1. Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic. Give people the option of adding the directory to their web site by linking to it. Put your business advertisement at the top of the director’s home page. This technique will get lots of people to linkto your web site and give you free advertising.

2. Do you have a product or service that doesn’t sell good? Offer it as a free bonus for someone else’s product or service. Get free advertising by placing your web site or business ad on the product or in the product package.

3. Trade autoresponder ads with other businesses. If both of you send out information with auto-responders just exchange a small classified ad to put at the bottom or top of each other’s autoresponder message.

4. Start a free tip line. Offer a free daily, weekly, or monthly tip recorded on your voice mail. The tips should be related to your business. Include your ad for your web site or business at the beginning or end of your message.

5. Exchange content with other web sites and ezines. You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.

6. Offer to insert ads into your product package for other businesses. Just ask, in return that they do the same for your business. You should only trade insert ads with businesses that have the same target audience.

7. Offer a free daily class in your web site’s chat room. The class should be related to the subject of your business or web site. This will get people to visit your web site everyday.

8. Do you have a product that doesn’t sell good? Offer it as a free bonus for another businesses product or service. You’ll get free advertising by placing your web site or business ad on the free bonus.

9. Place different emotional response ads for the same product or service all over your web site. One ad may hit their hot button to buy more than another ad.

10. Publish your e-zine in e-book format. You could offer a larger number of articles per issue. It also allows you to include graphics with your ezine.Your advertising revenue would increase because you could charge businesses for large color ads.

How would you like those 10 secret marketing tips? I could have listed more than 10 marketing strategies but those 10 tips are my interesting strategies. I hope above 10 marketing strategies will increase your sales and marketing growth.

Brand New. 10 Secret And Effective Marketing Strategies is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

And don’t forget…how do you stay on track and motivated? Sure, it’s one thing to be inspired during a marketing workshop or by ideas from a book. But then the reality of execution sets in.

Believe me, I feel your pain. Working on some major, next-level projects of my own right now, it’s tempting to stick my head in the sand and say forget it. Since I’m writing from the beach this week, it literally would be that easy.

Instead, I’m taking it “bird by bird.”

Author and writing teacher, Anne Lamott, coined this term to encourage budding authors in her book, Bird by Bird. The phrase refers to a school report about wild birds that her younger brother had to write as a child. He put it off until the night before it was due. Sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by piles of books, he was overwhelmed and frozen by the task at hand. His father, also a writer, told him to just take it bird by bird…first write about one bird. Then write about another bird. Then another. Before he knew it, his report would be done.

Faced with your own pile of marketing tasks? Here are some things you can do to take it bird by bird:

1. Don’t start with a whole bird. Start with some feathers. A beak. The feet. My point is, just start on one, tiny thing…like spend 15 minutes brainstorming your Positioning Statement (and if you don’t know what this is, email me!). Then stop. Come back to it tomorrow and spend 15 more minutes. Eventually, you’ll be done.

2. Be okay with lousy first drafts. Creativity experts know this. Famous authors count on it. Whether you’re working on your website, a client proposal, deciding where to network or writing an actual article, just get the ideas out of your head and onto paper. Don’t worry about complete sentences, clever themes or specifics. The point is to just start.

3. Invest by carving out the time. If you want to attract more clients for the long haul, you’ve got to carve out time to work on this stuff. It won’t happen by itself. Look at it as an investment in what matters most to you (your future? your sanity? your family? your freedom?). Then carve out the time to invest. Start small – 15 minutes of uninterrupted, honest-to-god-I’m-not-going-to-do-anything-else time every day – then expand to 30 minutes and more. I’ve found that the daily discipline is what makes this magic.

4. Protect and guard this commitment. Others will try to lure you away (that crucial client meeting…the latest staff crisis…family and friends), interrupt you, to make their needs more important. Don’t take the bait. Make your commitment to this investment more important. Julia Cameron shows us how to keep from being “blocked by falling in with other people’s plans for us,” in The Artist’s Way.

5. Use a timer. Okay, I know this sounds anal…but it works. I learned this from my friend, Susan Rose, whose book, ‘Bourbon? Babes, comes out this fall. Now I’m addicted. Instead of stressing about the time I don’t have, I simply set a timer and do the work. When the alarm goes off, I stop. It’s very freeing, since I don’t have to decide when to stop – the alarm decides for me. Try this every morning for a week and see how much you accomplish.

6. Show up and see what happens. Carving out the time to work on marketing is half the battle. The other half is being open to what you come up with during the time you’ve set aside. The best ideas will come to you if you don’t pre-judge your efforts. Why put that kind of pressure on yourself?

7. Be gentle with yourself. Remember lousy first drafts? Again, go easy. Take a page from The Artist’s Way, where Julia Cameron encourages us to “go gently and slowly…no high jumping, please! Mistakes are necessary. Stumbles are normal. Progress, not perfection is what we should be asking of ourselves.”

8. On the other hand, no whining. In his Little Red Book of Selling, Jeffrey Gitomer gives us a tough love message that, when in doubt, give yourself a swift kick in the rear (his words are less delicate, but you get the idea). His main advice: no whining and kick your own a–!

9. Don’t go it alone. Yes, you have to carve out the time, show up, and stop whining. But you don’t have to go it alone. Create a system of support. Schedule a weekly check-in meeting with someone. Subscribe to marketing e-newsletters and online groups. Start a Marketing Book Club and meet monthly to share ideas. Join one of my Marketing Action Groups, Online Discussion Forums, Marketing BootCamps or Advanced TeleClinics. Get marketing coaching. The best athletes, performers and executives have ongoing support…why not you?

Getting started is the hardest part. I promise you, that once you carve out the time and just start, you’ll notice progress. And that progress – however small – will act as a magnet. It will attract you to the work of being a marketer, in ways that you can’t imagine now.

To Julia Cameron’s point (she uses the word ‘artist’ where I use ‘marketer’)

“Remember, that in order to recover as a marketer, you must first be willing to be a bad marketer. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. By being willing to be a bad marketer, you have a chance to be a marketer, and perhaps, over time, a very good one.”

References

Cameron, J. (1992, 2002). The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. New York: Tarcher Penguin.

Gitomer, J. (2004). The Little Red Book of Selling. Austin: Bard Press.

Lamott, A. (1994). Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. New York: Anchor Books.

TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bird by Bird is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

1. Be an authentic liar.

2. Be your own valentine.

3. Fight bull.

Here’s how these successful experts connect with the marketplace – and you can too:

Be an authentic liar. In his latest book, All Marketers Are Liars, Seth Godin explains “the power of telling authentic stories in a low-trust world.” Mildly unsettling at first, he makes the case that our buyers are actually the ones who are lying. To themselves. About why they want to buy from us.

Successful marketers are just providing the stories that our buyers choose to believe. But here’s the rub: you have to really live the story you’re telling. The second a potential buyer smells anything less than complete dedication to what you’re selling, you “cross the line from fib to fraud.” It’s simply not good enough to have a good story. You have to live up to it as well. If you’re a cobbler with no shoes, why should your clients take your advice?

Be a role model for what you sell, and nothing less. Then tell a good story about it, to buyers who want to believe.

Be your own valentine. In his hot little book, Little Red Book of Selling, Jeffrey Gitomer takes a tough-love approach to helping us be the best version of ourselves we can be.

My personal favorites are:

• No Whining (“Don’t whine to me that the customer won’t return your call. Study voicemail. Don’t whine to me that your boss is a jerk. Get a new one. Don’t whine to me that your company won’t give you a laptop. Go buy one.”)

• Kick Your Own Ass (“Ever have a bad day? Ever lost a sale you thought you had? Ever had someone say yes to you and three days later just evaporate? Wanna know what to do about it…? Kick your own ass. No one is going to hand you success…that’s something you have to do for yourself.”)

The heart of Gitomer’s message is put your heart into your work…and if you don’t love what you sell, go sell something else. No amount of cleverly packaged marketing spin can camouflage a missing heart. Your clients will see right through it and won’t buy from you.

Research shows that people buy professional services because of trust. In Gitomer’s words, “If they like you, and they believe you, and they trust you, and they have confidence in you…then they MAY buy from you.”

Let your heart shine through in your words and actions. If you do, your clients will like, believe, trust, have confidence, and buy from you.

Fight bull. In their recent book, Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter’s Guide, Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon Warshawsky give it to us straight. Stop using words that are meaningless, boring, indirect and obscure. Start communicating with your own voice, personality, and style.

How many times have you sat through mind-numbing presentations, meaningless PowerPoint slides, or felt no connection with (no trust in?) the person trying to sell you on their idea, service or product?

So stop. Just stop adding to the bull that piles up every day in business communications. Talk and write to your target audience person-to-person. Ask them simple questions that get to the heart of their wants and needs. Tell them that you’ve thought a lot about their situation and have some ideas that might help them. And do it without the crutch of slides, silly business-speak, or slick messaging.

In other words, just be yourself.

*WIIFM: What’s In It For Me?

References

Fugere, B., Hardaway, C., and Warshawsky, J. (2005). Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter’s Guide. New York: Free Press.

Gitomer, J. (2004). The Little Red Book of Selling. Austin: Bard Press.

Godin, S. (2005). All Marketers Are Liars. New York: Penguin.

Be Yourself is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

* Invest thousands of dollars in direct mail and expect prospects to eagerly call about your services

* Treat your vendors poorly by not paying them on time or not communicating with them in a timely manner

* Misunderstand the differences between advertising, PR, and promotion – and what they can and cannot do for your professional service firm

* Underestimate how important it is for your to address your clients’ PERCEIVED need (i.e., what THEY think they need) vs. what you know they need

You’re playing chess when you…

* Understand that there are right clients and wrong clients for your firm, based on where you want your firm to be in one year, two years, five years – and that your definition of “right” will change over time

* Consider what the right kinds of clients look like for your firm and then carefully develop a roadmap for all marketing activities that align with your definition of “right”

* Use a combination of carefully crafted “touches” to move prospects through your relationship pipeline from Stranger, to Acquaintance, to Friend, to Lover, to Loyal Partner. Are looking six moves ahead, instead of at the next move. Whether it’s developing your website, deciding what committees or networking groups to join, if you should invest in a particular piece of marketing collateral, or where to publish your next article…chess players see the connections between today’s marketing decisions and their impact months and years ahead.For a game plan to avoid checkmate, try these things:

* Consider where you want to be in 6 months, 12 months, 18 months and 36 months. Identify the big steps to get you there. I organize my actions by “theme of the month.” For example, within 6 months, I want to be well into developing an online platform to launch subscription-based marketing tools. So January and February are Research Months. I’m attending two related conferences to quickly assess the latest approaches, make some good contacts, and scope the competition.

* Your time is precious, so why squander it on marketing activities that don’t fill your pipeline with the right kinds of prospects? Decide how or if to invest time in a particular action (networking, developing a brochure, sending thank-you notes, writing a newsletter, giving a talk) based on how it aligns with attracting attention from the right kinds of prospects. I’ve recently joined a Steering Committee because, in addition to loving the cause it supports, I’ll be exposed in a leadership capacity to my target audience.

* When following up after an initial contact or introduction, you’re nowhere near making the sale. The game is just beginning. Make your goal one of learning more about the other person’s condition so they feel comfortable you’re tuned into their needs. Moving from Stranger to Acquaintance to Friend to Lover takes several “touches,” including telephone conversation(s), face-to-face meeting(s), email, sending them to your website to dig around (because you’ve stocked it full of valuable freebies), seeing you in action as a speaker, or reading about you in the press. Put a predictable system of “touches” in place and run everyone through it.

* Set a huge, “unattainable” goal and then connect the dots to reach it. In 2005, I have my eye on penetrating specific major organizations and creating partnerships for national distribution of my marketing education programs. I’m envisioning what these relationships look like in the end and am taking much smaller, practical, “doable” steps now to get there. These include attending conferences where I can meet key contacts that I’ve already identified (and where I’ll get the lay of the land to speak at next time), putting the wheels in motion for a series of books (the ultimate business card!) to build credibility and exposure, experimenting with local prototypes (where the sales cycle is shorter and there’s not a lot of expensive travel involved to make the sale), and building a solid relationship slowly with VIPs before jumping the gun.

Ready to play chess? Your move!

Are You Playing Checkers or Chess? is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

Marketing attraction. It sounds like flirting doesn’t it? And in a way, that’s exactly right. You do want to flirt with your prospects, to allow them to get to know, like, and trust you. Since it takes upwards of 7 touches to make a sale today, you need to attract them to your product, service, or program in many different ways.

One critical element you must have in your basket of attraction tools today is a fully developed web presence. People are most likely to google for you or your service or the benefit/solution they seek first. They are less likely to open the telephone book and flip through the yellow pages. The future of your marketing reach is the internet.

Even with the internet, you need an arsenal of marketing strategies to reach your prospects and attract them to your product and services. You can’t flirt with them, if they can’t find you.

Here are a few ideas which you can do quickly and on a budget. They are culled from the likes of Mitch Meyerson, Jay Conrad Levinson, Seth Godin, and Bea Fields.

On your website:

* Build a powerful direct response entity

* Make sure your headlines are engaging with a problem/solution approach

* Direct their eyes to the one thing you want them to do

On your email signature:

* Include your business contact information, of course

* Promote one thing – a new product, service, newsletter, article, free conference call. This is your best and first opportunity to ask everyone to engage with you and your company

Develop relationships for referral business – complementary services serving the same market niche and get listed on their websites

Include client testimonials – use them in all your printed and online collateral materials. The hottest new thing is audio and video testimonials you put up on your site.

Use audio and video conferencing from your PC for sales, presentations, meetings. They work effectively for a prospects, clients and vendors. It’s no longer novel. It’s cost effective, timely, direct, and can be very interactive.

Write articles and press releases about everything you do and get them published in print but more importantly across the web.

Yes, all of these are ideas you can do yourself, burning the midnight oil. But what’s even better, is that these tools and systems can be delegated and automated – one more way for you to generate more profit in less time.

Are You Flirting With Me? is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

- Which target consumers whom we can reach, hold a viable potential to buy whatever we intend to sell?

- What is the offer (the entire marketing mix) we will be presenting to these consumers in order to appeal to them and thus realize the said potential, given their alternatives?

You must not think of these as two separate questions but rather as two parts of the same idea. Let me clarify. What are “target consumers with a potential to buy”? These are consumers (a sizeable enough group with buying power) likely to desire what you are offering. Why would they want it? That is the potential that you are supposed to identify. There may be several reasons. For example, maybe they are not consumers of your kind of product yet, however, they might be if something happens, or if they are exposed to a certain message. It could be that they have special needs or preferences, which up until today were not catered to by any of your competitors’ offers (and don’t forget that psychological, social, aesthetic needs are real needs). Maybe they are bored with what they routinely buy. When you identify such a situation, you know that the potential is there.

Identifying potential is only the initial stage of your mission, of course. Your strategy would also have to include something that you are going to offer these consumers that might improve their situation in a certain way, solve a problem, give them more than what they already get for the same price, or open new opportunities for them. In short, something that will motivate them to buy from you and thus materialize the potential.

The ‘Marketing Scenario’ is a synopsis of the logic of your marketing strategy. In the same breath, it also enables you to make sure that that logic really works. The ‘Marketing Scenario’ translates the ‘Marketing Strategy’ to simple everyday language. How will it happen in reality? How will the materialization of marketing goals occur? I don’t know whether or not you have already sunk in this fact, but marketing goals are achieved through customer acts. So, let’s assume that we install a webcam with enhanced psychological insight capabilities inside the market and that it captures the materialization of our marketing plan, one purchase after another.

What is the ‘Marketing Scenario’?

The ‘Marketing Scenario’ is an amazingly simple tool to use: Only four questions. Are you jotting this down?

1. Who are the people who we believe have the potential of buying what we intend to sell? Yes, these are the same people we so often refer to as the ‘Target Consumers’. First, we must define our targets. What do these people have in common that makes them probable prospects (in the sense that they are likely to be particularly interested in our offer)? We could use demographic, socioeconomic, psychographic, as well as lifestyle descriptions. Note that at times, we target not a specific group but a wide almost indefinable group of people in a specific mood, a specific situation, or a specific need or state.
Make room for another possibility. You can target not a defined group of consumers but rather a state of need/desire or a consumption context shared by many diverse consumers at one time or another.

2. What precisely should they be doing (that they are not doing already and will probably not do if we will not intervene), that would direct them to eventually choose our brand specifically? It is, by the way, the first and only objective of branding. What do they have to do so that your marketing plan will materialize (even before the actual purchase)? Do they have to go somewhere? To call? To agree to meet your salesperson? To stop and pick out your product from the shelf? Which activity, which does not occur today, would lead them in the correct path on the way to buying?

3. What is the sound reason that should motivate them to change their behavioral inertia? How will they benefit from that change? Why would you, in their place, buy what you are offering? You can think of it as your differentiating factor (what makes you differentially better?), or as your competitive advantage (what makes you comparatively better?), according to your preference. What could make their situation better compared to their current standing and to the other options available to them in the market?

4. How exactly will they extract the benefit (that which answers question 3) according to your marketing plan? That is not a repeat question. Notice that the third question dealt with the ‘why’ of the target consumer’s planned motivation, and now, we are trying to understand the ‘how’ of your marketing plan. How are you planning to provide the benefit defined in the answer to question 3? If, for instance, you said before that you are making something more accessible, easy or comfortable for them, now explain how it will become more accessible, easy or comfortable, due to you product.

Let us look at an example: The introduction of Palm Pilot to the market. O.K.? Just the main points:

1. “Residents” of the business community, gadgets fans, who manage a dynamic, constantly changing schedule, and have not yet embraced the electronic organizers, or were disappointed by them because of their being laborious to update and generally unreliable.
2. … will step into the nearest office equipment store and ask about the Palm Pilot.
3. … because at last there is an organizer which is not only sophisticated, small and wonderfully shaped, but is also easily kept up to date and preserves the stored data when damaged or when upgrading to a new model
4. … because the Palm Pilot can ‘converse’ with the PC, making the updating process a simple task to perform, as well as enabling creation of backups which could be easily transferred on to the next generations of organizers.

That is what the ‘Marketing Scenario’ is all about. All you have to do is answer the questions. Be precise. Be thorough. Be honest. Do it in writing. Even if you’re absolutely sure that the answers are positively clear to you and there’s nothing to be gained. Only when your ‘Marketing Scenario’ is totally translated to a written text, should you go on and proceed with the brand development process. Otherwise, you will get trapped along the way, and don’t say I didn’t warn you.

A Reality Check On Your Marketing Strategy is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

A logo is a graphic or visual representation of your brand. Your brand is your business, product or service and what it stands for. It’s whatever you are out in the marketplace selling.

Why do small businesses need a logo?

Why can’t they just market using their company name? Logos are expensive, right? Can a small business owner really afford to get a logo? Or at least a good logo? Lots of questions. Some I’m sure you’ve pondered yourself at one time or another.

I believe ALL businesses should have a logo

You need a graphic element that captures the essence of your business and communicates an idea to your prospects and customers. A mark that can lead the look and feel of all of your marketing materials.

You only have a split second to grab someone’s attention

You need to make the most of that time. A good logo mark can communicate a message or intrigue a prospect to want to find out more.

Before you decide you can’t afford a good logo

Let me assure you that is absolutely NOT the case. Look, I’ve been in the ad agency business for 20 years. During that time I’ve worked with some of the most talented graphic artists and designers in the business. But even I did not turn to them when I needed a logo for my small business. Why? I couldn’t. They were simply too expensive for my small business budget. So what did I do? I found a great alternative that’s inexpensive, fast and good.

LogoWorks

For $300 to $500 you’ll get a variety of logo designs to choose from and you’ll have them within just a few days. Plus you’ll get several rounds of revisions to make sure you are completely happy with your final mark.

What I like most about Logoworks

They require you to complete a creative direction worksheet that ensures their designs are strategically on target with your brand. This is KEY if you want your logo to be a good representation of your business. If anyone offers to design a logo for you without some form of creative brief or direction worksheet, don’t do it!

If you don’t have a logo, or if yours is in need of an overhaul Check out LogoWorks by visiting http://www.10stepmarketing/greatlogo.htm

(C) 2005 Debbie LaChusa

A Great Logo Is A Marketing Must-Have. But Is It Affordable For Small Business? is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

1. Objective Advice. Consultants who are paid fees are more likely to give you unbiased advice than consultants who earn commissions based on the amount of money you spend. If the consultant profits from ad agency commissions, he has an inherent conflict of interest because the more you spend, the more he makes.

2. Experience. Marketing is so specialized and complex that I recommend you hire someone who has provided marketing services for a minimum of 15 years. But, don’t assume that because the person has been in business 15 years, he has the knowledge, skill, judgment and experience you need. Make sure you thoroughly interview all consultants you are considering.

3. Workload. Does the law marketing professional do the work for you? Or does the marketing person serve as a coach and simply tell you what you should be doing?

4. Service. Do you feel that the consultant wants to provide you with the help you need to make your program succeed? Or do you get the impression that he is looking for bigger fish to fry and that you’re just a small fish in the ocean?

5. Access. Is the consultant hidden behind a wall of secretaries, account executives and administrative assistants? Or is he readily available to you by phone, fax, and e-mail?

6. Stability. Has the consultant been providing marketing services for some years? Or is he new to marketing — or new to lawyer marketing — and just waiting for the opportunity to move on to something else?

7. Marketing Focus. Is the consultant a full-time marketing professional? Or does he offer advice in other disciplines, such as management, human resources, training or finance?

8. Authority. Does the consultant have enough experience that he is a recognized authority in his field? Or is he still a relative unknown?

9. Size and Efficiency. Does the consultant have a large staff and/or a penthouse office that his clients pay for? Or when you write a check, are you paying for his high level of knowledge, skill, judgment and experience?

10. Markups. Does this consultant mark up outside services he hires on your behalf, such as graphic artists, printers, photographers, web site technicians, and so forth? Or does this consultant provide those services to you at cost?

11. Travel. Does the consultant travel around the country from one client to next, running up airline bills? Or does the consultant keep costs down by working efficiently with you by telephone, fax and e-mail?

12. Coverage. Does the consultant have a competent marketing specialist who covers for him when he travels? Or are you relegated to an account executive or administrative assistant who takes messages and tries to relay them to the consultant while he is on the road.

13. Attention. Does the consultant have so many clients he can’t provide you with the personal care and attention you deserve? Or does he limit his services to a few select clients who receive the best he has to offer?

14. Work. Does the consultant himself perform the work on your behalf? Or does the consultant delegate your work to a junior associate?

15. Marketing Specialization. Is the consultant a marketing professional who works only with one type of marketing? Or does he try to be a “jack of all trades” so he can provide whatever marketing services you want to buy?

16. Writing Skills. In marketing, nothing is more important than for your consultant to have superior writing skills. And don’t expect the consultant’s writing to follow the rules of what you and I learned in school because marketing writing is different from academic writing. To sample your consultant’s writing style, read published articles and marketing materials that your consultant wrote. You’ll know right away whether they come across as warm and friendly — or if the writing seems cold and impersonal. The way the consultant writes for himself will be similar to the way he writes for you. So make sure the consultant you choose has a writing style you admire.

17. Testimonials. Does the marketing consultant have comments from other lawyers you can review? The consultant you’re considering should provide you with at least 30 or 40 testimonials from other lawyers. If he provides only a few, you may be reading comments from his in-laws.

17 Important Points To Consider Before You Hire A Law Marketing Consultant is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

1. Making More cash – Most individuals desire to make more money. They want to keep off not being able to buy all their needs and wants. You could object product niches for employment, home businesses, networking marketing, affiliate programs, employment advancement, etc.

2. Increasing Profits And Sales – Most businesses want to increase their profits and sales. You could goal product niches about marketing, copywriting, advertising, cutting costs, publicity tips, etc.

3. Making fair Investments – Most individuals want to get high returns on their investments. You could object product niches about investing in the stock market, bonds, futures trading, etc.

4. Getting A elevate – Employees want to avoid being on a low pay scales at their place of effort and losing their job. You could aim product niches about communicating at work such as asking for a raise, promotions at work, etc.

5. Getting A Promotion – Most employees want to succeed and offer their employer their best. You could target product niches about moving up the ladder at work, career advancement, above or underachieving at work with the consequences of each, etc.

6. Working From house – Many individuals would somewhat work at home. You could target product niches about home business start-up, home business opportunities, affiliate programs, network marketing, etc.

7. Working Less – Most individuals want to work less but smarter. You could target product niches about businesses that require little or no work, automated income streams, part-time jobs that pay the same as 40 hour a week jobs, etc.

8. Eliminating Debt – Most individuals want to manage or eliminate their debts. You could target product niches about money control, debt consolidation, stopping debt collectors from calling, etc.

9. Having outstanding Credit – individuals want to maintain excellent credit. You could target product niches about improving their credit reports, financial management, how to increase their credit rating, etc.

10. Finding A Bargain – Most people like to find bargains. You could target product niches about being thrifty, negotiating lower prices, where to find fair bargains, etc.

12. Retiring Early – Most people want to retire beforehand or at least have money for their retirement. You could target product niches about planning for early retirement, investing for the long designation, goal setting, etc.

13. Being Educated – Many want to new their education. You could target product niches about college grants, college ratings, college loans, college living, etc.

14. Save Money – Most people want to save money. You could target product niches about starting a budget, lower bills, stretching their money further, shopping smarter, etc.

15. Being Successful – Most people want to be successful. You could target product niches about advancing and reaching goals, motivational techniques, getting into the right mind set, etc.

I hope you have gotten some acceptable ideas from this article and that you are able to use them.

15 Effective Niche Marketing Strategies. is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com

1. Partner with large email database list owners and offer to cross promote each oher. The list owner will advertise your event, product, or service to their email database and you’ll offer to do the same to your list.

2. Create your own blog which is an online journal with frequently updated posts to entertain and excite existing and potential customers. It’s more personal and immediate then a website and keeps people engaged and hopefully coming back for more. You can even create one for free at http://www.blogger.com.

3. If you want to increase word-of-mouth fast, do something beyond normal industry expectations. For example, Mr. Lube offers fast and affordable tune-up service to customers right on the spot, without having to leave the car, while offering coffee, cappuccino, and a fresh newspaper.

4. Always ask happy clients for endorsements or testimonials and put them on your website and other marketing collateral. They’re worth their weight in gold. Try to get some recognizable names in your community for additional cachet.

5. Put a special offer or product advertorial on every invoice and statement you send out. Likewise, you can also negotiate a deal with another company to advertise your product or service on all their invoices for a percentage of revenues from placed orders.

6. Make your business cards stand out and be natural keepers. Offer important information on the back such as emergency phone numbers, a map, or special dates to remember. Have a slogan that offers a powerful benefit statement to your prospective customer.

7. Offer special bonus packages with your product or service offering. Get corporate sponsors to give away products as part of the bonus package in exchange for free exposure.

8. Align your business with a cause or charity. Give back to your community. Customers appreciate doing business with companies that are bettering their communities and the environment and being good corporate citizens.

9. Find an angle that makes your work controversial. The banning of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, reviewed as “trashy and vicious,” was a blessing in disguise. Twain made a poster advertising the ban, which significantly increased sales.

10. Post frequently in online message boards/forums relevant to your business or expertise. Include your signature and offer tips and valuable advice. Eventually you will begin gaining word-of-mouth exposure as a leader in your field. Posting messages with your company information also helps to increase your search engine rankings and drive traffic to your site.

[Excerpted from Sharif Khan’s new ebooklet: "101 Ways to Market Your Business," http://tinyurl.com/m2nsf ].

10 Marketing Tips For Entrepreneurs is a post from: Marketing Blogs | Albrowmarketing.com