Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

Effective List Management Can Save You Big

Let’s talk about how to keep your postage costs down.So far you have been following my advice and mailing to the same list more than once. At some point you find lists that will produce returns continually, but you notice that you are receiving more returns than when you started mailing to those lists. You may see things like "Undeliverable as Addressed" or "Forwarding Order Expired." Every tim. . .

Good Marketing Pays for Itself

Most companies ask themselves this question: "How much will this advertising cost us?" when they should actually be asking themselves this: "How much will it cost not to do this advertising?"If your company spends $1000 per week on marketing then you could save $1000 per week by not doing any marketing. That is true but it is the simple and shortsighted view of the situation. However, if the . . .

Comprehensive Marketing Details Not Found in Beginner Books

If this is the first marketing article you are reading, go find some other more basic articles that I have written and then come back. This data is for the intermediate to advanced marketers.I want to go over a three-step outline for your marketing which are: Surveys Getting Attention PostageMarketing surveys save you from flying blind in your business marketing strategies and are the best way. . .

Specialized Mailing Lists Make All the Difference

If there is one thing I can’t say enough it is that the most important part of your mailing campaign is your mailing list. It is vital that you put the right amount of energy into learning about lists – who to mail to – so that your mailing efforts aren’t wasted. There are a few different ways that you can get an adequately targeted list.As always the first step is to determine who your target. . .

The Importance of a Marketing Plan

There aren’t many things in life that you would get into with out a plan. Marketing is no different. Your overall marketing plan should cover about a six month period, and should be made up of weekly and monthly marketing schedules.This is how you do it:1. Figure out how much money is in your budget.As we all know, marketing of any kind costs money. How much money you are willing to commit to t. . .

10 Effective Ways To Gain More New Ezine Subscribers

1. Swap ads with other ezine publishers. Swap sponsor, feature, classified or solo ads with publishers who have subscribers targeted to be interested in what your ezine covers.This will provide both you and the other publisher with a terrific way to get more subscriptions at no cost.When choosing ezines to swap ads with, pick ezines that offer content that your new subscribers would be interes. . .

5 Strategies That Will Boost Your Business Productivity T...

Growing your own small business can be one of the most exciting journeys you could ever embark upon! But it's important that you continuously implement new and fresh ways to generate sales and improve your profitability in order to stay ahead of the market! Here are the next 5 Strategies to help you propel your business to new heights of success! 1. Develop your own Loyalty Program If you have . . .

How to Promote Your Small Business Without Spending a For...

Through starting my own small businesses, I have learnt that what the marketing books tell you is not necessarily always appropriate for your business idea. Let me illustrate by highlighting some of my mistakes! MISTAKE NO. 1: Don’t get sucked into traditional advertising Many who start their own business, immediately think of some of the more traditional forms of advertising. They rush out and. . .

5 Strategies That Will Boost Your Business Productivity T...

Building a dynamic small business is a constantly evolving, increasingly demanding role.It is very easy to get so caught up in the day to day running of our business that we neglect to take the time to look from the outside in to see what we could do to improve our profitability!Well here are 5 Strategies that could boost your productivity overnight! They are not rocket science…and you may have. . .

Viral Marketing with a Powerful Twist

What would you do with 500, 1000 or more additional visitors each day? Imagine how your web business will grow with an extra 2000, 5000 or MORE leads each month . . . Okay, I'll stop teasing you. . . But what IF those extra leads and visitors cost you NOTHING? Let me tell you a story a friend of mine named Paul Galloway shared with me...The Brilliant WebmasterOnce upon a time, not too long ag. . .

Why Some Web Sites Sell and Others Don't

Why is it that some web sites help sell products and services while most languish in obscurity and only serve as a drain on finances? Web sites are relatively low in cost to build and manage, and have worldwide reach. They can help you grow your business and in some cases be the primary source of new business. Yes, a web site can be the next best thing since sliced bread.Why don't most web site. . .

Do-It-Yourself Public Relations

"Advertising is what you pay for. Publicity is what you pray for."What is a small business owner to do? You have dozens, hundreds or even thousands of competitors around the world. How do you make yourself known amid all the noise and confusion? One thing is for certain. You may or may not have a budget for marketing and promotion but you want to get the most bang for your buck. Stretch your. . .

GOT MEME? How to Attract Your Clients' and Customers' Att...

No "meme" isn't a typo and Got Milk, the more commonly know phrase, is actually a marketing meme. If you've opened up a magazine or watched TV in the last ten years you've seen the fun and memorable Got Milk ad campaign using celebrities with a milk mustache. Chances are it got your attention and you remember the phrase, "Got Milk".A good meme is simple, provocative and infectious. An effective. . .

Into The Limelight

To stand out in a cluttered world, become a recognized expertThere are millions of small businesses vying for our attention. Yet, because the marketplace is more discriminating and skeptical, it's hard to get noticed. To enjoy the greatest return on your marketing efforts, you need to rise above the crowd. You need an edge over the competition. In short, you need to become slightly famous by es. . .

Give Me $1 And I'll Have A Powerful Marketing Weapon

One of my most powerful marketing weapons actually costs me less than $1. I buy it once and it lasts me a lifetime. I use it over and over again and it never leaves my side. What on earth could it be? Well, it's my trusty notebook! It is where I store all of my ideas. Let me give you some examples. If I come across an email, even if it's sp*am, and the headline made me open up that email then b. . .

Which Of These Words Attract Your Clients

Whether it's your business card, tagline, article title, web site title and description or ad, just the difference of a few words can either pull in prospects and clients or push them away. Getting it right can determine whether your phone is ringing off the hook or you are twiddling your thumbs hoping someone will call.Just by changing a word or two or combining a couple of phrases, you can in. . .

The Language of Color

In a world already full of acronyms and codes, who would have thought that something as simple as color could join in the confusion? Knowing the different color models and how they are used is not only helpful in getting the visual results you want it is critical to staying on budget.Of the many color models available, there are really only three in which you need any fluency: CMYK, PMS and RGB. . .

Selecting Good Stock Photography in the Age of Digital

The business of stock photography has drastically changed over the last few years. Ten years ago, selecting photographs for your brochure or newsletter meant spending hours pouring over stock photography catalogs and ordering photo research to find the exact image. When the order came in a giant overnight package, designers would spread transparencies out on the light table, squinting through a. . .

Not So Stationary Stationery

The elements and functionality of the basic stationery system is changing. With the advent of email, fax, web and cell phones, stationery systems must be adjusted to meet the needs of today’s business.Business CardsThe biggest change by far in business cards is the amount of information they contain. Current cards often juggle multiple phone numbers, email, and web addresses as well as one or m. . .

Tackle a Newsletter and Come out on Top

Unlike any other marketing vehicle, newsletters give you the opportunity to contact your audience and convey your expertise in a way that offers value and information. Newsletters provide a reason -- and a structure -- to maintain ongoing contact. One of our clients has even said that recipients call if her newsletter is a few days late. A newsletter can include all kinds of information you mig. . .

The Keys to a Great Logo

Logo, graphic, icon, logotype, typogram, logoform, image…call it what you will, a logo by any other name is the group of letters and/or symbols used in a consistent and unique way to identify a company. It is the most prominent and stable element of marketing, and should be planned carefully to fully reflect your brand. Understanding the key aspects of a logo will help in developing a durable, . . .

The Most Important Marketing Tool

As an online marketer, there are many tools available to help you succeed.Some are free , while some will cost you money.Essential tools include a computer , an internet connection and the various softwares.Everywhere you turn nowadays, 'gurus' will tell what you need to do in order to succeed. However , few people will tell you about the most important and essential marketing tool.It is not so. . .

Is Your Marketing Full of Holes?

You wouldn't try to collect water in a bucket that leaked or catch fish with a torn net, but that is what many service professionals and small businesses do. They work hard to attract clients and customers but too often their marketing is full of holes.The biggest holes in small businesses’ marketing efforts are in lead generation. For those that don't know it already, identifying, attracting a. . .

Flea Market-ing Lessons

A few days ago, I was signing copies of my book – Climb Your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness – at the flea market. Nobody expects an author to sign books at a flea market. Some people sell a few worn-over books, but authors just don't do book signings at flea markets. Especially not books about finding happiness.I've never been afraid to be different, to take the road l. . .

Getting Noticed!

One of the best ways to get your name out in your local community is to become a sponsor. A few hundred dollars gets your company name on little League caps; a little more, perhaps an ad at a roller rink. Donate money or materials to the local parade or a float. This buys goodwill and is great self-promotion. If you provide a service donate that. For example, when we operated a word processing . . .

Open the Door to More Business with Your Ideas

Visualize your business as a building. Whether you are an architect, lawyer, coach, graphic designer or accountant, to bring in more clients, you need to make it easy for them to enter. The more doors you create and open the more prospects will come in and become clients. Too many small businesses inadvertently put up walls instead of opening doors to new business.People buy products and servic. . .

Walt Disney's Failures Could Inspire Entrepreneurs

You are a struggling entrepreneur and sometimes it feels like you are pushing a 3 ton boulder up a steep hill. Costs keep mounting and you are considering giving up. Well before you do, check out these 10 setbacks that Walt Disney had, some were financial nightmares that put him millions of dollars in the red: 1) Walt formed his first animation company in Kansas City in 1921. He made a deal wit. . .

The Lessons Walt Disney Learned Still Apply Today

Contrary to popular belief, Walt Disney spent more time as a struggler than a success. Described at a various times as a visionary and a genius there were actually many occasions he could not foresee the results of his ideas, and they nearly brought him to financial ruin. Yet the lessons he learned through the years are useful and timeless. 1) Ownership is key: Early in his career, Walt created. . .

SIX Golden rules of Pay per click marketing campaign.

What are pay per click engines? Pay per click engines as the name suggests, webmasters have to pay a fee for each click coming from search engine results. Depending on how much the person bids for a keyword over his competitor his website will be positioned in the search engine results. How pay per click search engines work? For example if a webmaster bids $0.07 on the term 'tennis shoes'. If n. . .

8 Ways to Get More Email Addresses On Your List ... Today

Whether you've got 100 or 100,000 people on your email list, chances are you can optimize your web page to better feature and promote your ezine. Here's a few ways to capture more customers and leads - without having to increase your traffic.Give Something (Or a Few Things Away)Studies show that most people will only subscribe to about a dozen email lists at a time, and given the number of list. . .

Selling the Dr. Seuss Way

“I am Sam. Sam I am. Do you like green eggs and ham? Would you like them here or there? Would you like them in a box, would you like them with a fox?”I think most people have read this Dr. Seuss tale either as kids or to their children. What is interesting is the relevance this story has to selling. First of all, Sam is selling a product and although his prospect is not initially interested, Sa. . .

Autoresponders: Ease Your Life

What every small business operator always lacks is time. Sometimes lack of time leads to inefficiency, what in its turn, leads to business failure even if you have plenty of financial resources.That is why there are so many programs designed to automate every business step starting from sign up process and ending with processing online payments.Autoresponders play a special part. At the dawn of. . .

Cause-Related Marketing

Altruism. Corporate responsibility. Philanthropy. These are often used to describe cause-related marketing, an activity in which businesses join with charities or causes to market an image, product, or service for mutual benefit.Embracing a cause makes good business sense. Nothing builds brand loyalty among today's increasingly hard-to-please consumers like a company‚s proven commitment to a wo. . .

Promoting Your Business on Cable Access TV

"Don't knock it until you've tried it." That's what I told a political opponent's campaign manager when he laughed at me for using cable access television as part of my communications strategy. Unfortunately for him, he would learn too late what I already knew -- that implementing this medium into any communications strategy (political or otherwise) is a pretty good idea, and can reap tremendou. . .

Joint Venture 101 - The Quickest Way To Build Your eBusin...

This article reveal the same techniques that many Internet marketing experts uses every day to make millions of dollars in profits - no kidding! In my own opinion it is the most profitable and powerful concept ever used on the Internet field. So, stay close and read it carefully. Joint Venturing represent the easiest way to start a new business and make more money online and it is the only 100%. . .

Overcoming Your Biggest Marketing Obstacle

At times, no matter what you do your marketing is stuck and you're not attracting new clients quickly enough. It doesn't seem to make a difference how much time or money you put into it, its like you are driving in slow motion. You just seem to be spinning your wheels and not getting any traction to move your business forward as quickly as you'd like. What is it that's keeping you from growin. . .

Increase Sum in Your Check Account with Follow-Ups

We’ll be examining what makes follow up to prospects/customers so important on our online world today. Are you familiar with this scenario? Joined an affiliate program with good pay-out. Send an email to everyone you know and/or send an email to a list of people Didn’t make any sales Change to another affiliate programWell, I am. This never ending cycle is what I used to do.Until I stum. . .

Promote Your Business With Dogs, Cats, and Rats

Here's a fascinating idea.. Having noticed that there always seemed to be many stray cats and dogs in his neighborhood, it occurred to a clever pet shop owner that he could use cheap animal collars and attach an advertising message to those potential 24 hour, walking "billboards". He also dressed them up with animal "shirts" that had his web site address printed all over them.After unleashing a. . .

Power at your Fingertips

It is just amazing. Power right at your fingertips. It feels good to have access to such a powerful thing. In one click you can make thousands feel the power you possess in hand. What am I talking about ? You guess it. The power of Internet Marketing. Since the first day I started, I was astounded at the potential power at my fingertips. The Internet has provided us with a means of communicatio. . .

What to Say When the Media Calls

If the media were to call you today for an interview, would you know what to do or say? That question was posed during a recent conference on small-business ownership and micro enterprise creation, which was held here in Paris. I watched the reactions around the room, and it occurred to me that for most small-business owners, the only thing more frightening than conducting a follow-up phone cal. . .

Underestimating the Power of In-house PR

Do small-business owners always have to rely on large PR agencies to get attention from the press? An entrepreneur recently asked me this question during a networking event for women business owners. Of course my answer was, "No," but not for the reasons one might expect. Ultimately, I do believe the time comes when a company needs professional guidance from a PR agency -- be it a large or smal. . .

Let Your Mistakes Improve Your Marketing And Your Profits

Have you ever sent out a sales letter and received little or no response, or put up a web site and found hardly anyone visiting it. Have you worked hard on an article only to find that few people read it and even fewer contacted you as a result? Let's be honest; everyone makes mistakes. The difference between the winners and the losers in business is that winners recognize their mistakes and av. . .

Winning Strategies With Traffic Exchange Programs

Everyone knows what traffic exchange programs are and how their popularity have exploded within the last year. Some of you may have built a massive downline and accumulated hundreds of thousands of free high quality traffic credits sitting in your account, and you don't know what to do with them? Luckily for you, I've had some free time to interview some top traffic exchange affiliates and pro. . .

Persistence, Patience, Dedication - The Nick Martin Inter...

Name: Nicholas John Martin aka Nick MartinAge: 24Residence: Copenhagen, Denmark (Europe)Business name: LifeStyleNetworkerBusiness address: http://www.LifeStyleNetworker.comBusiness description: Free lead generation and list building system with inbuilt email capabilities. Q) First of all, can you tell us how you got started in internet marketing and what sparked off Life Style Networker? A) I f. . .

Are You Marketing With A Deaf Ear?

Can you imagine having a phone conversation where you couldn't hear what the person at the other end was saying? You would have difficulty getting much done and you certainly couldn't tailor your response to their needs and interests. Yet this is the way many people market their products and services.Most people make the mistake of thinking that marketing is one-way communication. The tendency . . .

Three Big Ol' Tips for Better Sales Letters

Growing up in the South, I used the phrase "big ol'" a lot. Big ol' truck. Big ol' house. Big ol' party. The phrase was one we used when the word "big" just wasn't descriptive enough.I think the following suggestions qualify as Big Ol' Tips. Look around the Web and you'll find plenty of good sales letter writing tips. But "big" just doesn't do these justice.Here are three big ol' tips for bette. . .

The Big-Pay Off -- Brand Value

Many CEOs and marketing directors find their time wasted evaluating marketing opportunities instead of acting on them. When every possibility is followed, a meandering trail of hit and miss effectiveness is the result. Despite significant expenditure of time and money, marketing tactics may not produce the desired gains. What is their problem? They are missing a crucial step in the marketing ar. . .

Get Business Now: Play by the Marketing Rules

Marketing a business is like any game. If you know the rules you are much more likely to win. All to often small businesses spend their limited time and money on advertising, networking, making calls, mailings, meeting with prospects, yet only achieve middling results. The problem isn’t that they don’t know their business or provide high quality products and services, its that they don’t know t. . .

Top Ten Strategies for Delivering 5-Star Customer Service

Customer satisfaction is valuable, but customer loyalty is priceless. In today's competitive world of business, it is becoming more and more important to deliver customer service that is unbeatable. These ten creative strategies can support you in turning your customers into walking billboards for your business. 1. Treat your customers like royalty.Hire a customer service representative to gree. . .

10 Steps to Better Sales Copy

You've worked so hard getting that much elusive traffic to your site. You've taken out a few ezine ads that have returned a good number of clickthroughs, you're getting some traffic from the major search engines, and still you wonder why your cash register isn't jumping. You know you've got a good product or service. What's the problem?Well it might be the sales copy on your web site.Far too of. . .