Custom Imprinted Bicycle Bell a Big Hit with Promo Products Buyers

Let BikeNSafetyPromos Partner With You For Your Next Promotional Event!

Custom Imprinted Bicycle Seat Bag A Fantastic Promotional Product Item

Summer is almost in full swing - what special events will you be promoting during this fun outdoor season? 

Bicycling has reached a new level of popularity among people of all ages - here's an imprinted saddle bag that holds a number of important items, including your cell phone, patch kit, tire lever and other items you need to keep with you!  In addition, BikeNSafetyPromos also produces a safety light that can easily be strapped to the back of this saddle bag.  

Check out this video clip to see just how it works - keep in mind that these are items that can be used at family reunions, company picnics, school events, safety events and so much more!

Successful Entrepreneurs Actually Read

Have You Checked Out This Book List?

If you are an entrepreneur and you are hoping that success will just fall into your lap, you are greatly mistaken!  Building a successful business not only takes a creative mind and exciting vision, but it requires you to go back and find out what brilliant principles have been discovered and practiced over the years.  Yes, our society continues to evolve in areas of technology and entrepreneurial opportunities, but there are many fundamental truths that should not be passed over.

Reading renowned books on business success a major aspect in opening up the doors of opportunity that will challenge you not only to look at ways to improve your business; more importantly, you will be forced to look deep within yourself to determine what it is that is helping or hindering your success.

{Book 7} How To Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Most entrepreneurs are probably professional “worriers” (if that’s even a word).  

• What if sales continue to drop?  
• How will you pay for the machine that just broke?  
• Would you be able to afford expanding your business?
• Can you really afford to hire extra help, even though you desperately need it?

This is not said in order to minimize the serious challenges and crises that business people must face on a regular basis.  However, the point that Carnegie is trying to make is that worrying has no value:  it does nothing but bring you down, and in turn, you will bring others down.

“How To Stop Worrying and Start Living” is basically a continuation from his first book, “How To Win Friends and Influence People,” but the difference lies in his specific focus on the problem of worrying and how to make small steps to overcome this debilitating habit.  The book is broken into 8 different sections, with the last section being a wonderful collection of successful men and women, and how they have conquered the problem of worry.  While written in 1948, the truths of these principles remain applicable to generations to come.

1. Fundamental Facts You Should Know About Worry
2. Basic Techniques In Analyzing Worry
3. How To Break The Worry Habit Before It Breaks You
4. Seven Ways To Cultivate A Mental Attitude That Will Bring You Peace And Happiness
5. The Perfect Way To Conquer Worry
6. How To Keep From Worrying About Criticism
7. Six Ways To Prevent Fatigue And Worry And Keep Your Energy And Spirits High
8. “How I Conquered Worry”

The beauty of Carnegie’s books is that each concept is broken down into bite-sized portions to show that we can conquer worry in practical and manageable ways.  His writing is so simple and yet still eloquent:  

“Think of your life as an hourglass. You know there are thousands of grains of sand in the top of the hourglass; and they all pass slowly and evenly through the narrow neck in the middle. Nothing you or I could do would make more than one grain of sand pass through this narrow neck without impairing the hourglass. You and I and everyone else are like this hourglass...if we do not take [tasks] one at a time and let them pass...slowly and evenly, then we are bound to break our own...structure.”

Not only do we have a responsibility to stop worrying for our own benefit, but also for the benefit of those who work for us, around us, and especially for the benefit and well-being for those who are closest to us and love us anyway.

Choose to read an entrepreneur classic this month - then share it with someone.  Write down the areas you most want to focus your attention on improving in your personal and business life.  

And please share here, too....What book has been most life changing for you?

No Readers for Your Blog Posts? Here's A New Idea.

Reusing Old Blog Content - Great Article!

We can recycle anything, right?  Then, why can't we recycle and reuse old blog posts that we have allowed to sit and rot in the blogosphere garbage?  

We've all been there.  Spent dozens of hours, days, and weeks staring at the computer screen, typing away, assuring yourself that someone is going to read and love this blog post.  Then why do we feel lucky if one person actually stumbles onto our blog and improves our statistic significance?  

This article goes into detail explains that reusing long lost information is not limited to your blog content.  Listed below are the several places you may have not considered in your quest for creating fresh content.

• Articles you've written for article submission sites, other websites, or print magazines, newspapers etc. 
• Pages and pages of content that you or others wrote for your website
• Videos that you have produced that can be transcribed
• Material that was produced for PR releases
• Brochures about your company or product that you've created for mailers, trade shows, etc.
• Sales talks or presentations that you've recorded or that were already in print form

This same article explains in detail, several ways you can re-vamp information that was once passed over, and turn it into something with more vivacity to draw new readers to your website.  Randy Kirk writes, "Grab that great content and do whatever rewrite you need to do to turn it into great contect again.  Then you might want to use it once, or even multiple times in these nine ways."

• Blog it.
• Use it on your website.
• Online PR release
• Set up a new blog on a specialized aspect of your business.
• Do a YouTube video about the content.
• Send it out as part of an email blast (newsletter).
• Article submission is dead, but rewrite it and submit to Ezinearticles.com.
• Shop the article as a possible guest post on an industry blog.
• Be sure to tell the world about any of these efforts through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and any other social media or social bookmarking sites.

As marketing business people, we do our best to stay ahead of the ever-changing, worldwide marketing game. And while trying to keep up with the internet related aspects of business, on top of the other top priority issues we face on a daily basis, it's easy to believe we have missed the opportunity we didn't realize was even in front of us.  The good news is: this is one simple way to stay ahead of the game, as it only requires you to creatively re-create.

Hoping you find this article helpful to whatever business ventures you are currently endeavoring.

{Book #5} Required Entrepreneur Reading: Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

Can Your Thoughts About Yourself Actually Influence Your Business Success?

As entrepreneurs, we are constantly on the lookout, not only to find ways to enhance our business purposes, products, and practices, but we are also willing to look deeper into ourselves to understand what drives us in all aspects of life.  What is it inside of each person that makes them believe they can achieve whatever they put their mind to?  On the other side of the coin, what is it that makes us believe we absolutely don't have what it takes to achieve x, y, or z?  

Ironically, we are so good at analyzing others' hang-ups and downfalls.  We nominate ourselves as "Chief Analyzer" and we say, "If Suzy would just realize her talent and focus less on her downfalls, she would be so successful at ________."  

However, many of us don't want to take the time or simply just lack the interest to explore the psychology of what makes a business person successful.  But what if exploring this avenue turns out to be the eye-opening-factor that changes a person's business approach, and ultimately their entire life course for the better?    

{Book #5}: Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz

Author Maxwell Maltz was a plastic surgeon, who performed corrective surgeries for people who were dissatisfied with what they deemed as "defects" in their appearance.  What surprised him the most were the different responses of these patients, after having the surgery.  For some, their lives changed dramatically for the positive, as their self-confidence blossomed and they were able to connect with others socially as a result of not feeling self-conscious about their perceived defect.  For other patients, while their outward appearance had become what they always wanted, they reported not feeling any differently about themselves and their life situation.  

Maltz wanted to help his patients to find the root of satisfaction in life.  He writes, "Our self-image and our habits go together [because we formed our habits to fit our image of ourselves].  Change one and you will automatically change the other."  He specifically addresses how our self-perceptions shape and form our actions, and even our ability to pursue the goals we truly desire to achieve.  

What have you learned and changed about yourself, that has enhanced your ability to think and act in more positive (and ultimately  more successful) ways? 

The Perfect LinkedIn Profile - What You Need To Know

You obviously heard all the buzz about why you must join LinkedIn, and how everyone who's everyone is on LinkedIn, and you would be left behind unless you jumped on the bandwagon yesterday!  So, you decided to create a LinkedIn account, and thought your business would grow by leaps and bounds.  You might have even decided to join a few groups, hoping to connect with your future-biggest-client, and yet, nothing has really happened.  Is it all hype or is LinkedIn really able to benefit your business?

Melonie Dodaro of Top Dog Social Media is a social media expert who produces excellent material with regard to how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, along with other invaluable tips for increasing your visibility on this social media venue.  Her ideas are practical, easy to implement, and greatly beneficial to you as a business person looking to utilize social media to expand your potential client base. 

You will want to read the full article she recently posted on her website, entitled "21 Steps to the Perfect LinkedIn Profile."  While the steps are briefly listed below, you will want to read the entire post for the detailed information that will dramatically enhance your LinkedIn experience.  My hope is that you will find it as helpful as I have.

1. Photo Should Always Be Professional.
2. Your Name Should ONLY Contain Your Name.
3. Your Headline Should Be Catchy & Have Keywords You Want To Be Found For
4. Connect With At Least 501 People
5. Provide All Necessary Contact Info
6. Customize Your Website Names
7. Customize Your Profile URL
8. Update Your Status Daily
9. Keyword Load Your Summary & Profile
10. Write In First Person
11. Speak Directly To Your Target Market
12. Add Video To Your LinkedIn Profile
13. Tell Them To Click Play!
14. Skills & Expertise Should Be Filled With Keywords
15. Use the "Projects" Section To Promote Products
16. Keyword Load Your Current & Past Work History
17. Use Keywords When Filling Out Your Experience Section
18. Have At Least 10 Recommendations
19. Add Volunteer Experience
20. Fill "Honors & Awards" With Significant Media Attention
21. Join 50 Groups

Ms. Dodaro provides a wealth of experience and knowledge in the area of social media.  Working in the promotional products marketing arena has enough challenges of its own; adding social media as an additional area of business to build and maintain can be overwhelming, but following her tips has been both eye opening and motivating.

Promo Prouducts, The Kardashians, OJ Simpson, and Maui

The Kardashians, OJ Simpson, and Maui - How They Effect Your Promotional Products Marketing in 2012

i am currently visiting my family in Maui.  Last night we all sat down for a great feast of local Hawaiian fare - BBQ T-Bone, Safeway take out potato salad, and french bread soaked in butter.  While watching the sunset over Kihei, someone brought up OJ Simpson and his famous white Bronko slow police chase.  What year did that take place?  Wasn't one of his attorneys the dad of the now famous Kardashians?  Out came my son's new IPhone, my sister's Android, and while they were texting the questions, I was asking Siri.  Within minutes we were drilling down all the facts about OJ's trials and his current status in a Nevada prison. 

The world has changed again.  The ubiquitous smart phone and it's not quite as smart cousin, the cell phone, are changing the way people get information in ways never contemplated.  And this means in ways that will effect you.

1. There are 4.0 billion mobile phone owners on the planet. (from 60
Second Marketer).  More people own a cell phone than own a toothbrush.

2. Brands using SMS and MMS can reach nearly 95% of mobile phone
subscribers on both smartphones and non-smartphones alike. (from Mobile
Marketer)

3.  79% of smartphone users use their phone to help with shopping, with 74%
ultimately making a purchase as a result. (from Search Engine Land)

4. Mobile coupons receive 10 times higher redemption rates than print
coupons. (from Mobile Commerce Daily)

5. 70% of mobile searches lead to action within one hour. It takes one
month for the same percentage of desktop users to take action. (from
Mobile Marketer

Your clients need to be able to find you on their mobile phone, your website and other online media need to be mobile phone ready, and you should be considering creating your own app. 

Custom Imprinted Bicycle Head Light for Promotional Products

Custom Imprinted Bicycle Horn Great for Promotional Product Buyers Interested in Bike Safety

Let BikeNSafetyPromos Partner with you!

Best Search Engine Marketing ROI for Promo Products Distributors in 2012

Promotional product keywords are some of the most fiercely competitive on the internet today.  Go ahead, try to get a great ranking for custom imprinted pen.  And yet, we all know or think we know that getting found on the internet is the second most important marketing tool we have in our kit bags.  Only personal contact through cold calls and networking works better.

So assuming we all have limited time, energy, and financial resources, what should a promotional products distributor do for maximum exposure and best possible ROI.  The following list is not scientific, but it should serve you very well.  The thing you have going for you is that the internet has become "local."  By using your local advantage, you should be able to at least get great rankings in your natural market.  In major cities, you will have a much more difficult time getting visible beyond 10 miles or so.  We won't touch on that here.

Top Ten Ways Your Customers WIll Find You Online in 2012 by ROI

The assumption is a rigorous effort applied to each through either cash, time, or both.  So for instance, you might spend $1000 to upgrade your Website or create a mobile version.  You might spend six hours a month on a blog or you might pay someone to do so (value $3000?)  You could spend $6000 per year on PPC.  You might spend $1000 or a bunch of time optimizing Google Places and Yelp, or go crazy and spend $5000 a year for a Yelp upgrade.

    1.    Google Places and Yelp
    2.    Website - Should be Mobile
    3.    YouTube Videos
    4.    Email blast to Customer List
    5.    Blogs and article submissions
    6.    Apps
    7.    Webinars
    8.    Other Social Media
    9.    Online Press Releases
    10.    Pay Per Click - Adwords, FB ads, and Youtube

Note:  The reason that social media is so far down the list is that it takes huge amounts of time compared to the return I am seeing thus far.  Also please note that some pundits lump YouTube and blogs into social media.  I agree with that idea, but these two elements are so far out in front by ROI compared to FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ that I preferred to leave them separate.