| |
| |
|
WebsiteAlways |
|
Books, Bibles and Fast-Talkers
Every community has 'em. Fast talkers who roll into town with a clever idea to sell to people in business. Many times the ideas are clever and cute but you should weigh the ups and downs of every offer before you dig out the checkbook. Most of these in-town-for-a-day people want their cash up front. Some of the common flim-flams are: Coupon Books They offer to put you in a giant coupon book to be sold for the needy charity or Lions Club. Books are sold on the phone for $29 and delivered by the Boy Scouts. Watch out for errors and missing expirations once the operation has moved to another town. Telephone Book Covers They wrap around the book and the callers see your ad every time they reach for the book. Might be OK if you own the wrecker service, locksmith or funeral home, but run the other way if you have a grocery, Mickey Dees, or bank. City Maps Your ad goes somewhere around the edge of the map. You might get pitched by several companies. Some look better than others, most are very pricey. Pick up maps like these when you see them and decide if you'd do business with anyone on the map because of the ad. Distribution is the selling point. Placement is the bug-a-boo. What if your ad is on the back and the reader only looks at the front? Don't be fooled by the promise of radio ads proclaiming free maps and mentioning your name. Bibles for Newlyweds I wish I had thought of this one 30 years ago. I would be clipping coupons instead of writing about it. The fast talker promises to send a Bible to all newlyweds in the county (the names and addresses of the happy couples are public record at the courthouse). Four to six sales at about $500 each and they mail a one dollar Bible 4th class, a peel and stick label stuck inside with the name of the "sponsors" in inkjet color. They can easily sell a town a day at 3 large and make one trip a quarter to visit the courthouse for names. Work it for two months on a route and eat cake the other 10. A great moneymaker for the Bible people, a dud for advertising effectiveness. But like kids in school and American Flags, this emotion sells well in every community. There are hundreds of advertising "opportunities" out there. Your job as a business owner is to separate the effective from the cute and clever. For more about advertising, get my article "Your Billboard is Showing" MailTo:Billboards@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
MORE RESOURCES:
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Nine Power Words To Punch Up Your Ads As every professional politician and public relations man knows words have the power to entice, persuade and motivate people into a specific course of action.There are certain words that I refer to as "Power Words" that I learned, back in the dawn of time, when the dinosaurs still roamed the earth. Three Keys to Crafting Successful Print Ads Want to create print ads that get results? Below are three keys to get you started.1. LED video Displays LED video displays give you the power to communicate, to motivate, and to entertain. Led video displays are seen to be sited for outdoor advertising, in casinos, for events like sporting events in stadium and arena, for staging and mobile display etc. Getting the Most Out of Your Networking Group Here is my personal list of things to do at your networking group:(1) Bring your business cards. Sound simple? Well, I regularly meet people at networking groups who have forgotten their cards or their cards are at the printers. Vinyl Banners for the Right Occasion The sinage marketplace is competitive! Consequently, some companies are going to focus on price and neglect quality. To complicate the situation, companies that produce stock vinyl banner material offer a bevy of different materials based on weights/thickness, color, reflective properties, ink absorption properties, etc. Unlock The Power Of Online Groups Yahoo Groups: I see countless marketers on shoestring budges turn to traffic exchanges for free traffic. If they would spend the time creating online groups rather than clicking for traffic they would see much more quality traffic. How to Save Money by Making Your Own Sign In the sign industry we commonly refer to the material that the sign is made out of as the substrate. Examples include, wood, vinyl banners, aluminum, coroplast, etc. Creating a Winning Logo Creating a logo to get you noticed.When you're branding a company with a name, a colour scheme and a logo the logo is often not given enough care and attention. 3 Simple Steps to Getting Thousands in Free Advertising Many entrepreneurs believe that they understand what public relations is, but very few do. Publicity and public relations can be used to boost your business by thousands of dollars a week or kill it; the trouble is using it to your advantage. Attention-Grabbing Fixes that Make Your Yellow Page Ad Leap Off the Page Stand Out in Ways that Matter to Directory Users A Yellow Page directory presents a difficult challenge for advertisers. All the competitors are packed together, within the space of a few pages. CD Business Cards- Why Use Them? CD Business cards are the electronic version of the now outdated paper business or social card. They are the smaller squared version of the CD-R family. The Secrets of High Money Classified Ads When used effectively, classified ads can be one of the quickest and most inexpensive ways to increase your sales. A well written classified ad can generate thousands in sales, yet could cost you pennies to write and run. How to Write Great Headlines According to experts, just changing the headline of an ad or sales letter has been known to dramatically improve the effectiveness of an ad or sales letter by up to 1700 percent! Yes, headlines are that powerful--and that important!An effective headline will do many things at once. It will attract the readers attention, convey benefits by appealing to the readers self-interest and it will set the stage for what is to come. Is there anything new under the sun? Heres how to find out if your bright idea is unique. "There's nothing new under the sun" is probably the one phrase no inventor wants to hear, seldom believes, and is always trying to prove wrong. However, moving too quickly to prototype stage and first disclosure can turn out to be costly for the inventor who doesn't take the time to find out if his or her invention is already patented. Why Your Ads Aren't Working The president of a manufacturing company recently asked me, "Why isn't my advertising working?" Have you ever been asked this question? Have you ever asked it yourself?Like most marketing communications questions there are no simple answers. After all, communication is a high level activity. The Inside Secrets Of Free Publicity For Your Business Product publicity is the "secret pathway" to business success everyone wants. In simple terms, product publicity is a kind of advertising that costs you nothing, yet brings in the orders for you. Secrets to Get Free Advertising The opportunities to get free advertising for your product or services are limited only by your own imagination and energies. There are so many proven ways of promoting your objectives without cost that it literally boggles the mind just to think of listing them. 10 Simple Techniques To Make Your Ad Get Powerful Attention 1. Make your ad's keywords and phrases standout by enlarging the text. When Advertising Wears Out One of the challenges facing marketers is determining the most effective level of advertising exposure for a brand, while maintaining a given budget. Conceptually, the media planner could choose continuous advertising (even exposures spread over a period of time) or follow a strategy of pulsing ("on" for some months and "off" for others). Commercial: Consumer - Discounts - Misleading Advertising Marketing is an important tool for attracting customers. It is commonplace to see banners announcing bargains of "70% off the retail price.
|
| Interesting articles | Home | site map | Link |
| © 2006 |
