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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The only person who never makes mistakes is the person who never does anything. Theodore Roosevelt

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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...

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 our customer base and help us reach out to new customers is necessary to meet any and all challenges to our fragile economic well being in the future. Local publications, such as the one I'm describing here, are a cost-effective and proven way to accomplish this goal and this is one I have in my possession.

"It's my bad" as the expression goes for not reporting on this important genre of print media at a much earlier time, but thanks to a call from Long Island publisher Jay Rosen alerting me of my omission, I'm finally getting around to it. One more note: I'm sure that there are other publishers in other areas around the country who take equal pride in their publications of this nature, but Long Island got here first. Still, if you want to put a header on this page touting your own I'd be more than happy to consider it. Just give me a call to discuss it.


Usually, the longevity of a business speaks volumes for its popularity, and Squire Publishing seems to be the perfect example. Since 1984, they have been producing one of Long Island's most successful titles, aptly named the Premium Shopping Guide alongside their much sought after sister publication known as the Premium Community Calendar.



I'm an old time retail professional who hasn't seen anything that rivals this.


Even in this digital age, everyone continues to receive full color magazines in their mailbox on a monthly basis, the contents of which are primarily ads representing local independent and franchised businesses. But the Premium Shopping Guide is unique in that it's taken this concept to the next level by turning monthly into seasonally, thereby expanding their page count and offering many more saving opportunities over a much longer period of time. Each issue of the Premium Shopping Guiide has taken monthly savings opportunities and transformed the entire concept into a publication that hangs around all season as a family's go-to reference for attaining coupon savings for virtually everything available in the area.


The Premium Community Yearly Calendar:

Now you can set yourself up for the next 365 days.


Each calendar features nostalgic photos and historical descriptions for the particular town that it serves on each and every monthly page. If you're an advertiser that wants to be represented with an ad every month, offer a coupon every week, every third Tuesday, or wants to alert customers to your representation in the perforated savings check pages that appear in the back pages of the calendar, there are several reasonable pricing options at your disposal. And just to make certain that the calendar remains an overall resource beyond the coupon savings it represents, there is a section that contains all crucial town resources and events accompanied by a complete phone directory of all important area locations and services.

This is further proof of what I'm always saying:

"People respond the same as they always have."


It's not social media and it's not online, but it does offer the very incentives and discounts that will be reeling bargain hunters in forever. I've seen their rate sheet and I've seen the quality of their publications and can imagine that their low advertising rates, their direct mail feature, and their coupon centric offerings are all integral parts of an intelligent strategy that has contributed to their popularity amongst business locals. Both publications are full color, and both are mailed directly to businesses and homes in each of the sixteen towns that make up the Smithtown and Huntington Townships they serve. Looks like a winner to me and kudos to Jay Rosen at Squire publishing.

TOP: The covers from the Premium Shopping Guide's Winter

2019-2020 edition and Squire's 2014 Community Calendar for

Northport, LI. ( because I liked the way that one looked ) and inside page from another town calendar.  BOTTOM: Spreads from one of their shopping guide issues.

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The Premium Shopping Guide

and The Premium Community Calendar

BRINGING CUSTOMERS TO YOUR DOOR SINCE 1984

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