Today's Good Marketing Tip: Keeping the Sales You Make

After dozens of phones calls and emails as well as several face-to-face meetings, you finally reach an agreement with a prospect who is intent on buying your service, product or solution. "Whew! Another sale done," you think to yourself.

But, wait. Before you start counting your commission it is critical that you keep the sale. Just because a prospect has agreed to move forward it does not mean that the sale will move forward, especially if you sell a complex system or solution. Dozens of things can happen to derail your efforts.

Your key contact may change companies or positions. The person you are dealing with gets cold feet, loses interest, or decides to change vendors. The company may be acquired or sold. A competitor may approach your prospect with a better offer. There is no such thing as a guaranteed sale even if you are holding a signed contract. That means you need to ensure that you keep the sale. Here are several strategies you can incorporate into your business that will help you achieve this.

1. First, send some form of acknowledgement or thank-you. I know this sounds like an elementary concept but most sales people think of doing this. They take the sale and move on to the next prospect. However, if you send a thank-you card immediately after you confirm the sale, you differentiate yourself you're your competition. You can also use postcards. The key is to show your new customer that you value his or her business and thanking them is just one small gesture that demonstrates this.

2. The next thing to do is regularly update your new customer. Keep them informed about things like delivery or shipment status and installation dates and schedules. If you sell a highly customized product, make sure you advise them on the progress of the development of their product. Frequency of updates will depend on a few factors.

- What does your key decision-maker expect or want? If they are detail oriented person they will require more frequent updates than someone who is less detail-oriented. The easiest way to determine this is ask this question, "How often do you want me to send you updates?" A simple question but one that will give you tremendous insight into your customer's expectations.

- Another factor is the length of time that occurs between the time of your agreement and when your services will be rendered or your product will be delivered. The more time that elapses between these two, the more important it is for you to update your customer. For example, in my particular business, it is not uncommon for a company to book me for a keynote speech or training workshop up to a year in advance. During this time, I try to send them some form of update so they know I have not forgotten about their event.

3. Send them additional information of value. This includes articles, magazine and newspaper clippings, or other information that is relevant to their business. You could send them an article that mentions a strategic move one of their competitors is about to make or an article on a topic that relates to your key contact's interests. You may come across a newspaper article about their company-clip this article and send it your client. It does not matter if they have already read the article because your gesture shows that you are paying attention to their business. And most sales people do not do this. One word of caution. Do NOT send information about your product! This is not about you! It is about giving your new customer a reason to keep the sale with you.

4. Depending on the size of the sale, you could send a book that will help them with their business. There are a multitude of books on the market today, addressing virtually every business situation. If your client enjoys reading then it makes good business sense to send them a book that will help improve their results. I have sent books to my clients that focus on communication, leadership, sales, and customer service. Attach a brief note explaining why you sent this book.

5. Lastly, reinforce their buying decision. The easiest way to do this is to send them testimonials from satisfied customers. An even more effective approach is to ask one of your existing clients to call your new customer. People want reassurances that they have made a sound buying decision so just imagine the impact if they heard a voice mail message from one of your clients stating how satisfied they were with your product, service or solution.

These may sound like simple concepts. However, I can guarantee that very few sales people actually use them. Integrating these strategies into your routine will not only help you differentiate yourself from your competition, you will increase your odds of keeping every sale you make.

This post provided by Kelley Robertson, author of The Secrets of Power Selling helps sales professionals and businesses discover new techniques to improve their sales and profits. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com

Good marketing tip #108

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Posted in: sales

Create an Uncluttered Trade Show Display

When you're getting ready to attend a trade show, it's a good idea to spend some time thinking about how you are going to set up your booth. When preparing for a trade show, you have to find the fine line between an adequate display and one that is too cluttered. Many trade show participants make the mistake of putting too much stuff on display, which results in an exhibit area that is crowded and difficult to manage.

Think Visual Appeal When you are setting up your trade show booth, don't focus your efforts on trying to cram every piece of promotional material you own on the table. Instead, think about what you can do to make the design and setup of your booth have visual appeal to trade show attendees.

Keep in mind that your booth has to be attractive enough to entice people to approach you so that you have an opportunity to educate them about your company's products and services. Don't make the mistake of making your display look so overwhelming that attendees are turned off by your display or find themselves too intimidated to approach you.

How to Display Company Literature

You should definitely include some type of company literature on your trade show display. For most businesses, a general brochure is the ideal item to pass out at trade shows. You should bring a sufficient quantity of brochures to the trade show with you, but don't stack all of them up on your booth at the same time. Instead, put out just a few at a time, and replenish throughout the day as your supplies begin to dwindle.

How to Avoid the "Grab and Run"

Many people who attend trade shows take great joy in the freebies that vendors give away at their booths. It's definitely in your best interest to take some kind of novelty item with your company's name, logo, and contact information printed on it. However, as with your brochures, it's important not to put all of your goodies on the table at the same time.

If you have a huge stack of pens, sticky notes, candy, or other items on your table, it's too easy for people to grab an item from your booth without giving you a business card or picking up one of yours. Put out only a few items at a time, and make a habit of handing goodies to people while smiling and asking about their business. This represents a much more effective use of your company's marketing materials than allowing random people to grab them and run away.
Get Ready for the Show

By following these simple tips for creating a clutter-free, marketing oriented trade show display, you're well on your way to enjoying your most successful event yet. Remember to be friendly and approachable, but don't be aggressive in trying to draw attendees to your display. Your well organized and clutter-free booth will encourage individuals who are good prospects to seek you out, resulting in a win-win trade show event for you and your future clients. A

This post provided by Mary G. White, M.A., SPHR who is the Training Coordinator Mobile Technical Institute & MTI Business Solutions (http://www.mobiletechwebsite.com), where she specializes in human resources, management, and marketing training. For free career and business development tips, see http://www.dailycareerconnection.com/ and http://www.dailybizsolutions.com/.

Good Marketing Tip #107

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Posted in: trade shows

Make the Most of Your Confirmation Emails

As the internet has evolved over time, marketing to customers via email has become more challenging. People and companies have implemented SPAM filters resulting in fewer messages being delivered to in boxes. When marketing emails are delivered, the messages still need to be opened. Email is obviously a cost effective way to market to existing customers. This begs the question, "How can I get more existing customers to see my email marketing messages?"

One way is to put marketing material into order confirmation emails and shipped notification emails (emails that are sent when orders are placed and shipped).

These types of emails have a tendency to get delivered more often. Much of the content is unique (order number, customer’s name, items purchased), making the email less likely to be flagged by a spam filter. Additionally, customers are likely to open these emails to confirm their order has the right contents or to see when a package might be delivered. It's a good medium to ask for an additional sale.

Should you decide to merchandise additional products in the email, consider putting them below the core data. For example, if a customer receives an email confirming his order, put the promotional copy and/or images below the invoice. Customers don't want to feel like they are being deceived when opening emails. Also, make sure the email addendum contains links so that it's easy for customer to get to the products that are being merchandised. Use clean crisp images that will pop and get the customer's attention.

It's an unfortunate fact of email marketing that fewer emails are reaching their intended recipients. However, merchants that seize the opportunity to market to their customers upon every touch point will have more success in generating repeat business.

Good marketing tip #106

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Posted in: email marketing

Use Testimonials to Improve Conversions

Today's customers want to feel reassured that you are selling quality products and services. Customers do not want to lose money or feel like they've made a bad decision. The best way to do assure customers is to have good, strong testimonials.

If a business has happy customers and a lot of return clients, it should have testimonials. You wouldn't hire a contractor to remodel your house without checking references. Therefore be proud of the work you do and get some testimonials. Customer testimonials will help increase sales as well as boost the confidence of potential customers.

The Difference Between Good and Better

In order to have testimonials work for you and increase your client base, you must be careful how you phrase them. Testimonials are a marketing effort, which means that they need to be geared toward making your company look spectacular. For example, instead of writing "I love their vitamins", write "Taking these vitamins everyday gives me lots of energy and keeps me feeling great all day long." The latter testimonial is a lot more eye-catching and will be more effective in gaining a customer's confidence than the former. Ask customers who are willing to write testimonials to be specific.

Cherry Pick Your Testimonials

If you don't have any testimonials, check your company's email inbox for customers who sent compliments. If you can't find any ones you like, look at your client list and find out who is buying your products and at what frequency. Call or email a handful of your best customers and ask them to write a specific testimonial. Have them send a picture as well. This will give potential customers further reassurance of the validity of the testimonial.

Testimonials will not only improve your business, but will also improve your company's image as one that values customer satisfaction. So make the effort to get some strong testimonials.

Four Tips for Effective and Eye-Catching Locations

1. Once you have the testimonials, you need to figure out where to put them on your site. Placement is key, particularly when using flash. You want your testimonials to give maximum impact. The most common place on a website is for them to have their own navigation button titled either "Testimonials" or "Rave Reviews". This way more testimonials can be viewed on their own page.

2. Another option is to use flash testimonials on a sidebar on the homepage along with the customer's name, job title and company or logo. If you are using the testimonials in the masthead, they should rotate every 7-10 seconds then stop after all testimonials are shown. You don't want a testimonial to be so distracting that it takes the emphasis off of the content and what you are selling or offering. By having the flash cycle stop, you are allowing viewers to see the testimonials and then freely look at the content without the excess flash.

3. An alternative way to present testimonials is to sprinkle them throughout the site, highlighting them within the content using graphics, such as a color block background, upper and lower bar, etc. These visual stops are equally effective in reinforcing your credibility and can act as an additional selling point for specific products or services.

4. If you have the option for audio or video testimonials, this can be very effective in boosting your company's credibility. Audio is easy to record using Audio Acrobat. Video, on the other hand, requires more thought to positioning and angles. If you are at a trade show or with a client, you may want to pre-plan these testimonials for more impact.

Remember that in order for a testimonial to be effective, it needs to be specific, believable and placed in a credible location. With these three tips in mind, your testimonials will build customer confidence and web success.

This post provided by the Web Success Team. Contact the Team today and we'll show you how to beef up your online marketing efforts make your website capture more buyers and generate more income for your products and services. http://www.websuccessteam.com

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Posted in: internet marketing

Make the Most of Your Search Marketing

Todays Marketing Tip: Search Marketing

Succeeding online requires an extensive knowledge of search engine marketing. Whether you're new to SEM or a search marketing veteran, there are a few tenants of search marketing that, if studied, can help improve your marketing results.

While it is true that you can put together an ad on Google or Yahoo!, pick a few keywords that describe your business, then bid on them and be up and running with a Pay Per Click campaign in a few minutes, the actual process requires considerably more thought. Here are a few key points to consider:

What is the goal of your ad? If you are an e-commerce merchant selling mainline products, you probably want to generate a sale. If you are operating a decorating business, your goal more likely is to generate a lead for follow-up. That goal will shape how you structure your campaign.

What kind of landing page do you want the user to click through to? Is it a specific product page with all the information necessary to complete the order or do you want your customer to land on your home page in order to get more information about your company? You may want your ad to be product specific or have a more general message.

Is there a special "deal" that you can offer in your ad? Phrases like "free shipping", "save 10% now" or "sale ends tomorrow" create a sense of immediacy that can increase the likelihood someone will click on your ad.

You don't have to have the top ad listing in order to be successful. While being #1 likely will bring you more clicks, you don't want to overpay for them. Typically, as long as your ad appears in the first five positions, and has a compelling offer, you will get your share of clicks.

The keywords you select for your ad are critical. In fact, the difference between a cost-effective campaign and one that just costs you money often are the keywords you select.

Try to avoid buying general terms, unless your site has a very, very broad selection of product. The keyword "cars" might bring anyone who is looking for anything having to do with a car - that probably doesn't do you much good if you are selling radiator hoses.

Stick to words and phrases that relate as specifically as possible to what you are selling. A good rule of thumb is that the more general a keyword is, the more expensive it is.

The page customers land on when they click on your ad should contain similar words to those used in the ad. Reinforcing the ad message is important for two reasons: first, it tells people they are "at the right place" and second it will help your Quality Score on Google and Quality Index on Yahoo!.

Google in particular attaches great importance to the relevance of your landing page and you may be able to secure a higher ad position with a lower bid than other advertisers.

Monitor your campaign regularly. This is particularly important at the outset when you are establishing what works and what doesn't. Pay per click advertising isn't day trading - you don't have to be glued to the monitor but you don't want hours to go by without seeing if your clicks are converting into your desired result of sales or leads.

A large search agency might suggest that you need 1,000 or more clicks to determine if your campaign is working. As a start-up or small business, you (or your agency) should be able to draw conclusion with far less clicks than that.

This post provided by Richard Teich, owner of eMarketSmart.com

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Posted in: internet marketing

Website Submission Services: What's the Impact?

Today's Marketing Tip: Stay Away from Website Submission Services

If you're like me, you're constantly inundated with banner ads and emails that say, "submit your website to 50,000+ search engines." Well, when you're trying to get traffic to your new website, the promise of distributing your URL to that many engines becomes very appealing.

Being so involved in Internet marketing, I always wondered about the value of these types of services. Because of the low entry price, around $30, I figured I'd give it a try for this very blog. So I plunked down my credit card and gave it a go. Do you know what happened?

Within 3 hours of completing the submission, my Google search results plummeted. I went from the #1 position on Google to the #5 position. Now, you might be saying to yourself that this decline in rankings was merely coincidence. However, nothing else was changes with my search engine optimization strategy and my existing rankings had been steady for over eight months.

Truth be told, this was actually my second foray into using a distribution service. Previously I had experienced the same phenomenon with my other website - sometimes we make the same mistake a second time!

The evidence seems rather clear. Website submission services do NOTHING in the short term and can have a detrimental impact on your rankings. So if you're looking for a boost in search engine rankings on Google, stay away from website submission services.

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Posted in: search engine optimization

Marketing Your Website With a Traffic Exchange

Today's Marketing Tip: Traffic Exchange



If you haven't heard about them, you're definitely in the minority. Traffic exchanges are sites that allow you to either install a toolbar or set a start page that gives you credit for surfing websites and/or squeeze pages.

Often times you'll earn a single credit or mulitple credits for each site you view.As your credits increase, the number of times your very own website or squeeze page is displayed throughout the traffic exchange network by other members. Most traffic exchanges allow you to select the specific categories of sites/squeeze pages you wish to see.

So what's the value? From my perspective, its not what you might think. Personally, I've used Traffic Swarm to test my squeeze pages - not for traffic generation. You might be asking yourself, isn't traffic the necessary component of an effective promotional page? Well, there is some truth in that without anyone viewing your promotional pages, its next to impossible to determine their effectiveness.

The other challenge is that many users are just surfing to earn credits.That being said, I find traffic exchanges to be a real tell-tale sign of your squeeze page's effectiveness. If you can stop someone in their tracks to view your page and take an action (free report, download, go to purchase), then you have a winner.If you want to learn more about traffic exchanges, check out Traffic Swarm, TrafficG or simply do a Google search. Sign up and start exchanging traffic today!

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Posted in: traffic exchange,trafficswarm

Today's Marketing Tip: How to Manage Your Online Reputation

Have you Googled your name lately? If you have, you know just how important managing your reputation online can be. Each day, thousands of individuals are searching online for information about others simply by searching on Google or other leading search engines. With information being so readily available, managing your reputation is more important than ever.

How to Manage Your Reputation Online

Fortunately, managing your reputation online isn't all that difficult, but it does take work. Here are 7 basic steps you can take to ensure that your reputation doesn't become negatively impacted by what's being said about you online.

1. See where you stand. Start your reputation management initiative by Googling your name. Try it with quotes and with out (first and last name together). Look through each of your results on page one and page two of Google. Are there any there are are negative or you wish to remove?

2. Set up a Google alert. Visit Google and set up an alert for your name. After setting

up the alert Google will send you and email to confirm that you wish to receive the updates. Accept the alert and each time your name is published to the Web, you'll know about it.

3. Contact website owners for name removal. If there are sites that include your name and commentary that is less than desirable, contact the appropriate websites requesting that the information be removed. More often than not, website owners will agree to remove your name and/or inappropriate information.

4. Purchase a domain with your name. Add sites and web pages associated with your name and watch negative search results get pushed lower on Google rankings. Visit GoDaddy or another provider of website URLs and hosting, and purchase a domain that contains your name. Even if your name is rather common, experiment with variations until your name can be established in the form of a dot com. Once you own a domain, publish a web page with your personal profile.

5. Start a blog under your name. Blogger is a great tool for setting up your own blog which can be used to publish information about yourself. Popular blog sites are often picked up by Google and you can control the content. Be sure to sign up for Technorati after your blog has been published. Submit your blog for review and its popularity will increase, improving search rankings and continuing to push down negative search results.

6. Free press release. Use free-press-release.com or a similar free press release site to publish favorable information about your and your reputation. This form of reputation management is easy and costs nothing. Be sure to use your name throughout the release and in the release title.

7. Author articles in your field. Publish article relative to a particular topic or area in which you've done some work or have experience. Use article distribution services to build online references to your content. Make sure your articles contain an about the author section that links back to your main website.

There are a variety of strategies you can use to manage online references about you, your family, or others that need to manage their reputation online. Other online sites like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, and Squidoo, offer ample opportunity to deliver favorable search results that can push unfavorable results down in search engine rankings. The key is to start today - proactively manage your reputation and put yourself in a favorable light.

Does your online reputation need a little work? Contact Michael Fleischner at support@marketingscoop.com

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Posted in: internet marketing

Prospects Love to Buy... Hate to Be Sold!

Today's Marketing Tip: Making them buy.

Increase sales by focusing on helping people buy, something they love to do, rather than sell them something they do not want. Learn how to make it easy for people to buy from you.

I'm buying a new car at the moment and I forgot how much fun it is. Choosing the make and model, test driving - and being a girl, of course the color has a huge influence on my buying criteria.

Think about the last time that you made a purchase that you were really delighted with. Do you remember the pleasure, the anticipation of how the purchase would enhance your life? Do you remember that little thrill you get just at the point of saying 'Yes!' Buying is great fun. Why do you think they call it 'retail therapy'? Yet lots of people forget this and they focus on sales processes. The problem with this is that most selling is not only ineffective, it actually deters people.

Think of what happens when people approach you to try and sell you something, notice how your barriers come up. It's almost like you have an inbuilt skepticism and resistance. That's why selling the old way is such hard work. You're actually having to fight with the customer's resistance and skepticism, most of which has been triggered by the salespersons approach!

Selling this way is expensive and exhausting. It may just about work for corporations who have large sales teams, but as a small business owner, you can't afford to waste your time and your energy in that way. Your time and energy are better spent on work that you get paid for. And the Client Magnets approach can help you to maximize that. So I'd like to invite you to forget about having a 'sales process' and think about designing buying processes that are fun and enjoyable for your prospects and make them feel glad that they have discovered you! Isn't that a paradigm shift?

Instead of thinking, 'Oh no, I have to think about marketing and selling', you can say, 'I'm going to help more people discover me and the results I can deliver today. I'm going to help more people solve their problems today.' An expression that sums this up well is 'Buying Facilitation'. Forget about selling, and think about helping people to buy.

Put your emphasis on helping the other party make an informed decision. You aren't trying to sell to everyone, some people will be a better fit than others, but your buying processes should help prospects determine how well you 'match' each other. Facilitate also means 'make it easy' so you also need to think about how easy it is to buy from you.

If one of your clients referred me to you today, how quickly could I become a client of yours? Do you have a 'package' that I can buy immediately from your website so I can start using your concepts and ideas straight away and get a 'taster' of your full service offering? Or will I have to play telephone tag with you, ask questions about your service, find out when you are available, get you to put together a proposal, before I can become a client?

This week think about creating a buying process that is enjoyable for your prospective clients and adds some value. Take some ideas from my examples. I offer free reports, this newsletter, teleseminars, articles and talks. I aim to provide value BEFORE anyone becomes a client, so you can get to know me and sample my approach before you put your hand in your pocket! Doing this helped me almost triple my business last year, while working less hours, so take it from me - it works!

Post by Bernadette Doyle who publishes her free, weekly Client Magnets newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you want to get clients calling you instead of you calling them then sign up for the Client Magnets newsletter at http://www.ClientMagnets.com today!

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Posted in: marketing

Make Your Article Marketing Successful With This Marketing Tip

There's a thin line between effectively using your keywords in your titles and being obvious about it. You may see some titles and think, "That title barely makes sense," or "All this person's titles look the same, and they don't really give me any idea of what their article is about."

If someone is looking at your title and saying either of those two things, you haven't used keywords appropriately. If you're wondering how to appropriately use your keywords into your article titles--look no further! This article will show you 7 keyword integrating title tips that'll help you catch Google's eye...

1) Your title should indicate the subject of your article.
That tip may sound like a no-brainer, but folks who are super-focused on putting their keywords in their titles sometimes end up with titles that don't indicate what their article is about. First and foremost, remember that the purpose of your title is to lure a reader in with a taste of what the article is about.

2) Your title should be attention-grabbing and stand out from all the other articles on the same topic.
When a reader is looking at an article directory or search results on Google, they will be looking at a list of titles all on the same topic. In order to get the click-through, your title needs to stand apart from the pack and make the reader say,"That article looks like it would answer my question in an interesting way!" There is little benefit to having your keywords in your article title if your title is BO-RING!

Your article won't be the only article on the article directory it's published on, and it will not be the only search result on Google. Your title is competing against tons of other titles, so be compelling, have a hook, grab your reader's attention and lure them into your article.

3) Don't force your keywords to be in your title if you cannot meet the first two criteria here.
Yes--these first two criteria are more important than getting your keywords in your title. First and foremost, craft an compelling title that reflects what your article is about.

4) Don't stuff your keywords.
There are some folks who are not really interested in writing an informative article--they just see the article as a vehicle for their keywords, and they create a makeshift article and stuff their keywords throughout it. Don't do that!

That is not what article marketing is about, and you will totally miss out on the wonderful benefits you can achieve if you overlook the main purpose of your article--to educate the reader.

Put yourself in the shoes of your reader--from looking at your article title amid a sea of other article titles on the same topic, would your title draw a reader in and cause them to click through to the rest of your article?

5) Consider making your title the remedy that your article offers.
We need to twist the way we think--when someone does a Google search, most often they are looking for the answer to a question. Think like your target market--if they were to find your article, what would they be typing into Google to reach it?

This could mean having a title that is a question. For example: "Can I bake my own wedding cake?" or "How can I stop my dog from jumping on people?".

6) Keep it natural.
Lots of times folks establish keywords, and they think they need to use those exact keywords in their article title and in their article, with a result that sounds contrived and forced.

Keep in mind that Google will acknowledge variations of your keywords too. For example, if your keyword is "sail boats", you can also use "sailing boats", "sail boat" or "how to sail a boat"--any words that are semantically related to the original keywords.

7) If you write on the topic of your website (which you should definitely be doing!), there is a good chance that your keywords will naturally appear in your article without even trying.

We're going for a natural sounding article that serves our readers, and the truth is that as long as you're writing about the topic of your website, your keywords and their variations will likely appear in the article naturally.

The big lesson here--don't over-think how to use keywords. Yes, you can mention your keywords in your article titles, but only IF your article title also indicates what your article is about and is compelling enough to catch a reader's attention.

This post provided by Sharon, an article marketing expert who loves to teach folks how to build links and drive traffic to their websites. Now you know how to use keywords in your articles--wouldn't you like to submit your articles to hundreds of quality publishers with the click of a button? Of course you would! Learn how to leverage your articles so that you get maximum results. Get the full story and reap the rewards today at http://www.SubmitYOURArticle.com

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Posted in: article marketing

Making Your Online Advertising Effective

Online advertising can pay huge dividends. But so much time is spent on what should go into your ad that we sometimes neglect one of the most important and eye catching elements, the empty spaces.

This is really one of the simplest, but easiest to mess up, factors of your print design. Have you ever listened to a song like the Who's "Wont Get Fooled Again" or similar songs that build up to a crescendo then suddenly have a break in the music before kicking the guitars back into overdrive? That empty space in the music is powerful.

It can give you goose bumps and it can make a whole room feel electric. When the music starts again and breaks that moment of silence, the notes sound louder and more powerful as a result. This isn't a trick that is reserved only for musicians. The same principle applies to ad design (or any sort of design, for that matter).

What you should be shooting for is to draw attention to the important parts of your ad: the message, the offer or the image. People at times and it is an easy trap to fall into, make the mistake of simply enlarging the item they are trying to bring focus to. Granted, disproportionately large text can stand out, but it also has the effect of making an ad seem lop sided or amateur.

The eye needs to be drawn to your focus, though, and the most effective and most professional looking way to do this is through the use of space. Don't clutter your ad with unnecessary text and images, especially around the main areas, since they can detract from the central focus.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that if there's a big empty space in your ad that you have to fill it with something. Just include the pieces that are necessary to effectively convey your idea or message. If you just have too much information that has to be conveyed about your product, you should save it for a brochure or catalogue instead of jumbling it all together in your advertisement.

There are no hard and fast rules dictating how much or how little space you should have in your ad, but a good rule of thumb is to leave at least one fourth of ad space empty.

The same applies to the images you use in your ad. When taking photos keep it clean and free of distracting clutter. Use a background that will accentuate your product and make it stand out. For example, using an image of your product against the back drop of your office's out of date plaid wallpaper, is going to be distracting.

Space can make your ad design sleek and professional in appearance and that is what will make an impression on consumers. Sometimes, it is not what you do with the space you are given, it is what you do not do that counts.

This post provided by Katie Marcus. She writes about print design technologies being used by businesses for their marketing and advertising campaigns.

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Posted in: online marketing