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Are You Marketing Backwards
Marketing is like rowing a boat. When you know how the pointed bow moves smoothly forward through the water encountering the least amount of resistance. Rowing backwards, the square stern of the boat pushes against the water, requiring more effort...
Better Marketing Through Modern Mind-Control
There are two kinds of marketing: Direct Marketing and Brand Marketing. Direct marketing targets wallets. Branding is about hearts and minds. DIFFERENT BY DESIGN Ads designed for branding are cool. They don't plead and beg and cajole, they...
How to Get Started on Your Marketing Plan
When developing or updating a marketing plan, knowing where to start is often a challenge. To better develop effective marketing strategies, begin by gathering information about both your business and the larger business environment...
Marketing 102 – Aiming vs. Spraying
Pick up the stack of mail that you receive in the mail today. How much of it do you consider “junk” mail? Do you stand over the wastebasket and take the “he loves me, he loves me not” approach to it tossing about every third piece in the trash...
Test Marketing--How to Increase Your Direct Mail Marketing Response by Using the Internet to Test
I've discovered a really fantastic way to discover what works best in direct marketing, BEFORE doing traditional direct marketing. Use these internet tools to find what works best, then apply what you've learned to your traditional direct marketing,...
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4 Easy Ways to Get Free Marketing Exposure
Are there really ways you can get valuable marketing exposure without spending any money?
You bet there are. The trick to uncovering these methods is to think of creative ways you can get your products or services in front of, or in the hands of, your prospects. And that last part is critical. It is only valuable marketing if it is targeted at the people you have identified are most likely to buy your products or services.
1)Share Your Knowledge
If you have specialized knowledge or expertise related to your business, think of ways to share that knowledge. Consider writing a regular column for a website or publication that targets the same customers you target. Become a regular contributor to a magazine or radio or TV program.
2)Create Information Products
Package and distribute your knowledge in the form of an Ezine, Newsletter or Special Report. Build your contact list and distribute this valuable information on a regular basis. Use this as an opportunity to market your products and services and be sure to Include special offers or bonuses to recipients who act by a certain date.
3)Offer Seminars and Do Presentations
Do you offer a professional or personal service? Consider booking yourself for speaking engagements where you can provide valuable information in your area of expertise to groups of people. Make sure the groups are representative of the types of customers or clients you believe are most likely to benefit from your services. This tactic serves several marketing purposes.
First, it gets you out in front of your prospects. In marketing this is called “generating awareness” and it is the first step toward making a sale.
Second, it allows people the opportunity to get to know you and/or your services. And with a service business, where clients are buying “you” (that really is what they are buying when they purchase your services) it is crucial that they understand the services you provide and that they get to know you. People like working with people they like. Given the choice between hiring two people with the same skills and services, most people will choose the person they like or feel the best chemistry with.
Make sure to give attendees a special offer on your products or services at the end of your presentation. Give the offer a deadline to create urgency for them to take advantage of the offer on the
spot.
4)Give Something Away
Find a way to give away samples of your products or services. Is there an association or group meeting or any other event that is looking for donations to be given away as door prizes?
Why not donate a package of your services or products? You will gain exposure (a free advertisement by the group leader) among the entire group when your package is either auctioned off, or announced and given away in front of everyone. You are also giving the person who wins the package the chance to sample your products or services at no risk.
You could further leverage this marketing by offering the “winner” an incentive to refer others to you. The “winner” might also be a great person to provide feedback to you, or a testimonial regarding how they felt about your product or service, that you can use in future marketing.
Yes, there may be a hard cost associated with the product you are giving away, or a “time” cost associated with the time you are donating, however when you weigh that cost against the number of people who are being exposed to your products or services, usually it is well worth it. And it certainly is cheap (and usually more effective!) in comparison to buying an ad. My advice is to incorporate this sort of activity into your operational budget and simply consider it a cost of doing business.
There are all kinds of ways to generate exposure of your products and services without paying for advertising space. Yes, sometimes this does involve giving away product or service, but I don’t consider that a hard “marketing” cost. I have found that the benefits always outweigh the cost of my time or my products.
The trick is to target well, or in other words, locate where your prospects congregate or what media they read or view, and then find creative ways to get yourself, your products or your services, in front of them in those places.
(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing
About the Author
20-year marketing veteran Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to help small business owners and solo-preneurs successfully market their business, themselves without spending a fortune on marketing. To learn more about this simple, step-by-step program and to sign up for her FREE audio class and FREE weekly ezine featuring how-to articles, tips and advice, visit http://www.10stepmarketing.com
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KnowThis: For Marketing, Market Research, Internet Marketing ... |
KnowThis.com offers a wealth of information, forums, and resources for professionals, academics and students in traditional and internet marketing, ... |
www.knowthis.com |
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Marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, ... The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that ... |
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Marketing - Marketing Strategy - Marketing Plan - Marketing ... |
Learn about marketing careers, the stages of developing a marketing plan, how to begin marketing research, create a marketing strategy, and how to market ... |
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Marketing.org - Home of the Business Marketing Association |
Serves the professional, educational and career development needs of business-to-business marketers. |
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Welcome - American Marketing Association - www.marketingpower.com |
Dedicated to serving the educational and professional needs of marketing executives. |
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Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR News - Brand Republic |
Find the latest Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR news from Brand Republic, the online resource for up to the minute advertising and marketing news and ... |
www.brandrepublic.com |
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Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic. |
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Marketing (Canada) |
Offers a Canadian source of news and articles on marketing, advertising and media. |
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BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
www.bidvertiser.com |
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Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
Promote your business with today's most effective online advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, CPM or CPV. |
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Sales Jobs / Marketing Jobs / Advertising Jobs - MarketingJobs.com |
Employment site for marketing and sales professionals. |
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The Chartered Institute of Marketing |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world's largest international marketing professional body and helps with career support and information ... |
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Marketing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
See all blog posts tagged with marketing on Technorati. |
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Marketing Profs - Marketing Concepts and Strategies: Expert ... |
Marketing knowhow from professionals. Newsletter, articles and how-to's. |
www.marketingprofs.com |
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Guerrilla Marketing Online - The Official Site |
Guerrilla Marketing Online is anonline magazine for small business, entrepreneurs, sales people and marketers of all kinds. |
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Business Marketing - Small Business Marketing |
Business marketing - Read everything your need to know about small business marketing. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
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All About Marketing |
Adapted from Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation ... Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out: ... |
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Pages tagged with "marketing" on del.icio.us |
USA Network Announces a NASHVILLE STAR Marketing Partnership With ... - Yahoo! ... Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing ... |
del.icio.us |
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ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers |
Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing. |
www.clickz.com |
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Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing |
Trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields, offering seminars and resources, and lobbying for ... |
www.the-dma.org |
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