Reasonable investment with Future Benefits

Most of us know where to invest money in good times, but when it looks like the sky might be falling, knowing where to invest money and how to invest it becomes a puzzle. In 2014 and 2015 good investments might be hard to find, especially if yesterday's good investments like stocks and bonds tank. This is not a prediction, but rather a "heads up." You can't prepare if you're not aware, so let's take a closer look at the sky.

We all know that safe choices like money market funds and bank savings accounts don't look like good investments for 2014 because they pay peanuts. But what if the sky starts falling: either interest rates ignite and/or the stock market tanks? Either way or both... where to invest money is the question of the day. Safe choices will look like good investments for parking money that must be safe.

Wall Street's traditional answer to where to invest money: put about 60% into stocks with about 40% in bonds holding a cash reserve on the sidelines. Problem: in 2014 and 2015 losses in stocks may not be offset by gains in bonds... as was the case for the last 30 years or so. If interest rates soar from today's record-low levels, neither stocks nor bonds look like good investments.

For over 30 years interest rates were falling and bonds were generally good investments. With today's ridiculously low rates (created by our government to stimulate the economy) a rebound in interest rates is in the cards (as the government unwinds its stimulus). When that happens, bonds will no longer be where to invest money for higher interest income with relative safety. Bonds are NOT good investments when rates go up; they lose money. That's the way it works. How to invest in bonds in 2014 and 2015 if rates take off: lighten up and opt for safety.

Stocks had been very good investments five years running as the year 2014 began. This was at least in part due to government stimulus and cheap money. In a sense, stocks were where to invest money because nothing looked cheap except for money (short term interest rates were set at about one-tenth of one percent). With a gain of over 150% in five years, the downside risk in the stock market is mounting. This begs the question of how to invest money in stocks if the sky starts to look ominous.

Remember that the stock market is actually a market of stocks, which means that the vast majority of stocks get hit when the market crumbles - but at least a few will be good investments. And the best way to find good investments in a bad market is to watch the price action. For example, as the market climbed 30% in 2013, some gold stocks were down about 50% by early 2014. If you don't know how to invest in or how to pick a specific gold stock... you might want to know where to invest money to get a piece of this action. The answer is to invest money in gold funds and let them pick the gold stocks for you.

The bottom line is that in 2014 and 2015 investors face an uphill battle, because both stocks and bonds look pricey. That presents a new challenge to today's investor in search of where to invest money. We are facing uncharted waters in this modern electronic world, where no one really knows how to invest or where to find good investments for the future. This includes the big investors like life insurance companies and pension funds.

My suggestion is to take some profits in your stocks and bonds, because the tide will turn eventually if not in 2014 or 2015. Then you'll have a cash reserve, so you can take advantage of the situation as the skies darkens. Smart investors are always in search of where to invest money next, especially when a change of trend is in the cards. At such times, yesterday's under-performing sectors or industries often become today's good investments.

Convert your beautiful Ideas into Money

Step One: Have an Idea or Get One

You heard it before, all you need it a dollar and a dream. Well that dream is the idea that starts us down the road to entrepreneurship. If you have an idea then skip this step and go to the next. If you don't have an idea then you need to generate one. Easier said than done but here is a few ways others have tried.

Ask everyone you meet, (and I mean everyone you meet for 30 days continuously), "Do you have a problem that you would pay to get solved?" Write down all of the answer no matter if no matter if you think you can solve them or not. Think of this step as brainstorming. Remember in a storm, things are flying everywhere and it's chaotic. Decide what the top twenty ideas are and rank them in terms of the frequency they were suggested; next skills you believe you have to accomplish them; and finally how easy they are to accomplish. Remember to save the ones that didn't make the list, you never know the pearls that can be found there, after you have honed your entrepreneurial skills. Now you have 20 ideas, but working on all of these would take a massive amount of time, so you are going to reduce these to five. Once again you are going to use the people you meet and the people around you. Ask them to rank the ideas according to what they believe will best suit you. Don't be afraid to talk about your ideas with people in the beginning because that can give you a reputation of beings a guy with ideas or a guy who is always asking questions. This allows you to spend time with people that are like-minded. Gather all the votes for each idea, then add between 3 to 5 points to each idea you like and take the top 5.

Don't spend the majority of your time convincing other you are right, just find others that think like you and work with them. Once you have your 5 ideas start assessing them. Go to next step (Step Two).

Turn to Google and Google it. Put something into a Google search like, "small businesses to start". Once you have a list of about 50 small businesses to start, then reduce the list to 20. Same as above; rank the ideas by the number of skills you believe you have to accomplish them and also how easy they are to accomplish. As above, you should save the ones that didn't make the cut. With your 20 ideas, you have to further reduce them to 5 ideas. To reduce you will have to utilize the people around you. Ask them to rank the ideas according to what they believe will best suit you. Gather all the votes for each idea, then add between 3 to 5 points to each idea you like and take the top 5. Now let's go to Step Two.

Step Two: Assess Your Idea; Talk to People about It

In this step the 5 ideas from step one will be boiled down to one idea, this is your dream and in the next step you will have to find a dollar. Hone and refine your idea. You need to reduce those 5 ideas down to one. There are three things you have to keep in mind when assessing your ideas and they are set up cost, maintenance and profitability. When assessing set up cost, figure out all the cost associated with set up like any regulatory fees or licenses or zoning requirements.

Step Three: Start with Little or No Money

You might be asking yourself how the hell, do I start a business with no money or little money. Start by looking at the parts of needed for a business to start. The essential ingredients of a business are manpower, capital, product, marketing, financial management, and distribution. How do you accomplish these things when you are starting with nothing? Here are some ways to do this. There is no specific order in which you can try the following or any rule that says you cannot combine the different ways. Crowd sourcing funding, network to find people with the skills you need to start and are willing to invest their time.

Step Four: Create or Assess Your Business Model

The good thing about get to this point is that you have done the first two parts of creating or assessing your business model. You should know the purpose of the business at this point and you know it's more specific that make a profit or get customers. You know what problem you r business solves. You should have a fair idea who your customers are. Also you should know what your business's offerings are. All that is left to figure out is your marketing strategies, the specific steps you move a customer through to get them to the end where they pay you and last but not least, your policies. Policies can make or break a business before it begins. You should have similar policies found in other business like yours but review them carefully before implementing.

So there you have it. It's clear as mud. There is more to these four steps as you will learn but the important things is to start moving and continue till you get through all steps. Happy entrepreneurial trails. Work smart and prosper.;e=gif" />

Overcome the common challenges Entrepreneurs Face

Have an optimistic bent of mind and be ready to take on the challenges. Recognize the common problems that you may have to face at various stages of entrepreneurship. Glance through the following to find out what they are and how you can overcome them:

Getting overwhelmed

As you shift from the corporate world to your own business startup, you may have to deal with a lot of varied responsibilities. Even though you have a good experience in your area, this is altogether a different ball game! In this case, you are the boss, as well as the customer service individual, marketer and so on. Do not be discouraged only because you are getting too overwhelmed every now and then. This can happen not only to small business owners but also to more successful ones.

What is the solution?

Instead of getting perplexed and worked up, focus on taking small steps toward solving this problem. Make a detailed to-do list and allocate your work accordingly. Set realistic goals for your daily work.

It also helps to take time off once in a while. Take mini breaks from work a few times during the day. Keep your weekend to yourself. Do not think about work when you are away from office.

You should schedule work in such a way that too much work does not pile up on your desk. If need be, hire professionals to help you out or outsource your tasks.

Financial support

One of the top ingredients in running a smooth business is money. You can go out there and compete successfully in the market if your business is founded on a strong financial base. For small businesses, however, finance is a point of concern.

What is the solution?

It always pays to be patient. Hold on to your ground and work as hard as you can. Remember that the results you reap will always be equal to the effort you put in. But since it takes time to be successful in business, you need to have a lot of patience. Meanwhile, educate yourself well with the ropes of marketing. Find ways of fundraising so that you can generate enough money to make more money through business. No matter you have good or bad business credit you can get small business loan easily from small business lenders available.

No hand of support

While some business owners receive overwhelming support from their family, kids and friends, others do not find support or encouragement from any source. This lack of moral or business support or that from close ones can negatively affect an entrepreneur.

What is the solution?

Start networking with local business organizations that share your goals. Discuss your ideas and visions and try to find out theirs. Help each other and keep growing together.

Thinking of giving up

It is very easy to want to give up when you are running a business. It takes a lot of effort and time to get established, and at times you feel things are not going the way you wanted it to go. You do not see results in spite of putting in all you have. You are moving toward a financial crunch and woulds soon be drained of funds

What is the solution?

This attitude is the greatest enemy of success. All you need to do is stop entertaining such thoughts and nurture positive thinking instead. Have an optimistic attitude toward your goals and dreams, and believe that you will eventually reach there.

Step back and see from distance what changes you need to bring in order to quicken the growth of your business. Surround yourself with positive people who will inspire you with their meaningful inputs. Read success stories and articles in order to motivate yourself.

7 Tips For Effective Logo Designing

      Logos are all around us. For the common man, these serve as an instant reminder for company and their products. For companies, these serve as the point of recognition among their competitors and for logo designers these are a challenge to incorporate ideology of a business into world class logo designs.

Below are some tips for great logo designs:

1. While finalizing the design, you must make sure that the design looks good in black and white also. Color emphasis and enhances the logo of a company but it should look good without any color also.

2. Not all the logo designs need a 'mark'. People normally think that a logo is a combination of a logotype and a graphical symbol. But there are many world class logos which are poplar just for the symbol.

3. Most of the designers nowadays, start designing right on the computer but your hands can do much more than your cursor. So, when you sit down to design grabbing a pen and paper in your hand helps a lot in designing a stunning idea for your design.

4. A simpler logo is memorable and timeless. These qualities are a must in a logo which shall make through people's heart and minds easily and quickly.

5. Before designing a logo, you must discuss with a few people around you. Many people who are non-designers have great ideas but they don't have the art to implement them. You can also get fresh ideas from them. You must always take comments from other people which shall help you in improving your final design.

6. If no great idea strikes you, then you can start with the company's name by changing the colours and fonts to give the name a variety.

7. Typography plays an important role in designing a good logo. One has two options to choose from: you can either tailor made your own custom typeface or use the existing one in your design. When you are creating a custom typeface, make sure that you keep the font simple and not too flashy and fashionable as it can go out of date quickly. If the words, you are using are simple then you can use a creative font as people will be able to recognize them but if there are unusual words then you must keep the typeface simple and legible.

Logos play an important role in strengthening the brand of a company. Proper emphasis must be put to create logos which are effective, unique and catchy.

Mobile Phone Developer

Easy Guide That Will Surely Help You In Affiliate Marketing

         Affiliate marketing is able to draw so many people in because there's a myth going around that it's an easy thing to do. Pushing someone else's product might seem simple on its face. After all, it's the company's brand and promotion that's ultimately selling the product. Right? Wrong! If this is how you think being an affiliate works, you need to read this article.

Keep searching for high commissions. A company that only pays a tiny percentage is much less likely to value your customer/reader base. Look out for those that offer a commission in at least the double digit percentage range. These companies are more likely to respect their clients, and by default, yours.

Affiliate marketers would do well to utilize sites like Google Optimizer. With this site, you can easily increase your profits as an affiliate by increasing your subscription base. Not every subscriber is going to become a customer for you, but the more subscribers you have, the more likely you are to turn commissions.

When joining an affiliate marketing program, remember that you need significant traffic to your site or blog to see any income from your affiliate links. Do not expect to create a blog, slap on some affiliate links, and start earning. Build up your quality content and readership first, then you will be able to make money using affiliate marketing.

When picking an affiliate partner, go with one that offers plenty of helpful resources to sell the product. These companies are in it to make profit just like you are. They have invested in research that tells which marketing angles convert customers. Good companies will give that info to their affiliates, and they can use it to sell more and make more.

It's a good idea to ask for a generous commission from an affiliate program. If they only offer you 5% to 10% on each sale, you may want to hold out for a better offer or look for another program. 20% to 50% is a more reasonable share of each sale.

A great affiliate marketing tip is to make sure you're doing business with the right company. A good company will be interested in your success. They should provide you with resources that will help you generate traffic, and they should also help you with any problems you may encounter.

Look for an affiliate program that offers a high commission. This way you will make more money than dealing with a program that pays out less commission. Companies that offer a higher commission usually know what they are doing and have been in the business long enough to offer a higher commission for you.

Practice patience when starting up an affiliate marketing website. If you give up right away, you have given up too soon. Regular people become affiliate marketers all the time and there ares step-by-step goals that you need to set in place. Try not to give up right away. Keep learning all you can and avoid mistakes and pitfalls from the start and you will be on the road to a successful affiliate marketing website.

If you want to be successful at affiliate marketing avoid filling up every page of your site with tons of banners. If banner ads were the key to affiliate marketing success, everyone would be a millionaire. A site loaded with banner on top of banner looks very ugly and does not make visitors want to click on the ad.

As you've undoubtedly learned from the tips provided in the article above, you are essentially the company "the brand" even though it isn't really your product. You still have to treat affiliate marketing as your legitimate business, and the tips you've learned throughout this article will help you to brand yourself online.

Mobile Phone Developer

5 Great Reasons Why Local Business Should Have a Website

Every business should have its own website, but according to a recent study of small to medium businesses, not even half had websites. While it's true that not every business needs a website, here are 5 great reasons why having a website is a good, no great, idea.

The Yellow Pages is dying

Recent statistics show that nearly 90 percent of consumers go online to research products and services before purchasing. That's a lot. By not having a website, you're excluding up to 90 percent of potential customers and clients.

Selling yourself

Every business exists to solve a problem. Chances are many other people have that same problem, and are looking for a solution. With a website, you can let people know how you've solved the problem, and that you'll be more than happy to solve their problem too.

24/7 sales-team

Unless your website has been outsourced to servers hosted in a small village in India, your website will be up and running on the internet every second, minute, hour and day of the year. Having a website is like having a sales team with insomnia - it never sleeps.

Target your market

Having a website lets you target a specific market. Different things appeal to different people, and simple things such as the words, colours and images you use will determine who stays on your website and who doesn't.

The great thing about a website is you can also drive traffic to your site quite easily. Google's AdWords product will let you place ads and links to your site above Google's organic search results. This means you can be ranked at the very top without spending a lot of time trying to get there organically.

Because 50 percent don't

That's right - by just having a website you're putting yourself above 50 percent of your competitors. With numbers like that, having a website is a no-brainer. There really is no other marketing or advertising technique that'll push you above your competition as significantly as having a website.

If someone walked into your shop today and told you that for a small investment, he could automatically put you above half your competition, you'd be a fool not to take him seriously.

So there are 5 simple reasons for small and local businesses to get a website. There are countless other reasons too, but these five should have convinced you to get yourself and your local business a website.

The Truth About Becoming an Amazon Super-Affiliate

        In the world of affiliate marketing, one must give kudos where kudos is due-Amazon. Amazon practically pioneered affiliate marketing as we know it today with their associates program. The program has evolved substantially since the early days, but one thing has remained constant; it continues to pay millions of dollars a year to ordinary people like you and me, many of who have quit their regular day jobs as a result. This is the dream of anyone who works a grueling day-job; to either win the lottery or make enough money quit their job. Many relish the idea of becoming financially-free doing what they love. One avenue to financial freedom is becoming an Amazon super-affiliate. But the position of Amazon super-affiliate is highly coveted, not so much for the freedom it affords but for the insane income that affiliates realize. But how can one make more money a week than they make a whole year, as an Amazon affiliate?

Most people begin the process the wrong way

There is a substantial buzz surrounding the Amazon affiliate marketing and payout system right now. This has also been heightened by the recent economic uncertainties that have seen many lose trust in their jobs. Unfortunately, when considering becoming an affiliate for the Amazon store, many people have no clue how to begin, much less how to make the phenomenal profits they seek. This article was written with the assumption that you have a website and want to sell Amazon goods, both physical and electronic, from your website. In another article, I will cover the correct process of setting up an Amazon store.

Use specialized software to conduct your research and cut your work load

Abraham Lincoln said if he had six hours to cut a tree, he would spend the first four sharpening the axe. Preparation is essential if you are to succeed as a super-affiliate. Many website owners simply buy a domain name, set up a site, sign up for the Amazon associates program, slap some Amazon widgets on their site, then sit back and wait for the profits to roll in. After some time, they realize that no money is coming in and they quickly dismiss the entire program as a hoax.

The best way to start marketing Amazon products is to take the guesswork out of the entire equation and use specialized software made for Amazon research. Using special software can unearth the best products in their categories not to mention the best keywords for targeting those products. This cuts your work by almost 80% and gets you concentrating on marketing your site and getting content.

When it comes to keywords, there are thousands on Amazon that are virtually untouched and which have near-zero competition. These are the keywords you need to concentrate on. But as I have mentioned, you cannot uncover this goldmine unless you use special software.

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Less Than 20% of U.S. Households Earn $100,000 a Year!

     Did you know that less than 20 % of U.S. households earn $100,000 a year!?

This means that a much smaller percentage of women are creating six figure businesses. Why is this an important statement? Well, while most women claim that they want to earn lucrative incomes, only a few of them are willing to change their thinking and their habits to create the business breakthrough that they want. The truth is, you can't be maintain a "comfort mindset" and become a high-income entrepreneur. Sorry ladies, you must do more then this to actually succeed at breaking six-figures.

There is a secret ingredient that must be present in order for you to break this barrier.

A sense of urgency. There must be a sense of urgency so powerful within you that it pushes you forward to realizing your dreams. This can be having a huge mission - whereby you are so motivated to bring it into the world that you will do anything to make it happen. It could be a lifestyle motivator - like moving to a different part of the world. I had this one awhile back - the desire to move to California (from Canada), was so big inside me, that I did everything to make it happen. I was committed. For you it might even be to provide for your family. To contribute to your household in a powerful way - being able to give your children opportunities.

What I've found is there usually needs to be a financial commitment that goes along with your bigger purpose - to create an even bigger sense of urgency. It's unfortunate that it has to be this way, but unless you have a little skin in the game, it's very easy and I repeat very easy to keep that bigger vision as just that. Some day. Someday it will happen. When it feels comfortable. After all, when you're on the right path things flow easily right? Not. This used to trip me up. I thought if you were on the right path everything would flow easily. The opportunities do flow easily, they do. Meaning you make a decision to do something and the universe simultaneously provides the way to make it happen. BUT it's the inner work that makes it hard. We literally cannot see the opportunities the universe provides because we are too caught-up in our heads. We second-guess everything, our fear clouds our judgment, and we don't take action. It's this type of work - cleaning out those unconscious beliefs holding us back - that must happen. You have to be willing to dig this stuff out if you really want to have a huge impact in the world and realize your dreams. When you make a financial commitment to help you achieve this, all of a sudden you raise the bar. It forces you to take action. People take it seriously when they spend money. It solidifies the commitment that you are willing to do what you need to do - and BE who you need to BE - to do the things you really want to be doing.

I promise this isn't a sales pitch to have you invest in coaching. If that is something that calls to you, then do reach out. I share this with you to let you know what worked for me, and what helped me build a six-figure business. It was the investment in a mentor that helped me dig out the root cause of my fears (which were holding me back from being who I needed to be in my business to make it a success), and shifting those beliefs that were keeping me stuck. Are you the type of person that is willing to go for it? Your intuition will never tell you to play it safe. It's time to let it SHINE!
committed to your online success
smartearner

The Differences Between a Mobile Website and a Mobile Native Application

After talking with many small business owners, it occurred to me that many people are not aware that there is a significant difference between a Mobile Website and a Mobile App. A mobile website is simply the ability to have your website organized and be responsive for mobile viewers. A mobile native application, is an application program that has been developed for use on a particular platform or device. So what's the big deal? A lot!

First, when you're dealing with a mobile website, it is necessary to go to the specific domain of the website you're looking for. This alone can take up to a few minutes wasting your time, not to mention you better not mistype the domain otherwise your agony will continue. For a Mobile App, once you download the app from iTunes or Android, then you simply need to tap on the App Icon for access. Test this out and you will see a significant difference in speed.

Next is functionality. The single most important feature that a mobile native app offers is a push notification. With this feature you are able to send messages to your audience and even if the app is closed they will receive your message. You are not able to do this with a mobile website. The ability to communicate direct to your audience through mobile messages will give any business an advantage in keeping top of mind. With the progression of technology, new functionality has enabled a business to send custom images with custom messages for better engagement.

Other functions included in a native app that mobile websites cannot offer are loyalty programs. Similar to SpotOn and Belly reward systems, you can encourage your users rewards after so many returns to your business. There are three loyalty rewards available. GPS coupons, which will allow you to check in when you are near the business. QR scan code, customer scan a qr code for each visit. Last is the Punch card, this gives the business owner the possibility to give a customer an e-punch hole for each visit. Leveraging these programs within your app is a great way to build customer loyalty.

Finally you can integrate a shopping cart within your app. Giving your customers the chance to quickly shop using your app increasing the possibility of a return customers. It's extremely important that your mobile customer finds it easy to navigate your merchandise and to make purchases.

If you believe that a mobile website and a native mobile app  provide the same solution, I urge you to research further and see the significant differences. You will quickly learn how your business would greatly benefit in having a mobile app over a mobile website. Knowing the difference will give you the edge you're looking for over your competition.

An Expert's Guide on Designing a Banner That Works!

First of all, let me make one thing clear that banners are not dead. They still exist in the web world and they will remain around in the near future too.

They are doing good primarily thanks to their new home - Google AdWords. If you or your client is using Content Network for advertisement purpose and not embracing banner ads, then you are certainly overlooking the big elephant in the room.

In short, banner ads are still an inevitable part of your advertising campaign.

What makes it a good banner?

A good banner isn't the one that looks appealing, but it is the one that results in business for its owner. No matter if it is the poorest banner design in the world, if it works, it is a good banner.

Now, how will you decide whether your banner ad is working or not? All of the ads over the web have just one goal - to get clicks. So, if your ad has more than average CTR that means it is working, which in turn says it is a good banner ad.

You need not to bother about the admiration of the creativity or design of the ad. Instead all you seek is the measurable results in form of clicks.

Some most fundamental rules of creating a good banner design

You can go and visit the soon-to-be-placement of your banner ad, just scan the page and take the essential notes such as how many ads are there, which style other ads have followed, and how will your placement looks. The deeper you will go studying this, the better results you will harvest.

Check out the placement before you place - In case you are using an automatic placement facility of AdWords then it's not possible for you to check out where your ad will be placed over the internet. However, if you are keen to design a good banner ad, you must at least try to know where it is going to be displayed.

Use content that sells - Of course, I know it's a banner not a text ad, but still you need to make sure your ad contains outstanding, unique and interesting text. Focus mainly on the headline (as it accounts for 80% success). Don't forget to address the What, Why, How questions of the users, and embrace the powerful call to action.

Meaningful and Alluring graphics - This point is applicable if you are creating a graphical banner. By meaningful, I want to convey that your ad should draw in some useful information besides its attractive graphics.

Easily Readable font - You will find numerous banners over the internet that publishes fonts that are totally unreadable. Disaster contrast, blurred letters, or too-big or too-small letters can ruin your ad. The golden rule is, the font should be simple and sophisticated.

The Right Selection of Colors - Do you know every color has its own story to tell? Different cultures have different interpretation for colors. So, here it wise to first knows your targeted audience before you finalize the colors in your banner design. While it has been seen that mostly orange and blue works well, in flash banner design, which is mainly used for promotional stuff, you need to be careful on making selection from the color palettes.

Frame it simple! - We humans are used to see a great variety of frames in our real life, with paintings and pictures. So, whenever we see an ad with a frame, thanks to our subconscious mind's perception toward frame we overlook the frame and directly focus on what is inside the frame. Simply put, you can add a thin line around your banner ad and it will do!

8 Questions to Create a Successful Marketing Plan

A marketing plan is an essential tool for small businesses. It provides a blueprint of activities that support your business goals and objectives - many of which are focused on revenue and profit growth. It outlines what you will do and how you will do it. While not complicated, an effective marketing plan should answer the following questions.

Who are you trying to reach with your marketing activities? This is the group or target market you want to sell your products or services to. The more details, the better. Go beyond the 'who' and consider where you can find them, what is important to them, what they value or worry about and what they need right now. If you are unsure, do a little research - talk to them!

Who do you compete with and how do you compare? One of the best things you can do to uncover opportunities is to perform a SWOT analysis. Look at who is selling similar products and services. What do they do well and not so well? Now look at your own company. How do you measure up?

What makes you unique? Based on the analysis of your competition, industry trends and your personal strengths, what one thing can set you apart from others? What do you do so well that you could potentially guarantee it? Your unique selling proposition addresses why your ideal targets should choose you - so give it some thought. Remember you only need one thing to stand out.

What should you charge and why? Your marketing message should work with your pricing strategy as it relates directly to perceived value - a factor in purchase decisions. Don't ignore this when developing your marketing plan.

How will you reach your target market? This is the substance of your plan - and often where most small businesses start. Your promotional plan covers all your communication and dictates how you get the word out to prospects and current customers. Ideally it combines a variety of activities such as advertising, publicity and PR, direct sales, internet marketing, sales promotion, etc. Remember, quality and consistency matter - so start with 3-5 and execute well!

How much will you spend and on what? A marketing budget serves two purposes. It helps you determine what you can or cannot afford - and prioritize what you spend it on. Since many small businesses have limited marketing budgets, this is vital. And with technology today, some activities are more affordable than they were in the past. Do a little research, don't assume everything is out of reach.

What tasks do you need to complete to achieve your marketing goals? Most marketing activities require a series of steps to go from start to finish. An action list is a critical part of your plan - if you want to insure things get done! It works like the process you use to manage other daily tasks. It includes the end goal along with a series of tasks required to achieve the goal. For example, a direct mail campaign might include the following steps: clarify the objectives, determine type of direct mail, hire a designer to create the piece, write copy, develop mailing list, etc. Remember to include due dates for each step to keep you on track.

What results were achieved and how can we improve? Since you invested time and financial resources to help you grow, don't you want to know if your efforts paid off or how you can improve the results moving forward? Of course you do. So you need to track results. The metrics you select will depend on the marketing tactics you use but some common ones include new leads, website visits, response rates for your call to action, requests for quotes, new customers or transactions, etc. You don't need a lot, but make tracking part of your marketing activities.
5 More Tips to Get More From Your Marketing

Have clear business goals before you plan your marketing
Don't ignore current customers. Include activities in your plan to generate repeat business too!
Marketing take time, money or both. Nothing is truly free.
Mix it up. Integrating offline and online strategies is powerful way to get more bang for your bucks.
Avoid too many tactics. Focus on quality not quantity. Trying to do too many things at one time becomes overwhelming and more difficult to track.