Enhancing Business with Envelope Printing

In history, envelopes have been used and proved to be a good packaging medium. They are effective and widely being used for carrying letters, with variation on sizes and shapes. Within your first impression of envelopes, they surely are only being used for its purpose, a pack, protection for mails. Of course, you can always enhance your message to a recipient whether it’s only a business reply envelope, corporate envelope, direct mail envelope, billing envelope, there are endless ways to customize an envelope and envelope printing can enhance its packaging.

Envelopes have different sizes and formats. There are pocket envelops and a banker envelopes, the size varies depending on the size of the document inside. Along with quality material, envelops are widely used for handling documents whilst being sent or kept.

In helping your business niche, envelopes carry the name of your company or simply have fancy prints to make them look pleasing to any recipient. Here are some of the benefits you can get when having a customized print on your envelopes.

With those window envelopes, having a custom print can always expose excellence in service, In billing envelopes, a good printed one can always have the impression of quality, so to speak, this carries a company’s image, and packaging can always be a good way to boost quality service.

Direct mail envelopes are one of the things that need a good printing scheme. Your promotional material does need a good packaging. Often being the first thing a customer looks out for, making them attractive and pleasing will always become a business enhancing strategy, with a good customized print that can entice customers, you can lessen the instance of unsolicited mails.

Corporate envelops can be used to portray its style, class, and distinction to others, having a good customized print will also depict quality. With storing files, legal papers, and a corporate document too needs its own customized envelop, there are a lot of things you can design and embed to your corporate envelope prints.

Business reply envelops need a custom print to distinguish and have its own set of standards in marketing. A good customized design will likely get good impressions from your clients. This can also benefit from having their own print that signifies your sincerity, your aims on quality business, all counts when you are transacting with your clients so don’t stint on good quality prints on your envelopes.

Custom envelopes can also be used to send out your messages, of course, you need to have your own style when sending out to clients. Having to produce envelopes to match your preferred audience can always be gratifying, this can have your own scheme and could be able to attract more of your clients.

There are a lot of online printing services available today. They can meet the demands of printing bulk envelopes to suite your needs. Often having a quick turnaround, the printing technology is evolving and always having the best solutions for its customers. From there, having a custom-made envelop can enhance your business in terms of quality.

Envelopes are not just common sheath of material for mails; they can be a very potent tool in terms of marketing. They can draw customers’ attention, with high quality printed envelopes; this will likely enhance your business to its highest point.

Where’s My Paparazzi? Writing the Press Release

Ah… those glowing gems of media wonder, the often hated, but yet beloved press releases. Pen the right words to get the grand prize: a media interview. Being recognized in a positive light by the local media is an efficient way to share information about your business to a broad audience of people. A good press release mixed with some fantastic social skills is key to your being recognized and interviewed by the local media, podcasters and beyond. A press release is typically a newsworthy article-type correspondence which is emailed or faxed to area media: radio and television stations, newspapers, business journals, and such. Also, IdeaMarketers.com and EzineArticles.com provide outlets for your genius, expert self.

Writing a press release has a simple formula. The first step is to ensure your information is true and newsworthy. With some thought and collaboration, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding something newsworthy about your business. Are you having a special open house? Did someone in your company get a promotion or receive an award? Can you offer specialized advice for the general public?

Write the most important and/or intriguing information in the first paragraph. This is your opportunity to hook your reader so he or she continues reading. This doesn’t need to become complicated. In fact, stay away from elaborate words and phrases and stick to simple, straight-forward writing. Write using the inverted pyramid style. Now, here comes the tricky part. While you are writing this concise, informative, journalistic article, make it personal and interesting. You can do this by adding quotes and clarifying how this information impacts the reader and community.

Attribute the information to specific sources. You want to do this to insure the reader finds the information not only pertinent and interesting with mass appeal, but also verifiable. So, your reader has found your writing to be crystal clear, important to his target demographic, and interesting. Now, ask yourself, does he know how to contact me for more information or to schedule an interview? Contact information is crucial. Let’s talk about where to put it. The format of your release is of extreme importance. You will want to follow the standard specifications so as to make the reporter’s job as effortless as possible. To simplify this process, please see the example below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Miki Markovich

(555) 555-5555

Your email address

Being Shy is an Asset

New Marketing and Public Relations Techniques Ensure Success and Job Satisfaction

(Eugene, OR, February 15, 2011) – For years, there has been a consensus that being shy is detrimental in the business world, specifically in the area of marketing and public relations. However, people across the nation are discovering there are common sense techniques that enhance existing skills to increase both success and job satisfaction.

“I feel very good about myself. I have increased productivity and job satisfaction. By writing personal notes, I leave people feeling special and have saved time and energy by cutting down on uncomfortable, in-person meetings with people I’ve never met. Not only am I happy, but my boss is also thrilled because our company has increased profitability,” said Miki Markovich, Director of ABC Co.

###

The press release above is shortened to be a format template. The three number symbols at the bottom indicate the end of an article in journalism. It’s important to use the correct format as to make the reporter’s job as easy as possible.

Typically, a press release is one to three pages long. You want to be short and concise. The goal is to generate enough media interest to warrant an interview. A good way to familiarize yourself with the content and format is to pull up examples on-line of those successful press releases used in your industry.

In order to get your information read by the proper person, you must know whom to address. You can find this information through various modes of research. In the newspaper, there is usually a section that lists section editors or beats. For television, radio, or even newspaper, this information can often be found on their websites. If none of these avenues result in the needed information, you can call the offices directly and ask for the name of the editor you seek, whether that is the business, technology, education, or news. Once this information is verified, write this information in a marketing contact book for future reference.

The next step is to prepare you’re a short greeting to post at the top of the email or a fax cover sheet. If faxing, have your cover sheet or the first page of your press release on letterhead stationary. If this isn’t possible, have your logo and contact information on the coversheet. This can be done inexpensively by placing your business card at the top, right corner of a sheet of paper or for the more tech savvy out there, simply utilize your logo and design your letterhead on your computer. Make a copy and there you go, instant letterhead. Complete the sections listing who the fax is to, who it is from, how many pages, and the reason for sending the fax. I try to include a genuine compliment such as “I heard your interview with the mayor on the radio Monday. Fabulous job. Your questions were insightful.”

However, if I don’t have any compliments to give, I just write, “I look forward to hearing from you. Have a wonderful week,” and draw a smiley face. If these efforts aren’t directly rewarded with an invitation for an interview, don’t hesitate to follow up with a phone call. Research when it is convenient for the reporter or editor. Keep in mind that we don’t like additional work under high-pressure deadlines and neither do they. Rather than interrupting, calling after business hours is always an option. If you do choose to call during normal working hours, without knowing the reporter’s most convenient time, simply ask when you get him or her on the phone, “Is this a good time to visit?”

Congratulations. You have the interview. Now what do you do? Go and survive. Details should come in the next posting. Smiles to you and best wishes.

Full Color Banners – Use of Vector and Raster Images With Striking Success

Have you ever had a graphics artist ask you about raster and vector images? Like most people not involved in graphics you were probably a little confused by the question. The fact is, that the proper use of vector and raster (or bitmap) images is very significant to the final outcome of large dimension printing like full color banners. If you have seen a printed image that was pixilated, out of proportion or lacked precise definition, then they most likely used a bitmap imagery and enlarged that image until it lost its crisp definition. Speaking of crisp definitions, lets define vector and raster.

  • Vector images are composed of paths, which are defined by a start and end points, along with other points, curves, and angles. A path may take the form of a line, a square, a triangle, or a curved shape. These paths may be combined to create simple drawings or complex diagrams. Due to vector images not being composed of a specific number of dots, but formula representing the curves and paths, they can be scaled to a larger size and not lose any image quality. Vector images are stored in a good deal smaller files than raster images. Vector images are generally unsuitable for photo-realistic, extremely complex images, but are best suited for graphs, diagrams, logos or images composed of basic shapes, such as cartoon-style characters. Common types of vector graphics editors include Adobe Illustrator, and Macromedia Freehand. Their file designators are ai and eps.
  • Bitmap images are exactly what their name implies, a collection of bits that form an image. The image consists of a matrix of individual dots or pixels that all have their own color. Bitmap images are not the best candidates for resizing, rotating, or stretching. Their best representation is in the size and orientation they were originally developed. They may be cropped, colorized, converted to black and white, or combined with other images using an image editing program such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements or Corel Photo-paint. When modifying bitmap graphics you are modifying at the pixel level; in other words, the color of any one pixel may be modified. The size of the file is based on the image’s resolution. Bitmap images are used for photorealistic images and, therefore, may include involved color variations.

After enlarging a vector image, the edges remain smooth and distinct. As a result, vector images are great for large graphics like full color banners. Vector graphics, like a logo, can be compressed small enough to appear on a 3.5″ X 2″ business card, but can also be enlarged up to size for a 6′ H X 30′ W full color banner with no loss of resolution or definition. If you use a digital photograph on a large banner, it must be taken at extremely high resolution. This results in using a very large file providing sufficient pixels to not lose definition when the photograph is enlarged.

You can still use photos, with good results. on full color banners. The file sizes become so large they are difficult to work with and the equipment that must be used is very expensive. Conversions of raster to vector is getting more popular. The result may not look like a real photo, but in most instances has a striking and dynamic impact. For example, conversion of a bitmap image of a political candidate to a vector image to place on a large banner has a unique effect. The reader still recognizes the characteristics of the politician, but the resulting image has a “dynamic” almost surreal feel to it.

The bottom line is that both raster and vector may used with success on large full color banners. Make sure the person doing it knows what they are doing and that you ask to see samples of their work.

How to Become a Songwriter – 2

So, where do songs come from? It starts as an idea in the writer’s head and then it is followed by the songwriting process to receiving the royalty checks. Try writing from within based on your natural and spiritual experiences. Once you come up with the story, condense it. The following are a few tips on how to prepare a package for review:

1) Name your songwriting enterprise

2) Prepare cover letter

3) Only send copyright materials

4) Type lyrics on your letterhead

5) Doubled spaced between the verses or section

6) Block out the lyrics as a poem

7) Display copyright and authorship information

8) Limit to two or three songs but not more than six

10) Send demo cassette when needed

11) Label cassettes properly

12) Send package in 8 ½ x 11 envelope

Make certain to send the package to publishers and record companies to “pitch” your song(s). The package should be prepared thoughtfully and carefully so that it presents you as a professional and credible writer.

For additional information on songwriting, you may attend seminars, read books, talk to other songwriters, hire a consultant, and join associations. If you want to learn about the craft and business of songwriting, and how to protect and sell your work, then you should consider joining an association. They can give you the resources and tools needed to advance in this area.

You may write to Songwriters Guild of America, 1500 Harbor Blvd., Weehawken, NJ 07087-6732, and the Songwriters’ Association of Washington, PMB 106-137, Washington, D.C. 20016. For more information on song writing, you may contact The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, 3402 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90405

Copyright © 2007, Dr. Mary E. Waters, all rights reserved.

Are you interested in starting a business?

To the new and experienced entrepreneurs, getting help with your small business is very crucial to your success. Getting the right help will cause you to avoid costly mistakes, and it can also help you to save a lot of time, money, and energy. You will need to get the right help to form the legal structure of the business, financial, management, procurement/certification, marketing, pricing products, preparing a business plan, and more. If you are a business owner who is wondering if you can take your business to new heights, contact Dr. Waters at tina.waters@waienterprises.com.

Developing Your Brand Package

Your brand package consists of the tools and resources you use to communicate your image. The key to its effective application lies in the consistent use of your image package, which includes your business name, tagline and logo.

Business Name. Your business name is a highly personal choice; however, there are 2 criteria you should consider. First, the name should be descriptive. In other words, people should know what you do by hearing your name. Second, it should be easy to pronounce and remember.

Tagline. Your tagline is your business motto or catchphrase. It should tell people what is unique about you and establish some mental image. Ideally, it should also evoke a positive emotion. Try to limit your tagline to 7 words.

Logo. The most important element of your logo is that it should be memorable, and blend nicely with your business name and tagline to form your image package.

Your image package should speak to the vision you are trying to create for your business. However, what you choose for your business name, tagline and logo are less important than how they are used. The key is consistency and repetition. You want to make sure your image package is visible to customers and potential customers as often as possible. Here are 9 simple ways to do this:

1. Stationary. Put your image package on your letterhead, fax sheets, envelopes and all other forms of correspondence.

2. Business Cards. Likewise, display your image package prominently on your business cards.

3. Brochures. Include your image package on all of your paper and electronic marketing materials including brochures and one sheets.

4. Website. Your image package should appear on every page of your website. It should also appear on all website documents that can be downloaded by visitors.

5. Publications. Include your image package in all of your written content such as newsletters, booklets, and manuals. Even more importantly, write on topics that speak directly to the image you are attempting to create. For example, if you are trying to cultivate an image as a wellness expert, develop publications that provide useful wellness information for your readers.

6. Blog. As with other forms of publication, write blog posts that provide information and resources for your readers in the areas of expertise directly related to your brand.

7. Social Media. Create a powerful profile that embodies the brand image you are trying to cultivate on every social media website that you use (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook). You can also start or join user groups that are connected to your area of expertise.

8. Presentations. Whenever you make a presentation, make sure all of your presentation materials contain your image package (e.g., PowerPoint slides, handouts). Consider facilitating free presentations as a way of communicating your brand image.

9. Elevator Presentation. Many people overlook the elevator presentation because it is verbal, not visual. However, it is vitally important because a good elevator statement will tell people who you are (e.g., credentials), what you provide (e.g., value proposition), and who you serve (e.g., market niche) in a brief 20-second statement.

Travel the World of Freelancing

Do you need extra income?

Are you a mother looking for ways to earn at the comfort of your home? Or a father who would like to use his talents, hobbies and interests to make money at the same time? Or an educator who would like to share his knowledge and expertise? Or a mere student who would like to be independent to support his studies? Or a team of experts with the goal to gain for value and profit? Or someone who wanted to set up a home business, a micro entrepreneur and who would like to be his own boss? Or are you the one who would like to change his career path or would like to have some sort of career break? Or simply someone who would like to have additional work and bonus income?

In this eon of high technology and social media proliferation, earning through freelancing is one of the ways to increase household or individual income.

Earning by freelancing can be your chance to achieve your vision, your dream and a decent way to gain extra income. This can even become a source of your full time earnings.

Why not read on and let us traverse the world of freelancing…

What is freelancing and freelancer?

Before, freelancing work is not so popular and not given any worth at all. Others perceive freelancer as person with no stable job and who do job hopping and hunting from one place to another. In short, no value.

Nowadays, in electronic media and eCommerce development, freelancing is already a “word of mouth”. There is a better connotation today when a freelancer says he belongs to this category. Freelancing is in stratum to compete with corporate giants earning competitively in a blink of an eye.

Others term it as outsourcing skilled and talented people in the project needed by client or buyer. The people in this kind of work are labeled as freelancer, freelance, freelance worker, independent contractor and the like.

The freelancer, the person who is doing freelancing activity, is a self-employed status and has no employee-employer relationship. This is based on mutually agreed arrangement and can be done either verbal or written form stating the requirement of the client including:

the type of work to be done

the deadline

the payment of a certain piece or specified work

the ways to pay the freelancer

and other specific details of a sale or contract

Other freelancers may even require proposal with quotations and deposits from the clients before pursuing the project. They may charge by the hour, day, on a per-project basis, or per piece rate. Some freelancers tried a value-based pricing on the perceived worth of the outputs to the client. It is a common practice to pay fractional fee on the onset as a downpayment or lump sum amount upon finishing the project. For longer period and complex projects, a payment schedule based on results is used which is most common in consulting jobs, where a phase by phase billing is more applicable.

Freelancing in a way is selling skills, talents and expertise with the desired result for a certain buyer or client. Freelancing can also be illustrated as the freelancer providing solutions to client’s problem/s. To optimize the freelancer’s results, one should focus on his own specializations in order to be effective and efficient.

Freelancers are represented by the organization like Freelancer to negotiate on their behalf who at the same time resell their capabilities to the potential clients.

The influence of internet revolutionized the word freelancing into a much detailed explanation, highfalutin terminologies in corporate world such as telecommuting, online outsourcing, offline outsourcing, crowdsourcing and business process outsourcing.

Where can we apply freelancing?

Freelancing has a wide array of applications, vast field, unlimited opportunities and through the advent of internet and uprising technology anything is possible and accessible.

Freelancing can be useful in the following works:

1. Blogging

2. Book Publishing

3. Journal Publishing

4. Magazine

5. Newspaper Publishing

6. Journalism

7. Technical Writing

8. Report Writing

9. Academic Writing

10. Tutoring

11. Article Rewriting

12. Business writing

13. Sports Writing

14. Feature Writing

15. Poem Writing

16. Literary Writing

17. Editing

18. Proof reading

19. Copywriting

20. Ghost Writing

21. Song Writing

22. Consulting (ISO 26000 Corporate Social Responsibility, ISO 9001 Quality Management System, Integrated Management System, ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System)

23. Public Relations

24. Photojournalism

25. Photography

26. Full Marketing Collaterals Designing (from making of company logo, letterhead, business card, tarpaulins, stickers, flyers, billboards, signages, and several marketing and promotional items like corporate giveaways)

27. Photoshop

28. Graphics Designing

29. Logo Designing

30. Illustrator

31. PSD to HTML Making

32. Magazine or Newspaper’s Lay-out Designing

33. Website Development

34. Website Designing

35. Web Scraping

36. Indexing or Market Surveying

37. Content Creation

38. Content Management System (Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, Blogger)

39. Hacked Site Recovery and Protection

40. Coaching

41. Communication (Chat, SMS, Email Support)

42. Language Translation

43. Designing and Conceptualizing Content for PowerPoint Presentations and similar Open Source Presentations

44. Medical Transcription

45. Video Production

46. Flash Production

47. Video Editing

48. Sales and Offline Marketing

49. Telemarketing

50. Online or Internet Marketing

51. Customer Help Desk

52. Tour Guiding

53. Event Planning

54. Event Management

55. Speech Writing

56. Social Media Management

57. Computer Programming and Product Integration

58. Script Writing

59. Film Making

60. Film Reviewing

61. Music Composition

62. Accounting

63. Auditing (Finance and Quality)

64. Researching (Engineering, Mathematics, Science, Technology)

65. Training

66. Recruitment Advertising

67. Virtual Assistance

68. Data Encoding

69. Data Processing

70. Data Mining

71. Interior Designing

72. Gardening

73. Landscaping

74. Home Designing

75. Building Architectural Designing

76. Advertising

77. Open Innovation

78. Mobile Phone Programming

79. Cellular Phones Repairing

80. Game Design and Development

81. Games Installation

82. Operating System and Specialized Software Application

83. Social Media Optimization and Management

84. Search Engine Optimization and Inbound Marketing

85. Link Building

86. Software Architecture

87. Website Administration and Management

88. Finance and Loan Consulting

89. Legal Consulting

90. Business Consulting or Entrepreneurship Mentoring

91. Sports Coaching

92. Business Plan Making

93. Product Sourcing and Manufacturing and a lot more

94. E Commerce

95. Shopping Carts

96. Entertainment

97. Logistics and Product Sourcing

98. Toll Manufacturing and Packaging

99. Food Service Management, Canteen and Catering

100. Public Speaking and Hosting

101. Voice Talent Management, Broadcasting/ Radio Announcing

102. Health Care Management

103. Beauty Care

104. Hair Care

105. Janitorial Services

106. Manpower Services (Bartender, Waiter)

107. Medical Advice Services

108. Metal and Plastic Fabrication

109. Painting/ Repainting, Floor Coating

110. Waterproofing Services

111. Real Estate Development and a lot more…

The prospects and projects are countless. In the internet world, we can get projects and works from Freelancer.com’s website.

Why freelance, what are the benefits?

The client and the freelancer are both in a win-win scenario when they get into freelancing activity.

Essentially, freelancing is a planned action of the organization to focus on their core capabilities and transfer other processes or work to third party such as the freelancer. This aims to expedite work, to increase quality of the product or service and to save fund. In short, this will make the company become more productive and effective as an enterprise. At the same time, the receiver or the freelancer will gain income and experience, too.

Freelancers are paid commensurate to the services rendered to the client and to the negotiation process undertaken.

They can also earn money faster and more frequent than permanent or regular employees in a given period with the same kind of work. This is also dependent on freelancer’s competence, capability, marketing ability, connections and track record.

Flexibility in time or even time freedom to choose the work schedule made freelancing even more attractive to freelancers. They work at their own pace.

Freelancers can choose the place to work. It can be at home or a place conducive to them. It can even be more exciting and inspiring space or an “on the go” mood as it can be mobile too using the latest technology of Apple iPad or Samsung tablet.

Freelancing offers variety of works or projects. So, there’s no place for boredom. Having freelance works at hand, freelancers can earn more!

There could be times that perks may be offered specially for consultants, such as free travel and accommodation! Freelancing is available not only in your community or local market, but also nationally and internationally.

So, freelancing is a very satisfying experience as it gives the freelancer more agility to profit, has the option to work on his choice or market niche and perform at his own time and space.

How to become a freelancer?

There are several ways to freelance as there are also numerous websites regarding this matter. Just be mindful that there are genuine and bogus sites and so it is always necessary that we only negotiate to trusted sites. A newbie freelancer must choose a freelancing site which is known for integrity, reliability and if possible with huge clients’ base. It is no doubt to utilize the website of Freelancer Dot Com with its user-friendly interface.

Freelancer Dot Com is a site with reputation, experience and regarded as one of the top searched website as buzzed by influential world bloggers and SEO practitioners.

In http://www.freelancer.com, it is as easy as, A, B, C. The basic steps are:

A. Sign in

B. Bid

C. Get Hired

Freelancers can sign up for free in http://www.freelancer.com and can bid on the freelance works posted by the buyers or clients or companies.

The numbers of projects and the total amount is so huge and we can get the share of the market most specially if you have the knowledge, skills, talent and attitude.

So, what are you waiting for, let us travel the world of freelancing! This is your time to shine and get more income.

Just try it and who knows you will be surprise how this piece of information can get you going and in turn your time to share this post to all your friends. You may feel free to comment and tell us also your experience about your journey in the world of freelancing…

Continue learning and keep on coming back to our site as juicier and interesting information is in the offing!

Understanding the Cash Only Medical Practice Market

With today’s medical environment so reliant on complicated insurance company regulations and intricate billing procedures, many physicians are looking for niche medical practices that will allow them to maintain their income standards while decreasing their paperwork at the same time. One such niche is a cash only medical practice, which is basically a medical office that does not maintain contracts with insurance companies and instead requires patients to pay cash for medical services rendered. Ending your contracts with insurance companies and building a successful cash only medical practice will likely take some time, and many physicians decide that they need to have a gradual changeover rather than an overnight exchange from an insurance pay to cash pay medical practice. If a cash pay medical practice sounds like it may be the type of office you would like to run, it may be time for you to begin doing some market research to find out if your practice has the potential to be successful:

* What is the condition of your local market? Does your local community have a large number of uninsured or affluent patients? If you do run a medical practice in an affluent community, you may be able to establish a large panel of patients-even patients with insurance-that is willing to pay cash for high quality, efficient medical care. On the other hand, if your local community has a lot of middle or lower-income residents with HMO plans, which do not give any out-of-network benefits, you may find that you have difficulty building a cash-only practice.

* Would your current patients be willing to transition to a cash pay medical practice? It is a good idea to survey your current panel of patients to find out if they would be willing to continue using your medical services if you were to change to a cash only medical practice.

* Should you continue your contracts with the more lucrative insurance companies? Not all insurance companies negotiate unappealing prices with their contracting physicians, and not every insurance firm has unreasonable paperwork requirements. You may choose to work with two or three specific insurers, while asking that patients who do not use these companies pay cash for medical services. It is your medical practice, which means you can choose whom you contract with.

* Which medical services will you provide, and how much will you charge for them? Some physicians find that they are able to see fewer patients with a cash pay medical practice, and they also discover that they are able to focus on the particular medical services that they enjoy. Perhaps you decide to focus on acute medical care rather than chronic ailments, or maybe you will choose to perform fewer diagnostic tests. Whichever services you decide to offer your cash only patients, deciding how much to charge for them will take some research. Ask other physicians, particularly other cash only physicians, in your area how much they charge; there is nothing unethical about doing this as long as there is no discussion about setting collective rates. You may also want to take into account how much your cash pay medical practice will need to net in order for you to cover your overhead expenses.

Gardening Business – Developing Your Elevator Pitch and Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

There are two (2) concepts that you need to understand and embrace if you want to succeed in business. These concepts are your Elevator Pitch and your Unique Selling Proposition.

The Elevator Pitch is:

  1. a short and sweet summary of what you do and it is not really about trying to sell to someone. So instead of telling someone “I mow Lawns”, you might say “We turn our customers gardens into Landscape Showpieces”.
  2. a pitch for other people’s attention
  3. what you tell people if you were in an elevator and you only have 30 seconds (or 100 to 150 words) to impress them or to engage them
  4. a pitch for someone’s attention telling them what you do and hopefully they will be interested to ask you for more information. It is an introduction to what you do and in the process you create some intrigue and hopefully generate some enquiry from the listener

Your Unique Selling Proposition is:

  1. the reason (or the compelling Point Of Difference) your customers choose you over your competition
  2. the foundation of your advertising program – it is what you communicate to your market-place. It may be your slogan or tagline.
  3. the foundation of your professional image – Your image and brand are a result of devising your USP, and your image and brand is carried through to all your livery – clothing – uniforms, letterheads, business cards, magnetic stickers, motor vehicle signage, web sites, emails, flyers, brochures
  4. the first impression new customers and prospects have of you
  5. most probably more important to have than your Elevator Pitch

If you avoid or skip defining your own USP, you’ll struggle to grow your business.

Your Unique Selling Proposition is what you tell the market place through your Flyers, Leaflets, Website, Business cards, Brochures, Radio advertisements and so on. It helps to remind prospects and existing customers why you are different to your competitors. It is a summary of all the benefits (as opposed to all the features) you provide to your customers.

This Point of Difference (your USP) that you articulate may be something as insignificant as the location of your business, the way you carry out your service, or the speed of service delivery. So when you develop these concepts or slogans don’t say something like “We provide excellent service”, because anyone can say that. In other words there is NO point of difference here!!!

Famous examples of good Unique Selling Propositions include: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less – or it’s free.”

Domino’s Pizza:

FedEx: “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight”

DeBeers’: “Diamonds are forever”

You can see why the Domino’s & FedEx slogans are so effective because they are very specific with their mentions of benefits & guarantees. These slogans or taglines are complete statements which can be verified by the customer and they don’t resort to marketing hype words like “ultimate”, “best”, “greatest”.

The “Advertising Age” voted the DeBeers’ “Diamonds are forever” the best advertising slogan in the 20th century. Also, DeBeers would have benefited nicely from the glamorous James Bond film and book with the same name.

In summary, with both the Elevator Pitch and your Unique Selling Proposition, you are communicating to prospects and customers how you take Prospects with a Problem or Pain to another place where there is Pleasure.

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