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MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits

The ezine with brainy ideas & resources
for marketers & small businesses


This newsletter brought to you each Tuesday by
Lois Carter Fay & The Marketing Idea Shop
http://www.marketingideashop.com
mailto:lcf@marketingideashop.com


Issue 32 - January 6, 2004
Reading time: 10 minutes

Circulation:  1217


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PLEASE FORWARD ~~~ WITHOUT CUTTING ~~~
to anyone who can use a few timely marketing
and creativity tips to improve their business.


Welcome to all our new 12 Days of Christmas subscribers!


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IN THIS ISSUE

1.   I Saw Your Ad
2.   Quote of the Week
3.   Guest Article: What Makes a Great Web Page?
4.   101 Marketing Tips: Better Ad Layout
5.   Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
6.   A Little Marketing Fun
7.   Smell the Coffee


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1.   I Saw Your Ad

Recently, a small business owner phoned and said to me,
"Hi, my name is ... and I was just reading your ad."

"Which ad?" I asked.

"The one in the Chamber newsletter."

When I first started my business 14 years ago, that would
have confused me, since I didn't run any ads in the
Chamber newsletter. But now I know to probe a little deeper. "What
interested you about it?" I asked.

"Well, it says here that you are a marketing consultant
and you do marketing plans."

"I see," I reply. "Are you reading the article about
Marketing Idea Shop?"

"Yes, that's it. You do a lot of things, and I need help."

"You've come to the right person. When would you like to
get together?"


What the person was looking at was a half-page ARTICLE
about my company that appeared in the local Chamber's
newsletter several months ago. I used to be surprised that
small business owners didn't know the difference between
PR (public relations) and advertising. What seemed very
obvious to me, was definitely not obvious to my prospects
and clients. And at first, I was also quite amazed that
people would cut out articles that I wrote or that were
written about me and save them for sometimes as long as a
year before they called me.

Now I know this is not unusual. I've found that most
people don't know the difference between the two. And small
business owners are notorious for keeping information that
might prove useful someday when they can both afford it
and need it.

So I've created a little 13-page electronic booklet, PR
Tactics 101, that teaches you the difference between PR
and advertising. It also explains why you should use PR to get
the word out about your business, how you can benefit from
good publicity, how to write and distribute a news release
that will garner publicity for you, and what to do with
the release when you have it written.

You'll find 14 links to terrific resources to help you put
together your media list and distribute it to the right
people, one link for checking your content to avoid sp~am
filters, and 7 links for finding out what coverage you
received as a result of your release. And as a bonus, I've
included 33 story ideas to help you get started. And if
you buy the booklet by midnight tomorrow night (Jan. 7), I'll
give you a half-hour of my consulting time as an added
gift. That's a $100 bonus!

You can send me your news release and I'll review and
comment on it. Or, you can simply call me up to discuss
it. Your choice. All for the price of a small booklet -- just
$17.

After tomorrow night, you can still get the booklet, but
I'll be moving on to my next project so I won't be able to
offer the f~ree consulting. So hurry! Act now.

Buy PR Tactics 101 here:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/javanof.asp?MerchantID=41484&ProductID=1629698
or http://tinyurl.com/yucs9


And for even more help with your marketing, advertising,
and public relations, pick up a copy of my ebook,
MARKETING PLAN ESSENTIALS: ONLINE & OFF.
Over 100 pages with more than 100 links to great resources to
help you write and implement your marketing plan to increase
your bottom line in 2004. For more details, visit
MarketingEssentials.htm
or
http://tinyurl.com/3gy2a

You can download it and be reading it in just minutes!


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2.  Quote of the Week

"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more
than our abilities."
~~Professor Dumbledore, from Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets by J.K. Rowling


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3.  The Ten Web Page "Commandments"

      - by Jim Edwards

(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
    Reprinted with permission.
http://www.thenetreporter.com
=====================================

"What makes a great web page?"

People ask me this all the time, though they often
encounter difficulty boiling the question down to so few
words.

Every serious website operator wants to know how to create
and maintain the best possible website that makes them the
most money and builds the largest subscriber base! 

The following "commandments" represent the ideals towards
which every new or existing website should strive.

1. Thou Shalt Have a Purpose

Clearly define the site's purpose and ensure all content
(pages, graphics and text) tightly focuses on that
purpose. Discard all extraneous material...only give people exactly
what they came for.

2. Thou Shalt Be Lightweight

Use only small, fast-loading graphics. If you must use
large graphics, use thumbnails and image-slicing to
diminish the size of every file to less than 12-15kb. Use
standard optimized gif's and jpg's and avoid anything that
requires the user to download a "plug-in" to view your
content.

3. Thou Shalt Load Fast

Each and every page on your site should weigh in under
30-60KB total, including graphics and navigation.

If your pages must be larger, such as the case with long,
one-page sales letters, make sure the top part of the page
loads fast so surfers can read your headline and
introduction while the rest of your sales letter loads
further down and out of site.

4. Thou Shalt Not Use False Code

Use only html. Never use java, xml, dhtml or other forms
of code that require a surfer to keep their browser set up
"correctly" to accommodate your page. This is especially
true when using "cloaked" pages that require the use of
javascript in order to work correctly.

5. Thou Shalt Respect the Search Engines

If you want search engine traffic, use whole web pages
that don't incorporate frames. Search engines get confused
trying to read content from most frames pages because the
designers don't set them up with the proper information in
the correct frame.

6. Love Thy Surfers and Visitors

Design for "last year's" technology so surfers using 56K
modems can download and use the site quickly and easily.
If you design only for people with high-speed Internet
connections (DSL and cable) you have eliminated 85%+ of
your potential market.

7. Thou Shalt Not Annoy

Use only stationary text and graphical layout elements. No
scrolling text, marquees, or animations of any kind,
including rollover buttons.

This "eye candy" steals valuable bandwidth and adds little
to a site's main purpose, especially for returning
visitors who just want information, not a carnival sideshow.

8. Thou Shalt Not Scroll Left or Right

Design your pages so they never force a visitor to scroll
left or right, no matter what the resolution settings on
their monitor. Sites that read "best viewed at 800 x 600"
really say "look at it my way because I don't care about
your preferences or limitations."

9. Thou Shalt Stay Consistent

Include a standard navigational structure on every page.
Though it may mean a serious challenge for the designer,
users should only need to click once to find every major
section of a site.

Also, this includes using standard link colors in all text
links. Blue: hyperlink; Purple: visited hyperlink; Red:
active hyperlink.

10. Thou Shalt Know Thy Traffic

Use a site-wide statistics program that enables you to
determine what brings someone to the site, where they go
once they arrive, and when and where they leave.

This critical information helps with marketing efforts as
well as identifying parts of the site that need tweaking
or adjustment to help you increase sales. If everybody bails
from your site at the same page, knowing this can help you
change the page so people go from "bail mode" to "buy
mode"!


Jim Edwards, author of numerous best-selling ebooks, earns
thousands in affiliate commissions every month. Jim has
developed "Affiliate Link Cloaker," the easy, FAST, safe
way to STOP affiliate link "hijackers" dead in their
tracks. Visit http://tinyurl.com/32hfb


Jim Edwards has given me permission to give you this F~REE
ebook, 33 DAYS TO ONLINE PROFITS CASE STUDY. You can
download it quickly and be reading it in just minutes. Go
here to get it:

JimEdwards33Days.htm or
http://tinyurl.com/3eqcp


*~*~*~*~*Marketing Tool for You*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Want to beat the pants off your competitors? Sign up,
gratis, for What's Next Online, B.L. Ochman's  fluff-free,
bi-weekly Internet marketing tactics newsletter.

Subscribe:
http://www.whatsnextonline.com/?AffiliateID=2003055525 or
http://tinyurl.com/3ypcn

Also read B.L.'s blog
http://www.whatsnextblog.com/?AffiliateID=2003055525 or
http://tinyurl.com/2k5v6


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4.  101 Marketing Tips: #19 Better Ad Layout

Better Ad Layout
by Robert Grede

Here are a few ways to make your ads easy for your
customers to read:

--> Have a logical flow to your ad's copy and graphics.

-->Put what you want your reader to read first (usually
the headline) where your reader will find it first (usually at
the top of the page or right beneath your illustration). 

--> Your first paragraph should be short, not more than 15
words.

--> If you use long copy, break it up with bullet points.

--> Every four or five paragraphs, use a subhead to build
interest.

--> Keep columns narrow, the way newspapers and magazines
do.

--> Never set your copy in reverse (white type on black
paper). It's harder to read and will often be ignored.

--> Write your copy in sentence form, like newspapers and
magazines do. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS ARE HARDER TO READ.


©2003 by Robert Grede. Robert Grede is the author of NAKED
MARKETING - THE BARE ESSENTIALS (Prentice Hall) and an
acclaimed speaker.  To find out more:
http://www.thegredecompany.com or order his book through
Amazon. Look it up by name under "books":

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/marketingidea-20

or http://tinyurl.com/zj6y



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5.  Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers

--> Want to get email reminders to finish your project,
set your goals, or call your mother? Here's a f~ree service
that can do that for you. Sign up for a f~ree account and
set your reminders for the year.

http://www.timecave.com


--> Here's a page that tells you a bit about how Google
figures out its PageRank. Even though you won't learn all
the inside secrets about how Google ranks pages, they
offer a small glimpse at the criteria they use to rank pages:

http://www.google.com/technology/index.html


--> If you publish an electronic newsletter (ezine) like
this one, you may want to subscribe to Janet Roberts'
E-Zine Tips newsletter. It's f~ree. You can find out more
here:

http://Ezine-Tips.com/


--> The New Year is always a time of resolutions. You
resolve to work out, eat better and break those bad
habits. Here's a good place to start. The National Cancer
Institute says you should have 5 to 9 servings of fruits and
vegetables every day. How do you eat that many, you ask?
Here's what they suggest:

http://www.5aday.gov/index-quick.shtml


--> Do you need to know what time it is in Belize or
Bangladesh? Here's a fun little time clock to help you
figure it out:

http://www.timeticker.com/


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6.  A Little Marketing Fun

The other day my computer flashed a message: "You have
been idle for a long time." Just what I need, my computer
telling me I'm fat and lazy! Hey, that's what mothers are
for.

From Leigh Anne Jasheway's website,
http://www.accidentalcomic.com/



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7.  Smell the Coffee...

After I sent out my last issue, I got a quick return email
from my husband, Don Crawford, with the subject line,
"Huh? No Packers?" He reminded me that--though I'm a Wisconsin
native--I forgot that we had just watched (on TV...we
couldn't ge there) the Packers clinch the NFC North
Division championship. Go Pack!

Let's make 2004 a great year for us all.



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MORE PRODUCTS

I encourage you to visit the Marketing Idea Shop website
for lots more information. Plus, you'll find a lovely
picture of me there! Remember, we are constantly adding
new products to our store.

http://www.marketingideashop.com



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THE FINE PRINT

THANK YOU!
We appreciate your business.

You are receiving this because you asked to receive it,
you signed up for it at the Marketing Idea Shop website --
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© Marketing Idea Shop. All rights reserved.
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Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
ISSN 1545-035X


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You may reprint any items from "MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY
Tidbits" (except those with a copyright listed from
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be kind and send us a copy so we can see it in print.
Also, please include the following paragraph:

Reprinted from "MarketingIdeaShop BRAINY Tidbits," a F~REE
ezine from Marketing Idea Shop and Lois Carter Fay
featuring brainy ideas and resources for marketers and
small businesses. Subscribe today at
http://www.marketingideashop.com and receive F~REE by
email "67 Ways to Promote Your Business."


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Published by:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Founder, Marketing Idea Shop
and President, Strategic Business Partners

Lois Carter Fay is a writing and marketing expert with a
bunch of gray hairs (no, not from worrying...it's just
what comes with experience). Strategic Business Partners is a
marketing consulting firm with ideas and strategies to
grow your business. Marketing Idea Shop is an online resource
for marketers and small businesses with lots of brainy
marketing ideas for you.

411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA  USA 22840
Voice 540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660
lcf@marketingideashop.com
http://www.marketingideashop.com

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If this is a forwarded copy of Brainy Tidbits, here's how
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