Instant Marketing.cover 11/15/06 9:10 AM Page 1 Promote your business effectively Quick Start for next to nothing! Quick Start YOUR YOUR BUSINESS BUSINESS II NN IInnssttaanntt Your company might offer the most satisfying goods and services on the planet, but that won’t equal profit if potential customers don’t know you exist. SS Learn how to get the word out about your business in the most TT inexpensive and effective ways possible. AA NN Developing compelling marketing plans and materials requires skill,knowledge TT and strategy.Let Instant Marketing for Almost Free teach you: MMaarrkkeettiinngg MM (cid:1) (cid:1) AA How to identify the core The secrets of composing words, strategies and images persuasive brochures, flyers RR almost that define your company and news releases KK ffoorr FFrreeee (cid:1) (cid:1) EE Tips and techniques for How, when and where to TT establishing your brand advertise II (cid:1) (cid:1) NN The ten most critical impera- Ways of establishing yourself tives of marketing material as an expert in your field GG Effective, Low-Cost (cid:1) Everything you need to (cid:1) How to make your office and FOR OOvveerr 11,,000000 know about creating your sign say exactly what you AA Results in Weeks, website want them to LL llooww--ccoosstt “Susan F. Benjamin’s advice is fun, outrageous and at times, surprising. Every MM Days or Hours mmaarrkkeettiinngg employee should read this book—and their bosses should read it too.” OO tteecchhnniiqquueess —Harold Rauner, President, The Business Bank SS TT (cid:1) (cid:1) Susan Benjamin has been helping small businesses and other Business/ $16.95 U.S. Attracting Internet Cutting through organizations better market their products and services since Small Business $21.95 CAN 1989. She has established, trained and researched marketing £9.99 U.K. FF communities media noise strategies for organizations including Putnam Investments and MFS,and has trained thousands of marketing writers. C RR (cid:1) Street marketing tactics (cid:1) Targeting organizations P U EE (cid:1) (cid:1) Competing with big Simple press releases EE ISBN 13: 978-1-4022-0824-9 ISBN 10: 1-4022-0824-3 companies that work N www.sourcebooks.com A BENJAMIN E SUSAN F. BENJAMIN Instant Marketing for Almost Free EFFECTIVE, LOW-COST RESULTS IN WEEKS, DAYS OR HOURS SUSAN F. BENJAMIN Copyright © 2007 by Susan F.Benjamin Cover and internal design © 2007 by Sourcebooks,Inc. Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks,Inc. All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks,Inc. All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks, regis- tered trademarks,or trade names of their respective holders.Sourcebooks,Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this book. Published by Sourcebooks,Inc. P.O.Box 4410,Naperville,Illinois 60567-4410 (630) 961-3900 Fax:(630) 961-2168 www.sourcebooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Benjamin,Susan Instant marketing for almost free :effective,low-cost results in weeks,days,or hours / Susan F.Benjamin. p.cm. Includes index. ISBN-13:978-1-4022-1687-9-0824-9 ISBN-10:1-4022-1687-9150-9-0824-3 1.Marketing.I.Title. HF5415.B4292 2006 658.8—dc22 2006022428 Printed and bound in the United States of America. SB 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Introduction................................................................................v Section I: Getting Started Chapter 1: Taking the Mystery out of Marketing.........................3 Chapter 2: Marketing from Within: The Heart of Your Marketing Campaign...............................................................11 Chapter 3: Love You, Love Your Brand......................................23 Section II: Marketing Imperatives Chapter 4: Ten Imperatives of Instant Marketing Success..........51 Chapter 5: Get the Right Response ...........................................71 Section III: The Instant Marketing Supply Kit Chapter 6: Signature Materials.................................................79 Chapter 7: Brochures................................................................93 Chapter 8: Almost Everything You Need to Know about Creating Your Website................................................................................103 Chapter 9: Direct Mail and Email Marketing ...........................111 Chapter 10: Short Stash: Tip Sheets and Flyers.......................121 Chapter 11: Newsletters.........................................................131 Chapter 12: News Releases and Other Forms of Publicity.......139 Chapter 13: Advertising: From Newspapers to the Airwaves and TV..............................................................................149 Chapter 14: Giveaways..........................................................161 Section IV: People, Places, and Things: The Ultimate Marketing Chapter 15: Telephone Marketing...........................................173 Chapter 16: The “Who” of Instant Marketing.........................187 Chapter 17: Roadside Marketing: Lobbies, Windows, and Signs..........................................................................195 Chapter 18: The People in the Places: Marketing Face-to-Face.....................................................209 iv Instant Marketing for Almost Free Appendix A: Worksheets........................................................223 Appendix B: Samples.............................................................239 Index .....................................................................................251 About the Author....................................................................263 Introduction Dr.Benjamin Spock,the noted pediatrician,once told parents,“You know more than you think you do.”Well, the same holds true for marketing; actually,it probably holds truer,as you know if you’ve ever had kids.And if you’ve had the courage,ingenuity,and creativity to start a small busi- ness,or to get deeply involved with one,marketing should be a snap. Your guiding principle will be the concept of marketing from within. That means to trust your gut.Break the rules.And value your own ideas above all else.First,though,you need to understand the core concepts of marketing—always know the rules before you break them. What has worked for other people? Why have certain marketing efforts failed? And how much money should you sink into your efforts? Here’s what you can expect from this guide: Section I: Getting Started “Getting started” starts with you and your business. I’m speaking, of course, of one of the most essential (and mismanaged) components of marketing: your brand. That’s why you’ll step back and take a keen look.What is your brand? How does it distinguish you from the guy a few blocks down the road? And who are your customers? I mean,you know your customers,but are they really the right ones for you? In more concrete terms, you’ll identify core words, strategies, and images—from your logo to your business culture—that customers will equate with something compelling, desirable, and good. By the time you turn to Section II,you’ll be ready to launch a powerful marketing campaign that is distinctly (and competitively) yours. Section II: Marketing Imperatives You know that developing marketing material requires skill. And knowledge.But everything from that first paragraph in your direct mail piece to the central image in your ad also requires strategy.You’ll fuel your strategic power with the two chapters here, covering everything from the ten imperatives of marketing to facts about getting the right vi Instant Marketing for Almost Free response from customers.No question—these will surprise you.In fact, the way you communicate at work may never be the same. Section III: The Instant Marketing Supply Kit Now,get ready to create the most important marketing supplies,from a brochure (that people actually read!) to your website, the great god of marketing today. Television ads, radio spots, telephone sales cam- paigns? Yes, we’ll cover those, too. In fact, we’ll address more market- ing supplies than you’d imagine. By the way,if that thought makes you panic—after all,you have only so much money and energy to devote to marketing—relax.We’ll can- didly discuss what items to put high or your priority list and which to wedge somewhere toward the bottom (website up,advertising down). If you want everything,and you want it now,still no problem.You’ll get countless options for all your supplies—from the almost free or entire- ly free to the costly;from the do-it-yourself to hiring out.When you’re finished,you’ll have everything you need to make an instant marketing impression and keep your cash flow,well,flowing. Section IV: People, Places, and Things: The Ultimate Marketing Perhaps there’s no greater instant marketing message than your win- dow,your sign,or your personal presence.In this section,you’ll get the nuts and bolts (and lobbies and displays) to do it right—and make a powerful statement instantly.Naturally,we’ll cover the familiar,such as how to design the workplace to match your look with your brand.But we’ll also cover the unfamiliar,such as establishing yourself as an expert by teaching adult education courses,or making a statement by turning your entryway into a museum (seriously, it’s been done!). Some of these marketing devices are better than almost free—they actually pay! Once you finish this book, don’t pass it on to a friend (unless they promise to give it back) or stash it away.Keep it on your shelf,close by, Introduction vii where you can reach it. Why? Because marketing never ends. You should always be trying new ideas and adjusting the old ones, taking calculated risks and sometimes taking outrageous chances.But why talk here? Turn the page,and let’s get going. Section I. Getting Started