Ready to launch your business to the next level and beyond...but just not sure which marketing strategy will give you the most bang for your buck?

One of the most effective marketing strategies just happens to be one of the most reasonably priced strategies. Are you surprised? Perhaps you have come to think that marketing has to be a costly, high budget endeavor and something you can not afford to engage in unless you have the available funding of deep pockets.

It is not surprising if you think that way! We have all pow wowed with fast talking salespeople who tried to convince us of the virtues of all sorts of expensive marketing techniques to reach our customers. With eyes glazed over by the bottom line costs that we know are out of our league...costs that could support a family of four for a year. Don't sign the contract! Stop and consider your options. Don't let someone rope you into signing a contract that will legally bind you to a program that may or may not generate revenue for your business. Beware!

Costly, ineffective advertising could put you out of business! If your money is tight... don't gamble with expensive advertising! It is a proven fact that advertising is only really effective when it is conducted in a strategic, consistent and tightly focused manner. Then perhaps your advertising dollars will be a good solid investment. But until that time when you can afford regular advertising there are certainly other options that can prove effective.

Always begin by asking yourself:

1.) Who am I trying to reach?

2.) What message do I want to relay?

3.) What outcome do I want to achieve?

Then start thinking about what steps you will need to do to accomplish your objective. Consider carefully if your objective can be reached through relationship marketing. Perhaps you will come to realize that relationship marketing would be the best way to achieve your goal. It is through good relationship marketing that many business owners reach their business, professional and personal goals.

People like to do business with people that they know. It is vital that as a business owner you and your staff are engaged in the business of building relationships with your customers.

Through the process of building dynamic relationships with your clients, your business will continue to grow and reach new levels of profitability.

So how do you do this? This is a great time of year to host an open house.

Invite your clients to special open houses. A Festive Autumn Open House is a great way to show you care about your customers. Open houses are the perfect opportunity to showcase new products and services.

formation.Open houses do not have to be expensive or time consuming for you to put together. Special open houses have the potential to sky rocket your marketing efforts and maximize your profits. If you are looking for ways to generate traffic, increase sales and wow your customers... then don't ignore the potential of hosting an open house.

Online shopping is fast becoming the most preferred mode of shopping whereby shoppers can reap the advantages of Internet shopping from the luxury of their homes. In other words, through online shopping, people from all parts of the world can get access to high quality products and at discounted prices. Moreover, online shopping has eliminated the need to visit different stores to get the different items.

Sears is a leading online shopping store offering home appliances, clothing, electronic goods, computer, gift items, lawn and garden equipments, automotive products, and more at attractive discounts. What makes shopping with Sears more lucrative is the availability of Sears discount coupons, Sears promotional offers, Sears coupons codes, and other exciting offers which help customers can use and save considerably. Sears is also the largest provider of home services with more than 13 million service calls made annually.

InsidersCoupons offers valuable discount coupons to registered customers for use in online shopping with Sears. As a registered member of InsidersCoupons.com, customers are entitled avail the benefits of Sears coupons, Sears discount coupons, Sears promotional offers, and free shipping on all products that can be mailed procured from Sears. Apart from free shipping, InsidersCoupons also offers a 90 days price protection service on all online purchases, free double warranty and other exclusive offers for Sears.

Anirban Bhattacharya is an associated editor with the website Trivia - Biggest Online fun portal and many other informative as well as shopping or business websites. He has written and published over 300 articles and press releases for various websites, helping the online readers with better options and oppertunities.

I’ve been advising and counseling businesses on their Yellow Page advertising since 1976. During that period, I’ve placed ads in every media imaginable and consulted to over 7000 businesses. With those credentials, I feel capable and confident in recommending the easiest way to achieve a more successful marketing program. Whether it’s a newspaper, magazine, Yellow Page ad, or direct mailer, the headline is always king. It not only is the first thing seen, it sets the tone for the entire promotion that follows. Yet creating one, is the critical procedure that’s often overlooked.

I’ve seen the typical “Tire Experts,” or the “Low-Cost Leaders,” enough to fall soundly asleep. Every business assumes they have the best service or products at the best prices. If that is the case, then why shop and compare at all? After all, logic says that any company can provide the best item at the lowest cost. If all consumers are only concerned with these two issues, then why ever discuss anything else?

But we know that this supposition is wrong. Marketing focus groups have proven that buyers are also interested in guarantees, longevity, brand names, style, fashion, convenience, ease-of-use, prompt and courteous service, and a multitude of other factors. Therefore, why not tap into their actual needs and wants? That is the primary responsibility of a business anyway; to fill a need. Of course, one can also create a need where one didn’t exist before.

For instance, a pest control company may tout their, “environmental-friendly” chemical, hinting that the other guys are poisoning everything they touch. Or a dentist might discuss their “pain-less” drills, versus the cruel, jaw crunchers, that the other dentists utilize. The headline should capture the imagination and giver one pause to consider the message that is making the business unique in the industry. But you’re not a copywriter or ad man, so what can you do?

Well, you could start with these headlines that follow as a jumping-off point and examples of what might work in various situations. Each is designed to get attention and a reaction. The words in parenthesis are the sub text with an explanation.

* “The 5 Things to Know Before You Call a Plumber”
* “An Advanced Dental Treatment You’re Probably Never Heard Of”
* “Don’t Repair Your Transmission Until You Read This”
* “There’s A Time-Bomb in Your Garage! Learn more…” (for auto repair, etc.)
* “Take This Carpet-Cleaning Quiz Before You Call Anyone”
* “Can Traditional Pest Control Hurt More Than Help?”(using harsh chemicals, etc.)
* “Not All Tires Are Made Equal. Ask Us Why.”
* “Why You Really Don’t Need Insurance. (it’s for the survivors)
* “How Can You Tell When Flowers are Really Fresh?”
* “What Painting Contractors Don’t Want You to Know”
* “We Charge the Highest Prices in Town & That’s Good News”(better service, etc.)
* “Why Your Inside Air is Probably Making You Sick”(a/c or duct cleaning, etc.)
* “3 Ways a Mover Can Rip You Off”
* “Secrets to Selling Your Home and Paying a Lower Commission”
* “We No Longer Sell Burglar Alarms” (we sell safety, piece of mind, etc.)

Just plug in your own industry or service on the list above and see what happens. Did you notice a single word about quality or low price? It just goes to show that a simple, creative approach can do wonders. Try brainstorming with your family, friends, or business associates. You’ll be amazed at what you can uncover. Did I mention that I also have the secrets to what happens behind the scenes “Inside the Yellow Pages”? Now there’s another great headline!

Have you ever wondered how advertising works and how an advertising agency makes money? Behind the glitz and glamour, advertising is still really a business and a lucrative one at that.

In general terms, advertising refers to the promotion of goods and services (as well as companies and ideas) through media, especially television, radio and print (newspapers and magazines), but also through outdoor and non-traditional means. It is usually undertaken by an advertising agency on behalf of a corporation, which is its client. These clients bank on advertising to make their brands and products stand out in an otherwise cluttered marketplace. To do that, they depend heavily on the creativity and technical know-how of agency people.

In a nutshell, the client provides the advertising agency with a set of marketing objectives (usually to increase sales of its product or service) and a profile of the consumer groups it wants to target. Based on this, the agency creates a "brand image" through advertising campaigns on media which will, hopefully, make consumers flock to department stores and clear out the client's shelves. The key is to make the ad campaign as creative, unique and interesting as possible.

Though they fulfill the same function, ad agencies tend to vary in size and structure. There are small one or two-person shops as well as large multinational ad agencies with offices all over the world. In advertising, though, bigger is not necessarily better as many of the smaller ad firms have established reputations as creative hotbeds. Some companies also opt to create their advertising in-house through their advertising departments.

Some agencies specialize in certain types of advertising, such as TV commercials or print ads. Agencies usually have a roster of suppliers that provide specific needs such as TV production, billboard creation and installation, talent agencies that provide actors, art design studios and the like.

And how do agencies make money? They do so by taking a 15% commission for work they produce for clients, particularly for media placements. Hence, if a client places $10 million worth of TV commercials on, let's say, the Super Bowl, the agency earns $1.5 million or 15%. It's not a bad way to make a living.

Commercial promotion of services, ideas, companies and goods is known as advertising, which plays a very prominent role in business. Advertising is carried out through various media.

“Word of mouth” used to be the common form of advertising in ancient times. During the fifteenth and sixteenth century, when the printing industry was properly developed, handbills were included as a medium of advertising. In England, during the seventeenth century, newspapers started carrying advertisement for products.

The medicines for diseased Europe and the increasing numbers of affordable books were the two products extensively advertised during this period. The content regulation for advertisements came into vogue due the problem of “quacks” using the new marketing method. For more info visit www.advertisingresourceonline.info

During the nineteenth century, classified advertisements become very popular in the United States. They filled the pages of newspapers promoting various goods. The success of this method lead into another form of advertisement known as catalogues. The first advertisement agency was established in Philadelphia during 1843.

Tempting the consumers with advertisements, which carried their messages with shine using modern and scientific approach, came into effect in 1960s. The advent of cable television and MTV in the 1980s and 90s, saw the introduction of music videos to promote goods using consumer tunes. Subsequent developments lead to exclusive channels such as Home shopping network and Shop TV exclusively for advertisements.

The “dot com” in 1990s saw another new channel for advertisement in the form of Internet. This was further fine tuned by search engines such as Google, which revolutinised the business by using unobtrusive advertisements, which are relevant to the context of the text displayed in the screen. To highlight and promote non-commercial issues such as energy conservation, AIDs, ideology, religion and deforestation are carried out through public service advertising.

Media for commercial advertisements include billboards, wall paintings, flyers, television, film and radio advertisements, skywriting, popups and banners in web pages, newspapers, and bus stop bunches.

Placing a product in television serials, films and sports arenas are known as covert advertisements.

The TV networks charge a very high rate for commercial prime time advertisement since it is considered as one of the most effective formats of advertisement for mass-marketing products.

Another recent phenomenon is advertisements sent through emails. Spam is a new word coined for unsolicited bulk email advertising. How effective this form of advertisement is left to every email users guess because most of these emails are detected by the service providers as junk and stored separately. With different claims made in different contexts, the impact of advertising is a subject for debate.

Being your own boss

As you progress in your MLM home business, the three most important factors that determine your success are:

Discipline
Goal Setting
Time Management

Since you no longer have a boss directing your day's activities, it's easy to get off track. You must have a 90 day plan and a daily method of operation that are tied to your goals. Your mentor should help you until you master this and if you are going to be real and premote yourself into your business, your mentor will be standing by to invest in YOU!

The finest network marketing companies will train you and actually work with you, so that over time you will become a super successful in a home business in your own right. My mentor helped me to grow faster than I ever knew I could.

I' a mom from the southeast side of Texas who knew a very little about business when I started. But with a good mentors who held me accountable, a reputable company with amazing, in demand products, and with my own desire and commitment, I rose to the top % of the company of over one dozens of countries. It's easy to get comfortable and stop growing when you reach that level. I had a huge house, two cars, got to travel and often this is where trouble sets in. It is easy to get comfortable here. Goals at this point are just as crucial as when you first started out. Having a mentor and a coach can help you set goals that are right for you, regardless of the level you currently reside.

I never would have achieved a income that quickly without all of those mentors. I had my own goals of income and production that I wanted to achieve and then I had the goals and the extra incentives and rewards the company created in it's marketing plan and promotions. Consistently setting goals within the company's marketing plan always kept me on track.

# 1 please capitalize your name in your emails, hey

when I get an email from someone, and the first

letter in their name is not capitalize I don't even

open it I just delete it, why, it tell me the person

that sent it was just trying to make a Quick buck.

# 2 I never open an email that's got a $ sign in

it. why, I know its going to cost me some money I

just Delete it.

# 3 99.99 present of the time i will delight an

email That's got the word Guru in it, Why, because

if I open it I would not understand what they was

talking about any way.

# 4 I never open an email that's says Roger,

Congratulations Claim Your FREE Gilt, why, hey I

have been around the Internet long enough not to

fall for that.

And # 5 I never open an email that's got the words (no subject) in the subject line,

hey if you don,t know what you are talking about I

sure don,t.

I wrote this article because ----- I *hope that all online marteter will open thir eyes and see that most of thirr emails are not getting open it took me some time to get this right now i get about All of my email open daily.

Thanks a lot and may ALL your Dreams Come True!

Whether you're a PR consultant, a web developer or graphic designer, chances are you've experienced the time-intensive quest for the perfect image. And I'd be willing to bet that you've also experienced the angst that accompanies the quest. Will you find the right image in time? And will it blow your budget?

Despite your mega Microsoft clip art library, and the vast (and depending on your use, illegal) repository known as Google Images, the just-right image, art or photo has eluded you. Meanwhile, the deadline is fast approaching ... and along with budget constraints, there's no time to hire a professional, and taking the shot yourself doesn't yield the expert quality you need.

Consider the plethora of images and variety available through low-cost, royalty-free stock photography. Stock photos provide quick access and speedy delivery, superb quality and a broad selection, usually categorized by descriptive keywords or found quickly with a searchable database. With high-quality stock photos starting as low as a buck each, the price just can't be beat.

Advantages of Using Stock Photography

Save time - Stock galleries provide a way to move quickly from an abstract concept straight to the presentation. Thousands of images and photos are readily available and quickly downloadable via the Internet, so the designer, developer or marketer can leap from the work plan to the storyboard, PowerPoint, brochure or web page.

You'll no longer need days to set up a photo assignment, or spend the hours it used to take perusing clip art books, graphic files or endless CD-ROM galleries. With most online stock photo providers, you can create an account and download samples or purchase the perfect image in a matter of minutes.

Excellent range of selection & choice - Stock photography provides an unbeatable selection. Just imagine the advantage of having hundreds of photographers, models or designers on staff -- along with hundreds of artistic styles and expressions. Stock libraries and galleries allow you to choose descriptive keywords, or combine keywords to get even more specific search results. Do a quick Search at LuckyOliver to see what we mean. And while you're at it, go ahead and test-drive (or grab a comp of) one of LuckyOliver's watermarked images -- there's no purchase required for that!

It guarantees a level of quality - Sure, there are plenty of free photo web sites--and many of them are filled with all kinds of garbage, like junky low-resolution photos, animated gif files and other stuff that may not have anything to do with what you need. You can expect remarkable quality from microstock libraries since the providers have high standards for accepting and approving any photo and art submissions.

It's legal and ethical - Buying stock photos helps you avoid any legal issues associated with copyright. At stock photo suppliers such as LuckyOliver, you don't have to worry about collecting and filing model releases. You simply make the purchase and use the photo, hassle-free. LuckyOliver compensates the photographer--which saves you time and money once again, with less forms to sign and fewer checks to write.

It's affordable - Some stock photos are inexpensive, but not cheap looking--though prices do vary. While some stock providers charge a lot -- or whatever their market will bear -- there's oftentime little artistic difference between the high-dollar finds and the less expensive stuff.

For use of most stock photographs at a site like LuckyOliver, prices range from $1 to $12 per photo, with discounts available for bulk purchases. Affiliate programs may also be available, and could prove worthwhile for web developers who offer custom templates to customers or for advertising agencies, marketers and PR firms with clients who want to choose their own images and photos.

It was dark in the cellar, but I had no choice. That’s where the object of my extreme misery stood. It had been hours since I noticed that we had no hot water. So, here I was, standing on the cold, concrete floor staring at the large, white cylinder formerly filled with hot water. Something was obviously wrong, but what. I could hear the wind whistling outside on this cold, February night. But I had to go on, because we needed that hot water. I had exhausted all other possibilities. Just an hour ago, in desperation, I had picked up the Yellow Pages, searching and seeking out a plumber. But all the ads looked alike. They were a sea of black and yellow and color-filled words screaming their clichés at me, as if to add a note of stress and frustration to an already gloomy situation.

“Quality, Low-Cost, Reliable,” they declared. Another read, “Emergencies!” A large full page had a picture of a truck and said, “Here Today!” It was confusing and filled me with anxiety. Page after page blended into a morass of meaningless words and images. Finally, I was forced to close the book and grab my trusty flashlight. So, here I was, facing the dead water heater, alone, scared, and without hope.

But wait. Someone or more precisely, something, is coming down the steps. It is getting closer. I raise my light and see this apparition, in the shape of a giant phone book with skinny little legs. He’s yelling something toward me.

I hear, “Don’t panic. I’m here to help. I’m carrying a great ad with a terrific message,”he implores. As he moves toward me, it’s open to a page that reads, “You May Not Need a New Water Heater & Here’s Why!”

It’s a ray of sunshine in my darkened world. I am drawn to this ad and memorize the phone number. Jumping up the stairs, two steps at a time, I reach the light of the kitchen, find the phone, and begin to dial. Minutes later, I am promised a service call and start to relax a little. As a smile creeps back across my face, the mystery character that has followed me upstairs tells me he is Wolley Segap and I thank him for saving my fate of future cold water days. The end… or is it?

This little story was designed to serve a purpose and illustrate the need for effective advertising. So, attention business people: Is your Yellow Page ad doing its job? If not, let this serve as your wake-up call. I’ve witnessed many companies that thought they had an ad that worked, while, in reality, it had a flawed headline, lousy copy, or pathetic artwork. How do I know?

I was a YP rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. I’ve been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can tell you it most probably needs improvement in the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading. You must understand the ROI or return on investment and learn how to track the results as well.

The Yellow Page Directory is an Annual Event

It won’t be long before the 2007 Yellow Page directory goes to press. So expect a visit from your sales person one of these days. Don’t let him or her catch you by surprise. A little time getting ready for that visit ahead of time will save you money month after month.

Traps Most Business Owners Fall For

- Putting things off—the next Directory seems a long way off. But the deadline creeps without them thinking about it once all year

- Being overwhelmed with details. It’s so complicated, nobody could figure out their best strategy

- Being too busy with the core business to want to deal with side issues

- Running the same ad year after year, whether or not it worked

- Spending all of ten minutes during the Rep’s appointment to recommit for the next directory

- Over-relying on the Rep’s recommendations – as though they know your business as well as you do

Know How New Customers Find You

If you’re not getting a significant flow of new customers through the directory, it doesn’t deserve to be your biggest marketing expense. Certain types of businesses do a lot better through the directory than others—for example emergency services or restaurants. But many types have declined a lot. Do you know which is true for your type of business?

Tracking the source of all new business is the ideal. But most businesses fail to ask customers how they found them routinely. Don’t feel guilty that you didn’t. It’s not too late to do a sample for a few weeks. Unless your business is highly seasonal, you’ll get enough data to know about what percentage of your business finds you through the directory. But I suspect that even without keeping track, you know if you’re getting your money’s worth from the ad you have.

Don’t Rush the Decision

The time to think about your next-year’s ad is not while the rep is in your face. You can be sure that your sales rep will be prepared. With the expectation that he or she can persuade you to spend as much or more as before. Don’t make it easy for them or leave it to the last minute.

Don’t let the Rep cold-call you. Schedule and allow for an hour of uninterrupted time. Give the Rep specific questions before the meeting, so that they can come prepared with the answers you request .

Take charge. At the first contact from them, ask when the Directory’s closing date will be. Then you’ll have a realistic idea about how much time you have. That protects you from their hurried high-pressure arm twisting. You don’t need to decide on the spot or when you’re not thinking clearly. Such pushy sales strategy is designed to roll over you and your good judgment.

You’re about to make a commitment for another year. Whatever they spend for a Yellow Pages often spells the difference between a small operation being in the red or in the black. So it’s worth your time to give it a few hours of thought.

I’ve been designing Yellow Page ads for the past 25 years. During that time, I was a YP rep and consultant and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can guarantee you that it has a problem. It might be in the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading(category). So, how can I be so certain?

It’s the laws of probability and human nature at work. To begin with, there is no such things as a perfect ad. Just as there is no such thing as a perfect house, relationship, job or business. They can always use a few tweaks and sprucing up. Move a door, repaint the bedroom, add a skylight, etc. Or, in the case of a spouse, pay more attention, help around the house or with the kids. Or, on the job, get to work earlier, get organized, and pay more attention to the customer, or as a businessman be kinder to employees, offer better incentives, or do more marketing. You see?

So your YP is no different. The problem is uncovering what needs the remake. The easiest way for you to go about this process is through tracking or evaluating. You could ask your friends, relatives or employees about the ad, but you really require impartiality. So asking total strangers is the better way to go. Or, have those YP book users tell you by using a tracking method. Regardless, you can’t assume you have a perfect ad. It most probably has a fatal flaw that spoils the effectiveness and you don’t even know it.

How do I know so much? I was a YP rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. I’ve been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can tell you it most probably needs improvement in the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading. You must understand the ROI or return on investment and learn how to track the results as well.

So consider getting some expert advice before you place your next ad. There are many good and inexpensive places to turn, some available on the internet. Make sure the consultant is well qualified with at least 25 years experience. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your own time and money.

It’s a sad fact that four out of five businesses will fold within the first five years of operation. And the number one reason they will do so is because of poor. or non-existent, advertising or promotion. Assuming they have a sensible product or service at a reasonable price, they should be able to survive. Yet, many small. or start-up enterprises, will spend all their investment on the nuts and bolts of the business from furnishings to signage, ignoring the most important way people will eventually find them; marketing.

The majority of businesses fall into two categories: those that rely on word-of-mouth or those that do a minimal amount of local promotions such as direct mail, flyers, small Yellow Page ads. In any regard, they give advertising very little though. For example, when the Yellow Page representative comes around to talk about their program, they have done little or nothing to prepare for the call. At the very least, they should have considered some of the following issues:

* Who are your customers? i.e., men, women, young, old
* Where are your customers? i.e., from around the block, citywide, statewide
* Which ones are most profitable? i.e., what service or product returns the greatest profit?
* What is one customer worth? i.e., what is the value of an average sale?
* How do you intend to reach your customers? i.e., marketing, promotions.
* What makes your business unique or better than your competition?

If you can answer most of these questions in advance, you’re heads and tails above your competition. If you can’t, you’re in big trouble. Realize that the marketing that actually attracts your potential customers is built upon the foundation of understanding what type of customer you are seeking. Once you have formulated a profile of the perfect customer, you can plan a strategy for marketing to them.

The shoot-from-the-hip approach of making it up as you go along will waste time and money. In other words, poor planning will lead to poor results. If you devote as much time in developing an advertising campaign as you might have done picking colors for your office, you would be far better off. You should also be able to figure out your ROI, or return on investment based on that average sale and track the results. The latter is important for future marketing approaches to enable zeroing in on the most effective format or media.

Remember that most media can be worthwhile if the message is designed properly. I should know. I was a YP rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. I’ve been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can tell you it most probably needs improvement in the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading. You must understand the ROI or return on investment and learn how to track the results as well.

It was one of those hot August nights. The type Neil Diamond used to write about in the sixties. Sweltering and breezeless, it came creeping into the house like a heat stroke. The air conditioner had been out of commission since this morning, and the afternoon sun was baking me, even while I sat in my boxer shorts in the kitchen. I had checked all the usual suspects; the thermostat, the fuses, the air filter and the coils. But I had an inactive system that just sat there in utter silence. The interior temperature was climbing at an alarming rate and I was wilting under the pressure.

The trip through the pages of the local phone directory had prove fruitless. The assortment of large ads with photos of service trucks proclaiming “Immediate Service,” A/C Specialists,” and Heating & Cooling Pros” left me cold, or was it hot? I was so exhausted, I could even think straight anymore. The perspiration was pouring off me like a continuous shower and even the curtains were drooping.

I could swear I saw steam coming off the countertop, but it was actually a gently mist or fog. And out of that vapor appeared a strange, book-shaped, character that stood on spindly feet and made me jump a foot in the air. Before I could say a word, he, or was it a she, smiled and said, “I’m here to help. Take a peek inside,” and “it” opened itself up to reveal a large Yellow Page ad. The headline read, “We Have Servicemen in Your Neighbor Every Hour.” I couldn’t believe my blurry, bloodshot eyes. I made a leap past the apparition to clutch the phone and promptly dialed the number. Seconds later, I was told a man could be over within the hour. I smiled for the first time that day and the thing smiled back. It turned to leave and said, “Just remember that Wolley Segap came to your rescue,” and it zipped out the open window. The end… or is it?

This little story was designed to serve a purpose and illustrate the need for effective advertising. So, attention business people: Is your Yellow Page ad doing its job? If not, let this serve as your wake-up call. I’ve witnessed many companies that thought they had an ad that worked, while, in reality, it had a flawed headline, lousy copy, or pathetic artwork. How do I know?

I was a YP rep and consultant for nearly 25 years and, prior to that, had my own advertising agency. I also have a degree in marketing. I’ve been designing Yellow Page ads for the past three decades. So I have expertise in YP creation and have advised almost 7000 companies on how to put together the most effective YP ads. If you have a display or in-column ad, regardless of size, color or position, I can tell you it most probably needs improvement in the headline, artwork, body text, placement, book, or heading. You must understand the ROI or return on investment and learn how to track the results as well.

So consider getting some expert advice before you place your next ad. There are many good and inexpensive places to turn, some available on the internet. Make sure the consultant is well qualified with at least 25 years experience. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your own time and money. Then, hopefully, you wont’ really need Wolley Segap coming to the rescue after all.

It is known to everyone that development of motor road network in any country reflects the potential of the country's general economic development. In 20th century, roads came to our homes, and at the present, every second person of us spends a half of his or her working time as a driver or passenger. The roads we take are those enabling us to reach the necessary place fast and without time-consuming traffic jams and crashes, and in many cases this depends on the quality of road pavement.

Asphalt concrete shows considerable strength, impermeability and resistance to water, and the ability of elastic and plastic deformation. It provides smoothness and elasticity of road pavement, comparatively noiseless traffic, and good road grip of wheel tires. Unfortunately, The asphalt concrete, which is one of the greatest inventions of mankind unrivalled to the present time, loses all these positive properties in 2 to 5 years after the road is built.

Since the advent of asphalt concrete, best inventors in the field of road building have been trying to prolong the asphalt concrete service life by using various traditional methods such as strengthening the material with various polymers , road pavements impregnation with various oils, road pavement reinforcement with fabric, etc.

All the above methods result in sharp increase in the road pavement cost, and what is even more important, deteriorate the road pavement properties such as road grip of wheel tires and so on. The search of conventional solution aimed at strengthening the asphalt concrete mixtures and improvement of repair methods is being conducted day and night by leading road-building specialists of the world. However, radical solutions of this problem require another approach and another conception.

The use of material TL is exactly such a solution. The new approach is based on the simplest intention to seal off the road from the action if factors causing damage to its pavement. This solution is a breakthrough in road building and maintenance, and material TL has corroborated its serviceability on the roads of Europe, America, Africa and Asia. The material is unique in its simple production and easy application.

It is amazing that every day business fail due to their lack of advertising. If you are in business or planning on starting a business one of the first priorities to consider is your advertising strategy. Just look around and you can quickly find many doomed business that have not properly advertised. With out an eye catchy ad and advertising materials to bring potential clients into your business you are going to fail. However you have to follow up a good advertising campaign with to notch customer service. However, customer service will do very little for a business if there are no customers.

For example think about a start up website design business. Many people might think that due to the proliferation of the internet and the masses of people on the internet today a web design company would not need traditional advertising materials like brochures, business cards and other such real world materials. After all can’t a website design company just advertise online? Well, it is possible the chances are very slim and typically a business that tries to make it through this method is going to fail. They might get one or two clients a month but for sure not enough to really make a difference. So there is just no getting around it spending some extra time and money on good brochures, business cards, and letterheads is essential. It seems that as much as people love the internet the feel of good old paper printed materials still make the sale.

Why Do You Need A Brochure?

Essentially brochures are the most effective from of traditional advertising. Sure a company can go with a large poster for much the same effect. However, the size of a poster makes the advertising more intrusive into people’s daily life. Where as a brochure is small, easy to carry, cheaper to print, and therefore can be passed out to friends, casual acquaintances or just about anyone you can get them to.

How To Design The Right Brochure For You!

Designing a brochure does not have to be that complicated. In fact you can pay to have it done but if you are even a little bit artistically inclined then save the money and work on designing your own.

Typically brochures are printed on 8.5 by 11 inch paper and then folded into three sections to form what is known as a tri0fold brochure. You can of course experiment and play with two the paper is folded, the size of the brochure and other aspects of the layout. You can even choose to two just a bi fold if you want.

In terms of expense typically a full-color brochure is the most expensive to produce. These can look beautiful when printed and if you can afford the extra expense it can really help. However, if you are just getting started with your business and need to save on cost then getting a two color printed brochure might be a good option. Even with two colors if the design is good the overall look can be just as stunning.

Keep It Simple

When designing your brochure you want to keep things as simple as possible. Make sure you have all of the crucial pieces included like some basic information about your company and what it does. Also you want to include details like how to get into contact with your company and etc. However you want to keep the overall design and the amount of text to a minimum. Don’t over stuff the brochure by being to wordy and adding to may details. Remember business people lead very busy lives and if they can not read it in less then a minute or so then it will probably just go in the trash.

Like a good report you should be able to communicate the what, where, and why in your brochure. If you do not communicate these essentials then your brochure will not help you in establishing new clients.

So no matter what many of the slick too white of a smile marketers try to sell you know that a brochure is an essential item for your business. Just think about it brochures are what most often end up on the refrigerator or as a bookmark so they have the best staying power