12 Ways to Increase Online Sales

Improve the sales effectiveness of your site with one of these guaranteed ways to turn visitors into buyers.

One of the core values at my company is "Test everything; assume nothing!" That’s because we know that after all these years on the internet, you just never know what strategy or angle is going to work best for you…until you test it. This applies even to your star-performing strategies, because there’s always room for improvement.

The bottom line is, testing is the only way to discover what works–and what doesn’t–on your website, and it’s the best way to start increasing your sales exponentially. And if you take the plunge and use just one of the following tests, you’ll learn just how true this is, especially when you start seeing a dramatic improvement to your bottom line.

Test #1: Offer just one product or service on your home page. Do you sell a number of products or services on your website? If so, I’d strongly recommend you test whether or not this is the best strategy for you. We’ve found that offering fewer products in one place with more copy describing those products always translates into higher sales.

It’s all about focus. Instead of trying to please everyone who visits your site by offering a large range of products with minimal detail about each one, if you offer just one product–or one set of related products–you can really focus on one key set of benefits and answer all the possible questions and doubts your visitors might have about your product. And you don’t have to stop selling your other products–you can always offer them to your customers from other web pages or by using follow-up offers (see Test #12)

Of course, the only way to find out for sure if this will work with your target audience is to test it! Write a sales letter for your lead product, and put it on your home page. Then run the test for a week or two to see how it increases your sales.

Test #2: Reposition your opt-in offer to boost your opt-ins and build a bigger list of loyal subscribers. Your opt-in offer is your tool for gathering your customers’ e-mail addresses and building your e-mail list, which allows you to regularly keep in touch with your subscribers, build relationships of trust and loyalty, and sell them your products or services.

But did you know that where your opt-in offer appears on your site can have a huge impact on how many subscribers you attract?

If you don’t use a long sales letter, test placing your opt-in offer in as prominent a position as possible on your home page–the top left of a page is where visitors’ eyes are often drawn first. At the very least, test placing your opt-in in the "top fold" of your home page–the area of screen first visible to a visitor before they scroll down the page.

If you have a long sales letter, you should test placing your opt-in offer within your second "page" of text–after you’ve grabbed your visitors’ attention by identifying a problem they have and established your credibility by impressing them with your credentials, experience and glowing testimonials from happy customers.

You should also test placing your opt-in offer on every page of your site so it’s always in front of your visitors, and try placing it in a "hover ad" (see below). The more sign-up opportunities you provide, the more subscribers you’re likely to get. Test it and see.

Test #3: Add impact to your promotions with hover ads. I’m sure everyone’s familiar with pop-ups: They’re the small windows containing a special offer or other information that sometimes "pop up" when you visit a website. Love ’em or hate ’em, pop-ups have been a very useful, online marketing tool for years. However, because a percentage of internet users disliked them, Google, AOL, Netscape and others developed pop-up blocking software to combat them.

Of course, internet users should be able to choose whether or not they want to view pop-ups. However, much of this software automatically blocked pop-ups, meaning visitors to a site started missing out on valuable information that could benefit them.

But that was before we discovered a very impressive technology that actually lets you use ads that behave like pop-ups but that aren’t pop-ups–so they don’t get blocked. They’re called hover ads, and they’re well worth testing on your site.

In fact, when we tested adding a hover ad to our site, sales increased by 162 percent! These ads are effective because they put important information, such as your opt-in offer or a special limited-time promotion, right in front of your targeted visitors.

You can test placing your opt-in offer in your hover ad to see if that boosts subscription numbers. When we did this, 86 percent more people subscribed to our newsletter. You can also test how many more people click through to a special offer page on your site through a hover ad vs. through a regular link on your home page.

Test #4: Feature different benefits in your headline. Your headline has a huge impact on your sales. It’s often the first thing visitors to your site see so it must grab their attention and compel them to read your sales letter.

A successful headline should highlight a problem your target audience faces and stress the main benefit of your product or service in solving this problem. Let’s look at an example that illustrates how a headline can be changed for maximum impact.

One of our clients was using the following headline on his site: "Box4Blox–The Amazing Toy Storage Box For Lego." The problem with this headline is that it tells you what the product is, but not what it does for you. It doesn’t give a visitor any good reason to continue reading the rest of the page.

Contrast that one with this: "Finally! Discover the Secret That’s Got More Than 50,000 LEGO-Crazy Kids Worldwide Actually LOVING Clean-Up Time!" This headline presents a major benefit of the product and a solution to a problem–in this case, how to get kids to clean up after themselves and actually enjoy it.

Test #5: Establish a problem in your copy and show how you can solve it. In the first few paragraphs that appear on your home page, you need to go into more detail about the problem you introduced in your headline–showing your audience that you relate to them. (Only when your audience feels you understand their problem will they feel confident that you can solve it.)

Once the problem is established, you can then begin introducing your product or service as the solution to this problem. By emphasizing exactly how your product or service will solve your reader’s problem, you’re guaranteed to see a boost in sales.

Test #6: Add credibility to your copy–and enhance your visitors’ trust in you. It’s vital that your sales copy establishes your credibility: It’s through this process that your visitors come to trust you and feel comfortable enough to buy from you. There are several ways you can do this effectively and we’ll talk about two of the quickest and easiest ones here. If you’re not already using these techniques, revamp your copy and test it against what you’re using now. You’ll be surprised by the difference.

One of the best ways to establish your credibility is to include customer testimonials in your sales letter. These should be excerpts from genuine e-mails or letters from customers expressing how your product or service helped solve the particular problem they faced. This last point is important: A customer testimonial that states how your product benefited them is much more effective than one that just says something like, "Your product is great!"

You can also enhance your credibility by adding a section to your copy that outlines your credentials, experience and any background information that makes you qualified to solve your target audience’s problem. Your aim should be to effectively convince readers that you are the best person to offer them a solution to their problem.

Test #7: Focus on your site visitors–not yourself. The most successful sales copy focuses on the reader. Too often, business owners neglect this simple golden rule. Look carefully at your sales copy. Is it filled with references to "I," "me" and "we"? Instead of using sentences like "I designed my time-management software with the busy homeowner in mind," try "Your new time-management software will free up hours of time for you to spend with your family." So try searching for "I," "me" and "our" in your sales copy and replace them with "you" and "your."

Test #8: Instill urgency in your copy–and convince readers they need to buy now! It’s very important that your sales copy instill a sense of urgency in your visitors, compelling them to buy now. The best place to do this is toward the end of your sales letter, near the call to action (when you ask for the sale). Here are a few of the most effective ways to create a sense of urgency. Try testing each one against your current copy:

    * Offer a limited-time price discount where visitors must buy before a certain date in order to qualify for the discount.
    * Offer additional bonuses for free if visitors buy within a certain time frame.
    * Offer only a limited quantity of your products or services.
    * Offer a limited quantity bonus.

Test #9: Remove any references to "buying" from the top fold. People usually go online looking for free information. If you start your sales pitch too early in your copy, you may end up losing them before you’ve had the chance to hook them. You first need to get them interested in what you have to say by relating to a problem they’re facing–as I outlined in Test #5–and how you can solve it. Once you’ve accomplished that, you can start to sell to them.

Here’s an easy way to improve the tone of your sales letter: Try removing references to "buying," "cost" and "sale" from the top fold, and compare the results to the copy you’re using now. Remember, don’t mention anything to do with making a purchase or spending money until after your reader is interested in your product and trusts you enough to buy from you.

Test #10: Boost your product’s desirability by adding images. Images of your products make them seem more tangible and "real" to your visitors and are a powerful sales tool. But sometimes revealing what the product is too early in the sales process can kill the sale–you may need to highlight the product benefits and value before you reveal exactly what it is.

Test placing images near the top of the page vs. placing them near the call to action at the bottom (where you’re asking for the sale). You should also test adding images to your order page, and test the response to using no images at all. By carefully analyzing sales during each test, you’ll learn exactly where to place product images for maximum impact.

Test #11: Grab the attention of "scanners" by changing the formatting and appearance of your copy. Very few visitors to your site will read every word of your sales copy from start to finish. Most will "scan" your copy as they scroll down the page, reading only certain words and phrases that jump out at them or catch their eye.

That’s why you need to test highlighting your key benefits to find the right combination that will grab the attention of people who scan rather than read online. These include:

    * Using bold, italics and highlighting (sparingly) to emphasize the most important benefits of your offer
    * Varying the length of your paragraphs so the page doesn’t just look like a block of uniformly formatted text
    * Adding sub-headlines that emphasize your key messages and compel your visitors to read the paragraphs that follow
    * Leaving the right-hand side of your text ragged (as that’s easier to read than "justified" text that uses the whole width of the page)
    * Centering important–but short–chunks of text or sub-headlines to further draw them out of the main body of text
    * Using bullet lists (like this one) to emphasize key points

Test #12: Fine-tune your follow-up process to maximize sales and attract more repeat business. Following up with your customers and subscribers using autoresponders (automated e-mails) is crucial to generating more sales as it often takes several contacts before someone buys from your site.

In your follow-up e-mails to new subscribers who haven’t bought from you yet, you can restate your offer and ask for the sale again. Try sending an immediate follow-up after new subscribers sign up, giving them a reason to return to your site the same day they subscribe. You can test this against sending a follow-up three days after subscribers first visit your site to see which method works best.

Following up with existing customers is just as important. In fact, tests show that 30 percent of customers will buy again if they’re given the chance. It helps you develop profitable, long-term relationships with them and allows you to offer "backend" products relating to their original purchase. You can test sending a backend offer immediately after they make a purchase against sending one three days afterwards to see which approach generates more repeat business.

The Benefits of Split Testing

When testing your site, it’s vital to test just one thing at a time so you know exactly which change influenced the results. A method of testing known as "split testing" does just that. It allows you to split your audience into two groups and test, for example, one headline with one group and another headline with the second group–both at exactly the same time.

It’s an ideal testing strategy for any online business, but especially for newer websites with less traffic, as it provides an excellent method for generating accurate test results no matter your level of traffic. Let’s look at an example to illustrate how this works.

If you want to test elements of your sales letter, you need to use your top performing sales letter as a "control"–a benchmark against which all tests will be measured.

To test a new headline, for example, you need to create another web page that’s identical to your top performing one but which includes the new headline. Using special testing software, you then redirect half your customers to the old page and the other half to the new one–over exactly the same time period. For example, if you have two customers named Bob and Jane, testing software ensures that Bob sees sales letter "A" at the same time Jane sees sales letter "B"–both on the same URL. Your other customers are likewise split evenly between the two different sales letters.

If you discover–through tracking how many visitors go to each page and how many sales each page makes–that the sales letter containing the new headline converts 15 percent more visitors into sales, you know that the new headline is more effective. Then you can test other elements of the sales letter one at a time and gradually fine-tune your sales process.

The software gives you the great advantage of testing the two different letters over the same time period. If you instead test one headline over a few weeks, then the other headline over the next few weeks, what if one of those test periods includes a major holiday like July 4th, while the other doesn’t? Or what if a major TV event happens during one test period but not the other? Both of these factors could significantly skew your results if they resulted in fewer people being online during one of your tests.

It’s easy to set up a few basic tests using software like the following:

    * WebTrends 7 offers a range of testing services for a one-time cost or monthly fee, and you can road-test their services for free. WebTrends 7 also allows you to go beyond split-testing and start testing a few different things at one time. You can analyze exactly which combination of elements (for example, a particular headline and opt-in offer placement combination) works best.
    * Like WebTrends 7, Offermatica allows you to conduct split testing and multivariable testing. Pricing is based on a per-visitor fee, and you can try their services out first through their free demo.
    * ClickTracks allows you to track the response to your tests and understand where your visitors come from, as well as how they travel through your site. You can try their products for free, then pay a one-time or monthly fee depending on your needs.

 By Derek Gehl, July 26, 2005

International Bond

ประเภทของตราสารหนี้ระหว่างประเทศ (international bond) นั้นสามารถแบ่งออกเป็นสามประเภทด้วยกัน ซึ่งได้แก่ ตราสารหนี้ต่างประเทศ (foreign bond) ยูโร บอนด์ (euro bond) และโกลบอล บอนด์ (global bond)

ทั้งนี้ตราสารหนี้ระหว่างประเทศทั้งสามประเภทนี้ มีลักษณะปลีกย่อยแตกต่างกันออกไป อย่าง foreign bond เป็นตราสารหนี้ที่ออกโดยองค์กร หรือบริษัทต่างประเทศ โดยที่ผู้ออก foreign bond สามารถออกในรูปของสกุลเงินใดก็ได้ ไม่จำเป็นต้องเป็นเงินสกุลเดียวกับประเทศที่ตราสารหนี้นั้นออกเสนอขาย สำหรับบ้านเราก็มี foreign bond กับเขาเหมือนกัน โดยเป็นตราสารหนี้ที่ออกโดย ธนาคารพัฒนาเอเชีย (adb) และธนาคารเพื่อความร่วมมือระหว่างประเทศแห่งญี่ปุ่น (jbic) แต่การออก foreign bond นั้นจะต้องอยู่ภายใต้กฎเกณฑ์ ก.ล.ต. ของประเทศที่ออกเสนอขายตราสารหนี้ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นเรื่องของขนาดของตราสารหนี้ที่ออก หรือแม้แต่ลักษณะของตราสารหนี้ที่จะออก เป็นต้น

ในขณะที่ euro bond นั้น จะเป็นตราสารหนี้ที่ออกเสนอขายในต่างประเทศ โดยตราสารหนี้ที่ออกสามารถออกเป็นเงินสกุลต่างๆ นอกเหนือจากสกุลเงินที่ euro bond นั้นออกเสนอขายได้เช่นกัน ซึ่งการออกเสนอขาย euro bond นี้ไม่ถูกจำกัดให้อยู่ภายใต้กฎเกณฑ์ ก.ล.ต. ของประเทศใดประเทศหนึ่ง และสำหรับ global bond นั้น เป็นตราสารหนี้ระหว่างประเทศอีกกลุ่มหนึ่ง ซึ่งมีลักษณะแตกต่างจากสองกลุ่มข้างต้น ตรงที่ผู้ออกตราสารหนี้สามารถออกเสนอขายตราสารหนี้รุ่นนั้นพร้อมกันทีเดียวในหลายตลาด เช่น อาจจะเสนอขายในตลาดยูโร บอนด์ พร้อมกับเสนอขายในตลาด us yankee bond ( yankee bond เป็นชื่อเล่นของ foreign bond ที่ออกเสนอขายในประเทศสหรัฐ) ควบคู่กันไป ซึ่งการออกเสนอขาย global bond นี้จะต้องปฏิบัติตามกฎเกณฑ์ของ ก.ล.ต. ของประเทศที่ออกนั้นหรือไม่ ขึ้นอยู่กับนิยามของ global bond ที่ออกเสนอขายในประเทศนั้นเป็นแบบใด ถ้าถูกจัดให้เป็น foreign bond การออกเสนอขายก็ต้องปฏิบัติภายใต้กฎเกณฑ์ ก.ล.ต.ของประเทศที่นำตราสารหนี้นั้นออกเสนอขาย

จากที่กล่าวมาข้างต้น international bond ทั้งสามกลุ่มมีลักษณะค่อนข้างที่จะคล้ายๆ กัน เพียงแต่จะมีข้อปลีกย่อย หรือกฎเกณฑ์ในการออกเสนอขายแตกต่างกันไปบ้าง แต่ที่น่าสนใจเป็นพิเศษก็น่าจะเป็น international bond ประเภท euro bond ซึ่งการออกเสนอขายตราสารหนี้อยู่นอกเหนือจากกฎเกณฑ์ของประเทศใดประเทศหนึ่ง และไม่มีข้อกำหนดที่แน่นอนว่าตราสารหนี้ประเภทนี้ต้องนำมาขึ้นทะเบียนกับที่ใด แต่ส่วนใหญ่ euro bond จะมาขึ้นทะเบียนที่ตลาดหลักทรัพย์ อาทิ ตลาดหลักทรัพย์ลอนดอน หรือตลาดหลักทรัพย์ลักเซมเบิร์ก เป็นต้น

โดยทั่วไปแล้ว euro bond จะมีการแบ่งประเภทให้เห็นเด่นชัดตามสกุลเงินที่ euro bond นั้นออกเสนอขาย อาทิ euro bond ที่ออกมาเป็นสกุลเงินเยนญี่ปุ่น จะเรียกว่า euro yen bond หรือ ที่ออกเสนอขายเป็นสกุลเงินดอลลาร์สหรัฐ จะเรียกว่า euro dollar bond ทั้งนี้ ไม่จำเป็นว่า euro dollar bond จะต้องออกเสนอขายในสหรัฐ แต่อาจจะออกโดยบริษัทที่ตั้งอยู่ที่ประเทศเยอรมนี แต่เสนอขายในประเทศออสเตรเลีย และเป็นสกุลเงินดอลลาร์สหรัฐก็เป็นได้ สำหรับลักษณะของการจ่ายดอกเบี้ยของ euro bond มักจะจ่ายดอกเบี้ยแบบปีละครั้ง มากกว่าจะจ่ายปีละสองครั้งเหมือนตราสารหนี้ทั่วไปที่เราคุ้นเคยกัน ซึ่งสาเหตุส่วนหนึ่ง น่าจะมาจากเรื่องของความยุ่งยากในการจ่ายดอกเบี้ย ให้กับผู้ถือตราสารหนี้ที่อยู่กันคนละประเทศกับผู้ออกตราสารหนี้ ทำให้ค่าใช้จ่ายในการชำระดอกเบี้ยให้กับผู้ถือหุ้นแต่ละครั้งค่อนข้างสูง

ในบางครั้ง เวลาที่เรากล่าวถึงคำว่า euro bond อาจจะเกิดความสับสนกับคำว่า eurobond เพราะเรียกเหมือนกันแต่เขียนต่างกันนิดหน่อยตรงเว้นวรรคคำ จนบางครั้งไม่แน่ใจว่าพูดถึง euro bond หรือ eurobond กันแน่ ซึ่งตราสารหนี้สองประเภทนี้แตกต่างกันแน่นอน เพราะ euro bond นั้นจัดอยู่ในกลุ่มของ international bond ซึ่งผู้ออกสามารถออกตราสารหนี้ในรูปสกุลเงินใดก็ได้ แต่ในขณะที่ eurobond เป็นตราสารหนี้ที่ออกเป็นเงินสกุล euros (ซึ่งเป็นเงินสกุลของ 12 ประเทศในสหภาพยุโรป หรือ eu)

โดย สายชล ลิสวัสดิ์

5 Tips for Professional Marketing Materials

Ensure that your "literature" grows alongside your company with these insider tips.

Every company needs "literature," printed pieces that do a careful and well-thought-out job of presenting its products and services: catalogs, newsletters, product sheets and brochures, letterhead, presentation folders, specification sheets, case histories or application sheets, special event brochures, annual reports, manuals, technical bulletins, posters, product insert sheets, labeling, recruitment materials and so on.

With the increased availability of powerful desktop publishing systems and software, many companies decide to meet these needs internally.

Resist this impulse. Your homegrown materials will betray their off-the-cuff origin to most of the people who read them. Appearance is reality in marketing, and you have to look as professional as you are.

Here are some tips in dealing with the literature needs you’ll face as your company expands and grows:

    * Get a logo and stationery package designed professionally. Do this, and don’t change it for at least 10 years. Either hire an advertising agency to create it or a design studio/graphic artist. Don’t try this yourself, no matter how artistic you consider yourself. A professional artist will make sure your stationery materials reflect your corporate personality, while maintaining a clean and professional look. They will look good in color and in black and white; they’ll reproduce well in smaller sizes; they’ll fax clearly; and they’ll simply be more attractive than what you can expect to do yourself.

    * Learn the principles of solid graphic design. Understanding graphic design is a lifetime’s work, of course, but some reading and a sensitive eye can teach you a lot. Get hold of some graphic design books at a local bookstore and educate yourself. All your printed materials should follow fundamental design principles:

   1. Keep the look clean and simple. Don’t overload the reader visually. Use a graphic grid to align the different elements in an orderly fashion.
   2. Use heads and subheads to lead the reader. When the reader turns the page, where will he or she look? Use heads and subheads to provide scanning points to keep the reader moving along.
   3. Avoid too much type. Pages filled with writing are not appealing to the reader. Break up the copy with photos, illustrations, cartoons, charts and so on.
   4. Use white space. Avoid a crowded look, despite the temptation to make use of every inch of paper you are paying for. White space serves as a visual frame for the rest of the content on the page.
   5. Stay with standard formats unless you have a good reason not to. All of us have grown accustomed to the standard 8-1/2" x 11" format for print materials. Even our filing systems are made for things that size. If you go with an unusual size, your pieces may not lend themselves to being filed easily for reference.
   6. Put a caption with each photo. We all want to know what we are looking at. And a caption gives you the chance not just to identify your product but to remind the reader of the benefit.
   7. Use charts and graphs rather than tables. A brochure is a visual document. Use graphics to boost visual interest and make numbers meaningful.

    * Be sure your materials have a "family look." Every piece of literature doesn’t have to look identical, but they should all look planned as a compatible unit. Imagine your literature laid out in front of you on a conference table. Does it all look like it comes from the same company? It should.

    * Invest in good photography. Small companies sometimes scrimp on getting good photos of their equipment, their job sites, their equipment in use or their accessories and supplies. Strong, professionally done photography will set you apart from other small companies. Your customers want to be reassured of the quality of your product. Amateur snapshots give a very damaging impression of your professionalism. Good photography is an investment in your future.

    * Appoint one person as lit boss. Your literature needs will be ever-changing, with trade shows, with new products and markets and with normal growth. You must have one person responsible for anticipating future needs, handling literature production and maintaining inventory. Untended literature grows increasingly less useful and more frustrating. Every new piece should have a written rationale, audience description and content outline, not unlike the rationale you develop for a piece of advertising copy.

By Jack Ferrari,  November 10, 2005

How to Name Your Business

What’s in a business name? Plenty. Not only must your name reflect your brand and be memorable, there are also a host of legal issues to consider. Here’s how to choose a name that’ll best suit your business.

What’s in a name? A lot, when it comes to small-business success. The right name can make your company the talk of the town; the wrong one can doom it to obscurity and failure. If you’re smart, you’ll put just as much effort into naming your business as you did into coming up with your idea, writing your business plan and selecting a market and location. Ideally, your name should convey the expertise, value and uniqueness of the product or service you’ve developed.

There’s a lot of controversy over what makes a good business name. Some experts believe that the best names are abstract, a blank slate upon which to create an image. Others think that names should be informative, so customers know immediately what your business is. Some believe that coined names (names that come from made-up words) are more memorable than names that use real words. Others think most coined names are eminently forgettable. In reality, any type of name can be effective if it’s backed by the appropriate marketing strategy.

Do It Yourself?

Given all the considerations that go into a good company name, shouldn’t you consult an expert, especially if you’re in a field in which your company name will be visible and may influence the success of your business? And isn’t it easier to enlist the help of a naming professional?

Yes. Just as an accountant will do a better job with your taxes and an ad agency will do a better job with your ad campaign, a naming firm will be more adept at naming your firm than you will. Naming firms have elaborate systems for creating new names, and they know their way around the trademark laws. They have the expertise to advise you against bad name choices and explain why others are good. A name consultant will take this perplexing task off your hands–and do a fabulous job for you in the process.

The downside is cost. A professional naming firm may charge anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $35,000 or more to develop a name. The benefit, however, is that spending this money now can save you money in the end. Professional namers may be able to find a better name–one that is so recognizable and memorable, it will cut down your costs in the long run. They have the expertise to help you avoid legal hassles with trademarks and registration–problems that can cost you plenty if you end up choosing a name that already belongs to someone else. And they are familiar with design elements, such as how a potential name might work on a sign or stationery.

If you can spare the money from your startup budget, professional help could be a solid investment. After all, the name you choose now will affect your marketing plans for the duration of your business. If you’re like most small-business owners, though, the responsibility for thinking up a name will be all your own. The good news: By following the same basic steps professional namers use, you can come up with a meaningful moniker that works . . . without breaking the bank.

What Does It Mean?

Start by deciding what you want your name to communicate. To be most effective, your company name should reinforce the key elements of your business.

Gerald Lewis, whose consulting firm, CDI Designs, specializes in helping retail food businesses, uses retail as an example. "In retailing," Lewis explains, "the market is so segmented that [a name must] convey very quickly what the customer is going after. For example, if it’s a warehouse store, it has to convey that impression. If it’s an upscale store selling high-quality foods, it has to convey that impression. The name combined with the logo is very important in doing that." So the first and most important step in choosing a name is deciding what your business is.

Should your name be meaningful? Most experts say yes. The more your name communicates to consumers, the less effort you must exert to explain it. Alan Siegel, chairman and CEO of Siegel & Gale, an international communications firm, believes name developers should give priority to real words or combinations of words over fabricated words. He explains that people prefer words they can relate to and understand. That’s why professional namers universally condemn strings of numbers or initials as a bad choice. On the other hand, it is possible for a name to be too meaningful. Naming consultant S.B. Master cautions business owners need to beware of names that are too narrowly defined. Common pitfalls are geographic names or generic names. Take the name "San Pablo Disk Drives" as a hypothetical example. What if the company wants to expand beyond the city of San Pablo, California? What meaning will that name have for consumers in Chicago or Pittsburgh? And what if the company diversifies beyond disk drives into software or computer instruction manuals?

Specific names make sense if you intend to stay in a narrow niche forever. If you have any ambitions of growing or expanding, however, you should find a name that is broad enough to accommodate your growth. How can a name be both meaningful and broad? Master makes a distinction between descriptive names (like San Pablo Disk Drives) and suggestive names. Descriptive names tell something concrete about a business–what it does, where it’s located and so on. Suggestive names are more abstract. They focus on what the business is about. Would you like to convey quality? Convenience? Novelty? These are the kinds of qualities that a suggestive name can express.

For example, Master came up with the name "Italiatour" to help promote package tours to Italy. Though it’s not a real word, the name "Italiatour" is meaningful. Right away, you recognize what’s being offered. But even better, the name "Italiatour" evokes the excitement of foreign travel. "It would have been a very different name if we had called it ‘Italytour,’" says Master. "But we took a foreign word, ‘Italia,’ but one that was very familiar and emotional and exciting to English speakers, and combined it with the English word ‘tour.’ It’s easy to say, it’s unique, it’s unintimidating, but it still has an Italian flavor."

Before you start thinking up names for your new business, try to define the qualities that you want your business to be identified with. If you’re starting a hearth-baked bread shop, for example, you might want a name that conveys freshness, warmth, and a homespun atmosphere. Immediately, you can see that names like "Kathy’s Bread Shop" or "Arlington Breads" would communicate none of these qualities. But consider the name "Open Hearth Breads." The bread sounds homemade, hot, and just out of the oven. Moreover, if you diversified your product line, you could alter the name to "Open Hearth Bakery." This change would enable you to hold onto your suggestive name without totally mystifying your established clientele.

Begin brainstorming business names, looking in dictionaries, books and magazines to generate ideas. Get friends and relatives to help if you like; the more minds, the merrier. Think of as many workable names as you can during this creative phase. Professional naming firms start out with a raw base of 800 to 1,000 names and work from there. You probably don’t have time to think of that many, but try to come up with at least 10 names that you feel good about. By the time you examine them from all angles, you’ll eliminate at least half.

The trials you put your names through will vary depending on your concerns. Some considerations are fairly universal. For instance, your name should be easy to pronounce, especially if you plan to rely heavily on print ads or signs. If people can’t pronounce your name, they will avoid saying it. It’s that simple. And nothing could be more counterproductive to a young company than to strangle its potential for word-of-mouth advertising.

Other considerations depend on more individual factors. For instance, if you’re thinking about marketing your business globally or if you’re located in a multilingual area, you should make sure that your new name has no negative connotations in other languages. On another note, Master points out, if your primary means of advertising will be in the telephone directory, you might favor names that are closer to the beginning of the alphabet. Finally, make sure that your name is in no way embarrassing. Put on the mind of a child and tinker with the letters a little. If none of your doodlings make you snicker, it’s probably OK.

Chuck Brymer, president of naming firm Interbrand U.S.A., advises name seekers to take a close look at their competition. "The major function of a name is to distinguish your business from others," Brymer observes. "You have to weigh who’s out there already, what type of branding approaches they have taken, and how you can use a name to separate yourself."

Making Up a Name

At a time when almost every existing word in the language has been trademarked, the option of coining a name is becoming more popular. Perhaps the best coined names come from professional naming firms. Some examples are Acura, a division of Honda Motor Co. coined by NameLab, and Flixx, a name CDI coined for a chain of video rental stores.

Since the beginnings of NameLab, founder Ira Bachrach has been a particular champion of the coined name. He believes that properly formulated coined names can be even more meaningful than existing words. Take, for example, the name "Acura." Although it has no dictionary definition, it actually suggests precision engineering, just as the company intended. How can that be? Bachrach and his staff created the name "Acura" from "acu," a word segment that means "precise" in many languages. By working with meaningful word segments (what linguists call morphemes) like "acu," Bachrach claims to produce new words that are both meaningful and unique.

"One of the reasons a new company is formed is that it has new value; it has a new idea," Bachrach contends. "If you adopt a conventional word, it’s hard to express the newness of your idea. But as long as it’s comprehensible, a new word will express that newness." Bachrach also admits, however, that new words aren’t always the best solution. A new word is complex and implies that the service or product you’re offering is complex, which may not be what you want to say. Plus, naming beginners might find this type of coining beyond their capabilities.

An easier solution is to use new spellings of existing words. For instance, CDI’s creation: "Flixx." "Flixx" draws upon the slang term "flicks," meaning movies. But the unusual spelling makes it interesting, while the double "X" at the end makes it visually appealing. Just as important, "Flixx" is more likely to be available for trademarking than "Flicks," a factor that’s especially important to a chain operation interested in national expansion.

After you’ve narrowed the field to, say, four or five business names that are memorable, expressive and can be read by the average kindergartner, you are ready to do a trademark search.

Must every name be trademarked? No. Many small businesses don’t register their business names. As long as your state government gives you the go-ahead, you may operate under an unregistered business name for as long as you like–assuming, of course, that you aren’t infringing on anyone else’s trade name.

But what if you are? Imagine either of these two scenarios: You are a brand-new manufacturing business just about to ship your first orders. An obscure company in Ogunquit, Maine, considers your name an infringement on their trademark and engages you in a legal battle that bankrupts your company. Or, envision your business in five years. It’s a thriving, growing concern, and you are contemplating expansion. But just as you are about to launch your franchise program, you learn that a small competitor in Modesto, California, has the same name, rendering your name unusable.

To illustrate the risk you run of treading on an existing trademark with your new name, consider this: When NameLab took on the task of renaming a chain of auto parts stores, they uncovered no fewer than 87,000 names already in existence for stores of this kind.

That’s why even the smallest businesses should at least consider having their business names screened. You never know where your corner store is going to lead. If running a corner store is all a person is going to do, then, he doesn’t need to do a trademark search. But that local business may become a big business someday if that person has any ambition.

Ensuring that your name is going to be federally registerable is important. Also make sure that the individual states that you want to do business in will let you do business under that name. Enlisting the help of a trademark attorney or at least a trademark search firm before you decide on a name is highly advisable. The extra money you spend now could save you countless hassles and expenses further down the road. Try to contain your excitement about any one name until it has cleared the trademark search. It can be very demoralizing to lose a name you’ve been fantasizing about.

Trademark Classes

There are many misconceptions about trademarks and service marks and the level of protection provided for them under the law. One of the first misconceptions is that a trademark is all-encompassing. In fact, trademarks and service marks are filed under a specific class or classes. (For a complete list of eligible classes, visit the "International Schedule of Classes of Goods and Services" at the USPTO website.) There are 45 classes to choose from when filing for a trademark or service mark. Companies can file under one class or multiple classes depending on the nature of their product or service.

For instance, if a company has a registered trademark under class 15, musical instruments, another company using that same name in the pursuit of doing business in the category of musical instruments would potentially cause confusion in the marketplace and infringe upon a registered trademark. However, if a company does business within a different class, say class 1, chemicals, the potential for confusion would be extremely unlikely.

Conducting Your Own Trademark Search

If you’re going to search on your own, the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries (PTDL) nationwide have directories of federally registered trademarks and an online database of registered marks and pending registration applications. You can also use product guides and other materials available in these libraries to search for conflicting marks that haven’t yet been registered. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (PTO) website lists PTDLs in your state.

The site also has a free database of pending and registered trademarks; these are usually entered in the PTO database one to two months after filing. You can also contact the PTO at (800) 786-9199 for general information about trademark registration or to ask about the status of specific trademark applications and registrations.

It’s also a good idea to search the web and see if anyone is using the name without having registered it. Do this with more than one search engine for the most thorough results. Also, check with domain name registrars like Network Solutions to see what’s available. This can help you find other businesses using your chosen name or similar names, and it can also help you narrow down your choices. If you can’t have your top choice of a business name as a .com domain, you might want to consider alternative spellings, choices or top-level domains (i.e., ".net" or ".us").

If you’re lucky, you’ll end up with three to five business names that pass all your tests. How do you make your final decision?

Recall all your initial criteria. Which name best fits your objectives? Which name most accurately describes the company you have in mind? Which name do you like the best?

Each company arrives at a final decision in its own way. Some entrepreneurs go with their gut or use personal reasons for choosing one name over another. Others are more scientific. Some companies do consumer research or testing with focus groups to see how the names are perceived. Others might decide that their name is going to be most important seen on the back of a truck, so they have a graphic designer turn the various names into logos to see which works best as a design element.

Use any or all of these criteria. You can do it informally: Ask other people’s opinions. Doodle an idea of what each name will look like on a sign or on your business stationery. Read each name aloud, paying special attention to the way it sounds if you foresee radio advertising or telemarketing in your future. Professional naming firms devote anywhere from six weeks to six months to the naming process. You probably won’t have that much time, but plan to spend at least a few weeks on selecting a name. Once your decision is made, start building your enthusiasm for the new name immediately. Your name is your first step toward building a strong company identity, one that should last you as long as you’re in business.

Filing a DBA

Now that you’ve decided upon a name, do you need to file a DBA? If you’re structuring your company as a sole proprietorship or a partnership, a dba ("doing business as") or fictitious business name allows you to legally do business under your new business name (rather than your own name). You may be required by the county, city or state to register your fictitious name.

Procedures for doing this vary among states. In many states, all you have to do is go to the county offices and pay a registration fee to the county clerk. In other states, you also have to place a fictitious name notice in a local newspaper for a certain amount of time. The cost of filing a fictitious name notice ranges from $10 to $100. Your local bank may also require a fictitious name certificate to open a business account for you; if that’s the case, they can tell you where to go to register. In most cases, the newspaper that prints your fictitious name ad will also file the necessary papers with the county.

In most states, corporations don’t have to file fictitious business names unless the corporations do business under names other than their own. For example, using dbas allows your corporation to run several businesses without creating separate legal entities for each one. But if you’ve just got one business that’s a corporation, incorporation documents have the same effect as fictitious name filings do for sole proprietorships and partnerships.

Rieva Lesonsky, April 23, 2005

Finding a Sales Distributor

Get your product out to the masses by hooking up with a sales distribution company.

Happy are those manufacturers who sell their products directly to consumers. For them, the assembly line (through their retail outlets or direct-mail arm) empties right in the customer’s hand, and the money paid goes right to the manufacturer.

For most manufacturers, however, life just isn’t that simple. To illustrate the dilemma of distribution, let’s put you into the tea business–as Tastee Tea. You purchase tea from all over the world. You make a number of delicious blends: some induce sleepiness, some a sense of well-being and some wide-eyed alertness. You mix those tea blends with a number of aromatic essences and flavors to produce, say, 12 different teas. When the tea is done, how do you physically get it to the customers?

If you sell your tea only to the local market, all you need to do is put a retail outlet on the front of your plant, plug in a cash register, run a few ads and there goes your tea, moving out the front door. But selling only to your local market severely limits the amount of tea you can sell. How far will people drive to get tea?

If you want to sell your tea in other parts of the country, how can you make that happen? You have several choices:

    * Open Tastee Tea stores around the country. Unless you’ve inherited jillions, you probably can’t afford this. You also have to ask yourself two burning questions:

   1. Will people come to a tea store? I don’t know of any that just sell tea, do you? Even coffeeshops are carrying more and more baked goods because coffee by itself doesn’t draw enough traffic.
   2. Is this really the most efficient way to sell your tea? Making tea doesn’t give you expertise in running teashops.

    * Sell Tastee Tea through a mail order catalog. This will prove very costly unless your teas are truly spectacular or you mail to the right list. Even in that case, you will need deep pockets.
    * Visit coffee and tea stores around the country and persuade them to carry your Tastee Tea. This is doable (and has been a successful paradigm for many products over the years), but it takes time and pulls you away from tea-making, which is what you’re really good at and enjoy. While you’re away making sales calls, who’s keeping an eye on the Boysenberry Blend?
    * Contact several key distributors and have them add Tastee Tea to their line. If you can convince these distributors to carry Tastee Tea, this is the easiest and most efficient way to get into the marketplace. If you select a distributor who carries products that complement yours (coffees, coffee and cappuccino makers, baked goods and so on), you can count on their help in lining up retailers.

Who Are These Distributors, and What Do They Do?

When you turn on your water tap, water happens. Wonderful, isn’t it? You’ve got your hot; you’ve got your cold. It’s clean, dependable and cheap. How does that water get to you? Chances are you haven’t a clue–and you probably don’t care. Depending on where you live, you have large-scale municipal water or a local or private well. It’s the same with electricity and natural gas. These things make your life easier, but it doesn’t make much difference how they get to you, just that they do.

Distributors in the American marketplace operate the same way. They’re invisible to most consumers. Their names mean nothing to the people who enjoy the products they deliver. But they effectively (if not always efficiently) bridge the geographical gap between producer and retailer. Supermarkets and department stores couldn’t exist without a complicated distribution system, capable of moving enormous amounts of product of every size and description.

Distributors add millions to the cost of the products we buy in the supermarket. But from the manufacturer’s perspective, they deliver a lot, too.

    * They transport goods from large warehouses to the retail outlets. The manufacturer can’t afford to move these goods. The retailer can’t afford to go pick them up. Enter the distributor, who serves as a superwarehouse, drawing goods from thousands of manufacturers, sorting them by retailer, and then dropping them off on the retailer’s loading docks. Imagine the scenario if every manufacturer had its own trucks delivering goods to every retailer in the country. The truck-building, highway and gasoline industries might encourage this type of system, but it would quickly create a disastrous and unproductive gridlock.
    * They warehouse materials in different parts of the country. This storage role of distributors saves manufacturers millions in facility costs, since they don’t have to build storage buildings to hold the goods that roll off the production line.
    * They handle the paperwork between the retail outlets and the manufacturers. Retailers order their Twinkies from distributors, not from the manufacturer. This allows the manufacturer to focus on products, not on logistics, which is the strong point of distributors. Logistically, manufacturers can focus on a limited number of customers…the distributors.
    * They handle invoicing and collection. This is an important service for manufacturers. It keeps them out of the collection business, especially for small accounts that the manufacturer wouldn’t want to have to deal with.
    * They don’t sell for you. That’s your job, through your advertising and promotion. Distributors put the product in the hands of the retailer. In many markets, you have to have distributors, but they don’t relieve you of the primary sales responsibility.

From the retailer’s perspective, distributors provide the following main benefits:

    * Access to a wide range of products from a single source. It wouldn’t be practical for a retailer to order each of the products it carries from every single manufacturer.
    * Delivery. To the door, in the quantities and sizes needed, according to schedule.
    * Connections to the manufacturer’s offerings of co-op advertising, promotional specials and special discounts.

Finding a Distributor for Your Product

The distribution channel you select for your product should be based on a careful analysis of the needs of your product in the marketplace.

How can you motivate distributors to carry your line? This can be difficult for companies and their products breaking into a market that’s already flooded with other similar products. If you have an idea for a new plush toy, for example, you will have some tough sledding unless you can find something in your product that’s genuinely unique and attractive to the consumer.

You can base your pitch to the distributor on a range of rationales:

    * You can offer relatively more money for the distributor than the competition. The percentage of sales distributors charge varies widely depending on the product and the market. There are no national norms–you might pay 5 percent; you might pay 20 percent. Talk to your local or regional trade association for guidance on distributor contracts.
    * You can offer more perks for the distributor than the competition. You can buy your way into the distribution chain with 20 extra cases of product for every 250 ordered by the distributor. You can fly the distributor out to your Hawaii sales conference to see what your company is about.
    * You can tie your product in with other products that you or other manufacturers create.
    * You can show the marketing campaign that supports your product.
    * You can demonstrate genuinely strong consumer appeal.
    * You already have a track record of introducing successful new products.
    * You’ve already secured other large retail contracts.

Remember, you’re marketing to the distributor just as much as you’re marketing to the general public. If you can’t persuade significant distributors to handle your product, you’ll have a very difficult time breaking into the marketplace in a big way.

You can probably find local distributors for your type of product in the Yellow Pages, but that’s not the best place to look. When you need a new banker, lawyer or accountant, you usually look for word-of-mouth referrals, for the endorsement of someone you know and trust. It’s the same with distributors.

By Jack Ferrari, November 01, 2005

Meow!: Get In on The Pet Market

What’s Hot?
While kitty litter and dog and cat toys have become oversaturated segments of the pet industry, Andrew Darmohraj, vice president and deputy managing director of the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, says the following areas are growing fast and continue to offer opportunities for entrepreneurs:

Fastest-growing pet service businesses
1. Grooming shops
2. Dog day care
3. Dog hotels and spas
4. Care and maintenance of high-end aquariums
5. In-home and mobile grooming services

Fastest-growing pet product businesses
1. High-end clothing, beds, jewelry and other accessories for pets (largely dogs and cats)
2. High-tech convenience gadgets, such as self-cleaning kitty-litter boxes and automatic water dispensers for dogs
3. Leashes and carryalls (for instance, tote bags to carry dogs in)
4. Natural and organic foods, soaps, shampoos, lotions–all designed to mimic similar human products
5. Nutritional supplements

Which Party I choose?

ผมไม่ได้จะหมายถึง ปชป หรือ ทรท หรือพรรคการเมืองในไทย

แค่อยากตั้งข้อสังเกตุ กับความรู้สึกของตัวเอง

ถ้าไม่ได้เขียนไว้ เดี๋ยวจะลืมได้

 

ถ้าแบ่งพรรคการเมือง เป็น 3 ประเภทใหญ่ๆ คือพรรคที่เน้น ที่ดินและทุน พรรคที่เน้นแรงงาน และพรรคที่เน้นชาติ

หรืออาจจะอธิบายเพิ่มได้เป็น พรรคอนุรักษ์นิยม (ที่ดินและทุน) พรรคสังคมนิยม (แรงงาน) และพรรคนาซี/ฟาสซิสต์ (ชาติ)

 

ตอนเด็กๆ ถ้าผมต้องเลือก ผมมักจะขอเลือก ชาติ แรงงาน และทุน ตามลำดับ

แต่พอโตมาหน่อย กลับกลายเป็นคนมีอุดมการณ์ซะอย่างนั้น ผมเลือก แรงงาน ทุน และชาติ

ถึงที่สุด หลังจากพยายามคิดใหม่หลายๆรอบ ว่าผมจะเลือกอะไรถ้าต้องเลือก

 

คำตอบกลับเป็น ทุน แรงงาน และชาติ

 

เรื่องของชาติ

สามารถเป็นหัวข้ออีกหัวข้อนึงได้เลย ถ้าจะพูดถึง เพราะมันคงยาว

แต่สรุปคร่าวๆว่า ในมุมมองผม ชาติไม่มีจริง เป็นแค่สิ่งที่สมมติขึ้นมา และจะถูกกลืนไปเรื่อยๆ

ยิ่งการติดต่อสื่อสาร ทำได้ง่ายและทั่วถึงมากเท่าไหร่ ความสำคัญของชาติก็ยิ่งน้อยลงเท่านั้น

แค่นี้ก่อนคร่าวๆ

 

เรื่องของแรงงาน

ถ้าแรงงาน เป็นเรื่องผูกติดของสังคม

ปัญหาคือ สังคมจริงๆในตอนนี้ยังมีอยู่อีกเหรอ

ความหมายทางมิติของสังคม เป็นข้อสงสัย ว่าไม่มีอยู่จริง ในปัจจุบัน

มันเป็นแค่การปกป้องผลประโยชน์ของบุคคลเท่านั้น

ไม่ว่าบุคคล จะอยู่ในชนชั้นหรือสถานะไหนๆในสังคม

 

เรื่องของทุน

ถ้าทุน เป็นเรื่องที่น่ารังเกียจ แล้วมีอะไรที่ไม่ต้องใช้ทุน

ปัญหาไม่ได้อยู่ที่ตัวทุน เพราะทุนในตัวมันเองไม่ได้เป็นสิ่งเลวร้าย

ถ้าจะมีอะไรซักอย่าง ที่จะทำให้ทุกอย่างดีขึ้น คือกรอบกติกาที่จะใช้ทุน

การปกป้องผลประโยชน์ของตัวเอง ไม่ใช่เรื่องเลวร้าย

ถ้าทุกคนดูแลตัวเองได้ ก็จะไม่ต้องมีใครดูแลใคร

 

ในขณะเดียวกัน ตลาด กลายเป็นสิ่งที่กำหนดทุกอย่างของสังคม

แต่ปัญหาคือ ตลาดเสรีมีจริงหรือ ทำอย่างไร ตลาดถึงจะเสรีจริง

ถ้ามีผู้เล่นอยู่ในตลาด มันก็เหมือนมีเจ้าของตลาด

แล้วถ้ามันมีเจ้าของตลาด มันจะกลับมาเสรีได้อย่างไร

 

บทสรุปคือ

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มันก็ไม่มีอะไรที่เป็นระบอบที่ดีที่สุด สำหรับสังคม เพราะสังคมไม่มีอยู่จริง

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NOZ

12 Media Myths That Can Kill Your PR Plan

Are these 12 media myths killing your public relations plan? Find out how to get media-savvy–fast.

Dan Hoffman had some bad interviews years ago, back when he was heading up operations at an ISP based in Hong Kong. He would read articles in which he was quoted and sometimes find that the published version of the interview had very different information than what he thought he’d discussed with the reporter.

So when Hoffman, now president and CEO of M5 Networks Inc., a $10 million, New York City-based provider of outsourced telephone systems, got a call to appear on Bloomberg Television, he decided he’d better get some help. Hoffman, 36, called his PR agency, Euro RSCG Magnet, to schedule some media training.

"A lot of people think that doing interviews effectively is a piece of cake," says former broadcast reporter Barbara Laskin, president of Laskin Media Inc., a New York City media training firm. "That’s why I got into this business. I was a reporter and cared about getting the story right, but with today’s fast deadlines, you can’t always assume that the reporter is going to figure out what you meant to say if you’re not clear about it from the start."

Being unprepared is just one of a host of mistakes entrepreneurs make when dealing with the media. Whether the result of popular misconceptions, bad media training or simply having no idea what it takes to be a good source, here are a dozen of the most common myths about being media-savvy.

Myth #1: It’s important to put a positive spin on everything. Not every situation is positive, says David Margulies, who heads up Margulies Communications Group, a strategic PR and crisis communications firm in Dallas. In order to be truthful, you can’t always put a bullish slant on the circumstances.

"The example I use in my speeches is the airline executive who says, ‘Sure, the plane crashed, but it was right on time when it hit the mountain,’ " he explains. "You need to deliver the information the audience needs to know." He advises being honest and sharing the information that is necessary and targeted toward your audience. "Stating the factors that contributed to the crash and giving a careful explanation of what will be done to prevent it from happening in the future would be a better response."

Myth #2: If you don’t want to answer a reporter’s question, change the subject. A popular media training technique is called "the bridge," and it works like this: If a reporter asks you a question you don’t want to answer, you say something like, "That’s a great question, but I think the more important point is . . ." That kind of question dodging, says Laskin, is one of the quickest ways to earn a reporter’s ire.

"It’s not a bridge to nowhere," says Laskin. "Even though the bridge can be an effective technique to insert your key messages, you still need to answer the reporter’s question. If a reporter asks about your bad sales last quarter, you can answer the question and still include the information that’s important to your company by saying something like, ‘Sales were disappointing; however, our new line, which we’re working hard on, is going to give us returns,’ and explain how."

Myth #3: You should participate in every interview that’s requested of you. No way, says Margulies. Before you get on the phone or in front of the mic and start talking, you need to know the context of the story. "Find out what, specifically, the story is about," he says. "There are some stories you don’t want to be involved in, and some stories where there might be legal implications."

Margulies recommends getting some background on the topic of the story and deciding if there’s a good business reason for doing it. For instance, it might be a good idea to participate in a profile of your company in an industry trade publication. However, if a reporter is doing a general story that isn’t really relevant to your business or your key audience, and which could position your business in a negative way, you may want to pass on participating in the story.

Myth #4: Reciting how many other media interviews you’ve done impresses journalists, producers and editors. "One word: overexposed," says Karen Friedman, head of Karen Friedman Enterprises Inc., a media training firm in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Friedman says that most reporters are looking for fresh voices and ideas. "In many cases, if you rattle off that you’ve been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and on all the major networks recently, the reporter might think that you have nothing new to say on the topic or that your story’s been ‘done.’"

Instead, advises Friedman, say that you’re an experienced interviewee to let the journalist know you’re familiar with the interview process. That will likely make him or her more comfortable with you as a source. If you’re asked for particular outlets in which you’ve been featured, then provide them.

Myth #5: A good news release is the best way to get media attention for your company. Suggest sending out a one-size-fits-all news release to Victoria D’Angelo, owner of D’Angelo Home Collections Inc., a $4.5 million home accessories designer, product developer and distributor in Orangeburg, New York, and she’ll give you a passionate lesson in Marketing 101. "You can’t send out one news release to the media any more than you can send out one set of options to customers and expect them to purchase your products," explains D’Angelo, 49. "A number of books give you the idea that you can print a magic flier and the world will respond. The generic approach is a waste of time."

D’Angelo has found more success with creating customized pitch letters for magazines and talking points for interviews. The secret, she says, is finding out which topics are of interest to the media and putting that information in the easiest format for the journalist to use. Says D’Angelo, "If you’re not willing to do the homework, you can’t expect great results."

Myth #6: Mention your company, product or book as often as possible. "This is one of the examples of media training gone haywire," says Friedman. "It’s annoying when the expert mentions the name of the book in almost every sentence, and I’m convinced that it usually backfires." She advises mentioning the book when it’s appropriate, trying for two or three mentions in a broadcast or one credit in a print piece.

Myth #7: Whenever you don’t want something printed or broadcast, just say it’s "off the record." Saying something is "off the record"–usually used when a source gives background information to put something in context and doesn’t want it to be attributed–is risky because a journalist doesn’t have to abide by it, says Laskin. "The truth is that reporters dig. That’s what they should always do. If you’re naive enough to give them sensitive information that shouldn’t be shared publicly, you can’t be sure they won’t use it. If you say it, it’s fair game."

Myth #8: Answer every question so that you look like the expert. It’s OK to say that you don’t know something, says Friedman. "It’s far better to say, ‘That’s a good question. Let me check on it and get back to you,’ or ‘I don’t have that information right now, but I’d be happy to follow up and get it to you’ than it is to bluff or lie. If a reporter senses that you’re not telling the truth, he or she will just dig deeper to find out. And if they find out you’re lying, your credibility is shot."

Myth #9: If you advertise in a medium, they’ll give you better coverage. When D’Angelo founded her company, she pored over many books to learn about marketing her products. She knew the difference between PR and advertising, and emphasizes that it’s critical not to confuse the two. "You’ll quickly alienate journalists if you suggest they’re influenced by advertising," she advises.

Friedman says that mistaking the objective of the editorial department, which is to inform readers, with that of advertising, which is to promote products and services, is a common mistake that business owners make. "Many editors will run in the other direction if you try to use that argument," she says. "Ethical media don’t let advertisers influence editorial content. And it will backfire if you try to do so."

Myth #10: The bigger the words, the smarter you sound. Jargon and overblown language can get you jettisoned as a source, says Friedman. "Some people think that using conversational language is ‘dumbing it down’ and that they won’t be perceived as smart, articulate executives."

Actually, the opposite is true, she says. Using obscure industry terminology or overly complex language increases the chance that the journalist will misunderstand the information and report it wrong. Simple language is almost always best.

Myth #11: Never show emotion. Similarly, says Friedman, it’s important to appear sincere and believable, whether the news is good or bad. "Sometimes, especially in difficult situations, interviewees forget to be human beings," she says. "They forget to empathize. They forget to show concern. Or they’re afraid that if they show emotion, they might be perceived as weak."

While she doesn’t advocate falling to pieces in front of the camera, Friedman says that showing an appropriate level of emotion can make your message much more believable. If you’re enthusiastic, show it. If you’re relaying sad news, it’s OK to show that, too, she says.

Myth #12: Media training is what you need most to be successful in media relations. "Probably the most common misconception I encounter is that media training is a stand-alone component," says Margulies. "The best way to deal with the media is to have a process. The interview isn’t the whole event. It’s the preparation you do before the interview that can make the biggest difference."

Friedman agrees. "You need to have a solid plan in place for dealing with the media, developing relationships and getting comfortable with the process. That’s how you put a successful media-relations program in place."

5 Rules to Live By
While there’s plenty of useless conventional wisdom about dealing with the media, there are also some rules you should never break:

1. Respond promptly. "Remember that these people are usually on tight deadlines," says Barbara Laskin, president of Laskin Media Inc., a New York City media training firm. Even if you’re unable to do the interview, say so in a timely manner.

2. Never say "no comment." If you cannot answer a question, provide a reasonable explanation instead, says David Margulies, founder of Margulies Communications Group, a strategic PR and crisis communications firm in Dallas.

3. Never lie or speculate. "Aside from the fact that lying is wrong and unethical, it will come back to haunt you," says Karen Friedman, founder of Karen Friedman Enterprises Inc., a media training firm in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. It’s always better to tell the truth and explain why you did what you did, even if your explanation is shaky.

4. Know the medium’s audience. Every media outlet is different, says Margulies. "Every audience wants you to address WIIFM-what’s in it for me."

5. Stick to what you know. Do not try to be an expert or comment on an issue about which you are not fully informed, says Margulies.

By Gwen Moran, August 2005

Creating a Brand for a One-Man Show

Whether you’re selling your expertise or the face behind a product, your image directly affects your customers. Here’s how to create a brand when the brand is you.

Unless you’re Oprah, Donald Trump or Michael Jordan, you probably don’t think of yourself as a brand. In my experience, the most successful entrepreneurs and business owners do create and, in fact, become brands. Their brands are based on the experience they promise and the values they live by and share.

The chances are good that you, too–more than your product or service–are the brand that your customers are buying. If you’re doing it right, your brand becomes the heart and soul of your business and what ultimately allows you to stay visible in an increasingly invisible world. As the entrepreneur behind your brand, here are some suggestions to consider:

    * Be original. What makes you unique or special? Is it your voice? Height? Eye color? Athletic ability? Fluency in foreign languages? An invention or patent? Whatever it is, use it to your advantage. Can you imagine Barbara Streisand with a different nose, Jay Leno with a new chin or Cindy Crawford without her mole? Everyone remembers the original, but the copycats start blending together after a while, so differentiate yourself to stand out from the pack. Be remarkable and extraordinary to grab attention and get noticed. Good is not good enough–where are you great? When you exploit what makes you unique, people will remember your authentic brand.

    * Be creative. How do you want people to think, feel, act or react after interacting with you vs. your competition? What are four words that come to mind when people describe you? Is that how you want to be described? As George Washington Carver once said, "When you can do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world."

    * Be honest. Turns out that telling the truth about what you are and are not, what you can and can’t do is very refreshing. Who would have thought that in 2005, brutal honesty would be the killer application? Because there are so many choices out there in every category, customers tend to choose the brands they trust most. Let your brand be known for speaking the truth, and you become the trusted advocate and go-to source. People don’t always want to hear the truth, but they’ll respect you for telling it, and when they’re ready to listen, they’ll remember you for it.

    * Be relevant. Brands aren’t created in a vacuum. They require lots of attention, care and feeding. The process of creating a brand for yourself isn’t unlike what you’d do for your company–developing a mission, vision, unique positioning and so on. You must define your brand, communicate it and review it periodically so your brand stays current. Look at Madonna, circa 1985 (leather, hair, wild child) and today (yoga, family, spiritual). The branding basics still apply when the brand is you–having a core message, a brand promise, visual and verbal identification and fully integrating all components. You’ll need brand positioning, brand architecture and a brand strategy to develop a promise that resonates clearly with your customers.

    * Be consistent. Develop a cohesive message, and live it every day. The repetition reinforces your key points so people will remember them. It takes time to build great brands–no one wins Olympic gold medals, Grammy awards, Oscars or anything of importance overnight. These things require an investment of your time and energy. Every transaction and experience with your customers is an opportunity to build trust in your brand. With an unlimited budget, you can communicate many ideas, but when resources are constrained, pick the ones that really matter and make sure they’re part of everything you do.

    * Be passionate. If you remember nothing else, remember this suggestion–it makes up for any shortfalls above. Everyone loves to work with people who are passionate about what they do; it makes life much more fun and interesting. So build your brand around what you enjoy and remember the words of John Ruskin: "When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece."

I hope I’ve convinced you that great brands do in fact start with great personal brands. Your brand is a compass that should provide a foundation to help you connect with your target audience. Whether your name is on the door or not, it starts with you at the top. I personally made a conscious decision not to name my company after me, yet the firm is strongly identified with me as the founder–and I’m guessing yours is as well.

Even the best brands need a strong product or service behind them, and execution is the key to success. Never forget that you are your brand, so you must live it 24/7.

By Paige Arnof-Fenn,  September 19, 2005

6 Guidelines for Ads That Work

Made you look. Now go ahead and get prospects looking at you with these tips for designing the perfect print ad.

When it’s time for you to get your business in the papers, you want a witty, groundbreaking ad that tells readers all about who you are. Right?

Wrong.

Super-original graphics, copy that’s packed full of information, a trick headline that’s clever once you "get it"-advertising disasters are made of these. What works in ads doesn’t always make intuitive sense, so follow these basic guidelines to create an ad that gets and keeps you in business.

1. Don’t propose to strangers. Suppose someone you just met asked "Will you marry me?" Are you wasting your precious marketing dollars doing the advertising equivalent?

A print ad commands only a tiny slice of the reader’s time and attention. Expecting it to represent your business, explain your offerings and instantly build a buy-sell relationship with your prospects is about as reasonable as asking your customers to accept a proposal from a perfect stranger.

The "Before" version of the sample ad is a tossup between a catalog, a sales letter and a press release, and it doesn’t work as any of those. Treat your ad like an introductory handshake, and design it to get prospects to take that one vital first step toward becoming a client (visiting your website, coming in for a free consultation or just calling to ask a question). And don’t expect to induce instant buying in people who’ve never heard of you.

2. Save the best for first. If you save the best for last, no one will see it. Your most important message is the answer to the question all your prospective customers will be asking: "What’s in it for me?" So put it where people look first-in your headline or in a caption for your visual.

Customers won’t call you because you have a nice name or logo, so don’t splash these over the top of your ad. Customers don’t care that you’re one of three companies in America that carry certified organic cat food, so don’t make that your central point. Tell them instead that their cats will live longer and stay healthier if they buy your cat food. Always focus up front on what they gain, not what you sell.

3. Write for eyes, not brains. You never read the ad sections of the paper word for word. Neither will your customers. At most, they’ll skim over the page, and their brains will activate only when their eyes are captured by a key word, phrase or image.

A clever headline that forces your readers to think in order to make the connection to what you’re selling is the kiss of death to your ad. When in doubt, show it to a few acquaintances for five seconds, then immediately ask them to tell you what you’re advertising. If they can’t, simplify it until they can.

Choose visuals that obviously relate to your product or service. Your readers won’t stop to analyze metaphorical graphics for hidden meaning. No one glancing briefly at the clouds in the sample "Before" ad could be expected to guess it’s about cat food. (Heavenly cat food. Get it?) Stick to simple imagery that will activate your target audience’s "look here" reflex, like the big cat in the "After" version does for cat owners.

4. Speak a thousand words (the right way). Eyes grab pictures before words, so it’s usually a mistake to have an ad with no visual. But you can’t rely on a picture alone to make your point. If the visual is the bait, your copy is the hook. Make sure you have a good balance of both.

Use one primary image, not lots of distracting smaller ones. When in doubt, go darker with your main visual, because people instinctively glance at the darkest part of an open page first. Never slap copy across a background picture (see the "Before" ad), because this invariably turns your ad to mud in newspapers.

Keep visuals simple-fine details can get fuzzy in newsprint. Statistically, photos sell better than drawings, but only if the print quality is good. Look at ads the same size as yours in the publications you intend to use, and make sure the resolution is acceptable before you commit to a photo.

5. Tell prospects what to do-and why. Never leave readers asking "What now?" Tell them exactly what you want them to do, when you want them to do it, and how. If you possibly can, offer a limited-time and discounted or free something to create a reason for them to call right away. If you don’t, they’ll put off responding, something will distract them, and that will be the end of you. Make your contact information easy to see, and if you give a phone number, provide relevant hours.

6. Know thy limits. Are you perfectly confident in your own language and graphic-design skills? Remember, you’re staking the future of your business on these. The most expensive part of hiring a professional to design an ad is paying for the time it takes to figure out exactly what you want in it and where. Consider using the tips in this article to piece together a rough ad (with the general tone of the copy, images and basic layout already in place), then hiring a professional just to polish it up for you. It should be downright cheap, quick and a whole lot less risky.

By Isabella Trebond, October 2005