We have included a list of the top 5 things that can annoy a potential advertiser.

1. Showing up without a value proposition. Your pitch should be tailored to the client and specifically address how a front page sticky note will help them increase sales or advertise for an event. Also be sure to keep it 15-30 seconds long.

2. Meetings that go overtime. Decision makers tend to have a lot on their plate and only have so much time to listen to your proposition. NoteAds are an easy sell. Be succinct and to the point and finish ahead of schedule. Be sure to say up front how much time a meeting will take and stick to it.

3. Long-winded voice mails. Again it is about respecting a decision makers time. The best way to build rapport with a prospect is to show that you’re conscientious and respectful of their time.

4. Asking basic questions. It has been said that the only stupid question is the one not asked… but I disagree. Going to a sales meeting without doing your research shows you are not prepared and unreliable. Consider this: “I noticed you are offering a new premium service to your customers, would you be interested in investing in a sticky note that would promote it to 35% of your target audience?” Versus saying, “Do you have any new products that would be a good fit for a front page sticky note?” The first example shows you have done your homework and in less than 5 seconds you have just established yourself as a credible, reliable sales professional.

5. Calling to ‘check in.’ Place value in every interaction you have with a client. Don’t call without having something to help them succeed. Call when you have an idea that can increase sales. For instance, call them when you hear about an event they are sponsoring that would be easy to promote with a front page sticky note.

Remember to focus on building rapport every time you speak to a prospect. Show them that you are in it for the long haul by researching their business, understand their needs, and respecting their time.

Have you noticed anything else that can annoy decision makers?

Post By Diana Lofflin

Photo Credit

Smokin’ Marketing Idea:

Memorial Day Blast!

Get ahead and start contacting your memorial day advertisers now! Your advertisers are ready to take advantage of the optimistic outlook of many consumers. Check out some samples by clicking on the link below.

Start out by checking in with these businesses:
• Furniture Stores
• Car Dealers
• Retail Outlets Specializing in Summer Gear
• Appliance Stores (Specializing in Barbecues)

Check out sample ads by clicking here.

Let us know if you have any other ideas or need any help with this idea. Thanks!

Whatever broadcast method your customer may choose, it’s impossible to find a medium that is noticed by more than a small % of their audience at one time for a reasonable cost.  Compare the market-share your paper has to the market share of any radio or TV station?  And more importantly, what is the chance that the ad will be, not just heard, but noticed?  As compared to direct mail, the cost of a Front Page note is approximately a third and logically much more read when stuck on the front page of a newspaper vs. a mailer amid the clutter of one’s normal daily mail; a much higher chance of being ‘noticed’.

So here’s the question for your customer; what is the value to an advertiser to have their message received and noticed by a qualified prospect or customer?  I’m not including the discount or offer that makes them buy, just consider the cost of getting the printed message in their hands.  What is the most effective way to ‘shout from the rooftops’, “I’m having a sale” and have it noticed by the most people for the least amount of money?  There is no pure broadcast medium that is heard or read by everyone… so what’s the best compromise?

Consider the following; if your customer could reach 35% of your market with a medium that would be noticed by half of that 35%, then you know their message is being noticed by 17.5% of their targeted audience.  If you take the average cost of a front page note as $.10 per home and divide that amount by the 17.5% you have a net cost of $.57 per reader.   Challenge your customer to find another medium that will be noticed by such a large portion of their market for such a low cost.  Take direct mail as an example, they may reach 100% of an audience at a cost of $.35 ea., but how many recipients will notice that ad and remember it later?  A Post-it Note ad that ran on the Detroit Free Press was remembered by more than 50% of the readers the following day based on a phone survey by an independent group.

Good luck as you present Front Page Sticky Notes, let us know if you need samples, testimonials or any other sales tools.

Post by John Grantham

* www.mediapro.foliomag.com, David M. Kalman on May 29, 2009.
** http://roberthheath.blogspot.com/2009/11/newspaper-circulation.html
***NoteAds/3M research from Detroit Newpaper test, 1999.

Did that catch your attention? With all that revenue at stake, offer your clients solutions.

The best way to offer assistance is to understand where a business is coming from. Below are businesses that you may consider approaching with sticky note solutions.

Dating Services – Believe it or not, but there is always a good spike in sign-ups during Valentine’s Day.

Florists – Interesting statistic: florists increase their cost of goods by 30% during the Valentine’s season. They will definitely be interested in increasing sales as well.

Jewelers – While florists may raise their prices, jewelers may lower their prices to bring in new clients. The front page is an ideal location to advertise that smashing deal.

Specialty Chocolate Stores – Men will take note when they see their wives drooling over a glossy picture of a box of chocolates on the front page.

Gear up your media kit for Valentine’s Day advertising with these two machine applied die cut notes shown above (the heart shape note is also available in hand applied format). These unique shapes are perfect for that eye-catching, revenue-generating ad that specialty businesses are looking for. Remember, many of them only have this one time of year to get it right. Give them a solution that ‘sticks.’

Post By Diana Lofflin

Here are some ad tips:

1. Online Ordering is King – Nobody wants to wait on the phone to order a pizza, so suggest that your pizzeria client promote their online ordering on the sticky note. People will choose convenience when entertaining their guests and a pizzeria with online ordering will be their top choice.

2. Combine and Conquer – Remember, people want convenience. Party deals are an easy way to place a party order. Bonus: the pizzeria also increases the order size by grouping in products that may not have been ordered such as breadsticks or soda. Check out the coupons below for some ideas:

Party Pack Coupon – $12 for 2 Large Pizzas, Breadsticks, & Sauce.
Super Pack – $25 for 4 Large Pizzas, 2 Breadsticks, & 2 Sauce.
FOOTBALL PARTY – $50 5 Large Pizzas, 32 Wings, 2 Breadsticks, & Sauce.

3. As Always, It’s All About the Dough – Money that is. A great offer motivates a browser to become a buyer. The most effective sticky note coupons should let the reader know how much they are saving. For example, if the offer is $12 for two pizzas, also include how much they are saving (a $35 savings).

A front page sticky note is a great way to expand reach and advertise time sensitive promotions. Super Bowl is a fantastic time-sensitive opportunity for pizzerias to advertise on the front page of your newspaper and reach a broader audience. Other businesses to approach about Super Bowl promotions are electronics stores – a new HD television would be a great way to celebrate the football season!

Click Here to See Some Samples of Football Sticky Note Promotions

**Please remember that you cannot use the words “Super Bowl” in an ad since this is trademark protected by the NFL.

How have you promoted front page sticky notes during the football season?

Post by Diana Lofflin

Imagine if your customer had the power to shout one thing from the rooftops for everyone to hear what would it be?  Something that’s urgent to get their customers in the door like; “We’ve Moved!”, “Come to Our New Location!”, “Try Our New Deli Sandwiches!”, “We Now Offer 0% Financing!”… Ask your customers what they would shout this week and illustrate the point of how boring it would be to hear the same message over and over.

Although shouting from the rooftops is cheap, it isn’t very efficient; so what’s the best way to broadcast their important offer?  May I suggest that a front page sticky note ad is a sure-fire way to catch the attention of your readers and broadcast your customer’s quick and simple message.  What if their offer needs more explanation than can fit on a 3” x 3” note? How about an ROP ad or an electronic ad on your website with a link to their website?

The combination you can offer your client is very simple and powerful.  Suggest that once a quarter they gain new attention with a front page NoteAd that is easily noticed and easily redeemed to measure results. Tie that ad in with an ongoing ROP ad which provides top-of-mind-awareness. And complete their message with electronic media on your website with a link to their own site.

Presenting NoteAds can open the conversation to selling much more than a one-time sticky note ad on the front page, it can get your customer talking about their long-term advertising efforts and help you to continue building your customer relationships.

Post by John Grantham

Photo Credit

A newspaper is filled with boxes and straight lines, a die cut note ads dimension and character. A die cut partnered with hyper paper can really POP!

Die cut notes make a bold statement about a business. The business is already showing off it’s premium products or services by advertising on the front page, but by using a die cut note, they are setting themselves apart from any previous advertisers that more than likely just used a standard square shape.

What prevents advertisers from using die cuts?

More often than not, price is the number one obstacle. The best way to present die cuts to your clients is to emphasize how memorable, how they ‘pop’, and the bold statement they convey. When they ask ‘how much,’ don’t hesitate! Machine applied die cuts only cost $5 more per thousand (hand applied, on average only cost $6.80 more per thousand).

Are they still on the fence?

If you are using hand applied notes, tell them they can create their own custom die at NO CHARGE when ordering 62,500 notes or more (a $350 value; not available with machine applied notes).

Check out our machine applied and hand applied die cut rate sheets for more information.

Let us know how you present die cuts to your clients in the comments section below.

Post by Diana Lofflin

The holidays are around the corner and we want to help
you secure more sales!

*24 Hour Turnaround available on white paper only with 4-color process. Must place order in catalog increments and provide print-ready art. Orders with shrink wrap or pad anchor tape take the full 5 business days. Offer expires 12-31-10

Post by Diana Lofflin

If not, you are missing out. Scott Christman brings 25 years of senior executive advertising sales management experience to the table. He leverages his years of experience to bring you Podcasts on topics such as:

Why Advertise on the Front Page?

How to Present Sticky Note Solutions to YOUR Advertisers

Visit The Vault to view these videos today.

Want a special treat? John Grantham, owner and founder of NoteAds advertising explains Coupon Cards and how to present this idea to your advertisers. Check out the video below:

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Believe it or not the Holiday shopping season has already started with back-to-school and Labor Day.  Over the last 25 years margins/profits have continued to decline do to deep discounting for stores.  So the question is as a business owner who is dependent on the holiday season…how do I drive traffic in my store when everyone is discounting?

The answer is begin your advertising early in the holiday season.  While Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving is a barometer for the Christmas shopping season it equates to only about 10% of the Christmas shopping season.  Consumers still do most of their Christmas shopping the week before Santa arrives.

The real question that every advertiser has to ask themselves is…how can I guarantee that consumers will see my ad? The answer is sticky notes.  Every subscriber of the newspaper is compelled to touch and then do something with the sticky note on the front page of their respective newspaper.  That’s not something you can say about other forms of advertising.

3M offers 8 ½ x 11 (yellow) sticky note paper with 6 sticky notes on the page.  Have your creative services department design an ad and then present the sticky note on the paper for your presentation.  I guarantee this will have a huge impact on your advertiser.  The 3M paper can be purchased at any office supply store.

“The biggest mistake you can make is always be right.”- – Steve’s Fortune Cookie, Bethesda Chinese Restaurant 1998

Each month there are some dates/holidays that you may want to consider when placing a NoteAds sticky note on the front page of your newspaper.  Here are those dates and some deadline information to consider.

Question – How long does it take to have the sticky notes printed and mailed to our newspaper?

Answer – As soon as NoteAds receives the Acknowledgement form and artwork it takes typically 14-days to have the notes printed and received at your newspaper.  Rush quotes are available upon request.

Question – What is the deadline that my newspaper has to have notes in-house?

Answer – Each newspaper requires a different deadline.  Check with the decision-maker at your newspaper.  Typically newspapers require the notes be in-house 7 working days prior to the publishing/application date.

(October 2010)

• Columbus Day – Monday, October 11^th
• National Boss Day – Saturday, October 16^th
• Halloween – Sunday, October 31^st

(November 2010)

• Election Day – Tuesday, November 2^nd
• Daylight Savings Time ends – Sunday, November 7^th
• Veterans Day – Thursday, November 11^th
• Thanksgiving – Thursday, November 25^th
• Black Friday (Big Shopping Day) – Friday, November 26^th

(December 2010)

• Hanukah begins at sundown – Wednesday, December 1st

• Pearl Harbor Remembrance – Tuesday, December 7^th
• Winter Begins – Tuesday, December 21^st
• Christmas – Saturday, December 25^th
• New Years Eve – Friday, December 31st

Anyway, let me know what you think.  Let’s start a good conversation.

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Photo Credit

Post by Scott Christman.