Trade Show Tips for Successful Exhibiting

Before you head out the door and hop on the plane or jump in your car to your next trade show, make sure you're prepared!  Below are some tips and tricks I've learned throughout my marketing career.  They've certainly helped prevent many catastrophes!

COMPILE A SURVIVAL KIT:
Pens
Markers
Highlighters
Notebook
Scissors
Packing tape
Scotch tape
Velcro strips
Binding clips
Snacks
Cash for vending machines
Extra business cards, brochures, etc . . .
Pain medication
Antacid
Lots of patience!

MORE TIPS:
If you have a list of the show's attendees, send them an invitation with an incentive to stop by your booth.  For instance, if they print out the invitation and bring it with them, you can offer a small prize or extra time to play a game.  They'll remember the invitation and they'll be thinking about stopping by your booth to get your special offer.  It's a great "first touch."

Label your boxes with your company name, box #, booth assignment, show name, show address, and YOUR phone number.  For instance:

Adams Marketing - Box 1 of 5
Booth #46
TOAL Show
123 Anystreet
Anytown, CA 92126
972-555-1234

Flying back home?  Make sure you bring return shipping labels for the boxes that will be going back with you.

If you need electricity or Internet, take care of the payment prior to the show!  I can't tell you how many people were unprepared and surprised by the extra charges when they checked in.


Wear comfortable shoes!  You're going to be doing a lot more standing than sitting!  Some exhibitors even give out padded shoe inserts.  Sure you want to make a good impression, but when you're faced with a long day of meeting leads, comfort takes precedence over fashion.

The venue that held the TOAL Show did not have, nor did they offer, carpet and padding.  After 5 hours of standing, my back was aching.  If possible, bring your own padded carpet, even if it's just a small rug.  Your back will thank you for it.

I usually bring snacks with me, but I thought there would be a buffet at the venue.  Turns out that it was a buffet of just sweets - cookies, ice cream, and brownies!  And I got food poisoning!  Moral of the story: bring your own snacks.  Even if there is a great assortment of food, you may not be able to break away from the booth to eat a good meal.

REMEMBER TO . . .
Come prepared . . . don't wait until the last minute to set-up your booth . . . and RELAX!  When you're relaxed, you smile more and that's a great first impression when you're trying to attract leads into your booth. 

Make sure your booth staff is properly trained with a 30-second pitch.  Each of them should be able to talk to your potential customers about your company's products and/or services.  Look your visitors in the eyes, welcome them by their first name, and give a hearty handshake.  Use the back of their business cards to take great notes - when you follow-up with them after the show, they'll appreciate your attention to detail. 

If your conversation with your co-worker can wait, let it wait.  One thing I hate is seeing a booth fully staffed with people talking amongst themselves and noone greeting attendees as they walk by . . . and the attendees keep walking by! 

Walk the show floor to see who the other exhibitors are and what their booths look like.  You want to know your competition and how you stack up against them.

AFTER THE SHOW
Upload your leads into your CRM as soon as possible and follow-up with them within two weeks.  If the show was big and lasted several days, allow up to two weeks for the attendees to settle back into the office before calling or emailing them.  Chances are, they've got tons of work to catch up on and they'll appreciate your consideration.

Hold a post-show meeting with your booth staff and coordinators within a week after the show. Talk about what worked, what didn't work, and what you'd do differently. Do you want to go bigger next year or scale down?


Keep track of the solid leads you've received as a result of the show.  Look over your total show expenses.  Was it worth it?  If you said "yes," you should be thinking about participating in the show again next year.

How to Convert Online Visitors into Leads: Using Call to Action and Offers

Convert online visitors into leads by creating a call to action and a compelling offer that targets your audience.  Below are some quick and easy tips that can get you started in the right direction.

Create a “Can’t Miss” Call to Action

1. Your call to action should be action oriented and use simple and clear language to minimize any confusion. Some examples of Calls to Action:
          • Sign up for Demo

          • Download a Free Kit

          • Register for Webinar

2. Make your call to action pop with text or a call button in color that contrasts from the rest of the page.

3. Use images of your product or service so visitors know exactly what they are getting. Link images and texts to your pre-determined landing page.

4. Your Call to Action should target your desired audience with an offer they can’t pass up.


Develop a Compelling Offer

1. Think about your visitors and what they are looking for:

         • Provide a solution to your target audience

         • Create a sense of urgency

2. Offer a free 30-day or 60-day trial of your products or services.

3. Provide free expert advice with whitepapers.

4. Give them a taste of your products or services with demo videos or webinars.

5. Be inspirational and specific.

Check in next week as I talk about creating optimal landing pages that will increase your conversion rate!

Email Marketing - Determining the Best Time and Day to Send Your Emails

By now, we've covered quite a bit of information about Email Marketing - How to Grow Your List, How to Get Your Emails Opened, Creating Valuable and Relevant Content, How to Get Your Readers to Forward Your Emails, and How Often to Send Your Emails. Now we're on to Determining the Best Time and Day to Send your Emails. I can’t really give you a definitive day and time that is best for your Email campaign. I can tell you how to get the best results for your campaigns.

Below are the pros and cons of sending Emails for each day of the week:

Monday
Pro: Office work has not filled inboxes yet
Con: Consumers are in “work mode” and won’t be focused on non-work tasks
Best Practice: Send emails late Monday morning, after consumers have cleaned the weekend spam from their inboxes

Tuesday
Pro: People have organized their week, and can find personal time for emails
Con: Emails poised for a weekend response may be too early
Best Practice: Use Tuesday for emails that request action during the workweek

Wednesday/Thursday
Pro: Consumers are planning their weekends and gearing up for personal time
Con: Time during the workweek is running short, and requested action may be pushed back to the following week, or even forgotten about
Best Practice: Focus leisure and weekend notifications during these key weekend planning days

Friday
Pro: Studies indicate fewer total emails sent compared to the rest of the week, increasing visibility among the myriad of other messages
Con: Consumers hurry to leave the office early, and may not take time to view non-work related emails
Best Practice: Send emails early in the day to give consumers more time to take action. An unopened email from Friday will sort to the bottom of an inbox on Monday, and is often discarded

Weekends
Pro: People check emails on weekends, too, so weekends may have untapped potential
Con: A weekend email may seem overly-intrusive to some people
Best Practice: If possible, try to avoid Sundays and focus on Saturdays, which may have a better response rate
Source: 60secondmarketer.com

Test and Test Again

• Before sending out a mass Email, set up 2 or 3 test groups - one for each different day that you are considering sending Emails.
• Send your email to each test group at three different times throughout the day.
• Monitor your success rate by tracking how many actions were made – clicks, forwards, purchases, etc …
• Thoroughly evaluate your test groups with each Email campaign.
• Send your mass Email campaign on the day and time that you achieved the best results.
• Test and test again with each Email campaign to refine your Email Marketing program and make sure your marketing dollars are well spent.

Email Marketing - Determining How Often to Send Your Email Campaign

The last thing you want is for your readers to get annoyed with you because you're sending them too many Emails. No one likes to see their inbox full, right? The key to determining how often you should be sending your Email campaigns is to first create a Marketing Communications calendar.

Determining How Often to Send Your Emails

Create a Marketing Communications Calendar
First, you will need a printed calendar that has each month on its own page and squares large enough to write in. Gather a highlighter marker, pen and pencil, and sticky notes.

1. Lay the calendar out on a flat work surface. This works best if you lay out the pages in a straight line, showing the entire year, in a single view.
2. Use the highlighter to mark the times of year that are generally slow or challenging for your business. For example: When is it hard to close deals or generate leads? Start your highlights about two weeks before the slow times start. This creates a visual clue to remind you of when to focus your marketing efforts.
3. Now use the pen to write down events during the year that you know will not change – regardless of what happened in your work or personal life. For example: If you always have a 4th of July sale, mark it on the calendar. Also, circle the holidays, since they are a given for you, your customers, and prospects.
4. Use the pencil to write in possible times you might want to do a customer survey. A best practice is to survey your customers at least twice a year and shortly after special events. While you can always change it, you’ve committed to following up with your customers, and gathering their feedback.
5. Write down your ideas for content on sticky notes and put them on the calendar where they make sense throughout the year. This is the flexible part of your plan. If something happens in your business and you need to change the content of your email, you can simply move the sticky note to another part of the calendar and keep going.
6. Put the calendar in a folder and keep it an arm’s length from your desk or chair. As you think of ideas for content over time, write them on a sticky note and add them to the calendar.
   Source: http://www.constantcontact.com/

Coordinate the timing of your campaigns for maximum impact.

1. Send your Emails or E-Newsletters at least two days before a major event or promotion. Give your readers enough time to prepare.
2. Consider sending information about your event or promotion at least a month in advance if your reader needs to arrange travel or meetings. Follow-up with reminders in subsequent Emails or E-Newsletters.
3. Include the frequency of your E-Newsletters, such as monthly or quarterly, in your online sign-up so recipients know how often to expect Emails from you.

We’ll close our series on Email Marketing next week as I discuss best times to send Emails.

Email Marketing - How to Get People to Forward Your Lists

A great way to grow your customer base is to encourage your loyal following to forward your Email or E-Newsletters to their friends.

Get People to Forward Your Email or E-Newsletter

Forward to a Friend

• Use the “Forward to a Friend” feature of your Email Marketing software. When people click on this link, it’s traceable. You can see which recipient opened your Email and how many people they forwarded it to. You can’t see who they forwarded it to, however, because of anti-SPAM laws. But this information is valuable nonetheless.
• If your readers just use the regular Forward button of their Email system, you won’t see if they forwarded your Email and to how many people.
• Put your request in a text link rather than a graphic or button. 35% of Email recipients don’t see pictures in their Emails and will miss your request.

Where to Ask

• Place your request within the body of the Email or E-Newsletter.
• Ask to "Forward to a Friend" at the top and towards the bottom of your Email or E-Newsletter.
• If your Email or E-Newsletter is long, insert the request before the scroll line to increase the chances of your reader seeing it.

How Many is Too Many?

• Ask specifically to send to 1, 2, or 3 people. People will typically send to more than that.
• Don’t ask for 5 or more – your reader will likely not forward it at all.
• It’s reverse psychology, I guess!

Next week, I’ll show you how to create a Marketing Communications Calendar and how you can use it to schedule your Email Marketing campaigns. This is fun stuff!

Email Marketing - Creating Valuable and Relevant Content

In the last two weeks we talked about growing your Email Marketing list and how to get your Emails opened. Let’s say your recipient has opened your Email or E-Newsletter. Success! Now what? Well, you don’t want him or her deleting your Email or unsubscribing to your E-Newsletter, that’s for sure. Keep your target audience happy and wanting more by providing valuable and relevant information that he or she can’t get anywhere else.

Create Valuable and Relevant Content

Be a resource

• You want people to save your Emails or E-Newsletters so they can refer to them time and time again when the need arises.
• Provide information that is not available on your website so your E-Newsletters are more valuable to your target audience.
• Share your knowledge on a particular topic that your customers may not already know about.
• Share information that you have access to that your customers don’t.
• Make sure your topics are relevant to your target audience. It can be related to seasons, holidays, financial or economic factors, etc . . .
• Keep your articles short with a “Click here to learn more” which can take them to your blog.

Shorten the decision cycle for your customers

• Recommend a best option or highlight a special promotion.
• When you give several options for a product purchase, your recipient won’t be able to decide right away and put it off until later . . . or never.

Preferred Customer Program Rewards

• Include a coupon as a “thank you” for being a loyal customer.
• It can be a discount or dollar value off a product or service or admission fee to a special event that you are hosting.
• Make sure it truly is a special “thank you.” Don’t offer the same discount on your website to any casual visitor.

Check back next week when I share some tips on how to get people to forward your Email or E-Newsletter.

Email Marketing - How to Get Your Emails Opened

Last week we discussed how you can grow your Email Marketing list. Now, we must talk about getting your Emails opened. If you’re like me, your inbox is probably full of Emails. What’s the first thing you do? Most likely, you scan your unopened Emails for urgent matters and leave less important Emails unopened until you have more time later. Then, you do a quick review of Emails from addresses that you don’t recognize with subject lines that scream SPAM and delete them right away. So how do you prevent your recipients from deeming your Emails SPAM?

How to Get Your Emails Opened

The From Line

• It’s important for your Email address to represent you and your business in a professional manner. If you’re using an Email Marketing software like iContact or Constant Contact, you can determine what your recipients see in the From line. For instance, you can say “Arni from Adams & Adams Enterprises, Inc.” The shorter your Email address the better.


• Be consistent. If you’re using an Email Marketing software, you have the ability to change the From line depending on the lists you’re sending to. Just remember what From address you’re using and for what recipient list.

Subject Line

• Keep it short and simple. You have 3 seconds or less to capture your audience’s attention. Keep it to 30-40 characters, including spaces.
  
• Capitalize and punctuate appropriately. It’s OK to capitalize some words to grab your readers attention, like “ACTION REQUIRED” or “PLEASE RESPOND.” If you capitalize everything, it will look like you’re yelling.

2-2-2 Principle

• You have 2 seconds, with the first 2 words, to tell your reader why your Email/E-Newsletter matters today.


• Is it urgent, time sensitive, important, or relevant?


• Make sure your subject line appropriately describes the content of the Email/E-Newsletter and why it needs to be opened today.
  

Join me next week as I talk about creating valuable and relevant content for your target audience.

Develop Loyal Customers with Email Marketing - How to Grow Your List

Marketing to customers has changed over the last few years. If you're wondering how you can use online tools to help your business grow, you're not alone. Twitter and Facebook are great at getting customers to you. But what do you use to keep your customers loyal? That's where Email Marketing comes in.

Whether you’ve just got on board with Email Marketing or have done it for years, you can use this information to develop a loyal customer base. We’re starting this series of Email Marketing information with growing your list.

How to Grow Your List

There’s no real magic to growing your Email Marketing list. It takes tenacity and patience. Below are some simple ideas that can get you started.

Service/Sales Calls

• If you notice that your customers are asking the same type of questions repeatedly, gather your answers and put them in your E-Newsletter.


• Choose what topics you want to discuss and write 2-3 sentences for each topic.


• Tell prospective clients/customers about your E-newsletter if their questions are relevant to the topics covered and ask if they would like to be added to your mailing list.
  

Networking Event

• Choose your recipients carefully and make sure you have permission to e-mail them.


• Do not send a mass email to everyone at a networking event.


• Make 5 good connections and ask them if you can follow-up with an E-Newsletter.
  

LinkedIn

• Having a network on LinkedIn doesn’t necessarily give you permission to send a mass Email to everyone in your network. Chances are you’ll lose some great contacts!


• If you are consistently in contact with a group of professionals on LinkedIn, ask for permission before hitting the send button.
  

Tradeshows

• Your main goal is to stand out from hundreds of other exhibitors and make sure that leads remember you.


• Have a Preferred Customer Mailing List notebook to gather information from interested leads. Use a small spiral notebook – they’re easier to handle and tend to be more memorable.


• Print out an email address where the Email will be coming from and place the signage near the signup notebook.


• Put a person next to the sign-up notebook to lend a personal interaction.
  

In-Store Guest Book

• Have customers sign-up and write their Email address themselves. 60% of customers who sign-up themselves will give you a real email address.
  

Website Sign-up

• In the upper right corner of each landing page, place an area where people can sign up for your newsletter.
  

Tune in next week as I discuss how to get people to open your Emails! Click here to go directly to article.

Lessons from Celebrity Apprentice – Episode 1

Episode Synopsis
The celebrities on Celebrity Apprentice, Season 3, were separated into two teams - the women's team and the men's team. The women named themselves Tenacity and picked Bret Michaels to lead the men's team in their first task. The men called themselves Rock Solid and chose Cyndi Lauper to lead the women's team. Their first task was to run a diner during the lunch-time rush to raise money for their charities. Obviously, the team who raised the most money won.

Surround Yourself with the Right People
As soon as they were assigned the task, Bret Michaels turns to Curtis Stone, a renowned chef, and admits that he knows nothing about running a restaurant and that he was going to count on Curtis’ restaurant and cooking expertise to help Rock Solid win. A great leader recognizes his own weaknesses and surrounds himself with people who are experts in their field. Sure, Bret didn’t pick Curtis to be on his team. But he knew immediately who to turn to for help.

Don’t Underestimate Your Competition
Tenacity picked Bret to be the men’s project manager because he was running on an hour of sleep. They figured that his lack of sleep would impede his judgment and leadership ability. Boy, were they wrong. Rock Solid is comprised of, well, rock solid team members. They rallied behind their leader. They stepped up to the plate when Bret needed help (Curtis with his cooking expertise and Bill Goldberg lending a hand when Bret’s blood sugar was too low). And they kept their goal in mind.

Know Your Target
Tenacity did a great job advertising for their fundraiser. On the morning of the fundraiser, the women did several radio interviews to broadcast their fundraising event. They got the publicity they wanted. Tenacity had a long line of people waiting to get in the diner to meet the stars and buy a $25 burger. The problem? The line was so long that friends of the celebrities couldn’t get in . . . friends with deep pockets. Tenacity was serving people who were more interested in photo-ops than donating and ended up turning away serious donors.

Keep Your Goal in Mind
Rock Solid didn’t really do any advertising. They had window signage while Sinbad directed traffic into the diner. But they didn’t need advertising. They knew they needed to raise more money than Tenacity. Why waste their time targeting the Average Joe who couldn’t afford a serious donation? They called all their friends in New York and asked them to come and support their fundraiser. Rock Solid priced their items so high that many people who casually walked in to order a burger or salad walked right out without ordering. But guess what? Their strategy kept their doors open for serious donors. And serious donors they got. They sold truffle burgers and truffle risotto for $250! For every one burger they sold, Tenacity had to sell 10 of their $25 burgers! They didn’t need to bring in a large crowd. They just needed the RIGHT crowd!

SUMMARY
In case you missed it, the men raised nearly twice as much money as the women and won the first task. Sure, their price point was a little risky – but they were targeting a specific customer. Their goal was to get BIG donations, not to attract the biggest crowd.

Are you targeting the right customer?

Social Media: Tweeting Effectively for Your Business

BE PROFESSIONAL
It’s all in the set-up!
When you set up your Twitter account, use a professional photo or logo, a professional user name, a professional description, and a background that reflects your business. Be personable yet professional looking and sounding. Just what that looks like will depends on the nature of your business.

Start tweeting usable information related to your business.
For example, tweet stock information if you are stockbroker, tips on choosing produce if you are a farmer, or tips to make money onlineif you are an online marketer.

Share articles that you are reading relative to the field you are promoting.
Stay in your industry of your site or business. Become a valuable resource by filtering articles others would be interested in. If others like them they will retweet them to others. Retweeting is taking someone else's tweet and re-broadcasting it to your followers.

Sound like an expert.
Provide a regular tip and point followers to your blog or E-zine article. Shorter than 140 characters so that regular followers can use and retweet. Figure you start with 140 characters minus your tweet name and minus 5 more characters. The @ sign in front of your name makes up for the 5, and the space after your name when it is retweeted.

EFFECTIVE TWEETS
Use Hash tags.
What are hash tags? Hash tags are a simple way to organize topics. For example if you are tweeting or twittering about knitting, you would create a hash tag by adding the # symbol in front of the word knitting. You hash tag would look like this: #knitting. Now that you have created a hash tag, how do they benefit you? A hash tag is clickable and searchable. For example if someone is searching for tweets relating to knitting they will do a search for #knitting. Also if a person encounters a tweet with the #knitting hash tag, they can click on the hash tag to find other results with the #knitting hash tags. Essentially, you are making your tweet easier to find and viewed by more people.

Retweet often.
Why would you want to advertise other people's tweets? There are several benefits to the practice of retweeting. One of the benefits of retweeting is that it helps to add followers. Another great benefit of retweeting is that you will probably be retweeted back by the person you RT'ed (retweeted). Retweeting works on the idea of, scratch my back and I will scratch your back. If you are retweeted you should do your best to retweet back. When I retweet I try to think about my followers. Will my followers benefit from this information? Will this retweet bring me more followers?

Set up a list of retweeters.
This will make it easier for you to retweet those who retweet you.

Send a Direct Message.
Thank followers that retweet and that you retweet back, sort of like a if you scratch my back I will scratch your back. Then make sure to retweet something of theirs.

Schedule your tweets ahead of time.
Some people have the luxury of spending all day in front of the computer. Most do not have such a luxury. Get a program such as Twaitter or Hootsuite. These programs will allow you to schedule your tweets ahead of time and they are free.

Announce things about your business periodically.
Gradually begin adding the occasional marketing message to your tweets. Let people know what you can do for them. If you are selling a product or service, people like "free," "contests," "discounts" and other relevant information.

ATTRACT FOLLOWERS BY BEING A FOLLOWER, TOO!
Follow people in your industry.
You can keep up with the latest news in your industry and respond to tweets that enable you to showcase your expertise. Retweet relevant information to your followers, too!

Follow people who may be interested in your products or services.
Many people new to Twitter will randomly follow anyone, but just as you target customers in offline marketing, you are likely to see more results from Twitter if you work on getting a targeted following. Use # and keyword(s) in the search function to find prospective customers.

Grow your list of followers.
As more people follow you, more people will see your tweets. Start by adding those who follow you. Add those who retweet you. You can do a search by location and add those people who live near you. Most tweeters will follow you back.

Cultivate relationships with your followers.
Make sure you are engaged and act human when writing in Twitter. Read and comment on other Twitters. Retweet their posts. Respond to someone who writes you. @sign is when someone is writing to you.

Source: e-How.com

Designing Direct Mail that Sells

With social media and online advertising on the rise, you may wonder if direct mail is still an effective way to use your marketing dollars. Have you checked your mailbox lately? Chances are, most of the advertisements you receive go straight to the recycle bin. But there is always a post card, flyer, or insert that pulls you in and piques your purchasing interest.

Perhaps you received a post card for an air vent cleaning with free carpet steaming – just while you were thinking how dusty your house keeps getting and how disgusting your carpet is looking. Or maybe you received an insert announcing a sale on bath towels and a $5 off coupon – just as you dug out your mangled old towel from the dryer. Sometimes timing is everything.

Whatever the advertisement, you’re now thinking about making a purchase. Response rates from direct mail are usually lower than e-mail campaigns. But, as with all marketing campaigns, repetition and reinforcement are keys to reaching your customers. So how can you design an effective direct mail piece?

The basics are in your mailbox.
When you need inspiration, just go to your own personal direct mail idea vault... your mailbox! You probably receive tons of good direct mail each year. Set aside packages that catch your eye. The companies mailing these have spent thousands of dollars researching the best methods. Why not learn from their research?

Always try to beat your previous response rate.
Play around with the design before sending the mailing out again. See if minor changes make a significant difference in the response rate. Send out different versions of your design to similar groups in your database, and test to see which one results in the most responses. Whatever you do, test it, and then test it again!

Use words that grab the reader’s attention.
Here is a recent list of “Words that Grab Attention,” produced by Starch INRA Hooper Research Worldwide:
Announcing / Discover / Easy / Exclusive / Free / Guarantee / Health / Help / Immediately / Introducing / Know / Learn / Love / Money / New / Now / Powerful / Profits / Protect / Proven / Results / Safe / Save / Secret(s) / Today / Trust / Understand / You

Source: PostNet

Home-Based Business Ideas for $5,000 or Less

Need a Business Idea? Here are 55. You can start any of these home based businesses for less than $5,000.
By Entrepreneur Press & Cheryl Kimball May 20, 2009

This article has been excerpted from 55 Surefire Home Based Businesses You Can Start for Under $5,000 by Entrepreneur Press & Cheryl Kimball, available from Entrepreneur Press.

Today, tens of thousands of people are considering starting a home based business, and for good reasons. On average, people can expect to have two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one career often think about their second or third career move being to their own home. People who have been part of the traditional nine-to-five work force and are on the verge of retiring from that life are thinking of what to do next. The good news: Starting a homebased business is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard.

$1,500 or less to start up

1. ACCOUNTANT
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

2. BICYCLE REPAIR

3. BOAT CLEANING
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

4. BUSINESS PLAN SERVICE
Has expansion possibilities.

5. CHIMNEY SWEEP

6. CLEANING SERVICE

7. COMPUTER REPAIR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

8. CONSULTANT
Has expansion possibilities.

9. DOG BREEDER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

10. EBAY ASSISTANT

11. EDITORIAL SERVICES
Has expansion possibilities.

12. ELECTRONICS REPAIR
Has expansion possibilities.

13. EVENT PLANNING
Has expansion possibilities.

14. EXPERT WITNESS SERVICE
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

15. FINANCIAL PLANNER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

16. FLEA MARKET
Has expansion possibilities.

17. GOLF COACH
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

18. HOME ENERGY AUDITOR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

19. HOME INSPECTION
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

20. HOUSEHOLD ORGANIZER
Has expansion possibilities.

21. IMPORT/EXPORT SPECIALIST
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

22. INTERIOR DECORATOR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

23. JEWELRY MAKING
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

24. MARKETING COPY WRITER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

25. NOTARY PUBLIC/JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

26. PERSONAL CONCIERGE

27. PERSONAL TRAINER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

28. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

29. SMALL ENGINE REPAIR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

30. SOLAR ENERGY CONSULTANT

31. TAX PREPARER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

32. TAXIDERMIST
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

33. UPHOLSTERING

34. USED BOOK SALES

35. WEDDING PLANNER

$1,500 to 3,000 to start up

36. APPLIANCE REPAIR
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

37. COMPUTER TRAINING

38. DESKTOP PUBLISHER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

39. FENCE INSTALLATIONS

40. FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

41. GIFT BASKET SERVICE
Has expansion possibilities.

42. GRAFFITI REMOVAL

43. HAIRSTYLIST
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

44. HERBAL FARM STAND

45. LANDSCAPER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

46. MASSAGE THERAPIST
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

47. MOVING SERVICE

48. MUSIC LESSONS
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

49. PHOTOGRAPHER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

50. RUG CLEANING

51. WEBSITE DEVELOPER
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

$3,000 to $5,000 to start up

52. BED AND BREAKFAST

53. CHRISTMAS TREE SALES

54. DAY CARE
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

55. PET SITTING
Experience, training or licensing may be needed.

Market Research: Keys to Brand Success

Companies are oftentimes turned off by the idea of market research for many reasons. For one, it can be time consuming and costly. You may also be afraid that by asking consumers what they really think about your brand you may be opening up Pandora's box. But the value and importance of market insight research should never be overlooked. Performing an effective market research can be the difference between a company's brand success and failure.

Here are some points to keep in mind:

• When building your brand, begin with the end in mind. What outcome do you want? What would you measure as your success?
• Spend a day in the life of your audience. As a market researcher, you will need to become the customer. Attend events that your consumers attend. Visit places they would normally visit. Shop where they shop. Audit your competitors! With this experience, you can develop a meaningful brand experience in a tonality that speaks to them.
• What do consumers currently think about your brand? Develop a strategy to obtain unbiased information from your consumers. You can use on-line or phone surveys, facilitate test groups, or coordinate one-on-one meetings. Ensure your participants that their answers are completely anonymous.
• What do you want your consumers to think about your brand? How do you want consumers to perceive your brand? Is it the best value for their money? Is it the most technologically innovative? Is it tastier? Does it last longer? Is it brighter? Can it increase their chances of survival? Does it improve their health?
• What can you do to stimulate a change in your consumers' perception of your brand? Everyday consumers are bombarded with marketing advertisements without even knowing it! Your challenge is to develop a relevant message that stands out from the clutter! Remember that repetition and reinforcement are key to getting your message across to your consumers. Be consistent with your promise. Make sure your advertising, whether its online or print, reflects your consumers' actual experience.

Brand communication is about persuasion and marrying your organizational objectives with individual consumer behavior. The process is a continuous cycle:

1. Discover your brand perception ->
2. Execute a strong marketing campaign ->
3. Measure your results ->
4. Learn from your results and make changes if necessary ->
5. Begin step 1 again.

Market insight research is important because it reduces uncertainty, reduces risks, and reveals opportunities. For instance, you may be uncertain of your brand's success or consumer perception of your brand. Research can also prevent a financial disaster by revealing financial or branding risks you should avoid. Finally, your market insights can reveal areas where you can increase the value proposition of your brand to consumers, increase brand equity and credibility, and enhance the performance of your product.

Source: Mitch McCasland, guest speaker at DFW-AMA Marketing Research Special Interest Group. Topic: "Insights Made Easy: Connecting with Your Customer"

Multi-Level Marketing: Is It For You?

There are dozens of MLM companies out there - from Avon and Mary Kay to Pampered Chef and Tastefully Simple. I'm sure you've been approached at one time or another by someone asking you to host a party. And I'm sure you've obliged or even considered joining their team. Sure, MLM can be fun and rewarding . . . but the truth is, it takes hard work and commitment to be financially successful. It CAN be done - but here are some insights to consider:



Myth: You need to have inventory. Having inventory will keep your customers happy - they can come to you anytime and know that you have what they need. You also might want to consider ordering some products to test for yourself. I mean, how can you sell something you don't use, right? Truth: Your team lead or sales director makes a commission off your orders. The bigger your order, the bigger her commission check! You'll likely get pressured to order more inventory than you should. Don't order more than what you think you can sell! It's OK to order products for yourself or household - just be smart about it!



Myth: You can make your own hours and work your family life around your career. Truth: In order for you to really make money, you'll have to commit 20+ hours a week selling, calling, and doing parties. Plus, there will likely be weekly meetings to attend. If you've got little pre-school children at home, you'll probably be doing most of your work in the evenings. When you're husband is just getting home from work. Or right after dinner. Or during the kids' bathtime and bedtime.



Myth: You can sell as much or as little as you want; there are no sales quota. Truth: For the independent business owners at the bottom of the rung, this is true. But in order to really make money and earn great prizes, you'll need to have team members and move up into a team lead or sales director position. Once you're in a leadership role, you will have monthly or quarterly sales quotas to meet in order to maintain your position withing the company and keep your team.



I'm not knocking MLM's entirely. I know some very successful women who have become financially independent through MLM's. My advice to you is to do your research and ask yourself what you're comfortable doing. Is this for fun, additional income, or a serious career?



Find out more about MLM's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_marketing

http://www.mlmrankings.com/

http://mlm.com/mlm/user/index

PR Tip from Jeff Crilley: Pitching Your Story By Phone

Are you trying to get your company noticed by pitching your story to the local news? Having any luck yet? Well, Jeff Crilley has some great tips for your PR needs.

Pitching Your Story By Phone

Emails may be easy, but you can't beat the phone when it comes to selling a journalist on your story.

Here are some simple rules to make sure the call goes well:

Make Sure You're Pitching the Right Reporter

Read what the reporter has written in the past. With Google, there's no excuse for not doing your homework. In a matter of minutes, you can locate the right reporter on the Internet and start looking at stories the journalist has done in the past.

Be Sure You're Calling at a Good Time

Often when I'm pitching a story to a journalist, my first question is: "Are you on deadline or do you have about 2-minutes to talk?" You want their complete attention. If you're calling at a bad time, reporters will have no trouble telling you. Simply ask when a good time to call them back might be.

Be Persistent without Becoming a Pest

There's a fine line between being persistent and becoming a stalker. You may have to leave two or three messages to get a journalist to call you back. Just reassure them that it won't be a waste of time to call you back and if you've done your homework on them, it won't be.

Don't Sound Like a Commercial

There's an old saying in the sales world--"Everyone likes to buy, but no one likes to be sold." This rules goes double for the media. If you mention the name of your company, product or service 5 times in the first 30 seconds, the reporter is either going to hang up or transfer your call to the advertising department.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

If you get rejected, it's no big deal. You haven't asked the reporter for their hand in marriage, you only pitched them a story. It doesn't mean the reporter just down the hall won't do the story. Before you move on to another media outlet, ask the journalist if there's another reporter they might suggest.

After 25 years in TV news, Emmy winning reporter Jeff Crilley left the news business to start the country's first PR firm staffed exclusively with former journalists: www.RealNewsPR.com

Effective Email Marketing Campaigns

Creating an effective email marketing campaign takes some strategy. It's not hard work - you just have to think smart! Here are some ideas on how to create compelling emails that will win over your customers and drive sales up in 2010.

1. Separate your mailing list into new, loyal, and inactive customers so you can send specialized offers and messages. For instance, new customers should receive welcome messages, educational campaigns, and promotions for their next purchase. Messages for loyal customers can include renewal notices, cross-sell offers, or special promotions and sales. Send inactive customers surveys that identify resaons for lack of engagement, incentives to revisit your website, and promotions to encourage purchases.

2. Focus on customer reviews. Consumers value their peers' opinions, moreso than advertising. When you include customer reviews with your email campaigns, your message becomes more compelling and persuasive. Send a message requesting a product review a week or two after purchase and reward customers who submit a review with a future discount or sneak peek at new products.

3. Be the expert in your industry. Send product information, industry trends, and educate your customers about your products or services. Let your customers know they need your expertise.

4. Encourage customers to share your promotional emails with friends by offering increased discounts and special offers for referrals. Consider using social networking links in your emails to connect with customers and build your consumer base.

5. Monitor your email open rate. If your open rate is quite high, your message is relevant to your target audience. Low open rates mean your message isn't hitting the right spot with your targets. Determine a benchmark, make changes to your messages, and review your results.

More E-Mail Marketing tips.
Source: PostNet's Email Marketing

Inspiring Words from a Children's Book

Tonight, I read my daughter a bedtime book that she picked out from her school library. She usually chooses books because of the vibrant colors and pictures . . . and the texture of the pages! This book was no exception. But the story gave me pause and inspired me to look at everyday things a little differently. You can use the lesson, too, to look at your marketing and business in a different perspective.

White is for Blueberry

By George Shannon

PINK is for a crow . . . when it is just hatched from its egg.

BLACK is for poppy . . . when we take the time to look inside.

RED is for leaves . . . when they are blowing in the autumn breeze.

GREEN is for turnip . . . when we see it in the farmer's field.

PURPLE is for snow . . . when the snow is the shadow of us.

WHITE is for blueberry . . . when the berry is still too young to pick.

BLUE is for firelight . . . when the fire is at the tip of a candlewick.

YELLOW is for pine tree . . . when the tree has been cut and sawed to build.

BROWN is for sweet potato . . . when the potato is still inside its skin.

ORANGE is for sky . . . when the sun has nearly set.

It all depends on when we look . . . how near or far . . .

outside

or in.

Becoming All You Can Be!! by Jim Rohn

How do you know when you're successful? Do you have to be a millionaire? No, all we ask of you is that you earn all you possibly can. If you earn ten thousand dollars a year, wonderful! If it's a hundred thousand dollars a year, wonderful! If it's a million dollars a year, wonderful!

It doesn't matter whether you earn ten thousand dollars a year or a million dollars a year as long as you've done the best you can. The essence of life is growth. It is doing the best you possibly can.

Here's what is interesting: humans are the only life form that will do less than they possibly can. Humans are the only life form that will settle for less. All other life forms except human beings strive to their maximum capacity. How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can. You've never heard of a tree growing half as high as it could. No. Trees don't grow half. Trees send their roots down as deep as possible. They stretch their limbs up as high as possible, and produce every leaf and every fruit possible.

As a matter of fact, you've never heard of a human growing halfway - physically, that is. We keep growing until we're done. It's genetically coded. That's a part of life that we can't control. It's the growing of our minds that we can control, but we tend to neglect this. It tends to get away from us. All life forms inherently strive toward their maximum potential except human beings.

Why wouldn't we strive to become all we can be, to fulfill our potentials? Because we have been given the dignity of choice. It makes us different than alligators and trees and birds. The dignity of choice makes us different than all other life forms.

And here's the choice: to become part of what we could be, enough to get by, or to become all that we can be. My best advice for you is to choose the "all." Earn all you can. Make all the friends you can. Read as many books as you can. Develop as many skills as you can. See and do as much as possible. Make as much fortune as possible. Give as much of it away as possible. Strive for the maximum. There's no life like it. I'm telling you, since I've gotten on track, I've never looked back. Pick up the challenge. Go for it. When you're focusing on growth, it's easy to do all you can. It's easy to succeed. It's easy to have financial freedom. The more you do, the more you get.

Make success your future!

Event Marketing: From Economic Casualty to Recovery

In 2008, the economy took a plunge into the abysmal unknown, taking with it one of the most powerful marketing tools - event marketing (also known as trade shows). It seemed that the industry would not and could not recover. But alas, it has risen anew.

When the price of fuel rose in the summer of 2008, many companies turned to smaller, more-light weight trade show exhibits to save on freight charges. Less people were attending trade shows to save on airfare and hotels. By Fall many companies cut out event marketing altogether as America loomed over a major financial crisis. It seemed the industry would eventually turn to virtual trade shows, eliminating many jobs and most importantly, real human connections.

While it's true that when budget cuts come around, event marketing is the first to go, many top marketing executives agree that face-to-face meetings are the most effective way to create brand loyalty among consumers. Face-to-face meetings result in 40% conversion of prospective customers, compared with only 16% without a meeting. What's more, 53% of those surveyed believe event marketing is the best way to deepen relationships while only 19% say public relations is the most effective.

So it's no surprise that in 2010, event marketing and trade shows are making a comeback. This time, however, companies are sending less participants to shows. Those that do attend are most likely the decision-makers - the leads you really want.

What does this mean for you? Don't cut out event marketing from your budget - be smarter and have a strategy. Gone are the luxuries of participating in every trade show possible. Now, you must measure your ROI for each show to justify your continued participation.

Start with a numbers-based event marketing plan. Set focused objectives such as brand-building, lead generation, new product introduction, and competitive analysis and write a brief but effective plan that sets quantifiable measures for your objectives. Next, find the metrics for your objectives based on your industry and define your performance indicators. Finally, set benchmarks for success. Remember, it may take a few shows before you can accurately gauge your event marketing ROI.

Conducting post-event surveys is the most widely used form of information gathering. Surveys provide event performance metrics and the data you gather can help you make strategic and tactical decisions. Send a carefully thought-out questionnaire to your participants and leads within 1-2 weeks after the event. Deciding on what to put on your survey will be determined by your industry norms and your objectives.

Working smarter, not harder, is the key to success!

Sources:
Meet Your Business Goals by MPI
ExhibitorOnline

Monday Morning (OK-Afternoon) Advertiser

The Saints vs. Colts made for a great game. But today, we haven't heard a whole lot of Monday Morning Quarterback-ing. Let's face it - everyone's talking about the ads.

Now, there were some pretty disturbing ones, I must say. What was up with all those fat guys in underwear? Perhaps the ad execs at Careerbuilder should look for new jobs. Major ICK factor. At least the men in the Dockers "I don't wear pants" commercial were half dressed. But still kinda icky.

And the series of Denny ads promoting their Free Grand Slam with chickens freaking out was, well . . . freaking me out! I guess it could have been worse . . . they could have shown oversized chickens on chicken farms that were featured on Oprah a few weeks ago.

Speaking of Oprah, I enjoyed a heartfelt laugh when I saw the ad with David Letterman, Jay Leno, and Lady O herself. Very smart. Very funny.

My favorite ads shouldn't be any surprise to all of you. Here's my top 5:

5. David/Oprah/Jay. See above.
4. Google. This was so heartwarming and simple - to the point. Google shows how they are a large part of our lives, in every phase of our lives.
3. kgb - I Surrender. Funny, funny! Anytime you have a sumo wrestler and skinny white guys trying to speak Japanese - you have a recipe for laughter.
2. Snickers - Betty White. A smart way to say we "aren't ourselves when we're hungry." I loved it. It's great to see Betty still has her wits! Plus, my mom looks like Betty White - so go, mom!
1. E*Trade - Love Triangle. What can I say? E*Trade's series of ads with talking/investment trading babies is brilliant. And now a love triange? Too funny. Plus, their message is simple - makes me wonder why I'm not on E*Trade. May be I should sign up. . . . See it worked already!

What was your favorite TV ad during the Super Bowl?

Starting a Business is Like Having a Baby

We've all heard that becoming a parent is one of the hardest and most rewarding things in life. First comes the pregnancy with its aches and pains, sickness, cravings and all. Then comes the preparation for baby's arrival - getting a baby registry, lamaze classes - all the fun stuff. Oh, and of course, the scariest part - labor and delivery which can last for hours and hours. Then the real work begins - being a parent! The same goes for becoming a business owner.

Nesting (aka. Deciding on a Business Venture)
Just like your urge to clean every room in the house, clean out the clutter in your mind. Take some time to think about what you really enjoy doing. Is there a market for your products or services? How will you be different from all the others? Is this something you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life?

Baby Registry (aka. Set-up Your Business)
Check with your state's website and start setting up your business. Decide on what type of business structure you need - Sole Proprietorship, LLC, Corporation, Partnership, etc . . . Most of you will probably become sole proprietors, which is the easiest and cheapest business structure to set up. But be careful - if you are offering products or services where the end user can sue you or come after you for damages, your personal assets may be affected.

Become a real business - get a website, join social networking sites, set up email. All this can be done for zero to little investment. Check out http://www.vistaprint.com/ or http://www.intuit.com/. Both sites offer website building and hosting at very reasonable rates. Vista Print also offers business cards, brochures, car and window decals - everything you need to make you stand out from the crowd.

Most importantly, set up a separate bank account and credit card for your business. It's too easy to co-mingle personal and business accounts if they are with the same bank, so I would suggest opening up an account at a completely different bank. Same goes for the credit card. It should only be used for business purposes.

Baby's Room (aka. Set-up Your Home Office)
Set aside a room in your home for your home office. This desginated area should not also function as a play room or guest room. You need this separation for tax purposes. And your sanity.

More importantly, make sure you have the proper office equipment to do your business. Computer and Internet, business phone or business cell phone, printer/copier/fax machine. You will need enough storage for your files.

If you're building or making products, make sure you have a designated work space in your home or garage just for your business. Get the tools and supplies you need that will make you a success!

And remember, use your business credit card for all business-related purchases!

Party (aka. Network)
Once your business is all set up, start networking. Join a chamber of commerce close to you. Annual membership usually runs a few hundred dollars. If you're strapped for cash, most chambers allow 2 free visits at networking events before they require you to join. Call around and take advantage of any free networking events.

Smaller networking groups can also be found in local areas, usually charging $5 - $25 per meeting.

LinkedIn is a free professional networking site that you may want to look into. Invite former colleagues, college classmates, friends, whomever you can think of that may be able to spread your good name.

Join industry groups to sharpen your skills and network among your industry peers! You'll remain at the top of your game and become more valuable to your clients.

Tell your friends and family about your new business or throw yourself a kick-off party!
Who knows where your next lead will come from!

Labor and Delivery (aka. Actually Working)
Oftentimes, once a new business owner has put in all the hard work to setting up his/her business, all the glitz and glamour seem to fade away. This isn't the time to take a break. Get yourself into a routine and make sure you are putting the effort and time into making your business work. It can be a few hours a day or even 80 hours a week. You decide what you want to handle. It won't always be fun, but it'll be worth it.

Parenthood (aka. Business Development)
Becoming a business owner is a labor of love! It will grow and flourish if you continue to give it the love and attention it needs!

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If you're thinking about starting a small business or already have a business and need marketing services, visit www.adamsnadamsmarketing.com.