Marketing Makeovers

Take the guesswork out of how you are going to reach new prospects and drive in new sales. These intensive marketing advice sessions provide you with motivation, resources and terrific tips that you can put into play immediately, to boost your advertising, direct mail and web marketing campaign returns.

Guru to Go: $695 for one intensive 90 minute phone session. Includes pre-session phone and email fact-gathering, worksheets, and a wrap up Success Tips report.

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Education & Funding

Disclaimer: The inclusion of any vendor on Write-Communications.com does not constitute any legal liability or responsibility for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any product or service listed on this Web site. These listings are provided for your convenience only.

Business Education & Funding Resources

• Accion
• BusinessInfoGuide
• MarketingProfs.com
• Marketing Sherpa.com
• Mediabistro.com
• NJAWBO’s Women’s Business Center
• SBA
• WomenandBiz.com

Got any great education or funding leads?
We are always hunting for smart business resources that help people manage their budgets and work more productively. Please feel free to share info about your great leads, cause we love to refer people to good business partners.

Networking Groups

Disclaimer: The inclusion of any vendor on Write-Communications.com does not constitute any legal liability or responsibility for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any product or service listed on this Web site. These listings are provided for your convenience only.

Business Networking Groups l Learning Resources

• Bernardo’s List — NY Networking Events & Parties
• WCBS Newsradio Small Business Network — Tri-state NY/NJ/CT

Entrepreneurial Speakers l Panelists l Keynotes

• WomenCentric™.org

Women’s Business Resources

• Center for Women — SC
• eWomenNetwork
  
• New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners — NJ
• Women’s Enterprise Development Center — NY

Got any great networking leads?
We are always hunting for smart business resources that help people manage their budgets and work more productively. Please feel free to share info about your great leads, cause we love to refer people to good business partners.

Support Services

Disclaimer: The inclusion of any vendor on Write-Communications.com does not constitute any legal liability or responsibility for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any product or service listed on this Web site. These listings are provided for your convenience only.

Corporate & Personal Gifts

• Get It Together!** — CarynStarr-Gates

E/mail Marketing

• My Emma**
• Vertical Response

Graphic Design Teams

• Creative Department — Arnie Diskin
• Glazer Design — Lonnie Glazer
• Heineman Design**– Sally Heineman
• The Byne Group — Ann Byne
• Zafari Inc. — Pamela & Christopher Cisneros

IT Services

• Third Eye Technologies**

Legal Aid

• Joanne Clark** — Business Incorporation l Estate Planning

Media Placement/Training

• Key Media Services** — Cherry Key

Organizers

• Stacey Agin Murray

Photography

• Marlis Momber**
• Michael’s Studio** — Frank Bulfamante

Printers

• RVP Digital Printing** — Tom Grissom
• Tandem Graphics**

Promotional Products

• Matisse Chocolatier Inc. – Lucille Skroce
• Barker Specialty

Proofreading

• Joanne Mattern (see Writers)
• Proof-It-Copyediting — Susan Whalen

Public Relations

• Cherry Key
• Eda Kalkay PR

Reservations & Payment Solutions

• WhosComing**
• PayPal

Search Engine Optimization

• KF Multimedia & Web**

Video Productions

• Promin Group/Jade Gunver**
• Sunhead Projects** — SC

Web Design/E-Commerce

• BrainToaster Interactive**
• BZA — Barbara Zaccone
• Zafari Inc. — Pamela & Christopher Cisneros

Writers

• Joanne Mattern — Children’s non-fiction
• Francine Kizner — Business and technology articles
  

Got any great vendor leads?
We are always hunting for smart business resources that help people manage their budgets and work more productively. Please feel free to share info about your great leads, cause we love to refer people to good business partners.

**Used by Write-Communications

Communications Audits & Planning

Web & Print Communications Audits l Marketing Planning Services

Rely on Write-Communications to provide the marketing tools you need to get your sales engine roaring! Our expert Communications Audits and Marketing Planning services provide insight and answers, to help you anticipate your client’s needs, communicate your firm’s value, and position your company as a market leader.

Improve your sales today by design…

Successful entrepreneurs stand out from their competitors. They make more money with brawny branding, truly inspired design and wordsmithing, and a plethora of promotional activities. With Write-Communications‘ custom-tailored Action Blueprints you’ll get the skinny on the absolute best options out there. Our formula for success is simple. We are merciless at identifying weak spots. We are known for proposing a range of viable solutions. Most importantly — we outline specific action steps that, if followed religiously, work.

Strategic marketing works

Whether you need an objective assessment of your collateral materials, honest input on print ads, an evaluation of your website content, navigation and visitor experience, or an annual marketing plan that is sensitive to your needs and budget — give us a shout.

Contact Write-Communications today, and start getting results you can bank on.

Avoiding Advertising Mistakes

According to Jay Conrad Levinson, author of Guerrilla Marketing, there are 25 things that people do that result in disastrous or weak returns when it comes to advertising.

These tips are INVALUABLE — so I pass them onto you as is, so you can avoid these very costly advertising mistakes. (Please see my Top Ten Success Tips underneath.)

1. Premature abandonment
2. Silly positioning
3. Failure to follow through
4. Starting without a plan
5. Wrong media for the right audience
6. Right media for the wrong audience
7. Unclear to prospects
8. Not understanding clients
9. Not understanding self
10. Exaggerating that undermines truth
11. Not keeping up with change
12. Unrealistic expectations
13. Over- or under-spending
14. Saving money in the wrong places
15. Inattention to tiny but nuclear details
16. Missing the point about profitability
17. Thinking it can be done without hard work
18. Unimpressive first impressions
19. Too many committees or layers of management
20. Not using media to support efforts
21. Not supporting advertising with other marketing
22. Starting out in the wrong direction
23. Allowing success to begat lethargy
24. Judging future by the past
25. Boring advertising

Pattie’s Top Ten Tips for Winning Ad Campaigns

I’ll start with this freebie: Your mother, friends and assorted acquaintances’ opinions don’t count. If you follow through on the other ten, you will reap much better returns!

1. Get a professional graphic designer to create a winning brand.
2. Use the same graphic designer to produce all your ads & collateral materials, reflecting your strong (& very unique) brand.
3. Work with a professional marketing copywriter, who can create polished, perfect prose to engage the specific market(s) you are seeking to reach.
4. MAKE AN OFFER – ads with offers work. I don’t care what the demographic market is – everyone loves a deal.
5. Have a deadline. 60 Days works best — it’s been tested and proven a gagillion times, so don’t question this, just do it.
6. Test, test and test again! Great campaigns evolve as a result of research, risk-taking & tweaking. Till someone comes up with a crystal ball – this is part and parcel of nailing big wins.
7. Get advice from a media placement specialist – deals are out there on traditional print and radio that you might not be aware of.
8. BE DARINGLY DIFFERENT. Lots of really creative ideas get shot down everyday. Dare to be advised by your creative team.
9. Guard your brand and style guidelines with all your might. ‘Nuff said.
10. Diversifying is not just for stock portfolios. Winning ad campaigns get the word out in various mediums, including PR, train station platform advertising (one of my personal favorites), direct mail and various web-based platforms, including regular e/mail, branded e-newsletters, e-ads, crosslinking, blogging, YouTube, podcasting, etc.

Getting Your Business Started with UMPH!

Let’s say you are like most entrepreneurs. You have an idea. You think it’s brilliant. Your friends think it’s gonna make you a billionaire, and you are ready to do what you need to, to make this dream a reality. Before you quit your job and run headlong into this new adventure, stop. Get the following in order so you can give yourself a fighting chance.

• Put together a real business plan, wearing the CEO, COO and CFO hats. The plan should outline all the basics surrounding the cost of your operations, for at least one year. This includes, but is not limited to, purchasing office equipment (desk, filing cabinets, bookcases, phones, fax, printer, scanner, PC, cell phone and a laptop + the relevant operational and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software); rent, insurance, internet and phone services, marketing (we’ll cover this in more detail shortly), sales initiatives, gas, tolls, miscellaneous niche consultants, air and other travel expenses, entertaining, cost of producing your goods or delivering your service, admin help, IT person, lawyer, bookkeeper, accountant, and business filing fees, trade and other membership fees, printing and mailing charges.

• Assess the yearly & monthly costs of these. Add 25% - 50%.

• Create a separate marketing plan. Businesses that don’t take into account the cost and the time involved with getting the cash register ringing (read marketing, advertising and the process of selling) are planning to fail. A realistic marketing plan includes the cost of the following: figuring out your geographic footprint (local, regional, national, or global); best target markets - how and where you will engage them; developing a strong brand and the tools, a website and a suite of collateral materials that “speak” to your target market(s) – i.e. a business card, letterhead, brochure, website, oversized postcard(s), print ad, web ad, etc.; attending networking functions, sponsoring a local high school team, taking ads in industry or Chamber journals, sponsorships, internet marketing, direct mail campaigns, PR, attending trade shows and business expos, etc. The team you need to help you accomplish all these tasks should include: admin/sales help, marketing consultant, business consultant, graphic designer, webmaster, printer, and a marketing communications copywriter (SPECIAL NOTE about Copywriting: Getting an “A” in creative writing in college does not qualify you for this job! Being a staff reporter is not the right credential either. See “Making Sales with Authentic Copywriting” for more details).

• It’s a lot of hard work. Forget visions of lying on a beach somewhere in Hawaii. Newbie business owners who succeed live and breathe their business 24/7, and working incredibly long days for years! Fact is no matter how many people you know, creating trust (and generating sales) takes an organized, respectful process & time, lots of it.

• You don’t know everything. Smart entrepreneurs take the time to get educated as to all the hats (and their specific job functions) they have to manage, as well as the functions they need to outsource in the course of getting their business up and running quickly. I’ve interviewed scores of millionaires who admit that they would have made it to that “millionaire mark” sooner had they focused on what they did know how to do, versus leaving it up to chance, or worse, trying to juggle everything themselves long term. The ones that make it BIG all say the same thing — they hired or worked with an assortment of professionals who were specialists in a range of important areas — operations, systems, organization, marketing . . . and a marketing communications copywriter. Bottom line: most business owners who try to do everything over the long haul to “save money” usually end up treading water instead of sailing ahead.

(Special Note about Copywriting: Getting an “A” in creative writing in college does not qualify you for this job! Being a staff reporter is not the right credential either. Marketing copywriting is serious work, and a blend of art & science. See “Making Sales with Great Copywriting” for more details).

Testimonials

Isn’t it great when someone loves what you do? We think so, too, and would like to share some of the effusive feedback we get from complete strangers, as well as folks who decide to hire us.

Happy Feedback…

“I had an amazing experience working with Pattie as my Marketing Mentor! I recently launched Scheer Destinations, an exclusive women’s travel service, which appeals to the multi-faceted tapestry that women are. Pattie’s insights, resources and new ideas have helped me create terrific print and web promotional materials, hone in on thrifty online advertising opps, and focus on best viral and face-to-face networking groups.”
–Kathie Scheer, founder of Scheer Destinations, a women’s transformational travel resource

Hear Mary Lou Spang, Founder of jewelry company Spangles, talking to Pattie at the NJAWBO conference.

Click the play button to hear Mary Lou’s feedback

On Pattie Simone as a writer…

“Thank you for your newsletter! You have been a wealth of information. It is so exciting to see a woman (not that I’m sexist) so influential and inspiring. How did you do it? Well, thanks once again for following up in such a timely manner. I have forwarded your newsletter to some associates and friends.”
–Melinda Rivera, Alkit

“Your article was a pleasure to read (not to mention informative)! I really enjoy your writing.”
–Susan Whalen, Wordsmith, Proof-It-CopyEditing

On Pattie Simone as a mentor…

“I took your advice and got myself a (free $500) ticket to the Women’s e-news gala at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park… I am just speechless. I made great contacts. These people are the perfect audience, and they like my work. Thank you for your generosity — the advice is priceless!”
–Dr. Rolande R. Hodel, Founder & President, AIDSfreeAFRICA

On Pattie Simone as a speaker…

“On behalf of everyone at the Women’s Images Conference, I’d like to thank you for your time and expertise. The response from our attendees was overwhelmingly positive. We have gone through the evaluations and have found nothing but raves about your work. I was told by more than one person that in addition to being informative, your panel was a lot of fun. How nice to hear!”
–Suzie Galler, Founder and President, Esteemed Woman Foundation

“Thanks again for generously ‘facilitating’ a meeting for the Passaic NJAWBO chapter! I’ve gotten great feedback from attendees about the information gained, the handouts, your presentation style, etc. I hope that the meeting was as productive for you!”
–Abby Duncan, President, Duncan Resources

“I attended your presentation yesterday morning. It was excellent. I have heard some of what you discussed before from people like Jeff Gitomer and Harvey Mackay, but your presentation reiterated and shed new light as well. It was excellent, and others had nothing but accolades as well. Thanks!”
–Victor R. Babington, Senior Loan Officer, All American Mortgage

“Thank you so much for such a thorough presentation at WEDC’s ‘Small Business Branding & Image Workshop.’ It was so helpful and, even though starting a business CAN be intimidating, I think it is important to push through any fears and move forward. Women need to take more risks in life and I truly see that you must spend money to make money.”
–Lynda J. Moore, CEO, Cinetaur Productions, LLC

“I wanted to thank you so much for this morning’s workshop. I found all of the information to be clear, useful, and well presented. You were phenomenal! It’s interesting to hear everything you said because, as you pointed out, it’s not earth shattering and it is common sense; it is just knowing how to use all of that knowledge in the right form to make a strong plan of attack when cold calling. I am very new to sales and it’s been tough….I really appreciate everything you said and will definitely try out these methods, particularly listening to my own messages. Thank you again and I hope to see you soon.”
–Debra Mentor, Sales & Marketing Assistant

Marketing Success Mentoring

Our meaty Marketing Mentoring sessions will leave you inspired and ready to make better choices, to get the most bang from every marketing & sales initiative you take on. We cover branding, cold calling, web & print marketing, networking & lots more! And depending on what you need for your business, we offer three mentoring options:

Intro to Success: $595 for 4 weeks, one 40 minute session per week

On Track Success Mentoring: $1,495 for 12 weeks, one 40 minute session per week, plus up to ten e/mail communiqués per week

Advanced Success Mentoring: $500 per month, $3,000 total for 6 months, for one 35 minute phone session per week, with unlimited email access for all your questions*
*For questions received Mon-Fri. 8:30-4:00 pm, with maximum 24hr response time

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