DishPronto Affiliates

Now your customers know what HDTV is and how it works. What do they need to get this high-quality television? For starters, they’ll need an HDTV-ready television.

Second, (this is where were come in), they’ll need DISH Network’s ViP HDTV receivers. The ViP211 supports one TV and displays 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. DISH’s ViP622 DVR receiver displays the same format as the ViP211, but it can also support a second TV that displays 480i. In addition, the ViP622 comes equipped with a digital video recorder.

Finally, your customers will need high-definition programming from DISH Network. DISH’s programming packages offer a great variety of channels including up to 25 HD channels, over 200 standard definition channels and 30 movie channels. (Need a refresher on DISH’s programming packages? Check them out here.)

So, your customers know everything they need to know about HDTV. They’re still not convinced that HDTV is the way to go? Well, if the crystal clear image, large viewing area and high quality surround sound doesn’t convince them; tell them about the future of HDTV.

The Federal Communications Committee (FCC) has mandated that all United States TV stations have to be able to broadcast HDTV programs by February 2009 at which time TV stations will stop broadcasting on their analog channels. What does this mean for consumers? Well, they’ll still be able to watch their analog TV but they will still have to invest in new equipment. Analog television sets will require a top-box to convert digital signals back to analog signals. So, instead of investing in equipment to watch TV the old-fashioned way three years from now, tell them to invest in the future of home theater TV today?

Posted by DishPronto at 02:22 PM | Permalink

Adding offline marketing efforts to your online presence can help increase profits. For those of you who steer clear from the highly competitive marketplace of Internet advertising all together, there are many cost-effective offline methods that can increase exposure to consumers. Traditional offline media – print, radio, and television – are expensive and difficult to use; I will discuss other offline methods cost less and are easily adoptable.

Print advertising is a good way to get your message in front of a large audience. However, advertising in mainstream magazines or national newspapers can be pricey. A great place to start your print advertising efforts is in trade magazines, local newspapers, or weekly/monthly specialty publications. These ads are less expensive and reach a more targeted audience. For example, an ad in the Chicago Sports Review – which reaches 50,000 sports enthusiasts in the Chicago area monthly – runs $25.00 for a 15-word ad. When choosing a publication find out the circulation compared to the cost and take your time to find the best deals. Print advertising delivers your sales message to the greatest number of prospects at the lowest cost per prospect. Buyers prefer to learn about a product or service through a print campaign because they perceive it as informative and a credible source of information.

Another option is to distribute stickers or magnets at shops or special events that cater to your target niche. You can get 250 custom stickers for around $25. Giving something away that can be taken home enables your promotion to be recalled later. Try using seasonal items such as distributing coasters during football season to promote your business. You can get coasters custom printed for only $.30 each.

Placing an insert into a newspaper, postcards, or ads on grocery bags are other ideas. Insert media costs are only 15% of an average direct mailing. A simple flyer is a great way to promote your business to a large audience. Try placing stacks at local restaurants, dry cleaners, movie theaters or other places of business in your area.

Many people overlook the power of making your website visible. The following are places to include your URL to help increase traffic to your site:
• Business card
• Letterhead and envelopes
• Personal brochures about you and your company
• Signature tag of all email messages (even personal emails)
• Fax cover sheets
• At the end of your voicemail message

Of course, DON’T forget to include your promo code!

Posted by DishPronto at 12:09 PM | Permalink

We’ve given you the basics of HDTV ─ sharp image, large viewing area and high quality sound. But, how does HDTV work? When you finish reading this primer, you’ll be able to explain it to your most technology illiterate customers; and, they’ll understand!

The images on a television screen are hundreds of horizontal lines that are continuously refreshed. The number of lines that are refreshed at each scan determines the resolution, or dots per inch, of the image, which in turn determines the format used to display the image. DTV displays images through 1 of 18 different formats; six of these formats define HDTV. A standard analog TV set usually displays images at a resolution of 500x525. The resolution for DTV begins at 640x480 and increases up to 1080x1920.

DISH Network’s ViP HD receivers display four formats: 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. The numbers refer to the resolution. For instance, 720 denotes that the displayed image is 720 horizontal lines. The i or p, which follows the number, denotes progressive or interlace technology. Interlace (i) displays one-half of an image in each frame rate; whereas progressive displays the whole image. Frame rates describe how many times it creates a complete image every second. DTV frame rates range from 24 frames per second to 60 frames per second.

There you go. The simplest, quickest way for you to explain how HDTV works.

Posted by DishPronto at 04:36 PM | Permalink

Did you ever wonder about the other DishPronto affiliates? Who they are? How they market? What their interests are? Well, DishPronto thought what better way to show our support and gratitude to our affiliates while also providing a little insight into other on-line marketing professionals than with a featured monthly profile of one of our chosen affiliates. Don’t worry (or get too excited): we aren’t going to give away secrets to success, just a few choice tidbits about your fellow affiliates.

The chosen one for this month is Kevin Mardorf. Why is he the lucky one? Well, when we asked why he chose to market through DishPronto, he answered, “Because they are the best.” What company wouldn’t want to give this man special attention?!

Kevin has been an affiliate of DishPronto for more than two years. He joined us when he became unhappy with another DISH Network competitor. “When I came over [to DishPronto], my Dish sales went up about 60 percent.” (We could use him in advertisements!) Kevin conducts all of his marketing on-line. His main marketing is through pay-per-click search engines and SEO traffic.

Kevin obviously enjoys competition both at work and play as he is a big sports fan - don’t hold it against him that he is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. He is also adventurous, enjoys traveling, and just likes to have fun.

What great advice does Kevin have to offer other affiliates? “”I work with DishPronto because they are the best.” (Sorry, just had to get that in there one more time.) “When I need something, they are here to help me. They have the best commission. I’m very happy with their results.”

Posted by DishPronto at 11:42 AM | Permalink

HDTV… the ultimate in home theater entertainment. You can display in 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. Awesome!

Wait! You can display in i what? p who? What does that mean? For that matter, what exactly is HDTV? If you Google HDTV, you are given a lot of information about resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio, interface and progressive technologies and lots of other terms that are foreign to most. So, what does all this mean and how can you explain it to your customers when you’re trying to market DISH Network’s ViP HD receivers?

Over the next few weeks, DishPronto is going to provide a crash course on HDTV. We’ll explain what HDTV is, how it works, and how you can convince your customers that they need it.

Let’s start with the basic question. What exactly is HDTV? It is the highest level of digital television (DTV); hence, high-definition TV. HDTV resolution and transmission technology create images that are ten times sharper than that of a traditional analog TV. HDTV’s larger aspect ratio, which is the height to width ratio of the image, significantly increases the viewing area, and the inclusion of Dolby Digital Surround Sound blows away the sound quality of a typical analog TV. HDTV truly does take home theater to a new level.

So, that is the basic gist of HDTV. Keep in touch over the next few weeks to learn more about interface and progress technologies, aspect ratios and all of the other good stuff that explains exactly how HDTV works. We promise we won’t test you on the information…but, your customers might!

Posted by DishPronto at 03:41 PM | Permalink