Online Fun and Business

What is the deal with time? Our lives are moving at the speed of light and over scheduled. In the absense of calendars, we actually would not recognise what day it is. Tailor-made promotional calendars help us sort through the blur of time, keep appointments and meetings, remember that important birthday and anniversaries and essentially direct our lives and make us more effective. One advertisng calendar per household is not enough anymore. At home, they can be located in the kitchen, next to a phone, in the bedroom, on the refrigerator, in a purse or billfold, the garage, or the office. At the business office, on a advertising mousepad, desk blotter, a wall, a weekly planner - and the list proceeds on! We have one for our appointments at the office, for school, our social lives, and for our kid’s social lives! Affordable - It’s is an inexpensive, effective custom promotional instrument. Quality calendars -gifts- outperforms TV, radio, or any other kind of media when studying monetary value. Not many better ways to spend the money - if it cost $5 and it is looked at twice a day in a business organization 250 days a year, that only costs you a penny of advertizing! If calendars are not for your business organisation stay the course and remember the larger promotional items distributors feature over 500,000 items in their gift bag to pick from and they have to have an item that shall fulfil your wants. Who knows possibly it could be promotional mouse pads. Promotional products include anything from footwear to binders.

Objectives: Make sure the promotional product and drive are associated to or back up well-defined marketing or communications objects. The targets should not be excessively complicated.

Target Audiences: In attaining a goal, promotional products efforts had better be directed to particular audiences. A target for each audience need be produced.

Subject matter*: Promotional products crusades need communicate a predetermined message to each audience. This content need be clear and concise. No individual run must attempt to express too many messages. Usually, most skilful final result* are reached when only one or two key items are emphasized.

Topic: An “umbrella” program theme should be acquired. The theme should take into account subject matter*, audiences and the nature of the merchandise or service.

Originality: Promotional product themes and items need be as original as possible to pique involvement.

Utility: Promotional products must be practical items that receivers will use over and over again. If the item is not used frequently, it should be unique or ornamental and remain in view.

Follow-ups: Some of the best promotional product campaigns result in an improved rate of response from receivers or permit sales force follow-ups either by phone or in person. In this way a program can turn into a door opener.

If you’re blanketing, using the postal service is a possible alternative to organising your own door-to-door distribution and may make it more likely that recipients will read your leaflet. You can find out about Royal Mail’s door-to-door leaflet distribution service on the Royal Mail website.

If you want a return on your investment, you need to prepare your materials carefully. Ensure materials look professional and contain clear, useful information.

To find out how effective your campaign has been, it’s a good idea to include some kind of incentive for feedback. For instance, you could provide a small discount or special offer for the first 100 customers who bring in your leaflet. As with any such offers, make sure they’re priced into your overall budget for the campaign.

Encore Relations, LLC — an brand new Austin, Texas-based real estate marketing champion — announced the addition of a three-time Super Bowl champion to its staff this week. Former Dallas Cowboy Robert Jones will join the Encore team, recruiting real estate agents and lenders to take advantage of Encore’s unique, turnkey marketing solutions for referrals and repeat business. “Robert brings real industry savvy to our company,” Encore Founder and CEO Chris Medina said. “But he also brings a strong work ethic and whatever-it-takes mentality that fits our culture.”

A graduate of East Carolina University, Jones spent four years as starting linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys including the 1992, 1993 and 1995 seasons when the Cowboys won Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII and XXX. Following his 10-year NFL career, Jones has built a successful second profession in real estate and business development, especially in Austin.

Encore’s marketing services offer real estate agents and lenders a multifaceted, outsourced solution for customer retention and development. Nationwide, 82 to 85 percent of homeowners do not reuse agents for home purchases. In fact, surveys indicate that most will forget the name of their real estate agent within six months of the purchase of their home. To reverse that trend, Encore offers a complete, outsourced solution to keep agents top-of-mind with past or potential home buyers. Designed as a five-year program, the plan includes 15-20 annual touch points including housewarming gifts, postcards, holiday cards, and letters, delivered to specified customers on the agents’ behalf.

Already receiving endorsement by the nation’s largest software developer for loan origination services, Encore has entered the industry with real promise. The company opened its doors Monday.

The addition of Jones strengthens Encore’s relationship with former Dallas Cowboys greats. This fall, Encore will sponsor a nationwide speaking tour for former Cowboys all-pro guard Nate Newton. Newton will visit schools across the nation to encourage positive choices among teens, including drug avoidance and a healthy perspective on athletics.

Despite its start-up status, Encore’s company objective is leadership in community and philanthropic causes as well as real estate marketing. Encore contributes a portion of its annual profits to charitable causes.

If you’d like to know how listening to your stereo can dramatically improve the power of all your copywriting and marketing promotions, then listen to this.

One of the best ways to give yourself an instant “edge” when writing copy — as well as eliminate the anxiety of a blank page or find the answer to a problem you’re stuck on — is to simply turn on your stereo and pop a classical music CD into your CD player.

It’s true.

In fact, geniuses and “movers and shakers” in all kinds of industries and professions — like Albert Einstein and Thomas Jefferson, for example — were huge fans of classical musicians — like Mozart and Bach.

No doubt one of the reasons why is because classical music does so many amazing things to our minds and bodies.

It helps you concentrate and think more clearly. It soothes your anxieties and boosts IQ levels (sometimes by as much 9%). And studies have shown it even enhances imagination and problem solving abilities.

All of which means if you write copy — especially if you struggle with it — you can do a lot worse than listen to classical music while you’re slugging it out with your promotion.

Try it the next time you have to write copy. Pop in a good classical CD (I have heard the baroque period is ideal) and see what happens.

It could make the entire process of writing copy a LOT easier for you, and possibly even make your promotions more profitable.

Ben Settle is an expert copywriter and direct marketer. If you liked this article then check out Ben’s website at http://bensettle.com — and get your hands on over 500 pages of advertising ideas, strategies and tactics just like this one — as well as rare swipe file ads and hot marketing information not easily found anywhere else.

1.Set your business up to accept as many forms of payment as you
can. PayPal, personal checks, cashiers checks, both domestic and
International money orders, International bank transfers, etc.
Every additional payment option you add will increase your
customer base.

2.Don’t exclude buyers from foreign countries or with free email
accounts like Hotmail or AOL. Ultimately, you are only hurting
yourself. In some categories the best buyers are located in a
different country than you are.

3.Keep your ads simple. If you confuse buyers, they will either
by-pass your offerings, or leave you negative feedback because
they read something into your ad that you never meant to be
there.

4.Don’t attempt to increase your profits by a few dollars by
charging excessive postage. Buyers are not stupid. They realize
what you are trying to do and most will avoid your auctions like
the plague.

5.Give your customers all the facts to bid intelligently. Don’t
tell them you will figure out what the postage will be after the
auction ends. Tell them in your ad what class postage you use
and what the actual amount will be.

6.Don’t discriminate against buyers who don’t have a perfect
feedback record. As long as you have good business procedures in
place (such as waiting an appropriate period of time for checks
to clear), there is no need to look downward at buyers whose
reputation might have been damaged just because they got a bad
deal. It happens to everyone and someday it will happen to you.

7.Don’t discriminate against buyers who have little or no
feedback. Remember, you were in the same position at one time.
Once you have been in business for a while you’ll learn that a
buyer with little or no feedback is no more likely to screw you
than one with a shooting star.

8.Don’t make customers jump through hoops in order to buy from
you. Just because you had a bad experience with one buyer, that
doesn’t mean you should threaten everyone else in advance. Doing
so won’t hurt your customers, but it will hurt your business.

9.If you are selling collectibles, antiques, or anything else
that warrants it, show lots and lots of good sized, clear and
crisp pictures. If you don’t want to pay an online auction site
for use of their web space then use the free web space provided
by your Internet service provider. Buyers make critical buying
decisions based upon what they see and pictures are the cheapest
way possible to insure that you will have a happy buyer. The
more pictures you include, the more your business will thrive.

10.Offer a money back guarantee. Be prepared to take an
occasional loss on some items. You will encounter far more
serious buyers who won’t bid unless you have a guarantee than
you will people who are intentionally trying to take advantage
of you.

11.Be prepared to take a loss to make a buyer happy. If a buyer
didn’t receive his purchase, even if he chose not to purchase
insurance, be prepared to return his money. You will get more
repeat and honest buyers than you will cheaters.

12.Leave feedback in the correct sequence. When the buyer pays
you and his payment is good, leave them positive feedback
immediately. Don’t become one of the angry sellers who practice
feedback blackmail.

13.If you must leave negative feedback for a buyer, make it
brief and to the point. Future buyers will read your comments
regarding the sale and they perceive you as honest and mature.
If you engage in name-calling, swearing, or derogatory remarks,
you will be seen as immature and this will scare off potential
bidders.

14.Always be friendly and answer any questions from potential
bidders quickly. Remember, you were new once also.

15.Have an About Me page and include a picture of yourself.
People will find it easier to trust you if they can see you and
know a little bit about you.

Here’s a proven, and truly easy way to start increasing your
sales, immediately.

All you need to do is add these 2 words to your selling system,
and you’re good to go.

In fact, this trick’s so good, I wish I could take credit for
coming up with it, but the truth is, it comes from a
little-known marketing legend.

Here’s the deal:

In 1947, Elmer Wheeler was one of the best-known salesmen of
his time. His “Wheeler Institute of Words” developed a “best
practices” of selling, by testing a variety of words in over 19
million selling situations.

I’m right in the middle of reading one of Elmer’s most famous
books, “Tested Sentences That Sell”.

And here’s a great little selling trick that comes straight out
of this book:

Ever go into a restaurant and order a drink?

Of course you have.

And what does your server usually ask you, right after you
place your order?

They usually say “Small or large?”, right?

Well, imagine for a moment… you’re the owner of this
restaurant.

Do you have any idea how much your sales would increase over
time, if… instead of saying “Small or large?” after your
customers ordered their drinks … you told your servers to
instead, say…

“Large one?”

Let me take the guess-work out of this and make your job easier
for you.

Elmer Wheeler tested this experiment out in five-thousand
separate selling situations. And the results showed, when your
server asked “Large one?”…

7 out of every 10 people, answered “Yes!”

So, let’s say a large soda costs you 35¢ more than a small soda
– are you with me on this? This means, by saying “Large
one?”… 7 out of every 10 customers that walk through your
door, end up giving you an extra 35 cents!

Now you may be thinking, “So what?… It’s only 35 cents.”

A-h-h-h, but remember….

Little Hinges Swing Big Doors Open!

Follow me here for a minute: If you’ve got 5 servers… and
each of them does this with 100 customers a day, this means each
of them will be serving large sodas to an extra 70 people a day.

That’s an extra 350 large soda sales a day. (5 servers x 70
large sodas each).

350 extra sales, at 35¢ each, is $122.50 a day in extra gross
sales for you… which translates into $857.50 extra a week, and
over 52 weeks, this turns into…

$44,590 Dollars A Year… With ZERO Extra Marketing Costs
Involved!

Not bad, hey?

And if your large sodas cost 50¢ more than your small sodas, in
that case, your annual bump in gross sales would be $63,700
Dollars!

70¢ more? O.K., that one’s easy — just double the 35¢ figure
– now you’re selling $89,180 Dollars more!

See how easy this stuff is?

It’s insane, isn’t it?

But what if you don’t have a restaurant?

How can you use this trick in your business?

Well, let’s say you own a photography store. When people are
filling out their forms to get their pictures developed, instead
of saying “Singles or doubles?”, you can say “Doubles?”.

If you own a landscaping company, instead of asking “Shrubs and
lawn?”, you’d say “Whole yard?”

And if you’re a hairdresser, instead of asking “Cut and
shampoo?”, you just say “Shampoo?”

Make sense?

When it comes down to it, the basic premise of this selling
trick, is…

If You Don’t Ask… You Don’t Get!

But polishing your request up so it’s “benefit-oriented” to
your prospect… makes this work smoothly… effectively… and
without looking like you’re trying to “sell more”.

Notice how you’re not asking “Do you want a large soda?” –
you’re just saying “Large one?”

See, you’ll have to experiment a little bit to find out what
works best in your situation, but not you’ve at least got one
helluva head start on things, no?

And can you think of any easier way to make this kind of extra
money?

Elmer Wheeler really was a “selling genius” and you’ll pick up
quite a bit from him.

And, from the excitement and enthusiasm he comes across with,
you know he enjoyed his work.

Here are a few of Elmer’s famous quotes:

“Your first 10 words are more important than your next 10,000.”

“People seldom want to walk over you until you lie down.” And…

“Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle.” Unfortunately,
Wheeler’s books are all out of print. You’ll find them showing
up pretty consistently on e-bay though, and, you can also find
some of them on www.abebooks.com or www.alibris.com.

Several of my readers asked me whatever happened to Joe
Sugarman, who I mentioned in last week’s Tip, “What Never Ever
To Say To Your Prospects…”.

Joe’s living on Maui now, and he publishes the Maui Weekly
newspaper. He’s also still involved with Blu Blocker sunglasses,
and I’m sure, a number of other things as well.

It’s arguably the most important word in the copywriter’s arsenal. It ranks right at the top with words like “free,” “new” and “savings.”

I’m talking about “you.”

“You” is the word that gets your prospect’s attention and keeps them involved. As Herschell Gordon Lewis says in The Art of Writing Copy, “Unless the reader regards himself as the target of your message, benefit can’t exist. Benefit demands a ‘We/You’ relationship.”

While the “We” in the “We/You” relationship is important, it’s better implied than communicated literally. If your goal is to put prospects first, then it’s best to have the “you’s” far exceed the “we’s.”

It’s the “you’s” that matter to prospects. They’re your workhorse for communicating your message and include all derivatives such as “your,” “yours,” “yourself,” “you’re,” and “you’ll.”

Powerful ‘You’

What makes “you” so powerful? For one thing, it addresses your readers directly. In effect, it says “Hey you,” which is much harder to ignore than “Hey somebody.”

Say “Hey you” in a crowded room and a lot of heads will turn. Say “Hey somebody” and a few heads might turn.

While your copy won’t actually say “Hey you,” it can clearly identify to whom you’re talking. Once you have your audience’s attention, use “you” to help keep it.

Personal ‘You’

Why does “you” get and hold attention? For one thing, it’s personal. It’s used in personal conversation every day. What do you think? How was your weekend? You’ll be glad to know …

When people say these things to you, they’re bound to get your attention and involvement. After all, they’re interested in your opinion. They’re interested in the things you do. They have something to tell you that will make you happy.

That’s the goal of you-oriented copy. Address your audience directly, personally and in terms of their interests. Be conversational and “you” will pop up in the copy naturally.

Counting ‘You’

It was mentioned earlier that “you” is a workhorse. A classic example is contained in “The Do-It-Yourself Direct Mail Handbook” by Murray Raphel and Ken Erdman. They highlight a “Newsweek” magazine subscription letter used for nearly two decades.

The subscription letter was written by direct mail expert Ed McLean, who used “you” nearly 30 times on the first page alone. More than 100 million copies of the letter were mailed, a testament to its effectiveness.

Try counting the “you’s” (and “you” derivatives) in your copy. Compare them with the number of “we’s” and first-person derivatives. If the “you’s” don’t outnumber the “we’s,” consider reworking your copy.

Excessive ‘You’?

Can you overdo “you”? Yes.

If you load your copy with “you’s” but forget the benefits, your message will have a phony ring.

“You” can’t save you if there’s nothing meaningful to offer your audience. Likewise, it will help put you over the top if there is.

(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel

Neil Sagebiel is a veteran copywriter who has served clients such as Microsoft, The Seattle Times, Lucent Technologies, March of Dimes, Airborne Express and Unisys. To sign up for his FREE expert tips to help you write better and sell more, visit www.neilsagebiel.com.

One of the most important facets of good copywriting is
knowing the market you’re writing for. You must know what
this market is looking for and what problems it needs to
solve. Once you know the answers to those two questions you
can write effective persuasive copy that will bring you
results.

Writing generic ads that aren’t directed to a specific
target group won’t work no matter how well crafted the ads
are. So, the first thing you need to do is learn everything
you can about your market.

There are several ways you can do this:

• Surveys - You can simply ask what your prospective
customers are looking for.

• Canvass your customers – Ask your present customers what
they like about your product or service. Ask them what
specific thing makes them keep coming back to you.

• Forums and Message Boards – Visit as many as you can
every week. You’ll be able to tell from the discussions
what problems your market is confronting and how you can
best offer solutions.

• Ezines and Newsletters – Read everything you can find
that reflects the thoughts and feelings of your market.
The more you can learn the stronger you can make your
sales copy.

Once you know what your prospective customers are looking
for, you can write sales copy that targets their problems
and offers them solutions. No matter how wonderful your
product or service may be, if your sales copy doesn’t offer
solutions it won’t be effective.

You’ve heard it a million times and are about to hear it
once more ~ because it’s that important ~ your target
market is only interested in what your product/service can
do for them. That’s what your copy must stress if you want
response.

Push Those Emotional Buttons . . .

When you know what problems your product can solve, show
your prospective customers how they’re going to feel once
they have that solution. That’s where so-called “hot
buttons” come into play. Since most purchases are made on
an emotional level, that’s where you must appeal to your
market.

In other words, if you’re selling a diet program tell your
reader how she’ll feel once she’s lost 20 pounds. If your
words can make her feel she’ll be more attractive, full of
energy, more confident, ready to take on the world with her
new body and attitude, chances are you’ll gain a new
customer.

Writing effective ad copy comes down to knowing what
problem your prospect has, providing a solution and
describing that solution in terms that appeal to her
emotions.

When you apply this formula to your copywriting you’ll find
your response will increase many times over.

About the Author

Linda Offenheiser is the owner of Stress-Free Copy, a copywriting and editing service designed for small home
businesses. You’ll find the write words at the right prices.
She also publishes a weekly free ezine, All the Write Stuff!, that’s informative, friendly and fun! You can visit her at
http://www.stress-freecopy.com or subscribe at
http://www.stress-freecopy.com/subscribe.htm