If you live in a small town like mine on the Connecticut coast, you’ll be spending the 4th of July watching fireworks, along with your family and friends and everyone else in town. Why is it that people love fireworks?
Fireworks grab attention with a dazzling display of color and lots of noise. Unlike the sparklers you can hold in your hand, the sound and size of fireworks can’t be ignored. Imagine if your small business marketing was as effective at getting people’s attention! Read More »
Here’s what usually happens when somebody scores a big publicity hit, either in their local newspaper, or on a major TV show.
They see a big spike in traffic to their website. Then, within a week or two, the traffic slows to a crawl.
That’s when they email me and ask, “How can we keep the buzz going? How can we turn this publicity into even more publicity?” Read More »
Understanding the proper use of color is essential to creating a positive small business branding image. Color can send a positive or negative message, increase sales, excite an audience, or make an athlete perform better.
At a very young age we begin to learn the meaning of color from our social, cultural and environmental surroundings. We learn about the meaning of color from our parents, teachers, friends and even advertisements that we see in stores and product packaging. As we learn about the meaning of color we begin to associate emotional reactions and expectations to specific colors. As adults, many of our psychological reactions to color are universal. Read More »
Many clients assume that copywriting services are priced by the page. And in some cases, that’s true. But copywriters who price per page—instead of on a per-project basis– may be shortchanging you.
That’s because a copywriter who has a per-page flat rate probably isn’t doing the most important part of our job: market research.
You see, if I already know a market –like real estate, alternative health, or self-help–I know what that market wants. I understand their hot buttons. And that means I can find the right “hook” much more quickly than if I had to start researching from scratch. Read More »
Many small business owners think they know more about their product or service than anyone else. And while they certainly may, to truly find out about your business, the last person you want to talk to is yourself.
If you really want to gain real insight about your business, product, or service, there’s only one person to ask: the customer. Understanding why your customers buy from you will give you a solid understanding of your target market, and identify ancillary markets as well. Read More »
You could be making some common mistakes with your business website and not even realize it. Here are some common ones – and what to do about them.
Your website marketing is feeling neglected.
Does the copyright at the bottom of your site still say 2009? Do you still show the bio of an employee who left three years ago? Are there old broken links on the site? Was your last calendar update last year? All of these are symptoms of simple neglect – and they’re typically easy to miss. How to fix this mistake: Read More »
The good news is that Facebook Fan Pages are a great social media marketing tool for a small business.
The bad news is that there are millions of fan pages out there.
So what will make your page different? What will make your Facebook Fan Page stand above the fray?
The answer is one word. Applications. Wisely implemented, applications will make your Fan Page dynamic, entertaining and irresistible, ensuring you will both attract and retain fans. Read More »
When you initially meet a potential client, the first thing you must do is establish rapport. The faster you can make this happen, the more sales you’ll make. It’s as simple as that.
The only way to accomplish this is through practice. I teach a learning strategy I call P.D.R.—practice, drill and rehearse. The more you do those three things, the faster these proven strategies will become ingrained in you. So let’s get started. Read More »
You’ve probably heard that it takes seven touches before a person will buy something. They have to be exposed to your product multiple times, whether through ads, word of mouth, a sales call, etc., before they purchase. Well, media coverage is the most cost-effective — and brilliant — way to get these exposures.
What media coverage does that no ad can do is build your credibility, making it easy to gain the trust of your target audience.
You have to use PR to get this coverage and anyone who’s hired a publicist or taken on a do-it-yourself PR campaign has somewhere along the way asked themselves, “Are my efforts working?” For a person who’s invested their money or time in PR this is a legitimate question. Read More »
The term “public relations” consists of two words, “public” and “relations.” Relations with the public are publicists’ inventories. Relationships are the most valuable assets in publicists’ portfolios. The most valuable relationships are those with the media because they in turn produce relationships with the greater public.
And by media we mean both the traditional media—print and television news reporters—as well as the new media—bloggers, podcasters, and social networkers.
Generally, you won’t see immediate results because these types of relationships must be nurtured. Read More »
