Original Advertising

Lauren · Posted: April 27, 2006, 1:39 am Post subject: Original Advertising

Mommy's Helper - Mom's Market Ezine
Issue #127
Wednesday, April 26th, 2006

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Editor's Rambling:
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Note from Anita

Well, with a laptop slowly dieing, preparing to and getting new carpet installed ? you don?t get a whole lot finished. However, we have been having a great time with our online party class. If you missed the registration on this one ? be sure to stop by and see what?s next at: http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/classes.html

And just a reminder ? get those articles submitted! Visit: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Till next week...

~Anita DeFrank
Mommy's Helper

Note from Kara

Can you believe that April is almost over? Just a few more days and we'll be one step closer to Mother's Day. Funny how those dates seem to sneak up on you. I hope you have started your Mother's Day advertising campaigns, because if not you may be too late!

There's not a lot going on here, aside from me hiding in piles of codes and new web pages. I realized how poorly one of my sites was converting, so I put a hold on other things until I can bring it up to a comfortable level. While it's pulling in subscribers and sales, I don't feel like it's enough for the number of visitors. I know that's a common complaint among website owners and sometimes not as bad as it seems, but trust me these numbers are pretty bad. When the conversion rate is less than 1%, I don't see that as "alright". My copywrite skills may be lacking a tad (I'm alright with sales letters, but website copy is another story), so I went off to my local library to request a certain book to help in that area. We never stop learning, right?

See you next week!

~Kara Kelso~
Mom's Market

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Article
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Original Advertising

The market moves so quickly that it can be hard to keep up with the latest trends and ideas. Competitors seem to bring out bigger and better advertising every day and keeping up can be a real drain, both financially and in time. With ideas moving so quickly, what you really need to stay ahead of the game is a sharp imagination.

With so much advertising, standing out from the crowd is not as easy as it appears. To get attention, people will take may different approaches such as making you laugh, cry, feel nervous or excited. In reality the approaches are endless.

You can learn from this and be creative in your own marketing. Think of a fun or unique way to describe your product, to sell your product or to show someone using your product. Have fun with it. Make people laugh or even make them cry. Just make them get involved. Make them feel your message down deep where they continue to think about it even after passing your advertisement.

The problem with using creativity in marketing is that most people can't do it well. It comes out as cheesy or just plain out dumb. Sometimes it is over the top and other times its message just doesn't make sense. The biggest reason for using your imagination in marketing is to form a relationship between your product and your customers.

If your message is too confusing, your audience may not even realize that it is talking about your product. Instead of focusing on wacky messages, try telling your customer why they need your product instead of anyone else's.

The more people you talk to the better. Everyone will have a different idea. Talk to colleagues, friends and family to get inspiration and fresh ideas. You can also talk to professionals in the field of marketing, from web designers to copywriters there are all sorts of people available to help you get creative effectively.

Scott F. Geld is the Controller of Marketing Blaster Inc, a pay-per-click traffic source that continually over scores the major search engines in ROI and Conversion Ratios. Stop by and find out for yourself at: www.marketingblaster.com

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Childcare
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Spring Fever? Here?s the cure!

We all know what Spring fever is like. You?ve been cooped up in the house for months with your kids, especially if you live up North. Your kids can?t wait until the first blade of grass pops up and the warm breezes are blowing. You see the sun shining and weather getting warmer and quicker than a rainstorm, the kids bolt out the door! Get out there with them! Not sure what to do? Here are some great spring ideas for you and your little ones!

Nature Walks ? There are so many wonderful things happening when spring finally comes knocking. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing and it?s just a wonderful sight to behold! Don?t let that pass you by. Take a couple of water bottles, a snack, a small note pad and something to write with. Ready? Let?s go! Take a walk around your neighborhood or park or wherever! Just get outside and enjoy the fresh air and the sunshine. Let your child point out the differences in spring from the winter. No more snow is the obvious one, especially here in New Hampshire! Also, stand very still and quiet. Ask your child what that sound is. It could be a bird chirping happily at the new season. It could be a squirrel tapping the old acorns out of the tree. It could even be something that you didn?t hear, but your child does! Make a list of all the new sights and sounds of this awesome season! When it?s time for a rest, lie back on the grass and look at the sky. Are there clouds up there? What shapes do they make? Maybe you can find animal shapes or even faces in the clouds! My children love to play this game. If you?re using the imagination of a child, I?m sure you?ll find several things in the clouds also.

Water Time ? Although it?s not quite warm enough here yet, it soon will be. We love water time! It?s also known as washing the car! Grab a big bucket and some soap and a couple of those giant sponges! Children love to help wash and they are very good at reaching those down low spaces that we may be getting to old to reach! If you?re up to it, hold your child up high so that they can rinse the roof of your vehicle. Don?t be surprised if you end up a little less than dry! Make a game of it! Can you count how many lights are on the truck? How many tires are on the car? You can count and wash at the same time! This is also a great time to soap up the dog! You can hold the dog while your child rinses him off. It?s a great and silly way to share some time together!

Car Rides ? Maybe during the school break your family is going somewhere. Don?t let the trip become one of scolding and headaches with some of these fun ideas! We print out a United States map before each trip. Then, we make sure we pack a bag with several colored pencils and crayons in it. Every time we see a state license plate, we color in the state with the color of the vehicle we saw the tag on! Can you find all the states before reaching your destination? It?s a lot of fun and will be a very colorful map because of all the vehicle colors! How about making up a silly ABC sentence? A ? An alligator ate an apple. B ? Bobby brings blueberries. C ? Cooks can create casseroles. It?s a lot of fun especially if your children are a bit older. My kids go silly with this one! It gets really hard through the last letters though. Another great ABC game is the alphabet sentence game. You can only use each letter of the alphabet once and they have to go in order. It?s a major run-on sentence but it?s a lot of fun! Here?s an example with just the first few letters ? A bear can?t donate elephants for grapes however ice cream just keeps lions munching, etc. That gives you a great start! It?s one of those games that require a lot of thinking! Each person adds a word until the alphabet is used entirely!

Picnics ? Picnics are a great way to spend time together. It doesn?t have to be anything fancy either! Have your child make a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. You can grab a sheet or blanket to sit on and a good story book to read together. Make sure you take some water also! What a great way to share the afternoon, even if it?s in your own backyard!

Photo Shoot ? This is another great way to spend the day! Buy a disposable camera ? just pick up a cheap one because your child isn?t going to care how much it costs. Let your child pose you in different settings and take pictures. Then, you do the same for them! How about taking some pictures with your shadows showing? Maybe your child wants to take some pictures of their house. There are a lot of great things out there to photograph. Let your child decide what the pictures will be and then get them developed. There are a lot of fairly inexpensive one-hour photo shops out there. Let your child help you put together a photo album of pictures that you?ve taken together! What a wonderful keepsake you?ve made together!

The possibilities of time well spent together are endless. Make the most of this beautiful new spring with your child by spending quality time together. You?ll never regret it and your child will always remember the time you?ve spent with them.

Until next time, enjoy the flowers and hug your precious little one?

*Hugs*
Kimie Bringle - Director
FourPoint Consultants - Achieve Your Dreams!
http://kimie.fourpointconsultants.com
Ready to Start? Call Today!

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Coffee Break
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Women?s Clothes Come In Assorted Flavors

?Lisa Barker

In my never-to-end battle of the bulge, I thought I?d browse through some clothing catalogs. I thought I could inspire myself to stick to my diet with the promise of new clothes when I reach my weight goal.

Well, who would have thought that a clothes catalog would be my undoing? Did you know you could buy chocolate-colored slacks? And skirts come in lemon meringue, cranberry, cotton candy and mocha.

What brilliant marketing! What terrible temptations for those dieting who succumb to such impulses. Before I knew it I was drooling over the key lime Capri?s, the orange cr?me flip-flops and the licorice belt.

Ah, but it doesn?t end there. ?They? are out to get women dieters on all levels.

Another diet strategy of mine is to use candles, soaps, lotions and bubble baths in place of chocolate and other calorie laden goodies when I need a little pick-me-up or pampering. Well, I just love the mango butter body lotion and the vanilla milk bath that leaves me smelling like a sugar cookie. Yes, they even have chocolate bars of soap. And yes, in a moment of weakness I actually licked the bar of soap. It does NOT taste like chocolate.

Evidently, ?they? (those conspirators that wish to sell merchandise to moms) understand that we are tightening our belts and fighting the urge to indulge with edible goodies. They know we are looking toward other means of self-pampering?so they are assaulting us with these delicious colors and smells that remind us of the very treats we are trying to avoid on our diets.

This is not fair! I want to sue! And it?s not just the women who are dieting that are under attack?all women are in the line of fire. What with the monthly cycle we go through we are sure to go on a major spending spree at least once a month and the with this food-oriented marketing we could easily commit financial suicide.

Couldn?t we women level a class action lawsuit against these people? They are insidious; their strategy is everywhere. What next?postage stamps in five delicious flavors? Dog shampoo that smells like pound cake?

They might. Haven?t you seen the car deodorizers? There?s new car smell and money (for the men) and then they have vanilla spice, lemon, strawberry and banana (for women). Do they think we want to drive around in a smoothie?

So I went to the stationery store. I thought I?d draft a letter to the powers that be. But what shade of white letter tablet should I choose? Taffy, coconut, butter or whipped cream?

Geez, the stress was really getting to me. So I looked at candles. Cinnamon or raspberry?

By the time I made it home I was STARVING.

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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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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WATERMELON SORBET

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup light corn syrup
2 cups pureed watermelon
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine sugar, water and syrup in a saucepan. Stir until it boils. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool. Refrigerate. Remove meat from the watermelon and discard seeds. Puree in a blender. Measure and add 3 cups of watermelon and lemon juice to the cold sugar, water, syrup mixture. Pour into machine for 20-30 minute or until desired consistency.

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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