Actual for You - Business

Use the Rocket Ship Rule to Improve Your Marketing
When a rocket launches it uses roughly 80% of its fuel just to take off (or so I've heard). Then, once it breaks free of the Earth's gravitational field, it can cruise along just fine with minimal fuel consumption.There are two concepts at work here and, surprisingly enough, they apply to marketing as well as rocket ships.The first is inertia which says something not moving will tend to remain stationary until sufficient force is applied to move it.The second is momentum which tells us that something already moving will tend to keep moving unless sufficient force is applied to stop or change its motion.I've found it helpful to remember these concepts when I plan and implement new marketing. Starting a new marketing project is like launching a rocket.Any new marketing campaign needs more resources at the start than later on after it's been running for awhile. The "gravity" you're fighting is the lack of awareness of whatever you're promoting.As the awareness of your product or service grows it reaches a critical mass where it spread

are:

* News Release

* Press Kit

* Press Conference

* Feature Story

* Letters to the Editor

* Media Lists/Selection

The news release is the most useful (and most used) form of communicating news to the media. When coupled with a well-selected media list, the simple news release is a very powerful tool that you can start using today.

THE NEWS RELEASE...

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide margins on one side of 81/2" x 11" plain white paper (or letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Keep it simple. Follow the standard news story format of Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How, and you can't go wrong. Use simple sentences (seven words or less). Use short paragraphs (seven sentences or less).

Use as many simple single-

Customer Service -The Truth About Lifelong Loyal Customers
Your customer service policy can attract loyal customers who remain for a lifetime. Here is a policy tried and tested for more than 25 years. The truth is customers want three things.Employ Nice PeopleThe head of Nordstrums once said you can train nice people to be good sales assistants but you cant train good sales assistants to be nice. Nice people are born not trained to be so. Getting customers who are loyal for life begins with hiring nice staff. You should try hiring baby boomers. They have great customer service skills.Go The Extra MileWith all customers work extra hard to win them as a "Lifetimer" by giving them extra service wherever possible. Stay commited to overdelivering both product and service. The smallest things make the biggest impact.Stay Connected to Them and Keep Them HappyThe best time to put your customer service policy to work is when customers complain. See the complaint process as way to prove two things. Firstly, you'll do what it takes to change th

One of the most misunderstood and most underutilized promotional tools available to small businesses and organizations is FREE PUBLICITY.

Every business, no matter how large or small, can effectively use free publicity to enhance its image, increase sales and profits, generate sales leads, expand distribution, and promote customer goodwill. All of these benefits can be gained for nothing more than a small investment ot time, paper, envelopes, and postage. And...with the addition of new e-mail based media release services...even the paper, envelopes and postage can be eliminated.

Most new businesses start out on the proverbial shoestring budget. There never seems to be enough money available to do needed advertising.

Professional marketing assistance seems like an unaffordable dream, and there is always "one more piece of equipment" that needs to be purchased.

Add-in other concerns, and it's no surprise that marketing and promotion end up last on the long list of perceived needs. They should be among the first!

A well-executed and on-going publicity program can dramatically improve your chances of success in the marketplace. Whatever you want to achieve promotionally...you'll accomplish it faster and less expensively with a knowledge of the publicity game. You can generate high volumes of traffic to your web site, increase direct sales, generate qualified sales leads, shorten your selling cycle, enhance your image, and boost your cash flow, with free publicity!

Free publicty is the perfect promotional tool for start-up companies. Why? Because it's:

==> cheap...

==> & available.

While I can't make an expert publicist out of you in one short article, I will give you the basic tools you need to get started with your own publicity program and a resource list to enable you to expand your success and build your knowledge base. Let's get started...

WHAT IS PUBLICITY?

Publicity is NEWS. News about your company, its products or services, its personnel, etc. Anything that has a legitimate news angle will probably find a number of editors eager to publish it for you...free.

Why are editors willing to do this? It's their job! Editors are charged with the responsibility of filling up page after page of space or, (in the case of radio or television, minutes of time) with information that is timely and useful to their readers or listening/viewing audience. Theirs is a formidable task, performed under the constant pressure of deadlines. Your news release helps editors do their job.

It's important, however, to differentiate a legitimate news story from what should be paid advertising.

To acomplish this, editors typically ask themselves two questions when reading your press release:

* Who cares?

* Who already knows?

If the answer to the first question is "a large number of my readers or listeners", and the answer to the second question is "very few", then your release stands an excellent chance of publication.

Remembering the old axiom of "Nothing is older than yesterdays news", it also becomes obvious that your news release must be timely. In other words, the news must, in fact, be new.

THE TOOLS OF PUBLICITY...

The principle tools of publicity are:

* News Release

* Press Kit

* Press Conference

* Feature Story

* Letters to the Editor

* Media Lists/Selection

THE NEWS RELEASE...

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide margins on one side of 81/2" x 11" plain white paper (or letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Use as many simple single-

Three Big Lessons of My First Year in Business as a Woman
If anyone sat me down at the beginning of 2006 and told me how challenging being my own woman in business was going to be, I might have bailed right then.Sure one small business owner warned: "You will be making constant calls to get business. Even the people who want to hire you and say they'll call soon need prodding." He went on, "So imagine the follow-ups you'll need to do with the lukewarm?"Another successful business couple, who had just celebrated nine years on their own, urged me to make sure I stick with it for at least a year or two before I plan on seeing major results. They told me they made some dumb mistakes their first year in business.Armed with some of this wisdom, I just knew I wouldn't be a sad statistic. But I also, perhaps stupidly, thought my experience would be different.What I discovered over the first six months of owning my S-Corporation is a combination of my gut feelings toward this launch and the experiences of the seasoned entrepreneurs with whom I brainstormed.There is nothing more rewarding, frustrating, an

lways "one more piece of equipment" that needs to be purchased.

Add-in other concerns, and it's no surprise that marketing and promotion end up last on the long list of perceived needs. They should be among the first!

Free publicty is the perfect promotional tool for start-up companies. Why? Because it's:

==> cheap...

==> & available.

WHAT IS PUBLICITY?

It's important, however, to differentiate a legitimate news story from what should be paid advertising.

To acomplish this, editors typically ask themselves two questions when reading your press release:

* Who cares?

* Who already knows?

If the answer to the first question is "a large number of my readers or listeners", and the answer to the second question is "very few", then your release stands an excellent chance of publication.

Remembering the old axiom of "Nothing is older than yesterdays news", it also becomes obvious that your news release must be timely. In other words, the news must, in fact, be new.

THE TOOLS OF PUBLICITY...

The principle tools of publicity are:

* News Release

* Press Kit

* Press Conference

* Feature Story

* Letters to the Editor

* Media Lists/Selection

THE NEWS RELEASE...

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide margins on one side of 81/2" x 11" plain white paper (or letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Use as many simple single-

High Growth, High Profit Business Ideas: Find Your Own
Which company would you rather own: One in an niche industry or trade where more than half of business owners fail to make a profit, or one with 100, 1,000, even 10,000 percent growth over a period of three to five years, and stunning profitability?Ask a group of unsuccessful business owners why their business ventures failed and most will probably cite “undercapitalization.” But there is often a more fundamental reason for business failure -- selecting products, services and a business niche for which there aren’t enough paying customers! Of course such companies find themselves undercapitalized. In fact, one can never find enough capital to keep a company afloat if it has a shortage of customers!Buggy whips aren’t the only product in low demand. Today, product life cycles are typically short, and getting shorter. Entering a market that has matured (and for which you don’t have a highly innovative plan to substantially increase demand, lower costs or differentiate your offering) likely will lead to financial disaster. So will entering a market that is oversa

/p>

WHAT IS PUBLICITY?

It's important, however, to differentiate a legitimate news story from what should be paid advertising.

To acomplish this, editors typically ask themselves two questions when reading your press release:

* Who cares?

* Who already knows?

If the answer to the first question is "a large number of my readers or listeners", and the answer to the second question is "very few", then your release stands an excellent chance of publication.

Remembering the old axiom of "Nothing is older than yesterdays news", it also becomes obvious that your news release must be timely. In other words, the news must, in fact, be new.

THE TOOLS OF PUBLICITY...

The principle tools of publicity are:

* News Release

* Press Kit

* Press Conference

* Feature Story

* Letters to the Editor

* Media Lists/Selection

THE NEWS RELEASE...

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide margins on one side of 81/2" x 11" plain white paper (or letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Use as many simple single-

Is your Online Business Customer-Friendly?
Customer service is increasingly seen as one of the most valuable uses for a commercial World Wide Web site. Your Web site is available on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis. So it is well worth exploring ways in which your customers can virtually “serve themselves," without the need for overtime staff, or lengthy voice mail procedures. James Feldman is President of JFA, Inc., an online business offering high quality and unique gift items including automatic watch winders, Grundig shortwave pocket radios, and nitroglycerine pill fobs. The JFA Web site has been online since 1997, and has doubled its income every year - it’s now a multi-million dollar e-commerce enterprise. Jim, who's also a professional speaker and expert on customer service, highlighted for me how the online buying experience differs from the bricks-and-mortar model. Buying online eliminates the physical presence and personality of the salesperson from the process. This makes the Web site copy critical in creating a one-to-one relationship with the customer or prospect.

task, performed under the constant pressure of deadlines. Your news release helps editors do their job.

It's important, however, to differentiate a legitimate news story from what should be paid advertising.

To acomplish this, editors typically ask themselves two questions when reading your press release:

* Who cares?

* Who already knows?

If the answer to the first question is "a large number of my readers or listeners", and the answer to the second question is "very few", then your release stands an excellent chance of publication.

Remembering the old axiom of "Nothing is older than yesterdays news", it also becomes obvious that your news release must be timely. In other words, the news must, in fact, be new.

THE TOOLS OF PUBLICITY...

The principle tools of publicity are:

* News Release

* Press Kit

* Press Conference

* Feature Story

* Letters to the Editor

* Media Lists/Selection

THE NEWS RELEASE...

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide margins on one side of 81/2" x 11" plain white paper (or letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Use as many simple single-

Private Jets: Reviewing the Embraer Legacy
Private jet operators have a good selection of aircraft models to choose from when considering their next purchase. In the cabin class size, the Boeing Business Jet, Airbus Corporate Jet, Gulfstream 450 and 550, as well as various Bombardier offerings and the Falcon 2000 all stand out. Embraer, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, is a new player and is represented by a pair of models under the Legacy name. The Legacy Shuttle is configured to carry from 16-39 passengers while the Legacy Executive typically carries 13-16 passengers. For private jet comparison we will look at what the Executive has to offer.Matching up to aircraft in its class, the Legacy is similarly appointed. The Embraer has all the creature comforts usually found in an aircraft of its size; a well appointed cabin and a seating configuration for 13 or more passengers. Delivered aircraft typically feature fine quality hardwoods, fabrics and finishes, in addition to a sideboard, tables and a three-seat sofa. Passengers on the Legacy have access to Airshow systems, DVD, real time communications, telep

are:

* News Release

* Press Kit

* Press Conference

* Feature Story

* Letters to the Editor

* Media Lists/Selection

THE NEWS RELEASE...

Your release (news story) should typed, double-spaced, with wide margins on one side of 81/2" x 11" plain white paper (or letterhead). Never hand-write a news release.

Use as many simple single-syllable words as possible. Remember, you're trying to convey news...not impress William F. Buckley. Omit the superlatives. Words such as best, greatest, finest, unique, one-of-a-kind, and highest quality don't belong in news releases.

Don't say anything you can't back up with facts.

Your news release will generally fit on one sheet of paper...rarely more than two. If you have more than 400 to 500 words (roughly two pages of double-spaced copy), you should probably rewrite the release.

If necessary, editors will cut your release to fit available space. Your story will be cut from the bottom up, so make sure you tell the most important details in the first paragraph or two.

The editor has no obligation to run your news release. Your release will be judged on it's own merits. If it meets the standards of publication...(Who Cares?--Who Knows?), and space is available, your release will probably be published.

You should keep in mind that one of your long-term goals is good media relations. Accordingly, you should never complain to an editor if he or she does not use a particular release. Keep submitting good releases, and you'll get your share of free space.

FORMAT IS IMPORTANT...

Savvy publicity seekers make sure that their news releases look professional. The following layout formula will serve you well: Make a special form with the heading "NEWS RELEASE" prominently printed at the top, along with your company name and address.

In the upper left corner print "FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:". Fill in the appropriate contact information and telephone, fax, e-mail, url, etc.

Drop down three lines and print "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" next to the right hand margin.

Drop down two inches and type your story headline in all capital letters.

Drop down three spaces and begin the body copy of your release at the left-hand margin as follows: "(Your Town, State--Date)"xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx..."

End your release by centering "(-----30-----)" or "(----end----)" three or four lines after the last line of the story.

MEDIA SELECTION...

The slant of your news story will dictate the media selection. If you are a local retailer serving a limited goegraphical area, your media list will include all of the appropriate newspapers, radio stations, television stations, magazines, community web sites, etc. serving your market area. Your release would be written to a general consumer audience.

On the other hand, if you are a small manufacturer selling specialized equipment nationally, your media list would be targeted to industry trade publications, newsletters, trade associations, and other relevant trade outlets and business media. Your release would be written for a more focused audience of end users and trade press editors (in the hope of a possible feature article).

In all cases, releases should be customized to the target audience so that the editor will quickly see the news value to his or her readers or listeners.

DISTRIBUTION OF YOUR RELEASE...

There are now several means of distribution of your news release: (1) Regular Mail, (2) Electronic Mail (e-mail), (3)Fax, 4.Distribution Services. You can get f`ree distribution online at www.PRWeb.com. You might want to d

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Due to the catastrophic affects of Hurricane Katrina there will be about 3 million people migrating to other cities? Where will the go? New Orleans had 1.3 million people in the surrounding area. There are few homes left, few jobs until relief efforts and rebuilding gets going.

Call center tracking software enables call center managers to have a complete record of every call and other transactions made by call center agents and customers. The software has easy to use features and allows even newly hired agents to keep track of their interactions with customers.

Many people when they sign up for a maid service are worried about things being stolen out of their home. Yet if you stop to think about it that scenario is highly unlikely because if this happened then the company could not survive and they would be run out of business due to negative word-of-mouth you see?

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