Talent Agency 411

There’s More Than One Right Way

One hint is to be concerned more with the outcome (results) than with the path (method). If the deviation is simply a different way of producing the same or a better outcome, it’s a positive deviation. If the deviation results in missing an important goal or deadline, it’s a negative deviation.

This is why building a successful business is more of an art than a science.

Dishonest Partner(s), inconsistent employees and unreliable vendors are all negative deviations. If you find yourself in business with these types of people, you need to make big changes. You cannot build a successful business surrounded with these kinds of people.

Missed goals, surges in orders, running slightly behind schedule, an ad campaign that under-produces. These are all deviations that can be worked around, and overcome. You need to evaluate them as part of the “big picture” and decide whether they are heading you down a dead end, or pointing to another path that will get you to a better result.

Here’s a technique that will help you evaluate deviations and help you overcome them:

Have ten backups for each major part of your plan and five backups for the minor parts of the plan!

As a kid, I was enthralled with the Apollo space program. I watched every launch, every moon landing and every moon walk on T.V. During one of the press conferences after the Apollo 11 mission, a reporter asked Neil Armstrong, “Sir, suppose you were sitting there in the Lunar Module about to blast off from the moon and the rocket didn’t fire. You’ve only got 2 hours of oxygen left at that point. What would you do? Would you pray, would you ask to speak to your wife on the radio? How would you spend your last two hours?”

Armstrong answered without hesitation. He said, “I’d spend the two hours fixing the problem.” That’s the difference between success and failure. Successful people solve problems; unsuccessful people get stopped by them.

Many people now realize that a big part of an astronaut’s training is working in flight simulators responding to problems. In fact, those simulators are programmed with every imaginable problem they can encounter and the astronauts are trained to “work the solutions” one at a time until the problem is solved.

Business is no different. You will be faced with problems. A big part of handling them effectively is thinking them through ahead of time and preparing your responses in advance. The more alternative solutions you can develop, the better prepared for setbacks you will be.

If you want more confidence and certainty, you can do this process with every area of your business plan. Sit down and brainstorm each issue. The more alternative solutions you have, the better prepared you’ll be.

Pathfinder is offering consumers who visit their website a free tax savings special report & CD titled “Tax Secrets of the Rich”. For information about these tools visit http://www.taxsavingconcepts.com

The beginning of a new year can be a great time for your home-based business. There are many ways that you can use this time of year to begin new growth and continue the rush from the holiday season.

For many people, January is the time of year that they reflect upon their lives. New Year’s resolutions are made and goals for the New Year are set. Many women in our society are unhappy in the corporate world and seeking to make a change and enter the home-based working world. What better time of year to be presenting your home-based business opportunity as often as possible?

There are many ways to go about the task of increasing your business and recruiting. Take time before the New Year begins to make a list of strategies that you can implement to get your name out there. Also, think about what small changes you can make to increase customer loyalty, repeat business and other business aspects like these.

If your goal is to increase recruitment for business partners, consider finding a Leads program in which to take part. Many times these programs can provide you with interested home-based business seekers with which to share your business opportunities. Look for a program that is suited to your particular business or beliefs. There are many different types of Leads programs available on the internet - take the time to find the one that suits you, your business and your budget best.

A great recruiting tool is to sponsor contests. You can do this both online and in your local area. This can create a “buzz” about your business and provide you with names of people who might be interested in your business opportunity. One “out of the box” way that I have heard of the contest sponsorship idea being done is to put contest entry boxes in local women’s fitness clubs or places that would fit your particular business. Use “Customer Care Cards” as the entry forms so that you can collect the name, address, phone number and email address of the person entering your contest. Follow up with a phone call to each and every entry. Some may be interested in hosting a party for you or in hearing about your business opportunity.

Maybe your goal this New Year isn’t recruitment, but sales growth. Make a list of creative ways that you can encourage customers to consider your products. You can jumpstart this year’s sales by offering “After Christmas” specials, after-purchase freebies, contests and more.

One way that many home-based business owners online neglect to take advantage of is the signature line in emails and when posting in forums. This can be a great tool to advertise your business, specials and contests. I receive many emails from business owners who do not include a signature line with their business name, and sometimes they fail to even put their name at the end of the email! This is not only unprofessional, but makes it much more difficult to find out more about their business. Every email sent this way is a potential sale lost.

The “freebie” is another great sales booster. Everybody (especially women) loves to get something for nothing. Consider offering a small thank you token when a purchase is made. No matter how inexpensive the value of the “freebie” may be, it can still be a great incentive! It can also foster customer loyalty and repeat business.

If you have an online business reciprocal linking can be a great way to jumpstart business. The more sites that link to yours, the more visits your website will receive. Linking also helps you place higher in Search Engine listings. Take the time to search for sites with similar content and request a link exchange. This is almost always a win-win situation for both sites.

Jumpstarting your business for the New Year can be a challenge, but if you take the time to be creative and put some effort towards it, it can be very rewarding. Use the resources available in this information age: Leads Programs, Link Exchanges and signature lines. God Bless you in the New Year!

Jill Hart is the author of the e-book, 2 Weeks Devotional Journey for Christian Work at Home Moms, and the founder and editor of Christian Work at Home Moms CWAHM.com. This site is dedicated to providing work at home moms with opportunities to promote their businesses while at the same time providing them spiritual encouragement and articles. E-mail Jill at jill@cwahm.com for additional information or stop by her site at http://www.cwahm.com

This article is free to reprint if the Author’s Bio remains in tact. For additional articles, please contact Jill Hart.

The success of your business depends on your ability to
build marketing momentum. Without the ability to generate
new sources of leads your capacity to sell will slump and
the growth of your business will stagnate or shrink.

Unfortunately, many small business owners are at a loss
when tasked with coming up with new ways to market while
others are frustrated into stagnation by seeing consistently
ineffective results from their marketing efforts. It
doesn’t matter if your business is young or established. If
your business is young you must market well simply to
survive. On the other hand, if you have had marketing
success with a method that does not increase your
opportunity to generate new business your success will be
stunted by your limited ability to find new sources of
business.

Building marketing momentum is like kicking a ball down a
hill that keeps getting steeper. Each time the hill becomes
a little steeper the ball will roll faster and pick up
momentum. In marketing, any tactic you add to attract
attention to what you do is like making the hill a little
steeper.

The other day I was talking to Ed who runs a successful
metal shining business. I asked him how he went about
generating new sales. He told me that 100% of his marketing
effort is networking. I couldn’t help but wonder why. I
realize that he is doing well with it but if he simply
placed an ad in the yellow pages that generated just one
sale a year he would cover the cost of the ad and be
profitable!

Even though Ed’s networking efforts are successful he is
limiting his ability to grow his business by only
implementing one form of marketing. By simply trying
something new in addition to networking Ed can benefit from
developing a new way to generate leads and build his
marketing momentum.

Is your marketing effort one dimensional or stagnant? Here
are five tactics you can use to build marketing momentum.

Deliver a Great Marketing Message
A great marketing message will have the effect of generating
interest in what you do. It never ceases to amaze me the
number of small business owners that fail to use a
compelling marketing message. How many times has someone
described to you their business or what they do with a label
like, “I’m an accountant” or “I’m in Communications”? Such
answers are not likely to start interesting conversations
and marketing opportunities are missed.

If you answer the “what do you do?” question with a savvy
marketing message you will find that more people associate
what you do with a need of their own or that of a friend,
colleague or relative and you will win more referral
business. Develop and use an outstanding, compelling
marketing message and you will find that more people show
interest in what you do. The result will be more better
sales.

Make Cold Calling a Hot Source of Sales
Many small business owners hate to make cold calls. Their
derision is understandable. By making cold calls they are
setting themselves up for rejection. No one likes being
rejected. However, rejection is part of the game when
making phone calls. Once you realize that it’s not your
fault when someone says no during a cold call you can move
passed your barrier and add cold calling to your marketing
arsenal.

The fact is that by regularly picking up the phone and
reaching out to potential clients small business owners
increase their chance of finding new business. A percentage
of the people you speak with will become clients when you
make cold calls, especially if you are targeting your market
well and are offering something they need. What’s more you
can work to improve your phone skills to increase your
ability to make sales. Add cold calling to your marketing
strategy and you will increase your opportunity to generate
new business.

Use Your Web Site as An Effective Marketing Tool

Many companies have web sites that fail as effective
marketing tools. Does your web site consistently generate
leads and sales? It should. And it can. The World Wide Web
is a continuously open marketplace that reaches hundreds of
millions of consumers every moment of every day and allows
you to easily and accurately target those who buy your
products or services. A company without a web site as part
of its marketing team is missing a fantastic opportunity to
increase its revenue stream. Deliver a web site that
functions as an effective marketing tool and you will
consistently add to your marketing momentum.

Develop Your Network
Another great tool to use to build marketing momentum is
networking. Networking is a highly effective means of
generating referral business (which is some of the easiest
business to get, once you get a referral). A person who is
willing to take someone else’s advice to contact you about
your product or service will transfer the trust he has in
his friend or colleague making the referral to you. Making
it easier for clients to trust you removes one of the
barriers to making a sale. By developing a robust network
you will increase your ability to find new prospects and do
more business.

So then, just how should you go about building your
network?

Ed, from our previous example, is able to successfully
operate his business with networking alone. That’s because
Ed networks the right way. Many small business owners and
executives don’t realize what networking truly is.
Unfortunately, all too often people think they are
networking by reaching out only to the people they know when
what they should be doing is taking steps to continually
expand their network. Ed regularly attends networking
events and is involved with multiple networking groups. He
ads new people to his network all the time and has a
successful business to show for it (though he could be even
more successful if he added another tool to his marketing
toolbox).

Measure Your Results
No matter what tactics you adapt to market yourself or your
business be sure to measure your results. By measuring your
marketing results you will be able to move away from or
correct what does not work and stick with and reinforce what
does. By diligently measuring your results you will improve
your ability to ad to your marketing momentum and grow your
business and success.

By measuring my results and trying new things I have been
able to develop an ad that enjoys a 20% response rate. The
ad is so successful I only need to run it occasionally to
generate enough calls to keep me very busy. Not only does
this great ad do a fantastic job of generating interest in
my marketing services it saves me money on my advertising
costs because I can meet my goals by running fewer ads.

You too can develop highly effective ads by measuring your
results.

Move Your Marketing Forward
If your marketing efforts aren’t helping you reach your
goals you can improve your results by implementing any one
of the tactics outlined above. Choose the one you feel most
comfortable with and take small measured steps toward
realistic goals and you will see a beneficial transformation
in your marketing results.

Jeremy Cohen, helps small business owners attract more clients and grow their business with his coaching service and free marketing guide: Jumpstart Marketing: More Prospects, Clients & Success
Get the guide at http://www.bettermarketingresults.com

While it is tempting to just leap into a new business because of it’s exciting possibilities, a few key planning points will vastly increase your chances of success. These steps aren’t difficult, but they’re easy to skip. Many businesses ultimately depend on a slim profit margin, so planning can really help the process. Too many restaurant patrons, for instance, assume that running a restaurant seems fun because of the many restaurants they have visited, but restaurants have an especially high failure rate.

One of the key factors in planning a business model is simply researching the demand for your product. If you are great at making kitty blankets, for instance, it’s worth checking out to see if there is a market for it. The entrepreneur may find that there are three times as many potential customers for dog blankets, and by simply adding dogs to your marketing strategy, you will increase your sales four times over. This fact would be an important one to know before all the labels, website promotion, and branding was done with the words “Kitty” instead of “Pet”!

Supply is worth researching, too. Keeping with the pet blanket approach, you may find that there are tons of different blankets available, but none that have catnip in them. Marketing two types of blankets, one for dogs and one for cats, and placing catnip in the cat blankets may dramatically increase sales. Again, this type of research is much more helpful to have before any product has been made. It would be a shame to have a room full of single-ply cat blankets that will not hold any catnip, when that is the product that is a unique niche. The brand name needs a lot of thought because once the name is out in the market, it can be very difficult to change. Picking a name, and then finding out six months later that the name is confusingly similar to a competitors would be disastrous. Finding out that the name is easily mis-spelled, hard to pronounce, or difficult to remember are all pitfalls that could have been avoided with proper planning. Apologie Clothing is now finding that web surfers are having difficulty remembering the odd spelling of their name when searching for their website, and the marketing campaign of Chevrolet Nova in Mexico failed dramatically (”no va” means “does not go” in Spanish).

Most entrepreneurs are surprised to find that once their business is successful, much more time is taken up running the business than in actually providing the service or making the product. The architect who starts his own architecture firm finds that he’s only drawing 1 hour a day - the rest is spent meeting with clients, interviewing, marketing, planning, etc. Skills such as salesmanship can be learned through courses, techniques such as accounting can be found in books, and software and outsourcing can help with payroll. But proper planning will help considerably. If a bookkeeping system is set up ahead of time, linked to the accounting software and interfacing with a business account at your local bank, this set up will save huge headaches in the future.

While no amount of planning will foresee all difficulties, these researching and planning steps will improve your odds of succeeding immensely.

The author runs the finance website http://www.pawninfo.com about short-term loans and payday loans, and any or all of this article may be reproduced in any form as long as there is a link to the website. The HTML is http://www.pawninfo.com>Pawn Shops and Short Term Loans

Whether building your business a new web site or expanding your old one there are 5 key web features that every business should look into. In this article, which will be the first of a six part series, we will briefly go over each of these features. The features listed below are just five of the techniques that I have either used in the past or am currently using as of the writing of this article.

Each of these features suggests ways to increase traffic to your site, acquire more sales leads, and even turn a profit. Will this information make you wealthy? Not necessarily, to be straightforward with you: I’m giving you the hammer. Whether you build a doghouse or a castle is up to you. My suggestion: Think BIG! Isn’t it about time?

Referrals Program

An excellent way to obtain new customers or clients is through a referral program. Offer your existing clients a discount or a percentage when they refer a friend. I personally offer a program for both my current customers and a standard program available to anyone. For every referral they send me that turns into a project I pay the referrer a percentage of the sale. The cliché it takes money to earn money is the idea here, but then again, the money you make will be a profit off of what the referrer makes you. It’s a way to give back to current customers and a way to gain new ones. Its also a good way to add to your sales efforts without having to hire an employee.

Awards Program

Web awards is also a great way to gain “cold” leads. In order to enter the program they must submit their information and website (which is a must) to you. The best way to gain these leads is to not target a broad market but rather your niche and industry. Ex: If you are a web designer you could offer: Best Web Site Awards, Web Excellence Awards, and also Best (category) Web Site (i.e.: Best Business, Personal, Non Profit, etc.) Web awards make a statement that says “I worked hard to create this”. They reward skill, effort, and enthusiasm while supplying the recipients with formal recognition. They acknowledge the hard work and dedication that each applicant has put into constructing their web sites and content. You should offer both web awards (for free) and certificates (for small fee) to winners for the best results.

Web Advertisement Program

I feel that this is a great way to capitalize on the blank space of ones website. It is greatly over looked by the masses of small business. No, web advertisement isn’t just for big corporations like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and others. Even the smallest business can make a decent profit off of another businesses advertisement. Ex. If your office is in a strip mall than turn to the businesses in this area and say “Hello I’m So and So, I run the whatever company two stores down. I have a web site and I was wondering if you’d would like to purchase advertising space on my site.” Don’t charge $150 a month if you only get ten or fifteen visitors a month. That’s just bad business. Instead be honest and charge $20 a month and $50 for a quarter (three months) for less than 2500 visitors per month. I personally only charge $50 per month and $125 per quarter. But I get between 3000 and 5000 visitors per month. Think about it, why charge exorbitant prices when you can on average fit two or more ads per page? With only five pages that is around $500 per month.

Give A Way Program

This is another program that takes money to make money. Generally; it only takes a small investment to create a large return in either money or prospective customers. The choice is yours. You can do this program like a raffle and charge to enter (this way you make a small fee per registration) or let people enter for free (and make cold leads). As for what to give away it can be your products or services, or something related to a holiday like a dozen roses sent to the winners choice of recipient for Valentines Day. If you do something like the roses DO NOT put your name or business on the dozen roses. Send it to the recipient in the winners name. Things like that go a long way.

Web Search

The web search feature is another way to gain not only leads but too possibly make a profit. It does make it easier for your visitors to find things on your site, and when used for that purpose only it is not necessary for smaller sites only larger one. There are other reasons to offer a search engine though. This type of feature can make you money or make prospective customers through inclusion. You can charge an inclusion fee if the overall goal is to make immediate money. I think you can make more money by gaining leads from the inclusion though. Just think about it. They must enter their personal information for verification purposes and must enter their web site (which is a valuable resource of research information about a company that you can turn into a customer or client).

_________________________________________________________________

Joshua M Cox, Owner and Creative Director for Business Solutions of America, has been active in the design field for over 5 years. With a background in design and business he worked his way up through the industry freelancing before launching BSA in 2001.

In addition to his own personal experience, Mr. Cox is privileged to work with an exceptional network of talented industry professionals on a project basis in the areas of photography, illustration, website coding, and multimedia development.

Web Site: http://www.businessamerica.us

Email: jcox@businessamerica.us

If you are interested in getting into the real estate market then you will want to read this article. It will explain some of the basic terms related to investing in real estate.

1. Lease Option

A lease option on a property offers the leasee the opportunity to buy the property at the end of the lease term. Lease options essentially offer a try before you buy trial period. If you are interested in a building, you can lease the building for a relatively short amount of time. This will give you an opportunity to determine if the building is going to fit your investment needs. If the building suits your needs then you can execute your lease option and buy the property. Since a lease option offers additional value, normally the leasee must pay small fee for the option to buy the property.

2. Rent to Own

In certain scenarios you may find yourself interested in owning a rental home for a short period of time, and planning to sell the investment property after that time period. In such a scenario you should consider employing the rent to own approach. When you offer a house that is rent to own, you collect rent from the tenant for the specified time period and the tenant possesses an option to buy the house at a later date. The rent to own approach provides you with rental income for the life of the lease, and also affords you the ease of selling the house to the tenant, avoiding the hassle of putting the house on the market and finding a real estate agent to sell the house for you. Renting to own essentially offers the same functionality as a lease option to the tenant.

3. Eviction

Sometimes you will be faced with a tough situation. If tenant is not paying the monthly rent then they must be evicted. An eviction is never a fun process. In simple terms, an eviction basically means the tenant is being kicked out of their space. The eviction process involves legal paperwork and the local courts. Of course, if you can avoid having to perform an eviction then you should. However, sometimes your tenant leaves you no other choice but to carry out an eviction and remove them from the property.

4. Buy a Foreclosure

Evictions are often accompanied by foreclosures. A foreclosure occurs when the owner of a property is unable to meet the monthly payments required by the mortgage agreement. In such a case, the bank servicing loan will have to repossess the house. This process is often thought of as a foreclosure. For those looking to make a purchase in the real estate market, buying a foreclosure presents a great opportunity to get a good property that is relatively inexpensive. Frequently, those who buy foreclosures do so a below market prices since the bank is primarily concerned with liquidating the asset (the house) and covering the liability. Buyers of foreclosures should be forewarned that these properties might include additional expenditures to repair the house. Not surprisingly owners who cannot afford their own homes often leave their house in disarray upon moving out of being evicted. Typically such house can fixed up rather quickly and reintroduced to the market as a rent to own dwelling.

5. Get Rich Quick

Investing in real estate property is not a get rich quick scheme. Certainly one can become extremely wealthy by divesting their interests in various investment properties, but achieving fast returns on equity does not happen overnight. An investment in real estate should be accompanied by patience. If you can find a property that will offer positive cash flows after all other expenses are taken care of, such as a popular apartment building, than you will not only be increasing your wealth from day to day operations, but you will also be creating equity in the property. Such an ideal situation offers a get rich quick approach to investment property, but such opportunities are hard to come by.

Adam Smith is an informational author for 10X Marketing. For more information on investment properties and renting to own, please visit The One Minute Millionaire featuring Robert Allen and Mark Hansen (Houston).

The most successful individuals (athletes, CEOs, and celebrities) surround themselves with an entourage and a gaggle of assistants. But well before they hit the big time, I guarantee they used this essential secret to getting more done in less time: take action as often as possible and, more importantly, hand off whatever else you can’t, won’t, or don’t want to do yourself.

How about you?

If you’re serious about saving time, you need to build a top notch support team.

This is not optional.

Have you surrounded yourself with a team of people who complement your strengths? Have you created phenomenal relationships with folks who anticipate your needs and take care of them for you?

If the answer is “no,” consider whether you have ever thought or uttered any of the following statements:

==> I can get it done faster if I just do it myself.

==> I don’t need help from anyone.

==> If I want it done right, I’ve got to do it myself.

==> Asking for help is selfish.

==> I don’t deserve help.

==> It’s my job to take care of everyone else.

==> I don’t want to impose on anyone.

The first 3 statements are symptoms of the “Lone Ranger” mentality. You can’t imagine giving up control of your environment because you don’t have faith in the ability of those around you. Or you might feel that surrendering complete control equals irresponsibility, vulnerability, or weakness.

Your friends simply call you a “control freak.”

If the latter 4 statements strike a nerve with you, it’s time to examine why you feel you don’t deserve help from others. You might feel like you’re not good enough. Or you might have set yourself up as a martyr, determined to take on the burden so that others will see you as a saint.

If any of this rings true for you…STOP.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

First of all, you need to decide whether or not you want to continue living like this. As in previous messages, consider the possible payoff from your current behavior.

*** The feeling of being in “control.” (An illusion at best.)

*** The feeling of superiority.

*** Getting others to feel sorry for you.

Although clearing out the assumptions in your head and creating supportive relationships will take an investment of both time and effort, you’ll reap far greater rewards down the line.

Get help to banish the bad habits, and then consider the following types of synergistic relationships:

<*> Collaboration with a peer

<*> Bartering with someone from a different profession

<*> Teamwork with friends, peers, or family members

<*> Delegation to peers or family members

<*> Employment of professionals: house cleaners, baby sitters, virtual assistants

If you resist getting involved in relationships because you fear people will let you down, understand that the first key to making it work is getting the right people on board.

The second key is CLEAR COMMUNICATION.

Listen before you talk and always repeat back what you heard, “I want to make sure I’m getting it right. I heard you say…” Ask for confirmation or correction. Ask them to repeat the details back to you: “I want to make sure I’m communicating clearly. Can you explain your understanding of what I just said?”

Again, this secret is NOT OPTIONAL.

If you are serious about finding the time to live life on your own terms, you need to figure out a way to make this work.

For a step-by-step action plan, keep reading.

==============

ACT NOW: Finding Tonto

Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto and Silver to help him out. Create your own team by following these 7 steps:

1) Identify whether you subscribe to either the Lone Ranger or martyr mentality as described above.

2) Get help to eliminate them by working with a coach, mentor, or therapist.

3) Write a list of possible ways you can take advantage of each of the following: collaboration, bartering, teamwork, delegation, employment.

4) Start working with the people you already know and then consider forming new relationships.

5) Looking at your list of tasks for this week, asterisk those that you absolutely, positively need to do yourself.

6) With any remaining tasks, consider how you can either eliminate them, hand them off, or hire them out.

7) Take action ASAP.

*Excerpted from the brand new Mini-Course “Stop Wasting Time!”

Many people ask the question of whether cookies are harmful for their computers. The answer is generally no, but it is not nearly as straightforward as it sounds. While cookies are often stored in text files, only used to track information that is already provided to various websites, and are set to expire in short periods of time, they can be used for malicious purposes in certain instances. You will need to work with cookies - however, if you know when to delete them and when not to, you can still enjoy the conveniences they provide. They think that keylogging their children’ online activity equals to spying and that such harsh supervision in not required for their beloved ones.

What you should install on your PC is Anti-Spyware software as it will locate and destroy any Spyware that if finds on your computer. There are also a number of programs that claim to be anti-spyware that do not work. Worse these programs actually add more spyware to your system. Data loggers, key loggers are just a few programs which harvest info from your computer. Winclear is the only program created specially to auto remove such spywares. Some people mistakenly assume that anti-virus software protects them from keyloggers and Spyware. That is why every computer owner needs winclear.

Protect With Winclear :Metacrawler Search History
If your account was compromised while AccSent was enabled, there is a high probability that you either have a security hole in your computer, which allowed hackers to take control of your computer or you have a Trojan virus, spyware or keylogger software installed on your computer because someone not only had access to your e-gold passphrase, they also had access to your email address password. Winclear is the only software which is capable of removing keylogger programs. In addition bulky information such as IP addresses and browser preferences for a website can be stored in a cookie saving time when loading a website you often visit. Winclear has been the industry leader in fighting keyloggers for the last 8 years.

Winclear:
Otherwise a hacker or identity thief only needs to discover one password and then try it out on some bank accounts email accounts web forums or anything else associated with your name. That is the reason why you need Winclear installed onto your computer. Keyloggers as it is clear from the name of the program log keystrokes –but that’s not all. Protect your computer security by using Winclear! More about Winclear here: Erase Data.

One of the most misunderstood and most underutilized promotional
tools available to small businesses is FREE PUBLICITY.

Every business, no matter how large or small, can effectively
use free publicity to enhance its image, increase sales and
profits, generate sales leads, expand distribution, and promote
customer goodwill. All of these benefits can be gained for
nothing more than a small investment ot time, paper, envelopes,
and postage.

And…with the addition of new e-mail based media release
services…even the paper, envelopes and postage can be
eliminated.

Most new businesses start out on the proverbial shoestring
budget. There never seems to be enough money available to do
needed advertising.

Professional marketing assistance seems like an unaffordable
dream, and there is always “one more piece of equipment” that
needs to be purchased.

Add in other concerns, and it’s no surprise that marketing and
promotion end up last on the long list of perceived needs. They
should be among the first!

A well-executed and on-going publicity program can dramatically
improve your chances of success in the marketplace. Whatever you
want to achieve promotionally… you’ll accomplish it faster and
less expensively with a knowledge of the publicity game.

You can generate high volumes of traffic to your web site,
increase direct sales, generate qualified sales leads, shorten
your selling cycle, enhance your image, and boost your cash
flow, with free publicity!

Free publicty is the perfect promotional tool for start-up
companies. Why? Because it’s cheap…and it’s available.

While I can’t make an expert publicist out of you in one short
article, I will give you the basic tools you need to get started
with your own publicity program and a resource list to enable
you to expand your success and build your knowledge base. Let’s
get started…

WHAT IS PUBLICITY?

Publicity is NEWS. News about your company, its products or
services, its personnel, etc. Anything that has a legitimate
news angle will probably find a number of editors eager to
publish it for you…free.

Why are editors willing to do this? It’s their job! Editors are
charged with the responsibility of filling up page after page of
space (or, in the case of radio or television, minutes of time)
with information that is timely and useful to their readers or
listening/viewing audience. Theirs is a formidable task,
performed under the constant pressure of deadlines. Your news
release helps editors do their job.

It’s important, however, to differentiate a legitimate news
story from what should be paid advertising.

To acomplish this, editors typically ask themselves two
questions when reading your press release:

Who cares?

Who already knows?

If the answer to the first question is “a large number of my
readers or listeners”, and the answer to the second question is
“very few”, then your release stands an excellent chance of
publication.

Remembering the old axiom of “Nothing is older than yesterdays
news”, it also becomes obvious that your news release must be
timely. In other words, the news must be new.

THE TOOLS OF PUBLICITY…

The principle tools of publicity are: News Release

Press Kit

Press Conference

Feature Story

Letters to the Editor

Media Lists/Selection

The news release is the most useful (and most used) form of
communicating news to the media. When coupled with a
well-selected media list, the simple news release is a very
powerful tool that you can start using today.

THE NEWS RELEASE…

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide
margins on one side of 81/2″ x 11″ plain white paper (or
letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Keep it simple. Follow the standard news story format of Who,
What, Where, When, Why, and How, and you can’t go wrong. Use
simple sentences (seven words or less). Use short paragraphs
(seven sentences or less).

Use as many simple single-syllable words as possible. Remember,
you’re trying to convey news…not impress William F. Buckley.
Omit the superlatives. Words such as best, greatest, finest,
unique, one-of-a-kind, and highest quality don’t belong in news
releases.

Don’t say anything you can’t back up with facts.

your news release will generally fit on one sheet of
paper…rarely more than two. If you have more than 400 to 500
words (roughly two pages of double-spaced copy), you should
probably rewrite the release.

If necessary, editors will cut your release to fit available
space. Your story will be cut from the bottom up, so make sure
you tell the most important details in the first paragraph or
two.

The editor has no obligation to run your news release. Your
release will be judged on it’s own merits. If it meets the
standards of publication…(Who Cares?–Who Knows?), and space
is available, your release will probably be published.

You should keep in mind that one of your long-term goals is good
media relations. Accordingly, you should never complain to an
editor if he or she does not use a particular release. Keep
submitting good releases, and you’ll get your share of free
space.

FORMAT IS IMPORTANT…

Savvy publicity seekers make sure that their news releases look
professional. The following layout formula will serve you well:

Make a special form with the heading “NEWS RELEASE” prominently
printed at the top, along with your company name and address.

In the upper left corner print “FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:”.
Fill in the appropriate contact information and telephone, fax,
e-mail, url, etc.

Drop down three lines and print “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” next to
the right hand margin.

Drop down two inches and type your story headline in all capital
letters.

Drop down three spaces and begin the body copy of your release
at the left-hand margin as follows: “(Your Town,
State–Date)”xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx…”

End your release by centering “(—–30—–)” or
“(—-end—-)” three or four lines after the last line of the
story.

MEDIA SELECTION…

The slant of your news story will dictate the media selection.
If you are a local retailer serving a limited goegraphical area,
your media list will include all of the appropriate newspapers,
radio stations, television stations, magazines, community web
sites, etc. serving your market area. Your release would be
written to a general consumer audience.

On the other hand, if you are a small manufacturer selling
specialized equipment nationally, your media list would be
targeted to industry trade publications, newsletters, trade
associations, and other relevant trade outlets and business
media. Your release would be written for a more focused audience
of end users and trade press editors (in the hope of a possible
feature article).

In all cases, releases should be customized to the target
audience so that the editor will quickly see the news value to
his or her readers or listeners.

DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR RELEASE…

There are now three means of distribution of your news release:
(1) Regular Mail, and (2) Electronic Mail (e-mail), (3)Fax
transmission.

Always mail your news releases by first class mail. Address
them, whenever possible, to the editor…by name. If you don’t
know the editor’s name, check the publications masthead or call
the publication and ask.

You may also want to check current media guides online or at
your local library…usually found in the reference section.

A word of caution. Media people change jobs often, and media
guides may not be up-to-date.

If you are unable to identify the proper person, you can simply
mail to “Editor”, but this is the least desirable alternative.

DO IT NOW…AND DO IT OFTEN…

What is the key to being effective with a publicity program?
Start using the skills you have just learned… right NOW! Don’t
worry if you feel a certain lack of confidence. You’ll only gain
confidence by writing a few news releases an distributing them.
You’ll be amazed at how easy it becomes once you’ve written a
few.

If you consistently turn out at least one good news story each
and every week, you’ll probably have to double your trips to the
bank to deposit the increases in sales and profits that come
your way through FREE PUBLICITY!

© Copyright 2005 Thom Reece All Rights Reserved

The online community is definitely a large market place that you
cannot ignore, especially if you have an internet business.
There are thousands if not millions of consumers that you can
tap in the internet.

At the same time, the internet also poses a quite different
challenge. The easy access that internet provides also gives you
as much competition as you can imagine. It is too crowded and
congested.

Having a website is not enough to make your business running and
able to compete. You must take other alternatives to give way
for the online community to access your website at any rate or
chance possible.

You have to expose your website. Make it known. It has to be
visible. It has to be frequently targeted by consumers and
surfers.

Invest in marketing your internet site. There are basically two
options available to you, the SEO and PPC. These two are
probably the most desirable alternatives you can get for your
internet business as strategy for search engine marketing.

1. SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Some researches
indicate that 60% - 70% of internet surfers and users actually
resort to using the Google search engine to find and locate web
sites and pages, for any topic they desire. SEO is the process
taken to make sure that the internet uses will find your website
when ranked among the top results of a search. This way you can
make sure that you will be visible and can clearly stand out
from the rest.

To get a search engine optimization, you will have to build on
your own internet site frequently hit internet links to web site
pages. The process will involve IBLN or Independent Back-Linking
Network, wherein hundreds or even thousands of pages will be
utilized to promote a particular website of a client.

In SEO, there is no need for you to pay for the clicks although
it will require you to spend time doing research to get a
favorable combination of ads and target audience. The SEO
process is a long term one. It requires months, 6 months at the
least, before the proper outcome is fully achieved, but once the
goal is accomplished, you will definitely get a steady source of
profit.

2. PPC

PPC means Pay Per Click. It gives way advertising on a search
engine. These are sponsored listings that you see whenever you
make a search. There will be a charge whenever a visitor or web
surfer clicks on any of your ads. There will first be a bidding
process. The highest bidder for the price per click will
definitely get the chance to be first listed in the search
engine.

With this kind of advertising, you can still basically control
your campaign as you get to create your own ad. You will also
manage the target audience and still stay within the bounds of
your budget. Most of the providers of PPC advertising will allow
you to specify the target market, either by topic, industry or
geographical location. You can also very well check if your ad
gets to be shown at all and if it is competitive with the rest.

There are some guaranteed benefits when you get to maximize the
PPC strategy.

?PPC lets you advertise to the whole of the online community. It
is also relatively easy to set up.

?At first glance, PPC advertising may seem very expensive. Could
it possibly happen that someone out there will go on clicking on
your ad? This will definitely give you a large bill without the
expected profit on your part. If this provides a lot of worries,
be rest assured that there is a protection for you. Networks are
able to recognize fraudulent clicks.

?You can also set a budget for a certain period. The moment your
budget has been used up by the target number of clicks, your ads
will no longer be displayed until the next period you want it
again displayed.

?You will also be able to adjust well to changes in market
demands and trends.

In deciding which of the two strategies will work right for you,
think of your goals and of your resources. They definitely offer
benefits and advantages that will work for your good. The better
way to approach this two is to evaluate according to your short
term and long term plans. Take the PPC course for your short
term goals and choose SEO if you have long term ones.

There world is out there for you now. Just make sure you do what
will work best for your entrepreneurial endeavors and visions.
The secret to success lies in your hands. Just study your
options well and you’ll get exactly what you want.