Small Business
Marketing News

In this issue:
Food For Thought
Secret Business Building Tool
How to Write Effective Headlines
Online Marketing Quick
Business Books

Food For Thought:

The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs ... one step at a time.

Joe Girard, World's Greatest Salesman

Secret Business Building Tool
by Terri Gray

So what is the secret all successful businesses share?

Would you believe Networking?

It's the truth! You can send out direct mail, hand out flyers, place classified ads, but none of these methods will produce the high rate of return of networking.

Word of mouth is always your best bet at a sale! Think about it. You're looking for a carpet cleaner. You're flipping through the yellow pages when the phone rings. It's a friend of yours. They ask what you're doing and you reply "Looking for a carpet cleaner". He says, "hey I know I guy that's great".

What do you do? 9 times out of 10 I bet you take the number and call the recommended carpet cleaner! How many times have you asked someone if they knew of a good movie or a good mechanic, dentist etc.

The same principle applies to your business. You need to have folks out there recommending your products or services. And people can't recommend you if they don't know about you!

Call your Chamber of Commerce or City and see if they have a listing of business organizations in your area. Also, check your local paper for announcements of upcoming meetings. Find a couple groups that you feel you would enjoy participating in and start attending the meetings.

This does several things for you! One - it gets you out of your house and back around people! (Being self-employed from home can get lonely sometimes.) Two - you will build up an invaluable sales team! Three - you will learn a lot from other small business owners. And four - you will also begin to build up name recognition for your company.

So How About Some Tips on Networking?

* Develop a 20 sec. introduction to yourself and what you do. Practice it until it becomes second nature.
* Always carry business cards.
* Always request a business card from someone you are talking with.
* Make referrals to people you meet and they will begin to refer back your way as well.
* Remember to cc a note to people whenever you refer business their way. That way they will know where the lead came from and will be ready for that person to contact them. * Be specific in asking for referrals. Do you know someone that just started their own business, just had a baby or
"I am interested in meeting other small business owners - who else do you know?"
* Make it a point to call on the new people you meet. Let them know that you enjoyed meeting them. (Or drop them a note with a couple of business cards and ask for more of theirs.)
* Set up a time to get together with new people you've met. Try to meet at least one new person a week for a cup of coffee, lunch or breakfast so you can learn more about each other.
* Discuss cooperative marketing strategies with people in a related business. For example, a remodeler could team up with an interior designer to put out flyers, ads or a direct mailing. You could also include a mention of each others businesses in newsletters that go out to clients.
* Take a genuine interest in others and you will develop some very profitable and lasting personal and business relationships.

NOTE: These strategies can be modified to work VERY well online too!
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Terri Gray's Small Business Consulting & Website Design
http://www.austinwebdesign.com" target="blank & http://www.homeimages.com/gray
WMDesign@bizine.com
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How to Write Effective Headlines
by Jacci Howard Bear

The job of the headline is to get attention. A good headline makes the reader want to find out more by reading the article, brochure, or ad. To help your headline do this, try one of these techniques:

• Create curiosity.
• Promise answers to a question or solutions to a problem.
• Include a key benefit.

Have fun with it

You can create curiosity by asking a provocative question or making a seemingly outrageous statement. Word play, alliteration, or take-offs on familiar phrases or cliches can create some eye-catching and often amusing headlines. However, avoid ambiguoity or at least use eyebrows or subheads (smaller headlines above or below the main headline) to clarify or explain. If your reader has to guess at what you mean or at what the article or ad is all about, they'll be saying, "I guess you don't want me to read this article." Some examples of word play, alliteration, and take-offs:

Wingdinging it
using symbol fonts as impromptu logos

Build a Better Bass Boat

Sing a song of six pence, a pocket full of lies...
teaching children to tell the truth

State the Benefit

Answer the question foremost in your reader's mind, "What's in it for me?" Tell your reader about the primary benefit found in the story or brochure or ad. Offer a solution to a common problem.Create several potential headlines using as many of the following techniques as possible until you find the one that works best.

• Ask a question (How many cavities is "too many"?).
• Make a statement or exclamation (Fewer cavities. Guaranteed.).
• Tell "how-to" (How to spend less time at the dentist's office).
• Use a number (6 ways to get fewer cavities).
• Use a product, service, or business name -- or create a new word or catch phrase to describe the product (PearlyBrite dental creme is the newest weapon in the war on tooth decay).
• Use words like new, improve, more, and better (Get 50% more cavity protection in our new, economical 9 oz. tube).

Keep it short

What is the ideal length for titles and headlines? Seven words or less is a good rule of thumb. Shorter headlines are "punchier" and easier to read. If you need more words to accomplish the job, consider putting them into the subhead.

Deliver on your promises

The best headline in the world won't help a bad story. Before you snare the reader with your witty headline be sure you can deliver with a well-written, informative article, brochure, or ad. Insure that your headline supports the body too. If you ask a question, provide an answer. If you promise to solve a problem, offer a solution.

Avoid deceptive headlines. If the headline suggests that the story is about low-cost, romantic honeymoon locations, don't give the reader a story about honeymoon disasters in cheap hotels. It might be a great story, but the reader feels cheated if the headline promises something totally different.

Use a headline to get the reader's attention. Catch the reader's eye and give enough information to make your reader want to read your message.

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This article is a combination of articles written for the November 1994 and October 1995 issues of The INK Spot magazine. Jacci Howard Bear Company: JBdesigns
desktoppub.guide@miningco.com
http://members.aol.com/inkspotmag/index.html
Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997 JBdesigns and The INK Spot.
Contact Jacci Howard Bear at inkspotmag@aol.com for permission to reprint (electronically or in print). Reprinted with permission.
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Quick Online Marketing Tip

Remember to put your URL on EVERYTHING - Put it anywhere that you would normally include your company name and phone number. Business cards, stationery, your vehicle, flyers, classified ads, fax cover sheets, hats, t-shirts, pens, cups, invoices, envelopes, yellow page ad, job signs, proposals etc. - If you already have tons of printed materials that do not have your web address on them, then buy a stamp and stamp that URL on everything that leaves your office!

Next Issue: More on Cooperative Marketing Strategies and Boosting Your Website Traffic Through Networking Online!!

Visit the NEW Small Business Bookstore - You'll find great information for starting your home-based business, plus marketing tips, motivational and self-improvement books and information on how to write effective sales letters. Check out the some of the tools available to help you succeed!

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