Reach and frequency are terms generally used when planning advertising campaigns. However, the concept of reach and frequency applies to any promotional activity you undertake: direct mail, direct selling, and even networking.

Reach is the number of people you touch with your marketing message or the number of people that are exposed to your message. Frequency is the number of times you touch each person with your message. In a world of unlimited resources you would obviously maximize both reach and frequency. However, since most of us live in the world of limited resources we must often make decisions to sacrifice reach for frequency or vice versa.

For example, an air conditioning repair service who has decided to do a direct mail piece has to decide whether to mail the entire Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex once or to mail a quarter of the Metroplex four times. An attorney who receives many of her clients through networking may have to decide whether to attend one weekly networking meeting or four different monthly meetings.

When faced with decisions of reach vs. frequency remember this rule of thumb:

Reach without Frequency = Wasted Money

Marketing is the process of building a business relationship with potential customers. Have you ever established a lifelong friendship with someone you had contact with only once? Probably not. Generally friendships (and all relationships for that matter) grow as a result of frequent contact over time. Even when the potential to form a great friendship is there at the first encounter, it is unlikely it will grow without nurturing.

Seth Godin in his book Permission Marketing uses an analogy of seeds and water to demonstrate the importance of assuring adequate frequency in your promotional campaigns. If you were given 100 seeds with enough water to water each seed once would you plant all 100 seeds and water each one once or would you be more successful if you planted 25 seeds and used all of the water on those 25 seeds?

While intuitively and even conceptually we understand the importance of frequency to successful promotional and sales campaigns, somehow when it comes to actually implementing the campaign, we opt to sacrifice frequency for reach. And then we complain about the ineffectiveness of our promotional efforts. Undoubtedly one of the biggest wastes of marketing dollars is promotional activities that are implemented without adequate frequency.

When faced with the decision of mailing one direct mail piece to 10,000 people or mailing to 2,500 people four times think about the fate of those 100 seeds you can water only once. Unless you have water rights and can obtain additional water, opt for less reach and more frequency.

© 2003 Strategies-by-DESIGN. May be reprinted with credits and contact information.

Julie Chance is president of Strategies-by-DESIGN, a Dallas based firm that helps small businesses and service professionals Map A Path to Success by attracting potential clients and turning them into loyal customers. Strategies-by-DESIGN provides consulting, training and skills based coaching in the area of marketing strategy development. For more information or to sign up for our free marketing tips e-newsletter go to http://www.strategies-by-design.com or call 972-701-9311.

The more things change, some say, the more things stay the same. When it comes to marketing, I tend to agree. Consider the following list of how advertising frequency equates to advertising effectiveness. Thomas Smith wrote this in 1885:

* The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.

* The second time, he does not notice it.

* The third time, he is conscious of its existence.

* The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.

* The fifth time, he reads it.

* The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.

* The seventh time, he reads it through and says, "Oh brother!"

* The eighth time, he says, "Here’s that confounded thing again!"

* The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.

* The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.

* The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.

* The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.

* The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.

* The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.

* The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.

* The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it some day.

* The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.

* The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.

* The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.

* The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.

Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR, http://www.hoover-ink.com. He has 26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Duke Energy, Levolor, North Carolina Tourism, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX and Verbatim.

Starting a placemat ad business can create more business for you; free advertising and income all while helping other local small businesses advertise their business all at a reasonable price.

This is an idea not new by any means, but it can prove to be very profitable to you if done right. After you have your clients lined up, you will target small local diner’s, many will jump at the chance especially when you explain it is “free” it is key to stay away from large establishments like McDonalds or Burger King since the franchise probably supplies the placemats they use.

We all have seen placemats with ads of business offers discounts, coupons or just an announcement that they are around. Many of these ads have games, pictures for kids to color, word find puzzles and more.

Placement ads can be the right vehicle that allows you to advertise your business without paying for all the cost to do it. Here is what you do; go around to local businesses like the pizza shop, new laundromat, auto body shops, new area businesses etc.

You can call around or visit these businesses offering ad space on the new Jonas Placemat Ads give them the best price, target 8-10 businesses the first time around offer them an introductory price, one that will you costs for printing, and mileage and other related costs for getting the placemat ads made.

Try to get these businesses to offer a coupon like ad customers love these type of ads, plus it will get them reading the ads as they are waiting for their meals to be made don’t forget to make it fun for the kids as well, remember many of these ads are targeted for kids, you can add a twist by adding the ads of local business as well.

Remember to leave at least two slots empty for your ad and one for the printer so that you can negotiate the price for the absolute lowest you can get.

It may be a good idea to offer the printer the free ad space on each printing as long as he is willing to give you the absolute lowest and best price. If this does not work with you on this shop around someone will be willing to take you up on this offer it can be a win-win situation for both of you.

You can start with 2,000-3,000 at first make sure you make it clear to your clients that the price they are buying the advertising at is only an introductory price of $59.95, so when you follow up with them in a few weeks or month or two later they are aware that the cost is up a little because it was the introductory price. Going up $10.00-$20.00 dollars may not seem so bad especially when you explain that they could not get such a wide audience at this low of a price elsewhere.

Try to keep the cost under $99, this is sure to be hit, also if you can fit somewhere on the ads that in order to get the discount offered you must bring in the ad. This will also show as proof the business owner or manager that it is in fact working. This may also be a key factor in getting them to re-new advertising with you in a month or two on follow-up.

The key here is you to get out of the deal 1) free advertising for your business and 2) the printing costs (at least a large part) paid for by your clients who have buy the ad in your new Jonas Placemat Ads service.

In conclusion, as you can see just from some of the ideas presented here this could be something that could be very profitable for you plus the possibility of a new side business for you. While creating a vehicle for you to advertise your business for free. It is key to keep it at a reasonable price (under $99) so that other business will be happy to give it a try.

Michelle Cobbs is the site administator of several sites ranging from home business ideas to building a real estate investing business. Visit here online at http://home-making-money.com

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

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

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

Sorry, I Don’t Seem to Have a Business Card With Me…

Those could be the "famous last words" of the forgetful entrepreneur.

If you habitually find yourself without a business card, you’re habitually losing money; or at least the chance of making money. Your business card, more than any other marketing weapon in your arsenal, is what prospects and colleagues rely upon to remind them why they should do business with you.

Forgetting a business card is a marketing mistake of significant proportions. We’re so inundated with advertising messages that most of us learn to tune them out. Yet every time you’re asked for a business card, and sheepishly reply that you don’t have one with you, you’re missing an honest-to-goodness invitation to market to someone.

Worse, leaving your business card behind when you may need it is a social faux pas as well.

Being asked for a business card is a compliment. Not having one with you at that critical moment is subtly offensive. It puts both you and the person requesting the card in an embarrassing situation. And it nonverbally tells your prospect that you’re not quite the business person they thought. You’re not really serious about your business, or too careless and forgetful to be entrusted with theirs.

If you’re determined not to be caught "cardless" at a critical meeting again, here are some tips to help you remember:

Develop a strategy for using business cards to actively promote your business

It may be as simple as deciding to give 5 or 10 cards away every day. It may mean printing labels describing your current promotion, sticking them to the back of your cards, and pinning them to bulletin boards. Whatever! The point is that if you consciously figure out a way to use your business cards to bring in business, you’re much less likely to forget them.

Invest in new cards

If you haven’t ordered business cards within the past two years, there’s a good chance that the information or photo is out of date by now. And if your last order was for 1000 cards and there are still 990 cards left, ask yourself why you haven’t been passing them out. If it’s because you dislike the cards, pitch them and get business cards you’re proud of!

Draft and practice a business card presentation

Unless you’re comfortable and confident when handing out your card, you won’t do it. Besides, the words and actions that accompany your business card when you give it to someone can really cement a positive first impression.

Invest in a quality business card case, one that you’re proud to show off and to use

Business card cases can be conversation starters in and of themselves, since there are so many unusual, classic and artistic choices available. I suggest investing in a few cases; a more professional, elegant case for formal business occasions and a flashy or fun holder for social situations.

Tuck a few business cards everywhere

Your car’s glove compartment. Your briefcase. Your gym bag. Your wife’s purse. Next to the front door on the table where you keep your keys. Your desk drawer. Your secretary’s desk. The pocket of your coat. Your suitcase. Never leave home without them!

About The Author

Recent advances in online technology allow you design business cards online in your web browser. No special downloads, no hidden costs, easy WYSIWYG design. Choose from thousands of photographic quality backgrounds. Browse one of the web’s largest collection of business card networking articles and learn how to make your cards a powerful marketing weapon.

You’ve decided to launch your advertising campaign but you have no idea what would inspire others to buy from you. Or maybe you’ve already run some ads to no avail. How do you make your ad the one that stands out? After all, consumers receive thousands of marketing messages everyday. What makes what you’re offering so special?

In today’s highly competitive marketing environment, chances are your ad will get overlooked. Meanwhile, some other entrepreneur is making money and developing a highly effective ad campaign. The people that are successful in this area have spent considerable time going over their ads. And with enough effort, any business owner can achieve similar success.

In general, most ads will begin with a headline. And it is with this group of words that you must immediately grab your reader. Marketing experts say you need to grab your potential consumer’s interest within seven seconds. Seven seconds. That’s it! It’s best to start with powerful words that have already been proven to work. Why reinvent the wheel? Below are ten of the most powerful words in the English language, according to Yale University:

1. Discover
2. Easy
3. Guarantee
4. Health
5. New
6. Proved
7. Results
8. Safety
9. Save
10. You

Now, carefully review these words and practice writing enticing headlines that will attract attention. These ten examples will help you begin to write dynamic, attention-getting ads. As you progress, expand your "powerful word" vocabulary by reviewing other ads. Use your powerful words in not only the headline but also the body of your ad or the "copy".

The headline of your ad is not meant to tell your whole story but it is meant to make your visitor take a long enough look so they can read he rest of your offer, and hopefully inspire them to take some kind of action, whether it’s calling you, visiting your site, or placing an order.

Once you’ve written down ten to twenty phrases pick a couple with the most impact. Ask friends, family, and colleagues to read each one and pick their favorites. Asking for specifics will help you narrow down your list. You can probe deeper and ask them what made them pick certain ads. This will help you improve your ads and writing new ones.

Now you’re ready to write your ad. For maximum effect, continue to use powerful words throughout the entire ad, not just the headline. Be sure to include a "call-to-action" within the body of your ad. This could include phrases such as "call today!" , "visit our site", and many others. Use variations to test which ones have the best effect. By applying these simple steps to your ad campaign, you’ll quickly see a noticeable difference in your campaign results.

Copyright © 2005 Rhonda Winn - All Rights Reserved. Rhonda Winn has been helping small business owners since 2000. She is the author of the popular eBook, "How to Live Your Dreams and Achieve Unlimited Wealth in Small Business" Receive the first chapter free, when you join her bi-monthly newsletter today: SmallBizStartupKit.com.

You are free to publish this article as long as the content remains unchanged and copyright notice and byline is not removed from article.

“Sales All Day”…I wish I hear you yell…one sale would be great!

”Under The Radar Advertising Strategy”…sounds like something out of a Star Trek Movie!

You see in the world of advertising as quick as you can say “Beam me up Scottie”; new tools are constantly being created in order to differentiate one company from another. These innovations try to as much as possible, maximize resources, minimize costs, and optimize the results of any advertising campaign.

So much money goes into the brainstorming for these new and innovative tools you could travel around the world on the lunch meeting costs alone. If you’ve worked in the corporate world you know exactly what I mean and if you haven’t count yourself very lucky indeed. Businesses could save themselves a small fortune on advertising campaigns if it looked at previously employed advertising strategies and modifying them to suit their needs.

Some of the most widely used advertising strategies and marketing strategies in existence are multi-level marketing, audio visual advertising, catalogue advertising, telephone advertising, and even person-to-person distribution of marketing tools. One, however, stands out in terms of potential and even capacity to translate advertising strategies with tangible sales.

This my friend is what is known as advertorials. Seemingly a new linguistic concoction, advertorials were in fact first conceived in the early 1960s as a combination of the words, advertising and editorials. This more than sufficiently describes the purpose of an advertorial.

An advertorial is basically an advertising strategy designed to resemble an objective editorial. This would lend the degree of objective credibility to you the advertiser, as well as make the advertising pitch most believable even to the most skeptical of consumers.

How will this necessarily build sales profits?

Advertorials are usually written as special promotional features with a form similar to that of a press release than an editorial. What is most beneficial in comparison to other editorials is the fact that the advertiser has control of the content that will appear on the advertorial.

First, these advertorials are written at times within already well-established columns or sections of a newspaper. These sections, with the following that they already have, assure the readability of the advertorials. Placed in sections where people are predisposed to reading articles close to the form of advertorials, the strength of the promotional approach of the article will not necessarily offend or ostracize any of the readers. Read that again…”placed in sections where people are predisposed to reading articles close to the form of advertorials”…this is the Under The Radar effective a work!

Moreover, advertorials afford the option of discussing the strongest characteristics of the product and service, and at the same time printing the various locations and contact details of the company or establishments offering the product or service. This means that the moment a consumer finds his or herself convinced of the merits of the product or service, no extraneous effort on their part is necessary in order to find where to get access to it. They can also incorporate another profit pulling advertising strategy by having various testimonies from some previous impressed purchases of your product ore service.

More importantly, advertorials come with the persuasive strength of an editorial, with a simulation of authority and expertise produced in the article. Consumers may be likely to trust the content of the advertorial with this sort of approach and semblance of authority and expertise than an individualized pitch derived from the company purse. Objective and informative information packaged as truth can very well fuel the entire company’s sales!

Another way by which advertorials can help assure business sales is the fact that its content may be screened and approved by the company. While it is not likely that an advertorial will discuss the weaknesses of the product or service, this level of control is still necessary especially when hoping to avoid any sort of dangerous slant or suggestive statement that would imply a weakness or flaw. Moreover, control over the content of the article can assure that the advertorial will be in-line with any and all marketing and advertising strategies that the company is currently employing. This can both strengthen and supplement the collective campaign and create a consistent message that can stick to the consciousness of the consumer.

At the end of the day, these various features of the advertorial help provide the level of recall that will translate to sales if used correctly. Moreover, its very form can best maximize person-to-person referrals, especially when one reader or consumer finds his or herself quoting and referring to the advertorial as a particular objectively written piece. While it may be unpopular with many companies, the potential of the advertorial is very much viable and tangible for today’s companies. It may very well be that innovative new idea that is needed to boost your profits.

Scott Wilson is the author of “How to Create Money Sucking Ads That Work on Autopilot While You Go Fishing” a free 12 page report available for a limited time at http://www.smarterbusinessleads.com

Ever see an amazing band perform and wonder why you’ve never heard of them before? Ever see an astonishing artist on the street and wonder why isn’t their work isn¹t in a gallery?  Ever see an astounding independent film and wonder why people all over the world don’t know about it?

Me too!

It breaks my heart to know that there are musicians, painters, sculptors, and filmmakers everywhere starving. Starving… for their art.

Why is a branding expert like me, who mostly deals with entrepreneurs and small business owners, addressing musicians, artists, and filmmakers? It’s simple. Artists are the ultimate entrepreneurs.

Think about it.  Some create products and look for a market; others look at a market and create products.  Every entrepreneur starts the same way! It’s the notion of business that often trips artists up.

Creating any piece of music, art, or film, is like creating a product.  I’m not suggesting that all products, art-based or otherwise, are equal.  We all know a good product, or painting, or film or vacuum cleaner when we experience it.  Its just with some artists, imaginary barriers get created. These illusive barriers can keep them from creating the very success they want.

All creators have the same goals: to make a good product that is useful or meaningful, have it well liked by many people and to be paid portionally to the market they reach. Who doesn’t want that? Making music, paintings, sculptures, photography or film should be addressed like any business with the same attention to the big picture, IF you want to make a great living from it.  But something often holds artistic creators back from making a great living from their art.

As usual fear is the culprit.

Artists sometimes fear that if they develop the recognition and financial success that comes from branding from them ’selves’, their peers will think that they’ve ’sold-out’ if they ‘make it’.  Fellow starving artists might say that on the surface, but what they are really saying is that they are envious of the success that you have created. It’s far easier to put down someone else’s success than to make it them self.  What’s more important: what your peers think OR having your ‘art’ enjoyed by as many people as possible and having the financial freedom that comes along with it?

Another fear that may prevent artists from taking their craft mainstream is that they think that they will lose control of it by becoming a business and, heaven forbid, a BIG business at that. Just like the art you make, what your business becomes is in your control. If you develop your brand based on your vision of it from the start, you protect it from becoming something else.  Business is not bad - people that run them can make bad decisions. The power of your business is always in your hands.

The largest fear for some artists is that the very nature of getting paid, and paid well, for their art will change it. This will then set in motion the loss of creative connection with the ‘art’ itself. I would argue that those that get lost were not very centered on their purpose and passion in the first place. 

It’s odd to think that financial freedom, the freedom to do whatever you want, could cause one to lose their way.  In one of our workshops, we were fortunate to have a successful artist who was ready to take his brand to the next level.  When I asked him what does he do, he answered, ‘Whatever I want.’ Who doesn’t want that?!

With the money you get from branding your craft, you can set up systems so that it doesn’t interfere with your focus; donate to causes, invest in real estate, create other products/partnerships. You can even hire the people to manage it all. Leaving you free to… create.

The bottom line is simple, everyone has control over what they do and what they manifest, it’s just that most people haven’t been shown how. Commitment to your ‘art’ does not preclude your ability to make money from it.  In fact, the more financial freedom you create for yourself, the more art you can create.  A branding mindset is taking that control into your own hands and owning the future.  And it must truly start from the inside - from your innate talent and your grand vision for your art.  Branding your art comes down to your commitment to yourself and to the art itself.  Branding is not only slogans and TV ads; it’s the power to be who you are and communicating it to everyone proudly.

The definition of artist:

1. somebody who creates art

2. somebody who does something with great skill and creativity

3. somebody who is very good at doing something

Nowhere does it say you have to starve to make good art or good products. Remember that the next time a musician, or painter, or sculptor, or filmmaker you know breaks through to success.  Ask yourself, what are you really committed to?  Don’t cheat the world of your gift.  Developing a brand mindset with integrity from the inside out is guaranteed to reach more people.  Period.

If you do something that you really love, you’re really good at it, and people pay you to keep doing it, then branding it is not selling out, it’s selling in… to you!

Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU™ — the home of only step-by- step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out!

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