Have you run newspapers and magazines ads? Are there any articles that have been written about you, about your business, or about your products and services?

People may be impressed and respond when these articles and ads run the first time, but how many of them are ever seen again by the public?

Running an ad can be very expensive, so you may not be able to run an ad for an extended period of time.

Articles written about your business that get printed in the media have a short shelf life. When the current issue of a publication that contains the article about you or your business is taken off the shelf, people won’t be reading your positive press anymore.

Repurpose, reuse and republish your marketing

But you can re-use and re-purpose these items in other marketing efforts of your own.

When ads for your business (or positive articles about your business) are printed in a newspaper or magazine, have them copied or reprinted at a local “quick print” shop. You now have the ability to use these reprints in a lot of marketing projects.  Here are some inexpensive ways to distribute your reprints:

• Scan and e-mail your ads to clients and prospects.
• Post your scans on your web site.
• Mail reprinted materials along with statements and invoices.
• Include reprints with your next direct mail effort.
• Have some high school students put reprints on parked cars or on the “community posting boards” at the local library or college.

As you are making your reprints, be sure to add the caption, “as seen in (Publication Name),” under the actual ad or article. This caption will give your new marketing effort added credibility.

“The future is here. It’s just not widely distributed yet.” - William Gibson

Your advertisements can also be enlarged and displayed at your place of business. This will remind patrons about the offers in your print ads. Your advertisements may only run once in print, but they can live forever. You can reuse them for years.
The same technique can be used to extend the life of any positive articles that are written about your busi¬ness in newspapers, journals, and magazines. Another great idea is to take these reprinted articles and distribute them to any of your clients and/or prospects who you feel might have missed seeing them in the original publication.

“This is like deja vu all over again.”
- Yogi Berra

If you want to re-use or re-print an article, you may have to get permission from the author or original publisher and pay a small fee. Remember that it’s priceless when someone who isn’t connected with your business, writes positive comments about you or your business in the media. You can use these comments forever.

It is wise to collect all the advertisements that you run, all the positive articles that are written, and all the testimonials that you receive from satisfied customers.

Put these materials into a binder, and use it as a brag book. Use the material regularly in your marketing efforts, to build credibility and help people feel more confident about making a decision to do business with you.

Do you have old advertisements or positive press articles lying around that could be reprinted and used in your future marketing efforts?

It is much too risky for a wise business owner to rely on only one type of market­ing.

What would happen if it failed? A business owner could lose his or her shirt and be driven out of business!

Even a very successful single marketing campaign can have pitfalls.

If a business owner clings too tightly to a single campaign (no matter how successful), then s/he might never find out what other methods of promotion could prove to work as well—or even better—than the one upon whom s/he is relying.

It’s far safer and wiser to devote a portion of your precious resources (money and time) to each of several different marketing projects. Channeling your resources to various promotional efforts allows you to have multi­ple points of marketing “impact” at the same time.

If any one effort fails, the remaining projects can continue working to keep the flow of new prospects and ongoing business coming through your door.

“When an archer misses the mark
he turns and looks for the fault within himself.
Failure to hit the bulls­ eye is never the fault of the target.” ­
Gilbert Arland

Too many businesses use only one or maybe two ways to attract new clients.

How many times have you see this. A business first opens its doors, the owner will place a few mediocre advertisements in the local paper and then expect that they will generate a lot of traffic. This rarely is the result.

People don’t go out of their way to shop somewhere unfamiliar unless the business offers something so unique or valuable that it would succeed regardless of the marketing effort used.

Believe me, this doesn’t hap­pen very often!

Here’s what will work together to produce greatly increased profits for your business:

Four or five pro­grams designed to bring in new customers; six or more marketing efforts designed to sell to existing clients; and the use of “up­sell” and “back­end” product offerings.

The Seven Musts of marketing include personal contacts, direct mail, Internet marketing, company brochures, advertising, public relations, and the education of clients.

Don’t rely on just one single program.

Diversify and grow!

How many different ways is your business reaching its market?