Advertisement Ideas: Taking Advantage Of Opportunities!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Taking Advantage Of Opportunities!!!

Today’s blog post was inspired by The Pet Shop Boys song Opportunities. As I began to listen to the song I understood that it was talking about collaboration. Collaboration is a an excellent way to maximize your message and also reap the benefits of strengthening your brand and increasing your revenue. When it comes to advertising sharing the expenses with other businesses makes sense as everyone can get their word out and reap the rewards. Let’s take for example that a FULL PAGE AD in La Bonita Kidz and Teenz, www.labonitakidz.com, costs $500 you can find 4 other businesses to split the costs and each business pays $100 and all 5 of you get maximum exposure with your own message and thus making the advertising affordable. It is finding ways where everyone benefits that you have the most success.

It is through team work that you can lift other people and thus lift yourself. Think about it you have a sub shop and down the block is a movie theatre. You visit and meet with The General manager and offer them discount coupons to your sub shop and in return they give you FREE Movie passes to give to your patrons. This creates a great cross promotion where everyone benefits and in return both businesses increase their exposure and their revenue. The idea is to look for great opportunities to create abuzz in the marketplace that will benefit everyone involved. The opportunities are endless when you begin to get creative and proactive. Ask yourself what have I passed up in my advertising and marketing as I made excuses to not take advantage of the opportunity. Think of what could have happened had you invested in an offer to pay $140 + tax to La Bonita Kidz and Teenz for a 1/4 page ad and a write up to appear in the magazine and reach 5000 mothers of middle school and high school aged students. You could have leveraged the write-up to build credibility and create interest in your product or services. When making an advertising decision ask yourself what does a client/customer represent to me? Think how many new customers/clients do you need to justify the investment in advertising? Make sure the advertising is hitting your target audience, do not get fooled by circulation/distribution numbers. There was a local pre-school who decided to get caught up in numbers and bought an ad for $1000 in a publication that is distributed to 50,000 residents not realizing that 42,000 were being delivered to over 55 years of age communities, not exactly his target audience. When making the decision to promote or advertise make sure that the avenue you choose reaches your target audience. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Taking Advantage Of Opportunities!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Putting Yourself Out There!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Putting Yourself Out There!!!

As an entrepreneur or marketing executive you hold the power to put yourself out there to maximize your message. It is important to take steps to make sure people know who you are, what you do, and why they should do business with you. As I sit in my local Starbucks I have a sign that reads FREE HUGS, STAY POSITIVE, www.the-spiritualawakening.com, FREE HUGS. The idea was to do something no one else is doing and thus create interest from the patron’s at Starbucks so as to generate interest in my spiritual blog and then begin to build a relationship for you never know who you my be talking to and who they may know. The key is to build a buzz by standing out from the crowd. Remember regardless of what service or product you may be providing you are your brand. By putting yourself out there and getting to know people you will strengthen your brand and increase the chance of someone doing business with you. The same approach can be used in your strategic marketing program as you decide where you will reach your target audience. The idea is to define your target audience and find the venues that reach that audience. Then you set up your budget to maximize your message. After you have done this design a campaign that will be consistent in Print, on Radio, on TV, and across your social media platforms.

When you decide to advertise make sure your message is consistent and in as many places as economically feasible to reach the audience you are seeking. If you think your audience is everyone you are mistaken, without a defined audience you have no direction for your advertising, without direction you fail. I am always amazed when I am at a networking event and I ask who is your ideal client/customer and people can not answer that? If you do not have this answer you will spin your wheels and wonder why your sales are not increasing. I use myself as an example my ideal client is the special events coordinator for a municipality, an event planner, the communication director for a professional sports team when I am marketing my voice skills. I find websites and industry magazines and programs that reach these people and then market my services accordingly. Doing this for the last 3 years I have secured some nice gigs like working for The Lingerie Football league as a PA Announcer, Emceeing The City of Coral Springs World Fest!!!! The idea is to always put yourself out there. When you put yourself out there you create brand recognition, brand awareness, and create a buzz about your products and services so that when a consumer/client seeks them they will call you before they call your competitor. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Putting Yourself Out There!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Avoid Slow Times?

In business this is the one sign you never want to see. I can not tell you how many times I have heard well times are slow as I am out selling advertising for La Bonita Kidz and Teenz, www.labonitakidz.com. Each time I hear that I ask well what are you willing to do to change that? The answer I usually receive is I am just going to wait and see what happens. My reply is generally good luck with that as I leave the business or end the conversation. As I walk away I think that business won’t be there for long or that person will be joining another company soon. About 80% of the time I am right. A case in point occurred a few weeks ago when a flower shop owner told me they didn’t need to advertise and they never do print. I wished him luck as stated if he changed his mind to connect with me as I can be of service and value to him. I went by the shop yesterday (7/8/13) and guess what there was an eviction notice on the door and the store was closed. The moral here is if you do not advertise you die. If you wait for something to happen chances are you close your door. If you was to avoid slow times follow the tips listed below as they have helped many businesses who have chosen to work with me to succeed.

Advertisement Ideas: Tips To Avoid Slow Times!!!

1: Eliminate using the term slow by beginning to plan your work and work your plan. If you do not have a strategic marketing plan develop and implement one. A good tool to use is Heidi Richards Mooney’s book, Quirky Marketing Tips. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Avoid Slow Times?

Advertisement Ideas: 30 Days To Jump Start Your Marketing & PR!!!

Advertisement Ideas: 30 Days To Jump Start Your Marketing and PR!!!

Are you maximizing your message? Are you overwhelmed when you hear Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumbler, Stumble Upon, Vine, LinkedIn? Have you sat down to plan, implement, and evaluate an effective marketing and public relations strategy? I am amazed by the many entrepreneurs who tell me they do not have a marketing plan. I often respond if you don’t know where you are going how are you going to get there. This entry is designed to be a road map on how you can jump-start your marketing and public relations in 30 days. It is based on a track record of success in obtaining media coverage for those who have chosen to work with me. It piggy backs on the concept of plan your work and work your plan. If you want to attract customers/clients you must have a strategy to do so as the idea of build it and they will come as a strategy is becoming less and less effective. Every day you open to accept clients/customers you should be doing something to market your business.

Advertisement Ideas: The 30 Day Plan

Create your message and announce it to your staff. Develop your logo that will be synergistic with your message. Put out a media release to your media contacts and your email list.

Decide where you are going to promote your message, write and send out media releases.

Promote across your Social Media platforms. Choose 4-5 to use and see which gives you the most reach. You can do this daily, weekly, every other week, or monthly. The key here is to give content that will be of service and value to your audience.

Begin to attend networking events and deliver your message then follow-up with the people you spoke to with a special offer.

Create a you tube channel and start posting videos that are relevant, entertaining, and resonating.

Research and find media outlets to advertise with. Make sure all ads have a strong call to action. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: 30 Days To Jump Start Your Marketing & PR!!!

Advertisement Ideas:Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan!!!

The Jaycees is an international organization of young men and women aged 18-40 who provide leadership training through community service to its members. I was a member of The Jaycees from 1989-2002 and again from 2003- 2008. I served in many offices including Chapter President, District Director, Regional Director, State Vice President, State Chairman, and State Director of Training. One of the greatest tools that I acquired in The Jaycees was The Chairman’s Planning Guide, which helped to plan, implement, and evaluate the various projects that The Jaycees held. This tool taught me to plan the work and work the plan. It asked questions like the primary purpose of the project, the goals of the project, who was responsible for certain tasks associated with the project, what the budget for the project was, and the time-table for completion. This tool has been used by many to successfully launch business. As I reflected back on the days of my involvement with The Jaycees I realized that in all of our plans their was a marketing component. This made me ask the question to you do you have a marketing plan? I then asked if not how are you reaching your potential clients/customers?

This is a question all entrepreneurs and marketing professionals must answer. To evaluate this ask where am I marketing, how am I marketing, what returns am I receiving? Many times a business decides to do a print campaign and they try to put everything into their ad and thus it looks to busy and people pass over it. When placing an ad remember a catchy headline a great offer, your contact info. Ask yourself what pain does my product or service take away? Then develop a campaign around that which is consistent with your brand messaging. In social media and TV and Radio many people try to over power the audience and oversell and thus do not get the anticipated results that they expected. To avoid this remember that facts tell stories sell and use these mediums to engage your audience by having a story that is relevant, entertaining, and resonating. The most effective way to reach customers is to be where they are. For example if your target demographic is mothers of middle and high school aged students in Broward County you want to check out www.labonitakidz.com and consider being in their Fall Issue with a message as to who you are, what you do, and why people should use your products or services? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas:Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Be A Champion Like The Miami Heat!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Be A Champion Like The Miami Heat!!!

What does it take to be a champion in advertising to be like The Miami Heat? It takes hard work, dedication, knowledge, a commitment to excellence, a dedication to being of service and value, and the willingness to see advertising as an investment not an expense. The Heat’s General Manager, Pat Riley, put the components in place and assigned a coach to guide them to a championship. The plan they put in place came to fruition in the form of Back To Back Championships. Much like the Heat it is important to put the correct team in place so you can be a champion in your business.

Micky Arison of The Heat empowered his General Manager, Pat Riley, by given him a clear-cut plan and what his goals and objectives were for The Miami Heat. Like Micky Arison you as a business owner must empower your managers to make advertising decisions based on the directives that you give them. If you do not have a team and are a sole proprietor then you will desire to create a plan to be a road map for your marketing. A strategic plan is a necessary component to insure for your success. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Be A Champion Like The Miami Heat!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Getting Past The Gatekeeper!!!

As a sales rep for La Bonita Kidz and Teenz, www.labonitakidz.com, I do a lot of cold calling on the phone and I run into many gatekeepers. The first thing I learned is to be polite and friendly regardless of the tone of the person answering the phone. The second thing to understand is that like you have a job to do and that is to sell them on your product or service they also have a job to do. The third thing is to be honest and let them know why you are calling. You may get the we’re not interested response, which is fine. I generally answer I know your not interested at this time, however can I email you information for future reference. I have heard that person isn’t available. to this I will say no problem can I have their email address and can you put me through to their voice mail? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Getting Past The Gatekeeper!!!

Advertisement Ideas: The Fortune Is In The Follow Up!!!

In all that we do in business from advertising to networking we must realize that the fortune is in the follow up. As a sales representative for La Bonita Kidz and Teenz Magazine, www.labonitakidz.com, I approach many people about advertising. I have learned that the people I leave literature with will not call me back so I must contact them to close the sale. Today I stopped by a few places that I had approached a couple of weeks ago and left the copy of the magazine so they could see the finished product and decide if it would be a good fit for them. In the next few days I will call and email them to remind them of the opportunity to maximize their message.

Once you advertise and get people to do business with you it is important to cultivate that relationship as people will continue to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Are you gathering the clients information and sending a thank you note or other information about your products and services. By keeping in contact with clients/customers you will build a tribe and they will begin to recommend you and thus strengthen your brand. The key is to follow-up and be aware of who is doing business with you and to show them appreciation. With potential clients/customers you want to show them how your product and service will be of value and service to them without overselling. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: The Fortune Is In The Follow Up!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Drive Business With Effective Advertising!!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Drive Business With Effective Advertising!

As an advertising executive I am asked all the time, JDOGG how do I know that an advertisement in your magazine, La Bonita Kidz and Teenz will work? My answer is you don’t however I can tell you one thing if you don’t advertise you will be at a disadvantage. I am asked how do I know the ad will be effective? Again my answer is you don’t that is why I am here to help you to effectively maximize your message. The key is to have fresh ideas that none of your competitors are using so that you stand out from the rest and build your brand.

One thing to remember is to be creative in your advertising so you will attract business. One idea I gave to an advertiser, who owned a car, was to advertiser Topless Car wash with a disclaimer ( we wash everything but the roof) $12.99 you want the roof done $13.49. This worked as his business increased. When I worked in the bowling industry we used programs from The Bowling Proprietors Association of America to drive business and we did extensive local area advertising to fill the leagues. One promotion I implemented one Summer was Beanie Baby Bowling, where the kids paid $10 for 2 games of bowling, shoes, and a beanie baby. The first week we had 40 people filling 8 lanes by the end of the summer we had 110 bowlers filling 22 lanes with the reaming lane filled with summer league bowlers. When I worked for Footlocker I would take the friends and family coupons and distribute them in the mall and at the local high school, sales increased by 138% when I did that. The key is to understand that word of mouth advertising, print advertising, radio and TV advertising, and social media advertising will work if you are creative. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Drive Business With Effective Advertising!!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Why A Full Page?

As an ad executive and marketing consultant with La Bonita Kidz and Teenz Magazine, www.labonitakidz.com. I am often asked why a full-page. My answer is always because it gives you an opportunity to tell your story because facts will tell but stories sell. The second answer I give is because it allows you an opportunity to section the page off and promote many things about your business. My third answer is because for $500 + tax you are getting maximum exposure in the market place over a 3 month period of time as we are a quarterly magazine. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Why A Full Page?