Barry S. Lee

Get the best. Always pay the least.

   How to advertise cheaply and still get more bang for your buck is the basic theme of this blog.

Its message is directed to entrepreneurs and existing owners of small to medium size businesses who find it "impossible" to attract customers using a meager budget.


CONTACT INFORMATION:   EMAIL: leebar143@gmail.com        PHONE: 516-510-3803         MAILING ADDRESS: Barry Lee, 22501 Chase #15212, Aliso Viejo, CA  92656

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Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn. Miguel de Cervantes

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1. Just to make certain that we're on the same page.

If you're here at this blog of mine because you were led to believe that I can show you ways to promote yourself or your business without having to pay big...

2. Avoid job hunting disappointments by creating your

own business.

As both an unemployed worker for several years and a self employed business owner seeking customers, I have the same gripes as everyone else. So let's...

3. For the beginner in business, jump-start your visibility (any way you can).

Big business or small, everybody's in the same boat getting the word out about their new enterprise. Showing yourself off is key, not rely on insiders to...

4. There's always a way to do serious advertising without spending a fortune.

The disappointments you face when you initially launch your site on the internet or open the doors of your brick and mortar store can be disheartenibg...

5. Why you are in definite need of a website.

If you're among the reluctant few who still have no internet presence, you know you're losing business to competitors who do, and you are probably...

6. Smart way to use van signage to expand your business potential.

When times are tough, learning about new ways to make a few extra bucks or expand your clientele is always welcome. For you folks out there who are...

7. A bad economy is usually a good time to advertise.

I'm a creature of habit, so when I went out to dinner recently to discuss a new business venture with my brother it was at a restaurant I frequent regularly...

8. Can your company afford to advertise on television?

It's been said that there's no business like show business. If you're among the many small to medium size business or service owners who agree, you...

9. A few words about designing your logo and stationery.

It's time to have some serious fun. I say "serious" because what you do now will define the feeling your entire business projects to others, For want of a...

10. Don't try to fool the public with your advertising because the joke will be on you.

You're excited about running your new ad and you're equally certain that this one's going to be a winner. Maybe some of your facts are a bit fudged, but you...

10. Start building your list for an email campaign.

Getting the word out to potential customers can be done quickly with a well thought out email campaign, but doing it yourself is a big responsibility, since it's...

12. Adding content to your email campaign for maximum effect.

You can do a really fine job of contacting people by email right from your current email provider, or you can utilize a service designed primarily for that...

13. Bartering could be a very big step in the right direction.

Bartering comes naturally. You give me some of those for some of these and we'll callit even. Although you can't survive running your business...

14. A really creative idea often begins with a sense of humor.

Out-of-the-box thinking most likely starts with a sense of humor, being able to see things that make you laugh inside. Taking serious subjects and...

15. Where does one begin planning a video for a website?

Planning a video is like I would picture writing a novel. You walk around, sit around, and no matter what else you do around, your thoughts are all...

17. Average testimonials I receive about once a month.

Sometimes affirmation for a job well done through positive testimonials make business owners feel good about what they do. In my case, negative...

18. I can only offer you the advice; Your acceptance is optional.

The decision to build a site and launch it online is a big step for many. But the whole experience can be a pleasant one if you plan it out with someone...

18. When choosing a name for your website, you can pay now or pay dearly later.

Money doesn't count, especially when it comes to domain names. Although you can buy an average domain name for about 10 bucks, most people...

19. How to overcome the uneasiness of asking for the money due you.

Nobody ever questions the terms of payment to their cable company, HMO, or a lawyer who asks for a retainer. But when it comes to certain creative...

2. Here's something I tried in an effort to stir up business, and it worked.

Business sometimes slows down because clients and potential clients are caught up in everything surrounding a major holiday, or it's generally...

21. Local publications often give you more bang for your small business buck.

The pandemic was a way of showing us how sensitive to change our businesses really are. So learning about an option that will serve to retain...

22. When opportunity calls be confident enough to answer.

Like every other business owner during the pandemic. Long Islander Jim Frazzita experienced an economic void the moment a quarantine...

6. Local hand delivery continues as the remarkable low tech solution to successful advertising results.

Some things just never seem to change. Who would've thought that hand delivery would make a resurgence of sorts in the year 2020, just when...

17. Banners are an important element in your powerful advertising arsenal.

As businesses continue to suffer from one compromising social event or another, such as a global pandemic, it becomes quite evident that...

7. Put more bang into your buckslip.

Most people don't even know what a buckslip is. If you ever received a mailing from a utility, usually an invoice, with an accompanying 3.5" x 8.5" (or...

8. Can register tape advertising register profits for you?

Partnering with supermarkets and national advertisers can bring a steady payoff to local businesses who want to take advantage of...

19. If you have a great business with very little money, you should ride along with me.

As you may have noticed, I've adorned the header on each of my pages with a quote of inspiration from a notable human being. But the most ntable of all,...

23. The television advertising every local business can afford.

I used to buy affordable TV time for my smaller clients on local cable television, but even when the cable company let me select the geographic areas...

24. Paying $30 a year for business rent sounds like a steal of a deal.

It's in a popular neighborhood surrounded by a large variety of businesses, big and small and easy to get to from anywhere. In fact, it's the biggest mall on...

20. Being an optimist is different than being a dreamer.

Dreamers often hinder their own opportunities for success by creating an illusion based on the premise that everything eventually will get better on its own...

3. I honestly don't know what to make of this.

From all my years in advertising I understand the motivation of buyers well enough to create successful advertising campaigns that draw them...

16. Why it's important to advertise your website on Craigslist.

I'm always amazed with the reactions I get when I suggest to a new client that they include advertising on Craigslist as part of their marketing effort...

25. Taking a realistic look at where you're going from here.

Any season is a season of introspection and strategic planning. Thinking ahead to your economic well-being by laying down some robust goals...

11. How to go about packaging your product.

Packaging can be a complicated and tricky undertaking that's not for the faint of heart. By the same token, it can be one of the most exciting and...

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26. You've got to read this if you live with a canine

companion.

If you reside anywhere in the New York tri-state area (New York, Connecticut, New Jersey) with an unruly, downright unmanageable canine companion that you...

27. Thank You for making the decision to accept my

free offers.

If you can realize that within you lies the power to end the devastating effects of this economy, then you can take your first step in learning how only you hold the key...

How to go about packaging your product.

Packaging can be a complicated and tricky undertaking that's not for the faint of heart. By the same token, it can be one of the most exciting and rewarding of business undertakings. Imagine how it will be when you see your product on the shelf for the first time in a well known retail outlet and say to yourself, "Wow, that's my product!"

Because of the space and time limitations I face, I couldn't possibly complete the task of letting you in on everything involved in creating packaging for the plethora of products that fill the shelves in a myriad of categories that comprise the retail marketplace. It would take volumes and tons of research. In fact, there are volumes already written on the functional designs of packaging, but at the level I'll be discussing in this article, that probably won't interest anyone anyway. What most people want to know about is whether it's doable, and whether it is reasonably priced. I can assure you that it is both. And it is very rewarding on a creative level as well.


Let's talk everyday packaging and low budgets.


Everday packaging doesn't mean that you can't bring something amazing looking to the shelves. Low budget or not, good, well thought out graphics at any level can make the difference of whether your product just sits there meekly or "jumps" out at the consumer. And since there are so many forms of packaging, your first decision would be to decide on a package you've seen in a store, and thoroughly investigate it at a package manufacturing company to see what style would reasonably enhance your brand while keeping within your budget. Some products you might choose to take on already might come in a jar made for a particular box, so your decisions would be narrowed down to a jar label design and the graphics for the box. Or a product might be suited for display in a blister package, of which there are several types. And those types might breakdown into more categories including whether it is equipped with a hole that slips onto a hanger, whether it sits on a shelf, or whether it goes en masse into a "dump display." Later on in this article, I will show you a variety of packages I have done and explain what categories they fall into. If you want to see even more of my packaging samples, visit my "cheap packaging" page at http://www.cheapadagency.com/cheap-packaging.html

Consider ALL the costs associated with a package.


I don't want to dissuade you by focusing on costs, but you might as well face all the possibilities head on. For instance, you cannot merely print a few boxes to test things out, printers have minimum runs. Also, consider the fact that you might have to ship your products in bulk at some juncture, so you would need outer cartons that hold your product into individual collections of let's say 24 units each that fit into an outer shipping carton holding a number of those collections. Maybe I'm jumping ahead of myself but you must think about everything before making most decisions about packaging. In most cases, unless you were selling across the country or globe to large organizations on a regular basis, I would say that your shipping would be a one at a time affair and would not include all the outer boxes I mentioned.


Let's talk creativity.


Assuming that all you want is a killer box that leaps off the shelves at every passerby, you also want to have it stand out that way whether it's in a bag, in a box, in a dump display, hanging from a rack, or sitting on a shelf. So I have an idea for you. If you have a trusted graphic artist that you know or use on a regular basis, run it by him or her. See what they have to say. If you want to discuss it with me just contact me by phone or email listed on my masthead and we can discuss it. No pressure to use me to do it for you, just good old fashioned brainstorming without pressure. At least you'll be taking a step in the right direction.

Shown,Top and Below: Latex Glove Box Design for UniSafeGloves, Elm City Kettle Corn bag design, CBD box graphics and AutoPlay accessory boxes for Unisen.

Shown Below: Two Dump Displays and one wire rack display for Contact Vinyl Shelving

at that time a product of United Merchants and Manufacturing.

Shown Below: Point of Purchase Display filled with a variety of product boxes and open stock hangers for Regent Sheffield Cutlery.

Packaging comes in many shapes, sizes, and forms as shown above, so you can be as creative as your budget allows. And as long as I opened the door to blister packs, here's one I was working on the design of for iPazzport when it was put on hold because of issues related to the pandemic. Barry

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