Money Making Ideas

2/17/2012

A PopUp Display normally covers the entire back “wall” of your space. This means that a properly designed PopUp Display provides you the opportunity to make a bold statement about your company and your most important product or service.

A PopUp Display not only serves as a backdrop to your display, but gives your area definition, and allows you to focus attention on a specific image.

Well designed popup displays make a powerful statement about your product or service.

Of course it is possible just to throw the popup up against the back wall, stick a table in front of it, spread our your brochures, and away you go. But you can do better than that. Pay special attention to the space requirements and the specifications of your popup display, then design your space around it.

1. Maximize the dramatic impact of the design

First, since you want to maximize the dramatic graphic impact of your PopUp, you probably won’t want to clutter the area directly in front of it. Yes, you have limited space to work with. But rather than putting a table directly in front of your most valuable asset (the PopUp), it is usually better to create two separate areas to either side.

If you will be working the booth alone, then have a “distribution area” on the “incoming” side (the side most of the traffic comes from), and a “sales area” on the other side of your space. This will help both you and your visitors. They will be able to pick up brochures, samples, etc. from the distribution area without intruding on your one-on-one conversations taking place in the other area.

This will give you a semblance of “privacy” — as if this were possible at a trade show — when you pitch your more important prospects

If there are two of you working the booth, then you should have two self-contained sales stations — one on either side. In other words, make use of your space intelligently. Don’t clutter up the middle, if you can help it.

2. Focus on your “Primary Product Message”

Your PopUp display should do double-duty as both a backdrop, and your most important vehicle for promoting your company’s presence and your “Primary Product Message”. Stand back from your display for a second and look at it from the perspective of the casual passerby. What is he or she most interested in?

First, since she has come some distance to see a number of specific exhibits, chances are she is looking for a familiar name or logo. Don’t disappoint. Use striking trade show graphics to display your logo prominently near the top of the display. That way it will be as visible as possible above the heads of the people standing in front.

3. Use a slogan

The same goes for your “primary product message”. Try to boil your product or service down into one or two words that you can focus on. This could be a product logo, especially if it is well known and easily identifiable.

But it could also be a two or three word phrase — much like a “slogan”. If you can’t think of anything creative, then just take your primary product and stick an adjective in front of it (or a short phrase behind it) that gives it some “zing”…like this…

Hair Cuts with Class
Sausages with Sizzle
Beautiful Old World Gardens

Keep it to four or five words. The objective is to have it near the top of your display, on one, or at most, two lines, where it will get maximum exposure.

4. Use simple, bold graphics

So that takes care of the top 1/3 or so of your display. The rest should be devoted to enhancing or illustrating the “primary product message”. Forget about using lots of text to actually tell people about your product. If the show is successful, you will spend most of your time blocking the view of your display, and prospects won’t be able to see it anyway.

Use some creativity when designing your popup display or trade show booth. Usually you want to find one or two large striking images and integrate them into a colorful background. The best designs often use just one large image.

The important thing to remember is that people are not going to walk up to your display and start reading the information on it. That is why a “graphic” approach is much more realistic than an informational approach.

Don’t stick a bunch of information-intensive graphics on your display because you think that will give you more communication bang for your buck. It won’t. The situation, the environment, and the motivation are just not right for this to happen. Your PopUp is a very specific kind of “billboard”, and it should be treated that way.

2/17/2012

Should Your Company Be Podcasting? Before we answer that question, let’s take a quick look at what a podcast is. Audio programming isn’t revolutionary.A company called Audible.com has been selling downloadable content like audio books and radio shows for nearly 10 years. Now, thanks to the growing popularity and large storage capacity of Apple’s iPods, tech experimentalists are considering anew the possibilities of downloadable audio. Now with new, easy-to-use distribution tools and cheaper storage capacity in addition to the millions-sold iPod market, podcasting is going mainstream.

The broadcasting part comes from syndication tools that allow listeners to subscribe to receive automatic downloads of new podcasts in episodes that interest them. People who produce podcasts use something called RSS (Really Simple Syndication) to create subscription feeds. Listeners point their podcatchers toward those feeds and receive their automatic updates. Apple’s iTunes software has built-in podcatching features, but you can also use other programs, like the free Juice Receiver. These podcatching programs transfer new episodes to your PC. Some software will then even deliver the files to your digital music player automatically using the RSS feed.

You can listen to podcasts without an iPod. Individual podcast shows are usually recorded in common audio formats like MP3, others are in AAC format. Some podcatchers’ auto-synch features only work with iPods, but you can listen to podcasts on any digital music player or on your PC with standard programs like RealPlayer, Windows Media Player or any of the myriad other programs available for download at no charge.

Your company can shape the message it delivers, and a podcasting series distributed regularly to customers is a great way to build their loyalty and create a bond with both customers and new sales leads. The trick is to offer content listeners will find useful. For some companies, the podcasting topics are more obvious than others. Music distribution services provider Nugs.net posts a monthly promotional podcast of samples from its archive while travel website Hotelbook.com offers podcasts full of travel tips. But companies that aren’t in the consumer services market can still use promotional podcasts—they just have to be more creative in figuring out what they have to offer.

If you’re ready to begin making your own podcast, Audacity is a popular, free program for recording and digitizing and editing sound. HOwever, pretty much any sound software will work. Once you have a recorded sound file, upload it to the internet on your website; if you’re creating a series, set up an RSS feed pointing to the site where new episodes will appear. That’s all there is to it.

Unless you’re aiming for top-quality production quality, podcasting is a fairly inexpensive undertaking. If you don’t want to go the trouble of doing your own production, services shops are springing up to handle podcasting chores. Some companies have a production staff and network of voice artists on tap to quickly convert scripts to ready-for-podcasting sound files. Others have a hosting and syndication service that handles podcast storage and RSS feed creation, with an unlimited bandwidth allowance. For marketers interested in podcasting, the obstacles to start up have never been smaller.

2/17/2012

Competition within the Pizza Industry is fierce! The number of dollars that the customers, in your market area, are going to spend is limited. To grow your business, you are going to have to take customers away from your competition. That’s where a sound marketing plan comes in.

“After all these years, it’s nice to reinvigorate your love for your business.” says John McNulty, Shakey’s Pizza licensee. McNulty’s family has owned and operated the El Monte, California Shakey’s Pizza restaurant since 1964. “I purchased the restaurant from my father in 1989. Until five months ago, our marketing efforts were limited. In recent years, advertising rates have dramatically increased. We haven’t been able to keep up, and our marketing dollars have been buying fewer ads. We also focused on the local schools, which has been a combination community service and marketing campaign. Mostly our efforts focused on rewarding students for things like reading, attendance and citizenship,” adds McNulty.

But all that has changed, “Our first marketing campaign using the restaurant marketing software began soon after Thanksgiving, and the results were overwhelming. I was stunned! It far exceeded my expectations,” says McNulty. McNulty offered a “Photo with Santa Party.” School children were invited to participate in a coloring contest and to stop by the restaurant for a free photo with Santa. Winners of the contest were to get a super-sized Christmas stocking packed full of fun toys. Other prizes such as DVDs and a DVD player were also given.

“We wanted to create an event that would bring customers into the restaurant with the hopes to establish goodwill in our community and to obtain marketing contact information from those who participated. From that event alone, we were able to enter 500 families into our database. The goal is to discover who our top 500 to 1,000 guests are so that we can target market to them. This has opened up a whole new avenue for me.”

Customers from the “Photo with Santa Party” were encouraged to join the restaurant’s VIP program. The incentives for joining included certificates for a free pizza and other VIP benefits. From the data gathered for the VIP program, McNulty now has developed a Birthday and Anniversary Program.

“This has also opened our eyes to the tremendous potential of business to business marketing. Now I have hired a woman to handle our neighborhood business marketing. She is making contacts with local businesses and opening the doors for potential catering, morning meetings, business luncheons and delivery opportunities. By marketing to businesses, we have already hooked up with a huge car dealership and are delivering food once or twice a week for luncheon parties and meetings. We can already see that there is a lot of potential,” says McNulty.

McNulty continues, “The restaurant marketing software is easy to use: I have really enjoyed the restaurant marketing manuals that come with the software. They have hundreds of great “tried and true” marketing ideas. I’ve also appreciated the individual coaching sessions, which we do over the phone every week. We have lots on the horizon such as our Uniform Day. For that, we’ve invited recruiters from all the armed services as well as the local fire and police departments. They will each set up recruiting stations in our parking lot. We’re advertising through the local high schools. It feels good to be a part of the community, and we know that it will come back to help our business grow.”

2/17/2012

Jungle

Pipe ID tapes are used to mark each pipeline to identify its contents. In a process industry with many process and service pipelines, this becomes an essential task.

Requirements to be Met by Pipe ID Tapes

Pipeline identification tapes are typically used in harsh environments. Pipes are used offshore and onshore, upstream and downstream, and can be constantly exposed to salt water sprays, different humidity conditions and corrosive chemicals like Hydrogen Sulphide.

The tapes need to be made with materials that can resist UV light, salt water, different chemicals and solvents. They might also have to work in wide temperature ranges from much below zero to above water boiling point.

Pipe ID tapes are hence made of tough materials like polyester and finished with UV resistant laminates that also enhance the tape’s durability. Tapes might come with a backing paper over the adhesive surface. The backing paper is removed as the tape is wound around the pipe.

Thus one typical structure adopted for pipe id tape is a four-layer construction. A polyester base and a solvent adhesive form the core of the construction. A polyester laminate coats the polyester base while a siliconized backing paper protects the adhesive surface.

At times, it might not be possible to wind the tape completely around the pipe. In such cases, the tape should be capable of being cut and applied to the accessible circumference.

One convenience is “upside down” printing of the messages. This means that messages are printed in pairs, in reverse directions. This can be a great convenience in some situations, as persons coming from opposite directions can easily read the message.

Standard Pipe ID Tapes

There are many standard color combinations, service messages, symbols, directional arrows and languages that are typically available ready made from stock. Additionally, you can specify your own special requirements for color, color combinations, text and symbols. The width requirements can differ, say, 50mm, 100mm or 150mm. The rolls might come in 25-meter rolls.

The tape supplier should also be able to meet standards like BS1710, ISO standards or local standards.

Considering the rigorous conditions that pipeline identification tapes have to face, the tapes are typically subjected to a number of tests before being passed for distribution. These tests include:
Simulated External Weathering: This test evaluates the weatherability of the tape
Moisture Resistance: The tape is tested under varying temperature and humidity conditions
Low Temperature: The performance of the tape is tested under -25 degrees or -40 degrees Celsius
Salt Mist: The tape is exposed to salt mist for specified numbers of hours
Sour Ageing: The tape is exposed to gas mixtures containing Hydrogen Sulphide

Conclusion

Pipe ID tape, or pipeline identification tape, is used to label the contents of each pipe in process industries that typically employ several process and service pipelines. The pipe ID tapes typically work under very harsh conditions, including offshore and corrosive environments. Hence they have to be extra durable and be able to resist many kinds of exposures.

To meet the rigorous requirements, pipe ID tapes are made in several layers such as a base that is protected by a laminate layer and an adhesive surface protected by backing paper. The tapes also typically undergo several tests before being passed.

2/17/2012

Today’s consumers know marketing when they see it-and often they choose to ignore it. A new book looks at ways to use the Web and emerging mass-marketing tools to reach those customers and hold their attention.

Called “Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing” (Nelson Business, $19.99), the book was written by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg-the authors of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times best-selling “Call To Action.”

The authors reveal how to leverage the power of increasingly interconnected media channels by viewing marketing systems through the lens of what they call “Persuasion Architecture.” It highlights ways to:

Accelerate the persuasive momentum that drives customers to take action.

Plug holes in your marketing message.

Map the sales process to the consumer’s buying process.

Use the emerging marketplace to your advantage.

Integrate and optimize cross-channel online and traditional marketing.

Create predictive models of customer behavior.

Marketers end up wasting lots of money–much of it squandered on optimizing Web sites for Google and other search engines. Instead of making sure that visitors who arrive via a search will land at the right place on their Web site, and have an effective experience from that point on, the authors say that many marketers are too satisfied with search-generated activity instead of demanding business-clinching results.

“We have more choices and less patience,” says Bryan Eisenberg, who is also chairman of the Web Analytics Association, a not-for-profit organization that is helping to standardize Web-marketing practice and evaluation.

“We’re in a world now where word of mouth is stronger than mass marketing, and the Internet is where that is happening. This is actually making it more difficult, not easier, to do effective marketing,” he says.

Jeffrey Eisenberg adds that “most marketers are ill-equipped for this new era of marketing. And the worst thing about it is that, because they’re not doing their online marketing effectively, their sales results-and salespeople-suffer as well.

In “Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?,” the Eisenbergs explain in a succinct, detailed and entertaining way, with plenty of illustrations, just why Web site marketing has reached this nadir and how Persuasion Architecture provides a way to turn things around.

The book is available wherever books are sold.

2/17/2012

Have you ever walked into a store in your town, and been addressed by name? This has probably happened to you at stores that you frequent often. The shop owner knows your name, and uses it. He remembers you, and he wants you to know that he cared enough about you and your business to remember you. In the offline world, this is just one aspect of customer support.

Customer service like this is almost impossible to achieve on the Internet, but some semblance of it can exist when you personalize your autoresponder messages. Autoresponder messages can be set up to address people by their first or last name – or both. In fact, there is quite a bit of personalized information that can be added, depending on the autoresponder that you are using.

The information is included in the autoresponder messages by using codes. Each autoresponder will use different codes to insert the information in your messages. You simply write your message, and put the codes where you want the personalized information to appear. For instance, your message may start out with ‘Hello (code for first name)! In this case, the person’s first name will be inserted where that code is.

Personalizing your autoresponder messages will most likely improve your response rate. Research has shown that emails that are personalized with the person’s first name are opened more often, and those people are generally more receptive to the contents of the email message. It is usually very easy to do. You write one message, using the codes where you want the personalization, then, no matter who that one email is sent out to, their personal information will appear where the codes are.

Of course, the autoresponder must collect the information first. This is done with the use of forms that activate the autoresponder. For instance, if you are giving away a free ebook, and you have your visitor fill out a form with their email address to receive the download instructions for the ebook by email, that form should collect any type of information that you want for personalization – such as a first name, as well as the email address. If that information is not collected, the autoresponder won’t have anything to insert where that code appears in your messages!

Take a look around the control panel of your autoresponder, and find out what type of personalization you can add to your autoresponder messages. You may be very surprised at the improved results!

2/17/2012

Just last week, I used the last receipt form on my counter, and went in search of a new receipt book. It was a fruitless search… I had just used the very last one in the office. Grumbling, I berated myself for not paying closer attention and went to check the mail.

Surprise, surprise! In my mailbox, was an advertisement with my name scrawled across the top. It asked if I had forgotten to purchase receipt forms, and gave simple directions to get them overnight!

It was like a message from heaven! How did they know my name, and the fact that I was out of receipts? Of course they have computers that keep track of regular orders… they know approximately how long it is between your orders, and take advantage of the knowledge, but the impact of a personal message at just the right time astounded me.

What’s in a name?
Power, for starters. When someone says your name you stop what you’re doing and respond. When you see your name in print, you perk up and pay attention. Yeah, a name is a powerful and magnetic tool that gets the attention of your customers.

Don’t be afraid to use your customer’s name. Address any mail to them personally. Put it on their emails. Your correspondence is much more likely to get read when it has their name scrawled across the top.

Real name vs. screen name.
Sometimes it’s hard to get the real names of potential customer who come to you on the Web. With a little research, you can usually find their name somewhere in the email address or on the header of their emails. Can’t find it? A screen name will work, but won’t have the power their real name would have.

Set the example. Sign all of your emails with your real name, and see how many customers respond with their real names. It’s almost automatic. Once you’ve captured a name, store it with the email address so that it’s ready to be used in future mailings.

Be careful not to OVERDO it!
The key here is to be natural… you wouldn’t say my name 6 times in a conversation that consisted of about 3 paragraphs. Don’t annoy the heck out of your customer by doing it in print. A good rule of thumb is to use the first name 2 – 3 times per email.

Personalize your way to greater success, by using customer names.

Network marketing is a numbers game. The more people you introduce to your opportunity, the more money you’ll make. To start generating a steady stream of traffic to your site, try these 7 creative techniques:

1. Write and Distribute Articles, Reports and Ebooks. Internet users are all interested in one thing – information. Use this to promote your business by creating high quality content and allowing others to reprint it for you. One great way to do this is to distribute a brandable ebook or special report. This is one that a website or list owner can change to include a reference to their website. This doesn’t mean that it looks like they are the publisher, it’s just a way for them to include information on where the ebook was downloaded from and (if applicable) to include their affiliate link for your products and services.

2. Participate in Newsgroups, Forums, and Mailing Lists. There are hundreds of forums online and you can find one for almost any topic imaginable. Most allow you to include a signature line that will be attached to every message. This is a chance for you to advertise your site. Visiting these forums to post thoughtful questions and offer your expertise will mean your signature is viewed by others and will bring you free, targeted traffic. Of course how much traffic you get depends on how often you post and whether your signature makes people want to visit your site. A good approach is to use an ad you’ve had success with elsewhere as your signature.

3. Join Networking Sites to Build your Personal Network. Networking sites are designed to make it easy for people to meet others in their industry and to advertise their products and service. Similar to offline networking events where lots of people come together for the sole purpose of meeting people, online networking sites work the same way.

4. Use Classified Sites and Traffic Exchanges. Classified ad sites and traffic exchanges have gotten a bad reputation, but they really do work if you know how to use them. If you’re promoting a product or service that advertisers can benefit from then they’re a great place to get traffic. Although not very many consumers visit this type of advertising sites, lots of website owners do in order to make sure their ad appears on the site. While there they can’t help but notice other ads and if one catches their attention you’re likely to get a visitor.

5. Run a Contest. People love the prospect of winning something – that’s why a contest can be a great traffic generator. The key is to choose a prize that will attract people from your target audience. If you make the grand prize a new laptop you’ll get entries from everyone who would like to win a new laptop (which is basically every computer user in the world!). Get more targeted traffic by choosing something that your target audience is interested in but wouldn’t mean much to other people. To start promoting your contest do a search in Google for “Contest Directories” and you’ll find lots of places to list your contest for free.

6. Include a Powerful Signature on all Outgoing Email. Every time you send a piece of mail you have the potential to get a visitor to your site. Simply create a “signature” that is automatically added to every outgoing message. Use the signature to briefly explain what you do, give your USP or slogan and add a hyperlink to your site. Once it’s set up you don’t have to think about it again!

7. Try Newsletter Classified Ads. There are lots of newsletter publishers who give classified ads to new subscribers. Although these don’t typically bring a huge response, they can generate some traffic if you offer something with a high perceived value but low price tag. They’re also a great way to test new ads to see which ones get the best response. Once you’ve found a winner use it in a PPC campaign, make it your new email signature, run it as a top sponsor newsletter ad or use it as your forum signature.

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Article directories are websites that house free articles. These articles are usually put there by whoever owns the copyright to them as a promotion method. Each article has the owners byline placed under it so that those who eventually read the article will know who wrote it (or at least who owns it) and will be able to get in contact with or visit their website for further information.

Articles directories are a great place to put your articles so that they will make you money. By using this method, people who are interested in your product or service will see your article, view you as an expert in the subject, and will visit your website. Even if you cannot write or do not have any knowledge on the subject on which you are promoting (for example for you run an affiliate website), you can always hire a writer to do the work for you. Getting quality articles written will be expensive up front, but they will pay for themselves in no time, either through affiliate sales or selling your own services, and everything from then on is pure profit.

Let’s take a real life example. Imagine that you are an accountant working from home. You write an article on an accounting topic and place it on various article directories. Those who are looking for the subject you wrote about will read your article, see that you have the knowledge and skill that is needed to do a job for them, and visit your website or contact you via e-mail. Your article just gained you a new client who may use your services regularly, but will definitely give you a nice profit at least once.

Furthermore, since you have posted it on a free article directory, others who have affiliate websites about accounting will inevitably use your article for their website. Since they must attach your byline to it, this will bring you even more exposure for every website that re-posts your article. This because you will be benefiting of off the traffic that they get to their website.

There are numerous article directories out there for you to utilize. Your bet best is to put a copy of each of your articles on every one for maximum exposure. It will eventually help to bring more traffic and customers to your website, which will lead to new orders and more profit.

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Brilliant Business Ideas for Entrepreneurs

Starting a Business takes a lot of thinking and planning. Finding an excellent business idea can be a daunting task – what with the different options of business ideas you can choose from. In this article, we will explore the process of finding the right business idea to start on as well as offer some of the hottest and most popular business ideas. A successful business does take a great idea to begin with. However, this is not necessarily the case all the time. An original business idea can either go up or down. Since it is unproven and untested yet, such an idea doesn?t usually come with an established market.

Starting a Business

The first step to starting your own business is to find a brilliant business idea that will make money. To find that excellent business idea, you should think creatively, even out of the box, so to speak. You can start by asking yourself what interests you. You must be enthusiastic and passionate about your business idea. That?s why as much as possible, your business endeavor must really be in your field of interest. You can find business ideas by from your friends and family members. You can also do some research in the internet to find the hottest business ideas today. Another great way to think up a new business idea is to observe the latest trends.

Which business idea should you pursue?

There are virtually no limits as to the choices of business ideas for entrepreneurs. There are literally thousands of options. From pizza parlors to freelance writing, from services to products, you can definitely find a business idea perfect for an entrepreneur like you. However, which among these thousands of options are you going to stick with? As mentioned above, you should be enthusiastic and passionate about. There is an adage in entrepreneurship that goes like this: ?Do what you love the money will follow.?  However, this formula does not guarantee instant success. Many entrepreneurs have pursued business ideas that are in line with their interests with varying degrees of success and failure.

Some Inexpensive Business Ideas for a new Entrepreneur

Let?s assume that you are just about to start your own business ? a new entrepreneur so to speak. Whether you are a homemaker looking for ways to earn extra income or an unemployed trying to start a business from scratch, there are several opportunities and ideas you can tap to start a business without spending too much capital. The following business ideas will not guarantee instant riches within months but they have the possibility to grow into full-time businesses in due time.

Be a web entrepreneur ? the internet offers vast potentials for earning money. From freelance work to AdSense, there is simply an abundance of business ideas you can choose from. You can start by setting up your own website, no need to have technical know-how about web design, just make sure that the site looks good and it provides excellent content. Then, sign up for an affiliate program ? this is where you will earn. Then, learn as much as you can about search engine marketing and promote your website. Regularly update your site with new content and just wait for the revenues to come in. It may not be much at first but over time, affiliate programs can help you earn a decent income ? and you didn?t spend too much except your time and your knowledge.

Be an eBay Businessman ? This is the online version of the garage sale, if you have some things you don?t really need, you can actually earn some money by putting those up for auction at eBay. Just make sure you stick to products that you know about. You can also start making your own products such as candles, art jewelry, and many more. You can sell these on eBay or any other internet mall site.

Try Multi-Level Marketing ? Do you have the ability to persuade people to avail of products and services you offer? Do you have a wide network of friends and contacts? Do you have enough time on your hands to move around talking to people? Then you probably have a future in the world of Multi-level Marketing or MLM. This is one of the fastest growing businesses today and you can have it based right in the comfort of your own home.

These are just a few of the huge array of business opportunities you can choose from. Widen your horizons and look for more possible businesses ideas. Dig up magazines, journals, and other publications that might provide additional business ideas for entrepreneurs. Do your research on what the latest trends are. Who knows, you may find the right business idea for a new entrepreneur and strike gold.

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