The Ultimate Marketing Toolkit: Ads That Attract Customers. Brochures That Create Buzz. Websites That Wow.

227 Pages·2006·1.59 MB·English

by  Paula Peters

BUZZSN
O
GE
BUSINESSCARDSO
S
LW
PRESSRELEASES
E
W
S
R
(cid:6)G
E NL
U
IE
B
S
H
S IT
T
C
T
I R
O T EE
V
R E
R
THE D
B
S
S
ULTIMATEA
MARKETING
TOOLKIT
Ads That Attract Customers. Brochures That Create Buzz.
Web Sites That Wow.
Paula Peters


THE
ULTIMATE
MARKETING
TOOLKIT
Ads That Attract Customers. Brochures That Create Buzz.
Web Sites That Wow.
Paula Peters
Adams Media
Avon, Massachusetts
Copyright © 2006, Paula Peters.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form
without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in
published reviews.
Published by Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company
57 Littlefield Street
Avon, MA 02322
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 13: 978-1-59337-497-6 (paperback)
ISBN 10: 1-59337-497-6
ISBN 13: 978-1-44050-089-3 (EPUB)(cid:13)(cid:10)
Printed in the United States of America.
J I H G F E D C B A
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peters, Paula.
The ultimate marketing toolkit : ads that attract customers, brochures that create
buzz, web sites that wow / Paula Peters.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-59337-497-6
1. Marketing—United States. 2. Sales promotion—United States.
3. Advertising—United States. I. Title.
HF5415.1.P43 2006
658.8’2—dc22
2005026070
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard
to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not
engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or
other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should
be sought.
—From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products
are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams
Media was aware of the trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial
cap letters.
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.
C O N T E N T S
INTRODUCTION OPEN UP YOUR TOOLKIT V
CHAPTER 1 THE THIRTY-SECOND SOUND BITE 1
CHAPTER 2 THE UNIQUE LOGO 9
CHAPTER 3 THE TAG LINE 19
CHAPTER 4 THE BUSINESS CARD 29
CHAPTER 5 THE LETTERHEAD 39
CHAPTER 6 THE BIO 47
CHAPTER 7 THE INTRODUCTORY LETTER 55
CHAPTER 8 THE POSTCARD 67
CHAPTER 9 THE PRESS RELEASE 77
CHAPTER 10 THE AD 97
CHAPTER 11 THE BROCHURE 111
CHAPTER 12 THE WEB SITE 135
CHAPTER 13 THE NEWSLETTER 175
CHAPTER 14 WHEN TO HIRE A PROFESSIONAL 189

SAMPLES 195

PERMISSIONS AND CREDITS 209

INDEX 210
S Through this process, I have learned that creating
a good book is never the work of only one person.
T It is a combination of the synergies and efforts of
many different people, all putting their positive
N energy in the right direction. I have been fortunate
enough to have that right mix of people in my life
as I worked on this book.
E
I would like to give special thanks to Ryan,
for his support and belief in me—as a wife, friend,
M
entrepreneur, and writer. Moreover, I would like to give
special thanks to Lisa, for her daily encouragement,
weekly chats, and for being the best teammate that I
G
can imagine! I am very grateful to all of my family for
their constant questions and words of encouragement:
D
Dick, Gerri, Joe, Karen, Jeff, Misty, Audrée, Ann,
Rich, Grandma Humrichouse, Aunt Dee, Aunt
E Adrienne, and Uncle Wheeze. Special thanks also
go to my supporters from the past few years: Dale
L Wheeler, Mark Havran, Michelle and Dugger,
Aunie and Marty, Brenda and Scottie, Ken Godwin,
W David Hooper, Stacey Allmandinger, Dr. Teri, Curt
Clinkinbeard, Debbie’s Book Club, and the Lawrence
Girls’ Night (you know who you are!).
O
Without the coaching and counseling of my
excellent agent, Mike Snell, I would not have gotten
N past the first step of this process. And without
the friendly chats and helpful guidance from my
wonderful editor, Jill Alexander, this book would
K
not be in your hands right now.
I am also grateful to the many people who
C
gave me permission to use their samples and ideas
in this book. You have all been super to work with!
A
To the reader: I hope that you enjoy reading
this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

INTRODUCTION
OPEN UP
YOUR TOOLKIT
The biggest challenge you face every day is getting customers
to buy your product or service. Whether you own a small
business, help out with your church, handle marketing for
a local association, or create marketing materials for an ad
agency or major corporation, the challenge is the same: How
will customers find you? And once they find you, how will they
know that they need you? v
Even if you work for an established business, the pressure
to find new customers is an ongoing problem. You can’t always
find them when you need them. And it seems that you always
need them in a steady supply!
Though finding customers is a tough enough nut for anybody
to crack, it is even tougher when you throw in a limited marketing
budget. Marketing materials can quickly get expensive. Maybe
you’ve even checked out the price tags of a few advertising
agencies or public relations firms, and you found that you can’t
afford them. How do you sell yourself to customers when your
marketing budget is small—or nonexistent?
There is a light at the end of the tunnel: you can create them
yourself. Yes, I said the magic word—yourself! The process of
creating most marketing tools is not as hard as you may think.
Whether you own your own business, work for another company,
or just help out with a local organization, you can create all of
the basic tools you need to market yourself—today. Right now.
This minute. All you need is this book, some paper, and some
instruction on how to produce the pieces that you need for your
toolkit. In fact, many folks are surprised to learn that they really
can create all of the tools in this book—all by themselves, with
a minimal investment in time and technology. A computer is
certainly a big plus—you will find many helpful tools readily
available in your local computer store—however, it is not
completely necessary.
t
i
k
l
o
o WARNING!
T
g
n
i
et If you are looking for academic mumbo-jumbo marketing
k
r theory, this book is not for you. The Ultimate Marketing Toolkit
a
M
includes only simple, easy-to-follow instructions for creating
e
t your very own marketing toolkit.
a
m
i
t
l
U The Ultimate Marketing Toolkit is the perfect book for
e
h anyone who needs to market, sell, or brand their small- to
T
medium-sized business or organization. Even larger companies
vi can benefit from the easy instructions included in this book.
In fact, these chapters will give you all of the information you
need to start selling your products and services quickly—even
on a shoestring budget. You will learn how to write, design, and
execute many of the basic tools for marketing, including:
• Logos
• Business cards
• Press releases
• Web sites
• Brochures
In other words, you’ll learn everything you need to help
you win customers and begin earning money—now! It’s a fast,
easy way to start advertising your business, with very little cash
invested up front.
Each chapter of this book covers instructions for creating
one piece of your marketing toolkit and is completely
independent from the other chapters. You do not need to read
the chapters in order. Instead, just pick out the marketing tool
you need at the moment, and read through the corresponding
chapter to learn how to create that tool. For example, if you need
a good press release right now to win you some much-needed
publicity, then skip directly to Chapter 9. If you need a business
card for your next networking event, then move to Chapter 4. In
certain chapters, you may be referred to other chapters that have
helpful information. For example, when making your business
card, you will probably want to create a logo for it, as described
in Chapter 2.
Each chapter comes with complete instructions for writing,
designing, and printing the marketing tools you need. Feel free
to pick out the tools as you need them. You will probably find
that you require different marketing tools during the different
phases of growth at your business or organization.
And above all—remember that you are the boss. The
suggestions and instructions included in this book are guidelines
only, designed to walk you through the basic design of each
tool. You are not obligated to use them, and you are welcome to
deviate from these suggestions at any point in time to try your vii
own ideas. If you don’t like some particular content or a design
idea, scratch it, and try your own. Feel free to be creative, and to
I
n
experiment as much as you dare. In my experience, some of the tr
o
best marketing pieces are the ones that break all the rules. d
u
Happy marketing! c
t
i
o
n