19 Most Recent Articles
Written By: Michele Pariza Wacek

1	VAs – Your Secret Weapon Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2006-01-20 | Want to know how you can grow your business without growing your expenses? Here's a hint – it's easier then you think.
2	What Marketing Can't Do For You Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-12-21 | While there's no question a solid marketing program can increase your business, it can't fix everything. Below are 5 things marketing can't do for you:
3	How to Succeed as a Writer Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-12-16 | Want to know the secret of succeeding as a writer? (Hint, it's not what you think.)
4	What Marketing Can Do For You Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-10-13 | Over the years, I've had dealings with some business owners who have a rather skewed perception of marketing. They think you throw a few ads out there, get a couple of press releases printed and voila! You’re a big success. Oh, if it only were that easy. (Although if it were, I probably wouldn’t have a job.) So realistically, what marketing can do for you? Read on.
5	Advertising on a budget -- Part 3: Frequency, frequency, frequency Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-10-12 | Yes there is a way to spend $100 a month and get a ton of exposure in front of your target market. Here’s how one business did it.
6	3 Reasons Why You Better Know Your Customers...Or Else Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-09-30 | Do you have any idea how much money you’re losing (yes losing) by not knowing who your customers are? Find out why you need to have a SPECIFIC customer in mind...or you could end up losing your business.
7	Advertising On A Budget — Part 2: Thinking Small Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-09-30 | Our goal was to both build the PWC brand and drive traffic to the Web site. Advertising regularly was essential. Yet it was also essential to keep our costs down. So we leveraged our monthly newspaper advertising to stretch our marketing dollar as far as we could. How did we do that? We 'thought small.'
8	Advertising and Community Relations -- The Best of Both Worlds Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-09-02 | Looking for low-cost but big bang marketing opportunities? Try combining advertising and community relations and see what happens. Check out this real world case study for ideas you can use for your own business.
9	Advertising On A Budget -- Using Print To Drive Traffic Online Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-08-26 | Like many start-up businesses, PrescottWeddings.com didn't have much money for marketing. On top of that, we had two major challenges (three counting the limited budget): Armed with those challenges, we went to work. Now, just over two years later, PWC enjoys well over 40,000 hits a month and has increased its advertising base by over 600%. On top of that, PWC is well on its way to establishing a reliable brand in not just Prescott but throughout Yavapai County. So how did we do it? A great Web site with great content plus three main marketing strategies.
10	How to Use Community Relations to Grow Your Business Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-07-20 | But, it doesn't have to be that way. You can and should find ways to increase your ROI (return on investment) for all the community relations activities you take part in. Here are some tips to help you get started.
11	Are You Making These Press Release Mistakes? Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-07-15 | Before you send that press release off into the world, take a moment and run your press release through this checklist. Remember, you only have a few seconds to catch the attention of busy journalists and editors -- don't blow it over an easily corrected mistake.
12	Is PR Right for You? 6 Questions to Ask Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-06-16 | Public relations is one of my favorite marketing methods, but it can also be one of the more frustrating ones. Even when you do everything right, you still might not get the publicity you want. Or for that matter, ANY publicity at all. When a PR campaign doesn't work, you can find yourself wanting to pull out all your hair in frustration. Even with that in mind, I do believe most if not all businesses can benefit from some type of PR campaign. But before you launch into something that could end with you becoming hairless (and investing in a sizeable hat collection) ask yourself the following questions.
13	How Not to Write a Press Release Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-06-08 | If you're not getting the publicity you want, you may be making this mistake.
14	Setting Goals -- Your Ticket To Success Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-05-26 | Figuring out your goals is probably one of the most important and one of the most overlooked steps for creative professionals starting their business. Ideally you should put together a business plan. Second best is getting your goals down on paper. Below are some things to include.
15	Need a Great Idea? Feed Your Brain Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-05-17 | Want to increase your chances of getting a new idea? Feed your brain! Here are three ways to get started.
16	Writer's Block Begone Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-04-21 | As a someone who has been writing nearly her entire life, I've also been forced to wrestle with writer's block many a time. And in those wrestling matches, I've learned a few moves that might help you in your own struggles.
17	7 Questions to Ask Before You Advertise Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-04-15 | If you're going to advertise, you need to be smart about it -- or you can quickly find yourself with a blown budget and not much to show for it. Below are seven questions to ask yourself before writing out that check.
18	Business Ideas – Need a New Idea? Try Changing Your Perspective Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-04-06 | One definition of creativity states that creative people look at the same thing everyone else does, yet they see something no one else does.
19	Three Keys To Crafting Successful Print Ads Written by: Michele Pariza Wacek | Distributed: 2005-03-29 | Want to create print ads that get results? Below are three keys to get you started.