Make It Exclusive

One way to up the odds of securing exposure in a specific media outlet is to offer that outlet an exclusive story agreement. What this means is that if they agree to run your story, interview you, or whatever the publicity vehicle might be, you in exchange offer the media outlet exclusive rights to your story, and to no other media company. This may seem like a complicated undertaking, but it is not. For instance, if you want to have your story, news, or photo opportunity featured in print then get started by making a list of the five most important publications that you would like the story to be featured in, in order of importance. Starting at number one, your first choice, contact each publication and pitch your story and offer them an exclusive to the story if they feature it in their publication. Alternately, send out a formal press release or pitch letter to your top five choices first. And, then follow up with telephone calls contacting each starting once again with your first choice. Ask if they received your proposal for an exclusive story and if they are prepared to act on the proposal. Exclusives work, especially after you secure a few good media personnel contacts who like to have exclusive access to your news because you have built a reputation for supplying great stories and news that talks directly to their target audience.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Package Yourself

You better believe that a book is judged by its cover and like it or not so are people. Packaging yourself is all about how you dress, the length and style of your hair, body language, and how you speak and handle yourself in conversation. Marketing is not selling, it isin fact persuasion and perceptions. We perceive that a doctor must be dressed in a white lab coat, a banker in suitable business attire, a mechanic in gray oil-stained coveralls, and that a boxer with a black eye must not be very good at the sport (though her opponent might have two black eyes). Hence, you have to package yourself appropriately for the situation and for what you sell. Without question I am talking stereotypes, but like them or not, most stereotypes are so well ingrained into our minds and culture that no matter how hard you try to change them, you'll be fighting an uphill and ultimately a losing battle. Given this and the fact that much of sales is based on compromise, then isn't it better to fit into what people perceive and sell, rather then buck the trend and place an obstacle in the way of the sale before you even get a chance to sell? The answer is yes. I am not saying that perceived stereotypes are right, but from a practical standpoint if you want to sell then go with the flow. If people expect you to be wearing a suit then wear one; if they expect that you hair will be a certain style, then try to meet their expectations. Corporations spend billions of dollars annually on product packaging research simply because they know that the packaging has a great impact on consumers and how they regard those products. So why not take advantage of this fact and package yourself as what people perceive to be 'normal' for what you do and sell? You'll probably sell more because of it. Blue jeans might be more comfortable, but appropriate business attire will likely put a lot more money in the bank and make for a more comfortable living and retirement tomorrow.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Tips On Using Civic Marketing

'Civic Marketing'- the kind practiced by people like Ben & Jerry- is one of the newest business buzzwords. But even the smallest businesses can use community out-reach as a low-cost, high-impact marketing tool. Here's some information about it:

* The benefits of civic marketing are plentiful. It raises community awareness of your business, build customer and employee loyalty, helps you stand out from your competitors, and positions you as a community leader.

* Select your causes carefully. Look for ones truly meaningful to your community, your industry, or your target market.

* Depending on your situation, you can donate money, time, or resources. Some business owners encourage their employees to volunteer at the charity or cause of their choise. Others may establish scholarships for high school or college students.

* Whatever your involvement, don't forget to use public relations campaigns, promotional signs, or in-store displays to let the community know what you're up to.

By Entrepreneur Magazine's Rieva Lesonsky. Excerpted from The Great big Book of Business Lists by Entreprenrur Press.

Write Letters To The Editor

In addition to writing and sending out a press release, you might also want to consider writing letters to the editor as many newspapers, magazines, and trade journals print them on a regular basis. This can be a great way to get exposure for your small business, products, or services, but once again your letter must be far more than simply an advertisement promoting what you do or sell. Try to tie your letter into a local hot topic, or you might position yourself as someone with expert information or even inside information in regards to a particular subject or topic. The great thing about letters to the editor, besides the fact they can provide you with all sorts of free advertising, is that often the letter will be talked about for many days or weeks in the same publication via letters written by readers with supportive or opposing views of your original letter. Writing letters to the editor is a great way to secure some free publicity, just make sure not to be too controversial and risk alienating potential or, worse, current customers. Additionally, your letter will also stand a better chance of being published if it is in direct response to a recent article the publication featured. For example, if controversy was brewing over a proposed new bridge being built over a waterway and you owned a water taxi service then perhaps the gist of your letter would be why we don't need a new bridge, signed by you followed by the name of your business.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Take Advantage of Free Community Notice Boards

Entrepreneurs on a tight advertising budget should regard community notice boards as a free and very valuable source for advertising your products and services. Design a business flier complete with a description of your product or service, what it will do for people (benefits), how they can contact you, and most importantly a call for action. Or simply put, why they should contact you right away to tak advantage of your product or service offer immediately. Photocopy the fliers for pennies each at your local copy center and always stock a supply of the fliers and thumbtacks in your car so you can make a weekly run posting the fliers on every community notice board in your area. These boards are typically found in buildings and areas of your local community:

*Supermarkets
*Convenience stores
*Public libraries
*Community colleges, universities, and high schools
*Coin laundries and dry cleaners
*Automotive service stations
*Community centers
*Fitness centers
*Public markets
*Sports complexes
*Churches and club or association buildings

Once your advertising fliers are printed, community notice board advertising is free, so why not put it to work for your business? Be sure to use a telephone tear-away system on the bottom of the fliers so interested parties can take the number and call once at home or the office.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Three Marketing Mistakes To Avoid

1. A pinch of this, a pinch of that. This mistake is often made by entrepreneurs with big appetites and small budgets. They want to try a little bit of everything advertising in multiple magazines and newspapers, online ads on a variety of sites, and a list of special events- but with limited budgets, they end up with a tiny presence in each. To maximize results from your marketing program, narrow your media choices and consistently run larger ads with enough frequency to get noticed.

2. Tossing out the rule book. If you think most rules were made to be broken, you may want to think again. Sometimes thinking outside the box can produce surprisingly positive results, but generally not at the expense of tried-and-true rules for effective marketing. Thanks to the billions of dollars businesses invest in advertising every year, all aspects of it have been studied.

3. Focusing only on what's happening inside your business. Some entrepreneurs get so inner-focused that they lose sight of all else, while others are constantly listening, looking, and learning fromt he changing marketing environment outside their own comnapnies. Entrepreneurs who are too inner-focused often become complacent.

By Kim T. Gordon. Excerpted from 'The Great big Book of Business Lists by Entrepreneur Press.

Join Associations

Many business owners are hesitant to join industry and business associations for two reasons: the cost to join and the time commitment required to participate in association events. Both can be valid objections providing you have taken the time to fully research and understand the association and decided that membership has little or no value to your particular situation and business. Create a list and check it against what the association offers members in terms of exposure and services. At the top of your list should be the question 'Can I recoup membership cost and get paid for the time I spend at association functions and events?' Almost 100 percent of the time the answer to this question will be yes. The key is to mine the value of membership, which can include member discounts on products and services, alliances, advertising opportunities, and education opportunities through seminar and workshop series. Remember business and industry associations must provide value and benefits to their members in order to secure and retain them. Most associations provide great opportunities, but the rest is up to you. Profiting through membership requiresx a plan and participation to realize the value and benefits of membership to the fullest extent. The checklist represents a few opportunities that can be created or exploited in terms of joining business and industry associations. Use this checklist for two reasons. One, identify areas in business that are your current weaknesses and that could be improved with help and adivce from other small-business owners. And two, use the checklist as a yardstick to measure each association that you are considering joining. The associations that meet your needs will be a highter priority than those that do not.

Web Resources

www.marketingsource.com/associations: Online directory listing more than 35,000 business associations.

www.uschamber.com: The United States Chamber of Commerce




Excerpted from the 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Great Brands Are Consistent

One characteristic that all great brands share is they are consistent in what they look and feel like, as well as what they do. Bayer aspirin has changed little over the decades and still does the same thing today that it did 50 years ago: gets rid of headaches. Everything you do to promote and manage your brand needs to be consistent, including design, look, feel, tone, voice, benefit, and message. The reason brands must be consistent is they take a long time to build, maintain, and evolve, and this is what builds consumer awareness of the brand. In orther words, it makes consumers think of your particular business, service, or product when they have a specific need to be filled that is relevant to what you do or sell. Even brand king Coca-Cola got caught in the consistency trap when they tried to change the recipe for the soft drink after more than 100 years of it being the same. Consumers revolted and coke was forced to issue two recipes of their cola, New Coke and Classic Coke. The consistent Classic Coke that looked and tasted the same won out hands down over New Coke.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Getting Connected: Join the 'Better Business Bureau'

Before they spend their hard-earned money, most consumers want to know they are doing business with a credible and honest firm. One of the best and most affordable ways for you as a business owner to drive home the fact that your business is both credible and honest is by becoming a member of your local branch of the Better Business Bureau. Membership in the BBB is especially important if you're in the business of providing consumers with services. As a service provider, one of your main sales and marketing tools is your business reputation and how you treat customers. Being a member of the BBB will help form an instant impression of credibility adn good reputation. Once your business is registered with the BBB, be sure to promote the fact by including the BBB member logo in all advertisements and sales materials you use. Furthermore, most BBB branches publish an annual Better Business Pages or similar publication that lists member businesses and what they do. Advertising in these BBB publications is inexpensive and you'll quickly discover that many people, especially those have had bad past experiences purchasing a product or service, will only deal with businesses that belong to the Better Business Bureau.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Three Rules For Niche Marketing

1. Meet their unique needs. The benefits you promise must have special appeal to the market niche. What can you provide that's new and compelling? Identify the unique needs of your potential audience, and look for ways to tailor your product or service to meet them.

2. Say the right thing. When approaching a new market niche, it's imperative to speak their language. In other words, you should understand the market's 'hot buttons' and be prepared to communicate with the target group as an understanding member-not an outsider. In addition to launching a unique campaign for the new niche, you may need to alter other, more basic elements, such as your company slogan if it translates poorly to another language, for example.

3. Always test-market. Before moving ahead, assess the direct competitors you'll find in the new market niche and determine how you will position against them. For an overview, it's best to conduct a competitive analysis by reviewing competitors' ads, brochures, and web sites, looking for their key selling points, along with pricing, delivery,a dn other service characteristics.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Four Fresh Ways To Target Your Market

1. Reach college students. The more than about 15 million students in colleges nationwide spend around $200 billion in products and services each year. Now there's a down-and-dirty way to reach them-with ads posted in laundry rooms on college campuses. For information, contact Wasboard Media and OnPoint Marketing.

2. Hit the links. If golfers are your target, trying advertising on the sides and backs of hospitality carts-mobile units selling beverages and golfing supplies that stop once every hour at each group of golfers. Sports Cart Media offers hospitality cart signage on nearly 1,000 golf courses, with seven advertising spaces available on each cart.

3. Pump them up. Local business owners in select markets have a new form of advertising available to them via the nearest gas pump. Direct Cast Network has embedded computer chips in gasoline pump handles that play a mix of advertisements, information, and entertainment when a nozzle is placed in a fuel tank.

4. Get in the swim. Take corporate sponsorship of sports facilities one step further with logos and ads in and around public swimming pools. you can place signage on scoreboards, timing clocks, starting blocks, walls, and supporting pillars-even on the bottom of the pools. Contact your local community pools, aquatic centers, and universities concerning sponsorship.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

It's All In The Name

Skip the hip and latest fads in terms of naming your new business enterprise. Instead stick with the time-tested and proven formula of keeping it simple and making a good and memorable first impression on consumers. your business name should tell people in a flash what you do and what's in it form customers (the benefit). It should be memorable and easy to spell and pronounce. ABC Pool Cleaning, granted, is not a very original business name. But it does tell people what you do (clean pools), what's in it for them (not having to slave all day cleaning their own pool), it's memorable (we all learned our ABCs), and it's very easy to spell (once again, we all learned our ABCs). more than anything else your business does or sells, it is your business name that will promote your business and get used the most, in print and verbally. The importance of having the right business name cannot be understated. Avoid names tied into your specific geographic area in case you want to expand the business nationally or internationally down the road. Seattle Pool Cleaning just wouldn't have the same recognition and impact in Miami or in Dallas as it would in Seattle. yet, National Pool Cleaning would be a name that would be universally adaptable regardless of geographic operating location.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

It's All In The Name

Skip the hip and latest fads in terms of naming your new business enterprise. Instead stick with the time-tested and proven formula of keeping it simple and making a good and memorable first impression on consumers. your business name should tell people in a flash what you do and what's in it form customers (the benefit). It should be memorable and easy to spell and pronounce. ABC Pool Cleaning, granted, is not a very original business name. But it does tell people what you do (clean pools), what's in it for them (not having to slave all day cleaning their own pool), it's memorable (we all learned our ABCs), and it's very easy to spell (once again, we all learned our ABCs). more than anything else your business does or sells, it is your business name that will promote your business and get used the most, in print and verbally. The importance of having the right business name cannot be understated. Avoid names tied into your specific geographic area in case you want to expand the business nationally or internationally down the road. Seattle Pool Cleaning juist wouldn't have the same recognition and impact in Miami or in Dallas as it would in Seattle. yet, National Pool Cleaning would be a name that would be universally adaptable regardless of geographic operating location.

Excerpted from 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide'

Create A Marketing Calendar

Small-business owners are busy people. In fact most work in excess of 60 hours a week. By creating a marketing calendar you can prioritize the importance of each change you want to make in your current marketing activities. Or prioritize each new marketing idea you want to implement into your marketing routine. Developing a marketing calendar is actually quite simple to do, even if you already have a marketing plan in place. Get started by making two lists; the first should comprise the new marketing ideas you would like to test or implement. The second list should comprise current marketing activities that you feel could be improved upon or done better. Each list should be prioritized with the most important things at the top. Once you have created the lists, simply place each item into your yearly business planner on the dates you feel each new or improved marketing task should be started or implemented in your marketing and action plan.

Excerpted from, 'The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide' -page 25

Six Tips To Boost Your Marketing Stategies

Do your marketing strategies need a boost? Guerrilla marketing guru Jay Conrad Levinson offers these smart tips:

1. Don't just network-build relationships. Send notes to people you've just met indicating you would like to talk again.

2. Make sure your ads answer every consumer's No. 1 question: What's in it for me?

3. Give something to your best customers. Gifts work best as a follow-up to a sale or a referral, on a holiday or for the customer's birthday.

4. Personalize your faxes. And add an easy-response device, such as 'To order, sign here and fax back.'

5. Know the best ways to reach a prospect. A letter followed by a phone call is tops. Next best is a referral then a cold call.

6. Always communicate with your customers, even when you're not trying to sell them anything. That's why you build relationships.

By Entrepreneur Magazine's Rieva Lesonsky. Excerpted from The Great Big Book of Business Lists by Entrepreneur Press.