"Step Right Up and See Miraculous, Awe-Inspiring, Dynamic, Never-Before-Seen, Guaranteed-to-Save-You- Thousands-and-Make-You-Twice-as-Much-as-Anything-You've-Ever-Seen-Before, Super-Deluxe, All-Powerful, Amazingly- Simple-to-Use, User-Friendly, The One-the-Only, The Most Versitle, Stupendous, Fire-the-Boss, Crazy-to-Pass-Up, Can't-Live-Without, Handy-Dandy (insert product name here)!!!!!!

You see, old time circus announcer had something on ball. His entire purpose was to lure people into Big Top by way of a highly motivational endorsement of product. And it worked like a charm!

People would stream into that Big Top tent even though there was an enormous chance that it was a huge scam. Chances are they'd go in there and find a man in a gorilla suit or something as obviously fake. But in spite of that, people loved it, because they were pre-sold on possiblities due to enthusiasm of announcer. He sold them on concept that "maybe this time it's real".

It became worth two bits to find out. If he did it right, it was nearly irresistible!!

Now I'm not trying to encourage anyone to scam people. There's certainly enough of that going around and we don't need any more of it. But I am endorsing you learn Art Of Endorsement!

An endorsement is simply a statement, usually just a couple of lines, that express YOUR feelings about something. If you've ever gone to a particular restaurant and then told your friends how much you liked food, you were giving place an endorsement. Or maybe you went to see a movie and told others how much you enjoyed it. . .same thing! You can do likewise for your own products, or ones you're selling for someone else.

It's really not all that hard to learn. If you already write ad copy, you can easily tweak your campaign just a bit and add an endorsement into your ad. Your website can also become a glowing endorsement for products you sell. It's just a matter of changing view from which you're writing.

Many ads and websites feature all great things product or program promises to provide. Nothing wrong with that, and I would recommend you add all that in too. However, if you tell people how you FEEL about product or service, then you're giving them your endorsement.

Before you decide where you want your marketing plan to take you, you need to find out where you are now. How have you positioned your business in market? How do your customers see you? You may want to ask some of them for feedback. Write four or five paragraphs that summarize your business. Be sure to include philosophy, strengths and weaknesses.

Step 2: Setting Goal

Once you decide where you are, you can decide where you want to go. What you're trying to accomplish? Do you want to increase sales? Change perception of your business among target audiences? Generate more store traffic? Enter a new market where you may not have much experience?

After you have answered each of these questions or any others you come up with, you want to make an outline for each of your goals, and be specific. While you should be optimistic, you will also need to be realistic. You need to be realistic in what you expect your marketing plan to do. Also, while it's fine to have multiple goals, be sure to prioritize them so you can create a realistic plan to achieve them.

Step 3: Hitting Target

Who are your target audiences? If you say "everyone," you need to rethink your answer. Even largest companies don't market blindly to every individual. They break their audiences down into distinct profiles, or niche markets, and create messages and vehicles designed to reach each segment.

Define your niche markets as clearly and specifically as possible. If you're reaching out to businesses, describe which type, including industry, revenue level, location and other important characteristics. If consumers are your audience, describe their age, sex, income level, marital status and other relevant facts. If you identify several market segments, rank them in order of priority.

Step 4: Researching Your Plan

Now that you've outlined where you are and where you want to go, it's time to determine best way to get there.

Nothing will get you where you want to go faster than research. Information about your target audiences is available from a variety of resources, many of them free.

So be sure to take some time to find out about demographics (physical characteristics) and psychographics (psychological characteristics) of your target markets. Demographics outline such factors as age, geographic location and income level. Psychographics offer insight into trends, buying habits, market segments and like. American Demographics magazine has a Web site (www.demographics.com) that offers access to articles about various consumer and business market segments.

Trade associations and publications are often great places to start your research, especially if you're reaching out to businesses. Use your own and your target industries' trade resources for market information. Many associations have Web sites, and many publications are also available on Net. For information about consumer audiences in your region, try your state or county's department of economic development. In addition, SBA offers limited help with market research.

Once you've gathered this information, write a detailed profile of your audience segments. Include all demographic and psychographic information you've gathered. For instance, if you're selling a product to homeowners in Smithville, USA, find out what percentage of people own homes in Smithville. What is average household income? Do most homeowners have children? The more specific your profiles are, better.

Step 5: Planning Action

This is crux of your plan. For each goal you've outlined, create a strategy, complete with your key messages and steps that will help you accomplish goal. Don't forget that you have many tools at your disposal.