Category: PR and Advertising


7 ways to create my own saleability or demand

Filed under: Building your Biz, Marketing, PR and Advertising — Leave a comment
April 19, 2010

Creating a demand for your servicesOne thing is for certain in today’s business climate, when there is no demand for your services, there is no business.  Creating the need then becomes one of the primary focuses for any business development professional.  Whether you are a musician who needs gigs, a photographer looking for a photo op, a graphic artist needing a project, a Realtor® looking for a new listing or buyer, or a loan officer needing to close a refi or mortgage deal, you need a steady influx of leads and prospects.  In the old days we were taught that you had to make X number of calls to have X number of appointments to make X number of dollars.  Somewhat true today.  But thank goodness we now have access to other methods than the telephone and are connected to the entire world through the web and social networking – our sphere has just been enlarged! View full article »

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Smart Phone Apps Fuel Business

Filed under: Marketing, PR and Advertising, Social Media — Leave a comment
August 20, 2009

By DIANA RANSOM

OB-EG962_iphone_D_20090819174047Between documenting expenses and processing credit cards from just about anywhere in the U.S., smartphone applications have changed the way many small businesses operate. Now, more firms are turning to these apps to enhance the way customers interact with their products and services — and even boost their bottom lines.

“People nowadays want everything to be at their fingertips, and if companies are not finding ways to provide these tools [they] will soon see drop-off from their customers,” says Jennifer Shaheen, a small business technology consultant in White Plains, N.Y. Providing an app also offers a tremendous marketing opportunity, she says. Securing a placeholder in customers’ smartphones can help keep a company on the brain, which is especially important in this rocky economy, Shaheen says.

Building a simple app can be affordable for most companies. Although a developer might charge $6,000 to $8,000 to create a typical app, a modest app with fewer features could cost a company less than $2,000, says Jarin Udom, a developer in San Diego. The web site iPhoneAppQuotes.com allows users to compare lowest rate quotes from developers. View full article »

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Effective Press Releases in the age of Twitter

Filed under: Marketing, PR and Advertising — Leave a comment
July 17, 2009

Here are key tips to spreading the word about what’s happening in your business through PR and online media…go for it!

 

You’re getting ready to announce a new product or service, or you’ve just won the most coveted award in your industry. How do you get the word out? Unless you’re booked on Oprah, it’ll be with a press release.

Putting out a traditional press release in the clutter of information jamming the Internet is worse than trying to have a quiet conversation at a rock concert. Today your release needs to be optimized for the web. That’s because the web is where customers and reporters get much of their information. Consider this: Over 80% of online purchases start with a web search (Forrester Research), and online search is the number one source for journalists to obtain additional story information (Bennett & Company). Using search engine optimization (SEO), you can help ensure your press release is easily found by customers, reporters and the robots that crawl the web to deliver search results.

Here are some tips to optimize your press release: View full article »

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get FREE or low cost PR with these 10 tips

Filed under: Marketing, PR and Advertising — Leave a comment
June 25, 2009
Get Free or Low-Cost Publicity
These 10 tools can help you get the recognition you’ve been craving.
By Margie Zable Fisher   |   June 22, 2009
Print ShareThis Get the Mag Weekly Updates [-] Text Size [+]
Like most people, I like to save money. That’ s why I offer so many “do-it-yourself public relations” products. I’m also always on the lookout for great, inexpensive or free publicity tools.
Here’ s a list of tools you can use to get publicity on the cheap:
Like most people, I like to save money. That’ s why I offer so many “do-it-yourself public relations” products. I’m also always on the lookout for great, inexpensive or free publicity tools.
Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/savingscenter/article202378.html#ixzz0JRnVNfMw&C

I found this article on AllTop.com Guy Kawasaki’s site and it has some good info on PR that you might want to check into for your blog or business.

These 10 tools can help you get the recognition you’ve been craving - By Margie Zable Fisher  June 22, 2009

Like most people, I like to save money. That’ s why I offer so many “do-it-yourself public relations” products. I’m also always on the lookout for great, inexpensive or free publicity tools.

Here’ s a list of tools you can use to get publicity on the cheap:

1. Help a Reporter: Free leads from reporters who are looking for sources for stories.
2. Contact any Celebrity:One week’ s trial for $1 provides you with contact information for celebrities. If you send your product to a celebrity and he or she likes it, you can use that celebrity’s comments as a testimonial on your website, in a press release, etc., to drive sales.
3. The Gift List: Free trial of a media contact database for consumer product companies; this link will also give you a 15 percent discount should you decide to get a subscription.
4. Contacts on Tap: Free 15-day trial of a media contact database.
5. Chase’s Calendar: Free listing of a holiday you can create; this annual calendar is used by media everywhere.
6. PR Leads: Leads from reporters who are looking for sources for stories. $99 per month.
7. Ezinearticles.com: Free directory of articles; submit yours with a resource box at the bottom to drive traffic to your website.
8. Write a guest post, be interviewed or get mentioned by a top blogger, with a link to your website. Free.
9. Win an award. It takes time to submit an application for an award, but usually it’s free.
10. Write a letter to the editor of a magazine or newspaper, including your company name and website. Free.
Use these tools and watch your publicity efforts become more successful–without spending big bucks.
Margie Zable Fisher is the president of Zable Fisher Public Relations, the leader in small business public relations. To get her free e-mail tips and publicity opportunities, visit zfpr.com.
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Does your marketing plan include Twitter or Facebook? Here are a few checkpoints to drive your next marketing moves.

Filed under: Marketing, Marketing 2.0, PR and Advertising — Leave a comment
June 8, 2009

CHECKPOINT: It’s June, half of 2009 is gone! If you haven’t put your business on a marketing agenda, you are going to miss out on referrals, leads and sales. 

Sales don’t happen magically, but you can’t get the cart before the horse…you have to have sales to have a marketing plan and a marketing plan to have sales!  So let’s take a look at the 6 basic “checkpoints*” of building a marketing fire that will not only bring warmth and life to your business, but will last through the months to come.

  • Take an honest look at your marketing and advertising.  Are you still using blind mass marketing?  Are you still trying to reach everyone through a blanket, generic blast?
  • How are the best customers for your service different from everyone else?  Make a list.  Which of those differences don’t really matter and which actually contribute to their purchase decision?
  • Does your current marketing try to serve or sell?  Are you giving your prospect or customer information they can use, are you providing meaningful content?  Imagine yourself as the consumer.  How would you like to learn about your services?  Does your answer resemble your current marketing tactics?
  • What is the cost per thousand of your most recent advertising campaign?  What is the cost per customer?  How would your advertising tactics change if you shifted your focus from reaching lots of people to reaching the right people?
  • Have you engaged social networking into your marketing?  Are you developing relationships with your future customers online?  Are you afraid of the Internet?  Do you understand and embrace the new marketing technologies?
  • Is your current advertising designed to create interest or appeal to it?  Does it try to make people thirsty or does it offer a drink to those who already are?  How can you make your advertising more relevant?  Do you need to change your message?  Your audience?  Both?
  • Does your advertising make exaggerated claims?  Why?  Are you worried people won’t come to you if they know the truth?  If you are then…

* Maybe your advertising is reaching those who don’t need what you’re selling.  Try reaching out to your existing customers and build referrals from their experience with you.  There’s nothing wrong with preaching to the choir.  The choir will listen.  (The “Choir” is your best audience!)

* Perhaps it’s time to direct your message to an audience who cares about what you are saying…hummm?

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emotional buttons

Filed under: Coaching, Marketing, Marketing 2.0, PR and Advertising, Social Media — Leave a comment
May 12, 2009

I’ve been thinking a lot about marketing 2.0 lately and the relevance it has in our new business economy. Interaction is the word I like to use then talking about the new marketing. Rather than marketing AT people, we are learning to market with people, our clients – prospects, family and friends. Afterall, whatever we are selling we should want even our closest friend to experience it, right? So I say let’s put some feeling into it. I am tired of the generic BLAST that is meaningless to me. Emotional marketing is something that is going to ring my bell. Connect with me. Trip my trigger. Relate to my feelings, my dream and my goals….the marketer kinda has to know me!

We all have those emotional buttons and probably connect through them on a daily basis. We go to Starbucks because we like the feeling, the baristas, the smell, the ambiance – all emotional. We go to the movies or buy CD’s because we connect with the actor, the story or the music, it’s all what makes us feel good. Put on your thinking cap and come up with your own experiences that you can share and relate in your marketing. What 3 experiences could you share in your marketing? How can you reach out to that prospect or client to share on an emotional level in order to build a bridge to your product? How can you bridge the gap in your speaking or coaching or teaching? What story can you share? Do you know your story?

I have been a singer and performer since I was six and it’s my nature to “feel” out the audience. I understand the importance of being able to flow with them, feel what they want, respond to their reaction. This works the same in emotional marketing. Put your feelers out there and get on the level of your client to first get the chemistry flowing! Watch them, their reaction, their response and gear your “performance” to their response.

Just like in performing music, in marketing you have to be real. We have all experienced the vague, unconnected marketing message, and we hate it. We trash it and put spam filters on to prevent it from reaching us! Your marketing message and YOU have to be real. You can’t be false. Emotional, personal, upfront and honest. Even if I get on the stage and lose myself with my drummer and guitar player – but have fun – I will connect with my audience and they will walk away totally vibed! Because I am being true and getting into what I am doing….feeling it.

Emotional marketing has to start with you, it has to start with you first believing in yourself as the primary product. You are selling you. Be real. Be sincere. Then reach out to find where your audience is and give them what they want!

love and peace!

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