no time and little investment. If you want to do it yourself it will take some time but will be free.

What kind of benefits does Forum Signature Advertising offer me?

Targeted Advertising - You choose what forums you want to advertise on/participate in and what kind of visitors you want to appeal to. Pick a forum that is similar to the website/link you are trying to promote. Think about demographics - you want the most clicks and referrals possible.

Instant Credibility - If you are renting someone elses signature you have access to instant credibility, if you choose wisely. Make sure the poster is knowledgeable and generally well liked. Just because a poster has a high post count doesn't mean they are worth renting their signature from - avoid negative publicity at all costs. For the do it yourselfer, build credibility with posts that are helpful and knowledgeable.

Cost Effectiveness - If you are doing it yourself, the cost is free. If you are renting a signature the cost is usually around $5.00 for 4,000 posts. If they insist on a higher price just move on to the next person. Play the numbers game and save $$$.

pSearch Engine Optimzation - You'll get search engine benefits from spiders crawling your forum signature and picking up your link thousands of times. This translates to higher search engine rankings and even more added exposure for you.

If you would rather own than rent you can always hire out a paid poster to post in whatever forum you choose. Not only would you own the username itself (be sure to stipulate this in the beginning), but you could also be more liberal with the signature by using large or animated banner links - if the Terms of the forum allowed it. Paid posting usually runs anywhere from $.05-$.15 per post.

Find signatures for rent at Sig Trader. Find independent paid posters for hire at Forum Posters.

Lord Treasure Trooper lordtreasuretrooper@yahoo.com http://www.MoneyMakingReview.tk http://www.Referrals101.tk

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Dump Those Helping Verbs From Your Ads And Promotion Copy

Writen by John T Jones, Ph.D.

My wife and I wondered across the high school parking lot next to our home this afternoon and watched a girl's soccer game. We heard shouts like:

"That a girl, Cindy!

"Go!

"Watch out!

"Move your…"

If there was a verb in a sentence, it was an action verb.

Most sentences had no more than 3 words.

I thought, we're out here with a bunch of copywriters!

We know that we should not use passive verbs in our ads and promotion copy. Well, watch out for the helping verbs too. They will instantly turn a steel spike into that proverbial wet noodle.

If you don't remember the 23 helping verbs, here they are as I memorized them about sixty years ago:
be is was were,
am are been being,
have has had,
do does did,
will would,
shall should,
can could,
may might must.

There is a place for these critters if you are studying Spanish verb conjugations. But there is not much room for them in copywriting.

Take a look at these examples:

Have you been tired of getting really bad headaches?

Are you sick and tired of headaches?

Sick of head splitting headaches?

The last one brought up my grammar checker because it doesn't have a well-defined verb. It claims this is a fragment. It gave me this advice: consider revising.

If you are writing good copy, your grammar checker should be telling you that you should go back to grade school.

The first example has two helping verbs. The second has one helping verb. The last one has no helping verb despite the fact that my grammar checker tells me it needs a helping verb.

Tough!

The last example has punch to it. The answer, "YES" is demanded to the question. It has your attention and you hope like crazy that you are being offered a solution to a serious problem.

Having said that, what do you think the answer to the first two questions would be? It could be, "Well, yes. I had one a couple of weeks ago. I went to the drugstore and bought some ….. blah, blah, blah. Oh, I've got to get the telephone."

Try this one (Forgive me. I live in Idaho.) :

You mustn't miss out on what could be the big breakthrough in milk production!

Did you hear about our big milk production breakthrough?

Bossy is ready to give more milk. Are you?

Increase Milk Production--Now!

The only exciting thing about the first sentence is the exclamation point.

The second one will bring a response like, "I haven't read the Farm News this week because I got more plowin' to do."

The third sentence will be a joke to farmers so it may get some attention, but not because of the breakthrough.

The last sentence spells one thing to a dairy farmer, MONEY! You've got his attention with no thanks to helping verbs.

Helping verbs are like adverbs and adjectives; they dilute the power of your writing.

Take Mark Twian's advice and don't use them unless you must!

Darn, I used a helping verb!

Copyright©John Taylor Jones, Ph.D. 2005

John T. Jones, Ph.D. is a retired engineering R&D executive from a Fortune 500 marketing oriented company. He is an author of detective and western novels as well as engineering books. Details are at http://www.tjbooks.com. His main ecommerce site is http://www.bookfindhelp.com.

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Promotional Pens Writing Your Edge In Business

Writen by John Morris

Pens are used by almost everybody, from students, professionals, housewives, company executives and virtually any type of job. Therefore making a promotional pen that contains the company logo, a product name, a company design and any marketing idea that a company wants the public to see is definitely effective. It reminds your customer of your company each time the pen is used. Promotional pens could be used as low-cost promo pens at the point of sale or better-quality promo pens a consumer will keep and use everyday. Promotional pens are perfect giveaways for corporate events, launchings, tradeshows, exhibits and other marketing activities.

The business of making promotional pens is very challenging. It should answer the very question a prospective client will ask you. "Why would we choose your company to make promotional pens for us?" or "What makes you different from others who are also into promotional pen business?" Likewise, if you are part of a company that is looking for potential suppliers of promotional pens, you should be very careful in choosing one.

The goal should always be to develop a promotional pen that will meet or even exceed the client's expectations. Here are some tips that draw a line between a promotional pen that brings more profits to a company and a promotional pen that could lose sales for the company.

1. Quality

The promotional pen that you create can make or break a company. When your pen breaks easily and loses ink easily, that reflects the quality of products or services of the company it represents.

The product development of these pens should make use of state-of-the-art technologies. It should have a quality control system that assures that there will be no promotional pen below quality standard that should be delivered to a client.

The quality and quantity of the pen produced always depends on the budget allotted by a client. A supplier should always give the clients the best for what suits their budget.

2. Planning

Making a promotional pen should be carefully planned. This includes precisely knowing what the needs of the clients and defining a product that meets those needs. You should know the target market of the promotional pens. If these pens are for students, you can make them useful by adding red, blue and black ink buttons in each pen. Are these promotional pens for a company's sales force? Then, the pen should reflect the company logo, colors and should reflect elegance and class to impress the company's clients.

There should be constant communication and monitoring throughout the planning process between the company and the client.

Client Needs

Adaptation to constant changes in clients' needs should be very important. A promotional pen company should continually look for new designs and features that marketing companies are looking for. It should be a never ending process to improve your product.

Product Manufacturing

Workers are a key part of production. Every order is a custom order therefore the employees should be very much aware of their personal responsibility for product quality and take pride in producing them. There should be constant productivity and quality trainings to maximize the skills of the workers and the potential of the company's equipments and resources. The morale of workers should be high to reflect high quality products. There should be an effective mode and system of communication between the management and the workers to address various problems of the workers.

Types of products

A potential client will always be impressed if you can offer a wide variety of pens.

Examples of which are:

Ball point pens, Biodegradable Pens, Executive Pens, Fibre Tip Pens, Fineliner Pens, Fisher Space Pen, Fountain Pens, Gel Pens, Laser Pens, Mechanical Pencils, Multi Function Pens, Pen Sets, Pen and Pencil Sets, Pen Refills, Recycled Pens, Retractable Pens, Security Pens, Souvenir Pens, Stationery Pens, Twist Action Pens, and lots more.

Product Improvement

In making custom-made promotional pens, research and development is vital in making a company better than the competitors. There should always be new features, techniques, innovations that you can offer a client. New design, a different color, shape, engraving or even a special type of ink can easily give your company a client's nod of approval.

Integrity and Professionalism

Two of the most important traits in any business relationship are integrity and professionalism. You should always keep your word to a client and be prompt in their deadlines. Make sure you deliver what they want and when they want it.

The key to marketing your promotional pen business is to make your customer happy and for sure your endeavor will be a success.

For more great promotional pen info and advice check out: http://www.weknowpens.com

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The Advertising Industrys Biggest Little Secret

Writen by Darcie Lambrecht

Marketers in the advertising industry are continually searching for cutting edge ways to reach niche markets and attract more and more customers to increase sales. They look for unique ways to market themselves; ways that will not only distinguish themselves from their competition, but will also leverage themselves into unknown marketable territories. Millions of dollars a year are spent on radio ads, TV infomercials, print ads and so forth. The avenues are similar and unchanging. Although they have proven to reach the masses, wouldn't it be nice to find an untapped marketing tool that will reach potential buyers? A product that is completely underdeveloped and has the potential to change the face of advertising? Introducing the industry's BIGGEST , little secret:

WINDOW ADVERTISING

When a company is hiring staff (especially sales persons), they spend a lot of valuable time and money choosing the appropriate people to represent the image of their business. They look for a face that will justifiably represent their integrity and motivation. However, an area that they fail to focus on is their storefront. It is what drive by traffic sees as the face of their business, and currently most storefronts lack enthusiasm and character. They are silent billboards. A consumer needs to go inside to get the feel of the establishment. Professionally hand painted window ads meet these needs and go beyond creating enticement. They offer a visual experience of excitement, curiosity and upfront no nonsense messages as to what the company has to offer its customers. Window ads bring silent billboards to life!

Window painting is a specific form of sign advertising done on a client's windows. Its potential to draw desperately needed attention to retail outlets is incomparable to any other form of marketing. As discussed most retailers spend the majority of their marketing dollars on advertising avenues such as radio, TV, and print adds. Although their importance in generating traffic is undeniable, there is a financial sacrifice to be made and it is high. As an example a half page black and white ad in a local newspaper may run around $1000. If you were to add color, plan on adding an addional $500. The distribution is one time. How many of those people will actually take the time to read the ad, remember the ad, and act on the ad?

For a mere fraction of the price, window advertisements work 24 hours a day, every day for the duration of the ad. It provides direct attention not only to the storefront, but also up front, no nonsense information about in store promotions. All information is readily available to the potential customers right in front of their store.

Due to the demand of the well-informed consumer, the retailer has to offer far more than good deals. They must offer an experience, a felt experience. This is why we are seeing so many malls popping up that have skating rinks in them, zoos and water parks. People want to be entertained. Shopping must become more of an adventure as it is too easy for customers to buy online or through infomercials. Window ads will contribute to the over all atmosphere of the store. It provides dramatic color, excellent presentation and is extremely supportive of all in store activity and promotion.

Owing a business such as this has proven to be extremely lucrative as marketers are willing to pay high prices for cutting edge advertising. The amazing aspect of this opportunity is that you don't have to be an artist or graphic designer. There are ways to generate profitable window ads regardless of your talents. It is not uncommon to earn in excess of $100/per hour creating window ads! It is a little secret up and coming in a big industry of profit!

This article reviews the proven financial opportunities available to those searching for a legitimate home based business idea. The website http://www.wildways2ads.com offers a comprehensive guide for non-artists and artists to realize their desire to become a successful entrepreneur by implementing hand painted window ads.

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A Diy Guide For Designing And Printing Business Cards Online

Writen by Natalie Aranda

A business card is a greeting card for your customers. The design is only limited by your imagination. Many people choose to design and print business cards themselves not for the reason of saving money. Instead they do it for customization and creativity.

Many websites make the design and customization of business cards as easy as a few clicks. The design of a business card online starts with choosing a business card template, change the font size, color, layout, or add additional text if you need, then customize it to your business with title, description, phone number and URL of your website if you have and choose to show it on the business cards. These online sites also give you the option to add your company logo or a photo without having to use their designs. It is a fun and easy way to create your business cards online and can actually save you time and money because you do not have to consult a graphic designer. You are the designer.

As the designer of your business cards, you need to make several decisions: 1) do you want a back-and-white business card, or a color business card; and 2) do you want a horizontal or vertical business card in terms of styles. Black-and-white business cards look professional and are suited for businesses in engineering, manufacturing and scientific fields. Color business cards are suited more for professionals who are in arts, web design and marketing. While horizontal business cards look traditional and conservative when they're printed in black-and-white, vertical business cards may create the artistic and liberal impressions.

Once you've chosen a template, color and style of your business cards, the next step is business card printing. Business cards are often printed on papers. Some business cards are printed on plastic cards or even magnetic cards. A magnetic card is ideal for your customers to keep on their refrigerators so they will not lose your number. Color raised ink will make your company logo or your name stand out on a white background. Plastic business cards resist fading and scratching. Plastic card printing requires specific equipments which are not offered by all business card printing companies.

Business card printing online, as well as design, is fast and easy. You can get the look and feel of the cards instantly before you receiving the real cards. Consumers will likely keep business cards designed with character and printed on plastic cards around even after using your company's services.

Natalie Aranda writes on marketing and sales training. A business card is a greeting card for your customers. The design is only limited by your imagination. Many people choose to design and print business cards themselves not for the reason of saving money. Instead they do it for customization and creativity. Plastic business cards resist fading and scratching. Plastic card printing requires specific equipments which are not offered by all business card printing companies.

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Banner Stands

Writen by Damian Sofsian

The main aim of advertising is to project your product before the potential customers in an effective manner, update information on the product easily and in a timely way. One cost effective and efficient way to advertise your product is to use banner stands.

Banner stands are portable, flexible structures carrying colorful graphic images used for advertising. The graphics and the message can be changed frequently as the need arises. Banner stands are versatile and can be used to light up exhibitions, trade shows, retail displays, showrooms and business gatherings.

Banner stands are useful in trade shows. The same set of stands used for one display can be used for a subsequent display in a matter of minutes because the new banner stands can change graphics in no time.

In retail shops, banner stands with promotional messages are often positioned at the entrance of the shop. For retailing, it is critical to attract impulsive shoppers. Research reveals that on premise business advertisements and signs increases the customer's inclination to buy products.

In addition to being flexible and portable, the banner stands of today come with high color graphics and photographic quality images thanks to changes in sign making technology. Therefore, even small companies are able to use banner stands with high quality visuals.

Basic types of banner stands are roll-up, pole, and counter top and outdoor. Rollup, also called retractable banners are similar to a portable movie screen. The displays have a recoil mechanism that allows the banner to be rewound into the base of the banner stand. These banner stands are easy to set up and the graphics are protected while transporting as they are rewound into the base. They are heavier and more expensive.

The Pole banner stand does not have a recoil mechanism, and the banner is not rewound into the base. They come with adjustable height poles. Countertop or tabletop banner stands are smaller units placed on tables or flat surfaces. Outdoor banner stands have maximum visibility. They are portable and are the easiest to set up.

Banner Stands provides detailed information about banner stands, retractable banner stands, roll up banner stands, banner stand exhibits and more. Banner Stands is the sister site of Promotional Advertising Specialties.

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Principles And Practice Of Advertising The Importance Of Association

Writen by Donald Hammond

Given a knowledge of the target audience with their needs, and given an analysis of the product's specific qualities which may be presented to the consumer as able to satisfy those needs - the next step is the psycho-economic technique of advertising is that of establishing associations, in the thinking and the acting of the consumer, between the need and the product in question.

A common error of advertisements is in assuming that the mere repetition and constant reiteration of the name of the product, company name, or a trade mark will effect a sale by simple brute force. The theory is psychologically wrong. What is desired is not merely that the consumer be familiar with the name of the product. Familiarity may breed contempt. Connection and association, rather than brute impression is what will be effective - connection of such a kind that, given the moment of need, the product name will come to mind before any other product. Not the mere driving of one idea, but the connection of the two ideas, is the task of advertising. The following law should be kept in mind:

The Law Of Contiguity

In general, the best way of establishing mental associations between two things is by presenting them together. Thus "Abraham" at once makes you think "Lincoln" because these two words are so frequently seen together. No matter how familiar you may be with the word "Lincoln", that word will not tend to come to mind when you think "Abraham" unless this association by contiguity has been formed. Similarly, the mere repetition of "Yuban", "Yuban", "Yuban" does not lead you to think "Yuban" when you go to purchase coffee, unless, along with the word "Yuban" the idea "coffee" has also been presented. In advertising, then, the Law of Contiguity means that whenever the name of the product is mentioned it should be accompanied by the idea of the need which the product is to satisfy.

Donald "DonOmite" Hammond has been a freelance webdesigner and programmer for over 10 years. He has learned to market his skills and the products of other people.

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Launching A Brand At The Super Bowl With Quotdreadfulquot Packaging

Writen by JoAnn Hines

I picked this up on the news this week and was interested to hear Ad Age critic Bob Garfield's take on the Super Bowl ad for American Home Health. Although he loved the ad, he hated the packaging and in most cases the packaging is what will sell the product -- or not.

This is a direct quote about the product and packaging. "You can go to great lengths to prevent germs wearing a biohazard suit 24/7 or you can use the new PS line of disinfectants. A solid product intro despite dreadful packaging and logotype."

With each Super Bowl 30-second time slot costing a record $2.5 million - or $83,333 per second, you would think the company would have all their ducks (not AFLAC) in a row when it comes to product packaging. I remember the American Home Health ad, but I was more focused on the green biohazard suits so I went back and looked at the products.

The message I got from a brief glimpse of the packaging was "industrial strength." I like the strong color family concept but the colors themselves come across as harsh and the package looks rather mundane, "institutionalized" and definitely not consumer oriented. This might have been the company's strategy to give the product the industrial strength look equating to a better stronger product. In that case, they got their message across. We will wait to see how the packaging evolves after it has been on the market and in the consumers hands for a while.

Another ad where the package was the supposed star of the show, Pepsi Light, got panned by a media critic too. "The session features a group of men and women moaning and flirting with the can of Pepsi on a pedestal to the tune of "You want it." No thanks. Brown and bubbly...bad and burpy. Hardly appetizing." Other media pundits also gave this ad thumbs down.

This sends a bad message to the packaging community, no matter how strongly the product is branded. I watched the commercial and didn't get the point either.

So, spend some time and think about the perception of your package with a new product launch and analyze the cost of prime time advertising. What will the consumer see in your product? Will the first impression be a good one or a negative one that will have to be overcome at a later date? Does the package invite the consumer to come for a closer look? Remember, the best advertising will fail the test if the consumer doesn't like the look of the product when they see it for themselves. With the right packaging, you can brand your product positively in the consumer's eyes. Conversely, with the wrong packaging you can establish a lasting negative impression that can never be overcome.

Got products you want to ensure consumers will buy? Is your packaging is on the right target with the right message? Find out with a 15 minute consultation with the Packaging Diva. Email me at PackagingDiva@aol.com for an appointment or call 678-594-6872.

The DIVA is coming to NYC in late May. If you are interested in picking my brains about the latest trends and technologies or how to package products people will buy email me at PackagingDiva@aol.com or call 678-594-6872.

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Discover The Most Essential Elements Of A Good Brochure Design

Writen by Robert Mathew

Brochures are powerful advertising tools that help in persuading consumers to purchase their requirements form a certain store. However, their power is increased only when they are created uniquely and accurately to represent you in the market. The creation of a brochure design is a collective process among the competent writers, designers and printers. It is with these people's expertise that an effective brochure is created.

The basic element of a good brochure design is obviously deciding on the matter to be included in the brochure! Choose meaningful and right colors and photos for the brochures. Make sure that the matter in the brochure is readable, for if not, the whole objective of the brochure is lost!

Focus on the needs of the customers of your services, and thus, your brochure. They want to know what exactly it is in them from the brochure. They need to improve their bottom line and to make their lives easier. Don't just tell them about the benefits of your services; use the brochure to show them! Nothing proves to be more convincing than a good demonstration in the brochure! Value information, which is, useful information for the client is another essential element of a good brochure design. So add value information in the brochure and see the increase in the strength of your demonstration!

Don't make the font of your brochure too wordy as the better brochures are always seen to have a brief headline, with a meaty body. Keep the headline simple, but striking, as this is a great element in the making of a good brochure design. Whatever the matter you place in the brochure, provide your prospects with just enough information so that they tend to crave for more information. To accomplish this, you have to lightly touch the main topics to get people excited to inquire about more information! Leave contact information in the brochure through which the customer can reach you to get to know more about your business, and thus become a part of it! If possible, add testimonials to your brochure as this increases your credibility. Use the person's full name, company name and ask them for their permission! Adding the word 'free' in the brochure by saying 'buy one, get one free'; free parking; free delivery, etc. This thus makes the reader curious to read the brochure and to try out your services!

Quality printing is yet another element of brochure design worth mentioning. Use the latest and most reliable printing equipment to help you get professional printed brochures. Using an old printer only produces unprofessional-looking prints, which prove to be of no profit to you! Use all these elements to create a good brochure design, which your client is sure to keep; thereby placing your name in front of them every day of the week! You then build a trusted relationship with your client; to establish yourself as an expert in your field, through your good brochure design!

Robert is a Freelance Website Designer and Search Engine Optimizer at http://www.digitallabz.com and http://www.webdesignerhouston.com.

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When Dramatic Revenue Gains Are The Goal Follow These Tips To Get The Best From Your Advertising

Writen by Bill Fritsch

Doing advertising well is more challenging than ever before. There are thousands of ways to target consumers, and the choices can be confusing and hard to navigate. Done properly, advertising has a powerful impact on your top line, and it leaves distinct marketplace impressions with your most important audiences. Done improperly, advertising can drain away valuable resources and make a questionable contribution to a company's success.

If dramatic revenue gains are at stake, consider these five tips for doing the very best that you can with your advertising investment:

•Know you competitors, especially those who have a head start in your marketplace. Most companies do a poor job of tracking their competitors' strategies and how they change over time. Take advantage of all their knowledge by tracking their programs and budgets. If your competitor is repeating a campaign, you can bet it is working for them. Learn from their success.

•Start every year by planning ahead. Challenge every assumption. Simply doing what was done last year and adding 5% leads to advertising programs of questionable value. Evaluate the success of each advertising initiative, look for ways to cut marginal activities, and concentrate dollars into programs that make clear contributions to your success.

•Avoid the 1000 drops in 1000 buckets syndrome. The smaller the budgets, the more things people try to achieve with them. There is a lot of comfort in doing many things. However, the feeling of being very busy is often mistaken for being very productive. Avoid wasting ad dollars on tiny ads that lack impact and don't give your company visibility. Don't spread your message too thinly across too many media. Concentrate your dollars on the few things that when done well have the power to move your market.

•Put the right person in charge of your ad program. The best advertising people are innovators by nature. They are also bridge-builders who work well with other departments and external partners. They look for ways to get more and more impact for the dollars you spend and have courage to try new things. Choosing someone with advertising experience in more than one industry leads to more informed decisions.

Bill Fritsch is president of Hydrogen Advertising, an award-winning, Seattle-based advertising agency emphasizing superb ideas efficiently produced. Reach him at 206-389-950o, ext. 24 or email bill@hydrogenadvertising.com. For more information, visit http://www.hydrogenadvertising.com.

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The Ac Contractors Guide To Effective Yellow Page Advertising

Writen by Jeffrey Hauser

Being able to replace a compressor and fix a furnace is only part of what you do. The public expects at least that you are a competent professional. You may also have a few helpers and have established a nice sized business. You have a few choices to make along the way. Assuming you have some sort of business plan for the next several years, how are you going to achieve all your goals? Who will you turn to for advice? Your accountant, insurance agent, landlord, truck fleet dealer, or your parts supplier? Very doubtful. How about your Yellow Page rep?

That's not so hard to believe. After all, the best air conditioning guy in the world has to have customers. And most emergency consumers consult the Yellow Pages in cases of immediate needs. So, assuming that you have realized that a Yellow Page program is essential for your success, what do you have in mind? Who do you want to reach and how will you get there? Set aside a reasonable advertising budget that has room to grow as you do. Now, pick up the local directory and survey the YP heading. How many of your competitors are in the book and what are their ad sizes? What will it take to meet or beat them? Now you have an idea of size, it's time to get to the ad itself

What makes you unique? Don't say your price and experience. Everyone of them already says that somewhere. You have to come up with something that will get the readers attention and set you apart from the other guys. Hey, I didn't say that this would be easy. It's about time to seek out an expert, wouldn't you agree? No, I don't consider your average YP rep an expert. For one thing, how much experience do they have?

I was a YP rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. I've been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. I would imagine that using someone like myself could be a good direction. Therefore, you could start by reading a good book on the subject, available below.

Jeffrey Hauser's latest book is, "Inside the Yellow Pages," which can be viewed at www.poweradbook.com He was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com, a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.

Get Business Card Deals

Writen by Leon Chaddock

We don't mean to burst anyone's bubble here, but there are some excellent ways to get business card deals on the web! You will find a number of options to consider in a wide range of choice. If you are just starting out in a business, you likely do not have the money to spend on expensive business cards but because they are so important to your business, you feel that you need to. No way! There are some excellent ways that you can save money on these items.

And, you don't need to be just starting out either. Many companies offer business card deals to new customers. Pay for some and get more free or simply just discounts all together. The trick is that there are a number of great companies out there that you can be 'first time customers' with and save money each step of the way. Here are some things to look for in business card deals.

• Always shop around. Just because one company is heavily advertised doesn't mean there aren't other companies out there that can save you money as well. Shop any of them.

• Look for those new customer deals. Sometimes you can even find that your first order may be free! You can still design your own business cards, choosing your own logos and message. Many even allow you to choose the color and quality of paper as well.

• Look for sales that offer you to purchase larger quantities for less money. Same thing here, shopping around will open many doors including these!

• Don't forget about the little guys. There are small businesses out there that are doing great at manufacturing the business cards that you want at low prices. You can often have them work with you one on one to get the results you are after as well. This personal touch can be amazing.

When you take the time to look around, you are sure to find many business card deals to fill your needs with. Don't waste your money!

For more information please see http://www.business-card-deals.co.uk

Using Ad Agencies And Designers

Writen by Bob Nicholson

Advertising and promoting your business is expensive, so it's important to get the most from your advertising budget. That means understanding how to get the most from your ad agency or graphic designer.

Let's start by understanding the difference between agencies and designers. Typically, a designer will work on specific projects under your direction. For example, you may request an ad design for your Halloween event, and give the designer your copy (the text) and the party theme. You are responsible for booking the ad with the newspaper, getting flyers printed, having posters made, etc.

An ad agency plays a more active role in planning the promotion of your events. They can work with you to plan your ad schedule, suggest the right mix of promotional tools to reach your audience, help you evaluate the effectiveness of your promotions, and negotiate ad rates and printing rates on your behalf. They can also help with choosing promotional themes and writing ad copy. Of course, you will pay more for these additional services - but you may actually save money by letting your agency do your negotiations and booking.

Whether you are working with a designer or a full-service agency, it pays to plan ahead. If you can plan your advertising a year in advance you should be able to lock in much better ad rates. Leaving a couple of extra weeks when printing flyers will save you "rush printing" charges. And giving your designer extra lead time will almost certainly get you a better looking result!

A typical small agency might require final "concept and copy" at least a week in advance of newspaper deadlines, four weeks in advance of distribution for printed materials like flyers (to avoid rush charges), and six to eight weeks in advance for complicated projects (such as die-cut and folded invitations). Many business owners don't understand why final copy is required so far in advance… they ask the designer to do a design, and add the text later. But in a good design, text and typography are very important to the look of the piece. So if you want your advertising to look good, plan on providing the copy when you give the job to the designer.

The above lead times allow time for the client to proof the final artwork, and make minor corrections, based on a single design. But when working with a new designer, or when promoting an important event, you may want to see several design concepts, and possibly several versions of the artwork. This can add one to two weeks to the schedule (more for very complex ads), and of course will cost more than a single design.

When ordering the work, make sure the designer understands your market and the image you are going for. For example, you may look at a design and say, "That's not cool enough for our market." Another business manager may look at the same ad and say, "Whoa, that's way too weird for our customers." Show your designer ads you like (and don't like) to help them understand the look you want for your business.

But what if you don't like the designs your agency produces?

Well, you obviously shouldn't run an ad that you feel really damages your image, doesn't convey your message, or isn't what you requested. But at the same time, avoid the temptation to micro-manage the design. You are paying your designer for their professional skills; their judgment is probably better than yours when it comes to layout, typefaces, color choices, etc. Also, if designers feel that the work they do for you is going to be extensively changed, they won't give you their best efforts.

So find an agency or designer whose work you like, and trust their design sense. If you find you consistently don't like the work they're producing, talk to them about the problem, and if necessary find another design firm. But don't spend your time trying to "fix" the designs.

It's also very important that one person from your business deals with the design firm, and has final authority on all design and copy decisions (many agencies will insist on this). If a designer is getting conflicting input from several people, they can't do a good job for you. If you need to, talk about the design with everyone at your business who is involved in the decision… but select one person to convey your feedback to the design firm. (A good design firm can schedule meetings with clients where everyone can contribute ideas and feedback - as long as one person represents the client when it comes to final input and decisions.) Note that this can be complicated when co-op advertisers or sponsors are involved. Typically the person or company being invoiced provides the input, unless they specifically designate a different person.

So far we've talked about printed advertising and promotion, but for most businesses, the internet has also become an important promotional tool. Print design, web design, and e-mail promotions require different skills and tools, so you may use different firms for each. However, there are some advantages if you can find a single firm to handle all your needs. The design firm can make sure that your print and web communications project a consistent image. And you will only need to provide your event information and promotional goals to one firm, who can then make sure that the print ads are placed, the website is updated, and the e-mail invitations are sent. Some firms can also handle other design tasks, including menus, signs, and promotional items.

Typically, in order to get this range of services, you'll need to work with a mid-size agency or design firm. There are advantages and disadvantages to choosing large or small agencies:

An individual designer (free-lancer) or very small agency can give you personal attention and often lower rates. But you will need to work around their schedule if they are out sick or on vacation, and you will need to find a new designer if they change jobs. Individuals and very small agencies probably cannot provide a complete package of design services.

Mid-size firms give your somewhat less individual attention, and may charge a higher rate than free-lancers. But on the plus side, they can provide a broader range of services, and they have several designers on staff so they can accommodate your needs even if someone is out, or if you need a lot of work done for a key event.

Large firms can offer a full range of services and a large staff to meet all your needs. Unless you are a large account, you will probably get little personal attention. (In fact, in a large firm, the smaller accounts are often given to junior designers and trainees.)

So, how should you choose?

Above all, find a firm whose work you like! Ask for samples and references, and if possible meet with the designers before making a selection.

Decide if you want to hire a design firm (and manage the ad planning and placement yourself) or an ad agency to provide more assistance with your promotional planning (most ad agencies will also provide "design only" packages if you prefer).

Find a firm that is large enough to meet your needs, but small enough to care about your business. We typically find that local, neighborhood businesses are best served by free-lance designers or very small firms; regional or metro-market businesses do well with mid-size firms, and major national companies get the best results from large firms (and can afford to pay for them).

Talk to the firm about how you will measure the effectiveness of your advertising. It's a good idea to try different types of advertising over time to see what works best for you. Consider coupons and special offers to measure how many people are responding to your ads.

Remember that even the best advertising campaign gets stale over time. Plan for (and budget for) occasional reworking you advertising. Most designers respond very well to an opportunity to do something new for a client, and you will get the best results from both your design firm and your customers if you freshen your advertising every 6-12 months.

Thanks to LunaGraphica Inc (http://www.lunagraphica.com) for input and suggestions on this article! Lunagraphica is a boutique advertising and design agency specializing in the arts, entertainment and youth markets.

Bob Nicholson / WYGK Consulting provides business, technology and strategic consulting for small businesses, internet start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Visit http://www.wygk.com

Advertising Specialty Companies

Writen by Eric Morris

If your business is on a roll but you still feel something is lacking in creating your brand image then Advertising Specialty products are there to rescue you. Whether you want to imprint your company logo on mugs, caps or golf bags, Advertising Specialty Companies have all the solutions. Nowadays there are many companies in the market that provide a wide range of these products, and at a very reasonable and competitive price. It has been noticed that there has been a significant increase in the number of companies joining the bandwagon to provide these products.

Advertising Specialty products have a benefit over other forms of advertising, as they have a longer shelf life and more recall value. Your message and company logo remain in front of the clients' and consumers' eyes for a long time, which promotes better brand recognition. Advertising Specialty Companies not only produce the Advertising Specialties, but help market your company and its products. These companies generally design a marketing strategy and select the Advertising Specialty products in order to have maximum impact.

Advertising Specialty Companies can help salvage a company's fading image. But it is always advisable to research the company so that you know what lies in store for you. Nowadays, Advertising Specialty Companies make full use of the latest technology for imprinting and designing.

They are also known as marketing specialty companies, as they market and publicize your company. Advertising Specialty Companies not only save you time and money, but also provide you with advertising solutions that manage to create an impact for years. So if you want to boost your company's sales or create a unique brand identity, then these Advertising Specialty Companies are for you.

Advertising Specialties provides detailed information about advertising specialties, advertising specialty companies, advertising specialty distributors, advertising specialty manufacturers, and more. Advertising Specialties is the sister site of Outdoor Banner Stands.

Buying Radio Read This And Dont Waste Your Money

Writen by John Jordan

Pay close attention and make it work the best for you.

No doubt you've listened to, and then quickly deleted, messages from account execs from your local radio stations. Maybe you've even entertained them in your office. Hopefully you didn't have to sanitize your phone or office afterwards.

Well, radio can be great way to garner awareness cheaply... ahem, inexpensively... if you do it right. Remember... 97.823% of all radio ads S-U-C-K. That leaves you to carry the banner for great radio advertising. And when you do, you will get noticed. Believe me, you will get noticed.

Why do so many radio ads suck? Between the screaming car ads, nasally voiced business owners who should never get anywhere near a microphone reading their own ads, and the next "turnkey" business opportunity, they are all dressed in their plaid suits and resorting to hucksterism. They want your money and they want it now.

They forget one thing. Well, actually a lot of things, but the main thing they forget that people are not tuning in for their ad. Listeners want Rush, Rome, Al, Laura, music, sports, news, or whatever. People aren't saying, "Gee, I gotta hear great heating and air conditioning ads today!"

Your ad is interrupting what they listen for. By nature, you are already behind the eight ball before you start in radio. But there is hope.

First off, do NOT let a radio station employee write your ad.

If your exec isn't a writer (you may luck out in that some radio execs are copywriters in training looking for an agency gig) and you don't speak up, your ad will probably get written by either: the station producer- who may have already written 4 or 5 other ads that same DAY,who doesn't have enough time to fully attend to your needs, and thereby wasting your money; OR a disc jockey (strange term- they don't spin wax anymore, Daddy-O) whose annoyed he or she has to write an ad, or who's not a talented writer to begin with, also wasting your money; OR by an intern, secretary, or other employee - who may relish the opportunity, but may not have the chops yet, or is being pressured to write something "quick and dirty" so it can produced and on the air -- also thereby wasting your money.

You have creative control and the ultimate yay or nay, so feel free to choose your writer. Hint and Shameless Plug : There is a link here to direct you to an excellent radio writer. It's http://www.brandedbetter.com.

Now, when it comes down to concepting and reviewing scripts, remember this: Radio is called Theater of the Mind for good reason. Use it to your advantage. Recall your disadvantage before starting.

Cleverness will grab attention. But... it must be on strategy to be effective. Give your writer ONE benefit to express. How does that benefit resonate with the target audience? Don't think if you have a "mundane" or "boring" product or service, there's no cleverness to be had. Give a good writer enough information, and they will find it.

A few of the BEST radio ads I've ever heard was for a soil conditioner. Yup. A soil conditioner. Two voices. One performed by the writer. The other performed by midlevel (read... talented, and nonunion) voice talent. Writer as The Hick Farmer. Nonunion Talent as the Smart Farmer.

Hick Farmer: "Hey, nay-bor...Whatzzat on yer roof?"

Smart Farmer: (obviously) "It's a satellite dish."

Hick Farmer: "Whazzit fer...? Talkin' to the Martians?"

You can almost hear the slack jaw in your head. And it makes you want to hear more. That's your goal for radio.

Another ad for the same product was even better.

Smart Farmer: "Hey, neighbor... Why so glum?"

Hick Farmer: "Aw... the weeds, the bugs, the disease... my crops are about ruined... I've had an awful year. The wife has been pickin' her tooth for leftovers."

Now, I'm not a farmer. I never heard of conditioning soil. But, you can bet I understood what it did after these ads. And did I mention I was wondrously entertained when receiving this information?

To be fair, these ads were produced by an ad agency with a good sized budget. The campaign also won some ad awards and some industry awards. The point is-- a good ad isn't loud, repetitive, trite, condescending, or tries to jam as many words possible into the time frame. In fact, silence works to your advantage. Silence in radio (or even TV) is like white space on a print ad. It tastefully surrounds the content for maximum effectiveness, drawing the eye (in this case, ear) in to read (hear) the copy.

Voices are important, too. Ever listen to the radio and hear the same voice all over the ads? That's usually Mr. or Ms. Producer-- the person who makes sure the ad gets made. That's why they don't have time to write a good one for you. Many freelance writers, myself included, know something about voices and casting, and can probably get you the best talent for your dollar. Some writers can even voice their own copy. And think twice, no... three times about voicing it yourself. Better make that four times.

Oh, and if you're wondering what length of ad to buy? In most cases, go for the :60. For just a few dollars more, you get twice the time to play with. If you are spending money on radio, use ALL the resources available to you to create the best possible ad. And that usually entails going outside the radio station walls to get it. ~~

John is a freelance commercial writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He publishes a free monthly e-zine focusing on branding, advertising, and marketing from his website http://www.brandedbetter.com. Speaking with both agency and in- house experience, he knows the most valuable asset of a businees is its brand.

How To Make Your Business Stand Out

Writen by Scott Shaper

Imagine if you had no competition. Wouldn't that make selling your product or service easy? Of course it would. So how do you eliminate your competition? Actually, the answer is simple I will explain in a moment but first ask yourself this.

How does Mercedes Benz sell any cars? What is the difference between a Mercedes and any other vehicle? Mercedes Benz has a drive train, engine, four wheels, etc. just like any other car. Physically, there is no difference. Yet Mercedes Benz sales thousands of cars per year for three times the price.

So how does Mercedes Benz do it? They don't sell cars.

I know what you are thinking, "What do you mean they don't sell cars! Sure look like cars to me!"

When you see someone driving a Mercedes Benz what do you think about that person? Successful, rich, an important person, right? How do you think that person driving the Mercedes Benz feels? They are probably thinking hey look at me I am somebody. They feel good about themselves, they are part of an elite group.

You see Mercedes doesn't sell cars they sell a status symbol, a feeling, an emotional high. Mercedes eliminates their competition by shining a different light on themselves that separates them from the rest of the car makers.

So what does that mean for you? It means everything when you are promoting your business because you eliminate your competition by shining a different light upon yourself.

What is your niche? What do you offer that you competition does not? Finding and exploiting that niche is one of the keys to successfully promoting your business. I will explain an easy way to find your niche in a moment but first there is another concept you need to understand.

Once you have found your niche you need to let the public know about it. If nobody knows the benefit of your niche than you might as well have no niche at all.

So how do you find you niche? Easy.

I told you I would give you a simple way to find that niche and here it is.

In one column write down all the feature you offer your customer. Next to each feature write down the benefit the customer receives from that feature. Now, look at all the features and benefits and find the one that is unique or see what one you can make unique.

Give a try and give it some thought. You will be surprised at what you will come up with. However, finding your niche won't do you a bit of good unless you know how to promote that niche.

That is the topic of my next article titled "Promoting your niche" you can view that article here.

Scott Shaper is a professional copywriter and has written numerous copy material for businesses looking to better promote themselves. You can visit his website at www.words-that-work.us

Lost Opportunity Are You Guilty

Writen by E.R. Rigsbee

I received a postcard from my local Infinity dealer. The card offered a set of cut crystal and a chance to win a new Infinity if I stopped in during their Grand Opening Sale. It appeared that somebody took some time to plan a classy sales event. Like you though, I generally toss this type of solicitation instantly. But for some reason I kept the card and visited the dealership.

The morning I visited the dealer, there was not a sales person to be found. Was I surprised; my expectation was to be met with open arms by a sales person expanding the virtues of the new Q45. I was wrong. Not a sales person to be found so I walked toward the back to a receptionist. Abruptly, she took my postcard and paged a parts clerk to get for me the box containing my gift. In the box were two cut crystal "bird bath" champagne glasses. That was it! What a colossal disappointment. This was not even close to world-class service. What a waist of money and energy for the dealer!

They invited me to visit their grand opening "sales party." When I arrived, they could have cared less that I came. Was it because I drove up in a Saab? Was it because they were busy? Who knows the source of their apathy? One thing for sure, they lost the opportunity to influence me to consider Infinity. They lost a potential sale! Why in the world invite potential buyers to a sales event and not even ask them to look at your wares? Am I crazy to expect that they might offer to me the chance to purchase a world-class luxury car? Have you ever been guilty of the same sin? Have you ever invited customers to visit your business and not been ready?

The best advertising campaign in the world will quickly be assassinated by employee lack of interest. The next time you have a special sales event, see to it that your employees' "desire to serve" is quite high. No matter how much money you spend inviting your customers to your "party," your employees can as easily send them home with bad feelings about your place of business and quite disgruntled. I doubt that I will ever visit my local Infinity dealer again, why in the world should I?

Let's explore some ideas to counter the lost opportunity scenario in your business:

1. Explain the big picture to ALL your employees. Tell them how they will influence the results and how the results will influence their employment and income status.

2. Allow your team to have an ownership rather than just a buy-in on the event. This is achieved by letting them have some say about how the event will be handled. Your staff has valuable ideas to offer, all you have to do is listen.

3. Incentive is effective. The carrot is far better than the stick in any customer service situation. Try giving a bonus or spiff to EACH team member based on the total effectiveness and profitability of the event. If your people receive a commission on sales, make the spiff beyond their usual compensation. This will create more of a team effort.

4. Be ready for the party. Invite your customers and have your act together when they attend. This means higher staffing and inventories for the event. Never allow a customer to walk in with high expectations and out with a deflated bubble because you were out of stock or your people were out of energy. Exceed your customers' expectations.

5. Partner with another local business to make the event a "double dip" for your customers. Having two activities in the same general geographical location gives them more of a reason to attend. Today people art short on time so help them out, make it worth their time and effort to visit your place of business.

6. Show by actions that you are genuinely pleased that your customers have arrived. Do more than just have an expressionless "parts clerk" hand them a gift box and walk away. If you give a gift, ring a bell or do something exciting when you hand out the goodies. This will reinforce in the mind of your customer that their decision to visit was a valuable one. While you are at it, make it fun too.

Lost opportunity, the chance you had to influence your customer and you blew it. In today's competitive marketplace, you no longer have the convenience of unlimited chances to influence consumer-purchasing behavior. Today's consumers have so much more choice than ever before. They are conditioned to make quick decisions. Every moment they are in your place of business is a moment of judgment. Trust me, they do judge quickly. Opportunity like time, once passed, it is gone forever. Sure, you can try again, but they may never come back.

Be aware of other opportunities that slip like sand between your fingers. I am referring to synergistic alliances. A synergistic alliance is any type of partnership, permanent or temporary, where two or more entities come together. They partner to make more happen in their businesses mutually than would have been possible singularly. In the challenge of today's global competition, working with others simply makes good business sense. It's simple, two companies advertising the same sales event can double the bang for their individual advertising dollar. Two companies buying from a single vendor can get a better discount or concession than one based on the increased order. Don't be twice guilty of missing opportunity. Work with others to create the kind of synergy that allows one plus one to equal three. Why not get more?

As I travel the country lecturing to business persons on partnering ideas, I am truly amazed at how many people see the world from "the glass is half empty" point of view. There is no better time than this minute to have a paradigm shift and look at the possibilities. Sure the first half of the decade was difficult for many. Let's get off the complaining "slow boat" to personal destruction and jump on the "Bullet Train" to Success and Prosperity. Why not, you deserve it!

To access helpful additional information from Ed Rigsbee at no charge, please visit www.rigsbee.com/downloadaccess.htm.

Adapted from Rigsbee's forthcoming book titled, Customer Service Screw Ups--Learn from the Mistakes of Others. In this book, Rigsbee rants about the crummy customer service he has received and offers suggestions on how you can truly partnering with your customers. Ed Rigsbee, CSP is the author of PartnerShift, Developing Strategic Alliances and The Art of Partnering. Rigsbee has over 1,000 published articles to his credit and is a regular keynote presenter at corporate and trade association conferences across North America. He can be reached at 800-839-1520, ed@rigsbee.com, or visit http://www.rigsbee.com.