This is a great example of putting on a promotion, and tying it together with current events. Ben Martinez, owner and marketer extraordinaire at El Jardin Mexican restaurant in Commerce City, Colorado has a current e-mail promotion celebrating "Bar-Taco Obama" being inaugurated as our 44th President.
He's offering a taco plate with 3 beef or chicken hard-shell tacos, for only $4.44 (44th President, get it?). If you couldn't guess already, Ben likes to use puns and plays on words. Another good example was tied to Breast Cancer walks last fall, where Ben was selling "Mar-CURE-ritas."
Check out his website at www.ILoveElJardin.com, and get on his e-mail list. If you're in the Denver area, you'll help your dining dollar go farther, and get treated to great food and service (which is a hard combination to find nowadays).
I'm using this example because Ben does an excellent job of marketing and promoting his restaurant, especially tying these promos to current events. How can you promote your business and get publicity with current events and news? Follow Ben's examples, and you can't go too far wrong.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The 90-Day 'Marketing Sprint' Begins Today!
I can't believe that we're 2/3rds through 2008 already. So I'm looking ahead to the last four months of this year for what I want to get done, and still have time to enjoy life and spend it with family and friends.
And I know the last 4 to 6 weeks of the year can be the most difficult for a business owner. That's because people are busy with holiday parties, get-togethers and travel.
How many times have you talked with a potential customer between Thanksgiving and New Year's, only to hear the dreaded phrase: "What you have looks good, but get back to me after the 1st of the year." This is frustrating, and a momentum-killer for your business and bank account.
That's why you must have a plan of action between now and Thanksgiving, and through the rest of the year.
There's two ways you can deal with the holidays in your business:
1) Have a laser-like focus from now until Thanksgiving to get as much business done as possible. I call it the "90 Day Marketing Sprint."
Plan your marketing promotions, and make sure folks you outsource business to (such as graphic and web designers, copywriters, and event planners) know what you're doing, and are available when you'll need them.
Make sure you have enough lead time to get the design work, copy and other work done without being rushed. This way you'll be more productive, have fewer year-end regrets, and built-in momentum to carry you into the New Year.
The second option is...
2) Promote your own (or become an affiliate for other marketers') products during the holidays, to provide a secondary income stream for your business. You can promote these to your e-mail list easily, when you use an e-mail program like AWeber.
You can use AWeber to send e-mails at a pre-determined time, so you don't have to spend time to manually send each one to your list. If you don't have that big of a list, Joel Christopher and Tellman Knudsen have good advice on how to build a list quickly.
By doing the 90-Day Marketing Sprint, and getting income from affiliate programs, you can better deal with the 'holiday hurricane' of activity from Thanksgiving through New Years Day. You'll have a sense of accomplishment... more peace of mind... not to mention more money in your bank account.
If you haven't done it yet, plan out what you want to get accomplished from now through December 31, 2008. It'll make your business life easier, and give you a head-start on positive momentum for 2009.
And I know the last 4 to 6 weeks of the year can be the most difficult for a business owner. That's because people are busy with holiday parties, get-togethers and travel.
How many times have you talked with a potential customer between Thanksgiving and New Year's, only to hear the dreaded phrase: "What you have looks good, but get back to me after the 1st of the year." This is frustrating, and a momentum-killer for your business and bank account.
That's why you must have a plan of action between now and Thanksgiving, and through the rest of the year.
There's two ways you can deal with the holidays in your business:
1) Have a laser-like focus from now until Thanksgiving to get as much business done as possible. I call it the "90 Day Marketing Sprint."
Plan your marketing promotions, and make sure folks you outsource business to (such as graphic and web designers, copywriters, and event planners) know what you're doing, and are available when you'll need them.
Make sure you have enough lead time to get the design work, copy and other work done without being rushed. This way you'll be more productive, have fewer year-end regrets, and built-in momentum to carry you into the New Year.
The second option is...
2) Promote your own (or become an affiliate for other marketers') products during the holidays, to provide a secondary income stream for your business. You can promote these to your e-mail list easily, when you use an e-mail program like AWeber.
You can use AWeber to send e-mails at a pre-determined time, so you don't have to spend time to manually send each one to your list. If you don't have that big of a list, Joel Christopher and Tellman Knudsen have good advice on how to build a list quickly.
By doing the 90-Day Marketing Sprint, and getting income from affiliate programs, you can better deal with the 'holiday hurricane' of activity from Thanksgiving through New Years Day. You'll have a sense of accomplishment... more peace of mind... not to mention more money in your bank account.
If you haven't done it yet, plan out what you want to get accomplished from now through December 31, 2008. It'll make your business life easier, and give you a head-start on positive momentum for 2009.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Why Paris Hilton's mom may be right...
I almost have a hard time writing these words, admitting that the mom of a Hollywood celebrity may be right, but it's true. The recent John McCain ad (click on TV Ad: CELEB) tries to portray Barack Obama as just a celebrity, like Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, and not a leader fit for the Presidency.
Paris Hilton's mom fired back, and said the Celeb ad was a waste of money. Here's why she might be right.
Like many other big, dumb companies and campaigns, they've forgotten (or haven't bothered) to know what their audience likes and dislikes.
The creator of this ad forgot that in 2008, Americans LOVE celebrities like Britney, Lindsay and Paris. And buying decisions on a product, service or politician are based primarily on emotion, then justified later with logic - not the other way around.
How does this relate to effective marketing? It's simple. You always start with the "who," (i.e., your target market). Not what you think they should like in an ideal world, but what they really want and desire today.
It sounds simple and pretty common sense, but it's amazing today how many business owners overlook this basic, and very important concept. Make sure that your business or website doesn't take for granted that you know your target market, and exactly what they want.
If you have any doubts, use Alex Mandossian's Ask Database, or Survey Monkey to verify if your marketing assumptions are correct.
Knowing who your target market is and what they want is the foundation of your business marketing. Get this wrong, and you're in for a world of hurt. Take the time to use one of these valuable tools to make sure you really know your target market.
Paris Hilton's mom fired back, and said the Celeb ad was a waste of money. Here's why she might be right.
Like many other big, dumb companies and campaigns, they've forgotten (or haven't bothered) to know what their audience likes and dislikes.
The creator of this ad forgot that in 2008, Americans LOVE celebrities like Britney, Lindsay and Paris. And buying decisions on a product, service or politician are based primarily on emotion, then justified later with logic - not the other way around.
How does this relate to effective marketing? It's simple. You always start with the "who," (i.e., your target market). Not what you think they should like in an ideal world, but what they really want and desire today.
It sounds simple and pretty common sense, but it's amazing today how many business owners overlook this basic, and very important concept. Make sure that your business or website doesn't take for granted that you know your target market, and exactly what they want.
If you have any doubts, use Alex Mandossian's Ask Database, or Survey Monkey to verify if your marketing assumptions are correct.
Knowing who your target market is and what they want is the foundation of your business marketing. Get this wrong, and you're in for a world of hurt. Take the time to use one of these valuable tools to make sure you really know your target market.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)