| As a small business owner, one of your biggest | | | | that each point is of equal weight. |
| challenges is marketing your product and/or your | | | | 6. Align the elements on your page. The layout |
| website. You can play it safe by doing exactly | | | | and structure of your print or web copy are |
| what everyone else is doing. Or you can embrace | | | | essential to the overall look and feel of your |
| the low-cost, high-impact Guerrilla Marketing | | | | marketing message. If charts, illustrations and |
| tactics advocated by Jay Conrad Levinson. | | | | photographs appear randomly dropped into your |
| Guerrilla Marketers rely more on imagination than | | | | copy then your entire effort will have a |
| large marketing budgets when it comes to | | | | haphazard feel to it which will not engender |
| creating memorable and effective campaigns. | | | | confidence. Make sure that the borders of all |
| They know that details matter, and that there | | | | elements are aligned with each other and with the |
| are 10 cardinal rules which, if followed with zeal, | | | | column structure that supports your page. |
| will make every marketing effort stand head and | | | | 7. Less is more. Again, just because you can do |
| shoulders above the competition. Adopting 10 | | | | something does not necessarily mean that you |
| cardinal rules will guarantee that print materials and | | | | should do it. Don't go overboard with graphics or |
| web copy will stand out from the competition and | | | | with splashes of color or distracting borders or |
| yield big results. | | | | unnecessary clipart. Go for a clean, professional |
| 1. Consistency. Avoid the temptation to go wild | | | | look in everything you do. |
| with type faces, sizes, and colors. Just because | | | | 8. Use UPPER CASE type with restraint. Subheads |
| you can do something does not mean you should | | | | and headlines set in all upper-case letters are |
| do it. Create an identity and then stick with it. | | | | harder to read than headlines and subheads set in |
| Customers use all sorts of shortcuts when looking | | | | lower-case type. |
| for their favorite products, and colors and type | | | | 9. Sweat the details. As all Guerrilla Marketers |
| style are two of the easiest for them to latch | | | | know, the profit is in the details. Awkward |
| onto. | | | | sentence spacing, single words or lines at the end |
| 2. Embrace white space. White space is your | | | | of a page, sentence fragments, and misaligned |
| friend. White space makes both your print and | | | | graphics create a sense of sloppiness in the mind |
| web copy look clean and easy to read. Having | | | | of your reader. |
| sufficient white space around the edges of your | | | | 10. View it through the eyes of your ideal |
| copy also tends to focus the reader's eye directly | | | | customer. Always approach your print and web |
| into your copy. | | | | copy (and everything else that you do) through |
| 3. Write in short paragraphs. Keep paragraphs to | | | | the eyes of your ideal customers who look at |
| no more than three or four sentences. Large | | | | everything from the "What's in it for me" |
| blocks of unbroken type intimidates readers and | | | | perspective. |
| causes them to look elsewhere. Two paragraphs | | | | That old saying that you only have one chance to |
| of three sentences each are far more effective | | | | make a first impression is especially true when it |
| than one paragraph of six sentences. | | | | comes to print and web copy. With a website |
| 4. Make use of subheads. Subheads break long | | | | you have approximately 8 seconds in which to |
| stretches of copy into short, easy-to-digest mini | | | | grab and hold your potential client's attention. With |
| articles. Subheads also provide alternative | | | | a print ad or brochure you're lucky if a reader |
| entry-points into your print or web copy and | | | | stays with you beyond the first four sentences. |
| encourage readers who tend to skim content. | | | | True blue Guerrilla Marketers know how to create |
| 5. Create bullets and lists. Use bullets and | | | | a stellar first impression. Focus on these 10 |
| numbered paragraphs to break up copy and to | | | | cardinal rules, and you'll likely unleash big results on |
| highlight and emphasize points. Numbered lists are | | | | a shoestring budget. |
| used when priority matters, and bullets indicate | | | | |