A Few Tidbits

The 2008 Courier Post Best of South Jersey has kicked off - today is the last day to buy the Courier with the official ballot. There are several different categories to vote in, so make sure to support your local businesses by mailing in your ballots!

For any stylists with a following in the Marlton/Medford/Voorhees/Cherry Hill area - Posh Salon Style is hiring! If you refer a stylist for a position, and your recommended stylist is hired, you will receive free haircuts for life! Make sure to pass this offer along to your family and friends.

For any women business owners in the South Jersey area - I will be holding my Marketing and Manicures event on Tuesday evenings at Posh Salon Style in Marlton. This will include 2 hours of networking, manicures, wine and cheese and a short seminar on a marketing topic. I will also provide individual consultations with each attendee. We are limited to 10 spots per event and , so please contact me if you are interested so I can book your time slot.

Craigslist Conundrum

Craigslist is a wonderful (and free!) tool to market your business. However, it’s not the easiest system to navigate. There are plenty of rules and regulations with Craigslist, but if you take the time to learn, you’ll have a free lead generator for your business!

If you don’t have an account, start by going to www.Craigslist.org, click on Post to Classifieds and then Apply for an Account at the top right hand corner. Type in your email address and the verification word. An activation link will be emailed to you and you can follow the steps to activate your account.

Once your account is set, go to the appropriate city (for South Jersey businesses, make sure to click on the New Jersey link on the right and then click on South Jersey). Once in the appropriate city you want to place your ad within, click on post to classifieds on the left.

Now select your category to post within. The Services section is the only category permissible by Craigslist to promote your business. I would also suggest a posting under the For Sale/Barter section if you are willing to trade services.

Once you’ve chosen your type of service, enter the headline. Headlines should be simple and say exactly what you do. Then post your message in the body section. Keep it short and sweet – readers will likely click off the page with a lengthy description. Include a call to action - ‘visit our website’ or ‘contact us for a complimentary consultation.’

Craigslist does not allow repeat postings in multiple categories – but if you alter your posts slightly, you can re-list again the next day. For example, if you are posting under the Financial Services category on a Monday - go back into your account on Tuesday and write a different headline and description. You can do this for every day of the week –post a different product or different promotion each day. This keeps your ad at the top of the list.

If you want to add a picture to your listing, your photo must be hosted somewhere else on the web. If your photo is hosted on your website, and you need the HTML code to paste, please comment below and I'll send it to you.

If your image is not hosted on your website, you can use a free photo server like www.photobucket.com to do it for you. The following How-To is from the Photo Bucket website:

1. Open a free account with Photo Bucket.
2. From the navigation bar at the top of your album, select the "albums & upload" tab.
3. Left click in the 'HTML Tag' field for the image you wish to link to Craigslist. This will automatically copy the code for you, as denoted by the yellow 'Copied' message that pops up.
4. Open up a new browser window, or tab, and locate the 'Posting Description' field that you are looking to link your image to on Craigslist.
5. Paste the HTML Tag code that you copied from your Photo Bucket account right into the body of the Craigslist posting.
6. Your image will now display in your Craigslist posting!

A sample posting can be viewed here: http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/crs/558481647.html

Any questions? Need more information on Craigslist? Leave me a comment!

Don’t forget to sign up for the FREE Marketing by Melissa newsletter before our February issue goes out! Visit www.marketingbymelissa.com and sign up on the homepage.

Business Card Marketing

Business cards are one of the least expensive and most effective tools in growing your business. This 3.5” by 2”, double-sided space can offer some powerful marketing opportunities.

A typical business card contains contact information such as name, company name, phone, fax and website. Does your card also include a call to action? Make sure to include exactly what you want the recipient to do – ‘call to set up a complimentary consultation’ ‘book your massage today’ ‘subscribe to our free newsletter’ – you get the idea.

Don’t forget about the back of your business card! This blank space can be used to communicate:

• Customer testimonials
• Ideas/tips on your industry (example: advertising rates, calorie or fat gram counter, energy-saving tips, etc
• Coupon or special offer)
• Direct them to your website to receive free information on your industry

So what do you do with these amazing business cards once they’re ready? Give everyone you know THREE cards – ask them to pass along to their friends, family and co-workers. Other ideas for handing out business cards include:

• Community bulletin boards or displays
• Leave one with your tip at a restaurant
• Mail one with every bill
• Ask local businesses to put them on their counter
• Slip them in magazines at reception areas
• Leave one with the cashier every time you purchase something

Remember to use these tactics consistently for the best results!

Questions? Comments? Want to suggest a topic for a future blog? Leave me a comment!

www.marketingbymelissa.com

New Year, New Beginnings!

As many of you know, I am the owner and operator of Dine-A-Mat Advertising, a menu and placemat advertising company. I truly enjoy working with small businesses to help them market their products and services, and I want to thank you for your support of my business this past year.

While I still strongly believe in the positive results of this type of placemat advertising, I also listened to many of you reaching out to market in different ways beyond the traditional advertising methods. Simply put – there’s no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to marketing.

As a marketing consultant, I feel that providing every client their own unique strategies would ultimately be a better service for me to provide – and a better fit for my clients. To that end, I have converted Dine-A-Mat Advertising into Marketing by Melissa, providing smart marketing solutions to fit your budget and goals.

Along with my new website http://www.marketingbymelissa.com/, I have launched this blog to provide marketing tips, update you on Marketing by Melissa news, and provide information on great services and products that are available to help your business grow.

Happy Marketing!

Melissa