In this issue:

1) Tip of the Week

2) FEATURE ARTICLE: 8 Major Marketing Approaches & The 40 Most Effective Marketing Tools for Your Toolkit by Sheldon D. Nix, Ph.D.

3) CLASSIFIEDS

4) FREE Resources

5) POWERQUOTE

6) MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE: Even The Bravest Needs a Shove by William N Hodges

If you'd like to read previously ran tips and features, go to http://netcheckspayroll.com/newsletter.html

Today's feature writer maps out an entire marketing plan for us with a myriad of ideas for achieving a balanced approach to marketing. Using classifieds is one a part of the equation, so here's a tip on how to avoid the common pitfalls of free advertising:

Free Classified Ads- Are They Worth It? by Bruce McCullough, aka, Buruse

How much time do you spend on free classified ad sites? I used to spend a lot of time sitting in front of my computer submitting ads to every site I could find.

Like most "newbies" my marketing budget was a basement figure. The one thing my budget did allow was time which, as it worked out, I had plenty of. But that's a different story for another day.

The point is, the amount of time I spent in front of my computer resulted in only 35 responses over a 3 week period. The sad part is none of them bought in anything. This was rather disappointing to say the least.

The marketing "gurus" I was listening to had said that free ads were the way to go when starting out. Maybe that is one of the reasons why there are so many who come online to join this "new frontier", get discouraged and quit before they realize any success.

After I got over the disappointment I decided to investigate what had happened. Following is what I found.

* With the development of submission software, SPAMMING of the free classified sites has been taken to a whole new level.

* Those folks who are actually visiting the sites are, for the most part, there for just one reason. To place their ad and move on to the next site.

* On the other hand, those who are reading the ads are not there for what you'd think. They are there for just one reason and that is to collect email addresses for you know what.

That last one became painfully obvious to me because every time I placed ads, it wasn't very long before I was getting so much SPAM I could hardly find the email I really needed to attend to.

If you want to continue using the free sites there are some things you can do to protect yourself.

* open a free email account like Hotmail (www.hotmail.com) or Bigfoot (www.Bigfoot.com) to use as your email return address. Set the filters if you like or just delete everything that comes in there.

* what you are advertising can be presented using the cyber two step. You know, have your ad direct your prospect to a sales letter on autoresponder which then directs your prospect wherever. (autoresponders don't do SPAM)

* use a submission program so you don't end up using so much time. There is a good one that is free at http://www.buruseontheweb.com/adwizard32.exe.

Arming yourself with these techniques will hopefully help you to avoid the SPAM I endured. Now if only you can get results...we can talk about how to do that another time.

---------------

Article by Bruce McCullough, aka, Buruse of Buruse on the Web. Buruse on the Web is dedicated to bring regular folks clear, concise information about marketing, associate programs and anything involved with working at home with your computer. http://www.buruseontheweb.com.

For the latest information on marketing, associate programs and work at home programs subscribe to Buruse on the Webzine. mailto:BuruseontheWebzine-subscribe@topica.com

8 Major Marketing Approaches & The 40 Most Effective Marketing Tools for Your Toolkit (c) 1999 Sheldon D. Nix, Ph.D. All rights reserved.

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Want a COMPLETE marketing program? You should! Hit and miss marketing approaches usually...miss. Use the checklist below to systematically develop a comprehensive approach to marketing. Check off if you've developed this tool, if you're actually using the tool, and if it's effective.

Do this for a year and you'll be able to narrow down the ones that really work for your business or practice.

The Attraction, Marketing and Publicity Toolkit Checklist. ------------------------------------------------------------------- It will be easier if you print this out and put it in your Day-Timer(TM) or other planner to use on a regular basis until your toolkit is complete and effective.

You don't need to develop ALL of these 40 tools, but I'd suggest developing SOME in EACH CATEGORY. That way, you have a balanced marketing approach.

Check Y or N in the list below.

BRAND YOURSELF Branding yourself means getting your name out there and ASSOCIATED with something SPECIFIC related to what you offer--not merely name recognition. The minute they think of you, they think of what you OFFER. 3 key aspects of branding are:

Name for my biz/practice that helps promote me instantly Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Logo/Graphics Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

30-Second Commercial Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE/MEDIA KIT You never know when you'll need to send information to the media. You may want to launch a PR campaign, details of which are in my 6-Figure Practice Blueprint and other publications. Here are the essential elements of this kit:

Biographical profile Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Biographical feature story (highlight yourself or, even better, you helping a client -- or even someone for free!). Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Practice/Biz description & history Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Brochure(s) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Fact Sheet/Product-Service Description Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Notice of event/Tip Sheet (e.g. "New Local Service Teaches Shoppers 312 Different Ways to Save Money. Here Are the Top 10.") Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

News Release/Media Advisory (usually mis-called a Press Release.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

ATTRACTION TOOLS In marketing, you go out and aggressively tell people what you offer. Attraction is a more indirect way of bringing clients and

customers to you based on their getting to know you and value you. You have to add MASSIVE value to people in the attraction approach (for free or cheap) and then they'll trust you enough to spend significant money for even more value. Some key attraction tools:

Newsletter (email or print or both) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Booklets or Special Reports Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Free Trials (e.g. Consultations, e-book, software) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Take-ones (These are small cards with a brief article on them that you can place in church vestibules, doctors' offices, etc..) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

ADVERTISING Advertising is a more direct method of getting to people who might buy from you or hire you. You can ADVERTISE TO SELL in which case you want your ad to actually get credit cards out, or you can ADVERTISE TO GENERATE INTEREST. We call this "lead generation advertising" because you offer people a reason to raise their hands and say, "I'm potentially interested in your product or service." Offering a free report is often a good technique for this "two-step" advertising approach.

Classified ads (online or off) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Display/space ads Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

"Article ads" (write an article that is actually an ad. This is not the same as sending articles around. Some people call this an advertorial.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Yellow pages ads Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Directory listings & ads Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

DIRECT MAIL Direct mail is when you send a letter or package of materials to prospects. It is quite effective for professionals and small biz people to use if done properly. 1-2 page letters Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Long form sales letters (4+ pages, usually 4 - 12) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Post cards (including card decks) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Flyers Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Faxes (outgoing to current customers or interested people. In the U.S. it's illegal to send fax ads to people who haven't said they're interested. Kind of like spamming but illegal.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Fax-on-demand (people call a number from their fax machine and receive back your sales letter. Not in as much use these days in the U.S.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

OTHER PRINT TOOLS There are many times when you'll want to have other things to give to people. The more creative they are, the better, but no need to spend a lot of money. HUMAN INTEREST STORIES are best, especially client success stories. Also good are checklists and self-assessment "Test Your Emotional IQ" type guides. Use your imagination rather than your credit card!

Business Cards (Most people don't use biz cards properly. Think of them more like space ads, slightly modified.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Tear pads (may go with flyers) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Coupons (Yes you CAN use these as a professional in the right marketing campaign. You can certainly use them with products, and some services can have an "After 3 sessions the 4th one is free" approach. Instead of just saying it, check off each visit on a coupon, and then redeem the coupon on the 4th visit.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Gift certificates (Ditto above. Give your services as a gift) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Inserts (used in fusion marketing. If you know what that is, great. If not, it's like a joint venture.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Proposals (You definitely want to know how to develop proposals if you offer services, both for private contracts and for the government. It's best to develop templates you can quickly modify.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

ONLINE TOOLS

Website with Massive Content (an attraction approach) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Email marketing tools (send an email with "Email Marketing" in the subject to emailmarketing@successfulpractice.com for a complete e-book on this subject. If you're online you need to know this.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Banner Ads (On the whole you can use this to market your SITE but not directly your services in many cases. Depends on what you offer. Email me if you are wondering. Banner ad effectiveness is slowly decreasing, but still viable sometimes.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

TELEPHONE TOOLS Answering machine/voice mail (Yes, you're answering message SHOULD 'sell' people on your products and services if prospects call your number a lot. Can use a soft sell if you'd like, but strict name and "I'm away from my desk" type of message is useless.)

Voice-on-demand system (like a fax-on-demand, but with voice messages people can listen to.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Telephone script for outgoing calls (If you do cold calling or any sales calls, you definitely want a script or two or 3.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

OTHER TOOLS The tools below are just a small sample of the additional approaches you may want to consider. Conference booth displays (if you go to conferences, you MUST have not only a good display but also good ways to get people's names and addresses, like giving away something for free -- and NOT a pen or ruler!!) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Radio ads (You can also consider paying for a half-hour interview with you in a studio as a kind of radio infomercial, and then buying airtime on various stations in your area. This is VERY effective for professionals marketing services. It allows you to maintain a very professional image.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

Computer Disks (e.g. an electronic book you hand out or mail. Internet downloads are only partially effective right now.) Developed? ___ In Use? ___ Effective? ___

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Dr. Sheldon Nix is Director of The Successful Practice Institute at Eastern College which helps professionals of all kinds build 6-figure practices using a proven 12-step System.

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"All things are difficult before they are easy."

- Thomas Fuller

Questions to Ponder

What is difficult for me right now?

How does my perspective change if I realize it will get easier?

Can I make a list of things that are now easy that were once difficult, to give me hope?

Copyright the Discian Group from the Powerquotes ezine. See http://discian.com/powerquote.htm for more information.

Even The Bravest Needs a Shove

Copyright 1998 William N Hodges, used by permission.

Life is one great adventure after another for those who will try something new. There are those who consider life a success if they can tip-toe from birth to death and no one notices them. There are others who not only accept challenges, but actively solicit them. Those in the last group are the people who truly get the most out of life.

Niccolo Machiavelli said, "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." To paraphrase Machiavelli, doing something new is scary. But from the time we are born, our growth as functioning human beings is predicated on how well we meet and adapt to change and new circumstances.

If we did not overcome our fear of falling, we could never learn to stand up. Many of us have the scars on our knees to prove that we persisted even to the point of physical injury in our desire to learn what was, to us, a new skill called bicycle riding. But what a thrill it was to feel the wind in our face when we mastered the art. We conquered the fear, and the feeling we got from it was like no other. It was addictive.

Chance takers are the ones who move our society to greater and greater heights. They constantly push the envelope of what can and cannot be done. They see something new as a challenge to be attacked and bested. Does this mean they have no fear? I think not. I believe they achieve in the face of fear because they will not give in to self-doubt and the defeating thoughts that come with it. They concentrate not on past failures, but on their past successes. This gives them the courage to go on. They know failure is possible, although improbable, as long as they hold steady to their course and work up to their capabilities.

It's tough to move outside of our comfort zone, but that is the only way that we can grow. Sometimes even the bravest of us needs a shove. Few small birds would spread their wings and leave the nest if their mama didn't nudge them a little. But mama knew they were capable of flight even if they didn't. In business or at home, the nudge may come from a boss, parent or spouse who believes in us and sees before we do how our capabilities can be used in new ways. Just as the baby bird plummeting to the earth has the capability to stop its descent and soar upward, so too do we have the power to achieve new heights, if we will tap the power within us and believe in our ability to succeed.

Succeed or fail, how boring it would be for the baby bird to forever remain in the nest, never to spread its wings and touch the sky. How boring life would be if there were no challenges. To accept the challenges life gives us is to be an active participant in the adventure. As Voltaire said, "If we do not find anything pleasant, at least we shall find something new."

Spread your wings and fly.

******************

Bill Hodges is nationally recognized speaker, trainer, and columnist. If you enjoyed this article, you will enjoy his book Within Your Reach which contains 60 such articles on positive thinking available either in print or a three cassette audio tape. If ordering from your local bookstore, .reference ISBN #0-9622717-0-5, or you may order directly by sending your check for $4.95 USCurrency plus ($1.30 USA $3.00 Other)for the printed book or $20.00 plus ($3.00 USA $6.00 other) for shipping to Hodges Seminars International, P O Box 22 Fairborn OH 45324. Or order by Visa or Mastercharge at his Web site http://www.BillHodges.com

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