We are all looking for new ways to get the word out about our services and products. Although there aren't really any silver bullets, Larry Mersereau has written a book Stand Out!, How to Position and Grow Your Business which offers several tips to help you create buzz:

1. Find realistic prospects. Some call this picking the low hanging fruit. Rather than the shotgun approach - select a targeted group of prospects to focus your attention on.

2. Invest in quality marketing materials. This is something I haven't done. It is so tempting to use the Publisher software and attempt to be creative, but when you are talking about your brand image - the lasting image you leave with prospects who in turn hopefully refer later to your materials to consider you for a job - it pays in the long run to hire a graphic artist and INVEST in your image. Note on graphic artist - they are ARTISTS and as such each has a unique style. Take time to meet with a few and look through their materials. Find one whose artist style matches the image you wish to project.

3. Use bold headlines. When I re-did my website last year I opted to lead with my tagline "Words People Read" as opposed to my company name. Unless your company name is I MAKE WIDGITS THAT MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER or something that clearly defines what benefit your offer - lead with your benefit statement headline as opposed to your company name. It helps your prospects quickly understand why they want to work with you.

4. Be consistent. If it takes seven impressions to cut through the clutter, as Mersereau suggests, then constantly changing who you want to be when you grow up makes it difficult to be remembered when someone is ready to make a purchase. Be consistent with your colors, images and message.

5. Offer a freebie. I met with a customer the other day and we are working on a project to reach prospects. A friend of both of us happened by (we were meeting at a restaurant) and joined us. He heard us discussing offering a freebie and he said "I hate free." I just looked at him and he went on to say "Customers love free but I hate free because it doesn't have value." How true. Put a value measurement to your free offerings. What we planned to offer amounted to a couple hours of work and so we said "Free, a $250 value."

What are you doing to create buzz for your business?

Deborah Chaddock Brown
Writer