You’ve decided to make the leap. You’re going to start selling your products and services online. You’re excited. Wow! Millions of people will be able to buy from you.

Let’s see — what will you need to do first? Yep. You’ll need to create your own Web site.

A week or two later, your Web site is complete. You’re thrilled. It’s exactly what you wanted, your own storefront online. You get to work and do everything you’re advised to do: you send out news releases and submit your site to all the search engines. You promote your URL on everything from your business stationery to the side of your car.

Six months after that, you’re starting to see a trickle of traffic, but it’s hardly the flood you imagined it would be, and you lose heart and interest. The Internet, you decide, is a sham, a haven for sp*mmers and assorted lunatics. You vow that you’re staying with the safe and comfy offline world, and you vow never to be taken in again.

What did you do wrong?

Oddly enough, you did nothing wrong. You did everything right — BUT what about branding?

In the real world you create your brand without too much effort. People judge you by your physical presence: by your office, your clothes, your stationery, your advertising and your voice on the phone. In the virtual world, you lose all those valuable cues which tell people how to pigeonhole you. You must replace them with something.

Offline, your brand is you. It’s you online, too. However, it takes more effort to create. You need to create an online persona and a Unique Selling Point. A tagline, or motto, is also helpful.

Important: There is no way you can do this stuff wrong. You just need to do it. If your goals change at some time in the future, not a problem — just change your online persona, your USP and your tagline. Then hey presto chango, a whole new you/ brand.

Also important: don’t be afraid to be bold. Share your passion. If you’re enthusiastic about what you do, others will be too. You must be enthusiastic to create a memorable brand.

=>Your online persona

In the online world, you can be whatever you aspire to be, by creating an online persona. Take a look at these three sites:

1. Judy Cullins’s online persona is "The Book Coach".

http://www.bookcoaching.com

2. Tara Calishain’s online persona is that of an online research expert, with "ResearchBuzz".

http://www.researchbuzz.com/

3. Jane Teresa Anderson’s online persona is that of a dream expert with "Jane’s Dream Network".

http://www.dream.net.au

Judy, Tara and Jane have all created an online persona which is easy to remember. You can do the same.

Start by thinking about what you’re passionate about, and what you hope to achieve.

=> Your USP (Unique Selling Point)

Your USP (although you probably won’t spell it out for people directly on your site or anywhere else) needs to be evident in everything on your site during the first year or so. It’s your mission statement if you like, or your compass.

Your USP tells people what to expect from you. This, combined with your online persona, is your brand. Your USP must relate directly to your audience.

Write down this question: "In one sentence of 25 words or less, what matters most to me?" Answer the question.

Your answer won’t appear on your site, it’s strictly for you. Another way of putting it would be: "Where’s my passion here?"

Your answer is your USP. You don’t need to share your answer. However, keep it in mind. Look on the answer as your road map for the site. If everything you write/ create for the site harks back to those 25 words, there’s no way you can go wrong in creating a coherent online persona. And your own brand.

=> Your tagline

From your 25 words, create a tagline/ slogan. You don’t need to use the exact words, just the general idea behind them. For example:

My tagline for Creative Small Biz is: Turn your talent into a flourishing business.

For Creative Copywriting it’s: Words That Work.

For Digital-e it’s: Info To Go.

Your tagline keeps you focused, it’s a reminder to yourself.

There you have it. It’s easy to create your own online brand. How much does it cost? Not a cent, just some thinking time. Its value to you however, is immense. With your own brand, you will stand out online. (And you’ll have a lot of fun, too.)

Author of many books, including Making the Internet Work for Your Business, copywriter and journalist Angela Booth also writes copy for businesses large and small, and consults on search engine marketing. Angela has written copy for companies in many industries, ranging from technology and real estate to the jewellery trade. Her clients include major corporations like hp (Hewlett Packard), WestPac Bank, and Acer Computer. For copywriting services and marketing advice contact Angela at angelabooth.com

Products on market today that claim to be recycled or have recycled content in them may not be true. Because there are not any regulations in place about recycled content, it’s often confusing and misleading to consumers. By distinguishing the difference between what Post Consumer Waste and Post Industrial Waste, Consumers can make more educated decisions on the products that they purchase.

Post-Consumer Waste can be defined as paper that has already been used and returned through a recycling program, and keeping it out of the landfill. This process usually involves removing the inks from these materials and then processed to make new paper or board. Office paper waste makes up the majority of post-consumer waste content that is used to make recycled copy and printing papers.

Pre-Consumer or Post Industrial Waste can be materials that have not met their intended end-use by a consumer and include allowable waste left over from manufacturing, converting, and printing processes. Examples: mill-converting scraps or trim to pulp substitutes.

Some products claim to have recycled content by using mill broke (trim and bi-product removed during production) and low or no Post Consumer Content. Read the fine print! As a nation, we create a lot of post consumer waste that should be converted into new materials. Rebinder is made from a minimum of 35-38% Post Consumer Recycled Waste.

There are some binders on the market claiming to be made from "Recycled Vinyl". Vinyl is not recyclable unless you are using left over bi-product from producing vinyl binders! It’s great that they are reusing the waste that they produce, but don’t be confused with the idea that people are recycling their used recycled binders.

Another binder manufacturer on the market, claims that their product is "PVC Free" and "100% Recyclable". The ring metals are riveted into the plastic. If you can find some way to disassemble this binder, just try recycling one of these binders at your curbside one week. Your curbside recycling pick up will not take it!

Why buy a product that is not recycled or cannot be recycled? We are confident that you will find our recycled binder product to be as durable as a vinyl binder. Replacing your cover with a new one is cost effective and easy to do.

Protect Your Documents While Protecting Your Environment! REBINDER

Brad Hole is the President of Sustainable Group; a manufacturer of environmentally friendly office supplies. Our office supplies will change the way you view recycled products. http://www.sustainablegroup.net

Your consumers are bombarded everyday with thousands of brand images and sales pitches. "In order to survive the onslaught of choices, consumers make snap judgments."

I read this in a book that was recommended to me entitled All Marketers Are Liars. What’s fascinating about most of us is that we consistently make judgments on very little information. In effect, consumers absorb little bits of information (like seeing your logo or business card) and then make judgments and predictions about your business based on the little input they’ve been exposed to.

Don’t believe me?

Well, have you ever made up your mind about a political candidate without ever meeting her/him? How about picking a movie based on the ads in the paper? If you shop online, do you make a decision on how reputable the company is based on their Web site? Yep, we all make snap decisions. This is the reason that speed dating has been so popular and effective for people—we all make snap judgments based on a first impression.

The truth is, that often, based on a first impression, we consumers make up our minds instantly—and according to All Marketers Are Liars, consumers stick to those decisions like a barnacle on a sailboat. Once the snap decision has been made, consumers seek out information that supports their snap judgments and ignore information that doesn’t. For consumers, this approach saves an immense amount of time and keeps them from going nuts; for savvy business owners, this screams, "My first impression better be a good one."

So what does all this mean to you?

This is why having a professional, marketing-focused and consistent business identity is so important. The truth is, your customers make snap judgments, and once those decisions are made, they are tough to change. So you want to make certain that the first impression your customers might receive from you (business card, logo, phone call from you, Web site, brochure, signage, etc) is the impression that you want to send to them.

Would you like to check out more of All Marketers Are Liars? It is written by Seth Godin and is available to purchase on Amazon.com. If you are a business owner looking for an edge, pick up Seth’s book. If you know another business owner who might benefit from reading this article, forward their name and email address to me at comments@candographics.com

Jeremy Tuber runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. He is an atypical designer with a passion for marketing as well as design. Jeremy infuses solid marketing expertise into design projects that he guarantees to bring satisfaction and results. Clients often remark that he brings a terrific enthusiasm and a “can do” attitude to each project. In 1st quarter 2006, he will introduce his first book aimed at helping aspiring artists run a more profitable, enjoyable design business called, “Being a Starving Artist Sucks”.

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

In the past, the saying has always been “don’t underestimate the power of branding” but now the best advice seems to be “don’t underestimate the power of women!” Ignore it at your peril.

If statistics out of the US are any guide for the rest of the world to follow, and in the past this has been the case, then everyone in the advertising industry should give their serious attention to this fact. Jupiter Research has concluded that women influence 83 percent of all purchase decisions. There are more women online today than men.

And looking forward, 70 percent of all US women will be online in 2006, and looking even further ahead, 85 million women will purchase products and services online by 2010.

These statistics are huge by anyone’s measurements. Does anyone out there still have doubts as to the potential of ecommerce? Or more importantly, guys, how do your doubts hold up as to the influence of women on the internet?

US women over 40 are devoting more time online per week than running errands, eating or preparing meals, relaxing, or spending time with friends. Their internet time outweighs watching TV, listening to the radio and other media activities.

So what does this really tell us?

Fact #1 Advertisers in both traditional and new media, have up until now, been seriously underestimating women power
Fact #2 Women are the dominant gender when it comes to online spending
Fact #3 Women know women better than men know women (I’m sure most husbands would agree.)

Who better to understand the consumer behavior of women than women themselves? This last fact should lend itself to a rush to employ or promote females into the positions of advertising executives and creative directors. Now guys, don’t get us gals wrong, sensitive men can still create great ads for women and vice versa, but if the above statistics can be believed, then surely you should be eagerly encouraging the women in your industry to play a greater role in both decision making and creativity.

This makes such common sense to me, nothing biased about it.

Penny Archer, herself a “Consumer Queen”, is a Director of SmartDames FZ LLC, an international email List Broker based in Dubai Media City, Dubai. Other articles that she has written can be found at http://www.smartdames.com or http://www.listownerlimbo.com

In the digital age, companies that want to stay ahead need the tools to do so. Mobile marketing is one of those tools. This method of advertising allows businesses to connect to those that they need to, effectively. It allows the organization to spend messages to mobile phones to promote a product or a service. It also for them to tell their targeted audience that the store parking lot they just pulled into has something on sale. Or, it allows them to know that today is the last day for the lowest price of the seasons. Mobile marketing works for several reasons.

Convenience

Let’s face it. We are all working on finding the best way to accomplish all that we need to in the fastest, most convenient way. Mobile marketing allows individuals to receive the information they need to reach their goals, when they need it. It is convenient because it allows for not external needs. They don’t have to get online to see the ad. They don’t have to have the radio on a specific channel either. They don’t have to watch the television commercials to hear it. They get the information on their mobile phone. How many people that you know don’t take their phone with them?

Get It To The Right Audience

Mobile marketing is targeted advertising. You don’t find yourself pushing a new electronic gadget on the senior citizen that doesn’t know how to send an email. Because there is an activation process, the marketing goes to those who it will work for, those who are interested in the products and services available. There are few other mediums that can do that.

Personal Touch

The personal nature of mobile marketing also is effective for this type of advertising. The message is sent directly to them, not to a board range of people. This personal nature is quite effective at making them click and buy.

Mobile marketing is an excellent type of marketing that we can count on seeing more of down the road. Because of how well it works, more and more companies are getting it that this is the marketing of the future. Why waste money, precious advertising dollars on a ‘maybe they will see it’ type of advertising? Mobile marketing is fast becoming the advertising medium.

Sandy Baker is a well respected writer and recommends using http://www.juicewireless.com , the leading provider of highly successful and a lauded mobile marketing company , providing solutions to major consumer brands and media companies.

If you’re in business, you need to pitch that business. Essentially, pitching is aiming at a particular section of a market. You might pitch your new product at retirees with a certain income level, for example.

The term pitching is also used in the sense of making a pitch: making a bid to get a contract or other business. You should always be ready to verbally pitch your business. After all, you never know where your next order is coming from. The person standing next to you in the queue at the coffee shop may have a need for what you can provide.

Verbal pitches are sometimes called "elevator speeches"— you describe what your business does in the time it takes to ride an elevator. The idea is that you don’t just make a bland statement about what you do, you put some zip into it. You create a sound bite that encapsulates your business in a couple of sentences.

Create a verbal pitch for your business. Even if you never pitch anyone in person, you can use your pitch in your advertising.

Here’s an example of a verbal pitch. Let’s say you’re a graphical designer. When someone asks you what you do, you could say: "I tell your business’s story with vivid images to make your customers laugh, cry and buy."

Pitches are like taglines (mottoes, or slogans). If you create a one-sentence verbal pitch you like, use it everywhere: on your stationery, on your Web site, in your advertising —- and of course, use it to sell your business to people you’ve just met.

Author of many books, including Making the Internet Work for Your Business, copywriter and journalist Angela Booth also writes copy for businesses large and small, and consults on search engine marketing. Angela has written copy for companies in many industries, ranging from technology and real estate to the jewellery trade. Her clients include major corporations like hp (Hewlett Packard), WestPac Bank, and Acer Computer. For copywriting services and marketing advice contact Angela at angelabooth.com

You put a lot of thought into naming your children, why wouldn’t you spend a considerable amount of time naming your business too? Your business name is the first impression of your business and the products and services you offer. It’s important to name it wisely.

Your business name should reflect your product or your target market (niche, which we will cover later) and should be relatively short and easy to remember. You wouldn’t want to set up your business with a name like "Joe’s washers, dryers, refrigerators and kitchen appliances supermarket" when you can easily adopt a short catchier name like "Joe’s Appliance Mart". If you are inclined to merge your slogan in with your business name, you could go with something like "Joe’s Affordable Appliances". This defines your business a bit more as to the pricing and products offered.

Select a name that will be easy for the customer to remember and gives a clue as to what product or service you are selling. Flip through a few pages in your phone book and try to relate a product with the business name. This may help you in deciding on what name you choose. It won’t hurt to write down several and then narrow down the list over a period of a couple days until you find one that suits your business the best. It also might help if you bounce a few ideas off a friend or associate. Often times you can get a few more ideas using this method.

Doing a search on trademarks is also a good idea as you wouldn’t want a conflict in names with someone else already doing business in your area. A good place to start checking trademarks is the US Patent and Trademark Database at http://www.uspto.gov/tmdb or at Name Protect at http://www.idresearch.com. Both of these sites offer free database searching to help you in discovering if your business name is a conflict with preexisting trademarks. The last thing you want to do is infringe on an existing trademark and start off your business with a lawsuit.

Businesses that use a name other than the owner’s must register the fictitious name with the county as required by the Trade Name Registration Act. This does not apply to corporations doing business under their corporate name or to those practicing a profession under a partnership name. For more information contact your state or local government.

No matter what you decide to name your business, it will make a big difference in how your company is perceived by others. By taking choosing a name that is unique and easy to remember, you are setting the stage for the success of your business.

Kim Haas is a WAHM and Founder of Womans-Net.com, a popular online networking community focusing on working from home and women in business and owner of Article-Host.com. To learn more about Kim, visit http://kimberlyhaas.com

Copyright 2005 Kim Haas

As you know some of the best ways to get traffic to your site is through the search engines. And as you know search engines love blogs.

If you know how to use blogs you can easily get more traffic to your website just by posting your keywords in the title and having your blogs indexed.

Other ways to get traffic to your site is to use popular free traffic exchanges. They come in many forms such as start (homepage) exchanges, safelists (opt in email ads), toolbar ads such as instantbuzz.com and forums such as the free advertising forum.

If you are looking to kill 2 birds with one stone, you can advertise for free on a new BLOG that actually allows you to place your ads for free on their site.

The reason this is good because you get all the benefits of placing your ads on a BLOG and you all get to advertise for free.

Most people would look at this as a no brainer. Although most webmaster do not like people to advertise on the blogs, this site was made just for that.

It is free to join and thousands are flocking to this service to drive huge traffic to their sites in ju8st days by simply posting one little ad on their home page.

For more details visit here http://www.free-advertising-blog.com/Advertise-Free/1981

Deadlines are a part of business, particularly in the business of design. Clients often approach me in the 11th hour, expecting a miracle. The truth is, while accomplished designers can create extraordinary artwork in a shorten amount of time, it’s more advantageous for business owners to afford the designer ample time to go through her/his creative process. Sure, I can pull some rabbits out of my hat and work some minor miracles, but you’ll get some much more out of your investment if you allow ample time.

Good design, like Rome, was never and shouldn’t be created in a day.

The amount of time needed by a designer to work through the creative process depends on a number of factors; some are more measurable than others. As a general rule, the more creative energy and thought that a project requires, the more time a designer needs to create a lasting, imaginative, and effectual piece of artwork. What this means is that your periodic web site updates will require much less creative "juice" than creating an entirely new business identity. Some projects are more routine than creative, the more routine they are, the faster they can be done (most of the time). Ideally, I’d like to have at least 2 days on a project.

Secondly , the scope and size of the project also has a direct bearing on the time needed to complete a project. Projects with smaller project scopes naturally adapt better to a compressed time frame - they are smaller. So if you have a project that is small in scope or if it requires more doing than thinking, you might be in luck. Projects that are both lengthy and creative in nature should be given ample time to conceptualize and design.

Short + routine = speed.

Lengthy + lots of creativity = time.

In a perfect world, business owners and designers would have all the time they need to collaborate and complete a project. But the real world often doesn’t work out that way, and experienced designers know it. Tight deadlines are a part of everyday business but designers often charge rush fees, which can range from 1.5 to 3X her/his normal rate, so you’ll want to avoid them whenever possible.

Here are a couple of things you can do to save yourself money and maximize your design investment:

out what his/her workload is like

as you can to complete the project

Jeremy Tuber runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. He is an atypical designer with a passion for marketing as well as design. Jeremy infuses solid marketing expertise into design projects that he guarantees to bring satisfaction and results. Clients often remark that he brings a terrific enthusiasm and a "can do" attitude to each project. In 1st quarter 2006, he will introduce his first book aimed at helping aspiring artists run a more profitable and more enjoyable design business called, "Being a Starving Artist Sucks".

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

Are you running classified ads regularly? You should. They’re a powerful way to promote your business inexpensively.

Online, you can place ads in ezines and on Web sites, and offline, run them in your local paper and in trade magazines.

If you’ve tried a classified or two to promote your business and were disappointed with the results, remember that a one-shot deal won’t work.

You need to run your ads repeatedly. For months, not weeks. Run one classified a week in a newspaper, or one a month in magazine read by your target audience —for at least four months.

The humble classified ad is the magic bullet of advertising. And like a bullet, it needs to be precisely aimed.

=> Step One: Pick your bait

Somehow you’ve got to pack the copywriter’s AIDA formula of an successful ad: Attract, Interest, Desire, and Action, into 30 words.

You attract interest, arouse desire and get the reader to take action, with an appealing bait.

Start by listing everything you can think of to say about your product or service. Don’t limit yourself. Don’t just cover all the features you usually cover. Write down *everything* you can think of. You should have a long list.

Let’s say you’re selling a German Shepherd puppy. You can include: color, age, sex, the pedigree, temperament, conformation, and vaccination history. Don’t confine yourself to only these points however.

Add that he’ll sit and drop on command, walks on a lead, loves the cat, and is greedy. The more attributes you list about your puppy, the more likely it is that you’ll hit on a unique combination of words which will make your ad stand out.

In your 30-word ad, you can’t cover everything, so you’ll tailor your ad to your ideal buyer, by mentioning only those things which will appeal to that ideal buyer.

This pre-screens your buyers for you. It doesn’t matter what you’re advertising either, whether it’s a car, a lawn mowing service, a job, or a business.

When you’ve listed everything, pick four or five things you think would appeal to your ideal buyer.

=> Step Two: Write the headline

Your classified ad won’t really have a headline, but the first line functions as a headline. It should stop the reader cold, and it must be part of your sales message.

Remember that in newspapers, classifieds run in categories with headed columns, so don’t repeat words like "For Sale".

=> Step Three: Write the body copy

You can’t be too creative in a basic classified. Give the facts. You can add descriptive words like "charming", "classic", and "elegant" to spice up the copy. Use punctuation rather than linking words like "and".

Get enthusiastic about what you’re selling. This enthusiasm will come across in the ad. Imagine yourself the buyer: using the item, applying for the job, or buying from the business.

This enthusiasm is vital when you’re selling. If for some reason you’re having a bad morning, put the ad away for a few hours until you can achieve genuine enthusiasm

If you’re writing an ad for someone else, and you don’t feel excited, it’s usually because you don’t know enough about what you’re selling. Do a little more research.

=> Step Four: Get the response

Don’t forget to add the phone number, the address if required, or the online URL.

The response is usually placed last in a classified. However, you can make your ad stand out by giving the phone number or the URL, and then making one final selling point: "Three only", "free quotes", or "results guaranteed".

=> Step Five: Write several versions

Write at least four versions of the ad. Then go and do something else. When you come back, you’ll have more perspective so you can pick the best one.

Here’s a successful technique: if you have so many selling points that the ad runs long, split it and run two ads.

=> Step Six: Test your ad

Testing is a must for a business ad. Often changing the first line, or rearranging your selling points will double or triple the pulling power of an ad.

How do you test? The basic process is to run the ad, and record the response. Ask the people who responded what drew their attention to the ad.

Keep changing the ad slightly, and recording the response each time you run it. The ad you settle on for longterm use is the ad which pulled the most responses.

Author of many books, including Making the Internet Work for Your Business, copywriter and journalist Angela Booth also writes copy for businesses large and small, and consults on search engine marketing. Angela has written copy for companies in many industries, ranging from technology and real estate to the jewellery trade. Her clients include major corporations like hp (Hewlett Packard), WestPac Bank, and Acer Computer. For copywriting services and marketing advice contact Angela at angelabooth.com