Making the Most of the Business-Building Tools Available To You Today

By Robert Imbriale, Business Coach

I just had an interesting conversation with a client of mine this evening. What intrigued me was the question that he had
asked me that initially sparked our conversation. What he wanted to know, as a new business owner, was which of all the
available media he should be using and which media he should avoid.

His question came about because in his first month of business, he had been approached by every media source imaginable –
from television stations to coupon book publishers.

Like most of us, I just took it for granted that everybody knew which media worked and why. I thought that this month I would
share with you some of the pros and cons of the most popular advertising media available to us today so that you too would
have a better idea of what would work best for you.

Let’s start with the most obvious – print media. Print media would include newspapers, magazines, newsletters, or any other
type of publication that is physically printed on paper.

The benefits here are easy to see. Your advertising message is included in the publication and, in most cases, the majority
of that publication’s readers will likely see your ad.

What I really like about printed media, especially magazines, is that they are highly targeted. In other words, for a person
to pay for a magazine subscription they have to be serious about the topic the magazine covers. While the same is not always
true of newspapers, you can still pick and choose which section to place your ad.

On the downside, these publications can be a costly medium in which to advertise. But keep in mind that they do reach your
market, so you know that every dollar you spend is going to be worthwhile. The other downside to these types of publications
(aside from newspapers) is that once you order your advertising space, it can take as long as 90 days before your ad is
actually published and on the newsstands!

Keep in mind that since this form of advertising is not cheap and it can take a long time before your ad runs, you want to
make sure that you only publish ads that you have previously tested in other, lower cost, media first.

Print media can also include one of my favorite delivery systems, direct mail. The biggest benefit to this method of
advertising is that you can get in for very little money. Think about it, for just the cost of a first class stamp, some
paper, and an envelope, you can begin to take advantage of direct mail marketing. Now, it would not be wise to think that you
can just mail a handful of letters and make millions, but you can get started with very little money.

The downside to direct mail marketing is that it really is a science to persuade a prospect to buy from you through the mail.
Volumes have been written and many fortunes both won and lost through direct mail. The key to success here is to make sure
you are not afraid to test, test, and then test some more before you roll out a large mailing of any sort.

I really love postcards. They are very cost-effective to print and mail and they can have an immediate effect on your bottom
line, if they carry the right message. Remember this rule of thumb, your goal with a postcard is simply to get a response,
not a sale. Your sale comes when your prospect picks up the phone, visits your Web site, or otherwise contacts you in any
way.

Let’s look at the broadcast media for a moment. While you may initially think that running your message on television is far
too expensive for your business, you’d be surprised just how affordable cable television advertising can be. The great
benefit with television is that you not only get your message across, you also get a full motion image that can allow you to
demonstrate your products or services as no other media can!

On the downside, television can be a tricky medium to master because there are many more variables involved in advertising on
television. First, there’s the audio portion. That may be easy enough to master, especially if you are already advertising in
other media such as radio. Just use the same copy you’re already using.

Then there are the images that you show in your ad. Talent. Lighting. Staging. Props. All these things can either help or
hurt you and each one must be carefully considered before you decide to use them or not.

Radio brings you another great advertising media. This media allows you to carefully select an audience and the proper time
to reach the most listeners. Radio advertising is, however, not always cheap. Ads can cost upwards of $500 per 60-second spot
during the peak morning and afternoon drive time slots. Radio is also an expensive media for you to test, so it may be
difficult to get a winning ad on a tight budget. But don’t let that deter you, if your budget allows, radio can be a powerful
force in your marketing arsenal.

In the last few years, we have now been given a whole new media on which to advertise – the Internet! While much hype
surrounds this worldwide network of computers and users, the fact remains that you can reach large audiences for very little
money.

In fact, I know that it is possible to get your ad in front of 1 million prospects for less than about $150! Now I’m not
talking about offending people with unsolicited e-mail messages. What I am talking about is advertising in electronic
magazines, or e-zines. These great marketing tools carry your advertising message to an eager, selectable audience week after
week, for mere pennies per name!

The downside to the Internet is that it is so big that your message can easily be lost out there. It’s also very common for
companies to set up Web sites and not make any money. The difficulty with the Internet is that it’s really difficult for a
newcomer to navigate and find what they are looking for.  So, it’s entirely possible that the very people who buy what you
offer may never find your business!

The key to successful Internet marketing lies in the fact that you should not do anything that different from any other media
in which you advertise. Let me explain. The Internet, aside from all the hype, is nothing more than another way to carry your
message to your prospect.

Your message should not change because the media used to carry it changes. Your offers should not change. And you should
follow-up just as you would if the prospects were brought to you using any other media source.

The last media that you may want to look into is what I like to call insert media, or ride- alongs. What happens here is that
your message actually rides along with a publication. It may be in the form of a free standing insert, a coupon, or even a
sell sheet or reader response card that is attached inside of a magazine or newspaper.

While this method of distributing your message may be very cost-effective, the response you can expect can vary widely from
program to program. The best part here is that since the costs are very low, you can test and test many different messages
until you have found a winner. Then all you need to do is bring your winning message into any of the other media I have
discussed here.

As with any advertising, the key is to test your message before you order thousands of dollars of air time, or magazine
space. Advertising is an investment in your business. If you play the game right, you can see exponential growth in your
income in mere months. Be patient and take the time to try different approaches until you find that one ad, that one set of
words, or that one image that makes your prospects just jump at the chance to buy whatever it is that you are selling!