I went to see my auto repair shop client last week, and we were talking about focusing on the Spanish-speaking market. While discussing “Se habla español” signs for the building, we went outside and took a good look at the overall signage.
While the pricing on the windows was nice and big and easily seen, the signs on the building itself were small and hard to read from the street. The owner had already ordered new, much larger signs. Smart man. He also knew he needed something next to the street to grab attention, so he put a good-sized inflatable oil bottle as close to the street as he could.
I looked up and down the street, one of the more heavily traveled in the Denver area. A few businesses had signs near the street, but most of the signs were set so far back that you wouldn’t see them until you were right next to them. Many were also so small that drivers would miss them anyway.
But one stuck out like a sore thumb.
McDonald’s. Those golden arches can be seen several blocks away . . . and that’s no coincidence. You don’t need to be able to read anything — one glance is all you need. Every business should have a signature symbol like that, and most fast food restaurants have one. The Arby’s hat, the KFC bucket, and the Taco Bell bell are like beacons. Stop here and eat . . . stop here and eat . . .
If you have an offline business or you consult with offline businesses, drive by their location(s). Can you easily see their signs? Do you even know they’re there before you’re on top of them?
If the answer to either question is no, you know where to start. Make sure people driving by know the business is there.
What could you put near the street to publicize your business or your client’s business?
Perry Belcher, a successful Internet marketer with over 60,000 Twitter followers, uses this formula for successful tweeting:
** 30% tips that help people make their lives better
** 30% anything funny (jokes, funny quotes, etc.)
** 25% compliments and praise for others (includes retweets)
** 10% information that keeps them informed
** 5% what you are doing
This article appears courtesy of Bob Bly Direct Response Letter at www.bly.com.
When you joint venture with another business, each of you contributes some kind of resource, whether it’s a mailing list, a product, staff expertise, or a service. Done properly, joint ventures benefit all partners involved and all customers involved.
For example, you might offer your product to another business to promote for a 65% commission. You’ll get just 35% per sale, but you benefit by doing little of the promotion work and getting customer leads you wouldn’t have had otherwise. You add them to your list and market to them in the future.
Joint ventures are a win for all parties involved (win-win-win). But we’ve barely scratched the surface of the many benefits you gain through JVs.
10 Reasons You Want and Need to Do Joint Ventures
1. You create and nurture relationships with new sectors of your target market and like-minded businesses.
2. There is little or no cost and zero risk. One email to the business you want to joint venture with can get you started.
3. You build your customer base and gain targeted leads for your list, giving you more people to market to later. There’s a well-known saying, “The gold is in the list”.
4. Joint ventures make it possible for you to compete (or work) with the big boys in your market. Once you get a few JVs under your belt, they’ll know who you are and that you’re a player. They may approach you to JV with them.
5. You get free or low-cost advertising and exposure.
6. You can quickly expand your business without risking capital or other resources.
7. Testimonials from your joint venture partners increase trust between you and your prospects, which will improve your sales conversion rates. You also gain the trust of future JV partners, creating a nice little profit cycle.
8. The amount you can make is limited only by your imagination. If you are a marketing specialist, you can work with anyone from auto repair shops to zoos in places from Australia to Wyoming. It’s up to you.
9. You can create recurring streams of income from work you do once. If you have a deal with a plumber to pay you a commission for every job you refer to him and you’re a carpenter, there’s a good chance you will run into clients on a regular basis who need plumbing work.
10. I’ve saved the best for last…
Joint ventures are scalable. If you work with a chiropractor in Denver, you can either promote more products or services through her, or you can set up the same JV with other chiropractors in the Rocky Mountain region. Or you can introduce her to someone who has a product her clients would enjoy and take a commission as the JV broker. Or all three. Again, your only limit is your creativity.
What types of JVs make sense for your business?
If you are in need of a website, I can line you up with a JV right now.
JV Web Partners offers a website that you create and fully control, domain, hosting, email addresses, and plenty of space for less than $20 a month. You can refer others and make money each month, making your website free!
Some disturbing news from the FTC. Seems that you can now be fined for exercising your right to free speech:
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/05/20/what-to-make-of-ftcs-proposed-paid-post-regulations
I’m still flabbergasted, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s perfectly OK for a cemetery to rip you off because the FTC can’t be bothered to make them follow the same rules funeral homes do…not that they don’t rip you off either, but there are at least some rules.
However, if I’m understanding this correctly (and please set me straight if I’m not), Joe Shmoe has to disclose if he’s helping his brother-in-law get his business up and running, or if he’s getting a free movie ticket for encouraging others to go see a particular movie.
Is a blogged endorsement for a product or service false or misleading because someone is being paid for it? Certainly not. It’s one type of joint venture and businesses do it all the time. It’s one way any smart businessman makes money.
What ever happened to one doing his or her due diligence and the concept of caveat emptor? Or are we so stupid and incompetent we have to have the gubmint take care of us and bubble-wrap us from our own mistakes?
My guess is that somebody got ripped off and knows someone at the FTC.
Color me disgusted. What do you think?
