Welcome to Michael's Article Collection

Working Under Stress and Distraction

Ever had a week, or month or how about a summer that was so overwhelming, so chaotic that you simply didn't know where to start to get back on track?You may not have any control over the thing (or things) that set off the chaos but you still have to deal with the ramifications. Often on top of the physical presence of the chaos there is also internal emotional turmoil that suddenly boils up fro. . .

Referrals Build Profits: The Best Kind Of Customer Is A R...

Referrals are the key to exponential and cost-efficient business growth. Supply a topnotch product... let your customers know how advantageous your brand is... and provide exceptional service. Do that and you’ll encourage customers to willingly send their families, friends, acquaintances, and business associates your way. There’s no easier sale than the sale made to a “pre-sold” prospect. This . . .

Increase Customer Frequency

Repeat business is the key to ultimate long term success in any business. Your goal as entrepreneur or business owner is to turn every first time customer into a life-long customer. However, in order to maximize the value of that customer, you need to encourage regular purchases on an on-going basis.Encourage customers to come back frequently with special sales, events, frequent-buyer programs,. . .

Copy Makeovers Made Easy

Copy makeovers can work magic. Perhaps all you need is a little medicine... and not major surgery. Take whatever sales copy you have now and modify it. Recast, rework and repackage what you've got. Chances are you’re sitting on some solid (yet hidden) sales material. Often simple copy makeovers can work wonders in terms of response. So, before you crumple it up and toss your sales letter in the. . .

Create Your Marketing Machine to Plan for Marketing Success

Do you ever feel like you're constantly running around, trying to get your marketing materials put together and out the door? Are you frazzled by the marketing process, and driving your writer, designer, or printer absolutely nuts? Is your "plan" to just pick one new idea every now and then to implement? Or are you constantly hopping on the latest marketing idea, and throwing away your time and. . .

Banner Stands

Improve your next trade show display, event or sales meeting with a trade show display banner stand. Banner stands can add a level of graphics and professionalism to your trade show display or sales meeting that can be found in no other way. A banner stand can create an atmosphere that will generate leads and sales. Banner stands are simple and inexpensive ways of greatly improving your trad. . .

Online Publicity vs. Print Publicity

Some would say that a newspaper story isn't an actual newspaper story unless it appears in the "real" version of the newspaper. That’s just not true. Online publicity is as valuable, and sometimes even more exciting, than traditional publicity. Consider these benefits of online newspaper coverage:Printed versions of newspapers have a short shelf life. They’re printed, delivered or bought, read,. . .

Tips on How to Get More Clients and Market Professional S...

Create rewards for those that refer others to you. A reward could be anything from a formal affiliate program, where you pay cash for referrals, as I do, to coupons for discounts on your services, products, or programs, or a basket of gourmet food or homemade cookies. For some service professionals, paying affiliate fees may be unethical or illegal in some fields, like the medical or legal fiel. . .

A King of Media, Want Stern? Pay-Up!

While we’re using search marketing to bring the advertiser to the interested query at ICMediaDirect.com our iconic locale, the Empire State Building, brings the outlandish to our doorstep. It wasn’t a man in an ape suit that startled me at lunchtime two Fridays ago, but a handful of “wack pack” wannabes milling through the lobby screaming “Baba Booey!” instead. It had been Howard Stern’s fina. . .

How Many Ways Are There To Grow Any Business?

Let me ask you a question, how many ways do you think are available to you right now to grow your business? Do you think it’s over 50, over 100 or over 1,000? Well let me surprise you by saying in any business or industry around the world there are only 3 ways to grow a business!That’s right! There are 3 and only 3 ways you can grow your business and they are…1. Getting more customers.2. Increa. . .

Your Marketing Efforts Sink, Swim Or Soar Depending On Ho...

A few years ago I created a to-do list for my business (different from my to-do list for clients). Nearly every day I would add something to the list. Soon, I had over five pages of things to do -- tasks I viewed as important enough to interrupt what I was doing so I could add them to my list. Before long, every time I opened the document I got depressed. I was always adding to the list, but al. . .

How to Get Your Business Noticed by Thousands

All the experts kept saying it was a great way to give value, gain free publicity, and position yourself as an expert. It was something I had planned to do for years and I finally did it for the first time in May, 2005 and I’ve been doing it ever since. What is it? Writing articles. Don’t be like me and wait, get started today!OK, I can hear the moans of protest from here, so let me explain. . .

Internet Marketing Vs Network Marketing?

Which one do you want to venture into?Internet business? Or, network marketing business?In my opinion, you have to find out what you really want (money, good contact, getting new knowledge etc.). Then learn and investigate. Yes, you might fail in either one of both - be it in network marketing or internet marketing. But sometimes, you don't really fail but you're actually progressing towards yo. . .

How To Boost Your Home Based Business Sales In 2006

Here are three easy to execute tips to boost your home based business sales in 20061. Develop a cut and dry marketing calendar to establish "what" you actually propose to offer your prospects, "when" you propose to offer your product or service and "how" you intend to offer it. Will your marketing campaign use a well-targeted email campaign, direct mail campaign, google ad campaign, a website . . .

Complete Guidance to Write & Optimize Press Release

Online press release can provide considerable platform to reach huge online community. This article will provide complete guidance to make out well optimize and well written press release for PR distribution through the press release network. A well prepared press release would attract journalists and is also well optimized for distribution to targeted audience.Proper keywords: Selecting key w. . .

Successful Affiliate Marketing

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather a man of value.” -- Albert EinsteinAllow me to emphasize again that in any business endeavor, it is of the utmost importance that you take the time necessary to prepare yourself first. Then, take action. Success in business is achievable through preparation, action and persistence in offering real value to your customer. By preparing and educati. . .

Your Sexy Calendar

It can be really tough sometimes making transitions from one mind set to another, especially when we need to make those transitions around time. Starting and stopping one activity and moving into another can be difficult, but sometimes nothing seems tougher than stopping work and coming back to it after a holiday.We call this problem time management. But you know the more I work with my own tim. . .

All About Business Cards

Business cards are a great way for your business to get it's name out into the world. Small, and convenient, these little cards provide your customers with your name and all your contact information, and because they're portable, your customers will be able to take your name with them wherever they go (an advantage over online advertising).Many companies provide fully customizable cards, allowi. . .

Building a Bridge

I blogged a quick note on October 20th “Why Are You Working With Them?” and Zanna, one of my readers, asked a great question.In my original blog post I suggested you’re wasting your time if you continue to work with people who say they’re going to….(and fill in the blank) but never actually pull it together to get started. The point is they never get started. We are not talking about what the. . .

What The Font? – Understanding Typefaces On The Web

Do you operate a website, send out electronic newsletters or e-mail campaigns? Have you ever experimented with the different fonts (typefaces) available? If you have, you probably discovered there are numerous fonts available on your computer – in some cases 100-200 or more. How then do you decide which font to use?This article will give you a brief overview of choosing fonts for the internet, . . .

Ready, Aim, Fire!

Advertising is often described as a "hit or miss" endeavour. You shoot off an ad into the big, bad world, hoping it will land somewhere nice and reap a substantial return on investment (that’s R.O.I. for those playing at home...)DREAM ON! One of the most important aspects of any marketing campaign is to direct it to the "Target Market". But exactly who is the Target Market? That isn't always a. . .

Magnetic Marketing

In a culture that so often promotes immediate gratification it sometimes goes unrealized that there are beneficial, cost effective alternatives to instant results. This fact also undoubtedly applies to the world of marketing and advertising. A perfect example of how the virtue of patience can pay off is with the use of promotional magnets.All promotional products should be distributed with the . . .

Tips To Choose Good Affiliate Programs

Affiliate programs have become more popular nowadays, especially for sales people who want to make money easily and quickly. However, before you choose any affiliate program, make sure that you have answered all questions relating to a good affiliate program. Here are some questions you may ask:1. Does the affiliate program offer high commission rates for products?I know it is a tough question . . .

7 Ways You Should Follow In Order To Write A Profitable Ad

1. You can get ad copy ideas by studying similarproduct's advertising material. Collect their salesletters, classified ads, web ads, e-mail ads, etc.2. Know exactly what you want your ad copy toaccomplish. It could be to qualify prospects, makesales, generate leads, attract web traffic, etc.3. Make a complete list of your product's benefitsand features. Begin your ad with the most importantbene. . .

A Guide To Advertising In The Media

The media is a powerful thing -- the average person spends an enormous amount of their life consuming it in one form or another, and will spend a significant percentage of that time looking at, listening to or watching advertisements. If you want to use the power of the media, though, you need to know what you're doing.Advertising in Newspapers and Magazines.There are two kinds of advertising y. . .

5 Business Essentials (Besides Great Copywriting) To Maxi...

Effective copywriting is one piece of the puzzle. But you also need some basic business essentials. Sure, great ad copy is a crucial component to marketing success, but it's not the be-all-and-end-all some people seem to think. It's this kind of "cure-all" approach that sometimes gives advertising a bad name as the truth gets exaggerated in an attempt to sell inferior products. Here are 5 essen. . .

Effective Marketing - Instantly Cut Through the Clutter!

With the proliferation of websites, blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, and other communication tools, consumers are bombarded with marketing messages, new products, unbeatable offers, and other opportunities on a daily basis. Marketing professionals are challenged with finding new ways to reach consumers despite ever increasing promotional noise and clutter.So many of today’s marketing executives and. . .

Differentiate Yourself And Attract More Attention, Sales,...

Differentiate and you stand out in a crowded marketplace. Present your uniqueness and emphasize your rare attributes in your sales copy and promotions and you'll capture the imagination and interest of those you want to reach. In a world of copycats, it pays to be an original. It’s usually the creator of a new concept who gets the most mileage from it. Innovative entrepreneurs often become mark. . .

IT Marketing: Ways to Grow Awareness of Your Company

In order to sell a solution, you have to build awareness that there is a problem. Once you have built that awareness, you need to build awareness that your firm can solve that problem. Then you need to build awareness that your solution is relatively pain-free, seamless, affordable, and gives companies good return on investment. This article will show you ways to do that.Seminar Marketing is Ve. . .

Making Business 2 Business Sales on the Internet

Ways to find, contact, and sell to businesses through the use of the internet.In today’s world the internet is a must use tool in business 2 business sales prospecting. Think about the time it saves you in finding and gaining up to the minute information on any potential business, organization, and associations. The internet allows you to conduct searches to find businesses, and the names of th. . .

A Unique Marketing Spin for a Coffee Shop

Incorporating personal interaction in your marketing is a must today.Three business partners contacted me about creating a marketing plan for a coffee shop that they were opening in Greenwich Village in New York City. They had already leased a 3000 sq. foot space, which is very large for a coffee shop. They had not worked out what type of food or coffee they would serve. The location was too la. . .

Department Store Buyer Becomes Interior Designer

A market analysis gives direction for a small business.A man contacted me about promoting his commercial interior design firm that he was starting. At that time he was working as a department store buyer where he was very bored in his job. He was interested in making a career change to interior designing. He had no formal training but had educated himself in interior design and had worked on so. . .

5 Way of Using Direct Marketing

Direct marketing is the best way to attract and obtain clients.Direct marketing is attractive to many marketers because in most cases its effectiveness can be measured directly. For example, if you were to send out one thousand solicitations by mail and you receive seventy responses, then you know that the mailing led to a seven percent response rate.Any medium that you choose to use to communi. . .

Please Don’t File This – Delete it

Oh you can file it…but first read it….and if you’re not going to read it then just delete it. Radical? Maybe. But how many more “important” items do you want to save to read later?The only way I know to avoid clutter is to stop making it - now. Clutter isn’t always papers spread everywhere. It doesn’t always look like piles of things left on counters “to do” later. Clutter can also be what we k. . .

How Search Engines Have Changed Public Relations

When it comes to Public Relations, the driving philosophy that underlies even the most minute aspect of a campaign is that perception equals reality. This is as true as ever in the Interactive Age because anyone with Internet access has the ability to voice his or her opinion on the World Wide Web. Internet users now have the ability to present their opinions for public consumption on blogs a. . .

Direct Mail

Direct Mail is regarded as one of the most effective tools of a marketing campaign geared toward customer acquisition. As many businesses move away from generalized branding efforts towards marketing campaigns that have a measurable ROI, a dramatic increase in direct mail program spending is the result.Direct Mail is known for producing a quick and measurable response, and is an excellent prosp. . .

Detailing and CNC For Trade Shows

Detailing and CNC For Trade ShowsAn article from: http://tradeshowboothster.comDetailing provides the blueprint for the trade show exhibit construction process. Detailing works with Design to develop the production plans, creating the instructional drawings that are necessary for the shop to understand how to actually construct the trade show exhibit. The detailer is responsible for interpretin. . .

Trade Show Exhibits: Sales Process

Part 1 in a series of articles by John-Paull Davidson http://tradeshowboothster.com/The key relationship in the initial phases of a trade show exhibit sales process is between the Client and the Account Executive. This relationship is the most important factor in the success of any exhibit house experience. The Account Executive is the client’s advocate, acting as the liaison between the Client. . .

Modern-Day Postcard Marketing

Postcards are one of the most effective marketing tools you can use to generate website traffic or sales leads. Postcards are not new - and they may not be very exciting. But they really work ...especially if you follow these 6 proven postcard marketing tactics.1. Know What You WantDecide what you want your postcards to accomplish. Most marketers use postcards to attract new customers. But you . . .

How To Stop Petty Commission Theives And Increase Your Co...

Did you know there are people out there that hate knowingthat a third party is going to be making money off themwhen they purchase things through affiliate links. Oftenwhen they buy through an affiliate link they will removeyour affiliate id from the links and most times they willeven replace it with their own. How many commissions are you unknowingly missing out on?And what if I told you that . . .

Department Store Buyer Becomes Interior Designer

A market analysis gives direction to a small business.A man contacted me about promoting his commercial interior design firm that he was starting. At that time he was working as a department store buyer where he was very bored in his job. He was interested in making a career change to interior designing. He had no formal training but had educated himself in interior design and had worked on som. . .

Consumers: Get Advertisers Who Have Your Needs In Mind

With all the sites on the internet that are using banners and all sorts of flashy advertising campaigns there is rising a new way to shop or even search for the things that you are looking for. It is what I call article targeting, it is going to be one of the hottest trends in the next few years.Think about this: you want to buy a software program, so you type in software in the search engine. . . .

Can You Boost Profits Significantly By Adding Audio To Yo...

If you ask me, it is a definite yes. In fact, one e-book author suggested that adding audio to your auctions could potentially increase bids by as much as 22% over auctions without audio.A recent trend showing up on a lot of websites is the addition of an audio clip. The clip is a personal message by the author or the website owner encouraging you to take advantage of what they offer.The psycho. . .

Exceptional Ways To Get Free Advertising.

Free advertising? How many ways can you get free web siteadvertising? No one knows for sure. Nowadays, getting something for free is too much to askfor. When it comes to advertising, this is not the case.There are still many ways web site owners can use to obtainthat free advertising they wanted.Below are some exceptional ways in obtaining freeadvertising to get you started.1. Online classified. . .

Writing Articles Can Explode Your Business

In today's highly competitive internet universe, the importance of attracting highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be overemphasized. Routing web traffic to your site can be your only means of survival, especially in the cutthroat world of ecommerce. Getting a high search engine ranking can be very difficult. Fortunately, there is plethora of website promotion strategies you can use t. . .

The 7 Components Of Effective Website Design And Marketing

1. Target Audience: (Who Buys From You?)The foundation of effective web marketing is the 'who.' Determining your target audience, their needs, wants, level of knowledge, goals, etc is critical to creating a website that will be effective at either lead generation or e-commerce.2. Core Message: (What Exactly do You Offer?)Flowing directly from who you want to target, is the question of what you . . .

What is a Press Release

A respectable company interested in publicity and active social life is obliged to have public relations department. Every product needs to be advertised and every service needs to be informed about. This is what advertising agencies are for. But publicity is also a way to advertise and PR agents in Hollywood know it perfectly well. Of course, nobody is talking about details of private life or . . .

Are Product Resell Rights a Viable Money Maker?

If your inbox is anything like mine, you've probably recieved your fair share of Product Resale Rights offers. Often times you'll be offered anywhere from one to a hundred or more products, ranging in price from $17 to $500. Trying to figure out "What You're Allowed To Do" with them can be a confusing process.If your package comes with Basic Resale Rights, it will give you the right to resell i. . .

Virtual Networking – 7 Ideas for Making Connections Onlin...

Virtual networking is a great way to meet people around the corner or around the world. What better way to reach out and touch someone in the 21st Century than the Internet? Heidi Richards The Internet has brought about many opportunities for us to network without leaving our office or our home. In fact, almost any form of Internet presence can offer opportunities to network. And the goal of Vi. . .

10 Killer Ways To Multiply Your Sales

Making the first sale is not difficult task but the most important task is how to make more sales by previous sales.I just made 10 tips to boost your salees by usinginformation of privous sales.1. When you make your first sale, follow-up with the customer. You could follow-up with a "thank you" email and include an advertisement for other products you sell. You could follow-up every few months.. . .