Posts Tagged ‘a-much-better’
Trade Journals in Franchising
As many people know Industry Trade Journals in America have gone through a tough time in recent years due to slowing of advertising dollars. In franchising there is no difference. They use to give away subscriptions to Successful Franchising on franchise web sites; unfortunately that magazine was unable to weather the storm. They stop publishing in October of 2001. Now we see a re-emergence of Franchise Times, who has hired a new salesman, who is going to all the franchisors and telling them to advertise.
Most franchisors have theories of where it is best to advertise. Most DO NOT advertise in such trade journals. A few do, mostly for brand name recognition, although in my opinion it is a total waste of money. Franchisors who really care about their franchisees would spend the advertising dollars to get new franchisees in places that would help both getting new franchisees and helping their own franchisees get new customers; a much better way to advertise. I feel sorry for people like the sales man who called me trying to peddle these display ads and combat what must be an unending amount of rejection. I feel even more sorry for franchisees of any system whose franchisors blow money on any advertising, which does not help their franchisees. These costs are obviously passed on to new franchise buyers, who probably came to the franchisor’s site through a web site or from a referral from an existing franchisee where they bought a sandwich, did dry cleaning, got their hair cut or got taxes completed. We have found that this sort of advertising in places like Franchise Times has never worked for our company, we believe it is a waste of money, even worse than attending trade shows.
As advertising dollars continue to dry up and even with all the media consolidation, there seems to be a very aggressive approach to sales tactics of these salesmen/women and a touch of unnerving arrogance among the editors, publishers and self-important writers. I guess that arrogance goes with the job, however I think it is time for all Industry Journals and media for that matter to come back to Earth, realize their relative value in our society. Everything has an intrinsic value and an actual value and we need Industry Journals to find equilibrium, because as it stands in my opinion, it is not even close. Why would any franchisor waste money on such advertising? Perhaps they themselves want to see their pictures in the ads, perhaps if the advertise they can get the editors to go ahead and do a story on the company? Maybe we have just too many egos in franchising? What say you?
Would you want to buy a franchise from a franchisor who blows money on such advertising, that could be better spent helping the team succeed together? I know I wouldn’t. Maybe you should buy a magazine and then make sure to delete the franchisors that advertise in it as wasteful and not inline with financial responsibility, simply do not buy any franchise of anyone advertising in that way?
“Lance Winslow” – If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs
Your Article Headlines will Make or Break Your Business
Most people with an online presence will have to regularly deal with the issue of coming up with an appropriate headline. The problem is that most people do not take it seriously enough. Many do not realize that the headline is so important that no matter how good the content is, it will never get read if the headline does not beckon surfers to it.
The power of a headline In the offline world of the tabloid press, one headline can sell a few hundred copies while another in the same publication, can sell several million copies. Online headlines are even more important as quite often somebody will not have an opportunity to leaf through, like they do in a print publication. Quite often, even a summary will not be available and all the prospective reader has to go on, is the headline.
Most of us forget that we are motivated to read almost everything that we read online through the headline. Open any news page and you will only click on the headlines that you find interesting. Even on a page of search engine results, you will tend to go for a lower ranked page with a better headline.
What this clearly means is that every little tiny headline that you place on every small piece of content is important and will have an impact on how often that item gets read. Ultimately every little headline will contribute towards the success or failure of your site.
And what makes things even more difficult is the fact that you will be competing with many other excellent headlines online, most of them the work of professional copy writers working for leading websites.
Come up with your headline when the content is done The most effective way of writing good headlines is to come up with your headline only when you have finished reading the content. Not only is it easier to come up with a much better headline when the content is done, but you also be able to come up with different headlines covering different aspects of the article. You can then decide which is the most attractive aspect of the article to base your headline on.
This has become a harder decision to make in recent times because you have to consider other aspects like keywords with search engines in mind and balance this with the most captivating headline that will result in most people clicking on it to read the contents.
Spend more time on the headline and come up with various options Professional copywriters usually spend much more time on the headline than they do writing they content. It is important to come up with several headlines before you settle on your final choice. It is a good idea to regularly test different headlines for the same articles and see which one attracts the most hits.
About the author: S. Rosendahl is a Technical Executive Writer for Website Source, Inc. http://www.websitesource.com. Her established writing skills coupled with experience in the website hosting industry have provided internet professionals with marketing, product and service ideas for many years.
Enjoy The Beauty Of Hardwood With The Endurance Of Laminate Flooring
Everyone likes the beautiful, timeless look of hardwood floors. Elegant, yet simple, hardwood is stunning. But take a closer look. Is that hardwood scratched and dented? Are those stains and fade marks that you see there? Maybe that hardwood floor is not as nice as you originally thought.
If you like the look and the timeless appearance of hardwood floors but not want the scratches, dents and fade marks that will come with it than laminate flooring is a good option for you. Besides the fact that laminate is much more durable than traditional hardwood flooring, it is much cheaper as well.
What Is Laminate Flooring?
Laminate flooring is a composite product that looks like a wood product; however, you can care for it as if you would your laminate countertop. Laminate flooring is made of a high-density core with an image placed on the top layer and sealed with a laminate covering. Laminate flooring has a water repellent placed on it and good quality floors are infused with water repellent throughout the core.
What Kind Of Laminate Floor Should I Get?
When you are choosing your laminate floor you will need to take a few things into consideration. The first thing that you need to look at is where you are going to put the floor. Are you looking at a high traffic area that will see a lot of use? Alternatively, is the area that you are covering a smaller, low traffic area? If you are looking at covering a low traffic area, you will probably be able to get away with a laminate flooring that has a smaller core.
The core sizes of laminate flooring vary from around 6mm to 12 mm. The thicker the core in the flooring, the better the stability is. In addition, if you have a thicker core it will stand up better to wear and tear is likely to last you longer than a thinner core.
If you are thinking of moving to a different home in the next few years, you may want to go with a lesser quality of laminate flooring as well. Usually when people purchase a home, the flooring is the first thing that they change so there is no point spending a lot of money on a floor when you are going to move homes.
Most laminate floor come with warranties starting around ten years long. Generally, the more expensive floor types will come with longer warranties. Be sure to read your warranties very carefully however, as some warranties may not cover floor placement in the kitchen or bathroom.
Can I do It Myself?
One of the biggest appeals of laminate flooring is that most people can install them by themselves. You can install most laminate coverings over sheet vinyl, concrete slabs, plywood underlay, existing hardwood or any other flat and level surface.
The glue less Pergo flooring is a very popular choice because it does not require any glue to install properly or any other special tools of any kind. Therefore, anyone can do it himself or herself without any special training. Even if you have never installed a floor before, or do not have a lot of home renovation experience, laminate flooring is easily installed.
One of the biggest benefits to installing the floor yourself is that you can save thousands of dollars on installation fees. Unlike hardwood floors that are already very pricy, and need to be installed professionally, laminate is quick and easy, even for the beginner.
What About In The Kitchen?
Laminate flooring is a good choice for the kitchen and bathroom because it is water repellent. The core of laminate floors have been infused with water repellent to protect from everyday spills that happen. However if you are looking at installing your floor in the kitchen or bathroom you may want to look at purchasing a floor that has been infused with a paraffin wax in the joints in order to further repel water and avoid swelling.
Unlike hardwood floors, laminate is a much better choice for kitchens or bathrooms. Because we all know that spills happen. Water and food spills can stain traditional hardwood floors, and with laminate, you simply wipe them up and it is all taken care of.
Choose The Right Floor
Laminate flooring is available in many different styles, colors and patterns. There is something to suit everyone no matter what your style preference may be. When you go shopping for laminate flooring, you will encounter many different brands such as Pergo, Armstrong and Bruce. Since laminate was introduced in 1982, its market share has been growing in leaps and bounds. You will be able to find laminate in many price ranges, so there is something to suit everyone and everyone’s budget.
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Kevin Brown is successful author and publisher of many informative websites including http://www.newsletterjournal.com . His websites offer tips and advice on a wide array of topics including laminate flooring, hardwood floors, bamboo floors and more.
