In the present consumer driven market, advertising has become the need of the hour. However, with so many brands competing in the same market, for the same set of consumers, how will your product stand out? This is a million dollar question that troubles almost every brand. That’s why in addition to the traditional advertising tools, entrepreneurs are now investing into outdoor advertising.Outdoor advertising, the term in itself is self-sufficient to give out a meaning. It is nothing but advertising done at outdoors like ads on buses, bulletins and so on. Now that the meaning is quite clear, let’s shed some light on types of outdoor advertising.Billboard advertising Placing an advertisement of your products on a billboard hanging right up at the major roadways is one of the most effective ways of promoting a product or service. The stats of traffic movement on the roads are not hidden from anyone. Thus, you know you can reach a considerable number of people with this type of outdoor advertising.Moreover, those who end up in a great traffic jam have no choice but to stare at the billboards. In this way, you reach to masses either knowingly or unknowingly.Wrap advertisingA billboard is stagnant, while wrap advertising is mobile. It includes partial or complete wrapping of vehicle in an advertisement. Generally public vehicles are used for the purpose like busses and cabs. I remember witnessing bus wrap advertising so many times. It was done so beautifully that I couldn’t take my eyes off the bus.Street furniture advertising In addition to billboards and vehicles, advertisers are now making the best possible use of street furniture. They put ads on kiosk, bus shelters, benches and urban panel. In this way, they enhance the visibility of the advertisement.These are some of the top types of outdoor advertising that help to market products and services. The reason to why this type of advertising is earning rapid growth is because people now-a-days spend more time in commuting (be it for fun, work or whatsoever random reason); thus, if you wish to hit them, you will have to hit them at the right place.Choose your outdoor advertising partner wisely On the whole, outdoor advertising is not only cheaper on cost, but also unfailingly effective on impact. What matters is the caliber of the company that you choose to serve your purpose. The internet may be of immense help to you while choosing the best outdoor advertising partner for your products and services. Just conduct an independent research online to be able to reach the best. If possible, you can try some references also to stay assured that the company you are going to choose serves your purpose all the way.

‘How can I advertise my holiday home successfully?’In order to advertise a holiday home rental successfully on the internet you need to find a website which will work hard to promote your property. Many holiday-home owners, who have a property they don’t use for part of the time, want to know how to advertise their holiday property in order to generate income and cover their costs. As the economic recession continues, holidaymakers are finding that they have less money in their holiday budget and are looking for ways to cut holiday costs. These are the very same people who want a holiday home rental and you need to advertise your holiday property so they will see it and book direct with you.What should I look for when choosing a site to advertise my holiday home?No commissionFind a site that charges a flat yearly fee to advertise your property and doesn’t charge commission when you let your property.Help in producing your advertisementIf you are new to internet advertising does the site help you to produce an advertisement for your holiday home rental? Some people find it quite daunting to produce suitable text to ‘sell’ the property to potential renters. You also need to have as many photographs as possible of your fantastic property and to help exude the charm of the local town, beautiful surrounding area etc. as many people when faced with a choice of similar properties to rent will choose the one that looks the best. With this in mind check how many photographs you will be allowed on your advertisement – about 20 is a good average number. Be careful some sites offer you 4 then charge extra for the others.Make sure the site you choose has a good ‘Google’ rankingWe have all used the search engine ‘Google’ when we want to look something up or to find a website on a particular topic. When you get the results of your search most people just look at the first page – “fact” – so it is important that the site you pick has a good ‘Google’ ranking. This means that if someone typed in a search term like ‘Holiday in Spain villa’, ‘Google’ would look for websites which it considered to be useful and reliable to provide information on that search term. If the website you choose to advertise your holiday home has a good ‘Google’ ranking then the site is more likely to appear on the first page of results and more people will visit the site and see your holiday home rental!Does the website ‘search engine optimize’ your advertisement for your holiday property rental?Try and find a website to advertise your holiday home rentals which will ‘search engine optimize’ your individual advertisement, rather than just the whole website. This means that it will make sure that there are some key phrases in your advertisement. These should be strategically placed to meet ‘Google search algorithms’ which in turn means holidaymakers will arrive at your holiday home advertisement direct without seeing any of your competitors on the rest of the website and possibly book straight away.Make use of ‘social networking sites’You may be new to the concept of social networking on the internet but this is a very good way of getting your property ‘out there’. Sites such as ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ can be very useful if you want to advertise holiday home rentals. Links that you can put on these sites can lead directly to your advertisement. One website in particular which advertises holiday property rentals from the owners direct will actually set up property accounts with ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ and will explain how it works by sending you a ‘step by step how to market your property direct to the holiday making public’. This is so helpful if you are a bit of a ‘Technophobe’!There are some good holiday property rental websites out there but only one we know of that provides this type of support. However it is worth comparing what different websites offer for the money so you get the most cost-effective deal in these cash-strapped times!

Getting the Word Out with Power and PersuasionA well defined business advertising strategy is the key to home business success. All home businesses need to communicate their advertising message either to generate new business opportunities or to reinforce their message to their customers. As a home business entrepreneur, you can advertise your home business either online or offline or use a combination strategy. All three pathways are known to be very effective.
For your home business, the avenues of business advertising may be either online or offline.Offline advertising includes:o Print media such as newspapers, magazines and brochures
o Electronic media such as radio, television and cable advertisingOnline media includes:o Internet-based advertising such as Pay Per Click, banner advertising, Pay Per Impression, e-mail marketing and a host of other virtual advertising avenuesUsing a Combination Strategy to Advertise your Home BusinessBy using a combination strategy to showcase your home-based company, you could get a big bang for the buck. So evaluate various options. You will most probably be creating the advertisement yourself so follow a few simple rules. Write using “you” and in active voice, keeping sentences short. Bear in mind the context of the reader. A classified advertisement would have to be short and to the point compared to something you are sending out by e-mail or posting on a mailing list, Internet forum or discussion group. Try and include a referral if you have the space. Just send out one message in the advertisement.Look at some of the options you have.Your very own WebsiteMany individuals go on to the Internet to research products and services even while buying from a brick and mortar shop. Maintaining your own website would be a good option but if you are unable to so at least advertise on sites. Make sure that you are on to free listings, many municipalities and business associations offer this service. So conduct research. Sell your product on eBay. That is one of the best ways to advertise your product.Business Advertising through e-mailThere is an increasing level of hostility to spam. So be very careful of this media. It can be used to communicate with people who have shown interest in your product or service and also with existing customers. E-mail doesn’t cost anything to send. However, send it only to your confirmed subscribers such as those who have signed up for your online newsletter on your website. If your company does not have a newsletter, please explore that possibility at the earliest.Traditional Business Advertising through Community and Neighborhood NewspapersNewspaper advertising is short lived. Advertisements in magazines have a slightly longer life. Again, look for special supplements that are published periodically. Also, look at newsletters published by community NGOs. For certain categories of products and services, newspaper classified columns work out very well and strangely enough better than large advertisements in the same paper.Consider cable television and radio if you can afford it. these have a very loyal audience and accurate local reach all at a low cost. Direct mail continues to be popular amongst some sellers. However, though it is costly but it may be very effective to relate to existing customers. Also, you can send promos. These offers are often not used but are kept by individuals to give away to others.Using Business Cards for Business AdvertisingYour business card should not just contain the usual company name and various addresses. It is your corporate signature. It should contain several additional details such as:o The products you sell or the service you provide
o The names of the various brands you carry
o A catchy slogan that your prospective customers can rememberUse a double leaf business card and spread your business message. This is one of the most under used tools of business advertising.Forums on the InternetDon’t think just in terms of forums which are related to your business. A charitable cause in which you could participate may yield contacts which later translate into business. You could keep a stall for hand tools in a school fair well knowing that none will sell but gives exposure to your home business.Yellow Pages AdvertisingDon’t forget the yellow pages. Sometimes a small descriptor of a business is free. So it is not necessary to stick in a large advertisement. Many buyers will call up twenty sellers before deciding, not just the one with a large advertisement. Don’t forget to include multiple classifications of your product or service, as that will increase your presence.Sending a promotional offer is one of the best forms of advertisement. It can be sent to existing customers or potential ones. Here are some words that you need to be very careful about using. They often go down badly with readers of advertisements:Guarantee: If you include a warranty, provide brief details. Don’t say ‘we guarantee the product’.Free: When you use the word free, everyone looks for a catch.Opportunity: Remember, a buyer wants a hair dryer to work well, she is not looking for a ‘wonderful opportunity’ to buy one.Remember your advertising messages need to be roughly the same year after year. For that you need to understand your business in relation to your clients. Having understood the business, you will have to choose the media. And most importantly, you have to find ways of testing which form of advertisement is working well. Good luck with your business advertising mission!