Vision Of Success

Have you ever gone into a bookstore, looking for a book that isn’t on their shelves? You inquire at the information desk, and they say they can order it for you.

At that point you have two choices: order from the bookstore and come back in a week to pick it up; or head home and order it online and wait for it to arrive in your mail.

What if you could have it on the spot? I found an article about a bookseller that’s doing just that. Blackwell’s is offering print-on-demand books while customers wait with their newest innovation - the Espresso Book Machine (EBM).

The machine currently prints 40 pages per minute, but this is expected to double  later this year. Which means you can have an average business title in under five minutes.

How cool is that?

This isn’t meant to take over what a bookstore is currently offering - it will merely complement it by offering more titles than a bookstore can offer.

I can’t wait until we see this technology here…

Imagine sitting at the computer at 11 am on a Friday afternoon. You surf to a site, and a 5 second audio commercial plays telling you about a special you can get at a pizza place just a few blocks from you. Your hungry. Pizza sounds good. So you head over and have lunch.

That’s the power of audio ads. Pay Per Play Media (in beta) has created a new way of advertising to people in your target market and in your community. You choose when and where - they do the rest.

Or if you have a high traffic site, maybe this is a way to monetize it even more. Sell ads on select pages. The ad will only play once per page, and only once per 3 minutes on any page they click on within your site (that way you don’t overwhelm your audience with a ton of audio ads).

Sounds interesting - anyone tried it?

I was out surfing today, and ran across a very interesting PDF file on a blog. Usually PDF’s are used as text only files - a way of “freezing” informatin in a document to allow people to look at it exactly how you designed it. And you can have ways of creating an ebook, and password protecting it for security.

I’ve used PDF’s for years, but I never considered adding sound. Now you can. 

Visit http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/tutorials/pdfsound/ to read how to imbed sound in your PDF’s.

Lori

I finally received my sandwich in the mail. [see first write up] The post office sent out a “lunch bag” complete with an image of the sandwich I built - and a whole bunch of information on why direct mail campaigns can boost your business.

The key to direct mail in today’s marketplace is personalization. And with the technology that’s out there, personalization is easier than every. So my sandwich was labled “The Osterberg Supreme”. The front of the brochure had an image of a sandwich board, complete with a message directed to “Lori”. And included was a DVD with a complete presentation - and of course the DVD was personalized to me.

Does all of these attract my attention? You bet.

Does it make me want to look at the DVD? You bet.

And does it make me want to invest in this type of technology in the future. You bet!

Lori

Did you know one of the best direct marketers is  -  the post office?

I get direct mail pieces from them all the time. Their goal is to help you become a better market (and maybe use the mail service a bit more). Today I received a large envelop from them, with a photo of a lunch bag on the back, and Let’s Do Lunch printed in red on the front. Inside was a large napkin printed with ideas to help you bring in more business. And they included a Place Your Order form which you could mail in, order a “sandwich”, and they’ll mail you more ideas.

So of course I had to order my “sandwich”. I’ll let you know what I receive in a few days.

Lori

If you haven’t visited www.usps.com you may want to head over there and look around. They really do have quite a bit on marketing.

Have you tried Craigslist.com to advertise your products or services?

Have you ever posted a video to YouTube.com to gather attention?

Now you can combine the two efforts at http://www.realpeoplerealstuff.com/ Create your video showcasing your product or service, and place it in the appropriate category. It’s really easy - and because there isn’t a lot of competition yet, you have a good chance of being noticed!

Lori

Are you a gadget person? I love new things, and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new IPhone.

I love Apple’s marketing campaigns because they focus on ease. They make you want what they have to offer because it’s easy to use - and its cool! And while other phones have similar capablities, the IPhone just makes it seem like you’ve always wanted this type of technology - and that you’ll be able to use it every day without even thinking about the operations.

So in just a few days, it will be interesting  to see how many people trade in their old phones for an IPhone - and to see just how well Apple’s marketing works.

Lori

Several people had referred this software to me, so I finally headed over to their site and watched the demo. Wow. I was sold. So we picked up the software last night, and I can see this is going to have a huge impact on the way that I write, and how much I get done.

If you write a lot, check this out.

http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/

Lori

As many of you know, I write bi-monthly for the Denver Business Journal. So I do head over to the business journal’s website quite a bit.

If you haven’t been to their sites, you may want to take a look around. http://www.bizjournals.com/ From this one portal site, you can access and of the major city’s papers and complete sites. You can read a wealth of information. And you also have access to the events and networking section, which will provide you with everything that’s happening around your town in the coming weeks.

I also use the business journal’s website to gain access on potential customers, and use it for a variety of research. The more you know about people and businesses, the easier your business gets!

Lori

Have you been out to any of the social networking sites, trying to drum up business?

While you may have heard of MySpace and LinkedIn, what about the newest market entry Cozi

Cozi has unique features for families, and can help you network with other friends and families on a personal basis. Set up your family calendar or create your shopping list. It’s an interesting approach to help the 30+ population stay on track.

Lori