There is much more to advertising than simply taking out an ad. If you stop and think for a minute as to what the purpose of an advertisement is ? you will see many more skills are required. The aim of an advertisement is to bring to existing or potential clients, information on your product/service, with the outcome being a sale.



It is therefore important that you think of advertisements in both of these scenarios.

* Information

* Sales

So, when thinking of how to advertise, you must consider both. If the information does not provide exciting, dynamic, caring strategies, then sales will probably not occur.

I believe one of the most under utilised methods of increasing sales is via alliance partners ?you must find a way to reach out to a potential alliance partner and put together a proposal that can benefit both of you and both your sets of customers! Joint or shared advertisements can work really well and is one way you can work together (though not the only way ? consider a shared stand at a Trade Fair or promoting to each other's customer list etc.)

Many people think that a website is not necessary for them as they do not want to sell online (e.g. they may have a retail outlet) ? but you must remember, one of the main purposes of a website, is to use it to market an existing business ? the website does not have to be the business itself. Think of it like a telephone directory advertisement ? only you will have total control (if you don't ? change and get a website where you do); and it should not cost you an arm and a leg. You can get a lot more information on your website than in an advertisement and can change that information at will and when necessary. It can become a very dynamic marketing/advertising tool.

I so often hear business operators lamenting:

?I did not get anything out of that (book, seminar, conference etc).?

But on closer inspection it is more likely that they did not put anything into it. They need to think outside the square ? they need to take an idea (preferably more than one) and think about how they could implement the concept or ideas expressed by others and ?tweak? them to fit their business. Action is what is important; inaction leads to mediocrity ? and you do not want a mediocre business! Advertising is action ? but it also needs the action of monitoring to ensure that you are getting the best out of your efforts.

Another thing you should learn to do ? is to make use of words that ?sizzle? and to use those words to create the right atmosphere in which a sale can be made. Too often we want to rely on our product to make the sale ? whereas the energy of the word is a much more powerful tool (both spoken and written). Don't be scared to use extravagant words ? HUGE is better than Big; AWESOME reads better than Wonderful; JUMP OUT gives more meaning than Notice; - brainstorm with others to get the right word that is both DYNAMIC (energetic, vibrant, forceful) and EXCITING (thrilling; exhilarating) and watch your sales increase!