1. Let’s say you run a little 10 cm x 3 column ad each week. It’ll be costing you around $2000 a month.  That’s around two grand a month, to hopefully reach the 120 or 200 people who might be looking for your carpet products and services that week.
2. Your ad this week won’t reach people who decide to do their carpet in three month’s time, or next year, so you have to run your ad every week to make sure you have all your bases covered.
3. How about if you cut the size of your ad in half? I can hear the cries:?You won’t be able to fit all your advertising in an ad half the size, right?

Wrong. You only need a smart headline to get their attention, maybe a photo, your logo and contact details . . . invite them to call you if they want to speak with you personally, and most importantly of all – invite them to your website.

Your 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week website. In full colour. With all the bells and whistles. And with interactivity.

You can actually serve your customers while you’re asleep. You can show them your wares. Or they can check you out from the comfort of their own home, when it suits them.

With your advertising now cut to only $1000, you can really afford a great website. Grab your share of Top 10 in Google and get more business through your door.

No matter what’s the size of your advertising spend, I guarantee I can work out a solution for you and your business.

Hey, and don’t think I’ve got a dirty on weekly newspapers. I don’t. I owned the Byron News for years, before the internet was invented, and back then it was the best value advertising anyone could get for miles around.

But things have changed. The web has it all now, for much, much less money that print advertising costs.

I have a young mate, typical of today’s under 35 generation, who claims, and I quote,  “The only time I ever look at a newspaper is when I pay for my petrol at the servo. And that’s only the cover!”

Speaks volumes, doesn’t it?

Need to find out more about cutting your advertising to get more customers? Contact John here or call/sms 0414 955 743

And what’s the big advantage? That’s easy . . . small businesses care.

I care about my clients. I can’t afford not to care. If I don’t care, they won’t stay with me.

Big business doesn’t care; the guy on the end of the phone still gets his pay cheque no matter what happens with your web site. It’s all about accountability.

I’ve been there done that with owning a big business. When I was much younger, I had a newspaper that was a licence to print money. If someone had a beef about something, bluntly, and now to my great shame, I didn’t care.

In fact I didn’t even get to hear about it. I had 14 full time staff, and there were always plenty more new advertisers.

These days I prefer to hand-pick a much more select group of business who I can ‘baby’ – really looking after each one properly, and personally.

Our business is structured upside down to most. I answer the phone as often as possible, liaise with my clients (you), set up the jobs, whether print or web, and then manage my contractors, overseeing the job while rarely putting hand to mouse myself . . . except for touch-ups, late changes etc.

This way I have my hands on every aspect of your business, but can handle many, many more man hours than there are in a week, every week.

This fact was brought home to me (literally!) last Sunday afternoon. An overseas print client called in a panic – his domain name was gone. Not functioning. And his emails had stopped working. He was in big trouble.

What had actually happened was that his original contact email, used to register the domain years ago, had been dead a long time. So he didn’t receive the email notifications about renewing his domain. Sure enough, finally his domain name expired.

We sorted out what had happened, renewed the client’s domain, and his site was up and running again within a couple of hours. All’s well that ends well. But if he hadn’t panicked, and called me on Sunday afternoon, his valuable domain could have been lost.

If that domain name had been managed by a small business like ours, it would never have expired in the first place. Small businesses are far more likely to have a finger on the pulse, because service is more personalised. A small business owner will know what’s happening, who it’s happening to, and what to do to fix it.

If your business is small, look upon it as a big advantage – and start pushing that advantage at every opportunity you have.

And yes, I did transfer that client’s domain name into the care of Guaranteed Webs, and renewed it for him, for 5 years.

And yes, he is now a website client, as well as a design and printing client.

A great little success story for being small and caring — and answering my mobile on a Sunday!

1. Write a snappy headline or title

Make it memorable, unusual or provocative using a few carefully chosen powerful words. Popular titles contain one or more of these words: Easy, The Secrets to, Unlock, Finally, Insider, Time Sensitive, How to, Free Bonuses, Now You Can, Discover, Proven.

2. Use colourful or striking graphics

One large image will have more impact than many smaller images. A stunning photo or illustration grabs attention, creates a mood, and supports your story. This image is your “focal point” and will draw your readers in. You can purchase inexpensive but quality stock photos on the Internet. Download individual photos or purchase a CD with hundreds of images.

3. Focus on the benefits of your product or service

Your prospects will ask the question, “What’s in it for me?” Write from the their perspective using the words “you” and “your.” Avoid using the following words: we, us, I and our. Be sure to keep your text short and to the point. Some of the most powerful words to use are: free, save, love, new, results, and guarantee. Break up long paragraphs with bullet points and place them in a separate box.

4. Use compelling testimonials and case studies

Nothing strikes a chord like an endorsement from a happy customer, especially if it demonstrates the results they’ve had with your product or service. Be sure to include the first and last name, company name and location of the person providing the endorsement.

5. Organise your page with boxes, borders and areas of contrasting colors

You don’t need to fill your flyer with wall-to-wall text and graphics. Incorporate some white space to make certain elements stand out and to make the flyer easy to read.

6. Make your points easily identifiable

Highlight titles and subtitles in bold, but avoid using ALL CAPS because they are more difficult to read.

7. Don’t get too complicated

Make it simple with two typefaces, and align items to a grid. Your page layout program will provide non-printing guidelines. Use the “snap to guidelines” function to align items easily to the grid. Be aware of printing margins. I suggest you create your layout with 12mm margins on all sides, or add 3mm for bleeds on items that print off the edge of the page.

8. Don’t forget to proofread

Have someone else proofread your work. Check your contact information. Dial the phone numbers on the flyer to make sure they are correct, and type in the URL of your website to make sure it is correct, too.

9. If you are on a tight budget, try this

Select bright-coloured or unique paper, and print with black ink. Use shades of grey to provide tones and contrasting background areas.

10. Offer a discount or special limited-time price

Design a coupon on the bottom quarter of the flyer. Be sure to clearly state the deadlines and limitations of the offer. If it is a mail-in coupon, be sure to include the payment specifications with areas for filling out credit card information, mailing address, etc.

You don’t need to re-invent the wheel when creating your flyer. Use these proven techniques and you will see big results in your marketing efforts. And if you’d like to discuss producing your flyer with someone who can help you, CLICK HERE.

A business card is an integral part of any good marketing plan. For its size and cost, it’s probably the most powerful part. Of course, you can’t expect your business card to tell the whole story about your company. What you should expect it to do is present a professional image people will remember.

A business card can make or break a client’s first impression of your company. In fact, this little card makes as much of an impression as your personal appearance-the suit you wear or the briefcase you carry.

Choose a card style that’s appropriate for your business, industry and personal style. If you’re a funeral director, for example, you don’t want to be caught handing out day-glow cards with cartoon figures on them.

If you’re a mechanic whose specialty is converting old Beetles into dune buggies, a formal, black-on-white engraved card will probably be dropped into the nearest circular file. When crafting a design, start with the style that best supports the business image you wish to project.

To help you get started, here are five different card styles for you to consider:

Basic cards. A basic card is usually printed in black ink on plain white or cream stock. This is a good style to choose when utility is all you need. It’s a no-nonsense approach that can appeal to clients and prospects who would not be impressed by fancy design features-the people who want “just the facts, ma’am.” The design is simple, and the information is clear and concise.

Picture cards. Having your face on your card-whether it’s a photograph, a drawing or a caricature-helps a contact remember you the next time he or she sees you. Images representing a product or service, or a benefit your business provides, can help you communicate your business better than dozens of words. A splash of colour (rather than just black and white) is often helpful on a picture card, too.

Tactile cards. Some cards are distinguished not so much by how they look as by how they feel. They may use non-standard materials, such as metal or wood, or have unusual shapes, edges, folds or embossing. Tactile cards tend to be considerably more expensive than regular cards because they use non-standard production processes such as die cuts. But for some businesses, this more unusual card may be worth the price.

Multi-purpose cards. A card can do more than promote your name and business-it can also serve as a discount coupon, an appointment reminder or some other function. It may also provide valuable information that the average person may need. For example, a hotel may include a map on the back of its card for any guests who are walking around the local area. A card of any type can be made multi-purpose by adding any of these types of features.

Outside-the-box cards. A wildly original, fanciful or extravagant presentation can draw extra attention. Creativity knows no bounds-except the amount of money you wish to spend. Some examples are cards made of chocolate or that folded out into a miniature box to keep small items in.

And here’s a tip: One of the best business card designers around South-East Queensland is Jason Cane, from Scream Advertising. Give Jason a call 07 3324 1805 and you’ll see what I mean. To save even more money, get Jason to give you a print price as well . . . you’ll get a nice surprise.

Once you’ve settled on a basic idea for your business card, it’s time to head to the printer. There are four primary considerations when ordering business cards:

Weight. Most business cards are printed on 80-pound cover stock.

Finish. Of the three available-smooth, linen and laid-the smooth finish is the most popular.

Color. Right now, two-colour cards predominate. If you’re selecting from a catalogue, there are between five and 15 standard colours to choose from. If you have another ink colour in mind, your printer can show you a Pantone Matching System book, which includes every shade under the sun.

Quantity. It generally pays to print more cards rather than fewer, because the printer’s cost is primarily in the set-up.

One Final Tip

Though this may sound like obvious advice, it might cost you another trip to the printer if you don’t heed it: Include the essentials. This means your name, title, company name, address, phone number (or numbers, if you want to include your cell), e-mail and Web site. If someone wants to contact you after receiving your card, you sure as heck want them to be able to.