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Blog Feature
Kevin Lancaster

By: Kevin Lancaster on February 10th, 2011

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What is MarkeTips?

GSA Schedule | Government Business Development | Government | Resources and Insight | 2 Min Read

While helping my clients with GSA Contractor Post Award and governement business development services, I’ve found that many have never heard of GSA’s MarkeTips Magazine before. I’d like to take a moment to highlight the magazine and show you how you can use it as a tool to advertise your products and services under a newly awarded GSA Schedule contract.

What is MarkeTips?

MarkeTips is GSA’s premier feature length magazine that highlights GSA customers and partnerships, in addition to relevant procurement, supply, property management, and travel and transportation information which is directed towards federal users of the GSA supply system. It’s published on a bi-monthly basis, and distributed to many government buyers who use GSA Schedules.

How can it benefit me?

GSA’s MarkeTips Magazine provides GSA contract holders with an opportunity to promote their products/services to federal customers. All awarded GSA contractors are allotted a FREE ½ page advertising space in the magazine on a first-come, first-served basis. That’s right, I said FREE! Since MarkeTips is distributed to such a wide variety of federal buyers, it’s an excellent opportunity to highlight your business and get your name out to the agencies you’re trying to sell to (and some you might not have thought about). Additionally, since many contractors don’t know about this and never bother to submit an ad, so it’s a great way to get a leg up on the competition.

Are there any limitations to my free ad?

While GSA wants every contractor to be able to creatively and effectively utilize the free advertising space, there are some limitations. With a maximum of 20 ad spaces per issue and hundreds of new contracts being awarded each month, it is critical to act fast and provide an ad which closely follows the regulations extended to all awarded contractors. To ensure that your ad meets the Ad Content Specifications and guidelines, take a moment to check out the following MarkeTips PDF:http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/fas/MarkeTipsspecs_R2FXS_0Z5RDZ-i34K-pR.pdf

Ok, I’m ready. Now what?

Once you believe you have an ad that meets the Ad Content Specifications and guidelines, you’ll need to contact the marketing (MarkeTips) contact within your GSA Schedule. They are regional and you can find these individuals within the MarkeTips magazine PDF. Once they approve your ad, you’ll eventually get to work with the editor based in Chicago and get a place in line. Since there is great demand for this ad space, there are no guarantees, so expect a 6-8 month wait before it’s published.

So in summary, GSA’s MarkeTips Magazine is just one of many FREE sales tools available to GSA contractors to help reach potential government buyers and maximize marketing exposure. If you have any questions about MarkeTips Magazine or other business development Best Practices, please give us a call. Happy Hunting!

 

 

About Kevin Lancaster

Kevin Lancaster leads Winvale’s corporate growth strategies in both the commercial and government markets. He develops and drives solutions to meet Winvale’s business goals while enabling an operating model to help staff identify and respond to emerging trends that affect both Winvale and the clients it serves. He is integrally involved in all aspects of managing the firm’s operations and workforce, leading efforts to improve productivity, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

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