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[T798]The Vines Get Free

by Abe Cherian, Abe

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The most overlooked method to get free Publicity
Copyright ? 2006

In most cases, you can use the normal media channels to get
the publicity you need for your product or service. And,
although you don't need to come up with schemes to get
attention, they do work.

Sometimes promotion departments of manufacturers' stage
marathon events or contests with their products -
especially with toys and games. Apparel companies may
sponsor athletic races; manufacturers of motorcycles
sponsor races.

Although promotion schemes do cost money to stage, the
efforts usually pay off in a long run with the number of
customers sold on the product.

For local coverage, charity drives and dinners are good
ways to get in the paper. Some enterprises strive for a
more national coverage with special prizes connected to
sports events.

If you are clever enough, and there's no big news break
that day, you may get your scheme on television. Even local
footage reaches thousands and thousands of people.

What gimmicks can you think of that will pay off for their
investment? How is your product or service used that it can
commercially be exploited by the news? Can you keep going
with it-making it an annual event, drawing customers from
near and far?

What if you don't want to do the publicity yourself? If
your product or service is a natural for free publicity,
you can hire a company or a person to do your public
relations work.

There are many freelancers in the large cities who have a
number of clients that they publicize. They've already
broken the ice with the editors and the media, so they can
get their releases printed.

If you want to hire someone for a special project, get a
person who has the contacts and who specializes in your
product line. If you're a celebrity, use someone who has a
reputation in the entertainment industry. If you are a
manufacturer with new appliances, likewise consider a
person with expertise in that field.

Check out the person or firm. Talk to other clients and
find out what has been done for them. Have they increased
their sales or public exposure?

Investigate the reputation with people in the media you
want to publicize in, and be sure there is a clean slate
with the local business associations.

Then work efficiently with the person who will handle your
publicity. Communicate effectively and be sure your ideas
are understood. Listen well and absorb any ideas thrown
your way. Between the two of you, you can come up with an
excellent publicity campaign that will make your business
boom.

The wonderful thing about free publicity is that you have
nothing to lose. A few phone calls; a few personal letters,
maybe some investment in quick printing news releases.
And, you can reap many times that investment in additional
sales and orders.

Whether you have an international personality to publicize
or a community barbecue, you can get that information to
the public at little expense.

What is unique about your service or product? Is it the
best? The most used? The longest lasting? Do customers
return year after year? Consider all the angles, then
consider again.

Be sure to make solid contacts and be thorough with your
follow-ups. Being polite and efficient will always create
effective business relations. Then exploit your own
publicity. Use it again and again; post it in the store or
rewrite it for more national distribution. Go as far as you
can with your ideas.

And, it doesn't cost you. That is the true joy - with a
little effort and persistence, you can reap great profits
from free publicity.

Everywhere you go everybody always gives you the same advice on how to choose a contractor. They simply say get three estimates, and call the Better Business Bureau. There is a much better way to hire a contractor to ensure you get what you want; a quality job at a fair price. Don't get three estimates.

Basically most people including contractors are fair and honest. They want to perform a service for you and get paid so they can provide for their family just as you need to provide for yours. Why everybody assumes and implies that contractors in general are swindlers simply isn't fair or correct.
You may hear on the news that a homeowner lost a substantial amount of money from a corrupt contractor. What you don't hear about is the other thousands of contractors providing good quality work on a daily basis.

The advice of getting three estimates for every job is bad advice. What most people will do when they get three estimates is to naturally choose the lowest bid. People are like electricity; they follow the path of least resistance. A few are enlightened and will choose the average bid, versus the highest or the lowest. But either way, having three contractors come do a free estimate for you leads to bad service for everybody.

A contractors time is very valuable just as yours is. Now when you get an estimate and inform this contractor that you are going to get three bids, you are implying that his ethics may be lacking, which isn't very nice. You have also put a lot of pressure on him because he needs the work to feed his family and keep his employees working. Naturally he is going to give you the lowest bid he can to ensure he gets the job. In turn the other two contractors that follow him are going to need the job also. So depending on how desperate they are for work will depend how low they will bid to get this job. This constant form of playing cutthroat with their competitors leads them to underbid jobs just so they have work.

After they lose money on a job they are even more desperate to get the next job. What this does is leads contractors into financial problems and not being able to do the job correctly with a lot of stress for them. This can cause even a man with the sturdiest ethics to lose his footing. He will want to perform a quality job as agreed but when he doesn't have any money to pay his employees or to buy materials he simply can't do it.

If everybody always has three free estimates performed then it takes the contractors away from supervising their employees on your job site. You made a contract with him, and he is whom you will want to communicate with during the job. If he is off giving free estimates and not able to watch his employees, the quality of the job may suffer. In addition if an employee gets hurt, a water pipe breaks, or they run out of supplies the job will stop right there. All in all, insisting on three estimates does everybody a disservice and leads to unhappy people, including you.

Somehow people get the idea that contractors make a lot of money. I was a contractor and I know that is not correct. It is a very competitive business and it isn't hard to lose a substantial amount of money very quickly. The average ?free? estimates takes an hour or two considering drive time just to look over the job. It then takes another hour or two to type up these details and deliver it. The costs of these materials are constantly changing. Contractors other many expenses include gas and clothes that get ruined on almost every job. It is a very dangerous and stressful job, always concerned about the safety of their employees. Why nobody wants to pay these hardworking men a fair wage is almost criminal.

The best way to hire a contractor is via word of mouth. If you need some work done and you see a contractors sign in a yard, stop and talk to him. Look at his project, the safety measures, his employees, the quality of his tools and the quality of his work. Talk to the owner and see if he is pleased with the work. Call the Better Business Bureau and ask about this contractor. The BBB can be circumvented because they register contractors by their phone number. With cell phones, unethical contractors can change their business name, get a new cell phone number and place a new ad in the newspaper. So check to see if their phone number is a home phone number or a cell phone. It is always better to locate a contractor in the phone book, if you don't go by word of mouth.

Once you have located a contractor that you deem does the quality work you want done, ask for an estimate. Tell him you would like the estimate to be itemized with the materials and labor separate. A good rule of thumb for estimates is that the labor will be double the amount of materials. A smaller job will be more for labor.

When he brings a contract ask him to also bring his insurance binder that certifies he has current liability insurance. If he requires a down payment inform him that you would prefer to make the first payment after a fair amount of work has been done. If he has a problem with that and indicates any sign of financial trouble you may want to rethink your choice. Before you sign the contract get a verbal or written agreement from him that he will be on site during the job.

If you take these steps your experience with a contractor will be pleasant. Do your part and recommend the good contractor to your friends. Never get three free estimates. This same advice to protect you against consumer fraud is the cause of the problem

Article Source : interior design and decoration

About Author

Both Abe Cherian & Dale Adams are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Abe Cherian has sinced written about articles on various topics from Prospects, Marketing and Business Plan. Abe Cherian is the founder of Multiple Stream Media, a company that helps online businesses find new prospects and clients, who are anxious to grow their business fast, and without spending a fortune in marketing and automation.. Abe Cherian's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.

Dale Adams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Elder Care, Gas Prices and Real Estate. Dale Adams of Adams LLC is the author and self publisher of the new book, ?Care Giving Made Easy ? How to be an Awesome Caregiver" and the inventor of the, ?Money Saving Calendar,? A unique new calendar that informs consumers how to save and make money, e. Dale Adams's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.