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Its Time For Some Steak

Recently, I was reviewing our website statistics. One of the sites that had a link to mine caught me by surprise. Since this is a family publication, I won't include the name of the website. But, let's just say it contains a four-letter word that people do not use in most business circles. The website was basically a bulletin board for people to rant about other companies. The posting about my website started out with the subject, 'Is this website just a little too slick?' The postings went on to say that my website had a lot of sizzle, but... Read More

The Positioning of Success

Many businesses of today are often driven to compete striclty on price, quality, and features of their products and services. Companies who prosper over the long term don't simply offer the best deals, the best quality, or the most impressive bells and whistles. If you want to win big in today's cutting edge world of business, you have to begin by thinking differently and by challenging the status quo. Whether you are a new or an established business owner, these ten powerful strategies will position your company for big success. (1) Adopt the philosophy... Read More

The Brand Called You

The best brands always try to do the right thing, so that their reputations will remain unsullied. But beyond that they grow, evolve and get better with time, while maintaining their special qualities from the past.We all have a personal brand with social, cultural, intellectual, and personal needs that may not necessarily be addressed in our daily work. Address these needs and you begin to improve your brand. Here is my agenda for building your brand. Join... Read More

Id Buy That: Getting A Brand Mindset

Feel that? The crisp tingle in the air? It's fall. Fall ushers in the promise of eating, seeing, and getting. It's my favorite time of year. By now, kids are settled into school, sweaters set free from mothballs, and it's an amazing time to... BUY.I don't know about you; but for some reason this time of year lowers my normal customer resistance to retail and turns up my desire to buy, buy, buy. And not just anything. Products I've come to know have reliable value to me. You too?Think about it. It starts with buying Halloween candy. Do you reach... Read More

Are You Brand Worthy? Are You Brand Worthy?

Branding is a one hot topic, although it is wildly misunderstood. To make things even more confusing, branding is often tossed in the same basket as marketing which makes its application to an entrepreneur or sole-practioner even more unclear.While out speaking on branding, the question that I hear most is "How do I know if my business or service is brand material?" With businesses opening left and right, and more and more closing each year, I'm glad there are smart business owners open to understanding the issue.If you've found yourself asking the same thing, don't worry you're not alone. Perhaps,... Read More

Branding Is Not Selling Out: ITS SELLING IN

Ever see an amazing band perform and wonder why you've never heard of them before? Ever see an astonishing artist on the street and wonder why isn't their work isn¹t in a gallery? Ever see an astounding independent film and wonder why people all over the world don't know about it?Me too!It breaks my heart to know that there are musicians, painters, sculptors, and filmmakers everywhere starving. Starving... for their art.Why is a branding expert like me, who mostly deals with entrepreneurs and small business owners, addressing musicians, artists, and filmmakers? It's simple. Artists are the ultimate entrepreneurs.Think about it.... Read More

Don?t Get Caught In the Trap: The BIG Difference Between Personal and Business Branding

When you're all alone in the privacy of your home office, surrounded by your computer, your phone and your business idea, have you ever asked yourself, "Where's the line between me in my business and the business in me"?With hundreds of thousands of home-based businesses starting every year, and few ever flourishing, the topic of branding has become hot, hot, hot. And thanks to experts touting the need for a personal brand in sole proprietor businesses the confusion is growing. It's no wonder. Business... personal... personal... business-- what IS the big difference any way?Last week, I was guiding a client... Read More

Too Dull? Too Sharp?

You work hard getting the right cover message and words for your brochure. Now, you want to give it a look, an image.Why a look? Most consultants see themselves as hard working and pragmatic. They believe the look of their materials is unimportant. After-all, clients are hiring expertise not looks, right? Not so!People buy people first, ideas second and things third. Your brochure represents you. It is you when you're not around.What sort of image do you want to convey? Would you visit a prospect wearing a cheap, out-of-date suit, looking sad and second-class? Unlikely. However, many people do just... Read More

Notable News - The Branding Myth

How many times have you heard of seen advertising for a graphic design company that states that they do branding?If you think branding is a logo, letterhead, or web design with all the same look, and colours, then it's true...they can "do branding".Let's take a look at one of the world's best-branded companies, McDonalds. You may not like the food, but if someone says "golden arches" you know what institution they are talking about. Mickey D, McCoffee and Big Mac all bring the same familiar name to mind. You each may have a different reaction to the thought of eating... Read More

Naming Names... How to Name your Business

Sometimes the best inspiration comes from hearing about the deconstruction of other company's names. For you, I am happy to share how I came up with "Slice A Day :: your slice on marketing"... First the purpose and vision of my site was to have people volunteer some marketing stories...true case studies of business owners and how they promote business. Then gathered the supplies for brainstorming. I had a sheet of paper, pencil and a dictionary/thesaurus. Let the brainstorming begin!I love really clever, catchy and visual names. It comes from having a web design and creative background. The... Read More

Brand Building 201: Finding The Ideal Way

The strongest and longest lasting brands branch off of an existing category. Branching takes patience and time. There are two speeds for launching a brand, each one with its own pros and cons.Speed A, like a hot air balloon, takes a long time to prepare before the actual launch. PR, media marketing, favors A. Longevity success favors A. A tree grows stronger with a well-established roots. And this can only occur with good soil, careful fertilizing, watering, and time.Speed B, like a helicopter, takes off quickly but requires more fuel on take off, fuel that isn't there later on. Advertising... Read More

12 Ways to Reduce Postage

1. Never send a letter that weighs less than 30 gms. Five size8-1/2x11 circulars can be mailed with a 1st class postage stamp. By using all 10 sides with a variety of offers you have agreater chance of receiving an order. 2. When you advertise, state the price of your product and add PlusPostage e.g. "A DOZEN AND ONE WAYS TO REDUCE POSTAGE" $1 plusstamp or SASE (self addressed stamped envelope). When invitinginquiries always say "For information send SASE". 3. Advertise that you will do paid mailing. Set a competitiveprice and recover some if not all of the costs involved... Read More

How to Write Classified Ads that Get Results Now.

SELLING DIRECTLY FROM A CLASSIFIED AD Classified ads can be used to sell products directly from the ad.This works best for items costing no more thanapproximately $5. The best use for classified ads is to utilizethem in obtaining inquiries. This is called the two stepapproach. The first step is to get maximum inquiries from theclassified ad, in the second step the promotional package is sentto the prospect and as many inquiries as possible are convertedto buyers. CLASSIFIED ADS FOR MAXIMUM INQUIRIES Classified ads are substantially less expensive than small spaceads, but by no means are they cheap. Most national publicationscatering... Read More

How to Create Your Own Mail Order Products

Pick up almost any book or report on Mailorder Selling andinvariably you will find the same advice. When you select amailorder product, select one which: - appeals to a large segment of the population- is not readily available in stores- is easy to ship by mail- is worthwhile- and a product that lends itself to repeat orders Most mail order writers will also tell you to try to acquireexclusive selling rights to your product. Most writers willagree that a dealer has a better chance of succeeding in themailorder business if he has created the product himself. All of this is... Read More

My First Year In Cyber Space

My first year as a Cyberpreneur was a steeplearning-curve. I was an academic beforestarting an online business, so I had a lot to learn.But even if you were in offline-business before goingonline, you may still have to learn some new skills-online business is a whole new ball-game. Here aresome of the things I learnt in my first year in CyberSpace:(1) Be careful who you register your domain with.Some domain name registrars make it very difficult tochange your web host.I registered my first two domains with a registrarthat caused me more headaches than I care to thinkabout.When I needed to transfer... Read More

Getting Started in the Mail Order Business. How Much Does It Cost?

INTRODUCTION To get any business started successfully takes many ingredients. All requirements fall into one of the following four key categories: 1. Desire, 2. Knowledge, 3. Time, and 4. Available funds. This report deals only with the financial requirements of starting a mail order business. Hopefully it will help the reader to evaluate whether he is financially able to embark upon a business venture that will bring about success. It is generally true that it takes substantially less money to get started in many mail order businesses than in a variety of other businesses. Many a promoter will want you... Read More

Brand Your Consulting Brilliance

Today's competitive marketplace for consulting services is no longer responsive to the marketing strategies that worked in the past. The services you provide should speak volumes about your consulting business. Think about what happens when you hear phrases such as "the ultimate driving machine," "don't leave home without it," and "just do it." Chances are good that you can immediately associate them with BMW, American Express, and Nike. These companies have mastered "brand brilliance." Brand your consulting brilliance because the future of your business depends on it.There's an old adage, "Perception is reality." Simply stated, the perception of a brand... Read More

Optimize Your Mailing List For Better Results

A list of customers who have previously bought from you is your most important asset. These are the customers who will provide you with return business, which is more profitable than the first sale. Are you getting the most from your customer list? There are some secrets you should know, so you can squeeze the most benefits out of your mailing list. Most business' customer lists consist of this information: Name, Address, City, State, Zip. That's it. Unfortunately, this mailing list is almost worthless. You need to have more information in your files than just that. I have 32 information... Read More

The Secrets of Starting Business Successfully

Starting Business Secrets will help you to start your own business successfully. The American Dream is, and always will be, to come up with an idea, start a business and become rich from your own efforts. Based upon this motivation, thousands of businesses fail each year, due primarily to not being familiar with the basics involved in running a business. This report will enlighten you, and give you a number of suggestions you can use to better guarantee your chances for success. This report is written with the warning that any and every business venture contains certain inherent... Read More

Santa - The Brand

Every Christmas Eve, a burglar named Santa busts into homes around the world, but he has never been charged with B&E. He has one of the best, most positive brands around and it continues to inoculate him against any hint of impropriety, as it has for generations.Why does Santa's brand remain so strong? Because Santa is:? Consistent? Unique? Customer-focused? ViralLet's examine these to see what lessons we can learn.First off, Santa has a positioning statement and has used it to stay true to his mission for decades.It is this consistency that has helped him build a brand franchise that is... Read More