« Older Entries

Advertising: Do You Know How Important It Is to the Success of Your Online Business?

Advertising can be defined as the process of making your products or services known to the people. Advertising can go a long way to contributes to your online business when done correctly. There are various ways of advertising you can use to make your products or services known to a large numbers of people. Before I give you the various ways, let me ask you some questions: Do you believe that advertising can work for you? Do you believe you can allot the time for adverting your products or services? If you answer yes to the questions above, then this article is for you. Back to our main discussion, some of the various ways you can use to advertise your products are:

1) Face-to-Face Advertisement: This is the type of advertisement that requires face-to-face contact with the person you are advertising to. This method is very effective for any types of products you want to sell. It has its merits and its demerits. Some of its merits are not limited to high power of persuasion, generation of more sales while its demerits are not limited to time factor, stress. This method of advertisement is suitable for products that have high prices.

2) Newspaper Advertisement: Newspaper advertisement is the type of advertisement that is placed in a newspaper in order to create a wider awareness of the products and services that are being promoted. Newspaper advertisement can too costly especially for a newbie and someone with little capital at hand. But it has proven to be very effective over the years and it still maintains the standard.

3) Media Advertisement: Media advertisement is the type of advertisement that passes information to the consumers on why they should purchase a particular product or service. The information can be disseminated from the radio, television. One of the merits is that it can reach a wide location. One of the demerits is that it does not target a particular group of consumer.

4) Online Advertisement: This is the process of advertising your products and services on the internet. In the present days when most businesses are relocating to the cyberspace, most product buyers prefers to purchase online. Some of the reason for wanting to purchase online is that it is safer; it does not requires physical presence of the buyers before the products can be purchased, it is faster, and it is less expensive. There are many places you can advertise online. Some of the places are online forums, social networking sites, and blogs. As at today, online advertisement is the best of all the different types of advertisement we have. Out of all the various forms of advertisement mention above, you should be able to choose one that fits your products or services.

How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.

Tags:

Tax Benefits Advantages of Network Marketing and Home Based Business

Starting your own network marketing home based business brings you a million-and-one benefits but the one specific benefit I want to talk about on this blog post are tax benefits since it is tax season.Most all network marketing companies have a monthly auto-delivery program a member has to be on to qualify for all commission bonuses. For example, it is typical that a brand partner of a network marketing company needs to be on a $120 monthly auto-delivery to qualify for all commissions. Guess what? Your monthly auto-delivery of $120 is 100 PERCENT TAX DEDUCTIBLE!We called the IRS to ask them if our monthly auto-delivery is 100% deductible. We spoke with IRS representative Colleen ID #0348881 and below is what the IRS representative said. First she asked several questions about how our business worked:Is purchasing the $120 monthly auto-delivery was a common practice amount for all members? which is “yes”
If it was expected for business builders but not consumers? which is “yes”
If it was helpful to drink the product? which is “yes”
Necessary to get paid? which is “yes”
Appropriate for network marketing industry? which is “yes”Based on the answer and Publication 535 Business expense page 2, the expenses would be ordinary (common and expected) and necessary (helpful and appropriate) in regards to our MLM business model. Which means the $120 purchase qualifies as a business expense.Also if a doctor recommends and supplies you MLM product out of their office, it is a medical expense for a patient. This is in the instruction for Schedule A.Other tax advantages to your home based network marketing business are the obvious expenses you can deduct, such as:A portion of your rent or mortgage – your business has to pay rent and that includes home-based businesses. Some of the amount that you pay each month in rent or mortgage payments can be counted as a business expense.
The cost of your computer
Office equipment and furniture – office desk, office chair, computer, software, telephone, printer, lighting, etc.
Internet connection
Phone bills
Your vacations and company events – This benefit can be huge! You’ll be able to deduct the cost of the plane ticket, hotel expenses, food, entertainment.
Conferences – There is no faster way to super-charge your business than to attend a conference. You’ll get a fantastic business education, get a chance to network and best of all get to write off the expense.
Restaurant meals – Take out members in your down-upline, up-line, or anyone you talk to about your home based business and the meal is on the IRS.
Groceries – Your home office needs some food for visitors. It is unlikely you will get away with your entire grocery bill but food you consume for home events and visitors is a legitimate deduction.
Some car expensesIn conclusion, it is hard to put a positive spin on paying taxes. It always hurts but we all have to do it. The good news is that by joining any network marketing company there are tax deductions that you would not have been able to deduct if you did not have a home based business.Always consult with a tax professional. We cannot provide any warranty about the information above.

Tags: