Note: Some Links may be out of date.

Blitz Ezine # 211 April 21, 2003
Building your business during tough times

Note: This is an archived issue. Some links and/or content may be outdated

Our readers speak - fraud orders, writing
The Blitz-Promotions News Letter.
Issue no. 211, April 21, 2003

************ In This Issue **************
Comments
Food for thought
Articles
The Classifieds
Next Issues
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Blitz Comments
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.

Don't forget about our links course - get it at the best price (nothing), before we start charging for it.

http://www.ineedlinks.com/freelinks.htm

Coming Next Issue -
Finances and the Long Haul

+++++++++++++++++
Food for thought
+++++++++++++++++

Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life.
Author: Harvey Mackay

+++++++++++++++++++
Your foundation
Running your business during tough times (and preventing things before they happen).

Part 3
+++++++++++++++++++

6. Learn from your mistakes.

If you run your own business, you will make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them so you won't make them again. Here's a simple process to do just that.

- Describe the incident in detail.
- What was the outcome?
- What could have been done to prevent the goof?
- List the steps needed to implement the prevention.
- Do step 1 today.

7. Plan for the worst.

I know we've mentioned this before in this lesson. Make your plan, then work your plan.

8. Know your numbers.

Do you know how many visitors you get on a daily basis? Do you know where they come from? Do you know which pages they view and how they click thru the site? This is important information that you need to know. We'll be talking about using these numbers later this Summer, but for now you need to work on getting access to these numbers.

Some other numbers you should start tracking.

Sales
Profits
Expenses

Some more details on stats and your site - see the article below.

http://www.sagerock.com/web-log-analysis.html

9. Take care of your customers.

Some good ways to tell your customers you care can be found at the links below.

http://www.blitzpromotions.com/blitz187.htm
http://www.blitzpromotions.com/blitz188.htm

10. Take care of yourself.

All work and no play will put a tremendous amount of stress on you and your business. When you plan your week, make sure that you include some time for fun (and your family as well).

Next week we talk about finances and the long haul.

+++++++++++++++++++
From the Blitz Archives
Blitz 118 - Advertising with no money - A Guest Article
July 2001 -
+++++++++++++++++++

Creative marketing doesn’t come easy, but when you do it and do it right it can work reallllly well for your business. So how do you think outside of the box. This article from one of our business associates/ joint venture partners can help.

I Have No Money – How Can I Advertise???
© Carol Auclair Daly
http://www.creativethought.com/

Does that sound familiar? It should … it’s a question that runs through the head of every home-based entrepreneur at some point or another. So unless you’re the one in a million born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you’ve probably asked the question!

The problem with understanding the "how" of advertising is tunnel vision – the very narrow picture people have in their minds as to what advertising is – a commercial on TV; a little square block ad in a magazine or newspaper; a banner on a web site. In reality, if you once get a real idea of what advertising really is, you may never use those things again! If you’re doing it right, you advertise your business with every action, word and deed . . . subtly of course . . . and eventually, without even thinking about it.

Tell me . . . do you have a business name tag? I don’t mean one of those label-looking things. I mean a real honest-to-goodness "genuine plastic" name tag with a pin on the back. NO?! Why not? No one ever sees me, you say? Nonsense. Do you go to the bank? The post office? The grocery store? The mall? People do see you. You just don’t think of those occasions as advertising tools.

When people in the corporate world wear nametags all day, as I used to and many of you probably did too, we don’t even think about them. They’re part of our "uniform" – they define who we are to the outside world, and we just let them. We don’t even think to take them off. After a while, grocery checkers start to think of you as "the woman who works for the hospital" or "the guy who works for the government" – now why wouldn’t you want them to think of YOU as the person "who owns that local online gift shop"?

Hmmmm? Did you know that you can take your camera-ready logo and go to a local trophy store or office supply and get a nametag made up for next to nothing? We have a place here locally who does a great job for about $5 a piece. So get one – wear it wherever you go (well, maybe not with those ratty old blue jeans that you use to do the yard work, and just happen to make a quick milk-and-bread run in – no, no, no – remember the image has to go with a name tag!) But seriously, talk about cheap advertising that keeps on giving! And it goes without saying, that you should always wear it when going to meet with prospective clients, vendors, or bankers . . . BE your business.

And there are some other very simple ways to be seen . . . some that will work in your circumstances, and some that won’t. Think how you might be able to do something like this. What do we pay attention to (hopefully) more than TV, newspapers, radio, or the Internet, or even our spouses? Our children. Now lest I sound tacky here, let me say that anything you do in this vein should BENEFIT the children first and as a plus, give you some advertising.

So . . . you have a parenting web site that also sells gifts for children. You need to get your target market there (people who buy for children). You have no real advertising funds for local advertising, but if you could get enough coverage out of it, you could maybe scrape together $100. So why not sponsor a contest? Pick a reason, holiday, cause, whatever. I’m going to say Mother’s Day here for the sake of argument. In February or March, you approach the local school officials and you tell them that you want to hold an essay contest on your web site on "Why My Mom Is Special" and that you want to open it up to local children ages 6-12. That the winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd prize locally and the same "worldwide") will have their essays posted on the web site. Additionally, the local winners will also get to go to a special pizza party at Pizza Hut, get a certificate from your business, and you’ll be calling the local newspaper to come take photos for the publication. Teachers wi! ll love you because you’re encouraging a writing exercise, and parents will love you for 1) getting their kids excited about writing 2) giving them something constructive to do, and 3) giving them bragging rights if their child wins.

So what just happened there for your 100 bucks? You printed lots of flyers with all the criteria for the contest for every teacher of kids in that age bracket. You ask the schools to copy the flyer and send it home so parents can "sign it" giving permission for the child to participate (if there’s a chance they’re going to dinner with you, you HAVE to have permission :o). So now every teacher and every parent have seen your business name, your URL, your own name, and your phone number (if you planned your flyer well.) Good advertising. But you’re not done yet. When the contest is over, you’re going to Pizza Hut (part of your investment – you, 3 kids and 1 other adult because you should never have other’s people’s children with you these days unless you have another adult there – it’s a legal issue). You’ve got winners to entertain and recognize – AND a photographer coming to see them get recognized and put their photo and your business name in the newspaper. And BINGO! You’v! e got advertising! You could do that on any topic, whether or not your business focuses on kids. Sponsor a contest on the environment if you’re selling biodegradable products; on caring for pets if you sell homemade doggie treats and toys; on "my dream vacation" if you sell travel ---just think it through – you’ll come up with something. Don’t like the essay thing? How about a poster contest?

I could go on and on, but I won’t – I think you get the point. Advertising opportunities are all around you if you just take the time to look for them. Don’t let money stand in the way of reaching your goals. If you do enough self-promotion through everyday efforts like the simple wearing of a nametag; volunteering in your community under your company name; or sponsoring events or contests that do have a real benefit, you WILL get known. It may not be as fast as advertising on cable TV, but everyone has to start somewhere!

Re-printed with permission.
Carol Auclair Daly is the owner of Creative Enterprises
http://www.creativethought.com/
An online community for small and home-based businesses.