Pulled from the Archives…

Saturday was a beautiful, abnormally warm March day in Southwest Virginia. The kids and I decided that we would plant some fruit, vegetables, and flowers. We decided on porch plants because I do not have a green thumb and we wanted to start with something small and idiot proof. I have yet to keep a plant alive, even the ones that people swore I couldn’t kill.

It’s not that I don’t like plants; I do. I think they are beautiful. I love to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. But for whatever reason, this whole watering thing baffles me, and I completely forget to water them.

We repotted Matthew’s third grade project, his over sized cabbage that will grow to be more than 40 pounds. We also planted strawberries, tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and sunflowers. But here is where I struggle. When I woke up this morning, there sat 7 pots that just had dirt in them – no buds, no blooms, and no sign of life.

As a society, we have come to expect things instantaneously. We have microwaves to cook meals faster, online banking to expedite money transfers, and email to eliminate the time it takes for a letter to make it through the Postal Service. As a whole, we want things now.

Our businesses are no different. We send out a direct mail piece and we want something from it immediately. We submit an article and expect the traffic soon thereafter. We submit our press release and expect some kind of coverage within a day or so. We hang out our open sign and become disappointed when we don’t have some sort of bite right away.

Here is what we fail to realize, and I’m just as guilty as the next guy. With our businesses, we must plant our seeds, nurture them, and provide them what they need to flourish before we will see the results – the fruits of our labor.

The next time you feel discouraged because you have put so much time and energy into your business and have nothing to show for it, stop and smell the roses. Then realize that they weren’t planted yesterday.

Let’s face it…people like free stuff. You probably know people who attend Home Shows and Expos and go from table to table with a bag and gather as many freebies as they possibly can.

Because we know that people like free stuff we often try to send our own products to them as a sample so they can see what we have to offer. Many times we even take it a step further and personalize it for them. We have the mindset that just because they like free stuff, it’s an automatic in. That pen or calendar we send will last a while and, in turn, our telephone will ring off the hook with their orders.

Your customers are no different. They come to you, the distributor, to purchase promotional items to give away because they too know that people like free stuff. The next time you are at an expo take notice of how many people walk by a booth because there are no goodies on the table. It’s just the nature of the beast.

But, as a business owner, you are aware of the amount of direct mail you get each month. What sets one company apart from another? Do you think it’s a pen or a calendar? With a pen, something we all have too many of, it goes into the drawer typically never to be seen by the recipient again. In my home, they are stolen by one of my children who seem to think pens are disposable after one use.

The calendars? How many calendars do you get around the first of the year? How many calendars does one person possibly need? What makes your calendar different from the one they got from their insurance agent, their realtor, or the local dry cleaner?

While these are both inexpensive products that you can give away to your existing and potential customers, what other items do you have in your arsenal that might have a longer shelf life? This can include items that people don’t realize they need but can’t seem to live without once they have them or items that you can never have enough of.

Items that people don’t realize they need but can’t live without once they have them

• Jar openers

Most everyone struggles at some point in time opening a jar lid. The average person does not know that there is a solution to the problem. So, when they go to the store, they are not looking for something to rectify the issue. They deal with it.

When they are introduced to the jar opener, they see they can easily open the lid with a flimsy piece of plastic. It becomes a necessity for them over time and when they lose it they truly realize the value in it. It becomes something they can’t live without.

• Travel Alarm Clocks

How many times have you traveled for business and were so afraid that you would oversleep and miss that important meeting in the morning? When you are away from home you often feel out of your comfort zone and typically the alarm clocks in the hotels are different from the one to which you’ve grown accustomed. Rather than lugging your own alarm clock across country, wouldn’t you rather have a personal travel alarm clock that you know how to operate and you know is going to wake you up in the morning?

• Zippy Letter Openers

A letter opener is a letter opener is a letter opener. Not necessarily. One of my clients recently discovered the Zippy letter openers after I recommended that she purchase them to give away at the conference she was attending with administrative professionals from all over the state.

It’s the little things that make people happy. I no sooner showed it to her and she began opening every envelope she could get her hands on. Shortly thereafter, that old point letter opener found its way to the trash can.

The average consumer would never make a special trip to the office supply store for a simple letter opener. It is one of those items that never seem to make it to the list of items needed. Before the Zippy letter opener was discovered I used my finger and oh how attractive those paper cuts were!

Items You Can Never Have Enough Of

• Sticky notes

Can you imagine your life without sticky notes? They have been around since 1977 and by 1990 Post-Its were one of the top five office supply products sold in the United States. We now have computerized versions and those annoying pop-ups while surfing the internet are starting to look like them as well.

You can never have enough sticky notes! How many creative messages can you send with your sticky notes to a potential customer? Perhaps it’s a note pad in the shape of a foot with a little note that says, “Just wanted to get my foot in the door.”

Sticky notes are not going to go in the trash or into an unused drawer and more often than not will be seen by many.

• Flashlights

How many times do you find yourself in need of just a little more light? There is always one place in your home, office, or vehicle that you wish you had a flashlight but always seem to forget to pick up an extra one.

For me, I wanted one in the office but never made it out to get one. When I need to plug something in to the back of the computer the extra light is always nice. A realtor gave me the one that I have now and I’ve had it for 4 years. It’s made 2 moves with me. The best part is I don’t have to traipse all over the house to find a flashlight when I need one. I’m now on a quest for a flashlight for my glove compartment.

We’re no different than anyone else. We like free things. As consumers, we are drawn to the word free. We all go to conferences and events only to slip away to see what everyone else is giving out. How many of us come home with promotional items that we didn’t bring with us? I normally come home with a big bag of goodies that I give to my children only after I’ve taken the cool gadgets out for me.

That’s right. The kids get the pens, pencils, plastic key chains and candy. Most of these items end up in the trash at some point in time. I keep the Zippy letter openers, sticky notes, travel mugs and jar openers.

Go through your inventory. Ask your friends. Determine what they use and ask them what promotional items they have in their home they just cannot live without. Make sure that what you give your potential customers will not find its way to the circular file or the bottom of a toy box.

About the Author:

Heather Jacobson is an expert in marketing and implements marketing campaigns for companies on a budget. Her favorite topic is frugal marketing, and her latest book, “Making Dollars Out of Cents: 101 Tips for the Frugal Marketer” demonstrates how to maximize your marketing budget. For more information visit www.HeatherJacobson.com

I have a confession to make. I am notorious for meeting people, liking them, and then when they realize what I do and that I could help them, I end up giving away my services…for free. I have this uncontrollable urge to help people, especially when I know it’s something that I am good at and enjoy doing.

Now I don’t do this all the time, but occasionally I will, and I will tell you why. It comes back to me tenfold.

For example, we just adopted a Great Dane. In my search for information on this mini-horse breed, I came across a Yahoo! Group for local Great Dane owners. I joined, sent my welcome message introducing myself and Napoleon, and the owner of the group noticed my signature line and contacted me for possible help with my services. We were on the phone for at least two hours. I liked her.

So when we finally got around to talking business and she told me she needed a sales letter written to send out locally, I told her I would do it for free.

I didn’t think twice about it.

We have chatted a few times on the phone, and we have met at our Great Dane get-togethers, and I did her sales letter. It was pretty good if I do say so myself. But here is what happened that I was not expecting.

She’s telling people about me.

That’s right. I’ve gotten new clients by referral from her, and all I did was spend two hours on her sales letter. Not a bad trade, eh?

I didn’t do this letter for her with the expectation of something in return. I honestly didn’t. My boyfriend, my coach, and my colleagues love to get on me about giving my services away, and I can see where they are coming from. However, I’m a firm believer that what goes around comes around.

This is just one example. I also had a colleague that wanted her blog template to look just like her website. I was almost sure that I could do it, and before I knew it, she sent me the information and hired me to do it.

So I did it. It was a lot of trial and error, since I was dealing with a programming code that I was not an expert in writing. I worked with it until it was just right. When it came time to bill her, I simply dropped her a note and said, “It’s on me. I’m just tickled that I could actually do it.” And I was. I didn’t expect anything from her.

Yesterday, the FedEx man came, and I now have 12 brownies from Fairytale Brownies. (Well, I HAD 12…there are only 9 now!) But again, I wasn’t expecting anything. I was just pleasantly surprised when I got a package in the mail and it wasn’t my birthday or Christmas.

And I’m sure when the conversation comes up and people ask her how she got her blog to look like her website she’ll say, “Heather at Valley Virtual Assistants did that for me.” Even if she doesn’t, that’s okay with me. I felt good helping someone out, the brownies are delicious (and hidden where no one can find them), and I’m content with how I do business.

Let’s be honest. We’re not non-profit organizations, and many of us rely on our customers and clients to put food on the table, a roof over our heads, and clothes on our backs. We cannot afford to give the farm away, but we can give a few bales of hay away, and we can choose who should get them.

About the Author:

Heather Jacobson doesn’t pay for marketing if she doesn’t have to. Discover how she does it and claim 10 free marketing tips at http://www.10freetips.com

I am all for advertising. It’s a way of life, and it is needed. I know that without advertising, my local broadcast channels would not be free. I know the power of advertising. I have used advertising in various methods, and I place other people’s ads on my blogs, websites, and in my newsletters.

However, there comes a time when it’s too much.

I subscribe to two paid print newsletters every month. They are both put out by well-known marketers, both men I believe are at the “genius” level when it comes to marketing. I admire them, and I aspire to be like them, so I jumped at the chance to subscribe.

In order to avoid publicly bad-mouthing anyone, I’ll call them Marketer A and Marketer B.

Marketer A’s came first – a 16 page newsletter in a booklet format that was nicely formatted. I gobbled up the information in the newsletter, as well as in the CD that accompanied it.

Marketer B’s came later – the envelope was huge and I assumed that it was packed with information. While it did include some great content, the majority of it was information promoting his other products. It took me some time to weed through everything to find the newsletter, and when I finally did, I couldn’t differentiate between the information and the advertisements! I put it away, thinking I would come back later to read it. It’s still sitting there.

This month, Marketer A sent his newsletter, and again I dove right into the information and walked away from it thinking he’s a genius. Marketer B’s newsletter arrived the next day, again filled with advertisements.

I’m confused, and a confused mind says no. I’m sure there must be some wonderful information within those 16 pages, but I can’t get past all the ads. When the CD came, it was only a recording of a free teleclass promoting someone else’s $1200 course!

When I sign up for a free teleclass I expect sales and hype. There’s a reason that it’s free. I can get past it. But when I pay for it, I’m not expecting to pay for another ad.

Not only that, but because I’m a “valued subscriber” I receive at least one fax a week asking me to join something else that costs $197 a month. Even as I wrote this article, I received an email mirroring what the fax said.

This is just my personal opinion. However, I wonder how many others get distracted by all the “noise” in various newsletters. This man is greatly respected in the marketing community, and it bothers me that I’m not able to digest the information.

If the newsletter was free or low cost, I don’t think I would mind as much. However, I pay $40 each month for this information, and right now it is a wasted $40. I have not been able to find anything in this newsletter to apply to my business.

So here are a few guidelines for including ads in your publications:

1. Have a good balance of ads and information. If your ads outweigh the information, people probably are not reading what you have to say. If you offer a paid subscription, your ads should be no more than 20% of your information. They are paying for your knowledge, not your ads.
2. Place your ads where they are seen, but don’t let them distract from your information. Don’t hide the content that your readers are interested in.
3. Make sure your ads compliment the information that you are conveying. If you’re discussing how to build a website, then an ad about a domain name sale or web hosting would be acceptable; a Viagra ad, on the other hand, would not.

The fact is ads are part of our society. For many of us, it’s how we keep our publications or services free. However, when the information gets lost in the ads, the message we are trying to convey gets lost, t. Our credibility has the potential to be diminished, and we may lose readers in the end. So what is the rule of thumb for using ads in a publication? Keep the noise low so you can hear your subscribers sing your praises!

About the Author:

Heather Jacobson doesn’t pay for marketing if she doesn’t have to. Discover how she does it and claim 10 free marketing tips at http://www.10freetips.com

Saturday was a beautiful, abnormally warm March day in Southwest Virginia. The kids and I decided that we would plant some fruit, vegetables, and flowers. We decided on porch plants because I do not have a green thumb and we wanted to start with something small and idiot proof. I have yet to keep a plant alive, even the ones that people swore I couldn’t kill.

It’s not that I don’t like plants; I do. I think they are beautiful. I love to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. But for whatever reason, this whole watering thing baffles me, and I completely forget to water them.

We repotted Matthew’s third grade project, his over sized cabbage that will grow to be more than 40 pounds. We also planted strawberries, tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and sunflowers. But here is where I struggle. When I woke up this morning, there sat 7 pots that just had dirt in them – no buds, no blooms, and no sign of life.

As a society, we have come to expect things instantaneously. We have microwaves to cook meals faster, online banking to expedite money transfers, and email to eliminate the time it takes for a letter to make it through the Postal Service. As a whole, we want things now.

Our businesses are no different. We send out a direct mail piece and we want something from it immediately. We submit an article and expect the traffic soon thereafter. We submit our press release and expect some kind of coverage within a day or so. We hang out our open sign and become disappointed when we don’t have some sort of bite right away.

Here is what we fail to realize, and I’m just as guilty as the next guy. With our businesses, we must plant our seeds, nurture them, and provide them what they need to flourish before we will see the results – the fruits of our labor.

The next time you feel discouraged because you have put so much time and energy into your business and have nothing to show for it, stop and smell the roses. Then realize that they weren’t planted yesterday.

About the Author:

Are you looking for the Miracle-Gro for your VA business? Join the Revolution to help aid in the growing process and gain additional nutrients needed to thrive. Visit http://www.virtualassistantrevolution.com and claim your free copy of “25 Ways to Revolutionize Your VA Business”