How to Create a Mastermind Group

guest post by Brandana

So what is a Mastermind Group?

A Mastermind Group is a group of business professionals from various industries that meet up on a recurring basis to talk about their professional or personal life.

The concept of the Mastermind Group is simple – To be successful, you must surround yourself with successful people.

First off, you will need to promote or invite people to become a member of this Mastermind Group. Right off the bat, do you know of any like-minded professionals?  Go through your Facebook account and take a look at people’s profession and also create a Linkedin account if you don’t already have one. One Linkedin you could also create a Mastermind Group to stay connected with your members. You could post and share articles and of course, promote your actual meet up.

Once you’ve targeted the people you would like to invite, send them a simple email describing the event and purpose. I would try to keep it light and try not to make it sound too corporate or like a formal meeting. It’s simply a meet up for successful professionals. Also, be sure to extend the invitation to anyone your potential member thinks would be interested.

Next, you would need to have a couple of venues in mind. Affordable lounges, coffee shops and restaurants are always great. Make sure the venue is centralized to where everyone lives so it’s easy for everyone to get to it. I would recommend splurging a little and have some finger foods provided to your members. After all, they did join your group.

Like any other kind of group, organization is a key factor. In today’s world of technology, the internet has become the most effective form of communication. There are so many tools out there on the web that can help you get more organized in a time efficient manner.

The one tool I recommend for starting any kind of group is Whoozin.

Whoozin is an RSVP web application. Here you could place the group logistics and your members information and add them to a group which in this case, would be a Mastermind Group.  Whoozin provides the ability to email your members and track who is coming to your group and it also retains a history of events for the group. Whoozin can help you stay organized when it comes to registration or invitations to your Mastermind Group. I almost forgot to mention that Whoozin is free to use and provides an ad-free environment.

Finally, I don’t recommend handing out agendas like you would a meeting but you should have one in mind or a personal agenda handy. This agenda would contain topics of discussion or any announcements you would like to bring up.

After your first Mastermind Group is completed, make sure you call or email everyone a few days later to get your feedback from them. Always ask for ideas to improve the event.

Visit http://www.whoozin.com

Growing a Biz Results

Growing a Biz: Maximizing Advertising & Media Results

Guest post by marketing2020

If you are a business owner, manager, or entrepreneur trying to protect or grow a business with the assistance of advertising, you will 1) need a strategic media plan and budget supporting your marketing objectives and 2) you will also have to buy the planned media from media sellers, e.g., television, radio, print, online, direct mail — on a national or local basis.

Planning and buying media is a highly competitive, tricky and knowledge intensive business with over $270 billion in transactions  So, depending on what you buy, a budget of $50,000, your decisions could have  it the clout of $25,000 or 75,000+

Caveat-Emptor

The first rule to buying media is Caveat-Emptor.  Caveat Emptor means, “Let the buyer beware.”  You must understand that the sole purpose of media sales reps is to sell you some of their advertising media inventory (e.g., TV or radio spots, space in a print medium, impressions or clicks on the internet, etc.). They will pitch their availabilities in the most favorable light possible, carefully omitting information that doesn’t support their case. Caveat Emptor.

Media Selling Points

When media sales reps call on  potential advertisers, they  bring a  sales pitch– written, verbal or multi-media. However, media sales reps actually have only three basic arguments to pitch: audience, cost and impact.  A rep may try to convince you that their audience is perfect– in size, demographics, growth trends, etc. Or, they might pitch their cost efficiency, e.g., more audience per dollar.  Or, they might try to convince you that their medium is more impactful than competitive media (e.g., generates more sales, more credibility, etc.) Reps may point to a competitor’s alleged success in the medium (audience, cost or impact?)

Media Buying

As a buyer of advertising media you will examine not one but all of the reasonable alternatives in order to identify the ones which best meet your objectives, e.g., audience profile, impactful in communicating with target, and are  most cost effective, e.g., ROI = Cost/Audience x Impact.)  Ideally, you will make a side by side comparison of media alternatives on which to compare buying decisions for specific media vehicles.

Negotiations

Rate cards are a myth in the 21^st century. Regardless of what is printed on the rate card, almost all media buys are negotiable, including price, inventory offered, timing/scheduling, positioning of ads within the medium, audience or results guarantees, value added elements such as merchandising to trade or dealers, promotions, use of on air talent, etc. It is therefore very important that the buyer have a win-win negotiating strategy firmly in mind prior to beginning a negotiation.

Key to Success: Education

Like most things where the stakes and risks are high, planning and buying advertising media requires that buyers really know what they are doing.  For those without experience there is a new college textbook, Media Planning & Buying in the 21^st Century (2^nd edition) which can help bring readers up to speed. For information, see: www.21stCenturyMediaPlanning.com.

4 ways to Promote your business on a shoe-string budget.

4 ways to Promote your business on a shoe-string budget.

 Guest Blog Post by John

Printed merchandise is one of the most effective forms of promoting your business.  It can ensure quick response and brand loyalty in a much better way compared to conventional advertising. Everyone loves freebies or promotional products and if you print the name of your company, your website, logo and such other information on them, people will tend to recollect them more than a random advertisement that they may see on the web or television.  For instance, a promotional product like a calendar that has your company information provided on it, will gain maximum visibility because there is a high degree of chance that the calendar will be hung on the wall of your prospect and he or she will see at least once daily. The barrier now, is the cost – if you have a shoe string budget, is it possible to promote your company through printed merchandise?  The answer is ‘yes’.

Here are some ways in which you can promote your company through printed merchandise.

1. Business Cards –  If you are serious about your business, it is better to invest in business cards because they are a professional identity of what you do, and is sought for by your clients, customers and by people in general .  You can invest in some creatively designed businesses cards and include your company logo, web page address and contact details in it. You can also include a QR code in your business card which leads to your Facebook Page or YouTube page or a part of the website where you put up attractive offers.
2. Bumper sticker or decal on your car – Using a bumper sticker at the back of your car or a trendy decal on the body of your car with your company name, logo information about your business on the QR code can help promote your business at negligible cost. In a busy street or at the parking lot, many will chance upon your company  name, logo and QR code and use their smartphone QR reading app to know more about your business
3. Email newsletters – You can send newsletters to your prospects with information about your company, the latest products and your new offerings for the festive season. You can also tell them about the discounts on your products by redirecting them to the page of your website where there are QR codes that contain discounted offers, which can be availed when printed out and presented at your outlet. Alternatively, you can direct your customers to the section of website or Facebook Page, where people can download and take a print-out of those coupons to be presented at the outlet.
4. Eco Friendly Products – You can set up an eco-friendly website that may be an extension of your website. You may also set up a Facebook Page, which talks about a better environment. If you know someone who is promoting an eco-friendly campaign or launching an initiative, you can tie up with them and offer eco-friendly merchandise like disposable cups, bags, napkins and pens with your company information printed on them.
5. Pens and highlighters – Custom printed retractable pens, pencils, highlighters do not cost much but are a great-away to market your business.  Distribute them in a school, hotels, and banks and see how effectively, your business grows through word-of-mouth publicity.
6. Promoting your products in a trade-show – You can increase the brand identity of your business on a shoe-string budget by doling out badges, lanyards, bottled water with your slogan and company name or logo.
7. Offering awareness products – Key chains, pens, highlighters, ribbons and bracelets are great giveaways for an awareness cause.  While you show solidarity to the cause and promote awareness, you are also making people familiar with what you do. People who form a part of the awareness campaign would keep these products as souvenirs and would be your loyal customers.
8. Offer a gift for your purchase – Wouldn’t you like to buy a product if it comes with a free gift? Sales are known to steamroll when there is a freebee backing up a purchase.  You may as well offer a printed eco-friendly shopping bag, bearing your company logo and website name and customer would be happy to take it.
9. Promoting your business through your employees- You can give incentives to your employees for a job well done, in the form of a professionally engraved metal pen, an umbrella or a printed T-shirt bearing you company name and logo.  This work in three ways – you reward the employee handsomely for a job well done. Secondly, the other employees strive to do better. Thirdly, your employees build your brand resulting in better exposure to your company.
10. Be active on social networking sites – Being on social media sites costs nothing, the only thing you have to invest is your mind and exercise your marketing strategy in a smart manner. You can run a contest and ask people to upload their pictures, videos on social networking sites and tag their friends. Offer a prize which includes printed merchandise to the winners.  There are several other methods in which you can promote your company through the power of social media. For instance, you can go to a conference and talk to people on the topic that you are an ace at, and then ask people to join your Facebook Page and subscribe to your newsletters. You can offer them printed merchandise like stickers which contain QR codes to your website or Facebook Business Page.

For more information visit Everyone loves freebies or promotional products

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