My 2¢ Worth

've been in the process of redesigning my own Web site in between other projects. It really needs updating too. The current design isn't bad, but I have bad links and other such problems.

ave you ever known a mechanic who drove a piece of junk? Not because he was a bad mechanic, mind you. Quite the contrary. He was a good mechanic — so good in fact that he was too busy to work on his own vehicles.

hat's the way I'm beginning to feel. I've been busy enough with other projects that I've let my own Web site slide. And I'm thinking I'm going to go on vacation in June! Oh well, a man needs play time too.

ook for changes to Paradigm Web Design within the next three months.

Feature Article

What Advertising Can and Can't Do For You

by: Karen Hipp downanddirtymarketing.com

Mostly, advertising is misused and is understood. A lot of people confuse "marketing" with "advertising." Advertising is a part of marketing, but not the whole thing! The downside of the "misunderstanding" is that small businesses look at this as their only means of getting sales for their business. Many times, the result is miss-spent money with little to show in return.

Advertising can be most effective when you are selling a mass-market product like laundry detergent or coke. However, many small and home owned businesses sell more of a specialized product or services that appeals to a much smaller "niche" market. To understand what can work for you, lets first clear up a few myths about what advertising is:

Myth 1: Advertising is what you have to do to get business. Advertising is simply the purchase of time or space in order to promote a product or service. There are many other marketing methods available such as publicity, promotions, signage and referral programs that could work better for your business.

Myth 2: Advertising is too expensive for small business. It doesn't have to be. You can find very cost effective advertising methods through local community papers, classifieds, "zoning" in your main papers local section (to hit certain zip codes only), industry newsletters and small ads that are placed repeatedly in the same spot of the paper. Cable TV can be targeted and cost-effective as well.

Myth 3: There is only one best advertising method. Just like investing in the stock market, it is important to diversify. You don't want to put all of your eggs into one basket, at least until you find what works best for you. There can be a lot of trial and error, which means that it's crucial to have some type of results mechanism in order to see what works and what doesn't. Sample several approaches all at once, once you have narrowed down the field to those you feel worthy. You will then find the best one or two methods that work for you. This also tells you to avoid any long-term contract with any media outlet until they have been proven a good source. You can even sometimes strike a bargain with a particular media source that you are interested in to allow you to "test" response at a reduced rate.

Myth 4: You only have to advertise on a limited basis. The success of advertising is all about "frequency." It can take up to 5 times before anyone notices your ad, then 10 or more times before they might act on it. Therefore, you have to have enough money in your budget to test the ad over time. Remember that we are exposed to hundreds of ads a day. As a result, we act like "screeners", filtering out any information not useful to us. So, blowing your advertising budget on one 1/2 page ad in your local paper will surely not produce the results you are looking for.

Myth 5: Advertising does all the work for you. You can't place your ad, then sit back and wait for the phones to ring. Advertising is not a passive way to get business. The more active you are in promoting your business through a variety of marketing activities, the more effective your advertising will be. Plus, your promotion activities will greatly enhance your advertising efforts. Most ads produce leads from people that are interested. Therefore, you have to have your follow up messages in place. One of the key factors in this is to have your entire staff be knowledgeable of every ad that is placed, where, when and what their response should be. If someone calls to get more information about your ad, but the person who answers the phone knows little to nothing about it, bang. Dead lead. Have your staff be well prepared to answer all questions.

When a small business should advertise:

• When your target market is reachable by one or more media
• When your target market is a decent sized mass-market.
• When this is one of the only ways you can reach prospects.
• When you are moving into a new market.
• When your budget permits for frequency.
• When you can reach the most people who can and will buy your product or service through cost effective advertising.
• When your competition does.
• When none of your competition does.

When a small business should not advertise:

• When it is not cost effective for the return on your investment.
• When your budget will not permit repetition.
• When you expect the adverting will bring in customers by the hundreds.
• When advertising will be your only method of reaching your market.
• When your advertising will be far less than your competition.
• When you cannot afford to have professional ads done.

**************

Karen@Hippmarketing.com
www.downanddirtymarketing.com
Karen E. Hipp is a nationally awarded off-line marketing strategist and small business consultant. She offers practical marketing help for business owners, managers and marketers looking for fresh ideas. She is author of Do-It-Yourself Marketing", an ebook for marketing survival. Sign up for her free marketing newsletter at www.downanddirtymarketing.com or reach her by email.

Form "focus" method

One of the things we have seen used a lot on the Web lately is the Form "focus" method. What's it do? It brings the typing cursor right to the input box that you designate. Google.com is one site that does this, and it is very handy to begin typing immediatly.

To automatically focus your forms, add the following code to your page and manipulate the attributes in red to suit your needs:

<body onload="document.thisform.username.focus()">
<form name="thisform">
<input name="username" type="text">
</form>

* Get these syndicated tip feeds for your web site, free. *

Second Article

Our Favorite Tips For Getting Noticed On the Internet

by: Jan Cipolla yesimpact.com

We have many tips for getting our clients' websites noticed on the Internet but here are a few of our favorites:

*Go to Google: Let's get this one out of the way first. If you haven't listed your website on Google, what are you waiting for? Go to: www.google.com/addurl.html now.

It's easy and it's free.

*Do a little name dropping: What is name dropping? Let me give you an example.

After recently writing and designing a website for an interior designer, we did a little name dropping. He had just appeared on HGTV - a national home decorating cable television station. Also, he was featured in the Los Angeles Times and Sunset Books.

To name drop, we listed HGTV, Los Angeles Times, and Sunset Books within the website copy and in the keywords.

*Tell where you're located: Another favorite tip for getting noticed is to use your city and surrounding major cities in your keywords, title line, and alt tags.

We did this with our client's website and shortly after his website went "live," he got a call from a homeowner in a nearby town to remodel a kitchen.

If your website isn't bring in business, try these simple tips. You may be surprised at the increased visibility you receive.

**************

Jan Cipolla is an award-winning newsletter writer, designer and consultant. She is also the publisher of "Impressions Online," a free and fun-to-read monthly email newsletter for business people who want to stay on the cutting edge of marketing. www.yesimpact.com

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