Weather the Storm- How to Succeed through an Economic Downturn

With all the negative publicity going on in the world about the economy, it’s difficult not to get depressed. But don’t let it get you down so much that you end up sitting around watching businesses fold around you waiting for your turn. Don’t wait to see what might happen, now is the time to be positive and focus on gaining new clients.

Before launching OutRight Communications, I was laid off from my job as a Marketing Manager at a magazine publishing company. They had ceased their publication and I was expecting my first child. At the time, I thought all the doors to new opportunities had suddenly closed. That situation eerily relates to the current economy with employee lay offs and businesses closing their doors. What do you do when it seems so bleak?

Back then, I thought no one was going to hire me with my continually expanding stomach. While I went through the motions of applying for jobs and going to interviews, I was also trying to conceal my situation. Now that I look back, I wonder what I was thinking. The chances were slim that anyone was going to hire me in the position that I was in.

Then it came to me! Develop myself as a person and get back to doing what I did best. Marketing. So I took the plunge and opened a home-based marketing and design firm, OutRight Communications, so I could spend time with my little one.

And you know what? I got through that tough time. I’m not saying it was easy, but it was a risk I needed to take. Now four years later with my second child almost 8 months old, the business has moved out of my home, into an office location, and I now have 4 full time and 3 part time staff. The business is a success!


My advice? Weather the Storm. Start thinking big and NEVER give up! Develop yourself and your skills and talents, grow your business, take calculated risks, and face challenges without fear. Most importantly, have a positive outlook for the future, no matter how bleak it may look. Don’t ignore what’s happening in the real world around you, just be practical, and make good choices. That’s what life AND business is all about!

This year, I’ve made it my mission to make this year the best year that we have had yet in business. Realistically, can this happen with the way people are tightening their purses while they wait to see what happens next with the economy?

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. But, as long as I have BIG goals and stick to them– anything is possible, right? How do I plan on making this happen?

By adapting my business practices and looking at fresh ideas and tactics.

I’m focusing on how to reach customers who

1.) Can’t afford our services and 2.) Don’t want to outsource marketing and design activities, and who instead want to do everything themselves.

Why am I going to do this? So I can show others how to do things the ‘right way’ so they come to us BEFORE they try to do all their projects themselves and become frustrated and angry at the wasted hours and extra costs– all because they thought they were going to save money.

One of the ways we will reach these types of individuals is through our Do-it-Yourself Interactive Workshops, speaking engagements, and by teaching courses at colleges, conferences, and universities.

As one component of our overall marketing strategy, we will be targeting a market that may not have otherwise invested money with us.

Other avenues we are exploring include sponsoring events, seeking like-minded partners, and joining memberships that our primary target audience is present at, using the media and article submissions to get the word out about our firm, and finally, spending time on our company marketing on a regular basis.

Don’t forget- customers need you now more than ever so their businesses will survive. As a business owner, you must be proactive- not reactive. Steal the market by doing as much marketing for your business as possible. While your competition is putting a pause on marketing waiting to see what ‘might’ happen- this is your chance to make it big!

If you need help with marketing your business contact us at: 780.406.8045.
Visit: www.outrightcommunications.com and sign up for our E-ZINE for marketing tips and for our FREE Report: 5 Simple Strategies for INSTANT Exposure!

Agents and Publicity- the perfect combination

So this week we are thrilled to announce that we are now partnering with Brian Wood, a Literary Agent from Vancouver. Never before has book publicity, marketing, and design been combined with the skills of a literary agent to help writers and authors those final steps into the world of publishing.

Now OutRight Communications can offer something to writers that hasn't been done before- all the steps to take from the printed word to a deal on the table.
Some of Brian's latest books include:

Memphis Blues BBQ, Whitecap ( April 2008- and was #1 on the BC bestseller list for over 3 weeks- and has now sold out it's first printing)
Where People Feast: Arsenal Pulp Press- April 2007
Why the Leafs Stink: Al Strachan, HarperCollins- August 2009
Crazy Hockey Dad: Bob McKenzie, John Wiley- September 2009
A Life in the News: Tony Parsons, Harbour- October 2009

Brian's specialty is non-fiction and he's very excited about working with the team at Outright Communications, and we reciprocate the feelings.

2009 is a bold new year for the world of books and business. Make sure you join us:
Sign up for our new e-zine at www.outrightcommunications.com!

Missing a Piece of your Marketing Puzzle

Missing a piece of your marketing puzzle?
It’s not a stretch to say the marketplace today is tough, and you need to stand out from the clutter… What if the factor that made you memorable was something NEGATIVE? Is that a good thing or bad?

As Creative Director for OutRight Communications, I’m always on the lookout for something that catches my eye. On the hunt for a new DVD yesterday, I was flipping through a bin of movies, and came upon one that instantly caught my eye – but not in a good way.

The DVD cover had a large photo of the face of a woman, perhaps taken from a video still of the movie, zoomed in so close it was horribly fuzzy! I grimaced in slight shock and considered… Perhaps the storyline of the movie was fantastic, the actors were top-notch, and the cinematography awe-inspiring. But I would never discover any of this, because of the cover. Because of a bad cover image, I didn’t buy the DVD.

It made me realize this: It’s important to carefully consider how your image is perceived by the public, especially an important element that leads DIRECTLY to sales and the success of your business.

In contrast, if the company who produced the DVD had hired OutRight Communications to design the cover, we would have used a high-quality photo that represented the quality of the production which would in turn attract the consumer to pick up the DVD thus increasing the likelihood of a purchase. At OutRight Communications, we will expertly guide you through any aspect of design, writing and marketing, so you’re ready to get the top-notch results you’re looking for. We ensure you have all the pieces of your puzzle – it’s what we do.
Tanya Kapko

You can view our design samples in our portfolio here:
http://outrightcommunications.com/designportfolio.html

How to Create your own Holiday Greeting cards

This season you may have thought about the people in your life who you don't get to see often enough, but mean just as much to you as your coworkers, or informal acquaintances. Why spend money on Hallmark during these difficult economic times? You don't necessarily have to be a creative genius to do it yourself. Why not try making your own holiday cards this year?



Here are some tips on how to make your cards as special as they can be.

1. Don't be a perfectionist.
These cards are hand-made and coming straight from a loved one. That already makes them pretty special. With some help from our list of resources, you can be confident that no one is going to laugh at your crude attempts to draw Santa Claus - unless comedy is your goal!

2. Pick a theme
Maybe it's 'family' or maybe it's a religious theme. Whatever it is, try to continue your theme throughout the whole card. Don't try to include every snapshot or every Christmas symbol, or your cards will look cluttered.
Also, you don't necessarily have to use Christmas themes - a theme based on shared interests will mean your cards stay out on the mantelpiece longer!

3. Go Outside
Take your digital camera or camera phone and snap some shots of where you live. Round up the kids and put them in the foreground. Let distant family members see what they're missing.

4. Use some of these sites to help make your cards


Go to DaFont and pick out a cool typeface - it's free!
http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=601

One of the coolest Flash sites on the web is ScrapBlog - where you can create and share online scrapbooks using pre-generated templates and your own graphics.
http://www.scrapblog.com/
You can also print your cards straight from ScrapBlog.

Get some cool holiday icons for spicing up your holiday wishes.
http://www.dafont.com/theme.php?cat=601

Note: these resources are all free, but don't go stealing other people's images without permission! That will definitely put you on Santa's naughty list.

5. Keep it short and sweet
A common holiday tradition is to write about family activities and the current status of each family member. If you're a particularly skilled writer there's no harm in filling a page, but no one will feel like you're Scrooge if you keep it to just a few cheerful lines of plain prose.

6. Print on decent photo paper.
A package of glossy paper will only set you back a few dollars for the average Christmas card run. You should be able to fit a couple of cards on one page - look for the 'pages per sheet'option in your printer options dialogue. You can try 2up or 4up per page.

7. Invest in a paper-cutter.
These run the gamut from very small plastic zips to large wooden blocks with giant cleavers. Whatever your budget, a paper cutter will help you to trim down your cards to the right envelope size and avoid that hasty 'folded sheet of letter paper' look. Watch your fingers!

Creating your own holiday cards is a fun activity that will improve your computer skills, and can be done as a family.

From all of us at OutRight Communications
have a Happy Holiday season!

Why Publicity shouldn't be Overlooked

Why is publicity the last thing businesses think of when planning their marketing strategies?

Is it because they don’t really know what publicity is?

Publicity is vital for all businesses and should never be an afterthought.

Consider what publicity can do for your company:

- it builds credibility

- it generates interest and gets the word out to the public

- it makes you the expert in your industry

- it creates a buzz and name recognition

- it’s inexpensive for massive exposure of your product or service

With all these bonuses-, how can you NOT afford to make publicity a part of your marketing strategy?

At OutRight Communications, one of the forms of publicity we use consists of booking our clients on radio, TV and getting coverage in magazine and newspapers. Check out a sample of the coverage we've obtained for our clients here and call us to see what we can do for you:

http://www.outrightcommunications.com/services-pressreleases.html

Marketing Plans- Why they will Save You Money

Have you ever written a marketing plan for your business? And if so, how often do you refer to it?

A marketing plan is a road map for determining the best way to get the word out about your business. They allow you to analyze your target audience, research your competition (and the need for capitalizing on a niche market), show monthly business expenditures, follow timelines and budgets for marketing initiatives, and how to execute the tactics you have in place. After writing a marketing plan, it's easy to see how to leverage your marketing investment with all that you're doing for your business.

Since we specialize in marketing plan development and implementation, we have noticed that many businesses lack solid marketing plans that it's sometimes quite difficult for owners to grow their operations because their objectives and goals are not clearly outlined. All their ideas and plans for their business are in their head, not on paper. Without a comprehensive plan, nothing is thought out and you're basically coasting month to month making impulse decisions. How can you launch a successful campaign if nothing is written down, researched, or planned?

For ultimate business success, be sure to review your plan every 3 months and add to it as needed. Determine how your business has progressed in the past few months and assess whether the items you outlined initially are still applicable. Consider distributing your marketing plan to all the members of your team so they can share in the business vision and mission. If they can visualize your business alongside you, your plans can be realized more easily.

The Tighter the Grip, the Looser the Perspective

Many businesses have the idea that growing larger is a measure of success. Yet to do that requires that they loosen their control over their company, and many people are reluctant to do so, because they are worried that giving their ‘baby’ to someone else will result in chaos.

This is simply not the case.

It’s so beneficial to step outside of your business and invite new energy and gain a fresh perspective from someone else. You still have control – after all you are the person hiring for the best fit. Are you going to hire the lowest skilled person to help your business grow? I hope not, or you have other problems to address!

The facts are, you can’t expand your business without welcoming change, be it with new staff, machinery, technology, marketing strategies, advertising opportunities or networking events.So loosen the grip on your business and grow!!!