Get A Bigger Bang For Your Buck
by Clay Campbell

I recently spoke in Dayton Ohio at the Greater Dayton Advertising Association, and in Austin Texas at Wizard of Ads Free Public Seminar. In both places the seats were all full. I spoke from my heart, in my own style, to try and convince small business owners they could get a better bang for their marketing buck, by doing certain things, and avoiding others.

One thing you can you can do to get big a bigger bang for your buck, is to take up public speaking. Especially if you have a small ad budget, one of the very best things you can do is speak at your local Lions Clubs. Also you could speak at Kiwanis, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, Church groups, business groups, schools and anywhere else they might invite you. These clubs are all looking for speakers each week and Toastmasters is a great place to get started speaking and get excellent training. It's cheap; about $65 a year. I have been going for two years, and Toastmasters has helped me in an enormous way. There are over 200,000 people attending about 11,000 Toastmasters meetings somewhere in the world every week. Toastmasters meetings will help you develop courage, confidence, poise, humor, body language, and voice inflection; all of which will help you in your small business.

I suggest that you put together a short 15 - 20 minute presentation about yourself, your business and how you help people. You need a subject that you are passionate about ( your business) a bit of humor,and good voice inflection. Next you should just make a point and tell a story. Make another point and tell another story etc. Then close by saying, "OK, I want you to remember these points". Then recap your points. It's simple but not easy; you have to practice and practice to get it down pat.

I guarantee this will make people more aware of you, and will cause people to like you and trust you. People like to do business with people they like and trust. In 99% of the cases, when all else is pretty much equal between two or three competitors, you will buy from the one you like and trust the most.

In the coming presidential election this fall, about 45% of the country will vote for Obama. About 45% will vote for McCain. The election will be decided by the other 10%, and most of them do not know much about the issues; they will just vote for who ever they like the best. Barack Obama and Sara Palin have proved beyond a shadow of any doubt, that if you are a poised, confident, public speaker and can be a little bit humorous, the people will just LOVE you.

So it is with your small business; the consumers out there will do business with businesses they like and trust. You can build that like-a-bility and trust factor by public speaking, and Toastmasters is a great place to get started. By the way, I sold 40 books that week on my speaking engagements. Writing a book can go a long way on helping a person market and promote themselves. That will be the subject of another post.

4 Things Never to Do When Writing Ads
by Roy H. Williams (Edited from original)

When writing ads: 1. Never assume that other people think like you do. You've got to be willing to see your own opinions as those of an irrelevant freak. 2. Never assume that other people make decisions using the same criteria you use. EXAMPLE: A product comes in two sizes. A ten-ounce package costs a dollar. A forty-ounce package costs two dollars. Half the people will buy the ten-ounce package because it's cheaper. The other half will buy the forty-ounce package because it's cheaper. 3. Never assume your ad to be relevant to more than 10 percent of the people who encounter it. There is no such thing as the general public. 4. Never write to "everyone." An ad written to an individual is always more effective than an ad written to a faceless mob.