How to Increase SEO and Page Rankings

Great article on SEO and page rankings or how to get to page 1 in Google, or at least close. Please keep in mind these have to be done consistently to ensure results. Google is SMART! Article taken from: LAUNCH Private Label

Clients, (especially those releasing new brands or launching a new business), are always asking me about how they can get on page 1 of Google and other search engines. The answer has always been, well, it's simpler to get on page 1, than it is to stay on it. In this article, I am going to address methods you can employ to get better page rankings and make it better over time, so that, one day you can get on page 1 of Google.
I also want to add that the methods here must be used on a constant basis. Don't expect to see quick results or any results if you just want to put in 1-2 weeks of work. Building your online empire is like building a retail store from the ground up. Get smart, get consistent and be generous with your information and search engines will start to love you.

Content:
You've probably heard this before (or not), but to get great rankings, you have to have great content. Rich, informational content that is full of great keywords and links. Pay attention to the content on your website, your blog, your tweets and Facebook.

Your Website:
Before, websites were just places of static information. Today, websites have become more than that. Attach a blog page in your website where you can add articles, hence making your website more dynamic (plus, people are more likely to visit your site if your content is more dynamic).

Your Blog:
This is the firecracker. A blog, these days, serves as a great tool to dispense information about your products, services, related products, industry information, changing trends, useful links and more. Blogs work especially great if you're in a business where the industry is popular already (food, travel, beauty, health, legal, entrepreneurship etc.). But worry not, if you feel you're in an odd industry no one wants to read about, try starting a blog about something related.

Your Page Titles:
Make certain your web person titles your pages well using short keywords to describe the essence or product/service/location of your business (some pages just need the purpose of the page. Example, "Contact Us | Company Name").

Blog Titles:
Make sure you title your blog posts well.

Linking:
This can be a little confusing at first, but the key is, have lots of great links from your site to other sites. This is the age of shared information, so don't hold everything back! Give and you shall get.
Also, link your internal pages back and forth.

Facebook & Twitter:
Having an active FB and Twitter account with relevant updates can get people clicking and linking to your website or blog! It's all part of building your online empire.

The bottom of the line is the more your share, the more you link, the more YOU will get people clicking and linking to your site. THIS clicking and linking is what search engines love because it shows them your site is popular and active. I'll say it again, get smart, get consistent and be generous with your information and search engines will start to love you.

Revamp Your Branding Every So Often!

As you can see I decided to give the blog a spruce-up with some lighter colours and freshen things up a bit. Which brings me to an important point- VERY important point. It is crucial to spice up your marketing and design every now and then. That doesn't mean you need to spend half of the year's marketing budget. Just prioritize and allot a fixed amount of moneys for each project.
Here are some pieces you should be reviewing every so often (not some updates need to be monthly or quarterly, some can be annually or every 2-3 years):
1. Your website - this is the most important piece that you need to update as often as possible. Still getting the runaround from your web developer about changes you submitted 2 months ago? Here's how to fix that problem... go to a wordpress platform. A wordpress platform will allow you to make those changes yourself and it's super easy. Who can help you with redeveloping your site on wordpress? ME, of course!
2. Your main brochure or print collateral - revise language, freshen colours without losing the essence of the brand, update any facts.
3. Profile photos & Team member profiles - yes, update this at least once a year or more as needed. This keeps everyone looking sharp (and not so 80s). Plus, people like learning about personalities and who will be working on their projects... share something personal and interesting. If you just got married or had a baby, share it!
4. Logo - I know I know, don't freak out on me. I don't mean change the entire logo from all brown and geometric to pink and flowery. I mean update it. Look at the example of the Schnauz Design logo where I didn't change the essence of the logo, I just updated it. Over time, I updated the logo on various materials, social media etc. There are still some places it needs to be updated, but I don't have unrealistic expectations either. You can visit the schnauz design site to see all the delicious work we've done.

Marketing Ideas for Graphic Designers & Small Business Owners

2011 was a great year and I feel blessed. There were lots of small business lessons I learned and it's time to think about what worked and what can use some changing. You'll find this post useful if you're a designer or entrepreneur by heart looking to grow your business. I'd love to hear some comments on what you've learned, what's worked for you and what hasn't, and what new marketing techniques you are wanting to try in 2012. Here's my list of marketing ideas and to-do's for 2012:
1. find one great probono project to unleash my creativity on
2. network more with other creatives
3. find 1-2 niches to target my networking in
4. do more frequent updates on my website and blog
5. learn more about keyword searches and SEO
6. send out thank you notes regularly
7. find more printing, labeling and other related resources in the DFW area
8. send out a summer and holiday promotional item to say thank you

My 2011 list also had some great ideas, especially for those starting their graphic design business. Click here to read my 2011 Marketing & Planning for Graphic Designers.

Email Subjects or Headlines that get Attention!

I came across this wonderful chunk of information from a marketing company (so sorry I can't recall), but it's called Headline Hacks by Jon Morrow. Incase you weren't aware, the success rate of someone opening your email marketing is highly dependent on the subject line. There are basic rules you need to follow otherwise it will simply go into their spam folder. Common ones are don't use all caps, lots of exclamation marks, SALE 20% OFF (discount phrases like this) etc. But there are some loopholes. This free download will shed some light. Enjoy and share! Click here.

What Every Small Business Should Know About Graphic Design & Printing

This is a long article, so get comfortable. I want to make this article as informative as possible so you know what to expect and how to work with a designer, and the basics of design and printing. However, as with anything new, there will be a learning curve.
HOT TIP- Start right-- how you choose a freelance graphic designer or a graphic design studio will make all the difference. Look for section below "How do I choose a graphic designer" for details.

Why is graphic design important to my business?
The quick answer… because there is too much competition and your business needs to look professional and fresh. The long answer… your business is like building a house; start with great materials and you will set the bar high.
Developing a solid visual identity for your business will set a solid base for it to grow on. That first impression your business card makes, or the first impression your customer gets when they visit your website is crucial to them taking some kind of action. You want every piece of paper you distribute and every online page to have your branding… showing professionalism, creating trust and recognition. You may not want to be the next Sony or Google, but you can still look just as great and stand out in your target market.

What design components do I need if I am a start-up business?
Depends on what kind of business you are starting. But most definitely you will need a strong logo appropriate to your industry.
You will need an identity kit (business cards, letterhead, envelopes, thank you notes and envelopes), a mouthpiece item (brochure, postcard, catalog or media kit of some sort), product photography (depends on business), and a simple, well functioning
website design.

How do I build my brand (brand awareness and recognition)?
If you are selling a service or products, everything you do or say or distribute should reflect the brand. How you answer your business phone, consistency amongst your marketing materials and website design, your packaging design and label designs, the quality of your printing, your customer service and more. Develop a simple but well functioning website, showcase stunning product photography, blog or hire someone to blog lots of relevant content, have a Facebook page for your business, remind customers about your new products and offers through an email marketing program like monthly newsletters, email offers and more.

I'm thinking about buying Adobe Creative Suite myself and saving the money of hiring a designer. Any thoughts?
This can work if you answer Yes to the following:
a. Do you have LOTS of time to spare to learn this new software (Illustrator, In-Design and Photoshop are all very different).
b. Are you very computer savvy?
c. Do you have the creative skills to think like a right-brainer and create design-oriented solutions?
d. Can you create a simple and effective message while combining creativity and language skills?
HOT TIP- Focus on what you are best at and leave the branding, design and visual communications to an expert.

How do I choose a graphic designer?
Communicate with your prospective freelance graphic designer a few times via email and phone to see how promptly they return emails and calls. If the designer is local, meet them! Look at their portfolio. If you want labels designed for your vitamins line, but don’t see any previous vitamin clients in the portfolio, don’t worry. Look for overall versatility and style. A good designer will be able to adapt to most styles. Look for how they present themselves and general business practices/etiquette-- were you given a business card? What about knowledge? General attitude of the designer? Ask the designer about their current workload and share your timeline for the project.

What can I expect with logo design? I like a few logos like the Nike and Chanel logo, other than that I am clueless.
It's the simple things that take the most thought. Nike and Chanel are fantastic "marks" or logos, but they were not created overnight. There was a team behind the building of those logos. A good logo must be simple and strong. Preferably not redundant in any way (for example, if your company name is Lightning Bolt Movies it would be redundant to have an icon of a lightning bolt and a movie clapper; perhaps a stylized bolt or a combination of those elements, or just a nice font would be better options. A logo must be easy to remember (think in terms of being a "mark" of some sort). Sometimes a logo originates from the essence of the company. For example, a restaurant wouldn't necessary need a "logo" A restaurant could just use a beautiful font for the name and that itself sets them apart from everyone else-- it creates a feeling, an atmosphere and speaks to the essence of the brand.
When working with a designer in developing a logo provide plenty of examples of ones you like AND don't like. Keep in mind the first round of logos may not hit the jackpot. Be patient and provide constructive feedback.
HOT TIP- Sometimes a logo may not be exactly what you want, but it might be the perfect fit for your business. Remember it's about what is right for your business and customer.

I sent my printer a logo I grabbed from my website. But they said they need a vector logo. What is that?
Images grabbed from the web have a resolution of 72 dpi, but images necessary for printing must be 300 dpi. Hence, grabbing anything from a website will result in pixelated printing (unless the image you are grabbing is a high resolution image to begin with). A vector logo is created in Illustrator and has an extension of .pdf, .ai or .eps. Vector format allows one to scale the logo to very large size without compromising quality in any way.
HOT TIP- When getting a logo designed, ask you designer for the following formats- .jpg, .png, .pdf, .eps, and .ai.

I've tried to send files for printing before to a printer but did not understand their file requirements. Can you help?
All print files should be in CMYK color, meaning full-color or 4-color. CMYK is a combination of cyan, magenta, yellow and black to create the millions of colors. All files must be 300dpi. Images grabbed from the internet may be low resolution and will print pixelated. If you have color stretching all the way to the edges of the page, it is called bleed. You must add bleed to all your files in that case.

I have a new product line and I need to develop packaging designs for all of it. Where do I start?
Depending on your goals, budget, type of product and market analysis, Schnauz Design can develop and design a dieline for boxes and various packages, do the packaging design or label design, and any illustrations or renderings needed. Moreover, we offer boutique style design for less. We will do a creative consolation with you and walk you through the process.

Where can I print professional labels for my box and jar products?
We have resources for you-- Lightning Labels and SixB Labels are good ones. You can also contact us and we can handle all packaging design and printing for you.

I am attending my first tradeshow to present my product line. What do I need?
Great packaging design and label design to do justice to your product is a must. Additionally, a clean booth with 2-3 pop up banners showcasing some beautiful product photography and your brand! Business cards, plenty of brochures, catalogs and some candy. Also keep a mailing list sheet and offer a drawing of some sort if possible.

My business is eco-friendly. How do you incorporate this into packaging design and printing?
We love doing sustainable design and printing (or eco-friendly design and printing) because there is lots of room for being really creative. When designing for sustainable packaging we take into consideration the dieline of the box/container/bag. Can we revise the dieline to reduce amount of substrate being used? Then, what are the recyclable materials we can use? What eco-friendly papers can we use and what about soy-based inks? These are some of the questions we start answering.

What kind of website should I get?
Depends on your business goals, what kind of service or product you are selling and budget.
Standard 5-page static website- This is best for small businesses wanting a nice informational website without added features like shopping cart and control over back-end. You will still get a good contact form feature and social media links if needed.
E-Commerce website with CMS- This is best if you are selling various products and would like to be able to add/delete products, prices and such yourself. This kind of website will be a little more of an investment initially, but it will save you tons of money down the line because you will have control over many aspects.
E-Commerce site without CMS- Great option if you are selling products but will not need frequent updating.
Wordpress Blog or Website- This is best if you have a business that creates buzz (for example, boutique PR firm, event planning, wedding planner etc). This will allow you to post photos and blog posts, but still have standard website pages like "about"
and "contact."

How do I get good search engine rankings, good search engine optimization (SEO) for my site?
Your designer/developer must use good SEO practices when programming your site, like using good tags, keywords, page titles and more. Additionally, a website with a blog feed or a website (like a wordpress website) where you have back-end access to add articles, photos, titles etc. is an excellent way to keep content fresh. Offer a FAQ page, newsletter sign-up, and useful resources page.
HOT TIP- Search engines love content-rich websites full of relevant information. Make sure you change articles and keep your content fresh. SEO is an on-going effort, not a one-time deal.

Mili Suleman, freelance graphic designer based out of Dallas, Texas, offers small businesses a one stop shop to boutique style branding and design without the agency price tag. Her specialities include print marketing, packaging design, label design, and product photography. She is Owner and Lead Designer at Schnauz Design.
Mili can be reached at mili@schnauzdesign.com or mobile 817.456.6622.

9 Steps to Creating your Personal Brand

I came across this posting on another blog and wanted to share... the information in in these short points is invaluable. Most business/marketing books these days will take pages and pages to convey the same information. Creating a personal brand is crucial. Everything plays into this- how you dress, how you answer your phone, your website/blog, your business card, the product/service you are selling. Because a lot of personal branding is kinda abstract, it takes a right-brain person to "get it" and turn the abstract into results. Thanks to http://jorgensundberg.net

9 Steps to Creating your Personal Branding Strategy:
1. Who are You? - what are you skills, passions, do you have a niche?
2. How are You perceived? - what do your friends, professional relations and online search results say about you?
3. What do You want to achieve? - create personal products/services in your field, identify the right market, let your communication be clear and consistent
4. Create Your brand - choose a name/slogan that is easy to remember and says something about you, choose colours accordingly, engage/connect with a personal story
5. Create Your ecosystem - make your blog your #1 communication center, use social network and social media to interact and socialize in
6. Create Your network - follow experts in your field, create relationships, participate in groups & forums, visit networking events in your field
7. Create original content - post valuable content on your blog, post valuable posts on your social networking sites
8. Get involved and share - be active in conversations in social media, leave meaningful content, share valuable information online
9. Listen & monitor - keep a watch on your ratings online, accept and learn from criticism, monitor your brand activity (monitor the buzz, sentiment, analytics)

Visit http://jorgensundberg.net/content/way-personal-branding-infographic for a neat infographic on this.

2011 Marketing/Planning for Graphic Designers

So, 2010 is almost out. It has been the best year for my freelance design business. How? What all did I do? Firstly, I actively spent a lot of time networking & marketing my business. Here are some details on what I did in 2010:
* started a FB page & twitter for my business and updated FB at least once a week
* created a signature for my emails with the FB link
* started an e-newsletter that go out to potential clients and current clients
* did 2 probono projects- one of which turned into actual work later
* designed and printed professional stationery
* designed and printed professional brochures
* mailed out sales letters with brochure and business card every couple of months
* I followed up a lot and really well!
* did a thank you/holiday promotion for all my current clients and strong potential clients
* stayed in touch with industry creatives & recruiters i know
* I attended a few professional groups for networking, but not much

For 2011, I want to do some things in addition to what I already did in 2010 (of course, some things I will continue doing):
* continue e-newsletter, mailings of sales letters/brochures, 2 probono projects, FB page and twitter
* update my website thoroughly & get SEO redone on it
* create a new website for my photography
* back up all my work on a new drive (make disc copies as well)
* do a postcard mailout (still pondering the right occasion, audience)
* network even more- maybe attend more professional groups- meet more creative professionals I can partner with
* I really want to attend a trade show, but still researching
* Dedicate one month as "client appreciation month" and offer current clients 20% off on any service.
* Do an even better holiday/thank you promotion

>> My motto for 2011 is GO, GO, GO! There is no stopping you. If you have already been marketing your services well, ask a friend's opinion on what else you can do to make it go further. Even better, invite some close friends over, bribe them with pizza and drinks, and start a discussion on marketing. Ask them for ideas!

Guerrilla Tips for Direct Mail Success

Taken from Jay Conrad Levinson's site www.gmarketing.com. Great tips for direct mail success:
1. Before you write, do a couple hours of research. Ask a handful of your current customers to tell you in their own words what they like most about doing business with you. Use those words when you ask them. What they will tell you will be the most important benefits they perceive. Use those benefits to start your letter.
2. Come up with a really dynamite reason for someone to respond to the letter. Make an extraordinary offer. Find a new and appealing way to bundle together a number of your product or services. Or offer special payment terms. Or an unusual guarantee.
3. When you start writing, use short words and short sentences. People can't, won't, and don't read long, complicated stuff. Not if they don't have to. They won't read your letter unless it's EASY to read.
4. Count the number of "you's" and "your's" in the letter. Your letter should have at least twice as many "you's" and "your's" as "I's," "we's," "me's," "our's" and your company's name. A ratio of four to one is even better. When they read your letter, your customers like it when you talk about their dreams, their problems, solutions you can provide to their problems, and the benefits they will receive. And they will show their appreciation -- with sales!
5. Whatever you do, DON'T mail it out the minute after you write it. No matter how good a writer you are! Let it sit a day or two. Then, rewrite your letter to make it simpler, clearer and more compelling. After that, read it out loud. Then, show your letter to some customers. If their reaction is "interesting" or "well written," you may have a loser on your hands. A sales letter isn't an essay. It's a sales piece, first and foremost. So, after reading, if your customers say, "How can I get one of those?" -- they want to buy what you're offering -- you've got yourself a guerrilla letter.
6. Check to see if it's clear what you're offering and how a reader can take you up on the offer. One great way to find out is to have a child read your letter. Children often see the obvious that adults -- caught up in the more abstract problems and distractions of life -- miss.
7. Do a test mailing and measure the results. Don't send out all your letters at once. Just send out a few dozen. Or a few hundred. When the results come in -- when your mail is good, they'll come in fast -- then do the math.

10 Guerrilla Marketing Tactics for Designers

I found this article on Guerrilla Freelancing's website. Some are great, some are eh, not that great. Of course, it's all a starting point... pick one and run with it.

1. Offer free hosting for every 1st time client meeting – The main goal is to get time with the prospect and sell them your services right? A 2-3 minute conversation might not get them to buy, but a 30-60 minute meeting with them could definitely persuade them into hiring you. So offer every prospective client free hosting (3 months, 6 months, your choice) just for having the meeting.
2. Give something else away for free – Do you create custom wordpress designs? Why not create a free theme and give it away? The publicitity from it, the link backs and the traffic are sure to land you some new leads/sales. The same can be true for texture packs, brush sets, free fonts, ect.
3. Cover your car in vinyl – You’ve got the design skills right? You’re a designer afterall, so why not create the design for a kick ass vinyl piece to cover the back half, side or entire car! It’s inexpensive and will be advertisement for you wherever you go.
4. Business Cards in Library Books – Find the beginner xhtml/css or web design for dummies books and put your business cards inside them in every library you can get to. This way, anyone looking for them books to do their own website will instantly be met with a way to get out of reading the book and trying to do it themselves.
5. T-Shirts for the homeless – Take your design skills and create a design for some t-shirts, get them printed and then go pass them out to the homeless. If you’re able to do 100 or so t-shirts you could probably even get media coverage for doing it.
6. Stickers EVERYWHERE – Bands and record companies use stickers a lot – and for good reason. They’re relatively cheap, easy to place and can be everywhere you want them to be. Pass some out to your friends/family and have them put them up as well. Have family in a different state? Send them some in the mail and have them place the stickers around town.
7. Customer of the Month vouchers – Design some nice coupons you can print out (use a business card printer as they’re perfect size for people to carry around) and allow them to use it for a discount or pass them out to others so their friends/family can get the discount.
8. Display your toolbox – Taking a tool box (a real one for hammers, screw drivers, ect) and placing it open in an area your target market will frequently come with different tools of your trade (ie: business cards so they can contact you, pencils & paper, computer mouse, ect). This will work especially well if a toolbox is something not found normally where you have it (ie: coffee shop). Inside the top of the toolbox thats open and facing the people coming up to it, you can have a note similar to “The tools of my trade – Custom Web Designs”.
9. Show off your package – No, not that package ;) For those of us who design packaging for clients (ie: boxes for products, ect), why not create a mock up box and get a bunch of them printed up and place them inside different grocery stores or places where your target market will frequently visit.
10. Free web consulting – Allow potential customers to have 30-60 minutes of your time for free. Absolutely free, no questions asked. Do not push your services on them at all. Leave them with a business card and notes from the conversation and be on your way. This selfless giving will leave an impression on the potential client and will also showcase your knowledge of the web and what you COULD be doing for them – if they were to hire you. They’ll most likely feel so happy with the conversation that they almost feel obligated to hire you for their web design as a way to pay you back for your time you gave them.

What Do You Spend On?

Since my new obsession is marketing, I had to share this hilarious dissection written by Seth Godin, a guerrilla marketing guru. This is taken from his blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com

Here's a $20 bottle of soap. Functionally identical to a $3 bottle, so what's the $17 for?

1. The hang tag. It's special because most soap doesn't have a hang tag. Hang tags come on things that are a little more special than soap. And hang tags beg to be read. This one says a lot (and nothing, at the same time.) It reminds us that it doesn't contain SLS. What's SLS? Is it as bad as SLES?
2. This isn't soap. It's mineral botanic. Both words are meaningless, which means the purchaser can attach whatever feelings they choose to them. In this case, the marketer is hoping for old-time, genuine, down-to-earth and real.
3. It's not made by a soap company. It's made in a Dead Sea Laboratory. Laboratories, of course, are where scientists work, and the Dead Sea is biblical, spiritual and really salty. The company has a name (Ahava) that is onomatopoeic and reminds you of breathing. Breathe deep and find calm. [Even better, I'm told it means 'love' in Hebrew].
4. My favorite part is that it's made from bamboo and pansy. At least a little. Bamboo because it's fast growing and Asian and gentle and wood and grass at the same time. And pansy... well... pansy is for girls.
5. Two really good things here. First, it's for very dry skin. This is brilliant. If your skin is dry, you don't want to hear that it's sort of dry, kind of dry, not as dry as that guy over there... No, you want to hear that it's extremely dry, really dry, so dry it's like sand. That kind of dry. This bottle understands how very dry your skin is, and it's here to help.
Also, it's in French! I love that there's the language of love and sophistication and diplomacy right here on the bottle. I can imagine that models for Chanel are using it on the Rive Gauche as we speak.
6. Did I mention the part about velvet?
It took guts to take this packaging so over the top. It doesn't match my worldview, but it might match yours.

Guerrilla Marketing...Grrrrrr!!!

So, I have become the spokesperson of the month for the Guerrilla Marketing for Startups book i'm reading by Jay C. Levinson. Once I started doing research on the internet for free g-marketing tips, I found tons of great information. So, I had to share. These are taken from the Bootstrapping Blog:
http://http://www.bootstrappingblog.com

1. Money Stamping – grab a stamper from your local office supply store and stamp a funny phrase along with your website address on it. Have a make money online blog? Stamp something like “Learn how to make thousands of these online: sitehere”.
2. Sticky Notes – Another way to use your stamper or even your printer. Sticky notes are noticable anywhere because people know what they’re for; notes. Put these on local business doors, offices, cars, or above mail boxes in apartment complexes and people will take notice.
3. So many stamps – Looking for a way to get noticed in the huge pile of advertising mail potential clients get? Send your promo material in a big manilla envelope and put 39 – 1 cent stamps on it. Out of 100 envelopes, who’s do you think will catch the eye first?
4. Do Not Disturb – Heading to a blog expo anytime soon? Get some door hangers printed up with your business information on it and possibly a link to something free on your site. Get the attention of everyone in your market this way, and it’s super cheap as well. Noone else I know has been doing this so you’ll stand out for sure.
5. Pay it forward – when you’re heading into the movie theater, pay the persons way behind you and tell the cashier to give them your business card. You’re not guaranteed that the person will become a client but I bet the word of mouth on that one would be pretty big.
6. Fake publicity stunt – you could have people picket your storefront with signs that read “This business is too nice” or “Company X is too good at their job”. Theres a million fake publicity stunts, use your imagination and I bet it’ll work no matter how weird or out of the box it seems.
7. Guest blogging – This is for the bloggers out there, or even the freelance writers. Guest blog on other blogs largely related, or semi-related to your websites niche. Opening other peoples eyes to your name and your website is always good promotion, especially if you’re an awesome writer. Not to mention networking with other bloggers is great for business as well.
8. Business Cards – STOP! Don’t skip this one. So many people see this and think you’re going to tell them to print cards and hand them out. I’m not! What you do with these cards is head to every library or book store in your city and find the section that relates to your business. Open each and every book and place a business card somewhere in the book. This is great targeted marketing and only costs you a few bucks for the cards and an afternoon of placing the cards. If you need some great business cards, check out UPrinting.com
9. Bumper Stickers – These are great because they can go anywhere, not just on your car. Bathroom stalls, street poles, ect. Get creative with where you place them, they can grab peoples attention when placed in the right spots.
10. Temporary Tattoos – I seen a post on some guerrilla marketing ideas over at Daily Bits and they talked about this as well. These tattoos will last for X amount of days and would be perfect for blog expos or other events where tons of people will be. Placing it in a weird place (forehead, neck, full back, foot, ect) is also a great way to get it noticed. Hey, if people talk about it, thats the whole point right?
11. Help Home Based Businesses – most HBB owners try to keep their records hidden from local housing authorities so they’re hard to reach. head over to your local chamber of commerce and suggest a HBB committee. They might appoint you head of it (you can even ask to be) and you have a bunch of HBB owners who will come to chat and you can promote to with business cards, flyers, booklets, ect.
12. Anything Else? – No, the list isn’t done yet. These are two words to say right before you exchange money with a client/customer. This will make them think and could open doors to a larger pay day.
13. Top 10 reasons to choose YOU – instead of leaving business cards or other promo material at a business or in someones email box, create a list of the top 10 reasons why the prospect should choose your company. Make them 100% true, humerous and memberable.
14. Demonstrations – got a service business? this is perfect for you. Find a local store that pertains to your services and put on a free demo of your services. Your service involve outdoors? Contact news stations and let them know you’ll be offering a BBQ and free service demonstration. The BBQ could get a little costly, but the amount of press and promotion could really pay off.
15. Print Calendars – These could be given to each of your clients or left in a store for people to take for free. Print your website address and a little slogan or client testimonial on each months picture for exposure every day. The people using your calendars will even help you out when they have company over who will see the calendar, especially if the images you use are high end and visually appealing.
16. Window decals – get a custom printed window decal on your car with your logo/website and possibly a slogan. looks professional, and is great for red lights.
17. Fish Bowl Business Cards – You know the fish bowls at stores offering to choose a random card for a free lunch? Well, theres two ways to benefit from this. – 1. put your card in the fish bowl (hey, a free lunch is a free lunch, and who knows, the owner of the store might need your services) – 2. ask the store to let you have the losing cards each week/month which will generate a ton of free leads for you.
18. Sponsor an event – doing this is at most times, very inexpensive and also GREAT for publicity, especially if its a big event. You normally get your logo and business mentioned in all of the events promo material which is tons of publicity you normally wouldn’t get. Be at the event to add extra stickiness to your business name and interact with the guests.
19. Holiday Greetings – send emails or snail-mail to your past clients wishing them happy holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years). This helps them keep your name/business in their head as well as standing out from the other people they’ve done business with before.
20. Charity Donations – Donate some of the profits you generate every month to charity. Great for promotion in the media and clients to feel like they’re helping out the charity by purchasing from you.
21. Hold a Contest – This could have 1-10 winners which helps the word-of-mouth promotion everyone needs and wants. You can gain free press for starting the contest, plus publishing the winners is great for more press coverage.
22. T-Shirts – This is great for turning yourself or others into walking billboard. You can give the t-shirts away as prizes which is also another great way of gaining word of mouth promotion. Your t-shirts for the prizes don’t need your website address on it. Just give away a great, fashionable shirt and that’ll have people eager to tell friends and family where they got it from.
23. Partnerships – Do you run a web design business and want to find more potential leads? Try partnering with a web hosting company. Do you have a lawn-care business? Try partnering with a window washing company. Any partnership which benefits both companies is a great idea and a great way at grabbing the attention of new potential clients. Also a great way of giving your business targeted marketing.
24. Blood Drive – Host a blood drive, contact newspapers, tv news, radio, ect. have 1-2 banners up with your website information and also have business cards at the sign in table. Everyone loves to help their country, city, state, ect. and giving blood is the easiest way for some people to do that. Putting yourself in the forefront of your cities next blood drive would make your business very visible to a whole range of new potential clients and word-of-mouth advertisers.
25. Client Appreciation BBQ – Invite your past clients to a BBQ and let them invite 1-2 friends to come with them. This will help your customers LOVE you even more than they already do, as well as bring some new faces into contact with you as potential clients.