The Hints Club

Marshawn Evans, J.D., has garnered a reputation as an inspiring, articulate and intelligent orator. In the same mode as multitalented trailblazing women such as Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric, Tyra Banks and Kimora Lee Simmons, Marshawn is a: media personality, distinguished entrepreneur, passionate youth advocate, inspirational speaker and up-and-coming litigator.

Marshawn emerged into national consciousness as the 3rd runner-up for Miss America. Her fame continued to grow after her coveted stint as one of Donald Trump’s handpicked cast members on NBC’s popular show, “The Apprentice.” Marshawn has become a growing fixture in the media, having appeared across a wide-spectrum of leading TV, magazine, radio, newspaper and internet outlets, including ABC, VH1, MTV, Glamour and USA Today.

As Founder of Communication Counts, Marshawn travels around the country working with politicians, athletes, entertainers and media personalities to enhance their communicative skills. Recently, Marshawn launched an upscale clothing operation called JewelME Couture. In her entrepreneurial roles, Marshawn combines the elegant, ambassadorial style that won her the interview for the Miss America competition, with an assertive business brawn and savvy.

Marshawn’s passion advocating for young people spawns from her own youth in which she was labeled a problem child. Her avid work with youth has won her prestigious awards and recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice and from former Texas Governor George W. Bush. Marshawn’s influence on youth issues stretches beyond U.S. Borders as she served as an Ambassador to the International Summit of Achievement in Dublin, Ireland. At the summit, Marshawn presented on best practices for training future leaders, with the likes of former United States President Bill Clinton, former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, actor James Earl Jones and international human rights activist Steve Bono.

A consummate professional speaker, Marshawn’s client list includes the likes of Rotary International, Clear Channel, The National Youth Network, Florida State University, and numerous corporations, municipalities, nonprofits, churches and universities. Some of her seminar and keynote topics have included, “The Art of Project Management, Lessons Learned from the Board Room”, “Hand-in-Hand: Youth and Adult Partnerships” and “Skirts in the Board Room: Challenges Facing Women in the Workplace.”

After distinguishing herself as a top graduate from Georgetown University, one of the nation’s premier legal educational institutions, Marshawn took a position as an attorney for one of Atlanta’s top law firms. Apart from practicing law, this young business leader and woman of conviction is currently completing work on an upcoming book, inspirational CD and DVD. Her clear ideas, enthusiasm, humility and attention to detail make her one of the rising personalities in the communication and entertainment industry.

This Speaker’s Upcoming Events Sat - Jun 10

Marshawn Evans and Jeff Johnson participate in a Teen Summit at the 100 Black Men Conference

Sun - Jun 18

Marshawn Evans host the Miss Georgia Pageant

Event Type: Public Appearance Mon - Jun 19

Marshawn Evans host the Miss Georgia Pageant

Event Type: Public Appearance Tue - Jun 20

Marshawn Evans host the Miss Georgia Pageant

visit http://www.4thdimensionmanagement.com/speakers.php?page=evans&showCat=2|#bio

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If you are sending out a periodic email newsletter, no doubt it contains links back to your Website. These links probably take the responder to a product promotion, a featured offering, a contest sign-up location, or essentially any offer which is a means of gaining new clients or increasing your sales. What happens all too often, however, is that the person responding to your link wanders off somewhere else on your Website or else quickly leaves your site for other Internet destinations. Once you entice a newsletter recipient to visit your site, it is critical that you carefully guide him or her to take the actions you wish.

The best means to accomplish this is to set up a “landing page.” This is a special Webpage constructed solely to handle promotional responses. It is not reachable through your main Website (unless you want it to be). Here, motivating text steers the buyer to take a desired action. The links on a landing page are thus limited to those that you want the prospect to follow.

Implementing landing pages will significantly improve the success of your newsletter promotions. This technique also allows you to capture important metrics to gauge your success. Since the only visitors to a landing page come as a consequence of your newsletter promotion, you can easily determine two critical measurements:

1. The number of click-throughs from your newsletter for this offer, and
2. The sales conversion rate among those who visit the landing page.

After putting all the effort into preparing a newsletter promotion, complete the process by creating a special landing page. This simple step will boost your sales and give you the data you need to refine campaigns.

Al Kernek is a real estate broker and author of “Creating E-Mail Newsletters - A Practical Guide for the Real Estate Community.” To learn more about increasing sales using low-cost, effective Internet marketing techniques, visit http://www.renewsletter.com

In this day of age going bald and thin on top does not always mean that you yourself will have to be out and about around your borough with a comb-over. The techniques to help balding ladies has evolved so much over the last 4 years that males are trying techniques that will actually show help dead hair follicles regrow. Explore the latest hair loss techniques from Advanced Hair Studio, home to hair restoration.

The brilliant treatments have been around for over four years, and will involve laser treatment, hair landscaping and hair and scalp treatments. Boys may start losing their hair from the age of 21, and might become almost totally bald by the young age of 34 Ladies can of course start losing their wonderful hair.

Male pattern baldness is the main reason for hair loss in gents. At first the hair begins to get sparse at the beginning of the forehead & may simultaneously become thin at the crown of the head. The thinning part might eventually manifest into an enormous bald patch making the male feel bad. And then the thinning forehead and crown eventually become one large bald patch. A little bit of hair can be generally left.

Advanced Hair Studio has been been in the UK for more than twenty five years & has built studios all over the world. With their pioneering hair strands loss techniques the corporation may aid ladies who desire to gain their confidence and hair line.

Most people I know hate buying ” unique Christmas gifts for him” and then they make a nutty rush at the last to the nearest discount store to buy a ” unique birthday gifts for him “. Of course the special gift they pick up then have definite pleasure assessment. But no worth to the beneficiary because you did not put any consideration into the purchase of the special unique gift.

Gift cards can make your unique gift buying more simple as you do not have to then run around for the seeking for “unique Christmas gifts for him” perfection.

Apparel is one thing that as a gift you can not make a mistake. Everyone you know require extensive collections of clothes. This constant need to have clothes makes sure that a gift as monotonous as clothes are always the right choice welcome.

The gift of clothes can be transmuted into extra ordinary gifts by a little imagination. Tailored special unique gifts look very good and have been known to show to the beneficiary that you have taken extra efforts in picking the gift. The next safe bet is a special unique gift of jewelry is great when you have the time to shop, if not purchasing all your needs at an online gift shop like Shodega.com, especially if you need a “unique birthday gifts for him” , is always a sure bet. Discover unique birthday gifts for men today.

Working capital grants by commercial banks represent the most important source for financing current assets. A firm seeking small business grants is required to submit an appropriate application form. There are different types of application forms for different categories of grants. The information furnished in the application covers, inter alia, the following: the name and address of the borrower and his establishment; the details of the borrowers business; and the nature and amount of security offered.

The application form has to be supported by various ancillary statements like the financial statements and financial projections of the firm. The application is then processed by the financial institution giving grant. This primarily involves an examination of the factors like ability, integrity and experience of the borrower in the particular business. General prospects of the borrowers business, purpose of grant, and requirement of the borrower and its reasonableness is also taken into perspective.

Once the application is duly processed, it is put up for sanction to the appropriate authority. If the sanction is given by the appropriate authority along with the sanction of grant, the bank specifies the terms and conditions applicable to the grant. These usually cover the amount of loan or the maximum limit of the grant, the nature of the grant, the period for which the grant will be valid, the rate of interest applicable to the grant, the primary security to be charged, the insurance of the security, the details of collateral security, if any, to be provided, and the margin to be maintained.

It is a common banking practice to incorporate important terms and conditions on a stamped security document to be executed by the borrower. This helps the bank to create the required charge on the security offered and also obligates the borrower to observe the stipulated terms and conditions.

In this article I want to let you in on something that the top home based business people know. It took me a while to learn it and be comfortable with it. That concept is sorting vs. selling.

What do I mean by that? I mean that whatever home based business you are in, you must somehow contact people and communicate with them. If you are thinking that you have to find people and convince them to join your business…good luck!

If you have a business that has a higher entry level, say above $1000, you are not going to get someone who has no goals and a poverty mindset and get them invest over $1000 in a business. If you have one of the businesses with a low startup around $100 and you somehow manage to twist arms and convince someone to join in - then you should take your phone off the hook, because that type of person may think they have just won the lottery. Two weeks later when they have no results, they will be calling you to complain.

Trying to sell someone who is reluctant is like dragging someone along to a movie they don’t want to see. Not an enjoyable experience. Who wants people like that around?

The secret is sorting. If you know what to look for, then you look only for those people. As I have mentioned in previous articles, you don’t have to be a computer guru to do most home based businesses now. So what are the characteristics you are looking for? Desire and coachability. When you find that person, they deserve to hear about your opportunity.

How do you look for those things? What do they sound like? For desire, you want to hear something like “I am done with jobs I have to work for myself or else”, “I want to make $250k and I will have a vacation home.” When you hear “Yeah, money would be nice someday”, or “I don’t know I want my income to be unlimited”, or “I’m just looking for a little something extra”. Those are indicators that there is not a strong desire.

Coachability is a trait that will mean that someone will follow the business system that your opportunity has already setup. That’s important because you don’t want someone who will go outside your company’s compliance guidelines. You also don’t want someone calling you up twenty times a day because they won’t listen to a training call.

You will hear a lack of coachability as you talk to them and they ask you to cut to the chase and tell them what it’s about. People who interrupt you a lot are also not coachable.

Remember you are not serving people who have little desire and are not coachable by bringing them into your business. If they flop, nobody benefits. Your best response to them is NEXT!

Copyright 2005 Ron LeBlanc

Ron LeBlanc, PE spent 20+ years in science and engineering when woke up to his true potential and began working from home. He lives in Boulder, CO and works out of his home. He enjoys helping other people learn to do home based businesses. Get his tip-filled newsletter and some special offers at http://www.be-do-have.com

How much happiness is there in a piece of paper with the word “happiness” printed upon it? It depends on the person who holds that piece of paper…

How much value is there in a 100 dollar bill?

Same thing…

If you think you’re poor and have just enough to make ends meet, an unexpected 100 dollar bill is very valuable. If you believe you’re rich and more money is coming to you all the time, an unexpected 100 dollar bill is nice, but not very important.

So, it depends on the person…

But it also depends on what’s going around that person. For example:

The “free” game

In the “real world”, we expect to pay a certain price for the goods we receive: tickets, books, doctor’s advice etc. Not so on the Internet. Here many people expect - more or less - these goods to be offered for free.

But I wonder what happens to us, to our perception of our own value, when we read these words again and again and again: “take it, it’s free”, “it’s worth 100$ but you get it free”, “you don’t have to pay”.

We might be paying a high price

Not right away, not in terms of dollars. But in terms of value.

If the approach is honest, you will understand that the free offer is an invitation to exchange something. For example, you give me a possibility to share my expertise in some area, which then leads you to buy a certain product, which you really enjoy, just as I enjoy the extra income. We are both being enriched.

Let’s now say I consistently give you something for free, without acknowledging that I also receive. Why would I do that you wonder (consciously or not)? There can only be one explanation: we have nothing to exchange. You will feel you have nothing of value to give me. Just as I will feel my product or service is not worth paying for. We will both become poor in the process.

Spending and accepting money

Money is about exchange. Although temporarily attached to certain pockets, purses and bank accounts, money is being exchanged all the time. It is always in motion - or should be. Money is the oil that allows the society’s wheels to turn smoothly. You don’t want to hold on to the oil, do you? You just want the machine to work as good as possible. Likewise, the secret to money is indeed not to hold on to it, but to let it flow, let it come and go where it’s needed.

In that sense, when you spend money, you add to the whole, you energize the flow, you enable the wheels to turn, you enable the society and its members to take part in the exchange.

What is your attitude towards spending?

Do you enjoy it?

Fear it?

Control it?

How do you feel about spending money?

Again, when accepting payment, you are not just taking something for yourself. You enable the flow, the movement can continue, enriching you as well as everybody else.

So how do you feel about accepting money?

Do you feel good when you accept payment?

Do you accept payments as big as they should be?

Do you know how to set a price on your work or your goods?

Would you accept payment from a friend?

Love and Wealth

Saying “spending is a way of adding to the abundance of all” is not quite correct. It would be more precise to say, that by spending and accepting money you share the abundance that is around you.

Wealth is a state of mind. It is seeing the wealth around you and connecting to it.

Although this might sound outrageous, wealth is somewhat like love. The more you give, the more you receive. But then - you can’t give love really and you can’t keep it either. Love doesn’t belong to anybody. Love is free. Love is a feeling, an energy, an awareness. Love is something that connects us and unites us - if we let it. It’s the same with wealth.

Obstacles

Love is right here where you are, endlessly. But you can keep it at a certain distance. We all do that to some degree, for our own reasons. The reason can be called an obstacle, a blocker. An experience, a thought, a feeling that stands between you and the endless abundance (of love or money).

The blocker can make you feel that there’s no love (or money) available to you. It can prevent you from receiving it, or feeling good about giving it. That’s OK. It still can’t prevent you from looking…

Beyond the blocker

Let’s take a look then… What is there? What is really there?

If you experience some imbalance, some lack of money in your life, think about this again (’cause it’s a fact): You live in an abundant world. Think about all the billions of dollars flowing all around the world. All the gold, all the diamonds, all the big houses, all the luxury cars, all the fortunes…

If you experience that none of it is available to you, then… you’re “normal” :-)) Just kidding… If you experience that none of it is available to you, then there must be something standing between you and all these riches. It’s the blocker. What is it?

What exactly is preventing you from sharing these riches, receiving and using this money, for whatever purpose you’d like? Think hard, think deep, and feel deep: what is it?

Oh, that :-))

OK… So let’s take a look again: There’s you, there’s the abundance and there’s the blocker. How on Earth are you going to unblock the road and be free?

Freedom

Freedom has been quite a fundamental theme in my life. In my younger days I was like a freedom fighter. But the older I grow, the more I get to admit, that freedom doesn’t come from fighting. On the contrary. Freedom is knowing or even deciding in your very heart that you are free. You are holy. You are one. You are unbreakable, undividable, limitless. You are utterly free.

What is there to fight? You are free already.

Play-fully

Freedom is playfulness. Freedom is like dancing. Freedom is natural. Freedom is light.

So you want to unblock the road to abundance? Lets play abundance then! Not powerplay, but play with an open heart, like children do. Seriously. Forgetting it’s a play and still knowing it’s a play, a dream.

Nights

Tell me: at night, when you are asleep, where is your money then? And your debts, your bills, your possessions? And where are your loved ones, or those who you think don’t love you at all?

For you, they are nowhere. They are gone. Because you are not there to experience them.

At night you are in another realm. You leave the earth and your sleeping body.

Even if you dream about lack of money and loads of money, about loneliness and intimacy, it’s still just a dream. It’s just your consciousness playing with the possibilities, playing and rearranging things for you to learn from.

Days

It’s the same with your days, you know. Even if your thoughts are busy with lack of money or love, it’s still just thoughts, day-dreams. It’s just your consciousness playing with the possibilities, playing and rearranging things for you to learn from.

As you wake up today and yesterday is gone, so can your perception of yourself and the world be renewed every morning. You can adjust your perceptions to who you want to be and how you want to live.

A Way

Here’s a simple way:

–Breath in and out a few times. Easy. No strain. Just breath

–Now, imagine that when you breath in, you connect with all the abundance there is. All love. All money.

–When you breath out, you let go of all your losses, your greed, your discontent, your fears, your pressures - all that bothers you, right out and into the Universe.

–To the Universe your problems are tiny and invisible, and they will burn away within no time. That’s just how it is, it’s a universal law, so don’t worry about it.

–Now play with these sentences - or create some other sentences that would suit you:

“I am just playing”

“I can go wherever I want”

“I can do whatever I feel like doing”

–And these too, or something similar:

“I am a light in a million playful lights. I am a sun.”

“I am a cloud in a million playful clouds. I am a sky.”

“I am a wave in a million playful waves. I am an ocean.”

Abundance is Now

Not next year, not in the next job, not in the next town.

Now.

You become free, and abundant, by simply acknowledging you are what you want to be.

You are a creative being.

Isn’t this exciting? Nothing will be blocking your way forever.

You have created it and you can remove it when you’re ready for

the next stage of the play.

It’s as simple as that.

I’ll see you around :-))

©2004 Halina Goldstein

About The Author

Beginning in 1955 in Germany, Halina’s journey led her to Denmark, creating connections to countries on most continents. She has tasted many different walks in life. From computer programmer to musician and teacher. From complete independency to dedicated marriage. From big city to a village. From much suffering to much happiness. Her main focus today is life’s adventure, as in her website: www.SelfImprovementZone.com

Think about it, how many emails do you send out every day? How many of these forwarded jokes, pictures, stories etc do you receive every week?

Why not put your email to work for you?! Add a link or two to your signature file. Mine looks something like this:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susanne

I am a Work at Home Mom Wannabe
http://www.wahmwannabe.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You get the idea. You can start as simple or as fancy as you’d like. You do want to get your readers attention though. Make a statement, ask a question. If you’d like, offer something free. A free coupon if they place their first order etc.

You may also want to change your signature around a little from time to time, particularly if you email the same people a lot. Never miss an opportunity to display your links though. You never know when
someone’s situation or circumstances change and all of a sudden, they may be interested in what you have to offer, be it a product or a business opportunity.

Right now, a lot of people that I email on a daily basis may not be interested in www.wahmwannabe.com. But what if one of them just found out she is pregnant and is all of a sudden considering starting a business from home. I may not know about it for a while, and she may not want to tell me, but the link is there.

The idea is to get as much exposure for your business as possible. Maybe one of your friends has a slow day at work and clicks on one of your links out of boredom and ends up making a purchase.

You may also want to consider all the funny stories, pictures, jokes etc. that inevitably end up in your inbox. Imagine, if you just forward them to 5 people, who forward them to 5 of their friends and so on. All of a sudden your signature links have to potential of reaching hundreds of people.

To make this even more effective, take it a step further and add your link right above the story, joke or picture, with a little “brought to you by www.your-url.com.” Spend a few minutes today setting up your signature line, or if you already have one, make sure your links are working and come up with
some fun lines to go along with it.

About the author:
Susanne is a partner of http://www.WAHMWannabe.com, the one-stop online WAHM shop. WAHMWannabe offers home business comparison, business tools, work-at-home related articles, a unique WAHM marketplace, message boards, and a whole lot more. Be sure to stop by and check out what’s new, as WAHM resources are added constantly!

Ever heard of non-disclosure agreements? Perhaps, you have heard them referred to as confidentiality agreements, or a similar term. In either case, how familiar are you with them?

Are you aware that if you are in a specific business, a non-disclosure agreement can spell the difference between the proverbial life and death of your business, particularly, if your business has employees, contractors or interns?

So, what are non-disclosure agreements?

Non-disclosure agreements are defined as contracts that restrict the disclosure of confidential information or proprietary knowledge under specific circumstances. In other words, a prospective employee or partner agrees to not reveal certain internal trade secrets in exchange for compensation or other benefits received.

Generally, the term requires a non-disclosure period to cover the time of employment or partnership, with the inclusion of an additional one to five years after the employee’s termination, retirement, or a partnership resolution.

My opinion is that there are some levels within most businesses that should incorporate some form of non-disclosure agreement, although most businesses don’t do so. This is especially true, whereby, internal creativity is the proverbial life source of the company.

Examples of businesses requiring non-disclosure agreements range from engineering firms to restaurants. And, speaking of restaurants specifically, allow me to iterate on two personal experiences.

One acquaintance of mine, who owns a small Mexican food court that is very popular for its unique taste in our area, experienced somewhat of a negative impact of not having a non-disclosure agreement.

After working for him only a few years, one of his employees informed him that she would be leaving in order to take some much needed rest and time off.

However, after only a few weeks, he learned that she had opened a similar food court on the opposite side of town. Fortunately for him, he has a solid clientele from his years of operation combined with high quality food.

However, having a non-disclosure agreement would have ensured that this new competition, slight as it may be, would not exist without some degree of legal repercussion and/or financial obligation on her behalf.

Another acquaintance recently opened a bakery and deli, with 100% of her items being homemade. Naturally, this particular food eatery carries a special sentiment with its clients since much of our food that is purchased today is manufactured, frozen, then simply re-heated.

I advised her that, since her food items are homemade, and that her cooks are required to have access to and learn her recipes, she should immediately require each employee to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

And, as a result of her doing so, fortunately, she will not suffer the same fate as my other acquaintance in competition.

Incorporating non-disclosure agreements is not so much about trust, or the lack of, as it is about protecting your business and its related assets. So, as a vested owner or partner, you should not feel any degree of guilt for their inclusion.

For more information on non-disclosure agreements, simply type the phrase, “non-disclosure agreements,” into the Google.com search engine.

_____________________________________________________

Editor’s Note: Kenny Love is involved in the marketing, promotion and publicity aspects of several businesses and related products. One such product is available at HN.

A few years ago a young shoe designer decided it was time to leave his
father’s shoe business to make it on his own. A point of disagreement
between the two was that the old-school father didn’t believe in
advertising. Like many small business owners he relied almost totally on
word-of-mouth. The son believed that his own, new business would
need a strong brand identity and aggressive marketing. But first, he
knew he needed to get his designs in front of the top buyers. The
problem was, he couldn’t afford a booth at the big trade show where all
the buyers would be. So, rather than get discouraged, he got creative.
He decided he’d rent a trailer, stock it with shoes, and park it as close to
the midtown trade show as possible. A prominent sign would get the
buyers’ attention. It seemed like a great plan until he discovered that you
can’t park a 40-ft truck in midtown Manhattan unless you’re a utility
company or a movie production company. Undaunted, the young
entrepreneur quickly rented a movie camera and changed his
letterhead from Kenneth Cole, to Kenneth Cole Productions. He got the
permit and ended up selling forty thousand pairs of shoes in four days.
Suddenly, Kenneth Cole was the hot new shoe designer on the map.

As his business grew, he continued to leverage his limited ad budget by
challenging conventional wisdom. Rather than follow the crowd with
fancy 4-color ads, models, and expensive fashion photography, his
simple high-concept ads used stock photos, or no photos at all. In fact,
the first dozen Kenneth Cole ads didn’t even show his shoes. Those
ads, from the mid-eighties, created a buzz that continues to this day.

In Footnotes, an autobiographical book documenting his success, Cole
states: “The best business solutions are usually more creative than
expensive.” Certainly he is a great example of that. Here’s another.

Gregg and Evan Spiridellis decided they needed to get the word out
about their tiny animation studio. With the 2004 election coming up they
decided to showcase their work with an emailed, Flash animation poke
at Bush and Kerry. A week before the election a friend forwarded me
that poke: “This Land is Your Land…”. When I stopped laughing, I
forwarded it to half a dozen friends and then clicked on the JibJab hot-
link to the studio web site. Apparently, I wasn’t alone. According to Joe
Trippi, a speaker at the recent Advertising Week conference, the viral
promotion reached 65 million viewers in two weeks. It also got the
brothers national press and new business like their recent deal with
MSN. Their total marketing investment? $500.

An entrepreneur walks into an elevator and bumps into a woman who
just gave the keynote speech at a business event they were both just
leaving. He introduces himself, compliments her on her talk, and they
exchange cards. Most elevator tete-a-tetes would end here. However,
rather than just pocket the entrepreneur’s card and resume staring at the
descending elevator floor numbers, the woman stares at the card. Why?
Because the card is staring back. On the card is a graphic of bulging
eyes with the line:
IF YOU WANT’EM EXCITED ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS,
YOU’D BETTER GET’EM EXCITED ABOUT YOUR MARKETING.

Immediately it prompts a slew of questions. Before the elevator stops,
the woman (president of a PR firm) and entrepreneur have scheduled
lunch. Three months later the same entrepreneur receives a check, from
the PR firm, for thirty-two thousand dollars. It’s the first 1/3 upfront
payment for a three-month project on which he clears eighty-five grand.
How do I know this story is true? The entrepreneur is me.

These stories illustrate how innovative thinking, and a good creative
idea, can compensate for lack of a marketing budget. In addition to
Kenneth Cole, I’ve worked with dozens of other clients, with very limited
budgets, who’ve become highly successful. A current one is The Marble
Collegiate Church.

Using the guerilla-marketing tactic of targeted, untraditional media, with
high impact, creative messages, church membership increased over
31%. Additionally, website traffic quadrupled and they received positive
press from The Daily News, The New York Times, USAToday, TIME and
local TV and radio. The successful effort was also featured in Prentice-
Hall’s Principles of Marketing. Our marketing partnership, that began as
a test in 1998, is now in its eighth consecutive year.

The Importance of a Creative Marketing Mindset.

I mentioned some reasons for the church’s marketing success, but
there’s a big one I didnt mention. I talk to many groups about the
power of marketing, and whenever I speak I always get asked: “What’s
the biggest key to successful marketing?” My simple answer is: “A client
with a creative marketing mindset.”

I’ll describe one last, current, example of effective marketing without a
marketing budget. Several years ago my firm created an effective church
poster that still runs today. It reads:

If You Want To Feed Your Soul, We’ve Got A Great Menu.

Under that headline are three columns of every program, group, and
activity the church has — things like a Divorce Recovery Workshop, Gay
and Lesbian Fellowship, Entrepreneurs Group, Singles Group — about
two dozen altogether. Of the 11 ads we’ve done, this one has been most
effective, by far. Why? Because it presents two-dozen more reasons to
come to Marble church besides the Sunday service. But let me continue.
Marble has 3,000 passionate members who love the church, and the
poster. There are probably another 3,000 who aren’t members but
attend semi-regularly. That’s about 6,000 people who are big on the
church and the poster. So, what if there was a way to somehow turn
those 6,000 people into a sales force. Certainly all have friends and
associates who could be convinced to visit Marble if they knew about
the variety of relevant groups and programs listed on that poster.

Do I suggest giving each member a 21″ x 22″ poster to post by their
office water cooler? I don’t think so. But what if that 21″ x 22″ poster was
a 4″ x 6″ postcard? I didn’t think it was possible, but with some very
creative editing, I actually did it. The type is small, but not so small that it
can’t easily be read. And the cost? About a dime per card, depending on
the volume printed. By the time this article runs there could be hundreds
of Marble “Johnny Appleseed’s’ sharing these postcards with their
friends, acquaintances, and co-workers. If word-of-mouth is the best
advertising, this will be like word-of-mouth on steroids.

How to Market Your Own Business with No Budget.

Explaining by case study is one thing. Offering general, one-size-fits-all
advice is quite another. Every industry is different, and every business in
every industry is unique. A successful, cost-effective solution for one
business may or may not work for a different business in a different
business environment. That said, every business in every industry
needs to be noticed in a positive way. So, let me expound on a previous
example.

Many small business folks claim they can’t afford advertising. I say… if
you can afford business cards, then you can afford advertising.
Because, despite what many may think, a business card is a small
space ad for your business. And, if you don’t treat it as such, you’re
wasting a cost-effective marketing opportunity.

Every company needs to create an engaging brand personality - a
personality that’s consistently reflected in every marketing element.
Whenever you hand out your card you’re not just sharing your contact
info, you’re introducing your company to a potential buyer. So, for God’s
sake, make it engaging.

How you do that depends on your business and the personality you
decide it should have. Obviously, a law firm will be different from a
flower shop. But that doesn’t mean a law firm’s card has to be boring. If
you have a law firm, what kind of law is it? What’s special about your
firm? Anything? Well then say it on your card. Give someone a reason to
think of you (vs. others) when they need legal help. So, having a smart,
memorable tagline can definitely help. And maybe, on the back, you
bullet the various types of legal services your firm performs.

Depending on your business you can get creative and really have some
fun with it. For example, say you’re a talented make-up artist and your
business is makeovers for female executives. Why not have a card with
one side that’s reflective silver Mylar - that mirror-like material - and on
the other side have a tagline that says, “Because Everyone could use a
Makeover.” I think you get the picture.

Here’s another low cost thought you can do in a week: Start your
website with something exciting.

Like a business card, a website is an important first contact with your
business and personal brand. And, as the expression says, “there’s
nothing more important than a first impression.” So, when someone
types in your web address, make sure the first thing they see is
something that communicates an exciting, memorable, positive
message about your company. Most sites are informative, but boring.
Create a simple “splash page” message that touches your prospect on
an emotional level. As with business cards, how you do that depends on
who you are and what you sell. The difference is, a website can
incorporate motion and sound. So, take advantage of that. Whatever you
do though, keep it short. There’s nothing worse than a self-indulgent 45-
second Flash intro that you can’t click out of.

In football there’s a term called “hang-time.” It’s used when a punter has
to kick the ball to the other team and the longer the ball stays airborne
the more time it allows the punter’s teammates to run down the field.
Hang time is measured in milliseconds and a 3.2-second differential can
make the difference between a punt return for no yards or a touchdown.
Your marketing, like football, needs every edge to win. So, when you
hand out a card, or get someone to click on your site, ask yourself this:
How much hang time does it have? If it has a lot, who knows, you may
just end up with an eighty-five thousand dollar piece of business out of
it.

So, when it comes to your marketing, do your web optimizing and pay-
per-click, if you like. Just don’t let the idea limited finances discourage
you from doing something more innovative.

(For more Follis marketing facts, see booklet info below.)

© 2006 John Follis. All rights reserved.

John Follis is one of the 12 “Best Advertising Minds of New York” as
voted by The New York Ad Club. His campaigns are in 3 college
textbooks, he has written for ADWEEK, and he has taught at 3 New York
universities. Currently, John works on select projects, consults, and
speaks. He may be reached at john@follisinc.com

For John’s booklet: How to Attract and Excite Your Prospects: A Guide
for Getting the Best Marketing Results, visit: http://www.follisinc.com/
booklet.htm

For consulting info, visit: Marketing Therapy: http://www.follisinc.com/
therapy.htm

For speaking info, visit: Follis Speaking: http://www.follisinc.com/
speaking.htm