Advertising Zen Finding Branding and Market

It amazes me sometimes how some business owners do not think of advertising as a essential part of branding. Give this some thought, if you still watch regular TV and not TIVO, have you ever taken the time to see how many commercials are you watching? Regardless how conditioned you may think you are to ignoring them, if the right pair of shoes are flashed at me, I am there for the shoe sale. The same goes for sites.

Manufacturers are ever wiser, placing product labels clearly visible on to your favorite movies and shows. Like E.T. and Reese`s Pieces and most recently Everybody Loves Raymond and Turkey Hill Ice Cream ( The only reason I know this is because I live nearby Turkey Hill Dairies).

So how do you get smart about your ad dollars and finding your market?

• •Make it clear and present. That logo you paid through your nose for, better be clear and present in that banner. It must be legible and sized so no one has to squint to see it.
• •Clean up your act. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, when you advertise with a company, make sure their layout is not messy and cluttered by other ads so much that your banner is lost. A neat and clean lay out will be worthy of your advertising bucks.
• •Reach and withdraw. Too much of a good thing it`s never good. Just like an annoying person that is always everywhere, an ad that is constantly displayed will become like a plug in fragrance dispenser. Forgettable. Have your ad set to give between 4-5 impression as this has been the proven method for branding effectiveness.
• •Bigger is indeed better. Sorry boys, I am talking about banners. Those tiny buttons do nothing. A 125×125 banner is good but a 468×60 banner is your best bet.
• •Be a prime time queen. Make sure you know when your TARGETED audience will arrive at your banner. Most advertising sites like adbrite.com will tell you what times are best for the demographic you are targeting.
• •Brand the Face. Humans are programmed to recognize the human face anywhere. Even when it`s not really there.(Have you ever looked at the sky and saw a face?) Having a face in your banner specially when the banners are small, it will help you get noticed!

Advertising is indeed a part of branding. Working your money smarter will get you better results. Knowing these tips will not only help you get noticed, but will amount to excellent branding and catching that elusive sale.

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Image Improvement-Content and Graphics Part 1

Think for just one moment about these questions, What do I sell? How is my website`s presentation? Better yet, how is the presentation of me? Think back to when you were starting your store, what was the feel you wanted for your store? Is your about me page`s content matching that feel?

Web content writing is hard. When you are on the web, you rely on as few words to give you the information you need. Bloggers are not faced with the same agenda, since blogging is a type of journaling. However, long blog post are lovingly called haikus and the hate of reading them is posted all throughout the web.

Here are a few tips to get it right:

?Web content delivery to the point. I want you to visit Michael Kors.com and look at how they have written their product description. Descriptive words are ok. Just remember descriptive words are like frosting on cake, too much frosting and you start missing out on the cake. (Read: Cake=$$)

?A picture is worth a thousand words. Imagine you are called in for an interview to be a top exec in a prestigious company. Are you going to wear jeans, or your Chanel suit? If you said the Chanel suit, then you understand the value of first impressions. Every time a new customer comes to your site, they are going to “hire” you for your product. Then why would you put in pictures of your product that is less than perfect? You will in fact lose money each day product looks like it was photographed on your bed linen.

?Go Feng Shui on your writing. I include myself in the bunch for this one. I wrote in an earlier post, how something that may mean a thing to you and nothing to your customer. In writing, what means something to you, will mean something else to your customer. Ergo, if you write on your about me page “I am a stay at home mom,” and to me that means someone with a home business or home office. To a buyer, it may mean you are working in the middle chaos of home and you are distracted and perhaps would not buy from you.

?Minimal sophistication- My mother has this gross Spanish saying, that literally translated means that a closed mouth gathers no flies. This is a lesson on less is more. Less does equal to sophistication.

?Your website is a frame to your items. Not the other way around! Would you buy an over embellished picture frame for a very classy black and white picture? I recently had the opportunity to rework mychicthings.com, a site that was very tastefully adorned, in hind sight, too adorned. The tone on tone color and graphics were blending her product into the site. Her new, cleaner color scheme is a step up from the last version.

There is much more I could say on the matter. Everyday I shop on the web and find myself tangled in confusing information, straining to see images and assaulted by color. Nonetheless, you have a choice. Choose wisely grasshopper!
Love,
Elaine

©2008 elaine biss. all rights reserved.

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Marketing Tools That Work

I was reading this blog, and I absolutely enjoyed reading how positive she is!

Not only does she assert her success prior to receiving it, but she enlist the help of others. The community that she belongs to totally embraced her. Networking is a great venue to market yourself, as long as your network let`s you do that freely.

One thing that I loved about her approach was that she is giving her buying customers deals. Notice the difference. Some people create deals in order to generate more revenue. What you end up doing is giving it away cheaper.

But, when you create an actual buying relationship with a client, you can offer them more to keep them coming back. She also offers teaser sales in order to attract new buyers. That way, you do not discount all of your inventory and still make a profit.

Can you do this to a website? Of course!

• Pick 3 of your best selling items and make offers like:”Buy this, get 50% off!” or “Buy two and get one free.”
• Set a money goal ahead of time. Know how much you want to make, crunch the numbers to figure out how many clients it will take and go get them.
• Don`t be afraid of a little self promotion! Seems if a woman promotes herself, we seem to go “Ewwww!” Well there is a way to do it without provoking a gag reflex. Show vulnerability-You are human, not superwoman. Show value-What in it for them as much as you. Be gracious-Thank people ahead, during and after. Thank yous are a wonderful commodity most people don`t use. Send a card with a coupon or free samples! Send an ecard with a gift certificate code to your store! Ask yourself, if I got one of those, would I use it? I know the answer is yes!
• Positive people get ahead. Show you have drive and that having this business is as important to you as you getting more customers. Show you are looking ahead and not looking back. You are on the verge of a great breakthrough and you are sharing the spot light with all of those who care!
• Be thankful. Thank them and always remember that they had other choices, but came to you. Thank them for coming to your site by offering a $5 gift certificate when they joining your mailing list(Kim did just that!).

My favorite saying in the world is by the wonderful Dr. Seus who said:“Say what you feel, and mean what you say, because those that mind, don’t matter, and those that matter, don’t mind.” In other words, claim your spot in the sun! Because those who love you will support you, and those who don`t care, won`t matter. Use these tips to market yourself and cash in on the benefits!!

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Jump Starting a Business after the Holiday Slump

It is a three month affair for buyers. It`s starts sometime in October and ends on December 24th. For retailers, it starts a whole year before.
It`s hard to make the profit after Christmas, specially when there are so many web businesses, making yours stand out maybe hard. But not impossible. Here are some tips to breathe new life into your business in the new year.

• Give it a makeover! -A change of background or a new set of banners for a campaign ad, makes wonders to a worn out look on a site. Unless you are completely sure, an extreme makeover may set you back a few years, since your old look may have branded you.
• Fab Newsletter that sells- Not just a way to show your items, but if you can show why are your items a good buy, you can make a sale. Explain features, benefits and why having it will improve-if that`s the case-the buyer`s life. Think of how QVC and HSN have to market their items to people. They make their items sound irresistible. They provide a laundry list of benefits, show you how to use it and make it desirable. You must own them! If you have bought anything from HSN or QVC, then you know it works.
• Market your goods-That`s right. YOUR goods. If you are a fashionista, then write an article or two. Write on your blog about what you feel the trends are and also on your site. Showing others you know what you know, breeds trust and sales.
• Reinvent the wheel and become a necessity- Sometimes your niche items are not no longer needed after the holidays. So, reinvent yourself to remain marketable. Sell different products, add a new line. If the money is tight, see if anyone will drop ship for you. The best example of a super entrepreneur that reinvented herself is Jennifer Lopez. She is a dancer, a singer, an actress, a fashion designer, a fragrance designer and most recently a producer in the film El Cantante, a film about the life of Hector Lavoe. She also co-owns the production company that made the movie possible. She even changed her name to JLo, a branding gimmick that worked and later changed it back. She reinvented herself and became indispensable.
• After Christmas sale? During high school I worked at TJ Maxx for a winter season. I worked the register the day after Christmas and my thought was no one is going to buy anything chrismacy even if it has 75% off. Well, they did. Most remarkable was this lady who bought anything that was 50% and lower. Her bill was just about 600 dollars and she cheerfully paid it. Why hold on to merchandise that will sit there until the next big shopping day, if not next Christmas? If the discount is not substantial, people will not buy. Sell it. Make room. Out with the old and in with the new! Plus you will have money you did not have to buy a new line. The loss of the markdown is a tax write off, but do consult your accountant.
• Donate an item in exchange for advertising. It`s a tax write off-depending on the price tag so consult your local accountant- and you kill two birds with one stone, purchased advertising and donated to a good cause. Can you beat that?

Finding your way back from holiday sale obscurity can be scary but totally doable. Use this steps to get yourself out there and remain profitable!

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