Bullhorn in hand, the man on the downtown street corner screams his message out to whoever can hear. I’m sure you’ve heard one of these guys, but have you ever listened? Neither have I. The fact is, loud and intrusive just doesn’t cut it when it comes to persuading - people just tune that stuff out as “noise.”

The same holds true with your Yellow Page ad design: a noisy or “busy” design repulses the eye, sending prospects looking elsewhere and killing your response rate! Look at your current Yellow Page ad; does your chaotic-looking ad create a jittery feeling? What’s the signal to noise ratio: do you have lots of bulleted information but no overall message?

All the elements of your Yellow Page ad should work together to produce an organized flow of emotionally engaging and relevant information to the prospect. A well-designed ad should welcome prospects in, guiding them through the ad to ensure they read and “get” the message.

Professional Yellow Page ad designers achieve this affect through proper eyeflow. Eyeflow is simply the way in which the reader’s eye is (or isn’t) guided through your entire ad. The goal of your Yellow Page design is to attract attention and then gently escort the reader from one element to the next in a natural progression that ultimately deposits your prospect at your “call to action” (phone number). By the time prospects get there, they will have absorbed all the necessary information to “feel good” about calling you. If your ad has been properly developed, punching in your phone number will feel like the natural and right thing to do.

Most advertisers know that readers follow a “Z pattern” when looking at ads. That is, they start at the upper left corner then move right. They then zag diagonally to the lower left corner and to the right again. There are numerous variations (and zig-zags) but most patterns end up in the same place... the lower right corner. Use this fact to help guide prospects through your advertisement.

Many people complain that Video and Computer Games are way too violent and that is unfortunate for parents who wish to teach their kids better table manners and to be good in school, which they lack and are not even close. But, perhaps Corporations might be able to help turn the tide. How so you ask?

Well consider if you will that Advertising inside Video Games is a good corporate move and in doing so a company like Ford, Pepsi, Starbucks or Wal-Mart might be able to have a little say in the violence levels. Game Makers might need to tone it down a few notches in order to get the Corporate Advertisers and therefore the games can allow free-markets a little self-regulation, rather than allowing government intervention and more rules and regulations from various agencies.

If the next generation sees corporate logos and images in their video games this could be a powerful imprint on their minds and lead to decades of successful brand loyalty well off into the future. Advertising inside Video Games is a very good corporate move indeed. In fact it may be the next big thing in advertising? So, perhaps you will consider all this in 2006.

Advertising exists to inform, instruct, and to influence consumers. It is a complicated type of communication that must go along with other business essentials and marketing basics to be profitable.

The most tedious part of advertising is the conceptualization of the idea. Even experienced writers on this field sometimes get stuck for an idea.

Check out the checklist below which can help out when you’re wedged for an idea. This can help you to come up with different strategies and possibilities for the headline and other elements of an advertisement.

Make your message simple and easy to remember. Some people find it hard remembering others’ name, so pass up a complex ad message. For print ads, the more plain the headline is, the better.

Stick to a pleasant style. Ads have different personalities. Get a pleasant style and keep on with it for at least one year, so that buyers will not get confused.

Ensure that the ad appears to be professionally done. Being knowledgeable on computer graphics is of great advantage. Consider looking for graphics and writing agencies or studios which have skilled professionals on the team. Electronic ads such as those which appear on TV, radio and Internet are best passed on to professionals.

Be honest. Always make sure that the contents of your ads are truthful and moral. There are strict laws against false or deceptive practices and marketing.

It is important to research the facts about the product to be advertised. You may read magazines, newsletters, brochures, and all other possible sources. Also, gather facts about your target people. Attend seminars, meetings and classes; you may never tell when the data you learn will come in hand.

In the ad, provide information for likely customers to buy, such as the store location, contact numbers, store hours and others. It helps when they are visibly noticed in the ads.

Obtain feedbacks. Others may have different interpretation of your ideas. Communicate. Share your thoughts to others. And in the same way, get others to react to your ideas. This can help in improving your advertising strategies.

Experiment with teaming up. If you’re good in writing, find someone who excels in other forms of arts. With an associate, you can arise with new and extended ideas, which can be harder to conceptualize by one person alone.

If you want a low-cost advertising, you may try the following advertising tips: Print instructive business cards that contain your business logo and give them away everywhere. You can try producing gift certificates; this expands your market and opens you up to new customers. Plastic bags and wrapping materials can serve as inexpensive billboards. Brochures or flyers can be produced economically by print stores or even on a personal computer; they can be utilized as inserts in bags of purchased products.

But perhaps the most classic, cheap and effective form of advertising is by the word-of-mouth. It is because word-of-mouth drags friendly audience response, high credibility and elevated attention from listeners. This advertising, which is generated from satisfied customers, passes information about the product to other prospective buyers, for free.

There are those who say that a huge percentage of all adverting is not a good investment. But whatever medium you choose in advertising, may it be expensive or low-cost, it would still be wise to go on with advertising in a full angle and not miss the chance of something that might just work.

ree has been around forever.

In fact, you may think the word "free" in advertisements has worn out its welcome. That it's a tired word that has lost its appeal.

But you would be wrong.

The word free, along with free offers, free information, and free gifts still dominate the advertising world. The appeal of getting something for nothing is timeless, and is still effective today, when it is done correctly.

If you are going to offer something free, do not offer junk. Whatever you offer must have value. It's even better if it has high value.

You see, the world is filled with poorly structured offers, where businesses try to get away with doing things as cheap as possible. In the end, it comes back to bite them. Consumers are savvy. They're not going to respond if they see through your offer.

But if you offer value, consumers will reply by the score.

You can see this principle in action in numerous markets where the first product is offered just for the cost of shipping. For instance, I've seen one company offer to send a hardbound, gold-leaf version of Moby Dick for just the cost of shipping. It seems to do very well.

If you make an offer like this, how do you make money?

Through back-end marketing, of course. In the example I just gave, by agreeing to receive your free copy of Moby Dick, you're also agreeing to receive a new book in the series every 30 days. You must pay full retail for the books that follow, or send them back to avoid being charged.

Now, if this company were simply selling classic novels for full retail price up front, their response rate would be quite low. But by offering a high-value product for free on the front-end, they get many more people to reply than normal.

Several weeks ago I had an absolutely fascinating conversation with a newspaper advertising expert.

In our meeting, he laid out some of the best newspaper ad tips I'd ever heard. There were tips that can save anyone money and make things go a lot more smoothly when dealing with newspapers and other publications.

And one of the best secrets he told me -- which sounds really obvious, but is still a secret to most people -- is when you are looking at buying newspaper advertising, one of the things you should do is form a relationship with a representative.

In other words, deal with one person and get to know them. Let them know you and what you are doing, and try to have a real business relationship with the person. It seems such a simple concept but you would be surprised that it actually requires planning as well as good "people skills" when forming the relationship.

Ideally, this person should be a supervisor or manager of the department. But either way, that representative that you have a relationship with is going to be your best ally and will assist you in getting some great pricing. Additionally, he or she will keep you abreast of anything that may help you out such as current or upcoming specials on advertising that you may want to take advantage of.

Now, if you can't seem to get along with the first person you deal with, you should literally ask, "Who else can I work with? I want to spend some money with you. Who can I work with?" If they won't help you with that, go above their head and talk to their boss.

Really, the higher up you can go in the advertising department chain the better. They will be more likely to be able to get you better deals, or make exceptions for you. Especially if you are a good customer and are spending money with them on a regular basis.

I've had lots of good results from my advertising lately - well, I say advertising but what I really mean is, I've had lots of good results from my ARTICLES.

Writing so called 'press releases' is much more exciting than designing an advert.

The results are better too, by far.

All I do is make it sound newsworthy and it seems to get used by the magazine(s) that I've sent the article to.

The thing is, most people think that their article would never be used - why would a publication be interested in me?. Well, they ARE interested in you, or rather, your story. You'd be surprised at how magazines and, especially, local newspapers are crying out for stories. A new business launch or a sudden improvement can well be newsworthy.

Even if it's not super exciting, it may well fill a space that the editor has and will be glad to see your article fill it. It will be of interest to somebody anyway.

A recent example would be a members only website that I am running and couldn't get enough interest in it to make it work on the subject matter. I decided to write an article about it and sent it to the editor of a trade magazine. It was printed and I gained a couple of hundred new members in a week. I just mentioned the benefits and any special features I thought sounded newsworthy. I sent it via email so didn't even have to print it out or put a stamp on it. How much would it have cost me in advertising rates to get this sort of response?

This gave me the bug - the bug of writing press releases and articles, you wouldn't believe how powerful this technique is.

A few tips on writing press releases is firstly, not to have any spelling mistakes as the editor hasn't got time to mess around with your copy as (s)he's got loads of them and you need yours to be chosen above all others.

Keep your paragraphs short and to the point, don't put in too much detail and don't make it sound like a commercial break on TV.

The key word is 'newsworthy'. So if, for example, there are complaints about people not winning on the new style National Lotto and the newspaper prints a readers letter about it, you can write a press release about the Lottery syndicate you've just joined and that winning is a regular feature. This is 'current' it's 'news' and 'topical'. Post it off to the publication concerned and, bang!, when they publish it, it's your contact details that are there for the thousands (or, indeed, millions) of readers to see.

If you think that this sounds silly, it isn't, it's been tried and it works.

Always put your contact details at the end of the press release, article or letter to the editor (the letters page has worked for many a home business).

If you don't think that your home business is newsworthy, make it newsworthy. By this I mean that by looking through your local newspaper and reading every article and letter for anything remotely relating to your business. Then use that theme to introduce why you are writing to them. You may be promoting perfume, for example, and the newspaper may be carrying a story on how expensive it is to buy perfume at Christmas time. This is your cue to mention that you have just launched a brand new business where customers can buy lower priced perfume and cosmetics and earn money by introducing friends etc.. You never know, you may even get to build your downline deeper too.

Your product or service may have a benefit that is unusual, different or humorous. If you simply can't think of a way to make your product newsworthy, you might try giving goods to a local school or charity and that is always worth a mention. 'Schools benefit from local home business guru', would be a good headline.

I've know people get grants for starting their new business by suggesting that it comes under a certain category let alone getting a simple piece of publicity.

It still never ceases to amaze me why B2B advertisers who pay good money for print ad do not have headlines in their ads.

Four out of five readers will see the headline and not the rest of the ad (body copy). It's the one in five who is caught by the headline will read on and proceed to the body copy.

Without a headline, not only have you, as the advertiser, lost some 80% or your readership, but chances are you have lost 100%. Why? Simple, what was used to capture your reader? Nothing.

Unless the rest of the ad has graphics that will grab the reader by the neck, that person will proceed to the next page. Expecting a reader to go to your body copy, without a headline to grab him/her, is really expecting a lot. A heck of a lot. Again, because you have to first catch that person and entice him/her to proceed with to the body copy.

Headlines I've found that work well are "How to's", "Direct offers", "Unique product statements", "Questions" and a few others.

Many years ago, Samuel Johnson said that "promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement". This promise can be carried in the headline and elaborated on in the body copy. Without the headline, that advertisement does not only go without a soul, it becomes a meaningless piece of communication and certainly does not fulfil any aim that was set for the ad, ie, to elicit an enquiry.

Before considering re-running an ad without the headline, consider carefully if the ad does what you intended it to do. If, because it has your logo up top, you like the look of the ad, why not add a headline that will grab the reader and make that person want to read on to the rest of the ad.

It's not that hard, but will earn you the satisfaction of producing a communication piece that works. And, one that will do the job that it's supposed to do...get you enquiries and consequently more customers.

Advertising is a competitive field; there is no question about it. Having been in this industry for over twenty years, I have seen many changes: some good, some bad but the core basics of the business remain constant. What used to take weeks to accomplish fifteen years ago virtually takes days but the flip side of that is that in order to do that, you have to stay up with technology and constantly learn. I often laugh with colleagues that one day my head will truly explode with all the information it is being fed.

The reward, however, is the final product and glory for each client. The bottom line in advertising always was and still is one thing: the client.

Within the industry I am known as a ‘relationship’ builder – I like to network and combine talents and see people soar. In my career, I have been extremely fortunate to have been given many chances way before I was ready simply because someone believed in me. The most valuable education I have ever received had been through the jobs I acquired early in my career receiving the guidance of some of the most talented Art Directors in New York.

One disturbing change I see today within my industry is the lack of teamwork that was rampant twenty years ago. Today, it is everyone for themselves, which unfortunately, is short-term thinking. Years ago, people did whatever it took to achieve a deadline and everyone on board was a dedicated pro. Today, the pro’s are few and far between and dedication has a price which, unfortunately, usually is not worth the price.

Although I have a talented and competent staff, I like to give ‘new talent’ a chance and perhaps create new opportunities for them. Last year, I had put together a very simple website for myself and asked a young man I knew if he would code it for me. The understanding was that if he did a good job within a reasonable amount of time, I would consider hiring him for ongoing work. That seemed fair especially since he had so little on his resume.

Since this is my business, I was fully aware that the website should have taken a few days to do but I was experimenting with new talent so I let it go it’s course.

The results were interesting and something I have experienced often in the recent years. This young man actually took two months to complete a very simple project without ever returning one phone call to me. The final invoice given to me was astronomical -- not worth the work and I was charged for work that he never did. Instead of breaking things down, he literally charged me for two months of nothing -- including his sleep time…. Needless to say, I have no use for this gentleman to ever join my advertising agency and I doubt he will go far.

Technology has created new rules within my industry that has opened up a ‘Wild-West’ mindset: basically anything goes because the average client has absolutely no idea what is involved to make their project happen nor should they. Although I do not expect my clients to know how to do what my agency does, I do work very closely with each client educating them of the process and what is available for them within their budget. Every job is different and I am a firm believer in building as you go and expand as a business creates revenue. Oftentimes, clients do not think past a design or logo and run out of money during the most vital part of the process: the marketing. Let’s face it; what good is a highly expensive design or a ten thousand dollar book cover if there is no money left within the budget to market that product?

Well, the unfortunate truth is that many players within my industry (who basically are my competition) really don’t care and the irony is is that their success rate is not very high.

Another interesting situation followed only a few weeks ago. Recently, I have added videos to my services to market books and products. My thought process was that if the movie industry can create movie trailers to entice the public, why not do the same for an upcoming book? The success has been enormous for the authors I work with and we have a ball putting an authors book ‘to the big screen’,

A California IT firm wanted to merge with my agency and asked to view my most recent book promo video, Seduced by Fear. What I didn’t expect was that he retouched my work and the final result looked similar to the old Japanese movies where the lip sinking did not match – the spoken words within my video were going much faster that the mouths were moving. Even more disturbing was that I was charged $5,000.00 for tampering with my work. What was that all about? Well, it doesn’t matter because there was no merge nor was any check written.

My concern is and always has been with each client. Too many innocent people are getting taken advantage of by ‘professionals’ who are really amateurs trying to ‘play with the big boys’ and make a quick buck. When clients comes to me for work, I insist that they do their ‘homework’ before committing to any contract and check my references as well as ‘interview’ a few other Agencies. With the onset of the Internet, businesses can seem much more successful or larger than they actually are and it is easy to get fooled and… ripped off.

Radio has always been popular. It has always been a good source of news, music, story telling and fun. Even nowadays with all the new inventions and technology that are available a lot of people listen to radio regularly. There are now may sources to get information from or relax to, but radio still keeps a strong position in a number of audience however with Internet and television its’ popularity decreased a little.

Commercial radio is a relatively newcomer having only been born in 1973. It has been experiencing substantial growth over the last three years, both in terms of audience and advertising revenue. Since the beginning of 1999, as one can see in chart 1, listening to commercial radio has increased by 11%. Covering the last three months of 2001, RAJAR reports that weekly reach is up by 1 million to 31.9 million listeners per week that is 66% of the population tuning in each week. Since 1999, advertising revenue has consistently grown faster than in any other media. The radio sector saw increased spending by some advertisers such as car manufacturers, including MG Rover, Fiat and Toyota, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau. Radio advertising was marginally ahead of last year in the third quarter at £568m, compared with £565m in 2000.

According to this fact, radio can be a powerful communicator. Commercial radio in the U.K. has only recently begun to fully identify and market its own individual strengths, which will be described and analysed in the following.

Like already mentioned in the above, radio is becoming increasingly popular as an advertising medium. This is due to the growth of the radio stations themselves, but more importantly to the different strengths of it, which make radio advertising valuable.

Starting with the key media strengths, it is important to mention that radio is a mass medium. Over 60% of the population are listening to it every week. This enables an advertiser to build a high average reach.

A great advantage of radio is that advertising time is relatively cheap, and production costs are low. When comparing it to other forms of advertising, radio has the ability to reach thousands of people simultaneously, making it one of the most economical methods of advertising. Radio delivers more advertising impressions than any other medium for the same budget. “Thus, for advertisers seeking a low-cost medium, radio advertising is often extremely attractive.”

A further value is radio’s ability to create a dominant share of mind. On the one hand, this is a result of it’s intrusiveness, and on the other hand of the high levels of frequency at which radio campaigns are normally broadcasted. For listeners, radio occupies, according to RAB, a third of their media time every week. This allows brands that have strong presence on radio stations, for example ‘Carphone Warehouse’, to be dominant within the mind of the listener. Additionally, in the majority of categories an investment in radio means a far higher share of voice than would be secured in press or TV.

It’s strictly a matter of semantics. Notice the difference between “a” and “your.” It makes all the difference in the world. Let me explain. But first a word about my background.

I was a Yellow Page consultant for almost 25 years. During my tenure, I advised various businesses on planning their programs. It involved recommending headings, sizes, directories, layouts, headlines, and other elements that could ultimately spell success or failure. These people relied on my judgment because I was the expert, They were busy running a business and delegated their insurance, accounting, legal issues, and advertising to the professionals in the appropriate fields. And why not? How could any one owner wear that many hats and do them all well? So we offered our expertise for the betterment of the company.

Ah, but which company? What do I mean, you ask? I mean where was my true allegiance? To the client or my publisher? Who paid the bills? A case could be made for either one. The people that were my clients had ads in the book. Those ads produced for me a sizable commission, so I owed them a lot. But the Yellow Page publisher that hired me wrote the weekly pay check. They also provided my car allowance, health and dental benefits, 401K, pension, and work space. Whew! How to decide? Well it’s pretty simple. Without them, I wouldn’t be consulting to those clients.

Therefore the answer is more cut and dry. I first am employed by the directory company. They give me the accounts to manage and quotas to fill. They also provide certain products that I must introduce each year and promote to my customers, whether they need them or not. So, when I go out to visit with John Jones of JJ’s Appliance Repair, I am doing so at the behalf of my bosses. Sure, I want them to place lots of ads and get lots of calls, but I also have another agenda. I have to persuade them that they need the latest and great item that the publisher wants to push that week, regardless of whether or not my customer actually needs it.

Does the typical Yellow Page advertiser understand this relationship? Some do and some don’t. Most hope that I am truly looking out for their best interests, and I am, the majority of the time. But, on other occasions, I have an ulterior motive that is set in motion by an unseen force: that of my real boss. It’s a fact of life for many other media consultants but not always obvious to the clients affected. Is it a bad system that puts the requirements of the publisher before the advertiser? I’d be lying if I said no. I always tried to do the right thing but often times I was guided toward an end result that didn’t place the emphasis on customer service. I realized that the publisher had the right to put certain demands upon me and I had to pass them on to my accounts. It’s just a fact of business life in commission sales.

In summary, how should a business person treat their media consultant, be it Yellow Pages or otherwise? Well, they can remember this article and attempt to divine the real reason for the sales call. When the representative brings up a slew of new products, they can politely decline, or ask that the current program be settled first. Once that is handled, then the secondary reason for the visit can commence. After all, the poor consultant has been given a mission by their employer and they have to accomplish certain tasks to keep their jobs. If it requires you listen to a sales pitch, then listen and decide for yourself. But keep in mind that a consult is not necessarily your consultant, they are a consultant. And then you will be better able to deal with this appointment and all future meetings.

All the products that you want to sell online are ready. You have already signed up with the Google Adsense program or with other affiliate marketing programs and you have already prepared the ad you want to post on your affiliate’s site. Your mind is now set to being the next most successful online businessman. But is there anything else that you might have forgotten to prepare? Maybe none. But how about your landing pages? Are they all set for your business?

Landing pages are simply web pages where visitors are directed to whenever they click a result in a web search or whenever they click a web ad. For affiliate marketing, landing pages would refer to the web page where you, as a merchant, would want your potential customer to be directed after clicking your ad on your affiliate’s website. Landing pages are, at most times, nothing really different from other web pages in a particular website, especially if the said website is an e-commerce site. Some online businessmen would even use the homepage of their websites as the landing page for their ads. Are these businessmen making a big mistake? Or should you follow their method in creating landing pages for their ads?

Well, you can always follow what most online retailers do, directing their potential customers to the homepages of their websites. But if you want to achieve something more from your online business, and if you want to earn a lot of profits, you better create a special landing page for your web ads. Why? Here are a few reasons why you need to use landing pages for your web ads. And take note, it would do you a lot better if you create a great landing page than a so-so one.

Reason no. 1: It is the only way you earn conversions in an affiliate marketing program.

There are a variety of affiliate marketing programs today, but most of these programs let the merchant pay the affiliate in a pay per click basis. Basically, all you have to do is sign up with the program and submit your ad. The program owner would then distribute your ad to various affiliates who would then place your ad on their websites. Whenever your ad is clicked, a visitor would be directed to your landing page and you would have to pay the affiliate for his service.

As a merchant, you earn in an affiliate program through conversions—that is whenever a visitor that is directed to your site actually buys a product on your site. Without these conversions, you actually earn nothing from the program. Also, the more visitors that your affiliates have directed to your site, the larger would your expense be. And the only way that you can recover from these expenses is through conversions.

Now, you sure won't get any conversion if you have posted an ad on your affiliate's site without an actual landing page for the potential customer to be redirected into. It's just like advertising a product without actually having a store to sell your product. Your advertisement may be enticing enough to encourage people to purchase a product, but without the landing page, how will they know how to purchase the product

It is therefore important to have landing pages for your ads because it is the only way for you to earn something in an affiliate program. Without landing pages, all you do is spend money paying your affiliates without actually getting anything in return.

Reason no. 2: Other web pages may just not be enough.

Many people make the mistake of making their website's homepage as the landing page for their ads. The same is true for those who make use of other pages like a "contact us" page or a product page. Homepages are often designed to serve multiple users and contains a lot of links to other pages or to other websites. The same is with the other two pages mentioned. If you want to be successful in an affiliate program, we're sure that you don't want your landing page to cater to the needs of various people, most of which may not be really interested with your product.

When choosing a landing page, you must always have the customer directed into that page in mind. Therefore, your landing page must be relevant to the keywords and the contents you placed on your ad. It is also important that the landing page can induce your visitor to take action—that is to purchase your product or at least provide leads for potential customers.

Final Word

You probably entered into an affiliate marketing program with these things in mind: to save on advertising expenses and to gain more profit. But if you get into an affiliate marketing program without actually having a landing page, you'll end up paying too much without getting anything in return. So if you still don't have a landing page for your ads, you better start creating one now. And don't get us wrong; it isn't enough for you to have just a landing page—it should be a great landing page!

Malls have effectual marketing avenues available to help promote stores. Retail stores pay a high rental fee. Mall management wants to insure the success of those stores. They do not want to loose revenue that comes from profit yielding spaces.

Listed below are a few tools that malls offer that can be used to generate a sizeable retail profit.

1. Lease lines. Most malls allow stores to use a small space outside their store front to advertise. This is an important marketing tool because it can be used for several purposes. In my opinion the most effective way to use the lease line, is to place a standing poster in the area to capture customers attention. The poster needs to be placed on both sides, so which ever side the customer is walking the ad will be easily viewed. Stores can use this to advertise specials, new merchandise or to move a product that has not snatched the attention of the consumer.

2. Table toppers. Table toppers are put in the center of the table in the eatery of the mall. While people are eating their food they can read the store advertisement. Stores take turns for one to two week slots to display their ad. The advantage of this advertising is that the consumer will see the ad several times while eating.

3. Billboards. Flashing billboard advertising that displays the stores to customers driving by, is also an advantageous means of marketing. The ad is seen for a few seconds but is repeated throughout the day with a limited number of other ads. Statistically the ad is seen by a large number of potential customers. The ads usually runs for at least a week, depending upon demand for the key board space.

4. Newsletter. Newsletters are used to promote not only the mall but the stores in the mall. Articles about various stores are written highlighting the owner or business. Coupons, specials, and ads are also placed in the newsletters. For example, at Christmastime the mall will advertise Santa Claus coming to their location. This is a great opportunity for the stores to promote Christmas specials.

5. Events. One mall held a Bridal Fair for mall shopping. Several stores that directly offered services or products for weddings, set up space in an open area of the mall. Successful business generated from that one event. The mall advertised the Bridal Fair on the radio and in local newspapers.

6. Sidewalk Sales. This sale is a fantastic way for stores to move old stock before new stock comes in. The response from the public is usually favorable because, the price cut is so high. Large amounts of merchandise can be moved quickly in a short period of time. This cuts down on profit loss after an item is no longer in demand. With all stores involved in the sidewalk sale, it creates a synergy to the public. Often when looking at sale items on the lease line, a percentage of customers will be enticed to enter the store front to look at other merchandise.

7. Kiosk. Kiosks are centralized in the walkway of the mall. Advertising space above the kiosk can be rented to grab the attention of customers walking through the mall.

Rental space in a mall is extremely expensive. Stores go in and out of business daily because of lack of sales revenue. It is crucial that a store use their marketing dollars wisely. It takes time for a business to generate a sizeable profit margin. With education and planning, productive advertising can expedite the profit time considerably.

There are several methods of advertising on the Internet. Some are free, some are low cost, while others are insanely expensive. The first thing you will need to look at is how much you are willing to pay for traffic, and how far your advertising dollar can go.

Let’s say you have got a great idea, and your website is now complete. You are ready to open for business but where are your customers? Simple – you are going to have to go out and get them. It sounds easy, but advertising can be a pitfall that can cripple many e-businesses. One of the most effective, and cheapest, methods of advertising is through the use of e-zines. There are thousands, if not millions of e-zines published every single day. The best way to approach e-zines for advertising is to join a couple that fit your product profile and that you find interesting. Most e-zines offer incentives to new businesses signing up, and will even run your ad for free just for subscribing. You can find many e-zines that offer ads for as little as a dollar. It is a fantastic way to reach thousands of people who are already interested in your type of business. Link exchanges are another free alternative to costly advertising. Be prepared to get lost in the shuffle if you choose a popular site. The best way to make use of this method is by running your own link exchange from your site and offering a free posting in exchange for a link back to your site.

In fact, you can utilize e-zines to promote your product for free, if you can write an informative article. E-zines are desperate for content, and will often offer to publish your article in exchange for a link back to your site. If you go this route, make sure that your article is informative and not just a sales pitch. For example, if your e-business deals with making money from home, an article about how working from home decreases stress would be very well received. Targeted advertising is by far the best way to bring in traffic to your website. By using targeted key words, your customers are not just stumbling into your website. Half the work is already done by the key words. You just need to supply the information. Google Ad Words can be used very effectively as well as other targeted key word companies. Most of these operate on a pay per click basis, so you will need to research your key words and supply the best possible words to ensure a good cost-to-click ratio.

Press releases are a great way to get the word out about your site and possibly create media buzz. While this method is more expensive than the above methods, it has the potential to bring in substantial traffic. Before sending out your release, make sure that it is formatted correctly and contains a powerful first paragraph. News editors are inundated daily and you do not want to get lost in the shuffle.

When writing your press release, it is important to make it news worthy, instead of a plain announcement. Using our example above, if a recent study is released about stress management and working from home, it would be a perfect time to send out a press release that mentions the study and your business. Be prepared to receive phone calls and answer questions if your release is a hit.

You don’t necessarily have to wait for an event to happen to send out your release. If all else fails, get creative! There are many ways to tie in your business to current events, all you need is a little imagination.