APSi Magazine / February, 2014 15
One of the biggest issues facing small business owners today is lack of marketing. The ability to properly brand their business without spending a fortune. When APSi started in 2007, we assumed that branding in magazines was only for the super successful. That was until we found out how entrepreneurs find opportunities to brand at a fraction of the cost.
Seeking creative ways to brand your business is a full time job. You will find out that great branding opportunities are all around you, if you think outside the box. You don't have to be the CEO of a fortune 50 company to have someone call with an interest in your brand. The fact is, whether you are being featured in CEO Magazine or in the Corner Store Chronicle, printed marketing will boost your business and your image within a short amount of time if done properly.
"When I was developing APSi, I met a CEO who spent well over $15,000 on a marketing specialist who would be responsible for brand transformation. Money well spent, but it was the cover page magazine feature that put his business on the map. The magazine was not well distributed, and he had never heard of the magazine before his cover page interview. However, that publication allowed his business to become an instant rockstar in his industry," said CEO Scott Coulter. The point is, you can score a lot of cool points when you can showcase that you are interesting enough to be featured in mainstream media.
How does this information effect you? APSi Magazine was designed to help small business owners create an inexpensive platform to increase your brand image. Each edition is published and available to over 300,000 readers who visit the publishing site each day. In addition to having your brand launched in to the world, you can order a printed copy (or copies) to share with friends and family. It can be a great conversation piece. One suggestion would be to negotiate a "front cover" spot (which wold include a front page article), then have the image enlarged, framed and placed in your office or store front. Another strategy would be to order a large amount of copies and strategically place them where your customers are. That is the power of magazine branding.
Social media markets are great and magazines are not designed to be a quick solution, but if you have a feature in print, you can draw attention back to your social media sites and increase your SEO traffic.
Each month, APSi would like to feature a new small business. These businesses will need to have a viable product, service or solution. We would also feature their logo and professional photos of the leaders. Small businesses who would like to be featured on the front page can negotiate a spot and our team can help them develop strategies to market their cover spot throughout their customer community. Let APSi become a brand champion and help you move your small business to the next level?
For more information, please contact Scott Coulter at [email protected]. Make sure you type "Magazine feature request" in the subject line.
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