Make a list of everything you think should be included at one time or another, in one of your ad, be it radio, newspaper or Little Jimmie’s class play program.

Everything. Experience, staff, facility, product. The list will be quite long. Take the time to do it now, before you read the rest of this article.

Next, take a hard look at your list, pencil in hand, and cross off all items that are about YOU (including YOUR staff, YOUR building, YOUR ranking, awards etc). Now, x-out all the FEATURES of your products or service.

The number one rule, the only rule, for great advertising is "Sell the Benefits".

Take a poll, people don’t care if you have the largest selection in town. It means nothing that "New Stuff is arriving daily". They want to know what you or your product can do for them. WIIFM or "What’s In It For Me?" Ease pain and you gain.

You see and hear ads everyday that miss the point entirely. Giant billboards with pictures of the medical clinic staff standing in front of a wall of awards. Picture of a guy with a wrench and the words "See me for all your plumbing needs." Three little girls on TV yelling an unintelligible slogan about their daddy’s store. It’s all about them. It should be all about the customer.

Did you see the one on TV where a guy gets the water cooler dumped on him because he bought the good software? What picture does that tell? It would have been better if the guy told me (from a sunny beach location) the boss gave him another week of vacation because the new software saved the company 40 million bucks. Benefits.

How about the newspaper ad with the picture of the funeral home building and how they have been around for 85 years? Benefit?

Ads about "you you you" can look and sound really great, to you, you, you. We all love to talk about ourselves. Where are the benefits? What hook does your face on a billboard use to bring customers through the door? Your face is NOT a benefit.

We all grew up thinking "me me me". Remember how excited you got when you first saw your name or picture in the newspaper? Even the school paper. It was a BIG deal. "Me me me." Great for your ego, but take that thinking to your advertising and it flops.

The first time you make the list and cross out the me me mees and all the features, you may have only one or two points left to promote. Make a new list and think "them them them". Think benefits.

The ads that stick in your head are the ones that promise to make your life easier. The appliance store promising to deliver at the appointed time. You don’t have to stay home all day waiting for the truck. A real benefit. It makes no difference if the TV is made by Acme or Zenith? They will deliver on time. Let’s go there. Benefits.

The company that says their plumber will show up clean, on time, and not smell. Another benefit!

Who cares what a financial advisor looks like, but tell people they can retire and not eat dog food and you get their attention. Benefit.

Funny thing, the ads about benefits are the ones we make the mental note to remember. Hmmm.

Sell the benefits and you don’t have to sell yourself.

For more about advertising, get my article "What’s Your Selling Sentence?" Send a blank eMail to MailTo:SellingSentence@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

My wife and I were cruising around the antique shops in Twin Falls when I came upon a book published in 1912 by the A.W. Shaw Company, Chicago, New York. The title is How to Write Advertisements that Sell.

The book is part of a series of “how to” books and the author or authors are not revealed.

The First Chapter of the book has a clever little table that all of you experts probably already know about. I hadn’t seen it before so I was impressed.

I’m not allowed to put illustrations in my articles. I’ve put the table on the Internet and you can see it at http://www.secret-cash.com/chart.html.

According to the text, the question that must be answered for any advertising campaign is 4-fold:

1. What does the buyer want?

2. How does your product fit that want?

3. What tone should dominate your advertisement?

4. What should be its chief appeals for trade?

In the answers to these questions you have the “center and heart” of the message your campaign should carry. Knowing your product is not enough; you must know it “in relation to its prospective purchaser.”

An example given is that in the days of the introduction of the farm tractor, explaining how a tractor works to a farmer was talking to thin air. The farmer had no background in mechanics. He knew about horses. The farmer had to learn about tractors from his basis of knowing horses. The farmer knew how many acres he could plow in a day with a horse. The tractor salesman had to tell him how many acres he could plow in a day with a tractor. You feed the horse hay. You feed the tractor gasoline. You put the horse in the barn at night. You can leave the tractor in the field if you want to. Just bring it in from the weather in the fall. The horse needs shoes. The tractor needs tires. Oh, you’ve got it!

Living in Idaho and having a horse, even I understand the above.

The point is made that studying successful advertising campaigns is not the best way to develop your own successful campaign. It is better to study campaign failures. Trying to imitate a successful campaign with your product can bring failure.

The point is made that the success of the campaign you are studying and plan to copy may not depend on what you think. Your competitor “may have special skills” that you do not have. His copy may have “elements of strength” that you don’t recognize. He may be succeeding “despite his advertising mistakes.”

The authors say that when you make the addition of one appeal to your campaign that turns a failure into a success, the “lesson becomes plain.” You experts will know what that means.

The chart at http://www.secret-cash.com/chart.html was not produced by the authors. It is the result of a study made by one marketer over many years. Note the two questions at the top of the chart. Does the potential customer have to increase his spending or just direct it your way? Now look at the appeal factors. Note how they change your copy. Now look at the basic motives you are appealing to.

Problems come in the misdiagnosis of problems. IF you picked "B" when you should have picked "D" you will be appealing to the wrong motives.

I suggest you study the chart in relation to your past campaigns and to what you are doing now. You might be surprised at the results.

If this turns your bummer into a gold mine, send money.

One last note: Your competitor may be unethical. He may be offering “product group” deals. He might be absorbing tooling cost. He may be bribing the buyer by taking him to Alaska fishing. He might be selling below cost. You just can’t trust anybody these days, can you? Let the advertiser be aware as much as the buyer.

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine. He is Executive Representative of IWS sellers of Tyler Hicks wealth-success books and kits. He also sells TopFlight flagpoles. He calls himself "Taylor Jones, the hack writer."

More info: http://www.tjbooks.com

Business web site: http://www.aaaflagpoles.com

Every community has ‘em. Fast talkers who roll into town with a clever idea to sell to people in business.

Many times the ideas are clever and cute but you should weigh the ups and downs of every offer before you dig out the checkbook. Most of these in-town-for-a-day people want their cash up front.

Some of the common flim-flams are:

Coupon Books

They offer to put you in a giant coupon book to be sold for the needy charity or Lions Club. Books are sold on the phone for $29 and delivered by the Boy Scouts. Watch out for errors and missing expirations once the operation has moved to another town.

Telephone Book Covers

They wrap around the book and the callers see your ad every time they reach for the book. Might be OK if you own the wrecker service, locksmith or funeral home, but run the other way if you have a grocery, Mickey Dees, or bank.

City Maps

Your ad goes somewhere around the edge of the map. You might get pitched by several companies. Some look better than others, most are very pricey. Pick up maps like these when you see them and decide if you’d do business with anyone on the map because of the ad. Distribution is the selling point. Placement is the bug-a-boo. What if your ad is on the back and the reader only looks at the front? Don’t be fooled by the promise of radio ads proclaiming free maps and mentioning your name.

Bibles for Newlyweds

I wish I had thought of this one 30 years ago. I would be clipping coupons instead of writing about it.

The fast talker promises to send a Bible to all newlyweds in the county (the names and addresses of the happy couples are public record at the courthouse). Four to six sales at about $500 each and they mail a one dollar Bible 4th class, a peel and stick label stuck inside with the name of the "sponsors" in inkjet color.

They can easily sell a town a day at 3 large and make one trip a quarter to visit the courthouse for names. Work it for two months on a route and eat cake the other 10. A great moneymaker for the Bible people, a dud for advertising effectiveness. But like kids in school and American Flags, this emotion sells well in every community.

There are hundreds of advertising "opportunities" out there. Your job as a business owner is to separate the effective from the cute and clever.

For more about advertising, get my article "Your Billboard is Showing" MailTo:Billboards@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

According to the product life-cycle theory, almost any product passes five stages during its existence regardless the desire of manufactures and customers. These stages are birth, growth, maturity, decay and atrophy. To prevent the last two stages marketologists suggest improving the product in the early stages of its development.

The results of the expert statistics show that 90% of the world innovations are nothing more product developments. And only the remaining 10% mean launch of new products and technologies. The Japanese are considered to have achieved the remarkable results in constant product development. An outstanding expert Masaaki Imai has generated the concept of constant product development “Kaizen”. Though there is a great number of products that have not gone through significant changes over many years and nevertheless they hold stable inviolable positions in the world market. First of all it holds true for food: cereals, vodka, wines, most of the confectionery, cigars, etc. However the milk we drink today is not the same as it was say, 50 years ago. In the second half of the twentieth century we saw the milk in Tetra Pak packages with improved consumer qualities allowing us to keep it for months.

Nowadays when the products of different competition trademarks are becoming more and more similar it is extremely difficult to attain real improvement of their functional features. That is why the changes are more likely to be in design than in functioning. Besides the experts from Brand Lab stress that at present consumers regard product design as important as its functions. Here we have a great deal of examples: any successful design change is considered to be an improvement or development, rebranding and so on. Probably the most illustrative example of design change is computer mouth. Unlike the computer itself, which is constantly being improved and mostly in its functions the mouth has not practically modified since its birth in 1980s. But its design has been transforming cardinally all the time. It greatly rouses the customers’ interest in the product. Marketing managers are inclined to think that only marketing research can show the objective answer what particularly should be improved in the product.

A classic example of a successful survey - Kit Kat chocolate from Nestle. In 1990s this chocolate was positioned as the product for pleasure. It enjoyed good sales rates throughout the world. In 2000s in the west the consumers began to perceive the small bars of chocolate not as the product for pleasure, but as a means to appease hunger. Taking this fact into account Nestle launched Kit Kat in the form of a bar (and аt the same time began to produce Kit Kat of a standard size). It started a n advertising campaign with a slogan “Have a break. Have a Kit Kat". The sales rates of the chocolate again were moving upwards. So as we see from the above examples we must be aware of the fact that any product will become obsolete sooner or later.

Do not wait until it actually happens, and the sales rates dramatically are going down. Start your work on the product improvement when you are developing the product. Otherwise all the attempts to improve it later will turn into a waste of time, effort and money losses. Secondly, though it may in some way contradict the first postulate miracles do happen. That is why when the market is getting narrowed it does not mean that everything is lost and you have to let the product just die. Not so often but nevertheless there are cases when there are ways to improve this product, the market revives and even increases several times as much.

Tyler Benson is a senior writer of BestEssays.com - Custom Term Paper writing service. For more than five years, Tyler Benson has written the number of projects on History, History of Migration, Ancient and Asian History. He has 17 years of experience as the professor of several universities. Currently he is working on creating his writing guide for university students. It will cover all the details of the essay (e.g. choosing the correct process essay topic) and explaining the peculiarities of writing every type of essay (e.g. writing persuasive essay).

The content of advertising is basically the same no matter what the media. It is good and it works, or it is bad. Some TV ads are so clever people tend to remember the cleverness and forget the product.

Here are seven tips to help you create better ads. Better ads for Newspaper, Radio, Billboards, Cable, Yellow Pages, anything with your name on it.

1 It’s Not About YOU. Sell the benefits. The benefits of coming to your store or doing business with you is what the customer wants, They say "What’s In It For Me?" Your mug shot on a 40 foot billboard can’t answer that question.

2 Be Consistent Pick a theme and stick with it, in all your print, radio and TV ads. Pick a look and stick with it. Every ad builds on your brand, don’t change the concept because YOU are getting tired of it. The exposure level with potential customers is much less than with you.

3 Sell Benefits not Features. Once you get the customer in the door you can brag about the features of your product or company, but lure them there with a promise of a great benefit. "Brushless Car Wash" is a feature "Cleaner than new in two minutes" is a benefit.

4 Be Different. Check your Sunday paper to see how many ads look alike. In the supermarket, most mustard is in a yellow package, most Ginger Ale has a green label. In advertising sameness is suicide. Don’t look like or sound like your competition.

5 Use a Great Headline "Jim’s Locksmith Shop" at the top of an ad is NOT a powerful headline, or a good opening for a radio ad. "We can Pick ANY lock!" or "Locked out? We Can Get You Back IN" are powerful and answer WIIFM ("What’s In It For Me?")

6 Make it Easy to Find You The best ads, in print and in the air are directions, NOT address. Pay attention to ads you see this week. "809 Main" doesn’t say much, but "On Main Street Downtown across from the firehouse" is a good as a map. Note: If your advertising will cover several communities (most do) be sure to include your city or community. No need to use state. "On Main Street in Downtown Smallville across from the firehouse"

7 Avoid Phone Numbers With the exception of Yellow Pages Advertising, where people are looking for telephone numbers, most folks don’t carry a pad in the car or keep one next to the TV to jot down numbers. Remember how hard it was to find something to write with when you saw something on a TV news show that you really wanted to call about? By the time you found the pencil, it was gone. Same with advertising. Focus on getting them to remember your benefits and your name. Phone numbers are a big NoNo.

To have the best advertising, YOU must become the advertising expert. Advice from the person selling advertising is usually best only for the media being pitched and does not help you with the others. Become an astute observer of others who advertise and use the best elements you see.

For more about advertising from get my article "15 Tips for Better Yellow Pages Ads" Send a blank eMail to the MailTo:15TipsYP@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

Are you or someone you know techno-phobic? Do you have a customer base who is still relies on an old fashioned pen and paper to record appointments, dates, times, places and people? Help you’re average “Joe customer,” yourself or your loved ones to a custom calendar. Conveniently record everything from all your children’s school activities, sporting events, doctor’s appointments, etc. How about keeping track of all your important meetings, lunches, dates, and times? A calendar print is just the way to go.

Having the capability to organize and manage a hectic lifestyle on one simple calendar can be a priceless tool. For the average consumer, adding a personal touch such as photographs or inspirational quotes can boost the overall productivity and usability of a custom calendar. To smile each and every time flipping through a calendar becomes necessary, will make things seem even more organized. The benefits to an average business owner can range greatly from increased productivity to increased customer base. Keeping on top of appointments and contacts can help increase sales, and to give out promotional calendars as advertisements can increase customer loyalty. Imagine satisfied customers using the custom calendar to schedule their hectic lives, and having a constant reminder of the person and/or business that helped get them there.

Whether creating a calendar for yourself, your loved ones, or your customers, many affordable options present themselves before you. Many local retailers such as Office Depot, Staples, Kinko’s and other printing services will gladly put together calendars for to promote growth of your business, or make great holiday gifts. When your loved ones use their new calendars they will undoubtedly think of you when they organize they thoroughly organize their lives. With many different sizes, formats, and options available to customize a calendar, the possibilities and styles veritably limitless. When ordering calendar printing services, especially from retailers, many discount programs are available, including reward cards, new customer discounts, and bulk discounts. As much as 10%, 15%, even 20% discounts are available on qualifying orders.

The whole world has not gone digitized as of yet, and so some people still take a pen to the paper to organize their lives, bringing yourself to them will help widen a customer base, and make great gifts at holiday time. With a variety of styles, quantities, colors, schemes, and sizes available, full marketability is at the fingertips of the business owner and awe at a great gift is within reach to the average person with something as simple and thoughtful as a calendar. With full customizability there will never be any doubt that what you see is what you will get. When receiving an attractive and eye catching document, such as a calendar, customer’s and loved ones alike remember who gave them such an impressive display of creativity and craftsmanship, along with exactly why. When impressing a family member, or a customer counts, or the need to just get organized rears its ugly head, a custom calendar is the number one solution to consider.

Our Printing Directory is dedicated to the printing industry. Find more information and other printing topics on our Calendar Printing resource page.

It is a given that billboard advertising "outdoor" is not a "quick fix". If sales are down, you can’t quickly put up a few boards to boost the numbers. You must plan ahead.

Lead time is not short when using outdoor. The best use of boards is for image building and brand awareness.

Billboards are not cost effective for one time only sales or non-repeating special events. Most billboards are sold for a minimum of one month.

Using billboards is akin to TV, it can mean you have "arrived" as a formidable business.Billboards are image builders.

Painted billboards (Paints) are the oldest form of outdoor advertising. Poster Boards (Paper) may be the best known. We have all seen the billboard guy hanging off the ladder with the swirling wallpaper-like panels being pushed into place with the big glue broom.

All the rage now is the use of vinyl on boards. This allows for better color, longer life and very fine graphics. Vinyls are printed with a special printer, not unlike your computer printer (but bigger).

Bulletins are the giant boards you often see along Interstates. They can be as big as 20 x 60 feet.

Here are BIG Mike’s 9 Tips for Better Billboard Advertising.

1 Buy at least a 50 showing (meaning 50% of the population will see it at least once a day) and do it every other month. Many times if the board is not sold after your time runs out, it will remain up for free until replaced.

2 Be sure some if not most of the boards you buy are lighted locations.

3 Choose stand alone rather than stacked boards (if you have a choice).

4 Don’t let the billboard salesperson select the locations for you.

5 Buy vinyls instead of paper or paint and bleed the graphic off the edge (so it wraps around the back of the board). Makes your ad look even bigger.

6 Keep the concept short and clever. Offer a solution to their problem, entice them with something new. Avoid same ol’ same ol’.

7 Use the rule of never more than 8 words and one picture. Remember, most readers will be zooming by in a car or truck.

8 Don’t put your picture on the board. Remember the cardinal rule of sales. It’s not all about YOU, it’s all about THEM.

9 Make outdoor a budget item and plan in advance. Spend most of your time working on the concept and design, ‘cause once it’s up there, it can’t be changed and will been seen by everybody.

For more about advertising get my article "Do Your Radio Ads Work?" Send a blank eMail MailTo:RadioAds@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

The ability to stand out from the crowd, gain recognition, and be known is an essential one in many facets of life. It seems as though everywhere we look sets of standardized template designs pervade our very existence. Everything from flyers, brochures, letterheads, logos, T-shirts, websites, and many more eye catching gimmicks seems to come from one of many similar sources. Uniqueness seems to be an antiquated concept. However the ability to have a design completely custom tailored to the fit the exact needs and specifications of any given purpose, for a business, or even for a musical group, are vital to generating exposure.

Eye catching printed material, or even printed apparel, such as screen printed T-shirt designs with a company logo is a great way to gain exposure from the masses. However, the publications and apparel designs must bring something to the table which will draw attention. A plain, boring, standardized concept will turn heads the other direction. A new and creative conceptual design brings forward the possibility for maximum exposure. Passersby will stop dead in their tracks to gawk at the material and keep the company and/or band name in mind. Such simple conceptual designs are not only thought up by professionals. In fact, an average person can easily create a work of great attention grabbing beauty when put to it. The possibilities are limitless for where and how exposure through custom printing can occur. Everything from custom websites, custom T-shirts, custom letterheads, custom brochures, custom flyers, and even custom logos (just to name a few) can be created and mass produced. With web hosting for only pennies a day, the internet has become the new vehicle for exposure.

With billions of websites, and millions more being added each day, the internet has become the worldwide marketplace for the free exchange of ideas and concepts. With web hosting services for just pennies a day, and a great wealth of tools for graphics and web design work, creating a custom logo, and/or website is well within the scope. With a wealth of design techniques, and limitless possibilities for graphics and presentation, the internet is the best places to create a custom publication of any sort. In conjunction with a strong campaign to attract the attention of the less technologically savvy, success is at the fingertips of the daring entrepreneur who decides to break away from the humdrum and overused designs.

Custom prints can be created at varieties of locations, from you local office supply store(s), to your own living room. The conceptual design is best left to professionals for reproduction. A few suggestions might be Office Depot, Staples, or Kinko’s to start. Many different companies can help create a custom and attractive website as well. Although this is something that can be done from one’s own living room, some of the technical and backend aspects are much better left to certified professionals. Clearly the possibilities are limitless when it comes to custom printing, simply begging the question, “Why doesn’t everyone do this?”

Our Printing Directory is dedicated to the printing industry. Find more information and other printing topics on our Custom Printing resource page.

Several years back the billboard people put a big picture of "Sharlene Wells, Miss America" on billboards all over town. She was everywhere. The clever use of the girl had two purposes; the first was to cover up all the unsold boards. The second was to show the effectiveness of billboard advertising.

Surveys were conducted before and after the one month showing of Sharlene’s pretty mug. Before, only 1.5% of people surveyed could recall her name when asked "Who is Miss America". After, the number jumped to an amazing 12%.

The billboard people pointed to this example as proof of the power of outdoor advertising. It gave them the open door to pitch hundreds of potential new customers.

If you bought 50 billboards in your town and used the Miss America approach, people would surely know your name, too.

Here’s the skinny on outdoor advertising; billboards.

You MUST Plan Ahead First, outdoor is not a "quick fix". If sales are down, you can’t quickly put up a few boards to boost the numbers. You must plan ahead. Lead time is not short when using outdoor. The best use of boards is for image building and brand awareness. They are not cost effective for one time only sales or non-repeating special events. Billboards are image builders. Using billboards is akin to TV, it can mean you have "arrived" as a formidable business.

Most are sold for a minimum of one month. You pay twice. First for the board location and second for the media used to put your ad on the board, paint, paper or plastic.

Paints Painted billboards are the oldest form of outdoor advertising. They are painted with special outdoor paint that is weather resistant. Some outdoor paints are specially formulated to resist fading. Painted billboards are also known as "painted bulletins" but most commonly as "paints".

Papers Poster Boards may be the best known. We have all seen the billboard guy hanging off the ladder with the swirling wallpaper-like panels being pushed into place with the big glue broom.

Poster Boards are printed on 8 to 30 sheets of heavy paper, depending on the size. Posters with 8 sheets (6 x 12 feet) are called juniors. Regular boards use 30 sheets and make a 12 x 25 foot sign, counting the heavy metal frame. They are called 30-sheets.

Some old timers refer to poster boards as "papers" and "paper bulletins". Papers look good for about a month, depending on the weather. Nothing looks worse than an old paper board, unattended for long periods where the wind and weather has ripped and torn the panels torn away revealing layers of old signs.

Plastic All the rage now is the use of vinyl on boards. This allows for better color, longer life and very fine graphics. If vinyl boards had been available when they did the Miss America test, people would still be in love with the lady on the board.

Vinyls are printed with a special printer, not unlike your computer printer. Once sprayed with the ultra-violet finish coat, vinyls can last for years. Vinyls are easy to spot. They look brighter and better than traditional paper boards, Wind has a tendency to get under them can make them ripple, as they are normally not glued to the surface, but attached at the edges. These are called "flex vinyls" and can be moved from board to board without damage. Some vinyls are slipped over old paper boards like a sack and you can see the outline of the paper board’s metal boarder under the vinyl.

Bulletins are the giant boards you often see along Interstates. They can be as big as 20 x 60 feet or as small as 10 1/2 x 36 feet. Many of these large boards are supported by one huge metal pipe in the middle. Rotary bulletins are the same as bulletins but are moved every 60 days (hence the term rotary).Some bulletins are painted, most use plastic.

Showings Boards have ratings like TV shows, called Gross Rating Points (GRP). Each board has a traffic count, and when divided by the population, the result is a GRP. Billboard sales are usually made in GRPs. Meaning you buy a 25 showing or a 50 or 75 or 100 showing. A 25 showing would mean that at least 25% of the population would see one of your boards at least once a day. A 25 showing could take one board, three or many, depending on the traffic count and the population. It is possible to buy only one board, but not cost effective. After you decide to use outdoor, you have to pay for printing the paper or vinyls and they usually come in units of 10.

The best goal is to get a 100 showing. Studies have shown that in a 100 showing, advertisers can reach 88% of the adults 28 times a month. In a 50 showing, advertisers can reach 83% of adults 15 times a month.

Cost For example, a recent 50 showing in Salt lake City included 84 boards and cost $22,512 for one month (the 1- Month Rate). Buying that many boards brought the cost per board to under $275. Don’t expect a rate this low for smaller markets or a one or two board buy. In most cities the average billboard costs $400 to $600 a month.

Some board locations are stacked. Opinions vary as to whether top or bottom position is better. Some boards are "tri-vision" mechanically turning small panels to reveal 3 different ads every 30 seconds.

There are other forms of outdoor. The giant single pole super boards along the Interstates are best used for spur of the moment sales "next exit" and "clean restrooms".

Small 4×8 painted boards stuck on a post in a farmer’s yard must be fixed and redone by you regularly. Let it sag or fall over just once and you image can go with it.

Here are BIG Mike’s Tips for Better Billboard Advertising.

+ Buy at least a 50 showing and do it every other

month. Many times if the board is not sold after

your time runs out,it will remain up for free

until

replaced.

+ Be sure some if not most are lighted locations.

+ Choose stand alone rather than stacked

if you have a choice.

+ Don’t let the board salesperson select

the locations for you.

+ Buy vinyls instead of paper or paint and bleed

the graphic off the edge (so it wraps around the

back of the board). Makes you ad look even

bigger

+ Keep the concept short and clever. Offer a

solution to their problem, entice them with

something new. Avoid same ol’ same ol’.

+ Use the rule of never more than 8 words and one

picture. Remember, most readers will be zooming

by in a car or truck.

+ Don’t put your picture on the board. Remember

the cardinal rule of sales. It’s not all about

YOU,it’s all about THEM.

+ Make outdoor a budget item and plan in advance.

Spend most of your time working on the concept

and

design, ‘cause once it’s up there, it can’t be

changed and will been seen by everybody.

Final Thought FYI - Miss America 2004 is Ericka Dunlap.

For more about advertising, get my article "What the Newspaper Won’t Tell You" MailTo:NewspaperAds@BigIdeasgroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel All Rights Reserved Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.com BIG Mike is a Professional Speaker and Small Business Consultant with over 30 years experience, http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike’s BIG Ideas" Newsletter MailTo:subscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net

Attracting the attention of young and old alike is a goal of any kind of professional printing services, whether it involves letters/letterhead, brochures, flyers, web pages, or poster. A bright and vibrant, yet easy to read and communicative presentation is a must. What’s the solution when you need to get a lot of information across in a short amount of time? The answer is simple, poster of course. A simple poster can communicate a wealth of ideas using simple use of color and aesthetic design. Grand opening events, special occasions, big sales, or even big family events would make a perfect application for a well designed and implemented poster.

Imagine attracting new customer and new clients with a big “GRAND OPENING” poster outside of a newly opened store, or to draw in a range of customers and/or clients who would otherwise not stop. A simple poster with the proper sale information and/or grand opening information can generate a great boost in sales and customer base. Posters in sizes ranging from 11” x 17” up to 24” x 36” (depending on retailer), and range in price(s) based on the quantity of the poster needed. Practical application for smaller posters can include to post at any given public place to attract the attention of passersby thereby drawing them in to your business. An important aspect to keep in mind when creating any advertisement of poster is that it should not be too flashy otherwise the prospective target group will simply pass it over. As a matter of practicality, the cost of the posters can easily be offset by the cost of the incoming business. Cheaper alternatives to traditional poster printing also exist in cyberspace.

The concept of attracting new business may be quite an appealing one to all ranges of business owners; however poster printing may be too costly for a new business owner. To help curb the cost, which may seem a little exorbitant to a newly started business, the option of banners and/or posters in cyberspace may be a little more cost effective. Banner space online, can be quite cheap and/or free when found in the right place. The design of the graphics and/or banner advertisements can be done at little or no cost, if done in house. One great advantage of banner ads over typical paper posters comes with the use of moving graphics and flashing, colorful text. Banners that say “BIG SALE” or “GRAND OPENING” with a company slogan and/or logo can attract momentary attention of surfers and attract them to invest even a little time in what they saw.

Banner and poster advertising has come a long way to where it is now, and offers a great variety of methods to come across with the needed information to the target audience. Poster printing is a cost effective and efficient way to bring in new people to any given cause whether it is a business or otherwise. With such a wide array of options, the only real question is “Why wait?”

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