If you own or operate a website in conjunction with your business, consider posting a Visa logo, or even Visa / Master Card logos on your website. Visitors browsing the site will be more apt to linger and shop when they know you offer the convenience of buying on credit cards.

To display Visa or Master Card logos on your site, you will need to apply for a merchant account. This is a special account set up by a financial lender that allows you to accept credit payments via credit and debit cards at your point of sale. For website owners, this is a terrific way to get customers to buy now and pay immediately to avoid the risk of losing a sale or late payment. While some website operators simply have customers dial a toll-free telephone number to make automated purchases, more and more vendors are choosing to open a merchant account to facilitate customer sales online.

It’s easy to apply for a merchant account so you can use visa and credit card logos on your website. Simply work with Merchant-Account-Quotes.com so they may find the best merchant account provider for you. Many are merchant service providers are waiting to accept and approve your application. When approved, you can start promoting the fact that you now accept credit payments by posting a prominent ad for a Visa logo or combination Visa and Master Card logos. Customers are conditioned for this uniform display, and they will be looking for it when they visit your site.

Make it easy for visitors to find the Visa and Master Card logos. Place them in an prominent area of your website. Depending on your site layout, this area for credit card logos might be somewhere near the top or side navigation bar. Or you might want to put the logos at the bottom of the page if the page is not terribly long, and if you are reasonably sure customers will read to the end and thus find the Visa and Master Card logos.

Another way to promote this service is to feature it in a box somewhere at the side of the home page, or on each page of the site. It shouldn’t be too large, as though a Visa or Master Card logo were the most important detail of the page. But neither should it be too small, where many hurried customers could easily overlook it. When copying it onto your website page, check before making it live to ensure the graphic image is clear and well defined. A sloppy credit card logo can be a total turnoff for customers in search of professional vendors.

Adding Visa and Master Card logos to your company’s website marks you as someone who cares about customers’ needs and technologically competent. Find out how you can add these credit card logos to better enable your business to conduct e-commerce while observing contemporary payment trends. Your customers will appreciate the courtesy of credit payment options, and may show their gratitude through repeat business or positive word-of-mouth referrals.

Shane Penrod is the founder of http://www.Merchant-Account-Quotes.com Specializing in allowing merchants the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national merchant account providers. For free credit card logos, please go to Credit Card Logos

Don’t be embarrassed when it comes to advertising. Sell yourself and you will succeed. Without advertising, there is no exposure, and without exposure, there is no business. Don’t expect people to just find your site or store and give you business.

Be creative. Money is not the only solution to getting your business off the ground. Take advantage of all the free services and materials to get your name out there. Submit your site to free web directories, print out flyers and put them in people’s mail box or drop them off in malls or airports for people to take a glimpse of your business. Make t-shirts with your company logo and contact information and wear them around whenever you go.

I would like to suggest something like, go write on walls for people to look at, but that’s called vandalism so please stay away from that.

Just to give you an idea of what you can do with your creativity. Don’t just think, go act it out. Everyone has some idea of how to advertise, but most of the time they back down because they think it’s stupid or embarrassing. Nothing is embarrassing but rather consider it successful if you are able to get your name out to even a single person. That one person may talk about your company with another person, which is called "word of mouth" advertising - most effective and credible advertising method available. They can either talk about your business or make fun of it; either way, more and more people are getting to know what you are doing!

Go out there and show them what you got!

By Anthony Bae
Raising Money for Charity by Selling Links to Online Advertisers
http://www.iGoLink.com

I have two buddies that hunt, Jeremy and Jeff. They get up at the crack of dawn and trek out into the Arizona desert to shoot some animals. I am not a hunter and have a better chance of bring struck by lightning twice than shooting a deer, so I am not invited. Maybe it’s best that way, I kind of side with the deer anyway - hunting just isn’t my thing.

Well this article isn’t about hunting, but I’ve seen the gear they have and preparation these guys go through in order to go after their target. To my surprise I started to see some very strong similarities between how they hunt animals and how I "hunt" prospects for clients when designing their projects. Stay with me, I promise you’ll see…

Personally, I’m not a hunter, but they’ve got the right idea when it comes to attracting and honing in on a target. Instead of doing what they think will work, hunters try to get into the mindset of their target. They adapt their clothes, smell, behavior and thought process all to the targets they are going after. If they are going after deer, they try to think like a deer; a pheasant, think like a pheasant. Designers can learn a lot from hunters.

If a hunter knows little or nothing about his targets, he starves. If a designer knows little or nothing about his targets, he wastes the client’s time and money.

Think about it, if your designer knows everything about the groups you’re targeting: their age, their family life, income, likes/dislikes, voting preferences, where they shop, how they shop, etc., how much more focused and effective do you think your marketing message will be?

When you meet with a design firm about doing some work for you don’t be surprised if they interview you, in fact you should demand it.

At the end of your meeting you should have a solid idea of what the designer can and will do for you. And they should be able to articulate (among other things):
Your business objectives for the project

The target markets you are looking to focus on
Your business’ core competencies
How your business compares to others in the industry
Finally, like the hunters we talked about, designers better know everything, I mean everything about what makes your targets tick.

Do you want to get the most out of your marketing and design investment, make sure the designer can say what I say to clients, "The only person who knows your clients better than me is you".

Here’s the deal, you as a business owner have clients you have to reach, that’s what marketing and design does - it’s outreach. If you hire someone who knows how to reach (or hunt) for these groups of people, your business will grow, if you hire a designer that doesn’t understand marketing or how to hunt for your customers…well, your business starves.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for taking out of your day to read this article; please contact me at 480-391-0704, or email me at comments@candographics.com and let me know how this helped you.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a gunny suit to try on. Happy "hunting"

Jeremy runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. "I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business."

Like the article?

Email Jeremy today at comments@candographics.com for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin: "How to Choose the Right Marketing/Design Firm for You" or "Top Ten Questions Designers Don’t Want You to Ask Them". You’ll also want to check out the "Can-Do Confidence Builder". Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your marketing/design investments and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Remember to include in your email your name, which Insider Bulletin you would like to receive and any additional feedback.

Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com.

Advertising – Who Needs It? - Who doesn’t!

Most people who read information about business or advertising are doing so because they are trying to make some kind of positive change in their life. Perhaps get a job, make money, and increase their customer base – whatever. That’s the central purpose of a classified ad. They get you what you want.

This article has the same purpose, Like a classified advertisement, it will get you one of the things you want – it will show you how to write a classified advert. which gets results. Not only that, it will help to prevent you from wasting your hard-earned cash ads which never had a cat in hells’ chance of bringing you any business in the first place!

This article has a focused theme (showing you how to write ads). In the same way your advertisement should have that a central and focused purpose. Your advert. should be 100% geared to achieve one thing and one thing only

• If the intention of the ad is to get people to contact your business, then that is the only thing it should achieve. And it must achieve that one thing, nothing else.

• If you are trying to sell your old car your ad should get your telephone ringing the minute it hits the newsstands.

• If your advert is to get your 25-years old set of Encyclopaedia Britannica sold, that it the only thing it should achieve, and it must achieve that one thing. You would expect the telephone to start ringing within hours of the advert hitting the streets.

Seems obvious enough, doesn’t it? What else should an advert do? Why would a good advert in the classifieds section achieve anything else other than sell the service or product it was written for?

Unbelievable analysis

A random analysis of any classified adverts in any magazine or newspaper shows something unbelievable. Most people appear to have written their advertisements whilst asleep, during Wimbledon, watching a Science-Fiction film, or even when walking the dog. Most of the ads appear to have been written with the express intention of throwing money into the nearest skip.

What does a brief view of over 95% of classified adverts show? It shows that the writers have broken the basic rules of marketing.

Stephen Kaye is an Author and Businessman living in Devon, UK. He is the owner of http://www.kaymexdirect.co.uk Kaymexdirect market a range of Information products in different formats. Many of these cover the subject of Internet Marketing. The full booklet (27 pages) of ‘How To Write Effective Adverts’ is available as a .pdf download for £29.50. Contact the author at kaye.steve@gmail.com

First let’s clear up a common misconception of what a “Brand” really is. A brand is more than just your company’s name or logo. It’s more than just a particular type of product you offer such as Q-tips brand of cotton swabs. It’s more than just the look of the packaging of your product. In a nutshell your ”Brand” is the culmination of everything your prospect’s 5 senses can pick up on about you.

It’s the image you present at all times. From the company’s logo and color scheme all the way to the manner in which your employees dress.

It’s what your prospect hears from and about you. From what they hear about you in the media to how your customer service team handles incoming complaints.

It’s the feeling your prospect gets in all their dealings with you. From their satisfied or unsatisfied interaction with you to the relationship building activities you carry out.

It’s the pleasant or unpleasant scents that get associated with you covering everywhere from the scent of your product or facility, to even your employees.

And lastly it’s also the tastes that get associated with you. From the taste of your product (if it’s a product meant to be tasted) to the quality of coffee or tea you serve.

As you are probably beginning to see the picture I am painting for you, your brand encompasses everything about you. Hence you can see why it’s important to always put your best foot forward.

Let’s take this one step further. Even more important than being perfect in your eyes, is being consistent in the prospect’s eyes.

Consistency is the key to branding. It is terrible branding practice and just plain unacceptable to offer great service one day, and bad service the next. You are better off being consistently mediocre. Then at least the customer knows what to expect and is generally more satisfied. Another example of bad branding is having a different look and feel for your website as compared to your other marketing collateral (e.g. business cards, brochures, etc.). Ultimately, your prospect should be able to recognize you at a quick glance – just by colors, design style, logo, etc.

For instance, let’s take the fast food retailer McDonalds. They have done a spectacular job at branding. Their food tastes consistently the same no matter which location you eat at – essentially around the world. What you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste are pretty much consistent and acceptable across the board.

Bottom line, branding is essential to establishing your identity in the marketplace and consistency is the key to effective doing that. Prospects want consistency! Consistency breeds comfort and comfort is an aspect of relationship building - a key marketing strategy.

© 2005 Online Marketing Muscle — All Rights Reserved.

Dean Mercado is an Internet marketing coach, strategist, author, and speaker. Dean and his company Online Marketing Muscle help entrepreneurial professionals leverage the power of Internet marketing to turn their businesses into money magnets. Visit Online Marketing Muscle for many more Internet marketing tips.

http://www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com

There’s a secret out there that printers and print advertisers don’t want you to know about. They aren’t going to like that I wrote this article and they’ll be even less pleased that alert business people like you are reading it.

Rather than just shaking up the bee’s nest for fun, my purpose in writing this article is to help you, the small business owner trying to get the most out of your investment. I’ve seen a lot of clients find out the hard way that "free isn’t what it was cracked up to be" and I’d love to know that I’ve helped you make the right choice for you and your business. Here’s what I want to share with you:

As an incentive to work with them, printers and advertisers will provide a similar "free" offer of design assistance when you use their services. While this may have seemed like the deal of the century when you were in the salesperson’s office, after you read this article you are going to have a very different take on things. In fact, most business people that learn the inside scoop on this "free" offer never take advantage of it again.

Here’s how the process works.
Printers and advertisers hire 1-5 production artists to prepare client files for final production, this is called pre-flight. Pre-flight is a lot like an assembly line: projects are cranked out one at a time and as efficiently as possible. In addition to preflight, printers and advertisers took this assembly line idea and had their artists design projects for clients that wanted design done for free. This makes pitching their services much easier and attractive to clients because clients think they are getting something for nothing.

It’s a clever idea. When you purchase business cards or a yellow pages ad, you now get free design with it.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? It is.

Speed is the key component of a production artist’s job. The more jobs they design in a day the more money their employer will make. Their salary is a fixed cost. Here’s something you might not have known, they aren’t really free, the printer or advertiser has already built the cost of the artist’s time into the price they charged.

Since it’s a fixed cost, the faster the production artist completes the project the more money the advertiser or printer will make. So their goal is not to get the best results for your company, rather to move you through the production line as fast as possible.

I know, not a very good surprise, was it?

Think about it, the more time the production artist spends on you, the less money they make their employer. So the production artist’s goal is to get you in and out as fast as possible. In fact, they are encouraged to move your project through the process without investing a lot of time on you. How do I know all of these insider secrets that advertisers and printers don’t tell you? I used to be a production artist. I know what they’re doing.

If you are really looking to grow your business and get a positive, solid return on your design investment, skip the "free" design that printers and advertisers throw in and only work with a professional designer. You want to work with an experienced, business savvy designer that will give you and your project the time and attention it deserves.

Will you save some bucks by having the printer’s or advertiser’s production artist throw something together for you? Sure. But you have to ask yourself:

"Should I trust my business image and livelihood to someone that knows nothing about me, my customers or my business?
"How good can I expect my results to be when the production artist that is working with me has a different agenda and set of goals than helping my business grow?"
"And is free all that it’s cracked up to be?"

You’re a smart businessperson and fooling you isn’t easy. Now that you know this insider information, do what’s best for you and your business and hire a business savvy designer that has the expertise, time and talent to focus on you and get you the results you deserve for your business investment.

Remember what your parents always taught you, "You get what you pay for", and "If something is too good to be true, it probably is".

Jeremy runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. "I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business."

Like the article?

Email Jeremy today at comments@candographics.com for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin: "How to Choose the Right Marketing/Design Firm for You" or "Top Ten Questions Designers Don’t Want You to Ask Them". You’ll also want to check out the "Can-Do Confidence Builder". Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your marketing/design investments and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Remember to include in your email your name, which Insider Bulletin you would like to receive and any additional feedback.

Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com.

Could you imagine if the "Golden Arches" were purple, or if IBM’s colors were red and green? You may have wondered who, how and why they came up with the colors that they did.

Why is it that so many restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Subway all use red, orange, yellow or green, but you don’t see a lot of blue or purple.

Chances are there’s a lot more to the process than you might imagine. And if you haven’t wondered but you are thinking of creating a logo or hiring someone to do it for you, this is something you’ll want to read.

It sounds absurd, but choosing the right colors for your business image and logotype can mean the difference between success and failure. Take the example above, did you know that research shows that people eat more in a room painted with warm colors like yellow and red, versus cold color? Yep, it’s true.

We are all affected by the color we see — both physiologically and psychologically; your customers are no different.

In fact, your customers instantly make assumptions about your company; it’s quality and service based on your logo and the colors you’ve associated with it. Most of the time they aren’t even aware if it, but trust me, your customers make very quick assumptions about your company based on your identity and the colors you’ve chosen to use.

It’s simple; choose the right colors that are pleasing to your target market and you win. You’re one step ahead of the competition.

So how do you choose the right colors? If you’re working with a knowledgeable designer to create your corporate image you’ve got a huge advantage over a business owner going it alone. Make sure you work with a business savvy designer that thoroughly understands color theory and how it affects consumers.

If you go it alone there’s good news and bad: the bad news is that there is no color combination that works for all industries and business. The good news is scientific studies have concluded that there are some basic theories on how certain colors can affect our behavior. If you use the information in these studies you can select the color ranges that might work more effectively for your business and industry. Here are a few findings from one such study:

RED This is food color. Ever notice that restaurants use red a lot? It makes you hungry by increasing your body’s metabolism. Red suggests aggression, hostility, heat, stop, error, warning, danger, error, fire, lushness and passion. Here’s the Red Challenge - see if you can find an air conditioning company with a lot of red in their logo, you probably won’t.

YELLOW Yellow suggests the sun, expansiveness, happiness and high spirits. Yellow commands attention and suggests caution. It can be used successfully as a highlight. Here’s the Yellow Challenge - see if you can find a financial company with a lot of yellow in their logo.

BLUE Not a good color for hospitals. Blue suggests the peaceful, the sad and water. Blue is often associated with the male. Blue is a cool color and can visually expand a room. It does not compliment most foods. Blue goes well with warm colors and materials. Here’s the Blue Challenge - see if you can find a fast-food restaurant with a lot of blue in their logo, you’ll have to look hard.

GREEN Associated with nature the pastoral and general well-being. Green also suggests envy and jealousy. Green should not be overused. Too much can affect skin tones and the appearance of some foods. Here’s the Green Challenge - see how many headlines you see in green, you can - but you’ll see a lot more red.

BLACK Black can have negative sociological connotations like evil, mourning, ghostly, night, death and fear. However, black can be very stylish and modern. Black works well as an accent with other colors. Here’s the Black Challenge - see if you can find health care organizations with a lot of black in their logo.

Sure, you’ll be able to find some exceptions to my challenges; I know there are always exceptions to the rule. Some of the exceptions may even work, but your best bet is to either to study and learn color theory or work with a business savvy designer that understands it.

Jeremy runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”

Like the article?

Email Jeremy today at comments@candographics.com for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin: “How to Choose the Right Marketing/Design Firm for You” or “Top Ten Questions Designers Don’t Want You to Ask Them”. You’ll also want to check out the “Can-Do Confidence Builder”. Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your marketing/design investments and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Remember to include in your email your name, which Insider Bulletin you would like to receive and any additional feedback.

Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com

What is the most important part of showing at a trade show? Well I know that the first thing I worry about is the trade show promotion. I want to know how I am going to draw people to my booth and how the organizers will draw them to the show in the first place. Trade show promotion, in the end, is all a trade show really is. Without it, there are no people and without people there is no point in being there. Also, if you can’t draw the people to your booth, it doesn’t matter how many are at the show in the first place, now does it?

There are a number of trade show promotions you can do to make sure your booth is going to get traffic at the show. The first thing you can do is get a copy of the show attendance list from the previous year. Then, you can send targeted pre-show mailings to prospects as part of your own trade show promotion. Let them know about your company, what you are offering, and who the people will be at your booth that can help them. Then, to make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle upon their arrival, enclose a map of the trade show floor with directions on where your exhibit will be in the space. Hook them with what you have and who can help then aid them in getting there to help your personal booth trade show promotion.

Another way of doing trade show promotion for your booth is through a premium giveaway. You can put some sort of return mailer or something with your mailing before the show that must be given to someone at your booth in order to redeem a gift or prize. You could also use a sweepstakes or some sort of drawing with entry forms or business cards as a form of tradeshow promotion. Use something to get the customers to your booth then have faith in your own ability to wow them once they get there.

Trade show promotion is important because it is the only way to make it worth while. The point of being an exhibitor is to reaffirm your relationship with existing customers and to get an idea of who new potential customers and partners might be. It is also a good time to check out your competition and see what they are offering out there. However, without good trade show promotion, you will be banking on the luck of having the right people walk past your booth. If you promote through mailers, contests, and prize redemption you can assure yourself a certain level of exposure no matter what else happens at the show.

If would like to find more of my personal articles on trade shows, please feel free to visit my website on trade show advertising!

I met Darlene at one of my networking meetings; she’s never run a business or come to a networking meeting in her life. And it shows. Between bites of my morning cottage cheese I peek over at her and see her flipping her hair, tapping her pencil and biting her lip in what seems to be one continuous fidget. Darlene’s scared out of her wits, she isn’t comfortable and she certainly isn’t confident. You just couldn’t help but feel bad for her. You’ve got someone really trying to do something in his/her life but just isn’t comfortable doing it.

A lot of us are like Darlene (or were like her), some more than others; I used to be a little like her too. I didn’t always feel so confident in my business.

After seeing her a couple of times I approached Darlene with an idea. How would you like to feel more confident, comfortable and credible about your business? Would you like to make networking and selling easier?

I got a resounding, "Yes".

So I set to work on helping Darlene feel more confident, comfortable and credible about her business. I began my quest with an ordinary piece of cardstock measuring 2.5" x 3", that costs less than 3 cents a pop. You guessed it; I started creating an identity for Darlene on her new business card.

Just a little chunk of cardstock, that’s it, yet you’re in business it’s an indispensable part of promoting your business. And in the hands of an experienced, business savvy designer, it’s also a ticket to you feeling better about yourself and your business.

The equation is simple:
* You work with an experienced, business savvy designer
* You feel more confident, comfortable and credible about your business
* The more you feel these things the less afraid you are and the easier it is for you to promote, network and sell your business
* The more you promote, network and sell your business the more money you make and successful you are

Is it possible to feel more confident, comfortable and credible over a little piece of colored cardboard?

In Darlene’s case, yes, it did.

Darlene responded so positively to her new business identity and card that I noticed it, the entire networking group noticed it, and most importantly, she noticed it. It was like a switch turned on in her heart and her brain, and she felt good about her business. She felt important, and she finally felt comfortable and confident about herself.

Don’t take my word for it, she said, "I feel more real about my business. I just feel more confident when I meet people and do things in business that are stressful to me like networking. I want to thank you for helping me to feel good about my business and making me feel comfortable when I meet new people."

If you know a "Darlene" in your life, or you are in the same situation she was, don’t suffer being uncomfortable or not confident in what your business. Networking, promoting and selling can be so much easier if you feel confident and good about what you do. Call a business savvy designer today and start feeling better about yourself and your business.

I guarantee if you select a caring and capable designer, your whole outlook will change about your business. I’ve seen it happen, so has Darlene.

Jeremy runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”

Like the article?

Email Jeremy today at comments@candographics.com for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin: "How to Choose the Right Marketing/Design Firm for You" or "Top Ten Questions Designers Don’t Want You to Ask Them". You’ll also want to check out the "Can-Do Confidence Builder". Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your marketing/design investments and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Remember to include in your email your name, which Insider Bulletin you would like to receive and any additional feedback.

Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com.

In today’s world advertisement plays a very unique role in providing a particular product its status of familiarity. Advertising thus can be defined as a bridge between the newly launched product and the consumer. Advertisement provides the opportunity to mould the opinion of the audience in favor of the product. Even the most drab and dull subjects can be turned into an interesting one with the magical wand of advertising. Copywriting (both in print and media) provides the audience with such simple and loveable jingles that go to a great extent in popularizing the advertisement as well the product. Its role in creating a general awareness of the product among its target audience is very important. It is based on this advertisement that a consumer first comes to know the new product’s features, availability status, and price. It is based on the proper advertising of any product that its survival in the market is decided.

Advertising thus can be said to be a key tool, which creates “need”, which earlier was not perceived by the consumer. It creates a brand consciousness among people which in the long run tends to be an important factor in popularizing the demand of the product or good. It is advertising that builds a drive in the customer to purchase or consume the good by highlighting the best features in the good, which would ultimately help to satisfy the customer need.

Television (advertisements), radio (jingles), press (paid spaces), and different other means like glow signs, billboards, posters, pamphlets are the various ways by which the consumer receives the message an advertisement would want to provide about its brand to which later on the consumer would relate. In other words advertising can manipulate the thought of the consumer in favor of the good. However much depends on how the good is presented in front of the consumers, which again brings to our notice the use of proper words, colour, theme and emotions.