Cheaper is not Better

Booths … can always be better. Getting a tradeshow booth is always a good thing. Always meaning if it is a quality event. In a very hair-brained maneuver of mine (basically, I wanted to sell books outside of the above fiction workshop), I received a last minute OK to be a trade vendor, and what do you know? The booth space was quite inexpensive, so I thought … why not? Now, normally I do research conferences and events and this certainly was a very last minute and impulsive idea. The end result was zero book sales and I think I saw more people dressed up like zombies than in the Night of the Living Dead. My point? Cheaper is not better, because it is normally not a wise investment of your resources or time. At least the author had great inside sales. Phew.

The do-it-yourself marketing technique. If I see one more do-it-yourself newsletter advertising a massively expensive marketing item, I am going to really have to refrain from tearing my hair out. Why? Well, here is the deal. Most of the homemade crap that is sent out, is sent via Outlook in different day glow colors from the 60’s and it is inviting you to join the exclusive XYZ club. My point? Really? Please hire a graphic designer if you can’t design. The do-it- yourself newsletter I received this week came in the form of Outlook style with tacky red, blue and white (not fourth of July) text and no, I didn’t sign up for their $1000 one day sale coaching program.

Cheapy and Crappy. Let’s talk about the cheese ball ¼ page ad. Really? Don’t do it. The ad in a publication full of ads is a waste of your advertising dollars. Especially, when you do not even have a designer and have done it yourself. Or, you just sent in a business card because that is all you have. Very lame and cheesy. The bigger problem is if you do this you will be thrown in with 10M other business cards. Do you think someone is going to remember your business? Hell, no. Even worse, is if your placement is in the back of the publication.