Business & Home Business

The Future of Advertising

Advertising is a medium that constantly evolves. It changes
with the times. It adapts to new technologies. It is
unrelenting in its desire to find new and better ways to
reach an ever-growing consumer marketplace.

But its not simply advertising that evolves. Consumers and
consumer behavior are changing too. As we look at the future
of advertising, it’s important to look at how the two
interact and change together over time.

Without a doubt, the Internet has revolutionized the
industry. It has taken the world - and the advertising world
by storm. And it has only just begun to make an impact. The
Internet has become a global medium with massive potential.
Forty years ago, television was considered new media.
Fifteen years ago, it was cable. Today, people spend
increasing amounts of time online at the expense of other
media. The first evidence of this audience migration
appeared in 1998 in a Forrester Research report.

The researchers asked PC users which activities they were
giving up to spend more time on their computers. 75% of the
respondents said they gave up television.

Interactive. That is the real key behind the power of the
Internet in advertising. The Internet is really the only
medium where we see true interactivity. In addition:

o It means greater viewer involvement.
o It means users can access services according to their
interests and their tastes.
o They can request and receive specialized product
information, make an instant purchase, all the while saving
time and expense.
o The effectiveness of Web advertising appears to relate to
the fact that surfing the web is an actively engaging
experience, similar to reading magazines.

Consumers also have the choice to “opt-in” to receiving
additional information on a particular product or service.
In Seth Godin’s groundbreaking book, Permission Marketing,
he said, “By reaching out only to those individuals who have
signaled an interest in learning more about a product,
Permission Marketing enables companies to develop long-term
relationships with customers, create trust, build brand
awareness- and greatly improve the chances of making a
sale.”

All the Rage: Pay Per Click and Natural Search Using SEO

It’s no secret what has taken over the business world, in
industry after industry. Pay Per Click and Natural Search
Using Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Today, being on the
first page for your most popular keyword phrase is like
having the most memorable prime time television commercial
in 1973.

Pay per click advertising on search engines allows you to
choose keywords you would like your site to appear under
when a potential customer engages in a search. You decide
how much you are willing to pay each time a person clicks on
the search results. But it can be competitive - and
expensive if you are trying to use keywords that are very
popular.

Natural Search or Organic Search is the non-biased, non-paid
results that come up when you do a search. This can be
influenced heavily by what’s called “Search Engine
Optimization” - the complex and time consuming practice of
ensuring that your website is doing all the right things in
order to rank high for certain search terms. In this arena,
smaller companies can out maneuver large corporations, so
there’s a lot of excitement generated because of this.

Essentially, that’s where the power of advertising is going.
It’s all about Search. And Search is only going to become
more important over the next ten years. If you can get on
that coveted first page organically, well then, more power
to you!

Web Sites, Banner Ads, etc..

The other forms of on-line advertising vehicles are of
course, web sites, banner advertising placed on others
sites, newsletters, ezines, and email. They are used in many
different combinations, for different purposes at different
times. But most savvy companies are using all of them. The
value of banner ads has been hotly debated for a number of
years. Opponents argue that the click-through rates have
gone down so much, that banner ads are nothing but wasted
money. But research clearly shows that banners are very
effective in building brand awareness. On-line users may not
click on a banner, but if they see it enough times, the
company’s name is drilled into their head. When its time to
shop, that product or service is first in their mind.
Simply being exposed to the brand as one surf’s the web is
enough to make a big impression.

The impact of banners on brand awareness was tested for the
first time in fall 1996 by Millward Brown International.
Three brands were tested including a men’s apparel brand, a
telecommunications brand and a technology company. The
findings were significant and conclusive for each brand.
Awareness was significantly greater among the banner-exposed
(test) group than the non-exposed (control) group.
Specifically, exposure to the ad banners alone increased
brand awareness from 12% to 200% in a banner-exposed group.

The study also compared the impact of the banner ads in this
test to television and magazine norms from prior Millward
Brown studies. The findings were remarkable: Single exposure
to a Web banner generated greater awareness than a single
exposure to a television or print ad. Rather, the
effectiveness of Web advertising seems to stem from the fact
that Web usage is an actively engaging exercise.

Newsletters and Ezines

Most smart marketers out there have either a newsletter or
ezine nowadays. These types of customer communication and
advertising tools will only continue to grow in use and
importance. It goes back to the whole “what’s in it for me?”
issue. The customer wants to be part of the process. They
want to learn something. Or keep themselves updated on the
latest news. Most of all, they want to get something out of
the relationship. They want to do more than buy something,
they want to improve their lives in some small way - and
they want you to help them do that.

Email Advertising

Email is another of the big three Internet advertising
mediums. Companies like Got Marketing, OptinBig.com, and N5R
are providing new and exciting email marketing solutions for
thousands of progressive firms. Their results are
impressive. Consider response rates that average 10 to 20
times those of traditional direct mail. Or campaign Network
marketing referral rates as high as 40%. The bottom line is
that programs they put together have produced millions of
leads for clients. And it’s surprisingly affordable. This
means that almost anyone can now utilize this advertising
medium. But it has to be done smartly, because you don’t
want your emails to end up in spam filters. That is one
inherent problem with email advertising, especially in the
past two years.

N5R in particular is now one of the leading direct marketing
agencies in North America. They develop innovative
one-to-one marketing campaigns that drive a measurable,
positive ROI on behalf of their clients by driving
acquisition and conversion to trial and purchase for their
clients. They have developed award-winning strategies in
five major industry sectors. These include Internet
Marketing and Online Contests/Promotions, Permission Based
Email Marketing, Text Messaging, Success Based Email.

In Internet Marketing and Online Contests/Promotions,
marketers can gather and compile behavior and preference
data from prospects and customers and use this information
to send targeted and relevant information. Developing
ongoing programs of one-to-one communication is cost
effective and measurable. Contests are the quickest and most
effective way to gather this data and build relationships
with customers. It’s very possible to build a
permission-based database of over 50,000 prospects in only 6
weeks, increase web site traffic by 900%, improved online
sales revenue by 1,000%, and achieve $40 million in sales
from leads generated by an online promotion.

With Permission Based Email Marketing, loyal clients are
just an e-mail away. Where traditional marketing campaigns
fail, e-mail can shine through. E-mail marketing allows
companies to speak one-to-one with their audience in a
respectful, intelligent and creative way. It is extremely
cost-effective, provides the foundation for future marketing
initiatives, and delivers measurable results.

Text Messaging or SMS (Short Message Service) is a
technology that allows people to send and receive short (up
to 160 characters) written messages on cellular phones. It
is already hugely popular in Europe and Asia and is growing
rapidly in North America. SMS marketing offers the following
benefits:

One-to-one communication with your target group, anywhere,
anytime reach, low campaign cost, and very measurable data.
Imagine if your mobile phone received an email message,
“You’re only a block from a Starbuck’s; stop in for a 20%
discount on your latte.” The data is available and marketers
are starting to tap into these resources.

Success Based Email is free email deployment where companies
only pay for results. This “pay-per-click” approach is
based on the premise that companies will only pay for each
email that receives a “click-through” from the recipient.
Not only does the new approach enhance the value of
marketing dollars spent on such campaigns, the move will
likely trim total dollars spent.

For example if 100,000 emails are sent, 70% are opened and
15% of the recipients actually click on a link in the email
then clients will only be charged for the 15,000 people that
clicked on the link, not for the other 85,000 that didn’t.
The return on investment (ROI) or cost savings inherent in
this new approach will be very appealing to permission-based
marketers. The bottom line is that marketers will now pay
for real, measurable results.

The Next Step

Compared with other media, the Web is still limited in its
bandwidth offerings. But it’s getting better every day. With
the continued improvement of bandwidth development, we will
soon be positioned well to create full-featured multimedia
advertising on the Internet. Once a majority of consumers
have DSL capability and the computer power to access it,
there will be some incredible things happening. Sites like
tvtonic.com are already offering some very compelling visual
and audio imagery in the form of movie trailers and music
videos.

Market researchers, futurists and industry experts predict
that interactivity through multiple technologies and devices
will change how consumers interact with marketers.
Interactive advertising will soon be everywhere. So, in
effect, it could be considered the age of mass customization
in advertising. Advertisers will have the tools to narrow
their targets and address Web ads to individuals and not to
a demographic or psychographic group. Why market a
commercial to 1 million people, most of who aren’t in the
target audience, when the same ad could be shown to 10,000
people who are very interested in the product or service?
Most of those will even give their name and address.

Interactivity will also be a part of television. Interactive
TV will be the norm in the near future, and this too is
another exciting opportunity. There will be total
integration between TV channels and advertisers web sites.
While we are watching TV, we will be able to interact with
what we are seeing, ordering hamburgers from the McDonalds
down the street or communicating with the local car dealer
that we are interested in buying a car. Clicking on products
we see in TV shows and ordering them will be easy. Your TV
will keep track of what you are watching. Your TV will even
know what kind of car you own because you’ll tell for the
free oil change you’re offered in exchange. The oil change
will be compliments of DirecTV, and it is only good at Jiffy
Lube, which has paid to be the official oil-change provider
for DirecTV.” That’s the way it will work.

Service Initiative Advertising

Another major trend is what I call “Service Initiative
Advertising”. Let’s face it; consumers are tired of
advertising as usual. Many people say they hate commercials.
The success of Tivo and satellite radio can attest to this.
They want more from their advertising. And who could blame
them? People are inundated with advertising today- every
where they go. Service Initiative Advertising takes the
whole process one step further. Essentially how it works is
that it requires advertising to offer some value to the
consumer.

For example: Kraft Foods creates a website that offers busy
mothers a source for quick recipes for the family evening
meal. The idea isn’t to push Kraft products, but to promote
Kraft as a brand that offers a service to customers. There
have been companies who positioned their entire marketing
strategy on this tenant. Now, it will become a key part of
advertising for almost everyone. The consumer wants to know
you care.

It’s important to realize that advertising mediums of the
past will still be here. But, they may look a little
different in the future. Direct mail will always be around
as long as people like to receive mail. And despite external
challenges, the U.S. Postal service will still be around. TV
and radio will be here too.

But the future is here. And advertising will never be the
same.

One thing that is certain is that it will continue to be as
exciting and dynamic as it has been in the past. But now,
the consumer is a part of the process.

(C) 2005 Jon Wuebben. Do you need Search Engine Optimized (SEO)
Web site copy that moves customers to buy? Are you looking
to create an effective newsletter/e-zine article or ad for
your business? We provide world class copy that helps you to
be found on the web. 10 years experience providing superior
copy to businesses nationwide. Contact us for a
complimentary Website Copy analysis. Subscribe to our
Better Business Writing (BBW) Newsletter and receive
2 free reports. http://www.customcopywriting.com/

Search Engine Optimized (SEO) Copy - The Down and Dirty Details

Today, being on the first page for your most popular keyword
phrase is like having the most memorable prime time
television commercial in 1973.

Essentially, that’s where the power of advertising is going.
It’s all about Search. And Search is only going to become
more important over the next ten years. If you can get on
that coveted first page organically, well then, more power
to you!
I know you probably have read other articles about writing
SEO copy and how it relates to achieving high search
rankings, there are plenty of them to go around. But some of
the articles are complicated; some are too long, others
boring. Still others don’t explain that great SEO copy is
rarely effective just on it’s own - in order to get those
high rankings (which is the goal after all), you have to do
other things too. So, we decided that what most people
really needed was a “down and dirty”, easy to understand,
ten step method. You ask, and we deliver. Here are the
official ten steps in order:

1) Check your Competitors
Who are your competitors? Do you know? If you don’t, you may
want to go online and do a search for your product or
service. Who is on the first two pages? That is your target.
Those are the companies that you want to compete with.
Because right now, they are getting your customers. Take a
look at their website. Notice the copy. Analyze their
business. Are they successful? What are they not doing
right? Look for the holes. You’re going to meet the needs of
their customers (that they are not fulfilling) so they
become YOUR customers.

2) Research your Keyword Phrases
Remember, Keyword Phrase research is critically important.
It can also be a little tricky. Do you know what keywords or
keyword phrases your customers search for when they look for
you? Are you sure? Se what your competitors are using. You
can do this by right clicking on their home page, selecting
“View Source” and then checking their keyword meta tag.
Next, go on to Overture.com (Now Yahoo), click on “Visit the
Advertiser” section, and use their Keyword Selector Tool.
Its great - and its free. You can also use Wordtracker.com,
but it does cost $7.50/day.

3) Write Good Copy
Now its time to start writing. Or re-writing. And if you
can’t write, you can hire a website copywriter to do it for
you. The bottom line is to write about benefits, not
features. Don’t tell them how great your company is. They
will discover that for themselves when you overwhelm them
with your service and deliver the perfect product that meets
their every need. Make the copy to the point and snappy.
Make it sure it has impact, and asks the potential customer
for their business.

4) Integrate Your Keyword Phrases
After you figure out which keyword phrases you want to use
on your site, you need to integrate them into the copy of
your site. Think Home Page and Services page as the most
important pages to use them on. Essentially, you want to
them to make up 5% of the total words on the page. It’s not
that hard actually. Just don’t use them all over the place
like some stupid copywriters do - you could get de-listed
from the search engines. Definitely use them in your
headlines and sub headlines. That will get you extra points,
so to speak.

5) Check your Links, Build if necessary
Do you have any inbound links pointing to your site? If not,
no amount of awesome copy is going to get your site high
rankings. Links are very important. And even more so for
Google. Go to linkpopularity.com and see what you have. Also
check your competitors. If they have more than you, you need
to get some high quality links. You can either do that
yourself or hire someone to do it for you. It can be time
consuming and expensive. But you gotta do it. It makes you
look important to the search engines. A good way to do it is
to make sure you are listed on directories, including DMOZ
and industry related sites. Go to incominglinks.com to see
which ones you should be listed on. Then write articles and
submit them to article submission sites. That could
potentially give you hundreds of links for free.

6) Use Go Rank’s Analytical Tools
GoRank.com is a fantastic free resource for SEO. They have a
Keyword Density Analyzer, Link Popularity Analyzer, Top 10
Keyword Analyzer, Research, News and lots of other great
stuff. It’s a great tool and something I use every day. It
will help you in your SEO copy efforts.

7) Submit to the Search Engines
After you’ve ensured that your website copy and all the
other important SEO considerations have been completed, it’s
time to submit to the Search Engines. Do it manually. Go to
the search engine and do it yourself. Definitely don’t pay
someone to do it for you. You may have to resubmit a few
times, but eventually, your site will get noticed.

Tweak the Copy as necessary, Add New Content
After your site has been up for a while, go back and take a
second look. Ask friends and customers what they think of
it. Can anything be improved? You’ll be surprised what you
may hear. If something isn’t working, fix it. Make it sound
better. The other thing that you should also be doing is
adding content regularly. Build free resources into your
website. This will make your customers and potential
customers happy, and it will make you appear to be more
important in the eyes of the search engines. Adding articles
to your site is a great way to give your customers new, free
content. Write about things that they would find
interesting.

9) Partner with a Great SEO Firm
You may want to also consider partnering with a great Search
Engine Optimization firm. There are probably a hundred very
good ones out there. There are also 1000 bad ones. For the
good ones, check out topseos.com. and marketingsherpa.com.
They both list reputable firms. Whoever you go with, make
sure they have a list of client success stories complete
with stats to back it up.

10) Measure Your Success!
Finally, measure your success. (or progress) Get a software
program that will provide you with some web metrics as it
pertains to your site. WebTrends and Statcounter are great
ones. There are quite a few others as well.
As you can see, Search Engine Optimized copy is only part of
the overall SEO story. There is a lot to it, so make sure
you cover every area. After all, we want to get your web
site to the very top!

C2005 Jon Wuebben. Do you need Search Engine Optimized (SEO)
Web site copy that moves customers to buy? Are you looking
to create an effective newsletter/e-zine article or ad for
your business? We provide world class copy that helps you to
be found on the web. 10 years experience providing superior
copy to businesses nationwide. Contact us for a
complimentary Website Copy analysis. Subscribe to our
Better Business Writing (BBW) Newsletter and receive
2 free reports. http://www.customcopywriting.com/

Is PR Right for You? 6 Questions to Ask
Copyright © 2005 Michele Pariza Wacek
The Artist Soul
http://www.TheArtistSoul.com

When most people think about marketing, they think advertising.
While advertising is a part of marketing, marketing is much
bigger than advertising. There are lots of different marketing
methods floating around out there, and the challenge as a
business owner is figuring out when it’s appropriate to use each
one and the best way to use it.

Public relations, or PR, is the art of getting someone else to
write or talk about you or your business. Preferably in a
favorable manner. Traditionally, “someone else” was the media. In
this day and age however, someone else can also be a blogger, a
freelance writer, an e-zine publisher or even an owner of a big
Web site. For purposes of this article, I’m using the word
“media” to refer to all of those folks.

PR is also being able to get yourself on a big talk show to talk
about yourself or your business, or writing your own article
that’s published in a desired outlet. (Not your own newsletter or
Web site.)

PR is one of my favorite marketing methods, but it can also be
one of the more frustrating ones. Even when you do everything
right, you still might not get the publicity you want. Or for
that matter, ANY publicity at all. When a PR campaign doesn’t
work, you can find yourself wanting to pull out all your hair in
frustration.

Even with that in mind, I do believe most if not all businesses
can benefit from some type of PR campaign. But before you launch
into something that could end with you becoming hairless (and
investing in a sizeable hat collection) ask yourself the
following questions.

1. Do I need to see results right away? If you do, better pull
out your wallet and pay for some advertising. PR takes time. And
it’s not guaranteed. You might not see your article for weeks,
months or ever, and there isn’t a darn thing you can do about it.
If it’s immediate gratification you want, don’t look for it in a
public relations campaign.

2. Do I have the time to consistently devote to a public
relations campaign? We’re back to the time issue. PR not only
takes time to see results, but you also have to take time to make
it happen. Either you have to do it or you have to pay someone
else to do it. If you do it yourself, you’ll have the potential
of garnering the equivalent of thousands of dollars of
advertising for little or no money. But it will cost you some
time. If you pay someone else, you’ll save time (which is a good
thing, I’m a big believer in outsourcing) but it can get
expensive. Worse yet, you STILL might not get any coverage for
your money.

3. Do I have enough perseverance to run a PR campaign? PR is
about follow-up. It’s about sending story idea after story idea
to the same reporter before one finally connects (and maybe it’s
the tenth one). It’s about sending a little note or letter to the
same editor for as long as several years before you get a bite.
It’s about reminding your contacts you’re out there until one day
they realize they need you.

If you’re willing to court the media, develop relationships and
do whatever you can to make their lives easier, the rewards can
be huge.

4. Do I have newsworthy events happening at my business?
(Newsworthy is something media personnel feel would interest
their readers.) Or, if I don’t, can I create them?

I’m not talking about making things up here. But there are things
you can be doing to make your business more newsworthy. For
example, you can do a survey and publish the results. You can tie
a feature of your product or service to something that’s
currently happening in the news. You can hold an event. You can
research a newly published study that relates to your product or
service. There are countless ways you can transform aspects of
your business into newsworthy story items — the creativity
exercise below can help you come up with your ideas.

5. Do I want to build my credibility? Develop my status as an
expert? Then get that PR campaign off the ground. Nothing builds
your credibility or expert status faster than having other people
say you know what you’re talking about.

6. Do I want to augment my other marketing efforts? Public
relations definitely plays nicely with the other marketing
methods. You can be building your long-term expert campaign with
PR and building short-term customers with advertising. Or you can
turn your community relations strategies into PR campaigns. It’s
a great way to get the most bang out of your marketing time and
dollar.

Creativity Exercise — How can you use PR in your business?

Grab some sheets of paper and pen (I like the fun gel pens
myself) and get ready for some brainstorming.

Start by listing everything you do or sell. Then write out all
the features or descriptions of your products or services. For
instance, if you have a book, what is your book about? What does
it offer people?

Now see if you can turn those features into something newsworthy.
Is there a time of year when people are interested in your
services? (Accounting and tax season). Are there any studies you
can dig up? Is there something in the news that ties into your
product? Can you turn an aspect of your business into a human
interest story? (Something like fitness tips for busy people or
parenting tips for single parents, etc.) Write everything down
that comes into your head, even if it’s silly. See if you can
come up with 50 story ideas.

Now look at what you wrote. Can you find a few in there that you
think would interest the media? Congratulations — you just came
up with a PR campaign.

———————————————————————
Michele Pariza Wacek is the author of “Got Ideas? Unleash Your
Creativity and Make More Money.” She offers two free e-zines
that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting
marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful
at attracting new clients, selling products and services and
boosting business. She can be reached at:
http://www.TheArtistSoul.com. Copyright 2005 Michele Pariza Wacek

What To Do With 97 Business Cards
Copyright 2005 Stacey Morris

Networking events are a waste of time if you don’t leverage
your contacts. If you’ve ever been to a networking event,
you know that you can meet dozens of people in a short
amount of time. Sometimes these turn into valuable contacts
or even clients. But most of the time you come home with a
plethora of business cards, and can’t match the face to the
name. A handful of people might stand out for you, but if
you haven’t organized your contacts and information before
leaving the event, you could be left not remembering the
name of that woman who knew a valuable lead for you, or
that man who wanted you to send him some information on
your business.

The right marketing strategy can help you build and
maintain business relationships.

To maximize your time and energy, and make sure the
contacts you make remain valuable, you need to prepare and
stay organized before, during, and after each event. The
keys are to be consistent in the way in which you organize
your information, and keep your system up to date.

Before the event

Prior to entering the room, have a specific purpose in
mind. What type of event are you attending? Networking can
be done at events ranging from a formal Chamber of Commerce
meeting to a dinner party. How many people do you want to
meet? What type of professional or business are you looking
for? Are you looking for clients or contacts? Remember,
most people have a sphere of contacts in the 200-250 range,
so a contact could ultimately prove more valuable than a
client. What kind of information do you want to
collect—business cards, addresses, emails?

Prepare an “elevator speech”- a 10-20 second commercial
about what you do and the specific benefits you offer. The
goal of this commercial is to generate further interest.
Some people will want to know more, so prepare an extended
version, outlining how you help people specifically,
through a program you’ve developed, a service you provide,
or a product in which you have expertise.

Prepare some materials that you can send to interested
contacts. Have a brochure, outline of services, sample
product, article, anything that you can mention during the
event, and then send out. Again, the goal of a networking
event is to generate interest in your service or product,
and maintain the connections you make. The number of
contacts is not as important as the quality.

During the event

During the event, you want to do three things.

First, when you interact, emphasize quality over quantity.
This is easier said than done. The only way to know if
someone you meet is a prospect is to focus the conversation
on them—what they do, how they do it, the types of leads
they’relooking for. As Jay Levinson writes in Guerrilla
Marketing, “Realize that all long-term relationships are
reciprocal. If you help strangers, they’re far more likely
to want to work with you in the future.”

Second, ask for two business cards from contacts. Offer to
pass the second on to a friend or colleague that might be
interested.

Third, make sure to make a note at the back of each card
you receive, if you think that person can be a contact. Jot
down where you met them and any reminder details, such as
“…looking for a printer”or “…opened their business last
month”. If you’re collecting a lot of cards and you don’t
have time to make notations, you can bend the corner of the
card to remind you that this person is a definite follow-up
contact. The bottom line is that the more information you
have about someone, the better your chances of a successful
follow-up.

Follow-up
If you’ve done your homework at the event, you should have
a group of business cards and names that you can sort. Only
a handful may be truly valuable, and these you want to give
the “gold treatment”. They will become part of your
permanent database.

Immediately after the event, send a short handwritten
notecard or letter to the contact, that briefly recaps what
you discussed. Then offer to refer appropriate business to
them, should it come your way.

Add the relevant contact information to your database,
including information on what constitutes a good referral
to that person. Also indicate whatever correspondence you
have shared. Whenever you come across an article or
clipping that might be of interest to your contact, send it.

Review your database regularly and frequently. Develop a
keep-in-touch strategy that helps to maintain and nurture
your contacts. According to marketing expert Robert
Middleton, this strategy is the most important vehicle for
establishing long-term business relationships.

Proper networking can make the difference between success
and failure. Networking is not a one-shot deal, and
building relationships is key to building a successful
business. By preparing for every event, organizing our
information, and practicing excellent follow-through, we
can massively increase our success at networking. If you
can formally integrate these principles into your marketing
strategy, you’ll find that you can apply keep-in-touch
marketing to your daily life. Networking happens every
day—at the hairdressers, a friend’s dinner party, little
league game—and if you can recognize and maintain valuable
contacts, you’ll find your success increasing dramatically.

About the Author:

Stacey Morris
Focus Coach
www.servicebusinesscoaching.com
staceymorris@focuscoach.net

Pet Sitting Business is Thriving
Copyright © 2005 Ian White
Pet Sitters
http://www.Pet-Sitters.biz

The Pet Sitting business is booming internationally. In the
United States alone there are upwards of 63.2 million individuals
who own a pet, or two. Reports tell us that in America there are
roughly 64 million dogs and 76 million cats in households. These
numbers support why the Pet Sitting Business is on an upward
swing. It is fast becoming one of the best small business
ventures that an individual can undertake. The Pet Sitting
business has been ear marked by the U.S. Bureau of Labor as a
small business industry that will thrive with the coming years,
with Pet Sitting services located throughout the states.

Pet owners world wide are breathing a sigh of relief that they
have this option for their pet when they travel. In the past
when an individual would travel for business, or a family would
vacation, they would rely on grandparents or relatives to see to
the needs of their pets. This is no longer an option for many
people. Family’s don’t always remain in the same community.
Statistics show that it is common for parents and siblings to
live hundreds of miles apart. Once the family option for pet
sitting evaporated, people turned to their neighbors. This was
soon found to be a bad option for both the neighbor and pet
owner. Neighbors felt used, and the traveller felt as if they
were putting the neighbor out by asking the favor.

Some individuals tried to travel with their pets. They assumed
that it would be best for their pet to not be separated from
them. These good intentioned pet owners soon realized the folly
of their ideals when they discovered that drinking water in some
areas weren’t up to par, leash laws were different in each area,
and the chances of finding a lost pet in a strange area were
minimal. Extended car travel is not good for a pet, either.
Animals can quickly become dehydrated and agitated when left in a
locked car while the family is inside a restaurant, or mall. The
chances that a pet could possibly get hit by an automobile rise
every time a pet is taken into a public area, such as parking
lots or the city. Pets do not like being kept in a crate in a
hotel. They do not like being muzzled for barking or for
snipping at strangers. Pets just generally do not like being away
from home.

Air travel is not pleasant for a pet, either. The cargo holds on
airplanes have erratic temperatures. There is no heat, and there
is no air conditioning. The sounds in these cargo areas also
frighten animals and make them skittish and nervous. Some pets
even require medication prior to flight. Taking your pet on a
plane should only be considered under extreme circumstances.

Pet owners soon realized that while they were comforted by the
presence of their pet on a trip, the pet was out of its comfort
zone and did not behave like its usual self. The route of
kenneling a pet was soon taken and though it saved the day in a
tight pinch, pet owners tended to know from the start that this
was not a good option for their pet. Their pets were kept in
small quarters. They were only allowed out a couple of times a
day for a few minutes to do their business. Being crowded in an
area with other barking and whining animals would leave a pet out
of sorts for days after their owner came home.

Options were limited for a traveling pet owner. Some people gave
up and simply refused to have an animal if they were going to
have to be away all the time. That was until the Pet Sitting
business made its arrival into the small business industry.

True animal lovers were the first to recognize the need for the
Petting Sitting business. They were the ones who took it the
hardest when they were forced to see what their pets went through
when they were forced to travel with their owners, or how they
behaved after being picked up from a kennel after a week or more
away from home. Truthfully, these individuals could not enjoy
their trips for worry. These were individuals who hung a
stocking for their pet at Christmas, and made them a birthday
cake on the pets special day each year. These people saw the
need and they stepped out on a limb. They started a Pet Sitting
service. Word spread like wildfire and pet owners world wide
started seeking these services in their own area.

The rapid growth and success of a Pet Sitting business come when
the business owner realizes that it is a business. A love for
animals is the foundation, but smart business sense is what will
keep you operating. There is only a minimal amount of cost in
starting up a Pet Sitting service. That is a major plus for
anyone thinking seriously about going into this animal care
business. A budget should be laid out to meet the costs of the
outgoing business. Do not ever under estimate these expenses.
It is better to over estimate than to cut yourself short. Set
goals for six months, one year, three years and five years.
Try to stick to your plan to achieve these goals.

You should research other Pet Sitting services in your area.
Find out what their strengths and their weaknesses may be.
Learn what the going rate for Pet Sitting is in your area. Be
competitive in your rates. Just because you may be doing what
you love is no reason to do it for pennies. On the other hand,
no one is going to pay your Pet Sitting business a small fortune,
either.

You have to be a people person. The reason you get into the Pet
Sitting business may stem from being an animal lover, but if you
are not warm and friendly with people you can forget about your
Pet Sitting business getting off the ground. Pet owners are
particular about whom they let care for their pets. If they
sense that you are uncomfortable around them, they will be wary
of you. Try to develop your people skills if you lack self-
confidence in that area. You don’t want your shyness to keep you
from doing what you love. You don’t want to come off as a
phoney, but maintaining eye contact and being able to carry a
conversation with the pet owner without looking at your shoes
will go a long way.

You should go out to the home and get acquainted with each pet
and design a list of duties that the client is wanting you to
perform while they are gone. The pet owner will familiarize you
as to the habits, character and personality of each pet. You
should know what they like to play with and what special
nicknames they have. You should also ask the pet owner for clues
about their pet, or signs you should watch for in case of
illness. Some dogs may lay around and sleep all day. Others may
not settle for a moment. You should know what to expect from
each pet in the home. If they are not doing their usual
activities that should throw up a red flag to you. You should
make sure that the client gives you all the information on the
pets in the home. You will need history of illnesses,
vaccination records, veterinary information, as well as a place
to contact the pet owner if needed. It is important that you are
given a key by the client and that you are not expected to
retrieve it from a hiding place. A possible thief could be
watching the home and may see you getting it and replacing it.
That is a disaster waiting to happen.

Besides walking the dog, feeding the bird, tending to the cat,
and playing with the pets, a client sometimes will want a Pet
Sitting service to do other things. The Pet Sitting business can
offer many services for the traveler, besides pet care. The
first one being home security. You can pick up the mail,
newspaper, water the potted plants, and do a thorough walk
through of the home to make sure that everything is as it should
be for your client. Simply opening the curtains on one visit and
closing them on the next will give the home a lived in look.
These services are in addition to pet sitting. The possibilities
are endless as to what a Pet Sitting service can offer the
client.

The Pet Sitting business is booming. Everyone is happy. The
small business owner gets to do what he loves for a living . . .
being around animals. The traveler can enjoy their trip knowing
that all is well on the home front. The pets get to stay in
their own home, around their own things, eating their own food,
and they get to go out and play like they usually would on their
regular routine.

———————————————————————
Author Ian White is founder of Pet-Sitters.biz. Pet-Sitters.biz
specializes in helping pet sitters and pet owners connect to each
other. Find and screen a sitter for your pet or advertise your
pet care business. FREE trial membership for a limited time.
For more information, go to http://www.Pet-Sitters.biz

Marketing is More Than A Token Process
By Kathleen Gage
“Necessity is the mother of invention!” The first time I heard this
was nearly twenty years ago when I was introduced to Tony Robbins’
material. I was listening to, and applying, information from his
thirty day series. I have to admit, the first time I heard this it
didn’t quite register.

However, nearly two decades later, it makes all the sense in the
world. In fact, a majority of the things we take for granted were
created out of a need. When the need became great enough, someone
figured out a solution.

Such is the case with a new eBook that just hit the market - Tokens
for TV. The idea for this informative book is the brainchild of
working mom, Lisa Workman. As she explains it, about a year ago, she
and her husband were struggling with how to get their kids to take an
interest in choosing how much television and computer time they were
spending each day. She came up with a system that not only limited
how much TV/Computer time they received, but also took out some of
the parental nagging and placed some responsibility on their
shoulders. She came up with a simple solution to helping children
manage their television and computer time.

Seeing how effective her system is, friends started asking her how it
worked. After numerous requests, she began writing down the system
and eventually fine tuned it to the point it became her now popular
eBook, Tokens for TV.

An exciting aspect of this resource is that the information aligns
perfectly with Lisa’s personal and professional vision and mission.
She is extremely committed to providing quality information to
families while promoting healthy lifestyles for children. However,
something Lisa realizes is that without an effective marketing
campaign to promote Tokens for TV there are many people who will
never know how effective the system can be.

Lisa has put together a very effective campaign which includes full
use of her Tokens for TV website, free reports, and article
distribution both online and off, interviews with the media and viral
marketing. Her marketing plan was developed long before the eBook was
taken to market. Without a doubt, she will be successful in getting
the word out.

Like Lisa Workman, many people have an idea that is a perfect
solution to a common problem. Unlike Lisa, a great majority of people
only think about the solution, yet do nothing about it. Then they
wonder why success happens to others but not to them. Success is
determined by the actions one takes.

As you think of solutions you can offer to your customers or clients,
how would you answer the following questions?

-What is the primary problem that keeps your customers awake at night?
-What products or services do you need to develop that would solve
their problem?
-What do you need to do to market your product or service?
-Do you have a plan put in place?
-Are you willing to invest the time and money into marketing your
product or service?
-Are you willing to take responsibility for all that needs to be done
on a consistent basis?

When Lisa identified a problem that prevails in many families she
could have responded like most and simply said, “Wouldn’t it be nice
if someone came up with a solution?” Rather, she mapped out the
solution, developed it into a system and is now making it available
to those who will benefit from it.

What is the solution you have that people are waiting for?

To find out about Tokens for TV and access a FREE worksheet to learn
how much time your child spends “plugged in” to some sort of
electronic device visit http://www.tvtokens.com .

Kathleen Gage is a keynote speaker, author and business advisor
specializing in marketing and promotions and achievement. Access
Gage’s’s FREE eBook Street Smarts Marketing On the Internet at
http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com/free-ebook.htm