If you use print advertising as part of your marketing mix and your ads are cluttered they generally will not pull like clean and crisp advertising does with simple messages. As a young man I sold advertising for a very popular Aviation Magazine Called the Pacific Flyer and the Editor and Publisher Wayman Dunlop use to always tell me to keep my clients from cluttering their advertising.

Eventually I realized if I allowed my customers to clutter their ads too much they would not pull the proper results and there would be fewer repeat customers. He was right then and that same principle is very true today.

Do not clutter you ads. You see, today even more so, because people are busy and only scan the advertising, you only have a second to catch their eye and make them look and if it is too cluttered their eye moves on that the advertising dollar is lost.

So, often small business owners who advertise want to put as much as they can in their yellow page ads and in their newspaper or print advertising and often against better judgment from their advertising representative mostly due to ego the ad stays cluttered and is not effective.

If you pick up any trade journal in any industry you will see the same thing. Every month I read over 70 Trade Journals or rather page thru them and read parts. Due to habit I also look at all the ads and only rarely do you see the perfect, simple ad, which conveys the message and grabs the reader. You should consider all of this in 2006.

So often small business owners will design their own advertising and some do an exemplary job, but then some don’t and it is a shame really. As a former advertising representative for an Aviation Trade Journal in my younger years, well let’s just say I am pretty aware of the costs of all sorts of advertising, whether it be print, radio, TV, billboards, bus stop benches or even the Bus itself with one of those new shrink rap signs; boy those are cool and they better be as the cost alone is about $18,000 just to put it on the bus.

It is great to see your ad the top of page 3 of the local newspaper, as you know that will certainly generate some interest. But are you delivering the right message to all your thousands of potential customers out there?

Is that message consistent with other advertising? If you are not delivering the right message and it is not consistent you might be actually diluting your brand name, turning off your preferred future customers and cutting into the Return on Investment for that advertising. Don’t waste money.

When designing an add take a look at it and think to your self, does it grab you in under 2-3 seconds. You should be able to tell right away. Then does it tell the right story; that is to say does it deliver the proper message? Consider all this in 2006.

A pen is much more than a writing instrument. Even an individual who relies on a computer to do most of his writing work, needs a pen for simple everyday situations, such as signing a check or autograph. Few are the people who leave the house without a pen tucked in the pocket or in their schoolbag, handbag or briefcase. The pen is an almost indispensable and universal tool.

Smart businessmen have realized that giving away pens as a promotional tool is an economical and effective way to build brand awareness. A pen engraved with a company logo creates instant recall, and it can safely be said that a person will use that pen at least once a day. Chances are that others will also use the pen during the day, increasing the visibility of the logo multifold.

Smaller businesses that do not have substantial advertising and promotion budgets are finding logo pens an ideal way to not only create brand awareness, but also to motivate staff or thank customers. Handing out logo pens is like putting hundreds of miniature billboards into motion – and at a very small percentage of the cost.

Some companies send out promotional pens along with direct mailers, and studies have shown that response rates have increased substantially as a result. The reasoning seems to be that a person is more likely to open a bulky package than a regular letter that he can easily detect as direct mail, and more often than not, toss into the bin. Finding an unexpected gift in the package, they will go on to use it, even if only for a while.

Several reputed companies in the U.S. have been successfully engraving corporate logos on pens for decades. They undertake orders for as few as 50 pens to as many as thousands, and often charge affordable wholesale rates. An incredible range of pens is available in the market and customers can choose the one that fits their budget best.

Personalized promotional pens are a great way to get your message across to a large number of people. Put your logo on a pen and you never know where you might come across someone using it!

An easy way for a small business to expand its marketing budget is through cooperative advertising. Cooperative advertising, or as sometimes abbreviated Co-op, is when a producer of goods, for use by service providers or for resale, reimburses the advertising business in part or in full for advertising expenditures that involves its products. These programs are widely available because quite simply they save the producers of goods money. Bottom line is that local advertising rates available to the advertising business are at least 20% lower than national advertising rates. Therefore, the benefit for the producers of goods is increased brand recognition within that market at the lower local advertising rates, enhanced reseller relations, and much more.

However, cooperative advertising programs are an integral part of the producers own strategic marketing plan and for this reason they may not only vary from producer to producer but from product to product. Also, because these programs are an integral part of the producers strategic marketing plan, stringent rules and regulations are often placed on cooperative advertising dollars. These rules and regulations may cover media channels chosen, product placement, ad positioning and size, and much more. Additionally, there may be a separate set of guidelines that the advertising business must follow for financial reimbursement of advertising expenditures.

Because of the perceived complexity of cooperative advertising; businesses may feel intimated by the rules and regulations, not ask about cooperative advertising opportunities, or for help. A business owner or manager should ask every vendor that supplies the business with goods about what cooperative programs are available to the business and how the business can take advantage of these programs. Once the advertising business has established its cooperative advertising programs with its vendors all necessary information should be shared with the representatives of the chosen media channels to ensure proper execution of the advertising to meet the producer’s rules and regulations.

Cooperative advertising is a win/win proposition for the producer and advertising business. These programs allow producers to increase brand recognition in the market at the much lower local advertising rates and allow the advertising business to increase its marketing budget at no additional cost to the business. All small businesses should actively pursue these valuable cooperative advertising opportunities.

It’s Spring Cleaning Time! The weather is getting warmer and it is time to dig through those closets, garages and storage areas and turn your unused items into cash! Traditionally, this is the busiest time of the year for classified advertising. Motor vehicles and recreational vehicles are especially big sellers during the warm weather. If you are considering selling, now is the time. Hundreds of potential buyers are out there reading the Sunday morning newspaper every week, so take advantage of the opportunity to sell your items. Below you will find some great tips to help you get the ball rolling.

1.PREPARE: Determine the items around your home that you no longer need. Once you have collected these items, confirm that they are in working order and in good selling condition. If items have been in storage for a long period of time, you may need to clean them up to make them more attractive to potential buyers.

2.RESEARCH: After all items are collected, do your research. Determine the value of your items and decide whether it would be worth you time and effort to place a classified ad. Some things will do well on their own while others may do better in a garage sale setting. If certain items do not have enough value to justify placing an advertisement and you are not interested in hosting a garage sale, donate these items to a local charity for a nice tax deduction.

3.WHERE TO ADVERTISE: Once you have the items sorted out, you need to decide the best method of advertising. Most items will do best advertised in your daily newspaper since you will be able to reach a local audience. Online classifieds generally do not receive as many local buyers, but most are free so you may want to place an ad there as well just to cover all the bases. If you are selling a larger item such as a car, motorcycle, motor home, etc., you will also want to place prominent for sale signs on the items themselves. You can also utilize bulletin boards in your local community to post a free advertisement.

4.DRAFTING YOUR AD: What are the most attractive selling features of your items for sale? Decide which of these features you want to highlight in your advertisement. Look for classified ads for similar items to get an idea of how they are written. Check out the competition to see how your item is better or different than the items that will be running along side your ad.

5.WRITING YOUR AD: Create a catchy title to get your reader’s attention. This will spark an interest in your classified ad. Always include the brand name when applicable. Price should only be included in the title if it is an obvious selling point. Next, you need to write the body text of your ad and entice buyers even further with the details. Make your description clear and factual. Provide specific details in what it is that makes your item stand out from the others. Be honest in your representation and do not make your item appear better than it actually is. Always include the price in your ad. Take some time to view other classified ads for similar items in your newspaper. This will help you determine a fair asking price for your item. Keep in mind, just because you paid $1,500 for your dining room set, does not mean you will receive that much for it on resale. Be realistic in your expectations. Furthermore, if you will only be available during certain times of the day to discuss your item, make a note of this in your advertisement so buyers know the best time to reach you. If possible, include your email address.

6.INCLUDING PHOTOS: A picture is worth a thousand words. Some local newspapers provide you with the option to include photos with your classified ad. Be sure to include the photos! When buyers have the opportunity to see an article for sale they have a higher degree of interest and are more likely to buy when they follow up by telephone or email to ask questions or to get more information. If your newspaper does not offer photos or the photo option is too expensive, you can use an online classified photo hosting service. Visit http://www.seethisitem.com for information on how to include free digital photos with your newspaper classified ad.

7.COMMUNICATING WITH BUYERS: Do your best to be available when customers call for information regarding your item. Be polite and helpful and answer all questions to the best of your knowledge.

8.SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS: If you receive numerous calls for your item, be sure to space out the appointments so that you will have enough time to spend with each buyer and your appointments will not overlap. Safety tip: Whenever possible, have someone home with you when a buyer is coming over to look at your item. You really can never be too careful when dealing with people you have never met before.

Attractively designed vinyl banners advertising your cause or product is a great marketing strategy. A well-designed vinyl is sure to get the attention of passersby. One of the simplest and most effective means of gaining attention from people who are ready to buy, vinyl banners are often overlooked as a means to increase traffic. The Internet is not the only place on earth that can boost business. This fact is all-too-often forgotten.

There are many suppliers who are very good at designing interesting layouts, and they can show you with a wide selection of fonts, special effects, borders and graphics. Your custom-designed vinyl banner comes in different design themes, colors and textured surfaces. Because of its flexibility when it comes to printing, you can use vinyl banners for almost any occasion including birthdays, weddings, reunions, homecomings, prom nights, sports festivals, store openings, mall-wide sale, tradeshows and groundbreakings, among many others. Vinyl banners are heavy-duty, fade resistant and waterproof, making it the best outdoor banner material you can find. You can also do double-side printing, which is perfect for pole advertising.

Standard vinyl banners are usually 10 oz thick. They come is a variety of sizes, but you can also customize the size and shape. Price varies according to size with a low of approximately $90, to a high of $325 or more. For customized vinyl banners, give an allowance of 12 days before delivery. The pricing and delivery policies of different companies, however, can vary widely. Some companies, for example, may offer faster than twelve-day delivery.

Bulletin boards are a good venue to post church news, announcements, reports and updates. But not all people read bulletin boards. They may be cluttered and contain a lot of old news mixed in with the news. Sometimes, important notices are overlooked or don’t get the attention they need.

When you have to announce something very important, do it with a banner posted on the church’s façade to everyone to see. As church announcements are relatively simple, a banner wouldn’t cost much. Parishioners will learn more about your activities and are m ore likely to participate.

For special occasions, like a Christmas play, anniversary or a visit from a senior church official, spread the feeling of welcome and joy by hanging a colorful, announcement banner. You can have one done on vinyl in full colors, attractive images and catchy text. A Banner will add a touch of professionalism to any church announcement you may have.

Vinyl banners can carry photo quality images and backgrounds that attract and bring attention to your church project. You can have it designed in such a way that drivers and pedestrians will see it across the street. They are the perfect welcoming sight for your important guests, as they do convey hospitality and warmth. A vinyl banner is waterproof, fade resistant and will last a long time. You can use it for church signage as well. You can print church schedules and list weekly or monthly activities. Better informed parishioners can and will contribute to your cause.

If you are in a concrete cleaning business using a pressure washer or steam cleaner perhaps you have considered how you can get new clientele through advertising. It is a difficult business to advertise because you deal with business customers and direct mail generally does not work too well.

However if you can get a list of the facilities maintenance people for all the properties in your community you may find yourself with a list of perfect people to mail to. Where can you get such a list? Well, you can get such a list from the county tax assessor of all the business properties. You might also get a list from a local industry guide. It is not easy to get a hold of all the facilities maintenance people and the property management companies to create a mailing list. But once you have that list it is as good as gold for your concrete cleaning business.

There are some ways to advertise a concrete cleaning business and one way that I recommend is to put a flyer insert in the Chamber of Commerce monthly newsletter. It should be a half sheet of paper and a unique color and your phone number should be in bold on the top and under that it should read please call for estimates. Consider this in 2006.

If you own a carwash you are probably looking for alternative ways to advertise your carwash to bring in new clientele from within ten mile radius were you draw 85 percent of all your customers currently. Many carwashes like to use direct mail and services, which put flyers into envelopes and mail them through the U.S. mail to all the people in a given ZIP code.

Generally carwashes will look at the highest income level demographics within the ten-mile radius near their business and concentrate on sending mailings into those areas. Yes, that works. But chances are you are already doing that right?

Well, another thing you can do which is very inexpensive and will give you brownie points in the community is to advertise in the local high school football booster schedule, which is given out or sold at high school football games. In fact there are many sports could have these kinds of advertisements and you should consider advertising in all of them if you can.

All carwashes should concentrate on word-of-mouth advertising and referrals, as those bring the best customers into your facilities. But you also need to bring in new customers and those who may not be associated with your current customers and to do that it may take a little extra advertising. I hope you will consider this in 2006.

What is the best way to advertise a mobile oil change business if you want to get 80 percent of your customers to come from corporate parking lots and fleets of vehicles and only 20 percent of your customers to come from residential services.

Sure, direct mail will work for the residential part of your business but if it is only 20 percent of your market mix then how will you advertise to get to do oil changes on all the fleets in your community and how will you reach all of the corporations in the area so that they will allow you on their property to change the oil for employees while they work?

There are a couple of things you can do which have worked good for our company; Oil Change Guys.com and those include putting a flyer insert into the Chamber of Commerce newsletter, which is a bright color and a half sheet of paper with your phone number in bold at the top. Another way to get to the corporations is to contact a human resource director and ask if there is an employee newsletter that you can advertise in.

If there is not they may invite you in to explain the services you provide and therefore you get in to talk to the decision maker. If there is an employee newsletter it will be some of the best money you ever spend to advertise in it. Please consider this in 2006.