Word of Mouth Advertising

Lauren · Posted: February 16, 2006, 11:08 pm Post subject: Word of Mouth Advertising

Mommy's Helper - Mom's Market Ezine
Issue #117
Wednesday, February 15th, 2006

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Editor's Rambling:
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Note from Anita

Did you get your announcement yesterday? YES! It?s a BOOK ? A real ? in print book! And I must say I?m so glad to finally have that launched. Let?s just say getting a book together from the beginning to the actual printed final copy is no easy task. However, I know what I?m doing now and feel as though it won?t be so difficult next time. Have you stopped by http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/book.html to see the big news? If not, please do stop by and let me know what you think ? not to ?toot my own horn? but I am just on cloud nine! I?ve been taking my copy everywhere with me and showing it off to all my family and friends. (Wouldn?t you?) I guess I can put a great big check mark beside that task now ? time to move on to the next project. I swear, instead of getting smaller ? my to do list is getting longer!

Till next week...

~Anita DeFrank
Mommy's Helper

Note from Kara

It's been a crazy week to say the least, and lots of interesting posts all over the internet. What's been brought into the spotlight is quite the controversial subject to begin, but what's sad to see such hate and misrepresentation of facts. I won't get involved or go in detail, because to be honest it's just none of my business. I may post on the blog later some information, but that's only a maybe.

Aside from that, I'm just as excited as Anita is about the release of our book. Basically it's a book version of the Direct Sales Success Kit, but what's exciting is the possibilities of this particular book. We plan to see it available on Amazon soon, as well as local bookstores and other offline places. I feel like this has opened the doors to other possibilties both offline and online. The real advantage of this book is the additional option customers now have when looking to grow their business. I know I like to sit down away from the computer sometimes with a book instead of reading it online. It's all a matter of personal preferance though. Smile

See you next week!

~Kara Kelso~
Mom's Market

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Article
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Word of Mouth Advertising

Every time a new product or service is launched it is talked about. This interest that is created around a product is a kind of advertising- we could call it Viral Marketing. Word of mouth advertising can be effectively propagated firstly if the product has the potential to spread and if an interest can be generated around it. This word of mouth publicity then needs to continue holding and increasing market attention, like a virus, till it has ensured the product's presence in the market.

Viral marketing is no different from other marketing programs in that it requires a strong plan and an even stronger champion. You can do a plan for an individual marketing campaign; you should also include the virus in your overall strategic marketing plan. How you ultimately choose to launch the campaign is entirely up to you but be sure to include in your plans ways that your customers will share the product and talk about it with others; because that is at the heart of the marketing virus.

This is an easy way to get attention and to market and promote your product. This methodology utilizes unusual and alternative channels to maximize effect and spread the word about the product. The only way a virus can travel and spread is to custom build it to address the need of the people. People should be able to associate and relate to the product and talk about it easily - this is what will make the virus spread.

Offer an incentive reward to each person who refers a friend to your new product. Or, organize an online forum where people can talk about your product. You might also put a tagline on your product, like Hotmail did in their email signature, which advertised their free email service. Consumers read messages with the tagline at the bottom and learned about the service for themselves.

This way, consumers don't have to work hard to be rewarded, and you product is guaranteed to be spread around the marketplace by word of mouth. A fine example of how viral marketing is used is in the advertising of new feature films. While a initial bout of advertising ins undertake, the creators will often count on the viral marketing kicking in as people who see the film tell others about it.

Scott F. Geld is the proprietor and supervisor of Marketing Blaster, Inc., a pay-per-click traffic source that repeatedly beats the major search engines in conversion ratio and ROI. To find more information please visit: www.marketingblaster.com

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Childcare
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The Best Birthday Gift in the World

When I was a little girl, my Nana and Grandpa would often give me a "grab bag" full of goodies for my birthday present. This was nothing more than a brown paper shopping bag filled with trinkets and treasures my grandparents had collected or made for me with tender loving care.

I remember such things as toys from cereal boxes, Cracker Jack prizes, and my Nana's special homemade popcorn balls carefully wrapped in waxed paper. I always looked forward to these grab bags, partly because there were so many small surprises in the one gift, and also because it was a very personal present, put together with much thought and love.

To me, the grab bag was simply the best birthday gift in the world!

This wonderful tradition can and should be enjoyed by every little birthday boy and girl. It's easy! Just start with a brown paper bag and decorate it with materials you have on hand, such as markers, ribbons, pictures from magazines, wrapping paper shapes, you get the idea. Choose a theme that your child relates to, such as sports, animals, hobbies, and the like.

Several weeks or even months prior to the birthday, start filling the bag with goodies. The gifts don't have to be big, just thoughtful little items that show you care.

Create a little notebook in which each family member writes a page about the birthday child something special they admire about them, something they've done that makes them proud, or how they've watched them learn and grow. Make the front page a list of milestones and achievements from the past year.

Personalized coupons for special favors are great additions, too. These could include a coupon for a trip to the mall with a friend, for having take-out one night (Hey, Moms will like that one too!), a coupon excusing them from a certain chore for a day or two, or for staying up an extra half hour at bedtime. Once you get going, you'll come up with lots more.

Write them on white paper backed with colorful construction paper which you've trimmed with fancy edged scissors. Or make them on your computer with fancy graphics.

This same "grab bag" concept could be used for college graduations, a friend moving to a new town, Mother's or Father's Day; there are so many possibilities...

The key to the making this the best gift in the world is to have fun, don't spend a lot of money, and think about the recipient a lot while you're putting it together. I'm sure this is what my grandparents did whenever they put together a birthday grab bag for me.

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Patricia B. Jensen is a mother of three and kids party enthusiast. She is the webmaster and owner of http://www.kids-party-paradise.com - a comprehensive resource for kids party ideas and complete party plans for many popular themes, including invitations, cakes, decorations, games, costumes, favors, and food.

Copyright 2004 Kids Party Paradise All Rights Reserved

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Coffee Break
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I Dream of Jeans that Fit

?Lisa Barker I read somewhere recently that you burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television. So I thought, what if I slept on the couch with the television on? Surely, I would burn even more calories that way.

My husband had to burst my bubble.

So I started sleeping in.

Can I help it if I am a sucker for easy weight-loss claims? Who isn?t? Anything that promises everything we want at no expense, is a very attractive and compelling claim.

I mean, look at cats. All they do is sleep and usually they stay pretty slim. Dogs are the same. Mine only shows signs of life when I fill his bowl. So my theory is that we need to take more naps and sleep longer at night.

Of course, I?m not going to mimic animals in all regards. I?m certainly not going to just eat one meal a day. After all, I want maximum results with minimal expense.

Then I thought, what about sleepwalking? Doesn?t that burn double calories? But then I woke up while I was rummaging through the refrigerator. I guess there was a hole in my theory.

Next I tried sunbathing. I already have confirmation that sleeping burns calories, what about tanning? Don?t I burn any energy while I fry to a crisp? I certainly am getting a workout when I?m shivering because of loss of body heat due to a severe burn.

Bubble baths. If I sleep in a bubble bath, won?t I lose just a few more calories as I soak and get cleaned?

I?m running out of ideas. There has to be yet something else I can do that doesn?t involve the discomfort of ? gasp! ? exercise.

But, alas, like every other dieter I have had to face the hard truth. It isn?t my mouth that has gotten me into this overweight mess so much as it is my posterior. As long as I sit on it, I am not going to slim down.

Boy, that?s depressing. And now I feel like a nap. I?m like Garfield in human form. I?m not overweight, I?m vertically challenged. I like my lasagna and I hate Mondays. I also dread DIETS.

DIET: Dreaded Intentional Eating Torture

When we diet, we don?t eat what we want to eat and we eat what we don?t want to eat. Why do we put ourselves through that? What if we ate what we want, but less of it?

I think I?m onto something here. Unfortunately, I will have to discover some foods that I can eat more of. When one sliver of cake equals two pieces of fruit, I?m more inclined to choose the fruit, because I want QUANTITY.

At least then I can feel a little better about myself when I sleep on the sofa with the television on and dream of jeans that fit me.

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Jelly Mom? is written by Lisa Barker, author of "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" and syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent To Parent. To publish Jelly Mom, buy the book or leave comments, please visit http://www.jellymom.com.

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Recipes
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CANNELLINI ALLA CATANIA

1 lb Dried canellini beans (white kidney beans)
6 c Water
2 Hot Italian sausages, sliced
1 lg Onion, chopped
1 lg Garlic clove, minced
2 lg Tomatoes, ripe, peeled and coarsley chopped
1 Bay leaf, crumbled
1/2 ts Thyme, crumbled
1/2 ts Basil, crumbled
3 Strips of orange rind (1in)
1 ts Salt
1/4 ts Pepper
1 ts Instant beef broth

-Pick over beans and rinse. Cover beans with water in a large kettle; bring to boiling; cover; cook 2 minutes; remove from heat; let stand 1 hour. Pour into an electric slow cooker.

-Brown sausages in a small skillet; push to one side; saute onion and garlic in same pan until soft; stir in tomato, bay leaf, thyme, basil, orange strips, salt and pepper and instant beef broth; bring to boiling; stir into beans; cover.

-Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 5 hours or until beans are tender.

Do you have a favorite recipe to share?
Post them at Mommy's Helper Community (www.MommysHelperOnline.com/phpBB2)!
Note: Recipes must be quick, easy, healthy, and original. Nothing from a cookbook or a box please.

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