Promoting & Marketing Your Home-Based, Freelance, or Small Business with With Postcards Leading To Traffic for Your Business' Website
by Bob Leduc
Postcards
may be one of the best kept secrets of modern marketing. They
produce even better results now than in the past. That's probably
because postcards deliver information the way people want
to get it today ...fast and with little or no effort. Use
Postcards to Generate Website Traffic and Sales Leads
A
brief captivating message on a postcard with an enticing offer
sent to the right prospects will generate a flood of traffic
to your website - or a large number of sales leads.
Generate Large Amount of Traffic by Promoting & Marketing Your Website with Postcards
Keep
your postcard simple. Make it look at first glance like a
message from a friend instead of like an advertisement. This
creates a pleasant emotional response from readers even though
they quickly realize that it is a commercial message.
State
the biggest benefit you offer to customers.
Then briefly add
a few other advantages or features you provide. End with a
compelling reason for prospects to contact you ...or to go
to your website for more details. It's that simple.
Tip:
Don't try to close sales directly from a postcard.
There's
not enough space on a postcard to provide all the information
your prospects need to make a buying decision.
One Benefit of Marketing With a Postcard Is That Almost Everybody Reads Them
Almost
everybody will read a postcard - even those who usually throw
out other direct mail without opening it. That's because it's
almost impossible to throw out a postcard without looking
at the message.
This
high rate of readership is the main reason why postcards produce
a bigger response than other types of direct marketing. With
other types of marketing you often lose prospects who would
have responded to your offer - but they never saw it.
Tip:
Postcards are an excellent low-cost alternative to email.
People get so much email today that even legitimate messages
are getting deleted unread. But they get few if any postcards.
Your message is guaranteed to get their attention when it's
delivered on a postcard.
Postcards
are Cheap to Produce
Postcards
cost less than 2 cents each to produce if you print them using
your own computer. You can print postcards individually on
blank 4 x 6 inch index cards or print 4 postcards on 8 1/2
x 11 sheets of index card stock and cut each sheet into quarters.
Your
postcards will cost between 4 cents and 9 cents each to produce
if you use a commercial printer ...depending on the number
you have printed and the quality you want.
Postcards
are Cheap to Mail
Even
the postage for mailing postcards is cheap - 23 cents each
to send them by First Class Mail in the US. The only requirement
for this special rate is that the dimensions of your postcards
must be at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but not over 4 1/4 x 6 inches.
Tip:
Always use a real 23 cent stamp on your postcards. It produces
more replies than a printed indicia (imprinted postage) ...probably
because people associate a printed indicia with junk mail.
Don't
overlook postcards the next time you want to drive a huge
amount of traffic to your website or generate a flood of new
sales leads. They're simple to use, highly effective and very
low-cost.
Copyright
2004 Bob Leduc
Bob
Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours
find new customers and increase sales. He just released a
New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business
Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*,
a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll
find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com
or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas,
NV
HOW TO SET YOUR FREELANCE RATES - A GUIDE FOR FREELANCERS & CONSULTANTSThere are many factors which business owners must consider on a daily basis as it relates to the running of their business. Things such as how to find good help, where to acquire supplies and how much to pay one’s employees are all pertinent matters which must be addressed. There are a few ways to go about figuring out your rates when it comes to how much to charge the customers.
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MARKETING PLANS : A Collection of Articles for How to Outline and Write a Marketing Plan for Freelancers Starting a Home Business or a Small BusinessA solid, well-prepared marketing strategy is the foundation of success in business. The freelancer or any type of business owner must become informed on the development of an effective marketing plan. The following links will focus on marketing plan articles for the freelancer to have a successful business.
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Category: Getting Started - Self Promotion - Marketing | Trackback | No Comments »
BUSINESS PLANS: Business Plan Examples, Samples, Templates, Software and ToolsIn any type of the business including those people that perform freelance work, the proper tools are necessary to become a success. The following links consist of selected online tools for the freelancer to develop an effective business plan.
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Category: Getting Started - Freelancing & Self Employment - Lists - Freelance Resources | Trackback | No Comments »
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BUSINESS PLANS : A Collection of Articles for How to Outline and Write a Business Plan for Freelancers Starting a Small Business
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Category: Getting Started - Lists | Trackback | No Comments »
FEB
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HOW FREELANCER WRITERS CAN DEFEAT WRITER'S BLOCKHelpful hints and tips to overcome the dreaded White Page Syndrome - There is probably nothing more dreadful and problematic for a writer than not being able to get going, being stuck on a menacingly white page. Read on for more ideas on how freelance writers can overcome Writer's Block.
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WAYS TO GET MORE CUSTOMER REFERRALS FOR YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESSThe amount of customer referrals will often determine how successful one’s freelance business can really be. As word spreads quickly, having customers refer others to you and your services is a wonderful way of gaining new freelance business and making more money. There are a few distinct ways to get more client referrals for your business.
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WORKING FULL TIME WHILE RUNNING YOUR FREELANCE BUSINESSThe key to being able to make the transition to full time freelancing is in setting goals that allow you to focus on moving away from working full time for someone else and towards putting more hours in to your freelance business.
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20 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR FREELANCE SERVICES USING ONLINE FORUMSThere are a few distinct ways in which freelancers can market their services through forum marketing techniques.
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60+ UNIQUE LOCAL & OFFLINE MARKETING IDEAS FOR YOUR CONSULTING BUSINESS Although online promotion is important for your freelance business, it’s crucial to remember to go back to your basics and do offline promoting as well locally, nationwide, and worldwide depending on who you are marketing to. Here are over 60 ideas to market your consulting services locally. Let Freelance work find you.
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WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE GOOGLING INFORMATION ON YOUThis can be an issue for freelancers whose customers google them and try to find out information relating to them and their business. The following is a list of what to do when your customers are googling information on you.
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JAN
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26 THINGS TO DO WHEN BUSINESS IS SLOW AND IN DOWNTIME MODESome freelancers are anxious to work day in and day out which may present a problem for them when business is slow. However, there are many things which freelancers can do to bide their time while waiting for new freelance work to come in. Here are 26 ideas for staying productive during your consulting business downtime.
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JAN
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TOP 150 PLACES TO TRAVEL WITH YOUR FAMILY WHEN YOU STILL NEED TO GET WORK DONEWhen you are self-employed, there is no vacation time to save up, and there is no one to cover for you when you’re away. For many that mean giving up on vacations altogether, and this is what I have been doing for awhile. Most of These All-Inclusive Family Resorts Have Kids Clubs in Which Your Child can enjoy supervised and fun activities while you and your spouse can have fun or get freelance work done. Take a look below and enjoy!
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DEC
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LIST OF ARTICLE SITES, BLOGS, AND INFORMATION DIRECTORIES FOR FREELANCERS, CONSULTANTS, AND THE SELF EMPLOYED Do you ever get frustrated when you can't find the information that you need about freelancing? Well, I've just compiled a list of the best article sites, blogs, and directories for freelancers, consultants, and the self employed.
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DEC
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DECIDING WHETHER OR NOT TO FREELANCE OFFSITE OR ONSITE Deciding to work onsite or offsite sounds like a relatively simple decision, but it’s actually one which isn’t easy to make. Sure, when you’re lying in bed just after the alarm has gone off and you see that it’s raining outside and all you wish was that you could go back to bed for ten minutes and then do your freelance work from home, working offsite sounds ideal. But there are as many cons to the offsite work job as there are pros and you need to weigh them carefully when making the decision about whether to work onsite or offsite.
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DEC
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IS FREELANCING RIGHT FOR YOU? Freelancing, a term introduced by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), is when you work without being committed to an employer. With development of internet and communication technology, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people going their own way and leaving behind the cubicles. You are reading this book, so you must be contemplating becoming a freelancer, but before you make your move there are a few things to consider.
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FREELANCER'S GUIDE TO TIME MANAGEMENT The most common problem that freelancers face is figuring out the balance between work and the rest of life. While there are a few freelancers out there who don’t work as much as they need to in order to pay their bills and improve their business, most freelancers have the opposite problem – they work ALL the time. And that’s why there are a great number of freelancers who “burn out” after a short (or if they’re lucky, a long) time. In order to make sure that you aren’t one of those people who “used to freelance but got burned out”, you need to set limits on how much you work. Then you need to stick to those limits.
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DEC
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SHOULD I TURN DOWN FREELANCE PROJECTS? As freelancers, we often feel as if we have to say ‘Yes’ to every single job out there. However, we as freelancers are in a position where we can choose to say ‘No’ if we want to. Believe it or not, there are certain projects that you probably shouldn’t accept. Turning down work is probably the hardest decision you will need to make when running your business, but sometimes turning down a gig is necessary. In this article I will explain to you the details that you need to consider when you aren’t sure which route to take. Consider the following:
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DEC
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COOL IDEAS FOR YOUR BUSINESS CARDS As freelancers, we need to promote ourselves with business cards. How about putting yourself ahead of the rest of them by designing and printing completely unique business cards? You are about to take a look at the coolest and most innovative business cards that you have ever seen.
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DEC
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LIST OF FREELANCE FORUMS & MESSAGE BOARDS Looking to get together with other freelancers? Want to network? Want to ask questions about freelancing that you can’t find the answer to anywhere else? Look no further than the freelance forums that we have listed below. Feel free to let us know about forums that we have missed.
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