Sublime Thoughts

October 15, 2008

Your Business Can Change the World

As a part of my discussion about business social responsibility, I think it is important to talk about how businesses can, and should, contribute to alleviating some of the problems facing our world. The theme for this year’s Blog Action Day is global poverty, so I would like to point out some ways that small businesses can contribute to relieving global poverty.

Source: http://www.globalissues.org

  • Make Discounts Count – Do you offer a discount coupon for first-time customers?  This is a great opportunity to demonstrate that your business cares about global poverty.  Why not offer the option of that discount going to a relief organization?
  • Go Green – Find ways to reduce the paper used in your office, and recycle that paper, along with electronics, and many other everyday items.  Reducing spending and waste makes your business more efficient and frees up some money that could go to worthwhile causes.
  • Think Before You Toss – This is not just in the recycling sense.  My business makes many custom products, like mugs, mouse pads, shirts, and tote bags.  Occasionally, one of the products doesn’t come out right on the heat press, so it can’t be sent to the customer.  Instead of tossing some of these items in the trash, I can donate them to charities.  They are still good, usable products.  What does your business have that you’ve been throwing away that could be donated?
  • Sponsor a Child – Have you heard of World Vision?  For a few cents a day, your business could sponsor a child.  You get a short biography of a specific child when you sign up to sponsor.  Your business could feature this on your website with the option to allow your visitors to donate to the fund.
  • Donate on this Blog! – Right here, right now, you can donate $1 which will go to Change.org to treat malaria and other diseases in many countries around the world.

You do not need a PayPal account to donate.

What is your business doing to help those in need?

October 6, 2008

Stand Out with a 100% Free Local Ad Campaign

How much are you spending on advertising?  Do you think you could be doing better?  If you’re like me, you have had advertising campaigns that left you thinking that you got a very low return on investment and not much publicity.  When I think of a standard ad campaign, I usually think of the time frame in terms of days, weeks, and maybe months. What would you think about a campaign that would still be running a year from now with no additional investment?  Let me introduce you to a truly unique advertising campaign idea.

If you market locally, some of your goals probably include maintaining visibility and establishing yourself as a leader in your community.  Here comes the “meat” of my advertising plan.  A standard 11 ounce ceramic mug has an area about 8″ x 3″ that can accommodate images and logos.  According to my calculations, that would be enough space for up to four small advertising spots.

An 11 ounce mug can fit up to four ads

An 11 ounce mug can fit up to four ads

Your first plan of action would be to find local “mom and pop” restaurants, diners, and coffee shops that would be willing (and happy!) to accept one or two cases of free coffee mugs to use at their tables.  Next, find other local businesses to purchase ad space on these mugs.  One of my 11 ounce custom mugs is about $14.  Fitting four ads on each mug makes each ad cost about $3.50.  Make sure to mention to your advertisers and restaurants that these mugs are dishwasher safe and that the image will not crack or peel.  That’s $3.50 for permanent advertising on each mug!

Local businesses will appreciate your efforts to boost visibility for everyone involved, and local restaurants will be very happy to be receiving a free supply of mugs.  Make sure to notify the local media and submit a press release!

October 3, 2008

Custom Photo Mug Site

Custom Photo Ceramic Mugs Custom Photo Steins Custom Photo Travel Mugs

Custom Photo Mugs Website

This relates to my previous post about SEO and backlinks, and it also relates to my business.  I recently purchased a new domain, Photo-Mugs.net, which is an e-commerce site selling custom photo mugs.  I have already been selling custom mugs from my main site, but I decided to try this as part of two experiments.  The first part is to see if a site without an overwhelming number of products does better when it is more narrowly focused.  The second part is to see if a more SEO-friendly domain name, Photo-Mugs.net, will do better.

I have also added a plugin that rewrites the URLs for each product to enhance SEO.  A URL on the site will now look like this:

http://www.photo-mugs.net/Ceramic-Mugs/c24/p65/Ceramic-Mug-with-Contrast-Rim-and-Handle/product_info.html

As you can see, the URL now has the product name in it, which is more descriptive and hits some of my keywords.  I’ll let you know how the experiment is going.

As always, your comments, Diggs, Stumbles, and Tweets are greatly appreciated.

August 29, 2008

I’m Getting Some Fresh Air, and It Takes Planning!

Have you ever had a really good business opportunity fall into your lap?  I just did, and it opens up a new market segment for me.  It has great potential for my business, but will also take lots of planning.  Let me introduce you to these fun events and talk about the planning.

For background information, I am a licensed amateur radio operator.  You might be more familiar with the phrase “ham radio”.  They are the same thing, and, yes, “people still do that”!  Ham radio has moved nicely into the 21st century, with radios becoming digital and even modes where your home computer keys the radio to send digital messages over the radio waves.  One ham radio tradition is holding events called hamfests.  These are often held outdoors or both inside and outside.  There are tables and booths where radio equipment, electronics, food, and just about anything can be sold.  This is where I come in.  It is popular for hams to have shirts, hats, name badges, and several other things with their names and callsigns on them.  Here is my nametag, as an example.

One of my friends, a fellow ham, was at the last meeting of our ham radio club (I wasn’t), and they began discussing finding someone to make custom shirts and nametags for them.  My friend said, “You know, we have a member who does this professionally”.  I realized that my products are perfect for this group.

On September 20th, I will be setting up as a vendor at our club’s hamfest and making custom callsign products on location.  If this works out, I will be going to other hamfests in the area to sell products there.  This one will be a good test run, since it’s a small hamfest and a “friendly” crowd, but it will still take a lot of planning.  I need to complete the list of products that I would like to take, figuring out how many I should have so I can order from my vendor.  I also need to make sure to include all of the little things, down to the bowl of water to dip the mugs after they’re done in the heat press.  This event is an hour away, and I can’t just go to the local store to pick up transfer paper or most of the other supplies, since everything is specialized.  I will also be purchasing a light-duty heat press to take to the hamfest.  The one I use here weighs about 200 pounds, so it isn’t really practical to take it anywhere.

I’ll need to create some demo products with real names and callsigns for the table.  I’ve already created two nametags for two of my friends.  I originally thought that might not be good since the nametags won’t be on the table, but then I realized that my friends will probably wear them and be walking around the event, so that will be even more exposure.

I don’t anticipate any major problems if I plan this out, and I really think that this has the potential to take my business in a very positive direction.

Diggs, Stumbles, Tweets, and comments are always appreciated.  Thank you to everyone who has done this so far.  I’ve enjoyed the comments.

I'm Getting Some Fresh Air, and It Takes Planning!

Have you ever had a really good business opportunity fall into your lap?  I just did, and it opens up a new market segment for me.  It has great potential for my business, but will also take lots of planning.  Let me introduce you to these fun events and talk about the planning.

For background information, I am a licensed amateur radio operator.  You might be more familiar with the phrase “ham radio”.  They are the same thing, and, yes, “people still do that”!  Ham radio has moved nicely into the 21st century, with radios becoming digital and even modes where your home computer keys the radio to send digital messages over the radio waves.  One ham radio tradition is holding events called hamfests.  These are often held outdoors or both inside and outside.  There are tables and booths where radio equipment, electronics, food, and just about anything can be sold.  This is where I come in.  It is popular for hams to have shirts, hats, name badges, and several other things with their names and callsigns on them.  Here is my nametag, as an example.

One of my friends, a fellow ham, was at the last meeting of our ham radio club (I wasn’t), and they began discussing finding someone to make custom shirts and nametags for them.  My friend said, “You know, we have a member who does this professionally”.  I realized that my products are perfect for this group.

On September 20th, I will be setting up as a vendor at our club’s hamfest and making custom callsign products on location.  If this works out, I will be going to other hamfests in the area to sell products there.  This one will be a good test run, since it’s a small hamfest and a “friendly” crowd, but it will still take a lot of planning.  I need to complete the list of products that I would like to take, figuring out how many I should have so I can order from my vendor.  I also need to make sure to include all of the little things, down to the bowl of water to dip the mugs after they’re done in the heat press.  This event is an hour away, and I can’t just go to the local store to pick up transfer paper or most of the other supplies, since everything is specialized.  I will also be purchasing a light-duty heat press to take to the hamfest.  The one I use here weighs about 200 pounds, so it isn’t really practical to take it anywhere.

I’ll need to create some demo products with real names and callsigns for the table.  I’ve already created two nametags for two of my friends.  I originally thought that might not be good since the nametags won’t be on the table, but then I realized that my friends will probably wear them and be walking around the event, so that will be even more exposure.

I don’t anticipate any major problems if I plan this out, and I really think that this has the potential to take my business in a very positive direction.

Diggs, Stumbles, Tweets, and comments are always appreciated.  Thank you to everyone who has done this so far.  I’ve enjoyed the comments.

August 10, 2008

Custom Games: A Fun Marketing Tool

Filed under: Business, games, marketing, promotional products — Tags: , , , — Blake Raab @ 9:18 am

Yesterday, I added a new category of products to the website and started thinking about the possibilities.  The new category is custom games, and the first thought is that they would make great gifts for the kids.  This is true, but the possibilities for custom games don’t end there!  Have you considered games as part of your marketing strategy?  Here are a few ideas:

  • You’re an SEO expert.  How about a String Puzzle with your logo and the text, “Optimizing your website doesn’t have to be puzzling.  Let us help!”.
  • You’re a marketing firm.  How about a Magic Marbles Puzzle with, “Do your marketing options have you losing your marbles?  ABC Marketing can help make the pieces fit”.
  • A Jumpin’ Tees Puzzle would be perfect for waiting rooms at any doctor’s office or business.

The possibilities don’t end there.  Let us create a custom game for you on a dry-erase mousepad or just a classic puzzle.

What are some of your ideas for using games as marketing tools?

July 30, 2008

Bears Like Trade Shows…and Other Tips and Tricks

Filed under: Business, marketing, promotional products, trade show — Tags: , , — Blake Raab @ 2:45 pm

Have you ever been to a trade show that didn’t quite get the attendance you were expecting?  A few months ago, I found myself at my first trade show as a vendor and in that situation.  I can’t call on years of experience to share with you, but I would like to mention a few ideas that turned out pretty well for me and things that I learned.

  1. Demo Products Don’t Have to Be a Loss – As a new business, and a very new business then, watching expenses was and is a big priority.  I knew I’d be making more than a handful of demo products, and I really didn’t want to make a “Fred’s Web Design” mug that would probably get packed away and maybe damaged after the show.  Light bulb!  I put together a quick little web page listing the products I wanted to make for the show and advertised that you had the opportunity to buy any of these products with your logos or designs just above my cost!  Perfect.  My demo products paid for themselves, were not packed away, and were in the hands of potential future customers.
  2. Potential Customers May Be on Both Sides of the Tables – As I sat at the show, watching small streams of attendees, I quickly realized that there were not going to be many opportunities to talk about my products.  Was this a total loss?  Absolutely not.  I began conversation with the vendors around me and found that, as small business owners, they were precisely in my target market and were very interested in my products.
  3. Bears Like Trade Shows aka Think Outside the Box – Meet Charlie.  He’s our Customer Service Bear, and one of our products, so he was at the show with us.

    Toward the end of the show, I decided to make the rounds through the vendors’ tables and strike up some conversation, since it was idle there.  I decided to bring Charlie with me as an ice breaker.  We were both wearing our ID badges, like you see on him in the picture, so I imagine that sight got a few people wondering.  We got several people who asked us to come closer so they could look at the bear, and that started conversation that ultimately turned to my products.  Simply walking around the trade show floor with a plush bear was a unique marketing tool.

These photos are clickable and will take you to the Flickr photoset for the trade show.

Funny optical illusion
LionEyes Design
The table
Gridwall
Our table and gridwall
Our table and gridwall
The cargo van
Angie driving
Angie and me in front of the gridwall display

Powered by WordPress