One of the things that I’ve done is work on my thank you page when someone signs up for the newsletter. When I began my newsletter, I needed a page to redirect my subscribers to once they signed up. Because I was in a rush to get it set up, I redirected them to the archives page of my newsletter.

Big Mistake #1.

When I had some free time I went back and made a thank you page that simply stated, “Thank you for subscribing. Your first issue will arrive shortly.” and listed the archives.

Big Mistake #2

What I failed to realize when I set up those two pages is that I had my visitor’s attention. They were already interested in what I had to say because I convinced them to sign up for my newsletter or eCourse and I let them get away. I missed an opportunity. I missed potential profits.

When I redesigned my thank you page I included the standard “thank you” and “make sure you look for your confirmation email”. I also instructed them to make sure they added me to their safe senders list to ensure they receive my emails. But this time I included “You may also be interested in these additional free offers:” and listed a free eBook, the opportunity to sign up for a free eCourse, and information about my favorite business author – all using my affiliate links.

Guess what happened? When I checked my affiliate stats, my click through rate increased 100% in just two days. 95% of those who subscribed to my newsletter also subscribed to the free eCourse I offered. My affiliate sales for the three products I promoted have doubled.

I’ve been publishing my newsletter for five months and it makes me sick to think about how much money I’ve lost because I didn’t take the time to talk to my visitors.

Do you know what’s mind blowing? Not only did it take me 30 minutes to set up the new thank you page, it didn’t cost me a dime. I already had all the information tucked away in my personal affiliate tool kit and was just too lazy to pull it out and put it to use.

Don’t make the same mistakes. Take a look at the page you’re redirecting your new subscribers to. Are you offering targeted product recommendations? Are you keeping them with you or just letting them close that window to possibly never return? Take thirty minutes of your time and the resources you already have available to you and update your redirect page.

Your bank account will thank you.

Want to use this article in your publication? You can as long as you include the following:

Heather Jacobson doesn’t spend a fortune on marketing if she doesn’t have to. To discover how she does it and claim your 10 inexpensive marketing tips visit http://www.inexpensive-marketing-ideas.com

Visa announced today that it’s retiring its 20 year old tag line “every where you want to be” and will roll out the new brand during the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics.

The credit card company wants to brand itself as the company that helps you make every day purchases. Its new tag line? “Life Takes Visa”

Bold move to change your tag line, but understandable. With fast food chains taking credit cards now, there really isn’t anywhere that any of the major credit card companies aren’t.

Until next time…

Heather

Here is some common sense advice for those “unchangeable for a whole year” Yellow Pages ads

Yellow Pages advertising is one of the mostpopular forms of advertising in the country today. Almost every home in America (96.9%) and business has at least one copy of “the book”.

Almost three out of five (58%) of all adults say they check the Yellow Pages for a phone number and/or address at least once per week, with 77% using the book monthly.

While the Yellow Pages can be excellent reference tool, they are not a red hot advertising vehicle.

Here are 10 ways to use the Yellow Pages

1 - As in all advertising, hit them with the benefits. Since people who look in the Yellow Pages are ready to buy right now, sell them on the benefits of your business or service.

2 - You don’t need thick borders or extra cost color, the Yellow Pages people offer that to everyone. Look how many are on every page.

3 - The key to a sizzling Yellow Pages ad is to sell your services in print. It�s about standingout by offering the solution to their problem in a way that your competitors can’t match. The key is the headline. Put a headline on your ad that sells your benefits and assures the prospect will readyour ad. If you have a hard hitting headline that projects a strong benefit and relates to the needs of your prospect, half the work is done. Some headlines that help you do that include:

“How to xxxxx”

“6 reasons why …”

“Before you xxxxx 6 factors to consider”

The rest of your ad should expand on the benefits you’ve presented in your headline and show specific ways you’ll help your prospect fulfill their needs.

4 - Spell out our “Close” in simple terms. Because they are in there looking for a solution, tell them to Call us now on xxx xxxx” you’ll get more responses than you would if you simply listed a phone number.

5 - Advertise like you talk. Inject your personality into everything you write. No-one wants to read boring and stuffy legal-ease.

6 - Despite what many think, you do NOT have to include a comma and “Inc.” after your business name when advertising. You don’t see ads that say “Buick, Inc.”

7 - The only thing color has been proven to do in Yellow Pages advertising is increase the price you pay for the ad.

8 - Avoid Bragging - Don’t boast “biggest and best”. It turns people off, even if it is true.

9 - If you have a guarantee, spell it out. A guarantee will make your credibility skyrocket

10 - Remember that every business (with a business telephone) will be in the yellow pages, free, in the listings.The Yellow Pages are generally a reference tool. Design your ad accordingly

For more about Yellow Pages, get my article “15 Tips for Better Yellow Pages Ads”
MailTo:15TipsYP@BigIdeasGroup.com

�2005 BIG Mike McDaniel, All Rights Reserved
BIG Mike is a Business Consultant and Professional Speaker. His BIG Ideas Group helps business grow with promotions, special reports, mastermind groups and seminars. http://BigIdeasGroup.com

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_McDaniel

I keep a stack in my visor in the car. It’s a quick place to write when I need to jot something down. I give them to my kids and they use them as appointment cards when they are pretending to run a doctor’s office. I keep them by my desk and take notes on them. I use them for mini grocery lists — you know, when you have to run to the store for a few items.

Those are just a few ideas, but take Big Mike’s advice — if they’re outdated, the cost of a new box of cards outweighs the image of old cards with corrent information handwritten on them!

On to the article….

Throw Away Your Business Cards
more about advertising from BIG Mike McDaniel

In the Northwest Airlines Terminal building at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a clever worker has patched the terrazzo floor. Since I am not there every day (although it seems like it the traveling I do), I don’t know the reason for the patch. But nonetheless, it is a patch. You can see it 12 gates away.

The workmanship is fine and perhaps in time it will age and blend with the floor around it some. A patch was probably the right choice, given the hundreds of thousands of square feet of floor to replace to make it all the same. So I give ‘em that. Too expensive to replace the whole floor, so patch it and make it a really good patch.

But I can’t abide by their tightwad that spends an hour carefully marking out the email address on a stack of business cards and painstakingly pencilling in the new address. Yuk!

What’s it gonna cost to buy a new box of cards? Not much, but even if it was really expensive, I venture to predict the negative impression of the “mark-out, pencil-in” change will cost more than a new box of cards in future business.

Would you opt for any medical anything in a hospital that used duck tape to hold on a broken door handle? Of course not. The fix on the cheap route doesn’t work for people in business, especially if they need to make a favorable impression. Business cards are like that. They can make, or break, the impression you and your business make.

If one itty bitty snippet of information on your card changes, the cards are obsolete and should be pitched and new ones printed, pronto. There is no excuse for keeping old cards around. I read a chapter in a book someone had written that listed 29 things to do with outdated business cards. One of them was to glue them together and give them to Gramma so she could prop up the kitchen table and get her New Testament back.

A crisp, clean, professional looking business card printed on white glossy stock, with no errors or changes is the best foot you can put forward in your business.

To learn more about how to make your business card the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal, visit http://bigideasgroup.com/html/business_cards.html

�2006 BIG Mike McDaniel, All Rights Reserved
http://BIGIdeasGroup.com
BIG Mike is a Business Consultant and Professional Speaker. His BIG Ideas Group helps business grow with promotions, special reports, mastermind groups, seminars and consulting. Subscribe to “BIG Ideas for Small Business” Newsletter
MailTo:SignUp@BigIdeasGroup.com

I’m a big promoter of using holidays to your advantage when marketing but I never thought there would be an agency that ONLY focused on Halloween. I guess I assumed that Halloween wasn’t that big of a deal. According to their statistics, Halloween is just as much fun for adults as it is kids and it’s becomming as popular as Christmas!

(I don’t like Halloween, for the record. It wasn’t always this way. I loved it as a kid. But somehow, now that I’m older, walking around the neighborhood in an uncomfortable costume in the cold is no longer appealing. )

There were also spending statistics on their site as well. I was shocked to learn that 16% (262 people out of 1690 surveyed) spent over $350 on Halloween. At our house, we have a pumpkin table cloth and place mats and a big blow up Winnie the Pooh that says Happy Halloween. Total cost — $10. (I picked them up at Target last year after Halloween was over.)

So there you have it. If you’re looking to capitalize on Halloween, head on over and visit the Halloween Advertising Agency. Talk about narrowing down your target market!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Until next time…

Heather

I turned it on CBS, in the mood for laughs, and watched Raymond and Two and a Half Men. Of course, fall launch is coming up so they are promoting the new shows. I can’t tell you what CBS will have with the exception of a new show called “How I Met Your Mother“. Oh, I lie. There’s a new Survivor starting. It won’t have one twist, it will have two.

According to the CBS website, they have six new shows coming out this fall. So why do I only know about one? The answer is simple. Where better to advertise a sitcom? During a sitcom. The target market for “How I Met Your Mother” is roughly the same as the target market for “Raymond” and “Two and a Half Men”.

There is only one other sitcom on the new fall roll-out, and while I did see the promo for “Out of Practice” it wasn’t run as heavily as “How I Met Your Mother”. So why the heavy promotion?

As a general rule it takes three airings of a commercial before the consumer recognizes it. We all have gotten to the point where we tune out ads. I can’t really tell you what “Out of Practice” is about other than it has a doctor theme, but I can tell you that by the time my 2 hours of TV watching were over, I knew all about “How I Met Your Mother” and I think it’s a show that I would enjoy. Each time the promo aired, I paid more and more attention to it.

When planning your advertising you must keep three things in mind: Your target market, the reach of your schedule (how many of your target market you are actually reaching), and the frequency (how many times it reaches your target market). A ROS (run of station) schedule may or may not work, it all depends on your target market.

Let’s take broadcast advertising and let’s say you’re a furniture company. Typically, your target market (or demo) is Women 25-54. But is your target market always women 25-54? That all depends on what kind of promotion you’re running. If you’re nearing football season and you’re pushing recliners to go with the big screen TVs, maybe not. These are all things to take into consideration.

The ratings system seems complicated, but in actuality, it’s not. In my next post, I’ll explain the ratings system in layman’s terms. Knowing your key terms and the general basis on which advertising works helps tremendously when placing your schedule. Don’t be in the dark about where your money is going!

Until next time…

Heather

Advertising is confusing if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for or if you go in blindly. It can be a very cost effective way of reaching your target audience but at the same time it can be very costly.

In addition to the articles I think are useful for marketing and virtual assistance, I’m also going to be posting some on advertising.

Oh and if you need any help deciphering it all, just drop me a line!

Here’s our first advertising article!

by Charlie Cook
www.marketingforsuccess.com

“Advertising doesn’t work.” I hear it from my clients all the time. One client was about to file for b.ankruptcy because she wasn’t getting a good response to her radio ads, and the cost was killing her. But she knew her target market was listening; she knew she needed to get her name out there to generate more business. What should she do?

Owners of small businesses and professionals like yourself realize that to take your business to the next level, you need to get your products and services in front of a larger audience. You want to generate more leads, get more prospects to contact you and buy from you. Advertising is essential but how do you get more out of your advertising dollars?

Have you been disappointed by your advertising campaigns? I felt the same way about my family’s VCR. I paid good money for it (though probably not nearly as much as most people pay for advertising) and as far as I was concerned I could never get it to work the way I wanted it to. I spent way too much time fiddling with it and I still couldn’t get it to record a TV show or a movie reliably when I was away. After a while I stopped
trying to use its record function.

Sound familiar?

Compared to programming a VCR, creating a successful advertising campaign is simple. Note the operative word here is “successful”. It’s easy to put together an advertising campaign, but creating one that helps you make more than you spend should be the objective. The following seven elements are what separate a successful advertising campaign from one that just costs you money.

Elements of A Successful Advertising Campaign

1. Choose the media that will reach your target market. It sounds obvious, but make sure your target audience will see and/or hear your ad. Select a publication or radio or cable station that your target audience reads or tunes to. If you’re advertising on the web, your keyword selection is critical here.

2. Write ad copy that your prospects will want to read. Your prospects’ primary interest is in what your product or service will do for them, not what it actually is. Which would you be more likely to read, a headline that reads, “Accounting Services” or one that reads, “How to Avoid Overpaying Your Taxes”?

3. Have others establish your credibility. If space allows, include testimonials in your ad verifying the
outstanding results your products and services generate.

4. Motivate prospects to contact you. Include a limited-time offer or something for free � a report,
appraisal or bonus product � to prompt your prospects to take action.

5. Tell prospects what you want them to do and how to do it. This is your “call to action”. Tell them to call you, visit your web site, send you an email, fill in the reply card, etc.

6. Follow up your offer with the information prospects need to make a purchase. Too many people make the mistake at this point in the s.ales process of launching into a sales pitch. Whether your prospect is on the phone with you or is visiting your web site, help them clarify the problem or concern they have and detail the solution you provide. Then remind them what action you want them to take.

7. Continue to educate your prospects and clients. Stay in touch with likely prospects by contacting them at least every month. Get the conversation going by discussing a common problem. Give your prospects a quick tip they can use and, of course, mention the solutions you provide.

A successful advertising campaign will include all seven of the above elements, not just one or two. When you put all these elements in place, your advertising will generate more leads and sales and you’ll see a good return on your advertising dollars.

By the way, the client who came to me on the verge of bankruptcy is now back on solid financial ground. Once she understood how to write her advertising copy and manage her advertising campaigns, her radio advertising started to bring in a steady stream of new business.
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2005 � In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
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The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, ‘7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business’ at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com