Small Businesses Get Big Help With Must Have Tech, Marketing And Social Media Resources

Small Business Thursday Tip of the Week. Get the New Year Started on the Right Foot. How to leverage social media to the best advantage, what are the hottest apps coming out and how can they help a small business grow and more are just some of the results from Mashable’s Year End Roundup. While time is tight for any businessperson there are some... [Read more ⇒]

The Power of Thank You!

Business evolves at such speed these days that we sometimes forget the power of common courtesies. Who has time for quaint little customs? Who has time for niceties when our competitors are rushing forward? I found this brilliant article at Microsoft.com about using “thank yous” as a way to actually gain an edge in the marketplace! Author... [Read more ⇒]

Marketing Guru or Con Artist?

4 things to look for when hiring a marketing consultant: I am constantly surprised (and down right annoyed) at shat some people try to pass of as Internet Marketing skills. Whenever hiring a web designer, “marketing expert” or SEO company, look out for these warning signs. Or don’t and them come to me so I can fix it for you. 1. They... [Read more ⇒]

10 Tips to Getting Your Business Blog Started

I preach about blogging (using WordPress) for small business – until I’m blue in the face, really. But there is good reason. Let me explain: Blogging might  very well be the single most important thing you do for your small business online. It’s not the only thing – but it sets the foundation for everything else you do online.... [Read more ⇒]

Case Study: How Aaron Patzer Made $170 Million in Two Years

In 2007, Aaron Patzer launched Mint.com as a user-friendly alternative to Quicken. Now, just two short years later, Intuit, which makes Quicken, paid over $170 million for his website. So how’d he do it? Let’s take a look shall we and see how we can apply this to your business. Inc Magazine offers 5 quotes from Aaron. I’ll dig a little... [Read more ⇒]

IT’S TIME TO TAKE THE PLUNGE…

It seems that everybody is doing it…but are YOU? I am talking about the power of blogging. What a great way to get your message out there and to let everyone know what you and your business are up to. And the coolest thing about it is that your website can be a blog! The look and feel of blogging sure has changed since its humble beginnings back... [Read more ⇒]

10 Small Business Trends for 2009

I love prognosticators! It’s the end of the year and now’s the time when all the predictions are coming in. I don’t really care what Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer are up to (it’s OK if you do… No judgment from me) but give me some insight on small business trending and I’m all over that… So it is on that note... [Read more ⇒]

Web Design – Form vs Function

Nobody wants to browse a web page full of text, because, let’s face facts it’s outright boring. When creating a web site, the developer has to implement in the web site components which will make the visitor come back and visit the page again. The perfect way to do this is by using web design thus making the site attractive and eventually, popular.... [Read more ⇒]

How to Market Like a Rock Star!

Everything I learned About Marketing, I learned From Paul Stanley of KISS! Not quite but I’ll tell you what. If you pay attention to any great rock front man or woman, you will notice a couple of very clever tactics. Dateline Sunday July 20th… So there I was indulging in a guilty pleasure… Let me back up. The first concert that I... [Read more ⇒]

The Business Value Of Social Networking

Great interview on Forbes,com with John McCrea, head of marketing for Plaxo, which manages 40 million online address books, to learn why entrepreneurs need to get into the game, how to do it and where this is all going. John McCrea: There are a few phases to social networking. The first phase was Friendster, MySpace and clones and it was pretty frivolous.... [Read more ⇒]

Online Video a Must for Internet Marketing

News Flash! This just in! As I have been saying online video is so important. We’ve all heard of  YouTube. Most of us have watched movies online. Video is quickly becoming the most important marketing weapon in your arsenal! While video is important, guess what will happen when everyone is using video… Only the great, well produced videos... [Read more ⇒]

Ning and the Art of the Viral Spiral

There is a great article in the new Fast Company Magazine all about the do it yourself social network “”Ning”. The article begins by letting us in on a little secret: Here’s something you probably don’t know about the Internet: Simply by designing your product the right way, you can build a billion-dollar business from... [Read more ⇒]

Improve Your Sales with Auto Responder Improvements

Improve your marketing and sales with some auto responder Improvements. Try some of these: 1. Publish free reports to send via your auto responder. The reports should be related to your business or web site & contain info, ads and links to your sites. People love getting freebies 2. Collect vital customer satisfaction information by publishing a... [Read more ⇒]

Do the Two-Step!

Top sales pros confirm that it often takes seven or more communications or sales messages before prospective customers make a purchase. They also confirm that itís generally easier to sell to a referral, because someone they know gave positive testimonial about their products or services. What would happen if you combined both of these powerful ideas?... [Read more ⇒]

Auto Responder Marketing Techniques

The Internet offers many means of affordable marketing with auto responders. Here are a couple of popular ways of using them. DIRECTORY Some webmasters set up link or article directories on their sites. They create a directory on a specific industry topic, placing their own ad or banner along the top. Then they invite others to add their website links... [Read more ⇒]