Of course I do. Without a mailing list which are at the mercy of search engines and their ever-changing regulations. Do not get me wrong, doing SEO is vital for your business, but not the end of the story.

If you do not have a mailing list, your online business, once it gets off the ground, eventually going to die. You can not stay in business without a customer base. Online or offline, repeat customers are the backbone of any business. It is even more important online because the competition is higher and is likely to have a list.

Your list is the best form of advertising. People who are on your list have been to your site and have an interest in the subject. You will be reminded on a regular basis that your site is a place you want to visit.

No, bookmarks and favorites lists work the same way?

Not even close.

What happens when you get information about the most interesting piece of software ever created? Joins the affiliate program to promote the software and add a link to your web site will now have to wait for someone to find and click it. Of course, there are a lot of other information on your website so that also the probability of each person coming to your site to see that fantastic offer is pretty slim.

Let’s go even a step further. Let’s say the software is super cheap right now, but the price is going up in a week. Now you add this information to your website and have to remember to go back and change in a week to reflect the new price. If you forget to do this, you will get a lot of angry emails when your visitors buy the software and pay much more than they were advertising.

OK, can you see where you are going to have trouble actually getting the super software sales?

Now, back to the first moment he learned that the great software and great price. Joins the affiliate program and immediately send a notice of this great offer to your list.

The people on the list receives an email. The message opens and you see a deal. A super special offer with an unbeatable price. They do not see any other interesting information that can distract them. They see your offer and nothing more. They are totally focused on what has been presented to them. You tell them that this offer has a special price and will have to act fast or pay later.

Of all the people who open your email, how many do you think is going to see this offer? 100% right? Of course. There is nothing more to do. You just increased your profit potential by a huge margin.

Can you see how you are losing money by only having your website and not have a list? It’s pretty obvious is not it? So we all agree, you do not need a list.

How do you get here?

First let me tell you what they do. You will not buy a secure list of some collector email address. These people do not want your e-mail and was told to send spam. You will need to build your list of people who are interested in your business.

Ask yourself … who is interested in what you have to offer? People who come to your website right? Yes! These people found your site, either by searching the search engines or has spoken to you from another site or a friend. In any case, they came to your site because you have the kind of information they are interested in.

While there, we offer the opportunity to join your mailing list. Having a registration form on every page in a prominent place. Tell your visitors to send them valuable information when it is available in exchange for your name and email address.

Some people think you should offer a free incentive for people to join your list. There is much controversy on this issue. You have to decide what is right for you.

The only thing to offer people to join my list of information is the future and offers. People who join most of my lists I know I will try to sell something when they see an email from me, not surprised when I ask you to get your credit card.

Then honest from the beginning. Do not make your list joiners think they are on a list of gifts if you are planning on selling their products. They leave the list as soon as you send your first offer. Trying to trick people to join your list out with a group of angry subscribers and no sales.

If your website looks professional and has valid information in place, people will want to hear from you again. They are happy to join your list so you do not miss the great information you have to offer.

Treat your business like a business, not a scam, and you will prosper.

Now they will build your list before you lose more money.

The question is: do those people call and write again with new orders for your company’s product or service?  Which, when all is said and done, is what giving clients promotional gifts is all about.  Right?

Of course!  And most of the time after those polite thank you calls and notes, you hear nothing, at least not right away and certainly not in the way of increased orders and sales.

That’s why you need to know this secret to giving the perfect promotional gifts to your clients-and guarantee results your accountant will notice.

The secret is personalization.  No, no, not as in giving gifts with names and such engraved on them, though those can be quite, quite nice.

No, this is individualized personalization.  That’s a mouthful, isn’t it?  What it means is that when you’re giving your clients promotional gifts, you need to think of each and every one of them as individuals-and give them gifts that speak to their tastes and interests.

This isn’t as difficult as you might think.  In the course of doing business with people, we learn a great deal about them.  Things like if they’re dog lovers, wine enthusiasts, proud parents, gadget freaks, that sort of thing.

So when it comes time to do promotional gift-giving, take those things you’ve learned about your clients and use them in choosing stellar gifts that will keep your customers calling you.  Give that wine enthusiast a good bottle of wine.  Wrap up a picture frame with a border of dogs on it for your dog lover client.  Give you gadget freak client a handheld game or cell phone accessory.

No money for that?  Think you should give everyone the same thing?  Great!  You can still personalize.

Think packaging here.  Instead of cookie cutter wrapping paper, wrap the dog lover’s promotional gift in paper with dog bones on it.  Put a card with miniature wine accessories hot-glued to it on your wine enthusiast’s gift.  The possibilities are endless.

And in doing small things like this, you show your customers they’re more than just dollar signs to you.  They show you see and appreciate them as people.  And as we all know, we like doing business with people who “get” us.  Our clients and customers are no different!  We like doing business with people who like us.  Master the fine art of individualized personalization, and your bottom line will give you a very personal and sincere thank you.

So before you sit down and begin thinking through your law practice management pricing strategy you need some distinctions around pricing commonly used in law firm marketing planning.  Then add your pricing strategy to your law firm marketing plans. You need to be sure that you are charging a sufficient fee on everything to guarantee you a good profit not just a good living.  Do know a law practice management law firm marketing plan is not effective if you only attract people who want to pay the lowest fee for a service. These are not loyal clients. Instead, you want to focus your law practice management and law firm marketing plans on attracting clients who will become long term assets to the firm.  Low price clients are not building your base of long term clients I can promise you that.

There are basically four ways of determining how much you should be charging for your services.  Lets move right into those now.

The Market Method In Law Practice Management Pricing

This is one good way of determining pricing. Get your assistant to support you in this law practice management task and spend some time discovering what the range of pricing is in the community. Have her do a “mystery shopper” study by calling around as if he/she were a potential client and find out what your competitors say on the phone to her around pricing.  She may need to call from her home phone to avoid caller ID.  As another option you could have him/her call other assistants or paralegals at your competitors and offer to exchange your fees for their fees or you could do that with other lawyers yourself in your market.  If you really want to get into it and have maximum data you can write maybe a few dozen competitors in your marketplace and say you are doing a fee survey and if they would send you their fee list you will create a composite list that does not identify those responding and send them a copy of the results. To keep it simple for them include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with a list of the most common services offered in your practice area.  Now you will see what people are charging for services similar to those you offer. You should be able to come up with a range of prices. Use this range to set prices for your own services. My recommendation in law firm marketing planning is to charge at the 75% level of the list.  So you should be at or in the top 25% of the fees.

Remember that in general it is not a good law practice management strategy to compete on price. Most potential clients will see pricing that is too low as a signal that there is something missing either from the service, the provider, or the firm. And people who are looking for a low price will follow that low price wherever they can find it rather than becoming long-term clients. So be sure that your price covers your costs and a reasonable profit margin.

The Cost Method in Law Practice Management Pricing

This law practice management pricing method is very straightforward really. One simply determines what the costs are to deliver products or services and adds on a reasonable profit, somewhere between fifteen percent at the least and maybe thirty three percent at the most. The most common mistake in law practice management using this method is to neglect to include some form of your expense.  Solo and small firm attorneys tend to not include their own salary!

OK, let me say it again.  In law practice management often you count yourself out of the expenses and you should include yourself in the expenses.  Why? Often you are doing at least some of the technical work. Yes? Often you are doing at least some of the management work. Yes? As the owner of the business you are due a reasonable profit. Yes? If you are all three of these in one, you should consider one salary as due you for your time and expertise as the technician and manager as well as a profit of fifteen to thirty percent due you as the owner.  So be sure to include a reasonable cost for your technical and managerial work in the expenses part of this formula.

Fixed Rate Method in Law Practice Management Pricing

This is the method used by many auto mechanics (it is called “the flat rate book”) and other service providers.  This method is where you determine a fixed rate for various jobs and charge that rate no matter what. If the mechanic spends less time than allotted for the job, he makes more. If he spends more time than allotted, he makes less. But in the end, it all evens out (well, usually to the mechanics’ favor if you ask me).  Another example using this method is how managed health care has used this system with hospitals and doctors. Lawyers can use this system if they desire.

The “Rule of Three” in Law Practice Management Pricing

This “rule of thumb” called the “rule of three” used in law practice management is not what your CPA might tell you and it does not fail you either. Ask your CPA what they think about it and they will like it. To begin we are going to be thinking in thirds. For the first third we will take the total amount of salaries/bonuses (not benefits just salaries – benefits go into the second third coming next) for the revenue generators and/or timekeepers (this includes you if you are generating revenue) and call that our first third. So add up the salaries of the lawyers, paralegals, and legal secretaries who generate revenue or are timekeepers and call this your first third (lets just say that number was $100,000 to keep it simple). Whatever that number is take that number again and it is your second third which we will call your “overhead” (thus that second third is $100,000 and don’t forget you if you are doing some managing partner type duties since that part of your time goes here in overhead). Then take that same number and we will call that your last third, which we will call gross profits (another $100,000). What you need to do is take the total amount (in this example $300,000) and now figure out how much you must charge per billable hour, per fixed rate or how many contingency fee cases won to be sure you hit the target we must hit given our first third number times three (in this example $300,000).

This method shows you how much per hour you need to charge. Since you know how many billable hours each revenue generator can do per month, simply divide that into your total of all thirds ($300,000) to see what you need to charge per billable hour to make your numbers come out correctly. As long as you hit your targets you will be assured of a 15% to 30% net profit from your operations.  After all if you are the owner of the practice you deserve a fair profit as well don’t you agree? This method is known as the Rule of Three.  If this method is a bit too confusing do feel free to contact me and I will help you sort it out in a few minutes on the phone.

It is a good idea to think through all of these pricing methods in determining your law practice management pricing strategy before setting a price and moving ahead with a law firm marketing plan to ensure you are thoroughly exploring all options.  Remember the tendency for most lawyers is to price too low.  Don’t do that!  In another article I will tell you how to speak to potential clients so you never have a problem getting the fee you deserve.

It has been said that a good and strong brand identity is the most potent weapon in the marketer’s arsenal. Creating a brand that is timeless, distinctive and powerful can help your business or product stand out among your competitors. Brand identity design is associated with the visual aspects of a company or business identity or brand. Brand identity represents how a company wants to be seen and how the company illustrates its image. And how and where it is seen, what it looks and feels like depends entirely on the product of the company.

A company’s brand identity can be represented through a unique logo or signage that is often incorporated on all the company’s materials such as stationery, business cards, packing and so on. The brand identity design is what often helps the customer to remember the company and the right brand identity design can be one of the company’s best marketing tools as it transforms the company’s vision and values into an image that customers become familiar with. A good visual identity or imagery is also important for almost all businesses as it often what attracts people who aren’t drawn in by words and numbers alone.

To be able to create good and effective brand identity design, many company’s hire brand identity designers. Brand identity designers create logos, promotional materials, and advertising programs that promote and establish a corporate identity.  Their job is to provide new and innovative ways to combine images and words to express the key message of the company. A good brand identity designer should possess innovativeness and problem solving skills. Typography and illustration are key areas in which a brand identity designer should excel. Additionally, a brand identity designer uses design and strategic thinking to help companies find the right brand identity that will help them stand out in competitive marketplaces.

Simply put brand identity design is an artistic and practical approach that focuses on the needs of the companies in areas such as marketing, packaging, product branding, communications and website design. Thus, if you are a business owner wanting to create a good and lasting identity in the market, perhaps the professional help of brand identity designers can benefit you a lot.

You would perhaps ask, what is the edge of mobile billboard advertising to other mediums of marketing? For one, it attracts a lot of attention. It is a unique way of getting the attention of your target customers. Your customers need not only be the people who would pass by your store or see your poster in one corner of the street but also those who are simply walking down the street or having a cup of coffee in the coffee house. Mobile advertising also spikes competitor’s stores. It can probably put you one step ahead of your competitors.

Imagine you are a business owner who have recently avail of mobile advertising and you were walking along the street on a great Saturday afternoon on your way to the mall to go shopping. Then suddenly your attention was caught by this truck that has large speakers on it playing a festive upbeat tune. When you turned around you see this colorful picture of a beautiful resort that looks almost like paradise. Then you realized it was your own advertisement there blissfully making its presence on the streets. You turn around to see how many people noticed it like you did. You would be surprised to see that most people turned around to check out the loud truck. It’s a great feeling isn’t it that people check out your advertisement even for just a few seconds?

But then again, you would probably wonder whether mobile advertising cost much. Surely you can’t afford another costly advertisement. But the good news is mobile advertising cost lower than other outdoor mediums of advertising. Compared to print, radio and regular billboards, mobile mediums cost cheaper. If you do choose to try mobile billboard advertising, you are perhaps providing your business an innovative marketing tool at an affordable rate.

The first thing to do is to research the idea. Obviously keep your cards close to your chest and don’t tell everyone about your idea, but do some research into competing products, the market and how to get your idea to market.

For example, is there anything in the market already that is similar or the same as your idea? If there is, can you develop your idea without infringing on their patents or copyright? Is your idea an enhancement of an existing product? Would the company that currently makes that product be interested to license your idea or can you develop the product yourself and get it to market?

If your idea is a completely new product, then you need to ask yourself if there is in fact a market for it. If it is a completely new idea, why isn’t there anything on the market already? It might be that there is actually no market there, or at least no one willing to spend any money.

When it comes to looking for ideas there are four main methods that I can recommend to you.

Firstly, go to Amazon and look at what is popular there. Amazon is one of the most visited sites on the Internet and is a powerful research tool if you know how to use it. See what people are buying and what they are selling. This will give you an idea of topics and subjects that are of interest to people. Perhaps one of these will spawn that million $$$ idea?

Secondly, visit Ebay. Another of the most popular sites on the Internet, you can often see trends developing on Ebay and discover popular niche markets very easily. Look at the top selling products in each category to determine what people want to get hold of. You can even look at how well things similar to your ideas are selling to understand if there is a market for it.

Thirdly, check out forums on the niche you are looking to work in. See what people are talking about and discover what questions they have and what problems they need solving. This will give you some great ideas for products that could net you a quick dollar or two.

Finally, do a Google on the idea or niche to see what comes up. Google has more web pages indexed than I can count and is an amazing source of information. Go through the first ten to twenty pages of sites to see what is out there. Again, you might find ideas, your might find information. Whatever you do find though, it will be useful.

Before you pour your money and effort into a product you must research it and make sure that it is going to be profitable for you. Use the techniques outlined above, and you may find you spot the next million $$$ idea!

More and more, creative trade show exhibitors attract crowds to their trade show booth by using nearby venues as a springboard.  Attracting attention at neighboring hotels where the trade show visitors are staying or public places where attendees frequent, is a good start. This goes for neighboring restaurants, bus routes, cabs and local night clubs as well.

Increasingly, instead of letting a custom or trade show diplay rental at the expo stand on its own, savvy marketers are adding value by identifying key places outside the trade show to tee up traffic to the trade show display arena.

Event Marketer Magazine spotted three brands that successfully made the tie-in connection to their trade show booth from sites outside the exposition hall.

The first was in Chicago.  GE Healthcare launched their campaign, Healthcare Reimagined at the Radiological Society of North America trade show in Chicago in 2005.  They were on the lookout for popular locations outside the trade show hall to enhance awareness of their trade show display presence.  According to Sean Burke of GE Healthcare’s Diagnostic Imaging and Services,   “We were looking for something different that would create word of mouth and buzz.”

The trade show had over 60,000 attendees staying in Chicago.  GE came up with the concept of all-white-clad “molecule people” that roamed Chicago sites before and after show hours, in nearby hotels and on the RSNA bus routes, as well as at neighboring restaurants and night clubs.

Wearing branding for GE Healthcare, the all white molecule actors batted around giant inflatable molecule structures and used bubble machines to complete the look and feel of what they wanted to portray.   They were able to visually and kinetically capture the health care aspect of GE Diagnostic Imaging.  This played directly to the imagery created at their trade show exhibit.

The second was at a consumer oriented show in Washington DC.  A month before the Auto Show, Chevrolet started its awareness campaign at sites around the capital city. They set up mini tailgating parties out of the backs of Chevy Silverado Hybrids at construction sites, George Washington University, Home Depot stores and commuter rail stations. Consumers got to drink coffee and play Xbox 360 games. Chevy representatives gave out cards to visitors they could redeem at the trade show for a chance to win a Silverado Hybrid.

Chevy wanted to drive traffic to the trade show display.  It worked.  The results were measurable and dramatic.  Because the scan cards were handed out at dealers and at the tailgate parties, over 20,000 consumers visited the trade show booth or were able to scan their cards with Chevy reps in the convention main lobby. The scan cards brought in 1,900 dealer leads.

The third one was in Las Vegas.  That city is a natural for all types of trade show display marketers every hour of the day.  At the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas in 2005, Yahoo! wanted to draw attention to a custom auto web site among car enthusiasts. So they decided to customize two Mitsubishis inside their trade show display booth.

To complete their exposure they went outside to showcase their cars on the Las Vegas Strip. Yahoo! hit it big.  Knowing that Las Vegas is always wide awake 24/7, they were able to shut down traffic on the Las Vegas Strip at 3 a.m.  Even at that time, throngs of people watched their two custom Mitsubishis race down the strip. “We didn’t want to just do a booth and pass things out,” says Bennett Porter Yahoo!’s senior director-buzz marketing. Emulating Frank Sinatra, he continues, “We wanted to do it our way.”

The above are just a few of the examples of how you can use outlying venues to tie into your trade show display.

So let’s say your firm is in the electronics field and you want exposure for your upcoming trade show appearance in the San Francisco Bay Area. With the high tech industry so heavily concentrated in Silicon Valley, California, many of the high tech leaders live there.

There’s Yahoo’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, Apple Computer Inc. based in Cupertino, eBay based in San Jose,  and Google headquartered in Mountain View, to name a few.  You can focus on Silicon Valley executives and market to them within close access to Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, and the Santa Clara and San Jose Conference Centers.

The hotels, restaurants, athletic clubs and other popular sites make them targets for high tech trade show tie in messages once the high tech trade show comes to town.

It’s smart to think outside the trade show exhibit hall box to compound your trade show exhibit  investment.

The first thing we have to do is learning the audience. If the audience is finance people or those who are working in stock market, then someone like Chris Gardner should be in our first list. On the other side, if our audience is public relation people, then someone like Charlotte Beers can be the perfect choice. Therefore, determine our audience and choose some inspiring names on the scope. Check on the internet of the sample of their performance as keynote speaker. After that, we can list the speaker candidates. We can contact the keynote speaker management to make a scheduling. To give us references and easiness to get the best keynote speaker, we can use an agent service.

We can use speakers bureaus that will link us to so many best keynote speakers like Lee Scott the former Walmart President and CEO, Senator Jon Corzine, Brenda Gaines the former Diners Club International President, Jim Donald the former Starbuck CEO and many others. With the help of an agent, we will be able to get connected to those great keynote speakers and make our event so successful. The popularity of the keynote speaker is affecting the success of the event a lot. Therefore, don’t hesitate to use an agent to take care of the entire processes.

Assuming you are equipped to handle the administrative functions of trekking out on your own (which is another article in itself), the next step is to begin building a client base. However, if you want to be successful in this highly competitive profession, you must not only build a client base, but you must build a solid client base. To help you on your way, I have complied five tips for building and improving your client base that I have found useful in my own work:

1. Form Partnerships with Other Vendors:
When I was first getting started, my company was able to secure a contract with four major print centers which referred all of their clients who needed graphic design and typesetting work to us. In turn, we would complete the project and send the job back to the center to be printed. Not only did this provide us with a steady workflow, but we also established valuable relationships with new clients who would trust us with work in the future.

I highly recommend forming relationships with other vendors. Print shops often need designers who can provide them with print-ready files, small marketing and public relations firms often need a reliable designer they can send work to, and many designers get overloaded with work and would love to pass some on to others in need of it. Get out there, make friends, build relationships and you will find good work.

2. Network, Network, Network!
As you grow your list of contacts, you will find that something good starts to happen; you will gain momentum. When you build relationships you will find that the best way to gain new clients is through your established ones. Be clear to all of your clients about the services you offer and they will remember you the next time they hear of someone with a need you can fulfill.

3. Charge What You Are Worth.
This is one of the most difficult things for a designer when they first begin to freelance. Inevitably, the temptation to discount your work will always come. The most frequent phone call I get is one where the prospective client needs something “simple” but really means “cheap.” Resist temptation. While there are times when these phone calls can lead to valuable client relationships, the majority will often lead to more calls asking for discounted work.

Run the numbers beforehand. Establish your pricing and be clear about it with your clients. If you find that you absolutely must accept discounted offers, clearly represent how much you would normally charge and mark the discounts on the final invoice. This way, your clients will at least know what you would usually charge when they recommend you to others.

4. Learn How to Say No.
Learning how to decline projects is an integral part of working on your own. Bad projects eat your time, create frustration, and cost you money. Establish your criteria for accepting a project and stick to it. You are much better off seeking and planning for the right job, than you are accepting the wrong one. Accepting only the good jobs will help you network with the right kind of clients and produce better work for you in the future.

5. Stay Focused.
Focus! Focus! Focus! This is more of a tip for internal use than it is to outwardly seek clients. However, it is the most important advice I can give. So many projects remain incomplete because designers lose focus and turn their attention elsewhere. Whatever your goals are, write them down, create a plan, and stay focused on achieving them. Designers who run a tight ship are almost always the ones who achieve success in this industry.