Creative Marketing Tactics! and How Is it Effective

The corporate world today is a very competitive environment. More businesses are joining the fray all the time: over 750,000 new startups have emerged in North America in the last ten years. Sadly, more than 60% of new firms fail within the first four years.

Why do they keep failing? According to a research conducted by the United States Department of
Commerce, there are three primary reasons why startups fail:

Inadequate financial planning
Poor sales abilities
Marketing that was poorly conceived and executed

All three of these issues are addressed through creative marketing. It is one of the most effective marketing strategies accessible, and because it is low-cost and high-impact, you won't need a large advertising budget to benefit from it.

A basic understanding of how and why creative marketing works is required.

The Surprising Ingredient

The fact that the tactics are often unexpected is one of the reasons why creative marketing works. Many creative ads are highly prominent and have some element that is unique to the company that is using them.

When it comes to preparing your Creative marketing campaign, you should be prepared to "think outside the box," even if it has become a cliché. Traditional, expensive methods of marketing your company should be used sparingly, if at all. These are some of them:

Advertisements in the yellow pages
Advertisements in newspapers or magazines
Commercials on the radio or television

Consider this: when was the last time a yellow page, newspaper, magazine, radio, or television commercial had a significant impact on you? Consumers today are so inundated with advertising messages that they've learned to filter out traditional sources.

Your goal as a creative marketer is to catch them off guard and advertise in unusual areas. Consumers will often fail to notice your marketing activities as advertisements.

The good news is that you can do it for a fraction of the expense of traditional advertising. In creative marketing, time is exchanged for money. You'll have to work more on marketing than a multibillion-dollar organization, but if you're tenacious and innovative, your efforts will pay off.

It Pays to Stand Out.

"Different is Good," as the old Arby's motto said. One of the key reasons Creative marketing strategies are so successful could be summed up in this simple word.

It's possible that you have a one-of-a-kind product or service. However, the chances are that you'll be fighting for the same market share with dozens or hundreds of other enterprises. One of the advantages of creative marketing is the ability to capitalize on the element or aspects of your business that set you apart — and so make your product or service worthy of consumers' hard-earned money.

So, what makes your company unique? Here's a quick rundown of things to look into. Your company could provide the following services:

Customer service that is the greatest, nicest, or most attentive.
The most affordable pricing.
Products that outperform the competitors in terms of quality.
A larger product selection than other businesses in your area or field.
The most basic means of ordering.
Delivery that is quick, easy, and/or dependable.
More knowledge in your field than your competitors.
The most informational and user-friendly website.

Your USP, or Unique Selling Proposition, is a term used to describe this feature of your firm. Once you've identified your USP, you'll know what sets your company apart — and that's a good thing!

Variables and Controls.

There are numerous aspects that influence the outcome of your Creative marketing efforts, just as there are with any marketing strategy. Some have to do with your business, which you usually have a lot of influence over. Others are related to your clients, who are not always within your control.

When it comes to your company, the variables you'll have to think about throughout the planning stage of your marketing strategy are as follows:

Your location: Where would your consumers come from if you run a brick-and-mortar business? Is there a good lot of foot traffic, or are you in a remote location? Is your website in a decent “location” if you operate from home or online? That is, is it well-ranked with search engines and parked at a domain that is easy for visitors to remember or stumble across?
Your product or service: How you promote yourself will be heavily influenced by the concrete and intangible elements that your company offers.
What is the greatest strategy: to reach out to the folks who are most likely to become your customers? In this article, you'll learn more about identifying and reaching out to your target market.
Your attitude: While this is not a factor unique to your company, it is one that you can influence. If you keep a happy and upbeat mood in your business, it will show in your marketing efforts, and your clients will notice.

How about your clients?

The majority of other people's reactions are out of your control. You could have the most engaging sales pitch and marketing campaign in the world, but potential consumers who are having a terrible day when they receive your message are unlikely to respond positively.

However, there are some aspects of your clients over which you have control. Understanding why people buy — what drives them from initial interest to ultimate purchase — is one of these things. There are a variety of causes, so you should figure out which ones apply to your company and concentrate on them.

To name a few, people purchase products or services that will:

Invest in them (turnkey or reseller programs are a good example of this).
Obtain praise for them (gifts, new clothing).
Keep up with the Joneses (when it seems like “everyone else” has something).
Make them appear younger, more attractive, or smarter.
Have lovely objects or works of art in your possession.
Make them feel more at ease.
Become more productive at work or at home.
Make their work easier or more efficient.
Assist them in avoiding hard work.
Protect their loved ones or their belongings.
Entertain or excite them.
Informing or enriching their life is a good idea.
Allow them to get away from their worries.
Boost their reputation or popularity.
Save money or time by doing so.
Assist them in expressing their feelings to others.
Satisfy their inquisitiveness.
Attract the sex who is the polar opposite of you.
Assist them in not missing out on an opportunity.

It's critical to learn about the needs that your company meets for its clients. With this information, you can create a marketing campaign that emphasizes the advantages customers will receive when they buy your product or service.

Case Studies Are a Lot of Fun.

Is it true that creative marketing works? Many companies have launched effective Creative marketing initiatives since the concept's broad adoption. The following firms are instances of Creative effectiveness in action. Innovation is often the key to a profitable business.

Several Campaigns That Worked

Marketer Eric Strauss did some forward-thinking before the first Crazy Carrot Juice Bar opened in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He spent $73 on a life-size carrot costume that he wore to a number of special occasions throughout town.

The "Carrot" made numerous public appearances during the next year. It was widely publicized in print, radio, and television, and it was substantially responsible for the company's rapid growth. The Crazy Carrot Juice Bar eventually grew to five locations and 65 staff before being sold to industry giant Jamba Juice for a paltry $73 investment.

Irvington, New York: Just outside of Manhattan, the Flying Fingers Yarn Shop was looking to grow its customer base. The Yarn Bus was born after the company fastened three gigantic balls of yarn, complete with knitting needles, to the roof of a modified van at the suggestion of a marketing consultant.

The Yarn Bus travels between Irvington and NYC on weekends, raising awareness and making special appearances at news events. Flying Fingers has noticed an increase in in-store traffic, but more crucially, those who might not otherwise visit the store are made aware of their website, where they can learn about the store's knitting classes and purchase knitting materials. The Yarn Bus's great visibility has yielded outstanding results.

New York, Manhattan: Even non-profit organizations seek to broaden their reach. The Marble Church was looking for a means to bring in new blood and revitalize its flock. As a result, they enlisted the help of a marketing business, which devised some novel approaches to spreading the word.

Hundreds of weekend visitors to the Hamptons noticed an airplane banner with the fascinating slogan "Make a friend in a very high place" one Labor Day weekend.

Marblechurch.org.” In addition, the church rented a low-cost mobile billboard that drove throughout Manhattan (placed on the side of a van). “It Doesn't Hurt to Have God on Your Side in This Town,” the placard stated.

Marble Church was presented to individuals who had never heard of it before because to these unique messages given in imaginative ways. As a result, the church's membership increased by 31 percent.

Odd freebies abound in Oregon. People are drawn to the unexpected, which may explain why the Les Schwab tire dealership's "free beef in February" offer keeps customers coming back, or why a nearby bank's yearly tradition of handing away free Vidalia onions to anyone who walks in earns fantastic local media coverage.

One Ad Campaign That Failed

Remember the efforts that backfired in first?

In Boston, Massachusetts, a creative marketing strategy recently took an unexpectedly disastrous turn. The Cartoon Network built and erected 40 magnetic light displays picturing characters from the series in various spots throughout Boston to promote a new animated television series, Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

The devices, which featured batteries and wiring linked to the back of the placards to control the lights, were met with mistrust by Boston residents. Reports of the signals sparked widespread alarm in the aftermath of 9/11, and "an army of emergency vehicles" was dispatched to the scene. While authorities investigated and, in some cases, demolished the signs, several bridges, subway stations, and highways were closed.

What was Cartoon Network's marketing impact as a result of this incident? It undoubtedly increased awareness of the program, but you may not want this amount of exposure for your company. For the Philadelphia Inquirer, TV columnist David Hiltbrand wrote: "Turner Broadcasting's quirky marketing team. Because, let's face it, nothing says cartoon antics quite like a terrorist threat on the red level."

Marketing Your Small Business in a Novel Way Marketing Your Small Business in a Novel Way

We'll look at what creative marketing entails in this chapter, as well as some of the preparations you should make before developing and implementing your campaign.

Unlike other marketing tactics that rely on a significant input of cash and resources to achieve quick results, creative marketing takes time and effort to maintain. In any case, determining the effectiveness of a marketing campaign can be difficult. When it comes to creative marketing, you'll notice that the results are influenced by a number of variables.

Let me present you to http://www.gmarketing.com's Jay Conrad Levinson. The following key concepts, according to the father of intensive "out of the box" Guerrilla marketing, are at the center of the Creative world:

Though huge firms have had some success with Jay's Guerrilla strategies, the approaches are best suited for tiny businesses.
Rather than experience and guesswork, creative marketing is founded on principles of human psychology — the study of the many ways people react to a marketing message.
Creative success necessitates the use of a variety of marketing approaches; do not rely on a single advertising location.
The necessity of embracing contemporary technologies cannot be overstated. It's all about being on the cutting edge when it comes to creative marketing.
Instead of money, you should prepare to devote a large amount of time, energy, and creativity to your Creative marketing strategy.
Your company's success should be evaluated on profits rather than sales volume.
Rather than striving to outperform the competition, creative marketing efforts focus on forming new relationships with complimentary firms.
Instead of focusing on acquiring new customers, focus on increasing the number of larger transactions with existing customers and increasing customer recommendations (facilitating word of mouth, which is discussed in the next chapter).

Is creative marketing appropriate for your company? The majority of the time, the answer is yes.

Advantages

Let's go right to the juicy stuff:

It is inexpensive to engage in creative marketing. On the high end, you might spend a few hundred dollars on promotional goods or a large, concentrated piece around which you can create a variety of campaigns (such as the carrot suit in the examples listed in chapter 2). It's free on the low end, and you can't beat that!

Creative marketing entails networking, both with customers and with other businesses, in addition to building your firm. You'll make a lot of new friends and allies while executing and maintaining your campaign.

Traditional advertising venues are complicated and expensive to the point of exclusion, whereas creative marketing is specifically built to satisfy the demands of small enterprises (bordering on snobbishness).

Several components of creative marketing efforts are simply enjoyable! All in the name of earning a living, you get to do crazy stunts and participate in weird activities.

Marketing that is innovative is effective. You will almost certainly end up with a better and more profitable business if you do your homework, design your strategy, and stick to it.

Disadvantages

Then there's the bad:

Creative marketing is effective, but it is not without flaws. After all, it is advertising, which is far from a precise science. Because there are so many variables in advertising, nothing is guaranteed to be 100 percent effective.

You won't be able to pinpoint exactly what works and what doesn't work, just as you won't be able to pinpoint exactly what works and what doesn't work in any advertising campaign. It's challenging to get measurable results (but not impossible, unlike other marketing techniques).

Traditional advertising venues, which frequently consist of throwing significant sums of money at other people to perform the work for you, demand more devotion and energy than creative marketing.

Creative marketing isn't the answer if you're seeking for a quick fix. You won't notice immediate or overnight effects as a result of your efforts. To meet your business's sales goals, you'll need to put in some time.

Creative marketing is not for the faint of heart or those with thin skin. At the absolute least, you will have a few critics who will point out flaws in your approach. In the worst-case scenario, you could face legal action (which is why it's critical to check your local regulations before launching a Creative marketing campaign).

Money vs. Effort Cost Analysis

Which is more valuable, your money or your time?

This is the trade-off that creative marketing entails. You don't need a lot of money, but your efforts will be in vain if you don't devote your time. The concepts of creative marketing (described at the start of this chapter) necessitate planning, preparation, and effort.

How do you decide if the trade-off is worthwhile?

Here's an example of a hypothetical situation.

Sending out e-mail announcements in the form of a weekly or monthly newsletter is a popular marketing strategy. You could either construct a mailing list and create your own newsletter (the Creative technique) or buy advertising space in another company's newsletter (the Transactional way) (the traditional method).

If you want to advertise in a different newsletter, follow these steps:

Premium space in a well read newsletter (e-zine) with a large subscriber list will cost you between $100 and $1000. Consumers often need to see your message 3 to 7 times before they buy, so you may end up paying more for repeated commercials.

You'll spend a few to several hours researching e-zines, writing your ads or articles, and contacting the e-zine proprietors to schedule your ads.

A conversion rate of 2 to 5% is usual, slightly higher than the conversion rate of a direct mail campaign (number of people who read your advertisement compared to the number of people who become your clients). Depending on the strength of your material, this rate often rises a few percentage points with repeated adverts (the wording of your message).

If you publish your own newsletter or e-zine, keep the following in mind:

You will spend somewhere between $0 and $100. (you may decide to invest in desktop publishing software, list management software or services, or an upgraded Internet service provider plan to handle additional web traffic).

Using strategies such as sign-up boxes, refer-a-friend programs, e-zine directory listings, and word of mouth, you'll spend several hours to several months creating your opt-in subscription base.

You will notice the typical conversion rate (2 to 5%) at first, but because you own the newsletter or e-zine, you will never have to pay for advertising again. Your subscription base will continue to grow, as will the sales generated by your subscriptions.

Instead of the measured bursts predicted by the "traditional" technique, the number of people who read your newsletter will expand exponentially.

Buying bulk lists and employing "free traffic" methods to bulk up your subscribers is something to avoid while creating an e-zine subscription base. Though this will provide you with some great numbers, the vast majority of individuals will either trash your emails unopened or unsubscribe as soon as they've completed the requirements of whatever benefit they signed up for. A highly targeted subscriber list that you have generated yourself will yield the finest results.

Choosing the right balance between money and time

How do you know if the time you'll spend on a particular Creative marketing campaign is worth the money you'll save on advertising — assuming, of course, that you have a sizable advertising budget to begin with? (If you don't have one, don't worry; you don't need one!)

Using the procedures below, you can receive a preliminary approximation of your results:

1. Choose a traditional advertising location that is most relevant to your desired Creative marketing campaign.

2. Calculate the total cost of each technique in dollars.

3. Calculate how much time each approach will take in total.

4. Assign a monetary value to each hour of your time that you plan to invest ($15 per hour is a good average).

5. To arrive at two unique totals, add monetary expenditures and per-hour time costs to each approach.

6. Estimate the earnings from each technique (don't forget to account for the "snowball" effect achieved from Creative marketing through repeat business and client recommendations - most traditional advertising venues are one-time agreements).

7. Take the total profit and subtract the total expense.

This will give you an idea of what to expect. In most cases, the Creative marketing strategy will appear to be a far better offer.

Identifying Your Market

You need to know who you're offering your products or services to before you try to sell them. Market research is an essential component of any advertising strategy, yet it is one that is all too often disregarded. You'll be wasting your time, effort, and money if you don't have a clear understanding of your target market.

The most effective marketing focuses on reaching out to the people who are most likely to purchase your goods or service. This is one of the reasons behind the low response rate of traditional advertising. Television, radio, and print media such as newspapers and phone books are available to almost everyone. Only a small portion of those individuals will fall into your target demographic.

Target marketing, often known as specialty marketing, is divided into two parts. The first step is to establish your goal, and the second is to figure out how to get there. Once you've completed these steps, you can use the information to create a creative marketing plan that maximizes your return on investment (or more likely, your efforts).

Choosing a niche

This process entails a thorough examination of your company. You must determine the who, what, where, when, and why of your consumer base, much like an investigative writer. Pose the following questions to yourself:

Is your product or service more appealing to males, women, or both genders?

What age group do you think your product or service will appeal to? (Note: if you sell children's products or services, parents are your target demographic.)

What is the range of income and education level of potential customers for your product or service?

Is it true that they are unattached? Married? Do you have kids? Retired?

What are the different ways your customers will use your products or services? Is there a chance of getting repeat business?

Is your product or service a necessity (food, clothing, shelter) or a luxury item (luxury items)?

What distinguishes your product or service from the competition (your USP, as addressed in Chapter 2)?

Is your product a one-time purchase (books, shoes, fine dining) or a long-term investment (cars, yachts, computer hardware or software)?

What is the most common way for your product or service to be purchased — online, through mail, or in person? Is it better to pay with cash, check, or credit card? A single payment, a series of payments, or ongoing monthly fees?

When it comes to new products or services, how do your potential clients usually find out about them? Is it through the internet, public advertisements, the news media, or another method?

To help you determine your target market, you might wish to create a profile of your ideal customer (for example, 20-30-year-old single college-educated ladies or 40-50-year-old married guys with middle-class earnings).

Finding your niche

Once you've decided the type of customer you want, you need to find out where they hang out. Do they frequently eat out or go to the movies? Would they rather spend an afternoon at a shopping mall or a library? Are they frequent travelers, and would you be able to find them at airports, bus or train stations?

You can typically locate specific forums for your target demographic when it comes to online marketing. Keep in mind that when marketing online, you must first establish a rapport with online groups before presenting your firm. After all, you wouldn't walk into the home of a complete stranger and shove your stuff in their faces, would you? This may appear to be an extreme example, but when it comes to Internet protocol, this is exactly what people seem to appreciate when they enter forums and instantly begin posting advertisements and special discounts.

Determine the best ways to focus your Creative marketing efforts based on the facts you discover about your target clients' purchasing behavior. Consider a striking exchange with a local restaurant if your customers enjoy eating out. If they travel, consider bus billboards or literature you may distribute in terminals.

Methodology for Creative Marketing Innovative Marketing Techniques

Now that you understand what creative marketing can accomplish for your company, it's time to learn how to do it! In this chapter, we'll look at some of the techniques you might use to generate buzz and pique your clients' curiosity.

Keep in mind that there are numerous approaches to Creative marketing, and your strategy should incorporate some features that are specific to your company. You don't have to follow these strategies exactly; in fact, experimenting is a terrific way to find that perfect marketing strategy that will bring you gold. Feel free to tinker with these strategies to develop your own strategy.

Word-of-mouth marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing is, without a doubt, the most potent and effective marketing method available. It is, nevertheless, the most illusive and difficult to govern. This marketing strategy places a greater emphasis on your customers than on your efforts, and is typically linked to the quality of your product or service.

To put it another way, when a product or service "sells itself," it is referred to as word of mouth marketing.

What exactly is it?

People enjoy conversing. Giving them something to speak about: your business, is what word of mouth marketing is all about. It's about creating a "buzz" about your product or service and allowing your customers do the labor for you by telling friends, family, and even complete strangers if they're enthusiastic enough.

Because it is authentic, word of mouth marketing is extremely effective. This is a phenomenon that cannot be faked. People will be enthusiastic about what you have if they believe it is worth recommending to others — and that excitement will help you produce even more business in the shape of new customers and broader market recognition.

Word-of-mouth marketing comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here are a few examples:

Viral marketing is the process of creating and disseminating a high-impact message that is simple to pass on to others—often by e-mail (viral marketing will be discussed further in Chapter 5).

Joining or developing a shared-interest community whose members are likely to love your product or service is known as community marketing. It's crucial to remember that when it comes to community marketing, the community's needs come first, and marketing initiatives come last. Through participation, marketing will naturally evolve.

Creating an air of excitement or mystery surrounding your brand, usually through news, entertainment, or underground efforts, is known as buzz marketing.

Grassroots marketing entails organizing volunteer organizations to spread your message on a personal or local level.

Cause marketing is when you devote a portion of your business to a social cause, which gains you respect and support from people who are passionate about the same cause.

Catchphrases, marketing, launch parties, and other memorable tools or events designed to spread by word of mouth are all examples of conversion creation.

Identifying important or key persons and putting your product or information into the right hands at the appropriate time is known as product seeding.

How do you go about it?

As previously said, word of mouth is effective yet difficult to implement. Consumers will smell a hoax if you try to create a buzz for your business, and your efforts will backfire.

However, there are a few things you can do to encourage word-of-mouth advertising to begin on its own.

Word of mouth, as previously said, is effective but tough to deploy. If you try to generate awareness for your business, consumers will detect a ruse, and your efforts will backfire. You can, however, do a few things to encourage word-of-mouth advertising to start on its own.

Prioritize your customers. A satisfied customer is one who believes their purchases are significant to your company. Customers who are satisfied are potential sources of word-of-mouth marketing. Make following through on your commitments a major priority. If you advertise speedy shipping, make sure your products are always delivered on time and in good condition. Make sure you never miss a deadline if your service guarantees a speedy turnaround. Customer complaints and difficulties should be addressed swiftly and personally, and disgruntled customers should be offered refunds or bonuses.

Determine who your target market is and speak to them. Who is likely to be interested in your goods or services? Where do they tend to congregate, online or offline? At best, blanket advertising is ineffectual. Your marketing efforts should be focused on venues or areas where your target audience is most likely to see your message. Your marketing effort will become self-sustaining after you build a buzz among people with common interests who are drawn to your business.

Make it simple for your customers to spread the word about your company. The goal of word-of-mouth marketing is to get your message out to as many people as possible. If interested clients don't have a method to communicate their enthusiasm with others immediately away, they may forget what it was about your product or service that piqued their interest. Provide business cards, fliers, or an easily available sign-up list for your company newsletter to your face-to-face customers (you do have a newsletter, don't you?). Tools such as forums and refer-a-friend programs will aid in spreading the word online.

Pay attention and respond. If you receive a single complaint, you can usually handle it on a one-on-one basis. If you receive multiple such complaints, though, you may need to do more than just respond to the unhappy customers. Prepare to make changes in your business in response to your clients' wishes and needs. This applies to both positive and negative suggestions. Also, if your company is being criticized, don't be scared to defend yourself in a rational and reasonable manner (avoid flame wars). Customers admire companies who are prepared to recognize their errors and work to fix the damage.

Summary

When a product or service "sells itself" through the consumer's enthusiasm, this is known as word of mouth marketing.

Word-of-mouth marketing can't be faked; it comes from real concern on both the business and customer's parts.

Word-of-mouth advertising can take many different forms.

Although word-of-mouth marketing cannot be controlled, it can be encouraged.

In word of mouth marketing, the client is the most crucial aspect.

Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most cost-effective and effective kind of creative marketing.

Canvassing

You may have heard about canvassing in relation to political campaigns, and it is true that this is one of the most prevalent uses for it. This strategy, on the other hand, can be employed efficiently for creative marketing.

What is it?

Canvassing is advertising that reaches out to a group of target consumers on an individual level, usually in the same geographic place. A basic example of a canvassing campaign would be a new pizza restaurant sending out its employees with stacks of flyers to be dropped on or under as many doors as possible in their delivery area.

Other methods of canvassing include:

Introductions from door to door (think Jehovah's Witnesses).
Distribution of parking lot flyers
Sampling on the street or at the mall
Campaigns over the phone.

How do you do it?

Though most canvassing initiatives need some financial investment (typically to print the materials you intend to deliver), this sort of marketing can be both inexpensive and effective. A successful canvassing campaign has three stages: strategy, preparation, and distribution.

The most critical aspect is, of course, planning. You must design the materials themselves, as well as the distribution region and strategy that will be most effective for you and your company.

You will, of course, be interested in canvassing locally for a local business. You can hand out fliers door to door (check your local laws before doing so), post them on community bulletin boards or telephone poles (again, check local rules), or organize a mail-out campaign in your neighborhood.

You can also work out a deal with other local businesses to distribute your materials (flyers, business cards, pamphlets, and bookmarks, to name a few) in exchange for promotion. If you have materials on hand, keep an eye out for community activities that might appeal to your target demographic.

If your company is mostly online, your canvassing area will include websites and forums frequented by your target customers, as well as individual e-mails. Do your homework and make a list of these locations, as well as the strategies you may use to pique people's interest in them (banner ads, forum memberships, guest blogging, articles, newsletters, and the like).

Make sure you spend some time arranging your contents to make them as appealing and intriguing as possible. Check your writing for spelling and grammatical problems; not only may they give clients the wrong impression, but they can also have unforeseen repercussions. Consider what might happen if the Motel Six franchise made an error and ran an ad campaign for Motel Sex!

Your errors may not be as egregious, but if you make a mistake in your promotional materials, your clients will remember you for your errors rather than the quality of your products or services.

Also, make sure your content is engaging and exciting. Do you recall your unique selling proposition? Emphasize the component of your company that sets it different from the competition in your marketing content. If you can come up with a memorable phrase or slogan, you'll have a leg up on the competition.

This short and concise phrase may go a long way on marketing products, whether it's an emblem or a creative play on words that characterizes your brand.

Preparation: After you've chosen your materials, you'll need to make them. You might be able to manufacture a small quantity of flyers, business cards, or brochures yourself with a high-quality printer if you're sending out a small amount. For bigger numbers, a commercial printer is usually more cost-effective. Staples and Kinko's have grown more affordable than ever, and there are other competing internet firms to select from, like VistaPrint.com.

You must provide a file for the printer to print from. You will most likely be able to design the materials yourself, thanks to the widespread availability of desktop publishing software. However, make sure to devote a significant amount of effort on the presentation and to present it in a professional manner. If you're not sure in your ability to create great-looking and sounding advertising material, consider hiring a freelance designer or copywriter; you'll pay a one-time charge for material you can reuse over and over.

Distribution.

The term "distribution" refers to the process of providing your materials to your clients. You can hand out fliers yourself or solicit the help of volunteers. Volunteers, partners, or anybody else ready to spend some time promoting you might be willing to hand out your materials in high-traffic places like malls or transportation terminals.

If you're mailing your materials out, you'll have to go to the post office to distribute them. If you're collaborating with another local firm, all you have to do is drop off a stack of materials.

If you're planning an online canvassing campaign, aim to synchronize the various locations and have them go live at the same time. Multiple banners, advertising, articles, forum posts, blog entries, and e-mails that reach your target audience multiple times can assist them remember you the next time they need your product or service.

Summary

Canvassing is any marketing technique that touches a large number of people on a one-to-one basis.

Canvassing can take many forms, including distribution of flyers and brochures, sampling, telephone or door-to-door marketing, and online campaigns.

Canvassing is most effective when you've done your research and can reach out to a large number of people in the same location.

Other businesses make ideal canvassing partners since you can easily reach all of their clients.

To accomplish results, canvassing relies on a powerful message and well-written content.

The final step of canvassing is distribution, which can be done in person, online, or through a third party.

The Sign Says

There are signs all throughout the place. A decent sign may be an excellent marketing tool for your company, and it doesn't have to be expensive.

What is it?

Any advertisement for your business that can be seen at a glance is referred to as a sign. They come in a variety of sizes and can be found in a variety of places, from matchbook covers to billboards. Because there are so many of them, almost everyone is familiar with them. Unfortunately, this implies that they are frequently overlooked.

How do you do it?

There are two crucial elements to consider if you want to employ signs as part of your creative marketing campaign: placement and design

What it should look like?

Making a sign effective entails making it stand out from the crowd and giving it unique and distinctive traits. You must achieve a balance between information and clutter at the same time.

You should think about hiring a professional designer. The one-time cost, similar to that of printed advertising materials, is frequently justified because the design can be reused.

However, if you're confident in your ability to design your own signs, here are some design tips:

Ensure that it is readable from the distance at which the majority of people will see it. You should include your website and/or phone number at the very least, but if no one can read your sign, they will not call you for more information.

When it comes to information, don't overdo it. Don't try to clinch a transaction with just your signature; the goal of a sign is to pique people's interest in learning more about your company.

Use the KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Excessive words and elaborate artwork will distract rather than draw attention. In addition to your contact information, your sign should ideally contain 3 to 10 words.

Include a "grabber" element, such as a powerful statement or phrase in huge letters, a captivating image, or the corporate emblem.

Pay attention to the color scheme and make sure it's bright enough to stand out so that everything can be read clearly. Black on white, black on yellow, white on black, yellow on black, and blue on white are all wonderful color pairings.

What is missing is just as significant as what is present. In the overall design of your sign, you should include between 30 to 40% “white space” (not necessarily white, but space devoid of text or graphics).

Where to put it?

You'll need to decide where to put your sign once you've finished designing it. There are, of course, the usual suspects: billboards, storefronts, bulletin boards, and the like. You can also get creative and put your signs in other places or venues.

Restroom signage are becoming increasingly common. Some establishments will let you advertise in their restrooms, and one inventive firm has even placed ads inside men's urinals with some success.

Placement on the roadside: Do you live on a street with a lot of foot or car traffic? What about a group of buddies at a prime location? Try putting up a sign in your front yard and enlisting the help of your friends.

Check with local event organizers to see if you may put up signs at bake sales, fundraisers, and other local events.

Consider trading signage space with other local companies to gain more visibility.

Summary

Despite their association with traditional advertising, signage can be an effective feature of a creative marketing effort.

Any advertisement for your business that can be seen at a glance is referred to as a sign.

The two most important aspects of an effective sign are design and placement.

Sign placement that is creative might increase the efficacy of your signs.

Vehicle and Body Advertising

This space is available for rent: Attractive signage for your business are excellent, but they are stationary, so only those who walk or drive by will notice them. Mobile signs can capture greater attention in a variety of ways.

What better method to get your signs noticed than to have them displayed on a moving vehicle... or a moving person?

What is it?

Small signs on city buses are one of the most prominent forms of vehicle advertising. As an additional source of revenue, transportation companies frequently rent out space on their fleet cars to advertisements. This implies that everywhere the bus goes, people in the neighborhood, both pedestrians and drivers, will see your advertisement.

Other vehicle advertising options include:

Bus interior signage
Billboards for taxis and limousines
Bumper stickers are stickers that are placed on the outside of vehicles.
Wrapping a vehicle
a self-service system

Body advertising: What about a walking, talking billboard for your company? You may discover people who will wear temporary tattoos advertising your product or service for a modest cost. These tattoos can be a terrific conversation starter and bring a lot of attention to your company.

How do you do it?

For bus, taxi, and limo advertising, contact your local transportation businesses and inquire about their fleet vehicle ad costs. You'll generally have to create your own ad designs, but the fees are usually reasonable for the amount of exposure you'll get. Make sure you devote a significant amount of time to developing a catchy commercial!

Custom bumper stickers can be printed for your company. A bespoke bumper sticker with your (easy-to-remember) URL prominently displayed is a smart option. Distribute them to family, friends, and customers, as well as at community events. Consider providing free bumper stickers to other area companies so that they can distribute them to their consumers.

Vehicle wraps are partial or whole vehicle ads that elicit a variety of responses. You pay people to have their personal automobiles "wrapped" with adverts for your company. These people are usually ones that drive back and forth to work every day.

You can even use your business details to wrap your own personal vehicle or have body or window detailing done. You will be always advertising your goods or service no matter where you drive!

Body advertising: The first step is to create a memorable temporary tattoo that people will associate with your company. Again, prominently displaying your URL in the design will allow potential buyers to swiftly access further information.

When selecting someone to wear your temporary tattoos, keep the following in mind:

Determine the amount of money you're willing to pay each employee you hire. This could be determined by the number of days the tattoo should be visible and in good shape.

Indicate the location of the tattoo. Although some sponsors have recommended that customers place them on their foreheads, the back of the hand is a suitable, visible location.

Instruct the recruits on what information they should provide when others inquire about their tattoos. Consider giving them business cards, brochures, bookmarks, or other promotional items to distribute to people who show interest.

Request that they keep note of how many people they speak with about the tattoos so that you can use the data in your marketing calculations.

Summary

Vehicle and body advertising act as mobile billboards for your company.
There are numerous types of car advertising, some of which are more expensive than others.
Enlisting others to post adverts for your company on a conspicuous area of their bodies is known as body advertising.
In order to draw interest, vehicle and body advertisements must be eye-catching and intriguing.

To include prominently in your car or body advertising design, you'll need an easy-to-remember URL.

Remember to use your personal automobile, as well as your own body, as advertising instruments for your company!

Promotional Items

Everyone enjoys receiving free gifts. This basic feature of human psychology is combined with marketing flair to create an effective and memorable component of a Creative advertising campaign.

What is it?

A "promotional item" can refer to a wide range of items. It's basically any physical thing with a printed mention of your company on it. Traditional or one-of-a-kind promotional goods are available. You can give them away for free, reward consumers for purchasing certain items or engaging in special deals with them, or even sell them as a secondary source of money (if they are of high quality and in demand).

Here's a list of some classic and non-traditional promotional things that you may personalize for your company:

 Brochures and sales catalogs
 Bookmarks
 Printed newsletters
 Glossy flyers
 Business cards
 Magnets
 Bumper stickers
 Key chains
 Coffee mugs
 Shot glasses
 Water goblets
 Tee shirts
 Sweatshirts
 Baseball caps
 Sweatbands
 Bandannas
 Stress balls
 Stuffed animals
 Coasters
 Posters
 Matchbooks
 Lanyards
 Napkins
 Toothpick holders
 Pens/pencils
 Calendars
 Tote bags
 Travel clocks
 Travel mirrors
 Combs/brushes
 Box cutters
 Towels/washcloths

How do you do it?

Effective promotional materials are engaging, appropriate, and provide just enough information to your customers without overwhelming them. Here are some pointers on how to make good promotional items:

Consider indications when creating your design. Keep promotional product information brief and to the point: include your company name, motto, and contact information (phone number and/or website). After all, no one will want to utilize something that is covered in words.

Choose products that are representative of your company. Custom napkins and other kitchen products are good alternatives if you own a catering business, but combs, brushes, and towels might not be. With a little imagination, almost every promotional item can be tailored to any business.

Make your things appealing and enjoyable to look at. Bookmarks are wonderful, but how many of your friends actually use them? If you have a bunch of bookmarks manufactured, they'll probably end up in the garbage unless your main product is a printed book. Consider what your consumers enjoy doing and choose a promotional item based on your best guess at what they will enjoy. Anyone up for a custom puzzle?

Look for the best bargains by shopping around. You'll probably hunt for a custom printer or manufacturer to emblazon your message on hundreds of objects unless you're making your promotional items yourself (which is entirely achievable but time-consuming). There are plenty of fantastic businesses online, such as Café Press (www.cafepress.com), where you can design and buy your own goods at a low cost, with bulk savings for larger orders. You might also buy novelty things in bulk from a company like Oriental Trading Company (www.orientaltrading.com) and customize them yourself.

Distribute your goods widely and frequently. Always have a few promotional goods on hand and give them away on a regular basis. You never know when you'll meet someone who will later become a customer — and at the absolute least, giving out free items will make a lot of people happy! Don't underestimate the value of freebies in conjunction with your primary business. Customers can get your promotional things for free if they make a purchase. For further publicity, post the giveaway announcement in your physical location or on your website, as well as on message boards and freebie communities.

Summary

Any physical, tangible thing that contains a message or advertisement for your business qualifies as a promotional item.
Hundreds of promotional goods are available to choose from.
Almost anything may be turned into a promotional item.
Promotional products should have some connection to your company.
Simple phrases and contact information are printed on effective advertising goods.
The most effective promotional things are enjoyable or beneficial to your clients.
Keep a stock of promotional products on hand at all times.

Digital Creative Marketing.

In today's fast-paced marketing environment, a strong web presence is an essential for any business, whether it's a traditional store, a work-from-home operation, or a wholly online endeavor. Businesses without websites are at a distinct disadvantage in this age of immediate information.

One of the most important things to remember about online marketing is that, despite the immediate nature of the Internet, there are no guaranteed techniques of success. Your online Creative marketing initiatives, like a live marketing campaign, will need time and effort to succeed.

We'll go over the ins and outs of online promotion in this chapter, as well as some creative marketing tactics you can use to promote your business on the Internet, whether it's based online or not.

Establishing yourself

You must make people aware of your website if you want to attract clients. You must also ensure that your website is a pleasant location to visit. The primary objectives of online marketing are to increase traffic to your website and to keep visitors there once they arrive (and keep them coming back).

We'll go over this in reverse order because you need to get your website up and running before you can begin attracting visitors.

Website basics

A website has the potential to be an extremely effective marketing tool. A bad website, on the other hand, might have the opposite effect, driving away not only current visitors, but also everyone they know, when they start telling everyone on the internet how ugly it looks or how difficult it is to browse.

Remember that there are millions of websites out there, and if yours doesn't catch a visitor's eye on the first visit, they'll just move on to the next page of search results and give their business to someone else.

Is your website up to par when it comes to first impressions? Here are some guidelines to follow:

Your URL (www.YourWebSite.com) should be simple to remember and spell, with few, if any, special characters or other spellings. This not only makes it easier to convert real-world advertisements into website visitors when visitors find a link to your website on the internet, but it also seems more professional. All of your physical marketing materials should mention your URL.

Your home page should be appealing to the eye, easy to read, and free of clutter. Make sure the top portion of your home page (the area shown on a screen when a visitor first arrives at the site) contains all of your vital information, but don't try to cram everything on there. Instead of long descriptions of everything, include links to essential pages.

A large flash presentation on your home page not only slows down your load time (to the point where visitors won't bother waiting for the page to load), but it also turns off many casual Internet users. If you absolutely must utilize Flash animation, keep it to a minimal and avoid using it to convey critical information.

Include an e-mail link or a subscription box on every page of your website if you have a newsletter. The more visible your options are, the more likely they will be discovered.

Your website should be a source of information. A website that tries to sell you something (“This product/service is fantastic! Most Web browsers are turned off by the phrase "Buy it now!" Make sure to keep your visitors up to date on your company's news and events, and consider writing useful articles about themes related to your products or services.

Frequently update. Keeping your material fresh not only pleases the search engines, but it also gives visitors an incentive to return!

Make your material keyword-rich yet not obnoxious. Make a list of search terms that people would type into a search engine to find a website like yours, and then use each term a few times. Instead of clumping keywords together in lists, scatter them across your article. Keyword stuffing might result in your website being banned from search engines.

Make your website user-friendly! To ensure that the text and graphics on your website are not overly packed or spread out, test it with a variety of screen resolutions. Check your links and navigation controls on a regular basis — nothing irritates an Internet user more than dead or outdated links. At the absolute least, make sure every page has a connection to your home page and a link to your sales or "landing" page.

Internet marketing basics

Creative marketing encompasses nearly all "conventional" techniques of Internet marketing. This is due to the fact that Internet advertising is often affordable or free, requires a commitment of your time and work, and must be presented in a distinctive way if you want to stand out among the millions of other websites competing for attention.

Basic Internet marketing should be incorporated into your Creative campaign. If you've never advertised a website before, you might be unfamiliar with the fundamentals of online marketing. Here are a few suggestions to get you started (with in mind that all of these strategies should be adopted once your website has been optimized, fine-tuned, double-checked, and is ready for business):

The more search engines your website appears in, the more likely it is that clients will find it. The “big” search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, do not accept manual submissions, but their web trawlers will automatically pick up your website within a few weeks. Smaller search engines like AltaVista, Dogpile, and ExactSeek, on the other hand, may not list your site automatically. There are a plethora of free search engine submission services available online that will submit your website to a variety of engines for inclusion. While you're submitting, make sure you have a list of keywords and a concise (two to three sentences) description of your website handy.

If you have a newsletter, you may submit it to several newsletter or e-zine directories in the same way you do for search engines. Having a free, regular newsletter or e-zine with fascinating and helpful content is an excellent approach to increase client loyalty and attract new business online. Because your subscribers will see your business several times, they are more likely to buy your products or services.

Banner ad exchange programs are another way to gain awareness on the internet. Keep in mind the rules for generating an effective sign when designing your banner ad and apply them to the banner. If you don't know how to use a computer, there are various applications that will allow you to create a banner ad for free using their template. Then, look for websites that are comparable or complementary to yours and offer to host their banner in exchange for hosting yours.

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is beneficial in many circumstances, and while it does necessitate a financial input, it is a tiny one (usually 2 to 5 cents per visitor). Google AdWords (http://adwords.google.com) is a nice example of a good pay-per-click service; the program does not demand a minimum monthly spending, and the typical bidding fee for fewer search phrases is 2 to 3 cents. A keyword generator is also included by Google to assist you in writing more successful adverts. The preceding link contains additional information.

Going Viral

One of the most effective forms of Internet advertising is viral marketing. It takes simple online marketing to the next level: you get the ball rolling, and hundreds of other Internet users follow suit.

What is it?

Word-of-mouth is referred to as viral marketing on the Internet. Any advertising strategy that encourages those who hear a message to pass it on to others is referred to as "viral marketing."

Microsoft Networks' Hotmail service served as a great example of a viral marketing technique. One of the first free web-based e-mail services was Hotmail. Microsoft placed a tag or signature at the bottom of every outgoing e-mail their subscribers sent, reading: “Get your private, free e-mail at http://www.hotmail.com,” which was a link to Hotmail's main website, to let people know about the program. People who received messages from Hotmail users created their own accounts and then e-mailed more people with the same tag on each message. In a short period of time, the number of Hotmail users skyrocketed.

In essence, Microsoft pioneered the e-mail signature, which is currently used by millions of people online.

Remember that viral marketing is more than just passing your word from person to person. Effective viral marketing spreads from person to person, resulting in exponential growth for your advertising campaign.

How do you do it?

Making it simple for your customers to distribute your message is the easiest approach to engage in viral marketing online. There are several options for doing so:

Newsletters or e-zines: Because most newsletters and e-zines are delivered via e-mail, your consumers can easily share them to multiple friends. However, this will only happen if your electronic magazine contains useful, high-quality material. Consider authoring articles, presenting guest pieces, and overall offering your clients with something entertaining instead than simply advertising your products or services.

Article syndication: Once you've created articles for your newsletter or e-zine, upload them to article syndication services to share your knowledge. Webmasters looking for new content for their own websites use these "article banks." In essence, you're allowing anyone to republish your post as long as your authorship and a link to your website are included. Article syndication generates inbound links, which help your website rank higher in search engines and increase the likelihood that customers will find you.

Refer-a-friend programs: Do you have something valuable to offer your consumers, such as bonuses or promotional items? Consider implementing a refer-a-friend program: in exchange for providing you with a list of e-mail addresses to which you can send a one-time business announcement, you may provide your customers with something they'll love, and encourage them to tell their friends about your website.

Link-swapping and banner placement: As discussed in the last section, the more links to your website there are on the Internet, the more exposure you will have. In exchange for a reciprocal link from their site, offer to host links and banner adverts from other websites on yours. Also, keep in mind that search engines value inbound links (links that point to your website but do not connect back to your website) more than outgoing or reciprocal links. Make an effort to include as many inbound connections as possible.

Giveaways, sweepstakes, and freebies: Everyone, it seems, like getting something for nothing. Sponsoring competitions and giveaways will compel your consumers to tell others about your website so that everyone they know can take advantage of the free offer or enter the contest. Don't be afraid to give away a product or service on occasion in exchange for the marketing value it can provide!

Joining online communities and forums: dedicated to issues that your clients will be interested in is a terrific way to get your brand out there. Remember that you should not simply join a forum and start posting adverts right away. Spend some time getting to know other forum users, and they'll be more than willing to tell their friends about you and your company.

Your message must be appealing and entertaining, just like other forms of advertising, or no one will want to pass it on. Spend just as much time formulating your advertising message as you do disseminating it. Remember to include your USP, any current discounts or freebies, as well as your website and contact information.

Summary

Viral marketing is an online version of word-of-mouth marketing.

The keys to viral marketing are creating a captivating message and making it simple for people to share it.

Viral marketing increases your company's online exposure by a factor of ten.

There are a variety of viral marketing strategies you may use to promote your website.

In order to spread successfully, viral marketing messaging must be engaging, informative, or valuable.

Beating the Blog Drum

Do you keep a blog? Even if you don't, chances are you've seen a few blogs online, even if you're unfamiliar with this relatively new website style. Blogs

build a sense of community and serve as a conduit for a variety of commercial and personal information

What is it?

A blog, often known as a weblog, is a form of website that serves as an electronic journal. Users of blogs can type in text, add images and sound, and post it to the site right away. Blog software automatically formats each entry in the blog style you choose, provides entry archives and permanent links to each page, and enables for simple modification.

Most blogs allow visitors to leave comments. You can utilize comment filtering options to prevent anonymous comments, comments from non-bloggers, or all comments. The comments option, on the other hand, is one of the most powerful features of a blog because it allows visitors to connect with you right away.

Blogs give you the opportunity to communicate with your customers on a more personal level. Users will be more likely to buy your products or services if they get to know the person behind the company. On the internet, trust is a valuable commodity, and blogs may help you build up a trust bank.

The best part is that most blogs are free to create and use, so you won't have to spend any money on it.

The following are a some of the most well-known blog hosts:

Google owns Blogger (www.blogger.com). Free blogs with customisable templates that are simple to use.

LiveJournal - www.livejournal.com: Offers premium upgrades for additional unique features, similar to Blogger.

www.wordpress.com: Another popular free blogger platform with millions of users, simple interfaces, and a wide range of template options.

Blogs have become so popular, there are millions of bloggers (people with blogs) online communicating tons of information, opinions, and chats every day. In fact, the blog collective on the Internet has become powerful enough to merit its own term: the blogosphere. The blogosphere as a whole is extremely influential, and often when one blog carries an item of interest, others will pick it up and spread it across the Internet.

How do you do it?

The process of using a blog for business purposes is multifaceted. You must first establish a readership for your site. Then you can enlist the support of other bloggers to increase your exposure.

Building a readership

You should intend to maintain your blog interesting and amusing, and update it on a frequent basis, much like your website. Many bloggers update their blogs on a regular basis, and they frequently include links to other websites that include news or information that they believe would be of interest to their readers. It's a good idea to set a posting schedule and stick to it (daily, Monday through Friday, bi-monthly, weekly — whatever you're comfortable with).

Visiting other people's blogs and leaving intelligent comments on their posts is the single most effective technique to increase visitors for your blog. Do not simply mention that you have a blog and invite people to visit; this is considered spam or, at the the least, impolite.

Contacting individual bloggers is, of course, a time-consuming task. Another strategy to get people to read your blog is to submit it to as many blog directories as possible. Users will be able to find your blog using search engines in this manner.

Include a link to your blog in your website's footer and your e-mail signature. The more people who are aware of your blog, the more probable it is that you will receive visits.

Working in the blogosphere

Other blogs might be a great source of marketing information. The majority of blogging software comes with a simple feature for adding links to your sidebar. You can link to a variety of other blogs that may be of interest to your readers, and most of the time, the bloggers you link to will reciprocate by linking back to your blog as a matter of course. Some bloggers will provide an e-mail address through which you may contact them to exchange blog links. When you come across one, take advantage of it.

You can also do guest blogging, which involves writing an entry for someone else's site for a day. Because bloggers are always looking for new content, many are willing to host other people's pieces as long as they are relevant to their audience. Request to be a guest blogger on blogs that are similar to yours. At the end of your message, don't forget to include a link to your website!

Summary

Blogs are a type of website that functions similarly to an online journal.
The blogosphere refers to the millions of blogs that exist on the internet.
Bloggers (those who write blogs) and blog readers have a lot of power online.
Most blogs are free to start and feature simple templates that don't require any HTML coding expertise.
Your blog, like your website, should be useful, interesting, and updated on a regular basis.
To improve traffic to your blog, go to other people's blogs and link to them.
Guest blogging is a fantastic strategy to increase your company's exposure.

Rules and RegulationsRules and Regulations

In creative marketing, following the guidelines is crucial. Some consumers consider creative marketing strategies to be overbearing, and several marketers have been threatened with legal action as a result.

You won't have to worry about this if you're comfortable with what you can and can't do. Make sure you're well-protected!

Fairness in Advertising

The best policy is still to be honest. Consumers don't like being lied to, and word of a dishonest business spreads quickly — both online and in your community.

As a result, it's critical that you exercise advertising fairness.

What It Means?

Fairness in advertising is a basic concept: don't make claims about your product or service that it doesn't fulfill. A diet pill manufacturer boasting that their medication can "help you lose 50 pounds overnight!" is blatantly wrong; this is physically impossible unless you amputate your legs. Even with a qualifier like "virtually" or "nearly," the statement is unrealistic (You'll lose 50 pounds practically overnight!). Every person's definition of "practically" is unique.

What would be a reasonable claim for our made-up diet medication corporation to make? It is dependent on the function of the product. In this case, the corporation might be permitted to claim that its diet pill helps you lose weight “faster than leading brands” or that you can see results “practically overnight” (not 50 pounds worth of results, of course!).

When it comes to promoting fairness, your terminology is crucial. You can be inventive, but there is a distinction to be made between inventiveness and making misleading claims. It's best to let your product or service speak for itself in most circumstances.

Customer testimonials are a great way to include honesty into your marketing. Obtaining genuine statements from people who have used your product or service not only keeps you honest, but it also increases consumer trust in you because the opinions are coming from someone who has no financial stake in your company.

Customers will appreciate your honesty if you don't lie to them.

Spam Isn't Healthy

One of the most widely held beliefs in today's online advertising is that the more people you e-mail, the more money you'll make. You're on the wrong track if you're employing bulk e-mail to get there.

Spam is something that no one enjoys. Spam is a phrase used on the Internet to describe any e-mail advertising a product or service that you did not request (and not the lunchmeat-in-a-can pictured above). Many marketing "gurus" claim that sending cold mass e-mails still works — and while this may have been true when the Internet was still in its infancy, today's online community is more perceptive than ever, and it's nearly impossible to avoid the collective spam radar.

You may discover several hundred places that will sell you lists of thousands of e-mail addresses for a few dollars if you seek hard enough. The temptation to buy these lists is enormous... who can resist thousands of potential consumers in one shot, without the countless hours of study required to establish your own robust opt-in list?

Yes, you can! Here are some reasons why you should:

Spamming turns off potential clients. When individuals get spam, their immediate instinct is to delete it without reading it, and the majority of them will block any future communication from that same e-mail address: yours.

Many Internet users despise spam so much that they will take legal action against you. This can range from your ISP (internet service provider) reporting you to flaming (sending hate mail) or sending “mail bombs” (sending hundreds or thousands of files with very large attachments designed to crash your server).

Your company may be put on a blacklist. There is a real-life Internet advertiser blacklist that alerts consumers about spammers, and you don't want to be on it.

Spamming just does not work! Because there are so many harmful frauds on the Internet today, most people are hesitant to open any unwanted email. Even if you compose the most amazing and intriguing advertising message in the world, no one will ever see it if you send it by mass e-mail.

In a nutshell, don't spam. Make the effort and compile your own list of folks who are interested in hearing what you have to say. Your company will benefit greatly, and you will avoid being labeled a charlatan.

Weird Laws and Ordinances

It is critical for you to follow the law as a creative marketer. If a consumer believes you're trying to deceive them, avoid legal concerns, or harass them into buying your product or service, you're in for a lot more than just a missed sale.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a government agency that monitors and protects consumers, can help you learn about basic marketing dos and don'ts.

in the United States of America's consumers For additional information on advertising guidelines, antitrust laws, and FTC processes for consumer complaints, go to www.ftc.gov.

You should also contact your local Chamber of Commerce and inquire about advertising laws that apply to your company. Visit http://www.uschamber.com/chambers/directory/default to find the Chamber closest to you.

Is there a bizarre rule in your city or state that prohibits a certain type of creative marketing?

Here are a few examples of laws that could stymie your marketing efforts:

It is unlawful in Alabama to impersonate a member of the church, so don't try to promote your business by dressing up as a priest.

In New York, flirting can result in a $25 fine. Approach strangers with caution!

Speaking of advertising truth, making a false promise in Louisiana can result in a one-year prison sentence.

Attention, Ohio mobile billboard advertisers: the Ohio driver's education manual requires you to beep your horn when passing another vehicle.

It is unlawful in Texas to sell one's eye. Maintain a tight proximity to your body components.

In Florida, “unnatural acts” with another person are prohibited, so don't plan on playing Twister on the sidewalk. Skateboarding without a license is also prohibited.

Cowboy boots are prohibited in California unless you own at least two cows.

Seasonal business owners should be aware that hanging Christmas decorations after January 14 in Maine will result in a fine.

In Illinois, where you can be jailed for vagrancy if you don't have at least one dollar on you, your gains will come in useful.

What unusual laws do you have in your state? Maybe one of these can inspire you for your next creative marketing campaign!

Hello and welcome to the jungle. Greetings from the Jungle

Are you ready to take on the role of Creative?

Creative marketing is, without a question, an incredibly beneficial technique for any small business. Because you are unlikely to have a large advertising budget, it makes more sense to invest effort and time in order to enjoy the benefits of your careful preparation and innovation.

Some things to keep in mind:

What you put into your Creative marketing campaign is what you will receive out of it. You will not reap the benefits if you do not put out the work.

A effective Creative marketing campaign is ongoing and includes multiple strategies or tactics.

Be patient: creative success will not come easily, but it will come!

Consider thinking beyond the box (in fact, try to come up with your own term for thinking outside the box as an exercise in creativity). When you harness the unique qualities of your firm, you will earn higher revenues.

Do not consider other firms to be your competitors. Instead, consider them prospective partners and create mutually beneficial connections with them.

Never pass up an opportunity to market (but keep it informal if possible to avoid being overbearing).

Prepare to see your company take a giant leap forward!

Creative marketing is more than simply a technique; it's a way of thinking. You will considerably increase your business marketing skills, as well as your income, if you learn to think like a Creative.