Creative Wedding Gift Ideas

With the start of the new Wedding Season just on the horizon, it can be a tough time for guests trying to think up something different for the Bride and Groom which will be lovingly cherished, as well as mediating from the norm.
Many wedding guests find that if they (heaven-forbid) find their invitation delayed in the mail, by the time they get the chance to look at the wedding registry, all those on the ball guests have made sure that the good gifts are long gone.
I remember myself returning from a spring vacation to find a dreaded invitation laying in the mailbox, and even jumping immediately onto the online gift registry, the choice was less than inspiring. So I'm not sure exactly how the two egg cups, one fork and hand towel was receieved by Bride and Groom, but I did console myself in knowing that it was something the had wanted enough to add to their list.
These days, however when you find yourself in the aforementioned situation - there is no need to despair! there are a multitude of other great innovative gift ideas which, although deviating from the norm - will be loved just as much. Outlined below are some great alternative gift ideas.
1) Experience Voucher
Buying a voucher for an experience is a great way t give your friends something to look forward to after the wedding. Visit RedBalloonDays to purchase anything from a hot air balloon ride to a v* Supercars experience. If your friends aren't the adventurous type, there are also other great experiences such as dance lessons, cooking classes and whale watching.
2) Name them a Star
The International Star Registry lets you name a star on behalf of the happy couple. You can even select its registration date as their wedding day. The cost includes a beautiful gift certificate, and your friends will love to gaze up into the night's sky knowing their star is up there.
3) Wine of the Month Club
A monthly bottle of wine delievered to the door is a great gift for the culinary loving couple, who will be reminded of you when it arrives and their are sitting on their balcony sipping back and thinking of the great time they had on their wedding day.
4) Restaurant Voucher
Once all the exoense of their wedding hts them, these newly weds might not have the chance to go out for a while and so a voucher for a great restaurant is a fabulous way for them to have a nght on the town - on you!
5) Get Scrappy!
Many brides would like to create a beautiful scrap book of their big day to hold those precious memories in a pretty way. If you are the creative type, then why not bind together a small album and leave some spaces for the bride and groom to insert their favourite pictures from the day. And don't worry if scrapping isn't your thing, a qucik serach online will lead you to some great 'almost finished' scrapbook albums which will do much the same without all the cutting and clipping!

How to Treat Throat Thrush

While there is much literature out there about vaginal thrush, there isn't much about other kinds of thrush. Throat thrush is one such type and is a form of thrush which occurs in the throat.
The symptoms of this disease are: an uncomfortable burning sensation in the throatwhite spots which you may be able to observe by looking into a mirror
However, because of the positioning it can be difficult to determine what might be causing this sensation. If you happen to scrape the small white spots you will find that they may bleed or weep, which can make it diificult to eat certain hard foods which may cause a scratching sensation.
The candida fungus is nothing to be ashamed of, in fact half the population harbour the fungus in their body, it is during an imbalance in their bod, which may be due to stress, sickness or illness, that the fungus becomes overgrown and the problems can commence.
There are very effective treatments on the market to combat this uncomfortable condition. Homeopathic remedies have been proven to be far more effective than over the counter solutions which simply mask the symptoms of thrush.
One of the most recent developments has been the extensive testing of Yeastrol, an oral spray which combats the disease. This spray has been found to be far more effective than over the counter treatments as it actually works with your body to reduce the symptoms and prevent further outbreaks rather than just masking the symptoms.

Copywriting Your Way to The Bank

The first rule of good copywriting for your website is to ensure that you use a direct tone when talking to your customer. If you can convince your reader that you are speaking directly to them rather than to a general audience, your words will be more drawing to them and will help convince them to buy your product.
Another great tip is to not dumb down your words, and also not fill them with jargon or buzzwords which they do not understand. Making your words clear and understandable will encourage your readers to keep on reading.
If you are sending mass emails to potential clients, a great tip is to use a tool which inserts their first name into the copy. There are any tools freely available on the internet which will help you do this, and it has been shown that this personalization is a great way to make sales.
It is important to engage your readers, while not overwhelming them with your message or totally missing the point. Remember to pepper your words with interesting facts about your product which will help readers make a buying decision.
It is important to keep your tone light, airy and friendly. Avoid writing in the third person, as this is too removed from the subject and will also lead your reader to believe that you may not be an expert on the subject.
There are many different styles of copywriting and each individual's style will vary from the next. In particular, when you are writing copy on the internet it is important to remember that your readers may judge you as an expert on the subject simply by the way you are talking to them. This can be a very powerful tool and you should use it to your advantage as much as possible.
Remember that first impressions count. If a visitor to your site does not find your copy engaging, it is likely that they will never return and you lose potential sales. So it is very important that you work on your style and play with your words so that your customer is compelled to buy without feeling as though they have been sold to.

Why Your Marketing Isn't Working

Many of those small business owners desperately wanted appointments, referrals, signups, downloads, proposals accepted, contracts signed and deals closed for their products and services.
They simply weren't winning the level of business they wanted, because they couldn't work out why their marketing wasn't working.
Are you happy with the revenue you're generating for your products and services? If not, then it's highly likely that there are very specific marketing issues, challenges and obstacles preventing you from achieving the results and revenue you want from your marketing, and your revenues will not improve until you know what they are - and fix them.
What if you could identify each and every marketing issue, challenge and obstacle that's preventing you from generating new qualified leads, converting those leads into sales, and preventing you from turning those one off sales into repeat customers...
What if you could improve your marketing and make progress immediately, increasing your confidence, filling your pipeline, and putting more money into your bank account. Sound impossible? Believe me, it's not.
There are millions of businesses (and websites on the Internet) trying to sell everything from simple products and services to lifestyle hopes and dreams, but only a very FEW of these are actually profitable "winners" while the majority are lucky to make any sales at all.
--So what is it that separates the winners from the losers?
--Why does marketing work for some businesses and not others?
--Why do some people work 12-18 hour days trying to generate leads, enquiries, prospects, sales and referrals, only to fall short of the results they so desperately want?
For your business to generate sales and profits, it needs to do just two things. It must generate leads and--most importantly--it must convert those leads into sales. Unfortunately, a lot of people are either doing the wrong things, or simply don't know the right things they should be doing.
In fact, there are very specific marketing issues, challenges and obstacles that are preventing you from achieving the real results you want from your marketing, and those same specific marketing issues, challenges and obstacles are preventing you from the generating sales of your products and services.
Best of all, you could fix and address them immediately, if you knew what they were, in fact, you could unleash a powerful positive influx of desperately needed cash into your business and bank account right NOW if you knew what they were, why they were holding you back, and more importantly, how to ensure you eliminate them from preventing you from generating the leads, inquiries, prospects, sales and referrals you so desperately need and want.
Identifying and addressing just one of these marketing issues, challenges and obstacles could have a dramatic, almost overnight, positive effect on your cash flow. Address all of them, and the sky is the limit--literally.

10 Killer Tips to Get Free PR

Getting publicity is an art, but you, as the entrepreneur, have a HUGE advantage because the press loves to hear about new things directly from the horse's mouth. You, as the entrepreneur, are a "direct source" and considered a killer scoop for a journalist. Direct calls from inventors make journalists feel like they're getting the straight dope without a publicist's spin and they absolutely love it.
This creates an automatic trust and credibility that only you can provide. So go for it with gusto! Don't be shy; turn on your passion. If a journalist blows you off, turn on your humbleness by telling them, "hey I'm new at this, would you mind helping me out?" Ask for their advice on which of their colleagues might like the story you are pitching. I find that showing true human foible and practicing humbleness really works wonders and brings down walls of defensiveness --- even with the snarkiest of journalists. Here are my top 10 tips for getting the press to sit up and take notice and actually get them to report:

1. Identify holidays, seasons and special months that correlate to your product and pitch the press during that time. For example, if you are a chocolate company, call the press with a February Valentines Day story. If you are a bra company, call during October Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

2. Extract the aspect of your product that makes it totally different from the competition and focus on that only when you talk to the press. Note: Price, service and speed do not count. For example, for two former Seagram's executives, we focused on Redcliff liqueur as the "first American liqueur" because it used a cola taste. Cola is a flavor uniquely American and born of Coca Cola fame.

3. Look through a magazine and notice all the different sections that might include your product. Come up with a sentence pitch about your product for each section, then call the editor with your customized pitches. There may be up to three places your product may fit in one magazine. For example, there are "new product" sections near the front of the magazine, "feature" stories in the middle, and sometimes "back of the book" profiles on personalities and CEO's.

4. Tie your product launch to a nonprofit. The press are more apt to report about a commercial product if part of the proceeds benefit a charity. Find an organization that matches the purpose of your product. For example, Wine & Spirits magazine works with water conservation organizations because the publisher believes that water bottles litter the environment. They even created a slogan around it: "Drink Wine. Save Water."

5. Develop a one sentence "elevator speech" that pithily describes your product, and let it be the first thing out of your mouth when you pitch the press or are selling someone on your product. Tokyo Coca Cola's Green Tea Terrace made green tea lattes and cappuccinos. When we called the press about them, we started with "The 'Starbucks of Green Tea' is opening stores throughout the U.S." Making the comparison to Starbucks describes what the company does, and the phrase provides a vivid Polaroid picture image in the mind. Developing words into images is a killer secret that wins the hearts of journalists and tells the story of your product in one simple sentence.

6. Do your research before you call a journalist. Journalist's #1 pet peeve about phone calls are from people who "don't know what they write about." They abhor unspecific pitches and do not have the time to brainstorm with you about how your story will work for their publication. Before you pick up the phone, Google a writer to see what kinds of things they like to write about and note the tone of their writing. Customize your pitch to fit exactly into their style.

7. Consider who the reader/listener/viewer of a media outlet is before you call them. Pitch the story about your product in a way that would interest that particular reader/listen/viewer. For example, The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck has talked on air about her allergy to gluten and frustration in finding foods that will nourish her without an allergic reaction. Her viewers are women who are concerned about their health and the rate of gluten intolerance is rising at an alarming rate. Hasselbeck's viewers want to know about solutions for their Celiac disease and she happens to be a personal advocate. These were very important to thinkproducts, so their CEO contacted Hasselbeck to become a "celebrity spokesperson" for their gluten free products.

8. Make 1000% sure you have the right phone number for a journalist you are calling. Be like a detective to find the exact right phone number. Leaving voicemails for the wrong person is a disappointing waste of time. Make the receptionist your friend. Use Hoovers.com and Linkedin.com to find phone numbers. You can subscribe to Bacons' Media Directory (www.baconsmediasource.com) to get detailed lists of the entire staff of any magazine, newspaper, online or broadcast outlet.

9. When you do reach a journalist, qualify they are the right contact by saying "are you the person who reports about food? Beauty? Business?" After they answer, follow with your pitch by saying "great, because I have a food product that is filled with pure functional food and prevents cancer. Does that interest you to report?"

10. Call journalists when they are most likely to answer the phone. Morning radio shows start work at 4 am. and are gone by 11 a.m. Daily newspapers are rushing to get their stories done at the end of the day, so avoid afternoons and call them first thing in the morning at 8 a.m. Magazine reporters work on "long leads" that are 2-8 months ahead of time, so tag your story to coincide with the issue they are most likely working on now. For example in April, Body + Soul magazine is working on their October issue.

11. Bonus! Never, ever, ever hang up without asking a journalist for a referral. If the journalist you reached isn't interested in your story, politely ask if there is someone else they think should hear and maybe report about it.

Winking in the Dark

Have you ever heard the phrase 'Winking in the Dark'?

In 1956 in the New York Herald Tribune, it was noted that "doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does."

I think this a great phrase that sums up many business' activies. Especially new businesses. It is important for companies to try to figure out what they can do to get their brand out there, so that consumers can *see* what they are doing, and what they have to offer.

There are lots of different ways that companies can do this, and we'll be examining all the different possibilities that are out there. But lets just start at point one. You need to advertise your business and/or your products so that you customers know its out there! Because no one can buy it if they don't know it exists.

So don't I mean marketing and not advertising? Well no, and this is a common mistake that alot of people make. Marketing is a very broad spectrum of activities which define and promote your brand, and advertising is just one of those activities. And really, its the most important one. How does the burger shop get you into their store to try their new, comes with tastebuds bursting extra topped up flavours burger - they advertise. Sure you already know their brand, heck you drive past it every day, but if they didn't advertise what they have to offer, how else could you be reminded of just how good their burgers are that they persuade you to drop in? Because if your customers don't know about you, or aren't reminded about you on a regular basis, then they will unfortunately forget about you and head off to your competitor down the road who spend some of his dollars telling people about his business.

So which kind of advertising is right for your business? Well, that depends entirely on what your business is. If you are a local handyman, then advertising on National TV probably isn't going to get you business that is bang for your bucks, whereas a small ad in the local classifieds paper will most likely bring the sort of business that you are looking for. On the other hand, businesses looking to promote themselves throughout a whole city or region, may look at another form of advertising which is more widespread, such as transit or newspaper, where a wider cross section of society will have the opportunity to view their advert. If you are unsure which kind of advertising is right for you, simply drop us a line, we'd be more than happy to giv eyou an unbiased opinion.

One thing to remember is that it is the placement of your advert that counts the most. If people don't remember your advertising, you're wasting money, and in some cases vast sums of money, because the expenditure is not advancing your brand. Put another way, a poorly placed or poorly produced ad will never really be effective in the marketplace, no matter how many advertising dollars you put behind it. It's like playing poker and continuing to throw good money behind a bad bet. Or winking in the dark; and we wouldn't want you to do that....

What if Your Products Sold Themselves?

Isn't it every business' goal to have the perfect product that EVERYBODY just has to have? Customers who don't just show some passing interest but are there with their wallets in hands. . . people who are eager to buy your products and services every day!

Imagine the impact more purchase ready customers would have on your organisation . . .

Easier sales = happier staff
Happier staff = happier customers
Happier customers = healthier sales
Healthier sales = healthier profits
Healthier profits = Business Success!

Let's assume you have a great product, but sales are dwindling, or just never got to be quite where you had thought they could go. So how do you re-engage your customers, and persuade them to buy?

That’s where Black Market can help. As Marketing Experts, we are on a mission to help refresh, reignite and re-engage your business for sales success!