Promote yourself on radio for free

Unless you have become extremely popular in your personal or business name, you likely need all of the marketing and promotion you can get. Now, you may say, of course, I'm aware of this, but who has the money? This a good and fair question. It may surprise you, though, when I say, you don't need money for some of the most valuable marketing available -- radio advertising.

If you aren't the kind of person who listens to talk radio, the next time you're taking a drive, tune in to one of your local talk shows and listen for awhile. Try to find something that is not a sports talk show, although they also offer the type of free advertising I want to explain. What you'll eventually hear is an interview. A talk show host will have a guest, who is an expert at something. Perhaps it's a health show, and the subject is weight loss and the guest is talking about some new diet.

Now, listen carefully, because you won't hear the guest babbling about his book, web site, or going on and on about his great product that is going to melt the pounds off of every fat person in America. What you will hear, in most cases, is someone who is explaining a method for weight loss that is a new approach. Now, at times throughout the show, this expert will certainly mention his product, and the host will ask the expert to tell the audience how to order it.

Even if you are an avid listener to these types of shows, and you've heard hundreds of guest experts, what you may not know is that in 99 percent of these cases, this is not paid advertising.

You see, there are thousands of talk show stations in America, and the ones that program only talk shows probably have five to 10 different shows per day. Some quick math will tell you that tens of thousands of talk shows nationwide need things to talk about and guests to keep listeners tuned in. This is where the magic comes in for you. As a new author, salesman or business owner -- talk shows need you.

Best of all, virtually anyone can get on a talk show. When I published my first book, Winning the Mortgage Game, I had very little idea how to market it, but I did know I was on a very small budget. I put up a web site, started an ezine, and it was an extremely slow beginning. That is, until I learned about being on radio talk shows. I read a very well-written how-to book by a man namedJoe Sabah about approaching radio producers and getting them to invite me to be a guest on their shows.

The second show I ever did was an hour-lomg interview on a station hundreds of miles away from my home. The producer called me at my house minutes before I was on, and the host began asking me questions about real estate finance. At various points throughout the show, he said Mark, tell listeners how to get your book, and I simply said go to http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com, and use the credit card of your choice. Believe me, people are much more apt to go to your web site, when they've heard you talk about your subject.

Now there are a few keys to getting on the radio and to making your appearances turn into sales of your product. First, you need the names and numbers of the stations and the producers of the shows. Remember, producers book the guests, so they are who you want to talk to. When you get them on the phone, which is not easy, be sure you are prepared. Don't just say you want to come on and talk about your new book or product. Start by telling them you are an expert in whatever the relevant field is and that you have a new system you want to share with their listeners.

Remember, this is going to be a lot like sales. You need to talk to a lot of producers to get a few bookings. Not everyone is going to jump at what you are offering. Make sure you speak in a good voice, so the producers think you'll sound good on the show.

When you do get booked, be sure you have several key points that listeners will remember, and make certain they know exactly how to get your product. Incidentally, if you want to get a great list of radio stations and their contact information, look for Joe Sabah's book. Radio talk shows are one of the best free ways to advertise you'll ever get. Take advantage.

Running a Car Wash Fundraiser Using a Pressure Washer

If you are considering on doing a car wash fundraiser to help raise money for a small non-profit organization, may I suggest that you use a Pressure Washer to wash all the cars? Why? Well because you can wash the cars faster, save water and do a better job.

You see pressure washers put out between 1,000 and 3,000 pounds per square inch and that results in a significant amount of cleaning power. In fact, much of the dirt will be blown right off the cars. As long as you keep the tip away from the car by 12 to 18 inches you will do fine and you can get closer in if you are doing the rims.

Most small pressure washers put out about 1.2 to 4.5 gallons per minute. A garden hose might put out 6.5 to 10 gallons per minute and that is a significant difference. This means less water is used and the pressure washers have a spring loaded shut off nozzle on the trigger gun too. It is everyone's responsibility to save water these days and we must all pitch in.

Wasting water at a car wash fundraiser doing it the "Wrong Way" does not teach the kids the responsibility of the value of water. Of course we must not forget the importance of quality, because the customers are paying you good money to have their cars washed and using a pressure washer blows the grit off prior to soaping and this will prevent scratches.

There is really no reason not to use a pressure washer at a car wash fundraiser and some parent in your group has a pressure washer for home use or that they use in their small business. So please consider this. Here is a complete free online book to help you: http://www.carwashguys.com/fundraisers/LAschools.html

The Quickest Way to Get Your Workers' Compensation Audit Completed

The very last thing you look forward to is your workers' compensation audit.

It takes you at the very least a few days to assemble everything the auditor really wants to see: huge binders and stacks of records.

The auditor asks you tons of questions concerning your business. He also wants to know in fine detail what duties your employees do.

For all of your employees.

It happens annually, but you'd rather get a root canal.

What's the best way you can get through this quickly?

Detail your employee job duties

You do not need to handhold the auditor while he's poring over your payroll reports. But what occupies the most time for you is going over your employees' job duties. That's simply because, unfortunately, you need to be there to answer the auditor's questions.

If this sounds like time you don't have, prepare the job duties prior to the audit.

1. Create a list of every single one of your employees that worked throughout the audit period, not present employees. The audit period is the time period the auditor cares about. 2. Print a report that lists each person's work titles. 3. Gather the standard work descriptions through HR for each type of job. These descriptions spell out the exact duties of the positions.

Use common sense: an "Office Manager" works similar responsibilities to a "Bookkeeper, so pen that in your list.

Be careful... You might have numerous job titles to assemble. Be careful about claiming that a "Sales Accounts Manager" conducts the same duties like a "Sales VP." If you think that the auditor will question it, spell out the duties.

If unsure, obtain the official work description.

Uh, all this seems like lots of work

Indeed, this will take work on your part, but it is going to be much faster compared to doing this during the audit. Or even worse, following the audit.

Exactly what all of this prep work does is give the auditor a good easy-to-reference list without needing to get the information verbally from you. So the auditor can spend the time going through the job duties and you can spend that time getting your own work done!

Summary You cannot avoid workers' comp audits, but you can still make sure they are a lot easier to deal with. If you devote some time to obtain the data ready ahead of time, you'll save yourself the headache later on.

Hotel Remodeling - Renovation And Interior Design Setting New Trend In Hotel Construction Management

The past three years have been the best for the hotel industry in more than two decades and is expected a boom in coming years. Revenue per available room has jumped to 10% approximately as compared to last year, the biggest increase since 1984.

Hotelier who wanted to capture the market share, increase the revenue per available room of their hotel and enhance their guest's experiences it is suggested to get some remodeling, interior design or hotel renovation work done to make their success their priority.

Just keep in mind hotel remodeling also accounts complete hotel renovation services, such as restaurants, spas, golf courses, marinas, casinos etc.

The hospitality industry relies heavily on the ability to achieve superior ratings from guests. Defining the guest experience depends on many subtle factors such as the bed quality, fabrics, linens, mirrors, the completed hotel interior is essential for success. And it is very necessary to tailor and cater carefully as per the tastes and demands of individual guest.

To feed this emerging demand to hotel industry, professional companies are stepping forward to provide complete Hotel Construction Management services inclusive of Hotel Remodeling, Interior design and Renovation services.

These Hotel Construction Management companies do not offer hotel operation services; they are only concern with the hotel operation and work deliberately with the property management team to insure on time completions with little or no guest inconveniences. These companies are having trained staff that manages and accomplished their job smartly and insures hardly or no trouble to hotel customers.

If you are hotelier is interested to reinvent his / her brand start, it is suggested to refer such a Remodeling and Renovation cum Construction Management service provider. As they can provide you a quality work which can definitely prove a cost effective strategy for your hotel brand.

Email Copywriting - Hints and Tips

So you've decided to do an email marketing campaign. You've got a great template, your working with a respected email service provider and you've got a database ready and waiting to hear your message. All you've got to do now is write the thing. Ahhh, didn't really think about that bit did you? Don't worry, you're not alone. Lots of people consider the copywriting, as a bit of an afterthought when crucially it is the most important part of it. Have no fear though; I have some hints and tips for you:

1. Who, what, when, why? - ask yourself these questions first. Who are you aiming the email at?, what is the product/service that you want to promote?, when is the best time to send your email (sales, seasonal trends etc), and why are you sending them an email. This should get the thought process started and the creative juices flowing.

2. Keep AIDA at the forefront of your mind. I don't mean the opera by Verdi! I mean Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. Grab the attention by using a must-click headline, whet the appetite of your audience with some stimulating information, explain why it's important and why they need it, and then tell them what to do next.

2. Don't cram all your ideas into 1 email. People can't cope with loads of different messages. Determine what the main thing is that you want to say, and say it. In other words, get to the point and focus on the benefits i.e. why they need your product/service and how it will make their life easier. Remember that email is a way of teasing your audience to visit your website so don't try and say everything in the copy. Quickly lead up to your main point and then include that all important link which will take them to your website and the call to action.

3. If you hit writer's block then walk away, have a coffee, take a walk. Whatever you do don't wade through the copy just to get it done. Approach the copy with a fresh mind later and then you'll do a better job.

4. Give it some personality. Yes, your email marketing needs to present a professional credible image of your business but that doesn't mean it has to be dull. The best emails are informative and entertaining so don't be afraid to use humour but make sure you don't over do it. Best thing to do is run some of your ideas past trusted friends and colleagues to see if the humour works. They will tell you if it doesn't!

5. Don't rush it. This is tricky to balance because you need time to write your copy and refine it. However, if you keep revisiting it you will analyse the piece to death and you may end up with a turgid piece of copy, which has delete written all over it!

Remember, having a well-prepared email with great use of images will attract attention but ultimately it is the words that do the selling.

If you would like help in creating an email marketing strategy with compelling copy for your customers then please contact Hayley Cashmore on 0845 116 2723 or email info@threespiresconsulting.co.uk

Why Every Business Needs To Have A Social Networking Campaign

Every business needs a strong social media campaign for business purposes. No business can ignore the conversations that occur over the social networks for very long. These conversations will become major deterrents for new customers to visit these businesses. It becomes very important for most businesses to learn how to manage social media as soon as possible.

Online reputation management is becoming one of the biggest things that a business needs to manage while doing marketing online. There are plenty of social media and online hecklers who want nothing more than to destroy a business just for the thrill of doing it. There are also the former employees and customers who are so disgruntled that they will seek to find ways to destroy the businesses that they feel have wronged them. Online reputation management is the place where a business fights these claims and makes sure that the good information about them is the information that surfaces on the search engines. This may be a full time job because any message that has any amount of age on its posting can be difficult to dislodge. However, the sooner a business tends to these problems the faster they can remove these messages.

Another reason a business needs a social campaign is that a good campaign can deliver traffic to a website. This traffic can be high quality traffic as well. This is because gaining followers in the social media networks takes talking about a certain topic with consistency and expertise over time. The people who click the link in the social post are interested in the services or product. Those who are not will not click the link. This means that this is highly targeted traffic, and any source of highly targeted traffic is useful for sales. The way social media is built lends itself to weeding out those people who do not care about a business's message and only talking to those people who really are interested in what a business has to offer.

A social media campaign may also help a business gain notoriety. There are many media outlets that pay closer attention to the social networks than ever before. They find new experts on topics by watching the feeds on certain topics and a business can become an expert on a topic if a local or national new agency sees them. It is best to have a presence on all the social networks to maximize this effect.

In conclusion, social media campaign is no longer luxury it is absolutely essential to doing business in the real world. Similar to how a website was a luxury a few years ago, those who had them viewed them as just another way to get a few customers, now they are a necessary part of any business plan. Social media is only going to become more effective in the future. This is because every social company is trying to monetize their systems further. This means more and businesses are entering social media every day. It is important to start marketing through social media today before any competitors do.