In my June SMART Ideas newsletter (www.smartideasformarketing.com), which was just mailed to subscribers, I focused the issue on something I call “ride-along marketing.”

Ride-along marketing is a type of marketing campaign any business owner can leverage to get specific marketing messages in front of a specific person by “riding along” with something this person is already engaged with.

A common example is the envelope of offers which ride-along with a product you purchase online from a company such as Puritan Pride.

Ride-along marketing is efficient because the method of delivery is already paid for (typically by the person receiving it), thereby reducing the cost to get the message in front of the person.

Ride-along marketing is effective because the one of the best customers to sell to is the happy customer.  So if your ride-along campaigns use product shipments, newsletter inserts, or even invoice mailings, there’s a very good chance it will get noticed and acted upon.

In this article, I thought I would show a few of the more interesting ride-along marketing campaigns I’ve come across, with the hope that one of them may inspire an idea for your own unique ride-along campaign.  If you have your own unique ride-along campaign, share it with us below in the comments section.

Delivery Truck Advertising

A few weeks back I was driving and noticed a local grocery store’s delivery truck.  What made it so unique is the fact they had a ride-along direct-response marketing campaign on the back of the truck.  They could have simply left the back of the truck blank or put the typical message on it, but instead they used this valuable real estate to try to get a response.

My client, Gardner’s Mattress & More (www.gardnersmattressandmore.com), uses their delivery truck as a marketing medium as well (as a side note, I believe Jeff and Ben were the first ever to use CopyDoodles® on a truck).

Double-Sided Business Cards

I’ve written about this topic before (www.mikecapuzzi.com/business-card-layouts), but it’s so simple to do I wanted to remind everybody about it again.  If you use business cards and are only using one side of them, you’re missing a huge ride-along marketing opportunity.  Smart marketers use the second side of a business card for testimonials, lead-generation offers and service and product listings.

Package Labels & Stickers

If you send any type of physical package, you have a lot of real estate on the outside of the package for a ride-along marketing message.  Not every ride-along marketing campaign has to be selling something you can create a campaign that helps people use your product, get them to fill out a survey, or simply (as in my example) to say a personal thank you.  Creating these labels and stickers is very inexpensive and easy to do.

Drew Estate Cigar Band

This example has been waiting in my article bin since November 2010 and is finally seeing the light of day as a unique product label ride-along message.  Drew Estate is a very forward-thinking, personality-driven cigar manufacturer, so it came as no surprise when I unwrapped a cigar a few years back to see they had a marketing message on the hidden side of the cigar band. The company knows most cigar smokers take the cigar band off while smoking, so why not take advantage of the side that just about every other cigar-maker neglects?  Drew Estate could have easily improved upon this by saying something like…

“Did you enjoy this cigar?  Save $10 off your next purchase with coupon code LIKE” or something along those lines to get some type of response.

How Can You Use Ride-Along Marketing?

I hope this article has gotten you thinking about your own marketing and whether or not there are some unexploited opportunities for creating new sales or simply getting customer feedback.  Look at your marketing, sales and fulfillment process and see where you might be able to plug in a ride-along marketing campaign or two.

If you’re currently using some sort of ride-along marketing, I would love to hear from you, so leave a comment and describe your campaign and how it works for you!

Last week, I took some time to go through a pile of direct mail that had accumulated on my desk and few hundred emails in my email account I use for opting in to various lists.

In less than 15 minutes, I had a serious headache.

The amount of noxious “gas” coming from much of this marketing was overwhelming and I literally was shaking my head at the sheer waste of it all.   Before me was an overabundance of ego-centric, “it’s all about me”, hype-driven “marketing” (to call it marketing is being generous).

And the even sadder part was that a good portion of it was coming from so-called marketing experts who fill my inbox with daily gas.

I’m referring to things like:

• Mass-produced, impersonal direct mail which could have easily been personalized to the recipient.
• Bloated, unfocused copywriting that’s focused on the writer and not the reader.
• Putrid, hype-driven copy that reeks of deception.
• An ego or corporate-driven focus instead of a laser-focus on the recipient’s pains and needs.
• The need to show off, brag or use language you would not normally use.
• Objectionable, unrequested emails (e.g. SPAM) from people who put me on their list without my permission.

This type of bad marketing is like flatulence… it stinks (think about it… what better way to describe this… this stuff?).

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz… oh what a relief it is…

If you’ve read this far, I know you never want to pass marketing gas and like the classic Alka-Selzter® slogan reminds us, there are strategies which allow your marketing to rise above this cloud and connect with your prospects and customers in authentic, integrity-driven ways.  Here are a few “antacid-like” reminders.

Have A Crystal-Clear Picture of Who You’re Meant to Do Business With
It’s a fact… you and your business are not meant to do business with everybody.  Your products and services. Your personality. The way you run your business. Things like these are meant to attract a certain type of customer, client or patient.  Embrace this important fact and work diligently at attracting your ideal customer.

Know This Person’s Pains and Desires
Once you know “who” your ideal target is, you now have to understand their pains and desires.  Ask them. Study them. Survey them. Get an intimate knowledge and understanding of what they are looking for and what they need.

Take a Genuine Interest in Helping This Person
Might sound somewhat obvious, but given much of the marketing I see, it bears reminding (and  I’m not just talking about helping by selling another widget).  I’m referring to a sincere interest to help those people you are meant to do business with to lead better, easier, more comfortable, more profitable lives.  You cannot fake this.

Align Your Products/ Services to Match This Person’s Needs/Desires
Take time to align the benefits and features of your products and services to match the needs and wants of your target.  Write out all of your features and benefits and literally connect them to the specific needs and desires.  Use this as a blueprint for your marketing efforts.

Study The Art of Pleasing Your Ideal Prospects and Customers
Putting a smile on somebody’s face each day is not hard, nor does it have to be expensive.  There are so many opportunities to go just a little bit further than your competition and differentiate your business. Unannounced gifts, handwritten thank you notes, personal phone calls – they all go a long way!

Focus On Serving – Not Selling
I forget who I first heard this from, but what a simple and powerful concept.  If you’re focused on serving (based on the first several ideas above), then making the sale is easier and more natural.  This does not deny or diminish the importance of selling – it simply puts it in the right perspective.

Keep It Real
I recently saw an interview with one of the guys from the television show, Duck Dynasty.  He attributed their amazing rise to TV stardom to the simple principle of “keeping it real.”  Whether you manufacture duck calls in Louisiana or sell pizzas in New York City, your marketing should reflect the real and true reasons you’re in business, acknowledge who you can best help and connect with people at a personal, authentic and emotional level.

Perform This Quick Copy Check
In your marketing copy, count how many times you use words like “I,” “me,” “my,” etc. in your copy.  While I’m not suggesting you remove these words completely, you must ensure the focus of your marketing copy is not on you, but on your target recipient.  If you have a lot of instances of these types of words or if the order is you first, look for ways to shift the emphasis from you to your reader.

My Contribution to Getting Rid of Marketing Flatulence
I’m very clear on who I am best able to help and how I can help them.  It’s a successful business owner who wants to become even more successful.  It’s a marketer who does good marketing and wants to do even better marketing.

I recently took one of those personality-driven, “how your customer sees you” tests and the result came back I was a “watchdog.” This means my customers know I am looking out for their best interests and guiding them with self-assured ideas and action strategies.  Amen.

One important way I accomplish this is with my SMART Ideas newsletter.  SMART stands for Savvy Marketing and Response Tools and helping business owners create better marketing is what I do best.  SMART Ideas is a a focused, no-fat print and digital newsletter, which helps marketers create better marketing by not only sharing powerful ideas and strategies, but also giving them the templates, graphics and more to implement them immediately in their business. If you’re not yet a subscriber, check out a special offer I have for you at http://smartideasformarketing.com.

I just returned from a quick trip with the family to Disney World. This trip was our sixth Disney trip with our kids, and I was more amazed than ever before just how skillful and intentional Disney is at extracting maximum revenues from their guests. Anybody who considers themselves a life-long student of marketing has to experience Disney first-hand in order to see everything they do to help you part with your money while (usually) smiling.

Believe it or not, this time I actually took notes during our three days in the various Disney World parks because what I saw is applicable to any business owner and entrepreneur.  Disney is bold (and relentless) when it comes to pricing and asking for the sale and therein lies the gold for business owners.  Here are a few ideas I noted as I strolled around the parks.  I know this is not all the Disney genius out there and if you’ve noticed other strategies and tactics during your Disney experience – leave a comment below.

1. Make It About The Experience and Not The Price
Does anybody do it better than Disney?  Doubtful.  Disney wraps everything they do with “unique experience” and it’s a fundamental part of the Disney magic.  It’s how they charge almost $40.00 for a simple breakfast buffet they has random Disney character visits during your meal.  By making it a memorable experience for the kids, the parents open up their wallets.

Action item: How can you improve your customer or prospect experience and make it so unique and memorable that price becomes a secondary (or even non-existent) concern?

2. Make It Fun to Do Business with You
Even the grumpiest tight-wad will manage a smile at Disney.  A huge part of the Disney experience is about the fun memories they create for families and generation after generation of visitors attest it is indeed “The Happiest Place On Earth.”

Action item: Is there something special you can do for prospects and customers to make them happy?  Remember, it doesn’t have to be something expensive or complex and often times the simpler the better!

3. Create Captive Audiences
Disney has done a tremendous job at keeping guests in the Disney bubble during their entire visit.  For example, we stayed at a Disney resort, took Disney buses and monorails, ate at Disney restaurants, shopped at Disney stores, etc. and during this time, we were exposed to many marketing messages and opportunities to buy.

Action item: Can you do something similar in your business so when customers enter your world, you’ve captured their attention and focus?  Membership sites and newsletters are simple ways to create a captive audience.

4. Offer Many Opportunities to Spend Money
A Disney sales experience starts when you book your trip and does not end until you return home.  In between you’re presented with many different opportunities to spend money, Disney is not bashful when it comes to frequency and pricing.  It’s truly a spectacle to behold, but because they do such a great job at creating a special experience, nobody seems to notice.

Action item: Probably one of the most over-looked opportunities for business owners and entrepreneurs and one where most leave money on the table, which is why it’s so important to network with and mastermind with other successful entrepreneurs.  Often, you are too close to your business to see the opportunities right in front of you.  Take some time to look at your sales opportunities and see if you can create new ones with the products and services you currently have.

5. Offer Upsells
Once you’ve decided to buy something at Disney, they often don’t stop there and instead offer you some type of upsell to enhance your purchase.  One example of this is when we booked a dinner at a Disney restaurant in Hollywood Studios and for a few dollars more, they offered us a VIP ticket to the Fantasmic show.  Mind you, the show is free to all guests, yet by offering “VIP seating” at the show, they are extracting additional money for those who want choice seating.

Action item: Many of the business owners I consult with can be lazy, timid or ignorant of the incremental power and profitability of upsells.  While I think the Internet Marketing folks have taken it to an extreme, by simply adding just one upsell to your sales funnel can increase revenues.  Try it!

6. Always Have Luxury/V.I.P./Upscale Opportunities
All smart marketers know that somewhere between 5 – 20% of a buying audience will always take the higher price/upscale offer.  If you’re not offering some type of upscale product or service opportunity in your marketing mix, you’re leaving money on the table.

Disney has budget-minded resorts and luxury resorts.  They have fast-food style restaurants and high-end gourmet eateries.  One of their most unique upscale offers is their VIP Tours, which offers you a guide and special benefits (like short-cutting the lines) during your visit.  At up to $380/hour (with a six-hour minimum), there is no better example of this type of exclusive offer.

Action item: This one is easy and mandatory…. How can you create an upscale version or higher-end offer with your product or service?  Can you bundle in more value, more time with you, etc. to justify a higher-value proposition?

7. Make It Easy to Give You Money
It makes sense if you’re going to give people many opportunities to spend money, you also give them many different ways to give you the money.  Cash, credit cards, Disney resort room keys, Disney Passports are all ways Disney makes it as easy as possible to spend.

Action item: Make sure you are not putting any obstacles in the way of giving you money, unless you are doing so for specific, intentional reasons.  One smart way to make it easier for people to buy is to offer multi-pay options.

8. Purchase in Advance and Save More
Disney has studied human psychology and knows how to press the right buttons.  One smart strategy is offering special savings on “purchase in advance” offers.  For only a few hundred dollars more than what I spent on four, three-day passes, I could have received four annual passes that would allow unlimited visits to the Disney Parks for an entire year.  Their slogan is “The more you play, the less you pay per day!”

The other example of this strategy I saw everywhere, was their offer to sell you a $15.00 plastic mug that allowed unlimited soft-drink refills during your visit.  I was astounded at how many people were walking around Disney with these mugs.

I do this with CopyDoodles memberships and offer a substantial savings if one takes the annual membership versus month-to-month.

Action item: What can you do in your business to create a higher front-end payday bundle?

9. Be Flexible and Mindful of Customer Needs
Orlando is typically a sunny warm place, but when it rains, it rains.  Imagine spending thousands of dollars on a Disney vacation and then it rains while you’re visiting the parks.  Literally within seconds of the clouds opening up, Disney vendors and stores offer previously hidden rain ponchos to keep guests dry.  Not for free – by any stretch – and  I have it from a good source these are one of the most profitable items Disney sells.

Action item: Are you paying attention to what your customers want and need on a regular basis?  Have you surveyed them recently?

10. Create Special Offers for Certain Segments of Your Customers
I only saw one example of this from Disney, but I am sure there are many others I missed.  Disney is smart and makes a special offer to Florida residents to save a substantial amount of money by offering a specially-priced three day ticket to Disney.  I am sure they have other specials that are only offered to certain segments of their database.  This is an important strategy all business owners should consider in their marketing and sales efforts.

Action item: What unique offers can you make to certain segments of your prospect and customer list?  For example if a person purchased product A, can you make an exclusive offer for product B that only is available when they purchase product A?

O.K. I only came up with 10 “sell like Disney” tips and I’m sure there are many others out there.   Have you experienced the art and science of selling like Disney and saw something I missed?  If so, let a comment below and share your thoughts and insights!

As much as I like winter, spring is always a welcomed season and it always causes me to pause and remember just how fortunate we are to be a play some part in this game called Life.

Entrepreneurs, by our very nature, are optimistic, growth-oriented people. We seek out opportunities to serve and help others and in return we’re rewarded in so many ways. What defines “reward” is up to each of us and recently I came across an interesting list that put a smile on my face, which I thought I would share with you.

It was written by real-estate entrepreneur, Jack Miller and it’s titled “What I’m Thankful For.” Here it is for your enjoyment (and reminder).

“What I’m Thankful For” by Jack Miller
• I am healthy, productive and happy.
• I’m surrounded by family and friends who support what I do.
• I live and work in a lovely place that I selected myself.
• I don’t have to commute to work at all. No rush-hour traffic.
• I get to wear (or not wear) anything I like all day long.
• My pay is based solely on how long and productively I want to work.
• I get to start work as early as I want, and to work as late as I want.
• I can take vacations where and when I want without asking permission.
• I have no boss to make me waste my time and do stupid things.
• I get to make all the decisions regarding my financial security and that of my family.
• I am free to take responsibility for all my activities, good and bad.
• I can do what I do in any place in America and in many foreign lands.
• I am able to make more than most of the people in the world.
• Because I work for myself, my company won’t be merged.
• I don’t have to worry about being laid off, down sized or fired.
• My retirement plan is within my control.

Click here to download a PDF of Jack’s article and leave a comment below to let the world know why you’re thankful to be an entrepreneur!

As a matter of fact, here are 14 smart ways you can use PowerPoint style videos in your business:

1. Product demonstrations
2. Video sales letters
3. Webinar presentations
4. Tutorials and training
5. Web TV shows
6. Frequently Asked Questions videos
7. Product/service presentations
8. New customer welcome videos
9. Thank you for buying videos
10. Time-sensitive news videos
11. Udemy.com training videos
12. Info-marketing products
13. Personalized birthday videos
14. Create multimedia newsletters

Personally, I’ve been using this style of online video since 1995.  No kidding!

In my corporate days, I ran the multimedia marketing department for a software company and we used similar type of video to create demo and training CD-ROMs for our software products.

Way back then I used a screen capture product called ScreenCam, which was created by Lotus to create these videos.

Remember the spreadsheet program Lotus 1-2-3?

Same company.

So to say I have a fair amount of experience with creating these types of videos is an understatement and as recently as 2008, I started using them in my current business when I “aired” the very first episode of CopyDoodles TV in April 2008 (which you can view here).

This was WAY before the Internet Marketing folks caught wind of these types of videos and started using them everywhere (at least until the next shiny object was “discovered”).

I believe these easy-to-create videos can be used by any type of entrepreneur and in 2013 they are still effective for engaging people and getting your message out there.

One BIG reason I like using these videos is that they allow you to leverage the power of video quickly and easily without the hassle of worrying about on-camera shoots and big video productions. On a side note, the power of online videos cannot be overemphasized.  There are many reasons why creating these videos is very smart, including:

• The ability to tell a story using multimedia (the more senses you can tap into with your marketing – the better the attention-grabbing power and comprehension).
• Engaging with your audience with emotion. Doing this with the written word takes a lot of skill, but we can all talk and convey excitement and emotion.
• Huge “SEO juice” potential.  Videos can rank very high in the search engines and you can leap frog your completion with a few properly constructed online videos.

Once you get a system in place to be able to create these types of videos, you can crank them out whenever you want quickly and easily.  Plus you can leverage these same videos into other media.  This means from the single effort of creating a PowerPoint style video, you can create a direct mail sales letter, blog article or info-product.

If you want to learn how I create these types of videos (plus some awesome bonuses), make sure you check out this month’s SMART Ideas offer I have for you.  Watch this video or visit www.smartideasformarketing.com.

Here’s what SMART Ideas subscriber Lane Bowers sent me after he received his May 2013 SMART Ideas issue.

“This is probably the most important tool in my business and I have been doing this as well for about 7 years and is probably the single most profitable marketing that I have done. It has also served to be the most affordable SEO SERP activity I have ever done and not even SEO experts have been able to achieve what this technique has done for me. Another MAJOR bonus in time and effort for me in my water skiing niche, is that once I create my first KEYNOTE presentation with my very specific branded message containging awesome info, I am able to rinse and repeate the exact same content, change out the cover info and last slide info specific to a boat manufacturer and even MODEL manufacturer making the video LASER targeted without a ton of additional effort. Soooo much love this topic ”

Lane Bowers
www.TheFootersEdge.com

Figure out how you should be using PowerPoint style videos and if you need help, make sure you get my May 2013 issue of SMART Ideas!

I always appreciate the business owner who “gets it” when it comes to marketing.  Especially a local business owner, who’s in the game every day, trying to get attention, get response, get results.

This past week, I was perusing the local paper and came across this pretty decent example of an advertorial (click to see larger version).

In case you are not familiar with advertorials, they are advertisements designed to look like articles in the publication, with the intent of catching the readers’ eyes by not looking like every other add in the publication.

Advertorials have been around for decades and I’ve put together a mini advertorial swipe file of a few examples I’ve collected over the years.  You can download it here.  If you peruse through these examples, you’ll see a few strategies you should use when creating your own advertorials, including:

• Making it look like a news item or article
• Setting headline like a newspaper headline
• Setting the copy in newspaper type
• Creating it in same style as the publication
• No logos or blatant images that screen “this is an ad!”
• Having a clear call to action

Let’s go back to the Buckley’s Pest Service ad and let me point out several smart things they did in this advertorial (I am then going to ask you to find the one area they could instantly improve this advertorial).

1. Good article-style headline in a big, bold font
2. Decent use of a photo and caption, however given the context of this article, they probably could have used a more dramatic photo – maybe of termites eating through a house or something like that.  But they still get a B for use of a photo and caption.
3. Nice use of a “pull quote.”  This is a copy cosmetic technique where you “pull” an important key phrase, sentence or quote found in the body copy and make it stand out.
4. “Sounds like an article.”  The copy is written in such a way that it sounds like a third-party article.
5. As with most advertorials, the publication requires the “ADVERTISEMENT” signification to make sure readers are aware it’s an ad.

Overall, a very good example of a local business owner using a time-tested marketing strategy to get attention and get response.

However, there is one weak area that stands out dramatically in my opinion.  Something that could easily be fixed in a few seconds and I guarantee response would increase.  Do you know what it is?  Leave your ideas below and the first person and the fifth person to get the right answer will a digital copy of my Response Boosting Profit Secrets book where I show smart strategies like advertorials and much more for creating stand out marketing.

UPDATE: We have our winners!

Congratulations to Michael Singer and Chris Dysart who were the first and fifth person to get the answer I was looking for (as did many others).  Overall, I was impressed with the different insights in the comments below, but the one thing I was looking for was improving the call-to-action.  The advertorial above does a good job of getting attention and it reads well, but the call-to-action is weak.  It sounds like any other pest control company and doesn’t give me any real reason or urgency to contact them now.  This stumbling at the one-yard line is very typical and something we ALL must avoid.  Create strong, compelling reasons for somebody to take action – NOW.

Compare the advertorial above to this one here and see the difference in the call-to-action. Click on the image to bring up a larger version.

Amani’s is a locally-owned restaurant that specializes in “farm to table” dinners situated in a small suburb of Philadelphia.  We’re talking a two-traffic light type of town an hour west of Philly and yet the restaurant was jam-packed on a Friday night.

The packed dining room was a testimony to the carefully prepared ingredients and meals, but it was a small little thing our waitress did at the end of our meal that really impressed me.  Not because of what she did (we’re talking marketing 101 here), but it was how she did it that made me sit up and take notice.

As she handed me our bill, she also handed me this three-inch piece of paper, with the simple instructions that if we enjoyed our meal, we should give her our name and email address and she would make sure we received news and offers from the restaurant.

No fancy graphics, die-cut brochure or high-tech electronics here.  Instead, el cheapo photo-copy paper and probably printed 30 sign-up forms to a single sheet of paper.  Yet it got my attention (and my name and email).

Amani’s approach was about as plain and simple as you can make an email sign-up form and therein lies the genius. Sure, they could have spent more time, effort and money in coming up with something prettier or more high-tech, but instead they just got down to business and collect lead after lead as they build their customer database.

I was recently talking to a friend who owns a retail store.  For years, I’ve been trying to get him to capture his customer’s information at the time of sale and for years he’s resisted. Thousands of customers have come and gone and he’s missed a huge opportunity to enhance the relationship.  His excuse was time, lack of a formalized email follow-up system, marketing on the Internet is going to be hard, yada, yada, yada.

My friend is no different than a lot of business owners, who fret over making sure everything in their marketing looks just right or everything is perfectly in place, all while never getting around to the important job at hand – marketing.  In full disclosure I’ve succumbed to this before  and am using this article as a reminder to myself.

As Amani’s process so clearly illustrates, they placed a much higher importance on capturing their customers’ information and enhancing the relationship instead of having some complicated lead capture system in place and it works for them (I got my first email from them within about a week of our visit).

I applaud their minimalistic, yet effective strategy and encourage you to look at your marketing efforts and see if you can take a similar approach.  Remember, sometimes less can be more when it comes to marketing – especially if it gets you off your duff (and don’t forget to book that date night with your significant other!).

+++++++++

UPDATE: I got a lot of positive feedback from this article, including a note from Graham McGregor who used mentioned this article in the New Zealand Herald, which you can see here:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/small-business/news/article.cfm?c_id=85&objectid=10874129

In this article, I’m going to give you 28 ways you can use pictures in your marketing and advertising.  Some of these are time-tested picture types and some are based on my own personal experience and use.

At the end of this article is a link to download a PDF that shows an example of each of these photos (no need to enter your email, just download and profit from it).

If you’re interested in a more in-depth study of using pictures in your marketing, I invite you to check out SMART Ideas at www.smartideasformarketing.com.

PICTURES THAT GET ATTENTION

• Pictures of children and babies
• Pictures of mothers and babies
• Pictures of attractive people
• Pictures of groups of adults
• Pictures of animals and pets
• Pictures of sports scenes
• Pictures of celebrities/famous people
• Pictures of food
• Headshots and close-up photos
• Pictures of people in odd situations or costumes
• Pictures of romantic situations
• Pictures of news and current events
• Power Poses
• Pictures of you with V.I.P.s
• Photos of you doing interesting things
• Panoramic event photos
• “Special effect” photos
• Pictures of your product/service
• Pictures of your product/service in use
• Pictures of people using your product/service

PICTURES THAT SELL

• Pictures showing the reward of using your product/service
• Pictures showing the effect of NOT using your product/service
• Before and after photos
• Enlarged pictures showing details
• Pictures of you with customers
• Pictures of employees
• Historical or legacy photos
• Pictures of you doing “your thing”

To see an example of each of these, including some classic ads, click here to download a PDF of a presentation I put together for my SMART Ideas subscribers.

If you’re using other types of pictures and photos in your marketing, I would love to hear about it.  Leave a comment below!

The April 2013 issue of the SMART Ideas newsletter is available for all subscribers to access (print editions are being mailed next week). Before I show what’s included in this issue of SMART Ideas, I want to give a shout out to SMART Ideas subscriber, Edwin Soler.

Edwin helps organizations translate their marketing into Spanish and send me this example of a letter he just sent out that not only uses the nutritional label template from the March SMART Ideas newsletter, but also uses our Spanish CopyDoodles.  Great job Edwin and if you need any type of Spanish translation, his information is on his site at http://www.libreriaberea.com.

How to Use Pictures in Your Marketing

This month’s SMART Ideas focus is on how to use pictures in your marketing and the types of pictures and photos all marketers should be using to get attention and make sales.  It’s an in-depth look at an often over-looked important topic and as part of the downloadable content, I am giving all subscribers a swipe file of 28 different types of pictures they should use in their marketing..

Other Downloads This Month

In this issue of SMART Ideas, I’m giving subscribers a copy of my newspaper article template, which is designed to look like a newspaper tearsheet.  It’s delivered in both Publisher and Word formats and you can easily modify it to create your own customized “news article” in minutes.  Very cool.

Subscribers will also get a Polaroid-style picture template, the picture swipe file, 21 Easter-themed cartoon photo overlays and a Power Pose swipe.

If you’re not yet a SMART Ideas subscriber, visit:

http://smartideasformarketing.com

SMART Ideas is the only print and digital newsletter designed to help business owners create better marketing by not only showing them what to do…… but also giving them the templates, graphics and tools to implement them in their business.  It’s as close to “easy-button” marketing as I can make it!

Each issue of SMART Ideas is eight pages of content that is designed to be digested 15 minutes or less.

Each issue is focused on a specific marketing topic every business owner needs to know about.

And each issue has valuable downloadable content that offers you everything you need to implement the strategies I’m focusing on in the newsletter issue.

The SMART Ideas newsletter is your go-to resource for a quick and easy marketing promotion and is the ultimate antidote for the empty screen blues.  Subscribe today!

http://smartideasformarketing.com

Marketing with photographs is an excellent way for business owners and entrepreneurs to create marketing that stands out and gets attention.  Photos in marketing have been around since the early 20^th century and some of the greatest names in advertising have created world-famous campaigns built around photos.

Ogilvy’s Rolls Royce ad, Bernbach’s VW ads, Absolut Vodka’s ads are a few that immediately come to mind.

We should all be using photos in our marketing, but most business owners and entrepreneurs who do use photos, typically use stock photos and images.  And while I have absolutely nothing against stock photos – I use them myself – I want offer up three ways you can use your own photos in your marketing.

Power Poses

You’ve seen these before and I use them all the time.  They are photos of you, in various poses, taken in such a way that the background is transparent.  This allows you to overlay your photos on top of other graphics or backgrounds. Every marketer should have a set of Power Poses in their marketing tool kit and here’s three ways to get your own.

Hire a local professional photographer.  Any pro can do these for you easily.  They can even do the Photoshop work required to remove the background and make it transparent.  Chances are this will not be in-expensive, but I’ve used the same photos for years so it’s worth the investment.

Go to your local department store or mall where there’s a Picture People or some type of photo studio.  I know Sears and J.C. Penney have studios.  Have them take the photos on a white or green-screen background and make sure you leave with a CD-ROM of digital photos.  You will need to find somebody familiar with Photoshop to do the background removal.

The last idea is for anybody who hosts events.  To help my clients create their own Power Poses – at different events I’ve hosted, I paid a professional photographer to set up a studio and take the photos.  ATTENDEES LOVE THESE!  If you do any type of marketing event, this is a niche add-on and one that will be greatly appreciated by your attendees.

Click here to download a PDF I gave my attendees to help them choose their Power Poses.

Your Seat Here Photos

This is a fun strategy if you host events or sell some type of product or service that people must experience first-hand.  For the sake of this article, I’m showing event marketing, but I can easily see real estate professionals or travel professionals using this strategy too.

The idea is to take a photo of your event in such a way that you can “black out” one of the people in the picture.   Then using a CopyDoodles® handwriting font and arrow, you write an personal note and draw an arrow telling the recipient you’re saving a seat for them at your next event.  You can see a few examples of how I and others have used this strategy.  What I like most about this, is that it allows the recipient to “see themselves” at the event and helps further the sales process.

Cartoon Photo Overlays

This last idea is for any business owner who doesn’t take themselves too seriously and likes to have fun with their marketing.  I’m not sure if anybody else has done this, but recently for my CopyDoodles members, we’ve started creating “cartoon photo overlays.”

Remember Colorforms®?

When you were a kid these were little adhesive things that you could stick on pictures of people and you could put hats and ears and other fun things on them.  I took this idea and applied it to my marketing and came up with a collection of these graphics designed to be laid on top of your photos.

Now for those of you who are familiar with photo editing packages like Photoshop, or Paint, you can easily go into one of those photo image-type programs and start layering.  You can also layer photos in Word, Publisher and PowerPoint.

If you’re a CopyDoodles member, you can log into the CopyDoodles Access Club and check them out (if you’re not a member, visit CopyDoodles.com) or you can hire a graphic designer to create your own personal set of cartoon photo overlays.

How are You Using Photos in Your Marketing?

So there you have a few, fun and unique ideas on how you can use customized photographs in your marketing.  If you have used photos in your marketing in other unique ways, leave a comment below and share with everybody.  I would love to hear (and see) what you’re doing!