Instant Marketing for Almost Free

274 Pages·2007·1.34 MB·English

by  Benjamin

Instant Marketing.cover 11/15/06 9:10 AM Page 1
Promote your business effectively Quick Start
for next to nothing!
Quick Start
YOUR YOUR BUSINESS
BUSINESS
II
NN IInnssttaanntt
Your company might offer the most satisfying goods and services on the planet,
but that won’t equal profit if potential customers don’t know you exist. SS
Learn how to get the word out about your business in the most TT
inexpensive and effective ways possible. AA
NN
Developing compelling marketing plans and materials requires skill,knowledge
TT
and strategy.Let Instant Marketing for Almost Free teach you:
MMaarrkkeettiinngg
MM
(cid:1) (cid:1) AA
How to identify the core The secrets of composing
words, strategies and images persuasive brochures, flyers RR almost
that define your company and news releases KK
ffoorr FFrreeee
(cid:1) (cid:1) EE
Tips and techniques for How, when and where to
TT
establishing your brand advertise
II
(cid:1) (cid:1) NN
The ten most critical impera- Ways of establishing yourself
tives of marketing material as an expert in your field GG
Effective, Low-Cost
(cid:1) Everything you need to (cid:1) How to make your office and FOR
OOvveerr 11,,000000
know about creating your sign say exactly what you AA
Results in Weeks,
website want them to
LL llooww--ccoosstt
“Susan F. Benjamin’s advice is fun, outrageous and at times, surprising. Every MM Days or Hours mmaarrkkeettiinngg
employee should read this book—and their bosses should read it too.” OO tteecchhnniiqquueess
—Harold Rauner, President, The Business Bank
SS
TT (cid:1) (cid:1)
Susan Benjamin has been helping small businesses and other Business/ $16.95 U.S. Attracting Internet Cutting through
organizations better market their products and services since Small Business $21.95 CAN
1989. She has established, trained and researched marketing £9.99 U.K. FF communities media noise
strategies for organizations including Putnam Investments and
MFS,and has trained thousands of marketing writers. C RR (cid:1) Street marketing tactics (cid:1) Targeting organizations
P
U EE
(cid:1) (cid:1)
Competing with big Simple press releases
EE
ISBN 13: 978-1-4022-0824-9
ISBN 10: 1-4022-0824-3 companies that work
N
www.sourcebooks.com A BENJAMIN
E
SUSAN F. BENJAMIN
Instant
Marketing for
Almost Free
EFFECTIVE, LOW-COST RESULTS
IN WEEKS, DAYS OR HOURS
SUSAN F. BENJAMIN
Copyright © 2007 by Susan F.Benjamin
Cover and internal design © 2007 by Sourcebooks,Inc.
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks,Inc.
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by
any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and
retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher,
Sourcebooks,Inc.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, regis-
tered trademarks,or trade names of their respective holders.Sourcebooks,Inc.,
is not associated with any product or vendor in this book.
Published by Sourcebooks,Inc.
P.O.Box 4410,Naperville,Illinois 60567-4410
[phone]
Fax:[phone]
www.sourcebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Benjamin,Susan
Instant marketing for almost free :effective,low-cost results in weeks,days,or
hours / Susan F.Benjamin.
p.cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13:978-1-4022-1687-9-0824-9
ISBN-10:1-4022-1687-9150-9-0824-3
1.Marketing.I.Title.
HF5415.B4292 2006
658.8—dc22
2006022428
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
SB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................v
Section I: Getting Started
Chapter 1: Taking the Mystery out of Marketing.........................3
Chapter 2: Marketing from Within: The Heart of Your
Marketing Campaign...............................................................11
Chapter 3: Love You, Love Your Brand......................................23
Section II: Marketing Imperatives
Chapter 4: Ten Imperatives of Instant Marketing Success..........51
Chapter 5: Get the Right Response ...........................................71
Section III: The Instant Marketing Supply Kit
Chapter 6: Signature Materials.................................................79
Chapter 7: Brochures................................................................93
Chapter 8: Almost Everything You Need to Know about Creating
Your Website................................................................................103
Chapter 9: Direct Mail and Email Marketing ...........................111
Chapter 10: Short Stash: Tip Sheets and Flyers.......................121
Chapter 11: Newsletters.........................................................131
Chapter 12: News Releases and Other Forms of Publicity.......139
Chapter 13: Advertising: From Newspapers to the Airwaves
and TV..............................................................................149
Chapter 14: Giveaways..........................................................161
Section IV: People, Places, and Things: The Ultimate Marketing
Chapter 15: Telephone Marketing...........................................173
Chapter 16: The “Who” of Instant Marketing.........................187
Chapter 17: Roadside Marketing: Lobbies, Windows,
and Signs..........................................................................195
Chapter 18: The People in the Places:
Marketing Face-to-Face.....................................................209
iv Instant Marketing for Almost Free
Appendix A: Worksheets........................................................223
Appendix B: Samples.............................................................239
Index .....................................................................................251
About the Author....................................................................263
Introduction
Dr.Benjamin Spock,the noted pediatrician,once told parents,“You know
more than you think you do.”Well, the same holds true for marketing;
actually,it probably holds truer,as you know if you’ve ever had kids.And
if you’ve had the courage,ingenuity,and creativity to start a small busi-
ness,or to get deeply involved with one,marketing should be a snap.
Your guiding principle will be the concept of marketing from within.
That means to trust your gut.Break the rules.And value your own ideas
above all else.First,though,you need to understand the core concepts of
marketing—always know the rules before you break them. What has
worked for other people? Why have certain marketing efforts failed? And
how much money should you sink into your efforts? Here’s what you can
expect from this guide:
Section I: Getting Started
“Getting started” starts with you and your business. I’m speaking, of
course, of one of the most essential (and mismanaged) components of
marketing: your brand. That’s why you’ll step back and take a keen
look.What is your brand? How does it distinguish you from the guy a
few blocks down the road? And who are your customers? I mean,you
know your customers,but are they really the right ones for you?
In more concrete terms, you’ll identify core words, strategies, and
images—from your logo to your business culture—that customers will
equate with something compelling, desirable, and good. By the time
you turn to Section II,you’ll be ready to launch a powerful marketing
campaign that is distinctly (and competitively) yours.
Section II: Marketing Imperatives
You know that developing marketing material requires skill. And
knowledge.But everything from that first paragraph in your direct mail
piece to the central image in your ad also requires strategy.You’ll fuel
your strategic power with the two chapters here, covering everything
from the ten imperatives of marketing to facts about getting the right
vi Instant Marketing for Almost Free
response from customers.No question—these will surprise you.In fact,
the way you communicate at work may never be the same.
Section III: The Instant Marketing Supply Kit
Now,get ready to create the most important marketing supplies,from
a brochure (that people actually read!) to your website, the great god
of marketing today. Television ads, radio spots, telephone sales cam-
paigns? Yes, we’ll cover those, too. In fact, we’ll address more market-
ing supplies than you’d imagine.
By the way,if that thought makes you panic—after all,you have only
so much money and energy to devote to marketing—relax.We’ll can-
didly discuss what items to put high or your priority list and which to
wedge somewhere toward the bottom (website up,advertising down).
If you want everything,and you want it now,still no problem.You’ll get
countless options for all your supplies—from the almost free or entire-
ly free to the costly;from the do-it-yourself to hiring out.When you’re
finished,you’ll have everything you need to make an instant marketing
impression and keep your cash flow,well,flowing.
Section IV: People, Places, and Things: The
Ultimate Marketing
Perhaps there’s no greater instant marketing message than your win-
dow,your sign,or your personal presence.In this section,you’ll get the
nuts and bolts (and lobbies and displays) to do it right—and make a
powerful statement instantly.Naturally,we’ll cover the familiar,such as
how to design the workplace to match your look with your brand.But
we’ll also cover the unfamiliar,such as establishing yourself as an expert
by teaching adult education courses,or making a statement by turning
your entryway into a museum (seriously, it’s been done!). Some of
these marketing devices are better than almost free—they actually pay!
Once you finish this book, don’t pass it on to a friend (unless they
promise to give it back) or stash it away.Keep it on your shelf,close by,
Introduction vii
where you can reach it. Why? Because marketing never ends. You
should always be trying new ideas and adjusting the old ones, taking
calculated risks and sometimes taking outrageous chances.But why talk
here? Turn the page,and let’s get going.

Section I.
Getting Started