Looking for the author within?
Join Our Writing Group
Amazing people and techniques to stimulate the muse in you to spring forth. This is a very supportive, positive method for learning to write.

When: Thursday January 29th
Where: 1824 W Whitton Ave Phoenix AZ 85015

Please call for details
Maggie Mears
602-421-3881

Most small business owners are experts at their product or service. You may be the best “Widget Maker” in the world but if your advertising and marketing aren’t actually “effective” it won’t matter how good you are.

When you first look at any advertising to market your business, you need to keep a few simple things in mind in order to get the attention of your prospects.

Focus on them, Not You

Most of the ads I see every day go on and on about how great the company is, how long they’ve been in business, how much their employees love working there, etc.

Here’s the deal… People don’t really care about those things.

They want to know how your product or service will benefit them. How much faster is it than the old way? How much money will it save them? How quickly can you get to them to fix their problem?

You’re goal is to talk to them and explain to them what your product or benefit will do for them.

They will always be thinking the old saying “What’s in it for me?”

You need to tell them about what the REAL benefits of using your product or service are.

• Is is going to save them time?
• Is it going to save them money?
• Is it safer for their kids?
• Is it healthier for them?

And… Why are these things important. Be descriptive.

Will the time is saves, let them spend more time with family?
Is the money they save going to let them spend it on something more important like a well deserved vacation?

If it’s safer for their kids, how is it doing that? What’s the comparison to previous products of it’s kind?

If it’s healthier, how so? Does it help cut the risk of heart attack? Again, be specific.

Think again the last time you say a great movie and told a friend about it.

This is the enthusiasm and detail you need to show in any marketing you do. Online or offline, your marketing message is the most important thing for your business. If your aren’t convinced my your ad, website or postcard you send them, they aren’t likely to pick up the phone and actually call you.

Ely Delaney is the creator of “My Business Marketing Mentor”, a web site dedicated to giving small business the tools they need to market their businesses both Online and offline. All without spending a fortune on Marketing Agencies!

Stop struggling to figure out what works and what doesn’t in marketing . Visit www.MaximumProfitsBook.com for the recipe book of marketing ideas and to claim your FREE Quickstart Guide “Step By Step: Writing Ads That Actually Work!”

• Clean your filter frequently. We recommend checking it at least every 4 weeks in our dusty desert climate.




• Do not set your thermostat lower in the cooling mode than is comfortable. The average resident is comfortable at a setting of 78 to 80 degrees in cooling mode and 72 to 74 degrees in the heating mode. During the summer months, for every degree that you lower your thermostat below 78 degrees, you increase your electric consumption by 2% to 5%.




• In the summer, setting the fan to the “on” position will allow the indoor fan to run continuous, providing continuous indoor air circulation between cycles. This continuous circulation can allow many users to set their thermostat a degree or two higher while still remaining comfortable.




• If you have a routine schedule each day, consider a programmable thermostat. It can save you money by not holding a comfortable temperature in the house while the home is vacant.




• Do not turn off your air conditioner during the day when you are away. It is much more cost effective to raise the temperature to 82 or 83 degrees. This will use less energy and still allow for the air conditioner to recover when you lower the thermostat to your desired comfort level when you return home in the evening.




• Keep all windows and doors closed.




• Close draperies on the sunny side of the house to block the suns summer rays.




• Do moisture producing chores in the early morning or at night when it’s cooler (washing clothes or dishes, mopping floors, showering, etc.)




• Plan hot work (washing and drying clothes, baking, cooking) for cooler morning or evening hours. Have your attic insulation level evaluated. If it is low, increasing the insulation can be an economic way of reducing your electric bill while increasing the overall comfort of your home.




• Verify that your attic space is well ventilated to decrease the heat build up.




• Wash the outside coil of your air conditioner with a garden hose once a year in order to keep it at top performance. Clean away debris, leaves, and shrubbery for free flow of air through the coil fins.




• Do not close off more than 20% of the registers in your home. This can cause high resistance in the duct work system. The result may be unnecessary heat build up in the furnace in the winter. In the summer, the reduction in air flow can cause icing up of the cooling coil, higher humidity levels, and can lead to possible compressor damage.




• In the cooling season, don’t run kitchen and bath exhaust fans longer than necessary.




• Do not place lamps, TV sets, or other heat producing devices beneath a wall mounted thermostat. Rising heat from the equipment may cause the air conditioning system to over-cool your house thinking that it is warmer than it really is.




• Never store anything combustible near your gas furnace.




• If you have a gas furnace, make sure that flue connections and venting are always unobstructed.




• If you smell natural gas, call the local gas company at once.




• If you have a power outage or brown out, turn off your air conditioner immediately. This may save the components from damage.




• If your system is 10-15 years or older, consider the benefits of replacing it with a more efficient system that consumes less electricity.




• Have your heating and cooling system serviced each season to keep it in tip top shape.

*David Ridolfi has been involved in the Air Conditioning and Heating field since 1976. He has held various positions including technical, supervisory, engineering, and currently business ownership. In addition, Ridolfi holds an Associate of Applied Sciences Degree from the Gateway Community College. His business, Temp Pro Air LLC, is a fully bonded and licensed company in the state of Arizona Li.#185627 and is a NATE certified company.

Every business needs to grow. That doesn’t mean you have to reach out to a larger market - it means working toward increasing your share of your existing market. This will keep your business healthy enough to survive obstacles such as tough economic times.

In order to keep moving forward, we need to market our businesses constantly. We need to dedicate a certain percentage of our resources to building our brand and reaching our potential customers and clients. Here are a few simple things you can do to keep your marketing focused and on track.

Read the rest of this entry »