9 - 2019 - Branding Education

Are There Insurances Specially Tailored For Small Businesses?

September 27, 2019

Small businesses are different from big companies because a big company can stand a claim or demand and even if it had to pay an important amount, they are prepared to do so. Small businesses on the other hand, would not be able to afford a liability claim if lost without proper insurance coverage. Therefore, the answer is yes. Not only there are insurances specially made for small businesses but it is also advisable to get them as soon as a business is running smoothly.

Unfortunately there are many different coverage for small businesses and you need to make sure that whichever product you select includes all that you need to protect and be protected against. It is therefore important for you to have a thorough understanding of small business insurance clauses and to also know what your businesses needs are in terms of insurance protection. It is not the same to own an office than to rent, to have personnel or be on your own, etc.

What Are Insurances For Small Businesses?

Insurances for small businesses are protections against damage that provide coverage for company’s assets and also for liability. Therefore if any damage is done to a building that belongs to the company, goods, work material, electronic devices, furniture and many other equipment, the insurance policy will reimburse the costs of replacing such things.

But it will also protect the company from any damages caused by the company’s assets or employees to other employees or third parties. This is called liability protection and includes all the aforementioned equipment and the risks that their manipulation implies along with other risks that a reasonable use of the company’s assets implies. Furthermore, many other types of liability can be included in small business insurance like legal claims from employees, third parties, providers, clients, etc.

What Types Of Small Business Insurance Exist?

There are basically two ways of presenting a small business insurance: A single policy that works like a package covering different kinds of risks or the company owner may choose to use different policies to provide extensive coverage for specific risks. Therefore, there will be different insurance policies for employees (life, health, disability, accident, etc), for the company’s assets (fire, floods, other natural disasters), specific car insurance for the company’s vehicles, etc.

The choice between a package policy and separate insurances belongs to the company’s owner and depends on the structure of the company and how small the business is. For bigger companies, it is advisable to obtain separate insurances specially tailored to meet the company’s needs rather than having a single insurance package with multiple coverage and generic terms that may be too vague at the time of filling a claim.

Focusing On Liability

Liability is probably the most important part of a small business insurance. When a person, whether it is an employee, customer, other company’s employee, etc. suffers an accident within the boundaries of the company or when people or goods are damaged and the company is responsible for it, the consequences of a legal liability demand can be terrible for a small business and can even lead to bankruptcy. Therefore, proper coverage of liability is essential and a conscious owner should focus on this coverage when purchasing small business insurance.

Small Business

Alternative Financing And Application Of Working Capital In Business

September 27, 2019

Alternative financing refers to non-traditional forms of supplying a business with sources of capital. Business owners usually turn to alternative financing when they do not have three years worth of gainful financial statements or do not have enough equity. There are many different sources to look to when a business needs additional funding.

One source is a private investor who contributes a significant amount of money without having to deal with a financial institution. However, the investor usually requests to be involved with business decisions and profits in return for his or her financial assistance.

A partner within the company is another source of alternative financing. Creating a partnership means an individual splits the cost of running the business alone, but must also be willing to allow the other person to take part in decisions and profits. Unlike dealing with a private investor, a partner would maintain long-term interest in the business and not be focused solely on a return.

Alternative financing also includes different types of loans or leases. Securing a contract for to work from a company that a business owner has done business with before makes banks more liable to issue loans according to the expected profit. An individual can also lease vehicles and equipment. Most leasing agencies do not require as much profitable history as other financial institutions do, so it they are an easier way to build capital.

The application of working capital in business generally refers to the statement that tracks available funds for a business. Also called the Source and Application of Funds Statement or the Cash Flow Statement, the application of working capital tracks the sources of a business’s money and how that money was spent in a particular period of time. It consists of two sections: the Source and the Application.

The Source of the application of working capital shows the resources used to accumulate funds for a business. These sources can be loans, investments, and payments made to the business. The Application tracks how the money was spent. Common applications of working capital in business are payments for rentals or loans and the purchase of assets. In order to maintain a profit, a business’s sources must be greater than its applications of working capital.

Business owners use the application of working capital to analyze the financial stability of their company. A steady decline in working capital usually means the owner needs to reevaluate the financial management of the business in order to avoid future losses and company failure. Investors, creditors, shareholders, and banks also look at the application of working capital to determine if a business is worth the risk of investing. A company that maintains steady working capital is more appealing because there is less risk of loss. Potential investors see that the business owner efficiently manages his or her finances.

Small Business

Small businesses need flexibility

September 27, 2019

In the teeth of a recession, small businesses have particular problems. Sole traders will either sink or swim and if the business goes down then only the owner loses a livelihood. But small businesses employing staff have to consider the effect of reduced volume of trade on their ability to pay their employees and remain viable. In small companies the management of human resources is less efficient in terms of numbers than it is in larger ones. Also, making employees redundant from a small workforce can have a huge impact on resourcing and the time and effort expended on this gives you less time to concentrate on core business and trying to keep your company profitable.

If you are looking for efficiencies both in terms of time and costs, you could consider outsourcing payroll services to an agency. Most small companies struggle to afford directly employed payroll staff and often have no human resources function to feed into this. Outsourcing to a payroll company transfers the burden of responsibility and provides expertise and support whenever it is needed. Where a company is at the threshold of expansion, savings could be made by outsourcing that will allow the business to move ahead and at the same time build in flexibility so that if a recession hits or a significant client unexpectedly moves business elsewhere, changes can be made with minimal disruption and at minimal cost to the business.

Moorepay are specialists in small business payroll, providing flexible and individual solutions to clients across the UK. We are a BACS accredited bureau that can offer a range of small business payroll solutions including basic managed payroll and online software which has been developed specifically for companies with up to 25 employees. If you are concerned about affordability, fear not – we are happy to provide a free payroll services quotation without obligation.

Marketing & Advertising

Leaflet distribution – An effective way to market your goods and services

September 23, 2019

Among so many contemporary methods of marketing, leaflet distribution has not lost its impact. It is still one of cost effective and prominent ways to reach target audience. With this method, a company can have complete control over the marketing of products.

While considering direct marketing, consider various flyer distribution options. If a major part of your advertising budget is getting used in this type of marketing, it is important to choose the service carefully. A lot of companies are using direct marketing methods and gaining benefits with the right blend. If you pick the right services for your door drop marketing, you can enjoy bigger client base.

Choose an appropriate flyer delivery service and relish instant results of your campaign. Sales of your company can accelerate instantly with the launch of such an advertising campaign. By using this method of marketing, you can easily promote your company without exceeding your advertising budget. Money can be saved furthermore with in house printing and designing of these flyers.

Unlike flyer distribution, other marketing techniques need preparation and planning for months. So flyer distribution method lets you save a lot of money. It provides you with a simple way to promote your business in lesser time. First hand feedback of the clients can be obtained too. The company can easily identify the strengths and weaknesses by directly getting in touch with the target audience. Direct feedbacks can help the company improve on its shortcomings.

Leaflet delivery is proved to generate referrals and word of mouth which is an added advantage in promotion of a company. The efficiency of this type of direct marketing leaves a lasting impact on prospective clients. You can conveniently persuade them to indulge in services and goods of your company. Use this proficient means of marketing and rule the hearts of your clients.

Marketing & Advertising

Let your customers lead your organization – empower your customers

September 23, 2019

Marketing communication agency is the primary strategy in the marketing field of any business. It helps to empower your customers through which you can increase your sales.

For empowering your customers try to provide them with distant information than you are presently doing, allow them in making decisions about you and your company along with your resources, give them as many choice as you can, give them the insight of control and let them feel that they are running your organization.

The revenue from the customers will be increased based on the relationship you build with the existing customers. To build a good relationship with your customers the only form of communication that helps you best is interactive communication.Since interactive communication helps you to have constant discussions with your customers and your scenario, make habitual interactive conversations accessible where they can discuss not only regarding your products and services but also about the core of your company. Hence this will add power to your market than just putting your advertisement on TV or anywhere else.

The problems with the present system are clear. The challenges that are given to both marketing and advertising come from the institutional dimensions largely. Removing the old models from the equation will lead to disappearance of the problems created due to lack of sales etc.

In marketing communications you should first go with the fundamentals. The fundamental one is the general type of content. It is very critical and possibly most overlooked. More than ever, content is the ruler. Internet has become the principal research tool for finding any product and services, so a lack of content will result in lack of visibility. You will not be considered or not even found if you don’t have clear, updated, relevant, valuable, and searchable content on your site.. If your site lacks from content you cannot be saved just with the advanced graphics and interactive features.

Marketing & Advertising

The Worldwide Online Ad Spending Continuous To Drop

September 23, 2019

The worldwide online adverting market dropped by five percent in Q2 of 2009 when compared to corresponding period in 2008, according to market research company IDC. The total online ad spending in Q2 of 2009 is $13.9 billion dropped from $14.7 billion in Q2 of 2008. Among the online advertising categories such as online ads, display ads and classifieds, search ads are the least affected.

The vital region for the global market was US online advertising market that dropped 7 percent during Q2 year over year. The US online ad market is now worth $6.2 billion in Q2 of 2009, while it was $6.6 billion in the corresponding period last year. The only region that remained positive globally was Asia/Pacific and Japan with slight gains.

The effect of economic crisis on various online advertising like social media, mobile ads and display ads are as follows:
• Advertisers are shifting their ad budgets from digital media to most proven traditional Medias such as television ads, newspaper ads.
• The search advertising became a dominant player in the entire Internet advertising. It captured one-third of all annual online ad spending worldwide despite global economic downturn.
• Display ads will be the next largest tool in online advertising. It is expected to capture 20 percent of all annual ads spending worldwide by 2011, followed by Classified ads with 19 percent.

The factors that support online ad spending:
• Improved ad budgets
• High cost for advertising in other medias
• More companies are including Internet advertising as a part of their total advertising campaign
• Ad budgets tilt from other medias to Internet

Mobile Internet ad spending will increase $2 billion by 2014 from $500 million in 2009, according to Juniper Research. The main reason behind this is, the growth driven by new markets such as China and India where fixed line Internet access is less. The growing mobile Internet access across the globe irrespective of the economies is likely to fuel the further growth of online ad spending.

However, Internet advertising received only a small portion of marketing budgets in the current season, it is expected to improve in the coming years. In a similar report, GroupM predicts that if the worldwide ad spending reaches to $58.17 billion by the end of 2009, online advertising will be 13.2 percent of total ad spending and it will further increase up to 14.6 percent in 2010.

Because of the global economic crisis, marketers decreased ad budgets to advertise on new social networking. The impact of economic crisis on online advertising industry specifically and the advertising industry overall is expected to continue in 2010 as well. In this period, the traditional media advertising is most likely to be affected than online advertising.

Marketing & Advertising

Use professional brand ambassadors to promote your brand or product

September 23, 2019

Promotional staffing agencies or an event marketing agency will hire brand ambassadors. Their purpose is to give away free samples, brochures, greet customers, give out marketing resources, host a booth, give surveys to consumers, hand out flyers, etc… They are also called as Promotional Models or Promo Models.

There are several types of brand ambassador jobs to work. They include Sampling Promotions, for Street Team Promotions, for Guerilla Marketing Promotions, for Greeting Promotions, for Tradeshow Promotions, for Data Collection Promotions, for Survey Taking Promotions and Product Demonstrations.

A brand ambassador is the only person who directly interacts with the customers. Their main purpose is to drive customer demand for a service, concept, product or brand. The person can be a male or female with an attractive physical appearance. The will try to attract the customers to approve your product by providing information of your product or service. Though the interaction time is short he or she will try to deliver a live experience that will reflect on the product he is representing.

Though, this form of marketing strategy will influence only fewer consumers when compared to traditional media, like television etc. however it will result in a better perception of the customers on your product, company, brand or service due to live face to face experience. The impact of this will last for a longer time also. They often try to interact with more people at once in order to maximize quantitative influence on customer demand. The responsibility of a brand ambassador will certainly depend on the specific marketing campaign that he is doing. This include increasing awareness of your product, providing information regarding the product, creating a connection in the customers mind between the product or the brand and a particular idea such as classic heritage, reliability and handing things to consumers, such as a sample of the item itself, a small gift as a souvenir, or printed information.

Marketing campaigns use promotional models take place mostly in stores, shopping malls, at tradeshows, particular promotional events, or even at public spaces. They are often planned at heavy traffic locations to arrive at as many customers as possible, at which a target consumer is estimated to be present.

Marketing & Advertising

Business Advertising – Helping you to stay ahead of aggressive competition

September 23, 2019

Advertising is a promotional activity which is often geared up and put for the whole purpose of deriving sales revenue. Major objective of such promotion is to enlighten and motivate prospective customers to buy service or product. Major types of advertising include print advertising, radio advertising, television advertising, airport advertising and other types of outdoor advertising.

Many individuals may censure advertising or take as too intrusive or overbearing, but the fact is that it does work. Think, if advertising promotion was not really helpful, then advertising industry would not have been a market worth billions of dollars.

Types of business advertising

Before settling on what kind of promotion technique is apt, it is really imperative for a firm to define audience it wishes to target. Demographic details such as education, gender, income level and age help classify targeted audience. Placing messages in promotional venues concentrating on particular demographic or group is known as ‘target marketing’ and is also vital for effective advertising.

Print advertising which is done on print mediums such as newspapers, brochures and magazines, permits the company’s message to grab attention of targeted audience on page. Magazines may include images and articles doomed to lure any particular category of client.

Radio advertising and television advertising come under the category of broadcast promotion and conventional forms of such advertisement techniques are commercials exhibited mostly before movie or during any television show. Product placement ads have also become popular these days to publicize a particular product or brand. When one sees someone in movie or TV show utilizing a particular brand, it is called covert advertising or product placement.

Scrolling and pop up ads are other fine examples of promotion while pay per click method, also known as sponsored links, refers to companies paying in order to get their websites ranked higher on search engine results.

As far as outdoor advertising is concerned, it incorporates different kinds of publicity displays, from high-way billboards to transportation posters and showground placement, all intended towards conveying a specific message to common masses. These messages may be to vote for politician, take trip, purchase a product, or other charity purposes.

An airport retains a positive setting where individuals have sufficient time and often are approachable to various new impressions. In this setting, advertising can really work tremendously and act as an effective media channel. So, airport advertising is really an efficient way if one wants to get optimal business or specific product exposure.

Marketing & Advertising

Promotional Marketing

September 23, 2019

Promotional marketing term is used to describe the various means of communicating with the target audience and prospective ones. It is one of the key elements in marketing mix, which helps a company to create awareness of its products and services to gain a better ROI.

The main purpose of marketing it to inform, persuade and influence. As stated a campaign should deliver the right kind of information at the right time at the right place in a convincing manner that would influence the customer to purchase a product or a service. This is most commonly referred as an AIDA – Attention, Interest, Desire and Action.

Before arriving at the correct promotional marketing mix for your small business, take time to carefully plan the incentives and objectives. There are several parameters to consider

• Are you planning to collect leads to gain a larger customer base? Determine the base for promotion.

• Identify who is your target customers for your promotional campaigns and try to analyze the purchase habits of your target customers.

• As there are many incentive types such as sweepstakes, sampling or coupons etc, so decide which one would best suit your business.

• The main things that need to consider is budget allocation. Choose the best advertisement campaign such as mail, in store or direct mail etc which would helps to minimize your budget.

• Decide whether to run the promotional campaigns on your own or to hire professional promotional agency. Both the ways have got their own set backs.

• Clear goals as to be set to measure the success of the promotional campaigns.

• Promotional marketing incentives should obey with the law of federation.

A bad promotional marketing might do some irreparable damages to products and overall reputation of the company.

Ultimately, even a message might get through wherein the consumers end up guessing that the brand is not good enough for their needs. This type of situation could be avoided by a better promotional staffing that tends to generate the promotional staff with a sense to carry the message and brand image effectively.

Marketing & Advertising

Achieving The Balance In Your Business Greeting Cards

September 19, 2019

Probably you know by now that business greeting cards are totally different from your usual print greeting cards for a holiday or a special occasion. First and foremost, the tone that business greeting cards project is somewhat formal and professional as compared to holiday greeting cards which have a lighter and more personal nature. Hence, it is not proper to infuse a very personal tone to your business greeting cards to the point of being perceived as odd by your recipient. You would not want to put in something very comfortable and casual as it may not have the effect you intend to achieve.

It is therefore crucial that you learn how to write for print greeting cards that are produced to make and maintain business. You ought to know how to appropriately address your client through this medium. This article will thus help you write for business greeting cards. Read on and learn how to essentially be cordial but professional.

The first thing to remember when writing for these print greeting cards is to be formal yet somehow informal. Now that balance may sound a little hard to achieve. Apparently, print greeting cards are more effective when they are made more personal, but with business greeting cards, you cannot just address or treat your client on a very personal note. You run the risk of being misinterpreted. Therefore, it is important that you master the balance between formality and personal touch. For instance, do not address your client by his/her first name; use titles instead such as Mr. or Miss or Atty. or Dr. And then add their last names. It is crucial as well to do research about your clients to know how they should be addressed. By doing so, you do not appear too formal and personal at the same time. At least you did not use the usual and oh-too-generic “Dear Sir/Ma’am”. This approach is worth mastering though, but with proper research, you will do just fine.

The second thing you need to remember in your business greeting cards is to be polite and respectful. This is standard practice, as you may already know. Use a tone that makes your client feel they are above you and you are ever ready to serve them. This is a good feeling that clients love experiencing because it makes them feel more special and in control. In so doing, you let people further respond affirmatively to your print greeting cards.

Another thing you should keep in mind is to be always discreet or subtle with your advertisements in your business greeting cards. Do not make your clients feel that you sent them a card just to advertise or sell something. Once you do this, expect people to consider your cards as junk mail that should be instantly discarded. So as much as possible, restrain your sales talk and just exert your efforts in establishing good rapport with your client. For instance, you can mention that you have just launched your newest product but do not go any further than that.

I hope all these simple tips will help you in writing your business greeting cards and properly addressing your clients and colleagues. Just make sure you learn to balance professionalism and personal treatment so your recipients will find you respectful at the same time warm. Also, focus on reinforcing good relations with your clients rather than obviously shoving your product to them. That is how you make your print greeting cards more effective for business.

Marketing & Advertising

What Makes Postcard Printing Works

September 19, 2019

Postcards have long been used by our parents and grandparents to send their greetings and share their sentiments to their friends, family members, and loved ones. They have, in fact, grown to sending postcards while they are away for a vacation, on a short trip somewhere else, or when they are raring to make the people they know feel remembered, special or missed. Nowadays, not many people still use postcards. They have taken to using electronic greeting cards, emails or text messages to keep in touch with their loved ones, owing to the practicality and convenience of these digital means.

However, it can still be cool to be old school. You can still send postcards to your friends or family members when you want them to receive a handwritten note from you that is well meant. You can still find postcards on gift shops and book stores, on hotel lobbies and airport lounges. These print materials are still widely available since there are still a lot of people who value the importance of sending notes and sharing experiences.

In business, postcards are also used to keep in touch with clients. Postcard printing has become a hit since it is a practical approach in business marketing. Postcard printing is also low cost, making it preferred by businesses, companies, or organizations who want to cut costs. Postcards are handy materials, too, which can be easily distributed. You can just send it through mailing services, and your target clientele can receive them on their doorstep or mail boxes. With its limited text space, postcards can deliver your message in such a short but engaging way. Your target clientele can easily understand the point of your message without them having to read copious amount of information. Postcard printing can have a lot of uses, too. You can use postcard printing to inform people about events, upcoming sales, and other announcements. You can also use postcards to offer promos and discounts. In that way, you can promote your business as well as the products and services you have to offer.

That is why you have to create unique postcard for distribution to your target clientele. You may want to hire professional designer as well as get the services of a commercial printer. However, if you want a convenient approach, you can avail of the design and printing services of an online company. These online companies can be trusted although you need to make your research for assurance. There are a lot of companies you can choose from, so you have to look at their websites, request for product samples, as well as compare pricing system. If you have done all these, create a shortlist before you zero in on one online company.

Also, you need to work on the design theme if you want your design preferences to be incorporated. Although these online companies can offer different design templates as well as design styles, you can have the option to upload your own artwork. Just make sure that if you use images, they are of high resolution. Once you have chosen or made an artwork, place an order. Pay your purchase and then wait for the print materials to be delivered on your doorstep. The process can be a breeze. You do not have to leave your workplace just to get the services of a design and printing company.

Marketing & Advertising

Near Perfect Poster Printing Is Within Reach

September 19, 2019

When you print posters, you would naturally want to do it as perfect as possible. However, achieving perfect poster printing seems to be elusive each time. If it remains a dream, can you at least get a notch closer to it? Yes, it is possible to print posters that are near perfect and error-free. If you know how to maximize your design concept and you know what options to go for, there is certainly something that can be done to make fewer mistakes in poster printing. Indeed, to realize this, you have to be aware of the perfect techniques for you. As you read this article, open your eyes to the many things that could help you make the least mistakes in poster printing.

The first thing to do to print posters without a hitch is to ensure that your poster design is “designed” to achieve your purpose. Make sure your design is sending out the right message. Your readers should instantly understand your message the moment they see your design. Also, your design should be able to engage people to read your posters from start to end. Never ever get your design overdone. Remember, your main objective here is to make people grasp the information you are trying to convey. Do not let a very loud and colorful design hamper this intention if you want your poster printing to do your promotions well.

To make your content free of any mistake in spelling, grammar of punctuation, it is a must to review your information prior to poster printing. Indeed, these minute mistakes are a big no-no when you print posters. Would you want your readers to gather the wrong message? It is therefore crucial to ensure that your content is perfect, literally speaking. Your credibility depends greatly on it.

Another trick to make your poster printing ideal is to have a dry run of your posters before you go into full-blown poster printing. This is to determine your audience’s comments and feedback on your material so you could print posters more flawlessly. What you could do is ask some people to go through your poster and then let them freely comment about it. Consequently, you can improve and fine-tune your poster from all the positive and negative reactions you got. Now this is another way of getting closer to “perfect.”

Here is another tip to try. Have your posters printed in high quality full color. Always keep in mind that colors are essential in achieving exceptional posters. People will always be drawn to look at rich and colorful things rather than dull and dreary ones. Definitely, full color poster printing will generate more positive effects. What’s more, it also makes your photos further stand out and be able to articulate feelings. Hence, if you want to print posters that can be perceived as perfect, always trust full color power.

If you intend to have the ideal poster, it follows that you use ideal materials as well. Make sure you pick the ones that would help you build the ultimate poster. For example, if you are planning to put posters out in the open, choose the paper material that would resist water, dirt and moisture. This would guarantee long life for your posters. It is also wise to utilize a thicker type of paper to prevent them from being creased or folded.

Lastly, as with any print material, it is vital to review your posters thoroughly before getting your poster printing started. This will ensure that you get rid of any error you might have made during the production process. Do your checking twice, thrice. Surely, this would make your posters closer to the perfect material it aims to be.

When we print posters for our business, we seek to make them the best and the most distinctive they can be. Good for us now; all these tried and tested tips will help us along the way.

Marketing & Advertising

How To Print Booklets Minus The Trouble

September 19, 2019

Take time to read this article. If you are finding it complicated and troublesome to print booklets for your business, this write-up could give you the information you need to lessen the burden. As you read on, you will gain some wonderful insights on how you can make the most of your booklet printing. Indeed, these great tips will help you realize amazing booklets that will convey great information about your business.

At present, there are a lot of business owners who see booklet printing as a complex activity. They have certain issues and concerns that keep them from fully giving in to the task. Some of these concerns are about printing expenditures — high printing costs that create a serious blow on their financial plan. However, you should not panic; some things can be done to conquer and win over these dilemmas. Read on and discover for yourself why booklet printing is a fun, trouble-free and inexpensive endeavor to be in.

Naturally, you think about the costs involved when you print booklets. The towering printing outlay could actually cause apprehensions on your part. But the good news is that there is a solution to this predicament. Why not embark on affordable or cheap booklet printing? If you search well and long enough, you can unearth less expensive options. For instance, if you intend to bring your costs down, forget about full color; choose black and white. You might also want to pick a more affordable type of paper for the pages of your booklet. Or downsize your booklets; reduce their size to reduce printing costs as well. Keep in mind that you could obtain good-quality booklets even at an affordable price.

You might also find lay-outing difficult as you print booklets. This should not bother you as well. There are countless templates you can use to make your booklet printing smooth and fast. Indeed, templates won’t let you down when it comes to your lay-out and format. All you have to do is be guided by its pattern and then incorporating your content and design elements would be easy. If you know how to maximize the use of templates, in a while you can achieve a remarkable and professional-looking lay-out.

Distributing your booklets could also cloud your mind that’s why you are not into booklet printing completely just yet. Many businessmen out there do not actually know what distribution strategies to undertake to make their target clients obtain their booklets. However, one easy way to doing this is utilizing all forms of media. For example, you could employ direct mailing to bring your booklets to your potential clients. You could also place them in areas where people could readily grab a copy. If you want a more personal strategy, you can always give away your booklets by yourself. Keep in mind that people can have your booklets in a lot of ways. It’s just a matter of picking the strategy that you think will do your business more good.

When you print booklets, you could also worry over writing an informative yet impressive content. A simple solution to this is hiring an expert writer. Finding the best writer is easy; just go online or search around the locality. If you choose to search through the Net, all you have to do is make a good search online for writers and you will definitely get someone who can write your content notably. Apparently, you might have to allot a certain budget for this but do not worry; coming up with a noteworthy content will definitely make your booklets a big success.

Finally, designing your booklets might just be the biggest challenge for you. If you feel your booklets are no longer helping your business climb the success ladder, you might have the need to enhance your design to make it shine. Just let your creativity work beyond its limits and you would surely come up with an exceptional design.

See, booklet printing is not that hard to do. Just do these tips and you will definitely print booklets minus the trouble.

Marketing & Advertising

YouTube – an Effective Online Marketing Tool

September 19, 2019

These days, people don’t just use YouTube to post videos of their pets making silly, human sounds. In fact, many small to mid-size businesses use the video friendly site as a marketing tool. YouTube attracts over 2 billion video views per day and has over 120 million US viewers, which is no small business. Best of all, it is free to sign up and easy to use!

In order to grow your brand by using YouTube, you can follow the following golden rules:

Making Your Video Attracting
Make your clips informative and entertaining to attract eyeballs to your video. Pure commercials that you see on TV won’t work for the YouTube audience, but how-to videos are better. Create videos about relevant information that makes you an expert and viewers can use it to improve their lives. For example, if you’re a doctor, film yourself or an expert in your office giving advice about preventing illness. Create your own YouTube channel and produce a new video each month so your content is consistent.

Adding Your Business Details
It’s important to share your business’s web site and contact information in your videos and on your profile. Add your business details to your video’s intro and final slides. Also, type this information into the descriptions of your videos. Using tags and keyword rich descriptions helps to tell the search engines what kind of content is in your video so that when consumers are searching they find your video when it is relevant to them. Make sure to add consistent tags to every video to improve your search capabilities.

Using Viral Marketing
Once you create your video and upload it onto YouTube, don’t stop there. Email it out to all your clients, family & friends and send it to connections on other social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Aside from YouTube, you’ll also want to upload your video onto other video distribution sites like TubeMogul. Also called viral marketing, you want your videos to spread across the Web so that as many people as possible can see them and you can grow your customer/audience base.

Showcasing Your Products
If you’re selling a product, like a t-shirt or new toothpaste, use YouTube to show off what it’s all about and its potential impact. Customers are more likely to purchase merchandise when they see it in action, over just photos. Create a video of someone using your product or get footage from a trade show where it is on display and upload it to YouTube. Then link to it from your product pages on your site. Zappos.com does a great job with this on their site.

Creating a Sizzle Reel
If you are a small design or service business, then create a sizzle reel of the best business and success highlights of your services that you can link to from your site. Businesses often include news stories, interviews with current customers, big awards, etc. in their sizzle reels. YouTube visitors might not be as interested in your commercial content, but your potential business leads will. Try emailing them a link to your YouTube channel with your sizzle reel.

Producing Videos at Moderate Cost
In general, most people shoot video with $300-$500 cameras on YouTube and do the editing themselves on programs like iMovie or Final Cut. Or you can easily hire an editor and camera shooter on Craigslist or Elance for $40-$50 an hour. Audio however is key, so make sure to always work with a good microphone. No matter what, your videos don’t have to be overly produced or have expensive production costs to be effective.

Thanks to YouTube’s easy-to-use upload service, large audience and free marketing opportunity, more and more businesses are taking advantage of it these days. Video and commercials aren’t just for the TV sets anymore. They have become effective online branding tools and part of our social media landscape.

Energy & Utilities

Fuel cards and the cost of fuel

September 17, 2019

Most large haulier companies tend to use fuel cards in order to pay for all their fleet fuel needs. They do so for a range of reasons, with the biggest being price. Fuel cards are a well established way of saving money on your fuel costs if you use them effectively. If you choose the right fleet card it is possible that you will never have to pay the full price at the pump again; many fuel card companies, including us at FuelCards.com offer discounts on fuel, as well as fixed fuel prices over an extended period. By using fuel cards, you could save your company hundreds, if not thousands of pounds each year. Even if you are not a large company and only run a few vehicles, you could make substantial savings.

If you are looking to utilize fuel cards as a means to keeping your fuel costs low, there are a few things you should consider. There is more than one type of fuel card available, and it is very important that you choose the right one for your needs. With the first type of card, you will be required to pay the pump price for your fuel plus a small service fee on top. The second type of card, will allow you to pay a fixed fee for your fuel each week – this is usually linked to the bulk market price of fuel over that time period.

It’s important to bear in mind that whatever fleet fuel card you opt for, the price has been pre-agreed, so you will continue to pay a fixed price at the pump however it fluctuates. This means that it will be easier for you to plan your expenditure more effectively as you will be able to calculate your fuel costs down to the last mile.

Most large haulier companies tend to use fuel cards in order to pay for all their fleet fuel needs. They do so for a range of reasons, with the biggest being price. Fuel cards are a well established way of saving money on your fuel costs if you use them effectively. If you choose the right fleet card it is possible that you will never have to pay the full price at the pump again; many fuel card companies, including us at FuelCards.com offer discounts on fuel, as well as fixed fuel prices over an extended period. By using fuel cards, you could save your company hundreds, if not thousands of pounds each year. Even if you are not a large company and only run a few vehicles, you could make substantial savings.

If you are looking to utilize fuel cards as a means to keeping your fuel costs low, there are a few things you should consider. There is more than one type of fuel card available, and it is very important that you choose the right one for your needs. With the first type of card, you will be required to pay the pump price for your fuel plus a small service fee on top. The second type of card, will allow you to pay a fixed fee for your fuel each week – this is usually linked to the bulk market price of fuel over that time period.

It’s important to bear in mind that whatever fleet fuel card you opt for, the price has been pre-agreed, so you will continue to pay a fixed price at the pump however it fluctuates. This means that it will be easier for you to plan your expenditure more effectively as you will be able to calculate your fuel costs down to the last mile.

Energy & Utilities

5 Simple Ways to Save on Energy

September 17, 2019

People have always been shocked to hear about single or even double digit increases in their electricity rates. Even though residents in the state have enjoyed tremendous flexibility from the energy deregulated Texas electricity industry which gave them the power to choose their retail Texas electric company, it always is a wise move for home and business to start slashing down on their electricity bills today.
Until the time when really cheap electricity is made possible and available to the public, people should start devising ways how they can save on Texas electricity and the following simple suggestions can them started in this area.

Insulate to Regulate

One of the highest consumers of Texas electricity in residential homes and business establishments is air conditioning. However, the efficiency of cooling systems tend to degrade with poor insulation in the building or infrastructure – as cool air seeps out, the air conditioning would work overtime to compensate and thus consume more energy. To remediate this, ensure that all windows are properly sealed and caulked. Check for wear and tear on weather stripping on doors and check for any fissures and cracks on walls where cool air can leak out.

Turn Off When Not in Use

This simple instruction has been taught to people since they were children and the wisdom behind this is simply a practical way of saving Texas electricity – as lighting accounts for about 11% to 15% of your total electricity bills. Simply turning off lights when there’s no need for it can go a long way in reducing your electricity consumption. The same thing is true with turning off your computer monitor when not in use (contrary to what people think, screensavers will not reduce your computer’s energy consumption) as well as turning your computer off during the night. And if given a choice between using a desktop and a laptop, always go for the smaller guy as laptops consume only a fraction of what desktop computers with bulky monitors draw.

Let the Light Shine Down on You

As mentioned earlier, artificial light can consume up to 15% of your total Texas electricity usage, so it would be a wise move to use the most energy-efficient sources of lighting available. Make use of compact fluorescent lamps to change those old energy-hogging incandescent bulbs. Make use of dimmers, sensors, motion detectors and timers to switch on the light only when needed. Go green and make full use of daylight by opening curtains or using translucent panels to let natural light pass through.

Use Your Appliances Wisely

Proper use and maintenance of your home appliances can get a long way in saving Texas electricity. You can start by not keeping the doors to your freezers or refrigerators wide open for a long time as you try to sift through the contents. It would be wise to know what you would like to pull out before opening the doors. Use the dishwasher at full load to minimize energy usage. You can reduce usage further by turning off the heaters of your dishwasher and washing machine during its cleaning cycle. Clean the filters of your dryers and air conditioning units at least once a month to increase its efficiency. Lastly, set your thermostat to comfortable levels and avoid using it to extreme settings.

Use Energy Efficient Products

It may come as a surprise but your old refrigerators, air conditioning units and washing machines can consume a great deal of Texas electricity that would eventually translate to higher electricity bills. It would be wiser and more economical in the long run to change these appliances to more energy efficient products that pass Energy Star requirements. Not only can you save on your Texas electricity usage but your appliances may even qualify for special rebates from the government.

Energy & Utilities

Renewable energy

September 17, 2019

Our generation is probably more aware of the environment and the effect that our actions have on it. We are aware that we need to pay better attention to what we do and the effect that this can have on the environment. We are also aware of how things such as recycling goods and not wasting electricity can help. We are now encouraged to recycle everything that we can, and rubbish collections now incorporate recycled goods collections in most areas.

This awareness has brought about the fact that we need to look into different energy sources. Renewable energy sources are popping up and could soon be viable ways to run our homes. There are lots of different renewable energy resources and these are being developed and renewed all the time. People are also looking different options that are available in order to bring renewable energy to the masses.

If you are not sure of the different renewable energy types that are available looking online is a great place to start. There are lots of informational resources online that can help you gather knowledge and gain the information that you need.

In fact there are so many different options available that the resources online are almost endless. You can find out about the types that are available now, the types that could be available in the future, what they hope to achieve and exactly how all of these work.

There are different scales of renewable energy sources that are available – bulk for companies and even smaller scale options for the home. If you want to do your bit for the environment then you should look into the different options that are available. In fact as they are renewable, you could even find in the long run that you save money on your electrical bills which in this day and age is something that most of us will welcome with open arms.

So why not look online for renewable energy information online and see what is available. You could really gain a lot of knowledge on the subject within a few minutes of reading and all from the comfort of your own home.

Energy & Utilities

Pay-Per-Use Electricity: Is this a Viable Option?

September 17, 2019

Paying for electricity services can sometimes be a daunting and inconvenient task, particularly with the changing rates, contracts and deposits retail electric companies ask from customers – particularly if they have a bad credit history. Thanks to the deregulation of Texas electricity, consumers at such predicaments would now enjoy the benefits of pay-per-use electricity for their everyday needs.

Pay-per-use electricity is a new concept for many consumers, particularly those who were used to living in a state with a regulated or monopolized electric industry. Energy deregulation gave the people the power to choose their Texas electric companies as well as coming up with several payment schemes and options never before possible in a regulated power market.

This means that people can pay up front for their electricity and never receive an electric bill from their provider. This is now made possible with the development of smart meters that allows pay-per-use plans much like how prepaid mobile phones function. There are however, certain considerations that consumers should look into before deciding if pay-per-use electricity is the way to go.

Considerations before Choosing Pay-Per-Use Electricity

The following are some of the considerations that people should take before deciding to change to pay-per-use electricity and have smart meters installed by their providers.

* The pay-per-use meter should have full credits loaded, otherwise the electricity service will simply stop until the time you top it up again with credits

* You should be near a pay-per-use crediting outlet so you could easily load your meter with credits that you can use.

* If you use medical equipments in the home that need a constant electric source, pay-per-use Texas electricity may not be a preferable option – unless you are ready to top the meter months in advance to ensure constant supply.

* Pay-per-use meters use key cards for activation. These cards record how much credit is still available that you can use. It is vital that the user take care of these key cards, otherwise they will not be able to use their smart meters to get electricity.

* Pay-per-use options for Texas electricity are not yet available in all locations. Check with your retail electric providers if this is an option they offer before you decide if this is an option to consider.

* Take careful consideration when going on vacation for a longer period of time. Ensure that you have enough credits to last the duration of your vacation; otherwise you’ll end up with refrigerators or freezers shutting down on you and spoiling whatever content left inside them.

* During extreme periods (hot or cold), consumers use more electricity. This should be a serious consideration during these times so you can allocate enough credits to get your electricity going.

* If you are considering pay-per-use Texas electricity, choose a provider that offers an emergency credit facility so you can have back-up options should you’ll be unable to buy credits at the appropriate time.

* Choose a Texas electricity pay-per-use provider that sends out a quarterly or annual statement that will show you usage and consumption details which you can use to plan energy conservation in your own home or facility.

Energy & Utilities

Energy Conservation: Doing Your Part in This Crusade

September 17, 2019

The latest addition to the “Karate Kid” series of movies included martial-arts action star Jackie Chan, who played the kung-fu master Mr. Han, and Jaden Smith who played 12-year old Dre Parker as the latest martial-arts kid who played the lead role. During one of their earliest scenes, Mr. Han came to Dre’s apartment unit to fix the hot water, only to find out that Dre and his mother did not know how to operate the flip switch that turns the hot water machine on.

During the scene, Mr. Han was surprised that Dre and his mother didn’t know about the switch, and the child replied that they don’t use a switch in America – the machine is always on. Mr. Han finally exclaimed, “Use a switch. Save the earth.”

What was remarkable about this scene is how it pointed out that people who use electricity can all do their part in the crusade for energy conservation. People have been clamoring and rallying on the streets above saving energy, and yet are not applying simple things as using a switch to turn an electric machine on only when needed.

Unless cheap electricity is readily available and abundant for everyone to use, every person who uses Texas electricity or any electrical power for that matter, should do their own little part in conserving energy. And they can start this right in their own homes. The implementation of energy deregulation in some states gave the people the power to choose their retail electric provider, including the option to choose green energy – but simply making the switch is not enough.

People can start by turning things on only when needed and not leave a machine or appliance open the whole day – as Jackie Chan in the person of Mr. Han pointed out: Use a Switch! Appliances with heaters are the number one electricity guzzlers in a typical home, so it would be best to use only as necessary. Yes, it is a little inconvenient for many as you have to wait for 20 minutes to get the water to heat up – as pointed out by Mr. Han in the movie – but the amount of energy you said by turning it off most of the day can be truly significant.

Turning your computer monitor off when not in use can have a tremendous impact too, particularly if you’re still using the traditional CRT or cathode-ray tube type of monitors. Changing to an LCD monitor is a good way to conserve electricity as these new green monitors consume only a fraction of what CRTs do. Aside from that, leaving any electrical appliances at standby mode for a long time is not a good idea. Yes, those little standby lights consume only trickles of electricity, but if you combine all these trickles – you’ll eventually be faced with a big wave.

One way of conserving Texas electricity is by turning off the water heaters in your bath, washing machine, or dishwashing machine occasionally while in use, particularly on a hot fine Texas day. Use the power of the sun to dry your clothes off. The traditional drying of washed plates using towels can be a good energy-conservation idea too. If you really want hot water for your bath, there are now solar-powered water heaters available at affordable prices that you can use.

The list of energy-saving measures to conserve Texas electricity can go on and on – the possibilities are endless. What is more important is that you should go out of your way and start doing your part in this crusade – and conserve energy.

Energy & Utilities

Texas Electricity Plans: Which One to Choose?

September 17, 2019

For most people, simply flipping on a switch to light up his home or business or an outlet where one can hook his appliances and other gadgets to a Texas electricity source is enough for day to day living. However, the current economic times calls for much more than simply this and businesses should practice more efficient use of electricity.

The deregulated Texas electricity market has given people the power to choose their retail electric providers. What does this mean for the consumer? Although really cheap electricity is still a very long way off, energy deregulation has given a more competitive atmosphere to the market. It has also opened up a whole array of opportunities as well as higher levels of services never before available in this industry.

Retail electric providers offer various payment options for the Texas consumers. Some may be based on a per month type of service, while others offer fixed rates over a predetermined length of time regardless of the conditions of the global energy market. As a consumer, choosing the best retail electric provider is not the only consideration that one should take, but choosing the best payment options and plans as well.

Texas Electricity Plans

The following are the usual payment plans available to the Texas consumer. Most retail electric providers offer these basic plans as well as flexible variations to suit your residential or business needs.

* Fixed Rate Plans

As the name suggest, fixed rate plans maintain similar rates over a set length of time and forecasted usage stipulated in your service contract with the Texas Electric company. Since the rates are fixed, you are ensured that your monthly payments will remain the same regardless of the market conditions. This is advantageous when the price of energy rises in the national market. The downside however occurs when the market price falls below your agreed rates. Contract variations can be:
• Fixed price contract – this includes full requirements of a fixed rate plan, and any usage exceeding the forecasted amount will be billed at a predetermined price
• Hybrid price contract – this also includes the full requirements of a fixed rate plan. The difference lies when the usage exceeds the monthly forecasted as this will be billed based on variable rates.

* Variable Rate Plans

Texas electricity rates are dependent on the price fluctuations in the energy market. A variable rate plan changes with these monthly fluctuations. This can be advantageous when prices drop in the electricity market, as in the case of price drops brought about by drops in natural gas prices. However, sudden spikes in the prices of energy, usually brought by natural disasters, can result to considerable increases in your monthly variable rates.

* Prepaid or Pay-as-You-Go Electricity

The emergence of smart meters made it possible for prepaid or pay-as-you-go payment plans to be available in the Texas electricity market. With such plans, consumers pay ahead for their electricity and will consume only what they have already paid for, much similar to prepaid plans for mobile phones and internet broadband packages.

This is advantageous for individuals or families who are always on the go. They can have immediate use of Texas electricity without the need for any deposit, contracts, credit checks or identification – as long as the smart meters are loaded with prepaid credits for that particular month.

Texas electric companies provide flexible rates, billing plans and payment options for residential and business consumers. The key thing here is to choose the best plans that will suit your personal or business needs and get the highest levels of customer service available only in an energy deregulated market.

Buildings & Construction

A Boom From Bust – How Landscaping Contractors Have Been Turning Houses Into Homes

September 16, 2019

We all know by now how hard the British housing market was hit when everything went belly up in 2008. According to recent figures, the average length of time people are now spending living at the same address is 14 and a half years: that’s way, way over the national average from back when selling houses was a sure fire way to quick cash. These days, fitting a house out to be a real home is the word – which is where the landscaping contractors are finding themselves suddenly at the top of a very lovely pile.

The thing about doing up a house to live in, rather than sell, is this – it needs to feel like a home. And that means having a pleasant outdoor space where family and guests alike feel comfortable relaxing, playing, and eating. A person or family intending to stay in their current property for the next 14 and half years needs a space they can rely on, a space that is going to grow with them. A space, in other words, that can be planned for. When you’re moving house again in two years, why would you plan a garden to grow and fruit properly? You wouldn’t. Now people are living where they live for as long as they do, landscaping contractors UK are finding that they are suddenly being asked to do what they do best – make someone’s exterior places into things of beauty, joys forever.

The great thing about all this, from the points of view of both landscaping contractor and garden lover, is that people are finally having proper gardens designed and built. A real garden takes some time to reach its full potential – that’s one of the things that makes gardening such a wonderful thing. One has top plan in advance. To bed stuff in so that in two or three years the place will be fully fledged and looking wonderful. This is what landscaping contractors do; it’s what they do best: and it is, finally, what they are being asked to do by great swatches of the British population.

How liberating it must be for these professional gardeners, finally to be let loose doing what they really do well! And how pleasant it is for the families whose current houses have by default become their homes. With no chance of moving up and down the property ladder for any sort of foreseeable time, UK families are now making their changes by altering things about where they live, rather than flitting off to try and find somewhere totally other to buy. The results on the national psyche, over time, ought to be remarkably positive. Imagine actually living somewhere, for years, rather than upping sticks every second year and starting all over again.

With the landscaping contractors UK breaking their backs to get all these gardens looking right, and that settled feeling creeping over a land that hasn’t felt it for nearly two decades, who knows? Perhaps we British people will slow the heck down a little and start learning to appreciate what we have, and where we live; particularly our gardens.

Buildings & Construction

Modular Classroom Buildings for Expansion Purposes

September 16, 2019

Modular classroom expansions are available through prefabricated building experts. Churches, schools, colleges, healthcare facilities and more are experiencing the timely and cost-effective benefits provided by the modular classroom. Read details on the benefits of going with a modular classroom rather than a traditional construction.

Modular classroom buildings offer beautiful expansion opportunities for educational facilities as well as churches, healthcare facilities and corporations. You can expect to quickly expand your current facility affordably within your timeframe with the addition of a prefabricated building. The beautiful additional space will be added to your structure according to your preferences. The entire addition will be designed to meet your individual needs and specifications. Options include permanent and temporary additions.

The modular classroom buildings are attached to a currently existing facility and are designed to be either permanent or temporary. The benefit of an addition of this type is that the structure can also be leased or rented at a later date to another facility if it is no longer needed. This benefit is unique to prefabricated buildings and is not an option for traditionally constructed structures. Modular classroom buildings provide cost-effective expansions which meet the needs of businesses and organizations. The quality space is beautifully constructed off-site in a state-of-the-art indoor facility and arrives on site to be quickly assembled. All local and state building codes are met.

The expansion possibilities are innumerable and comparable in quality and style to traditional construction. The beautiful expansion created with a modular classroom is designed to look and feel like traditional construction. The building will blend with the current structure in both style and design according to the desired specifications. Carpeting, flooring, wall design and more will be provided with quality and care. Break rooms, gymnasiums, large space which is divided into cubicles, cafeterias, multipurpose rooms, and more are all easily added to a current facility for minimal costs when compared with traditional construction. This is an affordable answer for schools, businesses and churches who are looking for extra quality space.

The modular classrooms are designed to meet individual needs while staying within the desired budget. Schools and businesses especially appreciate the offsite construction due to the minimal on-site work required. The need for large trucks, noisy excavation, excess mud and dirt, building supplies and construction traffic is alleviated through the modular classrooms off-site construction. Weather delays are not a concern with prefabricated building construction and you can expect your project to be completed within your timeframe and within your budget. Many times traditional construction costs are increased due to weather delays and unexpected construction costs. These concerns are completely alleviated when you utilize the expert assistance of prefabricated building construction leaders.

The modular classroom is especially useful for educational facilities but it can be used by a number of other facilities as well including detention centers and hospitals. If your facility is in need of expansion and requires extra space consider contacting a prefabricated building expert who can give you the expertise that you need. The finished expansion will look exceptional and will be completed within schedule without extra accrued costs due to weather restrictions and unexpected construction costs. Your business, church, school or organization can experience a beautifully prefabricated building addition which will enhance your facility while adding much needed extra space.