Is there anything else more invigorating and revitalizing than starting a new business or venture? I think not. Over the past 20 years I’ve had the pleasure of starting a few.
Like me, you’ll find—or maybe have found—that with all that excitement comes energy and the desire to market, promote and advertise your new item. I’ve noticed something just recently in talking with a few people and seeing some posts on different marketing forums. What I’ve noticed is that somehow the ugly forms of advertising we dislike and almost hate are now acceptable forms for marketing when we start our businesses. What am I saying?
Think about this and see whether or not you agree. Cold calling and cold callers in general are not appreciated by most Americans in any way, shape or form. Keep that in mind when you decide to start prospecting for new business. Just because you’re now doing your own thing doesn’t mean people are receptive and willing to talk to cold callers. They never were and they still aren’t.
Banner ads on web sites have a very small click-through ratio. Let me ask you, when you visit a site do you find yourself frequently clicking on the banners? Most Internet users don’t. In fact, click-through rates average 1 to 2 %. So if a web site owner tells you he/she has 350,000 visitors per month, before you get all excited and buy a banner ad on the site for even one month, keep this in mind: People don’t click on banners. Do you? Think about it, not from a business owner’s point of view, but from the point of view of a potential customer. Did you click on banners before you started your business? More than likely – not.
Banners are really there to help you with exposure over a long period of time, not to gain lots of business in the short term.
So, just because you’ve started a new business and see an unbelievable deal for 40 bazillion impressions on this web site for a fairly reasonable amount of money ….keep this in mind before you purchase: You didn’t click on banners before you started your business. What makes you think now that you have your business people are going to click on your banner?
What I’m saying here is this. Just because you have a business and want to advertise it doesn’t necessarily mean people are going to change overnight and become open to your advertising. It’s nothing against you; it’s just the way we humans are.
So before you rush off and begin your marketing campaign, keep this one rule in mind: People are people and they aren’t likely to change their habits.
You can reach them, just use some common sense and use advertising avenues that might work on you. Think from your potential customer’s point of view.
It’s great to be excited about blasting a new business into the stratosphere with the hopes of financial success pouring over you in a short period of time, but just remember to sit back and think how YOU WOULD REACT to the ad you are about to implement.
Think about it......
Scott ![]()
http://www.TheJavelinPen.com http://www.CustomBlueInkPens.com
http://www.holidaycardwebsite.com/getmorebiznow
The point of this blog is to get people to THINK ABOUT their marketing.
Yes, I've read the books that you absolutley must have a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) or a Sentence or whatever it has been called, or will be called in the future.
Let's step back for a minute and think which USP or Sentence has affected us the most. Unforutnately I can't think of one.
I can't think of my dentist's USP
I can't think of my plumber's USP
I can't think of my chirporactor's USP
And of the almost 200 clients I have I can't think of any of their USP's
Heck I can't even think of my own USP or Sentence.
For some reason, I don't think this USP thing is as significant as the big dawgs suggest in their books and tapes that it should be.
I mean, what is Zig's USP? He doesn't have one.
His brand is ZIG. There's no confusion as to who I'm referring to. ZIG is ZIG is ZIG. No USP though.
Think about it.
Scott
http://www.TheJavelinPen.com
http://www.holidaycardwebsite.com/getmorebiznow - Christmas & Thanksgiving Cards.
It appears as though the business world is catching on to the marketing power of The Javelin Pen.
Every day people call me and tell me they were searching online for javelin pens because they just received some from another business, or at a trade show they recently attended, and now to want order some for their marketing efforts.
I've been selling cusom printed promotional items for almost 10 years and nothing that I have seen has ever created this much excitement as the javelin pen has. It's exciting, very powerful for your marketing and very, very cost effective (not supposed to say cheap ).
Check out http://www.TheJavelinPen.com and see the 12 way cool color options avialable.
I will give you a tip. The pink Javelin Pen is hotter than all of the other colors because pink is in fashion right now and almost everyone has to have something pink.
Use the javelin pen to promote your business and make an immediate impact in your marketing efforts and create a BUZZ about your brand.
Write On!
Scott
http://www.TheJavelinPen.com
I’m guilty of it as well as most other’s are. What’s that I’m sometimes guilty of in my marketing? Not considering offline-marketing techniques, primarily custom imprinted promotional items that people use every day. Day in and day out.
When you have an online business it’s very simple to focus all of your energies on Internet marketing techniques to attract more visitors in hopes of making more sales. And, you should consider every Internet marketing angle possible.
But, don’t do what I’ve been sometimes guilty of not doing in promoting my online business – forget about using offline techniques to reach out to those who don’t know frequent the world wide web more than while they’re at work.
You see, using custom imprinted promotional items to market and promote your online business may be one of the wisest things you’ve ever done. While others are beating their heads against the computer screen trying to get a grip on the newest SEO techniques you can firmly have your domain name planted in someone’s hand via a custom imprinted pen.
I mention a pen because everybody and their brother uses one in some aspect at work, however not everyone drinks coffee (referring to a custom imprinted coffee mug). The bottom line is this. Put your website at their fingertips and it’ll possibly stay their until the ink runs out of the pen.
It’s also marketing that’s not obnoxious and blatant. Because custom imprinted promotional items are actually useful, most people don’t consider it to be advertising and aren’t as turned off by it as they may be banner ads or pop-ups which are used on the Internet.
Do yourself a favor and don’t forget to use promotional items in the offline world to promote everything in your online world, because the majority of online businesses don’t utilize this technique and it may just give you the increase in traffic and sales you’ve been trying to squeeze from any technique possible!!
Think about it.....…all of your online business comes from people who are offline ordering ![]()
Scott Rauber
www.TheJavelinPen.com
www.holidaycardwebsite.com/getmorebiznow ChristmasCards and Card Calendars
www.getmorebiznow.com How To Find Prospects Using Little or NO Money ebook
For the longest time I was known as the only guy in the custom imprinted promotional products world who couldn’t sell custom imprinted calendars. Sit tight. I know what you’re thinking – another calendar sales pitch. Not really, but you gotta at least think about this the next time you ponder doing some marketing, especially if you are contemplating using calendars.
I remember meeting with one of my clients at her office a while back and she was informing me that every year a particular business sent her a desk calendar. What amazed me wasn’t the fact that this business sent her a calendar every year – that’s nothing new, but the prime location she allowed it to have made an impression with me.
She put that custom imprinted calendar in the EXACT same place on her desk (upper left corner) every single year. Every single year when the new desk calendar would arrive in the mail she would remove it from the envelope and replace the now almost expired calendar. If I remember correctly I think she had been receiving these calendars for 8 or 9 years, and that was a few years ago to boot.
Think about it. That business owned 25 square inches on her desk – FREE. Well, he did have to pay for the cost of custom imprinted calendars and shipping, but he had prime real estate on her desk where his business name and contact information could be seen and accessed easily. But the space on her desk BELONGED TO HIM and no one else – FREE.
Ever since I heard and witnessed that story I’ve been using custom imprinted calendars to promote my products and services. www.kbbestbuys.com/detail.php?ID=B955
Think about it. If you can get the same 25 inches on someone else’s desk – it’ll be yours for a very, very long time!
Scott Rauber, Promotional Products Counselor
How To Find Prospects ebook – www.GetMoreBizNow.com
Welcome to my blog: Think About It Marketing - How to use common sense when you make your marketing decisions.
Most of the ideas put forth in this blog will lean towards the custom printed promotional products side of marketing and advertising, but other marketing thoughts will be added as they come to me.
After 9 plus years of selling custom imprinted promotional items I’ve helped marketing people and business owners make common sense decisions when they select promotional products to promote their products or services.
There’s sooooooo much hype in marketing and selling I thought I’d start a blog with my non-hype and common sense marketing philosophies.
So the next time you ponder advertising/marketing – Think about it, and see if your decision is based on hype or common sense.
Think about it!
Scott Rauber - Promotional Products Counselor
bizpromo@juno.com, http://www.TheJavelinPen.com