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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor NEWSLETTER for May, 1999 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Notes, tips, etc++++++++++++++++++++++++ NOTES/TIPS/etc PURCHASING TIP. When considering the purchase of computer hardware or software be sure to see how easy it is to contact their technical help. You can learn a lot this way. And remember, companies change. One of my favorite vendors is Hewlett-Packard - they make great stuff - but woe to those who need some help! TIP FOR SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES. If you're a small disadvantaged business don't forget the SBA's special programs just for you. TO see if you qualify and are eligible for preferences for doing business with the federal government, visit http://www.sba.gov/sdb/ and request a SDB application for certification. You may also contact a local SBA office. Find the one near you at http://www.sba.gov/regions/states.html MARKETING TIP. Don't forget that writing letters to editors can be a neat way to get some free publicity. Recently Inc. Magazine included a mention of our website that contained some negative comments. We thought them unjustified and wrote to the editor to ask why! They published our response and the subsequent traffic to our site was overwhelming! Also, interestingly, we received considerable traffic when the first very negative comment was made. There you have it - ANY publicity is GOOD publicity! HEALTH CARE BENEFITS. Small businesses can have a tough time finding sources of health care benefits. I always advise checking with any associations or organizations of which you are a member since many provide group coverage. As a specific example, the ASBA (American Small Business Alliance) has a new health care benefit plan (available nationwide) that you might want to check out. Visit them at http://www.asbanet.org or call 1 (800) 649 6398. ROTH IRA's. Be careful - your ROTH IRA may not be protected from creditors. Check with your CPA or attorney for details. COMPUTER PROTECTION. A $100 dollar UPS provides much better surge protection than most of the surge "protectors." Furthermore, you get a couple of minutes of backup power that will allow you to shutdown your computer in the event of a power failure. We like the units by APC (http://www.apcc.com) DIGITAL STAMPS. No more trips to the post office with your postage meter - digital stamps via the internet are on the way. Check out http://www.stamps.com, http://www.simplypostage.com or http://www.e-stamp.com for details. They each provide slightly different solutions and one or the other may be better for you depending on your mailing requirements. ANSWERING MACHINE HINT. Call your own telephone number to see how your message sounds (pretend you're a customer). Update or change it if you don't come away with a friendly "I want to do business with these folks" feeling. If you have a website be sure your message includes your URL ANOTHER Y2K CHECKER. Visit http://www.microsoft.com/technet/year2k/pca/pca.htm to download a small program that can be used to check your computer's and installed Microsoft software for Y2K compliance . The Internet Marketing Center, http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/7115 Marketing tips, strategies, and secrets for internet marketing, online advertising and website promotion that will skyrocket your small, medium or home based business profits through the roof. ++++++++++++++++++++++++ (From time to time I get asked about patenting a new product. This article gives new insight to the process! Ed) The patent system, as it applies to individuals, has gotten completely out of hand. Most product creators tend to put a false importance and status to the power of the 'almighty patent'. Due to this myopic perception people are wasting money at the rate of well over $100 million a year. Patents are overvalued in our minds because we have been bought up to feel that a patent gives a special prestige, an Edison-like aura. In the U.S. there are 3067 patent agents and 13,991 patent attorneys. Patent attorneys were expected in 1994 to make at least $1.8 billion in fees. This makes them among the highest paid attorneys. In 1993 the Patent & Trade Office had 5,119 full-time employees. The 1994 budget for this office was 485.4 million dollars. They also handle trademarks but it can be safely assumed that most of the budget was directed to patents. The PO reveals that they issued 88,793 patents in 1987 but only 8% would ever go into production commercially and only 5% would ever earn money for the inventor. Although these figures were from a decade ago these percentages would hold true for most any year. It certainly seems obvious who makes money from patents. Those who are unquestionably making money on the patenting process, without risk, are the patent attorneys, patent agents, the employees of the PO and related people such as patent searchers, etc. It is therefore in these peoples' interest to perpetuate the myths so long connected with patents. Myth 1: Getting a patent means that the inventor is going to make money. Nothing could be further from the truth! You can get a U.S. patent even if your invention is short on technical merit, compared to prior art, and more expensive to manufacture than prior art. This means that getting a patent is not proof that your idea has commercial value. In short, the PO just doesn't care and, in most cases, your attorney doesn't either; after all, his primary function is to get you a patent, not to give you business advice. WHY THEN do so many people apply for a patent? It is because they have been uninformed as to the value of having a patent. They will spend between $9,000 and $15,000 and a minimum of two years to get that piece of paper. It might give a degree of status to say, "I have a patent" but is it worth that much time and money for something to frame and hang on the wall? I don't think so. Myth 2: A patent gives you protection. This is simply not so. The PO does not stop someone from infringing on your idea. No...it is up to you to stop the infringer and you do this by taking him to court if, after you warn him, he persists in infringing. This will probably cost you $50,000 and may take years. Meanwhile he is still infringing and is still in business making and selling copies of your product. So if you do not have the business acumen and a hefty chunk of money to sue someone why get a patent at all? Myth 3: The Patent Office guarantees the validity of a patent. Again not so. The patent you get may not stand up in court for a variety of reasons. Of all the patent claims brought before the court 80% are overturned or held invalid! You want an example of what can happen? Here it is! Robert W. Kearns, the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper, claimed that automakers stole his patent and made hundreds of millions of dollars. He had been in the courts for twenty years and was finally awarded $21 million from Chrysler. Sounds great, huh? Just listen. Legal fees got most of it and Kearns says he's still broke and the lawsuits have consumed him. His wife left him and he was once committed to a psychiatric hospital. So much for the protection of a patent! This report is not to condemn all patents. Some ideas should be patented but you, with your money on the line, have to decide what is best for your new product idea. Would a patent add value to your idea? If it would not then your time and money should be spent determining how to make it, what it would cost to make it, how to package it and how to market it. Get your product to market fast!! Experts say that only 1% of the products on the market today are patented so there are a lot of people who don't think a patent is that important. These experts usually agree that being first on the market brings considerable advantages. If your product sells, you still have a year to apply for a patent. If it doesn't sell, think of the money you saved! The ultimate goal of having an idea for a new product is to make money and if getting a patent is the proper tool to achieve that goal then go for it but don't do it just because someone says you should. If getting a patent is not the proper tool then spend that money and time getting your product out there fast, first and profitably! ***** (Vernon Brabham is a self-made entrepreneur writes for INVENTORS' DIGEST. Contact him at vbrabham@mindspring.com) ++++++++++++++++++++++++ When I run an advert in an ezine, print or the web I use a simple little log trick to keep track of how effective each run is. Let's say you are placing an add for your home page www.yourname.com. Instead of just using your home page address use the following: www.yourname.com/?code If you type ?code after your address it will still take you right to your web page with no interference (go ahead try it I know you want to!) but what it does do is register the address in your web-server logs! You can of course substitute the word code with any combinations of numbers or letters that you want. You will now be able to easily track as many ads as you want. This is a powerful and free tracking system. All you will need to do to utilize this technique is take a peak into your web server log to see how each ad is doing. Just find the call for your unique URL plus your code and you can view it's hit's. Don't understand your logs? There are many log analysis tools available on the web so using this technique should be no trouble, even for an internet newbie. One great program although it's for a more advanced user and complicated to set up is xav tracker. This is well worth the trouble learning. It gives you every tracking option you could want including what keyword a person used to find you. you can find it at: http://www.xav.com/scripts/axs/ If you are not comfortable using the code call for your ad or would like to use a unique URL for a search engine submission you can easily accomplish the same results by creating a unique directory using a code name. For example: www.yourname.com/adcode/ Just create a copy of your index page inside it or insert a page that redirects to your index. Every time that URL is accessed it will show up in your logs. This is more tedious then using ?code but will produce the results you are looking for! (Visit David athttp://www.associatesearch.com.
Newsletter Free subscription - mailto:subscribe@associatesearch.com) Gain Visibility and Credibility With Publicity What do magazines, trade publications, newsletter editors and television and radio producers want? They're hungry for news, "how to" articles, new services, new product releases and human interest stories to keep their readers and listeners informed and entertained. Every business event or activity is an occasion for publicity: a ground-breaking; staff promotion; product development or service expansion; record sales; your firm's anniversary; new contracts and clients, rags to riches stories and more. And they're all news and promotion opportunities that don't cost you an arm and a leg. Tips For Working Effectively With Reporters and Editors 1. Keep an updated press file in your database similar to your prospect/customer file. Change is a constant for media people, so you must stay on top of this. Be sure to target "influencer" publication/stations and a list of journalists with whom you can establish in-depth relationships. 2. Find a hook, an angle or unusual twist to your story. "Man Bites Dog" always gets more press or air time than "Dog Bites Man." 3. Timing is everything. Tie your story to a particular season, event, holiday, or national news story. A recent article in the business section of The Washington Post revealed that most Americans are in the dark about how to manage their money and investments. This is a perfect opportunity for a financial planner to run an ad saying: "According To A Recent Survey Conducted By [the source], 9 Out Of 10 Americans Are In The Dark About How To Manage Their Investments. Are You One Of Them?" Then, in the ad and a press release, offer a free booklet titled "10 Simple Strategies For Managing And Generating Higher Returns On Your Personal Investments" and just wait for the phone to ring. It will! 4. Make your press release, how-to article or feature story factual. There's a fine line to walk between facts and promotional copy but one thing is certain: editors will "round file" anything that smacks of hype or extravagance. It's not their job to promote your company. Remember, you're not offering news or information to them per se, but to their readers, listeners and viewers. 5. Meet deadlines. Regrettably, publicity opportunities are lost every day because an individual or company missed a media deadline. Be sure to ask each publication or station for its editorial calendar and deadlines. Also, when speaking to a reporter, your first question should be, "Are you on deadline?" If the answer is yes, quickly ask when you can return the call, thank the reporter and hang up. Many editors and reporters don't work 9 to 5 jobs, so you must be available day or night when they need a quote or have a question. 6. Call editors with your story ideas. Due to multiple deadline pressures, media people need "reminder" calls. Once you've submitted an article or news release you've discussed with an editor, feel free to call to see if he or she has received it and if there are any questions. Don't call to ask if they've "picked up" or used your release. That's a dead giveaway that you don't read their publication or listen to/watch their shows. Tip from Dan: Remember to promote the fact that you have been featured in a media outlet. One of my clients was disappointed when a feature article about his company failed to generate a single call. Not to worry. Leverage your media success by sending a reprint of the article to your database of contacts, keep it in your "Credentials Kit" and bind it into your sales proposals. These positive perceptions WILL payoff in new business! (Visit Dan's website
at http://www.danmccomas.com) Return
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