This week is an Interview with Crissy Heron about making extra money during the holidays.



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Resources Mentioned On the Show

IndieBizChicks

With the growth of the Internet, so much marketing is focused on online tactics. But offline marketing is still an important part of any business building plan. One easy and affordable way to get the word out about your business is through promotional products. People like to receive free items and because promotional products serve a usefulness, people tend to keep them, thereby keeping your brand name in front of them.

You probably own several promotional products already; a pen from a bank, a logo t-shirt from a fundraising event, or a calendar from the local Realtor. There are a variety of promotional items that can be used including clothing, hats, mugs, pens, totes, calendars and office supplies. And they can be used at a variety of functions including trade shows, holiday gifts, and incentive programs.

A great resource for a big variety of promotional items at affordable prices is Paragon Promotions. It has over 250,000 promotional products in over 20 categories including a environmentally friendly items. And it has a variety of advertising programs to help you put together the best promotional plan for your marketing strategy. It even it offers informational marketing promo articles to help you determine the best way to use promotional items in your marketing.

Learn more about Paragon Promotions

While the Internet has made marketing faster, easier and affordable, it has caused some home business owners to forget the power of offline marketing. In particular postcards can be a very effective way to promote your business, service or product. Postcards are ideal because they offer more space for information than a business card, and yet are still easy to hand out, leave in public places and mail.

Some examples of post card marketing include:

• Promote a specific item or service.
• Promote upcoming events.
• Notify customers of new products or services.
• Create special offers or coupons for current customers.
• Send holiday or birthday greetings to clients and potential customers.
• Give directions or instructions such as to your office or a use for your products.

The ideas are limited only by your imagination. And with digital postcard printing and affordable online services to help you create your cards, it’s easier than ever to have professional quality postcards to market your business. It can be as simple as taking a photo of your product, logo or yourself, uploading it to an online printing service such as PSPrint, creating text and ordering the number of cards you need.

Offline marketing should be a part of every business. Further, creating your own custom printed materials is a great way differentiate your business from others as well as to generate leads and keep your clients informed.

Here is a guest post on great ways to brand and get the word out about your business!

Whether you’re starting a new company, managing a nonprofit or looking for ways to refresh your image, there are lots of ways to use marketing and branding techniques to improve and update your business. To make sure that you make the most of the resources around you, consider these tips.

1. Define Your Brand.

You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Clearly state who you are, what you do, why someone should buy from you and why you’re different.

2. Develop a Brand Positioning Statement (in two sentences or less).

Create a statement that succinctly describes your products and services as they relate to your clients’ needs. Refreshyour positioning statement as needed.

3. Create a Plan.

Think through the details for getting your products, services and business in front of the right people. Write it down. Refine it over time. This is called a plan.

4. Get Feedback from Customers and Prospects.

How do you find out why your business isn’t where you want it to be? Get out and talk to customers. Talk to prospects. Find out what they need and how you can fill their needs.

5. Reinforce Your Message.

It takes at least three impressions for someone to remember your products and services. Get the word out about what you do over and over again using a variety of media types.

6. Deliver Benefits Which Customers Really Desire and Value.

How does a customer know whether or not your offering can fix a problem that they don’t even know they have? Describe benefits: how your product or service uniquely satisfies a need, fills a void, provides a solution or identifies a problem.

7. If It’s Broken, Fix It.

Find ways to constantly improve your business. If something isn’t working, be prepared to change it.

8. Identify What Your Brand Means to Customers.

Loyal customers are your greatest asset. Find out just how loyal your customers are by asking them to tell you exactly what makes your offerings valuable to them.

9. Audit and Track Your Success.

Use the services of a colleague or a research firm to perform quarterly or semiannual audits to see how satisfied your clients are or are not. Take action on the information that you get from these audits.

10. Match Your Pricing to the Value That Your Clients Get from Your Offerings.

Test different price points for your products and services. Research the price points and pricing models from competitors in your field. Value is in the eye of the beholder.

11. Organize Your Products and Services in a Logical Way.

Consider your offerings as a system of products and services that work together. Be sure that they are clearly named, priced and marketed so that clients can make an informed and clear buying decision among, and between, your offerings.

12. Spend as Much Time as You Can Getting to Know Your Customers.

Write down a detailed description of your ideal client. Once you’ve found them, take the time to understand their needs, issues and buying patterns.

13. Include Your Product and Company Name on Everything.

Reinforce your image and brand by putting it on everything from email signatures to note cards, websites, direct mail pieces, marketing materials and voicemail messages.

14. Tell a Story About Your Product or Service.

Everyone loves a good story. Write an account of a how a client found you, a problem that you solved for them, or the successes that they’ve experienced with your products or services.

15. Tell Your Clients’ Stories Using Their Words.

Testimonials and reference letters are effective ways for your clients to sing your praises. Develop a collection of “client stories” that you can access at a moment’s notice.

16. Push for Quality.

Strive to delight your clients by exceeding their expectations and meeting your promise for results.

17. Speak to Your Clients in a Language They Can Understand.

The style, tone and content of all communications to your clients should be easy for them to understand. Avoid acronyms and technical terms unless widely understood by your audience.

18. Get Out to the Marketplace – No Matter What.

Whether or not your business takes you beyond hyperspace, get out and talk to other business owners. Get involved in industry associations. Attend conferences and other educational events.

19. Establish Solid Business Processes.

Document and update the basic series of actions that describe how you run your business. Include steps for taking orders, answering customer inquiries, post sales interactions with customers and other aspects of operating your business.

20. Stay Relevant.

Business people often “reinvent” themselves. Keep up to date on issues and developments in your industry that may affect how (and what and for how much) you sell your products and services. Be on the lookout for opportunities to meet client needs in a new and different way.

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BLUE SAGE Consulting, Inc. is a SOMWBA-certified business consulting firm, established in 1997 to work with companies to successfully market and sell their products and their services. Check out our business tips and trends at www.bluesageconsulting.com or call us at 508-497-9999.

This week listen to an Interview with home business owner Margaret Oleksa of Local Talent Books and Music. Find out how she took a layoff to start a business and unique ways she promotes her business. .


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Resources provided in the podcast:

Local Talent Books and Music, Inc

When I created my very first information product (before digital documents), I didn’t have the money or equipment to turn it into a professional looking book.  Instead I had to print out a quality draft, drive it to the local print shop, and order up copies including a comb binding. I had to do the same thing for business cards, brochures and other printed materials needed to do business. If I needed a large number of documents, I had to go to the copy store and even then I was limited to what I could do without spending a fortune. Because creating printed documents so expensive, and I didn’t have the equipment or know-how to do it myself, many great products and promotional ideas I had were left undone.

Today, digital options have made creating printed documents so much easier and more professional looking. You can create your documents, upload them to a printing service which will create them (including binding or cutting), and ship them to your door. Many projects that would have been cost prohibitive can now be done professionally at an affordable price. Now you can use digital printing to create  customized reports, calendars, CD case inserts, stickers, folders, banners even poster printing to sell or to promote your business just like the big guys.

Digital technology has truly made it easy for the home-based entrepreneur to create professional looking products and marketing materials on a limited budget.

This week’s Work-At-Home Success News and Reviews Podcast includes the secret to work-at-home success, answers to a question about landing pages, and great blogging tool.

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Resources provided in the podcast:

The Work-At-Home Success Bible at Amazon
Work-At-Home Success Bible website
Scribefire

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, work at home

This week’s Work-At-Home Success News and Reviews Podcast includes an interview with Internet marketing expert Tracy Repchuk.

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Resources provided in the podcast:

The Work-At-Home Success Bible
Marketing Makeover Miracles
Tracy Repchuk

This week’s Work-At-Home Success News and Reviews Podcast you’ll learn how to make money with affiliate marketing.

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The podcast is also available through iTunes.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:

Super Affiliate Handbook

Commission Junction

Commission Junction

One of my favorite affiliate programs. Pays $50 for each satellite system you give way.
VMC Satellite (hosted)

Internet Marketing Tips from the original online marketing guru

Free internet marketing tips from Work-At-Home Success

Blogger (hosted)

WordPress (hosted)

WordPress (Self-hosted – download script)

Hostgator Affordable webhosting with Fantastico to install WordPress for you.

Special Offer:
WEB 2.0 MARKETING SECRETS Build Traffic and Increase Profits with FREE Web 2.0 tools.

I have been working on being more consistant and effective with my Web 2.0 participation. However, I find its so easy to get overwhelmed. Check out this post from Better Living On The Web for my tricks on keeping up with Web 2.0.