January 2011
Volume 2 Issue 4
Monumental Partners Limited Special points of interest: Are You up to date with the latest Internet Marketing Trends for 2011?
Monumental Report Internet M arketing Trends for 2 011 people are adopting new online marketing techniques that will set a new standard in the new year.
The prospects of business marketing has grown leaps and bounds with internet marketing. The numerous techniques of online marketing can take a business into such a high level, which is quite difficult to reach by adopting the traditional form of marketing. As 2011 is now here and moving along quite rapidly, the internet marketers and the business
There might be some interesting internet marketing trends for 2011, but that does not mean that the existing trends will be of no use anymore. In fact, the existing techniques will get even better and produce better results. Search engine optimization is definitely a popular trend and it will continue to grow with new heights. The websites with good
sonable and hence this trend will continue to exist in 2011. The power of video based marketing will increase in 2011. You can implement highly interactive videos in your website or social network profiles to announce about your latest offers or information about your products and services. The experts believe that social networking will still retain its popularity as one of the effective internet marketing techniques.
Social networks allow healthy interaction between people and help you post updates about your products or services. This is one of the most cost effective measures of marketing and all levels of businesses can equally get benefits of this marketing technique. It is obvious that social networks will be among the top internet marketing trends in 2011.
back links and high quality content will still rule the web world. The internet experts are working on new strategies that will engage into more efficient link placements, appropriate keywords and other tools to reach out to the maximum number of prospective customers. There is a tendency among people to look out for search engine results for searching any information. This trend will continue in 2011 as people will continue to make use of search engines and click on the advertisements displayed on pop-ups. Therefore, it definitely makes sense to opt for the paid search techniques. Moreover, the price for paid search advertising is reaThese marketing techniques are successful and their popularity will remain intact in the future. However, you have to adopt a smart approach to efficiently use these techniques and get the maximum benefit for your business.
How to use Twitter as an effective marketing tool. What Promotional Products are best for your business? 110 Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurs 10 Ways to Expand your Business More……...
Inside this issue: Marketing with Twitter 2 6 Ways to Finance S.B. 3 Mix Marketing Strategy 4 Branding the Business 5 Expand with little Cash 6 Famous Entrepreneurs 7 10 Secrets to success
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Successful Entrepreneurs
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Volume 2 Issue 4
How to use Twitter for M arketing– Tips and Techniques ket's attention, then you have to learn how to use your limited space to be able to grab your follower's attention and give what your customers want. customers what they need.
Twitter has become a popular social networking site that has made a lot of people hooked. This social networking site which also offers micro blogging has indeed become a good tool to get and send updates to a broad cross section of people with just one click, and that feature can be a very great tool for marketing. If you want to learn how to use Twitter for marketing, here are a few things that might help you set up your marketing campaign in Twitter. - Focus on getting target customers to follow you. Of course, in any marketing undertakings, you need not just have followers but have followers who are also interested in your product or your business. Work on getting as much followers of this quality. This will also help you achieve a successful marketing campaign once you already have everything up and running. - Learn to compose enticing 'tweets' or Twitter messages that can pique the interest of your Twitter followers. In advertising, you need to grab attention to be able to succeed. Keep in mind too that tweets are short messages that can be comparable to short ads, thus if you want to get your target mar-
Keep in mind that Twitter can be an effective marketing tool but you have to also keep in mind that even before launching your Twitter marketing campaign, you also have to establish your website so that you can send your followers and interested individuals to your home page where they can make the purchase or where they can patronize your business. In the online world, it helps a lot to have a good website to make your business visible to the online world. Look at what people want to know. Focus on the benefits they can get and not just tweet about your business and what you want to convey to them. When it comes to limited advertising space, you have to make sure you have the basic knowledge on copywriting and even though simple tweets can be effective as long as it can grab attention. You don't have to make long tweets as well, If you can pique their interests with a short tweet, that can be effective online where people skim the web for information and not really read entire stories.
@MONUMENTALP
“Look at what people want to know. Focus on the benefits they can get and not just tweet about your business”
Learn to listen to people. One of the important but most ignored processes in marketing your business online is listening to your potential customers and to your target market. Listen to what they want and not what you want. Business should be something that caters to their needs. People go to the internet to find answers and solutions and you can promote your
“Keep in mind that tweets are short messages that can be comparable to short ads, thus learn how to attract your target market's attention”
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Volume 2 Issue 4
6 Ways to Finance Your S mall B usiness Finding money can be one of the biggest hurdles for a small business owner. Whether you desire to open a chain of restaurants or an Internet-only business, capital is required to fund your dreams. Here we will explore the different types of funding available to you:
requires personal collateral and will require you to pay interest.
to investors in exchange for their money.
Loans—are available from a variety of sources, including local banks, the Small Business Administration and non-profits. Requirements vary, but they are usually credit-based and will require you Debt financing includes any to pay interest. Some economic money you will pay back. It does development organization minot require you to give up equity croloans may take into account in your company and can be a character as well. good choice for entrepreneurs who have not been able to attract Equity financing requires you to the attention of investors. This give up a portion of your ownership in the company/business idea type of financing usually
Friends and Family - For most business owners, this is the first stop when looking for funding. Your friends and family members know your character, and the process to get money is usually much shorter than other methods. Even better, most will not request a stake in your business in exchange for funding. Even though you know these lenders personally, make sure you get all agreements in writing.
“Your friends and family members know your character, and the process to get money is usually much shorter than other methods. Even though you know these lenders personally, make sure you get all agreements in writing�
Angel Investors - These are highworth individuals or groups of people who exchange their industry expertise for a portion of your company's equity. These investors can be hard to find, and some only focus on certain sectors. An Internet search may uncover the angel investors in your industry.
control. Other types of funding:
nesses themselves. Some government agencies do, however, provide grants for special industries, such as technology and "green" sectors. Check your local Chamber of commerce or Ministries for requirements and more information.
Business Plan Competitions - Many are run by local business schools and require you to partner with at least one student to enter the competition. Winning could mean networking opportunities, funding and As you can see, there are a variVenture Capitalists - These compa- ongoing support. ety of ways to get financing for nies are usually interested in estab- Government Grants - Though it is a your start-up. A business devellished companies or start-ups that popular belief that the government opment consultant can help you will quickly be poised for sale or provides small business grants, decide which type of funding public offering. There are usually money that you do not have to pay would be best for you. high standards for receiving this back, it is not entirely true. Most type of funding, and you must be grants go to local non-profits that willing to give up a portion of your help start-ups rather than the busi-
Angel Investors - These are highworth individuals or groups of people who exchange their industry expertise for a portion of your company's equity
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C hoosing The R ight P romotional P roducts For Your B usiness. Promotional products and services can be an effective advertising tool for your business. If you want to market your business successfully, you have to know what products will serve your purpose and help your business to go on! There are several ways to choose the best promotional products for your business. Just go and talk to other people to know what they have received from other businesses. You can go to visit trade shows and take a look at what other companies are offering to draw the customers.
coffee mug , cooler , flashlight , laptop bag , note holder , pedometer , pen , clothes and polo shirt, pad folio, travel bag, tshirt, USB flash drive, water bottle. The above-written items are cost -effective. Apart from them, there are other products that can promote your business. You just have to find out what your clients need. Make the right choices when it comes to promotional products.
they will think of your business every time. Stress Balls : It is a funny way to promote your business. Desk Calendars : Your customer will always be able to watch your company information every day. Re-usable Cloth Bags : It is not on l y a n e n vi r o n m e n t friendly product, but it can be used by the people on a regular basis. Mouse Pads : If the information is given on the mouse pads, the customer will be able to see the
When you are going to choose promotional products for your business, try to follow the guidelines provided below. What type of event or occasion is needed for the product ? What is your target market? Costs needed to buy the products.
Why use promotional items ?
How will you get the products to the customers?
The promotional items are helpful for the following reasons:
Once you have selected the right promotional product for your business, you need to assess the return. While choosing promotional products, you must think about the nature of your business as well.
They create loyalty to your business
Information when they log on to their computers. Apart from those, some others include business card, calculator, cap, cell phone holder, clock,
Cost-effective way to promote the business Word of Mouth Various types of Promotional Products Key Rings : It is a popular choice. When someone is carrying a key where the name of your company and logo are present,
Just go and talk to other people to know what they have received from other businesses
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10 Ways To E xpand Your B usiness With Little C ash .Lack of money and cash flow problems commonly plague small businesses. Often, small and homebased businesses find themselves in desperate need of cash! Small entrepreneurs likewise face significant difficulties when it comes to finding outside funds to support their company's growth strategies. With limited financial help available, small money-hungry businesses must think of creative ways to push their business forward. 1. Get on the Internet. The Internet has allowed the small entrepreneurs to reach a significantly huge market and serve their customers 24 hours a day. For just a few dollars per month, you can market your services worldwide. Who can beat that? But the greatest plus of the Internet is its ability to "level the playing field" between big business and small enterprises. A well-designed web site can extend the range, size and scope of your services, even projecting an image of a well-oiled and established corporation, instead of a small business ran by a solo operator. Develop a good website, and compete side-by-side with the big boys. 2. Hire cheaply but effectively. If you cannot afford to hire full-time employees, you can do two things: hire commission-only sales reps and/or hire interns. With commission-only sales reps, you only need to pay them what they earn. Interns from colleges and universities often work for free or next-to-nothing, and get college credit in return. The drawback, though, is their short-term availability, mostly during summer and spring breaks only. Or you can hire dedicated people who are willing to work for nothing in exchange for equity, should your company succeed. There are a lot of talented people who are willing to work for less in exchange for assurance of a slice of the corporate pie once the company succeeds. This is particularly true for Internet start-ups.
3. Maximize networking potentials by participating in business organizations. Business and trade organizations are rich sources of contacts - from potential investors, customers, partners or mentors. Moreover, it would help you keep yourself updated of the latest industry news and developments. For home-based workers, participation in business and trade organizations is your perfect excuse to step out of the house! 4. Partner and join forces with a complementary business, allowing a winwin situation for you. Work out a deal where you help each other promote and market your products. If your business is Internetbased, you can exchange links with your partner organization, driving traffic to each other's sites. Or you can do ad swaps regularly - he can advertise for free in your classified ads page in exchange for free ad space in their newsletter or website. 5. Trade services with a franchisee prospect. You could work a deal, where a potential franchisee's buy-in fee would be cut if they helped produce the operations manual; this way, you use one franchisee to get more franchisees. The payoff comes later. 6. Find inexpensive ways to advertise your company on a regular basis (such as asking all family members with a car to sport your company logo). Sending out press releases is an effective way to give you publicity and free media mileage - without the high costs of buying media advertisements. Maximize your business cards as an advertising vehicle. 7. Capitalize on anything and everything that's free! Get the word out about your business by utilizing free resources on the Internet. Participate in banner exchange programs. Check the possibility of swapping ads with other newsletter or e-zine pub-
Capitalize on anything and everything that's free! “Ask all family members with a car to sport your company logo�
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Monumental Partners Limited
Achie ving Maximum Market Expos ure With Mix Marketing Strategies
9 McKenzie Close Kingston 8 St. Andrew
Marketing is one of the main tools of promoting your business to the target audience. One of the major objectives of a marketing plan is to get maximum reach and reception at minimum cost. If you are able to formulate the plan in a proper way, you can easily create demand for your product among consumers and earn good profits. In addition, a proper marketing strategy also helps to diversify your business and sustain the market in the future years. After you identify the target audience, you need to determine the marketing ideas and tools to promote the product or service among them. Here are some popular low cost marketing plans which you can use to get wonderful reach even at affordable rates. More and more companies and business houses are opting for these strategies to add to their promotional methods. Newspapers and press releases – Using newspapers to promote and advertise your product or service is one of the best marketing tools. The wide reach of the newspapers will provide a big boost to your marketing strategies. It also does not cost much to advertise in the print media. You can promote your business in the form of press releases, promotional campaigns or advertorials and send them to a number of newspapers, magazines, brochures and so on. Alternatively, you can even send the press releases to other communication and media channels such as radio and television. Taking part in trade shows – Trade shows can be a marketing platform to promote your goods and services. You can easily rent a stall or space in
Phone: 876-969-2646 E-mail: info@monumentalpartners.com
Using the internet It’s perhaps one of the best ways of promoting your business. The internet today has made the world a small place and you can interact with people located thousands of miles away with just a click of a mouse. You can use various search engines like the Google Adsense program to advertise your product or service and reach likely customers located far away. You can as well make a website of your business and showcase your products and services to the target audience. In addition, there are some other marketing ideas that you can use to promote your business without spending much. Some of these are direct mail, yellow pages advertisements, and incentive schemes and so on. Always remember that if you use these low cost marketing ideas properly, they can really help you to bag the best benefits and profits and also create a sense of goodwill among customers. Books to Read Streetwise Low-Cost Marketing: Savvy Strategies for Maximizing Your Marketing Dollars Mark Landsbaum (Author) The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook Jay Conrad Levinson President (Author) Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking, [Hardcover] Andy Sernovitz (Author) Getting Business To Come to You Paul Edwards (Author), Sarah Anne Edwards (Author)
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10 Ways To E xpand Your B usiness With Little C ash C ont. 9. Develop a program or system for your business that can be marketed and sold to others. If you have written several high-quality articles, you could write a book. Book publishing has become more affordable with the advent of ebooks. Instead of finding a publisher, you can develop and market the book yourself as an ebook. Another way is to develop a software program for mass production, or compilation of your articles in a CD-ROM.
ing one can enhance your image as a market leader or a trendsetter. On a lower scale, you can participate in your community's activities, providing support to projects on fund-raising for the poor. Both of these activities can enhance your business' credibility, and entrench your role in the community and industry.
10. Sponsor trade shows or other events in your community. The major focus of the tradeshow is to provide a familiar venue for business professionals to research business products and services in an environment focused on a specific vertical market. Expositions such as trade shows allow your business to exhibit and demonstrate your products to other businesses, but sponsor-
Famous E ntrepreneurs And H ow They G ot Started Here are just a few of those people that are more than just a household name.
Fortune as one of the most successful and famous entrepreneurs.
Steve Jobs -
Vince McMahon -
If you're not familiar with this name...oh who am I kidding? Everyone is familiar with this name. Jobs dropped out after one semester of college, although he continued working as a summer employee with Steve Wozniak at Hewlett Packard. His real beginning started when he convinced Wozniak to start a company to market a homemade computer that Wozniak had designed for personal use. After this particular incident, there was a long road for Jobs, including creating or helping to create some of the most used technology on the planet. As one of the founders of Apple as well as other billion dollar companies, Jobs is now recognized by
At the age of 12, Vince McMahon met his real father, who was the promoter of Capitol Wrestling Company. This would prove to be an inspiration to Vince. Although he started out as a traveling salesman, Vince was hungry to follow in his father's footsteps and finally convinced his father to let him enter the company. Vince began working in Maine and was not well known at all. Today, Vince is not only one of the most successful and famous entrepreneurs there are, but he is also chairman of WWE or World Wrestling Entertainment as well as being the majority shareholder. He also has a major part in the WCW and the ECW. Fans tune in continuously to check up on
Vince's self-based character and the many wrestlers that Vince has found and managed through the years. Oprah Winfrey Quite possibly one of the most famous people in the world, Oprah Winfrey made her way onto the list of the most famous entrepreneurs and shot right up to the top. After dropping out of high school, she got a job at the age of 19 as a reporter. She stayed with one television station for a while before she switched to WJZ-TV in Baltimore. Apparently she impressed someone, because soon after that she got a job hosting their chat show called, 'People are Talking.' 1985 brought Oprah an Oscar for the movie, 'The Color Purple.' After that, Oprah was offered a television show, now famous as 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.’ She is now
Sponsorship and Community Programs –participate in your community's activities, providing support to projects on fund-raising for the poor
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Famous E ntrepreneurs And H ow They G ot Started C ont. estimated to be worth about $1.5 billion dollars! Now that is going from humble beginnings to super stardom! It is possible for anyone to become a successful entrepreneur. While any business, company or individual needs a great idea and the right way to market that idea, you also need to truly want success. With one great idea and a lot of dedication and hard work, you could become the next famous entrepreneur!
10 S ecrets O f S uccessful E ntrepreneurs 1. Think success. To attain the kind of success that you want, you need to dream big. Every success story starts with big dreams. You need to have big dreams for yourself - which you want to be somebody rich, famous or fulfilled. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve. But it doesn't stop in dreaming alone. You should actively visualize success in your mind that you can almost feel it, touch it or it is within your reach. Play this image back at every opportunity. What does it feel to triple your current income? How will your life change? What will your business look like if you achieved the million-dollar mark? Successful entrepreneurs possess an attitude of openness and faith that you can have what you want if you can simply envision it as the first step on the path of action to acquiring it. Management gurus have taught us the power of visualization - seeing yourself in your mind as having accomplished your dreams. If you want to be a successful writer, envision yourself signing books for a throng of people who have lined up to have your autograph. If you want to be rich, picture yourself in luxurious surroundings holding a fat bank account. And the process of envisioning success for you should be a constant activity! You need to think that you are successful (or will be one) every single waking hour. A personal development coach shared me her secret to help her continuously visualize her goals for the moment: when climbing stairs, recite your goal with every step you take. So if you want more money, say "I will have money" in every step of the stairs. This technique will reinforce your goal and keep it fresh in your
―With one great idea and lots of dedication and hard work, you could become the next famous entrepreneur!‖
consciousness.
2. Be passionate with what you do. You start a business to change any or all part of your life. To attain this change, you need to develop or uncover an intense, personal passion to change the way things are and to live life to the fullest. Success comes easily if you love what you do. Why? Because we are more relentless in our pursuit of goals about things that we love. If you hate your job right now, do you think you will ever be successful at it? Not in a million years! You may plod along, even become competent at the tasks, but you will never be a great success at it. You will achieve peak performance and do what you have to do to succeed only if you are doing something that interests you or something that you care about. Entrepreneurs who succeed do not mind the fact that they are putting in 15 or 18 hours a day to their business because they absolutely love what they do. Success in business is all about patience and hard work, which can only be attained if you are passionate and crazy with your tasks and activities. 3. Focus on your strengths. Let's face it; you cannot be everything to everybody. Each of us has our own strengths and weaknesses. To be effective, you need to identify your strengths and concentrate on it. You will become more successful if you are able to channel your efforts to areas that you do best. In business, for example, if you know you have good marketing instincts, then harness this strength and make full use of it. Seek help or assistance in areas that you may be poor at, such as accounting or bookkeeping. To transform your weakness to strength, consider taking hands-on learning or formal training.
“Success comes easily if you love what you do”
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Monumental Partners Limited
10 Secrets Of Successful Entrepreneurs Cont. 4. Never consider the possibility of failure. Ayn Rand, in her novel The Fountainhead, wrote, "It is not in the nature of man - nor of any living entity, to start out by giving up." As an entrepreneur, you need to fully believe in your goals, and that you can do it. Think that what you are doing will contribute to the betterment of your environment and your personal self. You should have a strong faith in your idea, your capabilities and yourself. You must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the ability to recognize and fulfill them. The more you can develop faith in your ability to achieve your goals, the more rapidly you can attain it. However, your confidence should be balanced with calculated risks that you need to take to achieve greater rewards. Successful entrepreneurs are those who analyze and minimize risk in the pursuit of profit. As they always say, "no guts, no glory." 5. Plan accordingly. You have a vision, and you have enough faith in yourself to believe that you can achieve your vision. But do you know how to get to your vision? To achieve your vision, you need to have concrete goals that will provide the steppingstone towards your ultimate vision. Put your goals in writing; not doing so just makes them as intangible fantasies. You need to plan each day in such a way that your every action contributes to the attainment of your vision. Do you foresee yourself as the next Martha Stewart of hand-made home furnishings? Perhaps today, you need to see an artist to help you conceptualize the new line of handmade linens that you hope to launch. Intense goal orientation is the characteristic of every successful entrepreneur. They have a vision, and they know how to get there. Your ability to set goals and make plans for your accomplishment is the skill required to succeed. Plan, plan and plan - because without which failure is guaranteed. 6. Work hard! Every successful entrepreneur works hard, hard and hard. No one achieves success just by sitting and staring at the wall every single day. Brian Tracy puts it out this way, "You work eight hours per day for survival; everything over eight hours per day is for success." Ask any successful businessperson and they will tell you immediately that they had to work more than 60 hours per week at the start of their businesses. Be prepared to say goodbye to after-office drinks every day, or a regular weekend get-away trip. If you are in a start-up phase, you will have to breathe, eat and drink your
business until it can stand on its own. Working hard will be easy if you have a vision, clear goals, and are passionate with what you do. 7. Constantly Look for Ways to Network. In business, you are judged by the company you keep - from your management team, board of directors, and strategic partners. Businesses always need assistance, more so small businesses. Maybe the lady you met in a trade association meeting can help you secure funding, or the gentleman at a conference can provide you with management advise. It is important to form alliances with people who can help you, and whom you can help in return. To succeed in business, you need to possess good networking skills and always be alert to opportunities to expand your contacts. 8. Willingness to Learn. You do not need to be a MBA degree holder or PhD graduate to succeed in your own business. In fact, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who did not even finish secondary education. Studies show that most self-made millionaires have average intelligence. Nonetheless, these people reached their full potentials achieved their financial and personal goals in business because they are willing to learn. To succeed, you must be willing to ask questions, remain curious, interested and open to new knowledge. This willingness to learn becomes more crucial given the rapid changes in technologies and ways of doing business. 9. Persevere and have faith. No one said that the road to success is easy. Despite your good intentions and hard work, sometimes you will fail. Some successful entrepreneurs suffered setbacks and resounding defeats, even bankruptcy, yet managed to quickly stand up to make it big in their fields. Your courage to persist in the face of adversity and ability to bounce back after a temporary disappointment will assure your success. You must learn to pick yourself up and start all over again. Your persistence is the measure of the belief in yourself. Remember, if you persevere, nothing can stop you. 10. Discipline yourself. Thomas Huxley once said, "Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not." Self-discipline is the key to success. The strength of will to force yourself to pay the price of success - doing what others don't like to do, going the extra mile, fighting and winning the lonely battle with yourself.
Business Development Consultants 9 McKenzie Close Kingston 8 St. Andrew Phone: 876-969-2646 E-mail: info@monumentalpartners.com