Sean Low: The Business of Being Creative

I am enjoying and relating so much to what Sean writes, I'm sharing his site link in a permanent place on this blog. Check out the tab above for more about Sean, his site link and how to subscribe to his updates.

I hope you find his writings as inspirational and valuable as I.

Dreaming Big, with Courage!

I've discovered a new blog writer. I'm really enjoying his writings! His name is Sean Low and he writes a blog entitled The Business of Being Creative. Sean shares some simple, straight-forward tips about how to balance being a creative person with the tasks of operating a successful small business.

Here's the excerpt that spoke to me today: "...I am all for realism and staying true to yourself. However, if you never push yourself to be uncomfortable, you will never know what is possible...".

How many of you reading this would like to earn more money? Yep, just as I thought, all of you! Dream big, visualize yourself where you want to be. As Sean says, if you don't, you'll certainly miss the forest for the trees!

But dreaming big takes courage - the courage to - be away from family, become a manager, make an investment, be uncomfortable, be afraid. Give yourself permission to think big. If you don't, you'll never know the possibilities.

So dare to make more money, dare to make your dreams reality, dare to be happy, dare to dream big, WITH courage!

I always find Sean's writings inspiring; they help keep me on track and keep my goals in the right perspective so I can focus. I hope you find him inspirational. You can read his most recent post here: The Tiny Trap

Joining you in dreaming big,
Paula

Java Security Issue!

Please be aware that a number of the accepted, free technologies we use today (Java, Flash, Adobe, etc.) are the target of hackers!

Regarding Java, this quote is from Trusteer's CEO via Website Magazine "From a security threat standpoint Java is very much like Flash in that it is a ubiquitous technology installed on virtually every computer in the world, which makes an ultimate platform for distributing malware."

Seems these hackers have nothing better to do but monitor bug disclosure lists, then mobilize their resources to re-route Internet traffic to a malware server.

If you have received a message from any of these software companies (for paid versions), please install the security update immediately. If you have free versions, query your favorite search engine to see if a security patch is available AND use your browser's security technologies to minimize or block the threat.

FYI: Norton has excellent Web protection and it's part of the Internet security package I purchase from them. (I don't endorse Norton or receive any $'s for recommending them - it's just what I have personal experience with. 
Use whatever security system you deem appropriate - but USE ONE!!!)

You can read the full article about Java's security hole at Website Magazine.


I'm hoping this update finds you WELL protected. :)
Ciao for now, Paula

How to Develop a Courageous Mindset

I recently received a copy of a magazine that NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) puts out called MyBusiness. A valued client and friend passed it along to me - thanks, Mark!

As an independent business owner, I found it invaluable. I read with great interest, an article called Courage: Where to Find It. It had some key points that I identified with and have tried to implement during my years in business. They come from a book that the author of the article (Doug Hall) wrote called Maverick Mindset. Doug touches on and encourages us to be willing to take riskier, rockier and less-traveled paths to turn our dream business or invention into reality.

Here are the key points (click any of them to read the details of each and the full article online):

• Start by listening to the little voice
• Fail fast, fail cheap
• Step on the gas, not the brakes

In the conclusion of his article, he says "It's not simply enough to have an idea--you have to show it off to make it real." Be proactive rather than passive. Take small steps toward your goal and start today!

Ciao for now, Paula

P.S. I'll be pretty quiet for the next 3 weeks or so. I'll be traveling, partially for business, but mostly for pleasure. I'll post again near the end of October. Until then, I wish you every success as you forge ahead in your business and life!

Tagging Your Facebook Status Updates

OK - I really had no idea you could do this! But if you're using Facebook for your business, this can be a very helpful way to optimize your business' status updates by tagging them.

It's similar to mentioning someone on Twitter - you use the @ symbol + the person's name you want to tag and Facebook adds a link in the update to that person. Depending on the person's privacy settings, your update will be posted to their Wall and they will be notified that they've been tagged.

This can have some awesome viral effects! For local businesses. You can tag another local business and help spread the word about a sale, a "welcome to the neighborhood" message to a new business or simply a mention.

Say you have a community-wide sale like our recent Crazy Days and you write an update about it on your Facebook page. You can take this one step further by mentioning or 'tagging' the other businesses that are involved to promote shopping locally for this sale. it will get posted to everyone's Wall and hopefully shared by their followers....you get the idea? One post shared all over the place in a matter of minutes!

Try it the next time you post an update to your Facebook business page.

Here's the link to John Jantsch's full article about this with detailed instructions for exactly how to do this and how it can help your business.

Until next time, ciao for now.
Paula

List Building: Email Addresses - Making the Most of Your Collection

Here's a partial definition of the word collect from Dictionary.com = to gather together; assemble; accumulate. OK, so you've starting collecting email addresses from your customers, but have you done anything with the list? Don't stop there.

Here's the definition of build = to engage in the art, practice, to form or construct a plan, system of thought, to mold, form, or create.

So let's get going and create something out of that list! Here are a few ways to use your email address list to keep the conversation going and keep you top of mind with your customers. It can fit nicely into your customer relationship strategies. Think of it as the electronic version of picking up the phone to thank customers or ask for a follow-up purchase.

Trigger Emails:
Real-time messages (singular message or a series of messages) that are automatically generated based on a subscriber's action.

• A transactional message can trigger after a purchase to send a confirmation or special offer, or after a sign-up. 
• An event-based message can be used to offer birthday or anniversary greetings, or send alerts.
• An activity-based message can be set up in response to a click in an email, a visit to a Web page or a change in buying pattern.

Autoresponse Emails:
Email messages sent to subscribers on a scheduled basis. They can

• be an extension of your "welcome" message,
• answer questions,
• provide instruction,
  
• provide valuable information about a product,
• provide brand awareness
  
• make a special offer, or
  
• encourage a sign-up.

They are particularly helpful for setting up a series of training or "how to" emails or for marketing a high-value product that has a long sell cycle.

All your email conversations should help build credibility and trust with your customers and bring them closer or back to doing business with you.

Many email marketing programs have direct marketing options built-in such as postcard marketing. This is a "one-two punch" way of mixing up how you stay in touch with your customers by sending both direct mail and electronic mail affordably.

If you don't have an email marketing program, there are a bunch of great tools out there for small businesses. Below is a link to one of my sites where I've listed a few programs I've used over the years. There are MANY others. The key is to find one that is easy to use for your purposes and get started now. DIY Email Marketing
[FYI: I have a strategic relationship with the companies listed. Should you purchase or use their programs as a result of my referral, I will receive a small referral fee.]


Ciao for now, Paula

Interesting Trends and Data

I was reading my Internet Retailer publication today and came across these interesting trends. I wanted to share them with you to ponder and consider as you grow and market your business.

Trends:

• Online retail sales have grown an average of 20% each year from 2000 to 2007. (Source: US Dept of Commerce)
• Retail Chain vs. Web-Only - Web-only merchants outpaced Chains online by 4.15% (Source: Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide)
• In 2010, 84% of households access the Internet with a broadband connection (Source: Edison Research)
• The largest online shopper age group? 32-44 - 80% shop online (Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project)
• Top online holiday shopping retail day in 2009 was Tuesday, December 15 (Source: comScore)
• In 2008, 51 million people owned smartphones; from 2008-2009, consumers who owned a smartphone increased by 34%; consumers that own smartphones will double by quarter 3 of 2011 (Source: eMarketer Inc.) 

Wow - that's quite a lot to digest! 

Take aways:

• If you aren't using your Web site to sell - think again and do it now! 
• If you aren't poised to be able to sell to consumers using their mobile devices - start preparing now. 
• If your customer demographic is age 32-44 - figure out how to sell to them online.
• Start preparing your strategy for online holiday shoppers 

Food for thought :)
Ciao for now, Paula

Is Your Site Ready For Mobile?

I recently read a stat in DMNews that took me by surprise. E-commerce revenues via mobile devices (in billions) more than doubled from 1,200 in 2009 to 2,420 in 2010.* I knew that mobile devices were increasing in popularity but I didn't realize the rate at which we're adapting to them. The revenue from mobile devices is expected to reach 23,831 by 2015.* That's astonishing!

Is your site mobile ready for viewing? How about selling?
If not, it's time to put it on your radar and begin thinking about how you can accommodate your customers that are viewing your site from their mobile device. Then, how you might sell to them from your mobile site.

Mobile Site Design
You'll want to have a mobile site that is super simple with mostly text links or very small images so that load time is kept to a minimum. If you have a bricks-and-mortar store, dont' worry, you don't have to sell everything. Just start with popular items or easy items. It's OK to sell just a portion of your total inventory. Make sure the shopping experience is catered to mobile shoppers - no need to replicate every single Web feature.

You can make mobile sales fun by offering special deals - 48 hours to buy X brand product before they sell out. Offer your mobile users exclusive offers that can't be found on your site. Do you have weekly specials? Make it easy for your busy customers to order items quickly while they are waiting to pick up a child or sitting in a doctor's office.

See more examples and read the full article about m-comm (Mobile-commerce) at the DMNews Web site.

See these site examples for user-friendly, mobile design. Take a look at them on both your desktop and mobile device:
mobile.Dominos.com
Sears2Go.com

*Source: Coda Research Company via DMNews print article and Web site.

Think mobile! :-)
Ciao for now, Paula

Crawl, Walk, Run

I was talking with a prospective client recently and he used a "Crawl, Walk, Run" analogy for how he approaches new ideas and technology for his business. I connected with it - it's the way I look at the "latest and greatest" opportunities in online marketing - for myself as well as my clients.

Making Connections With Social Media
Today, it made me think about that approach for Social Media Marketing. Although I leap into some of these new technologies early - I do so to find out what they are all about so I can make solid recommendations to my clients, if and when they are appropriate.

Social media is all about the conversation. Think of it like a coffee shop - everyone's relaxed, enjoying the company, enjoying the conversation and connecting with each other. How can you participate?

Crawl - Approach Slowly
Whether you are a small business, home business or a solopreneur, my guess is that you don't ever really stop thinking about your business! You are always testing, researching, looking for new ways to do business. For me, I like to see what others are doing and then see if I can apply it to my business.

This is where the crawl, walk, run approach happens for me - testing, researching, analyzing results, and making updates or changes based on the results - if they are positive and have improved my reach.

Walk - Stay Focused
While the best approach is to fine tune your marketing for one audience, you should continuously be looking for new opportunities. When it comes to playing in the social media market, staying focused on your business goals and objectives will help you make decisions. This will be important for making budget and time decisions. Most things can look like a good investment, but if they don't fit with your overall business goals, you'll end up wasting time and getting distracted from your real mission.

Run - Have a Plan
Once you are ready and have a plan, let your Analytics (results) guide your decisions. It's important when you make a decision, to commit to it. It won't do any good to have a presence in the social media market if you aren't there joining the conversation. It will be evident if you're absent. So be sure you or someone on your staff can make participating a regular part of your marketing mix. And part of your plan should include reviewing your results every couple of months so you can adjust your approach.

Lastly, keep these things in mind when you've decided to participate in the social media arena:

• Be part of the conversation.
• Listen to others.
• Encourage with transparency and sincerity.
  

It's not so much about you, but what you can offer your audience. You can add your brand to the conversation if or when you think it will add value.

Ciao for now, Paula

Simplify Your Digital Clutter

My daughter shared a blog post with me -  25 Areas of Digital Clutter to Minimalize. I was surprised to find that I already do many of the 25 areas shared. I guess I've always been about efficiency in my home and business. I purge regularly. By that I mean I reduce, resuse and recycle on a regular basis. I do have to say, though, that my office gets neglected and that's generally the last place I practice minimalizing my clutter!

This was such a good read that I wanted to share it with you. I'm sure you'll find it helpful. And there are so many good links in it for further information, I'll simply send you there to read the full post.

Click here to read entire blog post at Becoming Minimalist.

Enjoy! Ciao for now, Paula

6 Ways to Market Your Business Locally

1. List Your Business in Local Online Business Centers
If you're a regular reader, you've already listed your business in the Local Business Centers at the top 3 search engines, Google | Yahoo! | Bing. (If you haven't, click here to sign-up for this free how-to email series or go to the "List Your Local Business Online" link at the top of this page.)

2. Have an Interactive Web Site
While you can promote your business without a Web site, it's not recommended. There is still the perception that your site should be an digital "online brochure".  PLEASE don't fall into this notion. Your Web site should provide interaction and value to your customers. They visit your site to make an inquiry, find a phone number, place an order, or look for more information. Make it easy to do that by providing good site usability and multiple ways to reach you. Keep it fresh and new by updating your content regularly.

3. Promote Your Web Site
Being a gardener :), I like to think of Web sites like a garden. Your Web site is the garden and you are the gardener. Nothing happens if you don't first prepare the soil, plant the seeds, water and ultimately harvest the fruits of your labor. Same thing with a Web site - you can't simply put your "brochure" online and do nothing with it! You must prepare, plant, tend and get (and keep!) the customer. You see, it's not an inactive process. Just like all your other marketing efforts to get customers in your door or to your site, you must work at it consistently and persistently.

There are literally hundreds of ways to promote your business online - search engine optimization, local business results optimization, pay-per-click advertising, banner advertising, joint ventures/affiliates, email marketing, social media marketing - just to name a few.

Online marketing follows the same principles that offline marketing does. You need to make an effort to create transparency and exposure for your business. Get some related links to your site from other local businesses. It's just like handing out your business card in the offline world. Create a targeted email marketing campaign. It helps build trust and keeps you top of mind with your customers. And you don't have to be selling in these emails - simply providing valuable information with an occasional offer works best.

4. Get Social
The question isn't IF social media can help your business, it's HOW. It's human nature to be social creatures craving belonging and friendship. Social media addresses that need.

Again, there are MANY strategies on how to use it to promote your business. Find what works best for you. The most important thing is to commit time to it so you are present and interacting. Just like a Web site that is nothing more than a stagnant brochure online, a business page that isn't interactive is a waste of time. Figure out ways to leverage your existing customers/fans to find new opportunities.

5. Set Up Joint Promotions with Other Businesses
In my local area, there is a group of about 20 business owners that created a group that promotes their downtown shopping community, both to destination-seekers and local shoppers. They have a Web site and a Facebook fan page. All of these businesses can link to the site and fan page, as well as to each other to show they are part of this common group. This shows support for and raises awareness of their efforts to promote their local shopping community.

6. Patience and Persistence
At a recent local marketing seminar held in our community, South Central College presenters shared the 10 P's to combat marketing insanity and encourage us to look at our businesses through a new lens -

• Product/service
• Price
• Place
• Promotion
• People
• Process
• Positioning
• Performance
• Physical Evidence
• Patience & Persistence

Marketing in today's world is like paddling upstream. All small businesses today need to adopt a state of "adaptive capacity" - the ability to be flexible and adapt to today's marketing "normal". Today's "normal" is not static, you can never catch up, is always changing, is always adapting, is always anticipating, is always connecting to your market(s), is hiring people that love to learn and can roll with the punches.

In my own business, I began establishing annual goals for myself. That quickly changed to semi-annual and then quarterly. With today's fast-changing technology, we have to be ready to change with it and stay ahead of the curve. Or at least not get behind it. :) What worked yesterday may not work today and certainly won't work tomorrow. The moment you stop actively marketing, you go backwards faster than you moved forward. Continue to push ahead and continue to innovate.

Ciao for now, Paula

Local is Key Area of Focus for Search Engines

Local businesses have a host of new options for raising their profile online. Many new services are becoming available specifically aimed at the small, local business. BusinessWeek.com reports that U.S. small businesses will spend $17 billion on Net (online) ads this year.That figure is expected to increase by $36 billion by 2014, making up 1/4 of all local advertising.

BusinessWeek also reports that there's "an increasing sense of urgency around having an effective online marketing strategy." Heck I've been talking about it with my small business clients for YEARS now! But maybe more awareness and easier, more affordable tools will emerge - moving more small businesses to take action.

You really have 3 choices - do it yourself, hire a professional (me or another qualified marketing consultant), or do nothing. OK, so you really only have 2 choices because if you're reading this you already know that "nothing" isn't really a choice. :)

Microsoft's Bing is enhancing their local business listings. Google has rebranded their Local Business Center as Google Places and created pages with more information on small businesses and enhanced your account profile so you can see your listing on Google Maps, see how many times they shown it, and you can even see how many actions (clicks) people made when your listing was presented. Log in or add your business listing here: Google.com/Places  If you want step-by-step instructions for adding your listing to each of the top 3 search engines (Google, Yahoo! and Bing), send an email to me at locallistings@aweber.com and I will send you a free email series that will show you how to do it.

In 11 cities, Google will also let you pay $25/month to have your listing pop up with an icon and other information when searchers check neighborhood maps from their smartphones and on the Web. If that's successful, maybe the Twin Cities will be next. If you have a listing, you'll show up. And if not, your competition will get the business!

There are lots of opportunities out there for you to market your local business online. These online sites have been successful in providing platforms for local, small business listings - MerchantCircle, Yelp, Valpak, Groupon, and CityDeal.

Companies like ReachLocal, WebVisible, HubSpot, Infusionsoft (and many more like them) have small business software that can help you bring order to the chaos of monitoring your online presence. Most have a recurring, monthly fee to use, but are browser based, so you can access your account from where you are - home, mobile or office.

The bottom line is that local businesses face an ever-growing range of options for promoting themselves online. If you need help sorting them out and finding which is best for you, give me a call or send me an email so we can begin the conversation. :)

Ciao for now, Paula

Marketing Seminar for Small Business Owners coming to New Prague

Hi everyone. In my ongoing effort to help get information and resources out to our local small business owners, I'm going to participate in a marketing seminar coming to New Prague on Tuesday, June 15, 7-9 PM.  I encourage you to come also. It's extremely affordable at only $10.00 and we will go home with a marketing book valued at $34.95. Now, it remains to be seen whether or not this will be valuable information for us, but for $10 bucks and 2 hours of my time - I'm going to find out!

It's presented by Southern MN Initiative Foundation (SMI), and supported by the New Prague Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the New Prague Chamber of Commerce. The 2-hour seminar will be held in the 2nd floor council chambers at the New Prague Chamber office at 118 Central Ave N.

For more information, see the ad in last week's New Prague Times or
view the ad online at SMI's Web site.

Register online at the SMI Web site or by contacting Connie at 507-455-3215 or email connie[at]smifoundation.org.

If you'd like to stay updated on small business marketing on a regular basis, follow this blog. You can do that a number of ways - see the right-hand column and choose the option that works best for you.

I regularly post updates in all areas of small business marketing online. If you've found the information and resources I provide valuable, PLEASE share it with other small business owners.

Thanks! Paula

The Key to Making the Right Business Decisions

is FLEXIBILITY. I could relate to a recent blog post by David Bullock about the ever-changing business environment we live in today. He reminds us that technology is changing, customers are changing, and market demand is changing. How do we make the right decisions when changes happen so quickly.

In my business, Internet Marketing, some things change gradually while others things like Social Media change rapidly. How do I make the right decisions for my own business as well as my clients? BE FLEXIBLE.

I'm a planner and cautious by nature, so once I have a plan it's difficult for me to change on the fly - it creates stress for me. So working in the online environment has taught me to not hold too tightly to any one client or any one decision. More often than not, technology changes, customers change, market demand changes, goals change, etc. I have to learn to change with them. That's a challenge for me! Most of my business requires that I get to know a client's customers and business market. A great deal of effort and time goes into this process.

My best experiences have been when I have the opportunity to work long-term with small businesses. It helps me immerse myself into their target market and think like their customers do. That's the only way I can best serve them. But the catch? Most small businesses don't have the time or money to commit to such a relationship. So I must always be 'listening' to them to find out how I can best meet their needs and budget; it's a challenge!

If you are willing to share some thoughts with me about what you struggle with in your small business, it would be helpful for me. You can email me at marketyourbizonline[at]gmail.com or simply post a comment at the end of this post. It will help me be more flexible when making my business decisions, which ultimately will help you, my customers/clients. :) Thanks, in advance, for your input!

Ciao, Paula

P.S. David's entire post on this subject  is brief and should only take a couple of minutes to read, but it's worth a look. Click here to read: Learning How to Make the Right Business Decisions.

Consumer Alert!: Domain Registry of America

BEWARE of notices from Domain Registry of America (DROA)! Both my clients and I have received notices from them that our domains are about to expire. The upper right-hand corner of the paper reads "Domain Name Expiration Notice." I was not fooled by this, but I figured the average Web site owner might be since they make a great effort to have an official looking envelope and letter.

 DROA's letter looks official giving you options for renewals and suggestions to purchase additional, related domain names. THESE FEES ARE MUCH HIGHER THAN MOST REGISTRARS! (I currently pay approximately $10 per year per domain.) DROA charges $30.00 for a one-year renewal. You'll end up spending much more money. This is blatantly misleading and dishonest!

PLEASE make it a policy to know when your domains expire and who your domain registrar is. For example, mine is GoDaddy. I shouldn't be receiving ANY notices about my domain renewals except from them.

Domain information is public information (unless you've paid extra to keep it private) and this is how they get your domain name, contact information, etc. DROA is a domain reseller and web hosting company that has a horrible reputation - just Google it and see if you can find any positive information. Apparently they have been at this for a very long time - search results date back to 2002. Report them and don’t do business with Domain Registry of America.

Minnesota
State Offices Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Services Division
1400 Bremer Tower
445 Minnesota St.
St. Paul, MN 55101
651-296-3353
Toll free: 1-800-657-3787
TTY: 651-297-7206 or 1-800-366-4812 (Toll free)
http://www.ag.state.mn.us

OR consumer information at: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm

Text Donations

While reading my recent issue of DMNews, I read an interesting article about how non-profits are using text donations to raise money.

I guess this caught my eye because last Friday I attended a great Leadership conference in Brooklyn Park at Living Word Christian Center. (Leadercast is an annual event sponsored by GiantImpact and is simulcast in many locations around the U.S.) During the simulcast there were a couple of opportunities to text a $10 donation to Compassion International, a child advocacy ministry which aims to release children from poverty via sponsorships. I digress.....

But it got me thinking about how to use this locally. Can our churches use it? Our local chapter of Habitat for Humanity? Our area non-profits? It would be worth testing. Many of us carry a mobile device of one sort or another and all you do is text a message to a given number and your donation is taken on behalf of the non-profit. You can give with immediacy knowing that it is going to a cause you are passionate about. No writing a note to do it later - it's done!

Mobile Loaves and Fishes uses text donations to fight homelessness. They have an office in Minneapolis, although their text donation campaign runs out of their Austin, TX office. They use a service called T3 to manage this campaign for them.

The American Red Cross ran a very successful text donation campaign to raise money for Haiti. In January of 2010, they raised $5 million in pledges all in $10 increments. Pretty cool.

Broadtexter is a great text messaging service for use in sending alerts, announcing promotions/offers, and personalizing your service, etc. They DO NOT have an option for accepting donations, but a FREE, useful tool for small businesses.

There are other services that will manage text donations. Google "text donation services" for more info. Or there is a good blog article on the Consumer Reports Web site - What to Know About Text Donations.

I'm inspired to see how many different ways this can be used! How about you?

Ciao for now, Paula

Need a Web Site You Can Maintain Yourself?

Blogs used to be a great way to help you add fresh content to your site and help increase your visibility. They used to be used in addition to your regular Web site. Advances in content management have blurred the lines between conventional sites and blogs. Blogging programs have evolved into the most powerful and flexible systems available.

WordPress is a leading 'blog' program and it's completely free! Check out these great features:

• You can create static pages and sections making it appear virtually the same as any other site.
• It's great for new Web site owners who want to manage their own sites WITHOUT learning HTML code.
• Easily allows you to take advantage of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) opportunities
• Material can be easily categorized allowing effortless structure. A more orderly site will perform better with the search engine spiders. Search engines are all about structure. :-)
• Categories let you effectively group relevant material together by creating URLs with anchor text (text that uses your keywords) and relevant internal links. This makes your site more easily crawled by the search engines.

Fresh Content
WordPress is specifically designed to handle the frequent creation of content. You can even create multiple updates (or posts) and schedule them to be published at a later date. So if you're inspired and get a bunch of content cranked out, you can schedule your blog to update automatically! This is great for vacations or times you are away from your office. Your site can continue to be updated with fresh content even though you're away. Making regular updates to your site will get it crawled more often.

Link Building
The nature of blogs and the blogging community lends itself to link trades more often than with a regular Web site. Other bloggers love to find related blogs to link to and recommend.

Social Interaction Via Comments
Commenting plays a big role in link sharing with other blogs. Being an active participant and commenting on others' blogs, naturally improves visibility. A feature I particularly like is the ability to turn off the comment option at the page level. So if there is a page where you don't want people to be able to comment, just turn off the option and it becomes a static page.

Viral 'Word-of-Mouth' with RSS
With a blog, RSS is automatic and built right in. With this feature, your blog can be included in blog directories and blog-specific search engines.

WordPress is another easy to use, affordable tool for the small business owner! It allows you to simplify your site maintenance and improvements. The beauty is that you will be able to more easily and quickly manage your site, spend less $'s on a Web master, have greater control, not have to wait on another person's schedule, and realize the savings over time.

If you have a hobby or a small site idea - why not give WordPress a try? Get started here.
To see an example of a site created using the free version of WordPress, visit PaulaBonelli.com.

Until next time - Ciao!

iPad and Android and Buzz - oh my!

Ever want to go back to the simpler days of lions and tigers and bears?! (Wizard of Oz). I sure do! Getting to the Emerald City would have been a piece of cake compared to keeping up with today's technological advances.

The lightning fast updates to technology get my head a-spinnin'. While I think most of these devices are REALLY COOL, I get exhausted thinking about how I'm going to get up-to-speed. Or if I want to. And just what should I choose from the menu of mobile and portable devices? And HOW CONNECTED DO I REALLY WANT TO BE?! Can I justify it for business? Cuz I sure can't for personal use.

OK so I'm ranting a bit, but it is overwhelming for this middle-aged gal. [That was hard to type "middle-aged" - I don't feel it but I suppose it's what I really am :-)]. I still haven't mastered everything my old Samsung phone can do.

If you are a techie and have and love these new devices - you have a ton of options that can streamline and simplify business across the places you are online. Android and iPhone have a TON of applications that can let you do just about anything from your mobile device. I'm a Google user and they have been keeping up quite nicely giving easy access to your advertising accounts, maintaining your social accounts, blogs, etc. right from your mobile. Now that's what I need so when I want to be away from my office, I can still keep up with my emails and even make posts to my blog, Twitter and Facebook account with one quick update. Pretty awesome!

Now I just have to fork over the $'s for a device that can do all this (anywhere from $100 to $300), then pay for the required data plan (an easy $30 or more extra each month to my current plan price), and then figure out how to use it to connect to all of these accounts. You can bet I'll screw it up - just like the other day when somehow my previous blog updates began spitting out one right after the other to all of you on my subscriber list! Grrr - that's the downside I'm not fond of. But you know what? I'm sure it's USER ERROR and NOT the technology!

I hope this finds you embracing the new technology just a little bit. I also hope you have a terrific day! As always, if there is a question you have, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Leave me a comment here or reply to the email you received about this blog update.

Ciao, Paula

P.S. Here's additional links to the details of what iPad, Android and Buzz are if you're really interested! :-)
iPad - tablet-sized computing device, developed by Apple, meant for internet browsing, media consumption and light content creation
Android - Google software for mobile devices that includes an operating system and key applications and games for Android devices
Buzz - Google social networking and messaging tool designed to integrate into the email program, GMail. Users can share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments organized in "conversations" and visible in the user's inbox.

Craft Email Messages That Get Response

MarketingSherpa has really been a good resource for me when it comes to optimizing Web site landing pages and emails. They conduct research among B-to-C and B-to-B businesses and share the results and trends. It's always very insightful!

Their latest research report shows how to optimize email response. Best of all, you can access The Five Best Ways to Optimize Email Response free!

If you learn by reading, you can download the PDF (electronic document; open and read online or save to your computer). If you prefer learning by listening, you can download the audio version. Or if you learn best by watching, you can view the webinar online.

I hope you find it useful in your email marketing campaigns.

What?! You aren't doing any kind of regular email marketing? Get started now! :-) It really is the best way to begin a conversation with a customer and to keep it going. Not everyone is ready to buy from you the first time they visit your store or Web site.

If you are just beginning and have a low volume of addresses, Vertical Response it your best bet - you can pay as you go and costs about 1.5 cents per email address. Get more information and sign up here: Vertical Response

If you need a more robust experience where you can set up a series of automatic response emails, check out AWeber.

For additional information about these 2 and one other email marketing solution, visit this page of my site: DIY Email Marketing

Ciao, Paula

Understanding Google's PageRank

First, let me start with the definition of PageRank (PR) according to Wikipedia...a link analysis algorithm, named after Larry Page, used by the Google Internet search engine that assigns a numerical weighting...
The name "PageRank" is a trademark of Google, but the PageRank process has been patented to Stanford University, not to Google. Google has exclusive license rights on the patent from Stanford. The university received 1.8 million shares of Google in exchange for use of the patent.

Here's an elementary explanation of how Google determines your PR. (In reality, it's anything but elementary. Google doesn't fully share how they determine this.) A link from one page to another is a 'vote' for that page. But not all votes are equal. Votes from higher quality pages are weighed more heavily. Other factors in the ranking process include the relevance of keywords on a page and the actual traffic to the page among many other factors. Understanding the basics of PageRank is a part of a good link building campaign. But don't fixate on it, just use it to build a reputation for your site.

You can build good PR by getting quality links coming in to your site. Quality links means links from relevant, authoritative sites in your industry. This, in turn, "passes" authority to your site. Don't bother linking to any sites that are NOT related to what your site is about. They simply won't pass any authority, you will be wasting your time, and they could damage your reputation if they are a low quality site. Getting relevant, high quality, incoming links is one of the most affordable SEO methods at your disposal. It just takes some time. Don't try to get to a specific number, you just want to improve it.

Just like creating unique META data will help any page of your site get listed, each page in your site can obtain PR. Remember...the search engines index PAGES, not SITES. Link to the most relevant page of your site; not necessarily your home page. Ex. You have a gardening site that sells many gardening tools, has gardening information, etc. You find a good site that sells spades and you contact them for a link. You'll want their link to your site to go to a page that is as closely related to spades as possible...not a generic page that focuses on multiple products or unrelated information.

PR is ranked on a scale from 0 to 10.
Sites from 0 - 2 = newer site with few incoming links
Sites from 3 - 5 = more established site with more links
Sites ranked 6 and above = well established site with many high quality links
There are very few sites that have ranks from 7 - 10. They are usually large, highly trafficked sites with longevity in the search engines. Don't expect any PR for at least the first few months after a new site is launched. You have to 'play the game' for awhile before Google will assign a PR to your page, if at all.

Where do I find my site's PR?
There are many tools online; these are all free -
PRChecker.info
Free-Pagerank-Checker.com

I use a FireFox add-on called SearchStatus. With this add-on there is a toolbar added to my browser that shows the PageRank and Alexa Rank of the site I'm browsing. To find this add-on, go to "Tools/Add-ons" (when your browser is open) and search for it by name.

The Google toolbar also has a PageRank function you can enable. You can download it here: http://toolbar.google.com.

For those of you with bricks-and-mortar stores, consider linking to other business owner's sites in your local area, if you feel you have some of the same customers and can offer each others' customers value. It's a great way for local customers to find you.

Now you are armed with information [knowledge! and knowledge is power :-)], so go get some links!

Ciao for now, Paula

Who Will Have Access to Your Digital Data If You Die?

Believe me, I've really been thinking about this lately! My husband and I have been chatting about updating our will now that our children are grown. It's such a lot to think about and we need to add our digital data to the picture also.

I know many of you that follow this blog are also small businesses with either just a few employees or you are THE solo owner/operator. Who will be able to carry on if you are not around? We have and need passwords for EVERYTHING digital these days. And, if you are wise about protecting your digital footprint and identity, you DON'T have the same password for everything. PLEEEEAAASE tell me you don't! So, what happens if you get hit by a bus tomorrow? Do you have a plan?

I've always been careful about giving sensitive client information to another person within the client's company should I become inaccessible. BUT, I haven't been good about seeing that my own digital data is located somewhere with instructions for someone to carry on. Yikes...passwords for absolutely everything I do will need to be recorded in a safe place - Web hosts, Web sites, email accounts, password-protected files on my computer, social media accounts, bank accounts - and the list goes on!

I'm not sure what the answer is for me yet, but you can read more about ways to accomplish this for your business at the Inc. Magazine Web site.
Passing on Your Digital Data

7 Steps to Boost Customer Referrals

If you are like me, you are 'lazy' or even 'shy' about asking for and getting referrals. This is not an easy thing to do and it's time consuming if you want the best results.

You know I like simple, straight-forward action items for getting things done. :-) I came across this post by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing outlining 7 steps or tips for boosting your efforts.

It helped me; I hope it helps you generate some ideas about how you might do a better job of getting quality referrals from your associates and customers.

Take a look at the full article here: How to Boost Your Customers Referrals in 7 Simple Steps

How Businesses Are Using Facebook

Get a free webinar download from Hubspot! Provide your email and you can download and listen at your convenience to find data on how businesses are leveraging Facebook and case studies covering ways to use Facebook for marketing.

Find the link to the webinar and other free resources on my site: http://PaulaBonelli.com/resources/free-stuff/
or go directly to HubSpot now: How Businesses are using Facebook

Ad Networks for Facebook and Twitter

If you are already using some sort of PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising in your marketing mix, here are 2 more options to try.

Facebook already has an ad business model in place similar to Google's. You can target based on demographics or psychographics and bid based on CPC (Cost-Per-Click) or CPM (Cost-Per-Impression). Facebook's ad revenue is estimated to reach $1 billion dollars this year. In January, their user base surpassed 4 million! Read more on my site.

Rumor has it that Twitter also is ready to launch some sort of ad business model, possibly as soon as March 2010. Read more here.

As always, if you have a question [doesn't matter what it is :)], you can post me a comment below.
Ciao, Paula

IRS Plans to Audit 6,000 Companies Over Next 3 Years

Do You Rely on Independent Contractors?
As reported by Inc.com on February 18, 2010, the IRS plans to audit 6,000 companies over the next three years in an effort to crack down on companies that erroneously classify employees as independent contractors. This made my ears prick up since all of the work I do for other businesses is done strictly on this basis. I did my review and find I'm in compliance.

Do you know the difference between an Employee and an Independent Contractor?
Here's 10 tips for business owners on the subject directly from the IRS.gov Web site. Check it out and be sure you are in compliance before you get audited!

Employee vs. Independent Contractor - Ten Tips for Business Owners from the IRS.

Uncovering New Income Streams

I found a great tool from Michael Campbell. It's called "The Uncovery" and walks you through a brainstorming process that will help you identify your passions, skills and dreams. Then you further generate ideas to see where these might overlap into a profitable revenue stream. Really eye opening and a great way to get started thinking outside your box.

Be prepared to digest this away from your office, in a quiet spot where you can think without interruption. Grab your favorite beverage and let the ideas flow!

The document can be found on a site in my network. Click here to go there and read or download this great tool.

Five Areas of Planning You Need to Create a Successful Web site

This article by John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing hits the nail on the head. He succinctly puts all the elements together that you have to think about and plan for when you are building or rebuilding a Web site.

I fall into the category of the Marketer, of course, playing a role in each phase of the planning process. I often find myself in the position of educator, coordinator between all the personalities, go-between for the for Web site owner, and the ultimate marketing of the finished site. This is no small task and most small business owners really have not grasped how complex the process is. So whether you manage all 5 areas yourself  or outsource it, each is an important aspect of how it will all come together.

John references several resources within his article. I haven't had personal experience with all of them, so if you decide to use one please do so at your own risk and take time to find out if the source is a good fit for you and your business.

Read John's full article.

I Need Your Input! How Can I Help You?

I would like to provide the best tools I can for small business owners such as you. I want to provide solutions and/or resources that address your Internet Marketing needs as a small biz owner. I can try to "guess" what you might need or want to know, but I bet I'd be wrong!

So, will you do me a favor? Please take a few minutes to answer 4 questions. It will take approximately 10-15 minutes of your time. It will be invaluable to me and hopefully you in the long run. :-)

Deadline to participate: Midnight Monday, February 1.
Click here to take the survey.

Thanks, in advance, for your help!
Ciao, Paula

2010 SEO Challenges

At the recent Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago, Ralph Wilson (wilsonweb.com) and Amanda Watlington (searchingforprofit.com) discussed the challenges that are facing small businesses as search evolves and browsers become more intuitive.

The one thing that stood out and something I wholeheartedly agree with, is Amanda's comment about small businesses that still are NOT using the Local Business Center to claim their spot on Google Maps. In my visits with most of you, this is something you still haven't completed. I cannot stress how important this is - I've been saying it for a year, but it's critical now with the changes we will see in search for the coming year.

Last year I developed this free email series to help busy small business owners accomplish this task. It's free to create a profile about your business on all the top search engines (Google, Yahoo! and Bing); it just takes a bit of time and organization on your part. My email series helps you with this by spelling out step-by-step how do to this. Being a small business owner myself, I realize we usually have good intentions that never materialize. So I developed this series to be delivered on a timed schedule so you'll have time to complete one step before the next email with instructions arrives.

Click here to sign-up for my email list and get this free series now!

Here's a quick summary of the points covered in the video below:

1. Google is now using page loading speed in their ranking algorithm. The engineering of some sites can make this a difficult problem to fix quickly, so webmasters should study the problem now with speed detection tools such as YSlow and Google Page Speed.
2. Localization is growing in importance for businesses with one or more physical locations. Businesses need to claim their local online identity by completing online forms that give information on their businesses on local search sites, such as Google Local Business Center. Revisit regularly to be sure your data is up-to-date.
Personalization is a growing influence, where a person's previous search history influences the search results of their next search. Watch the video (only 9 minutes).

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson is widely recognized as one of the top international authorities in the area of Internet marketing.

Amanda Watlington is the principal of a marketing consultancy which focuses on developing business results for clients adopting new marketing strategies.

Forbes - 21 Top Twitter Tips

Here's a great list of ideas for using Twitter in your business. See how many you can put to use!

21 Top Twitter Tips, Forbes.com

Nexus One Mobile Phone by Google

OK! I think I finally found the right smartphone. I have been looking to upgrade for almost six months to a device I can use when I'm away from my office. As a small business owner, I really feel that this is a must in order to function outside the office if you travel or have to be away from your office frequently.

I have been comparing everything to the iPhone since it has all the bells and whistles I would possibly want or need. A few things have been holding me back - the cost of the iPhone (and the need to then change providers), and I'm used to a keyboard. The new touch phones work by heat from your fingertips. Well, I have nails! And that doesn't work well for texting. That would be nothing but an annoyance factor and I'm not willing to cut them short. :-) I've been with T-Mobile since 2000, but they didn't have ONE phone that had all the features I wanted. So, the search continued.

What I want to be able to do is simplify and combine a number of mobile devices into one unit - it's hard enough for me to keep up with technology as I get older, let alone learn the functions of multiple small devices. I want my music, maps, email, and phone all together in one device. Patience pays off. :-) I think the Nexus One has it all! AND I can get it with my current provider, T-Mobile. I can get around the texting function (it is a touchscreen) because it has a cool feature - a voice-enabled keyboard for any text field. This means you can speak to your phone and it does the text messaging, email writing, or search querying for you. How cool is that? Problem solved!

But there is one other cool thing about this phone - you can buy it unlocked, directly from Google (for $529!). The idea is you can swap out the sim card from your old phone and put it in this phone and your off and running with service from four GSM radio frequencies and three 3G/UMTS Bands.(There are some restrictions - check out this page for more details: http://www.google.com/support/android/bin/answer.py?answer=166507)

Check out the Google Nexus One! Nexus One Phone