Power Publicity And Promotions Ebook - I started my website in the summer of 2007. Since then, I’ve spent less than $150 on advertising. In this ebook, I explain what I did to grow my web traffic to over 10,000 monthly visitors, have my work featured in national magazines, receive interview requests from magazine editors in New York City, and even become featured on Fox Business….

Cut n’ Paste Press Releases - Would you like to start sending out press releases, but just aren’t sure where to begin? Try these 5 Pre-Written Press Releases on for size. Just customize ‘em and send ‘em out. Quick and Easy!

Let’s see how many logos you are familiar with:

1.  The white swoosh on the side of a shoe?
2.  The segment of white ribbon twisted on a red background on a can?
3.  The joined yellow arches on a restaurant sign?
4.  The earth spinning on a tilted axis with words revolving around it going counter-clockwise?

You are probably familiar with all of these descriptions of logos for companies.  A logo is just as important as the mission statement behind the company.  In establishing a product as quality, a logo identifies that product even when nothing else is seen.

It’s like when you take a driving exam.  Part of the exam consists of sign recognition.  There are no words on the signs, only the color and shape.  From that, you must come up with the words.  The longer you are bombarded with these images, the more recognizable they become on many levels.

Designing a company logo is a serious job.  It may take a while to get the exact image to fit your company’s motto.  Work with a professional to design the look of your company.

The logo speaks to your tagline, your marketing audience, your work ethic, and your company name.  You wouldn’t have a dolphin as the logo design for an outfit that sells climbing gear.  No one would ever put the two together.  It can be a simple design that encompasses all of the things above.

A complicated design can be hard to duplicate properly.  Too many fine lines and subtle color changes that disappear when the image is shrunk down may be unrecognizable on cellophane wrapping or a cardboard box.  The product packaging comes into play also.

The logo will grace your letterhead along with the company name.  A logo is often the first thing that a person sees before they even read the name of your company.  On promotional merchandise, people notice the logo and how it matches with the company name.

As your company grows and you gain sponsorship or partner with other enterprises, you’ll use the logo in print ads and commercials to signify your company principles.  A little field mouse doesn’t project strength any more than the image of an elephant exhibits grace and delicacy.  The logo speaks with and without your tagline present.

Oh, about those four questions.  Here are the answers:  Nike, Coca-cola, McDonald’s, and Universal Studios respectively.  But, you already knew that.  That is the importance and power of a company logo.

You might not be Nike or Pepsi, but who’s to say that one day your product won’t instill the same loyalty?  Brand recognition is not just a tangible quality but also an intangible feeling.  We can touch a product, use it, and determine if we like it.  The intangible feeling is how a brand is perceived by the public.

A business that markets a product knows their product.  How does it feel, taste, sound?  What makes it stand out from the rest?  There are plenty of sodas on the market but Pepsi and Coca-cola are the names that people can quote you off the top of their heads.  It could be the flavor or the design of the logo.

You can achieve brand recognition with your product.  Let the customers associate positive words with your product and increase your sales.  Here’s how:

1.  Determine what sets your product apart from others.  It could be that you are a small business with home-made products.  The home-made stitching or lettering spells quality and that is what you want people to know.  Maybe prompt customer service is your brand or timely delivery.

2.  Poll your customers.  The best way to find out anything is to ask.  What do they think of your product?  Online surveys and quality assurance measures create information that you can use to tweak your product or service, until it reaches the level that satisfies customers completely.  You can use focus groups or telephone calls to determine how well or not well you product is doing.

3.  Make your unique brand a reality.  Use the information from various sources to give life to your brand.  If you offer home-made dolls or cloth napkins, or a dating service, advertise using your special quality.  It can help with developing a daring new logo or a tagline.  Demonstrate to each customer your brand in action every time they come to your website.

4.  Use other media to promote your brand.  Advertise on websites; make short videos, newspapers, and the like to bring attention to your brand.  Customers can choose your product over a similar one because you have free shipping or an excellent return and exchange policy.

A brand helps a business to survive in the tough market where there are plenty of products to choose from.  Yours will stand above the others with a brand that adequately represents your company and is demonstrated to each customer.

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Do you know how to get great press? Being featured in the media can be more effective than paying for advertising. Learn more at:   http://www.indiebizchicks.com/great-press.html

Twitter is by far and away one of the best freaking ways to promote your business you can find. Seriously. If you’re not on Twitter, go sign up. But I’ll let ya know right now that there are a lot of jackasses on Twitter. Trust me, you DON’T want to look like a jackass. Here’s how to avoid that:

You Are NOT A Guru
Twitter gives you a little bio area where you can put some info down about yourself, your biz, etc. I’ve come across all kinds of bios – from the short and sweet to the funny to the weird. But what really grates on my nerves is when people call themselves a “guru” or something along those lines.

Trust me, you are NOT a guru. You are a regular person with a Twitter account. Calling yourself a deity makes you look kind of obnoxious and cheesy.

In case you missed the memo, a person wants to do business with someone they like. Not the person who does a great impersonation of a 70s used car salesman.

Just be real. You’ll make a lot more friends that way. And that will improve your business.

Twitter Is NOT Your Ad Feed
If you follow me, I will get a little email from Twitter letting me know. I’ll look at your Twitter page and see if I want to follow you back. If all I see are notices about the things you just listed in your Etsy shop or some other similar type of ad, I’m not going to follow you back.

Not trying to be mean, here, but I am not interested in reading your personal ad feed. And neither is anyone else….

Twitter, like all social networking sites, does require a bit of the “social” to be considered effective. So get with the conversation – you might even make a new friend or two.

What’s Up With That Welcome Message?
Another thing I find kind of irritating (and so do other people) is to get a message saying “Thanks for following, now go to my website and buy something.” Okay – maybe they don’t actually say “buy something,” but that’s what they’re implying by sending that message!

It’s okay to send a little DM (direct message) to someone when they follow you, but keep it personal…. I mean, if you met me in real life, walking down the street, you wouldn’t introduce yourself and ask me to fork over some cash…. If you did, you’d be a weirdo and I’d run the other way.

And if you did that on Twitter, same thing.. I’ll run the other way! Or click away, as the case may be…..

Participation Is Required
I’ll be honest with you. I have more followers than updates. (at the time of this writing, I’ve made 2,345 updates). I can’t say that I sit around posting all day long on Twitter, but I’ve obviously made an effort.

If, however, I get a follow notice from someone who’s last update was in 2008, I’m not likely to follow back. I mean, you got onto Twitter to follow me, so why not update the darn thing???

But Please, Don’t Overshare
Have you ever been to the bar and had a total stranger sit by you and start telling you way too much information? Sometimes people do that on Twitter, too. (I don’t know if they’re drinking while oversharing, but it might be linked…)

And while I do think that people need to actually Tweet every so often, I don’t want to know too much about your life. And you should always be careful about what you put on the web because it’s all indexed and can easily be searched upon.

I mean, any cyberstalker worth their salt will be able to pull up boatloads of info on you already, why put out more info than they really need to know???

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I am going to be holding a teleseminar class  that will teach you
How To Use Twitter To Promote Your Biz!
Friday, April 10, 2009 at 1pm Eastern

We’ll be covering the following:

• The Twitter Basics (especially helpful for those that are wondering what the #!@* Twitter is!)
• How To Target Your Market On Twitter
• How To Develop Relationships With Customers and Potential Biz Partners
• How To Promote Your Biz On Twitter (Trust me, there’s a good way & a bad way… I’ll show you the good way!)
• And More!

Can’t make the live class? Don’t worry! I’ll be recording our call, and everyone who registers will receive the Mp3.

When You Register, you’ll receive:

• The Twitter Class Workbook!
• Access to several online videos that will teach you how to use Twitter!
• The Mp3 recording of the Twitter class!

Click Here To Grab Your Spot Now!
Register before April 3 for early bird registration – only $9.95
Register after April 3 for $14.95

In my opinion, when it comes to your business, you better NOT be ashamed to promote it. I mean, if you’re not going to promote it, who is? The marketing fairy?

If people don’t know your business exists, how are they going to buy anything from you? And you want to make money from your business, because if you didn’t, you wouldn’t have bothered to make a business out of it, right? Otherwise, you could have left it as a hobby…

I’m not saying you have to turn into an annoying media-crazed moron who walks around in a sandwich board that says “LOOK AT MY BUSINESS!” … But I am saying you do have to tell people (in moderation, of course!)

Here are some nice, socially acceptable ways to promote yourself:

Social Media – There is a social media platform to fit just about every personality type out there. You can take your pick between Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and more. Better yet, combine a few of these for maximum exposure.

Signature Lines – There are probably a lot of signature lines in your life… From your email to any message boards / forums you belong to. So why not use that space to display a little info about your business?

Videos – You know YouTube is popular. You probably get a bunch of forwarded emails from people, telling you about some super funny clip  that you just have to watch… Did you ever think about how much traffic YouTube could bring you? If you have a crafty business, create a few videos of yourself creating a craft project. Do you have a recipe blog? Video tape yourself cooking one of those recipes! Have a content site that explains how to use technology? Use a screen capture recording device to record your actions on the computer and make a video of them. Submit these videos to YouTube, Vimeo, and other video hosting sites.

Viral Reports – Create a 3 – 5 page report on something your website readers would be interested in and then use social media to distribute it all over the web. Just make sure your website address is in the report so the people reading it can find more of your information!

Think Globally, Act Locally – Yes, this is a line that environmentalists have been using for a long time…. but it applies to your business as well. You want to keep an eye on the big picture by using the internet to market your business all over the world…. But don’t forget to hang a few fliers in your own neighborhood.

See? You can do these things and no one will laugh at you behind your back or think you are a weirdo. You have to pay your bills and buy groceries, just like everyone else.

Don’t be afraid to be successful!

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I am going to be holding a teleseminar class on Friday, April 10, 2009 at 1pm that will teach you
How To Use Twitter To Promote Your Biz!

We’ll be covering the following:

• The Twitter Basics (especially helpful for those that are wondering what the #!@* Twitter is!)
• How To Target Your Market On Twitter
• How To Develop Relationships With Customers and Potential Biz Partners
• How To Promote Your Biz On Twitter (Trust me, there’s a good way & a bad way… I’ll show you the good way!)
• And More!

Can’t make the live class? Don’t worry! I’ll be recording our call, and everyone who registers will receive the Mp3.

When You Register, you’ll receive:

• The Twitter Class Workbook!
• Access to several online videos that will teach you how to use Twitter!
• The Mp3 recording of the Twitter class!

Click Here To Grab Your Spot Now!
Register before April 3 for early bird registration – only $9.95
Register after April 3 for $14.95

LOTS of things were discussed during the call, including: how to market online – even if you don’t have a website, how to get featured in the media and on shopping sites, how to get other people to promote your products for you, and more.

If you’re looking for new ideas on how to market your craft business, this is one teleseminar that you don’t want to miss!

Click Here To Register Now!!