ADUTAINMENT: Advertising as Entertainment
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Design a business card that people will actually hang on to!
We all know how important a first impression is, but equally important is a lasting impression and thats where your business card can come into play. After you meet someone and hand him or her your business card that small piece of paper is the only concrete thing they have to remember you by. At a bare minimum the card should tell them your name, company, occupation and contact information. But, your business card should also give them a reminder of who you are as a person. And that is why having a well-designed business card is so important.

Nielsen Business Media Announces Lineup for Marketing to Men 18--34
The Definitive Conference For Brand Leaders is targeting elusive male consumers.

Multimedia Tutorial Services, Inc, CEO Appears On New York CBS Radio Small Business Panel
Barry Reichman, CEO of Multimedia Tutorial Services, Inc, appeared on a small business panel hosted by CBS 88 radio station at the Marriott Hotel in Brooklyn, New York on November, 2007, chaired by veteran business anchorman Joe Connolly. The small business breakfast drew an audience of more than 200 small business owners from the tri-state area who came to learn and share ideas.

Blogging Policies, Does Your Business Need One?
Weblogs or Blogs as they are more commonly referred to, have become extremely popular in the last several years. So popular in fact that many large businesses are letting some employees post Blogs on their corporate websites.

Business Finance Shares and Equity
The term equity finance refers to share capital that is invested into a business for the medium to long term in return for a share of the ownership and in many cases an element of control over the running of the business. There are two main forms of equity finance available to businesses. These are business angels and venture capitalists. Equity finance is fast becoming one of the most popular ways of gaining start up finance for businesses.

UPS Selects Rhode Island-Based North Star Marketing for Mentorship Program
Rhode Island marketing and public relations firm North Star Marketing (www.fortheloveofmarketing.com) has been selected by UPS to participate in a one-year long business mentorship program. As part of the program April Williams, North Star Marketing president and visionary, and her executive team will work directly with Sarah Roberts, UPS Finance Manager of the East New England District.

Launch of BusinessLevers.com Website Makes It Easier To Start, Run and Grow a Small or Home Based Business
A new website, http://www.businesslevers.com, has launched to provide resources for entrepreneurs who wish to start a small or home based business. The website includes descriptions of over 150 businesses which can be run from home with links to resources on how to start them.

The Evolution Of The Video Camera
It?s incredible to think just how far camcorder technology has come and evolved from its humble beginnings. Video cameras, like all forms of technology and gizmos and gadgets, have improved and become more user-friendly and more innovative over the years. That?s nothing new, and there?s no reason to trump the advancement of the video camera onto a higher pedestal than anything else. But, when one looks at the history, timeline and growth of the video camera, it is remarkable to see where it has come from, where it has gone, and where it will venture to in the future.

How to Start a Paper Shredding Business
Paper Shredding Business Opportunities are blossoming up everywhere because in recent years, privacy concerns and new policies have forced companies all over the country to invest in paper shredding services. Large corporations and small are in need of shredding services.

Unfinished Business (Part 2)
We know that David did much to stabilize the Kingdom of Israel. He fought a long series of wars to make Israel secure.

Web Advertising Secrets
Once you have decided on pursuing the administration of a website, you have to be open to the idea of web advertising. Practically, your website could not survive long if nobody would know that it actually subsists. Web advertising is a must if your business is web dependent. The life and blood of any business is surely none other than the customers but of course you could never have the desired number of customers without prompting web advertisement.

Quadriplegic Motivational Speaker, Business and Life Coach Bill Cawley Tells TV Viewers How They Too Can Overcome Any Challenge
In a CBS interview with Bill Cawley, he shares some of the key strategies that people can use in overcoming the inevitable challenges we all face in our personal lives and professional careers.

DecisionOne Appoints New SVP, Sales and Marketing
DecisionOne Corporation today announced that Kathryn Alexander has rejoined the technology support services company as Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing.

The Affiliate Marketing Game & Secrets
The affiliate marketing game is heating up. You may wonder what are the affiliate marketing secrets of successful affiliates? There are probably thousands of affiliate programs out there. And there are even more affiliates. How do you stand out from the crowd? Are there any affiliate marketing secrets?

Dewey Media Partners Launches New Video Production Company in The Boston and New York Media Production Markets
Veteran news and advertising producer Paul Dewey launches Dewey Media Partners with Emmy Award winning news and documentary film producers Charlie Stuart and David Saltman. Dewey Media Partners will offer full service video production services to the business, education, public relations and non-profit sectors. The Dewey Media team will apply their finely tuned skills in journalism, video production and advertising to offer fresh, creative, strategically designed media solutions to digital marketing challenges in the corporate production arena.

Finding Your Marketing Niche

I got an email from a customer recently with this comment:

"I can't make any progress with my marketing until I know what my marketing niche is. Until I know who my ideal clients are going to be, I can't start with my marketing, so I really can't get any of your products until I'm clear about this."

You might want to substitute your own concern: "I don't know what my services are yet," or "I don't really know what the ultimate outcome is that I provide for my clients," or "I don't know what makes me unique yet."

And with this declaration of what you don't know, your marketing grinds to a screeching standstill.

My answer to this customer was the following:

"You don't find your niche. Your niche finds you. And this goes for your services, ultimate outcome, uniqueness, etc."

What I mean by this is that you can't really figure it out in your head. You need to discover it. And the way you discover it is to jump into the process of marketing.

I know this might not makes sense to you, but stick with me here, because this is really one of the biggest issues Independent Professionals face.

I've seen it hundreds of times.

I've seen people completely stuck because they can't figure out their audio logo or perfect marketing message. And they "know" that when they figure it out, all their marketing will fall magically into place.

Utter nonsense, I'm afraid.

Here's the big secret that nobody has told you: You take your best guess, give it a shot and see what response you get. That's all, really. You don't get it right. You get it wrong - maybe for a long time - until it finally falls into place.

My customer is confused about which clients she should go after. But she doesn't have to decide - yet. All she has to do is take a mad stab at it and say, for the time being: "These are the clients I'll work with for now." And then build a marketing message around that.

She'll discover soon enough if it's the right niche or not.

She'll talk to a lot of people. She'll use her newly created audio logo, ultimate outcome, etc. She'll get responses or not. If not, no problem, back to the drawing board.

If she gets a few clients in this niche, she'll soon discover if they are ideal or not. She'll learn as she goes, and fine tune her message along the way. After awhile the niche will find her. She'll stumble upon it. Aaha! that's it! And then the next version of her marketing message will be right on target.

Let me give you an analogy in another field.

A new music student says: "I can't learn music until I know what composers I'm going to play. I'm really conflicted. Will I play Mozart and Bach, or Betthoven and Brahms? Difficult choice. But when I'm clear on who, then I'll start to learn music."

Wouldn't we roll our eyes if we heard this? Then why do we take the declaration so seriously that someone can't find their niche? It's nuts.

Sadly, the chance of the above person ever becoming a musician is pretty slim. And the with this approach, the chance of my customer ever becoming a successful Independent Professional is pretty slim as well. The good news is she's willing to try.

And starting is easy.

Get a book, manual, or tape program, or attend a course. Start with the first lesson. Do the homework. Apply it the best you can to your business.

You won't be a marketing genius in a week or two, but you'll be way beyond where you are now. So get out of your head, let go of the need to have things perfect, be willing to fail fast and just do it!

Robert Middleton, the owner of Action Plan Marketing, has been helping Independent Professionals be better marketers since 1984. On his web site http://www.ActionPlan.com find valuable resources, products and programs for attracting more clients. Get a free copy of his Marketing Plan Sart-Up Kit.