The Success of Pixel Marketing Proves that Small is Beautiful
Advertising space on the web has typically been sold by the banner and by the click. Now, thanks to a hot new concept called pixel marketing, it’s being sold by the pixel. That’s right. Just when you thought there was nothing left to sell, the web has profitably parceled into blocks of pixels that advertisers are snapping up to promote their brands.Here’s how pixel marketing works. Pages are made up of pixel grids, typically of one million pixels which generally sell from 50 cents to $1 each. An advertiser who buys blocks of these pixels can design an image which will be displayed on them, and will link visitors to a corresponding website.The idea for pixel marketing is credited to Alex Tew, a 21-year-old student from Wiltshire, England, who developed The MillionDollarHomepage.com to raise funds for his university education. Tew launched the site on August 26, 2005. Within three days of the launch, with no marketing budget, Tew sold his first 20 x 20 pixel block. Motivated, he put out a press release. Two weeks later, he had made enough money to pay for his first year at university. He has now made more than half a million dollars.In his Million Dollar Blog from August 26, Tew wrote, “I thought, this could be something crazy enough to work! Because I think people like crazy/quirky ideas

Entrepreneurs, Industry Associations and Bucking the System
Occasionally entrepreneurs find them selves in a pickle with industry associations. Oh they love you when you are up and coming and use you as an example of the industry and shower you with awards, mostly to make them selves look good. But then when you keep innovating and start taking out the competition thru better customer services, prices and better employees, they start to get a little concerned.Additionally if you are a hands on, kick ass, take no prisoners, super star you will continually innovate in the market place and end up turning the industry up on its head. Well, then they no longer find you the up and coming darling, but rather a demon in the industry, because you are making them all look bad. Why? Because they are relaxing with the status quo and enjoying the fruits without risk or attempting to put in research and development for forward progression to sustain the industry. This is how industries stagnate. Even though such entrepreneurial new blood is needed, it is truly a love you, hate you relationship as they attempt to build you up and then tear you down.Recently in an online forum in the car wash industry, our company was attacked and me personally, so I responded back; “Regarding anonymous commenter, Am I really Ignorant? Really? Whatever. What city is your car wash in?

Location - Location - Location
If you’ve come this far in the business planning process then you’re ready to make an extremely important decision: here will you locate this enterprise? The simple answer is: wherever your ideal customers congregate. For example, if you’re opening a hamburger joint, locate yourself right next to or even among the chain stores. Counterintuitive? Yes, until you consider that everyone who goes to the chain burger places already wants exactly what you have to offer. Most of them will opt for the mass-produced products but a significant number will choose the homemade option. In this case, the big chains are doing the hard work and spending the big dollars to attract customers to you. Combine that with excellent products and service plus some creative means to keep people coming back (and bringing your friends), and you’ll have a winning combination. Locate yourself in another part of town and you’ll have to convince people to go someplace they’re not accustomed to going for hamburgers- a long and potentially expensive process. If you don’t deal with customers directly, then you have the luxury of setting up shop wherever you like. For example, most of my clients work with me by phone and email, meaning that I can be almost anywhere. My challenge is locating myself in cyberspace They will not consider any claims that are paid for with foreign money, i.e. by agents on your behalf.

PLANNING THE BOOTH

It is imperative that you take as little equipment with you, because when the show is done, you will either have to dispose of all your furniture/stuff, or place it in storage in the USA if you want to use it again.

The DTI gives you an allowance to get your samples and equipment to the USA, but they won’t pay for you to take it back home again, unless you are participating in a Pavilion show, where they will pay all your expenses. It is essential that you decide what you will do with the entire booth once the first show is finished.

The DTI will also not pay the costs of warehousing in the USA and the transport of the booth to the second show from that warehouse. If you do want to go that route, you will have to pay for that yourself.

A typical charge to get goods to a show is approx. $400, obviously depending on the weight and size of the shipment.

It’s a good idea to set up the booth beforehand and plan exactly how you want everything to look. Pare it down to the minimum. After all, you are selling goods, not decorations. Use your imagination to exhibit the samples in the most cost effective way.

Make sure that you have all the risers and decorations that you envisage. Pack all office needs, i.e. invoices, brochures (very important), staplers and spare staples, pens, etc. etc. Although there are of course many shops around, sometimes the shows are in out of the way places, and it is not easy to get photocopies done and buy forgotten essentials.

SHIPPING SAMPLES AND BOOTH EQUIPMENT

“The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray”

Allow plenty of time for your samples to arrive at the warehouse so that it doesn’t cost you anything extra by way of drayage.

Also, although your shipping agents will give you an idea of how long your goods will take to get there, always allow an extra two weeks, because there can be delays with Customs Clearance and delivery.

Make sure that you have clear and precise invoices accompanying the samples, with prices, tariff headings, and clearly marked as Trade Show samples which are duty free.

If you are sending any seeds, pods, grasses, make sure that you have fumigation certificates. Leather and animal goods have to have a Wildlife Permit.

Try and contain your booth equipment into as small a size as possible

do with the entire booth once the first show is finished.

The DTI will also not pay the costs of warehousing in the USA and the transport of the booth to the second show from that warehouse. If you do want to go that route, you will have to pay for that yourself.

A typical charge to get goods to a show is approx. $400, obviously depending on the weight and size of the shipment.

It’s a good idea to set up the booth beforehand and plan exactly how you want everything to look. Pare it down to the minimum. After all, you are selling goods, not decorations. Use your imagination to exhibit the samples in the most cost effective way.

Make sure that you have all the risers and decorations that you envisage. Pack all office needs, i.e. invoices, brochures (very important), staplers and spare staples, pens, etc. etc. Although there are of course many shops around, sometimes the shows are in out of the way places, and it is not easy to get photocopies done and buy forgotten essentials.

SHIPPING SAMPLES AND BOOTH EQUIPMENT

“The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray”

Allow plenty of time for your samples to arrive at the warehouse so that it doesn’t cost you anything extra by way of drayage.

Also, although your shipping agents will give you an idea of how long your goods will take to get there, always allow an extra two weeks, because there can be delays with Customs Clearance and delivery.

Make sure that you have clear and precise invoices accompanying the samples, with prices, tariff headings, and clearly marked as Trade Show samples which are duty free.

If you are sending any seeds, pods, grasses, make sure that you have fumigation certificates. Leather and animal goods have to have a Wildlife Permit.

Try and contain your booth equipment into as small a size as possible

s in the most cost effective way.

Make sure that you have all the risers and decorations that you envisage. Pack all office needs, i.e. invoices, brochures (very important), staplers and spare staples, pens, etc. etc. Although there are of course many shops around, sometimes the shows are in out of the way places, and it is not easy to get photocopies done and buy forgotten essentials.

SHIPPING SAMPLES AND BOOTH EQUIPMENT

“The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray”

Allow plenty of time for your samples to arrive at the warehouse so that it doesn’t cost you anything extra by way of drayage.

Also, although your shipping agents will give you an idea of how long your goods will take to get there, always allow an extra two weeks, because there can be delays with Customs Clearance and delivery.

Make sure that you have clear and precise invoices accompanying the samples, with prices, tariff headings, and clearly marked as Trade Show samples which are duty free.

If you are sending any seeds, pods, grasses, make sure that you have fumigation certificates. Leather and animal goods have to have a Wildlife Permit.

Try and contain your booth equipment into as small a size as possible

ayage.

Also, although your shipping agents will give you an idea of how long your goods will take to get there, always allow an extra two weeks, because there can be delays with Customs Clearance and delivery.

Make sure that you have clear and precise invoices accompanying the samples, with prices, tariff headings, and clearly marked as Trade Show samples which are duty free.

If you are sending any seeds, pods, grasses, make sure that you have fumigation certificates. Leather and animal goods have to have a Wildlife Permit.

Try and contain your booth equipment into as small a size as possible. It is easier to move compact equipment around than large, oversize pallets, which cost more because of the volumetric size.

BOOTH SET-UP

Plan on getting to your destination at least one day before set-up day. If you have not been to the site before hand, go down to the show site and check that your samples have arrived in your booth.

Check your directory entry to see that everything is correct, and familiarize yourself with the lay-out of the hall. Make sure of the time that you can start setting up, and be there promptly. If you have to go out to buy anything that you may have forgotten, now is the time to do it.

Prepare your “office” so that everything you may need to write orders, give out brochures and price lists is neatly available.

Make sure that all your samples are clearly marked with the prices. Once you get busy and have more than one person in the booth, you don’t want to lose a sale because the samples aren’t marked. Customers are happy to browse if you are busy, and will wait patiently if they can see everything clearly.

You may also want to bring some see-through netting or other covering with you to tie across the booth at the end of the day.

Always be on time in your booth. You will lose valuable sales if you are late coming in, or early going out.

TAKING ORDERS, ARRANGING PAYMENT

Always give a clear indication when you plan to ship your orders. USA customers usually work with budgets, and may ask you for shipment on a specific date. They also don’t want to have to worry with importing their goods, and won’t deal with Customs, or pay customs duties. They will all ask for shipment from a USA city.

The reason for this is that it makes no difference if you are shipping one carton, or one hundred cartons. The clearing charges are the same, and the customer will not happily pay those costs, which can run to $300 per shipment.

This is where a logistics company can help you. You can ship your entire trade show orders to one place, and there will be only one Customs Clearance charge for the consolidated shipment. Your logistics company will then strip down the shipment, and send the individual boxes onward to the customers. You will then be charged the cost of the local shipments by common carriers, i.e. UPS or FedEx. However, you can charge your customer the cost of the shipping, which is common practice and they are used to paying the UPS charges.

Anothe