ADVERTISING

Advertising can make or break your business. The internet has made advertising something that the normal Joe or Jane can do. The trick is learning how to do it effectively. Now there are many schools of thought out there and many are very good but I'm going to focus on some things I've done online as well as offline.Offline MarketingOffline marketing can be looked at as traditional advertising. Whether it be magazine, newspaper ads, television or your basic flyers. Another avenue to add to this is what I consider the most effective which is word of mouth advertising. Let me go over some of the ways I've handled my advertising.Print advertising is something that our business has dabbled in. One of my favorite things to do is to write so for me this is a good fit. Now to make print advertising work you have to take 3 things into consideration. First is your budget. For print advertising to be the most effective you need to have it done consistently. Most people need to see things a few times before they make up their mind to buy. This is especially true in these times when the economy is struggling. Our business has advertised in a few of the local news periodicals in our area. I like to find the free publications that you can find all around the local area. You must follow the rules they have but if you stay within the guidelines you can effectively reach a good base of customers.The second thing to look at is what customer base you are trying to reach. Customers are what all businesses need. Anytime that you advertise the goal is to reach as many people as possible. When deciding where to advertise it is important to be sure that the publication is reaching the base you are trying to market to. When I advertise I make sure to have my ad be in line with the theme of the medium I am advertising in. This leads me into the last part of what I think is needed in print advertising.Wording is everything. If you can communicate effectively you will be more apt to get your point across. The way an ad is written makes the difference between success and failure. There needs to be something that makes you stand out from the crowd. A good product and a good catch phrase have closed many a deal. Be sure to keep up with this thread as I continue to go over the ways to use advertising to grow my business.

Adam
The Business Tutor
Teaching you how to minimize cost, maximize profits and free up time

Autoresponder

What is an autoreponder? Its a very important tool to anyone that works a home based business. Now there is alot of thoughts on the level of that importance. I for one find it an extremely important tool. Let me explain why.An autoresponder (a/r) is a tool where you can send pre-written emails out to a list that you have. It is an amazing time saver. You see you can create some pre-written emails that promote your product, opportunity or ideas and they have them automatice delivered to your opt-in list. As far as time goes it saves a bunch of it. Now many use it as a way to actually prospect. I dont see this as the most effective way to advertise. If you are like me you get 100's of emails a day. So to be honest it is impossible for me to look through each and everyone of them. For that reason I use my autoresponder as a follow-up tool. After a person has opted in to one of your squeeze/lead capture pages and you have contacted them then it's good to follow-up with some sort of autoresponder series. This is so you can really give them all the details on what you are marketing.Now for what a/r to use I can say that there are many out on the market. As a new business owner with a limited budget you can find a bunch that are free. Ive even learned that if you are truly computer savvy and have a server you can create your own. But as most people dont have the time or expertise to do so there are also a bunch of a/r's that arent free bunch truly worth it. The top 2 are aweber and getresponse. Im not going to endorse one or the other but I suggest that you look at all the features they offer and make your own decision. Another good option that I have used in the past is mlmpowermarketing.com . Great service and really easy to use.A good a/r is a much needed compliment to any generated leads that you might have. I see this as one of the best and most useful tools you can have in your business toolbox. Stay tuned in the following days as we go over an extremely important part of your business. It's one of my favorite parts. Its called advertising. I will show you how to keep ypur budget down and get the maximum leads for your time and budget.

Adam Frederick
Your Business Success Coach
Teaching you how to minimize cost, maximize profits and free up time

THE STEPS TO HOME BASED BUSINESS SUCCESS

The idea of starting and much less being successful can be daunting. What is need is a concise straightforward plan to pull the deal off. This plan must include the following:1- Time management2- A budget3- A system to put everything in motion4- Back-up plansLets start with time management first and explain how anyone regardless of the situation they are in can have the success they desire.Many of us that start out in a home based business do so to free ourselves from full time jobs. Another majority are those fortunate to be home but looking to add an extra income to the family finances. Whatever your situation you must make a plan on how to maximize the time you do have. The biggest asset in doing so is to use the many tools that are available to us through the internet. In my past years of running businesses the internet has become more and more useful to me. The first thing I use the internet for is to generate leads. Leads can be generated rather inexpensively by using the internet. In my travels I have found companies that will generate leads for you as well as I've been able to learn how to advertise and generate my own. Most that are working from home dont have huge advertising budgets so using the internet fits into our plans. This article is one way I generate leads. On a daily basis people read what I write and then click on my links to see what opportunities I have to offer. There are so many forums that you can become part of. I highly recommend this forum ( The Work at Home Forum) as it has a ton of users. These users are made up of many that are looking to start a business and trying to find out the facts. It gives them a great source of information and allows you to advertise to them for free. Now you can't blatantly advertise you product but with a good signature line link and good adcopy in your post many will be looking to find out more about you. People buy from people they like so if you put yourself forth in the correct manner you can build quite a base.Another option to create leads is to have a lead capture or squeeze page. You can make these sites as simple or as elaborate as you would like. I suggest the simpler the better. It should include information on what you are trying to sell as well as a way to capture the onlookers information. After inputing their info the page should direct them to a site to get the details on your opportunity. This next page should really give them the in's and out's of what you are selling. Remember first impressions are important.Now how does this relate to time management you might ask. Its simple. You can automate this process to some extend. Create one good adcopy ( or even a few) and post it in different forums. Place your lead capture or squeeze pages on all you signature lines as well as in traffic exchanges. Their are many good traffic exchanges out there but I truly recommend one called link referral. I get about 20 hits a day on my various sites from that one exchange. It takes me about 30 minutes for each site I promote. Thats a pretty good trade off in my analysis.Most of us have about 30 minutes a day to generate those type of lead numbers. I try to do it before I go to bed so they next day as others are surfing the exchange they see my information first.Well thats the first bit of information we will go over today. Tomorrow I will explain how using an autoresponder is important to your business and how it relates to managing your time.

Adam Frederick
Your Business Success Coach
Teaching you how to minimize cost, maximize profits and free up time

The excitement is real

Exciting is what we call it. Having just finalized the details of the A-Team Travel Clubs maiden voyage things are moving right along. How many of you have even been on a cruise? My wife April has been a many but this will be my first. I look forward to enjoying this trip with so many of you.

We can have contest as to who will eat the most lobsters or spend the most time on the dance floor. Believe you me I will enjoy myself immensely. Cruises are meant to be fun and especially on one of Carnival Cruise Lines fun ships we will all have a ball.

Now be sure to act fast as cabins are filling up. All the details are on a link on the right side of this website. In addition we are running a huge special as well for this cruise. If you can book 32 people to the cruise then you and a guest get your cabin for free(the 32 people have to be in 16 total cabins). So be sure to tell all your friends ( the ones you would like to cruise with) so you can get your cabin for free. (*you would only be responsible for taxes and fees)

Now this is the first of many exciting trips we will be hosting. Stay tuned to the site for more details as they surface. In addition make sure to enter our drawing to win vacation prizes.

This is the A-Team tuning out and we look forward to seeing you on the seas of the world.

Why Travel?

Travel is one of the most exciting things to do in the world. Everyone and I repeat everyone loves to travel. It has become a staple of our economy and provides jobs as well as priceless memories for generations to come.

Now when you think of travel what comes to mind? Is it white sand beaches with crystal clear blue waters? What about a romantic getaway with that special someone in your life? Maybe its a place to build lifelong memories with your family. Think of all the pictures you have in your photo album and how they make you feel? It's probably a great feeling. I know that some of the best times Ive have in my life have been traveling with my friends and now with my family.

Well if travel is so good why arent we always on vacation? For many the challenge is time. With so many dual income families and longer work schedules time is at a premium. Another challenge is the cost. With companies knowing that everyone loves travel and that after you have taken the familiy on one vacation you most definitely will do so again prices rise to reflect the demand. So here is our quandry. I want to travel and can get the time off to do it but even with the time off it's too expensive to take that dream trip. Well read on and see how we have folund a way to overcome this challenge.

Have any of you ever shopped at a discount store such as BJ's , Costco or Sam's Club? I bet most of you have. For those that havent here is the premise behind these stores. You pay a one time membership fee then you enjoy all the discounts the store offers. When you compare the prices in the discount stores to the normal stores most of the time you save at the discount stores. So in the long run you wind up saving more money shopping with them. Imagine this philosphy applied to the travel industry. What if you could buy a travel membership and get discounts on all aspects of travel? The membership would include discounted cruises where all you pay are the port charges, taxes and a small processing fee and get your cabin for free. It has 3 day 2 night vacations where you pay a processing fee and just your room taxes. What does this mean in real dollar? How about going to Disney World and staying in a Howard Johnson hotel and paying a grand total of $35 for your 3 day 2 nigt stay. This is truly possible. And thats only the beginning of the features of the memberships. For your convenience there is a file that you can download call the A-Team Coastal Profile on the top right of this blog.

Now this membership is incredible and has three different points of entry. They range from a price point of $1295 - $11000. While these are incredible prices for some the entry level of $1295 is still a bit steep. So we have found even more options so everyone can go on vacation. Imagine buying a single vacation for a low price and then paying just your processing fees and taxes. What about getting a 7 day condo stay for the same prices you are used to paying for hotel stays. I will tell you from experience my wife and I alway prefer condos. Its like a home away from home. You have all the luxuries of being at home. As travel agents and providers of discount travel vouchers we can provide that getaway that you crave.

In the following weeks this blog will go over some of the trips we have taken using our own product as well as tips and strategies on how to travel at a discount. Every once in a while I will be going into detail on how any of you can get involved in our business and learn to make money working from home as well. I look forward to sharing all of our experience and fun times about travel to all that have an open ear.

Be sure to enter our upcoming drawing to win a 3 day 2 night vacation voucher. Upon entering you will also receive our weekly newsletter that will include more special trips as well as detail of how to make money in the travel industry. See you on the beaches of the world.