The Importance of Print Advertising for Small Business Owners

by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts

With the advent of social media and email marketing, printed advertisement has taken something of a backseat. However, its relevance cannot be overstated even today. According to published reports, 38% of US adults visiting a business’ online page based on printed ads. Wow! That is quite significant, don’t you think?

From the psychological marketing perspective, research showed that printed ads require 21% less cognitive effort to process compared to digital marketing content. Therefore, diversifying your marketing tactic to cover both digital and print advertisement niches will enable you to reach more potential customers than before. Let’s take a look at how you can benefit from using print advertisement in addition to digital marketing, which is standard in today’s day and age.

Types of Printed Advertising Media to Consider

There is a wide range of printed media that you can use to promote your brand and reach new audiences. Based on statistics, 56% of customers find print marketing to be the most trustworthy type of marketing, with 66% of direct mail printed ads opened.

In some ways, you can’t go wrong with the printed advertisement for the simple reason that people are used to it. Whether you target the elderly, millennial, or teen demographic, your audience is bound to appreciate printed ads far more than their digital equivalents. With that, some of the printed mediums you can explore to market your business includes but are not limited to:

Magazine ads
Posters and billboards
Brochures and flyers
Stickers
Office supplies (notebooks, mugs, lighters, pens, etc.)
Business cards
Direct mail (catalogs, newsletters, coupons, etc.)

Balancing Printed and Digital Marketing

Adding print advertising, like magazine advertising, and even guerilla marketing to your digital marketing mix helps your brand stand out and attract bigger public interest than it would otherwise.

This will organically seep into your online engagement, sales, and word of mouth, given your reliance on print. While some may mistakenly regard magazine advertising as retro, the reason print advertising accounts for nearly 40% of website traffic proves that consumers continue to read physical printed materials. However, you shouldn’t neglect the power of digital advertisement as it can improve your printed ads and create an omnichannel campaign with greater reach.

Great Return on Investment

Studies found that “Average advertising costs for small business operations that use Google Ads as part of their online advertising strategy are between $9,000 and $10,000 per month.”

So, compared to digital advertising, Magazine Print Advertising is typically cheaper for the small business owner.

Another hugely important reason I recommend diversifying online marketing with traditional magazine advertising is that platforms like Google (and social media) can change the rules of their game at any time. Case in point: take the latest Google core update, which changes the search engine’s algorithm. Google changed their rules so much that even the biggest SEO Agencies saw a huge drop in their website traffic and had to remodel their SEO strategy to play by the new rules. Using both digital and magazine print ads will help protect your business from the risks of ‘putting all your eggs in one basket” while providing your business multiple sources of traffic to your website.

Grow Your Local Franchise Location

If you’re a small business owner who owns a franchise, you want to follow what the mega brands have been doing for years. Many international brands like Coca-Cola not only advertise on global networks, but they also continue to advertise in local magazine ads to make their brands relevant to local niche communities.

Build Website Engagement and Conversions

While many small business owners like to advertise your phone number in magazine ads, you should still always publish your website address on all your print ads. If you’re running a full-page magazine ad you should also include your brand’s social media handles. This will help to increase your online engagement while greatly increasing trust, assuming you have an updated professional website that provides quality, trust-building content.

RELATED ARTICLE: 7 Reasons Why Your Website is Leaking Leads

If you need help writing better website copy there are sites you can order website reviews. I have not tried this service yet. If you end up using them, post a comment on this blog to let us know what you thought of their services.

Since I run into this challenge a lot of my private business coaching clients, we now offer top-notch website copywriting, graphic design, website remodels and new website builds through our done-for-you marketing agency brand.

Extended Longevity Compared to Digital Ads

Finally, magazine advertising has much longer longevity compared to Google PPC or Social Media ads.

One downside with Google, Facebook and LinkedIn ads is they appear and then disappear on the user’s screen. So, there’s no way for that user to go back to that ad at a later time when they now have a need for the services that you offer.

Magazine ads, for instance, do not disappear. When a magazine subscriber sees your ad, if they don’t have the need yet, they may not visit your website or call you right away. But, when a triggering event occurs, they remember seeing an ad for it months prior. That’s when they go back to the magazine and find your ad is still there. That’s when they contact you to become a customer.

Each time someone comes across your printed ad, even long after the initial publish date, you are increasing your brand awareness, so more people will know what the name of your business is, what you do and your contact info.

Opting for Omnichannel Marketing in 2021 (Conclusion)

So, the purpose of this article was not to convince you whether magazine print advertising is better than digital advertising. It was to educate you on the different benefits magazine print advertising offers. Ultimately, it’s best to diversify your marketing efforts to having an omnichannel approach, which is synonymous with multi media marketing or cross media marketing.

This does not negate the importance of having a compelling message in your magazine ads presented in a professionally designed ad. A confusing ad or an ad that looks like cheap clip art is highly unlikely to bring you that 38% traffic to your website.

RELATED ARTICLE: Print Advertising Tips

If you need help coming up with your wow factor message that’s laid out by professional graphic designers, book a complimentary discovery call to see how we can help you.

SIGN UP HERE: https://stage.paramountbusinesscoach.com/coaching/coaching-call-sign-up/

QUESTION: What question can I answer for you about advertising your business? Please share your comments or questions below:

How to Generate More Leads with Content Marketing When You Hate to Write

by Yoon Cannon | Attract More Customers, Business Growth Tips Blog

Generating leads is all about capturing a prospective buyer’s attention and compelling them to investigate further. And while you certainly don’t need to be a gifted novelist or best-selling author to create dynamic content that will generate more leads – in fact, the skillset of a copywriter is quite different than that of an author – you still need to convey information succinctly and compellingly, often with the written word.

It’s worth exploring why you hate writing. There are likely some underlying reasons that can be identified, and steps can be made to transform a vital activity you hate into one you love. But instead of that noble pursuit, this article is going to focus more on immediate fixes or workarounds so that you can create marketing content that will generate more leads for you today, despite your hatred for writing.

Actionable Tip #1 – Hire A Freelance Copywriter

Delegate, that is often cited as a key component to success. When a task needs to get done, and you lack the skillset or the passion required, chances are there’s a professional you can turn to who will do the job for you.

There is no shortage of freelance copywriters looking for work. You can place an offer on popular job boards for writers like ProBlogger or BloggingPro. Or you can look for freelance copywriters on popular Facebook groups for freelancers like Cult of Copy.

When you do find a freelance writer you want to hire, you will need to provide them with a bit of direction – similar kinds of content they should look at to get an idea of what you want, a narrow word count range, specifics about the call to action that should be included.

What You Can Expect to Pay

Most freelance writers charge by the word. You are likely to find writers charging anywhere from 4 cents a word to 8 cents a word. Be wary of a freelancer who offers to do the job for less than 4 cents per word. They are more than likely to be amateurs, and it is unlikely you will be satisfied with their work.

Many freelance writers will ask for a percentage of the conversions their content garners for email campaigns, and some freelance writers will want a combination of per word compensation and a conversion percentage.

It’s Hit or Miss

Finding the right freelance writer for your needs is a bit hit or miss. You may need to hire more than one before you find the best writer for your needs.

Any professional writer will have a portfolio you can look at, but it’s important to remember that they write for their clients. So, their portfolio is not always indicative of their voice or style but rather the voice and style the client has asked for. When you look at a prospective freelance writer’s portfolio, what you want to be on the lookout for, above all else, is variety. The writer’s portfolio should give you an indication of how flexible and versatile the writer is.

Actionable Tip #2 – Get Better at Writing with Online Courses

Hiring a freelance writer can get expensive. Plus, even if you do find a good writer who meets your needs, it is unlikely, in the long run, that you will be able to get as far as you want to go with content marketing if you, yourself, have a strong dislike for writing.

The most common reason people give for not liking writing is that they don’t feel confident in what they write or feel they are simply bad at it. Perhaps they don’t even know how to begin writing a piece of marketing content.

The good news is that you can easily address these issues. There is no shortage of competent professionals willing to share their tools of the trade. It’s always a good idea to level up your career through training, and if you feel that writing is a particular weakness, consider taking an online course in copywriting.

There are several good training platforms you can check out to find the right course for you. Many of them are free, though you may have to pay to receive a certification.

To start with, check out the popular platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Allison. Or check out a more comprehensive list of the 14 best sites for taking online classes.

Actionable Tip #3 – Use Transcription Software

Often, a blank screen or a blank page can provoke anxiety in people. This is another common reason cited why some people hate writing. If that sounds like you, perhaps you should consider dictating your lead-generating marketing content and let AI software create a transcript for you. If you choose this approach, you will still need to do some editing. But at least you won’t have to work from a blank screen or off of an empty page.

Some of the more popular speech-to-text software programs on the market include Veed, Otter, Amazon Transcribe, and Verbit. You can also check out this comprehensive list of the best speech-to-text apps on the market in 2022.

Actionable Tip #4 – Make a Video

A substantial amount of leads are generated online through video content. However, creating good-looking and engaging video content requires some technical know-how – recording and video editing. And the equipment you need to make something of a high enough quality is more than you would need to write a compelling piece of copy. However, creating engaging video content could be an example of taking a weakness (you hate writing) into a strength (you are obliged to make great video content).

RELATED BLOG ARTICLE: Best Affordable Video Gear Guide to Market Your Business

Actionable Tip #5 – Use Pictures

Generate More Leads

While it’s debatable whether a picture is worth a thousand words, in any event, it is true that when it comes to creating marketing content, a picture (or a series of pictures) can save you from having to write a thousand words.

You’d still need to write a caption or a quote and a call to action. But by relying on pictures, you could create compelling marketing content that will generate more leads for you without having to do much writing.

The Bottom Line

If you hate to write, that’s understandable. Though to create lead-generating content without putting down at least a few words is tricky. However, there are a few workarounds. At the end of the day, it’s best to focus on what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about, while taking steps to try and fortify your weak areas.

RELATED BLOG ARTICLE: 6 Copywriting Secrets that Generate Leads

QUESTION: Why do you hate writing? And how are you able to create marketing content that will generate more leads for your business? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

PS. We now offer done for you marketing services, so if you want a mix of blogs written for you and writing your own hit reply button and ask me how that works.

10 Things You Can Do to Generate a Buzz to Boost Your Business

by Yoon Cannon | General, Business Growth Tips Blog, Marketing and Sales Blog Posts

Today’s tips come to you from my friend and top PR expert, Gina Furia Rubel of Furia Rubel Communications. I asked Gina to share with my readers what her 10 tips would be for small business owners like you to generate a buzz to boost your business. So, here are Gina’s tips for you from an award winning PR expert:

There are many public relations tactics you can employ to develop new and grow existing business. Tactics designed to increase awareness among your target customers, create an ongoing buzz and position you as an expert in your industry will inevitably generate business.

1. Issue press releases. Tell the world about your business wins, promotions, awards, community outreach and board appointments. Local newspapers print good news stories.

2. Update your voicemail message. Every time someone calls your office and hears your voicemail message, they should be happy to leave a
message. Make it friendly, energetic, informative and compelling. Don’t forget to say your company name and what it is you do.

3. Use your e-mail signature. Restate your company mission, add a favorite quote, place a link to a news article about your company, or
just add your LinkedIn profile link. Whatever you do, make sure your contact information is included.

4. Be an expert: speak and write.
By speaking at conferences and publishing articles, your peers will identify you as an expert and refer you business.

5. Have a great website. In today’s day and age, if you don’t have a website you’re not considered legitimate.

6. Get social. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile you should (at the very least). Then learn how to use it, Facebook, Twitter and the various
other free tools at your fingertips to maximize the value of your relationships.

7. Create video-casts. Since you’re the expert, start creating how-to video-casts.

Post them on YouTube and other free distribution channels then share them via your website, social media profiles, e-mail signature and other communication tools.

8. Identify on and off-line business listing opportunities. Update your company’s business listings yearly. Many online listings are free
and the more places your company is listed, the higher your website will rank in search engines.

9. Volunteer. Get active in an organization that you are passionate about. Giving back always leads to a greater good.

10. Blog. Blogs are a great way to demonstrate your expertise. They help to establish you as an authority in your industry.

Ok, so those were Gina’s 10 things you can do to generate a buzz to quickly boost your business. By the way, if you’re interested in getting top notch professional PR services check out Gina’s website at https://www.furiarubel.com. They are a full service firm who can take care of your advertising, branding and website needs as well.

QUESTION: Which of the above 10 tips feel the most challenging for you and why? Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.

About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and SMB’s achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 25+ years Yoon has started 6 different businesses and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development.

To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon(at)ParamountBusinessCoach.com

To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation book here: https://stage.paramountbusinesscoach.com/coaching/coaching-call-sign-up/

Overcoming Self Doubt as an Entrepreneur

by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Success Mindset

Self-doubt can sure kill your business success and prevent you reaching your full potential. But, it does not have to. To help you overcome self-doubt in a healthy, productive way, practice my 6 tried-and-tested approaches to helping you conquer your gremlins, so they stop getting in the way of your business success.

Expect that self-doubt is going to happen.

Whether it’s in sports or in business when we don’t expect the attack that’s when we knocked off our feet. Self-doubt is normal. Don’t be so surprised when it happens to you. Attacks of self-doubt are a part of the game. Even the most talented entrepreneurs experience self-doubt at some point throughout the year. Being aware and expecting self-doubt will happen makes this invisible missile, visible, so you can see it and fight back to extinguish it.

Push yourself out of your comfort zone.

Many entrepreneurs subconsciously respond to self-doubt by retreating into their comfort zone. They lose faith in their ability to take on new challenges, and learn new skills – and even deliberately hide from them. It’s crucial to remember that nothing incredible ever happens within your comfort zone. The most life-changing business opportunities all happen in unfamiliar circumstances. Leaving your comfort zone is part-and-parcel of being successful – and remembering that will help you overcome self-doubt.

Quit beating yourself up.

Entrepreneurs are notoriously hard upon themselves, especially in times of failure. But, being your own harshest critic is a double-edged sword. It helps you win when it drives you to set hold high expectations of your self. The other side, however, can stab your business success if you keep beating yourself up for every business failure that happens.

Stop thinking you failed because you weren’t good enough – that only sets you up for failing again. In other words, self-doubt is borne from low self-esteem. Thankfully, we can combat this. Realize when your negativity is fueled by your own judgment, and make a conscious effort to be kind to yourself. Have some self-compassion.

Blame the tactics, not the talent.

Many of my entrepreneur clients hire me for business coaching because they are frustrated with their flat sales. I understand though, that your frustration goes beyond just seeing depressing numbers on the board. Those flat sales can make you feel like you fell flat on your face. That can be a huge blow to the gut and our pride.

Failing to reach your goals doesn’t have to be such a hard pain to recover from if you shift your focus to:

Re-evaluating your TACTICS instead of re-evaluating your TALENT.
STOP drawing false conclusions that a failure is a reflection of your talent.

I’m here to remind you and SHOUT to you – it’s not true.

Get expert TACTICAL guidance.

Let’s say you believe you’re a terrible cook. What makes a meal a success or failure has more to do with factors like whether you’re using a good or bad recipe, fresh or processed ingredients, cheap or quality-made cookware, cooking time, and temperatures – you get the idea.

Half the battle with your business success starts from showing up each day with the right mindset. The other half has more to do with your approach. It’s important to re-evaluate the tactics in your business growth strategy. An outside expert can also give you better feedback on how well you’re executing on those strategies. Executing the wrong strategies can easily fuel that self-doubt. Implementing the right strategies can suddenly make you look and feel like a rock star.

Build your inner circle.

Feedback from your friends, family, and peers can help you to improve your abilities; but it can also weaken your own faith in yourself. Often, well-intentioned constructive feedback, coming from a non-expert, ends up being the wrong feedback.

As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to isolate yourself from growing your business alone. But, isolation is where self-doubt flourishes. We all need to have an inner circle of 2-3 people who understand our industry and our challenges and can contribute insightful perspectives on your strengths and strategies.

Get busy, and stay busy.

Productivity can help you extinguish self-doubt. When you’re working flat-out to make a deadline, you don’t have the time to reflect on your work; and you’re too busy to let negativity creep into your emotions. Reflection leads to self doubt, and self doubt leads to inaction. It creates a vicious cycle of doubt, where you become paralyzed by the fear of failure, and unwilling to start working again. To overcome self-doubt, make sure your schedule is packed with productive plans to keep you working towards definite deadlines.

Get some momentum.

Many entrepreneurs have a tendency to seek perfection. Every blog post, email, brief, design, and pitch has to be ideal – and nothing less will do. These high ideals can help inspire you to new heights, but they can also be the very thing that keeps you from moving the ball forward.

Perfection isn’t always attainable, and in these instances, it’s crucial to start moving forward. Remember that ‘done moderately well is better than not done at all’.

Success is about getting results. You don’t get results by simply standing still. You need to go up to bat and keep swinging. If you keep at it, while focusing on your approach (and not doubting your talent), you will eventually hit a homerun!

If you are tired of struggling with self-doubt and want to finally stop getting in your own way, so you can grow your dream business I invite you to schedule a complimentary discovery coaching call with me here:

https://stage.paramountbusinesscoach.com/coaching/coaching-call-sign-up/

If not now, when?

Stepping off the Ground: Your Next StartUp Biz Step

by Yoon Cannon | Business Growth Tips Blog, Time Management/Productivity

How to Start a Business

Every entrepreneur imagines their business concept growing into a successful international company. Global corporations like Apple and Microsoft may have started with big ideas, but they became successful because their founders followed up with solid action. Budding business leaders such as yourself can take some of these steps to transform ambitious ideas and dreams into reality.

You Have an Idea for a Startup Biz

Brainstorming a new business idea is clearly the first step. Now that you’ve passed this point, it’s time to lay the real groundwork. Make a business plan to outline what you’re going to do, how you intend to do it, and of course, how you’ll make money by doing it. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has a great page with plenty of details about all of the things a business plan should contain. Among them are the company overview, market analysis, production and sourcing, financial projections, marketing plans and other essential aspects of business.

Business plans are often required by lenders and investors, but another big reason to write one is for your own benefit. You may be surprised at how many aspects need to be considered. It’s easy to allow some integral business components to fall through the cracks if you begin your startup without developing an organized and detailed plan.

You’ve Got a Business Plan

Now that you have a business plan, it’s time to figure out how to fund your new endeavor. Venture capital, bank loans, SBA loans and even grants can be considered. A small business credit card can offer short-term capital as well as business-friendly rewards.

One of the best ways to get funding is to seem like you don’t need it, according to Forbes. Instead, try asking for advice from potential investors, and make your pitch as you do so. This will make the investor more likely to tell you to go ahead—and provide some funds to allow you to do so.

You Have Funding and Are Ready to Hire Employees

Working for a startup often requires long hours. It is also risky for employees because many startups don’t get to the next stage. Therefore, you need to look for a special breed of person to work with you during this energetic and uncertain time. To find the perfect person, you will need to ditch some of the conventional wisdom.

Instead of seeking people who can answer your questions in the perfect way, have them perform a task for you without direction, suggests The Daily Muse. Look for the person who can actually do the task or who shows the most potential. After all, anyone can learn how to respond to common interviewer questions by reading advice on job sites. You need to find the person who can back it up.

Lose the notion that an advanced college degree always signifies a better candidate. In many cases, eager and energetic young people who have not yet completed their degree are better matches for startups.

This advice is merely the tip of the iceberg as you develop your business from an idea to a profitable company. You’ll find that many steps come naturally as you progress. Be persistent and use your common sense, and you will have a fighting chance of ending up with a successful business.

Be sure to grab my free printable checklist on How to Start a Business here.

About Yoon Cannon: Top business coach Yoon Cannon has helped thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants and sales teams achieve dramatic results in growing your business. Over the past 25+years Yoon has started 6 different businesses and sold 3 of them. She offers fresh insights as a seasoned business growth expert. Yoon delivers proven process for your sales, marketing and management development. To book Yoon to speak at your next event email: YoonCannon(at) ParamountBusinessCoach.com To schedule a complimentary business coaching consultation call book here https://stage.paramountbusinesscoach.com/coaching/coaching-call-sign-up/

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