7 No Cost Tips to Market Your Business

by: Kathleen Gage

7 No Cost and Low Cost Tips to Market Your Business by Kathleen Gage Marketing a business can be fun, exciting and creative. It can also be very frustrating and expensive if one doesn’t know what outcome they are looking for or how to evaluate cost effective methods of marketing. Over the years people have come to know me for my unique ability to develop low cost and no cost strategies to market and promote a business, product or service. Strategies that have realized incredible returns. Some of my successes have included: - Before my last book was published I pre-sold over $8,000 in books - Over 250 people registered for a recent seminar in less than 2 weeks and the cost to promote was under $25 - One company used my strategies for a career expo and made over $180,000 in consulting fees - One speaker sold over $23,000 in product sales back of the room at a two hour seminar with strategies outlined in my program I don’t share this to impress anyone, rather to impress upon you when using the right strategies for your market, you can realize some incredible results. People have also come to know me as someone who is a stickler when it comes to putting systems in place. My marketing successes are a direct result of the systems I have implemented. With a bit of forethought, planning and desire, you can successfully market your business in a very effective manner. Below are seven proven strategies sure to increase visibility, leads and sales. 1. Business Cards Business cards are often one of the most underutilized tools in one’s marketing. Use the front and back of your business card to gain full benefit. Depending on your market you can put some very valuable information on the back such as a sports schedule, emergency numbers, or special dates people want to remember. Keep some in your wallet, your automobile, on your desk, and some at home. Be sure to carry them with you wherever you go and be willing to hand them out as opportunity presents itself. Creatively distribute your card. When you eat out you can leave one with the tip. If you borrow a library book, use one as a book mark. Hand them to clerks in stores who may know other people who could use your product or service. When someone gives you their business card be sure to enter their information in your database. Send them a short note or email within 48 hours of meeting them to keep your name fresh in their mind. 2. Send a picture A great way to keep your name fresh in a customer’s mind is to send them a picture of when they purchased a product or service from you. Put a picture of a buyer’s auto purchase in a beautiful calendar. Likely, the proud owner of the vehicle will display the calendar for the next 365 days. For specialty gift shops, when a customer makes a substantial purchase, have a picture taken with the shop owner. Frame the picture and send it to the customer. Chances are very good the picture will be displayed proudly for friends and family to see. A dentist who specializes in smile makeovers can easily arrange to have a professional makeup artist and photographer capture the patient’s beautiful new smile. No doubt the patient will be more than happy to show others their new look. 3. Associations Associations particular to your market are a great resource for marketing. There are associations specific to virtually any industry, job type or business. A quick web search will likely show you how much is available. A major opportunity within many organizations is the chance to network. Additionally, to make presentations. Along with presentations come publications. Often, when you do a presentation, you will get a mention in the association newsletter, their Ezine and/or on their website. In many cases, when an organization has a newsletter or Ezine, they welcome the presenter writing a press announcement for them. It saves them time and often assures you have a better chance of the information making it into the publication. They may also welcome you writing an article for their publication or website. This lends itself to pre-presentation visibility. Additionally, you will position yourself as an expert and increase credibility. Most organizations have the following opportunities that can help you to gain visibility and do some very effective marketing: -Newsletters -Internet listings -Links to you website -Discounted advertising rates -Networking opportunities -Business referral services -Special recognition events -Education seminars -Business and membership directories In many cases you will need to be a member of the association to take advantage of the multiple marketing opportunities. In other cases membership is not necessary. 4. Committee Involvement Committee involvement is a great way to give back to the association or community while building visibility for you and your business. In some cases, you may even want to get involved in a committee where you have little experience or knowledge. This will give you an opportunity to stretch yourself and meet and network with individuals you may not have otherwise had the chance to meet. 5. Contests and drawings Contests are a favorite for many businesses such as restaurants or those that have high foot traffic. Contests are a great way to build your database quickly. You are generating very hot leads when you have a contest with people who have already frequented your place of business. The key though is to do back -end marketing. Far too many businesses hold contests, get lots of names and do nothing with them. In this case, it is a complete waste of time to hold a contest. You can advertise a contest to gain new foot traffic in your place of business. Trade show booths are a great place to hold a contest. Pre-show marketing helps to generate traffic at your booth. Invite people to stop by booth # _____ (whatever your booth is) to enter to win. Creative contests can also generate free publicity. 6. Cross-promoting Join with other companies who have products or services that compliment yours and promote each other. Let’s say you have a massage business. You could partner with a candle company to sell their candles to your massage clients. They can give out coupons for your massage business. Or the candle company can partner with a gift basket company. Cross-promoting is only limited by your imagination. This can considerably cut down the cost of business promotion and allow each business to use promotion techniques that might be too expensive to implement alone. 7. Bonuses Secure special offers from various businesses who want to share a similar market as you. When a customer buys a minimum amount they receive a bonus packet with the various offers from the other vendors. This is a win/win all the way around. The other vendors gain visibility, you have something extra to offer you customers and the customers get incredible value for their purchase. Be aware of who you cross-promote and joint venture with. You want someone who will be equally committed to a campaign.

Introduction To Brake Disc Machining

Brakes are in fact one of the most important aspects of any vehicle. Be it your car, bike, cycle or, anything else that may come to your mind, without brakes, accidents and mishaps can happen more easily than what one can conceive. Therefore, when considering maintenance of cars, it is very essential to begin with the health of your braking system than with the how the outer body looks, the music systems functions or, the air conditioning performs. While the mentioned is of course of importance to all car-owners (no one would like to be seen driving a dump) or, get baked to the insides during the journey back home in the summer, it is equally important or more, to ensure that you reach home alive and this is where maintenance of the brake systems plays its part. Car owners usually check their brakes after ever 10000KM or, so. If not, brake maintenance requirement can be determined on the basis of time, like after the first six months etc. What is of importance though is going through a thorough checking into each and every aspect of the braking system, mainly the brake discs.

How Brake Discs Get Damaged:

Brake discs are usually located in the wheels of the car. These get worn and torn for a number of reasons some of which are directly related with bad driving skills of the car owner. Functioning of brakes is based on friction. So every time a person brakes, some wear happens on the disk. When brakes are pulled on and off, constant heating and cooling in the disks causes it to get spoilt faster. The truth is that, all brake discs are likely to get damaged or, worn over years of usage. However, a car owner can delay the damage by months or, years through proper driving and handling of the vehicle. The disc usually comes with a certain thickness, and when the wear actually happens, the thickness of this disc gets affected and goes down to the bare minimum. To repair, one can either take the car to the experts who can get it done, or, can go for onsite machining.

How Onsite Machining Helps:

What could be better than getting the breaks repaired at the site where the damage was first noticed? This could be your home as well. Onsite machining is helpful mainly in saving time and cost for the vehicle owners. Sometimes, it is done by the owners themselves with the use of the right tools. However, this is not a very good idea to take up such delicate matters in ones own hand. If an owner is not experienced enough, he or, she should avoid disk machining by themselves. There are a number if companies that offer brake disc onsite machining services at very reasonable cost and effective service. There are quite a lot of technical aspects involved in repairing brake systems. As far as discs are concerned, they have to be extracted from the wheels and then cleaned, polished, replaced etc. This is the job of an expert, and unless you are among them, leaves them to those who do it best!

Preston Conway is an expert of brake & clutch services. His interests in writing make him write on various auto-mechanical subjects like disc machining, fleet maintenance and many more.

 

Is Your Automobile Safe To Drive Around In?

Even with no adequate and regular maintenance sessions with a mechanic, some people assume their vehicle to start in the morning and take them wherever they would like to go with no troubles. The fact is if you don't have your automobile checked regularly, you can trust that it will sooner or later die on you.

Everyone knows that a vehicle that refuses to cooperate isn't just very frustrating and irritating, but may even be quite expensive. Vehicle repairs can be very costly, especially after the warranty comes to an end. Furthermore, cars that don't have regular maintenance can be a safety hazard.

Since no one wants to drive around in a vehicle that may breakdown at any time, or even worse, put ourselves' and also our family members' lives in possible danger, be sure that you have the following parts regularly checked to assure your car meets the safety check-list:

Tires - Air pressure and depth are two of the stuff you should be focused on with regards to your tires. Driving on tires with wrong air pressure and tire depth can result in blowouts and decreased power to control your car since there's less traction.

It normally takes about a month before the air pressure within your vehicle changes so most mechanics suggest you check them at the least monthly. As always, refer to your car's manual in terms of adjusting the air pressure. If you are unclear about what to do, get your nearest mechanic check on it. When you visit in, you may also have them check tire depth.

Engine, Wires, Filters, and Hoses - Most vehicles these days include a "Check Engine" light on its instrument panels. A flashing or constantly lit up "Check Engine" light obviously means engine trouble. Both cases must be investigated right away. Moreover, ask your mechanic to be sure this light functions at all times.

There are numerous wires, hoses, and filters to check out. Have your mechanic make sure they aren't torn or clogged as they may affect not only your car's performance but also its mileage.

1. Battery - While a gone down battery will not pose direct safety risks, it remains a total hassle. What makes your car dangerous to drive around in though are loose, frayed or corroded wires, clamps or terminals as they possibly can cause the battery to drop out of its tray.

Make sure that your battery as well as the rest of your vehicle's electrical system are always in good shape.

2. Lighting - This is usually an overlooked component. Poor lightning will pose a security risk not just to you, but to others as well. Automotive lighting serves as a means to communicate with other drivers and pedestrians while you're out on the road. Before you head out, may it be in daytime or night, make sure that all your lights on your vehicle work perfectly.

Checking the components included in this checklist can be done on your own, but, it's always advisable to seek the assistance of mechanic in Manly, especially if you're unclear about things to do.

Timothy Rain Parker is an expert mechanic who owns a garage in Manly, Australia. He does a little writing on the side for Autolab, you can find the the best mechanic Brookvale

 

Used Auto Parts - Look For The Right Dealer

Does any of your car's parts need replacement? It is best to opt for used auto parts. Many car owners like to opt for used auto parts because they offer convenience in buying, cost less, environment friendly and are easily available. With these available, manufacturers do not have to use up resources unnecessarily to manufacture new car parts. Few of the most common parts of a car that often need replacement are doors, hoods, engines, transmissions, fenders, wheels and front ends. These are very easily available with many dealers. All you need to do is verify your car's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), and you can buy used auto parts in no time. However, it is very important to look for a reliable dealer who is going to help in guiding and informing you about the right kind of quality parts that you should buy. So the first step that you are supposed to take is look for a reliable dealer who would sell quality parts and at the right cost.

When looking for a good dealership, it is important that you carry out a thorough research. There might be a number of dealers based in your area. How are you supposed to know who is the right one for you? So, take enough time to discuss, judge and then decide.

Here are some guidelines that you need to follow when you are in search for a reputed dealer:

1.The first thing you should do is search the web. There are many options that you would find. In fact some dealers do business online, so after going through the websites, whichever one you find suitable, order the used auto parts online and wait for a couple of days to get them delivered. This would help save time.

2.Ensure to find out if the dealer has a good reputation in the market and is known to sell good quality used auto parts. At least then you can rest assured that you would get good service.

3.Always make sure to make a good comparison of the cost and pricing policy of different dealers before you can choose the final one. The cost is one of the most important consideration. This is because the quality depends on it too. With higher quality, the cost is generally higher too. So be prepared to pay a little more if you want good quality products.

When looking for a dealer of used auto parts Chicago, IL, Chicago, IL car owners should keep the above points in mind.

Used auto parts Chicago, IL - Looking for a high quality used auto parts in Chicago, IL? Get in touch with Bionic Auto Parts & Sales Inc. They have over 15 acres of quality used parts.

 

What Car Owners Have to Know

With cars becoming an essential part of everyday life, online car shops, showrooms and local auto mechanics have suddenly mushroomed. The number of auto parts dealers has grown in proportion with the number of car owners. In fact, car owner can now find an auto part dealer in almost every part of the neighbor. Buyers can choose from a wide array of wholesale and retail markets that sell almost any kind of vehicle spare part. Used Auto Parts in Lancaster likewise offers an alternative for people running on a budget.

When planning to own a car, you must bear in mind that, over time, you will eventually have to tune up or replace some parts of your car. This is an unavoidable reality that car owners have to realize. After some time, you will find that certain parts of the car break down, requiring you to fix it or replace it, in order, to maintain your car's good performance. Unfortunately though, these car parts are heavy on the pocket. It is therefore wise to for alternative markets that sell such products at reasonable prices. Used Auto Parts Lancaster allows you to meet your car's needs without overburdening your finances. You will definitely find the auto part that is compatible with your car's brand and model.

However, it would be wise to ask someone with experience in the field of car repair to check the problem of your car before taking any auto part from secondhand shops. Although you can do the car repair by yourself, it's best to consult an expert auto technician to avoid unnecessary problems in the future. Installing incompatible car parts can reduce your car's performance and, worst, compromise your safety. When considering Used Auto Parts Lancaster, make sure that you spend significant amount of time ensuring the compatibility of the spare part with your vehicle to avoid serious trouble. Do not just think about the huge savings that you get, also ensure your safety and the overall performance of the car.

There are several Used Auto Loans Parts dealers in Lancaster that have a website where buyers can check what they need. Likewise, car owners who want to get rid of their old vehicles can contact junk car buyers through these sites.

Considering the high costs of auto parts, a large number of car owners are now finding used auto loan shops very practical. Prices of car parts sold by junk car shops are surprisingly 50% less than their counterparts sold in regular car supply shops. These products are also easily catalogued online so you can actually check what you need over the Internet. This minimizes the risk of purchasing incompatible auto parts.

When it comes to used auto parts Lancaster area, there's only one name that comes to mind Pick-A-Part, with their comprehensive and top of the line products.

 

The Different Types of Van Tires and the Crucial Aspect of Modern Brake Repair

No matter the kind of car, the need for tires and functional brakes is not one to be taken lightly. Both producers and buyers ought to be aware that these aspects are far more important than aesthetic particularities, and that they ought to be a priority for all responsible drivers. Furthermore, both tires and the braking system are two of the most fragile elements (due to the fact that they are continuously used) so it is desired to have regular professional technical inspections.

The first specifications of tires have come a lot way changed since the 19th century, when Robert William Thomson invented the pneumatic tire, and are at present time used for most cars. If considereing the shape, percentage of rubber used, weight of the vehicle and environment for which it is intended, there is a large variety of tires with a lot of subdivisions. The van tire, for example, might be: regular, winter, armored, high-performance, all season, all terrain etc. therefore offering the buyer (whether an individual or an institution) the possibility to choose from a variety of professional tires (of course, the armored tires cannot be bought at the local auto shop, but they are used by a lot of officials or celebrities).

On the other hand, the brakes are more complex, being made from a series of parts (cylinder, brake fluid, calipers, braking pads) that can stop the vehicle quickly and safely. A professional brake revision should be made once every year to ensure that the whole system is functioning well. A usual brake repair usually implies changing the pads and other small parts (springs and adjusters) while also checking the state of the braking fluid, the rotors, the cylinders and, without any doubt, the pieces that connect all the components together. A few manuals can be found online on how to replace brake pads in unique circumstances. All information concerning the good and safe functioning of one's automobile is very important to have, even if difficult operations should still be put into practice by professional mechanics.

Even though tires and brakes are very important, the other technical parts of the automobile should not be overlooked, safety and maneuverability being the number one prerogatives for responsible drivers. Furthermore, some manufacturers give technical specifications when buying a automobile, if not, the manual includes everything you need to know regarding the best suited type of van tires or the specific tools required for a brake repair.

These annual inspections are also lawfully imposed in most countries, so failing to comply is not only dangerous for the passengers, but also illegal.

 

Winter Driving Safety Tip

Very few of us today take the time to warm up our vehicles before driving them as they have been engineered to eliminate lots of old problems like stumbling, cold stalling, hanging chokes, etc. So the typical driver hops in the vehicle starts it up and immediately shifts it into gear and starts driving. On the surface this is a good idea as it saves fuel not to mention the time savings for you. It is a good practice most of the time.

However this is the time of the year those living in the Northern Hemisphere should be extra cautious in their driving. Yes, there is the cold plus snow and ice to contend with and that does make it dangerous. There is a bigger danger! The bigger danger is that of an icing throttle which removes your ability to control the speed.

When the temperature is in the 30 to 40 degree Fahrenheit range most people think, that is safe from icing conditions and if they were referencing the road or highways that statement would be true of course except for overpasses and bridges. These are exactly the perfect conditions for an icing throttle.

So what are these conditions and how does this happen?

The moisture content in the air is not a constant percentage as we all know; sometimes there is an increase from rain, and other times in the form of snow or ice which depends on several factors like outside air temperature and how high the moisture is when it starts falling. These items increase the amount of moisture in the air substantially.

As the air is drawn into the engine it of course passes through the Throttle Body and over the Throttle Plate which in reality is nothing more than a variable orifice. When any gas or liquid passes though an orifice from a larger area of high pressure to a smaller one of low pressure there is cooling taking place at the orifice area. This is the same principle as used in Air Conditioning and you can demonstrate this very easily by taking a warm drink without ice and drawing it into your mouth through a straw. The temperature drops enough that it is noticeable.

Manufacturers over the years have had many approaches to warming up the Throttle Plate in vehicles to make them safer. One of the early things was a Heat Riser, which was simply a thermally controlled plate installed in the exhaust. Later designs used a Thermal Vacuum Control Valve in a coolant passage and a vacuum operated motor attached to the Heat Riser. These designs forced some exhaust gases through passages engineered into the engine that ran to the intake manifold and underneath the Carburetor Throttle Plate. These designs performed two functions; it decreased the amount of time the Automatic Choke was applied and reduced Throttle Plate Icing.

A later design by GM termed Early Fuel Evaporation (EFE), used a thermally controlled electric heating plate installed underneath the Carburetor. This design was most common on the "A" body vehicle with a 3.0 Liter v6 engine and an E2FE Carburetor.

Both of these designs were supplemented by an exhaust heated vacuum motor valve installed into the air cleaner this system was termed Thermal Air Cleaner (Thermac) by GM. It captured the heat from an Exhaust Manifold and routed it into the Air Cleaner to warm the air entering the Carburetor.

Since the move to Fuel Injection by manufacturers in an attempt to comply with EPA requirements and to increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) the design has shifted to cooling system passages that either run through the Throttle Body or are very close to the Throttle Body in the Intake Manifold. The previous designs of Heat Riser and Thermac were eliminated as the engineers felt confident of the new systems.

This last design works well enough in most cases, but when you have vehicles that are not maintained properly (coolant changes) or have minor coolant leaks, this is a recipe for stopped up passages or air bubbles in the cooling system. These two conditions fail to warm up the Throttle Plate area properly thus promoting Throttle Plate Icing. Most drivers and many mechanics are not even aware that their cooling system could affect their safety.

So on those days that the temperature is in the 30 to 40 degree range and the moisture content in the air is high, you should allow your vehicle to warm up for at least a minute or two before driving. This is merely a safety precaution that may have been a factor in the previously reported uncontrolled acceleration on Toyota vehicles that was in the news and caused so many injuries.