Brand New. 10 Secret And Effective Marketing Strategies

Marketing is one of the most important business factors. From my experience, I have just listed 10 effective marketing strategies that have helped my marketing development, and hope will help your business,too. Here are 10 secret and effective marketing strategies.

1. Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic. Give people the option of adding the directory to their web site by linking to it. Put your business advertisement at the top of the director's home page. This technique will get lots of people to linkto your web site and give you free advertising.

2. Do you have a product or service that doesn't sell good? Offer it as a free bonus for someone else's product or service. Get free advertising by placing your web site or business ad on the product or in the product package.

3. Trade autoresponder ads with other businesses. If both of you send out information with auto-responders just exchange a small classified ad to put at the bottom or top of each other's autoresponder message.

4. Start a free tip line. Offer a free daily, weekly, or monthly tip recorded on your voice mail. The tips should be related to your business. Include your ad for your web site or business at the beginning or end of your message.

5. Exchange content with other web sites and ezines. You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.

6. Offer to insert ads into your product package for other businesses. Just ask, in return that they do the same for your business. You should only trade insert ads with businesses that have the same target audience.

7. Offer a free daily class in your web site's chat room. The class should be related to the subject of your business or web site. This will get people to visit your web site everyday.

8. Do you have a product that doesn't sell good? Offer it as a free bonus for another businesses product or service. You'll get free advertising by placing your web site or business ad on the free bonus.

9. Place different emotional response ads for the same product or service all over your web site. One ad may hit their hot button to buy more than another ad.

10. Publish your e-zine in e-book format. You could offer a larger number of articles per issue. It also allows you to include graphics with your ezine.Your advertising revenue would increase because you could charge businesses for large color ads.

How would you like those 10 secret marketing tips? I could have listed more than 10 marketing strategies but those 10 tips are my interesting strategies. I hope above 10 marketing strategies will increase your sales and marketing growth.

Brand Management - Beyond Marketing

In the past, the management of an organization's brand has usually been the sole domain of the organization's marketing team. However, with the evolution of the Internet and people's need for instant information, there is a greater call for public relations professionals to become more directly involved with an organization's brand management.

The Dictionary of Business and Management defines brand as: a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors.

But according to Colin Bates, a brand management specialist from www.buildingbrands.com, brand means much more than that. "More accurately," he says, "brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer."

Essentially, brand is more than simply a corporate logo; it is anything people can associate an organization with, whether it is a paid advertisement or an article found in a newspaper. This is where brand management becomes important and PR professionals must be vigilant.

It is not enough for public relations professionals to simply communicate news to the media; they must somehow communicate the persona of their organization.

For example, Google, the company that runs the best-known and most-used search engine on the Web, has a very distinctive brand. Most Internet users could visually identify its logo. However, Google's branding efforts do not stop there.

The company has worked hard to combat Internet users' doubts about the quality of Web search results. Most of the main stream search engines sell advertising in order to make money and many people have accused these companies of skewing search results for money - giving certain web sites a higher ranking in exchange for purchasing paid advertising.

However, Google is well-known for the clear division it places between its search results and its advertising business. The visual separation on Google's Web site is an example: search results are prevalent on the left and occupy at the very least 90 per cent of the page, while advertising occupies very little space and is not intrusive to the user. Most importantly, the search results are generated from the intelligence of Google's product and are not influenced by purchasing advertising.

Google makes this very clear each and every time it speaks to the media. When a spokesperson does an interview or the company issues a press release regarding its search engine, it is quick to point out the division. In fact, it says it is part of its corporate philosophy - hence, it has become part of its brand. Google is known for its technical innovation and the quality of its search results, and not as a company that is just interested in money.

Furthermore, to ensure the organization's branding is being effectively communicated to the media, it also must be properly managed.

If the brand or persona of the organization is not being properly communicated, problems can be identified through analysis of the media coverage and the necessary adjustments can be made by the PR team to get the proper message out.

By tracking key messages, taglines, or buzzwords in the media coverage, the public relations team can measure how well its organization is communicating. It could be there are stop words the PR team wants to avoid using to prevent confusion and miscommunication. These too can be measured.

Media coverage can also be measured against other performance indicators such as sales and stock prices. This could be a good indicator to measure how well a brand is being perceived in the media and with an organization's key publics.

To most companies, brand is just as important as the products they create and services they provide, and it must be properly managed. Public relations professionals have a key role to play in shaping and maintaining an organization's brand - this responsibility cannot be left solely to the organization's marketing team. Not only is the PR team responsible for communicating the brand, but it also must be vigilant through media analysis.

Boost Your Emotional Marketing Potential

Why do people buy your product? If you stack up enough benefits to outweigh the costs of purchasing it, do you automatically close the deal? It doesn't always happen, does it? Consumers are not calculating machines. They are soft, warm, breathing humans with emotions that assign meaning and personal significance to your products.

How do potential customers evaluate your products (or services)? How do they trade off various factors before deciding? How are their emotions involved in the process? Consumers--whether they realize it or not--use up to six categories of emotional criteria when they decide to purchase your product.

Technical criteria

Technical criteria relate to what your product does. Every product performs a function. It may also perform additional functions or have features that make it easier to operate or use. If your type of product has been around for a while, everyone assumes it will perform its basic function. Marketing battles are fought on the ground of extra features and ease of use.

Does your product perform its core function better, faster, or more smoothly than your competitors' products? Have you enriched your product with additional features? Is your product easier to buy and simpler to operate?

Economic/sacrifice criteria

Economic/sacrifice criteria relate to price. Consumers live in an approach/avoidance world. Your product's benefits are in a tug of war with its price and the effort it takes to purchase it. For most consumers, the psychological cost of paying for your product reduces their enjoyment of it. Several emotionally significant factors influence the maximum price you can charge for your product.

How closely does your product relate to the buyer's needs? How unique is your product? Do you charge a "fair" price? Is paying the asking price socially acceptable for your customers?

Legalistic criteria

Consumers are also guided by what others demand or want. Some potential buyers must obey legal requirements and this loss of control may be frustrating. Consumers also feel obliged to consider the needs and desires of others, like their spouse or children.

Does your product help your customer comply with any legal requirements? Can your product be made more appealing to your customer's children or spouse?

Integrative criteria

How does your product or service fit with your potential customer's social group or personal identity? Consumers belong to social groups. They face potential embarrassment if they don't conform. So they constantly try to strike a balance between group membership versus visibility and self-esteem. Any product or service that increases their self-esteem is emotionally satisfying.

Does your product help your customer express their identity? Can your product be described as "upscale" or "exclusive"?

Adaptive criteria

Consumers want to minimize any risk that they will regret their purchase later. The easiest solution is to avoid responsibility completely and trust the advice of others, preferably an expert. Consumers also lower their risk of future regret by imitating the buying habits of others that they assume are "in the know," by looking for guarantees, or by basing their decision on your reputation.

Are you able to offer endorsements from recognized experts? Do you have testimonials from satisfied customers? Do you offer a strong guarantee? Is it possible to offer a free trial or sample?

Intrinsic criteria

Intrinsic criteria relate to your product's basic nature--how much the consumer "likes" your product. Appeal to your customer's senses. How does your product look, feel, taste, smell or sound?

Curiosity is another intrinsic criterion. Consumers are always looking for something new and different. Familiar products are reassuring, but they are also boring. The trick is to not go too far. Every consumer has an optimal level of novelty and complexity that maximizes their curiosity and their desire to satisfy it. If you push beyond the optimal point, they will return to the familiar.

Is your product "refreshing" or "alluring"? How about "enchanting" or "elegant"?

If you focus only on rational behavior, then you choose to ignore enormously powerful emotional forces that ultimately make your customer's final decision. The rational argument should already be won by your product's high quality design. Creative innovation, savvy pricing, and persuasive presentation will win your customer's emotions.

Book Marketing 101

The most common mistake people make when self publishing their books is to ignore marketing until it is too late. As an author, you want your book to be the best in its category. To make it stand out from the rest, you need to market your book carefully and there are a lot of decisions to make right at the start.

Who are you planning to sell your book to? This is the most critical question you need to answer. Before taking any steps to promote your book you should be aware of who your target audience is. ‘Everybody’ is not the correct answer to this question, although it is a common answer. The more focused you are on your target audience the easier it will be for you reach them. After identifying you target audience, you should try to gather as much data about them as you can. The next step should be to outline your goals and objectives, determine your budget and implement your strategies. From there, you can then determine what form your book should take. For example, the size and weight, number of pages, type of cover, etc.

The best selling books are not necessarily the best books so it depends on how it was promoted. It used to be a common wisdom that the only way to become a best selling author was to go through a major publishing house. However, for many years, many bestsellers have actually been self published and self promoted. When deciding whether to self publish your book or not, you should examine the advantages that successful self-publishers seem to have over their not so fortunate counterparts.

Has your book already been published? You want to make sure you are going to market with something new. So make sure to do some research before putting all your effort into selling something that has already been sold. Your title will be critical in capturing your target audience so choose it carefully. Similarly, your cover should catch your target audience's eye. Think of what appeals to that particular demographic.

As writers have a reputation for being sensitive creatures, it should first of all be noted that those who plan to handle the marketing and publicity aspects of their book themselves should shed this image and possess thick hides. While sensitivity is great while writing your book, you have to alter your approach and become practical when it comes to marketing it. You should not take any negatives situations that arise personally and should feel as if all the setbacks are taking you closer to your end goal.

In this age of internet a book that is promoted through the web gains an added advantage over those which are not. Thus, to promote your book online, you should first of all have an exclusive website for it. Here you should display your book’s cover, excerpts, reviews and testimonials on the home page and provide links to distributors that carry your book. Another way to get your book noticed is by including it in a books in print database. Several online bookstores use this database. If you are not building a website for your book then you can use an email promotion campaign for promoting it. First of all, you should send a newsletter to your different email contacts. Inform them about your book and then follow up with a sales letter.

Another way to promote your book online is by creating your own blog. Having a blog has now become one of the most profitable things on the web. On your blog you can add the link to your site and depending on the popularity of your blog it can receive more than one hundred thousand hits a day.

Price is a major consideration in marketing your book. Be aware of your target audience's typical disposable income level. This can make or break successful promotion of your book.

These are some basic tips on how to start thinking about marketing your book. This is an ongoing process and will require constant re-evaluation. Become aware of what works for other authors and incorporate ideas when they make sense. Above all, have fun marketing your book!

Boating Industry Launches Marketing Campaign

For the first time in U.S. boating history, marine products manufacturers will spend millions of dollars promoting the benefits of recreational boating and boat ownership.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association's "Grow Boating" campaign and $12 million marketing blitz includes national advertising buys, direct mail and other initiatives that the industry hopes will connect with potential boaters whose free time is growing more fractionalized.

"Our goal is to make the two best days in a boater's life every Saturday and Sunday," said Thom Dammrich, president of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, during a presentation to industry leaders at the recent Miami International Boat Show.

Yamaha, one of the largest marine product brands in the world, agreed to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of the campaign. Yamaha is optimistic that the money spent will further the strategies the company launched internally to make boating more attractive for families.

"We have been engaged in promoting boating as a great family activity for a number of years now and we are gratified to see the entire boating industry joining us in this endeavor," said Mark Speaks, president of Yamaha WaterCraft. "There is plenty of evidence indicating that families that boat together are healthier, happier and more successful. Any parent that has been boating with their family understands what a great way this is to renew the ties that bind the family together."

Yamaha WaterCraft Group is one of the few companies in the boating industry enjoying double-digit growth and is a major voice behind the industry's Grow Boating campaign. To meet the needs of new entrants to the boating lifestyle, Yamaha offers new, fully featured family watercraft starting around $7,000.

According to federal studies looking at U.S. recreational trends, 65 million Americans reported that they go boating annually, and 28 million Americans reported that they ride personal watercraft.

Blog Marketing for the Expert Witness

What is a blog, you ask? Short for УWeb Log,Ф itТs an increasingly popular way to self-publish online. You can actually syndicate your articles, making this a great way for experts to showcase their specialized knowledge.

Think of a blog as a form of an online journal, with frequent postings and observations on items of interest. Most blogs focus on a narrow subject area, which is ideal for experts. Hyperlinks to articles, websites and other blogs make this a very interactive medium that encourages audience participation.

The Pew Internet Study estimates that about 11% of Internet users Ц translating to 50 million people - are regular blog readers. Technorati, which claims to be the authority on what's going on in the world of weblogs, tracks almost 42 million blogs.

Lawyers are active bloggers. According to an online survey conducted by Blogads.com late last year, 6.1% of bloggers work in the legal profession. The Litigation Section of the American Bar Association discovered that the majority of section members surveyed read at least one blog regularly and almost 20% publish their own blog.

The best way to understand a blog is to look at a few. The Google Blog has a very simple appearance. By contrast, some blogs in the legal market can be very sophisticated, like E-Discovery Law offered by Preston Gates & Ellis LLP or the ERISA Blog maintained by The Law Office of B. Janell Grenier. Law Professor Blogs offers a rich network of links to law blogs maintained by legal academics.

Three reasons to start a blog

1. Blog software is frequently free or nominally priced

2. Blogs increase your search engine rankings

3. Postings get widespread distribution through syndication

If you like to write and have information to share about your area of expertise, a blog can be a great marketing tool.

Three cautions before you start blogging

Look before you leap into a blog. Launching a professional looking blog requires careful advance planning. Here are some pointers to keep in mind:

1. Create a strategic framework for the type of information you intend to publish

2. Post new content frequently to keep your blog fresh

3. Take advantage of syndication features to maximize the reach of your blog

Basically, make sure you have the time to maintain your blog with high quality and timely information. Just because you get named as an expert on a big case is no excuse to neglect or abandon your blog.

Blog publishing services

Now, letТs say you are interested and want to find out more about launching a blog. One place to start is with your website hosting service. Chances are you can link a blog to your website for a small additional monthly fee. I host with GoDaddy for example, and they offer blog software for as little as $2.99 per month.

Leading blog services include Blogger (owned by Google), TypePad and Moveable Type (both owned by Six Apart Ltd.), and WordPress. LexBlog targets the legal market with a full-service offering that includes strategic design, implementation and training.

Blog features encourage interaction

The beauty of the blog is the way it allows you to organize, archive and syndicate your articles. Here are a few features you should consider:

.Archives A calendar on the front page of your blog can link readers to articles posted on a certain date. You can also organize articles by author or alphabetically.

.Blogrolls Present your readers with a sidebar list of other blogs on related topics that you recommend.

.Email a friend Add a button to your blog for easy emailing.
News Feeds. RSS (УReally Simple SyndicationФ) is a blog technique that allows you to easily distribute your postings to other blogs. Interested parties can also come to your blog and quickly set up an automatic feed of your news for publication on their site. Read more about feeds at Wikipedia.

.Reader Feedback Allow your readers to comment on your blog postings to maximize audience interest. Some of the techniques used for this purpose include trackbacks, pingbacks or comment moderation.

.Permalinks Give your postings a static URL so that readers can easily share links or revisit a favorite posting.

The Internet is in a constant state of evolution, with blogs being the latest example. Have fun and happy blogging! Write us if you have any questions or comments.

Best Super Smart Affiliate Marketing Blueprint

The young and very successful affiliate marketer Avery Berman has one of the Best Super Smart Affiliate Marketing Blueprints. But is the money you pay for it worth it?


Well, I must admit I am a skeptic when it comes to people trying to sell me stuff on the internet, but viewing Avery's video and chatting to him on instant messaging I was convinced enough to buy it and I would definitely say the money is worth it. Following is a brief overview of this fantastic guide.


If you have gone through Avery Berman's site you will realize he is a kid who started out at the very tender age of 13 and he did lose quite a bit of his dad's money when he first started out with internet marketing - over 1000's of dollars. However he was convinced that he could make it work and kept on trying. Today at the age of 18 he is making thousands of dollars a month, yes in a month. Niche marketing is the key method to his success with making money on the internet.


The first step to Niche Marketing is to find out who wants to buy your product and make sure that they will actually pay money for that product. The blueprint contains such sites where you can start finding your niche market.


The second step is sell the product that the customer actually wants to buy. You can become an affiliate marketer or you market resell products. Products such as software or even an e-book download, the product need not necessarily be a physical one.


The third step would be to promote your niche product. Bringing out your product in the fastest most efficient manner is the key to success. This can be done by building a Squidoo lens or there are many social bookmarking sites. This is just a brief outline but Avery Berman's Blueprint gives it to you in detail.


Finally, I would urge you, do not waste time even though you may have lost money trying your hand at internet marketing and thinking all is lost just get the blueprint and start making money fast. You will not regret it.