Advertising. It Surrounds Us.

 Copy Writing, Marketing  No Responses »
May 242014
 

Cha Cha Chandler Logosad-ver-tis-ing   noun. the act or practice of calling public attention to one’s product, service, need, etc., 

I was going through my Facebook wall and was reading some of the posts made by my “friends” that were sharing their thoughts on the “sheep that were being brainwashed by the media to buy products they do not need or to watch various television shows or movies”.  He encouraged his friends to breakaway from the reliance on media telling them what to wear, drive, eat, and how to think.  He wrote about how much he dislikes advertising/marketing and that he doesn’t want to be a “cog in the wheel”. Continue reading »

What is YOUR time WORTH?

 Copy Writing, Marketing  No Responses »
Mar 152014
 

large center for repair 2If you are reading this, you have come to my website that I created back in September as a way to generate additional income through freelance work that I have  been doing for the past two years that includes copy writing, voice work, and audio production for businesses around the globe, as well as website designs and to host the podcasts that I recently started doing.

The reason behind this blog is due to the conversation that I just had with one of  my clients who pays me to work on his website.  It’s fitting that his website is to showcase the watches that he repairs and sells as this blog is about the VALUE of YOUR time.

You see, he gave me a call concerning the site and to run some ideas past me, which I am okay with as it wasn’t at a strange hour of the day and it’s a part of my service contract with his site.  After our 15-minute call, he thanked me for my time and informed me that he was going to send me another payment to cover what I would typically charge of an hour as a “consultation fee” because as he put it: “I’d rather pay you your hourly fee for these past 15-minutes, rather than attempt to make the changes on my own, only to waste 2-hours and end up with a messed up site.”  My clients get it.  Do you? Continue reading »

Copy Writing VS. EFFECTIVE Copy Writing

 Copy Writing, Marketing  No Responses »
Mar 082014
 

OnTheMicOne of the goals that I set for myself in 2012 was to find a way to generate more income and for roughly the past two years I have been doing a lot of freelance work writing for various businesses across the GLOBE. These have been articles for their websites, on various products ranging from hand blown Bohemian Glass Vases to ad copy for businesses in NEW YORK CITY as well as helping businesses with their on-line presence in addition to voice work.

I must be doing something right if they are returning with more orders.  If they aren’t returning it’s due to them being out of business and that isn’t the goal.

I started the freelance gig with just a laptop. No website, well I guess I had my social media pages: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and SoundCloud; but all of those have limitations. I knocked on virtual doors, sent what we call in the business “spec spots” to businesses that I heard really terrible radio ads for on stations I listened to while on vacation as a way to build a relationship with people that I didn’t know.

The goal was to show them that I wanted to help their business succeed. I didn’t send them a package or an e-mail that listed a price. I simply sent them a demo of what I thought their message COULD be as well as a link to my portfolio . Some of those individuals took me up on my offer to try it out and we eventually built a relationship where the one message for a client has now grown into multiple orders from the same business owner for copy writing for their radio ads, websites, and using social media to tie them together. Continue reading »

Our Advertising: It’s not working.

 Marketing  No Responses »
Jan 122014
 

Roy Williams Advertising Not Working

 

So you feel that the money you’re investing to advertise your business just isn’t working.  You feel that the account representative failed you and they simply took your money.

When it comes to the advertisement, what is the message that you are trying to get across to the audience?  Do you have a SINGLE, EASY TO REMEMBER, and WELL CRAFTED MESSAGE in your ad or are there multiple messages that you are attempting to get across?

In my career I have heard many advertisements on the radio, on different stations, and some of the businesses are now out of business.  Some of the businesses that remain in business today may not have been happy with the results of their marketing, so they simply pulled their advertising dollars.

What are you doing to build upon your marketing?  Are you simply hoping that the marketing campaign will turn your business around and open the wallets of potential customers? Continue reading »

Going Out Of Business

 Marketing  No Responses »
Jan 042014
 

Going Out of Business

So you took the risk to open a business.

Your friends raved about your skills.  Whether it was your cooking, your artwork, your woodworking, or your ability to repair cars.

You found a location, came up with a business plan, and found a bank that would give you the money to open up your business.  The BANK doesn’t care if you succeed or fail as they will get their money back one way or another.

Your friends like your business on Facebook and they check in every time that they come in to your business to help promote you to their friends, but you really need to have a plan.

If you do not know anything about me, here’s what you need to know:  I’ve been working in broadcasting since 1999 and I have seen plenty of businesses come and go.  I’ve been to plenty of these businesses and their friends were there from time to time and I would have to admit, the food was good.

However, I cannot dine out EVERY NIGHT.  Nobody I know of can dine out every night, yet the AVERAGE DINER will shell out over $2,500 dining out this year.

Product, Location, and Marketing are the Triple Threat to a successful business. Continue reading »

Tattoos & Marketing

 Copy Writing, Marketing  No Responses »
Dec 122013
 

I had a great conversation with a friend the other day about Marketing and Tattoos; that’s when it hit me that they are both one in the same.

You wouldn’t rush into a tattoo parlor, grab the first artist you see and expect them to knock out the amazing piece of work you have envisioned in your head within the next two-hours. So why would you expect to get amazing results from your marketing campaign within the first week, month, or 6-months of getting your message out into the public?

Another way marketing and tattoos are similar is that the really good ones are one of a kind. Again, do you really want to have the same tattoo that someone else has or do you want to share your ideas with the artist and allow them to use their skill to bring your idea to life? Keep this in mind when it comes to your marketing. Does the message in your ad sound just like your competitor’s ad?

If it does, don’t approve it.

Besides being on the air, I use my knowledge to write copy for businesses here in town as well as all over the country and world.

My first question I also ask my client: What is the goal of your ad?

If I don’t know what their goal is, I can write 100 scripts and never hit on the message that they want delivered. I need to ask them questions in order to deliver not only a commercial, but the first step in their advertising campaign.

My clients also understand that I’m not just looking for their money for the service I am providing them. They know that I’m looking at building a long SUCCESSFUL relationship with them. I know that when they like my work, see results, and are in need of new ideas, they will come to me for my services. When they succeed, I succeed.

Just like a great tattoo, you cannot rush a great marketing campaign. You need to understand going in that it will take time and be aware that there will be some pain. However, if you planned properly and are working with someone that is skilled and understands what YOUR are looking for as an end result, you will be pleased with the results.

 Permalink  Marketing  No Responses »
Dec 112013
 

Relay150

Tomorrow marks the EIGHT-YEAR Anniversary of my wife Molly discovering the lump in her right breast that turned out to be Breast Cancer.

I am currently looking for business owners that would be interested in partnering with me and who be willing to donate a percentage of their sales to my Relay For Life fundraising. The Fundraising Date will be promoted on 96-7 I-ROCK and we would drive our listeners to your business that day to make purchases that will also be helping a great cause.

The goal is to have ONE business featured each week leading up to the Relay For Life of McLean County in June.

If you are interested, please contact me.

Making your dollars go further.

 Marketing  No Responses »
Nov 232013
 

So you have dollars to market your business or product, but are you using them wisely?

You need to have a SIGN in front of your store or on your building.  Is spending the money to WRAP your building with additional signage that screams your name and the various sales doing you any additional help to increase your traffic and sales?

After all, the only people that will see the sign on or in front of your shop, not to mention all of those sales signs are the people that are driving past your location. After awhile, your building and signage become a blur at 55mph.

So you’re stepping it up by hiring “Sign Holders”.

Again, the only people that are being exposed to the sign holder are the ones driving past them, and unless they are at a red light, they cannot read all of the words that are on your 3′ X 5′ sign.  Effective Billboards are not cluttered with words and use a font that is large enough to be read from a distance and just like your building: are only seen by those driving past it. Continue reading »

Customer Service: Deliver on Your Promise & Make a Phone Call

 Marketing  No Responses »
Nov 072013
 

ChaChaChandler Lebeda LogoIt’s 2013 and throughout the years there has been one form of advertising that has and always will trump every form of advertising:  Word of Mouth.

Whether is was good or negative experience, people will always listen to someone they know over a paid for advertisement; on TV, in the paper, or even on the radio.

I’m also a believer in ending on a positive, so I will start with the terrible experience that we had in just ONE week.

Our washing machine was acting up to the point were you would have thought it was twerking all over and when the load was done, the washing machine was nowhere even close to where it was when we started the load.  This was going on for some time, so we set up a service call for a technician to come out to the house.  With both of us working full time and our girls in various activities, we are on a pretty tight schedule; so when the service technician said they would be by between 3-5p, with a phone call thirty-minutes prior to their arrival, we’d have time to meet them at the house.

Guess what?  No phone call.

I came pulling up on the drive to see the service truck, and I assumed that my wife had let him in.  Turns out she wasn’t home and he had been waiting for 15-minutes.  As it turned out, the washing machine was fine, but neither one of us received a phone call that was promised. Continue reading »

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