McDonald's and Wal-Mart deliver some of the most effective advertising campaigns on television. Their ads are simple and straightforward – no fancy gimmicks or elaborate staging – just people eating in the world of McDonalds or shopping the lowest prices at Wal-Mart.

McDonald's and Wal-Mart understand marketing. They know their audience. When you know your audience, you can deeply penetrate that part of the brain that says, “I want that.” When you can reach that deep, you have enormous persuasive powers, not only to brand your company's offerings, but also to change consciousness.

In business intermediary consulting, one of the first questions I am asked by a business owner is, “What is my business worth?” The truth is that “experts” on estimating the value of a business abound. Your accountant, your banker, your employees, your suppliers, your barber, and even your golf buddies – everyone has an idea on exactly what your business is worth.

So, when I am asked what a business is worth, I know that the owners have most likely been given several “estimates” by people they already know. In fact, most owners will have determined what they think the value of their business will be.

The headline will determine whether an ad will be read. Think about the message you want your readers to see and tailor the message accordingly. For example, business owners who are not getting results from their print advertising will likely be attracted to the headline of this article. The promise offered by the headline should be clear and easy to understand. It's also important to remember that not everyone will be interested in what you have to offer.

The first lines of copy should build on the headline

Once the headline has captured the reader's attention, it's time to start the romancing. In other words, warm up the reader by expanding on the headline. For instance, let's say you sell refurbished brand name photocopiers. Your headline might read:

The Epson 4000 inkjet printer solidifies the shift of accountability into the hands of the creator. The digital photographer can now optimize an image and within three minutes acquire a sellable piece of art. The commercial digital photographer can print proofs from his or her desktop that are compatible with digital proofers costing ten times more and the graphic designer can accurately produce CMYK proofs representative of the final press run – with an optional CMYK RIP.

Printer Overview:

Probably no other area of the service industry is used as often or as inefficiently as consultants. In fact, the demand for consultative services is so great there is now a bewildering array of consulting firms offering a wide diversity of services. Consulting has become one of the fastest growing and broadly based service industries in North America. At the same time, it is unregulated and unorganized, and most clients just don't know how to work with the consultants they hire.

In the New Economy, everyone needs to think like a leader. As I say in my presentations: "Leadership is no longer the sole domain of the CEO. Leadership needs to be practiced whether you work in the boardroom or in the stockroom." Leadership is not about where you sit but about what you do, the way you think and the degree of ownership you take over your Projects - those high-leverage activities that have the potential to lift your career to the next level yet never get the attention they deserve. In other words, leadership in these whitewater times is all about focused action on what I call “The Things That Truly Count”. Real leaders know that the smallest of actions in the direction of their goals, hopes and dreams is always better than the noblest on intentions. And they understand that the greatest risk you will ever take in your life is in not taking risks daily.

Marketing is like rowing. You pull hard on the oars to go forward, then lift them out of the water and push them back to finish the stroke and get ready for the next pull. Once you've got the sequence of the stroke right, you and your boat slip forward through the water and build speed and momentum. If you push when you should be pulling, the boat goes backwards, or, even worse, you lose your balance and fall into the bottom of the boat.

I have always been a staunch proponent of using film cameras and desktop film scanners for the finest digital image creation. But the new Canon 10D SLR Digital Camera may change the way we look at digital camera capabilities.

One such digital SLR camera is the new Canon 10D. Output from the 10D in most photographic situations is as good or better than 4000 dpi film scans I've seen. Color renditions using auto white balance and the auto-focus are consistent and very accurate. The 10D's dynamic range (how much detail can be seen in dark areas) is equal to or better than film scans. The 10D boasts a 6.3 mega pixel resolution, auto and manual focus, program and manual exposure, JPEG and RAW file format and an ISO range from 100 to 3200. The 10D's 22.7 mm (about 7/8 inch) length imaging sensor, which has 3072 pixels, produces an image equivalent to a 3400 dpi 35mm film scan.

The new year is a good time for printers to reflect on the challenges of the past year, learn from their mistakes and build upon their successes. It is also a good time to identify new trends, relinquish entrenched thinking and implement productive changes to your business.

Recently, two commentators provided insights that should inspire printers with the courage to do what it takes to succeed, while taking a good, hard look at themselves in the process.

Character is determined more by what you do than by what you say you'll do and by your consistency of behaviour rather than by your sporadic behaviours. Here are five respect-robbing errors to avoid:

Not accepting responsibility

Have you ever made a mistake and tried to cover it up – and somebody found out about it? It's likely that person never let you forget it about it. Your reputation was gone, at least in their eyes.

Fierce competition in the graphics and printing market means you need to work smarter, not harder. When competitors move into an established market, all too often shop owners resort to the knee-jerk reaction of competing over price. This often isn't smart and leads to more work. However making small but significant shifts in the way you manage your business may be the more profitable strategy. Simple adjustments, clear-headed analysis and a few minutes here and there may be all it takes to boost your bottom line.

Speakers at the NPES (The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies) Print Outlook '04 conference in Washington, DC, on December 4-5 predicted improving revenues and profits for the printing,   publishing and converting industry in 2004 after a long and difficult recession. It was the 23rd edition of the industry's flagship annual economic and technological forecasting conference.