Marketing - Company Image And Branding

Okay, this is going to seem like a strange comparison to some but it spoke very clearly to me - and I found it rather funny. To be honest, I am not sure if this is the right way or the wrong way to brand your company and product.

Along with everyone else in Oklahoma, I've been dealing with severe allergies this past week. Friday night, I think, I got into my Mamasan chair to watch something on TV. I promptly dozed off and when I woke up, ShopErotica's paid programming happened to be on. ShopErotica is an online store that sells adult toys. (You'll have to look the link up yourself since I don't want a bunch of spam on my computer, sorry.) I'm not sure which channel was airing it since I just moved in as a live-in caretaker three weeks ago and these folks have satellite that I'm not yet familiar with. Not much time for TV around here anyway.

I was still too groggy to get up and get into bed, so I watched for a few minutes. What caught my sleepy mind's attention more than the products was the appearance of the female hosts. The show was first hosted by a pretty woman named Miyoko who was wearing dark plastic-framed eyeglasses and a modest and demure little sweater. She looked a bit like a schoolteacher.

She was joined by Andrea, who I remember from one season of VH-1's The Surreal Life and I believe worked as the naked weather girl on the Playboy channel? Maybe she still is.

If Miyoko looked like a schoolteacher, Andrea looked very much the church lady with a black dress with a little lace collar, very Victorian. Neither of these attractive women appeared to be wearing an ounce of makeup or jewelry.

They constantly emphasized that the company respects and protects its customers' privacy. Not only in the standard "discreet" packaging but also that for call-in orders, there are separate toll-free numbers for each gender. The female line will be answered by a female and the males would find another male answering their calls as well.

Okay, I got the point and while I completely agree that what we have in our bedrooms are none of anybody's business, the physical appearance and demeanor of the sales reps struck me as absolutely hilarious. I know that they were trying to say that schoolteachers and church ladies need sex toys, too, but this was really leaning to the extreme.

As I was turning the TV off to get into bed for the rest of the night, I noticed that another show was coming on. I was curious to see whether it would be different so I stuck around for a minute. Miyoko still had her glasses and demure outfit, not much change. This time, Andrea wore a messy ponytail with jeans and a t-shirt. This image was slightly better than the last one, but I still think that the company failed to find a balance in their presentation.

Now that I've said all of that, I'm also not sure that I know what the answer would be. I think I'd go with the jeans and t-shirt look. For a dressier look, I think I'd go with a sharp, very stylish suit rather than the traditional look, a fashionable dress or the jeans and t-shirt. The clothing should be what any individual would wear to work or at home - or even to church, but that lace collar has got to go!

I will give them high marks for the presentation. Andrea and Miyoko described and demonstrated the toys as if they were marketing cookware, and having females host the show is probably a better choice than male hosts.

Have you given much thought to your branding and image? How do you think you and your product are coming across?

Just something to think about this week. Be well and be blessed.

Speaking of fashion, check out my newest store:

Recessionista - Fashion Under $25





I joined this traffic exchange several months ago and hadn't surfed much until recently. I am very impressed with the number of credits I earn as a free member! You need to join this one, now:

I learned about this affiliate program from another Pyrabang member. It may be worth your while to check it out:

Start Your Health And Beauty Business

branding,internet marketing,company image,

Changes In Amazon Affiliate Program

If you're an Amazon.com affiliate, be sure to read your notices and newsletters. This doesn't apply to me but I felt I should pass it on for those who don't keep up with their e-mail - as if I always do, hehe...

I received this on April 6th:

After careful review of how we are investing our advertising resources, we have made the decision to no longer pay referral fees to Associates who send users to www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca, or www.endless.com through keyword bidding and other paid search on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and other search engines, and their extended search networks. If you're not sure if this change affects you, please visit this page for FAQs.

As of May 1, 2009, Associates will not be paid referral fees for paid search traffic. Also, in connection with this change, as of May 1, 2009, Amazon will no longer make data feeds available to Associates for the purpose of sending users to the Amazon websites in the US or Canada via paid search.

This change applies only to the Associates programs in North America. If you are conducting paid search activities in connection with one of Amazon’s Associates Programs outside of the US and Canada, please refer to the applicable country’s Associates Program Operating Agreement for relevant terms and conditions.

I didn't even know that associates were allowed to do that. I've been an associate for several years and all I've earned are some very nice gift certificates, which has helped me buy books and DVD's I really want without feeling guilty about spending money.

I love a-stores even though I'm not sure I've made anything from them. They're fun to set up and it makes it easier to find a product link on items you've included in your store. Simply link to either the category page or product page. When your store has a specific topic and related products, visitors are more likely to stay awhile and browse the rest of your store, resulting in sales.

Here's a list of the stores I've created:

The Online Money Store

Creature Comforts Central

Living Green

The Dreams and Visions Shoppe

Amazon allows you to create up to 100 stores and they have an endless number of products to fill them up with. So, if you love virtual shopping or are really bored, try creating your own little online mall.

Thanks for reading!
Parthena

The Best Grocery Sales In April




amazon,google,search,paid search,affiliate marketing,living green,gifts,books,make money online

Making The Most Money From Your Affiliate Links

So you've joined some of the paid to click, paid to read and paid to complete offers sites and you can also get credit and residual income from your referrals. You only have so many family and friends and they may not be interested. So, how do you get referrals without having to pay for advertising?

Social Networks

If you're online, chances are you belong to a few social networks and forums. Most have strict rules against spam, but you are usually allowed to put a link or two in the signature that people see when you post or send private messages. Take advantage of this, and post often! Here are two where you can actually get paid for your posts and page views, so your ads are automatically targeted since the members are interested in these programs. I love Yuwie - everyone tries to help each other and there's very little drama. MyLot has hundreds of very interesting discussions going on all the time.

Yuwie.com
MyLot.com

E-Mail

Again, you don't want to spam, but you can add a link and brief message about your program to your e-mail signature. Be aware that e-mails you send to people who are not on your contact list will likely end up in their spam inbox because of the link, but this is still a good way to promote.

Free Classified Ads

There are several sites that offer free classified ads and even the opportunity to have your own ad site.

Adpost.com
MyFreeAdboard.com


Save Your Points and Cash For Advertising

Order advertising from the sites you belong to. Most have very reasonable packages and allow you to save your points and cash and redeem them for advertising. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Hits4Pay.com
HoneyAdvertiserPro.com
Donkeymails.com
No-minimum.com
Matrix-Mails.com
ClixSense.com

ClixSense has recently begun to encourage people to advertise their eBay auctions, which is a great idea. A lot of people will see your ads because they're paid to click on them, so your listing will really get some exposure.

Traffic Exchanges

Some don't allow paid to promote affiliate pages from PTR/PTC sites in the site rotation, but they do allow banners. These two traffic exchanges have some extra features I haven't seen anywhere else, including cash:

TrafficTaxis.com
Moonlight Fairy Traffic.com
Super Surf The Top Five Traffic Exchanges Together And Earn An Extra 10% Or More

Marketing Pond's program list includes many more sites like these as well as more ways to advertise for free. When you join Marketing Pond, you can promote all of them with just one link.

Although I've chosen Marketing Pond as my focus, I'm a member of two similar sites that I joined prior to signing up. Both are very good and some of the programs cross over. You can give your income a little boost by joining all three:

Free Money Team
Daily Niche Idea

Did I mention that all of these programs are free to join? Upgrades that allow you to make even more money and get discounts on advertising are optional and the fees are very reasonable. Upgrades are usually well worth it if you can afford them.

You could even print up some business cards with a catchy title such as "Make Money Online," which is one of the top keywords for internet searches, with a link to one or two of your programs to distribute locally.

Pyrabang is another site where you can post news stories, promote your music, blog, business or whatever. I'm really excited about this one because I'm still a free member and I'm earning! I plan to upgrade very soon:



I hope that you find this information helpful. May you be blessed with success and abundance.

make money online,social networking,free advertising,affiliate marketing

Cash In Your Inbox

Inbox Dollars is a long-time favorite and part of the Marketing Pond group of earning programs.

I was offline for over a month and don't complete a lot of offers. When I returned, I was surprised to find that I had earned over $10.

At Inbox Dollars, you earn cash for reading e-mails, completing offers and surveys, registering on websites, shopping online and more. Most of the offers involve questionnaires and sometimes paying a buck or two for shipping. When you purchase an item from an offer, Inbox Dollars credits your account for amounts ranging from a few cents to a significant number of dollars.

How can Inbox Dollars afford to do this? Simply, advertisers pay for the ads and provide the incentives. Inbox Dollars helps them reach their targeted audience through its members and pays them a portion of the revenue. The result is effective advertising and you may even want to consider it for your business.

Signing up is completely free - and I should mention here that you should steer clear of any site that asks you to pay a fee to sign up. Legitimate sites of this nature are paid by the advertisers, not by the members.

The e-mails aren't excessive and most of the offers are online long enough for you to be able to complete them at your convenience. Since you are opting-in when you complete some of the offers and surveys, you still may want to open a separate e-mail account for this purpose.

Even if you have no interest in internet marketing or starting a home based business, this is a fun way to save money and earn a significant amount of pocket change. If you like to save money and keep up with what's new in shopping and information, join today.






Free and Fun Easter Craft Projects

paid to read,paid to sign up,paid survey,targeted advertising,revenue sharing

$15,000 Awarded In Dog Shooting In Oklahoma

My state finally does something right. Oklahoma is a leader in all the wrong things:

Divorce

Obesity

Women In Prison

Lung and Breast Cancer

Teenage Pregnancy

Juvenile Delinquency

Mental Illness

Domestic Violence

So I'm surprised that law enforcement was actually forced to face consequences. The fact that it was caught on tape helped:

Dog Shooting Warrants Payout In Oklahoma

My own dog became skittish overnight and I'm reasonably certain that a utilities or cable worker did something to her when they came into the yard. My feeling on that is that if you are afraid of dogs, come back when the owner is home. I confronted all of them and didn't get an admission of guilt and I still haven't been able to reassure my dog. She gets her hackles up for men and people in uniform and she was not that way before. She's very intuitive. She is calmer around women but she never did like a former female co-worker who ended up stabbing me in the back.

Update on the Conicker worm: I heard on the news this morning that its activity was expected to get worse today but still hasn't. I still wish I understood what fun there is in causing panic and sending spam........

And we can't get enough of Octomom:

Car Seat Thrown Through Window of Octomom's Van

Every time I think that the horse is dead, something else pops up. I do suppose that we need to hear about hate crimes and vandalism. If the girl wasn't unstable to begin with she doesn't have far to go. Apparently there's talk of a reality show as well:

Octomom Interested In Reality Show

As a social worker and artist, I'm personally acquainted with many people who deserve fame, recognition and money. It's a shame that I didn't know that I could have achieved my financial goals by becoming inseminated with octuplets while collecting disability instead of earning my Master's degree while raising my three sons as a single mom and getting off welfare - and making no more money than I did before I went back to school. I forgot to put on the list that Oklahoma's state employee salaries are fourth from the bottom nationwide.

If I was asked how I would change the world these days, I might have to say that everyone would get paid for acting stupid and being dysfunctional. Child welfare would have taken over any other case. In Nadya's case, she is being given enough money to hire professionals to raise her children. What's wrong with that picture? Or maybe something's right with it - my state is also being sued over abuse in foster homes and its crappy child welfare system. All I can say about that is that it's about time - the system that does more harm than good is the main reason I resigned.

Our society has become so obsessed with celebrity and gossip that people who should have known better put their own jobs at risk:

Kaiser Permanente Fires 15 Over Octomom Privacy

Have a great day and don't forget to play with your dog. Playing with the kids would be good, too.

animal abuse,pets,law enforcement,lawsuits,oklahoma,domestic violence,teenage pregnancy,

internet worm,octomom,nadya suleman,privacy act

April Fool's Day Worm Not A Joke

The April 1st Conicker worm is not a hoax but no cause for alarm:

Conficker worm reaches go time, to no effect
User awareness is high, which should help minimize problems, experts say

By Jordan Robertson

updated 1 hour, 35 minutes ago
SAN FRANCISCO - The malicious Conficker Internet worm is trying to reach its creators more aggressively today. But nothing noticeable has happened.

FULL STORY

I just found this great squidoo lens on removing Trojans:

Trojan Remover Tools


No Minimum Payout, Lots of Ads for Free Members and Low Upgrade Fees. Well-established site that pays:





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