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Express Yourself : Self Publishing

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:59:02 +0000

Any songwriters/composers can publish their own work by joining the collection societies and registering their ‘copyrights’. Self-publishing means that the songwriter/composer retains the full-royalty, after the collection society’s commission is deducted, and does not have to ‘split’ it with a publisher. However, the self-published songwriter/composer would also then be responsible for carrying out the tasks normally undertaken by a publisher, for example exploiting the compositions by approaching potential synch partners, funding recordings or finding acts to record the songs.

How Do I Protect My Music?

It is worth alerting other people that you own the copyright by adding the © symbol with the name of the composer(s) or the publisher to whom you have assigned the work. In addition to this, add the year the track was written or recorded.

Although it is not essential to take one of the following steps, proving that you own the copyright to a song/composition will be made significantly easier by doing so.

Send yourself a CD or manuscript of the composition(s) by registered post or courier. Sign your name across the seal and write the name of the songs/composition on the outside of the envelope for your own reference. Make sure that the stamp indicates the date. Do not open the envelope, as it will need to be sealed in order to prove it has not been opened since the date it was sent. Only if it is sealed, will it be valid as evidence in court.

Submit a recording or a manuscript to your solicitor and request a receipt, which states the date and a description of the work.

If I am self-publishing, what should I do if I think someone is infringing my copyright?

Before proceeding any further, check that no copyright exemption applies to the user. If there is no exemption, write to the appropriate collection society and inquire if the user has been granted permission to use the composition. It is possible that it is being used as part of a blanket agreement granted by a collection society, or that permission has been granted by the music publishing company.

If it is a breach of copyright, consider what resolution you would favour, and after seeking legal advice, suggest this to the offending party.

Should this fail, then a court has the power to award damages, grant an injunction banning further use and, where the music is being used on a physical sound carrier, oblige the user to hand over the offending copies.

For further information regarding music copyright, see: www.ipo.gov.uk/copy/c-applies/c-music.htm

If I am self-publishing, who Should I Send My Music To?

Publishers specialise in getting music used in a wide variety of outlets. However, there is nothing to stop a self-published songwriter/composer approaching companies or music-users who might be interested in using their compositions. These might include advertising agencies, music supervisors responsible for selecting music for films, or the management of pop acts looking for material. Many of these contacts can be found via music industry directories, by inquiring on BACS forums or simply by doing some research online.

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Social Marketing : #Effective

admin — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:28:52 +0000

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites.

Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. A corporate message spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-party source, as opposed to the brand or company itself. Hence, this form of marketing is driven by word-of-mouth, meaning it results in earned media rather than paid media.

Social media has become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively inexpensive platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns.

Twitter

Twitter allows companies to promote products on an individual level. The use of a product can be explained in short messages that followers are more likely to read. These messages appear on followers’ home pages. Messages can link to the product’s website, Facebook profile, photos, videos, etc. This link provides followers the opportunity to spend more time interacting with the product online. This interaction can create a loyal connection between product and individual and can also lead to larger advertising opportunities. Twitter promotes a product in real-time and brings customers in.

Facebook

Facebook profiles are more detailed than Twitter. They allow a product to provide videos, photos, and longer descriptions. Videos can show when a product can be used as well as how to use it. These also can include testimonials as other followers can comment on the product pages for others to see. Facebook can link back to the product’s Twitter page as well as send out event reminders. Facebook promotes a product in real-time and brings customers in.

As marketers see more value in social media marketing, advertisers continue to increase sequential ad spend in social by 25%. Strategies to extend the reach with Sponsored Stories and acquire new fans with Facebook ads contribute to an uptick in spending across the site. The study attributes 84% of “engagement” or clicks to Likes that link back to Facebook advertising. Today, brands increase fan counts on average of 9% monthly, increasing their fan base by two-times the amount annually.

Instagram

Instagram is a free photo-sharing program and social network that was launched in October 2010. The service allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it, and then share it with other Instagram users they are connected to on the social network as well as on a variety of social networking services. Instagram currently has 80 million registered users. A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 4:3 aspect ratio typically used by mobile device cameras.

Blogs

Everyday there are more reasons for companies to use blogging platforms to their social media repertoire. Platforms like LinkedIn creates an environment for companies and clients to connect online. Companies that recognize the need for information, originality, and accessibility employ blogs to make their products popular and unique, and ultimately reach out to consumers who are privy to social media.

Blogs allow a product or company to provide longer descriptions of products or services. The longer description can include reasoning and uses. It can include testimonials and can link to and from Facebook, Twitter and many social network and blog pages. Blogs can be updated frequently and are promotional techniques for keeping customers. Other promotional uses are acquiring followers and subscribers and direct them to your social network pages.

In a similar fashion, online communities benefit businesses because they enable them to reach the clients of other businesses using the platform. These online environments can be accessed by virtually anyone; therefore consumers are invited to be a part of the creative process. To allow firms to measure their standing in the corporate world, Glassdoor is a site where employees can place evaluations of their companies.

Some businesses opt out of integrating social media platforms into their traditional marketing regimen because their employees dislike such isolated online environments. There are also specific corporate standards that apply when interacting online. Other corporations fear that the general public have too much power over how their marketing is perceived, due to the accessibility of Internet-retrieved information. To ensure having the advantage in a business-consumer relationship, businesses have to be aware of four key assets that consumers maintain: information, involvement, community, and control.

LinkedIn, being a professional business-related networking site, allows companies to create professional profiles for themselves as well as their business to network and meet others.Through the use of widgets, members can promote their various social networking activities, such as Twitter stream or blog entries of their product pages, onto their LinkedIn profile page. LinkedIn provides its members the opportunity to generate sales leads and business partners. Members can use “Company Pages” similar to Facebook pages to create an area that will allow business owners to promote their products or services and be able to interact with their customers.

Yelp

Yelp consists of a comprehensive online index of business profiles. Businesses are searchable by location, similar to Yellow Pages. The website is operational in seven different countries, including the United States and Canada. Business account holders are allowed to create, share, and edit business profiles. They may post information such as the business location, contact information, pictures, and service information. The website further allows individuals to write, post reviews about businesses and rate them on a five-point scale. Messaging and talk features are further made available for general members of the website, serving to guide thoughts and opinions.

YouTube

YouTube is another popular avenue; advertisements are done in a way to suit the target audience. The type of language used in the commercials and the ideas used to promote the product reflect the audience’s style and taste.

Also, the ads on this platform are usually in sync with the content of the video requested, this is another advantage YouTube brings for advertisers. Certain ads are presented with certain videos since the content is relevant. Promotional opportunities such as sponsoring a video is also possible on YouTube, “for example, a user who searches for a YouTube video on dog training may be presented with a sponsored video from a dog toy company in results along with other videos.”Youtube also enable publishers to earn money through Youtube Partner Program.Youtube is also known for its viral nature that eventually allow marketers to promote their product for free.

Music Publishing 101

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:46:58 +0000

Music Publishing & Licensing Terminology

A&R (Artist & Repertoire)
The person or group of people who sign new acts to a record label. (They used to select material from publishers for artists signed to their label, hence Artists and Repertoire.)Assignment Of Copyright
The transfer of ownership of a copyright from one party to another, which must be in writing to be effective.Audio/Visual Work
An industry term for film, television or any other visual production.

Author
The creator of “Intellectual Property” such as literary, musical and dramatic works; choreography; pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; audio/visual works and sound recordings. Generally the word author can denote composer, lyricist, record producer, choreographer, artist, photographer, writer or other creator (see “Work for Hire”).

Background Music
Music used (other than as feature or theme music) that creates mood and supports the spoken dialogue of a radio program or visual action of an audio/visual work.

Blanket License
A license which allows the music user to perform any or all of millions of songs in a Performace Rights Organization’s repertory as much or as little as they like. Licensees pay an annual fee for the license. The blanket license saves music users the paperwork, trouble and expense of finding and negotiating licenses with all of the copyright owners of the works that might be used during a year and helps prevent the user from even inadvertently infringing on the copyrights of PRO’s members and the many foreign writers whose music is licensed by PRO’s with reciprocating blanket license agreements in other nations. See also Per Program License

Broadcast
The replaying of pre-recorded works to multiple listeners through various media or in a ‘semi live’ setting such as a bar or bookstore, and including radio, TV, web casting, pod casting, etc.

Clearance (Copyright)
For the right to use music in most circumstances it must be cleared with the copyright owners. Clearance is needed for copying, not just for commercial use. It is normally negotiated through licensing directly with labels and publishers or other copyright holders.

Collection Societies
Organizations that Issue licenses to music users and share the license fees among copyright owners which are normally the record labels, publishers, writers and performers. See also Performing Rights Organizations.

Control
Control means the publisher (see Music Publisher) has the right to negotiate and execute all licenses for the “life of copyright” which according to U.S. copyright law is the length of the copyright owner’s life plus 70 years after his/her decease. The publisher licenses mechanical, print, synch and performance rights on behalf of itself and any of its rightful co-writers and/or co-producers. Any licensing fees or other royalties are collected by the publisher (the owner of the copyright) on behalf of itself and distributed to any co-writers, co-producers or other co-owners of the music.

Copyright
The legal right to exclusive publication, production, sale or distribution of a literary or artistic work. Copyright is granted by law in most countries and in the United States by a federal statute called The Copyright Act of 1976.

Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panels (CARP)
As successors to the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, CARPs will consist of private citizens appointed by the Register of Copyrights to act as arbitrators in matters of setting periodic changes in the royalty rate for the compulsory mechanical license, as well as for compulsory licenses for distant signal cable television transmissions and public broadcasting. CARPs will also determine entitlements to the royalties received by the Copyright Office for the latter two licenses and under the Audio Home Recording Act.

Cover Songs
In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded commercially released song or popular song. Originally, Billboard and other magazines which track the popularity of the musical artists and hit tunes, measured the sales success of the published tune, not just recordings of it. Later they tracked the airplay that songs achieved for which some cover versions are the more successful recordings of the particular songs. For complete details with related discussion and references, follow this link to an in-depth Wikipedia article about cover songs.

Exploitation
In music publishing, songs which are “exploited” create revenue streams which are the result of the publisher executing licenses and filing the proper registrations.

Dramatic Performances or Grand Rights
Dramatic and grand rights are licensed by the composer or the publisher of the work.
While the line between dramatic and non dramatic is not clear and depends on the facts, a dramatic performance usually involves using the work to tell a story or as part of a story or plot.

Dramatic performances, among others, include:
(i) performance of an entire “dramatico-musical work.
(ii) performance of one or more musical compositions from a “dramatico-musical work” accompanied by dialogue, pantomime, dance, stage action, or visual representation of the work from which the music is taken.
(iii) performance of one or more musical compositions as part of a story or plot, whether accompanied or unaccompanied by dialogue, pantomime, dance, stage action or visual representation.
(iv) performance of a concert version of a “dramatico-musical work.”
The term “dramatico-musical work” includes, but is not limited to, a musical comedy, oratorio, choral work, opera, play with music, revue or ballet.

Film Music
Music and recordings for film can be licensed from publishers and record labels. Unlike licenses for normal broadcasting or performance, rates for these master use and sync licenses are not fixed, so film (video, advertising, etc.) makers negotiate a price. Library and catalogue music providers offer ready made, pre-cleared recordings for a wide range of video (and other) applications.

Independent (Indie)
Independent normally means record labels that are not “majors” or artists that are not signed with a major publisher or label.

Lead Sheet
A hand-made (usually) reproduction on paper of a newly-written song.

Library
A collection of musical compositions that are licensed by the publisher or administrator for use as background, theme, or score music, on radio, broadcast and cable television, films, or video productions.

License, Music
The right, granted by the copyright holder, for a given person or entity to broadcast, recreate, perform, or listen to a recorded copy of a copyrighted work. See also Mechanical Rights, Performance Rights Sync Rights and Print Rights Licensing.

Licensor
The owner of the licensed work

Licensee
The person or entity to whom the work is licensed

Licensing, Music
There are several primary rights that music publishers use to license the use of their music. Mechanical, Performing, Sound Recordings, Synch and Print Rights. They can be found further below listed in alphabetical order.

Master Use License
A phonographic copyright license to pay recording owners for music used in film, video, or TV soundtracks. There is no fixed fee for master use licenses.

Music License
See License, Mechanical Rights, Performance Rights, Sync Rights and Print Rights Licensing.

Mechanical Rights
A mechanical right is the right to record and distribute (without visual images) a song on a phonorecord for private use. Mechanical rights or a mechanical license must be obtained in order to lawfully make and distribute records, CD’s and tapes.

Music Publisher
A person that is authorized to license the reproduction of a particular musical work in a sound recording. (USC 17) More broadly, the publisher typically licenses mechanical, print, synch and performance rights on behalf of itself and any of its rightful co-writers and/or co-producers.

Per-Program License
A license similar to the blanket license in that it authorizes a radio or television broadcaster to use all the works in the ASCAP repertory. However, the license is designed to cover use of a PRO’s music in a specific radio or television programs, requiring that the user keep track of all music used. Also, the user must be certain to obtain rights for all the music used in programs not covered by the license.

Performance
The live performance of a musical piece, regardless of whether it’s performed by the original artist or in the manner it is best known

Performing Rights Licensing
The “blanket” licensing rights the “PRO”s administer with radio stations, television stations, clubs, restaurants, stores, digital streaming services, etc. Songwriters and publishers normally belong to one if they have any exploited songs. For the price of these blanket licenses (which vary depending on the size of the broadcaster) the broadcaster can play all the BMI, ASCAP or SESAC songs an unlimited number of times for a measured period of time. These ‘plays’ are tracked and the pool of blanket license money is divided in proportion to the number of plays and the value of plays.

Performing Rights Organizations
In the U.S. these societies (known as “PRO”s) include ASCAP, BMI, and to a lesser extent SESAC. Their fundamental job it is to keep track of every single performance or broadcast of all works protected under copyright.

Pre-Cleared Music
Music that is ready to be licensed for various commercial uses including video, film, advertising and the like. See also Film Music.

Print Rights Licensing
Sheet music, song folios, scores or notation in any printed or digital form released for sale. Once sold, printed music earns royalties from the print rights license which the publisher negotiated.

Production Music
See Film Music.

Public Domain
Refers to the status of a work having no copyright protection and, therefore, belonging to the world. When a work is “in” or has “fallen into” public domain it means it is available for unrestricted use by anyone. Permission and/or payment are not required for use. Except with respect to works eligible for restoration of copyright, once a work falls into the public domain (“PD”) it can never be recaptured by the owner.

Public Performance Rights
A public performance is one that occurs “in a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered.” A public performance also occurs when the performance is transmitted by means of any device or process (for example, via broadcast, telephone wire, or other means) to the public. In order to perform a copyrighted work publicly, the user must obtain performance rights from the copyright owner or his representative.

Publisher’s Share
When publishers acquire (purchase) a copyright, they are acquiring the publisher’s share. Depending on the agreement, this is the share of the song ownership that can be bought, sold or sub-licensed. (see Sub-Publishing) The writer’s share always stays with the original author of the song or musical composition.

Publishing Administration
Publishing administration is limited to royalty collection. The publisher will not get additional customers for the compositions. The rate for administration is normally about 10%.

Record Label
A record label (or company) makes, distributes and markets sound recordings (CD’s, tapes, etc.) Record labels obtain from music publishers the right to record and distribute songs and in turn pay license fees for the recordings. Record labels may also invest in artists, promote recordings and collect earnings from phonographic copyrights.

Retransmission
A transmission of a performance is one that is sent by any device or process (for example, radio, TV, cable, satellite, telephone) and received in a different place. A retransmission is a further transmission of that performance to yet another place.

Registration
You or your music publisher registers your songs with a performing rights organization (ASCAP, BMI or SESAC) to get the song details in their database so the correct percentages of performance royalties can be attributed and paid to the correct party.
Your music publisher registers your songs with a ‘local’ publisher in a foreign territory so they can, in turn, register the songs with their local mechanical and performing rights societies (mechanical and performing rights organizations) so the correct percentages of foreign mechanical royalties and the publishers side of performance royalties are attributed and paid to the correct party.

Royalties
Royalties are fees paid to rights owners (normally record labels, publishers, writers and performers) for the use of their work. Royalty collections provide ongoing earnings of licensed songs from each sale or broadcast.

Sampling
Sampling or sample licensing requires record label and publishing clearance. There is no fixed rate for clearance so licensing costs can be negotiated with the publishers.

Score The music that is used in synchronization to an audio/visual work, or the body of music composed for a dramatic-musical work.

Sound Recording
A sound recording refers to the copyright in a recording as distinguished from the copyright in a song. The copyright in the song encompasses the words and music and is owned by the songwriter or music publisher. The sound recording is the result of recording music, words or other sounds onto a tape, record, CD, etc. The copyright encompasses what you hear: the artist singing, the musicians playing, the entire production. The sound recording copyright is owned by the record label. The copyright in the musical work itself is owned by the music publisher, which grants the record label a “mechanical” license to record and distribute the song as part of the record.

Sub-Publishing
A contractual arrangement between a primary publisher of a song and a secondary or co-publisher to handle the exploitation, licensing and collection for the song in, for example, a specialty, private label or foreign territory market.

Synchronization Licensing
Synchronization (or sync) license is the licensed right for a film or other audiovisual medium to use music to synchronize (match) to recorded images in an audio-visual product. It can be a commercial, video game, film, TV show, music video, DVD or website, etc. A synch license usually produces a negotiated fee for certain rights depending on the usage. Synchronization rights are licensed by the music publisher to film and video producers, ad agencies or other program or product producers.

Sync Rights
See synchronization licensing.

Work For Hire
As defined in Section 101 of the 1976 Copyright Law, this is a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his/her employment, or a work specially ordered or commissioned for use by another person in accordance with a written document as a contribution to a collective work, motion picture, audio/visual and other certain types of works, the nature of which is specifically defined in Section 101 of the Copyright Law. In the case of a work made for hire the employer is considered the author of the work under the Copyright Law (and unless the parties agree, otherwise owns all the rights in the work).

Writer’s Share
The writer’s share represents the authorship of the song. While a copyright can change ownership many times; the writer’s share remains the property of the author. See Copyright for more details.

Courtesy :LicenseQuote

WHAT IS ADVERTISING?

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:20:57 +0000

Every day when we watch TV or read the newspaper, we come across advertisements. Advertising
persuades people to buy a certain product. It brings goods to the attention of consumers.

People who are concerned with marketing deal with:

1. Market research
2. Product development
3. Promotion

1. MARKET RESEARCH
The main idea of market research is, to find out whether a product is needed, whether people would
buy it and what kind of people that are. These people are called TARGET GROUP.
Market research is often carried out buy specialist organisations, they make market surveys and
customer tests to find out preferences in design, quality, colour and taste. This information is used to decide whether to produce a product, how much it should cost and how it should be promoted.

2. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
There are two ways of product development. On the one hand the product-oriented companies and on the other hand the market-oriented companies.
Product-oriented companies invest a lot of money and time in finding new or im-proved goods to sell them on the market. This is a very risky form of product development, because companies might not sell the new goods. So they lost a lot of money. Market-oriented companies want to find out what is needed and then they try to develop new ways of production or new goods.

3. PROMOTION
Promotion is very important because however good a product is, it will not find any buyers, if no one knows about it.
If you want to sell a specialised product, all you have to do is to write to people or companies, which are known to be interested or place an advertisement in a trade magazine. If you are not able to do this yourself, you can instruct an advertising argency. They have the experts who can make a successful campaign. They know how, when and where the message should be transmitted to reach most people of the target group.
At the beginning of production, advertising will inform you what a product is like, where you can get it and how much it costs. Later, it is necessary to persuade the people to keep on buying or attract new customers to buy. Modern advertising uses language, pictures, sound and colours to sell the products as well as possible.

ADVERTISING MEDIA
The best times for commercials are the times at which people wait for something special like the news or sports. At these times advertising can be very successful, but it is also very expensive.

TV-COMMERCIALS
TV is one of the most powerful advertising medium, because you can get very detailed information
about a product. Depending on your target group you have to decide the time, when your spot shall be shown. It is not useful broadcasting an ad about cars in the children’s programmes because this is not your target group, they cannot buy a car. In the afternoon there are many films on TV, which are interrupted regularly. At that time advertising can be very expensive. In fact, TV-adverts have a strange impact. You might have noticed how well you can remember slogans long after the spot is over.

PRINTED ADVERTISING
The prices for full-page-adverts in national newspapers are roughly the same as for TV spots, but you can also place smaller adverts in the print media. In local newspapers you only pay a few pounds.The problem of adverts in newspapers and magazines is, that they can attract the reader’s eyes only.
This problem can be solved by considering several factors:

• Only use right-hand pages for newspaper adverts, because you first look at the right side.
• The colour is an important fact. Red signals mean danger and colours of the dusk make us feel
comfortable and save.
• The layout and the text are also very important parts of newspaper adverts. The layout may take
the readers look at the main information, and the text is just to inform interested people.

DIRECT MAILING
Direct mailing is another form of advertising. The companies get a list of names and addresses an
send leaflets to those people who might be interested in their products. Some people find this direct
mailing irritating, wasteful and unsightly, so the leaflets land in the rubbish bin.

PRO AND CONTRAS
Some people say, that advertising persuade people to buy things they don’t need and to be wasteful,
but advertising also means creating more jobs. Regardless whether we like advertisements or not, advertising has become indispensable in our economies. It has become a market of its own and it offers a high number of jobs. Moreover, advertisements are an important source of information for the public. And there is something that we should not forget: Advertising enables us to afford such “luxuries” like TV and newspapers, because without it, they would be considerably more expensive.

Music Marketing

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:33:55 +0000

What is Music Marketing?

Let’s start with a “text book” definition…

Wikipedia says “marketing” is a business term referring to the promotion of products, advertising, pricing, distribution channels, and branding. The term developed from the original meaning which referred literally to going to market, as in shopping, or going to a market to sell goods or services.

This definition (and others like it) are a big reason why most musicians aren’t interested in music marketing. It sounds boring, technical, and contrived.

It can be, but I don’t think it’s any of those things.

Here’s how I define music marketing…

Music Marketing is an Extension of You and Your Music

Seriously, it’s as simple as that…a non-music extension of who you are and what you create. It’s everything you and your music already are, but brighter, louder, faster, stronger, and taller.

Music marketing is Judas Priest wearing leather and riding around on motorcycles.

Music marketing is Diddy flying around in a private jet and drinking Courvoisier.

Music marketing is you living your music by doing whatever you do. For a folk artist, it may be driving around in a van with a cooler of bulk food and a dog in the back. For a DJ, it may be related to your fashion or the neighborhood where you live.

Music marketing is coming up with a complete package that sells music, gets people to shows, and makes money. That’s it!

Like anything, there is “more to the story.” Helping you figure that out if where I come in. For now, I simply want you to understand that, although you may feel like you hate music marketing, you’re already doing it…like it or not.

Brand Management

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:26:22 +0000

Brand implementation refers to the physical representation and consistent application of brand identity across visual and verbal identity carriers. In visual terms, this can include signage, uniforms, liveries, interior design and branded merchandise. Brand implementation encompasses facets of architecture, product design, industrial design, quantity surveying, engineering, procurement, project management and retail design.

Brand implementation means the continuous and consistent application of the brand’s image in all business units, all communication channels and all media – thus adapting to the ongoing changes within markets, stakeholders, technologies and sociocultural environments.
This refers to marketing and branding as a unified whole. In that respect, brand implementation must be seen as a continuous process, one which will require controlling the brand’s image and presence in the face of changing requirements from the markets or one’s own company structure.

Web Design, Development & Implementation

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:20:35 +0000

Developing a web presence is a time consuming and expensive task that involves months of planning and development. Many times, as the project progresses and milestones are achieved, the end result is not necessarily what was originally planned. People involved in the planning phases of the project may leave, resources may be shifted, the competitive environment may change or newer technologies may be discovered along the way – all of which can significantly affect the final product. As a result, it is important to ensure the final site is designed to meet your objectives and is effective at attracting and maintaining visitors.

The following sections provide a checklist of important components of your site that you should evaluate before you conduct a final launch.

Site Strategy

The strategy development process involved determining the purpose of your site, defining your target audience and developing measurable objectives. It is this process that gave you direction on your site design including the technologies and tools you used.

There are many purposes to a web site. It could be to entice a visitor to engage in a particular ‘action’ – perhaps make a purchase or fill out a member form. It could be to share information or an opinion, or provide entertainment. Whether you want to sell, persuade or entertain, every section of your site should reflect and support your site’s purpose and strategy. For instance, if you want to encourage purchase of your product, your site will probably have e-commerce functionality that will enable customers to make online payments. If you have a persuasive site, you may include a feedback form to gather public opinion and a newsletter that provides updates. A games site may include a ‘top performers’ section to encourage competitiveness between visitors so they will go to your site again.

A site’s success is very dependent on its ability to meet the needs and expectations of your target audience. For instance, the computer ‘literacy’ of your potential customers can determine how long they will stay on your site. As an example, if your visitors are not technically oriented they may require very easy navigation throughout your site or clear directions on how to conduct a particular action. If your visitors have a technology background, they will be able to understand more complex functions and content. The region in which your target audience is located can also affect the tools and design of your site. Some regions cannot support high bandwidth and therefore have slower connection speeds. As a result, you will have to pay particular attention to your use of graphics and multimedia.

Your site features will help you to meet your goals as well. If you have a site that makes money through advertising, a goal will be to drive site traffic. Consequently, you may focus on providing regular and up-to-date content. Your site may also include back-end software that provides advertisers with statistics and data on their advertising popularity.

Before you launch your web site it is important to evaluate whether the final product reflects your purpose, audience requirements and goals. It will be much easier to make the necessary changes before your site becomes public, otherwise you may risk turning away visitors and sacrificing initial opportunities.

Email Marketing

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:29:48 +0000

Email marketing is directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using electronic mail (email). In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It usually involves using email to send ads, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and is meant to build loyalty, trust, or brand awareness. Email marketing can be done to either cold lists or current customer database. Broadly, the term is usually used to refer to:

sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers, to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business,
sending email messages with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately,
adding advertisements to email messages sent by other companies to their customers

Researchers estimate that United States firms alone spent US $1.51 billion on email marketing in 2011 and will grow to $2.468 billion by 2016.

Digital Strategy

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:23:38 +0000

In the fields of strategic management, marketing strategy and business strategy, digital strategy is the process of specifying an organization’s vision, goals, opportunities and initiatives in order to maximize the business benefits of digital initiatives to the organization.

These can range from an enterprise focus, which considers the broader opportunities and risks that digital potentially creates (e.g., changes in the publishing industry) and often includes customer intelligence, collaboration, new product/market exploration, sales and service optimization, enterprise technology architectures and processes, innovation and governance; to more marketing and customer-focused efforts such as web sites, mobile, eCommerce, social, site and search engine optimization, and advertising.

Print Collateral

admin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:34:08 +0000

Printing ideas for you to consider

Business Card

Has a very simple look and feel representing the brand, Name of company, address, website address, email and phone of Company and the individual (cel). Everyone that touches a customer needs a business card. A very in expensive way to get the brand out into the market.

Letterhead

Brand developed with company name, address, website address, phone number.

In House brochure

An over-all look at the company and what they stand for. Highlights of the “Benefits” that the customer will experience by using the goods and services described within. The tri-fold could just as easily be a FLAT piece with rounded corners. With computers, people rarely want to carry a lot of printed materials with them(easy to lose) so simple and informative is the key. Name address dotcom information is imperative. Prices can be referred to on the web in most cases. Prices change sometimes faster than the use of the sheets or cards.

Leave Behind Brochure

The out of house brochure is very much like the in-house just with a lot more images of what your company represents and like the in-house brochure the leave behind brochure needs to be eye catching with many references to the website. This piece also needs an area to reference the salespersons contact information. A well done sticker will always work here.

Direct Mail Post Cards

Direct mail is one of the most effective ways of getting a message out to the public. It may cost a little more but with the right action statement the post cards can produce as much as 7% of what were mailed or handed out. This means that you would receive business from seven customers for every 100 post cards delivered. This is important because you can work this into the numbers as far as what the offer is and what you plan to get out of the delivery of the cards

Point Of Purchase “POP” Signs (if a retail location)

Point of Purchase displays change every so often depending what is the latest and great product or service a company offers. By planning ahead and developing 3-5 different displays that are over 6 square feet, a company may switch them out as seen fit