A few weekend tips

It's a beautiful Saturday over here in Northeast Ohio. The sun's shining and there's a subtle summer breeze blowing through the tree tops. It's topping out at 91º F today, so I'm heading out in just a bit with my son to hang out in a pool down at the club. Sure, it's a tough gig, but somebody's got to do it.

But, before I swing out, I wanted to share a few quick, low cost tips to help get the 'ole phone ringing.

1. Consider CD business cards
CD business cards are an inexpensive way to get a lot of information to your prospects in a handy manner. You could put sections of your website on them. If your site's not too big, heck, you can pop the whole thing on one of these card. If you're not into whipping up code, you can also put Word or pdf files of your articles, news releases, marketing materials or even your press kit. You do have a press kit, right? Do a Google and you'll find lots of suppliers.

2. Promo t-shirts
Speaking of going to the club, if you're into working out, how about printing up a t-shirt to wear at the gym that features your company logo, tagline and site address? Look around the gym and you'll see lot of folks who are walking billboards for various companies. You should be a billboard for yours. At minimum it can be a conversation starter. The club I belong to is populated with many local business owners and community movers and shakers. A prime target for me.

T-shirts can be silkscreened, but that can get expensive. Consider cruising down to your favorite office supply store and pick up a packet of iron-on t-shirt transfers for inkjet printers. This doesn't require any high level design software. You can do it with a word processor, if you like. Simplicity is the key - logo, tagline, phone number and web address. You'll look simply smashing if your nifty new ensemble.

3. Write news releases
News releases are the foundation of most public relations efforts. Writing them isn't rocket science, either. Here's a link to tips about writing a good release on PRWeb. They even provide a template. How handy is that?

By the way, PRWeb is a great place to syndicate your news releases. They're a free service, but, as a nonprofit, if you throw them some donation dough, in return you get the ability to track your releases.

One of the biggest problems I hear from folks is, "I don't have anything to write about." Well ... in that case you've got two choices. You can either just sit there with your head in your hands, bummed out that you have no news. Or, you can go out and make something happen.

For instance, how about getting involved with a charitable organization and help them out a bit? Consider adding some new services or repackaging your existing services. Any awards? New equipment that would benefit your clients by providing a faster or more cost effective service?

I write news releases and articles and participate on various small business and design-related forums and discussion groups. These activities have lead to interviews for magazines and e-zines. Those, in turn, give me ammo for more news releases. And the cycle starts again.

It's important to recognize a couple of things. First, most of what you see in the media got there because out was helped along by a p.r. firm or a publicist. Second, it's a matter of finding a spin. Finding a new way to present something that maybe isn't a hot news item.

I hear the club calling me in the background. Time to take off. Have a great weekend!

Teaming up for fun and profit

Many independents provide a service that just part of the puzzle. In my business, for instance, I create the design. But, I often need to tap into photographers, writers, programmers and others to get the gig finished. Over time, I developed a core group of folks I work with on a regular basis. Odds are, you have a similar network of complementary service providers.

How about tapping into that team for referrals? My group does this all the time. A clients comes to my main photographer needing some images for a new web site. The photographer says, "So, who going to build your site?" The client says, "Dunno yet." Bingo! The photographer says, "Hey, I know this guy ..." This scenario happens pretty often. Since many clients don't know the process, it's not unusual for them to go to a photographer before finding a designer. They figure, get all the elements and then find the designer. The reverse of this is true too. I land a nifty gig and need images, I refer my photographer.

If you do this, everybody in your network ends up with a little sales force who are out there selling each other.

An accountant might consider partnering with an attorney, an investment advisor and maybe an insurance agent. My dad was a carpenter who always work with the same electrician and plumber and they all referred each other. A hair stylist might consider partnering up with a massage therapist.

There are a couple of tricks to this. First, seek out those businesses that complement yours and where you share a common target audience. Next, don't leave things to chance. Get your together and plan you referral tactics. Those might include giving each other a stack of business cards, brochures and other marketing materials. It might also mean sharing prospect lists. Let's say you have a list of 300 and so do the other folks. All of a sudden you've each got over 1000 prospects. Finally, be sure sure to keep in touch with your group. Folks get busy and tend to forget.

This simple, no cost marketing technique, done consistently over time, may be the ticket to kick up your business' growth curve.

In the beginning ...

Well, I've finally jumped on the blog wagon. This little corner of the web is about marketing and promoting independent professionals and small businesses. I'll be sharing some thoughts, ideas and resources about getting the word out and getting the phone ringing.

There's some background on me in the sidebar at right. But, suffice to say, I've been doing this stuff since around two days before dirt was invented. During that journey, I've had a chance to work on both the client side and the service provider side as a marketing manager for a large publication, an in-house art director for a cosmetics company and the Director of Production & Promotion for another publication. And then there's the design and marketing consulting I do under the moniker of Tortorella Design.

If you're like a lot of smaller enterprises or one-person shops, you're pretty good at what you do. If you weren't, you wouldn't be eating too often or paying for a roof over your head. But, although you're good at your core services, you're probably not so hot when it comes to marketing and promoting yourself and your business.

Ever try going to sleep when you're wondering where your next project is coming from? It's not an easy way to take off to the Land of Nod and you end up spending way too much on antacids. That dough is better spent planning your marketing efforts and then working your plan.

Lots of business owners think marketing is all about touting themselves and their wares. "Hey! Look at me!" It's not. Marketing is all about your clients or customers. It's about helping them to achieve their goals. It's about helping them look good. You know they need your services. Marketing is about guiding them, educating them about your service offerings and how they're just right to fix your prospects woes.

There are loads of great sites out there to help you along your merry marketing way. Here's a few of my favorites:

Ilise Benun's Marketing Mentor
The Art of Self Promotion
Ilise has lots of great resources for marketers. Her e-newsletter is also excellent. Marketing Mentor is a marketing coaching program through which she helps folks meet their marketing goals.

MarketingSherpa
MarketingSherpa features articles and info about B2B, B2C, PR and a few other acronyms. Definitely one to bookmark. Plus they have several e-newsletters that cover a variety of marketing topics.

Bob Bly
Bob is a well-known copywriter with a focus on direct response and high tech. He's published several books and his site is jam packed with great articles about writing, blogging, marketing, advertising, and the list goes on.

Get Clients Now
CJ Hayden's site is a great starting point for those needing some marketing muscle. Her Resources section features an e-newsletter and several marketing-oriented articles.

Well, that's my start to this blog thing. I'll be adding more links as the days go on. Please post your comments about your marketing woes or wins, what topics you'd like me cover and such. I'll roll up my sleeves and get to blogging.