Advertising, Marketing, and Sales Strategies that Work - Part Four

Over the past few weeks people have continued to ask about my marketing and advertising strategies.  I have written about several and here are few more that I use virtually every day.  The first few are more media based, while the last couple are more about extending your product line and delivering what the consumers want.

Strategy #18 Deadlines:  Do you know the media’s deadlines?  If you don’t you may have the cure for cancer, but missing the deadline ensures that you won’t receive any coverage during that particular news cycle.  Here’s the inside scoop on deadlines:  Magazines can have up to a six-month lead time lead time for editorial coverage and newspapers have anywhere from 24 hours to three or four days advance deadlines.  While timing for newspapers is important it’s not as critical as magazines, but for both types of media you must plan in advance to achieve success.

When it comes to newspapers for example, in many markets most of the Sunday newspaper is printed as early as the Thursday or even Wednesday.  If you want to be a guest on a television talk show, or AM program, these entertainment shows tend to be booked at least two weeks out and most are booked at least a month in advance, so plan for that time lag.  News programs on the other hand can be lightning fast and respond within an hours if the story is big enough, so be ready to go at a moment's notice.  The same timing goes for radio except that radio news can happen literally “on the spot” and live.  You can simply call in with the news and they can go live that exact moment.

Strategy #19  Let ‘em (the media) know who you are.  Do they know you exist?  It’s your fault if you  you don’t get coverage!  You have to get “above the radar” no matter what media outlet with whom you are working with.  They can’t call you if they don’t know that you are the local expert and they don’t have your phone number.

Strategy #20  Deploy standard service enhancements; these are things that are an extension of basic services already provided by you and your company.  In other words, make what you make better by learning what your customers want and have a plan to provide it to them.

Strategy #21 Deliver entertainment services.  The majority of consumers enjoy entertainment both in the offline and online worlds; they want news, weather, stock quotes, jokes, horoscopes, music, videos etc.  Deliver these to your customers and they will come back for more.

Strategy #22 Deliver Productivity services.  These are tools to help your customers manage their time and get the most from being online, or while in your store. These can be the most appealing when it comes to increasing your perceived value.

Comments

[Andy Rehan]

The content you have provided is pretty interesting and useful and I will surely take note of the point you have made in the blog.

While I was browsing the Internet for ways to boost my website exposure, I read about how effective offline media is for getting additional exposure. Since online media advertising has become so competitive, I thought I will complement the online marketing efforts of my products with offline media advertising like newspaper and magazine advertising. This can be the best way to get a wider coverage for a website and draw additional traffic. I think it is a great marketing strategy to use both online and offline advertising to get more customers.

I thought this information might be useful for anyone looking for solutions to get more traffic to their website.

[Randall Blaum]

Thanks, Andy for the comments. I find a mix of online and off line strategies work best. "Give the audience what they want" has always been my mantra.
Be well,
Randall