Category: Special Interests

Advertisement Ideas: Finding Your Why!!!

Advertising Ideas: Finding Your Why?

 

As I sat at lunch today (4/5/13) at The Progressive Black Men National Conference along with Clifford Townsend, a Mindset Coach and Speaker I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation by one of the alumni members about finding your why? As I listened to him speak about brotherhood and finding your why I thought what if a business could convey their why in advertising?

You can visit www.pbm1989.org to find out more information about Progressive Black Men and the work they are doing. You can even consider sponsoring them and having an opportunity to share your why. The key is to define your why.

 In finding your why ask yourself why am I in this business? Ask why I opened my doors this morning? Ask why you are promoting what you are promoting.  I have always stated that facts tell and stories sell. By having a why story you will resonate with people who can relate to you and thus want to do business with you.  I am often asked JDOGG why do you do what you do? My answer is because I have a desire to help other people excel and I have learned if you help enough people get what they want you will get what you want.  I also answer because I know that marketing works for people do business with those they know like and trust. By sharing your why with others they begin to know you, like you, and trust you.  Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Finding Your Why!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Confessions Of A Professional Marketer

Advertisement Ideas:Confessions Of A Professional Marketer!

 I must confess that I do not know everything, however I have come to learn that I know more than most when it comes to marketing.  I have observed that there are many people who have a great idea but have no clue as to how they are going to get people to buy into the idea and support their vision. I have had a very interesting week as far as dealing with people who wouldn’t know a marketing strategy if it came up and bit them on the butt.

 I received a call on Tuesday (3/12/13) from a gentleman about doing some media relations work for an event he was planning.I was very excited as the event was benefiting troubled teens and I am always open and receptive to helping children. I told him my rate, he initially agreed to pay the fee so I immediately began to work on the release. I delivered a proof to him via email only to have a scathing email sent back that he and his business associate were un impressed. I called and was told what I had delivered was crap(he actually used harsher language), I offered to rework the release and he told me he already did that. I asked him for partial payment a sI did put time into writing the original. He refused to pay saying I didn’t deserve anything. I did the right thing and sent a make good at no charge for at the end of the day I must be a man of integrity. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Confessions Of A Professional Marketer

Advertisement Ideas: Put Yourself Out There!!!

Advertisement Ideas:Put Yourself Out There!!!

 

 

I sat at Starbucks today and my phone rang as I went to take the call I noticed a man with Possibility Thinker on his laptop. I went over and introduced myself and we began to talk he told me he was the National Sales Director for SiriusXM Radio and he asked me for my card. I went to my car retrieved my card and a copy of my demo cd. He took them and then gave me a VIP  card for free use for the year. I have always been a believer in putting yourself out there because you never know who you  might meet and who may be of value and service to you or how you might be of service and value to them. Many times people don’t interact and they lose out on major opportunities. I have learned you are not going to resonate with everyone and there are going to be those who are just not ready. This has led me  toa philosophy of Some Will, Some Won’t, Some Waiting, So What, Next. I continue to put myself out there because you never know where what you are doing will led or who you may come in contact with. By interacting with others you may lift them up and they may lift you up and as a result everyone wins.

 One way to win and to put yourself out there is through effective advertising.  Using a 3 foot rule, where you talk to all those who come in contact with you within 3 feet can be an effective way of advertising as you may resonate with those you approach.  having a plan to put you out there is very important as people will see who you are, learn what you do, and perhaps do business with you or recommend people to work with you.  Another great way to put yourself out there is to find publications that reach your target audience and purchase advertising and use the advertising space to tell your story because facts tell while stories sell. Putting ads on the internet, on radio, and TV are effective as long as you are reaching your target audience. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Put Yourself Out There!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Be Perceived Positively In The Market Place?

Advertisement Ideas: How To Be Perceived Positively In The Market Place!!!

 I recently goggled Peggy McColl after hearing her speak at The Superstar Summit in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I found many articles on the front page that called her a scam artist preying on the likes of aspiring authors.Other articles were written by her where she gave advice about becoming a best-selling author.   I have never worked with her nor purchased any of her products thus I can not make a definitive judgement about her, however if I based my decisions on the articles I read I would have to think twice about giving her my money. This led me to the question of what are people saying about you? I also asked what is my reputation like? This then led me to give you tools for creating a positive image in the market place.

Advertisement Ideas: Tools To Create A Positive Image In The Market Place

1: Your greatest tool is yourself and how you interact with others. Maya Angelo wrote the following and I believe this tool can help you in creating a positive image in the market place.

2: Utilize your satisfied customers to tout you with written and video testimonials. If you click on the testimonials on this page you can see what people are saying about me.

3: Address the negative press immediately, For example when I was featured in the newspaper several years ago for a monopoly game that I was developing for The Coral Springs Jaycees that didn’t come out on time. I immediately addressed it and then when the game was produced and distributed a retraction was printed from the initial story. This issue taught me that you must be upfront and transparent especially when dealing with the press. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Be Perceived Positively In The Market Place?

Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!

Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!!

 I remember when I was younger and my younger brother Joshua was a big KISS fan and we would listen to this song. Today as I listened to the lyrics I thought the message is to SHOUT OUT About who you are, what you do, and give people a reason to use your product or services. I started to think why do people buy NIKE Products when there are other brands that are just as good? The answer is because NIKE Shouts the loudest and is constantly on the top of the mind of the consumer.  Every where you look during a sporting event NIKE Has some type of presence. NIKE has also aligned itself with very well-known celebrities and athletes to build credibility.

prgrsvimghttp://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4694726588894457&w=80&h=80&c=8&pid=3.1&qlt=90 You may be thinking but I don’t have a NIKE type budget. I am here to tell you yes it would be nice to have a NIKE type budget, however you can shout it out loud with your budget. I visit with many smaller businesses on a regular basis and the biggest excuse I hear when it comes to advertising is I don’t have a budget for that. I then ask do you have a marketing and advertising budget and yes there is a difference marketing is about building a brand so that when someone is ready to purchase your product or service they will choose you first. Advertising is promoting offers to drive traffic so you see a return on your investment. Many times I am told no. This is one of my pet peeves as I ask in mind how do you open a business and stay in business without setting aside some money to reach your desired target audience? I have encountered many people who don’t know who their target audience and I then ask them to give me a profile of who their customer is and they say everyone to which I reply your target audience can not be everyone for this is to broad of a spectrum to tackle.  One must have a budget and know who their target audience is of they are to be successful. I ask businesses all the time how are you marketing and advertising and they tell me word of mouth. Word of mouth is okay however it must be augmented with other strategies because not everyone who needs your product or service is going to know your current customers. In order to shout it out loud you must have a strategic plan and you must find what your potential clients/customers are reading, watching, listening to, visiting on-line, and what they desire. A great way to shout it out loud is to answer the question of what problem do I solve in my clients/customers lives? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!

Advertisement Ideas: What’s Your Problem?

Advertisement Ideas: What’s Your Problem?

 As you begin to develop you advertising program you must recognize your problem and understand how a properly planned and implemented advertising program will solve the problem. When I approach people to advertise with the many avenues that I represent like www.labonitakidz.com, www.miamifuryfootball.com, or www.spicemiami.com, I hear I am not interested or that type of marketing and advertising won’t work for me. That is a part of the problem as your lack of interest may have just cost you the potential to reach new people and thus strengthen your brand or you may have decided that it won’t work for you and lost out on an opportunity to work with someone who can make it work for you. I hear I can’t afford to ad more advertising at this time to which I  say  what if you were to cut what you are doing with someone else in half for example instead of a full-page ad with them runs a 1/2 page with them and run a 1/4 page with me and then you can run 1/4 page somewhere else thus giving you more exposure in the market place. I hear things are slow and I can’t afford to advertise. To this I say advertising should be done when it is slow and when it is busy as the consumer perceives that a business that is advertising is a strong business.  So now what is your problem? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: What’s Your Problem?

Advertisement Ideas: Advertise or Die!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Advertise or Die???

           

I walked by a few businesses that I had once approached about advertising when I worked at Forum Publishing and then when back to them when I left Forum to see if they were doing any advertising.These businesses were so busy finding reasons not to advertise that they are now boarded up. Why is it when sales are down the first thing that a business wants to cut is advertising? If people do not know who you are and you are not promoting your business you will  eventually go out of business. In today’s market place a business has many chances to advertise and those that choose not to advertise choose to die a slow death.  I have seen this cycle happen many times in the last 2 years. I approached a local yogurt shop about advertising and marketing their business and was told I don’t have a budget. Hello the first thing to think about after opening a store is to think how am I going to get the people to come to me and spend money and then come back to me. This yogurt store ran an ad for 1 week in a local community paper expecting an influx in business well guess what a one time ad is not going to work you need frequency and consistency. The key is to have people see you and get to know your brand.  Advertising needs to be proactive and  not reactive. Think of what is coming up and how you can capitalize on upcoming events. You Know from The Day After Thanksgiving until December 23 that the consumer will be geared toward buying and  that is a great time to run an ad wishing everyone a Happy Hanukkah, A Merry Christmas, and  a Happy New Year with some other incentives to shop. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Advertise or Die!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Effective Marketing Choices!!!!

       

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Effective Marketing Choices!!!!

When you begin the marketing process you first understand the complexity of it  and a great way to get a grip  and make effective marketing choices is to us the 7 P’s Marketing Mix Below. When you know each phase and you truly analyze the plan you can then implement the plan and evaluate and adjust accordingly.

Many times I hear JDOGG I need to get my name out there and drive business what do you suggest: Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Effective Marketing Choices!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Hello America, Time To Wake Up!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Hello America, Time To Wake Up!

As I was out collecting yesterday (11/2/12) for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life Of West Boca Raton I stopped by Grande Pizza and met Jeff, the General Manager who represents the owner, I asked him to make a donation. His initial response was no I am not in a position to do so and I told him I was only asking for $5 he continued to make every excuse and then finally giving me the $5 I asked for and saying his father passed away from the complications of having cancer. I thanked him and handed him the card with the 1-800-acs-2345 number, which is a 24 hour a day 7 day a week hotline that people touched by cancer can call. I left thinking Hello America, Time To Wake Up!!!!. It is time to wake up to the fact that if you are in business and you want to succeed you are going to have to be open and receptive to giving or at least listening and getting to know the person that is asking for your support.

For example in my case I walk into your business you don’t know me and you immediately use your programmed response I am not interested or I am not in a position to help and you lose an opportunity to learn about the fact that I host an Internet Radio Show and I do Shout Outs to businesses that support my effort and have a listenership of over 600 people each week, or that I have over 2,100 friends on Facebook, a Facebook group, and over 1,500 followers on twitter, as well as a large network on linked in. So you say no and I say thank you and you never get the opportunity to build a relationship that can enhance your business.  For Jeff at Grande Pizza he will get the $5 back from as the next time I am in that area I am stopping in for a couple of slices and an iced tea. In addition I will be encouraging people  when they are on 18th street just West of Military Trail to stop into Grande Pizza and support them. Any business that has ever supported my efforts with charity has benefitted in some form. There is Lou Bachrodt Cheverolet who supported a Holiday Shopping Spree I hosted for many years with The Jaycees and as a result when it came time to buy a car I bought my car from them. I am a strong believer in helping those that help you and I have seen first hand what can happen when a business partners with a charity and creates advocates for their business. Ask yourself the next time some comes into your business or calls your business  what can I do for them to be of  service and value?

  

As a business person you must wake up to the fact that everyone walking through the door of your business or calling on your business is a potential advocate for your business. The time is now to wake up and stop making excuses.  I have heard it all when I go out collecting and promote The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton and ask for small donations and I have overcome them all as there is not an excuse nor a legitimate reason why any business can not support the community. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Hello America, Time To Wake Up!!!!