In my world business is a constant. Why is that?

Because I am an entrepreneur. Therefore the most correct and true answer to the question “What do you do?” is and always should be “I am a marketer.”

Even if I sell vitamin supplements or own a wonderful coffee and smoothie shop or am a nail tech. Even if one of those is “what”  I do, my position is marketer.

I understand that especially as an entrepreneur you are probably responsible for a lot of things. There are many hats that have to be worn in business and most times with entrepreneurs we feel like we have to wear most of the hats ourselves.

But wearing all of those other hats does no good if there is no business. And there is no business if we do not market.

AND…you never know when the stage will be set and you will have the opportunity to market your business. So if you think like the marketing director of a company where you LOVE your job and making that company a raging success is your primary goal, then you will be on the right track.

Here’s an example. I went to a movie last night. It was actually a set of 3 movies with the final one airing at 12midnight because it was a new release.

I attended this event with my daughter and the daughter of a friend. We had a wonderful time hanging out in the line, playing card games and talking with the people around us.

Once we entered the theater to take our seats we had the opportunity to meet some of the people behind and in front of us.

One of them made a comment “I should have brought business cards, I could have handed them out”. She was a massage therapist.

But notice the issue with her statement?

“I SHOULD have brought business cards.”

Now she was going to a movie marathon and if she was like us she had already been at the theater 4 hours before they let us in the theater at all.

The fun part was that both me and my daughter immediately pulled out business card holders fully loaded from our bags.

The woman laughed. Then she explained that she was actually OUT of business cards and needed to order more. So that is one reason she had not brought them with her.

We then had a very nice conversation with her and she told us that she has been a massage therapist for 4 years and works from her home. She loves her business. But notice I have not given you here name?

It is because, sadly enough…I do not remember it. And I do not have a card to reference.

My daughter ended up in a conversation with the people in front of us about books and such. In the end they asked her for her social media information so they could connect with her online. She wrote down her social media information and gave that and a business card to them.

Now did we go to a “networking event”? Were we at a business function? No.

But we were still prepared.

We were ready at a moments notice to put on our marketers hat and get to work. Even if it was only for 2 or 3 minutes before the opening scenes of the movie began.

Now 3-4 people in that sold out theater have my business information. Will they use it? I hope so. But they certainly wouldn’t if I had not been prepared to give it to them.

Are you missing out on business opportunities? Are you “turning off” and not being in business mode? How much possible business are you leaving on the table by not being prepared?

But these sites have already become so popular that other services are starting to come online that make these sites even more attractive to their users. And these new options help ensure that the location based social network is now here to stay.

One such new service is a site called Topguest. It is brand new. In fact they had full blown “launch” party just over a week ago.

Now they are just launching so they are still sort of in “beta” but I can definitely see them expanding and exploding very quickly.

So what do they do?

You register for an account with them (they link to your Facebook or Twitter). Then you link your location based service of choice (Foursquare, Gowalla, etc).

And you can now earn “points” each time you check in.

Points?

Points as in reward points. Right now they are only linked to one Hotel chain and that is “The Standard”. So basically each time you check in on your chosen app in one of their hotels or any of the vendors such as the restaurants inside of each location you earn additional points towards free stays.

Again right now they are only linked to the one system.

But they are in talks with Delta to become linked to the Delta Sky Miles program. And they are in talks with many other reward points programs as well.

So basically you link your accounts together under them. Then you keep doing what you are already doing by checking in at your destinations. And you earn offline rewards points for cool things like hotel stays and other rewards that these programs offer.

Now this is just one service. There are others that are starting to pop-up all over the internet.

The entrepreneurs of the world are brainstorming ways to join in the fun with these services and find a way they can make them even better.

So this trend is bound to continue.

What do you think of these types of add-on services? Are there add-on services you use in connection with your current social media accounts to make them more useful to you? Or do you think these services are silly and a waste of time? Share your thoughts below…

Any more, people get so much junk mail on a daily basis that both consumers and businesses open their mail over the trash can and toss the stuff that they don’t think is relevant or wanted by them. You don’t want to waste you hard earned marketing dollars by not even getting your mail opened.
Lumpy mail is a great way to help you get your mail noticed and opened right away. People can’t resist opening a package or envelope that has something thick and mysterious inside. It’s just like Christmas or a Birthday present. The most exciting part is the anticipation of trying to figure out what’s inside!

If you want to guarantee that your marketing mailer gets opened and makes an impart on your prospect, you need to be creative and use Lumpy Mail to get their attention.

So let’s talk a bit about what exactly Lumpy Mail is. Lumpy Mail is a package or envelope that has an additional object that makes the package, well exactly like the name implies, lumpy. It isn’t plain and boring like 95% of all the other mail that people see on a daily basis. Just by the lone fact that there is something Lumpy in an envelope will increase the chances of it being opened up by the recipient.

Here’s a couple of ideas of what you could do with your own business to use Lumpy Mail to get more attention and almost guarantee that your mailer gets opened up right away!

Look for simple yet attention grabbing items that you can include with your package.

A 9 x 12 envelope coming in the mail with something “lumpy” in it will stick out from everything else in the stack very easily.

Try including a toy airplane if you’re in the travel industry.

How about a sample pack of band-aids for someone in the health industry? You can even use band-aids in other industries too. I’ve seen people attach band-aids to their packages with a message of “I know your pain and we can help”. This works great in the Computer Industry too!

What about the classic box of candies? Everyone loves free food and candies or chocolates work great too.

If you are promoting a special event like a seminar or conference, you could mail a nice calendar with the dates of your event already circled so they not only get the impact of your message but also have something that they can use all year.

Lumpy mail is anything that you mail directly to a prospect or client that will stand out from everything else in a stack of mail and that they will be curious about opening. As you can see from the examples above, you just need to be creative. The creativity that goes in to your mailer will make it more interesting and increase the chances that your mailer will be opened. As with any marketing idea you use in your marketing mix, be creative and stand out from the crowd. Make a lasting impression on your prospects and you’ll see a much higher return on your advertising dollar.

You will have to decide if you want a printed newsletter or an electronic newsletter (or ezine). Though printed newsletters are more costly than electronic newsletters you might want to look at adding this in to your budget as you will get a much higher return and open rate from a physical printed newsletter than an ezine.

Ezines are great because there is no print cost and you can automate the process quite easily. It doesn’t cost any more to do a full color ezine than a plain text ezine which is great. They also can be delivered automatically and you don’t have to worry about postage costs along with print costs.

Either way you go, you do want to keep some basic tips in mind to keep your viewers reading your newsletter on a regular basis and to get the most out of it.

#1 It’s not a straight sales pitch
You want to make sure that this is something that your customers look forward to reading. Keep it educational and informational. Don’t make it boring. Adding information about your company is great but be sure to add value to it.

Educational “How-to” articles are a great way to add good solid value to your newsletter. Adding information about what’s going on in your company is ok, but be sure ot add good content that will interest your readers too.

#2 Keep it consistent
Be sure to set a schedule and stick with it. If you send one newsletter and then don’t send another one for 4 months, then people won’t expect it and are less likely to pay attention to it. At minimum, you should be having a quarterly newsletter.

It is best to have it monthly so people will expect it. Plus, do you really want to stay out of touch with your customers for three months at a time? Think about going on a date. If you like the person you went our with, do you wait 3 months to call them again for another date? Same principles apply here.

#3 Getting Good Content
It really is best if you write the content yourself or at least hire a ghostwriter to help you with the content. You can even find a journalism student that you can hire as an intern to help out. You just provide them with the topics you want articles written on and then let them go to town finding the research and writing the article.

If you really are stuck, you can also pay for pre-written content. I don’t like this one personally but many people have used it very successfully. You can pay a service to give you articles and other content for your newsletter. All you have to do is add your logo and contact information to their newsletter.

There you have it. The basics for adding a newsletter as part of your marketing mix. Remember that it isn’t about selling in your newsletter. It’s about education and keeping your customers and prospects up to date on what’s going on.

You’ll build better relationships with your customers and they will be much more likely to remember you when they need your services or products again in the future.

If your company focuses on consumers, local expos and community fairs might be a great way to get involved.

Your business cards are the most cost effective way for you to market your business. It always amazes me how many business people I run in to at all types of events that don’t carry their business cards with them. I’ve even met people in line at a coffee shop and made a connection with them. There is no excuse for not carrying a few cards with you at all times.

Be sure your business cards not only contain your contact information so it’s easy for someone to contact you later, but be sure to include what you do on them. Too many times I’ve met someone while I’m out at an event and got their business card but once I got back to the office I couldn’t remember what they really did. Make it simple for them to remember who you are AND what you do.

It doesn’t do any good to go to any event if you don’t stop by and make conversation with the other businesses that are at the event. Make new connections. These are business relationships that you should have so you can keep involved with the area and other businesses around you.

Your relationships aren’t about the sale. They are about the relationships you can build with other people and how you can come together to help each other. If you keep this in mind, the sales will come by default and be much better and more qualified in the long run.

If an event had expo booths at it, be sure to talk to each of the exhibitors. Get to know what they do more. What can you do to help them out? Maybe you’ll find someone that has the same type of customer that you do and you’ll be able to work out a cross promotion with that business. You’ll never know where your next great lead source may come from.

Just because you talked to someone at an event and gave them your card doesn’t mean that they will call you. They are busy too. You need to be proactive and take action yourself. Pick up the phone and give them a call. Email them a quick note telling them it was great meeting them and invite them to meet for coffee or lunch some time. Build the relationship quickly. You’ll impress them by your quick action and you’ll speed up the relationship building quite a bit.

There is gold in your own community. Too often we think about the bigger picture and how we can get in front of thousands of people when we are missing the smaller more targeted crowds in our local community. You will never know where you might find your next big clients. Just get out there and be part of your community.

Your business card is one of the most cost effective marketing you can do in your business yet too many people either don’t have business cards or have a business card that is plain and boring. You need to make your business card stand out from the stack of business cards that everyone collects every day in their own networking.

Using a little creativity in the design of your business card can really make you stand out form the crowd and make people remember who you are when they get back tot he office with their stack of cards.

It’s not uncommon for me to collect 20 -30 new business cards when I go to an event and even after years of networking my businesses, I still have a hard time remembering someone after the event if their card doesn’t have something that makes them stand out.

Here’s a few tips you can use in the design of your business cards that will help you stand out from the crowd and get you remembered after your next networking event or trade show.

1. Really promote your company branding. Your logo and colors are part of your branding for your business. If you have a company color that is a major part of your branding, be sure that that is included on your card. I’ve seen too many people that just go to the local copy shop and but plain cheap business cards that are black and white. No style whatsoever.Full color business cards are very inexpensive any more. Make use of that and spend a little extra to really make an impression with your business cards. Make the colors and logo stand out so you are remembered.
2. Use photos in your business card. Adding you photos to your business card is a great way to help other people remember who you are after the event. Adding your photos is a great way ensure that people can put a name to a face after they meet you.
3. Odd shaped cards. Odd shaped business cards are a great way to set yourself apart from everyone else in the room. I personally like the simple rounded corners instead of square corners on business cards. It’s not extreme but it does stand out from the stack.Another thing you can do is use fold over cards. These cards are great to stand out but are actually double the size of a normal business card. This gives you the ability yo have a lot more space on your business card to promote your business and add more information.With odd shaped business cards, you do need to be careful though. It’s great to go with odd shaped cards that will stand out but be sure that you keep your cards so they will still fit in a standard business card holder. This one tends to be an ofter overlooked annoyance to a lot of people. A large amount of people use business card holders to keep all their contacts together. If your card doesn’t fit in the little slot, it’s not going in their holder and they may end up just tossing it in the trash because it doesn’t fit anywhere. Just be careful about this one. Odd shapes are great but just make sure it fits right in a holder. You don’t want someone just throwing it away. That won’t do you any good.
   
4. Use the back for your card for more information. One of the best ways to make use of the back of your business card is to offer a free report, free consultation of some other lead generation gift that sends them to your website or to call you for more information. This is a great way to get additional leads as people will see that offer and be interested in getting their free gift.

Don’t make it too busy though. People do like to be able to write on the back of business cards and you do want to make sure they can still do this if they want.

So there you have it. 4 tips on making your business cards more creative so they will stand out from the crowd. Business cards are the most cost effective form of marketing your business you have. You should be making the best of them in all you marketing and they should are a critical piece of any business’s marketing mix.

As a small business owner, it’s your responsibility to keep in touch with your customers and prospects in order to make sure that they don’t forget about you and end up buying from your competitor the next time they have a need.

One of the best ways to keep in touch with those customers is to have a secret closed door sale just for them. It makes them feel special and it gives you extra kudos for going out of your way just for them. This type of customer appreciation will go a long way to building your relationship and loyalty with your customers.

Remember that that there are only three ways to increase sales in any small business.

1. Increase your customer list.
2. Increase the dollar amount your customer spends each time with you
3. Or increase the number of times that customer buys from you

Instead of always focusing on just getting new customers like the rest of the other businesses out there, spend a little time working on the existing customers you have. They are much easier to sell to again as long as you are consistent on providing a great service.

What if you could hold a secret sale just for your existing customers? You could offer larger than usual discounts just for those people. Not only will you get them to come back but you are building the additional loyalty because of the special offer that is exclusive to just them.

People like to be part of an exclusive club or community. It makes them feel like they are part of something. It ties to basic human emotion. People want to be part of a special group. Your special sale will promote that and cater to their personal needs.

When thinking about your special secret sale, there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind when setting it up.

First off, don’t be cheap. Obviously, you need to make a profit in order to stay successful but make the discounts on this sale much larger than you would normally offer. You are still going to make a profit that you might not have got without the sale at all and you are building your relationship with your customer at the same time. Keep in mind that your existing customers will be your best marketing tool for both repeat business and for referrals to their friends and family that might need your services too. You want to make sure that you keep them happy.

The second thing you should do is make your sale an event. Don’t just send out an email or a single flyer about the event. Promote it like a big event. Send your customers VIP Pass promotional postcards or even design something for your email that they need to print out as an exclusive VIP pass. This enhances the experience for them and lets them know that this is something you did just to tell them that you appreciate their business and want to keep them happy. Happy customers talk more about your products than indifferent ones do.

You don’t have to run a secret sale only once a year either. You can do it a couple of times a year. Just be sure to theme your sale to something special and you’ll get better results from the event. Most businesses will do a sale during the holidays because it’s such a popular time and everyone is looking for a sales during that time of year. You could do something different and get a large group of people that will remember you for it.

I’ve done Halloween sales before that were a huge hit. Why? Because that’s my favorite holiday and it really stood out since no one else in our industry ever does a Halloween sale. Other small businesses marketing in my industry missed the boat since I had my sale a month before they even thought about theirs.

Be creative. Find odd holidays that you can use to help promote your sale and give it a reason why other than “just because”. Just be sure to keep it exclusive to your customers and make it a big deal that is reserved just for them because of your loyalty to them. Show them how much you appreciate them as customers and build that relationship. When you are looking at marketing your small business, you need to be ahead of the competition and look for new ideas and strategies to add to to your marketing mix.

Direct mail has always had the highest response rate of any media used in the marketing mix and should not be ignored or discarded.

Direct mail can be much more personalized than any form of email or other online marketing. When your customer gets a personalized letter or postcard with their name on it, they feel like you care about them. Just adding “Dear Jane,” at the beginning of your sales letter will increase the chances of them reading it and feeling like you wrote it directly to them. Even if they know that it was a mail merge, sub-consciously they feel like you sent it just to them.

So what are the best ways to use direct mail as another tool in your marketing mix?

Personalized sales letters are a great way to grab the attention of new prospects. Send them a letter introducing yourself and your products. The first letter can be very casual. Tell a little about yourself and why you are with the company or if you are the owner, that’s even better. Tell them why you started the company and what your purpose is. This makes the prospect get to know you before they have even met you. Remember people buy from who they know, like and trust. You are building trust at this point.

One of the best things to do after mailing this type of letter is to give it a few days and follow up with a phone call. You aren’t making a cold call any more. You are now just following up to make sure they got your letter. This will easily open the doors for a conversation and even a sales meeting.

Postcards are also a great tool to add to your marketing mix. You can get personalized postcards done that still have a note to the prospect with their name on it. Postcards are also a great way to follow up with existing clients. Send them a birthday card, or any other holiday card. You can use great systems to automate the process so the cards are automatically sent out but still have that personal touch to them. This will endear you to your customers and they will keep you in their minds.

Let’s say that you are in a business complex with other businesses that cater to the same types of clients. You could get together with the other business owners in the complex and create your own community coupon packs. This would be similar to card decks or Val-Pak marketing but it’s designed just for the businesses in your area. You could have them printed up and then mail them to the neighborhoods in your surrounding area. This is very targeted and the cost of this marketing program would be split between all the participating businesses. You each only have to pay a small amount to get your marketing out to your target market in your local area.

As you can see, direct marketing can be a great way to market your small business. It can not only be one more tool to add to your marketing mix but it also will produce higher responses than other more generic marketing and advertising if it is done correctly. So not matter what you are doing to market your business, direct mail should be just one more thing to add to your small business marketing mix.

Your first impressions are critical in any business. Just like your first image of how you dress, your office should have the same image when a client comes in your door. A clean and professional look and feel will really make a difference in your customer’s eyes.

But… what about your office design actually pre-selling your customers? Most businesses don’t think about this. Just like every other piece of your marketing mix, your office is just one more thing that must sell your product or service for you. It’s another tool in your marketing arsenal and should not be left out of your marketing plan.

Here are a few things you can do to make your office waiting room really stand out and pre-sell your products and service to anyone that comes in before you even walk up and shake their hand.

Do you know some local celebrities? You should have your photos with them in your office. This gives the customer a better feeling of celebrity endorsement. Even if they don’t use your service or product it will make the customer more comfortable with you as a person. People aren’t going to trust you right away. This is just one thing to help them see that you aren’t a fly by night.

You could frame testimonials and photos of other happy customers. This adds social proof to your business and the prospect sees that other people have been happy with your results already so they too will be likely to be very happy with the results you offer them.

How many times have you been in a waiting room and seen a stack of magazines from all walks of life sitting there for you to read? This is a convenience that the business provides for you while you are waiting but is it really helping the business?

For your business, try replacing those magazines with industry magazines specific to your products and services. Do you have brochures and articles about your products and services? Add those to the collection of reading material you provide for your prospects to read. And as your prospect is in the waiting room, they may start reading those brochures and flyers and then ask about a specific product you have because they were pre-educated and pre-sold about that product.

You could also replace those generic magazines with customer case studies that go in to details on the before and after experience your happy customers had and how you helped them. Give them the details and show that your products or services work. The more specific you are, the more the prospect reading the case study will believe what you have to say and trust you moving forward.

How easy is that?

By making just a few small changes to your office lobby, you are making a much different impression to the customers and prospects that walk in your door. Give the prospects that walk in your door an avalanche of proof that you are the expert and the best choice for them. You can eliminate most, if not all of, their objections and fear of choosing you to work with in the first place. A simple redesign your lobby or waiting room for your business is just one cost effective tool to increase sales and help market your small business.

As hard as it is for these businesses and their owners, most of them will still want to make sure that their customers are taken care of after they close their doors. This makes a great opportunity for you to not only get a new list of potential clients but make sure that those people are taken care of once the old business is long gone.

Most business owners that are liquidating their business think about getting rid of their equipment and supplies but they don’t ever think about their client list as an asset. Anyone that is good at marketing knows that your list is your MOST VALUABLE asset in your business.

Think about businesses in your industry that either sell the same products as you do or also businesses that sell products that compliment your product. Make a list of these companies and see if you can get the owner’s contact information. If they sell a product that is complimentary to yours, it should be pretty easy to make friends with these owners as you can start building a relationship for Joint Venture promotions and cross sell products right away.

You should already be looking for businesses like this to work with. If for some reason those businesses run into trouble and go out of business it will make it easier for you to approach the owner about buying their list from them. Most likely they haven’t even thought of that and you can get it from them for less than you would if you were to use a list broker to find the exact types of clients.

For the companies that are direct competition from you, you might not have a good of a relationship as you would with someone that isn’t directly competing with you, but you should try to make the connections anyway. Friendly competition never hurts and keeps all businesses in top shape. Building relationships with some of your competition can also help you in the long run. You might have a job that isn’t ideal for your business. Maybe a project that is further away than you want to go. Maybe a job that’s bigger than you want to handle on your own, or the other side of that… A job that’s smaller than you want to take on. Having a list of your competitors that you could refer to in situations like that are ideal. This will keep you in good standing with the prospects that you couldn’t help yourself and also makes you look good to your competition and builds a level of respect with them.

There will still be some that you don’t know at all and don’t build relationships with. You still want to keep an eye on what’s going on with them.

If one of these companies does announce that they are closing their doors for whatever reason, you have an opportunity to come in and see what you can do to help them out. Remember, your relationships will do more good for everyone involved (including you) than anything else out there in a situation like this.

Make contact with the owners as soon as possible. Ask them to lunch or coffee. Then, you can offer to buy their list of clients for them. Tell them that you want to ensure that their clients get the same great service they got before instead of having to go to the trouble of shopping around for a new company. Tell them that you promise to take great care of his/her clients and you want to help out any way you can.

The next step is to see if the owner will be willing to mail a personal letter to all their clients recommending you as their new service provider. You should write the letter for them in order to make sure it gets done and says everything it needs to say. You also will pay for all costs for the mailing like postage, printing of the letter on the old company’s letterhead, etc. All the owner needs to do is approve the letter and give you the list for the mailings. Make it as easy as possible for the owner. You don’t want to put more work on them. They already have enough stress as it is in this time.

You should be doing all the work for this. Remember, don’t come in like a vulture with this arrangement either. Be sincere and considerate of the old business owner. Any time someone closes a business, it’s going to be hard for them. Remember, you are here to help out and the business you get from it is a byproduct of the situation.

Acquiring new clients from a company going out of business is a very cost effective way to grow your prospect list quickly if it is done right. It’s a great tool to add to your marketing mix that will save you a small fortune over trying to find new prospects. These are prospects that are already qualified to buy your product or service because they have bought similar products before and now they need a new supplier for this service. Just remember that you are there to help these prospects out. Keep your ethics in mind when you do this and your return on marketing to these new prospects will come back to you tenfold.

Just like having your own free mini-seminars, becoming an in-house speaker is a great way to educate consumers, establish your credibility and help market your products and services.

Take a look at your local Chambers of Commerce. Chambers are always looking for more benefits they can offer to their Chamber members and your educational seminar or workshop is just one more thing that they can add to their list of benefits. Ask them if they would like you to come and speak at one of their events. You could have a talk about the dangers in choosing a professional in your field. We all have scam artists in our own fields. Educate their members about the scams that are out there and how they can spot these scams and save their hard earned money.

You can also look at trade associations. They are similar to Chambers of Commerce but are organizations geared to businesses in one specific industry. You could become the specialist in working with HVAC business owners, or Home Remodeling businesses. I know these two groups do have have their own trade organization. Check around and see what other industries have organizations like this and contact them. Most of the time, they really want to help their members out any way they can and if your talk will help educate their members, they’ll be very grateful to have you speak at one of their events.

When it comes to your presentation and what to talk about, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. Here’s a checklist to help you get things as organized as possible and make your presentations a hit every time.

Your time frame
Most of the time, there is a standard time frame that each group might have. It’s best to make a list of topics you can talk about and figure out which of these topics will fit into specific time frames. Generally, most organizations will want you have a presentation for one of the following time frames: 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, and 90 minutes.

Most of the time they will only have time for 10-30 minutes depending on the event itself so you don’t have to worry about the bigger ones for now.

Outline your presentations so you can set up your presentations to fit in to each of these time frames. Trust me from experience, it’s no fun to run out of time and have your great presentation cut off. You want to be able to complete your presentation and have room for a few questions at the end in order to make the best impression on the attendees of the event.

Let’s say you are asked to talk for 30 minutes on your topic. You should plan your presentation roughly around the following time frame. 25 talking about your topic and educating the attendees, 3 minutes to answer questions and the final 2 minutes could be a small pitch for your own products or services.

Notice that I didn’t say 30 minutes of pitching your products. You need to establish yourself as the expert and build the relationship before you start trying to pitch anyone. Your purpose for speaking at these events is to establish yourself as an expert in your industry and educate the attendees on the best practices in working with someone in your industry. You could also give them a few things that they can do for free even if they don’t hire you. This will endear you to them and you will quickly become an established authority to them. Then, when they are ready, they will be much more likely to chose you to hire than someone else that hasn’t done anything to build the relationship.

Be sure to also allow time after your presentation so you can meet the members and talk with them one on one. Many times, if you educated and entertained them, they will want to come meet you after you are done with your presentation. Be sure to make time for this as this is where you have one more chance to build the relationship and really make a great impression on them. Answer their questions, thank them for having you and don’t be afraid to feel a bit like a celebrity. It can happen and that’s ok. Just don’t let it go to your head too much. (grin)

Speaking at local organizations is a great way to establish yourself and your company in any market and if you are looking to niche to a specific industry, this can be the most effective way to do this. Just remember, to educate, not pitch or sell to them. Once you have established your credibility to them, they will be much more likely to buy your products and services and your marketing efforts will have paid off much quicker.

Download the free Quickstart Guide “Step by Step: Writing Ads That Actually Work!” by visiting http://www.MaximumProfitsMarketing.com to learn how to write a more effective ad to promote yourself either online or offline.

Community organizations are always looking for people to volunteer to help their organization. Many do look for donations for their fund raising events and such but many times, most of them really need people that would be willing to donate a few hours of their time to help with their events and causes.

Donating a little bit of your time can really help their cause and help you contribute to your community. At the same time, you will have the opportunity to be part of your community and help develop better relationships with the other volunteers. Many of these volunteers are also business owners and managers just like you. Networking with other people that are all working for a similar cause can really help you as a business owner build trust with your community and the side effect of this is more people that would be happy to refer your business to anyone that might need the services or products you supply.

Great businesses are built from great people and the relationships you and your employees have with your community can position your business as more than just a company providing a service but a company with high ethics and a real purpose in your area.

Remember that everything you do has a cause and effect in the image and promotion of your business.

Let’s look at a few great ways you can contribute to your community.

1. Be active in Your Chamber Of Commerce - Chambers Of Commerce are a great way to help contribute. They are filled with businesses. Most are small businesses just like yours. The great thing about Chambers is that they not only work with business owners for promoting their businesses, but most of them are part of several charities that they help contribute to. Talk to them about the organizations they work with and volunteer to help out with their next fund raising event.

Many times, there are sponsorship opportunities available for donating a set dollar amount to the event. This is great to do if it’s in your budget but remember it’s not about just giving them money to place your logo on a flyer or a banner at the event. It’s about really giving. Ask them how you can participate in the event itself.

Can you help stuff bags that are being handed out at the event?

How about helping check people in at the next Charity golf outing?

This is more about building relationships and really helping out, not just getting your name out there.

2. Join a local service organization – Local service organizations are a great way you can get involved. Kiwanis International, Lions Club, and Rotary Club are just a few places to start. These groups meet on a regular basis and their entire purpose is to work on ideas and events to help raise money for local community charities. This is like a networking group with the purpose to help your community. Be active, look at one group that you see would be a great fit for your beliefs and ideals and you will make a great contribution to their cause.

Again, this is hands on stuff, your involvement with these groups is about being involved and helping the community, not about promoting your business. The relationships you build will give you the side effect of more business and more sales.

3. What cause is close to your heart? - Most people have at least one thing that is near and dear to them and there are always charities based around those causes. Maybe it’s a Cancer Research Group, or an Animal No Kill Shelter. What is important to you? See what groups are available in your area that you can volunteer with and help them out.

Again, many of these organizations have other business owners just like you that are there to help because of their own personal interest in that cause. You have something in common with those people right away and that’s the start of a relationship.

The biggest thing to remember is that you should not be joining any type of charity organization or community organization for the soul reason of getting more business. The business your get is a byproduct of your involvement and giving to your community for the greater good. Trust me on this one. If you give from your heart and really contribute to your community and society in general, the return you get from it will be tenfold.

With Video becoming so powerful both online and offline, you can take your sales presentation to a whole new level and make a lasting impression on your new prospective clients.

Which do you think would make a better impact, a printed sales pitch talking about your product or a video that shows a demonstration of the product? What it is, how it works, how to use it. And, what if you added testimonials to the video? Instead of a bunch of written testimonials from faceless people, your new prospect can see the reactions on their faces and the true excitement they have about your product or service.

So let’s talk about a few key things that you can use in your CD or DVD Salesletter that will really make an impact on your prospects.

1. A Good Introduction -
Make your prospects connect with you and the leader of your company. If you are the owner of the company, you should do a short introduction video with an overview of who you are, why you started the company and what your vision is for you and your customers. Help them make a connection with you. This will help them feel like they know you and this will help them trust you even more.

Remember, people buy from people that they know, like and trust. Even if this isn’t professionally done video, just be genuine and your prospects will feel more at ease with you and your company.

2. Demonstrate The Product –
Nothing can sell a product or service better than seeing it in action. Show the prospect how the product works. How does it save them time? How does it save them money? How does it make their family happier? Show the step by step process. A real demonstration of the product will really give them the nuts and bolts of your product or service. You can tell people about your product and what it can do but if you show them, you’ll see the WOW in their eyes and really make a lasting impression.

If you can show a sample of another customer of yours using your product, that’s even better. If your prospect sees another person “just like them” using your product easily and having a good time doing it, you’ve made your sale even easier. One of the biggest hold backs many people have with buying a product is the fear of not knowing how to use it correctly. Set their mind at ease and show your other customers or clients using the same product with a big smile on their faces.

3. Be Sure To Include Happy Customer Testimonials
- No one can sell your product better than a happy, excited existing customer. You should be using testimonials on all of your marketing no matter what it is. Video is no different and is even more powerful that anything else out there. Video not only says what your happy customers are thinking already but your prospects can see the excitement in their expressions. It puts a real face to a name and adds credibility to your testimonials. The more excited your customers are, the more believable they will be. No matter how good the testimonial is, you’ll never get the same impact from a text only testimonial as you would from a video with your customer talking about how great your product really is.

The great thing about a CD or DVD salesletter is that you don’t have to spend a fortune to create them. If it’s in your budget, I would recommend hiring a professional but if you don’t have a budget for it, you can create your own CD or DVD with software you might already have on your computer and a basic camera that shoots video or an inexpensive camcorder like a Flip Video.

Cameras and Video editing software have come down on price so much that you can could start creating your own DVD salesletter for under $200 for everything anymore.

Don’t forget that you can also use the same videos you created for your CD or DVD on your website too. Adding Video to your website can make a huge impression on your prospects and do most of the selling for you. You could have them learn about your product, watch a demonstration video and watch a ton of testimonials… All before you even talk to them!

You don’t have to have a big budget or a big fancy Video Production team to make use of video on your CD or DVD salesletter to really make an impact on your new prospects and impress them with your products and services. Your CD or DVD salesletter is sure to make a big impact on your prospects and make your job easier when it comes to selling your product to them. Your CD or DVD salesletter could easily be the most productive piece of your marketing mix.

Whether you send a gift certificate, a 2 for 1 special, a free gift or even just a simple Thank You letter appreciating them for choosing you over the other businesses they could have picked, these types of letters are always memorable and encourages your customers to return to you before looking elsewhere. It also helps them feel good about you and they will be more likely to refer you to their friends and business associates.

Let’s look at a few ideas that can make Thank You letters more effective for your marketing mix.

Immediately after the sale, send the customer a simple thank you letter.

This should be a personalized thank you letter or card telling them how much you appreciate their business. If this is a service business where there is a project in phases, you can even explain to them what they can expect over the duration of the project.

This not only educates them on the process and attention to detail your company has but also reassures them of their purchase. Some people can get buyer’s remorse after making a purchase. Especially if this is a large investment. This simple follow up Thank You letter will put their mind at ease and make them feel much more comfortable about their decision of choosing you to work with.

Monthly Thank You follow ups
Remind your customers about the great service and experience they received with you.

A simple reminder Thank You can remind customers about the wonderful experience they received from you. Remember that people are busy and it’s your responsibility to remind them of your products and services. You want to keep on the top of their minds and build the relationship with them. Let them know how you you value them as a customer.

Not only should you remind them of their value to you as a client but show them you mean it. You can include discount coupons or gift certificates to invite them to come back again. You could include a 2 for 1 discount and invite them to bring a friend with them. This will really encourage them to bring in referrals and show other people how great your products or services are.

Send them a discount on a new product you have to offer. Just because someone ordered one of your products, doesn’t mean they know about the other products or services you offer. This is another way to not only thank them for doing business with you but to also educate them on your other products and encourage them to use your services for those products as well.

Don’t loose touch with your existing customers.
They are the lifeblood of any business and using a simple thank you letter or card can really make a difference and keep you in the top of their minds, build the relationship and help them want to give you referrals. This lifetime value can dramatically increase the sales from any one client if done correct.

Let’s look at a few great examples of ideas to use contests in your marketing for both lead generation and also for client promotions and marketing buzz.

If you are looking to use contests as a lead generation tool in your marketing mix, here are 3 ideas to get you going.

The Trade Show Fishbowl
You’ve seen them before, the fishbowl or box with a sign to drop your business card in for a drawing.
This is a great way to collect leads for your business. You could offer a free dinner for two to a local restaurant, movie tickets, or even better, a product that you offer for free. Let’s say, if you are a carpet cleaner, you could offer a free cleaning of the winner’s living room.

The kicker here isn’t just to collect the names but to give a Second Prize award to everyone that didn’t win the first prize drawing. Make it a big deal. Send out an email or better yet, physical letter announcement congratulating the winner to EVERYONE on the list.

Then, you can include a Second Place prize to all the other names on the list that is a nice discount on your products or services. Make it something that looks like a prize though. Include a certificate that id designed nice to look like a real prize and not just a typical coupon of filler. Make the discount something significant. 24-50% off if you can do it. You could offer a free upgrade from your basic package to the deluxe option here also. This is a great way to make the person that receives the letter feel more special and excited about winning the prize.

Guess The Number
Have you seen the jellybean jars that some businesses use at trade shows or events? This is also a great contest you can run at an event or even in your retail store or shop. Find a number that fits in with your business and is a large number that you can have added up in jellybeans. This could be the number of dollars your company has saved your customers of the last year, the number if customers you have, number of people that have downloaded your life changing report, etc. Be creative with this and try to use something that will not only mean more to the customer but also impresses prospective customers by the shear number.

Then, get a jar to hold enough jelly beans for that number and fill up the jar with that number of jelly beans. Seal it up and have people at your event fill out a form guessing the number of jelly beans in the jar. Be sure to have them fill out a complete form containing their full contact information.

Once the event is over, find the person that guessed closest to the correct number and announce them as the winner with their guess and the correct number in the jar. Be sure to include a sales letter explaining the significance of the number of jelly beans and why that is important to them as customers or potential customers.

Again, include a Runner Up prize with the announcement to everyone else that entered with the same type of special offer that you would with the fishbowl. Many of the people that didn’t win will still use they’re Runner Up certificate as they still will like that they won something and if they were in need of your services already, they’ll be excited about the offer.

Best Of the Best Contests
If you run a Business To Business company and your products or services save your clients time, money, etc, you can run a Best Of The Best Contest for your existing clients and not only promote the use of your product and other products they might not have yet, but also built a ton of case studies and testimonials on how great your product is. Send out an announcement to your customers that you are running a Best Of the Best contest and that you are looking for the customer that has had the biggest effect by using your products or services.

Set some guidelines for the contest. If could be an essay, a journal of how they use the product and including before and after results.

If you have enough entries, you can even narrow it down to the top 3-5 entries and then have your other clients vote on the finalize from there. You not only get great testimonials and case studies from the entries but also get other users of your product or service to think about additional ways to use your product and how they can get the same great results that they weren’t getting before without your product.

Using contests in your marketing mix is a great way to promote your business to both existing customers and clients but also to help to promote your business and make it more fun for prospective customers also. This can help build a new list of prospects and even fire up your existing customers to help talk about the great results that have had from your products and services. Great testimonials, new clients from trade shows, and great customer case studies from raving fans are just a couple of things you can get from using contests as just piece of your marketing mix.

It doesn’t matter what industry you look at, people are always wanting more information and want to feel that they made an educated decision in their choice of company that they work with. By putting on a small mini-seminar, you can use this method to educate your prospects about the industry so they make a better choice and at the same time establish yourself as the expert.

You don’t have to have a room of 100 people in your first mini-seminar. You can start with a room that will only hold ten people. It doesn’t have to be huge right away. You can also use this as scarcity in your marketing and promotions for the event. If you can only take 10 people, then they need to register right away.

You can either rent a small conference room at a hotel or look to your local library or Chamber of Commerce to see if they have a room you can use. Depending on the situation, you might be able to get the room for free.

The timing of your mini-seminar can be as small as a two hour presentation. You don’t have make it a full day event. Again, start smaller and expand as needed. Especially if you are doing the event at no cost to your attendees. You want to give them a great educational experience but remember that the goal is to also get them to see you as the expert and hire your company for their needs.

You will also need to decide on the price.
There are advantages to both free and paid seminars.

Free Seminars
1. More people will register for something that is free

2. You then get in front of a lot more people that way

3. You can some times get the room for free if you are not charging for the event

4. You can then establish yourself as the expect first and wow them with your knowledge which will make them more likely to trust to buy from you.

5. Can be shorter (2-3 hours)

Paid Seminars

1. Covers any cost of the room

2. You can make a profit on the event itself and make it another source of income

3. People will be more serious about the event since they are invested

4. It’s ok to have a smaller group. Attendees will appreciate the more personal attention they will get

If your main goal is to get more prospects, you might even want to charge a small fee (under $25) in order to get still cover any expenses but also be able to get more people to attend. Most people won’t think much of spending $25 for an event they are interested in.

Be sure to give a lot of great information in your presentation and really over deliver in what you are teaching about as you want attendees to really be excited about the even. Even if they don’t buy your product right away, you left them with a positive experience and they will tell others.

And most importantly, be sure to follow up with the event. Make sure that you have complete information for every person that attended the event. This way you can follow up with them in the future and turn them from prospects into clients.

I see it a lot with the big catalog type of companies but most small businesses don’t think to use this in their own marketing. Think about the last time you bought something from Amazon or a catalog company. Usually when you get your package in the mail you also get a few inserts or flyers talking about other products that you might be interested in. This is an upsell. They might even promote it at a special discounted price on the insert.

Any business can do this. Are you a service business that provides the clients with their invoice after they job it done? You could give the client an additional insert on a discount on their next job or a special price on another service you offer.

Do you mail customers invoices? You could also do an insert here. If you’ve looked at your cell phone invoice at all lately they usually stick a couple inserts in with the bill promoting their new phones and service plans.

Let’s say you’re a printer. You could insert a flyer in your invoices that reminds customers to check their business card stack and order new cards before they run out. Or you could promote a new product you just added to your line.

When designing your inserts, you also want to be creative. Here’s a few things to think about before you start.

1. Focus on only one product.
Don’t try to fit everything you do on one insert. Keep it simple and focuses on just one service or product.

2. Make it stand out.

Use bright colors and large bold fonts. You want this to catch their attention as soon as they open the package. It doesn’t do any good if they don’t even look at it.

3. Make sure it’s on the top of your package.

Don’t let your insert get buried in the bottom of the package. You want them to see the insert BEFORE they see the product they ordered. You want them to open and read it first.

4. What product or service compliments what they ordered?

Depending on the volume and type of business you do, it’s best to find complimentary products that might go with the products they ordered. If someone ordered a table, they usually want matching chairs, right? Depending on your product line, they might not even have noticed that this second product would go great with what they ordered. You want to offer it to them as soon as possible so they can complete the collection.

Remember that your existing clients at always ten times more likely to buy from you again than a new client. Don’t pass up the opportunity to sell them more of your services and products at every opportunity. If you provide great service, most will be likely to buy additional products from you. Especially right after the first sale. Too many small businesses focus on the new clients and not enough on selling more to existing clients. This is a simple and cost effective way to increase sales with very little work on your part and is a great addition to your small business marketing plan.

Most small businesses just send out one letter, postcard or mailer to a list of prospects and never do anything else. And most don’t get the results that they expect from that mailing. The key is follow up.

Here’s a great step by step process that will increase the chances of any direct mail marketing piece to be much more successful and explode your sales.

First send your prospects a sales letter designed to look like it was personally mailed to them. Be sure to include their name in the letter with Mail Merge and personalize the letter a bit to sound more personal. You should set up a campaign of 3 letters to be sent out once every 3 weeks.

Be sure to reference the previous letters in the second and third letters.

Now, here’s the kicker.

After the third letter, call the prospect. Yes! Actually pick up the phone and call them.

We all hate making cold calls in any sales position but this isn’t really a cold call. You’ve already made a connection with them. When you call then, you’re not trying to make a connection. You’re actually following up to make sure that they received your letters. That’s the purpose of your call. You’ll start off by asking if they received your letters.

If they did, did they have any questions?
Who are they currently using for the services you provide?
Why do they use that company?
Would they be willing to sit down and talk with you about your product and how you can improve their business with your product?

Now you can get your foot in the door for a meeting and get in front of them.

Just because someone didn’t call you from your direct mail piece, doesn’t mean that they weren’t interested. We all get busy and if they are a business owner you know they are even more busy. This might be the perfect opportunity to get to the top of their mind. They might have planned on calling you already and just had not had a chance to stop and do it.

I’ve personally used this several times and ended up with twice as many leads because of the phone calls than I did than by people actually contacting me after our own direct mail campaigns. That’s a 50% increase from the mailers by themselves.

If they haven’t received your direct mail pieces, here’s your opportunity to update their contact information and still ask for the appointment. You could send them to your website and walk them through the benefits and advantages of your products or services and still end up with the sale.

So for small businesses direct mail is a great tool to add to your marketing mix but a simple 5 minute phone call following up to any mailing campaign you do can really explode your results and get that new client in the door that will pay for the entire campaign.

You can distribute your circulars to areas in your local community. Churches, coffee shops, community boards, Chambers of Commerce, and even maybe your local library are all great places to see if you can place your circulars.

The design of your circular should basically be like other flyers you might create and here are a few things to keep in mind for your circular.

1. Design of your circular
Keep the design simple and clean. Don’t go crazy with your fonts and colors. You can’t want it to look like a bad piece of art. You want to have a direct message that clearly explains who you are, what you do and what the benefits of using your company are.

2. Customize the circular to the group
If you are distributing your circulars to your local church, be sure to customize the message and offer (more on the offer below) to that group. Make them feel like you are giving them a deal because they are also part of that group. Add the group name to the headline so when they see it they know it was designed just for them and it will make them feel more special.

3. Focus on one product or service
Don’t try to fit everything you do on a one page flyer. Chances are you do more than what can fit on one page. Focus your message on the one thing that you think will benefit the group your are promoting to the most. You can still include a small list of other services too but keep the majority focused on your main product.

4. Offer a special discount or coupon
Your coupon or discount will serve two purposes. For any form of advertising you do to promote your business products or services.

First off, it gives the prospect a special and people love to get discounts and free stuff. Any time there is a coupon or discount, they will be more likely to pay attention and take advantage of the special. Be sure to customize the discount just for that group. You’ll increase response just because it’s just for their group. If you are offering a 10% off discount for your local Church group, then they will feel more loyal because you are doing this for them.

5. Include a direct Call To Action
You have to tell people what to do next. Do you want them to come in to your store with their coupon? How about calling you and mentioning a specific code. We have used this with our Chamber Of Commerce membership. We tell them to mention they are Chamber Members to get special discounts and offers when they call us.

As you can see, circulars are a great addition to your small business marketing ideas as long as you keep a couple of things in mind. Using circulars can increase your business presence in your local community and get clients that know, like and trust you very quickly.

Ask people that do come up to your booth if they have any questions. Ask them if they are familiar with your services or products. Engage the audience. Think about the carnies at the fair midway. You are similar to them. You don’t get paid if people don’t play. Now you don’t have to as annoying or pushy as them but you do need to stand out and engage people so they don’t just walk past your booth without talking to you. They may not even know they need your product but after you talk to them they might see a whole new light and really be interested in talking more. Guess what… That’s a lead!

2. Get their name and phone number!

So what are you really at the trade show for? To get leads. If anyone tells you trade shows are just great name awareness, walk away and try not to laugh at them. Yes, that is one reason to be there but it’s not the main reason. Just because they saw your booth, doesn’t mean they will remember you once they’ve gone through two more rows of booths. You need to collect their information. If it’s a Business to Business trade show, collect business cards from everyone you meet. If it’s Business to consumer, have a simple form to fill out so you can follow up with them after the show.

One of the best things you can do it have a Free Report or Consumer Awareness Guide that you can mail or email to them after the show. Offer to send it to them the next day if they give you their name, email address and physical address. Now you are building your list. You now have someone specific to market to!

Offer a free giveaway item. Everyone has seen the fishbowl drawings at trade show booths. They don’t do this just to get you to stop by their booth. They do it because you now have given them your contact information so they can follow up and market to you in the future. You should be doing the same. It doesn’t have to be something big like a free vacation if that’s not in your budget. It can be for a gift basket of your products or even as simple as a gift card to your local coffee shop. People always like the opportunity to get something for free. They will go out of their way and fill out your registration form in order to get something for free!

3. Stay to the end
It always amazes me how many vendors at trade shows stay for an hour or so and then pack up because they’re bored or tired. Guess what! You paid to be there. Stick it out to the end. I’ve personally made more connections in the last 30 minutes of trade shows I’ve attended than in the entire three or four hours I’ve been there. This is especially important if you are in a Business to Business trade show. You can make more connections with the other vendors than the walk through traffic so don’t discard the value of visiting the other vendors there also. It might be the best connection you make. You will never know if you leave after the first hour.

4. Follow up after the show

So many people I see at trade shows collect business cards or names on a list and never do anything with them. They expect that just because someone saw them at the trade show that they will call the vendor to buy something. It’s your responsibility to follow up and get the sale. Not their’s. This is your chance to make a great impression on them and follow up as soon as you can to set up a meeting, send them more information about you or just to ask them if they are ready to buy. Offer them a free estimate.

You just need to follow up as soon as you can and keep them in your database for future promotions.

This is how you can build a list quickly and use trade shows to build your list of prospects quickly and get the most out of any trade show you are part of.

This works best with anyone in the food industry but almost any business that has a retail location targeting consumers can benefit from this type of marketing. If you own a massage spa you can promote a grand opening or a neighborhood special event to get people in the door to see who you are and the services your business offers. This is a great way to bring awareness that you are in their area. People love to find services that are in their local area. This is convenient for them and also gives them a sense of community when they spend their money with the business down the street instead of driving across town.

More and more, people are aware of the community and want to spend their money locally to build their community instead of buying somewhere else. Many times, they will even be willing to spend more to help out a local business instead of the cheaper guy online or that is further away from them.

So, find local neighborhood communities in your area that are your target market. You may need to do a little research to make sure that these areas are your target market. Be sure you are catering to people that are your target market. If you offer physical therapy for the elderly but your office is surrounded by communities of young couples, then you need to look a little further. You’ll be wasting your money to market to these neighborhoods.

Find out as much information as you can about these neighborhoods. Income levels, are they married, do they have kids, etc. These all will tell you if this neighborhood is a good fit for your marketing. It will also tell you more about how to craft your door hangeras well as what offer to put on the door hangers.

Your offer is going to be the most important part of the door hanger. This is how you track how effective this marketing piece is for you. You want to know exactly how effective it is so you can evaluate if it is the right market. If it’s not as effective as you think it should be, what’s wrong? Is it the neighborhood you are promoting to or is it your marketing message? Is it the offer? These are all things you need to test in order to make your advertising dollar as effective as possible.

Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind for your door hanger design.

Make it easy to read. No hard to read or script fonts. Make it simple for them to know exactly who you are and what you are offering them.

Be sure to include every way that they can contact you if they are interested. Phone number, website address, and physical address are all important. Be sure to include a detailed map if you want them to come in to your store. This makes it much easier for them to find you and also helps them realize that you are right down the street from them.

Always include an offer. Let’s say you own a coffee shop. Offer a free drink coupon on a specific day with the coupon on the door hanger People love something for free and most of the time, people will come in with someone else so they will end up spending more money anyway. Plus, if they like your products, they will likely come back again and next time they will also tell their friends about it too.

Be sure to include at least one coupon on every door hanger. Discounts and freebies always get people to take action. Be sure they know they need to bring in the coupon when they come so you can track it and see the response.

Also include an expiration date. Any discount or offer you have should always have an expiration date. This encourages customers to come in sooner rather than later. They don’t want to miss out on their free drink or even two for one offer. Not having an expiration date will let them think they can hold off and then they may end up forgetting completely.

Make the coupon stand out. Make it look like a coupon. Design your coupon to have a dashed line around it like they should cut it out. Also try to include a photo of your product. This also will increase response as they will see what it is they are getting.

Door hangers are a great way to get in front of local customers for any local retail location. From coffee shop and pizza joints to day spas and gyms, door hangers are a great way to promote locally and get the community aware of your business.

First off, you need to find out who the audience of the trade show really is. Is it for consumers and the general public or is it actually geared to other businesses like yours?

I see a lot of businesses spending huge amounts of money on trade shows that only cater to other businesses in the same industry. Let’s ask a simple question. Are the other businesses in your industry, maybe even your competition, your ideal customer? Though they may be good partners for cross promotion and that’s great, they aren’t your ideal customer.

If you are in a consumer market and the majority of your business comes from home owners then an Industry trade show that doesn’t market to home owners as attendees of the trade show, isn’t going to do much to bring you in business. I see a lot of trade shows that cater to others in the industry. If that’s not your target market, then it’s going to be a waste of time. You want to find trade shows that market to bringing in those home owners that ARE your target market.

Spend a little to make sure your booth looks professional and stands out from the crowd. The great thing about trade show booth presentations is that if you do it right, it can be a one time investment. You might spend a couple hundred dollars to get a great display board and banner to hang on the front of your table but keep in mind to design it so it won’t need to change for years. Don’t put pricing on your display boards. Be sure that everything you use is evergreen. I’ve designed presentation displays that I’ve used for 5 years and never needed to change.

Use bold colors and styles that make you stand out. Many trade show booths are all going to look the same. You can easily stand out from the crowd with the right use of colors and design on your display boards and banners.

Be sure to include plenty of take away materials. You need to have postcards and/or brochures or flyers that people can take with them when they visit your booth. Again, make them stand out. You want people to remember you after they leave. If they have an interest in your products or services, you want to make sure that your materials don’t get lost in a back of stuff they picked up from 200 other booths at the event. Use the same bold colors and design that you used for your display board. This helps build your branding and makes everything match.

Trade show marketing can be a great marketing idea for your business as long as you plan ahead. Make sure that the show is geared to your target market and that you are prepared to stand out and make a great impression for the attendees of the trade show and the trade show can pay for itself many times over.

Here are 7 tips to making the most of using flyers as one of your small business marketing ideas.

1. Keep it simple and not cluttered
Many people try to get every product or service that they do on one 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper when they design their flyers. Most of the time, you just can not fit that much on the page and it makes everything look too generic and cluttered. Try to focus on just a couple of your main services and be more detailed about those services.

2. Use customer testimonials on your flyers
This adds credibility to your company and your services or products. You should include testimonials in each of your marketing ideas. Not just flyers. Anywhere you can, include customer testimonials and be sure to include their full name and a photo if at all possible.

3. Don’t go crazy with the design
To many colors and fonts can confuse people and they won’t be able to focus on what you actually are offering them. Keep it simple and use only 1-2 fonts.

4. Use Full Color if at all possible
Full color flyers stand out from the others. Look at a black and white copy and a color copy together and the color one will stand out and catch your eye much easier. They look much more professional.

If color isn’t in your budget, then use a bold color paper with black copy. Bright yellow or pink tend to stand out more than any other color. The goal is to get your flyer to stand out.

5. Don’t run cheap photo copies
You should always run copies off the original or use a service that is printing them from your files instead of running photo copies. Photo copies tend to look cheap and your flyer won’t look crisp and professional. This will really make an impact for your first impression on potential clients.

6. Be sure to include a coupon or discount
People always love a discount. You’ll get much better results just because of the coupon than anything else. Make sure it is a good discount that will impress them. If you do a good job with your first job for them, you’ll more than make up for it on future jobs.

Include a photo of the product you are offering a discount on. If it’s a service business like a plumber, you could show a photo of you fixing someones water heater. Showing the product or service will increase the number of people that will redeem your coupons.

7. Make it easy for them to find you
I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen flyers that were perfectly designed and had a great compelling message but… I couldn’t figure out where they were. They forgot the add their address. Or, they only included a phone number though they were a retail shop I just wanted to drop in.

Make it as easy as possible for them to contact you. Tell them what to do.

Come in today to 123 Somewhere Street on the corner of Somewhere Street and 1st Ave

Include a map if you can. Make it as easy as possible. If you want them to order online, include your website. Make it big and bold. Your call to action items should always be much bigger than the rest of the text on any flyer.

Keeping these 7 tips in mind when you create your next flyer, you’ll be sure to get the most out of your time and effort on any flyer you distribute.