If a business wants to sell its products internationally, it had better do some market research first. This is a lesson that some large Americain corporations have learned the hard way.

What’s in a name?

Sometimes the problem is the name. When General Motors introduced its Chevy Nova into Latin America, it overlooked the fact that No va in Spanish means ” It doesn’t go “. Sure enough, the Chevy Nova never went anywhere in Latin America.

Translation problems

Sometimes it’s the slogan that doesn’t work. No company knows this better than Pepsi-Cola, with it’s ” Come alive with Pepsi! ” campaign. The campaign was so successful in the United States, Pepsi translated its slogan literally for its international campaign. As it turned out, the translation weren’t quite right. Pepsi was pleading with Germans to ” Come out of the grave ” and telling the Chinese that ” Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave “.

A picture’s worth a thousand words

Other times, the problem involves packaging. A picture of a smiling, round-cheeked baby has helped sell countless jars of Gerber baby food. So when Gerber marketed its products in Africa, it kept the picture on the jar. What Gerber didn’t realize was that in many African countries, the picture on the jar shows what the jar has in it.

Twist of fate

Even cultural and religious factors – and pure coincidence – can be involved. Thom McAn shoes have a Thom McAn ” signature ” inside. To people in Bangladesh, this signature looked like Arabic script for the word ” Allah “. In many countries feets are considered unclean, and people felt the company was not respecting God’s name by having people walk on it, so there is another big loss for McAn shoes company.

The old adage ‘looking for a job is a full time job in itself’ is a very very true one. Indeed a multi-billion dollar industry has been built around that exact premise, the recruitment industry. So for someone who finds themselves in the position of needing or wanting a new job it is vital they don’t let such a time consuming task get on top of them.

To ensure this what is really needed for the average (and not so average) job seeker is a job hunting action plan. A plan that will layout what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and how it is going to be achieved.

It may sound like a lot of work but by spending 20 or 30 minutes creating a job seeking action plan you will actually save yourself a lot of time by getting right to the point of your job hunt, not wasting time duplicating your effort or getting side tracked.

So what should this plan include? Well obviously that varies from person to person and industry to industry but there are a number of basics that every job seeking action plan should cover.

Who are the main employers in your niche?

I am sure you know who the biggest employers are, and those companies that you most want to work for, in your niche. So get in touch with them. Most business these days will have an employment, career or recruitment page on their website. Look out for these and see if there is anything suitable.

If not get in contact with them anyway. You don’t know how often the website is updated or if they may well have identified a job position that needs filling without having had a chance to advertise it. Get there ahead of everyone else!

Identifying who these companies are is a vital part of any action plan, as is making sure you get in touch with them.

Which recruitment agencies operate within your niche or area?

Agencies mostly work in either a geographical area or within a specific industry niche. So find out the relevant ones for you and register your resume with them. They will have plenty of jobs advertised that may interest you and they will also be able to let you know about any more suitable jobs that become available.

Recruitment Agents are professionals at finding work. You should make sure registering with and talking to them are part of your action plan. As recruitment professionals they will also be well placed to help you with what your job seeking action plan should be doing for you.

What job boards are best?

Any job seekers action plan needs to identify the most important job boards in the area/niche of the seekers choosing. These career websites will be a main point of focus for the recruitment activities of companies and recruiters so your action plan needs to identify them and how often you will be checking them for suitable jobs.

Your contacts

An important part of the action plan is identifying just who you know that could help you. Do you know many people in the same industry you work in, or in different sectors of companies you would love to get a job for?

Make a list of such individuals. These are people you want to be talking to on a regular basis for awhile, so make sure that you include them on your job seekers action plan.

It is important that you write this all down in a plan. Keeping it in your head will just lead to time wasting and confusion. By making yourself a specific plan with specific goals you should find that your job hunting goes a lot easier.

A decent income will always come your way from a truck driving job. It should be sufficient for you and your family, as long as the company you are working with is the right one from the many companies that do give out such jobs. Is the situation the same, even when the economy is on a downturn? It is a well known fact that the recession is already here. A number of people, probably in the thousands, are losing jobs every week, and this has been the situation since December 2007. The unemployment figure now stands at almost 7 % and there is no certainty that trucking jobs will not be affected.

At whatever level the economy functions, the necessity of trucking will always be felt in the market and in society. It may have had to face the crunch caused by the recession, but truck driving jobs are still to be had. The industry could see a huge crisis if the auto makers are not bailed out by the Congress. A bail out does seem likely. It is the auto manufacturers who have brought it on themselves and the Government is wrong in trying to rescue every industry, but the Government’s control on the economy is as it is completely out of control, and they may find it expedient to bail out the auto industry.

The downside of the Government not bailing out the auto industry could mean that the effect of its inaction could affect the entire country and even spread to countries abroad. A whole host of jobs, probably in millions could be lost and the trucking industry would not be immune from this. The trucking industry carries a lot of freight every day for the auto industry. So if the auto industry gets into trouble, it is certain that trucking company business would see a serious downturn and a lot of them could close down and there would be less jobs for the drivers. Congress is therefore hard pressed to bail out this industry, a vital cog of the economy too, notwithstanding the fact that it is Congress itself which is responsible for the present sorry state of affairs. The Government has already all our mortgages under its control, and now they will have control of the auto industry also. Their plan for socialism is now finally coming into play. But that is another side of the story.

The transportation industry is a vital part of the U.S. economy. So truck driving jobs will always be available even if other sectors of the economy fail. The number of truck driving jobs is bound to reduce, as the demand for trucking is affected by the slump in the market place, but even if the economy functions at a low intensity, trucking has to continue. Almost all our towns and cities and other habitations are dependent on trucks for almost everything they need. You cannot get away from this fact. It is a truism that America will come to a halt if there are no trucks.

November 2008 saw 500,000 jobs being reduced. In spite of such a bleak state of affairs, truck driving still provides secured and decent employment to a whole host of people. Maybe you will see a reduction in the number of truck driving jobs as more and more sectors of the economy are forced to downsize. But the necessity for trucking will continue, and you just need to latch on to a good trucking company, to assure yourself of some job security.

The headline is everything in copywriting. It catches the readers eye, it draws them in, it interests them and motivates them to read more. It is the bait that brings in the customer that the rest of your copy and marketing campaign should hook. Without a good headline any sales marketing will struggle to get attention, with it and you have won the first battle to increasing sales and performance.

Always make sure you answer the most important question in copywriting.

What is that question? The reader will always ask, even if it is subconsciously, ‘whats in it for me’ when deciding whether to read an article, advert or any other type of sales marketing. So make sure you answer that in the headline.

If you can do that you will have drawn them into the copy with interest, which is what you want your headline to be doing.

Does the headline speak to your audience?

You must know who you are targeting with your marketing campaign. No marketing campaign will ever be successful when trying to be everything to everybody. So look at who your target audience is. What interests them? What products do they use, what type of language patterns are they comfortable with? Any headline that hopes to do well has to speak to its target audience.

Intrigue them and make a promise.

Make them want to know more about what you are offering with the headline. Tease then with the promise of more information, or with money off offers or knowledge of new products. Make them want to know what your copywriting efforts are about.

Types of headline that convert

There are a number of tried and tested copywriting tips when it comes to writing headlines for sales marketing. Although they don’t guarantee success they do make sure that you are along the right path.

1. How to: Start a headline with how to…. anything and people will want to read more. Humans are naturally inquisitive and such a headline will have people wondering if there is a skill here that they didn’t have, or information they didn’t know.

2. Ask a question: appeals in 2 ways. Either its the question that many are already asking, in which potential customers will read wanting to know the answer, or it is a question they know the answer to and would like to be proven right. Either way you have people reading your part of the marketing campaign and your headline will have done its job.

3. Lists: give a specific number. ’6 tips on how to get your teeth whiter’ or ’8 ways to burn fat’ all draw people in as it promises them information in a length and manner they can easily digest. Lists are a powerful tool for any copywriting (look at what you are reading now!)

4. Language: Words such as Free, New, Improved, Better, More, etc, etc all create promises that people are interested to see how you will keep. They give the belief that the reader will get more for less by reading the copywriting under the headline

These are all powerful tips for helping in creating headlines for marketing campaigns. But remember a good headline is half the battle, you still have to follow through with it by writing great copy afterwards, and a strong call to action.