Chill Out With A Summer Time Marketing Plan

Is your business experiencing a summer time slump?
Traditionally only industries related to travel enjoy a boost in
business during the warmer months. The rest of us tend to take
vacations, clean up our desk and while away the time playing
computer games while we wait for business to pick up.

Summer time can and should be a time when business owners
prepare for the marketing they will do for the rest of the year
and handle tasks they have been putting off when business is
brisk.

Some of the marketing tasks that can be handled during the
summer are:

1) Turn previously dead leads into sales. Contact everyone who
expressed an interest in your product or services but did not
follow through. They may have more time to consider your offers
during the summer and you might be able to reach them more
easily if their secretary is on vacation.

2) Create and begin to market that newsletter you always planned
on starting.

3) Write a press release related to summer time activities and
send it to appropriate newspapers both on-line and off-line.

4) Ask a few business associates to review and offer suggestions
about your marketing materials. Update your materials to get
them ready for the busier times ahead.

Next start getting ready for the future with the following tasks:

1) Write at least twelve articles related to your business and
have them proofread and edited until they are polished. You
will submit one article each month for the next year to
appropriate publications.

2) Create a web site marketing plan. Research web site
promotion on the internet and create a list of items that you can
work on for the next several months.

3) Develop several contests for your web site visitors and
newsletter subscribers that you can run regularly during the
year. Prepare advertising text, rules and decide on prizes.

4) Contact your local Chamber of Commerce and offer to speak at
a fall or winter event. Write your speech and practice it until
you feel comfortable working without notes.

5) Research and budget for e-zine and newsletter advertising for
the next twelve months. Set up a tickler file to remind you
when to submit and pay for your ads.

Grab a glass of lemonade and get started on using the summer
months to your advantage. Implement just a few of the ideas in
this article every summer and watch your sales soar all year
round!

Bonnie Jo Davis is a Virtual Assistant specializing in frugal
marketing. Bonnie is also the author of the e-book "Articles
That Sell." For more information about Bonnie visit http://www.
ArticlesThatSell.com.

(c) 2003, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights reserved.

The author grants reprint permission to all venues so long as
the luded intact.