How To Host A Very Profitable Friends And Family Sale

The friends and family sale has long been used by the retail industry as a advertising tool to generate customers. However, I have very rarely seen businesses outside of the retail industry use the strategy. Well, why not find a way to make this sale a part of your advertising strategies. After all, the chances are pretty good that your current customers know other people who are similar to them that could use your product or service. However, before you run out and try this strategy I must give you a word of caution. See, over the years, I have noticed that if you run this sale the wrong way, then  the friends and family sale will just be a huge flop. After much investigating and testing in my own business, I have come to the conclusion that the large majority of time when we promoted our friends and family sales, we mostly got prospects who would have bought days or weeks earlier if we would have just given them the discount earlier. This completely defeats the purpose of having the sale. In fact, we were only risking losing the customer and delaying our profits because we were discouraging the customer from buying today, so that they could get the better sale price later. So, here's the solution. Create ads that clearly state that the prospect can only get the discount only if they bring friends and family (prospects) with them to the sale. You can even tier the discount to handsomely reward those prospects who bring more friends and family. For example, give a five percent discount if they bring one person, ten percent discount if they bring two, and a fifteen percent discount if they bring three and a whopping twenty percent discount if they bring four people. However, the key to the entire sale is that the friends and family must fill out a simple little contact information form when they visit your showroom. You can even create a drawing that they are being entered into a contest to win prizes or cash. When you let them know why you're gathering the information, they will not feel as awkward giving you their information. At the very least, this allows you to build your marketing database, and you may even get a sale or two from the friends and families at the sale, but the benefit is that you get to grow your prospecting list. Finally, make sure the terms of the friends and family sale are well laid out on your website or on the advertisement itself. This will allow your customers to really play the game to get a bargain for themselves while bringing you plenty of potential prospects.      ACCELERATION LIVE EVENT COMING SOON! Acceleration "LIVE" events are a gathering of successful 6 & 7 figure Entrepreneurs coming together to support one another in a co-operative community.  The event is an intensive 3-day mastermind and learning event specifically designed for successful, purpose-driven, big-hearted and giving entrepreneurs who are... MAKING A FORTUNE BY MAKING A DIFFERENCE.   To learn more visit us at:

Getting Private With Public Relations - Sponsor Local Charity Events - Part 12 of 12

Sponsoring local charity events is another great strategy to build up goodwill towards your business while getting your message across to your target market. Sponsoring local charity events is not a new strategy, but it hasn't really been embraced on a larger scale by many small to medium businesses. However, now that you know about this highly effective strategy, you can reap the rewards of implementing it into your business.

The key to profiting from sponsorship of local charity events is to hone in on your target market and discover what charity events they will be most interested in attending. This requires you to gather information from your target market, which you cannot do unless you ask your customers for their input on your website or in your business.

Once you gather information from your past and current customers, then you can begin to look for sponsorship opportunities that match your target market. There are thousands of sponsorship opportunities right in your local area. The fastest way to find a sponsorship opportunity is to contact non-profit organizations which match your target markets’ interests.

It is important for you to know that sponsorship opportunities will require an investment from your business ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Most sponsorship opportunities will have various levels, so don't worry about being locked into a huge expensive contract.

When deciding on a specific non-profit organization or cause to champion, make sure that your business and businesses receive maximum coverage on the specific organizations website and marketing material.

Remember that the goal of your sponsorship opportunities is to bring exposure to your businesses. However, you can choose a charity event that has significance to you, but just make sure that it serves dual purposes, otherwise it will make you feel really good, but won't generate the desired amount of free publicity for your business.

Try It

The wonderful thing about free publicity is that you have nothing to lose. A few phone calls, a few personal letters, maybe some investment in quick printing new releases. And, you can reap many times that investment in additional sales and orders.

Whether you have an international personality to publicize or a community barbecue, you can get that information to the public at little expense.

What is unique about your service or product? Is it the best? The most used? The longest lasting? Do customers return after one year? Consider all the angles, then consider again.

Be sure to make solid contacts and be thorough with your follow-ups. Being polite and efficient will always create effective business relations. Then exploit your own publicity. Use it again and again. Post it in the store or rewrite it for more national distribution. Go as far as you can with your ideas.

And it doesn't cost you. That is the true joy - with a little effort and persistence, you can reap great profits from free publicity.

What’s the best way to get free publicity?

• Savvy social networking. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have become household names. But they aren't just for finding old high school flames. Social networking sites can be a helpful tool for marketing if you use them to develop relationships. The No. 1 rule in social networking is be social. If you decide to promote your business in the realm of social media, it takes time and energy. You can't show up occasionally and expect results. On the other hand, shameless selfpromotion 24/7 won't be tolerated, either.
• Respond to breaking news. Google provides a free service that functions like a media clipping service. It scrutinizes the web and Google News database, then sends you an e-mail as soon as something you're interested in appears in the search results. The e-mail will include the website address so you can go see where and how your topic is mentioned.  Here's how this could help you. Let's say you help schools and day-care centers create safety plans to prevent noncustodial parental abduction. Create Google alerts for "kidnapping," "abduction," etc., key terms related to your topic. When events associated with that topic occur, contact newspapers, radio and television stations in that city immediately and let them know you can comment on what's happening. This works for any industry, whether you help businesses outsource retirement planning or you create costumes for ferrets.
• Make your website media-friendly. Create a pressroom or media area with links to past publicity and an 'About You' section highlighting your mission and key employees. Make it easy for the press to contact you. You'd be surprised how many sites do.
• Go where the reporters are. At ProfNet and Help a Reporter Out, members of the media post queries seeking sources for articles. Use both sites to open your business to a world of publicity opportunities.
• Know your target. Before pitching a media outlet, be familiar with the website or publication. Know what topics the reporter covers (his or her beat) and what angles he or she is likely to be interested in. This helps you tailor your pitch to the person's needs.
• Become a resource. When you see information that might help a reporter, such as industry statistics or a local trend, pass it on. If you're helpful on a regular basis, you'll be top-of-mind when the reporter needs a source.
• Sell your pitch. Most press releases today are sent by email, and reporters get hundreds of emails a day. Break through the clutter with a subject line clearly conveying the benefit to the reporter and why your news should interest him or her.
• Offer an exclusive. If you have a ground-breaking product or service, or really want your company mentioned in a particular media outlet, offer an exclusive. Giving an influential reporter the first chance to publicize your news can create more incentive to write about you.
• Network. It's easy to find out reporters' beats and what they're interested in. Get active on social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter to connect with members of the media and see what they're working on.
•  Don't forget bloggers. PR once meant targeting print publications or TV shows, but bloggers have become equally important. Many bloggers post multiple times a day, so they're hungry for news. Read their blogs, post comments and cultivate them as carefully as you would any other member of the media.

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Getting Private With Public Relations - Using Press Releases To Quickly Generate Sales - Part 11 of 12

Writing press releases is the quickest and easiest way to get local and national media outlets to notice and promote your business. Unfortunately, most business owners only think about using a press release with a grand opening. However, you should be sending out a press release at least once or twice a month, but only if you have a marketing plan that includes professionally prepared press releases which are informative, educational and entertaining.

By this point you may be asking yourself why local and nation media would be interested in your business. Well, the truth of the matter is that radio, newspaper and television stations all need news stories on a regular basis. Media outlets must have enough news to fill their air time and pages of their newspapers. Without stories to talk about newspapers, magazines and news reports become very boring and mundane.

If you implement a regular press release campaign in your business, you will begin to get offers to be in your local media. Over time you will become a local celebrity in your target market, and that will allow you to attract prospects to your business because they want to be associated with a celebrity who is successful.

Just like with many of the other strategies, your press release strategy can only work effectively if you hire a marketing-minded writer or become a good marketing-minded writer who knows how to write in a way that compels prospects to actually take the necessary action and visit your business. Do not make the mistake of thinking that any press release will be good enough. You must either learn the skill of copywriting or hire a professional copywriter to create your compelling press releases. 

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Getting Private With Public Relations - Writing Articles for Magazines and Newspapers - Part 10 of 12

The perfect marketing plan should include both paid advertising strategies and free publicity strategies. In fact, free publicity marketing strategies are much more effective in promoting your business than 99% of paid marketing strategies. However, you need both strategies in order to provide a constant stream of growth and profits

One of the best methods you can use to generate tons of free publicity for your business, without coming across as a pushy salesperson, is writing articles for newspapers or magazines. This strategy can pay huge dividends, especially when you become as the “go-to” expert for a publication that your target market reads on a regular basis.

Writing articles for magazines and newspapers not only gets you recognition from your target market, but this strategy also helps you become a magnet for other free publicity opportunities. It is a great feeling to have prospects visit your business and buy from you because you are the expert in your niche. That feeling is a lot different than having people shop your prices all over town, visit your business and receive excellent service from you, but then go and buy from somewhere else because the other business was ten cents cheaper. The best way to avoid being shopped to death is to become the obvious go-to expert for your niche.

The reason why writing articles for magazines and newspapers works so well is because we are all taught from a young age to believe what the newspapers tell us. The majority of people in our culture believe news stories as if they are the gospel. When you become part of the experts that the newspapers and magazines rely on for their information, then you become known as the expert. Your customers will begin to believe everything you tell them as factual and truthful, instead of questioning your every little move and decision.

The best way to get your articles included in a newspaper or magazine is to write three to twelve articles and have them professionally edited. You can then contact your local newspaper or target magazines and offer to be a guest writer or offer your articles for inclusion in their publication. 

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Getting Private With Public Relations - Promotional Literature - Part 9 of 12

You can publicize your service or product with a pamphlet or booklet. Topical subjects such as saving energy or cutting costs are always newsworthy. Naming new trends or buying new habits are equally being publicized.

Take a look at the magazines and trade journals in your area of endeavor. Are there special sections for interesting tidbits of the industry? Maybe there's a section for new products, or even a section that compares products.

Does your product or service have something special that other competitors don't? Maybe yours is the best, and "best" is newsworthy. Does yours have the longest resiliency, or is it made from the best materials? Maybe your service is noted for complete satisfaction or reliability.

These aspects are especially important for the big manufacturers. Trade journals cater to the special industries, and those in trade always want to consider the best product investment--especially when spending thousands of dollars.

An oil company sends out free booklets on maintaining your car; a travel agent prints out brochures on the most beautiful vacation spots; a dry cleaner gives out a flyer on getting stains out as soon as they happen.

What promotional literature can you tie into your business? And it doesn't need to be product orientated. Some large companies produce tips on employee relations or benefits. Many print their own newsworthy in-house publications.

Any special message booklet is a public service and is worthy of free publicity. Some interesting information can make a good story if followed up by a reporter. Or you may write your own feature for magazines.

You can get your literature designed and printed by a local printer at a minimum cost. Don't go for an elaborate four-color booklet, unless you can afford it. Consider what you can get for the least expensive and then work from there. From a small investment, you may get thousands of dollars worth of free publicity.

Always include the name, address, business number and email address of your enterprise on the brochure, and offer copies for the general public as a free give-away or as a bonus for services.

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Acceleration "LIVE" events are a gathering of successful 6 & 7 figure Entrepreneurs coming together to support one another in a co-operative community.  The event is an intensive 3-day mastermind and learning event specifically designed for successful, purpose-driven, big-hearted and giving entrepreneurs who are... MAKING A FORTUNE BY MAKING A DIFFERENCE.  

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