PROMOTION & MARKETING

Initial Thoughts:

There are many means of communicating with your customers: advertisements, press releases, business cards, stationery, newsletters, Webpages, direct-mail pieces, telephone, fax, and personal contacts. Below are some useful online and print resources.

Resources:

The New Jersey Press Association has a comprehensive directory of publishers of daily and weekly newspapers called Newspaper Members By County of Circulation with contacts and addresses. [http://www.njpa.org/njpa/member_newspapers/county_map.html]

The NJPA's Rates and Guidelines lists advertising rates for display ads but not classified ads. [http://www.njpa.org/njnn/2x2/rates_and_acceptance_guidelines.html]

Classified ad rates are included in the newspaper listings, which are organized by state and city, in the Gale Directory of Publications & Broadcast Media. This multi-volume set also provides basic ad rates for radio stations (ALEXANDER Index Table; DANA Reference Desk, DOUGLASS Ready Reference).

A good guide to planning, writing, and designing advertisements is Entrepreneur Magazine: Successful Advertising for Small Businesses (DANA REF HF 5823 .B447).

How to Comply with Truth-in-Advertising Laws will provide official guidance on labelling and pricing. [http://www.business.gov/guides/advertising/advertising-law/index.html]

To find help with direct marketing, use the Direct Marketing Vendor Search provided by the Direct Marketing Association, including ad agencies, mailing list brokers, and new product marketers. [http://www.thedirectmarketingsearch.com]

Practically all New Jersey radio stations are listed by Radio-Locator, and can be further limited by city or music format using the advanced search feature. [http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=T&state=NJ]

To make a big statement, consider New Jersey Billboard Advertising. http://www.outdoorbillboard.com/rent/newjersey.html Many more possibilities are listed at Billboards: Directory of Billboard Advertising Firms. http://www.advertising-agency-resources.com/agencies/billboards.php

Guides, tutorials, and links to trade show directories and convention centers are available on the Trade Show Handbook. [http://www.tradeshowhandbook.com]

For a small shipping fee, you can obtain 250 Free Business Cards from VistaPrint; other printed stationery are also available at reasonable prices. [http://www.vistaprint.com/vp/ns/bcfree.aspx]

If you plan on creating a business Website, first read the Top 9 Things to Look for in a Web Host. Then browse the many categories of Web hosting companies at Tophosts.com before you select your Web host. [http://www.tophosts.com]

Several free Web hosting services include:

• Angelfire [http://angelfire.lycos.com]
• Freeservers [http://www.freeservers.com]
• SynthaSite [http://www.synthasite.com]
• Tripod [http://www.tripod.lycos.com]
• Weebly [http://www.weebly.com]

Commercial real estate listings (for office or industrial use) are available at RealEstateJournal's Property Search [http://www.blacksguide.com/?refer=wsj] and also from the New Jersey Business Resource Center [http://www.mrofficespace.com/cust/njbrc/njbrc_set.html]