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September 2008
Marketing Basics:
Five Basic Elements
and how much to Budget for Them
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Everyone agrees that these are tough times. Even so, this is not time to stop marketing your products or services. It is, however, even more important to be smart about how and where you spend your time and money. Let's take a look at five basic ways to get the word out about what you have to offer and what each one costs.
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If you've missed any of my marketing newsletters, you can find them on my website. There you'll find valuable information like how to write your "elevator speech," tips on networking, elements of a basic marketing plan and much more. I also send out a monthly newsletter focusing on developing your creativity, and you'll find those on my website too.
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Marketing: A Cost or an Investment?
 Many small-and even large-businesses fall into the erroneous trap of thinking about marketing as a COST. If this is your attitude, I urge you to change your thinking. The time and money you spend promoting yourself and your products is an INVESTMENT in yourself. Many people invest a great deal of time and a significant amount of money in their education/training, but when it comes to spending to market themselves, they hold back.
People can't spend money with you if they don't know about you! Believe in yourself enough to invest in yourself.
Your Business Cards
Business cards are the most economical and versatile investment in your marketing portfolio. If you're going to use a logo, find a good graphic designer to create it for you. A good logo should be simple, bold, and distinctive. It should also work well in all sizes. Even if you're not going to use a logo, a graphic designer can help you create a business card with colors and a graphic style that you can carry through in all your other materials. Logo design can run from $250+. Business card design can cost you as little as $100. Printing business cards is ridiculously cheap when you use one of the online printers-less than $20 for 500.
And don't forget to use the back of your card to explain your products and services, but avoid too much verbiage. Bullet points can work well here. It's very inexpensive to print both sides of business cards.
Your Website
 Most small businesses and individual practitioners can benefit from a well-designed, well-written website with attractive graphics. Your website can give you credibility, and it can be the central element of your marketing program. If you have a good website, you can design your other marketing efforts to drive people to your site. A website has a one-time cost and then ongoing hosting and administrative costs.
Yes, you can use one of the template programs to create a simple website, but they are very limited and changes may be difficult and costly. You'll gain much more flexibility with a custom site. Insist on one that is easily editable. Even with its high cost, your website can pay big dividends. Depending on what you need (sophisticated shopping carts, etc.) and how much you can do yourself (write the copy, select the photos, etc.), a custom website can cost from under $500 to $2,000+. Monthly costs for hosting your site will be $15+, and unless you plan on updating your own site, there will be charges for that too.
There's a lot to know about websites. More on websites and website strategy in my next newsletter.
Brochures
You may or may not need a printed brochure. If you're exhibiting at trade shows or planning to place your information in strategic places, you'll probably need one. Ditto if you have a service that needs a good bit of explanation or if you have multiple services or products to sell. If you can write good copy and provide your designer with photographs, you'll reduce the cost of design. Your designer should provide the brochure to you in PDF format so you can have it printed yourself. If you need less than 100 brochures at a time, you can probably use digital color copies from a local printer-establish a good relationship for the best prices. For quantities beyond that, you'll want to consider having them printed. Trifold brochure design runs from $300 up. Digital color copies can be had for as little as $.70 each (one-sided, color).
Email Marketing
If you're not already doing it, start today collecting email addresses from your clients/customers and prospective customers/clients. Email marketing can be effective and inexpensive, but it is really being overused. To ensure your emails get read, provide "news they can use" not just promotional material, and do not mail too often. Once a month is optimal. An e-newsletter service will cost you as little as $25 a month depending on the size of your list. The major cost of using this method is in the time you must spend in learning the system and creating attractive emails.
Advertising
Print advertising (not to be confused with those little free placements in the community news sections of local publications) is usually somewhat costly. Display ads will require someone to lay out the ad, and then you're charged by the size of the ad. The greater number of subscribers a publication has, the more you're likely to pay. Less costly are the classified and calendar ads. Use these to provide basic information and entice readers to your website. Consider using "reverse" or white lettering on black to make your ad stand out if that option is available.
Print advertising can be as low as $20 for a classified ad to hundreds of dollars for a large display ad. Be sure to ask for the best price if you're doing a good-sized ad. Advertising salespeople will often discount from their posted rate, especially if you're running your ad in multiple issues.
There many, many other ways to get the word out about your products and services. Investing in the basics which are right for your business can provide you with a good foundation on which to build your future marketing efforts-and you'll likely get a boost of self-confidence at no extra charge!
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Coming Next Month
Your website is perhaps the most important tool in your marketing toolbox. Next month we'll focus on your all-important presence on the Internet.
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Need some Personal Help, Inspiration or Support?
In addition to my marketing services, I offer coaching for individuals who are interested in starting/building their businesses or who would like to explore new ways to rediscover their natural creativity. For more information, please call 760.436.8848 or visit my website.
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About Excoveries
Judy Balian and her Excoveries associates offer practical, cost-conscious marketing solutions for small businesses, consultants, holistic practitioners and inventors.
Our services include websites, marketing strategy, copywriting, brochures, business cards, press releases, articles, websites, newsletters and logo design.
Judy offers one-on-one confidence-building business coaching.
Judy also teaches classes and workshops designed to promote creativity and personal growth including The Artist's Way.
To contact Judy, email jbalian@excoveries.com or call 760.436.8848. |
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