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Previous issues are archived below:

8/7/2001 Quit Wasting Your Money
Where are you spending your advertising dollars? Are they reaching your target market? Picking the right mediums can make the difference between wasting your marketing budget and putting it to work for you.

Before you invest any money in any advertising medium, consider these questions:

Does my target market read/listen/visit/see the medium?
appeals to my target market?
Can I afford it?
With what frequency and/or reach?

Ideally you want to pick a medium that is not only used/read/seen by your target market, but will also allow you to present your product or service in a style they want to see. For example, if you own a restaurant and your unique selling proposition is that you cook nutritious home cooked meals for busy families to pick up from your store and eat at home, you may want to consider radio. But, not just any radio station.

Do your research and find the radio station with the demographic that matches those young parents on their way to little league and ballet lessons. Most businesses can't afford to dominate a radio station completely, so pick a time slot and 'own it.' This means place your spots in the same time frame every day. In this case, drive-time, from 3pm to 7pm would make sense. Then sell the restaurant by appealing to the time crunched parents who feel guilty feeding their kids fast food.

8/23/2001 Shame on You
When using direct mail or email campaigns, you must appeal to the emotions of the reader. Whether it's greed, security, ego/shame, or fear, your copy must hit an emotional hot button.

For example, appeal to an emotion then, support it with benefits. Pose a question..."Are you afraid of making the wrong decision about upgrading your phone system?" Then go into the details as to how your company saves their clients money and provides systems with longevity due to the in depth analysis that you perform of client's current and future needs.

Use emotions to incite your reader to action whether you are selling business to consumer or business to business. Even when you are selling to businesses, people make the buying decisions.