AdSense

Friday, May 23, 2014

Using the Past to Shape Your Advertising Future!

Advertising is defined as communications to a person or group of people that effectively persuades or manipulates the person to try or purchase a product.  It is the roll of the advertiser to change a persons behavior and make them spend, spend, spend.

Although digital technology did not exist a century ago, advertising did.  In fact it was the golden age of advertising when most common place products were born. Individuals, companies and non-profits use advertising to convey they Who, What, Why when and Where to the customers.

Who do you plan to sell that to? Children, Adults, Men, Women, Babies
What are you selling?  Car, boat, house, toys, food,
Why are you selling these things?  Save time, save money, make the day run smoother
Where do you plan to sell them?  Online, retail store, infomercial?

Advertisers can employ different styles of marketing but they all achieve the same results.

A lot can be learned from advertisings past and these lessons can be applied to the ads you create today to create successful marketing campaigns and drive hordes of people to your products.

Reference:
Wikipedia (Advertising)

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Using Teasers to Promote Your Books and Other Projects to Gain Customers

We live in a world that is obsessed with creating advertisement or teaser ads to get you, the consumer to purchase products you usually don’t need.  In fact, over $1,000,000,000,000 worldwide has been spent in 2013. 

Think about the ads that you have seen on television, at the movies or online.  How did the ad(s) appeal to you?  What made them great?  Is this greatness something that you want to obtain for your personal teasers?

Steps To Advertising

There are six steps of advertising developed by Clow & Baack that a person must go through in order to get people to part with their money and purchase your products.  Learning to advertise in the correct way saves you money in the long run and allows you to grow your customer base quickly instead of slow and steadily.
  • Awareness – You have to create a buzz about your book in order for it to be noticed.
  • Knowledge – You have to create information about your book and post it online so others can read it, and get a sense of what you and it are about.
  • Liking – The potential customer must like whatever you are doing in order for them to make a purchase later.
  • Preference – Where your potential customers choose one product over another.  This is usually depends on who is attached to your project.
  • Conviction – There must be a strong urge created that they must have your product right now!
An Overwhelming Desire to Purchase – If you have done your job right, everyone will be beating your door down because they what your products.  Think of the success Apple® has had with every product release.

Teasers

A Teaser can be best defined, as a series of ads that pose a challenge that must be solved.  It is most commonly used, very effectively, before a product launch.
All advertisements, including Teasers are a form of advertising, and all advertising is meant to persuade people to take action in this case, to part with their cash.  Everyday, companies use teasers to get you to purchase their products.  Commercials are teasers that appeal to your situation and make you react to purchase something.
In the book publishing industry, a book teaser is more commonly known as a Book Trailer, although a photograph can also be turned into a teaser as well.  Just like a movie trailer, a book trailer is used to preview what is to come in a book.  The best parts of the book are chosen and acted out by real and sometime famous actors and actress. 
There are businesses that you can pay to produce a book trailer, but why pay when you are the only one who knows what your book is about and you are the best person to convey and direct the trailer.  You don’t want to pay for something you can’t use because the person doing the work missed the mark.
  • To create your own trailer, first you must summarize the juiciest portions of your book into a short one to two minutes video spot.  You can use your family and friends for the actors, actresses and extras.  Give each person a part in the movie in front of and behind the scenes. 
  • Use the book as the script.
  • Dole out the parts, rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse, until your crew can recite their lines without reading the lines.
  • With the use of your smart phone or hand held video camera.  (Note: if you record the sound separate, you’ll get a better sounding trailer)
  • When you have edited it just like you want it, post it on Youtube, linked in, and other social media sites for instant free promotion.

Closing Thoughts

Whether or not a Book Teaser will work for you is really anyone’s guess.  It truly depends on the quality of the work produced, and whose hands the work was seen by.  Youtube is an excellent resource for watching Book Teasers and getting an idea of how you can promote your very own book.
Sarra Cannon offers excellent step by step instructions on how to make a book teaser out of a photograph.
When it comes to marketing your book, stepping out of the box sometimes makes sense.  Book Teasers turn the black and white world into a very colorful and possibly sound filled one and marketing a product to all senses not just one will ensure that your pockets are lined with royalties in the future.
References:
Wikipedia
Google
Sarracannon.com
Public-Domain-Image.com
Note: Video Teasers can earn you money if you become an affiliate marketer on Youtube and post a teaser video.  For every like you receive, you earn cash.
Paid Teaser:
Outskirt Press - $108.00 – 30 second spot