I’ve spent a lot of time learning about advertising on the radio. I understand ROI as well as MER (Media Efficiency Ratio). I understand the point of 30 minute long form ads versus :30 second spots and prime placement versus remnant space. These are all radio terms that help businesses get good at advertising on the radio.

But here’s something I don’t get. When I was a kid growing up in Anchorage, Alaska I first heard “That Song” by Genesis on KGOT. In Omaha during college I listened to Rush Limbaugh on KKAR and in Nashville I listen to music on JackFM.

There doesn’t appear to be anything strange about that, does there? EXCEPT while driving today I couldn’t remember where JackFM was on the radio dial.

That’s what’s strange. At least JackFM has branded itself with an attitude, but what about KGOT and KKAR and WTN? Who cares what the call letters are? I certainly don’t and I’ve never had a radio that was organized by call letters, it’s only numbers.

Now I’ve certainly listened to my share of stations that use their numbers with their name every 2 minutes like 101.3 KFAR. It gets ingrained in your head after a while – that part makes sense. But what marketing value do the call letters KFAR bring? Nothing. Absolutely Nothing.

But there’s always an exception, isn’t there? There’s a station in Omaha that goes by Lite96. That’s their moniker, that’s their name, that’s their brand. Genius! They’re a light rock/pop station at position 96 on the dial – thus Lite96. That’s pure radio genius. They say their call letters every once in a while because some government body forces them to, but Lite96 is their name – no matter the call letters.

So if you’re an internet marketer looking for some good strategy ideas, before you go out into the world and market yourself – determine how people are going to find you when they can’t remember all the details. Then think about the name Lite96.As summer rolls into town, we visualize tulips and beautiful gardens beginning to bloom. Summer also brings out the homeowner who is looking to sell their property. As potential home buyers come to see your home, you must make some adjustments to the homes exterior appearance.

As the interior scene is very important so is the front lawn that has not been taken care of since last season. If your entrance screams community trash and items that should be recycled are lying outside around your home, this does not give your home any curb appeal for potential buyers.

What homeowners should do is clean up as much as they possibly can and either use potted plants along their walkway or if possible artificial evergreens. Which can be taken to their new home when they leave. Light fixtures outside of the home should be turned on as this will allow the potential buyers to see what size and type of landscaping area their new home has to offer.

There are many ways in which a professional home stager can help potential homeowners with curb appeal.
Stagers are familiar with floral arranging and can help many clients with suited arrangements for their gardens that are cost effective. If the homeowner is using existing returnable flowers, perhaps using other arrangements alongside these can spruce the appeal to up to potential buyers as they visualise their own gardening the following year. Curb appeal is very important and can add value to your home. This is one asset that homeowners should consider when placing their home on the market.

If you’re a local roofing company and you want TedsTopGuys.com to be your website name- could you be missing something? When your customers just can’t remember your name, are they going to go to Google and search for “your town name + roofing contractor”? If you’re nodding yes – then maybe for your long term growth, you should stop thinking about naming the website after yourself and name it something like Nashville Roofing Contractors. Hmmm. . .

1. Does the broker have experience selling internet businesses: Make sure the business broker you select to sell your internet business has experience or knowledge with selling internet businesses. Most of the buyers who are looking for internet businesses are not interested in regular brick and mortar and retail store front type of business. If you decide to work with a broker who sells all kinds of businesses, you may miss on a big advantage internet business broker can provide you with their existing buyer pool. In addition, ask about the sites they have sold and ask for seller references. If you were not happy with your broker you will not give him a good review.

We have been selling internet businesses since 2003. We have large pool of buyers who have come to rely on us for quality of our listings, honesty and preparedness. Most of the businesses we sell are sold to one of our existing buyers from our buyer database.

2. Convey your expectations: Make sure you discuss and convey your expectations to the intermediary you select. Direct and open communications about expectations and other issues with your business broker is critical in selling your internet business.

Every business owner has a story that needs to be understood fully before business can be completely evaluated. For many business owners primary motivation for selling business is seldom money but a desire in change in life style. We take the time to understand your motivation behind your desire to sell your business and ensure your expectations are met.

3. Devil is in the details: Is your broker asking the right questions? Has he determined the adjusted net income and valuation of your business and provided you with his recommendation on asking price prior to asking you to sign a listing agreement? Ask him about a cash price vs. a price with terms involved. 70% of all small businesses put on the market never sell and the number one reason is that the price is usually too high and the deal structure is unrealistic for potential business buyers. You want to work with an honest business broker who is not afraid of loosing your business by telling you what he thinks is the realistic asking price for your internet business.

Ask for samples from us of completed Executive Summaries of businesses we have sold. Every detail of your business will be analyzed to find relevance in preparing your business for sale when you work with us. At the end of our detailed business appraisal process, we will provide you with a time table of goal and expectations that we will use as a blue print in the process of selling your business.

4. Confidentiality: Internet consumers are savvy internet users and you don’t want your customer to know you are selling your web business. you need to know how the broker is going to keep the sale of your internet business confidential in nature. Ask your broker to see a copy of a Non-Disclosure Agreement they are using and ensure you are comfortable that it sufficiently protects you as a seller.

We do not disclose any confidential information prior to receiving signed NDA.

5. Preparedness: Make sure the internet business broker you select to sell your business has prepared your business for marketplace – are all the financials and tax returns on file and ready for possible due-diligence. Do you have all documents ready for review like business history document, shopping cart data, monthly sales comparison year to year and contracts with vendors, etc? If the business broker doesn’t have all your material ready to go for a possible review by business buyers, the interested party may walk – be ready to go upfront with all your material for the sales process.

We are told by our buyers that many sellers follow a strategy of Fire ( List the business) , Aim ( Advertise and create maximum exposure, attract buyers, obtain offer ) , Ready ( Prepare for a closing ) instead of Ready ( Determine optimum value, develop a profile of the ideal buyer and transaction structure, ratify timeliness of selling ) , Aim ( Prepare company for sale and develop a marketing plan designed to attract ideal candidate, assemble due diligence materials )  and fire (Begin selling activities maintaining utmost confidentiality, attract appropriate buyer, negotiate contract terms, co-ordinate closing activities). By following Ready, Aim and Fire strategy, we are able to sell your business with Best price and in shortest amount of time.

6. Responsiveness:  Make sure the broker you choose is good about getting back promptly to potential buyers. This goes back to volume v/s quality. If you don’t ask for references and speak to the references provided by the broker, you will not know how to differentiate between good broker and an average broker.

Many buyers have told us how delighted they are with our responsiveness. Business for sale Market is saturated with buyers and there are lot more buyers than sellers. It is very important to get back to buyers in timely fashion and we always make sure we get back to buyers in timely fashion.

7. Communication: Constant communication with your broker is important.  Ask your broker to keep you in loop of buyer inquiries, response rate and buyer feedback. Find out if  your broker has gathered any data for the businesses that he has sold so he can update you once your business is listed with his historic response for the businesses that were sold. Businesses that sell have active broker-owner co-operation and harmony.  Good broker will insist on frequent communication with seller. Remember, broker needs your continuous help during the business selling process and you should be prepared to spend time to understand the issues that are being brought up by potential buyers.

We have developed a solid model from years of selling internet businesses that gives us a pretty good idea of what rate of response should a listing get it were to sell and we use this information to guide seller to recommend changes and adjustment in terms of business offering.

8. How Long Does it take to Sell Internet business: Businesses on average typically take six months to eighteen months sell. If your broker does his job correctly your internet business should sell within two to six months. Make sure your broker has a game plan to make this happen!

Our typical listing is sold in first 6 month of list date with a very high satisfaction rate from sellers. If you are in the market for selling your internet business or even considering to sell your internet business and wants to learn more about selling process, you must read this Appraisal Primer !

Trying to avoid advertising on the internet is like trying to go to the beach without getting sand in your car. However, trying to find funny, well-designed, thought-provoking or curiosity-provoking internet advertising is like trying to find a whale at that same beach! The internet only exists in its current form because of the power of advertising. But we certainly wish that all internet advertising could be a little more like these award-winning pieces …

Email messages are a fantastic form of internet advertising for many companies. If you have the potential for a returning customer base, email marketing gives you a solid warm marketing opportunity, e-Dialog’s Holiday Card was judged the best email message of the year. Beautiful design, just the right mix of professionalism and fun, skilful integration of Flash … it makes me a little weak at the knees!

There are quite a few big business names among these ‘Best of Show’ ads. Don’t let this fact put you off trying for an award–winner in your own internet advertising … see these ads more as a learning opportunity to help you identify what could work for your own business, without the burden of trial and error.

The Best of Show Online Campaign was taken out by Conde Nast, who put five beauty brands together (Pantene, Olay, Secret, Venus and Covergirl) on a MustHaveIt minisite.

Biggs and Gilmore featured heavily in this year’s Best of Show awards for internet advertising. Well done! Interactive applications are very much hit and miss, and generally used only for very young audiences. Your business might not necessarily benefit from this form of internet advertising … but the game is a throwback to the good old of days of Super Nintendo, and is quite addictive!

You might not have realised, but your website is as much a part of your internet advertising campaign as your internet advertising itself! Froot Loops are lucky to have a joyful rainbow colour scheme anyway, and while their website is a little slow to load, it is certainly fun and visually stunning. If you played the Apple Jacks game,  the design will look familiar … Kellogs know how to go with what works in internet advertising.

Video is often hailed as the ‘next big thing’ in internet advertising. And Biggs Gilmore and Morningstar Farms have definitely tapped into the ‘on-demand’ nature of advertising, blending the convenience of your midday cooking shows with the ability to search based on a wide range of criteria.

Mattel and Razorfish took out this category for their Battle Force 5 cartoon. No, not just a Flash cartoon piece of internet advertising, an actual cartoon. With characters, scripts, and episodes … and a massive viewership! Of course, this type of internet advertising won’t be for every business. A sizeable budget is required, but this is a good example of how, if you do it right, putting all your internet advertising eggs in one basket can really pay off!