I look for great deals all the time to help me promote my business and love it when I find one like this. I have my own copy and print shop and I have access to any machine any time to make copies and materials for marketing. But what about the rest of you?
Well after poking around long enough I found a free offer that is too good to pass up. I let all the organizations I work with know that they can get their own color printer for free. “WOW!” they said…. “and why are you of all people telling me this?” Well this offer is not taking away business from me. As a matter of fact I get referral points fro this company for tell you all about it. So here it is…
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Do you settle for black and white prints?
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Is your competition using color?
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Are your important documents printed by outside suppliers?
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Does your organization print as little as 4 reams of paper (2,000 pages) per month?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you could qualify for a FREE Phaser™ 8560 DN printer—direct from Xerox.
The Xerox FreeColorPrinters program empowers all your communication efforts with the impact of color that gets you noticed. Thousands of small businesses, schools, religious and non-profit organizations have already benefited from adding professional Xerox color for free. Why wait?
To qualify, organizations must be based in the United States. All applicants must have more than one employee, print around 2,000 or more pages per month, and must be able to use a credit card for supplies purchases.
E-mails that Work
Small Business Marketing Tip
Get the Word Out
Make your email work for you. Keeping customers informed is very important. Direct mail by traditional US Mail delivery can be expensive. When you send out a piece of mail you may want to follow up with any email to reinforce your messages. Now when you want to make your emials look as professional as the BIG GUYS you may consider using a service like ConstantContact or OnMarketer. These sites offer FREE trials and resonalble costs when you choose to sign up. The look of your email is important if you want people to actually read them. Finding a service that helps you develope professional emails is easy. Check out the two above. They both help you bulid, send and track your email marketing. Never send another email campaign without preparing them in a highly effecitve way. Next time you see an email from us at Kopy King we will know hen you opened it and if you linked to our website or if you shared it with a firend. Because we use ConstantContact for all our email marketing. But don’t take my word for it check other other services. We did!
Do-it-Yourself Marketing
If you could help your business or organization be more successful in 2008, you would. I know I would! I’ve got an idea for you. I have recently learned how to use email marketing in a professional and productive way. I always wondered how “they” did that. I get emails all the time that look like a web designer made them. Well if you are like me you can’t or don’t want to afford to pay someone to do it for you.
So with little effort and very little money I began to embrass my current client email list and send them emails using Constant Contact. This was the second company I tried. When I signed up for a free trial they called me the next day to see if I had any questions. This was major for me because the last company I tried would not get back to me after several attempts to get help. Constant Contact offered the support I needed since I am not super web savvy.
Building effective lists, creating effective messages and getting my message delivered to my contacts was just the beginning. I can tracking results, see who opens my email and who does not want to see it at all. This has become a cost effective way to market compared to direct mail that cost me thousands of dollars in the past. I think it is just as important to market to current clients as it is to attract new ones. Remember they are your referral sales force.
I only have like 500 addresses but it continues to grow because as my customers forward my offers to their friends I am able to build my opt in mailing list. Constant Contact manages the whole thing for me. I told my clients about it and I love to talk about marketing so here is a tip for you do-it-your-selfers out there. Go to Constant Contact and sign up for their FREE trial. Try it a few times and see how you like it. If you love it like I do then come back and post a note. tell your customers how it can help their business and send out your next email with confidence.
Getting The Word Out
It is so important to promote yourself and your business. Since their are so many free opportunities out there you do not need to spend lots of money. Keep in mind that the old saying “you have to spend money to make money” is very true. But generating leads is fast and easy. Here are a few quick tips to get you started.
#1 Always carry and hand out your business card. With little or no expense you can make a really professional card. Try your local print shop or an on-line source. I recommend www.morecopies.com for local printers in the Ventura County Area and get FREE promotional materials by clicking here.
#2 Get on-line even if you do not have an active website. Many search engins offer free listings for businesses. Try a FREE LISTING(click) at MerchantCircle. Visit other websites like yahoo, goggle and aol. List yourself and you too will generate quality leads.
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#3 Join a local networking association. Start talking to other business people who are interested in growing their business. BNI is one of the organizations in our area that seems to successfully network people and their business.
Even if you do only one of there things you will be proactive in growing your business. What do you have to lose. Maybe a a little time and energy. So start today. Bring your comments back and let us know how you have used these ideas.
Young Business Owners
I was 19 when I started. I am now 31. I still think I am a young business woman but I used to get discouraged by people because of my age. I was not always taken seriously. Now I have earned the respect of my clients. Their referrals generate the most productive leads. So I recommend that if you are tyring to build your business that you look at your current customers and ask yourself “who do they know” and “How can I meet them?” I am launching a “Tell a Friend” campaign soon because I think my current clients deserve a bonus for referring customers. Coupons and Print Ads just don’t do what they used to. So if you have had success with referral business and have a networking idea… shout it out!
Why Promote?
I have been in business since I was 19 years old. 12 Years later and I am still looking for the best and most efficient ways to generate quality leads. I read articles, I read on-line tips and tricks. I have implemented and carried out what I thought would be effective marketing for my store. I have learned that you can not do the same thing over and over.
That brings me to this blog. I am open to sharing what has worked for me and hope that others will feel like sharing their ideas too. After-all what better way to market yourself but to network with other entrepreneurs.
