Advertising Articles |
|
Whats On Your Business Card?
A professional business card says more about you and your business than any other tool in your marketing arsenal. You need a card that looks good, tells what you do and makes it easy to contact you. Here's how to use the necessary ingredients to create a great business card Your name should be the biggest part of the card. Right there where the eye can pick it out without searching. Avoid the old trap of name and phone number in 6 point type in the lower right corner. Your card's purpose is to get people to remember YOU and contact YOU. So put YOU in the middle, big. A fancy company logo is not you. YOU are the most important element of your business card. The second most important element of your new business card should be your preferred method of communication. If you are a cell phone junkie, your cell phone number should be the biggest on the card. If eMail is your thing, your address should be prominent and near your name. No need to post every contact method. An option would be to add your company logo, albeit small, in the corner of your card. Don't use clip art to create your logo. No logo looks a lot better than one from page 23 of the clip art book. You can have logos professionally designed for less than $500 bucks. Next, you need a one sentence version of your elevator speech. Condense your elevator speech to one sentence that will fit on your business card, under your name and contact info. Across the bottom is a good spot. An elevator speech is what you say to someone who asks "What do you do?" in an elevator going down from the 25th floor. For some tips about crafting an elevator speech, send a blank eMail to [email protected]. Your name, contact information and shortened elevator speech (let's call it a selling sentence) are more important than any other elements of your business card. More important than paper stock (always use a high gloss card stock), colors (0nly in a photo or logo) or fonts (easy to read). Cards DO get passed around. If someone who has never met you is given your card, they must be able to determine who you are and how you can help them. "Joe Jones, Plumber" might work, but it doesn't convey what you can do for them. "Joe Jones, I show up on time, smell good and fix your leak, guaranteed", says a whole lot more. Now your business card is selling YOU. For more about business cards, get my article "What Does Your Business Card Say?" [email protected] �2005 BIG Mike McDaniel, Professional Speaker and Former Major Market TV News Anchor. The BIG Ideas Group helps small business grow with mastermind groups, seminars and sales training. MailTo:[email protected] Subscribe to "BIG Mike's BIG Ideas" Newsletter [email protected]
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What Does the Back of Your Business Card Say? Business cards with nothing on the back are wasted opportunities to sell. When Times Get Tough... or When to Really Advertise The Pundits say the economy is slowly, but surely, recovering. Maybe not at the rate of the mid-90s stock boom, but recovering nonetheless. Tips for Using Paid Advertising Quite a few business out there can't survive without some type of advertising and/or brand recognition, so advertising your business is one of the most important aspects in running certain types of business. It's also one of the most frequently asked questions for "how to". This article is especially important for direct sales reps and those with company websites that need to make themselves "stand out" among hundreds of others that are selling similar products. Constructing Business Advertisements What many may consider the most important part of advertising is writing an effective ad. The information provided in a classified ad may be the deciding factor if it is successful or a, "bomb". In addition, there are three important angles to consider when writing business advertisements. Not Another Calendar! - Choose Advertising Specialties That Sell As I was searching through a kitchen drawer the other day, I found dozens of pens, pencils, letter openers, sticky-note pads, oversized paper clips, rulers, dental floss, calendars, magnets, whatsits and thing-a-ma-bobs, each with the name of a business on the front. In looking through my "collection" I discovered some things I love and use and others that I can't imagine why I picked them up. Some, I'm not even sure what they are! How to Know if Direct Mail Will Work for Your Business Here's a great lesson that applies to direct mail. Ready? Some people say one thing and do the opposite. Advertise Where Its Forbidden To The most common way to drive people to your business site is advertising. You cannot succeed without advertising, this is a fact. You should advertise almost everytime and almost everywhere using a very pleasant, smart and persuasive manner if you want to accomplish your final target: Making Sales But what to do when clear and noisy advertising is not allowed (e.g discussion lists, discussion forums, etc) or you just send emails with no connection with business? 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. But what many customers do not realize is that they can purchase vinyl lettering or vinyl decals and apply them directly to typical substrates themselves. Translation ? saving money by buying blank substrates inexpensively at local hardware stores such as Home Depot and Lowes and avoiding the prices sign companies need to charge to apply the material. Although you do pay tax by buying locally on the substrate, you can save tax on the vinyl by ordering over the internet. The Internet and Beyond - 12 Tips on Writing Better Brochures Every year thousands of online businesses fail. None of them begin with the idea they'll fail, in fact they have high hopes of success, but they fail all the same. One of the main reasons for the high failure rate is an over reliance on one marketing channel?the Internet. 8 Low Cost Ways To Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business We all are looking for ways to market our businesses cost effectively. I have come up with 8 ways to do just that all low cost to free. In fact most of these methods can be done from the comfort of your own home. Fax Broadcast Services Get Your Message to Millions If your company is one of those innovative businesses that has taken advantage of new fax broadcasting technologies to get your message out, you've probably come to realize that the fax broadcasting services industry is ever-changing and new developments are coming out all the time. Moving message Sign Moving Message Signs are a unique, attention-grabbing way to communicate and motivate. They are used for eye-catching shop-front or under awning advertising, promotions of products or services, directing and/or welcoming customers, displaying safety and emergency information, directing customers to specific service areas or entrances etc. Predictions for 2010 2005 puts us at the mid-point of the first decade of the new millenium. What will things look like at the end of the 1st decade of the new millenium in the world of advertising? I thought I'd project where the ad industry is headed and what 2010 (or sooner) might look like. This two-part article will take those discussions a few steps further. First, we'll look at a scenario that is likely to be common by 2010 when the heretofore separate worlds of TV advertising, search marketing, behavioral targeting and inventory yield management blend together. If you buy some of this scenario, it's interesting to look at the implications for ad agencies. In part two, I'll speculate on the likelihood of Google being the biggest "ad agency" in world. If you look through the prism I lay out, it will cause you to think differently about where the industry is headed whether or not you agree with some of the specifics. The $500.00 A Month Plan One way to make extra money or start a business of your own is by placing advertising which will pay a good profit. Selling printed information by mail can br financially rewarding. Classified advertising is the cheapest way to get into Mail Order and it is often possible to raise a fortune from these small ads. Just check any large publication such as Popular Mechanics, for their classified advertising section and you can see yourself the many ads. For All Those People Who Struggle With Benefits and Features For Everyone Who Has Ever Struggled Sorting Out Benefits From Features - "SWAT Them!" 4 Ways to Double the Power of Your Business Cards Sure, everyone needs business cards. But why not make your business card do double or triple the work of an average business card. Secrets And Top-Tips Of Mail Order Advertising Good Advertising creates more production, thus greater consumption, faster turnover and lower sales price per unit.� To a great extent it determines the success or failure of the mail order operator! 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." However a recent High Court decision illustrates that care must be taken with such marketing. Media Savvy - How To Lead, Persuade And Influence The ability to lead, persuade and influence are integral skills for effective managers. The capability of telling a story that inspires, motivates and informs is an essential part of this process. In an age of convergence in the media and increased scepticism over traditional communication methods, a new breed of managers and leaders is emerging that sees the media as an opportunity and not a threat. They use the media in a pro-active way to build their organisation's image, reputation and identity. A Quick And Easy Way Of Getting More Customers From Every Single Ad You Write... Guaranteed! FACT: Most people don't spend anywhere near enough time on creating a strong, compelling headline. |
home | site map |
© 2005 |